And this will please the Lord more than a young calf that puts forth horns and hoofs. The meek will see it and be glad. You who seek the Lord, your soul shall live; for the Lord has heard the poor. In Psalm 72: For behold, those who withdraw far from you shall perish; you have destroyed everyone who is faithless to you. But for me it is good to draw near to God; I have put my hope in the Lord God, that I may declare all your works. In Psalm 75: Make vows and pay them to the Lord your God; all who are around him shall bring gifts to the fearsome one, who takes away the spirit of princes, who is terrible to the kings of the earth. In Psalm 77: Hearken, O my people, to my law; incline your ear to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter ancient riddles.
And in another place: And they shall tell it to their sons, that they may set their hope in God, and not forget his works, and keep his commandments. In Psalm 80: Praise God our strength; shout joyfully to the God of Jacob. And in another place: Israel, if you will hear me: let there be no strange god in you, and worship not a foreign god. I am the Lord your God. In Psalm 81: How long will you judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Judge for the poor and the orphan; do justice to the needy and the destitute. In Psalm 83: Blessed are they who dwell in your house; they will praise you still. Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, who has set ascents in his heart: passing through the valley of weeping, they make it a fountain. The teacher too shall be clothed with blessing:
they will go from strength to strength; each will appear before God in Zion. And a little later: For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I have chosen rather to be an outcast in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of ungodliness. In Psalm 91: It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing to your name, O Most High. In Psalm 93: Understand, O foolish among the people; and you senseless, learn at last. And a little later: Blessed is the man whom you instruct, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law, that you may give him rest in the days of affliction, until the pit be dug for the wicked. In Psalm 94: Come, let us adore and bow down; let us bend our knees before the face of the Lord our Maker. And after two verses:
Today if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, as in the day of temptation in the wilderness. In Psalm 95: Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless his name; proclaim his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his wonders among all peoples. And after six verses: Bring to the Lord, O families of the peoples, bring to the Lord glory and strength; bring to the Lord the glory due his name; take up offerings and enter into his courts. Adore the Lord in the beauty of his sanctuary. In Psalm 96: You who love the Lord, hate evil. And after three verses: Rejoice, you just, in the Lord, and give thanks to the memory of his holiness.
In Psalm 97: Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; cry aloud and praise and sing. In Psalm 98: Exalt the Lord our God, and adore his footstool, for he is holy. In Psalm 99: Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him with praise. Know that the Lord himself is God: he made us, and we are his. And after one verse: Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise; give thanks to him. In Psalm 100: I will walk in the innocence of my heart in the midst of my house. I did not set before my eyes any word of Belial. Those who commit transgressions I have hated, and it did not cleave to me. The perverse heart shall depart from me; I would know no evil.
Him who slanders his neighbor in secret, this one I will destroy. The proud of eye and haughty of heart, with him I cannot dwell. My eyes are upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way with sincerity, this one shall minister to me. He who works deceit shall not dwell in the midst of my house; he who speaks falsehood shall not stand in the sight of my eyes. In the morning I destroyed all the wicked of the land, that I might cut off from the city of the Lord all who work iniquity. In Psalm 102: But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting even to everlasting upon those who fear him, and his righteousness upon the children's children, upon those who keep his covenant and remember his precepts to do them. In Psalm 104:
Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name; make his deeds known among the peoples. Sing to him and make melody to him; tell of all his wondrous works. Glory in his holy name; let the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his face continually. Remember his marvels which he has done, his signs and the judgments of his mouth. In Psalm 107: My heart is ready, O God; I will sing and make melody: yea, this is my glory. Awake, psaltery and harp; I will arise at dawn. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord; I will sing of you among the nations. In Psalm 110: I will give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart, in the counsel of the just and in the congregation. And in another place: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:
a good understanding to all who practice it; his praise endures continually. In Psalm 111: Blessed is the man who fears the Lord; in his commandments he shall greatly delight. And after five verses: A good man is gracious and lends; he will order his affairs with judgment, for he shall never be moved. The just shall be in everlasting remembrance; he shall not fear an evil report. His heart is ready, trusting in the Lord; his heart is firm, he shall not fear, until he looks down upon his enemies. He has scattered abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever, his horn shall be exalted in glory. The wicked shall see it and be angry; he shall gnash his teeth and waste away; the desire of the wicked shall perish. In Psalm 112: Praise the Lord, O you servants; praise the name of the Lord.
