Bede : He raises the needy from the dust, etc. He raises Christ from the dead, so that His flesh may not see corruption; and He lifts Him to the heavens, that He may not be overcome by the persecutors, the Jews, whose traditions the Apostle considers as dung (Colossians III). For He Himself became needy, He Himself became poor for our sakes, that by His poverty we might be made rich (II Cor. VIII). — Commentary on Samuel Bede : To sit with princes, etc. He himself explains this verse, when questioned by those whom he made poor so that he might enrich them; he humbled them on earth so that he might exalt them in heaven; when asked what reward they would have in the future; he responded: When the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his majesty, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. XIX). And Solomon, in praise of a strong woman, that is, the Church, or any chosen soul: Noble, he says, is her husband in the gates, when he sits with the elders of the land (Proverbs XXXI). — Commentary on Samuel Bede : For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's, etc. He has not only set up high promontories and cliffs as defenses against the heat of marine tempests for the earthly world but much more so, to maintain the state of his Church, so that no wave of turbulent persecution might throw it down, he has placed the steadfast and strong hearts of his faithful. He therefore calls these foundations of the earth, the supports of the world, upon which the princes sit on thrones. And rightly so; because the more humbly they now bear, and defend more fervently, the more exalted they will be in judgment then. Blessed Job also remembers who the lords of these foundations are, and that they are not fortified by their own strength, saying of the Lord: Under whom bend those who bear the world. So that they may firmly support the burdens of the weak, they continually submit humble necks to invincible strength (Job IX). — Commentary on Samuel Gregory the Dialogist : 20. For dust is the subtle deliberation of illicit thought, which renders foul the mind in which it has settled. For what is designated by dung except the foulness and boldness of committed wickedness? Hence the prophet too, beholding the life of carnal people buried under the filth of foul deeds, says: "The beasts have rotted in their dung" (Joel 1:17). Therefore, the gifts of God are enumerated in fitting order in the conversion of the wicked. For the needy one is first raised from the dust before the poor one is raised from the dung, because the deliberation of impure thought is first cut away from the heart, and afterward the fault is severed from action. Fittingly too the needy one is said to be raised from the dust, and the poor one to be lifted from the dung, because the one inwardly deliberating on wicked things sleeps from the contemplation of justice, while the one outwardly committing unlawful deeds lies in iniquity through action. And because he now wins trophies with the strong over malignant spirits, the text sets forth what the needy one, once raised, and the poor one, once lifted, deserves, saying: "That he may sit with princes, and hold the throne of glory." 21. For to sit belongs to one who triumphs. Hence also in the Apocalypse of John the Lord shows the dignity of our victory, saying: "He who overcomes, I will make him sit on my throne, just as I also overcame and sat with my Father on his throne" (Rev. 3:21). Seeing this, Paul too, counting among God's praises the gifts of our resurrection and our being seated, says: "He raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6). Princes therefore sit with him, because those who by his help suppress the forces of malignant spirits hold the dignity of being seated in their triumph over those whom they dominate by the power of the one presiding over them. Likewise princes sit with him, because even though they are seen to stand bodily in the hardship of this passing life, they nevertheless hold a seat of merits with the Redeemer on high, from whose conformity of glory they are not separated even in this valley of corruption. The needy and the poor in possessions are those who for the sake of the Gospel abandoned everything they could have had in the world. They, to be sure, in order to sit with princes, must be raised from the dust and lifted from the dung. For what are the flatteries of the tongue, what are the trappings of fleeting dignities, but dust? For by their fawning they defile the mind and blind it from true splendors. And what are perishing riches and transitory possessions but dung to those who love eternal things? For dung is what holy souls hold in the contempt of humility, not in the appetite of desire. Hence Solomon too, seeing a rich man of the world saddened by the loss of temporal goods, says: "The sluggard is to be pelted with the dung of oxen" (Sir. 22:2). As if to say: He endures the blows of grief from that which the one who desires to labor for eternal life despises as dung. Hence Paul says: "I have counted all things as loss and consider them dung, that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:8). The needy one is therefore raised from the dust and the poor one is lifted from the dung when the mind, renouncing the world, tramples underfoot whatever used to please it—the flatteries of human tongues, the honor of dignities, and the abundance of possessions—while it looks only to eternal things, which alone it ardently loves. For to be raised and lifted is to despise by sublimity of mind those things which one leaves behind in the