Jul 14, 2025 Written by 

16th Sunday in O.T. year C (Psalm 14)

Psalm 14

Psalms 14:1 Psalm. Of David.

Lord, who shall dwell in your tent?

Who will dwell on your holy mountain?

Psalms 14:2 The one who walks without fault,

who acts justly and speaks truthfully,

Psalms 14:3 who does not take up a false charge against his neighbour,

does no wrong to his neighbour

or take up a reproach against his neighbour.

Psalms 14:4 The wicked are despised in his sight,

but honours those who fear the Lord.

Even if he swears to his own hurt, he does not change;

Psalms 14:5 He does not lend money at interest,

and does not accept gifts against the innocent.

He who walks in this way

will remain steadfast forever.

 

The psalm is by David. Through him, the Holy Spirit expressed these words. This psalm lists eleven actions that make a man righteous. Some of these actions, such as the prohibition of lending at interest or corruption in court, are provided for in the Torah, but others are not, demonstrating that David is a prophet who goes beyond the line of justice drawn by the Torah. From a cultic point of view, it is a liturgical psalm, a true 'penitential act' because the pilgrim had to have a purified soul in order to enter the temple. It is a gesture that is also performed at the beginning of Mass ('I confess to almighty God...') which precedes the actual celebration of the rite.

To enter the temple, the Torah required external purity, which was linked to the observance of certain practices. The psalmist goes further: God demands inner purity. God is interested in the heart of man, the purity of the heart. David manifests that law written in the hearts that will be fulfilled by Jesus. The psalm expresses the journey towards God, the arrival at the tent of the Lord, and the dwelling there. The pilgrim goes to the temple, but in the end he also dwells there, not in the sense of living in the temple but in the sense of meeting the Lord and having communion with Him. This is what we experience in the Eucharist.

The psalmist's questions - Who will dwell in your tent? Who will live on your holy mountain? - are questions about the future of man. Man does not live only in the present or in the historical future. He also lives for an eternal future, after his death. This future can be lived on the mountain of life that belongs to the Lord, or in the valley of perdition and death without the Lord. Who will dwell with the Lord for eternity? Who will dwell forever in his house? This question must be answered. The Psalm gives a very clear answer.

To live eternally with God, certain laws must be observed: walk blamelessly, practise justice, speak truth (v. 2). The first requirement ("He who walks blamelessly") conditions all the others. The Hebrew word 'tāmîm' means 'righteously'. Walk blamelessly (i.e. righteously) and practise justice... those who keep God's word and live in obedience to his commandments. Speak truth... those who are righteous, because only the righteous have God, who is truth, in their hearts. If man puts God in his heart, he will always speak the truth. But if God is not in the heart, or if one even thinks that he does not exist, what truth can one utter with one's mouth if it is absent from the heart? 

To ascend and dwell on the mountain of the Lord, one must always have a pure, holy tongue (v. 3). Never should it be used to spread slander, falsehoods or defamation. No harm should be done to one's neighbour, either physical or spiritual. No insults should be hurled at one's neighbour. One's neighbour must be helped, never trampled on, never insulted. One must live in peaceful brotherhood with one's neighbour.

Those who wish to ascend the mountain of the Lord must have no connection with the wicked (v. 4). The wicked must be considered despicable in their eyes. There must be no communion with them. Rather, those who fear the Lord must always be honoured. Those who wish to dwell with God must stay away from the ungodly and associate with those who fear the Lord.

Another necessary thing that must be done: one must keep one's oaths. One must always keep one's word, even if it is to one's detriment, even if it is against one's own interests. The righteous must always be righteous. Since they must dwell in the kingdom of light, theirs must be a path of light. How far removed is the conception of many Christians today from that of the psalmist. It is as if we had destroyed in a few years a heritage of truth built up over millennia.

Usury is a sin severely condemned by the Church, which has always been opposed to usurers, so much so that in the Middle Ages this type of lending was practised only by Jews. Verse 5 seems to have been written today. There is no place for usurers on the holy mountain of the Lord. They have fed, like thirsty vampires, on the blood of their fellow men, and there can be no place for them with God because there was no place in their hearts for the needy.

Nor shall those who take bribes against the innocent ascend the holy mountain of God. Those who condemn the innocent, whatever their motive, should know that there is no place for them on God's mountain. The problem of corruption in the judiciary was also topical in the Bible. Judges who received compensation ruled in favour of the strong and against the weak. The righteous, on the other hand, embrace the cause of the innocent without monetary incentives. If Christians had the courage to proclaim these ancient truths, the world would breathe a different light. Unfortunately, Christians preach salvation at a low price, indeed at no price, even at the price of sin, and the world is plunging into chaos for lack of truth and morality.

The psalm, with all its very concrete requests, highlights that liturgy and life, prayer and existence, must never be separated. A Christian who limits himself to going to Mass on Sundays is not a good Christian, because the practice of worship cannot be separated from works. There would be a huge divide between his prayer (liturgy) and his life (existence).