May the name of the Lord be blessed from now and forever. From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is worthy of praise. In Psalm 113: The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths and will not speak; they have eyes and will not see; they have ears and will not hear, and so forth. And a little later: Let those who make them become like them, all who trust in them. Israel trusts in the Lord: he is their helper and protector. The house of Aaron trusts in the Lord: he is their helper and protector. But those who fear the Lord trust in the Lord: he is their helper and protector. In Psalm 115: I believed, therefore I have spoken; but I have been greatly afflicted. And after two verses:
What shall I render to the Lord for all that he has rendered to me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. And after three verses: To you I will offer the sacrifice of praise, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the sight of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. In Psalm 116: Praise the Lord, all you nations; praise him together, all you peoples. In Psalm 117: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let Israel now say that his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Aaron say that his mercy endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord say that his mercy endures forever.
In my distress I called upon the Lord, and the Lord heard me and set me in a broad place. And after five verses: It is better to hope in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to hope in the Lord than to trust in princes. And after eight verses: The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he has become my salvation. The voice of praise and salvation is in the tents of the just. In Psalm 118: Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart. And in another place: And I will walk at liberty, for I have sought your precepts. And I will speak of your testimonies before kings, and will not be ashamed. And I will delight in your commandments, which I have loved.
And I will lift up my hands to your commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate on your precepts. And after four verses: From your law I have not turned aside. I remembered your judgments of old, O Lord, and was comforted. Horror seized me because of the wicked who forsake your law. Your precepts were songs to me in the house of my pilgrimage. I remembered your name in the night, O Lord, and kept your law. This has befallen me, because I kept your precepts. My portion, O Lord, I said, is to keep your word. I entreated your face with my whole heart; have mercy on me according to your word. I considered my ways, and turned my feet toward your testimonies. I made haste and did not neglect to keep your commandments.
The cords of the wicked have entangled me, but I have not forgotten your law. At midnight I will rise to give you thanks, because of the justice of your judgments. I am a companion of all who fear you and keep your precepts. And after a few verses: But I with my whole heart kept your precepts. Their heart is gross like fat, but I meditated on your law. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn your precepts. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver. And after a few verses: For your law is my delight. And a little further: But I will speak of your precepts. Likewise a little later: I have not forgotten your precepts. And after two verses:
The proud have dug pits for me, which are not according to your law. And after two verses: They had almost consumed me on the earth, but I did not forsake your precepts. And after seven verses: Unless your law had been my delight, I would perhaps have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. I am yours, save me, for I have sought your precepts. The wicked have waited for me to destroy me, but I will consider your testimony. Of all perfection I have seen the end; your commandment is exceedingly broad. How I have loved your law! It is my meditation all the day. And a little later: From every evil path I have restrained my feet, that I might keep your words. From your judgments I have not departed, for you have enlightened me.
How sweet are your words to my throat! Sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every path of falsehood. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. And after five verses: My soul is always in my hand, yet I have not forgotten your law. The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your precepts. Your testimonies are my inheritance forever, for they are the joy of my heart. I have inclined my heart to perform your righteous statutes forever, for the eternal reward. I have hated the turbulent, and loved your law. You are my protection and my shield; I have waited for your word. Depart from me, you evildoers, and I will keep the commandments of my God. And after seven verses: You have reckoned all the wicked of the earth as dross:
therefore I have loved your testimonies. My flesh trembled for fear of you, and I was afraid of your judgments. I have done judgment and justice; do not abandon me to those who slander me. And after a few verses: Therefore I have loved your commandments above gold and topaz. Therefore I directed myself by all your precepts; every path of falsehood I held in hatred. Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul has kept them. And after two verses: I opened my mouth and drew breath, for I longed for your commandments. And in another place: My zeal has consumed me, because my enemies have forgotten your words. Your word is thoroughly tried, and your servant has loved it. I am small and despised, but I have not forgotten your precepts. And after three verses:
Your commandments are my delight. And a little later: See my affliction and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law. And after six verses: Many are those who persecute and afflict me, yet from your testimonies I have not turned aside. I saw the transgressors and grieved, because they did not keep your word. See how I have loved your precepts, O Lord; according to your mercy give me life. And after four verses: I rejoice in your word like one who finds much spoil. I have hated and abhorred falsehood, but your law I have loved. Seven times a day I have praised you for the judgments of your justice. Great peace have those who love your law, and there is no stumbling-block for them. I have awaited your salvation, O Lord, and have kept your commandments.