body. And to sit with princes is to share with the citizens of the heavenly fatherland in the joy of eternal rest. Such a one then surely holds the throne of glory, because one who presides so sublimely never falls silent from the praises of his Creator. For the Psalmist, admiring this seat of glory, speaks to the Lord, saying: "Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord; they will praise you forever and ever" (Ps. 83:5). Isaiah proclaims this seat of glory, saying: "Joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of praise" (Isa. 51:3). Holy Tobias likewise, showing this same seat, says: "And its streets will be paved with every precious and pure stone, and through all its lanes Alleluia will be sung" (Tob. 13:22). But let the rescued poor man look at what follows, because he is not brought immediately to the seat of princes and the throne of glory as soon as he has been raised up: "The hinges of the earth," it says, "are the Lord's, and he has set the world upon them." 22. Because sinners are designated by the name "earth" in sacred Scripture, these "hinges of the earth" can fittingly be understood as those in whom the world revolves through foolish desires, and leads from one to another. When therefore we behold converted sinners, let us break forth in praise of the Creator with these words of Hannah. For it is as if we say in other words: Those who were long held on the wheel of passing things by worldly desire have now begun to belong to the Lord through His grace. And when, having now abandoned the allurements of secular life, they bravely endure powerful temptations, let us say: "He has set the world upon them." For He has set the world upon them, which, before it was placed upon them, was beneath them. For they now bear as a burden of temptations that which, by flattering them, served them as if subject to them, when they reclined upon it by pursuing pleasures and delights. And because those who had great delights in it suffer great temptations from it, there is added: "He will guard the feet of His saints." — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 2, Chapter 1 Gregory the Dialogist : The needy and poor one is understood as the gentile people, who is said to be raised from the dust and lifted from the dung, because when he is received into the faith of the Redeemer, both his lesser and graver sins are forgiven. For since dust is easily shaken off, while filth that defiles with dung fouls horribly, dust signifies lighter sins and dung graver sins. Rightly also the needy one is said to be raised from the dust, and the poor one lifted from the dung. For he was sleeping among those things from which he could be roused by a light touch of grace. But he was lying among those things because, having fallen into graver sins, he needed the hand of great help. But now let us hear to what height of honor the needy one who is raised from the dust, and the poor one who is lifted from the dung, is advanced. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 1, Chapter 3 Gregory the Dialogist : That he may sit with princes, and hold the throne of glory. Now who are designated as princes in this place if not the holy apostles? Concerning these princes, indeed, it is said to God through the Psalmist: You shall make them princes over all the earth; they shall remember your name, O Lord (Ps. 44:17, 18). What does it mean that the poor man sits with princes, except that the order of preachers, chosen from among the nations, obtains in the holy Church the height of apostolic authority? He sits with princes, indeed, because from the throne of heavenly teaching he sets forth the doctrine of salvation. And he holds the throne of glory, because he spreads the fragrance of good reputation among those over whom he stands preeminent in dignity. Or certainly he holds the throne of glory and sits with princes, because he both shines with the honor of sublimity and gleams with miracles. But He who is raised up to such sublime dignity indicates how one ought to use it. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 1, Chapter 3 Gregory the Dialogist : The hinges of the earth are the extremities of the earth. By the name of hinges, he wished to designate those chosen preachers from among the nations. They are called the extremities of the earth because they are brought forth from the lowly and, in a certain sense, despised condition of the Gentiles. They are indeed called the hinges of the Lord on account of the mortification of their own will. They are truly the Lord's, because they do not seek their own interests, but those of Jesus Christ. But when they are called the Lord's, a certain singular holiness is indicated in them. Let those who are the Lord's consider that the world is placed upon them, not beneath them. For what is designated by the name of the world but the fullness of the faithful subject to the holy Church? God placed the world upon the hinges of the earth, because preachers are set over the holy Church for this purpose: that they may relieve the weakness of others and carry the feeble toward the heavenly homeland, as though bearing a weight placed upon them. Therefore, they should not always look upon themselves as superiors, but sometimes as subjects, so that by discipline they may preside over the restraining of vices, yet by the esteem and obedience of their ministry they may often be subordinate to those over whom they hold the charge of governance. And because the burdens that preachers bear are great... — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 1, Chapter 3