Psalms 76 · The Lantern

The `title of the sixte and seuentithe salm. `To the ouercomere on Yditum, `the salm of Asaph.

With my vois Y criede to the Lord; with my vois to God, and he yaf tent to me.

Thus when we have to face the hard and cruel necessity of death, we are comforted by this consolation, that we shall shortly see again those whose absence we now mourn. For their end is not called death but a slumber and a falling asleep.

"And there hath been made in peace a place for Him, and His habitation is in Sion" (ver. 2). Again, Sion is as it were the country of the Jews; the true Sion is the Church of Christians. But the intrepretation of the Hebrew names is thus handed down to us: Judaea is interpreted confession, Israel, one seeing God. After Judaea is Israel. Wilt thou see God?

Which peace our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed and gave; of whose preaching our father Francis was a renewer, announcing peace at the beginning and end of every sermon, wishing peace in every greeting, sighing for ecstatic peace in every contemplation, like a citizen of that Jerusalem, of which that man of peace speaks, who was peaceable with those who hated peace: Pray for the t…

In the dai of my tribulacioun Y souyte God with myn hondis; in the nyyt `to fore hym, and Y am not disseyued. Mi soule forsook to be coumfortid;

Y was myndeful of God, and Y delitide, and Y was exercisid; and my spirit failide.

I will remind you again about Illuminations, and that often, and will reckon them up from holy Scripture. For I myself shall be happier for remembering them (for what is sweeter than light to those who have tasted light?).

"Thou enlightening marvellously from the eternal mountains" (ver. 4). What are the eternal mountains? Those which He hath Himself made eternal; which are the great mountains, the preachers of truth. Thou dost enlighten, but from the eternal mountains: the great mountains are first to receive Thy light, and from Thy light which the mountains receive, the earth also is clothed.

Such art is both one and manifold. How this can occur cannot be seen unless there come about an illumination "from the everlasting mountains," and when "despoiled are the stouthearted," that is, the foolish. For it is fitting to think of God in the highest way. Speculation is also manifold, for it represents many things distinctly and certainly.

Myn iyen bifore took wakyngis; Y was disturblid, and Y spak not.

They slept their sleep, and found nothing. Truly this life is a sleep, and riches too: for when we seem to hold them, at once we lose them. Just as that which is written in the prophet: "As one who is thirsty sleeps, if he finds water he drinks; afterward, when he has awakened, the thirst itself remains," so also are riches in this world: while we hold them, we lose them.

This life is a dream; these riches flow as if in a dream. Hear the Psalm, O richest poor man: They have slept their sleep, and none of the men of wealth have found anything in their hands.

I thouyte elde daies; and Y hadde in mynde euerlastinge yeeris.

And Y thouyte in the nyyt with myn herte; and Y was exercisid, and Y clensid my spirit.

Whether God schal caste awei with outen ende; ether schal he not lei to, that he be more plesid yit?

From heaven thou didst make judgment to be heard. Thou didst speak from heaven, all the people heard and trembled: and yet they did not believe in thee. The earth feared and was still. But Israel neither feared nor was still.

If every one had imitated this cruelty, nothing else would have been left then for me in my lifetime but to be wasted by want, and, at my death, instead of being committed to a tomb, to be made meat for dogs and wild beasts.

"He has hurled judgment from heaven; the earth trembled and grew quiet." Here that very power of judgment is explained, because from that height of power judgment descends in such a way as if it had been a javelin sent by a very strong and unerring hand. But a lance of that kind brings about a temporal ill, but God's judgment will wound the ungodly with an eternal blow.

Ethir schal he kitte awei his merci into the ende; fro generacioun in to generacioun?

Ethir schal God foryete to do mercy; ethir schal he withholde his mercies in his ire?

And Y seide, Now Y bigan; this is the chaunging of the riythond of `the hiye God.

I hadde mynde on the werkis of the Lord; for Y schal haue mynde fro the bigynnyng of thi merueilis.

And Y schal thenke in alle thi werkis; and Y schal be occupied in thi fyndyngis.

God, thi weie was in the hooli; what God is greet as oure God?

thou art God, that doist merueilis. Thou madist thi vertu knowun among puplis;

thou ayenbouytist in thi arm thi puple, the sones of Jacob and of Joseph.

God, watris sien thee, watris sien thee, and dredden; and depthis of watris weren disturblid.

The multitude of the soun of watris; cloudis yauen vois.

For whi thin arewis passen; the vois of thi thundir was in a wheel. Thi liytnyngis schyneden to the world; the erthe was moued, and tremblid.

Thi weie in the see, and thi pathis in many watris; and thi steppis schulen not be knowun.

Thou leddist forth thi puple as scheep; in the hond of Moyses and of Aaron.

Psalms76