My soul has kept your testimonies and loved them exceedingly. I have kept your precepts and your testimonies, for all my ways are before you. And after eight verses: Let your hand be my help, for I have chosen your precepts. I have longed for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight. And after two verses: I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commandments. In Psalm 119: I spoke peaceable things, but they made war upon them. In Psalm 121: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may they prosper who love it. And after two verses: For the sake of my brothers and my friends I will speak peace to you. For the sake of the house of the Lord our God I will seek good for you. In Psalm 122:
To you I have lifted up my eyes, you who dwell in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, as the eyes of a maidservant on the hands of her mistress, so are our eyes upon the Lord our God, until he has mercy on us. In Psalm 124: Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion: unmovable forever, it abides in Jerusalem. In Psalm 127: Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. In Psalm 129: I have waited for the Lord, my soul has waited, and I have hoped in his word. In Psalm 130: O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, nor are my eyes haughty; and I have not walked in great matters, nor in things too wonderful for me.
If I did not keep myself humble, but quieted my soul, then like a weaned child upon its mother, so was my soul weaned within me. Hope, O Israel, in the Lord, from now and forever. In Psalm 132: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. In Psalm 133: Behold now, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord in the nights. Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the Lord. In Psalm 134: Praise the name of the Lord; praise the Lord, you servants, who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to his name, for it is lovely. And a little later: The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the works of men's hands.
They have mouths and will not speak, they have eyes and will not see, and so forth. And after a little: Let those who make them become like them, all who trust in them. House of Israel, bless the Lord; house of Aaron, bless the Lord; you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord. In Psalm 135: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his mercy endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his mercy endures forever. And at the end of the psalm: Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his mercy endures forever. In Psalm 136: If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten.
Let my tongue cleave to my throat, if I do not remember you, O Jerusalem, if I do not set Jerusalem above my chief joy. In Psalm 138: Have I not hated those who hate you, O Lord, and pined away against your adversaries? With perfect hatred I hated them; they became enemies to me. In Psalm 139: Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; let not his schemes be poured forth, and be exalted. And after four verses: A man full of tongue shall not prosper on the earth. In Psalm 140: Let the just correct me in mercy and reprove me; but let not the oil of bitterness anoint my head. And after five verses: For to you, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes; in you I have hoped; do not empty out my soul. In Psalm 141:
With my voice I cried to the Lord; with my voice I made supplication to the Lord. I will pour out my complaint before him; I will declare my trouble before him. And after seven verses: I cried to you, O Lord; I said: You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living. In Psalm 142: I meditated on all your works; I pondered the deeds of your hands. I stretched out my hands to you; my soul is like a thirsting land toward you. And after three verses: Make me hear your mercy in the morning, for in you I trust. Make known to me the way in which I should walk, for to you I have lifted up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord; to you I have fled for refuge. In Psalm 143:
Deliver me and rescue me from the hand of the sons of strangers, whose mouth has spoken vanity, and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. That our sons may be like a growing plantation in their youth; our daughters like the corners adorned after the likeness of a temple. Our storehouses full and overflowing from this into that. Our flocks fruitful in thousands and beyond number in our streets; our oxen fat. There is no breach, and no going forth, and no wailing in our squares. Blessed is the people who has such things; blessed is the people whose God is the Lord. In Psalm 144: I will exalt you, O Lord my God, my King, and I will bless your name forever and beyond.
Every day I will bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. And after two verses: One generation shall praise your works to another, and shall declare your mighty deeds. They shall speak of the splendor of the glory of your greatness, and the words of your wondrous works. And they shall tell of the might of your awesome deeds, and shall recount your greatness. They shall utter the memory of your abundant goodness, and shall praise your acts of justice. And after four verses: And your saints shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your might, to make known to the sons of men his mighty deeds, and the glory of the splendor of his kingdom. And a little later: The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him, and will hear their cry and save them. The Lord guards all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. In Psalm 145: Praise the Lord, O my soul; I will praise the Lord in my life; I will sing to my God as long as I am. Do not trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. And after two verses: Blessed is he whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God. In Psalm 146: Praise the Lord, for a song to our God is good, for a beautiful praise is fitting. And after seven verses: The Lord lifts up the meek, but casts the wicked down to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; sing to our God. And after seven verses: His pleasure is not in the strength of a horse, nor is he pleased with the legs of a man. The Lord is pleased with those who fear him, and who wait for his mercy. In Psalm 148: Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth, young men and maidens, old men with children—let them praise the name of the Lord. In Psalm 149: Sing to the Lord a new song; his praise in the congregation of the saints. Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King. And after three verses: He will exalt the meek unto salvation. The saints shall exult in glory; they shall sing for joy upon their beds. The high praises of God are in their throats. In Psalm 150:
Praise the Lord in his sanctuary; praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts; praise him according to the multitude of his greatness. And at the end of the psalm: Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. These things we have gathered from the book of Psalms, in which let each person, if he desires to make progress, examine his own life. Here we admonish the reader to read what I have set down from the Psalms as one continuous psalm, passing over in silence my own words, which I have interposed for this purpose—so that, if he wishes, he may look up where what I have quoted is written, that is, in which number or in what place of the same psalm. For with these omitted, whoever, in continuous reading, examines the words of the Psalms alone, will be moved far more pleasantly, and therefore more profitably, by the divine utterances.
