Cassiodorus — Commentary on Scripture

Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

How splendidly joined to each other are the sections proceeding from the same source to achieve the salvation of the human race. Who would not be amazed that what is said earlier in different psalms is clearly assembled so harmoniously here? Similarly David himself in the Chronicles is filled with the holy Spirit and made the Lord’s praises resound with great expressions of joy by assembling sections of Psalms 95; 104 and 105, so that incense compounded of different aromas could happily rise to the Lord’s presence; for sentiments that are clear, in no sense at odds with each other are united without difficulty.… My judgment is that there is another apt feature in the present instance: the action of the Lord made one church out of the two peoples.

1 Chronicles 25:1

Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was:

We read in the first book of Paralipomena that when the prophet David grew old in years devoted to the Lord, he chose four thousand young men from the people of Israel to render the psalms, which he had composed through the Lord’s inspiration, so as to attain the great sweetness of heavenly grace by means of pipes, lyres, harps, timbrels, cymbals, trumpets, and their own voices. This sweet harmony clearly comprised a threefold division: a rational part consisting of the human voice, an irrational part comprising musical instruments and a common part resulting from the fusion of the two, such that the human voice issued forth in fixed melody and the tune of the instruments joined in harmonious accompaniment. With this performance the sweet and pleasant music presaged the Catholic church, which by the Lord’s gift was to believe with varied tongues and diverse blending in the single harmony of faith.

1 Corinthians 6:3

Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Who can conceive of such a miracle? Who can mentally grasp such great glory?… All participate with Christ in judgment who do not oppose his commands, for with the devoted they too will share in his decisions.

1 Corinthians 9:27

But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Free us, Lover of men, from the danger which Paul mentions, that while preaching to others I may myself be found false. You truly know how weak we are. You recognize the nature of the foe who oppresses us. In our uneven contest and our mortal weakness we seek you, for the glory redounds to your majesty if the roaring lion is overcome by the feeble sheep.

1 Corinthians 10:33

Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

It was not for his own temporal advantage that he has spoken of the peace of the era to come but for his fellow believers and neighbors, so that they should long for it to gain salvation and chain themselves with the bonds of unanimity.

1 Corinthians 13:5

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

So those who serve the Lord with gladness are they who love him above all else and show brotherly charity to each other.What free servitude is this! What service, excelling all forms of dominance!

1 Corinthians 14:15

What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

The prayer of those who sing is acceptable to God only if a pure heart carries the same message which the words of the hymn unfold.

1 Corinthians 14:31

For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.

Clearly the prophet builds up the church when through the function of his foretelling he makes wholly clear matters exceedingly vital which were unknown. Those who have been granted the ability to understand well and to interpret the divine Scriptures are obviously not excluded from the gift of prophecy.

1 Corinthians 15:24

Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

The faithful deserve to be at his right hand. They will judge in company with the Lord. They will pass into eternal peace and joy, so that they are rightly said to be exalted, for through the Lord’s wondrous devotion they attain contemplation of the Lord himself.

1 Corinthians 15:51 · 2 passages

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

The radiance of the saints refers to when they will gleam at the resurrection like the angels of God. They will be so cleansed and radiant that they can gaze on the Majesty with the heart’s eyes. They cannot gaze on that Light unless they are changed for the better. In Paul’s words: “We shall all rise again, but we shall not all be changed.”

Anyone who is not changed in this world cannot experience change in the next.

1 Peter 4:12

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

Peter comforts believers here by telling them not to be upset when they face suffering, since Christ bore much more for our sakes than we could ever bear for his. We should therefore remain steadfast in such trials so that one day we may rejoice in his presence.

1 Samuel 4:19-20

And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.

“Their priests fell by the sword and their widows were not mourned.” We read that during the captivity the sons of the priest Eli were put to the sword by the foreigners. The wife of one of them thus widowed suddenly gave birth and prematurely died. So it happened that his widow went wholly unmourned, since they were all preoccupied by the widespread deaths. We must believe that this fate befell many widows among the people, since divine authority has cited a plurality of widows, and we know that no detail recorded is useless.

1 Samuel 6:4-5

Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.

We read in the first book of Kings [Samuel] that because of the damage done to the consecrated ark the foreigners were smitten on their hinder parts, so that they even suffered the dreadful fate of being gnawed alive by mice. This remains a perennial reproach on them, because no other was punished in this way. Similarly he afflicts sinners in the afterlife … they are so devoured by mice when the devil’s hostile troop surrounds them.

