Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
This chapter contains a Hymn, or Eucharistic Psalm, in which David, after his wars, having achieved full peace, gives thanks to God for so many victories. Moreover, this Psalm is placed among the Psalms and is number XVII in order. Therefore it will be more conveniently explained in its own place there, as a Psalm among the Psalms.
Vulgate Text: 2 Kings 22:1-51
1. And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, 2. and he said:
The Lord is my rock, and my strength, and my savior. 3. God is my mighty one, I will hope in Him; my shield, and the horn of my salvation; my lifter up, and my refuge; my savior, You will deliver me from iniquity. 4. I will call upon the Lord who is worthy of praise, and I will be saved from my enemies. 5. For the floods of death surrounded me; the torrents of Belial terrified me. 6. The cords of hell surrounded me; the snares of death came upon me. 7. In my tribulation I will call upon the Lord, and to my God I will cry out; and He will hear my voice from His temple, and my cry will come to His ears. 8. The earth was shaken and trembled; the foundations of the mountains were shaken and quaked, because He was angry with them. 9. Smoke rose from His nostrils, and fire from His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by Him. 10. He bowed the heavens and descended; and darkness was under His feet. 11. And He mounted upon the cherubim and flew; and He soared upon the wings of the wind. 12. He placed darkness round about Him as His hiding place; sifting waters from the clouds of heaven. 13. From the brightness before Him, coals of fire were kindled. 14. The Lord will thunder from heaven; and the Most High will utter His voice. 15. He sent arrows and scattered them; lightning, and consumed them. 16. And the channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were uncovered, at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of His fury. 17. He sent from on high and took me; and He drew me out of many waters. 18. He delivered me from my most powerful enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were stronger than I. 19. He came upon me in the day of my affliction, and the Lord became my support. 20. And He brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me. 21. The Lord will repay me according to my justice; and according to the cleanness of my hands He will render to me. 22. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not acted wickedly against my God. 23. For all His judgments are before me; and His precepts I have not removed from me. 24. And I will be blameless with Him; and I will guard myself from my iniquity. 25. And the Lord will restore to me according to my justice; and according to the cleanness of my hands in the sight of His eyes. 26. With the holy You will be holy; and with the mighty You will be perfect. 27. With the chosen You will be chosen; and with the perverse You will be perverted. 28. And You will save the humble people; and with Your eyes You will bring down the exalted. 29. For You are my lamp, O Lord; and You, Lord, will illuminate my darkness. 30. For in You I will run girded for battle; in my God I will leap over a wall. 31. As for God, His way is spotless; the word of the Lord is tested by fire; He is the shield of all who hope in Him. 32. Who is God besides the Lord? And who is mighty besides our God? 33. God who has girded me with strength, and has smoothed my perfect way. 34. Making my feet like the deer's, and setting me upon my heights. 35. Teaching my hands for battle, and bending a bow of bronze with my arms. 36. You have given me the shield of Your salvation; and Your gentleness has multiplied me. 37. You will widen my steps beneath me; and my ankles will not fail. 38. I will pursue my enemies and crush them; and I will not turn back until I consume them. 39. I will consume them and shatter them, so that they cannot rise; they will fall beneath my feet. 40. You have girded me with strength for battle; You have bowed down those who resist me beneath me. 41. You have given me the backs of my enemies; those who hate me, and I will destroy them. 42. They will cry out, and there will be no one to save them; to the Lord, and He will not hear them. 43. I will crush them like the dust of the earth; like the mud of the streets I will grind them and shatter them. 44. You will save me from the contradictions of my people; You will keep me as the head of nations; a people I did not know will serve me. 45. The sons of strangers will resist me; at the hearing of the ear they will obey me. 46. The sons of strangers have faded away, and they will be confined in their straits. 47. The Lord lives, and blessed be my God; and the God of the strength of my salvation will be exalted. 48. God who gives me vengeance, and casts down peoples beneath me. 49. Who brings me forth from my enemies, and lifts me above those who resist me; from the wicked man You will deliver me. 50. Therefore I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations; and I will sing to Your name. 51. He magnifies the salvations of His king, and shows mercy to His anointed, to David, and to his seed forever.