Exposition of Psalm 118 6.27.1–7.19.1
Latin text: CSEL 62 (Latin text: Schenkl/Petschenig, CSEL 62, digitized by Open Greek and Latin (csel-dev, University of Leipzig), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Exposition 6, chapter 27
6.27.1CSEL 62:121–122
Merito igitur sanctus Dauid pascha domini celebrans et feruenti spiritu tempora ingressus aestiua, qui in uerbo dei fructus uarios colligebat, hiemis aduersa declinans ait: et ne auferas ex ore meo uerbum ueritatis usque quaque, quia in iudiciis tuis super speraui. quantus labor est, ut uerbum percipias, quantum iterum periculum, si amittas! et ideo tibi dicitur: noli neglegere gratiam quae in te est.
Rightly, then, holy David, celebrating the Lord’s Passover and with fervent spirit entering the summer season, gathering various fruits in the word of God, turning away from the adversities of winter, says: “And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for I have hoped exceedingly in your judgments.” How great is the labor to receive the word, how great again the danger if you lose it! And so it is said to you: “Do not neglect the grace that is in you.”
Ps 119:43 (118:43 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Tim 4:14 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Having gathered the fruits of God’s word, David prays not to lose it; so we must not neglect our grace.
- Ps 119:43; 1 Tim 4:14. The digital text’s “dic-itur” is read as “dicitur”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): dic-itur → dicitur.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.27.1 (CSEL 62:121–122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-27-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-27-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
6.27.2CSEL 62:122
excole diligenter quasi bonus agricola campum tuum, ut pascantur agni tui et sata tua floreant. non auferatur ex ore tuo uerbum, ne forte uerbis facta non congruant et deforment iniquitatis opera magisterium disciplinae. tollitur ex ore uerbum, cum dicitur peccatori: quare tu enarras iustitias meas? et ipsa obmutescit facundia, si aegra sit conscientia. ueniunt aues caeli: etiam ipsae tollunt uerbum ex ore tuo quae tollunt uerbi semen e saxo, ne fructum adferat.
Cultivate your field diligently like a good farmer, so that your lambs may be fed and your crops flourish. Let the word not be taken from your mouth, lest perhaps your deeds not agree with your words and works of iniquity disfigure the authority of your teaching. The word is taken from the mouth when it is said to the sinner: “Why do you declare my righteous deeds?” And eloquence itself falls silent if the conscience is sick. The birds of the sky come: they too take the word from your mouth, which take the seed of the word from the rock, so that it does not bear fruit.
Ps 50:16 (49:16 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 13:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 8:12 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The word is taken from the mouth of one whose deeds contradict it, as the birds snatch the seed.
- Ps 50:16 (LXX 49:16); Matt 13:4–5, 19; Luke 8:5–6, 12.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.27.2 (CSEL 62:122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-27-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-27-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 6, chapter 28
6.28.1CSEL 62:122
Nunc consideremus, utrum etiam ex corde possit auferri uerbum ueritatis; radicatum enim uerbum atque depressum et infixum mentibus nostris difficile auferri potest. denique dictum est a domino: quare tu enarras iustitias meas — non dixit:
Now let us consider whether the word of truth can also be taken away from the heart; for the word rooted, pressed down, and fixed in our minds can hardly be taken away. Indeed it was said by the Lord: “Why do you declare my righteous deeds?” He did not say,
Ps 50:16 (49:16 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Can the word be taken even from the heart? God rebukes the sinner’s mouth, not his heart.
- Ps 50:16 (LXX 49:16).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.28.1 (CSEL 62:122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-28-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-28-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
6.28.2CSEL 62:122
"quare cogitas iustitias meas? — et adsumis testamentum meum per os tuum? non dixit per cor tuum. sermo cohibetur indigni animi, non obstruitur paenitentia; insolentiam prohibet, non excludit correctionem. cauendum tamen est, ne et ipsa interius corda turbentur et offundat tenebras malitia, ut cor
“Why do you think on my righteous deeds?” “And take my covenant in your mouth?” He did not say “in your heart.” The speech of an unworthy mind is restrained; penitence is not blocked; he forbids insolence, he does not shut out correction. Yet care must be taken lest the hearts themselves be disturbed within and malice pour darkness over them, so that the heart,
Ps 50:16 (49:16 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God silences the unworthy speaker but leaves room for repentance; yet the heart too must be guarded.
- Ps 50:16 (LXX 49:16). The digital text’s “eogitas” is read as “cogitas”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): "quare eogitas → "quare cogitas.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.28.2 (CSEL 62:122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-28-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-28-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
6.28.3CSEL 62:122–123
uanis cogitationibus obcaecatum lucem ueritatis amittat fulgoremque uerbi capere non possit. si igitur Dauid orat, ne auferatur ex ore suo uerbum et, si auferatur, non usque quaque, id est non penitus auferatur, quis tantus est, qui in potestate sua gratiam disputationis esse commemoret praesertim si uita redarguat quod doctrina praesumat et iudicio dei damnanda committat? is enim, qui in iudiciis dei sperat, seruare potest uerbum ueritatis, quia. dum ueretur poenam, custodit gratiam.
blinded by vain thoughts, loses the light of truth and cannot receive the brightness of the word. If, then, David prays that the word not be taken from his mouth, and, if it is taken, not utterly, that is, not wholly taken, who is so great as to claim that the grace of discourse is in his own power, especially if his life refutes what his teaching presumes and he commits what is to be condemned by God’s judgment? For he who hopes in God’s judgments can keep the word of truth, because, while he fears punishment, he guards grace.
Ps 119:43 (118:43 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: No one may presume the gift of teaching is his own; whoever fears God’s judgment keeps the word of truth.
- Ps 119:43. The digital text’s “eogitationibus” is read as “cogitationibus”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): uanis eogitationibus → uanis cogitationibus.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.28.3 (CSEL 62:122–123; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-28-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-28-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 6, chapter 29
6.29.1CSEL 62:123
Ideoque ait: et custodiui legem tuam semper, in aeternum et in saeculum saeculi. duo dixit, cum unum satis esse posset, si unum significare uoluisset. sed quia non solum in praesenti uitae huius tempore, sed etiam futuro post huius uitae curriculum custodienda promittitur, ideo arbitror et secundum eos, qui exemplari et umbrae seruiunt caelestium, et secundum eos, qui in caelestibus siti secundum ueram legem cultus deo deferunt, pollicetur sibi esse uiuendum, ut et hic et ibi legem custodiat, hic in exemplari, in speculo, in aenigmate, illic in ipsa facie ueritatis.
And so he says: “And I have kept your law always, for ever and for ever and ever.” He said two things when one could have been enough, if he had wished to signify one thing. But because the law is promised to be kept not only in the present time of this life but also in the future, after the course of this life, I therefore think that he promises himself to live both according to those who serve the copy and shadow of heavenly things, and according to those who, placed in heaven, offer worship to God according to the true law, so as to keep the law both here and there: here in a copy, in a mirror, in a riddle; there in the very face of truth.
Ps 119:44 (118:44 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 8:5 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 13:12 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 44: the law is kept here in shadow and hereafter in the full face of truth.
- Ps 118:44 (Ps 119:44); Heb 8:5; 1 Cor 13:12.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.29.1 (CSEL 62:123; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-29-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-29-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 6, chapter 30
6.30.1CSEL 62:123
Possumus et illud intellegere, quia διὰ παντὸς non solum id significat quod dicitur semper, sed etiam id quod per omnia, quia ille per omnia legem custodiat, qui, cum sit eruditus in lege, sub lege natus et supra legem deuotionis suae gradum prouehens, liberatus a lege — Christus enim nos redemit a maledicto legis — non sine lege dei, sed in lege factus est Christi. aut certe sic per omnia legem custodiamus, si legitimam pueritiae atque adulescentiae disciplinam, iuuentutis conuersationem, senectutis maturitatem tramitemque singulis praescriptum aetatibus nequaquam uitae nostrae usus excedat.
We can also understand that dia pantos signifies not only what is called “always” but also “through all things”: that he keeps the law through all things who, though trained in the law, born under the law, and advancing the step of his devotion above the law, has been freed from the law (for Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law) and has become not without the law of God but under the law of Christ. Or surely we keep the law through all things in this way, if the course of our life in no way exceeds the lawful discipline of childhood and adolescence, the conduct of youth, the maturity of old age, and the path prescribed for each age.
Ps 119:44 (118:44 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Gal 4:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Gal 3:13 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 9:21 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: “Always” also means “through all things”: keeping Christ’s law, and keeping the discipline proper to each age.
- Ps 119:44 (Greek διὰ παντός); Gal 4:4; Gal 3:13; 1 Cor 9:21.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): per omnia-. quia → per omnia, quia.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.30.1 (CSEL 62:123; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-30-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-30-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
6.30.2CSEL 62:123–124
similiter etiam animae nostrae quaedam esse uidentur aetates, per quas percurrit et transit, ut possit dicere: cursum consummaui. denique animae aetas est illa, de qua dicitur: et aetas senectutis uita inmaculata. per omnia ergo legem custodit, qui et in his corporis nostri aetatibus et in illis animae nostrae processibus non deuiarit a lege.
