Cassiodorus — Commentary on Scripture

Psalms 10:7-10

His wickedness is described as a two-fold corruption, for in his mouth he will have a blasphemous cursing when he makes the false claim that he is the Son of God. He will also have bitterness when he imposes the death penalty on those who resist him, and he will hand over to punishment whoever refuses to worship him as the deity. He will have these things in his mouth, which he will speak in public. But “under his tongue,” as the psalmist says, indicates that he will have the most savage thoughts, so that since he himself is already destroyed he may hasten to destroy everything.

Explanation of the Psalms 10:28

Psalms 10:7-10

In earlier times, the persecution of the church was merely violent, when Christians were being pressed by pagans through proscriptions, torture and beatings to sacrifice to idols. A second type of persecution is through deceit, which is currently being carried out by heretics and false Christians. A final form still remains, and it is predicted to come through the Antichrist. No form of persecution is more dangerous than this, since it will be extremely violent because of the power of this unique kingdom, and it will result in deception through miraculous signs. As a result, just as the Lord says in the Gospel, “it will deceive, if possible, even the elect.” The word lion refers to the violence of this kingdom, and the phrase “in his den,” predicts its deceit.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 10:29-30

Psalms 10:14

When he says, “he is left to you as a poor man,” he shows that the one who is left to him is not cheated of any advantage, for to be left to the devoted Prince is the same as to be handed over to all good things.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 10:35

Psalms 10:14

He will find that the one whom he had hoped had forgotten has remembered, and he will realize that the sins that he had believed to be too numerous to be remembered, even to the point of being immeasurable, are actually taken into account.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 10:34

Psalms 10:16

After the universal calamity has been abolished, the psalmist turns to the new order of things. For after the Antichrist has been killed, the eternal, holy and benevolent kingdom of the Lord will come. Wicked evil is permitted to advance quite far in order that the longed-for kingdom of the Lord may be received with greater thanks. For in God’s kingdom, the blessed are without worry and find rest, nor is there any more fear of the traps that the holy are compelled to endure in this world.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 10:37

Psalms 10:17

“Your ear has heard.” We should regularly note that God does not have any physical members, but the the power by which he hears is called his ear, that by which he sees his eye, and that by which he acts his hand. These ideas should be committed to memory so that we may not seem to offend you by repeating them, because they often need to be repeated.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 10:38

Psalms 11:1

In this passage, the psalmist speaks about those who are drawn off to earth’s highest places by the most trivial desire. Those who turn to the most worthless proclamations because of the fickleness of their unsettled mind are rightly considered similar to them.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 11:2

Psalms 11:3

Heretics … have destroyed the law of the Lord … by false interpretations, changes resulting in the death of some, while the Scriptures were intended to serve as the Lord’s prophets for our salvation.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 11:4

Psalms 11:6

“It rains” refers to the words of the preachers flowing down from heaven which are rain showers for the pious, but fiery snares for the ungodly. For the pious produce fruit based on their proper understanding of the words, but the ungodly suffocate their souls with the noose of their perversity by handling the words improperly.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 11:7

Psalms 11:7

He added: “his face beheld righteousness,” namely, that righteousness that he himself graciously grants. For humanity does not have anything of worth on its own; it can only lay claim to what it has received from the Lord, the Granter of all good things.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 11:8

Psalms 12:1

Since he was observing that this world burdens souls, he asks the Lord to be saved. He knew that genuine medicine can only be found with God.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 12:2

Psalms 12:3

Consider the piety of the speaker, for he does not direct his prayer against people, since many of them needed to be converted, but against the vices themselves.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 12:4

Psalms 12:5

“I will arise” is a metaphor to indicate that the one who is not familiar with the human need to lie down out of weakness does in fact rise up. But he says I will arise, I will appear and be manifest in the Son. For the strength and majesty of the Father and of the Son are one and undivided. For the Father appears and is manifest in the Son, as Christ himself says in the Gospel: “He who sees me sees the Father also.”

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 12:6

Psalms 12:7

Here he consoles us in tribulations while [in heaven] he establishes us in the security of eternity. Here he helps us, but there he glorifies and crowns us. In this way, a most devoted Creator preserves us here in order that we may not perish and that he may bless us there so that we can no longer be miserable in any way.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 12:8

Psalms 12:8

“The wicked walk in a circle” so that they are never able to arrive at the right path, since crooked paths are always associated with bad character.… For this reason, they are not able to attain the rest of the eighth day, for they are always turning backward like wheels.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 12:9

Psalms 13:1

He asks for the appearance of Christ whom he already foresaw. For his face is what was capable of being seen with the eyes of the body, which that holy man with this general longing rightly desired to look upon. Such a face deemed it right to save the world by his heavenly appearance.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 13:1

Psalms 13:3

The eyes of the heart … sleep in death when they are closed by the pleasure of the flesh and the light of faith is buried. This is the sort of sleep in which the enemy rejoices.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 13:4

Psalms 13:4

If someone withdraws himself by a single mental step from the Lord’s strength, then he inevitably steps into the devil’s trap.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 13:5

Psalms 13:5

The love of God is a spring shower of virtues under which a blessed desire begins to bud and holy action bears fruit. This love is patient under adversities in this life, temperate in prosperity, powerful in its humility, joyful in affliction, benevolent toward enemies, and overcomes the wicked by its goodness. From this source, even heavenly creatures are constantly ignited by God’s love as a restoring flame, a growing desire for salvation. To summarize all of this with a phrase from the Apostle: “God himself is love.”

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 13:1.13:1

Psalms 14:1

“They are corrupt.” By turning away from the sound thinking found in the Scriptures, they show that they have fallen into corrupt patterns of thought. The punishment for sin comes next. Defiled by their despicable unbelief, they become abominable to the Lord by their errors.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 14:1