The Homilies of Saint Jerome, Volume 1 (1–59 on the Psalms)

9. Homily 9 On Psalm 75 (76)

HOMILY 9 ON PSALM 75 (76) IJ]EFORE THE CROSS brought light to the world, before th( IZ"\'\ Lord was seen on earth, 'God' was 'renowned it: ~ Juda, in Israel: moreover, 'great was his name';l bUi when the Savior came,' 'through all the earth his voice re sounded, and to the ends of tlle world, His message.'2 'In peace is his abode':3 for which the Hebrew has 'ir Salem.' You see, therefore, the literal translation is Jerusalemthat is Salem~which first was called Salem, later Jebus, anc finally Jerusalem. This is that Salem in which Melchisedee was king. We read: 'You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchisedec.'1i The psalmist did not say according t( the order of Aaron, but Melchisedec. What is the meaning of, 'You are a priest according to the order of Melchisedec'? Obviously, the reference is to Christ But why does it say, according to the order of Melchisedec' Aaron offered victims; he poured out the blood of sacrificia animals. Melchisedec did neither of these; he merely offeree bread and wine; that is why it says, according to the order 0 Melchisedec. The Hebrew has, 'And there was set up in Salem his tent. Understand what that means: figuratively speaking, there i no tent of the Lord except where there is peace. Where then 1 Cf. Ps. 75 (76).2. 2 Cf. Ps. 18.5; d. Letter 60.4. PL 22.591-592 (334). 3 Cf. Ps. 75 (76).3. 4 Cf. Letter 73.7. PL 22.680(445); 46.3, PL 22.485~20l); Hebrew Quej tion on Genesis 14.18. PL 23.1010-1011 (329); 33.18. PL 23.1040 (358). 5 Ps. 109.4. 62 HOMILY 9 63 is strife and discord, God is not there as Protector. Let us, too, follow the interpretation of the Septuagint. The abode of God is only in a peaceful soul; therefore, let the soul that is without peace know that it is not the dwelling place of God. 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to yoU.'6 Peace is our legacy from the Savior. 'His dwelling is in Sian.' A literal interpretation permits us to say of Jerusalem and Sian, that the temple was there, but in a tropological and anagogical sense, we mean that the dwelling of God is in Sian. Now Sian means stronghold or watchtower;7 hence, where there is in the soul the knowledge of Scripture and its doctrine, that soul is the dwelling place of God. There he shattered the flashing shafts of the bow.' There. Where? In Jerusalem and Sian. Jerusalem stands for peace, and Sian, watchtower. Let us consider, then, the nature of this peace and watchtower. We may explain them in two ways: first, as the human soul in which there is the peace of God and contemplation; second, either as certainly the Church or surely Holy Scripture. There truly is peace, and there, too, the dwelling place and citadel of God. 'There he shattered the flashing shafts of the bow': the fiery darts that the devil shoots. 'Shield and sword, and weapons of war.' Of war: that war mentioned in another psalm: 'Scatter the peoples who delight in war.'8 And now, what follows? 'Sela' which the Septuagint translates as 'diapsalma,'9 and which in Hebrew means 'always .' See, the Lord always shatters the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. 'Resplendent you come, 0 powerful One, from the everlasting mountains.' We interpret mountains in two ways: in the Old Testament as prophets; in the New, as apostles. Of these mountains Scripture says: 'I lift up my eyes toward the moun6 John 14.27; cf. Letter 13, PL 22.347 (28). 7 Cf. Letter 75.1, PL 22.686 (452); 108.9, PL 22.884 (697). 8 Ps. 67.31. 9 Cf. Commentary on Habacuc 3.3, PL 25.1312 (637-638); Letter 28, PL 22.433-435 (135-1119). 64 SAINT JEROME tains, whence shall help come to me?'lO Upon these mountains, too, rested the city of God. 'A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden:ll We were all sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, and the Lord shone upon us from His eternal mountains , that is, from the prophets and the apostles. 'Despoiled are the stout-hearted: This we may say of infidels. 'They sleep their...