Likewise our soul too seems to have certain ages through which it runs and passes, so that it can say: “I have finished the course.” Indeed that is an age of the soul of which it is said: “And an unstained life is the age of old age.” He keeps the law through all things, then, who has not strayed from the law either in these ages of our body or in those advances of our soul.
2 Tim 4:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The soul too has its ages, through all of which the law must be kept.
- 2 Tim 4:7; Wis 4:9. The digital text’s “e-t” is read as “est”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): aetas e-t illa → aetas est illa.
Extrabiblical texts: Wis 4:9 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.30.2 (CSEL 62:123–124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-30-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-30-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 6, chapter 31
6.31.1CSEL 62:124
Quintus uersus est: et ingrediebar in latitudine, quia testimonia tua exquisiui. qui secundum mandata angustam et artam graditur uiam, ambulat in latitudine. unde legimus: in tribulatione dilatasti mihi, et alibi: in tribulatione inuocaui dominum et exaudiuit me in latitudine. sapiens enim in cordis sui ambulat innocentia et de eius fonte superfluunt aquae super eius
The fifth verse is: “And I walked in a broad place, for I have sought out your testimonies.” He who goes by the narrow and strait way according to the commandments walks in a broad place. Hence we read: “In tribulation you enlarged me,” and elsewhere: “In tribulation I called on the Lord, and he heard me in a broad place.” For the wise man walks in the innocence of his heart, and from its spring waters overflow upon his
Ps 119:45 (118:45 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 7:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 4:1 (4:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 118:5 (117:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 5:16 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 45: whoever walks the narrow way of the commandments walks in a broad place.
- Ps 118:45 (Ps 119:45); Matt 7:14; Ps 4:1 (LXX 4:2); Ps 118:5 (LXX 117:5); Prov 5:16.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.31.1 (CSEL 62:124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-31-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-31-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
6.31.2CSEL 62:124
plateas, qui mentem suam non intra corporalia et terrena concludit, sed dirigit ad caelestia, ut conuersatio eius in caelo sit. audi nullas angustias sentientem: pressuram, inquit, patimur, sed non angustamur. et quomodo coangustari poterat, cuius os semper patebat, ne credentes coartarentur? ipse exponat, quid sit ingredi in latitudine. dicit enim, quia, si corpus angustum est, cor nostrum dilatatum est. non angustamini in nobis, coartamini autem in uisceribus uestris.
streets, he who does not shut his mind up within bodily and earthly things but directs it to heavenly things, so that his citizenship is in heaven. Hear one who feels no narrowness: “We suffer affliction,” he says, “but we are not straitened.” And how could he be straitened whose mouth was always open, so that believers should not be cramped? Let him explain what it is to walk in a broad place. For he says that, if the body is narrow, our heart is enlarged. “You are not straitened in us, but you are straitened in your own hearts.”
Phil 3:20 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 4:8 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 6:11 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 6:12 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Paul, afflicted but never straitened, shows what it is to walk in a broad place.
- Phil 3:20; 2 Cor 4:8; 6:11–12. The digital text’s “ue st ri s” is read as “uestris”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word in the digital text): ue st ri s → uestris.
Topics: Suffering and affliction
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.31.2 (CSEL 62:124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-31-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-31-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 6, chapter 32
6.32.1CSEL 62:124–125
Coangustari in Paulo non poterant, in quo erat altitudo sapientiae et fidei latitudo. quomodo enim poterant coartari in eo, qui erat uas electionis aeternae? sed coartabantur in semet ipsis, quia inprobus in se ipso coartatur, malitiae suae laqueis strangulatur. constitue mihi auarum, uillarum cotidie terminos proferentem, excludentem uicinos: utrum is tibi dilatari an coangustari uidetur, quem terra ipsa non capit? quantacumque spatia domus suae porrexerit clauditur angustis opinionis suae finibus cui quod habet non est satis. sed non talis est, qui potest dicere: et ingrediebar in latitudine. addidit etiam causam: quia testimonia, inquit, tua exquisiui.
They could not be straitened in Paul, in whom was the height of wisdom and the breadth of faith. For how could they be cramped in him who was a vessel of eternal election? But they were cramped in themselves, because the wicked man is cramped in himself, strangled by the snares of his own malice. Picture for me a greedy man, daily extending the boundaries of his estates, shutting out his neighbors: does he seem to you to be enlarged or straitened, whom the earth itself cannot contain? However far he stretches the spaces of his house, he is shut in by the narrow bounds of his own opinion, to whom what he has is not enough. But such is not he who can say: “And I walked in a broad place.” He added the reason too: “for I have sought out,” he says, “your testimonies.”
Acts 9:15 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 5:8 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 119:45 (118:45 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The greedy man, however much land he adds, is cramped by his own greed; the seeker of God’s testimonies walks in a broad place.
- Acts 9:15; Isa 5:8; Ps 119:45. The digital text’s “etingrediebar” is read as “et ingrediebar”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (words joined in the digital text): etingrediebar → et ingrediebar.
Topics: Ethics, Wealth and poverty
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.32.1 (CSEL 62:124–125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-32-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-32-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 6, chapter 33
6.33.1CSEL 62:125
Et loquebar in testimoniis tuis in conspectu regum et non confundebar. grate conuenit ista uox martyri, qui uocatus ad sacrilegium exprobrantibus sibi regibus crucifixum Iesum non erubescebat, sed magis gloriabatur in cruce Christi et illam mundi salutem esse testimoniis caelestibus adstruebat.
“And I spoke of your testimonies before kings, and I was not put to shame.” This voice fits a martyr pleasingly, who, summoned to sacrilege, when kings reproached him with the crucified Jesus, did not blush but rather gloried in the cross of Christ and established by the heavenly testimonies that it was the salvation of the world.
Ps 119:46 (118:46 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 6:14 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 46: this is the voice of the martyr who gloried in the cross before kings.
- Ps 118:46 (Ps 119:46); Gal 6:14.
Topics: Martyrdom, Persecution
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.33.1 (CSEL 62:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-33-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-33-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
6.33.2CSEL 62:125
hos uocat Christus in sponsa, dicens in Canticis canticorum: et ueni, tu columba mea, in tegimento petrae iuxta praemunitionem, hoc est: ueni iuxta euangelium. propugnacula fidei tuae gesta sunt Christi, muri tui subsidia uerba sunt domini, passio dominici corporis tua uirtus est. ostende mihi faciem tuam et insinua uocem tuam, quia uox tua suauis est et facies tua pulchra. suauis est uox, quia ore confessio fit ad salutem, et decora facies, quae non erubescit auctorem, non confunditur redemptorem.
These Christ calls in the bride, saying in the Song of Songs: “And come, my dove, in the shelter of the rock, near the outer wall,” that is: come near the gospel. The bulwarks of your faith are the deeds of Christ, the defenses of your wall are the words of the Lord, the passion of the Lord’s body is your strength. “Show me your face and let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet and your face is beautiful.” The voice is sweet, because with the mouth confession is made unto salvation, and the face is fair which does not blush at its maker and is not ashamed of its redeemer.
Song 2:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 10:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ calls the martyr, sheltered in the rock of the gospel, to show her face and confess with her voice.
- Song 2:14 (Greek form); Rom 10:10.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.33.2 (CSEL 62:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-33-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-33-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
6.33.3CSEL 62:125
ostendit ergo faciem suam signaculum crucis praeferens et insinuat uocem suam auctoritatem praedicationis adsumens. in tegimento enim corporis Christi, quo redemptus est a peccato, munimentum gratiae spiritalis inuenit, ut salutaria sibi et sentiat et loquatur. suauis ergo uox quae in diuinis testimoniis loquebatur, decora facies quae in conspectu regum non confundebatur.
She shows her face, then, bearing the seal of the cross, and lets her voice be heard, taking up the authority of preaching. For in the shelter of the body of Christ, by which she was redeemed from sin, she finds the fortification of spiritual grace, so that she may both think and speak what is for her salvation. Sweet, then, is the voice which spoke in the divine testimonies, fair the face which was not put to shame before kings.
Song 2:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 119:46 (118:46 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The martyr shows the sign of the cross and preaches, sheltered by Christ’s body.
- The seal of the cross is the sign made on the forehead.
Topics: Martyrdom, The sign of the cross
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.33.3 (CSEL 62:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-33-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-33-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 6, chapter 34
6.34.1CSEL 62:125–126
Possumus et illos reges intellegere, quibus dicitur a Petro: uos autem genus electum, regale sacerdotium, gens sancta, populus in adoptionem. sunt enim reges, qui offerunt in Hierusalem sapientiae suae munera, quibus data est gratia uerbum loqui et quadam potestate regali flectere populos et animas mulcere sanctorum, non erubescentes in eo, quia nihil alienum ab honestate loquerentur, quos nemo redarguat et refellat, quasi quia non sint digni quos idoneos Christus ministros noui fecerit testamenti et iam in illo non erubescentes, eo quod non metuerent.
