Chapters 40
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1 01 - Psalm 1 9:21
Augustine. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Blessed is the man that hath not gone away in the counsel of the ungodly. This is to be understood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord-Man. Blessed is the man that hath not gone away in the counsel of the ungodly. As the man of the earth did, who consented to his wife deceived by the serpent, to the transgressing the commandments of God, nor stood in the way of sinners. For he came indeed in the way of sinners, by being born as sinners are, but he stood not therein, for that the enticements of the world held him not, and hath not sat in the seat of pestilence.
He willed not an earthly kingdom with pride, which is well taken for the seat of pestilence, for that there is hardly any one who is free from the love of the world, and craves not human glory. For a pestilence is disease widely spread, and involving all or nearly all. Yet the seat of pestilence may be more appropriately understood of hurtful doctrine, whose word spreadeth as a canker. The order, too, of the words must be considered, went away, stood, sat. For he went away when he drew back from God. He stood when he took pleasure in sin. He sat when, confirmed in his pride, he could not go back, unless set free by him who neither hath gone away in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of pestilence.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he will meditate by day and by night. The law is not made for a righteous man, says the apostle, but it is one thing to be in the law, another under the law. Whoso is in the law, acteth according to the law, whoso is under the law, is acted upon according to the law. The one therefore is free, the other a slave. Again, the law which is written and imposed upon the servant is one thing. The law which is mentally discerned by him Who needeth not its letter is another thing. He will meditate by day and by night. It is to be understood either as without ceasing, or by day and joy, by night in tribulations. For it is said, Abraham saw my day and was glad.
And of tribulation it is said, My rains also have instructed me, even until the night. And he shall be like a tree planted hard by the running streams of water. That is either very wisdom, which vouchsafed to assume man's nature for our salvation, that as man he might be the tree planted hard by the running streams of waters. Or in this sense, can that too be taken which is said in another psalm, The river of God is full of water, or by the Holy Spirit, of whom it is said, He shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost. And again, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. And again, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that asketh water of thee, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water, of which whoso drinketh shall never thirst, but it shall be made in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life.
Or, by the running streams of waters, Maybe by the sins of the people, because first the waters are called peoples in the apocalypse, and again by running stream is not unreasonably understood fall, which hath relation to sin. That tree, then, that is, our Lord, from the running streams of water, that is, from the sinful peoples, drawing them by the way into the roots of his discipline, will bring forth fruit, that is, will establish churches in his season, that is, After he hath been glorified by his resurrection and ascension into heaven. For then, by the sending of the Holy Ghost to the apostles, and by the confirming of their faith in him, and their mission to the world, he made the churches to bring forth fruit.
His leaf also shall not fall, that is, his word shall not be in vain. For all flesh is grass, and the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower falleth. But the word of the Lord abideth for ever, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper, that is, whatsoever that tree shall bear, which all must be taken of fruit and leaves, that is, deeds and words. The ungodly are not so, they are not so, but are like the dust which the wind casteth forth from the face of the earth. The earth is here to be taken as that steadfastness in God, With the view to which it is said, The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, yea, I have a goodly inheritance. With the view to this it is said, Wait on the Lord, and keep his ways, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the earth.
With the view to this it is said, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. A comparison, too, is derived hence. For as this visible earth supports and contains the outer man, So that earth invisible the inner man. From the face of the earth the wind casteth forth the ungodly, that is, pride, and that it puffeth him up, on his guard against which he, who was inebriated by the riches of the house of the Lord, and drunken of the torrent stream of its pleasures, saith, Let not the foot of pride come against me. From this earth pride cast forth him who said, I will place my seat in the north, and I will be like the Most High. From the face of the earth it cast forth him also, who, after that he had consented, and tasted of the forbidden tree, that he might be as God, hid himself from the face of God.
That this earth has reference to the inner man, and that man is cast forth thence by pride, may be particularly seen in that which is written, Why is earth and ashes proud? Because in his life he cast forth his bowels. For whence he hath been cast forth, he is not unreasonably said to have cast forth himself. Therefore the ungodly rise not in the judgment. Therefore, namely, because as dust they are cast forth from the face of the earth. And well did he say that this should be taken away from them, which in their pride they court. Namely, that they may judge, so that this same idea is more clearly expressed in the following sentence. Nor sinners in the counsel of the righteous. For it is usual for what goes before to be thus repeated more clearly, so that by sinners should be understood the ungodly.
What is before in the judgment should be here in the counsel of the righteous. Or if indeed the ungodly are one thing and sinners another, So that although every ungodly man is a sinner, yet every sinner is not ungodly. The ungodly rise not in the judgment. That is, they shall rise indeed, but not that they should be judged, for they are already appointed to most certain punishment. But sinners do not rise in the counsel of the just. That is, that they may judge, but perventure that they may be judged. So that of these it were said, The fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. If any man's work abide, he shall receive reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall then suffer loss.
But he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous. As it is said, medicine knows health, but knows not disease, and yet disease is recognized by the art of medicine. In like manner can it be said that the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly he knoweth not. Not that the Lord is ignorant of anything, and yet he says to sinners, I never knew you. But the way of the ungodly shall perish. It is the same as if it were said, The way of the ungodly the Lord knoweth not. But it is expressed more plainly than this should be not to be known of the Lord, namely to perish, And this is to be known of the Lord, namely, to abide, so as that to be should appertain to the knowledge of God, but to his not knowing not to be.
For the Lord saith, I am that I am, and I am hath sent me. End of Psalm 1.
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2 02 - Psalm 2 10:18
Psalm 2 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Why do the heathen rage, and the people meditate vain things? The kings of the earth have stood up, and the rulers taken counsel together, against the Lord and against his Christ. It is said why, as if it were said in vain. For what they wished, namely, Christ's destruction, they accomplished not. For this is spoken of our Lord's persecutors, of whom also is made mention in the Acts of the Apostles. Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke from us. Although it admits of another acceptation, yet it is more fitly understood as in the person of those who are said to meditate vain things.
So that, let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke from us. Maybe, let us do our endeavor The sentence is repeated, for he who dwelleth in the heavens, is afterwards put, the Lord, and for laugh them to scorn, is afterwards put, shall have them in derision. Nothing of this, however, must be taken of a carnal sort, as if God either laugheth with cheek and derideth with nostril, But it is to be understood of that power which he giveth to his saints, that they seeing things to come, namely, that the name and rule of Christ is to pervade posterity and possess all nations, should understand that those men meditate a vain thing. For this power, whereby these things are foreknown, is God's laughter and derision.
He that dwelleth in the heavens shall laugh them to scorn. If by heavens we understand holy souls, By these God, as for knowing what is to come, will laugh them to scorn, and have them in derision. Then he shall speak to them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. For showing more clearly how he will speak unto them, he added, he will vex them, so that in his wrath is in his sore displeasure. But by the wrath and sore displeasure of the Lord God must not be understood any mental perturbation, But the might whereby he most justly avengeth, by the subjugation of all creation to his service. For that is to be observed and remembered, which is written in the wisdom of Solomon. But thou, Lord of power, judgest with tranquility, and with great favor orderest us.
The wrath of God, then, is an emotion which is produced in the soul which knoweth the law of God, when it sees this same law transgressed by the sinner. For by this emotion of righteous souls many things are avenged, although the wrath of God can be well understood of that darkening of the mind which overtakes those who transgress the law of God. Yet I am set by him as king upon Zion, his holy hill, preaching his decree. This is clearly spoken in the person of the very Lord our Saviour Christ. But if Zion signify, as some interpret, Beholding, we must not understand it, of anything rather than the Church, where daily is the desire raised of beholding the bright glory of God, according to that of the Apostle, but we with open face beholding the glory of the Lord.
Therefore the meaning of this is, Yet I am set by him as king over his holy Church, which for its eminence and stability he calleth a mountain. Yet I am set by him as king, I, that is, whose bands they were meditating to break asunder, and whose yoke is cast away. Preaching his decree, who doth not see the meaning of this, seeing it is daily practiced? The Lord has said unto me, Thou art my Son, to-day I have begotten thee. Although that day may seem to be prophetically spoken of, on which Jesus Christ was born according to the flesh, yet as to-day intimates presentality, In an eternity there is nothing past, as if it had ceased to be, or future, as if it were not yet, but present only, since whatever is eternal always is.
A divine interpretation is given to that expression. Today have I begotten Thee, whereby the uncorrupt in Catholic faith proclaims the eternal generation of the power and the wisdom of God, who is the only begotten Son.
This has at once a temporal sense with reference to the manhood which he took on himself, who offered up himself as a sacrifice in the stead of all sacrifices, who also maketh intercession for us, so that the words, ask of me, may be referred to all this temporal dispensation which has been instituted for mankind, namely, that the nation should be joined to the name of Christ. And so, And to the uttermost part of the Bible, The same repeated, the uttermost parts of the earth is put for the nations, but more clearly, that we might understand all the nations, and thy possession stands for thine inheritance. Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, with inflexible justice, and thou shalt break them like a potter's vessel, that is, thou shalt break in them earthly lusts, and the filthy doings of the old man, and whatsoever hath been derived and inured from the sinful clay.
And now understand ye kings, and now, that is, being now renewed, your covering of clay worn out, that is, Now understand, ye who now are kings, that is, able now to govern all that is servile and brutish in you, able now to This again is a repetition. Be instructed is instead of understand. And ye who judge the earth instead of ye kings. For he signifies the spiritual by those who judge the earth. For whatsoever we judge is below us, and whatsoever is below the spiritual man is with good reason called the earth, because it is defiled with earthly corruption. Serve the Lord with fear. Lest what is said, ye kings and judges of the earth turn into pride and rejoice with trembling. Very excellently is rejoice added, lest serve the Lord with fear should seem to tend to misery.
But again, lest this same rejoicing should run on to unrestrained inconsiderateness, there is added with trembling, that it might avail for a warning, and for a careful guarding of holiness. It can also be taken thus, And now ye kings understand, that is, and now that I am set as king, Be ye not sad, kings of the earth, as if your excellency were taken from you, but rather understand and be instructed. For it is expedient for you that ye should be under him by whom understanding and instruction are given you. And this is expedient for you, that ye lord it not with rashness, but that ye serve the Lord with all fear. And rejoice in bliss, most sure and most pure, with all caution and carefulness, Lest ye fall therefrom into pride.
Lay hold of discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and ye perish from the righteous way. This is the same as understand and be instructed. For to understand and be instructed, this is to lay hold of discipline. Still, in that it is said, Lay hold of. It is plainly enough intimated that there is some protection and defense against all things Lest it in time the Lord be angry is expressed with a doubt, not as regards the vision of the prophet to whom it is certain, but as regards those who are warned, for they to whom it is not openly revealed are wont to think with doubt of the anger of God. This, then, they ought to say to themselves, let us lay hold of discipline, Lest at any time the Lord be angry, and we perish from the righteous way.
Now how the Lord be angry is to be taken has been said above, and ye perish from the righteous way. This is a great punishment, and dreaded by those who have had any perception of the sweetness of righteousness. For he who perisheth from the way of righteousness in much misery will wander through the ways of unrighteousness. When his anger shall be shortly kindled, blessed are all they who put their trust in him. That is, when the vengeance shall come, which is prepared for the ungodly and for sinners, not only will it not light on those who put their trust in the Lord, but it will even avail for the foundation and exaltation of a kingdom for them. For he said not, when his anger shall be shortly kindled, safe are all they who put their trust in him.
As though they should have this only thereby to be exempt from punishment. But he said blessed, in which there is the sum and accumulation of all good things. Now the meaning of shortly, I suppose, to be this, that it will be something sudden, while sinners will deem it far off and long to come. End of Psalm 2
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3 03 - Psalm 3 20:38
Augustine. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. A Psalm of David, when he fled from the face of Absalom, his son. The words, I slept and took rest, and rose for the Lord will take me up. Lead us to believe that this psalm is to be more understood as in the person of Christ. For they sound more applicable to the passion and resurrection of our Lord. Then, too, the history in which David's flight is described from the face of his rebellious son. And since it is written of Christ's disciples, the sons of the bridegroom fast not as long as the bridegroom is with them. It is no wonder if by his undutiful son, Beher meant that undutiful disciple who betrayed him, from whose face, although it may be understood historically, that he fled, when on his departure he withdrew with the rest of the mountain.
Yet, in a spiritual sense, when the Son of God, that is, the power and wisdom of God, abandoned the mind of Judas, when the devil wholly occupied him, as it is written, the devil entered into his heart, may be well understood that Christ fled from his face. Not that Christ gave place to the devil, but on Christ's departure, the devil took possession. Which departure, I suppose, is called a flight in this psalm because of its quickness. Which is indicated also by the word of our Lord, saying, that thou doest do quickly. So even in the common conversation, we say of anything that does not come to mind, it has fled from me. And of a man of much learning, we say, nothing flies from him. Wherefore, truth fled from the mind of Judas when it ceased to enlighten him.
But Absalom, as some interpret in the Latin tongue, signifies, Patris Pax, a father's peace. And it may seem strange, Whether in the history of the kings, when Absalom carried on war against his father, or in the history of the New Testament, when Judas was the betrayer of our Lord, how father's peace can be understood. But both in the former place, they who read carefully, see that David, in that war, was at peace with his son, who even with sore grief lamented his death, saying, O Absalom, my son, would God I had died for thee, and in the history of the New Testament. By that so great and wonderful forbearance of our Lord, and that he bore so long with him, as if good, when he was not ignorant of his thoughts, and that he admitted him to the supper, in which he committed and delivered to his disciples the figure of his body and blood.
Finally, in that he received the kiss of peace at the very time of his betrayal. It is easily understood how Christ showed peace to his betrayer Although he was laid waste by the intestine war of so abominable a device, and therefore as Absalom called father's peace, because his father had the peace which he had not. O Lord, how are they multiplied that trouble me! So multiplied indeed were they, that even from the number of his disciples was not wanting. Who was added to the number of his persecutors? Many rise up against me. Many say unto my soul, There is no salvation for him and his God. It is clear that if they had any idea that he would rise again, assuredly they would not have slain him.
To this end are those speeches, Let him come down from the cross, if he be the Son of God. And again, He saved others, himself he cannot save. Therefore neither would Judas have betrayed him, if he had not been of the number of those who despised Christ. Saying, There is no salvation for him and his God. But thou, O Lord, art my taker. It is said to God in the nature of man, for the taking of man is the Word made flesh. My glory, even he calls God his glory, whom the Word of God so took that God became one with him. Let the proud learn who unwillingly hear when it is said to them, For what hath thou that thou didst not receive. Now if thou didst receive it, why didst thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?
And the lifter up of my head. I think that this should be here taken of the human mind, which is It was not unreasonably called the head of the soul, which so inherited it, and in a sort coalesced with, the super-eminent excellency of the word-taking man, that it was not laid aside By so great humiliation of the Passion. With my voice have I cried unto the Lord. That is, not with the voice of the body, which is drawn out with the sound of the reverberation of the air, but with the sound of the heart, which to men speaks not, but with God sounds as a cry. By this voice Susanna was heard, and with this voice the Lord himself commanded that prayer should be made in closets. That is, In the recesses of the heart noiselessly.
Nor would one easily say that prayer is not made with this voice, if no sound of words is uttered from the body, since even when in silence we pray within the heart, if thoughts interpose alien from the mind of one praying, it cannot be said, With my voice have I cried unto the Lord. Nor is this rightly said, save when the soul alone, taking to itself nothing of the flesh, and nothing of the aims of the flesh, In prayer speaks to God, where He only hears. But even this is called a cry by reason of the strength of its intention. And He heard me out of His holy mountain. We have the Lord Himself called a mountain by the prophet. As it is written, the stone that was cut without hands grew to the size of a mountain.
