Bede — Commentary on Scripture

Psalms 100:3

Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

We are taught by their testimonies that “it is God himself and not we ourselves who made us”—not only to be human beings but also to be holy and blessed human beings. If by the gift of his grace we pursue him eagerly, always with a pure and untiring heart, he will be propitious toward all our iniquities, according to the promises made to our ancestors. He will satisfy our desire with good things, he will crown us unto eternal life not as a reward for the works of justice that we have done of ourselves but in the compassion and mercy that he has given us, for he lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, throughout all ages. Amen.

Psalms 105:39

He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.

“And when Moses had gone up, a cloud covered the mountain.” Just as the mountain on which Moses received the law designates the height of the perfection that was written down in that law, so does the cloud that covered the mountain suggest the grace of divine protection, which is enjoyed more and more the higher one ascends in order to search out the wonders of God’s law, as the eyes of one’s heart are opened. For surely the cloud covered not only the mountain on which Moses went up, but also the people who were traveling through the wilderness. They were by no means able to ascend to the higher regions, but the cloud sent from heaven overshadowed them nevertheless. Hence it is written that “he spread out a cloud for their protection,” since the Lord surely protects with heavenly benediction “all those who fear him, both small and great.”

Psalms 112:1-4

Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

“Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone around them.” What does it mean that, as the angel was appearing to the shepherds, the splendor of divine brightness also enclosed them, something that we have never discovered in the whole course of the Old Testament? Though in countless cases angels appeared to prophets and just people, nowhere do we read of angels enclosing the human beings with the brightness of divine light. [Why is this], unless it is because the privilege was properly kept for the dignity of this time? For when the true Light of the world was born in the world, it was unquestionably fitting that the herald of his nativity should also bathe the bodily sight of human beings with the freshness of heavenly light. Now the prophet says concerning his nativity, “A light has arisen in the darkness for those who are righteous in heart.” And as though we were asking what the light was to which he refers, he immediately goes on, “He is a merciful and compassionate and just Lord.” Therefore, when the merciful and just Maker and Redeemer of the hu…

“Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone around them.” What does it mean that, as the angel was appearing to the shepherds, the splendor of divine brightness also enclosed them, something that we have never discovered in the whole course of the Old Testament? Though in countless cases angels appeared to prophets and just people, nowhere do we read of angels enclosing the human beings with the brightness of divine light. [Why is this], unless it is because the privilege was properly kept for the dignity of this time? For when the true Light of the world was born in the world, it was unquestionably fitting that the herald of his nativity should also bathe the bodily sight of human beings with the freshness of heavenly light. Now the prophet says concerning his nativity, “A light has arisen in the darkness for those who are righteous in heart.” And as though we were asking what the light was to which he refers, he immediately goes on, “He is a merciful and compassionate and just Lord.” Therefore, when the merciful and just Maker and Redeemer of the human race deigned to illuminate the world by the glory of a wondrous nativity, it was entirely proper that the brightness of a wondrous light should fill that very region in which he was born.

Psalms 113:2-4

Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.

There [on Sinai], after all the legal decrees had been heard, the entire people answered with one voice, “We will hear and do all the words that the Lord has spoken.” Here [in the upper room], after the assembly of the church, which was being born, had received the enlightenment of the Spirit, they spoke of the wonders of God in the languages of all countries. Doubtlessly it was thanks to a certain discernment that the observance of the law was given to only one nation, that of the Jews, while the word of the gospel was to be proclaimed to all nations throughout the world, and that the proclamations of the Christian faith were to be spoken in the languages of all peoples, fulfilling the prophecy that says, “From the rising of the sun to its setting, praise the name of the Lord; the Lord is high above all nations.”

Psalms 118:26-27

Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” “In the name of the Lord” signifies “in the name of God the Father,” just as [our Lord] himself said elsewhere to the unbelieving Jews, “I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive me; another will come in his own name, him you will receive.” Christ came in the name of God the Father, because in everything that he did and said he was concerned with glorifying his Father and with proclaiming to human beings that he is to be glorified. The antichrist will come in his own name, and although he may be the most wicked person of all and a convivial companion of the devil, he will see fit to call himself the Son of God while “being opposed to and raised above everything that is said to be God and is worshiped.” The crowd took this verse of praise from Psalm 117 [LXX], and there is no one who doubts that it is sung about the Lord. Hence it is appropriate that there is previously sung of him in the same psalm, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” For Christ, whom the Jews rejected as they were bu…