We can also understand those kings to whom Peter says: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for adoption.” For they are kings who offer the gifts of their wisdom in Jerusalem, to whom has been given the grace to speak the word and with a kind of royal power to bend peoples and soothe the souls of the saints, not blushing in this, because they spoke nothing foreign to uprightness, whom no one could refute and confute, as though they were not worthy whom Christ made fit ministers of the new testament, and not blushing now in this, that they did not fear
1 Pet 2:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 68:29 (67:30 LXX) (allusion, low confidence) · 2 Cor 3:6 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The kings may also be Christians, a royal priesthood, who preach without shame.
- 1 Pet 2:9 (Ambrose: “a people for adoption”); Ps 68:29 (LXX 67:30); 2 Cor 3:6.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.34.1 (CSEL 62:125–126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-34-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-34-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
6.34.2CSEL 62:126
ne confunderentur disceptantium contra adsertione superati. rex igitur est qui non erubescat, ne in actu reprehendatur, redarguatur in sermonibus, eo quod et uita debeat esse fundatus et uerbo. itaque quamuis perfectus ita esset propheta, ut non erubesceret in conspectu regum, tamen meditabatur in praeceptis dei omni uitae suae tempore et opera sua eleuabat, nihil agens quod terrenis cupiditatibus adhaereret.
being put to shame, overcome by the assertion of those disputing against them. He, then, is a king who does not blush, lest he be reproved in action or refuted in speech, because he ought to be grounded both in life and in word. And so, though the prophet was so perfect that he did not blush before kings, yet he meditated on God’s precepts all the time of his life and lifted up his works, doing nothing that clung to earthly desires.
Ps 119:47 (118:47 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: A true king is grounded in life and word; even the perfect prophet kept meditating on God’s precepts.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.34.2 (CSEL 62:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-34-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-34-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 6, chapter 35
6.35.1CSEL 62:126
Ideoque ait: et meditabar in mandatis tuis quae dilexi nimis et leuaui manus meas ad mandata tua quae dilexi nimis et exercebar in iustificationibus tuis. pulcherrimus ordo iste, ut primo meditemur et eorum praeceptorum, quae diligimus, sit nobis adsueta meditatio;
And so he says: “And I meditated on your commandments, which I loved exceedingly, and I lifted up my hands to your commandments, which I loved exceedingly, and I exercised myself in your statutes.” Most beautiful is this order: that we first meditate, and that meditation on the precepts we love become habitual to us;
Ps 119:47 (118:47 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 119:48 (118:48 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verses 47–48: first meditation on the commandments we love, then action.
- Ps 118:47–48 (Ps 119:47–48).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.35.1 (CSEL 62:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-35-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-35-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
6.35.2CSEL 62:126
meditatione enim mandatorum caelestium operis boni usus inolescit. nam sicut meditationi uerborum finis memoria est, ut quae meditamur uerba teneamus, sic meditationis praeceptorum caelestium intentio uel finis operatio est actusque directus ad implenda praecepta diuina, quae nisi quis diligat implere non poterit nec solum diligat. sed etiam nimis diligat.
for by meditation on the heavenly commandments the practice of good work grows. For just as the end of meditating on words is memory, that we may hold the words we meditate on, so the aim or end of meditating on the heavenly precepts is working and action directed to fulfilling the divine precepts, which no one can fulfill unless he loves them; and not only loves them, but loves them exceedingly.
Notes and citation
Summary: Meditation on God’s precepts aims at doing them, which requires loving them exceedingly.
- The digital text’s “mandatorimi” is read as “mandatorum”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): mandatorimi → mandatorum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.35.2 (CSEL 62:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-35-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-35-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 6, chapter 36
6.36.1CSEL 62:126
Ideo prius posuit: et meditabar in praeceptis tuis quae dilexi nimis et subiecit: et leuaui manus meas a d praecepta tua quae dilexi nimis. post meditationem etenim bonum est leuare actus nostros ad praecepta dei atque id facere cum caritate, cum gaudio, ut non ex necessitate
Therefore he put first, “And I meditated on your precepts, which I loved exceedingly,” and added, “And I lifted up my hands to your precepts, which I loved exceedingly.” For after meditation it is good to lift our actions to God’s precepts, and to do this with love, with joy, so that our good may not be from necessity,
Ps 119:47 (118:47 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 119:48 (118:48 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 9:7 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: After meditation we lift our deeds to God’s precepts, gladly and not by compulsion.
- Ps 119:47–48; 2 Cor 9:7.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.36.1 (CSEL 62:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-36-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-36-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
6.36.2CSEL 62:126–127
sit bonum nostrum, non cum maerore atque maestitia, sed uoluntarium, quia seruus inuitus facit, amicus uoluntarius. nos autem studeamus, ut dicatur nobis: iam non dico uos seruos, sed amicos, quia quasi amici mandatum dei ex uoluntate fecistis. qui autem meditatur et diligit et actus suos leuat, ut faciat quae placeant deo, is debet non neglegere nec transcurrere mandata diuina, sed exerceri in his, immorari plurimum. iustificationes dei crebro reuoluens sollicitae mentis affectu.
not with sorrow and sadness, but voluntary, because a slave acts unwillingly, a friend willingly. But let us strive that it may be said to us: “I no longer call you servants but friends,” because as friends you have done God’s commandment willingly. He who meditates, loves, and lifts up his actions to do what pleases God ought not to neglect or skim over the divine commandments, but exercise himself in them, linger on them very much, often turning over God’s statutes with the affection of an anxious mind.
John 15:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 119:48 (118:48 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: As friends, not slaves, we should do God’s commandments willingly and dwell on his statutes.
- John 15:15; Ps 119:48.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 6.36.2 (CSEL 62:126–127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-36-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/6-36-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 1
7.1.1CSEL 62:127
Littera secundum Hebraeos Zain, significat Latine duc te: alibi significat huc. quid sibi uelit ista interpretatio, non satis liquet, nisi forte ut unusquisque se regat et ipse sui ductor sit: uel huc, id est: quo litterae huius uersiculi uocant, dirigat iter. meritoque in primo statim uersu requiem suam postulat, quia ipse litterae septimus numerus est quietis. quae autem maior requies quam ut in uerbo dei requiescat atque eius se gratia et consolatione demulceat?
The letter according to the Hebrews Zain signifies in Latin “lead yourself”; elsewhere it signifies “hither.” What this interpretation means is not clear enough, unless perhaps that each should rule himself and be his own leader; or “hither,” that is, that he should direct his journey where the verses of this letter call. And rightly in the very first verse he asks for his rest, because this seventh letter is itself the number of rest. And what greater rest is there than to rest in the word of God and to soothe oneself with its grace and consolation?
Notes and citation
Summary: Zain means “lead yourself” or “hither”; as the seventh letter it suggests rest in God’s word.
- The meanings come from the onomastic tradition (Zain properly means “weapon”).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.1.1 (CSEL 62:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-1-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-1-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 2
7.2.1CSEL 62:127
Memento, inquit, domine, uerbi tui seruo tuo, in quo mihi spem dedisti. uerbum dei deiectos nos atque depressos ad caelestem gratiam prouocauit, ut desideremus aeternitatem, despiciamus praesentia, temporalium incuriosi futura et inuisibilia requiramus. uocat igitur nos ad se dei uerbum, sicut habes scriptum: uenite ad me omnes qui laboratis et onerati estis, et ego uos reficiam. ideoque sequamur uocantem dominum Iesum. ut a saecularibus ad perpetua transeamus nosque ipsos regere nouerimus.
“Remember,” he says, “Lord, your word to your servant, in which you have given me hope.” The word of God has called us, cast down and pressed low, to heavenly grace, so that we may desire eternity, despise present things, and, careless of temporal things, seek things future and invisible. The word of God, then, calls us to himself, as you have it written: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.” And so let us follow the Lord Jesus as he calls, so that we may pass from worldly things to everlasting, and may know how to rule ourselves.
Ps 119:49 (118:49 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 4:18 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 11:28 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 49: God’s word calls us from present things to eternity; let us follow Jesus who calls.
- Ps 118:49 (Ps 119:49); 2 Cor 4:18; Matt 11:28. The digital text’s “reficiam.ideoquespquamur” is read as “reficiam. ideoque sequamur”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (words joined and OCR slip in the digital text): reficiam.ideoquespquamur → reficiam. ideoque sequamur.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.2.1 (CSEL 62:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-2-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-2-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 3
7.3.1CSEL 62:127–128
Ergo Dauid, quoniam saepe responsis erat inuitatus caelestibus, quibus remunerationem fidei meritorumque speraret fore — sicut habes scriptum dicente deo per Nathan prophetam: accepi te de ouili ex uno grege, ut sis in principem in populum meum Israel, et eram tecum in omnibus quibus ingrediebaris et exterminaui omnes inimicos tuos a facie tua, et infra: et requiem tibi dabo ab omnibus inimicis tuis, quo responso accepto ait Dauid: quid sum ego, domine meus domine, et quae domus mea, quoniam dilexisti me in his? et memorata sunt minima in conspectu tuo, domine, et locutus es pro domo serui tui in longinquo, et infra ait: et nunc, domine meus domine, tu es deus et uerba tua sunt uera et locutus es pro seruo tuo bona haec. et nunc incipe benedicere domum serui tui, ut sim in aeternum in conspectu tuo, quoniam tu, domine meus domine, locutus es; a benedictione tua benedicetur domus serui tui in aeternum —, hoc igitur responso et aliis uocatus Dauid sperare non desinit et propheticae fidei auctoritate conuenit dominum, ut meminerit promissorum suorum quorum inmemor esse non soleat.