But this cannot be taken of His person unless, peradventure, He would speak thus. Out of myself, as of His holy mountain, He heard me. When he dwelt in me, that is, in this very mountain. But it is more plain and unembarrassed if we understood that God out of his justice heard, or it was just, that he should raise again from the dead the innocent who was slain, and to whom evil had been recompensed for good, and that he should render to the persecutor a meet reward who repaid him evil for good. For we read, Thy justice is as the mountains of God. I slept and took rest. It may not be unsuitably remarked that it is expressly said, I, to signify that of his own will, he underwent death. According to that, therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
No man taketh it from me. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. Therefore saith he, you have not taken me, Scripture contains numberless instances of sleep being put for death. As the Apostle says, Repetitions of this kind are usual in Scripture. As we have pointed out many in the second psalm, but some copies have, I slept and was cast into a deep sleep, and different copies express it differently. According to the possible writings of the Greek words, unless perhaps sleeping may be taken of one dying, but sleep of one dead, so that sleeping may be the transition into sleep, As awaking is the transition into wakefulness. Let us not deem these repetitions in the sacred writings empty ornaments of speech.
I slept and took rest, as therefore well understood as I gave up myself to my passion, and death ensued. And I rose, for the Lord will take me up. This is the more to be remarked how that in one sentence the psalmist has used the verb of past and future time, for he has said both I rose, which is the past, and I will take me up, which is the future. Seeing that assuredly the rising again could not be without that taking up. But in the prophecy the future is well joined to the past whereby both are signified, since things which are prophesied of as yet to come in reference to time are future, but in reference to the knowledge of those who prophesy, they are ready to be viewed as done. Verbs of the prevision tense are also mixed in.
It is written in the Gospels how great a multitude stood around him as he was suffering, and on the cross, It is not said to God, arise, as if asleep or lying down, but it is usual in Holy Scripture to attribute to God what he doeth in us, Not indeed universally, but where it can be done suitably. As when he is said to speak, when by his gift prophets speak, and apostles, or whatsoever messengers of the truth. Hence the text, Would you have proof of Christ, who speaketh in me? For he doth not say of Christ, by whose enlightening and order I speak. But he attributes at once the speaking itself to him, by whose gift he spake. Since thou hast smitten all who oppose me without a cause. It is not to be pointed as if it were one sentence, Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God, since thou hast smitten all who oppose me without a cause.
For he did not therefore save him, because he smote his enemies, but rather he being saved, he smote them. Therefore it belongs to what follows. So that the sense is this. Since thou hast smitten all who oppose me without a cause, Thou hast broken the teeth of the sinners, that is, thereby hast thou broken the teeth of the sinners, since thou hast smitten all who oppose me. It is forsooth the punishment of the opposers, whereby their teeth have been broken, that is, the words of sinners, rending with their cursing the Son of God, brought to naught, as it were to dust, so that we may understand teeth thus, as words of cursing, Of which teeth the apostle speaks, if ye bite one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
The teeth of sinners can also be taken as the chiefs of sinners, by whose authority each one is cut off from the fellowship of godly livers, as it were incorporated with evil livers. To these teeth are opposed the church's teeth, By whose authority believers are cut off from the error of the Gentiles and divers opinions, and are translated into that fellowship which is the body of Christ. With these teeth, Peter was told to eat the animals when they had been killed, that is, by killing in the Gentiles what they were and changing them into what he was himself. Of these teeth, too, of the church, it is said, Thy teeth are as a flock of shorn sheep coming up from the bath, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.
These are they who prescribe rightly, and as they prescribe live, who do what is written, Let your works shine before men, that they may bless your Father which is in heaven. Removed by their authority, who believe God, who speaketh and worketh through these men, and separated from the world, To which they were once conformed, they pass over into the members of the church. And rightly therefore are they through whom such things are done, called teeth like to shorn sheep. For they have laid aside the burdens of earthly cares, and coming up from the bath from the washing away of the filth of the world by the sacrament of baptism, everyone beareth twins. For they fulfill the two commandments of which it is said, On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Loving God with all their heart, and with all their soul, and with all their mind, and their neighbor as themselves. There is not one barren among them, for much fruit they render unto God. According to this sense, then, it is to be thus understood. Thou hast broken the teeth of the sinners. That is, thou hast brought the chiefs of the sinners to naught, by smiting all who oppose me without a cause. But the chiefs, according to the Gospel history, persecuted him, whilst the lower people honored him. Salvation is of the Lord, and upon thy people be thy blessing. In one sentence the psalmist has enjoined men what to believe, and has prayed for believers. For when it is said, Salvation is of the Lord, the words are addressed to men.
Nor does it follow, and upon thy people to be thy blessing. In such wise, As that the whole is spoken to men, but there is a change into prayer addressed to God Himself. For the very people to whom it is said, Salvation is of the Lord, what else then doth he say but this? Let no man presume on himself, seeing that it is of the Lord to save from the death of sin. For wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. But do thou, O Lord, bless thy people who look This psalm can be taken in the person of Christ another way, which is that whole Christ should speak. I mean, by whole, with his body, of which he is the head, according to the apostle who says, Ye are the body of Christ and the members.
He, therefore, is the head of this body. Wherefore, in another place he saith, But doing the truth in love, we may increase in him in all things. Who is the head? Christ. from whom the whole body is joined together and compacted. And the prophet then at once the church and her head, the church founded amidst the storms of persecution throughout the whole world, which we know already to have come to pass, speaks, O Lord, how are they multiplied that trouble me? Many rise up against me, wishing to exterminate the Christian name. Many say unto my soul, there is no salvation for him and his God. For they would not otherwise hope That they could destroy the Church, branching out so very far and wide, unless they believed that God had no care thereof.
But thou, O Lord, art my taker, in Christ, of course. For into that flesh the Church, too, hath been taken by the Word. Who was made flesh, and dwelt among us? For that in heavenly places hath he made us to sit together with him. When the head goes before, the other members will follow. 4. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Justly then does the church say, Thou art my taker, my glory. For she doth not attribute her excellency to herself, seeing that she knoweth by whose grace and mercy she is what she is. 5. And the lifter up of mine head, of him, namely, who, the firstborn from the dead, ascended up into heaven. With my voice have I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me out of his holy mountain.
This is the prayer of all the saints, the odor of sweetness, which descends up in the sight of the Lord. For now the church is heard out of this mountain, which is also her head, or out of that justice of God, by which both his elect are set free, and their persecutors punished. Let the people of God also say, I slept and took rest and rose, for the Lord will take me up. And they may be joined and cleaved to their head, for to this people it is said, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall lay hold on thee. Since they are taken out of sinners, of whom it is said generally, but they that sleep, sleep in the night, let them say, moreover, I will not fear the thousands of people that surround me.
Of the heathen verily that compass me about to extinguish everywhere, if they could, the Christian name. But how should they be feared, when by the blood of the martyrs in Christ, as by oil, The ardor of our love is inflamed. Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God. The body can address this to its own head, for at his rising the body was saved, who ascended up on high, led captivity captive, gave gifts unto men. For this is said by the prophets in the secret purpose of God, and told that ripe harvest which is spoken of in the Gospel, whose salvation is in his resurrection. who vouchsafe to die for us, shed out our Lord to the earth. Since thou hast smitten all who oppose me without a cause, thou hast broken the teeth of sinners.
Now, while the Church hath rule, the enemies of the Christian name are smitten with confusion, and, whether their curses or their chiefs, brought to naught. Believe then, O man, that salvation is of the Lord. And now, O Lord, may thy blessing be upon thy people. Each one, two of us may say, when a multitude of vices and lusts leads the resisting mind in the law of sin, O Lord, how are they multiplied that trouble me? Many rise up against me. And since despair of recovery generally creeps in through the accumulation of vices, as though these same vices were mocking the soul, or even as though the devil and his angels, through their poisonous suggestions, were at work to make us despair, it is said with great truth.
Many say unto my soul, There is no salvation for him in his God. But thou, O Lord, art my taker, for this is our hope, that he hath vouchsafed to take the nature of man in Christ. My glory, according to that rule, that no one should ascribe aught to himself, and the lifter up of mine head, either of him who is the head of all of us, or of the spirit of each several one of us, which is the head of the soul and body, For the head of the woman is the man, and the head of the man is Christ. The mind is lifted up when it can be said already, With the mind I serve the law of God, that the rest of man may be reduced to peaceable submission. When in the resurrection of the flesh death is swallowed up in victory, with my voice I have cried unto the Lord with that most inward and intensive voice, and he hath heard me out of his holy mountain.
Him through whom he hath succored us, through whose meditation he heard us, I slept and took rest, and rose, for the Lord will take me up. Who of the faithful is not able to say this, when he calls to mind the death of his sins and the gift of regeneration? I will not fear the thousands of people that surround me. Besides those which the Church universally hath borne and beareth, each one also hath temptations, by which, when compassed about, We may speak these words. Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God. That is, make me to arise, since Thou hast smitten all who oppose me without a cause. It is well in God's determinate purpose, said of the devil and his angels, who rage not only against the whole body of Christ, but also against each one in particular.
Thou hast broken the teeth of sinners. Each man hath those that revile him. He hath, too, the prime authors of vice. who strive to cut him off from the body of Christ. But salvation is of the Lord. Pride is to be guarded against, and we must say, My soul cleaved after thee, and unto thy people be thy blessing, that is, upon each one of us. End of Psalm 3.
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4 04 - Psalm 4 18:06
To the end, a psalm song to David. Christ is the end of the law, for righteousness to everyone that believeth. For this end signifies perfection, not consumption. Now it may be a question whether every song be a psalm, or rather every psalm a song, whether there are some songs which cannot be called psalms, and some psalms which cannot be called songs. But the scripture must be attended to. If happily song, do not donate a joyful theme, but those are called psalms which are sung to the psaltery, which the history, as a high mystery, declares the prophet David to have used. Of which matter, this is not the place to discourse, for it requires prolonged inquiry and much discussion. Now, meanwhile, we must Look either for the words of the Lord man after the resurrection, or of man in the church believing and hoping on Him.
Verse 1. When I called, the God of my righteous heard me. When I called, God heard me, the psalmist says, of whom is my righteousness? In tribulation thou hast enlarged me. Thou hast led me from the straits of sadness into the broad ways of joy. For tribulation and striteness is on every soul of man that doeth evil. But he who says, We rejoice in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, up to that where he says, Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us, he hath no straits of heart. They be heaped up on him outwardly by them that persecute him. Now the change of person That is, from the third person where he says, he heard, he passes at once to the second where he says, thou hast enlarged me.
If it not be done for the sake of variety and grace, it is strange why the psalmist should first wish to declare to men that he had been heard and afterwards address him who heard him, unless perchance when he had declared how he was heard. In this very enlargement of heart, he preferred to speak with God, that he might even In this way, show what it is to be enlarged in heart, that is, to have God already shed abroad in the heart, with whom he might hold converse interiorly, which is rightly understood as spoken in the person of him who, believing on Christ, has been enlightened. But in that of the very Lord man, whom the wisdom of God took, I do not see how this can be suitable, for he was never deserted by it, but As his very prayer against trouble is a sign, rather, of our infirmity, so also of that sudden enlargement of heart the same Lord may speak for his faithful ones, whom he has personated also when he said, I was enhungered, and you gave me no meat.
I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink, and so forth. Wherefore here also he can say, Thou hast enlarged me. For one of the least of his, holding converse with God, Whose love he has shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. Have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. Why does he again ask, when already he declared that he had been heard and enlarged? It is for our sakes of whom it is said, But if we hope for that we see not, we wait in patience. Or is it that in him who has believed that which is begun may be perfected? Verse 2 O ye sons of men, how long heavy in heart! Let your error, says he, have lasted at least up to the coming of the Son of God. Why then any longer are ye heavy in heart?
When will ye make an end of crafty wiles? If now, when the truth is present, ye make it not. Why do ye love vanity, and seek a lie? Why would ye be blessed by the lowest things? Truth alone, from which all things are true, make it blessed. For vanity is of deceivers, and all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labor, wherewith he labored under the sun? Why, then, are ye held back by the love of things temporal? Why follow ye after the last things, as though the first, which is vanity and a lie? For you would have them abide with you, which all pass away, as doth a shadow. Verse 3. And know ye that the Lord has magnified his Holy One, whom but him whom he raised up from below, and placed in heaven at his right hand.
Therefore doth he chide mankind, that they would turn at length from the love of this world to him. But if the addition of the conjunction, for he says, and know ye, is to any difficulty, He may easily observe in Scripture that this manner of speech is usual in that language in which the prophets spoke, For you often find this beginning, And the LORD said unto him, And the word of God came to him, Which, joining by a conjunction, when no sentence has gone before, to which the following one may be annexed, Peradventure admirably conveys to us That the utterance of the truth in words is connected with that vision which goes on in the heart. Although in this place it may be said that the former sentence, Why do ye love vanity and seek a lie?
As if it were written, Do not love vanity and seek a lie. And being thus read, it follows in the most direct construction, And know ye that the Lord hath magnified his Holy One. But the interposition of the disalma forbids our joining this sentence with the previous one. For whether this be a Hebrew word, as some would have it, which means so be it, or a Greek word, which marks a pause in the psalmody, so as that psalma should So, there's separation, daisama. where a certain pause of interrupted continuity is marked. Whether I say it be the former or the latter or something else, this at least is probable, that the sense cannot rightly be continued and joined where the diosoma intervenes. The Lord will hear me when I cry unto Him.
I believe that we are here warned that with great earnestness of heart, that is, with an inward and incorporeal cry, we should implore help of God. For as we must give thanks for enlightenment in this life, so must we pray for rest after this life. Wherefore, in the person, either of the faithful preacher of the gospel or our Lord himself, it may be taken as if it were written, The Lord will hear you when you cry unto him. Verse 4. Be ye angry, and sin not. For the thought occurred, who is worthy to be heard? Or how shall the sinner not cry in vain unto the Lord? Therefore, be ye angry, saith he, and sin not, which may be taken two ways. Either, even if ye be angry, do not sin. That is, even if there arise an emotion in the soul, which now by reason of the punishment of sin is not in our power, at least let not the reason and the mind, which is after God's regenerated within, That with the mind we should serve the law of God, although with the flesh we as yet serve the law of sin, consent thereunto.
Or repent ye, that is, be ye angry with yourselves for your past sins, and henceforth cease to sin. What you say in your hearts, there is understood, say ye. So that the complete sentence is, what ye say in your hearts, that say ye. That is, be ye not the people of whom it is said, With their lips they honor me, but their heart is far from me. In your chambers be pricked. This is what has been expressed already in heart. For this is the chamber, of which our Lord warns, that we should pray within with closed doors. But be ye pricked refers either to the pain of repentance that the soul in punishment should prick itself, That it be not condemned and tormented in God's judgment, or arousing that we should awake to behold the light of Christ as if pricks were made use of.
But some say that not be ye pricked, but be ye opened is the better reading, because in the Greek Psalter it is kete negete, which refers to that enlargement of the heart in order that the shedding abroad of love by the Holy Ghost may be received. Verse 5, Offer the sacrifice of righteousness, and hope in the Lord. He says the same in another Psalm, the sacrifice for God is a troubled spirit. Wherefore, that this is the sacrifice of righteousness, which is offered through repentance, is not unreasonable, here understood. For what more righteous than that each one should be angry with his own sins, rather than those of others, and that in self-punishment he should sacrifice himself unto God? Or, are righteous works after repentance the sacrifice of righteousness?