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” “In the name of the Lord” signifies “in the name of God the Father,” just as [our Lord] himself said elsewhere to the unbelieving Jews, “I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive me; another will come in his own name, him you will receive.” Christ came in the name of God the Father, because in everything that he did and said he was concerned with glorifying his Father and with proclaiming to human beings that he is to be glorified. The antichrist will come in his own name, and although he may be the most wicked person of all and a convivial companion of the devil, he will see fit to call himself the Son of God while “being opposed to and raised above everything that is said to be God and is worshiped.” The crowd took this verse of praise from Psalm 117 [LXX], and there is no one who doubts that it is sung about the Lord. Hence it is appropriate that there is previously sung of him in the same psalm, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” For Christ, whom the Jews rejected as they were building the decrees of their own traditions, became a memorial for believers from among both peoples, namely, the Jews and the Gentiles. For as to the fact that Christ is called the cornerstone in this psalm, this is what was being chanted in high praise in the gospel by the voice of those who followed and those who went ahead.

Psalms 119:1-8

ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.

Jesus said, “If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” This statement of our Savior is very helpful for salvation, and we must ponder it attentively. We will be blessed if we know the heavenly commands, yet still more so if we eagerly pursue in our works the things that we know. One who neglects to keep his known commandments is not capable of being happy; one who scorns finding out about these [commandments] is separated much further away from the heritage of the blessed. The psalmist agrees with this. Weighing the hearts of mortals and in like manner perceiving that everyone loves happiness but few ask where it is, he clearly testified as to what is the greatest happiness of human beings in this life, saying, “Blessed are those who are undefiled in the way, who walk in the Lord’s law.” And lest it be supposed that this way of the undefiled and blessed can be laid hold of indiscriminately by the ignorant and the untaught, he subsequently continued and said, “Blessed are they who search his testimonies and seek him with their whole heart.”

Psalms 119:81-86

CAPH. My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.

“And Joseph called his name Jesus.” “Jesus” in Hebrew means “saving” or “savior” in Latin. It is clear that the prophets most certainly call on his name. Hence these things are sung in great desire for a vision of him: “My soul will exult in the Lord and take delight in his salvation.” “My soul pines for your salvation.” “I, however, will glory in the Lord; I will rejoice in God my Jesus.” And especially that [verse]: “God in your name save me!” as if the [prophet] would say, “You who are called Savior, make bright the glory of your name in me by saving [me].”

Psalms 126:5

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

But this discourse of the Lord is also appropriate to all believers who are striving to arrive at eternal joys through the tears and distress of the present [life]; who rightly lament and weep and are sorrowful during the present [time], since they are not yet capable of seeing him whom they love. As long as they are in their body they recognize that they are on a journey and [absent] from their fatherland and kingdom. They have no doubt that they must reach their crown by labors and contests. Their sorrow will be changed to joy when, after the struggle of this present life is over, they receive the prize of everlasting life, about which it is said in the psalm, “Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.”

Psalms 138:1

A Psalm of David. I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.

It is no secret that angels are frequently present, invisibly, at the side of the elect, in order to defend them from the snares of the cunning enemy and uphold them by the great gift of heavenly desire. The apostle attests to this when he says, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent to serve on account of those who receive an inheritance of salvation?” Nevertheless, we should believe that the angelic spirits are especially present to us when we give ourselves in a special way to divine services, that is, when we enter a church and open our ears to sacred reading, or give our attention to psalm singing, or apply ourselves to prayer or celebrate the solemnity of the mass. Hence the apostle advises women to have a veil over their heads in church on account of the angels. And a prophet says, “I will sing psalms to you in the sight of the angels.” We are not permitted to doubt that where the mysteries of the Lord’s body and blood are being enacted, a gathering of the citizens from on high is present—those who were keeping such careful watch at the tomb where [Christ’s] venerable body…

It is no secret that angels are frequently present, invisibly, at the side of the elect, in order to defend them from the snares of the cunning enemy and uphold them by the great gift of heavenly desire. The apostle attests to this when he says, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent to serve on account of those who receive an inheritance of salvation?” Nevertheless, we should believe that the angelic spirits are especially present to us when we give ourselves in a special way to divine services, that is, when we enter a church and open our ears to sacred reading, or give our attention to psalm singing, or apply ourselves to prayer or celebrate the solemnity of the mass. Hence the apostle advises women to have a veil over their heads in church on account of the angels. And a prophet says, “I will sing psalms to you in the sight of the angels.” We are not permitted to doubt that where the mysteries of the Lord’s body and blood are being enacted, a gathering of the citizens from on high is present—those who were keeping such careful watch at the tomb where [Christ’s] venerable body had been placed and from which he had departed by rising. Hence we must strive meticulously my brothers, when we come into the church to pay the due service of divine praise or to perform the solemnity of the mass, to be always mindful of the angelic presence and to fulfill our heavenly duty with fear and fitting veneration, following the example of the women devoted to God who were afraid when the angels appeared to them at the tomb, and who, we are told, bowed their faces to the earth.

