Footnotes

1. Psalm 111:1 A sage sets forth the essence of the religion of Israel: the Lord has delivered his people in order to conclude a covenant with them and to reveal his will to them. The author contemplates the divine “righteousness” (v. 3), i.e., everything the Lord has done in favor of his chosen ones, the wonders that in some way are renewed when they are recalled in the liturgy (v. 4): the miracle of the manna and the quail (v. 5), the gift of the Promised Land (v. 6), and the stability of the laws of the world and the moral order (v. 7). The sages who pursue this meditation and observe the law will be enabled to understand who God is: holy and redoubtable, compassionate and tender, so that they may render thanks to him.
   In praying this psalm, we should keep in mind that the wonders to which it alludes are only a pale figure of the wonders that the Father has accomplished through, and in, his Incarnate Son on behalf of his new people, the Church (see Jn 5:20). After various physical cures and raisings from the dead, God works the glorious Resurrection of his Son and our own spiritual resurrection in him (see Eph 2:5f).
2. Psalm 111:1 Heart: see note on Ps 4:8. Council of the upright: probably a circle of friends and advisors, as in Ps 107:32. In the assembly: in the temple (see Ps 149:1).