For the interposition of diassoma, not unreasonably perhaps, intimates even a transition from the old life to the new life. That's on the old man being destroyed or weakened by repentance the sacrifice of righteousness according to the regeneration of the new man may be offered to God. When the soul now cleansed, Offers and places itself on the altar of faith, to be compassed by heavenly fire, that is, by the Holy Ghost, so that this may be the meaning, offer the sacrifice of righteousness and hope in the Lord, that is, live uprightly and hope for the gift of the Holy Ghost, that the truth in which you have believed may shine upon you. But yet, hope in the Lord is as yet expressed without explanation.
Now what is hope for but good things? But since each one would obtain from God that good which he loves, and they are not easy to be found who love interior goods, that is, which belong to the inward man, which alone should be loved, but the rest are to be used for necessity, not to be enjoyed for pleasure, excellently did he subjoin when he had said, Hope in the Lord. Many say, Who showeth us good things? This is the speech, and this is the daily inquiry of all the foolish and unrighteous, whether of those who long for the peace and quiet of a worldly life, and from the forwardness of mankind find it not, who even in their blindness dare to find fault with the order of events, when involved in their own deservings, they deem the times worse than these which are past, or of those who doubt and despair of that future life which is promised us who are often saying, Who knows if it's true, or whoever came from below to tell us this?
Very inquisitively, then, and briefly, he shows to those, that is, who have interior sight, what good things are to be sought. Answering their question, Who say? Who showeth us good things? The light of thy countenance, saith he, is stamped on us, O Lord. This light is the whole and true good of man. which is seen not with the eye, but with the mind. But he says, stamped on us, as a penny is stamped with the king's image. For man was made after the image and likeness of God, which he defaced by sin. Therefore it is his true and eternal good, if by a new birth he be stamped. And I believe this to be the bearing of that which some understand skilfully. I mean that the Lord said on seeing Caesar's tribute money, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.
As if he had said, in like manner as Caesar exacts from you the impression of his image, so also does God, that as the tribute money is rendered to him, so should the soul to God, illuminated and stamped with the light of his countenance. Verse 7. Thou hast put gladness into my heart. Gladness, then, is not to be sought without by them who, being still heavy in heart, love vanity and seek a lie, but within, where the light of God's countenance is stamped. For Christ dwelleth in the inner man, as the Apostle says, For to him doth it appertain to see truth, since he hath said, I am the truth. And again, when he spake in the Apostle, saying, Would you receive a proof of Christ, who speaketh in me?
Ye spake not, of course, from without to him, but in his very heart, that is, in the chamber where we are to pray. But men, who doubtless are many, who follow after things temporal, know not to say aught else than, who showeth us good things. When the true and certain good within Of these, accordingly, is most justly said what he adds next. From the time of his corn of wine and oil, they have been multiplied. For the addition of his corn and oil, His is not superfluous, for the corn is God's inasmuch as he is the living bread which came down from heaven. The wine too is God's, for they shall be inebriated, he says, with the fatness of thine house. The oil, too, is God's, of which it is said, Thou hast fattened my head with oil.
But those many who say, Who showeth us good things? And who see not that the kingdom of heaven is within them? These from the time of his corn of wine and oil are multiplied, for multiplication does not always betoken plentifulness, and not generally scantiness. When the soul, given up to temporal pleasures, Burns ever with desire and cannot be satisfied, and distracted with manifold and anxious thought, is not permitted to see the simple good, such as the soul of which it is said, For the corruptible body presseth down on the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth on many things. A soul like this, by the departure and succession of temporal goods, that is, from the time of his corn, wine, and oil, Filled with numberless, idle fancies, is so multiplied that it cannot do that which is commanded.
Think on the Lord in goodness, and in simplicity of heart seek him. For this multiplicity is strong opposed to that simplicity. And therefore leaving these, who are many, multiplied, that is, by the desire of things temporal, who says, Who showeth us good things, which are to be sought not with the eyes without, but with simplicity of heart within. The faithful man rejoices and says, verse 8, "...in peace together I will sleep and take rest." For such men justly hope for all manner of estrangement of mind from things mortal and forgetfulness of this world's miseries, which is beautiful and prophetically signified under the name of sleep and rest, where the most perfect peace cannot be interrupted by any tumult.
But this is not had now in this life. But it is to be hoped for after this life. This even the words themselves, which are in the future tense, show us. For it is not said either, I have slept and taken rest, or I do sleep and take rest, but I will sleep and take rest. Then shall this corruptible put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality. Then shall death be swallowed up in victory. Hence it is said, but if we hope for that we see not, Wherefore, consistently with this, he adds the last words and says, Since thou, O Lord, in singleness hast made me dwell in hope. Here he does not say, wilt make, but hast made. In whom, then, this hope now is, there will be assuredly that which is hoped for.
And well does he say, in singleness. For this may refer in opposition to those many Who, being multiplied from the time of his corn of wine and oil, say, Who showeth us good things? For this multiplicity perishes, and singleness is observed among the saints, of whom it is said in the Acts of the Apostles, and of the multitude of them that believed, there was one soul and one heart. And singleness, then, and simplicity removed, that is, from the multitude and crowd of things that are born and die, We ought to be lovers of eternity in unity if we desire to cleave to the one God and our Lord. End of Psalm 4.
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5 05 - Psalm 5 27:24
Augustine. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The title of Psalm is, For Her Who Receiveth the Inheritance. The Church then is signified who receiveth for her inheritance eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, that she may possess God himself, in cleaving to whom she may be blessed, according to that, Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth. What earth but that of which it is said, Thou art my hope, my portion in the land of the living. And again, more clearly, the Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup. And conversely, the word church is said to be God's inheritance. According to that, ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance.
Therefore is God said to be our inheritance, because he feedeth and sustaineth us, and we are said to be God's inheritance, because he ordereth and ruleth us. Wherefore it is the voice of the church in this psalm called to her inheritance, that she too may herself become the inheritance of the Lord. Verse 1. Hear my words, O Lord. Being called, she calleth upon the Lord, that the same Lord, being her helper, she may pass through the wickedness of this world, and attain unto him. Understand my cry. The psalmist well shows what this cry is, how from within, from the chamber of the heart, without the body's utterance, it reaches unto God, and the bodily voice is heard, but the spiritual is understood.
Although this, too, may be God's hearing, not with carnal ear, but in the omnipresence of His Majesty. Attend thou to the voice of my supplication. That is, to that voice which he maketh request that God would understand, of which, what the nature is, he hath already intimated, when he said, Verse 2, Understand my cry, attend thou to the voice of my supplication, my King and my God. Although both the Son is God, and the Father God, and the Father and the Son together one God, and if asked of the Holy Ghost, we must give no other answer than that He is God. And when the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are mentioned together, we must understand nothing else than one God. Nevertheless, Scripture is wont to give the appellation of King to the Son, according then to that which is said, By me man cometh to the Father.
Rightly it is first my King, and then my God. And yet has not the psalmist said, Attend ye, but attend thou. For the Catholic faith preaches not two or three gods, but the very Trinity, one God. Not that the same Trinity can be together, now the Father, now the Son, now the Holy Ghost, as Sibelius believed. But that Father must be none but the Father, and the Son, none but the Son, and the Holy Ghost, none but the Holy Ghost, and this Trinity but one God. Hence, when the Apostle has said, Of whom are all things, by whom are all things, in whom are all things, he is believed to have conveyed an intimation of the very Trinity. Yet he did not add, To them be glory, but to him be glory, because I will pray unto thee.
Verse 3. O Lord, in the morning thou wilt hear my voice. What does that which he said above, hear thou, mean, as if he desired to be heard immediately? But now he saith, In the morning thou wilt hear. Not hear thou, and I will pray unto thee. Not I do pray unto thee. And as follows. In the morning I will stand by thee and will see. Not I do stand by thee and do see. Unless perhaps this former prayer marks the invocation itself, but being in darkness amidst the storms of this world, he perceives that he does not see what he desires, and yet does not cease to hope, for hope that is seen is not hope. Nevertheless he understands why he does not see, Because the night is not yet past, that is, the darkness which our sins have merited.
He says therefore, Because I will pray unto thee, O Lord, that is, because thou art so mighty to whom I shall make my prayer, in the morning thou wilt hear my voice. Thou art not he, he says, that can be seen by those from whose eyes the night of sins is not yet withdrawn. When the night then of my error is past, and the darkness gone, which by my sins I have brought upon myself, then thou wilt hear my voice. Why then did he say above not, Thou wilt hear, but hear thou? It is that after the church cried out, Hear thou, and was not heard, she perceived what must needs pass away, to enable her to be heard. Or is it that she was heard above, but doth not yet understand that she was heard, because she doth not yet see by whom she hath been heard?
And what she now says, In the morning thou wilt hear, she would have thus taken. In the morning I shall understand that I have been heard. Such is that expression, Arise, O Lord, that is, But this latter is taken of Christ's resurrection. But at all events, that scripture, the Lord your God proveth you, that he may know whether ye love him, cannot be taken in any other sense than that ye by him may know, and that it may be evident to yourselves what progress ye have made in his love. In the morning I will stand by thee, and will see. What is, I will stand, but I will not lie down? Now what else is to lie down but to take rest on the earth, which is a seeking happiness in earthly pleasures? I will stand by, he says, and we'll see.
We must not then cleave to things earthly, if we would see God, who is beheld by a clean heart. Verses 5 and 6. For thou art not a God who hath pleasure in iniquity. The malignant man shall not dwell near thee, nor shall the unrighteous abide before thine eyes. Thou hatest all that work iniquity. Thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie. The man of blood and the crafty man the Lord will abominate. Iniquity, malignity, lying homicide craft, and all the like, are the night of which we speak. On the passing away of which the morning dawns, He has unfolded the reason, then why he will stand by in the morning and see. For he says, Thou art not a God who has pleasure in iniquity. For if he were a God who had pleasure in iniquity, he could be seen even by the iniquitous, so that he would not be seen in the morning, that is, when the night of iniquity is over.
The malignant man shall not dwell near thee. that is, he shall not so see, as to cleave to thee. Hence follows, Nor shall the unrighteous abide before thine eyes. For their eyes, that is, their mind is beaten back by the light of truth, because of the darkness of their sins, by the habitual practice of which they are not able to sustain the brightness of right understanding. Therefore, even they who see sometimes, that is, who understand the truth, are yet still unrighteous. They abide not therein through love of those things which turn away from truth, for they carry about with them their night, that is, not only the habit, but even the love of sinning. But if this night shall pass away, that is, if they shall cease to sin, and this love and habit thereof be put to flight, the morning dawns, so that they not only understand, but also cleave to the truth.
Thou hast hated all that work iniquity. God's hatred may be understood from that form of expression by which every sinner hates the truth. For it seems that she, too, hates those whom she suffers not to abide in her. Now they do not abide who cannot bear the truth. Thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie. For this is the opposite to truth. But lest anyone should suppose that any substance or nature is opposed to truth, let him understand that a lie has a relation to that which is not, not to that which is. For if that which is bespoken, truth is spoken. But if that which is not bespoken, it is a lie. Therefore, saith he, thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie, because drawing back from that which is, they turn aside to that which is not.
Many lies, indeed, seem to be for someone's safety or advantage, spoken not in malice, but in kindness. Such was that of those midwives in Exodus, who give a false report to Pharaoh, to the end that the infants of the children of Israel might not be slain. But even these are praised not for the fact, but for the disposition shown, since those who only lie in this way will attain in time to a freedom from all lying. For in those that are perfect, not even these lies are found. For to these it is said, Let there be in your mouth yea yea nay nay whatsoever is more is of evil. Nor is it without reason written in another place, The mouth that lieth slayeth the soul. Lest any should imagine that the perfect and spiritual man ought to lie for this temporal life.
In the death of which no soul is slain, neither his own nor another's. But since it is one thing to lie, another to conceal the truth, if indeed it be one thing to say what is false, another not to say what is true, if happily one does not wish to give a man up even to this visible death, he should be prepared to conceal what is true, not to say what is false, so that he may neither give up him nor a lie, Lest he slay his own soul for another's body. But if he cannot yet do this, let him at all events admit only lies of such necessity, that he may attain to be freed even from these, if they alone remain, and receive the strength of the Holy Ghost, whereby he may despise all that must be suffered for the truth's sake.
In fine, there are two kinds of lies, in which there is no great fault. And yet they are not without fault, either when we are in jest or when we lie that we may do good. That first kind, in jest, is for this reason not very hurtful, because there is no deception, for he to whom it is said knows that it is said for the sake of jest. But the second kind is for this reason the more inoffensive, because it carries with it some kindly intention. That is to say, truth, that which has no duplicity, cannot even be called a lie, as if, for example, a sword be entrusted to anyone, and he promises to return it, when he who entrusted it to him shall demand it. If he chants to require his sword, when in a fit of madness, it is clear it must not be returned then, lest he kill either himself or others, until the soundness of mind be restored to him.
Here, then, is no duplicity, because he to whom the sword was entrusted when he promised that he would return it at the other's demand did not imagine that he could require it when in a fit of madness. But even the Lord concealed the truth when he said to the disciples, Not yet strong enough. I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. And the Apostle Paul, when he said, I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. Once it is clear that it is not blamable, sometimes not to speak what is true, but to say what is false. It is not found to have been allowed to the perfect. The man of blood and the crafty man the Lord will abominate. What he said above, thou hast hated all that work iniquity, thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie.
May well seem to be repeated here, so that one may refer the man of blood to the worker of iniquity, and the crafty man to the lie. For it is craft when one thing is done, another pretended. He used an apt word, too, when he said, Will abominate. For the disinherited are usually called abominated. Now this psalm is, For her who receiveth the inheritance. And she adds the exulting joy of her hope in saying, verse 7, but I, in the multitude of thy mercy, will enter into thine house. In the multitude of mercy, perhaps he means in the multitude of perfected and blessed men, of whom that city shall consist, of which the church is now in travail, and is bearing few by few. Now that many men, regenerated and perfect, are rightly called the multitude of God's mercy, who can deny?
When it is most truly said, What is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou visitest him? I will enter into thine house, as a stone into a building, I suppose is the meaning. For what else is the house of God than the temple of God, of which it is said, For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are, of which building he is the corner-stone, whom the power and wisdom of God co-eternal with the Father assumed.
I will worship at thy holy temple, in thy fear. The temple we understand as near the temple. For he does not say, I will worship in thy holy temple, but I will worship at thy holy temple. It must be understood, too, to be spoken not of perfection, but of progress towards perfection. So that the words, I will enter into thine house, should signify perfection. But that this may come to a happy issue, I will first, he says, worship at thy holy temple. And perhaps on this account he added in thy fear, which is a great defense to those that are advancing toward salvation. But when any one shall have arrived there, in him comes to pass that which is written, Perfect love casteth out fear. For they do not fear him who is now their friend.
to whom it is said, Henceforth I will not call you servants, but friends, when they have been brought through to that which was promised. Verse 8 O Lord, lead me forth in thy justice because of mine enemies. He has here sufficiently plainly declared that he is on his onward road, that is, in progress towards perfection. Not yet in perfection itself, When he desires eagerly that he may be led forth. But in thy justice, not in that which seems so to men, for to return evil for evil seems justice. But it is not his justice of whom it is said, He maketh his son to rise on the good and on the evil. For even when God punishes sinners, he does not inflict his evil on them, but leaves them to their own evil.
Behold, the psalmist says, He travailed with injustice. He hath conceived toil, and brought forth iniquity. He hath opened a ditch, and digged it, and hath fallen into the pit which he wrought. His pain shall be turned on his own head, and his iniquity shall descend on his own pate. When then God punishes, he punishes as a judge those that transgress the law, not by bringing evil upon them from himself, But driving them on to that which they have chosen, to fill up the sum of their misery. But man, when he returns evil for evil, does it with an evil will, and on this account is himself first evil, when he would punish evil.