So David, since he had often been invited by heavenly answers through which he might hope that there would be a reward for his faith and merits (as you have it written, God saying through the prophet Nathan: “I took you from the sheepfold, from one flock, to be prince over my people Israel, and I was with you in all things wherever you went, and I destroyed all your enemies from before you,” and further on: “and I will give you rest from all your enemies”; having received this answer David says: “Who am I, my Lord, Lord, and what is my house, that you have loved me in these things? And the smallest things have been remembered in your sight, Lord, and you have spoken for the house of your servant far ahead,” and further on he says: “And now, my Lord, Lord, you are God, and your words are true, and you have spoken these good things for your servant. And now begin to bless the house of your servant, that I may be for ever in your sight, for you, my Lord, Lord, have spoken; by your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed for ever”), called, then, by this and other answers, David does not cease to hope, and with the authority of prophetic faith he appeals to the Lord to remember his promises, of which he is not accustomed to be unmindful.
2 Sam 7:8 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Sam 7:9 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Sam 7:11 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Sam 7:18 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Sam 7:19 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Sam 7:28 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Sam 7:29 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Called by God’s promises through Nathan, David appeals to God to remember his word.
- 2 Sam 7:8–11, 18–19, 28–29 (Greek form).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (punctuation slip in the digital text; stray hyphen in the digital text): speraret fore-sicut → speraret fore — sicut; princ-ipem → principem.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.3.1 (CSEL 62:127–128; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-3-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-3-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.3.2CSEL 62:128–129
sanctis enim quodcumque spoponderit implere consueuit, nostrarum inmemor iniquitatum, suarum non inmemor sponsionum. denique scriptum est: ego sum ego sum, qui deleo iniquitates tuas, et memor non ero; tu autem memor esto. et iudicemur. uult obliuisci quaecumque minitatus fuerit peccatoribus, si uias aliquando conuertant, uult etiam conueniri, ut, si quis, ut sunt proposita secutis uirtutibus praemia, bene certauerit, fructum remunerationis expectet, quin etiam exigat, sicut habes scriptum: certamen certaui, cursum consummaui; reposita est mihi corona iustitiae.
For to the saints he is accustomed to fulfill whatever he has promised, unmindful of our iniquities, not unmindful of his own promises. Indeed it is written: “I am, I am he who blots out your iniquities, and I will not remember them; but you, remember, and let us be judged together.” He wishes to forget whatever he has threatened against sinners, if at some time they turn their ways; he wishes also to be appealed to, so that if anyone, as rewards are set before those who pursue virtues, has fought well, he may expect the fruit of reward, indeed may even demand it, as you have it written: “I have fought the fight, I have finished the course; there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.”
Isa 43:25 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 43:26 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Tim 4:7 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Tim 4:8 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God forgets the sins of the repentant but keeps his promises, so the faithful may claim their reward.
- Isa 43:25–26 (Greek form); 2 Tim 4:7–8. The stray “t” before “habes” in the digital text is not translated.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray letter in the digital text): sicut t habes → sicut habes.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.3.2 (CSEL 62:128–129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-3-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-3-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.3.3CSEL 62:129
non enim arrogans usurpatio, sed fidelis, quia uerum deum non posse fallere confitetur. ideoque admonet et Dauid dicens, ut meminerit dominus uerbi sui, quo nos ad sperandum prouocat, ut terrenis renuntiemus, inhaereamus caelestibus.
For it is not arrogant presumption but faithful confidence, because it confesses that the true God cannot deceive. And so David too reminds the Lord, saying that he should remember his word, by which he calls us to hope, so that we may renounce earthly things and cleave to heavenly ones.
Ps 119:49 (118:49 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Titus 1:2 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Reminding God of his promise is faith, not arrogance.
- Ps 119:49; Titus 1:2.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.3.3 (CSEL 62:129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-3-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-3-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 4
7.4.1CSEL 62:129
Dicit ergo Dauid: certamen certatus sum; brauium peto uerbi tui quod promisisti mihi. memor esto promissorum tuorum quae spopondisti seruo tuo. non usurpatorie speraui, quae ut sperarem ipse fecisti. seruus sum, expecto alimentum a domino; miles sum, exigo ab imperatore stipendium; uocatus sum, postulo ab inuitante promissum. uerecunde autem auctoritatem suae fidei temperauit dicendo se seruum, quia oculi seruorum in manibus dominorum suorum. haec ex persona Dauid propria bene prompta sunt.
David, then, says: “I have fought the fight; I ask the prize of your word which you promised me. Remember your promises which you pledged to your servant. I have not hoped presumptuously for things which you yourself made me hope for. I am a servant; I expect food from the Lord. I am a soldier; I demand pay from the commander. I have been invited; I ask the promise from the one who invites.” But he modestly tempered the authority of his faith by calling himself a servant, because “the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters.” These things are well set forth in David’s own person.
2 Tim 4:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 123:2 (122:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David, as servant, soldier, and invited guest, modestly asks God for the reward he promised.
- 2 Tim 4:7–8; Ps 123:2 (LXX 122:2).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.4.1 (CSEL 62:129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-4-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-4-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 5
7.5.1CSEL 62:129–130
Ceterum si quis informationem cuiusque hominis considerat, potest leuitis communia promissa librare, sicut habes: date Leui uiros eius, date Leui manifestos eius; potest etiam populi credentis electis adloquium istud aptare, cui per typum Ioseph primo in tribum eius nominis, deinde per tribum in primae electionis heredes transfusa est diuina promissio, dicente Moyse: primogenitus tauri decus eius. cornua unicornui cornua eius; in ipsis gentes uentilabit simul usque ad summitatem terrae; unicum enim uerbum dei hoc prophetatur oraculo toto per gentes orbe fundendum. hoc ergo surrecturae ecclesiae promissum Dauid uerecundus sui, inpatiens uero communis profectus morantis exigere uidetur.
But if anyone considers the shaping of each man, he can weigh the promises common to the Levites, as you have it: “Give to Levi his men, give to Levi his manifest ones”; he can also fit this address to the chosen of the believing people, to whom, through the type of Joseph, the divine promise was passed first to the tribe of his name, then through the tribe to the heirs of the first election, as Moses says: “The firstborn of the bull is his glory; the horns of the unicorn are his horns; with them he will push the nations together to the end of the earth”; for by this oracle it is prophesied that the only Word of God was to be poured out through the nations over the whole world. This promise, then, to the church that was to rise, David, modest about himself but impatient of the delayed advance of all, seems to demand.
Deut 33:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 33:17 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The verse can also apply to the Levites and to the church, heir of the promises to Joseph.
- Deut 33:8 (Greek form); Deut 33:17 (Greek form).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.5.1 (CSEL 62:129–130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-5-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-5-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 6
7.6.1CSEL 62:130
Et addidit: haec e c me consolata est in humilitate mea, quoniam uerbum tuum uiuificauit me. haec est spes, haec, quae uerbo tuo obuenit mihi, consolata est me, ut tolerarem acerba praesentium, dum facit et fidere futuris. quomodo nos consoletur, accipe: quis nos separabit, inquit, a dilectione Christi? tribulatio an angustia an persecutio an fames an periculum an gladius? sicut scriptum est, quia propter te morti tradimur tota die;
And he added: “This has comforted me in my humiliation, for your word has given me life.” This is hope; this, which came to me through your word, has comforted me, so that I might bear the bitterness of present things while it makes me trust in things to come. How it comforts us, hear: “Who will separate us,” he says, “from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or peril, or sword? As it is written: For your sake we are put to death all the day long;
Ps 119:50 (118:50 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:35 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 44:22 (43:23 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 50: hope from God’s word comforts us in present troubles, as Paul says.
- Ps 118:50 (Ps 119:50); Rom 8:35–36; Ps 44:22 (LXX 43:23). The digital text’s “haec e c me” is read as “haec me”.
