Denis the Carthusian's Commentary on the Psalms (Vol. 5—Psalms 101–125): Domine Exaudi

Domine Exaudi

“Hear, O Lord, my prayer: and let my cry come to thee.”

Domine Exaudi is the fifth of six volumes of the Commentary on the Davidic Psalms by Denis the Carthusian (1402–1471), informally and popularly called the “Ecstatic Doctor,” the Doctor ecstaticus. It continues the first complete English translation of Denis’s great program of interpreting all 150 Psalms according to their literal, allegorical, tropological, and anagogical senses.

Written for Christians of every station and state of life, Denis’s commentary opens the spiritual breadth of the Psalter—the book of Scripture at the heart of the Church’s Divine Office and of serious Christian devotion. Through the literal text and its spiritual meanings, the reader is led toward the often-hidden Christocentric essence of the Psalms.

For Denis, the Psalms are not simply texts to be studied. Well understood and devoutly prayed, they inform faith with charity, direct the Christian in what to believe and how to live, and establish hope upon the heavenly fatherland toward which the Blessed Trinity calls the soul.

Scripture in Its Four Senses

The literal sense remains the foundation; the spiritual senses disclose Christ, form the Christian life, and direct the soul toward its final end in God.

Christ at the Heart of the Psalter

By drawing out the allegorical sense of the sacred text, Denis teaches the reader to hear in the Psalms not only the voice of David, but the voice of Christ: Christ speaking to the Father, Christ addressing His people, and Scripture proclaiming the mysteries of Christ and His Church.

Prayer, Providence, and Pilgrimage

The twenty-five Psalms contained in this volume move through supplication, praise, remembrance, divine kingship, deliverance, and confidence in God’s providence. The sequence includes the beginning of the Songs of Ascents, the pilgrim Psalms traditionally associated with the journey toward Jerusalem.

Denis follows these movements from the historical circumstances of David and Israel toward their fulfillment in Christ and their application to the Christian soul. Exposition thus becomes an invitation to prayer: the afflicted cry to God, the faithful remember His works, and the pilgrim people lift their eyes toward the heavenly Jerusalem.

Scripture Interpreting Scripture

Denis explains Scripture through Scripture, guided by the speculative theology of St. Thomas Aquinas and the mystical theology of Dionysius the Areopagite.

More Than Commentary

Denis’s purpose is never exhausted by historical information or textual explanation. The Psalms are meant to shape the intellect, affections, and actions of the one who prays them. Their tropological sense teaches what the Christian must believe and do in order to please the God whom he loves.

Their anagogical sense strengthens hope by revealing the soul’s heavenly bourne: the true fatherland to which the Blessed Trinity beckons and draws the faithful. In this way, the Psalter becomes at once a school of doctrine, a rule of life, and a guide to contemplation.

Denis the Carthusian

Denis the Carthusian (1402–1471), known to posterity as the Doctor ecstaticus, was among the most prolific and erudite theological writers of the later Middle Ages. His work unites the inheritance of patristic and medieval exegesis with Thomistic theology and the contemplative spirituality of the Carthusian Order.

Andrew M. Greenwell

Andrew M. Greenwell is a Catholic layman, father of three, and grandfather of four. A civil trial and appellate lawyer based in Corpus Christi, Texas, he has written for Catholic Online and for a number of years maintained Lex Christianorum, a blog devoted to the natural moral law.

He has translated works from German, Latin, French, and Italian into English and is a member of the Latin Mass Community at St. John the Baptist Church in Corpus Christi. Angelico Press is publishing his translations of Denis the Carthusian’s works on the Mass and the Eucharist.

The Psalter interpreted according to Christ, ordered by sacred doctrine, and opened as a path of prayer for the Christian soul.