Direct in thy sight my way. Nothing is clearer than that he here sets forth that time in which he is journeying onward, For this is the way which is traveled not in any regions of the earth, but in the affections of the heart. In thy sight, he says, direct my way, that is, where no man sees, who are not to be trusted in their praise or blame. For they can in no wise judge of another man's conscience, wherein the way toward God is traversed. Hence it is added, verse 9, for truth is not in their mouth. To whose judgment, of course, then, there is no trusting, and therefore must we fly within to conscience. And the sight of God, their heart is vain. How, then, can truth be in their mouth, whose heart is deceived by sin and the punishment of sin?
Once men are called back by that voice, Wherefore do ye love vanity and seek a lie? Their throat is an open sepulchre. It may be referred to significant gluttony, for the sake of which men often lie by flattery. And admirably has he said an open sepulchre, for this gluttony is ever gaping with open mouth, not as sepulchres which, on the reception of corpses, are closed up. This also may be understood hereby, that with lying and blind flattery men draw to themselves those whom they entice to sin. and as it were devour them, when they turn them to their own way of living. And when this happens to them, since they sin, they die. Those by whom they are led along are rightly called open sepulchres, for themselves too are in a manner lifeless, being destitute of the life of truth.
And they take in to themselves dead men, whom having slain by lying words and a vain heart, They turn unto themselves, but their tongues they deal craftily, that is, with evil tongues. For this seems to be signified when he says their own. For the evil have evil tongues, that is, they speak evil, when they speak craftily. To whom the Lord saith, How can ye, being evil, speak good things? Verse 10. Judge them, O God. Let them fall from their own thoughts. It is a prophecy, not a curse. For he does not wish that it should come to pass, but he perceives what will come to pass. For this happens to them, not because he appears to have wished for it, but because they are such as to deserve that it should happen.
For so also what he says afterwards, let all that hope in thee rejoice. He says by way of prophecy, Since he perceives that they will rejoice. Likewise it is said, prophetically, Stir up thy strength, and come. For he saw that he would come, although the words, Let them fall from their own thoughts, may be taken thus also. That it may rather be believed to be a wish for their good by the psalmist, whilst they fall from their own evil thoughts, that is, that they may no more think evil. But what follows drive them out forbids this interpretation, for it can in no wise be taken in a favorable sense that one is driven out by God. Wherefore it is understood to be said prophetically, and not of ill-will.
When this is said, which must necessarily happen to such as choose to persevere in those sins which have been mentioned, let them therefore Fall from their own thoughts. Is, let them fall by their own self-accusing thoughts. Let their conscience also bearing witness, as the apostle says, and their thoughts accusing or excusing in the revelation of the just judgment of God. According to the multitude of their ungodliness, drive them out. That is, drive them far away. For this is according to the multitude of their ungodliness. that they should be driven far away. The ungodly, then, are driven out from that inheritance, which is possessed by knowing and seeing God. As diseased eyes are driven out from the shining of light, when what is gladness to others is pain to them, therefore these shall not stand in the morning and see.
And that expression is as great a punishment as that which is said, But for me it is good to cleave to the Lord, is a great reward. To this punishment is opposed. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. For similar to this expulsion is, cast him into outer darkness. Since they have embittered thee, O Lord, I am, saith he, the bread which came down from heaven. Again, labor for the meat which wasteth not. Again, taste and see that the Lord is sweet. But to sinners the bread of truth is bitter, whence they hate the mouth of him that speaketh the truth. These then have embittered God, who by sin have fallen into such a state of sickliness, that the food of truth, in which healthy souls delight, as if it were bitter gall, they cannot bear.
Verse 11. And let all rejoice that hope in thee. Those, of course, who taste the Lord as sweet They will exult for ever, and thou wilt dwell in them. This will be the exultation for evermore, when the just become the temple of God, and he their indweller, will be their joy, and all that love thy name shall glory in thee, as when what they love is present for them to enjoy. And well is it said in thee, as if in profession of the inheritance, of which the title of the psalm speaks. When they too are his inheritance, which is intimated by, Thou wilt dwell in them, from which good they are kept back, whom God, according to the multitude of their ungodliness, driveth out. Verse 12. For thou wilt bless the just man.
This blessing, to glory in God, and to be inhabited by God, such sanctification is given to the just. But that they may be justified, a calling goes before, which is not of merit, but of the grace of God. For all have sinned, and want the glory of God. For whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Since then calling is not of our merit, but of the goodness and mercy of God. He went on to say, O Lord, As with the shield of thy goodwill thou hast crowned us. For God's goodwill goes before our goodwill to call sinners to repentance. And these are the arms whereby the enemy is overcome, against whom it is said, Who will bring accusation against God's elect?
Again, if God be for us, who can be against us? Who spared not his only Son, but delivered him up for us all? For if when we were enemies, Christ died for us, much more being reconciled shall we be saved from wrath through him. That is, that unconquerable shield whereby the enemy is driven back, when he suggests despair of our salvation through the multitude of tribulations and temptations. The whole contents of the psalm, then, are a prayer that she may be heard from the words, Hear my words, O Lord, unto my King and my God. Then follows a view of those things which hinder the sight of God, that is, a knowledge that she is heard, from the words, Because I shall pray unto thee, O Lord, in the morning thou wilt hear my voice.
Unto the man of blood and the crafty man the Lord will abominate. Thirdly, she hopes that she who is to be the house of God even now begins to draw near to him in fear, Before that perfection which casteth out fear, from the words, But I, in the multitude of thy mercy, unto I will worship at thy holy temple in thy fear. Fourthly, as she is progressing and advancing amongst those very things which she feels to hinder her, she prays that she may be assisted within, where no man seeth, lest she be turned aside by evil tongues, for the words, O Lord, lead me forth in thy justice because of my enemies, unto with their tongues they dealt craftily. Fifthly is a prophecy of what punishment awaits the ungodly, when the just man shall scarcely be saved, and of what reward the just shall obtain, who, when they were called, came and bore all things manfully, till they were brought to the end from the words, Judge them, O God.
Until the end of the psalm. End of Psalm 5.
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6 06 - Psalm 6 27:40
Augustine. This Leaver Rock's recording is in the public domain.
To the end in the hymns of the eighth, a psalm to David. Of the eighth seems here obscure, for the rest of this title is more clear. Now it seemed to some to intimate the day of judgment, that is, the time of the coming of our Lord, when he will come to judge the quick and the dead. Which coming, it is believed, is to be after reckoning the years from Adam, seven thousand years, so as that seven thousand years should pass as seven days, and afterwards that time arrive, as it were, the eighth day. But since it has been said by the Lord, it is not yours to know the times which the Father hath put in his own power, and, but of the day and that hour knoweth no man, no Neither angel nor power, neither the Son, but the Father alone.
And again, that which is written, that the day of the Lord cometh as a thief, shows clearly enough that no man should arrogate to himself the knowledge of that time by any computation of years. For if that day is to come, after 7,000 years, every man could learn its advent by reckoning the years. What comes then of the sons even not knowing this? Which, of course, is said with this meaning, that men do not learn this by the Son, not that he himself doth not know it. According to that form of speech, the Lord your God trieth you, that he may know, that is, that he may make you know, and arise, O Lord, that is, make us arise, when therefore the Son is thus said not to know this day, not because he knoweth not, But because he causeth those who know it not, for whom it is not expedient to know it, that is, he doth not show it to them.
What does this strange presumption mean? Which by reckoning up of years expects the day of the Lord as most certain after seven thousand years. Be we then willingly ignorant of that which the Lord would not have us know. Let us inquire what this title of the eighth means. The day of judgment may indeed, even without any rash computation of years, be understood by the eighth, for that immediately after the end of the world, life eternal being attained, the souls of the righteous will not then be subject unto times, and since all times have the revolution and repetition of those seven days, that peradventure is called the eighth day, which will not have this variety. There is another reason, which may be here not unreasonably accepted, why the judgment should be called the eighth, because it will take place after two generations, one relating to the body, the other to the soul.
For from Adam unto Moses the human race lived of the body, that is, according to the flesh, which is called the outward and the old man, and to which the Old Testament was given, that it might prefigure The spiritual things to come, by operations, albeit religions, yet carnal. Through this entire season, when men lived according to the body, death reigned, as the apostle saith, even over those that had not sinned. Now it reigned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, as the same apostle saith, for it must be taken of the period up to Moses. Up to which time the works of the law, that is, those sacraments of carnal observance, held even those bound, for the sake of a certain mystery, who were subject to the one God.
But from the coming of the Lord, from whom there was the transition from the circumcision of the flesh to the circumcision of the heart, the call was made that man should live according to the soul, that is, according to the inner man, who is also called the new man, By reason of the new birth and the renewing of spiritual conversation. Now it is plain that the number four has relation to the body, from the four well-known elements of which it consists, and the four qualities of dry, humid, warm, cold. Hence, too, it is administered by four seasons, spring, summer, autumn, winter. All this is very well known. For of the number four relating to the body, we have treated elsewhere somewhat subtly, but obscurely, which must be avoided in this discourse, which we would have accommodated to the unlearned.
But that the number three has relation to the mind may be understood from this, that we are commanded to love God after a threefold manner, with the whole heart, with the whole soul, with the whole mind, of each of which severally we must treat. Not in the Psalms, but in the Gospels. For the present, for proof of the relation of the number three to the mind, I think what has been said enough. Those numbers, then, of the body, which have relation to the old man and the Old Testament being passed and gone. The numbers, too, of the soul, which have relation to the new man and the New Testament being passed and gone, a sepantary, so to say, being passed. Because everything is done in time, Four having been distributed to the body, three to the mind, the eighth will come the day of judgment, which assigning to deserts their due will transfer at once the saint, not to temporal works, but to eternal life, but will condemn the ungodly to eternal punishment.
In fear of which, Condemnation the Church prays in this psalm and says, verse 1, Reprove me not, O Lord, in thine anger. The apostle, too, mentions the anger of the judgment. Thou treasurest up unto thyself, he says, anger against the day of the anger of the just judgment of God, in which he would not be reproved whosoever longs to be healed in this life. Nor in thy rage chasten me. Chasten seems rather too mild a word, for it availeth toward amendment. For for him who is reproved, that is accused, It is to be feared, lest his end be condemnation. But since rage seems to be more than anger, it may be a difficulty why that which is milder, namely chastening, is joined to that which is more severe, namely rage.
But I suppose that one and the same thing is signified by the two words. For in the Greek theomos, which is in the first verse, means the same as orgi, which is in the second verse. But when the Latins themselves too wished to use two distinct words, they looked out for what was akin to anger, and rage was used. Hence copies vary, for in some anger is found first, and then rage, in others for rage, indignation, or choler is used. But whatever the reading, it is an emotion of the soul, urging to the infliction of punishment. Yet this emotion must not be attributed to God, Now that which is tranquil is not disturbed. Disturbance, then, does not attach to God as judge. But what is done by his ministers, and that it is done by his laws, is called his anger, in which anger the soul, which now prays, would not only be reproved, but not even chastened.
That is, amended or instructed, for in the Greek it is pei the sophis, that is, instruct. Now in the day of judgment all are reproved that hold not the foundation which is Christ, But they are amended, that is, purged, who upon this foundation build wood, hay, stubble. For they shall suffer loss, but shall be saved as by fire. What then does he pray? who would not be either reproved or amended in the anger of the Lord. What else but that he may be healed? For where sound health is, neither death is to be dreaded, nor the physician's hand with caustics or the knife. He proceeds to say, Pity me, O Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. That is, the support of my soul or strength, for this is the meaning of bones.
The soul therefore says that her strength is troubled when she speaks of bones, for it is not to be supposed that the soul has bones, such as we see in the body. Wherefore, what follows tends to explain it, verse 3, and my soul is troubled exceedingly. Least because he mentioned bones, they should be understood as of the body. And now, O Lord, how long? Who does not see represented here a soul struggling with her diseases, but long kept back by the physician, that she may be convinced what evils she has plunged herself into through sin? What is easily healed is not much avoided, but from difficulty of the healing there will be the more careful keeping of recovered health. God then, to whom it is said, And thou, O Lord, how long?
Must not be deemed as if cruel, but as a kind Convincer of the soul, what evil she hath procured for herself. For the soul does not yet pray so perfectly as that it can be said to her, Whilst you are yet speaking, I will say, Behold, here I am, that she may at the same time also come to know, If they who do turn meet with so great difficulty, how great punishment is prepared for the ungodly, who will not turn to God. As it is written in another place, If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner and ungodly appear?
Verse 4. Turning herself, she prays that God, too, would turn to her. As it is said, Turn ye unto me, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord. Orders to be understood accordingly. To the way of speaking, turn, O Lord, that is, make me turn. Since the soul in this returning feels difficulty and toil, for our perfect turning findeth God ready, as says the Prophet, we shall find him ready as the dawn. Since it was not his absence, who is everywhere present, but our turning away that made us lose him. He was in this world, it is said, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. If, then, he was in the world, and the world knew him not, our impurity doth not endure the sight of him.
But whilst we are turning ourselves, that is, by changing our old life, are fashioning our spirit, we feel it hard and toilsome to be wrested back from the darkness of earthly lusts to the serene and quiet and tranquility of the divine light. And in such difficulty we say, Turn, O Lord, that is, help us. That that turning may be perfected in us, which findeth thee ready in offering thyself for the fruitation of them that love thee. And henceafter he said, Turn, O Lord. He added, And deliver my soul, cleaving, as it were, to the entanglements of this world and suffering in the very act of turning, from the thorns, as it were, of rending and tearing desires. Make me whole, he says, for thy pity's sake.
He knows that it is not of his own merits that he is healed, for to him sinning and transgressing a given commandment was just condemnation due. Heal me, therefore, he says, not for my merit's sake, but for thy pity's sake. Verse 5. For in death there is no one that is mindful of thee. He knows, too, that now is the time for turning unto God. For when this life shall have passed away, there remaineth not a retribution for our deserts, but in hell who shall confess thee. That rich man, of whom the Lord speaks, who saw Lazarus in rest, but bewailed himself in torments, confessed in hell. Yea, so as to wish even to have his brethren warned, that they might keep themselves from sin, because of the punishment which is not believed to be in hell, although therefore to no purpose.
Yet he confessed that those torments had deservedly lighted upon him, since he had wished his brethren to be instructed, lest they should fall into the same. What then is, but in hell who will confess thee? Is hell to be understood as that place, whether the ungodly will be cast down after the judgment, when by reason of that deeper darkness they will no more see any light of God to whom they may confess ought? For as yet, That rich man, by raising his eyes, although a vast gulf lay between, could still see Lazarus established in rest, by comparing himself with whom he was driven to a confession of his own deserts. It may be understood also, as if the psalmist calls sin, that is, committed in contempt of God's law, death, so as that we should give the name death to the sting of death because it procures death.
For the sting of death is sin, in which death this is to be unmindful of God, to despise his law and commandments. So that by hell the psalmist would mean that blindness of soul, which overtakes and enwraps the sinner, that is, the dying. As they did not think good, the apostle says, to retain God in their knowledge, God give them over to a retrobate mind. From this death and this hell, The soul earnestly prays that she may be kept safe, while she strives to turn to God and feels her difficulties. Wherefore, he goes on to say, verse 6, I have labored in my groaning. As if this availed but little, he adds, I will wash each night my couch. That is here called a couch where the sick and weak soul rests, that is, in bodily gratification and in every worldly pleasure.