Topics: Persecution, Hope, Suffering and affliction
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.6.1 (CSEL 62:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-6-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-6-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.6.2CSEL 62:130
aestimati sumus ut oues occisionis. et qua ratione illa patienter tolerari possint, addidit: sed in his omnibus superamus propter eum qui nos dilexit. ergo si quis uult aduersa superare, si est persecutio, si est periculum, si mors, si aegritudo grauis, si incursus latronum, si facultatum proscriptio, si quicquid eorum quae putantur in isto aduersa saeculo, facile superantur, si sit spes quae consoletur. nam etsi illa acciderint, tamen grauia esse non possunt dicenti: existimo enim quod indignae sint passiones huius temporis ad futuram gloriam. quisquis enim meliora sperat, numquam leuioribus frangitur.
we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.” And by what means these things can be patiently borne, he added: “But in all these things we overcome because of him who loved us.” So if anyone wishes to overcome adversities, whether it is persecution, danger, death, grave illness, the attack of robbers, the confiscation of property, or whatever of those things are thought adverse in this world, they are easily overcome if there is hope to comfort. For even if they happen, they cannot be heavy to one who says: “For I consider that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come.” For whoever hopes for better things is never broken by lighter ones.
Rom 8:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:37 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:18 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Hope of glory makes every adversity bearable.
- Rom 8:36–37; Rom 8:18.
Topics: Persecution, Hope, Suffering and affliction
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.6.2 (CSEL 62:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-6-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-6-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 7
7.7.1CSEL 62:130
In tempore igitur humilitatis nostrae spes consolatoria est quae non confundit; tempus autem temptationum tempus humilitatis animae nostrae arbitror. humiliatur enim nostra anima, dum
In the time of our humiliation, then, there is consoling hope, which does not put to shame; and the time of temptations I think is the time of the humiliation of our soul. For our soul is humbled while
Rom 5:5 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Hope consoles in the time of humiliation, which is the time of temptation.
- Rom 5:5.
Topics: Temptation, Hope
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.7.1 (CSEL 62:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-7-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-7-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.7.2CSEL 62:130–131
traditur temptatori duris examinanda laboribus, ut luctetur et certet, congressum contrariae experiens potestatis. sed in his temptationibus uiuificatur alloquio dei; haec est enim animae nostrae uitalis substantia, qua alitur et pascitur et gubernatur, nec quicquam est aliud quod uiuere faciat rationabilem animam quam alloquium dei. sicut enim augetur sermo dei in anima nostra, dum suscipitur, dum intellegitur, dum conprehenditur, ita etiam uita eius augetur, et quemadmodum e contrario alloquium dei deficit in anima nostra, ita et incurrit eius uita defectum.
it is handed over to the tempter to be tested by hard labors, so that it may wrestle and strive, experiencing the encounter with the opposing power. But in these temptations it is given life by the address of God; for this is the life-giving substance of our soul, by which it is nourished, fed, and governed; nor is there anything else that makes the rational soul live but the address of God. For just as the word of God grows in our soul while it is received, understood, and grasped, so its life also grows; and conversely, as the address of God fails in our soul, so its life too incurs failure.
Ps 119:50 (118:50 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 4:4 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God’s word is the life of the soul; as the word grows in it, so does its life.
- Ps 119:50; Matt 4:4.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.7.2 (CSEL 62:130–131; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-7-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-7-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.7.3CSEL 62:131
itaque ut conexio ista animae et corporis nostri spiritu uitali animatur atque alitur et tenetur, ita uerbo dei et spiritali gratia anima nostra uiuificatur. unde omni genere studere debemus, ut reliqua omnia posthabentes congregemus nobis alloquia dei et congeramus in principale nostrum, in sensus, in sollicitudines, considerationes actusque nostros, ut alloquiis scripturarum facta nostra conueniant nec a serie praeceptorum caelestium actus noster discordare uideatur, quo possimus et nos dicere, quoniam eloquium tuum uiuificauit nos.
And so, just as this union of our soul and body is animated, nourished, and held together by the vital breath, so our soul is given life by the word of God and spiritual grace. Hence we ought to strive in every way, putting everything else second, to gather for ourselves the addresses of God and heap them up in our ruling part, in our thoughts, concerns, reflections, and actions, so that our deeds may agree with the addresses of the Scriptures and our action may not seem to be out of tune with the sequence of the heavenly precepts, so that we too may say: “for your word has given us life.”
Ps 119:50 (118:50 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: We must gather God’s words into our mind and actions so that we may live by them.
- Ps 119:50. “principale nostrum” renders the Stoic term for the ruling part of the soul.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.7.3 (CSEL 62:131; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-7-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-7-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 8
7.8.1CSEL 62:131
Tertius uersus est: superbi inique agebant n nimis, a lege e aut e m tua non de cl i n a u i. maximum peccatum in homine superbia est, quandoquidem inde manauit nostri origo delicti. hoc telo nos primum diabolus uulnerauit et perculit. nam nisi homo serpentis persuasione deceptus sicut deus esse uoluisset et uerum falsumque cognoscere, quod penitus discernere humana fragilitate non poterat ideoque quid sequeretur acceperat, ne temeraria usurpatione de illa paradisi sede decideret, nisi, inquam, homo suis non contentus finibus interdicta temerasset, numquam feralis culpae ad nos transisset hereditas. et quid de homine dicam?
The third verse is: “The proud acted wickedly exceedingly, but I have not turned aside from your law.” The greatest sin in man is pride, since the origin of our offense flowed from it. With this weapon the devil first wounded and struck us down. For unless man, deceived by the serpent’s persuasion, had wished to be like God and to know true and false, which by human frailty he could not wholly discern, and for that reason had received what he should follow, lest by rash presumption he fall from that seat of paradise; unless, I say, man, not content with his own limits, had violated what was forbidden, the inheritance of deadly guilt would never have passed to us. And what shall I say of man?
Ps 119:51 (118:51 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 3:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 5:12 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 51: pride is the greatest sin; by it Adam fell and passed guilt to us.
- Ps 118:51 (Ps 119:51); Gen 3:5–6; Rom 5:12. The spaced letters of the verse in the digital text are translated as written.
Topics: Humility and pride, Original sin and concupiscence
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.8.1 (CSEL 62:131; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-8-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-8-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.8.2CSEL 62:131–132
ipse diabolus per superbiam naturae suae amisit gratiam. denique dum dicit: ponam thronum meum super nubes et ero similis altissimo, consortiis excidit angelorum; cuius criminis digna mercede damnatus hominem sibi participem requisiuit, in quem consortium suae transfunderetur offensae.
The devil himself lost the grace of his nature through pride. Indeed, while he says, “I will set my throne above the clouds and I will be like the Most High,” he fell from the fellowship of the angels; condemned with the due reward of his crime, he sought man as his partner, into whom the fellowship of his offense might be passed.
Isa 14:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 14:14 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The devil fell through pride and sought man as partner in his guilt.
- Isa 14:13–14.
Topics: The devil and demons, Humility and pride
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.8.2 (CSEL 62:131–132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-8-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-8-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 9
7.9.1CSEL 62:132
Quid igitur hoc peccato potest esse deterius, quod a dei coepit iniuria? ideoque et scriptura dicit: dominus superbis resistit. tamquam suae contumeliae propulsator ueluti quoddam suscipit aduersus superbiam speciale certamen, tamquam dicat: meus iste aduersarius est, qui me lacessit;
What, then, can be worse than this sin, which began with an injury to God? And so Scripture too says: “The Lord resists the proud.” As one repelling an insult to himself, he takes up, as it were, a special contest against pride, as though he said: “This is my adversary, who provokes me;
Jas 4:6 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Pet 5:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 3:34 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God himself fights against pride, as against his own adversary.
- Jas 4:6; 1 Pet 5:5; Prov 3:34.
Topics: Humility and pride
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.9.1 (CSEL 62:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-9-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-9-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.9.2CSEL 62:132
mihi debetur ista congressio. unde et apostolus multiplicis culpae materiam esse superbiam declarauit dicens de haeretico, quia ei quae secundum pietatem est doctrinae non adquiescit, superbit nihil sciens, sed languescens circa quaestiones et pugnas uerborum, ex quibus oriuntur inuidiae, contentiones, sacrilegia, suspiciones malae, conflictationes hominum mente corruptorum et
this combat is owed to me.” Hence the apostle too declared that pride is the source of manifold guilt, saying of the heretic that, because he does not agree with the teaching that accords with godliness, “he is proud, knowing nothing, but sick about questions and disputes of words, from which arise envy, strife, blasphemies, evil suspicions, the wranglings of men corrupt in mind and
1 Tim 6:3 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Tim 6:4 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Tim 6:5 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Paul says that pride, as in the heretic, is the source of many sins.
- 1 Tim 6:3–5.
Topics: Heresy, Humility and pride
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.9.2 (CSEL 62:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-9-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-9-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.9.3CSEL 62:132
a ueritate alienorum, existimantium quaestum esse pietatem. quantorum itaque expressit causam esse delictorum superbiam! unde Dauid commendare uolens deuotionem suam nulla superborum iniquitate adtemptatam ait: superbi inique agebant nimis. non solum iniquitatem agentium, sed etiam nimiam iniquitatem pariter declarauit, quae conueniret superbis. quorum ne aliquo temptaretur contagio, audi alibi dicentem: superbo oculo et insatiabili corde, cum hoc non edebam.
estranged from the truth, who think that godliness is gain.” How many offenses, then, he showed pride to be the cause of! Hence David, wishing to commend his devotion, untouched by any wickedness of the proud, says: “The proud acted wickedly exceedingly.” He declared not only the iniquity of those acting but also their excessive iniquity, which suited the proud. That he might not be tempted by any contagion of theirs, hear him say elsewhere: “With the proud eye and the insatiable heart, with him I would not eat.”