1 Samuel 15:23

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

This is the greatest fault under which humanity labors, that after sinning they take refuge in excuses rather than prostrate themselves with repentant confession. Clearly such wickedness is to be reckoned amongst the worst sins, for its true source also seems to occasion slower progress by the sinner towards repentance. As the first book of Kings [Samuel] has it: “It is like the sin of witchcraft to rebel, and like the crime of idolatry to refuse to obey.”

1 Samuel 16:13

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

So clearly holy David was filled with heavenly inspiration, and not through human actions, the birth of twins, angels, visions, a dream, a cloud and a voice from heaven, or any other way of that kind. As the first book of Kings [Samuel] says of him: “And the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” The Lord himself too says in the Gospel: “If David in the spirit calls him Lord, how do you say he is his son?” By these words we realize that the psalms were clearly expressions of prophecy through the holy Spirit.

1 Samuel 16:23

And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

The discipline of music incorporates great power and knowledge which brings delight; teachers of secular literature, through the generosity of God who grants all that is useful, have made it possible through theoretical texts to ascertain what was earlier regarded as hidden from view in the nature of the world. The first division of this discipline, then, is into harmonics, rhythmics and metrics. The second division, that of musical instruments, is between percussion, strings and wind. The third division is into six harmonies, the fourth into fifteen tones. In this way the virtue of this most beautiful discipline is unfolded by such distinctions drawn by people of old. We read in secular works that many miracles were brought forth by these measures. But we need say nothing of this fabulous material; we read that by means of David’s tuneful harp the demon was expelled from Saul. The divine reading attests that the walls of Jericho at once collapsed at the din of trumpets. So there is no doubt that sounds of music, at the Lord’s command or with his permission, have unleashed great forc…

The discipline of music incorporates great power and knowledge which brings delight; teachers of secular literature, through the generosity of God who grants all that is useful, have made it possible through theoretical texts to ascertain what was earlier regarded as hidden from view in the nature of the world. The first division of this discipline, then, is into harmonics, rhythmics and metrics. The second division, that of musical instruments, is between percussion, strings and wind. The third division is into six harmonies, the fourth into fifteen tones. In this way the virtue of this most beautiful discipline is unfolded by such distinctions drawn by people of old. We read in secular works that many miracles were brought forth by these measures. But we need say nothing of this fabulous material; we read that by means of David’s tuneful harp the demon was expelled from Saul. The divine reading attests that the walls of Jericho at once collapsed at the din of trumpets. So there is no doubt that sounds of music, at the Lord’s command or with his permission, have unleashed great forces.

1 Samuel 18:10

And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.

It was also through a wicked angel that the transgressor was tempted in the account of the book of Kings [Samuel], where it says “The evil spirit from God came upon Saul.” Just men, too, like Job and the apostle Paul and others of that kind were tried by the devil. It is clear that all created things are subject to the discretion or command of the Creator.

1 Samuel 19:11-12

Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain.

“Then Saul sent and watched his house to kill him.” This too is fittingly associated with the Lord’s passion, for house indicates the tomb where he rested in a three-day death. The Jews’ leaders sent men to guard it, to destroy so to say the fame of his name, so that by some trick it should not be claimed that he rose again, an eventuality which Christ had been heard earlier proclaiming. It was better that his enemies should of their own accord desire to condemn this, for it allowed the whole world to acknowledge the fact more certainly. The evidence which the unwilling witness offers is beyond doubt; it cannot be called partisan when confirmed by the guilty person.

1 Samuel 21:13

And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.

When Saul was pursuing David, David fled to king Achish, and since through the motive of jealousy he was suspected there, he carefully changed his countenance, covering his face with spittle so that he would be thought to be diabolically possessed and thus released unharmed as an object of pity. But these and other deeds were accomplished by David as evidence of a great mystery, for he showed that the spittle, which represented the holy Scriptures, was running down his beard, that is, had great strength. The significance of these things led to the substitution of the name of Abimelech, meaning “kingdom of my father,” for Achish, to whom David had fled. Clearly this incident aptly refers to the Lord Christ, through whom the glorious Father with most holy devotion undertook service to the world. The expression “who dismissed him” refers to king Abimelech; “and he went his way” means that David departed to another region because, as we have said, he had begun to be suspected.