The content of the psalm leads us not to have a magical view of liturgy and prayer; the psalmist wants to instil the concept that liturgy-prayer without consistency in life is empty. The acts indicated in these verses are not to be performed upon entering the temple; rather, they are behaviours that must characterise the life of the believer. Furthermore, our faith cannot be an intimate one [me and my God] because our relationship with God is valid precisely because others exist. If we do not live in a community, we cannot even love the Lord.


 

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Apocalypse – exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers – Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ, true God and true Man in the mystery of the Trinity

The Prophetic Discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants in comparison – In defence of the faith

 The Church and Israel according to St. Paul – Romans 9-11

 

(Available on Amazon)

 

                                                                   

75 Last modified on Monday, 14 July 2025 14:10
Argentino Quintavalle

Argentino Quintavalle è studioso biblico ed esperto in Protestantesimo e Giudaismo. Autore del libro “Apocalisse - commento esegetico” (disponibile su Amazon) e specializzato in catechesi per protestanti che desiderano tornare nella Chiesa Cattolica.

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
By willingly accepting death, Jesus carries the cross of all human beings and becomes a source of salvation for the whole of humanity. St Cyril of Jerusalem commented: “The glory of the Cross led those who were blind through ignorance into light, loosed all who were held fast by sin and brought redemption to the whole world of mankind” (Catechesis Illuminandorum XIII, 1: de Christo crucifixo et sepulto: PG 33, 772 B) [Pope Benedict]
Accettando volontariamente la morte, Gesù porta la croce di tutti gli uomini e diventa fonte di salvezza per tutta l’umanità. San Cirillo di Gerusalemme commenta: «La croce vittoriosa ha illuminato chi era accecato dall’ignoranza, ha liberato chi era prigioniero del peccato, ha portato la redenzione all’intera umanità» (Catechesis Illuminandorum XIII,1: de Christo crucifixo et sepulto: PG 33, 772 B) [Papa Benedetto]
The discovery of the Kingdom of God can happen suddenly like the farmer who, ploughing, finds an unexpected treasure; or after a long search, like the pearl merchant who eventually finds the most precious pearl, so long dreamt of (Pope Francis)
La scoperta del Regno di Dio può avvenire improvvisamente come per il contadino che arando, trova il tesoro insperato; oppure dopo lunga ricerca, come per il mercante di perle, che finalmente trova la perla preziosissima da tempo sognata (Papa Francesco)
In the New Testament, it is Christ who constitutes the full manifestation of God's light [Pope Benedict]
Nel Nuovo Testamento è Cristo a costituire la piena manifestazione della luce di Dio [Papa Benedetto]
Today’s Gospel reminds us that faith in the Lord and in his Word does not open a way for us where everything is easy and calm; it does not rescue us from life’s storms. Faith gives us the assurance of a Presence (Pope Francis)
Il Vangelo di oggi ci ricorda che la fede nel Signore e nella sua parola non ci apre un cammino dove tutto è facile e tranquillo; non ci sottrae alle tempeste della vita. La fede ci dà la sicurezza di una Presenza (Papa Francesco)
Dear friends, “in the Eucharist Jesus also makes us witnesses of God’s compassion towards all our brothers and sisters. The Eucharistic mystery thus gives rise to a service of charity towards neighbour” (Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, 88) [Pope Benedict]
Cari amici, “nell’Eucaristia Gesù fa di noi testimoni della compassione di Dio per ogni fratello e sorella. Nasce così intorno al Mistero eucaristico il servizio della carità nei confronti del prossimo” (Esort. ap. postsin. Sacramentum caritatis, 88) [Papa Benedetto]
The fool in the Bible, the one who does not want to learn from the experience of visible things, that nothing lasts for ever but that all things pass away, youth and physical strength, amenities and important roles. Making one's life depend on such an ephemeral reality is therefore foolishness (Pope Benedict)
L’uomo stolto nella Bibbia è colui che non vuole rendersi conto, dall’esperienza delle cose visibili, che nulla dura per sempre, ma tutto passa: la giovinezza come la forza fisica, le comodità come i ruoli di potere. Far dipendere la propria vita da realtà così passeggere è, dunque, stoltezza (Papa Benedetto)
We see this great figure, this force in the Passion, in resistance to the powerful. We wonder: what gave birth to this life, to this interiority so strong, so upright, so consistent, spent so totally for God in preparing the way for Jesus? The answer is simple: it was born from the relationship with God (Pope Benedict)

duevie.art

don Giuseppe Nespeca

Tel. 333-1329741


Disclaimer

Questo blog non rappresenta una testata giornalistica in quanto viene aggiornato senza alcuna periodicità. Non può pertanto considerarsi un prodotto editoriale ai sensi della legge N°62 del 07/03/2001.
Le immagini sono tratte da internet, ma se il loro uso violasse diritti d'autore, lo si comunichi all'autore del blog che provvederà alla loro pronta rimozione.
L'autore dichiara di non essere responsabile dei commenti lasciati nei post. Eventuali commenti dei lettori, lesivi dell'immagine o dell'onorabilità di persone terze, il cui contenuto fosse ritenuto non idoneo alla pubblicazione verranno insindacabilmente rimossi.