Psalms 143:10

Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

Let us entreat the help of the grace of this Spirit in all our actions, dearly beloved. Let us all, individually and collectively, say to the Lord, “Let your good Spirit lead me in the right way.” And so it will come to pass that the one who came down on the apostles and declared to them the things that were to come may disclose also to our minds the joys of the life to come. May he kindly set us on fire to seek these joys, with the cooperation of the one who is accustomed both to promise and to give him to his faithful, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.

Psalms 145:18-19

The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

But we must look attentively at this—that not everyone who seems to pray before other people is proven to ask or to seek or to knock at the entrance of the heavenly kingdom in the sight of the searcher of hearts. The prophet would not have said, “The Lord is near to all who call on him in truth,” unless he recognized that there are some who call on the Lord, but not in truth. They do indeed call upon the Lord in truth who do not contradict in their lives what they say in their prayers. They call on the Lord in truth who, as they are about to offer their petitions, first busy themselves with carrying out his orders. Those who, as they are about to say to him in prayer, “And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors,” have fulfilled that mandate of his that says, “And whenever you stand to pray, grant pardon if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father too, who is in heaven, may forgive you your sins.” Hence about such persons the prophet appropriately adds, “He will fulfill the will of those who fear him, and will hearken to their prayers and will save them.” Ac…

But we must look attentively at this—that not everyone who seems to pray before other people is proven to ask or to seek or to knock at the entrance of the heavenly kingdom in the sight of the searcher of hearts. The prophet would not have said, “The Lord is near to all who call on him in truth,” unless he recognized that there are some who call on the Lord, but not in truth. They do indeed call upon the Lord in truth who do not contradict in their lives what they say in their prayers. They call on the Lord in truth who, as they are about to offer their petitions, first busy themselves with carrying out his orders. Those who, as they are about to say to him in prayer, “And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors,” have fulfilled that mandate of his that says, “And whenever you stand to pray, grant pardon if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father too, who is in heaven, may forgive you your sins.” Hence about such persons the prophet appropriately adds, “He will fulfill the will of those who fear him, and will hearken to their prayers and will save them.” Accordingly, they call on the Lord in truth who are acknowledged to fear him. He listens to their prayers when they cry out [to him]; he grants their pious desires when they long for him; he raises them up to eternal salvation when they have passed from this life.

Psalms 147:8

Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

That you may be aware that God the Father worked not only on those first six days but “even until now,” read the [saying] of the prophet, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you”; and in the psalm, “He who shaped the hearts of every one of them”; and elsewhere, “Who covers the heavens with clouds and prepares rain for the earth, who produces hay on the mountains,” and other things of this sort. We must indeed note that [the psalmist] did not put the verb in the past tense, saying, “who covered and prepared and produced,” but in the present, “he covers, prepares, produces” in order to demonstrate that the Father works every day, no less on the sabbath than on other days. So that you may not doubt that the Son works all things equally, recall that [saying] of the psalmist: “He spoke, and flies and gnats came; he spoke, and the locust and the grasshopper came; he spoke, and there stood forth the wind of a storm.”

Revelation 1:1 · 5 passages

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

To his servant John. That through John, who, by the singular privilege of chastity, deserved to see these things before others, he might make the same known to all his servants.

Sending by his angel. For the angel used the figure of Christ to John, as will be more clearly apparent in the following.

Which must shortly come to pass. That is, what is about to happen to the Church in the present time.

And he signified it. He intertwined the same Apocalypse with mystical words, lest it be despised by being manifest to all.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him, etc. The Church, founded by the apostles, by what course it was to be spread and by what end it was to be completed, had to be revealed to strengthen the preachers of the faith against the adversities of the world. John, as is his custom, referring the glory of the Son to the Father, testifies that Jesus Christ received the revelation of the mystery from God.

Revelation 1:2

Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

Who bore witness to the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus, etc. Lest you doubt the person of John, it is he who bore witness to the eternal Word of God and the same incarnate, as he saw, saying: We have seen his glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father (John 1).

Revelation 1:3

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Blessed is he who reads, etc. Therefore, teachers and hearers are blessed, because the short time of labor is followed by eternal joys for those who keep the word of God.

Revelation 1:4

John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

John to the seven, etc. Through these seven churches, he writes to the whole Church. For the universality is often designated by the number seven, as this whole age is revolved in seven days.