Before moving on to Psalm 2, Aquinas revisits his division of the psalms, and goes into more detail on the division of the first ten. We will recall that he has already said that Psalms 1-10 refer to the persecution of the individual righteous man in temporal affairs, by individuals belonging to his household (archetypally, Absalom, if we read the psalms from the perspective of David).
He nuanced this in the case of Psalm 1 (already reviewed) which he sees as an introduction or preface to the Psalms as a whole, not belonging to the overall theme of the first ten. The remaining nine psalms do, he thinks, contribute to a single theme, which he now refers to as the "tribulationes" (we tend not to use the obvious cognate "tribulations" today, so I will translate it from here as "troubles" or "afflictions") of the human race in general, and especially of Jesus Christ. This is different, at least in emphasis, to what he said before, so I will stay on the lookout for any further changes Aquinas makes to his initial schema as he meditates on the individual psalms.
The first ten Psalms, then, cover:
The "state and progress" of human beings seeking happiness. (1)
The troubles that afflict human beings (2-10), faced with which David/Christ:
Begs for God's help with future afflictions (2-7)
Asking to be delivered (2-6)
From those troubling him (2-4), regarding which he:
Remembers those who rose up against him before (2)
Asks for help against those rising up now (3)
Trusts that he has been heard, and encourages others to trust in God (4)
From those planning to mislead him (5-6)
Asking for his enemies to be destroyed (7)
Thanks God for His help (8-9)
Trusts in God, inspired by His help (10)
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