1 Tim 6:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 119:51 (118:51 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 101:5 (100:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Pride breeds many sins; David kept clear of the proud and their excessive wickedness.
- 1 Tim 6:5; Ps 119:51; Ps 101:5 (LXX 100:5).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word in the digital text): quae stum → quaestum.
Topics: Humility and pride
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.9.3 (CSEL 62:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-9-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-9-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 10
7.10.1CSEL 62:132–133
Itaque quoniam, quanta uis mali in superbia esset, expresserat, quemadmodum uinceretur debuit nos docere meritoque quasi bonus doctor demonstrat remedium qui exaggerauit uenenum. audi ergo, quomodo excludas uirus superbiae: a lege, inquit, tua non declinaui. lex igitur dei sola potest superbiae uirus hebetare, quae informauit uirum deuotioni deditum, quali se regere debeat cautione.
And so, since he had shown how great is the force of evil in pride, he had to teach us how it is overcome; and rightly, as a good teacher, he who magnified the poison shows the remedy. Hear, then, how you may shut out the poison of pride: “I have not turned aside,” he says, “from your law.” The law of God, then, alone can blunt the poison of pride, the law that has shaped the man devoted to God, teaching with what caution he ought to govern himself.
Ps 119:51 (118:51 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God’s law is the remedy for the poison of pride.
- Ps 119:51.
Topics: Humility and pride
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.10.1 (CSEL 62:132–133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-10-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-10-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.10.2CSEL 62:133
multi enim non solum alieni a fide, sed etiam qui uidentur non mediocria scripturarum praecepta gustasse, temptari solent prosperis superborum processibus, uidentes eos, qui praeuaricantur legem, impietatis arbitros, adrogantes, contemptores fidelium, extollentes se aduersus eos, qui humiliant cor suum secundum timorem dei et praecepta caelestia, abundare in hoc saeculo diuitiis praeconio honoribus potestatibus eisque, quo grauiora commiserint, eo affluentiores successus commodorum saecularium secundare, contra autem iustos uiros plerumque laborare inopia, amissionibus filiorum, sterilitatibus coniugum, quo exagitati atque turbati sensum mentis inclinent, ut putent dei in hoc quoddam errare iudicium, non tenentes caput ueritatis, quo euidentissime conprehenditur non in hoc saeculo, sed in futuro repositam nostrorum remunerationem esse meritorum.
For many, not only those estranged from the faith but also those who seem to have tasted not a little of the precepts of the Scriptures, are often tempted by the prosperous advances of the proud, seeing those who transgress the law, arbiters of ungodliness, arrogant, despisers of the faithful, exalting themselves against those who humble their heart according to the fear of God and the heavenly precepts, abounding in this world in riches, renown, honors, and powers, and that the graver the things they commit, the more abundant the successes of worldly advantages that favor them; while righteous men, on the other hand, often labor under poverty, the loss of children, the barrenness of wives; disturbed and troubled by this, they incline the sense of their mind to think that God’s judgment errs in this, not holding the head of truth, by which it is most clearly grasped that the reward of our merits is laid up not in this world but in the future.
Ps 73:3 (72:3 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Col 2:19 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Many are tempted by the prosperity of the wicked and the sufferings of the righteous, forgetting that reward lies in the world to come.
- Ps 73:3–12 (LXX 72:3–12); Col 2:19.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.10.2 (CSEL 62:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-10-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-10-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 11
7.11.1CSEL 62:133
Sed paucorum est istud aduertere. denique in principiis etiam Dauid ipse temptatus est, sicut habes scriptum: ecce ipsi peccatores et abundantes in saeculo obtinuerunt diuitias. et dixi: numquid sine causa iustificaui cor meum et laui inter innocentes manus meas et fui flagellatus tota die? igitur et nostrum unusquisque, qui perfecti non sumus, haec uidens dicit: ubi est prouidentia dei, ubi iustitia?
But few notice this. Indeed at the beginning David himself was tempted, as you have it written: “Behold, these are sinners, and abounding in the world they have obtained riches. And I said: Is it in vain that I have justified my heart and washed my hands among the innocent and have been scourged all the day long?” And so each of us too who are not perfect, seeing these things, says: “Where is the providence of God, where is his justice?
Ps 73:12 (72:12 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 73:13 (72:13 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 73:14 (72:14 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David himself was once tempted by the prosperity of sinners.
- Ps 73:12–14 (LXX 72:12–14).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word in the digital text): a bundantes → abundantes.
Topics: Temptation
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.11.1 (CSEL 62:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-11-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-11-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.11.2CSEL 62:133–134
superbus iste abundat, adrogans iste locupletatur, impius iste beatus et potens est, iustus autem ille uides quemadmodum iacet deiectus atque defectus, quemadmodum ipso uictu indiget; adficitur contumeliis ab isto impio, ab isto insolente conculcatur, excluditur. non mediocris utique ista temptatio est, nisi ad ea quae sunt uentura prospicias. nisi praeceptis plenius caelestibus instruaris.
That proud man abounds, that arrogant man grows rich, that ungodly man is happy and powerful; but you see how that righteous man lies cast down and exhausted, how he lacks his very food; he is treated with insults by that ungodly man, trampled on by that insolent one, shut out.” This is certainly no slight temptation, unless you look ahead to the things that are to come, unless you are more fully instructed in the heavenly precepts.
Notes and citation
Summary: The temptation is overcome only by looking to what is to come.
- The digital text’s “excluditur;.” is read as “excluditur.”
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (punctuation slip in the digital text): excluditur;. non → excluditur. non.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.11.2 (CSEL 62:133–134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-11-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-11-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 12
7.12.1CSEL 62:134
Denique et Dauid putabat se ante haec cognoscere, sed nesciebat et ideo anxius fluctuanti animo laborabat. unde ait: et aestimabam me scire hoc; labor est ante me, donec ingrediar in sanctuarium dei et intellegam in nouissimis, in quibus per id, quod se extulerunt superbi, uidit prophetico spiritu deiectiores fore et ait: quomodo facti sunt in desolationem? subito defecerunt et
Indeed David too thought before that he understood these things, but he did not know, and so he labored anxiously with a wavering mind. Hence he says: “And I thought I knew this; it is a labor before me, until I enter the sanctuary of God and understand their last end,” in which, by prophetic spirit, he saw that the proud, through their very exalting of themselves, would be the more cast down, and he says: “How have they become a desolation? Suddenly they failed and
Ps 73:16 (72:16 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 73:17 (72:17 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 73:19 (72:19 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David understood only in God’s sanctuary that the proud would come to ruin.
- Ps 73:16–19 (LXX 72:16–19).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.12.1 (CSEL 62:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-12-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-12-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.12.2CSEL 62:134
exterminati sunt propter iniquitatem suam sicut somnium exsurgentis. cognouit igitur impiorum successus in hoc saeculo somnii esse similes, non ueritatis, quorum emolumenta tamdiu uidentur esse dum dormiunt. ubi edormierint somnium suum, qui uidebantur sibi potare iam sitiunt, qui epula-
perished because of their iniquity, like the dream of one who wakes.” He knew, then, that the successes of the ungodly in this world are like a dream, not like truth, whose gains seem to exist only as long as they sleep. When they have slept off their dream, those who seemed to themselves to be drinking are now thirsty, those who were feasting
Ps 73:19 (72:19 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 73:20 (72:20 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 29:8 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The prosperity of the wicked is a dream that vanishes on waking.
- Ps 73:19–20 (LXX 72:19–20); Isa 29:8.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.12.2 (CSEL 62:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-12-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-12-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.12.3CSEL 62:134
bantur esuriunt, nihil solidum ex isto somnio perfectumque referentes. et bene somnium dormiunt saeculares uiri, qui, licet saeculo uigilent, deo dormiunt, de quibus bene sanctus Iob, qui eorum ante afluentiam mirabatur, ait, quia sicut paleae iactantur a uento et sicut puluis turbine dissipantur; moriuntur autem
are hungry, bringing back nothing solid or complete from that dream. And well do worldly men sleep a dream, who, though awake to the world, sleep to God; of whom holy Job, who had earlier wondered at their abundance, well says that they are tossed like chaff by the wind and scattered like dust by the whirlwind; but they die
Job 21:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 21:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Job 21:25 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Worldly men, awake to the world but asleep to God, are scattered like chaff, as Job says.
