Cassiodorus — Commentary on Scripture

Psalms 13:1

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

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.

Psalms 13:3

Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

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.

Psalms 13:4

Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

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

Psalms 13:5

But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

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.”

Psalms 14:1 · 2 passages

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

“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.

We cannot do good unless we have come to Christ through God’s mercy. For when we approach him and do not turn away from him, without a doubt every good is performed. This is the end that was promised in the heading of the psalm.

Psalms 15:1

A Psalm of David. LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

Unlike some of the psalms, this one is not shrouded in darkness, but here the Lord responds to the prophet’s question following the pattern of the Decalogue, indicating that one reaches his blessed hall by ten virtues.… This is that divine Decalogue, a spiritual psaltery of ten strings. This is a number befitting of a crown, which only the one who destroyed the world’s vices together with his Father was able to fulfill. Let us constantly ask for his almighty power so that we who are not able to fulfill what has been commanded may be able to do them once we have been enriched by his gift.

Psalms 15:2 · 2 passages

He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

He testifies in the Gospel that he always spoke without deceit when he says “Everything that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” What could be more pure or simple than that the unchangeable truth, without corruption by any addition or omission, might come to human ears in the purest possible integrity. “Nor did he commit any wrong against his neighbor.” … [This virtue is] demonstrated in the life of the Lord: … Not only did Jesus hurt no one, he also endured all things patiently.

The Lord Christ … entered the temple in Jerusalem free from all sin. For while others entered the house of God for purification, he alone entered in such a state that he might stand before the face of the Father without sin. He did not do this that the law might grant him something, but so that he, as the best legislator, might bestow something on the law by fulfilling it.

Psalms 15:4

In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

When people swear an oath, they make a promise with God as their witness. But when God himself makes a promise, it is more appropriate to say that he has sworn. For “to swear” means “to speak justly” or “to speak truthfully.” Now a person speaks truthfully when he promises those things which are fulfilled. Therefore God’s swearing consists in making promises and fulfilling them, as it says elsewhere: “The Lord has sworn truthfulness to David, and he will not deceive him.”

Psalms 15:5

He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

Money is clearly to be understood in two senses in the Holy Scriptures. The first is the metal money that we are completely forbidden to loan out for interest, because the vice of greed consists of the desire to demand back what you know that you have not lent. The Lord Christ certainly had this sort of money, which he entrusted to Judas to be distributed to the poor. He did not devote this type of money to making interest, but he gave it to those in need because of his merciful generosity in order to teach us. The other kind of money is the sort that we are persuaded by the gospel’s teaching to give over to gain interest, namely, the most holy proclamations and divine instructions.

Psalms 16:1 · 2 passages

Michtam of David. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.

Let us consider how this psalm teaches us about the tremdendous gift of salvation. In times of suffering, it conveys confidence and promises eternal glory in hope, so that by teaching us that our future will be prosperous we do not fear adversity in the present. This psalm is a heavenly school, a source of learning for life, a lecture hall filled with truth, and without doubt a unique teaching which occupies its students with fruitful meanings rather than with the flattery of empty words.

The person of the Lord Savior is represented throughout the entire psalm. The first theme is undertaken from the perspective of his humanity in accordance with his custom. He speaks to the Father, asking to be saved because he has always placed his hope in him. In speaking this way, he does not minimize his own divinity in any way, but shows the nature of his humanity.… In the second theme, he returns thanks to the Father, who by appearing at his right hand, has overcome the iniquity of this age by the strength of his omnipotence. On this basis, he claims that his soul has been freed from hell, and he mentions that after the glory of the resurrection he has been placed among the delights at his right hand.

Psalms 16:2

O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

He points all things back to the one who has freely given them, not to himself who has received what was conferred on him.

Psalms 16:6

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

According to an ancient custom, an inheritance used to be divided by roping off the lands, so that each person might obtain a portion of land by measurement, allotted by the size of the tract and the status of the individual. In this way, it says in the Old Testament that Moses commanded Joshua to distribute the inheritance of the promised land to the children of Israel through the use of cords. So he now rightly said “cords,” because he spoke about the breadth and glory of his inheritance.… The inheritance of Christ is the predestined multitude of the saints.

Psalms 16:8

I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

By explaining what he did, he passes on to us the unique remedy through which we can avoid sins. For the person who constantly keeps him in his mental line of sight does not turn toward transgressions in any way.

Psalms 16:10

For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Where are the false statements of the Apollinarians who say that the Lord Christ did not have a rational soul? Here he cries out and gives thanks to the Father because his soul is not abandoned to hell in the normal way, but is glorified by a swift resurrection and has passed to the realms of heaven.

Psalms 16:11

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

To “fill up from full” means to make something more than full, and he who brings more pours into a container that is already full. That joy fills up in such a way that the vessel always remains full. This text also indicates that all the righteous are going to be filled with the joy of the Lord’s face in that blessedness, and because it is the Lord who speaks, he testifies that he is able to be filled up among them. But we should consider more carefully what it means when he says here that he will be filled with delights at the right hand of the Father, although he said earlier “for he is at my right hand so that I may not be moved.” Without a doubt, in this age after he assumed human flesh, he was whipped, bruised by slaps, and splattered with spittle. Since he was not overcome at all by any of these adversities, the Scripture rightly says that the Lord was always there at his right hand. For he overcame the opposition of the world because he did not depart at all from the contemplation of his Father. But after the glory of the resurrection, he can rightly say that he found delight…

To “fill up from full” means to make something more than full, and he who brings more pours into a container that is already full. That joy fills up in such a way that the vessel always remains full. This text also indicates that all the righteous are going to be filled with the joy of the Lord’s face in that blessedness, and because it is the Lord who speaks, he testifies that he is able to be filled up among them. But we should consider more carefully what it means when he says here that he will be filled with delights at the right hand of the Father, although he said earlier “for he is at my right hand so that I may not be moved.” Without a doubt, in this age after he assumed human flesh, he was whipped, bruised by slaps, and splattered with spittle. Since he was not overcome at all by any of these adversities, the Scripture rightly says that the Lord was always there at his right hand. For he overcame the opposition of the world because he did not depart at all from the contemplation of his Father. But after the glory of the resurrection, he can rightly say that he found delight at the right hand of the Father since by that time the opposition of the world had come to an end, his humanity had become filled by the glorification of his full majesty, and he now reigns united with the Word together with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and forever. “Even to the end” refers to perfection and eternity. His glory remains in his perfection and will not come to an end at any time.

Psalms 17:1

A Prayer of David. Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.

Although some psalms contain prayers combined sporadically with other diverse material, this psalm is almost entirely a supplication in its composition. Therefore it is appropriately designated as such from the start, since its purpose is entirely focused on zeal for prayer.

Psalms 17:4

Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.

When sins are avoided, the path is hard, and the ascent is always difficult. But when we slip toward vices, the road is easy and downhill. But the Lord Christ appeared before us in this world and demonstrated the laws of meekness and self-control. So he rightly says that through the commands of the Lord he walked the hard ways of people with undefiled feet.