Which pleasure whoso endeavors to withdraw himself from it washes with tears, for he sees that he already condemns carnal lusts, and yet his weakness is held by the pleasure, and willingly lies down therein, from whence none but the soul that is made whole can rise. As for what he says, each night he would perhaps have it taken thus, that he who ready in spirit perceives Some light of truth, and yet through weakness of the flesh rests sometime in the pleasure of this world, is compelled to suffer as it were days and nights in an alteration of feeling, as when he says, He feels, as it were, day, again when he says, And that one day comes, of which it is said, In the morning I will stand by thee, and will see.
For then he will stand, but now he lies down, when he is on his couch, which he will wash each night, that with so great abundance of tears he may obtain the most assured remedy from the mercy of God. I will drench my bed with tears. It is a repetition, for when he says, With tears, He shows with what meaning he said above, I will wash. For we take bed here to be the same as couch above. Although I will drench is something more than I will wash, since anything may be washed superficially, but drenching penetrates to the more inward parts, which here signifies weeping to the very bottom of the heart. Now the variety of tenses which he uses, the past when he said, I have labored, In my groaning and the future, when he said, I will wash each night my couch, the future again, I will drench my bed with tears.
This shows what every man ought to say to himself when he labors in groaning to no purpose. As if he should say, It hath not profited when I have done this, therefore I will do the other. Verse 7, Mine eye is disordered by anger. It is by his own, or God's anger, In which he maketh petition that he might not be reproved or chastened. But if anger in that place intimate the day of judgment, how can it be understood now? Is it a beginning of it that men here suffer pains and torments, and above all the loss of the understanding of the truth? As I have already quoted that which is said, God gave them over to a retrobate mind. For such is the blindness of the mind. Whosoever is given over thereunto is shut out from the interior light of God, but not holy as yet whilst he is in this life.
For there is outer darkness, which is understood to belong rather to the day of judgment, that he should rather be holy without God. Whosoever whilst there is time refuses correction. Now to be holy without God, what else is it but to be an extreme blindness? If indeed God dwell in inaccessible light, Whereinto they enter, to whom it is said, Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. It is then the beginning of this anger, which in this life every sinner suffers. In fear therefore of the day of judgment, he is in trial and grief, lest he be brought to that, the disastrous commencement of which he experiences now. And therefore he did not say, Mine eye is extinguished, but my eye is disordered by anger.
But if we mean that his eye is disordered by his own anger, there is no wonder either in this. For hence, perhaps it is said, let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Because the mind, which from her own disorder is not permitted to see God, supposes that the inner sun, that is, the wisdom of God, suffers as it were a setting in her. I have grown old in all mine enemies. He had only spoken of anger. As if it were yet his own anger that he spoke. But thinking on his other vices, he found that he was entrenched by them all. Which vices, as they belong to the old life and the old man, which we must put off, that we may put on the new man? It is well said, I have grown old, but in all mine enemies.
He means either amidst these vices, or amidst men who will not be converted to God. For these, even if they know them not, Even if they bear with them, even if they use the same tables and houses and cities, with no strife arising between them, and infrequent converse together with seeming concord, notwithstanding, by the contrariety of their aims, they are enemies to those who turn unto God. For seeing that the one love and desire this world, the others wish to be freed from this world. Who sees not that the first are enemies to the last? Or if they can, they draw the others into punishment with them. And it is a great grace to be conversant daily with their words, and not to depart from the way of God's commandments.
For often the mind, which is striving to go to Godward, being rudely handled in the very road, is alarmed, and generally fulfills not its good intent, lest it should offend those with whom it lives, who love and follow after other perishable and transient goods. From such every one that is whole is separated, not in space, but in soul. For the body is contained in space, but the soul's space is her affection. Wherefore, after the labor, and groaning, and very frequent showers of tears, since they cannot be ineffectual, which is asked so earnestly of him, who is the fountain of all mercies, and it is most truly said, The Lord is nigh unto them. Verse 8. It is either spoken prophetically, since they will depart, that is, the ungodly will be separated from the righteous, when the day of judgment arrives, Or, for this present time, for though both are equally found in the same assemblies, yet on the open floor the wheat is already separated from the chaff, though it be hid among the chaff.
They can therefore be associated together, but cannot be carried away by the wind together. For the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. Verse 9. The Lord hath heard my supplication. The Lord hath received my prayer. The frequent repetition of the same sentiments shows not, so to say, the necessities of the narrator, but the warm feeling of his joy, for they that rejoice are wont so to speak, as that it is not enough for them to declare once for all the object of their joy. This is the fruit of that groaning in which there is labor, and those tears with which the couch is washed and the bed drenched. Verse 10. He said above, Depart from me, all ye, which can take place, as it has been explained even in this life.
But as to what he says, let them be ashamed and vexed, I do not see how it can happen, save on that day when the rewards of the righteous and the punishments of the sinners shall be made manifest. For at present so far are the ungodly from being ashamed that they do not cease to insult us. And for the most part their markings are of such a veil, that they make the weak to be ashamed of the name of Christ. Hence it is said, Whosoever shall be ashamed of me before men, of him will I be ashamed before my Father. But now whosoever would fulfill these sublime commands to disperse, to give to the poor, that his righteousness may endure forever, and the selling all his earthly goods and spending them on the needy would follow Christ, saying, We brought nothing into this world, and truly we can carry nothing out.
Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content. Incurs the profane raillery of those men. And by those who will not be made whole is called mad, and often to avoid being so called by desperate men, he fears to do, and puts off that which the most faithful and powerful of all physicians hath ordered. It is not then at present that these can be ashamed, by whom we have to wish that we not be ashamed, and so be either called back from our proposed journey, or hindered or delayed. But the time will come when they shall be ashamed, saying, as it is written, These are they whom we had sometimes in derision, and a parable of reproach. We fools counted their life madness, and their end to be without honor.
How are they numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints? Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us. nor the sun risen upon us. We have been filled with the way of wickedness and destruction, and have walked through rugged deserts, but the way of the Lord we have not known. What hath pride profited us, or what hath the vaunting of riches brought us? All those things are passed away like a shadow. But as to what he says, let them be turned and confounded. Who would not judge it to be most righteous punishment That they should have a turning unto confusion. Who would not have one unto salvation? After this he added, exceeding quickly, for when the day of judgment shall have begun to be no longer looked for, when they shall have said, peace, then shall sudden destruction come upon them.
Now whensoever it come, it comes very quickly. Of whose coming we give up all expectation, and nothing makes the length of this life be felt. But the hope of living, for nothing seems more quick than all that has already passed in it. When then the day of judgment shall come, then will sinners feel how that all the life which it passeth away is not long, nor will that any way possible seem to them to have come tardily, which shall have come without their desiring, or rather without their believing. Although it can, too, be taken in this place thus. That insomuch as God has heard, so to say, her groans and her long and frequent tears, she may be understood to be freed from her sins and to have tamed every disordered impulse of carnal affection.
As she saith, depart from me, all ye that work iniquity, for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. And when she has had this happy issue, it is no marvel if she be already so perfect as to pray for her enemies. The words then, let all mine enemies be ashamed and vexed, may have this meaning, that they should repent of their sins, which cannot be effected without confusion and vexation. There is then nothing to hinder us from taking what follows, too, in this same sense. Let them be turned and ashamed. That is, let them be turned to God and be ashamed that they sometime gloried in the former darkness of their sins. As the Apostle says, For what glory had ye sometime in those things, of which ye are now ashamed?
But as to what he added, exceeding quickly, it must be referred either to the warm affection of her wish, End of Psalm 6.
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7 07 - Psalm 7 46:20
Augustine. This Leberbarks recording is in the public domain. A psalm to David himself, which he sung to the Lord, for the words of Chuzi, son of Gemini. Now the story which gave occasion to this prophecy may be easily recognized in the second book of Kings, for there Chuzi, the friend of King David, went over to the side of Absalom, his son. who was carrying on war against his father for the purpose of discovering and reporting the designs which he was taking against his father at the instigation of Akidophel, who had revolted from David's friendship and was instructing by his counsel to the best of his power the son against the father. But since it is not the story itself which is to be the subject of consideration in this psalm, from which the prophet had taken a veil of mysteries, If we have passed over to Christ, let the veil be taken away.
And first let us inquire into the signification of the very names, what it means. For there have not been wanting interpreters who, investigating these same words, not carnally according to the letter, but spiritually, declare to us that Chusi should be interpreted silence, and Gemini right-handed, Aketephel, brother's ruin, among which interpretations Judas, that traitor, again meets us. That Absalon should bear his image, according to the interpretation of it as father's peace, and that his father was full of thoughts of peace toward him, although he in his guile had war in his heart. Now, as we find in the Gospels that the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ are called sons, so in the same Gospels we find they are called brethren also.
For the Lord on the resurrection saith, Go and say to my brethren. And the apostle calls him the first begotten among many brethren. The ruin, then, of that disciple who betrayed him is rightly understood to be a brother's ruin, which we said is the interpretation of a ketevel. Now, as Chuzi, from the interpretation of silence is rightly understood that our Lord contended against the guile in silence. That is, In that most deep secret whereby blindness happened in part to Israel, when they were persecuting the Lord, that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter in, and so all Israel might be saved. When the apostle came to this profound secret in deep silence, he exclaimed as if struck with a kind of awe of its very depth, Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments! And his ways pass finding out. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor? Thus that great silence he does not so much discover by explanation, as he sets forth its greatness and admiration. In this silence the Lord, hiding the sacrament of his adorable passion, turns the brother's voluntary ruin, that is, his betrayer's impious wickedness, into the order The perfect soul, then, which is already worthy to know the secret of God, sings a psalm unto the Lord. She sings for the words of Chuzi, because she has attained to know the words of that silence. For among unbelievers and persecutors, There is that silence in secret, but among his own to whom it is said, Now I call you no more servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth.
But I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of my father I have made known unto you. Among his friends I say, There is not the silence, but the words of the silence, that is, The meaning of that silence set forth and manifested. Which silence, that is, Chuzi, is called the son of Gemini, that is, right-handed? For what was done for the saints was not to be hidden from them. And yet he saith, Let not the left hand know what the right hand doeth. The perfect soul, then, to which that secret has been made known, sings in prophecy for the words of Chuzi, that is, for the knowledge of that same secret. which secret God at her right hand, that is favorable and propitious unto her, has wrought.
Wherefore this silence is called the Son of the right hand, which is choosy the Son of Gemini. Verse 1. O Lord my God, in thee have I hoped. Save me from all that persecute me and deliver me. As one to whom already perfected, all the war and enmity of vice being overcome, He says, Verse 2. The Apostle says, Therefore, when the psalmist said in the plural number, He afterwards introduced the single, He says, And that it might be clear that the already perfect soul Which is to be on her guard against the most insidious snares of the devil only says this. See what follows, verse 3. What is it that he calls this? Since he does not mention the sin by name, are we to understand sin generally? If this sense displeases us, we may take that to be meant which follows, as if we had asked, He answers, Now then, it is clear that it is said of all sin, verse 4, which none can say with truth but the perfect.
For so the Lord says, Be ye perfect as your Father which is in heaven, who maketh his Son to rise upon the good and the evil, And reigneth on the just and the unjust. He, then, who repayeth not them that recompense evil, is perfect. When therefore the perfect soul prays for the words of Chuzi, the son of Gemini, that is, for the knowledge of that secret in silence, which the Lord, favorable to us and merciful, wrought for our salvation, so as to endure and with all patience bear the guiles of this betrayer. As if he should say to this perfect soul, explaining the design of this secret, for the ungodly and a sinner, and thine iniquities might be washed away by my bloodshedding. In great silence and great patience I bore with my betrayer.
Wilt not thou imitate me, that thou too mayest not repay evil for evil? Considering then that understanding what the Lord has done for him, and by his example going on to perfection. The psalmist says, If I have repaid them that recompensed me evil, that is, if I have not done what thou hast taught me by thy example, may I therefore fall by mine enemies empty. And he says, well, not, if I have repaid them that do me evil, but who recompense, for whoso recompenseth had received someone already. Now, it is an instance of greater patience not even to repay him evil, who after receiving benefits returns good for evil, than if without receiving any previous benefit he had had a mind to injure. If therefore, he says, I have repaid them that recompense me evil, that is, if I had not imitated thee in that silence, that is, in thy patience which thou hast wrought for me, May I fall by mine enemies empty.
For he that is an empty boaster, who being himself a man, desires to avenge himself on a man, and whilst he openly seeks to overcome a man, is secretly himself overcome by the devil, rendered empty by vain and proud joy, because he could not, as it were, be conquered. The psalmist knows, then, where a greater victory may be obtained, and where the Father which seeth in secret will reward. Lest then he repay them that recompense evil, he overcomes his anger rather than another man, being instructed, too, by those writings, wherein it is written, Better is he that overcometh his anger than he that taketh a city. If I have repaid them that recompense me evil, may I therefore fall by my enemies empty.
He seems to swear by way of execration, which is the heaviest kind of oath. As when one says, If I have done so-and-so, may I suffer so-and-so. By swearing in a swears' mouth is one thing, and a prophets meaning another. For he mentions what will really befall man, who repay them that recompense evil. Not what, as by an oath, he would imprecate on himself or any other. Verse 5. Let the enemy therefore persecute my soul and take it. By again naming the enemy in the singular number, he more and more clearly points out him whom he spoke of above as a lion. For he persecutes the soul, and if he has deceived it, will take it. For the limit of men's rage is the destruction of the body. But the soul, after this visible death, they cannot keep in their power.
Whereas whatever souls the devil shall have taken by his persecutions, he will keep. And let him tread my life upon the earth. That is, by treading, let him make my life earth, that is to say, his food. For he is not only called a lion, but a serpent too, to whom it was said, Earth shalt thou eat. And to the sinner it was said, Earth thou art, and unto earth shalt thou go. And let him bring down my glory to the dust. This is that dust which the wind casteth forth From the face of the earth, to wit, vain and silly boasting of the proud, puffed up, not with solid weight, as a cloud of dust carried away by the wind. Justly then has he here spoken of the glory which he would not have brought down to dust, for he would have it solidly established in conscience before God, where there is no boasting.
He that glorieth, sayeth the apostle, let him glory in the Lord. This solidly is brought down to the dust, if one through pride, despising the secrecy of conscience, where God only proves a man, desires to glory before men. Hence comes what the psalmist elsewhere says, God shall bruise the bones of them that displease men. Now he that has well learnt or experienced the steps in overcoming vices knows that his vice of empty glory is either alone, Or, more than all, to be shunned by the perfect. For that by which the soul first fell, she overcomes the last. For the beginning of all sin is pride, and again the beginning of man's pride is to depart from God. Verse 6. Arise, O God, in thine anger.
Why yet does he, who we say is perfect, incite God to anger? Must we not see whether he rather be not perfect, who, when he was being stoned, said, O Lord, lay not this sin to their charge? Or does the psalmist pray thus not against men, but against the devil and his angels, whose possession sinners and the ungodly are? He then does not pray against him in wrath, but in mercy, whosoever prays that that possession may be taken from him by that Lord.
And since it is a punishment that a possession, in which one longs to have rule, should be taken away from him, this punishment that he should cease to possess those whom he now possesses, the psalmist calls the anger of God against the devil. Arise, O Lord, in thine anger. Arise, he has used it as appear, in words that is human and obscure, as though God sleeps when he is unrecognized and hidden in his secret workings. Be exalted in the borders of mine enemies. He means by borders the possession itself, in which he wishes that God should be exalted, that is, be honored and glorified, rather than the devil. While the ungodly are justified and praise God, and arise, O Lord my God, in the commandment that thou hast given.