- Job 21:7, 18, 25.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.12.3 (CSEL 62:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-12-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-12-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.12.4CSEL 62:134–135
cum amaritudine animae suae, nihil manducantes nihilque boni habentes. iustus autem habens bonae fiduciam conscientiae in suis magis nouissimis gratulatur et se uitae huius exitu a laboribus intellegit liberari mercedemque boni operis et factorum requirit dicens: reposita est mihi iustitiae corona, quam reddet mihi dominus in illa die, iustus iudex, non solum autem mihi, sed etiam his qui diligunt aduentum eius.
with bitterness of soul, eating nothing and having nothing good. But the righteous man, having the confidence of a good conscience, rejoices rather in his last end and understands that by the end of this life he is freed from labors, and he seeks the reward of good work and deeds, saying: “There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but also to those who love his appearing.”
Job 21:25 (quotation, high confidence) · Rev 14:13 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Tim 4:8 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The righteous rejoice at life’s end and look for the crown of righteousness.
- Job 21:25; Rev 14:13; 2 Tim 4:8.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.12.4 (CSEL 62:134–135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-12-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-12-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 13
7.13.1CSEL 62:135
Sed hoc ille ait, qui poterat dicere: a lege autem tua non declinaui, in quo non solum boni operis elucet gratia, sed etiam intimae puritas conscientiae. lex enim non solum agendi munus informat, uerum etiam secretae mundat mentis affectum. non enim solum in operibus, sed etiam in ipsis occultis secundum legem domino militamus, quia lex dicit: non fiat uerbum iniustitia occulta in corde tuo, ut non solum nihil opere factisque delinquas, cum superbos uideris gloriari, nec sermone labaris, sed ne in corde quidem intimo, dum de dei iudicio disceptas, contrahas iniquitatis offensam, quae quo putatur occultior eo frequentior esse consueuit, quia tuto putat unusquisque quod huiusmodi disceptationes uelut saeptus uisceribus suis conscientiae suae credat, cum ipse sui accusator die iudicii sit futurus, qua reuelantur cordis abscondita, testimonium perhibente conscientia accusationibus nostris.
But he said this who could say, “But I have not turned aside from your law,” in which shines not only the grace of good work but also the purity of an inward conscience. For the law shapes not only the duty of acting but also cleanses the affection of the hidden mind. For we serve the Lord according to the law not only in works but also in hidden things, because the law says: “Let there not be a hidden word of injustice in your heart,” so that you may not only commit no offense in work and deed when you see the proud boasting, nor slip in speech, but may not even in your inmost heart, while you dispute about God’s judgment, contract the offense of iniquity, which, the more hidden it is thought, the more frequent it is wont to be, because each thinks it safe to entrust such disputes to his conscience, as though walled in by his own inward parts, though he himself will be his own accuser on the day of judgment, on which the secrets of the heart are revealed, while conscience bears witness to our accusations.
Ps 119:51 (118:51 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 15:9 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 4:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 2:15 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 2:16 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God’s law forbids even hidden doubts about his justice, which conscience will expose at the judgment.
- Ps 119:51; Deut 15:9 (Greek form); 1 Cor 4:5; Rom 2:15–16.
Topics: Eschatology, Conscience
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.13.1 (CSEL 62:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-13-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-13-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 14
7.14.1CSEL 62:135
Cuiusmodi igitur sit propositum uiri sancti, hoc euidentius loco exponitur. primum enim memor esse debet promissorum caelestium, secundum quae uiuentibus merces statuta debetur. deinde aliud propositum uiri sancti est, ut, etiamsi in periculis et aduersis positus sit, spe tamen, quam hausit ex serie scripturarum, se debeat consolari.
What sort of purpose the holy man has is set out more clearly in this place. First, he must be mindful of the heavenly promises, according to which the appointed reward is owed to those who live. Then another purpose of the holy man is that, even if he is placed in dangers and adversities, he should console himself with the hope which he has drawn from the sequence of the Scriptures.
Rom 15:4 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The holy man remembers God’s promises and takes comfort from Scripture in adversity.
- Rom 15:4.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.14.1 (CSEL 62:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-14-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-14-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.14.2CSEL 62:135
tertium propositum, ut, etsi impios et sacrilegos uideat et superbos inique agentes abundare diuitiis in hoc saeculo, non quasi incredulus declinet a lege, sed in eius semitis perseueret et effugiat superborum contagia. contaminat enim omnis inmundus, inmundus autem superbus, de quo scriptum est: inmunda ante deum omnis tumiditas cordis.
A third purpose: that, even if he sees the ungodly and sacrilegious and the proud who act wickedly abounding in riches in this world, he should not turn aside from the law as one without faith, but persevere in its paths and flee the contagion of the proud. For every unclean person defiles, and the proud man is unclean, of whom it is written: “Every swelling of the heart is unclean before God.”
Prov 16:5 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The holy man stays on the path of the law and shuns the proud, who are unclean.
- Prov 16:5 (Greek form). The digital text’s “in munda” is read as “inmunda”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word in the digital text): in munda ante → inmunda ante.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.14.2 (CSEL 62:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-14-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-14-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 15
7.15.1CSEL 62:135–136
Quartum propositum uiri, ut memor sit iudiciorum caelestium, sicut Dauid adserit, qui dicebat: memor fui iudiciorum tuorum quae a saeculo sunt et me consolatus sum. nisi enim unusquisque legis instructus et formatus exemplis credat semper uera esse dei iudicia, cito declinat a lege. qui autem praeterita repetit exempla et colligit seriem uetustatis,
A fourth purpose of the man is that he be mindful of the heavenly judgments, as David asserts, who said: “I remembered your judgments which are from of old, and I was comforted.” For unless each one, instructed by the law and formed by its examples, believes that God’s judgments are always true, he quickly turns aside from the law. But he who recalls past examples and gathers the sequence of antiquity
Ps 119:52 (118:52 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 52: remembering God’s past judgments keeps one faithful to the law.
- Ps 118:52 (Ps 119:52).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word in the digital text): consolatus su m → consolatus sum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.15.1 (CSEL 62:135–136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-15-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-15-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.15.2CSEL 62:136
cognoscit, quod neque peccator poenam suae improbitatis euadat neque iustus aequitatis suae praemiis defraudetur. retexit enim animo, quod ab initio Adam propter mandati caelestis praeuaricationem de paradisi eiectus sit incolatu et Cain parricidalis sceleris pretium diuinae sententiae auctoritate damnatus exsoluerit, quod Enoch propter deuotionem raptus ad caelum terrenae malitiae uirus euaserit, quod Noe propter iustitiam diluuii uictor generis factus superstes humani sit, quod Abraham propter fidem seminarium posteritatis suae toto orbe diffuderit, quod Israel propter laborum tolerantiam populum credentium proprii nominis signaculo consecrauerit, quod ipse Dauid propter mansuetudinem regali honore donatus senioribus fratribus antelatus sit, quod Helias propter zelum dei curru eleuatus in aerem caelestis sedis hospitium noui generis adquisierit incolatu.
knows that neither does the sinner escape the punishment of his wickedness nor is the righteous man cheated of the rewards of his justice. For he goes over in his mind that from the beginning Adam was cast out of his dwelling in paradise for transgressing the heavenly commandment, and Cain paid the price of his fratricidal crime, condemned by the authority of the divine sentence; that Enoch, for his devotion, was caught up to heaven and escaped the poison of earthly malice; that Noah, for his righteousness, became the conqueror of the flood and the survivor of the human race; that Abraham, for his faith, spread the seedbed of his posterity through the whole world; that Israel, for his endurance of labors, consecrated the people of believers with the seal of his own name; that David himself, for his gentleness, was given royal honor and preferred to his elder brothers; that Elijah, for his zeal for God, was lifted into the air in a chariot and gained the hospitality of the heavenly seat as a dweller of a new kind.
Gen 3:23 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 4:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 5:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 6:9 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gen 22:17 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gen 32:28 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Sam 16:13 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Kgs 2:11 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The history of Adam, Cain, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David, and Elijah shows God’s judgments to be true.
- Gen 3:23; 4:11–12; 5:24; 6:9; 7:23; 22:17; 32:28; 1 Sam 16:11–13; 2 Kgs 2:11.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.15.2 (CSEL 62:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-15-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-15-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 16
7.16.1CSEL 62:136
Haec qui nouit retexere, habet unde gratiam suae consolationis adquirat, et contra qui non nouit, non habet unde consoletur. quapropter custodiamus iudicia dei, quia iudicia dei uera sunt, sicut habes: iudicia dei uera, iustificata in semet ipsa, desiderabilia super aurum et lapidem pretiosum et dulciora super mel et fauum.
He who knows how to go over these things has the means to gain the grace of his consolation; and on the contrary he who does not know them has nothing to console him. Let us therefore keep the judgments of God, because the judgments of God are true, as you have it: “The judgments of God are true, justified in themselves, more to be desired than gold and precious stone, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.
Ps 19:9 (18:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 19:10 (18:11 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God’s judgments are true and sweeter than honey.
- Ps 19:9–10 (LXX 18:10–11).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.16.1 (CSEL 62:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-16-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-16-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.16.2CSEL 62:136–137
etenim seruus tuus custodit ea. custodienti igitur dulcia sunt diuina iudicia, neglegenti autem ea amara esse non dubium est, quia aduertit in obprobrii turpitudine peccatorum propositum sibi diuinae euentum esse sententiae. qui autem bene sibi conscius est, non turbatur utique dicens: heredes sumus dei, coheredes autem Christi, si tamen conpatiamur ut et simul glorificemur.
