Thursday, July 06, 2023

‎St. Albert the Great or Adenulf of Anangni on the Psalms‎, Psalm 132:8 and the Ark of the Covenant

 ‎St. Albert the Great (d. A.D. 1280) or Adenulf of Anagni (d. A.D. 1289) on the Psalms‎, at Psalm 132:8 (Vulgate Psalm 131:8)(link to source)

8. Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: thou and the ark, which thou hast sanctified.

Arise, Yahweh, to your resting place, you and the ark your fortress.

132:1.2.1.1 After showing his desire to see the house of the Lord built, the builder is invited to build it. Therefore: (1) he invites Christ to do so, (2) he prays that the Jewish nation [not] be excluded from that house, or he invites God the Father to send his Son: "For your servant David's sake". In the first he invites Christ (1) to prepare himself for building the Church through his resurrection, (2) that he ordain ministers for the construction: "Let your priests". In the first, he invites Christ (1) to rise in reality, (2) to make his own people rise in hope: "you and the ark". The idea is: Lord, we know that the Church, which is the house of God, is to be gathered from the Jews and the Gentiles. Therefore, Lord, that this may happen, arise from the dead to your rest, that you may fear no more harassment from the Jews, as did happen. —Rom 6:9 Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again. —1 Cor 15:20 Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. Christ had rest by this resurrection, and even before the resurrection, immediately after his death. —Rev 14:13 Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labors.

He says: Rise, you first, in reality, and the ark which you sanctified, namely the Church, through you in hope. He comes first, and the others after him. —Micah 2:13 The one who breaks out will go up before them. —Zeph 3:8 Wait for me, says Yahweh, for the day when I arise in the future.

The ark is a good symbol of the Church, because in it were kept: (1) manna, while in the Church bread from heaven (John 6). (2) the tablets of the covenant; while in the Church the two are held by true knowledge —Luke 24:45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. (3) the staff of Aaron, while in the Church there is priestly power —Mat 16:19 Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. (4) The Church was also symbolized by the ark of Noah, battered by the waves of troubles and containing animals of every kind.

I have listed both Albert and Adenulf, as I have seen the same text ascribed to both.  I suspect that Adenulf is the correct author, based on the tendency to wrongly ascribe works to more famous authors.  

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