That is, since thou hast enjoined humility, appear in humility, and first fulfill that thou hast enjoined, that men by thy example, overcoming pride, may not be possessed of the devil, who against thy commandments advised to pride, saying, Eat, and your eyes shall be opened, And ye shall be as gods, and the congregation of the people shall surround thee. This may be understood in two ways. For the congregation of people can be taken either of them that believe, or of them that persecute, both of which took place in the same humiliation of our Lord, in contempt of which the multitude of them that persecute surround him, concerning which it is said, Why have the heathen raged, and the people meditated vain things?
But of them that believe through his humiliation the multitude so surrounded him that it could be said with the greatest truth, blindness in part is happened unto Israel, that the fullness of the Gentiles might come in. And again ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thine inheritance, and the boundaries of the earth for thy possession. And for their sakes return thou on high. That is, for the sake of this congregation, returned now on high, which he is understood to have done by his resurrection and ascension into heaven. For being thus glorified, he gave the Holy Ghost, which before his exaltation could not be given, as it is written in the Gospel, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.
Having then returned on high for the sake of the congregation of the people, He sent the Holy Ghost, by whom the preachers of the Gospel, being filled, filled the whole world with churches. It can be taken also in this sense, Arise, O Lord, in thine anger, and be exalted in the borders of mine enemies. That is, arise in thine anger, and let not mine enemies understand thee. So that to be exalted should be this, become high, that thou mayest not be understood. Which has reference to the silence spoken of above. For it is of this exaltation, thus said in another psalm, And he ascended upon cherubim, and flew, and he made darkness his secret place. In which exaltation or concealment, when their sins desert, they shall not understand thee.
Who shall crucify thee? The congregation of believers shall surround thee. For in his very humiliation, He was exalted, that is, was not understood. So that, and arise, O my Lord, in the commandment that thou hast given, may have reference to this, that is, when thou showest thyself, be high or deep, that mine enemies may not understand thee. Now sinners are the enemies of the just man, and the ungodly of the godly man, and the congregation of the people shall surround thee. That is, by this very circumstance, that those who crucify thee understand thee not. The Gentiles shall believe on thee, and so shall the congregation of the people surround thee. But what follows? If this be the true meaning, has in it more pain that it begins already to be perceived than joy that it is understood.
For it follows, and for their sakes return thou on high. That is, and for the sake of this congregation of the human race, wherewith the churches are crowded, return thou on high. That is, again cease to be understood. What then is, and for their sakes, but that this congregation too will offend thee, so that thou mayest most truly foretell, and say, Thinkest thou when the Son of Man shall come? He will find faith on the earth. Again, of the false prophets who are understood to be heretics, he says, because of their iniquity, the love of many shall wax cold. Since then, even in the churches, that is, in the congregation of the peoples and nations, where the Christian name has most widely spread, there shall be so great abundance of sinners, which is already in great measure perceived.
Is not that famine of the word here predicted, which has been threatened by another prophet also? Is it not too, for this congregation's sake, who by their sins are estranging from themselves the light of truth, that God returns on high, that is, so that faith, pure and cleansed from the corruption of all perverse opinions, is held and received, either not at all or by the very few of whom it was said, Blessed is he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. Not without cause, then, is it said, And for the sake of this congregation return thou on high, that is, again withdraw into the depth of thy secrecy, even for the sake of this congregation of the peoples, that hath thy name, and doeth not thy deeds.
But whether the former exposition of this place, or the last, be the more suitable, without prejudice to any one better or equal, or as good, it follows very consistently, The Lord judgeth the people. Rather, he returned on high when, after the resurrection, he ascended into heaven. Well does it follow, the Lord judgeth the people, for that he will come from thence to judge the quick and the dead. Rather, he returned on high when the understanding of the truth leaves sinful Christians. For that of his coming it has been said, Thinkest thou the Son of Man on his coming will find faith on the earth? The Lord then judgeth the people. What Lord but Jesus Christ? For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.
Wherefore, this soul which prayeth perfectly, see how she fears not the day of judgment, and with a truly secure longing says in her prayer, Thy kingdom come, judge me. She says, O Lord, according to my righteousness. And the former psalm, a weak one, was entreating, imploring rather the mercy of God, Since the Son of God came to call sinners to repentance, therefore he had there said, Save me, O Lord, for thy mercy's sake. That is, not for my desert's sake, but now, since being called, he hath held and kept the commandments which he received. He is bold to say, Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to my harmlessness that is upon me. This is true harmlessness, which harms not even an enemy.
Accordingly, well, does he require to be judged according to this harmlessness, who could say with truth, if I have repaid them that recompense me evil. As for what he added, that is upon me. It can refer not only to harmlessness, but can be understood also with reference to righteousness, that the sense should be this, judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness.
By which addition he shows that this very thing, that the soul is righteous and harmless, she has not by herself, but by God who giveth brightness and light. For of this he says in another Psalm, Thou, O Lord, will light my candle. And of John it is said, He that was the light, but bore witness of the light. He was a burning and shining candle. That light, then, when souls as candles are kindled, shines forth not with borrowed, but with original brightness, which light is truth itself. It is then so said, according to my righteousness and according to my harmlessness, that is upon me. As if a burning and shining candle should say, Judge me according to the flame which is upon me, that is, not that wherewith I am myself, Verse 9.
He says, Be consumed, be completed, according to that in the Apocalypse. Let the righteousness become more righteous, and let the filthy be filthy still. For the wickedness of those men appears consummate, who crucified the Son of God. But greater is theirs who will not live brightly, and hate the precepts of truth, for whom the Son of God was crucified. Let the wickedness of sinners, then, he say, be consummated, that is, arrive at the height of wickedness, that just judgment may be able to come at once. But since it is not only said, Let the filthy be filthy still, but it is said also, Let the righteous become more righteous, he joins on the words, And thou shalt direct the righteous, O God who searcheth the hearts and reins.
How then can the righteous be directed but in secret? When even by means of those things, which in the commencement of Christian ages, when as yet the saints were oppressed by the persecution of men of this world, appeared marvelous to men. Now that the Christian name has begun to be in such high dignity, hypocrisy, that his pretense, has increased. Of those I mean who, by the Christian profession, had rather pleased men, Then God. How then is the righteous man directed in so great confusion of pretense, save whilst God searcheth the hearts and reins, seeing all men's thoughts, which are meant by the word heart, and their delights, which are understood by the word reins? For the delight in things temporal and earthly is rightly ascribed to the reins, for that is both The lower part of man and that region where the pleasure of carnal generation dwells, through which man's nature is transferred into this life of care, and deceiving joy by the succession of the race.
God then searching our hearts and perceiving that it is there where our treasure is, that is, in heaven, searching also the rains and perceiving that we do not assent to flesh and blood, but delight ourselves in the Lord. He says, And does each man strive by care and thought, that he may attain to his delight? He therefore seeth our cares, who searcheth the heart. He seeth, too, the ends of cares, that is, delights. Who narrowly searcheth the rains, that when he shall find that our cares incline neither to the lusts of the flesh, nor to the lusts of the eyes, nor to the pride of life, all which pass away as a shadow, but that they are raised upward to the joys of things eternal, which are spoilt by no change.
He may direct the righteous, even he, the God who searcheth the hearts and rains. For our works, which we do in deeds and words, may be known unto men, but with that mind they are done, and to what end we would attain by means of them, he alone knoweth, the God who searcheth the hearts and reins. Verse 10. My righteous help is from the Lord, who maketh the whole, the upright in heart. The offices of medicine are twofold. One, the curing infirmity. The other, the preserving health. According to the first, it was said in the preceding psalm, Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak. According to the second, it is said in this psalm, If there be any iniquity in my hands, if I have repaid them that recompense me evil, may I therefore fall by my enemies empty.
For there the weak prays that he may be delivered. Here one already whole, that he may not change for the worse. According to the one, it is there said, Make me whole for thy mercy's sake. According to the other, it is here said, Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness. For there he asks for a remedy to escape from disease, but here for a protection from falling into disease. According to the former, it is said, Make me whole, O Lord, according to thy mercy. According to the latter, it is said, My righteous help is from the Lord, who maketh whole the upright in heart. Both the one and the other maketh men whole, but the former removes them from sickness into health, the latter preserves them in this health.
Therefore there the help is merciful, because the sinner hath no desert, who as yet longeth to be justified, believing on him who justifieth the ungodly. But here the help is righteous, because it is given to one already righteous. Let the sinner then who said, I am weak, say in the first place, Make me whole, O Lord, for thy mercy's sake. And here let the righteous man who said, If I have repaid them that recompense me evil, say, My righteous help is from the Lord, who maketh whole the upright in heart. If he sets forth the medicine by which we may be healed, When weak, how much more that by which we may be kept in health? For if while we were yet sinners Christ died for us, how much more, being now justified, shall we be kept whole from wrath through him?
My righteous help is from the Lord, who maketh whole the upright in heart. God, who searcheth the hearts and reins, directeth the righteous, but with righteous help maketh he whole the upright in heart. He doth not, as he searcheth the hearts and reins, so make whole the upright in heart and reins. For the thoughts are both bad in a deprived heart, and good in an upright heart. But delights which are not good belong to the reins, for they are more low and earthly. But those that are good, not to the reins, but to the heart itself. Wherefore, men cannot be so called upright in reins, as they are called upright in heart, Since where the thought is, there at once the delight is too, which cannot be unless when things divine and eternal are thought of.
Thou hast given, he says, joy to my heart, when he had said, the light of thy countenance has been stamped upon us, O Lord. For although the phantoms of things temporal, which the mind falsely pictures to itself, when tossed by vain and mortal hope to vain imaginations, oftentimes Bring in delirious and maddened joy. Yet this delight must be attributed not to the heart, but to the reins. For all these imaginations have been drawn from lore, that is, earthly and carnal things. Hence it comes that God who searcheth the hearts And therefore, when in another psalm... He had said, Moreover, even tonight, my reins have chided me, he went on to say, as touching help, I foresaw the Lord always in my sight, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
Where he shows that he suffered suggestions only from the reins, not delights as well. For had he suffered these, then he would, of course, be moved. But he said, The Lord is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. And then he adds, Wherefore was my heart delighted? That the reins should have been able to chide, not delight him. The delight, accordingly, was produced not in the reins, but there where against the chiding of the reins God was foreseen to be on the right hand, that is, in the heart. Verse 11. God the righteous judge, strong in endurance and long-suffering. What God is judge but the Lord, who judgeth the people? He is righteous, who shall render to every man according to his works.
He is strong in endurance, who, being powerful for our salvation, bore even with ungodly persecutors. He is longsuffering, who did not immediately after his resurrection hurry away to punishment, even those that persecuted him, but bore with them that they might at length Turn from that ungodliness to salvation. And still he beareth with them, reserving the last penalty for the last judgment, and up to this present time inviting sinners to repentance, not bringing in anger every day. Perhaps bringing in anger is a more significant expression than being angry. And so we find it in the Greek copies, that the anger whereby he punisheth should not be in him, but in the minds of those ministers Who obey the commandments of truth, through whom orders are given even to the lower ministries, who are called angels of wrath, to punish sin, whom even now the punishment of men delights not for justice' sake, in which they have no pleasure, but for malice' sake, God then doth not bring in anger every day.
That is, he doth not collect his ministers for vengeance every day. For now the patience of God inviteth to repentance. But in the last time, when men through their hardness and impenitent heart shall have treasured up for themselves anger in the day of anger, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, then he will brandish his sword. Verse 12. Unless ye be converted, he says, he will brandish his sword. The Lord man himself may be taken to be God's double-edged sword, that is, his spear, which at his first coming he will not brandish, but hideth, as it were, in the sheath of humiliation. But he will brandish it when, at the second coming, to judge the quick and dead, in the manifest splendor of his glory.
He shall flash light on his righteous ones, and terror on the ungodly. Or in other copies, instead of, he shall brandish His sword, it has been written, He shall make bright his spear. By which word I think the last coming of the Lord's glory most appropriately signified. Seeing that it is understood of his person, which another psalm has, The tenses of the words must not be altogether overlooked. How he has spoken of the sword of the future, he will brandish. Of the bow in the past, he hath bent. And these words of the past tense follow after. Verse 13. And in it he hath prepared the instruments of death. He has wrought his arrows for the burning. That bow, then, I would readily take to be the Holy Scripture, in which, by the strength of the New Testament, as by a sort of string, The hardness of the old has been bent and subdued.
From thence the apostles are sent forth like arrows, or divine preachings are shot. Which arrows he hath wrought for the burning? Arrows, that is, whereby, being stricken, they might be inflamed with heavenly love. For by what other arrows was she stricken, who saith, Bring unto the house of wine, place me among perfumes, crowd me among honey? For I have been wounded with love. By what other arrows is he kindled? Who, desirous of returning to God, and coming back from wandering, asketh for help against crafty tongues? To whom it was said, What shall be given thee, or what added to thee, against the crafty tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty, and devastating coals, that is, coals whereby, when thou art stricken and set on fire, thou mayest burn with so great love of the kingdom of heaven, as to despise the tongues of all that resist thee, and would recall thee from thy purpose, and to deride their persecutions, saying, Who shall separate me from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? For I am persuaded, he says, that neither death, nor life, nor angel, nor principality, nor things present, nor things to come. Nor power, nor height, nor depth, nor other creature shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thus for the burning hath he wrought his arrows. For in the Greek copies it is found thus, He hath wrought his arrows for the burning. But most of the Latin copies have burning arrows. But whether the arrows themselves burn or make others burn, of which they cannot do unless they burn themselves, The sense is complete. But since he has said that the Lord has prepared not arrows only, but instruments of death too, in the bow it may be asked, what are instruments of death?
Are they, peradventure, heretics? For they too, out of the same bow, that is, out of the same scriptures, light upon souls, not to be inflamed with love, but to destroy with poison, which does not happen but after their deserts. Wherefore, even this dispensation is to be assigned to the divine providence, not that it makes men sinners, but that it orders them after they have sinned. For through sin, reaching them with an ill purpose, they are forced to understand them ill, that this should be itself the punishment of sin, by whose death nevertheless the sons of the Catholic Church are, as it were, by certain thorns. So to say, aroused from slumber, And make progress toward the understanding of the Holy Scriptures.
For there must be also heretics, that they which are approved, he said, may be made manifest among you, that is, among men, seeing that they are manifest to God. Or has he haply ordained the same arrows to be at once instruments of death for the destruction of unbelievers, and wrought them burning, or for the burning for the exercising of the faithful? For that is not false that the apostle says, to the one we are the saver of life unto life, to the other the saver of death unto death. And who is sufficient for these things? It is no wonder, then, if the same apostle be both instruments of death in those from whom they suffered persecution, and fiery arrows to inflame the hearts of believers.
Now after this dispensation, righteous judgment will come. of which the psalmist so speaks, as that we may understand that each man's punishment is wrought out of his own sin and his iniquity turned into vengeance, that we may not suppose that that tranquility and ineffable light Behold, he says, He hath travailed with injustice. Now what had he conceived that he should travail with injustice? He hath conceived, he says, toil. Hence then comes that, in toil shalt thou eat thy bread. Hence to that, come unto me all ye that toil and are heavy laden. For my yoke is easy and my burden light. For toil will never cease, except one love that which cannot be taken away against his will. When these things are loved, which we can lose against our will, we must needs toil for them most miserably, and to obtain them amidst the straightness of earthly cares, while each desires to snatch them for himself, and must be beforehand with another, or to wrest it from him must scheme injustice.
