Cassiodorus
Late Patristic · AD 500–800 · 444 passages across 36 books
Commentary
Psalms 25:2
O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
Enemies laugh when they see that the trust of just people has not been fulfilled.… Laughter is most often a quality of someone of good will, but laughing at someone is always the mark of an enemy.
Psalms 25:3
Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
Waiting for God means waiting courageously during the suffering of evils so that when he comes in his judgment he may grant what the spirit of the devoted person was seeking.
Psalms 25:5
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
There are two things which make good Christians: first, that we believe that God is our Savior and, second, that we must wait for his reward throughout our entire life.
Psalms 25:6
Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
In these words, a very glorious and orthodox statement seems to shine upon us, that no one attains to God’s grace by his own merits. For in speaking of God’s mercies “which are from the beginning of the world,” the church continuously praises the Lord as the dispenser of mercies who does not receive human good works as an earlier step, but first grants his own gifts. Certainly all heresies have been devised by a detestable notion. On this basis, we are given insight into how destructive the Pelagian evil is, because it is recognized how persistently it is refuted.
Psalms 25:8
Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
The Lord is sweet, because while he surpasses all in his kindnesses, he still waits for the sinner’s conversion.… He is upright since, after frequent rebukes and very long periods of waiting, he opposes the wicked and humbles the proud and profane in order that they may at length become wise and regret that they have gone astray. That he established a law was surely in keeping with his sweetness and uprightness, for those whom he did not want to go astray, he preferred to correct through the proclamation of a law. But so that someone might not believe that this came as a punishment derived from God’s harshness, he laid out the purpose of the law that was brought forth, its goodness and sweetness. “On the way,” that is, in the present life, a law is established through which we are admonished to live righteously.
Psalms 25:9
The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
By using the term meek he excludes the proud and exalted.… “The mild” are just the opposite of the proud, who kick against the easy yoke and light burden with a freedom that does harm to them; God will teach those who do without grumbling what they know has been commanded. The distinction between mild and meek appears to be this: the meek are those who are not disturbed by the flame of fury, but they continue constantly with a gentleness of mind. But others are called mild (mansueti), as if they had been conditioned by the hand (manu sueti), that is, they endure injuries without returning evil for evil.
Psalms 25:12
What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
He now comes to the third section in which the psalmist discusses in detail who it is who fears the Lord or with what gift the Lord expresses his thanks.
Psalms 25:13
His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
When the just have been stripped of their bodies, the perfect blessedness that is promised to the saints at the resurrection is not immediately granted; but it says that the soul is able “to dwell in good things,” since even if those rewards have still been withheld, “which an eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have they entered into the human heart,” they still feast on the most certain delight of the hope of their future reward.
Psalms 25:14
The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
Fear of people imparts a lack of confidence, but fear of God provides support for hope.
Psalms 25:15
Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
One who does not look at what is before his feet is likely to run into traps or to fall into the mouths of pits. But what is said here is amazing and true, that we walk cautiously and guide our feet, if we lift our eyes constantly to the Lord, since such looking makes us strangers to all stumbling.
Psalms 25:19
Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.
In saying “Look on my enemies,” the church prays for them to return, because God converts without hesitation those on whom he looks, as in the Gospel the Lord looked at Peter in such a way that he wept.… One could believe that a few people might be disregarded, but the loss of many could not be endured without much grief.
Psalms 25:21
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
The church says that the innocent and upright have clung to the church, because it waited for the Lord; it would not have been able to love such people, if the church itself were not appearing to take such strength for granted.
Psalms 26:1
A Psalm of David. Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.
The petition for judgment does indeed appear to be dangerous, but a separation from evil people is recognized to be an appropriate request from one who is well deserving. Therefore this request does not arise from the detestable pride in merits, but it is the just petition of a faithful servant, asking to be separated from the most vile in order not to have a portion with wicked people. A holy person asks for judgments to be made because of certainty in God’s mercy, as the Apostle says: “As to the rest, a crown of righteousness has been set aside for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will grant to me on that day.” The psalmist walks in innocence because he puts his hope in the Lord, as he says later; nor does he find confidence in his own powers, but in God’s generosity. A fitting proof of this matter follows, for he maintains that he has not been weakened in his trust in the Lord. This is the “innocence” which he spoke about earlier, namely, his confidence in God’s power that no weakness of sin is able to weigh him down.
Psalms 26:2
Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
“Prove and test” is not spoken presumptuously, but is made as a request for improvement. For when God examines and tests us, he makes us conscious of our sin and brings us to the fruition of repentance.
Psalms 26:3
For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.
He was not able to forget his mercy, for he is constantly aware that he is the recipient of help; the kindness that has been delivered to him always stands before his eyes.… “In your truth” stands for “In your Christ,” for he is the one who says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” For he is not able to be pleasing to the Father, unless he has been strengthened by such faith.
Psalms 26:4
I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.
Now he lists the things that he has accomplished through the Lord’s kindness; such kindness is the basis of his claim that he was pleasing to God. “I have not sat in the council of vanity”; he does not agree to the deliberations of the wicked by any participation in their plan. It can happen that a holy person through some chance may come to the council of the wicked where inappropriate or empty matters are put forward. But while he is aware of these things, he does not sit comfortably with them nor does he tarry over them with any delight, but either he tries to argue against the proposals or he abandons them. So while he previously denied that he sat with the wicked, now he claims that he did not enter in with the most wicked. Earlier he avoided their deliberation, later he also abandoned their actions. “Going into” pertains to a wicked action, when something begins to be done heedlessly. “Going into” indicates the beginning of the activity that the holy person professes is foreign to his conscience.
Psalms 26:5
I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.
It would have been a lesser thing for a holy person to have avoided the wicked council if he had also hated the assembly of those who are deceptive in every way. Hatred indicates division, just as there is cooperation in love. Whereas he said earlier that he did not sit in the council of vanity, so now he professes that he does not sit with the wicked. Both of these groups should be forsaken completely. Some are vain and others are wicked. The vain are those who occupy themselves with ephemeral pursuits and spend their time in needless discussion. But the wicked are heretics who attempt to degrade the divine Scriptures by their treacherous questions, just as the apostle Peter says: “Distorting them to their own destruction and ruin.” So he properly warns us to avoid both groups, for the former love empty things and later plant the spears of their depravity.
Psalms 26:6
I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD:
Whoever purifies his deeds through his zeal for noble behavior washes his hands “among the innocent.” He did well to add “among the innocent,” for the guilty are also able to wash their hands, as Pontius Pilate did … when he polluted his soul by his foul betrayal of the Lord.… But whoever cleanses his deeds with the tears that render satisfaction washes his hands in the spiritual sense.
Psalms 26:8
LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
What he calls “the glory of your house” is not the beauty of walls or the most expensive table settings, but the most blessed quality of those actions in which the entire church rejoices: namely, the joyful singing of psalms, the holiness of prayers, the most humble devotion of Christian people. Earlier he spoke about the entire church, but now he comes to speak about the saints among whom the glory of God is known to dwell. The Apostle has this to say about them: “For the temple of God is holy—you are that temple.” For by speaking of “dwelling place,” he means the hidden place of the human heart. To this he makes the amazing addition “of your glory,” for wherever God dwells, his glory is there, since he makes glorious whatever place he deems fit to inhabit, and the greatness of the guest house increases due to the merits of the guest.
Psalms 26:11
But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
“Redeem me,” means, make me free through the precious blood of your first advent by which the world was delivered when it was being held subject to sins. “And have mercy on me,” that is to say, in his world, where you pardon those who pray to you faithfully.