For your servant keeps them.” To one who keeps them, then, the divine judgments are sweet; but to the negligent there is no doubt that they are bitter, because he notices that the outcome of the divine sentence set before him is in the disgrace of the shame of sinners. But he who has a good conscience is surely not disturbed, saying: “We are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.”
Ps 19:11 (18:12 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:17 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God’s judgments are sweet to those who keep them and bitter to the negligent.
- Ps 19:11 (LXX 18:12); Rom 8:17. The digital text’s “dic-ens” is read as “dicens”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): dic-ens → dicens.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.16.2 (CSEL 62:136–137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-16-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-16-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 17
7.17.1CSEL 62:137
Sed quis nostrum huiusmodi, ut se diuinorum iudiciorum serie consoletur? terribilia sunt peccatoribus etiam humana iudicia; quanto magis diuina formidini sunt! denique ut hoc illa quae aeterna sunt colligamus exemplo, uidemus in hoc saeculo innocentes laetos ad iudicium festinare, odisse moras, celeritatem affectare iudicii, reos autem refugere et pauere, differre, uitare, maestificari denique, cum diem iudicii audierint constitutum. beatus itaque ille qui illud caeleste iudicium laetus expectat; scit enim sibi regnum caelorum, angelorum consortium, coronam quoque bonorum repositam esse meritorum.
But who of us is such as to console himself with the sequence of the divine judgments? Even human judgments are terrible to sinners; how much more are the divine ones dreaded! Indeed, to gather from this example the things that are eternal, we see in this world the innocent hurrying gladly to judgment, hating delays, seeking speed of judgment, but the guilty fleeing and trembling, putting off, avoiding, and in the end growing sad when they hear that the day of judgment has been set. Blessed, then, is he who gladly awaits that heavenly judgment; for he knows that the kingdom of heaven, the fellowship of angels, and the crown of good merits are laid up for him.
Notes and citation
Summary: As the innocent welcome a trial and the guilty dread it, so the righteous gladly await God’s judgment.
Topics: Eschatology, The last judgment
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.17.1 (CSEL 62:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-17-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-17-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 18
7.18.1CSEL 62:137
Consideremus nunc, quod sit aliud propositum uiri sancti; et ex sequentibus aestimemus. pu- sillan i m i tas, inquit, d detinuit me a peccatoribus der elinquentibus l legem tuam. non est hoc commune cum multis. nam plurimorum est contristari, si quam ab aliquo patiantur iniuriam, si laesi, si adpetiti, si decolorati sint; nostra enim causa nos infirmiores, fraudi nobis aliquos dolemus fuisse.
Let us consider now what another purpose of the holy man is; and let us judge from what follows. “Faintheartedness,” he says, “took hold of me because of the sinners who forsake your law.” This is not common to many. For most people are saddened if they suffer some injury from someone, if they are hurt, attacked, or disgraced; for, weaker as we are, on our own account we grieve that some have done us wrong.
Ps 119:53 (118:53 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 53: the psalmist grieved not at his own injuries but at sinners forsaking God’s law.
- Ps 118:53 (Ps 119:53, Greek form: “faintheartedness”). The spaced letters of the verse in the digital text are translated as written.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.18.1 (CSEL 62:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-18-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-18-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.18.2CSEL 62:137
at uero qui fortior est, non propriam contumeliam dolet, sed aliena peccata et in sua iniuria lapsum alterius ingemescit et causam se fuisse deplorat laedentis erroris. exemplum accipe apostolicum. Paulus enim in peccato flebat alieno, sicut ait ipse: nam ex multa tribulatione et angustia cordis scripsi uobis per multas lacrimas, et cum ipse contristaretur, eos ipsos quos arguebat contristari nolebat. denique addidit:
But he who is stronger grieves not for his own insult but for the sins of others, and in his own injury groans over the fall of another and laments that he was the occasion of the error that hurt him. Take the apostolic example. For Paul wept over another’s sin, as he himself says: “For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears”; and while he himself was saddened, he did not wish those whom he rebuked to be saddened. Indeed he added:
2 Cor 2:4 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The strong grieve for others’ sins, as Paul wept over the Corinthians.
- 2 Cor 2:4.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.18.2 (CSEL 62:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-18-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-18-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.18.3CSEL 62:137–138
non ut contristemini, sed ut sciatis quam caritatem habeo in uobis abundantius. contristari enim uolebat usque ad paenitentiam lapsos, non usque ad maestitiam profundiorem, tantum ut eorum qui arguebantur maestitia gaudium fieret arguenti. unde ait: si enim ego
“Not that you should be saddened, but that you may know the love that I have more abundantly for you.” For he wished the fallen to be saddened as far as repentance, not as far as deeper grief, only so far that the sadness of those rebuked might become joy to the one rebuking. Hence he says: “For if I
2 Cor 2:4 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 7:9 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Paul wanted the fallen to grieve only as far as repentance.
- 2 Cor 2:4; 7:9–10.
Topics: Repentance
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.18.3 (CSEL 62:137–138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-18-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-18-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
7.18.4CSEL 62:138
contristo uos, quis est qui me laetificet nisi qui contristatur ex me? arguit itaque, ut alleuet diuturnitatem maestitiae, quo paenitentia fieret in salutem; damnat ut absoluat, excludit ut recipiat, non ignoscit ut liberet. ideo talis Paulus, qui bene peritus in lege cognouerat praeceptum dicentis: pusillanimitas detinuit me a peccatoribus derelinquentibus legem tuam.
sadden you, who is there to gladden me but the one who is saddened by me?” He rebukes, then, so as to relieve the length of sadness, so that repentance may come about unto salvation; he condemns so as to absolve, shuts out so as to receive back, does not pardon so as to set free. Such was Paul, who, well skilled in the law, had known the precept of him who says: “Faintheartedness took hold of me because of the sinners who forsake your law.”
2 Cor 2:2 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 7:10 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 5:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 119:53 (118:53 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Paul’s severity aimed at repentance and restoration, as the psalm teaches.
- 2 Cor 2:2; 2 Cor 7:10; 1 Cor 5:5; Ps 119:53. The digital text’s “c-ontristo” is read as “contristo”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): c-ontristo → contristo.
Topics: Repentance
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.18.4 (CSEL 62:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-18-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-18-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 7, chapter 19
7.19.1CSEL 62:138
Dolebat Dauid, non quia contemnebatur, non quia adpetebatur ipse, sed quia lex dei relinquebatur, et eorum qui hoc faciebant damnum dolebat, quod perirent deo. sicut bonus pater in frenesi constituti filii, cum ab eo maledicatur, uerberetur, adficiatur iniuriis, non suam, sed aegroti deflet aerumnam et contumeliam dolet, non quo sibi sit inrogata, sed quia per furorem quid faciat aeger ignorat, ita uir bonus, cum uidet peccatorem non reuereri, non honorare etiam canos; senioris, quo praesente aliquid faciat indignum, non agnoscere quadam peccandi insania, quam indecora et inhonesta committat, quasi moriturum dolet, quasi desperatum a medicis ingemescit et ut bonus medicus primo monet, deinde, etiamsi grauia patiatur, tamen, tamquam ille aegrum, etsi caedatur, sustinet, etsi maledicatur, non relinquit, quicquid potest medicinae adhibere, non denegat nec tamquam contumacem deserit, sed tamquam bene de se meritum omni studio sanare contendit, exercens non solum artis peritiam, sed etiam mentis benignitatem.
David grieved, not because he was despised, not because he himself was attacked, but because the law of God was being forsaken, and he grieved over the loss of those who did this, that they were perishing to God. Just as a good father, when his son is in a frenzy, when he is cursed, beaten, and treated with injuries by him, weeps not over his own but over the sick man’s misery, and grieves over the insult, not because it was inflicted on him, but because through madness the sick man does not know what he is doing; so the good man, when he sees the sinner not revering, not honoring even the gray hair of an older man in whose presence he does something unworthy, not recognizing, through a kind of madness of sinning, how unbecoming and dishonorable are the things he commits, grieves for him as one about to die, groans over him as one given up by the physicians, and, like a good physician, first warns; then, even if he suffers grievous things, yet, as the physician does with a sick man, even if he is struck he bears it, even if he is cursed he does not abandon him, he does not refuse whatever medicine he can apply, nor does he desert him as obstinate, but strives with all zeal to heal him as one who had deserved well of him, exercising not only the skill of his art but also kindness of mind.
Notes and citation
Summary: Like a father or physician with a raving patient, the good man grieves for the sinner and keeps trying to heal him.
- The digital text has stray letters (“canos;”, “t t”); translated by sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray letters in the digital text): non relinquit t t quicquid → non relinquit, quicquid.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 7.19.1 (CSEL 62:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-19-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/7-19-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.