Duly then, and quite in order hath he travailed with injustice, who hath conceived toil. Now he bringeth forth what? Save that with which he hath travailed, although he has not travailed with that which he conceived. For that is not born which is conceived, but seed is conceived, that which is formed from the seed is born. Toil is then the seed of iniquity, but sin the conception of toil, that is, that first sin, to depart from God. He then hath travailed with injustice, who hath conceived toil. And he hath brought forth iniquity. Iniquity is the same as injustice. He hath brought forth then that with which he travailed. What follows next? Verse 15. He hath opened a ditch and digged it. To open a ditch is in earthly matters, that is, as it were in the earth to prepare deceit, that another fall therein, whom the righteous man wishes to deceive.
Now this ditch is opened when consent is given to the evil suggestion of earthly lusts. But it is digged when, after consent, we press on to actual work of deceit. But how can it be that iniquity should rather hurt the righteous man against whom it proceeds than the unrighteous heart whence it proceeds? Accordingly, the stealer of money, for instance, while he desires to inflict painful harm upon another, is himself maimed Now, who, even out of his own right mind, sees not how great is the difference between these men? When one suffers the loss of money, the other innocence. He will fall then into the pit. As it is said in another psalm, the Lord is known in executing judgments, the sinner is caught in the works of his own hands.
Verse 16. His toil shall be turned on his head. And his iniquity shall descend on his pate. For he had no mind to escape sin, but was brought under sin as a slave, so to say, As the Lord saith, Whosoever sinneth is a slave. His iniquity then will be upon him, when he is subject to his iniquity. For he could not say to the Lord what the innocent and upright say, My glory and the lifter up of my head. He then will be in such wise below, as that his iniquity may be above, and descend on him, for that it weigheth him down, and burdens him, and suffers him not to fly back to the rest of the saints. This occurs when in an ill-regulated man reason is a slave, and lust hath dominion. Verse 17, I will confess to the Lord according to his justice.
This is not the sinner's confession, for he says this, Who said, above most truly, If there be iniquity in my hands. But it is a confession of God's justice, in which we speak thus. Verily, O Lord, thou art just, in that thou both protectest the just, and thou enlightenest them by thyself, and so orderest sinners, that they may be punished not by thine, but by their own malice. This confession so praises the Lord, That the blasphemies of the ungodly can avail nothing, who, willing to excuse their evil deeds, are unwilling to attribute to their own fault that they sin, that is, are unwilling to attribute their fault to their fault. Accordingly, they find either fortune or fate to accuse, or the devil to whom he who made us hath willed that it should be in our power to refuse consent.
Or they bring in another nature which is not of God. Wretched waverers and erring, rather than confessing to God that he should pardon them. For it is not fit that any be pardoned, except he say, I have sinned. He then that sees the deserts of souls so ordered by God, that while each has his own given him, the fair beauty of the universe is no part violated. In all things praises God. And this is not the confession of sinners, but of the righteous. For it is not the sinner's confession when the Lord says, I confess to thee, O Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and revealed them to babes. Likewise in Ecclesiasticus, It is said, Confess to the Lord in all his works.
And in confession ye shall say this, All the works of the Lord are exceeding good. Which can be seen in this psalm. If anyone with a pious mind, by the Lord's help, distinguished between the rewards of the righteous and the penalties of the sinners, how that in these two the whole creation, which God made and rules, is adorned with a beauty wondrous and known to few. Thus then, he says, I will confess to the Lord according to his justice, as one who saw that darkness was not made by God, but ordered nevertheless. For God said, Let light be made, He did not say, Let darkness be made, and darkness was made. And yet he ordered it. And therefore it is said, God divided between the light and the darkness.
And God called the light day, and the darkness he called. This is the distinction. He made the one and ordered it, but the other he made not. But yet he ordered this too. But now that sins are signified by darkness, so is it seen in the prophet who says, And in the apostle who says, He that hateth his brother is in darkness. And above all that text, Let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Not that there is any nature of darkness, for all nature is so far as it is nature is compelled to be. Now being belongs to light, not being to darkness. He then that leaves him by whom he was made, and inclines to whence he was made, that is, to nothing, is in this sin endarkened.
And yet he does not utterly perish, but he is ordered among the lowest things. Therefore, after the psalmist said, I will confess Now singing has relation to joy, but repentance of sins to sadness. This psalm can be taken in the person of the Lord-man, if only that which is there spoken in humiliation be referred to our weakness which he bore. End of Psalm 7
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8 08 - Psalm 8 27:24
Augustine. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. To the end for the winepresses, a psalm of David himself. He seems to say nothing of winepresses in the text of the psalm, of which this is the title, by which it appears that one and the same thing is often signified in Scripture by many and various similitudes. We may then take winepresses to be churches. On the same principle by which we understand also by a threshing floor the church. For whether in the threshing floor or in the winepress, there is nothing else done but the clearing the produce of its covering, which is necessary both for its first growth and increase, and arrival at the maturity either of the harvest or the vintage.
Of these coverings or supports then, that is, of chaff, on the threshing floor the corn of husks In the presses, the wine is stripped. As in the churches, from the multitude of worldly men, which is collected together with the good, for whose birth and adopting to the divine word that multitude was necessary, this is effected, that by spiritual love they be separated through the operation of God's ministers. For now, so it is, that the good are for a time separated from the bad, not in space, but in affection. Although they have conversed together in the churches, as far as respects bodily presence. But another time will come. The corn will be stored up apart from the granaries, and the wine in the cellars.
The wheat, saith he, he will lay up in garners, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. The same thing may be thus understood in another similitude. The wine he will lay up in cellars, but the husks he will cast forth to cattle. So that by the bellies of the cattle we may be allowed by way of similitude to understand the pains of hell. Yet there is another interpretation considering the winepresses, yet still keeping to the meaning of churches. For even the divine word may be understood by the grape. For the Lord even has been called a cluster of grapes, which they that were sent before by the people of Israel brought from the land of promise, hanging on a staff, Accordingly, when the divine word maketh use of, by the necessity of declaring himself, the sound of the voice, whereby to convey himself to the ears of the hearers, in the same sound of voice as it were in husks, knowledge, like the wine is enclosed.
And so this grape comes into the ears, as into the pressing machines of the winepressers. For there the separation is made, and the sound may reach as far as the ear. But knowledge be received in the memory of those that hear, as it were in a sort of vat, whence it passes into discipline of conversation and habit of mind, as from the vat into the cellar, where if it do not through negligence grow sour, it will acquire soundness by age. For it grew sour among the Jews, and this sour vinegar they gave the Lord to drink. For that wine which from the produce of the vine of the New Testament The Lord is to drink with his saints in the kingdom of his Father. Must needs be most sweet and most sound.
Wine presses are also usually taken for martyrdoms, as when they who have confessed the name of Christ have been trodden down by the blows of persecution. Their mortal remains as husks remained on earth, but their souls flowed forth into the rest of a heavenly habitation. Nor yet by this interpretation do we depart from the fruitfulness of the churches. It is sung, then, for the winepresses, for the churches' establishment, when our Lord, after his resurrection, ascended into heaven. For when he sent the Holy Ghost, by whom the disciples being fulfilled, preached with confidence the word of God, that churches might be collected. Accordingly it is said, verse 1, O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is Thy name in all the earth!
I ask, how is His name wonderful in all the earth? The answer is, for Thy glory has been raised above the heavens. So that the meaning is this, O Lord, who art our Lord, how do all that inhabit the earth admire Thee? For Thy glory hath been raised from earthly humiliation above the heavens. For hence it appeared, who Thou wast that descended, When it was by some seen, and by the rest believed, whether it was that thou ascendest. Verse 2, Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast made perfect praise because of thine enemies. I cannot take babes and sucklings to be any other than those to whom the apostle says, As unto babes in Christ I have given you milk to drink, not meat. Who were meant by those who went before the Lord praising him, of whom the Lord himself used this testimony?
When he answered the Jews who bade him rebuke them, Have ye not read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, Thou hast made perfect praise? Now with good reason he says not, Thou hast made, but Thou hast made perfect praise. For there are in the churches also those Who now no more drink milk, but eat meat, whom the same apostle points out, saying, We speak wisdom among them that are perfect. But not by those only are the churches perfected. For if there were only these, little consideration would be had of the human race. But consideration is had when they too, who are not yet capable of the knowledge of things spiritual and eternal, are nourished by the faith of the temporal history. Which for our salvation, after the patriarchs and prophets, was administered by the most excellent power and wisdom of God, even in the sacraments of the assumed manhood, in which there is salvation for everyone that believeth.
To the end that moved by its authority, each one may obey its precepts, whereby, being purified and rooted and grounded in love, he may be able to run with saints, no more now a child in milk, but a young man in meat. To comprehend the breadth, the length, the height, and depth, to know also the surpassing knowledge of the love of Christ. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast made perfect praise because of thine enemies. By enemies to this dispensation, which has been wrought through Jesus Christ and Him crucified, we ought generally to understand all who forbid belief in things unknown and promise certain knowledge, as all heretics do. And they who, in the superstition of the Gentiles, are called philosophers.
Not that the promise of knowledge is to be blamed, but because they deem the most healthy and necessary step of faith is to be neglected, by which we must needs ascend to something certain, which nothing but that which is eternal can be. Hence it appears that they do not possess even this knowledge, which in contempt of faith they promise, seeing that they know Not so useful and necessary a step thereof. Out of the mouth, then, of babes and sucklings thou hast made perfect praise, thou, O Lord, declaring first by the apostle, except ye believe, ye shall not understand, and saying by his own mouth, Blessed are they that have not seen and shall believe. Because of the enemies, against whom, too, that is said, I confess to thee, O Lord of heaven and earth, Because thou hast hid these things from the wise, and revealed them unto babes.
From the wise he saith, not the really wise, but those who deem themselves such, that thou mayest destroy the enemy and the defender. Whom but the heretic, for he is both an enemy and a defender, who, when he would assault the Christian faith, seems to defend it. And philosophers, too, of this world, may well be taken as the enemies and defenders. Forasmuch as the Son of God is the power and wisdom of God, by which every one is enlightened, who is made wise by the truth, of which they profess themselves to be lovers, whence too their name of philosophers. Verse 3. We read that the law was written with the finger of God, and given through Moses his holy servant, by which finger of God many understand the Holy Ghost.
Wherefore, if by the fingers of God we are right in understanding these same ministers filled with the Holy Ghost, by reason of this same Spirit which worketh in them, since by them all Holy Scripture has been completed for us. We understand consistently with this that in this place the books of both testaments are called the heavens. Now it is said, too, of Moses himself, by the magicians of King Pharaoh, when they were conquered by him, this is the finger of God, and what is written, the heavens shall be rolled up as a book. Although it be said of this ethereal heaven, yet naturally, according to the same image, the heavens of books are named By allegory. For I shall see, he says, the heavens, the works of thy fingers.
That is, I shall discern and understand the scriptures, which thou, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, hast written by thy ministers. Accordingly, the heavens named above also may be interpreted as the same books, where he says, For thy glory hath been raised above the heavens. So that the complete meaning should be this. For thy glory hath been raised above the heavens, for thy glory hath exceeded the declarations of all the scriptures. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast made perfect praise, that they should begin by belief in the scriptures, who would arrive at the knowledge of your glory, which hath been raised above the scriptures, in that it passeth by and transcends the announcements of all words and languages.
Therefore hath God lowered the Scriptures, even to the capacity of babes and sucklings, as it is sung in another psalm. And he lowered the heaven, and came down. And this did he because of the enemies, who through pride of talkativeness, being enemies of the cross of Christ, even when they do speak some truth, still cannot profit babes and sucklings. So is the enemy and defender destroyed, who Whether he seemed to defend wisdom or even the name of Christ, still from the step of this faith assaults that truth which he so readily makes promise of. Whereby, too, he is convicted of not possessing it, since by assaulting the step thereof, namely faith, he knows not how one should mount up thereto.
Hence, then, is the rash and blind promiser of truth, who is the enemy and the defender, Destroyed when the heavens, the works of God's fingers are seen, that is, when the scriptures, brought down even to the slowness of babes, are understood. And by means of the lowness of the faith of the history, which was transacted in time, they raised them, well nurtured and strengthened, unto the grand heights of the understanding of things eternal, up to those things which they establish. For these heavens, that is, these books are the works of God's fingers. For by the operation of the Holy Ghost and the saints they were completed. For they that have regarded their own glory rather than man's salvation have spoken without the Holy Ghost, in whom are the bowels of the mercy of God.
For I shall see the heavens, the works of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained. The moon and stars are ordained in the heavens, since both the Church universal to signify which the moon is often put, and churches in several places particularly, which I imagine to be intimated by the name of stars, are established in the same scriptures, which we believe to be expressed by the word heavens. But why the moon justly signifies the church will be more seasonably considered in another psalm, where it is said, The sinners have bent their bow, that they may shoot In the obscure moon, the upright in heart. Verse 4. What is man that thou art mindful of him? What is son of man that thou visitest him?
It may be asked what distinction there is between man and son of man. For if there were none, it would not be expressed thus, man or son of man, disjunctively. For if it were written thus, What is man that thou art mindful of him, and son of man that thou visitest him? It might appear to be a repetition of the word man. But now, when the expression is man or son of man, a distinction is more clearly intimated. This is certainly to be remembered, that every son of man is a man, although every man cannot be taken to be a son of man. Adam, for instance, was a man, but not a son of man. Wherefore, we may from hence consider and distinguish What is the difference in this place between man and son of man?
Namely, that they who bear the image of the earthly man, who is not a son of man, should be signified by the name of men. But that they who bear the image of the heavenly man should be rather called sons of men. For the former again is called the old man, and the latter the new. But the new is born of the old, since spiritual regeneration is begun by a change of an earthly and worldly life, and therefore the latter is called Son of Man. Man, then, in this place is earthly, but Son of Man heavenly. For the former is far removed from God, but the latter present with God, and therefore is he mindful of the former, as in far distance from him, but the latter he visiteth, with whom, being present, he enlighteneth him with his countenance.
For salvation is far from sinners, and the light of thy countenance hath been stamped upon us, O Lord. So in another psalm he saith that men in conjunction with beasts are made whole together with these beasts, not by any present inward illumination, but by the multiplication of the mercy of God, whereby his goodness reacheth even to the lowest things. For the wholeness of carnal men is carnal, as of the beasts, But separating the sons of men from those whom, being men, he joined with cattle, he proclaims that they are made blessed, after a far more exalted method, by the enlightening of the truth itself, and by a certain inundation of the fountain of life. For he speaketh thus, Men and beasts thou wilt make whole, O Lord, as thy mercy hath been multiplied, O God.
But the sons of men shall put their trust And the covering of thy wings. They shall be inebriated with the richness of thine house, and of the torrent of thy pleasures. Thou shalt make them drink, for with thee is the fountain of life, and in thy light shall we see light. Extend thy mercy to them that know thee. Through the multiplication of mercy, then, he is mindful of man as of beasts. For that multiplied mercy reacheth even to them that are afar off. But he visiteth The Son of Man, over whom, placed under the covering of His wings, He extendeth mercy, and in His light giveth light, and maketh Him drink of His pleasures, and inebriateth Him with the richness of His house, to forget the sorrows and wanderings of His former conversation.
This Son of Man, that is, the new man, the repentance of the old man, begets with pain and tears. He, though new, is nevertheless called yet carnal, whilst he is fed with milk. I would not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, says the apostle. But to show that they were already regenerate, he says, as unto babes in Christ. I have given you milk to drink, not meat. And when he relapses, as often happens, to the old life, he hears in reproof that he is a man. Are ye not men, he says, and walk as men? Therefore was the Son of man first visited in the person of the very Lord Man, born of the Virgin Mary, of whom by reason of the very weakness of the flesh, which the wisdom of God vouchsafed to bear, in the humiliation of the Passion, it is justly said, Verse 5, Thou hast lowered him a little lower than the angels.
