Psalms 39:12
Withhold not thou, O Lord, thy tender mercies from me: thy mercy and thy truth have always upheld me.
Open Psalms 39:12 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Tu autem, Domine, ne longe facias miserationes tuas a me ; misericordia tua et veritas tua semper susceperunt me.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- σὺ δέ, Κύριε, μὴ μακρύνῃς τοὺς οἰκτιρμούς σου ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ· τὸ ἔλεός σου καὶ ἡ ἀλήθειά σου διὰ παντὸς ἀντελάβοντό μου.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 40:12
- אַתָּ֤ה יְהוָ֗ה לֹא תִכְלָ֣א רַחֲמֶ֣יךָ מִמֶּ֑נִּי חַסְדְּךָ֥ וַ֝אֲמִתְּךָ֗ תָּמִ֥יד יִצְּרֽוּנִי
Haydock's commentary
Withhold not. The prophet now speaks in the name of Christ's mystical body, the Church, praying to be made a partaker of mercy, and to be delivered from evils, (Worthington) or Christ speaks as the victim for our sins. (Haydock)
Uphold me. This might be also rendered as a prayer, "May thy," &c., with the Hebrew and some copies of the Septuagint. (Berthier)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm XL
19. “Remove not Thou Thy mercies far from me, O Lord” ( ver. 11 ). He is turning his attention to the wounded members. Because I have not “concealed Thy mercy and Thy Truth from the great congregation,” from the Unity of the Universal Church, look Thou on Thy afflicted members, look on those who are guilty of sins of omission, and on those who are guilty of sins of commission: and withhold not Thou Thy mercies. “Thy mercy and Thy Truth have continually preserved me.” I should not dare to turn from my evil way, were I not assured of remission; I could not endure so as to persevere, if I were not assured of the fulfilment of Thy promise.…
St Gregory the Great The Book of Pastoral Rule, How those are to be admonished who decline the office of preaching out of too great humility, and those who seize on it with precipitate haste
Let these, therefore, when they keep to themselves the word of preaching, hear with terror the divine sentences against them, to the end that fear may expel fear from their hearts. Let them hear how he that would not lay out his talent lost it, with a sentence of condemnation added ( Matth. xxv. 24 , &c.). Let them hear how Paul believed himself to be pure from the blood of his neighbours in this, that he spared not their vices which required to be smitten, saying, I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men: for l have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God ( Acts xx. 26, 27 ). Let them hear how John is admonished by the angelic voice, when it is said, Let him that heareth say, Come ( Rev. xxii. …