What does Psalms Chapter 13 say, and which statements belong to its speaker?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

The psalm reports the fool’s words and speaks of corruption and a heavenly inspection. It gives throat, tongue, lips, mouth, feet and bread images and trembling where there was no fear. It calls the Lord the poor man’s hope and asks salvation from Sion and an end to captivity.

Chapter breakdown

The Latin incipit is Dixit insipiens. The separate heading interprets the psalm as general human corruption before Christ's redemption. The inscription is unto the end, for David. It reports a fool saying in his heart there is no God and describes corrupt, abominable ways with none doing good. The Lord looks from heaven to see if any understand and seek God.

In the psalmist’s speech, the psalm says all turned aside and became unprofitable, none doing good. It uses an open sepulchre throat, deceitful tongues, asp poison beneath lips, cursing and bitter mouths, feet swift to blood, destruction and unhappiness in ways, unknown peace and no fear of God. It asks whether workers of iniquity will know, who devour His people like bread.

In the psalmist’s speech, they did not call on the Lord and trembled where there was no fear. The Lord is in the just generation; the poor man's counsel was confounded but the Lord is his hope. The speaker asks who will give Israel's salvation out of Sion and says Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad when the Lord turns away His people's captivity. It does not identify a particular ruler's scheme, establish a clinical panic episode or narrate captivity's end.

The story inside

Opening: The psalm reports the fool’s words and speaks of corruption and a heavenly inspection. Development: It gives throat, tongue, lips, mouth, feet and bread images and trembling where there was no fear. Conclusion: It calls the Lord the poor man’s hope and asks salvation from Sion and an end to captivity.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The psalm reports the fool’s words and speaks of corruption and a heavenly inspection.
2
It gives throat, tongue, lips, mouth, feet and bread images and trembling where there was no fear.
3
It calls the Lord the poor man’s hope and asks salvation from Sion and an end to captivity.

Test your recall

Which images and requests does the speaker use, and what does the chapter leave unresolved?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 58394–58399
13:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David. The fool hath said in his heart: There is no God. They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways: there is none that doth good, no not one. 13:2. The Lord hath looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God.
Lines 58401–58407
13:3. They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good: no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they acted deceitfully: the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.
Lines 58409–58416
13:4. Shall not all they know that work iniquity, who devour my people as they eat bread? 13:5. They have not called upon the Lord: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear. 13:6. For the Lord is in the just generation: you have confounded the counsel of the poor man; but the Lord is his hope.
Lines 58418–58420
13:7. Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? when the Lord shall have turned away the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.