Psalms — Chapter 72

QUID ENIM MIHI EST IN CAELO. Lapide: Psalm 72 — the great theodicy psalm. "For what have I in heaven, and besides Thee what do I desire upon earth?" Lapide: the conclusion of the psalm after the psalmist's crisis of faith (vv.1-14: why do the wicked prosper?). Having been shown the end of the wicked (v.17) in God's sanctuary, the psalmist arrives at the highest mystical affirmation: God alone suffices. "What have I in heaven?" — no created good in heaven (not even the angels, not even bodily beatitude) satisfies the soul's deepest longing; only God Himself. Lapide: "Deus cordis mei et pars mea Deus in aeternum" (v.26) — God of my heart and my portion forever. The beatific vision as the soul's only and total good.