Now from the books of Solomon we will gather what seems necessary for this work; and first from Proverbs, which book, if it be well understood, will avail almost wholly for the forming of pious morals. But those things which are obscure I pass over: let those readers and lovers of spiritual literature keep them for their own exercise; in this work we have resolved to set down those things which pertain to the conduct of life and are easily understood. Although to many I may seem to have passed over the very plainest things—and some things are here rather shut off, from which they are thought to be clear. For what seems so plain, and what is done so ineptly, if you wish to take it literally, as that which is written there: Abstain from another's water, and drink not from a stranger's fountain?
Or what does it avail for the correcting of morals, unless a deeper meaning be sought therein, that which is said: Poverty humbles a man, but the hand of the strong makes rich? Since both not to be poor and to be strong of hand are not in the power of good men, and have fallen to the lot of many most wicked men, this proverb too, if badly understood, might provoke the strong poor to think that they ought to enrich themselves by robbery. And who would not laugh, if he supposed it was placed literally, that which is read there: For children are not born to the malicious?
Therefore all such things we will leave aside, together with those in which something is urged at somewhat greater length, since that which is urged and commanded is not obscure; and that rather is to be set down in this Mirror, wherein those may examine themselves who are already persuaded to live well and laudably, but who, in order to do so, seek out what things they ought to desire and observe. These things, therefore, from the Proverbs of Solomon we have thought worthy to be set down. VII. On Proverbs. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Hear, my son, the instruction of your father, and forsake not the law of your mother. And after fourteen verses, when he was speaking of murderers, he says: They themselves lie in wait against their own blood, and contrive frauds against their own souls.
So are the paths of every covetous man: they take away the souls of those who possess them. Likewise after four verses: How long, O little ones, will you love childishness, and fools desire the things that are harmful to them, and the imprudent hate knowledge? And after eleven verses: Then they will call upon me, and I will not hear; in the morning they will rise and will not find me: because they held instruction hateful, and did not receive the fear of the Lord, nor consented to my counsel, and disparaged all my reproof. Therefore they shall eat the fruits of their own way, and be filled with their own counsels. The turning away of the little ones shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But he who hears me shall rest without terror, and shall enjoy abundance, the fear of evils being taken away. And after four verses:
For if you call upon wisdom, and incline your heart to prudence, if you seek her as money, and search for her as for treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and will find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and prudence. He will guard the salvation of the upright, and protect those who walk in sincerity: keeping the paths of justice, and guarding the ways of the saints. Then you will understand justice and judgment and equity, and every good path.
If wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, counsel shall guard you, and prudence shall keep you, to deliver you from the evil way, and from the man who speaks perverse things—those who forsake the straight path and walk through dark ways, who rejoice when they have done evil, and exult in the worst of things, whose ways are perverse and their steps infamous—to deliver you from the strange woman and from the foreigner, who softens her words, and has abandoned the guide of her youth, and forgotten the covenant of her God. And after thirteen verses: Let mercy and truth not forsake you; bind them about your throat, and write them on the tablets of your heart, and you will find grace and good instruction before God and men.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own prudence. In all your ways think of him, and he himself will direct your steps. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. And after one verse: Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the first-fruits of all your produce. And after two verses: The discipline of the Lord, my son, do not cast away, nor grow faint when you are reproved by him. For whom the Lord loves he reproves, and as a father in a son he takes delight. Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and who abounds in prudence. Better is the gaining of it than the trafficking of silver, and its fruit than the finest gold: it is more precious than all riches, and all things that are desired cannot be compared to it.
And after ten verses: My son, let not these things depart from your eyes: keep the law and counsel. And after eight verses: Do not withhold from doing good to him who is able to receive it: if you are able, do good yourself also. Say not to your friend, 'Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give to you,' when you can give at once. Do not devise evil against your friend, when he has confidence in you. Do not contend against a man without cause. And after seven verses: The mockers he himself will mock, and to the meek he will give grace. And after forty-four verses: With all watchfulness keep your heart, for from it life proceeds. Remove from yourself a crooked mouth, and let detracting lips be far from you. Let your eyes look upon what is right, and let your eyelids go before your steps.