Psalms 67:5
Sing ye to God, sing a psalm to his name, make a way for him who ascendeth upon the west: the Lord is his name. Rejoice ye before him: but the wicked shall be troubled at his presence,
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Cantate Deo ; psalmum dicite nomini ejus : iter facite ei qui ascendit super occasum. Dominus nomen illi ; exsultate in conspectu ejus. Turbabuntur a facie ejus,
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ᾄσατε τῷ θεῷ, ψάλατε τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ· ὁδοποιήσατε τῷ ἐπιβεβηκότι ἐπὶ δυσμῶν· Κύριος ὄνομα αὐτῷ· καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 68:5
- שִׁ֤ירוּ לֵֽאלֹהִים֮ זַמְּר֪וּ שְׁ֫מ֥וֹ סֹ֡לּוּ לָרֹכֵ֣ב בָּ֭עֲרָבוֹת בְּיָ֥הּ שְׁמ֗וֹ וְעִלְז֥וּ לְפָנָֽיו
Haydock's commentary
Who ascendeth upon the west. Super occasum. St. Gregory understands it of Christ, who after his going down, like the sun, in the west, by the passion and death, ascended more glorious, and carried all before him. St. Jerome renders it, who ascendeth, or cometh up, through the deserts; (Challoner) which some explain of the coming out of Egypt, others of the progress of the gospel, in a western direction. (Menochius)
Baharaboth, means also, "in the remotest heavens," (Montanus; Haydock) or, "in delights," or "darkness," and all these senses may have been in the prophet's mind, as they are all beautiful. (Berthier)
Resist not God's inspirations. He triumphs over death, and is Lord of all. (Worthington)
Lord. Hebrew, "in Yah is his name." (Haydock)
The Word was with God, John i.
But....presence. These words seem to have been in the copy of the Septuagint, and shew the contrast between the just and their oppressors, at the presence of the ark, and of the Messias, (Berthier) before whom the latter must tremble.
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 Cyprian Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews, That Christ is God
In Genesis: “And God said unto Jacob, Arise, and go up to the place of Bethel, and dwell there; and make there an altar to that God who appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of thy brother Esau.” Also in Isaiah: “Thus saith the Lord, the God of Sabaoth, Egypt is wearied; and the merchandise of the Ethiopians, and the tall men of the Sabeans, shall pass over unto Thee, and shall be Thy servants; and shall walk after Thee bound with chains; and shall worship Thee, and shall pray to Thee, because God is in Thee, and there is no other God beside Thee. For Thou art God, and we knew it not, O God of Israel, our Saviour. They shall all be confounded and fear who oppose Thee, and shall fall into confusion.” Likewise in the same: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. …
St Cyprian Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews, That Jesus Christ shall come as a Judge
In Malachi: “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, burning as an oven; and all the aliens and all the wicked shall be as stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord.” Also in the forty-ninth (or fiftieth) Psalm: “God the Lord of gods hath spoken, and called the earth. From the rising of the sun even to the going down thereof, out of Sion is the beauty of His glory. God shall come manifestly, our God, and shall not keep silence. A fire shall burn before Him, and round about Him shall be a great storm. He hath called the heaven above, and the earth, that He may separate His people. Gather together His saints unto Him, those who arrange His covenant with sacrifices. …
St Methodius Oration on the Palms
II. To-day, holy David rejoices with great joy, being by babes despoiled of his lyre, with whom also, in spirit, leading the dance, and rejoicing together, as of old, before the ark of God, he mingles musical harmony, and sweetly lisps out in stammering voice, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Of whom shall we inquire? Tell us, O prophet, who is this that cometh in the name of the Lord? He will say it is not my part to-day to teach you, for He hath consecrated the school to infants, who hath out of the mouth of babes and sucklings perfected praise to destroy the enemy and the avenger, in order that by the miracle of these the hearts of the fathers might be turned to the children, and the disobedient unto the wisdom of the just. …
St Augustine Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John, Chapter XX. 10-29
2. Lastly, “when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing Him to be the gardener, saith unto Him, Sir, If thou hast borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto Him, Rabboni, which is to say, Master.” Let no one speak ill of the woman because she called the gardener, Sir ( domine ), and Jesus, Master. For there she was asking, here she was recognizing; there she was showing respect to a person of whom she was asking a favor, here she was recalling the Teacher of whom she was learning to discern things human and divine. She called one lord (sir), whose handmaid she was not, in order by him to get at the Lord to whom she belonged. …
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm LXVIII
4. Lastly, there followeth, “And let just men be joyous, and exult in the sight of God, let them delight in gladness” ( ver. 3 ). For then shall they hear, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, receive ye the kingdom.” “Let them be joyous,” therefore, that have toiled, “and exult in the sight of God.” For there will not be in this exultation, as though it were before men, any empty boasting; but (it will be) in the sight of Him who unerringly looketh into that which He hath granted. “Let them delight in gladness:” no longer exulting with trembling, as in this world, so long as “human life is a trial upon earth.” Secondly, he turneth himself to those very persons to whom he hath given so great hope, and to them while here living he speaketh and exhorteth: “Sing ye to God, psalm ye to His name” ( ver. 4 ). …
St Gregory Nazianzen Oration on the Holy Lights
XIII. Since then these things are so, or rather since This is so; and His Adoration ought not to be rendered only by Beings above, but there ought to be also worshippers on earth, that all things may be filled with the glory of God (forasmuch as they are filled with God Himself); therefore man was created and honored with the hand and Image of God. But to despise man, when by the envy of the Devil and the bitter taste of sin he was pitiably severed from God his Maker, this was not in the Nature of God. What then was done, and what is the great Mystery that concerns us? An innovation is made upon nature, and God is made Man. “He that rideth upon the Heaven of Heavens in the East” of His own glory and Majesty, is glorified in the West of our meanness and lowliness. …