To the eyes of the believer, the history of the Church is a new triumphal march. The risen Christ present through his Spirit leads her to heaven, where he has prepared a place for her.
① 1* 2Arise, O God, scatter your enemies; let your foes flee before you.
3As smoke is blown by the wind, so blow them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish before you.
4But let the righteous be glad and exult before God;
let them sing to God and shout for joy.
5Sing to God, sing praises to his name; open the way to him who rides upon the clouds; the Lord is his name. Rejoice in his presence.
6Father of orphans and protector of widows – such is our God in his holy dwelling.
7He gives shelter to the homeless, sets the prisoners free, but keeps the rebels in their jail.
8O God, when you went forth, when you led your people through the desert, 9the earth trembled, the heavens poured down rain, at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
10Then you gave a rain of blessings to comfort your weary children.
11Your people found a dwelling and in your mercy, O God, you provided for the needy.
12The Lord has dispatched messengers: “The Lord has shattered an army!” 13The kings and their armies flee, yes, they flee, they flee!
14A woman at home divides the spoils: wings of dove covered with silver, their pinions with shining gold.
15When the Lord routed the kings, snow fell on the Dark Mountain.
16O mighty mountain of Bashan, high and rugged mountain, 17why look with envy upon the mountain where God chooses to reign, where the Lord will dwell forever?
18With myriads of powerful chariots, the Lord came from Sinai into his sanctuary.
19He ascended the high mountain, leading captives in his train, taking people as tributes, even rebels, to his dwelling.
20Blessed be the Lord, God our savior, who daily bears our burdens!
21Ours is a God who saves; our Lord lets us escape from death.
22But he crushes the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of the criminals.
23The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan, back from the depths of the sea, 24that you may bathe your feet in blood, and the tongues of your dogs may have their share of your foes.”
25I remember the procession of the King, of my God, as they came into the sanctuary: 26the singers in front, the musicians last, between them maidens playing tambourines.
27Praise God in the great congregation, praise the Lord in the feasts of Israel.
28There in the lead is the least of them, the tribe of Benjamin; the princes of Judah in a body; the princes of Naphtali, and of Zebulun.
29Summon your power, O God, with the strength you have wielded for us.
30To your temple in Jerusalem, kings will come with gifts.
31Rebuke the beast that dwell in the reeds, and the herd of bulls. Hum ble them; let them bring gold and silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war.
32Let wealth come from Egypt; let Ethiopia extend its hands to God.
33Sing to God, O kingdoms of the world; sing praises to the Lord, 34to him who rides the ancient heavens and speaks in the voice of thunder.
35Proclaim the might of God; he is great in Israel, powerful in heavens.
36Awesome in his sanctuary is the God of Israel. He gives his people power and strength.
Blessed be God!
- We have here a very ancient psalm, fairly picturesque, although in certain places the text may be obscure, having been badly preserved.
This psalm was sung in processions going up to Jerusalem. The faithful knew God was with them and the procession was like the entry of the triumphant God into his Temple.
This explains the images we find in this psalm. The Lord God has come from Sinai to the Holy Land, mounted on the clouds, or on the cherubim. He has been at the side of his people, and his miracles in the desert startled nature (vv.9-10). The enemy kings are defeated: this is a reference to the victory of Deborah at the torrent of Kishon (Jdg 4). The psalmist then remembers the choice of God's mountain, Jerusalem (vv. 16-17). This choice causes jealousy in the great mountains.
All ends with a vision of the future full of hope. God who rides on the clouds will manifest himself to all the nations. In the liturgy, this psalm is used for the Ascension of the Lord.