But that glorifying is added, in which he rose and ascended up into heaven. With glory, he says, and with honor thou hast crowned him. Verse 6. And hast set him over the works of thine hands. Since even angels are the works of God's hands, even over angels we understand the only begotten Son to have been set, whom we hear and believe, by the humiliation of the carnal generation and passion, To have been lowered a little lower than the angels. Thou hast put, he says, all things in subjection under his feet. When he says all things, he accepts nothing, and that he might not be allowed to understand it otherwise, the apostle enjoins it to what be believed thus. When he says, he being accepted, which put all things under him.
And to the Hebrews, he uses this very testimony from this psalm, when he would have it be understood that all things are in such sort put under our Lord Jesus Christ, as that nothing should be accepted. And yet he does not seem, as it were, to subjoin any great thing when he says, verse 7, which walked through the paths of the sea. For leaving the heavenly excellencies and powers, and all the hosts of angels, leaving even man himself, he seems to have put under him the beasts merely, unless Blessed by sheep and oxen we understand holy souls, either yielding the fruit of innocence or even working that the earth may bear fruit, that is, that earthly men may be regenerated unto spiritual richness.
By these holy souls, then, we ought to understand not those of men only, but of all angels too, if we would gather from thence that all things are put under our Lord Jesus Christ. For there will be no creature that will not be put under him, under whom the preeminent spirits, that I may so speak, are put. But whence shall we prove that sheep can be interpreted even Not of men, but of the blessed spirits of the angelic creatures on high. May we from the Lord's saying that he had left ninety and nine sheep in the mountains, that is, in the higher regions, and had come down for one. For if we take the one lost sheep to be the human soul in Adam, since Eve even was made out of his side for the spiritual handling and consideration, of all which things this is not the time, It remains that by the ninety and nine left in the mountains, spirits not human but angelical should be meant.
For as regards the oxen, this sentence is easily dispatched, since men themselves are for no reason called oxen, but because by preaching the gospel of the word of God they imitate angels, as it were said, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. How much more easily, then, do we take the angels themselves, the messengers of truth, to be oxen, when evangelists, by the participation of their title, are called oxen? Thou hast put under, therefore, he says, all sheep and oxen, that is, all the holy spiritual creation, in which we include that of holy men who are in the Church, in those wine presses to wit, which are intimated, Under the similitude of the moon and stars. Yea, moreover, saith he, the beasts of the field.
The addition of moreover is by no means idle, first because by beasts of the plain may be understood both sheep and oxen, so that, if goats are the beasts of rocky and mountainish regions, sheep may be well taken to be beasts of the field. Accordingly had it been written, even thus, All sheep and oxen and beasts of the field. It might be reasonably asked what beasts of the plain meant, since even sheep and oxen could be taken as such. But the addition of moreover besides obligates us beyond question to recognize some difference or other. But under this word moreover, not only beasts of the field, but also, verse 8, birds of the air and fish of the sea, which walk through the paths of the sea.
are to be taken in. What is then this distinction? Call to mind the wine-presses, holding husks and wine, and the threshing-floor, containing chaff and corn, and the nets, in which were enclosed good fish and bad, and the Ark of Noah, in which were both unclean and clean animals. And you will see that the churches, for a while, now and this time, unto the last judgment, contained not only sheep and oxen, That is, holy laymen and holy ministers, but moreover beasts of the field, birds of the air, and birds of the sea, that walk through the paths of the sea. For the beasts of the field are very fitly understood, as men rejoicing in the pleasure of the flesh, for they mount up to nothing high, nothing laborious.
For the field is also the broad way that leadeth to destruction, and in the field is able slain. Wherefore there is cause to fear, lest one coming down from the mountains of God's righteousness, for thy righteousness, he says, is as the mountains of God, making choice of the broad and easy paths of carnal pleasure, be slain by the devil. See now, too, the birds of heaven, the proud of whom it is said, They have set their mouth against the heaven. See how they are carried on high by the wind, who say, We will magnify our tongue, our lips are our own. Who is our Lord? Behold, too, the fish of the sea, that is, the curious, who walk through the paths of the sea, that is, search in the deep after the temporal things of this world, which, like paths in the sea, vanish and perish as quickly as the water comes together, again after it has given room in their passage to ships or to whatever walketh or swimmeth.
For he said not merely, who walk the paths of the sea, but walk through. He said, showing the very determinate eagerness of those who seek after vain and fleeting things. Now these three kinds of vice, namely, the pleasure of the flesh and pride and curiosity, include all sins, and they appear to me to be enumerated by the apostle John, when he says, Love not the world. For all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. For through the eyes especially prevails curiosity. To what the rest indeed belong is clear, and that temptation of the Lord man was threefold, by food, that is, by the lust of the flesh, where it is suggested, command these stones that they be made bread, by a vain boasting, where, when stationed, On a mountain, all the kingdoms of this earth are shown him, and promised if he would worship, by curiosity, where from the pinnacle of the temple he is advised to cast himself down for the sake of trying whether he would be borne up by angels.
And accordingly, after that, the enemy could prevail with him, when none of these temptations, that is said of him, when the devil had ended all his temptation. With a reference, then, To the meaning of the winepresses, not only the wine, but the husks, too, are put under his feet. To which not only sheep and oxen, that is, holy souls of believers, either in the laity or in the ministry, but moreover both beasts of pleasure and birds of pride and fish of curiosity, all which classes of sinners we see mingled now in the churches with the good and holy. May he work then in his churches, and separate the wine from the husks. Let us give heed that we be wine, and sheep or oxen, not husks or beasts of the field, or birds of heaven, or fish of the sea, which walk through the paths of the sea.
Not that these names can be understood and explained in this way only, but the explanation of them must be according to the place where they are found. For elsewhere... They have other meanings, and this rule must be kept in every allegory, that what is expressed by the similitude should be considered agreeable to the meaning of the particular place, for this is the manner of the Lord's and the Apostles' teaching. Let us repeat, then, the last verse, which is also put at the beginning of the psalm, and let us praise God, saying, O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is thy name in all the earth. For fitly, after the manner of the discourse, is the return made to the heading, whither all the discourse must be referred.
End of Psalm 8.
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9 09 - Psalms 9 and 10 57:48
Psalm 9 and 10, from Expositions on the Book of Psalms, by St. Augustine. The inscription of this psalm is, To the end for the hidden things of the Son, a psalm of David himself. As to the hidden things of the Son, there may be a question, but since he has not added whose, the very only begotten Son of God should be understood, For where a psalm has been inscribed to the son of David, when he says, he fled from the face of Absalom his son, although his name even was mentioned, and therefore there could be no obscurity as to whom it was spoken of, yet it is not merely said as from the face of his son Absalom, but his is added. And here both because his is not added, and much is said of the Gentiles, it cannot properly be taken of Absalom.
For the war which that abandoned one waged with his father no way relates to the Gentiles, since there the people of Israel only were divided against themselves. This psalm is then sung for the hidden things of the only-begotten Son of God. For the Lord himself, too, when, without addition, he uses the word Son, would have himself the only-begotten to be understood, as where he says, If the Son shall make you free, then shall ye be free indeed. For he said not, the Son of God, but in saying merely Son, he gives us to understand whose Son it is, which form of expression nothing admits of, save his excellency of whom we so speak, that though we name him not, we can be understood. For so we say, it rains, clears up, thunders.
and such-like expressions, and we do not add who does it all, for that the excellency of the doer spontaneously presents itself to all men's minds, and does not want words. What, then, are the hidden things of the Son? By which expression we must first understand that there are some things of the Son manifest, from which those are distinguished which are called hidden. Wherefore, since we believe two advents of the Lord, One past, which the Jews understood not, the other future, which we both hope for, and since the one which the Jews understood not, profited the Gentiles. For the hidden things of the Son is not unsuitably understood to be spoken of this Advent, in which blindness in part happened to Israel, that the fullness of the Gentiles might come in.
For notice of two judgments is conveyed to us throughout the Scriptures, If any one will give heed to them, one hidden, the other manifest. The hidden one is passing away, of which the apostle Peter says, the time is come that judgment should begin from the house of the Lord. The hidden judgment, accordingly, is the pain by which now each man is either exercised in purification or warned to conversion, or, if he despised the calling and discipline of God, is blinded unto damnation. But the manifest judgment is that in which the Lord at His coming will judge the quick and the dead, all men confessing that it is He by whom both rewards shall be assigned to the good and punishments to the evil. But then the confession will avail, not to the remedy of evils, but to the accumulation of damnation.
Of these two judgments, the one hidden, the other manifest, The Lord seems to me to have spoken, where he says, Whoso believeth on me hath passed from death unto life, and shall not come into judgment, into the manifest judgment, that is, for that which passes from death unto life by means of some affliction, whereby he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth, is the hidden judgment. But whoso believeth not, saith he, hath been judged already, that is, By this hidden judgment hath been already prepared for that manifest one. These two judgments we read of also in wisdom. Whence it is written, Therefore unto them, as to children, without the use of reason, thou didst give a judgment to mock them.
But they have not been corrected by this judgment, have felt a judgment worthy of God. Whoso then are not corrected by this hidden judgment of God, shall most worthily be punished by that manifest one. Wherefore in this psalm must be observed the hidden things of the Son, that is, both his advent in humility, by which he profited the Gentiles with the Jews' blindness, and the pain which is now dispensed secretly, not as yet in the damnation of sinners, but either in exercising the converted, or in admonition that they be converted, Or, in blinding, that they who refuse to be converted may be ready for damnation. I will confess unto thee, O Lord, with my whole heart. He doth not with a whole heart confess unto God, who doubteth of his providence in any particular.
But he who sees already the hidden things of the wisdom of God, how great is his invisible reward, who saith, We rejoice in tribulations. And how all torments which are inflicted on the body are either for the exercising of those that are converted to God, or for the warning that they be converted, or for just preparation for the abdurate unto their last damnation. And so now all things are referred to the governance of divine providence, which fools think done, as it were, by chance and at random, and without any divine ordering. I will tell all thy marvels. He tells all God's marvels, who sees them performed not only openly on the body, but invisibly indeed too in the soul, but far more sublimely and excellently.
For men earthly and led wholly by the eye marvel more that the dead Lazarus rose again in the body, than that Paul the persecutor rose again in soul. But since the visible miracle calleth the soul to the light, but the invisible enlighteneth the soul that comes when called, he tells all God's marvels, who, by believing the visible, passes on to understanding of the invisible. I will be glad and exult in thee. Not any more in this world, not in pleasure of bodily dalliance, not in relish of palate and tongue. Not in sweetness of perfumes, not in joyousness of passing sounds, not in the variously colored forms or figure, not in vanities of men's praise, not in wedlock in perishable offspring, not in superfluity of temporal wealth, not in this world's getting, whether it extend over place and space, or be prolonged in time's succession.
But I will be glad and exult in thee. namely, in the hidden things of the sun, where the light of thy countenance hath been stamped on us. O Lord, for thou wilt hide them, saith he, in the hiding-place of thy countenance, and then will be glad and exult in thee, who tells all thy marvels, and he will tell all thy marvels, since it is now spoken of prophetically, who came not to do his own will, but the will of him who sent him. For the person of the Lord begins to appear, speaking in this psalm. For it follows, I will sing to thy name, O Most High, and turning back mine enemy behind. This enemy, then, where was he turned back? Was it when it was said to him, Get thee behind, Satan? For when he who by tempting desired to put himself before was turned behind by failing in deceiving him who was tempted, and by availing nothing against him.
For earthly men are behind, but the heavenly man is preferred before, although he came after. For the first man is of the earth, earthy, the second man is from heaven, heavenly. But from this stock he came by whom it was said, He who cometh after me is preferred before me. And the apostle forgets those things that are behind, and reaches forth unto those things that are before. The enemy, therefore, was turned behind. After that he could not deceive the heavenly man being tempted. And he turns himself to earthy men, where he can have dominion. Wherefore no man goeth before him, and causeth him to be behind. But he who, laying aside the image of the earthy man, Shall have borne the image of the heavenly.
But now, should we prefer understanding the words, mine enemy, generally, either for a sinner or an heathen, it will not be unreasonable. Nor will the words, in turning mine enemy behind, be a punishment, but a benefit, yea, such a benefit as that nothing can be compared to it. For what more blessed than to lay aside pride, and to have no wish to go before Christ, as if one were whole, and needed not the physician, but to wish rather to go behind after Christ, who, when calling a disciple to perfection, saith, Follow me. But still, in turning my enemy behind, is more suitably understood as spoken of the devil. For in truth the devil is turned behind, even in the persecution of the righteous. And he, much more to their advantage, is a persecutor than if he went before as a leader and a prince.
We must sing, then, to the name of the Most High, and turning the enemy behind, since we ought to choose rather to fly from him as a persecutor than to follow him as a leader. For we have whither we may fly and hide ourselves in the hidden things of the sun, seeing that the Lord hath been made a refuge for us. They will be weakened and perish from thy face. Who will be weakened and perish but the unrighteous and ungodly? They will be weakened, or they shall avail nothing, and they shall perish, because the ungodly will not be from the face of God, that is, from the knowledge of God, as he perished, who said, But now I live not, but Christ liveth in me. But why will the ungodly be weakened, and perish from thy face?
Because, he saith, thou hast made my judgment and my cause, that is, the judgment in which I seem to be judged. Thou hast made mine, and the cause in which men condemned me just and innocent. Thou hast made mine, for such things served him for our deliverance, as sailors too call the wind theirs, which they take advantage of for prosperous sailing. Thou sattest on the throne, who judgest equity. Whether the Son say this to the Father, who said also, Thou couldst have no power against me, except it were given thee from above, referring this very thing, that the judge of men was judged for man's advantage, to the Father's equity and his own hidden things, or whether man said to God, Thou sattest on the throne who judgest equity, giving the name of God's throne to his soul, so that his body may peradventure be the earth, which is called God's footstool.
For God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, or whether the soul of the church, perfect now and without spot and wrinkle, worthy, that is, of the hidden things of the sun, in that the king hath brought her unto his chamber, Says to her spouse, Thou sattest upon the throne, who judgest equity, and that thou hast risen from the dead, and ascended up into heaven, and sittest at the right hand of the Father. Whichsoever I say of those opinions, whereunto this verse may be referred, is preferred. It transgresses not the rule of faith. Thou hast rebuked the heathen, and the ungodly hath perished. We take this to be more suitably said to the Lord Jesus Christ, than said by him, For who else hath rebuked the heathen, and the ungodly perished, save he, who after that he ascended up into heaven, sent the Holy Ghost, that filled by him the apostles should preach the word of God with boldness, and freely reprove men's sins.
At which rebuke the ungodly perished, because the ungodly was justified, and was made godly. Thou hast effaced their name for the world, and for the world's world. The name of the ungodly hath been effaced, for they are not called ungodly who believe in the true God. Now their name is effaced for the world, that is, as long as the course of the temporal world endures, and for the world's world. What is the world's world, but that whose image and shadow, as it were, this world possesses? For the change of season succeeding one another, whilst the moon is on the wane, and again on the increase, whilst the sun each year returns his quarter, whilst the spring or summer or autumn or winter passes away only to return, is in some sort an imitation of eternity.
But this world's world is that which abides in immutable eternity. As a verse in the mind and a verse in the voice, the former is understood, the latter heard, and the former fashions the latter, and hence the former works in art and abides. The latter sounds in the air and passes away. So the fashion of this changeable world is defined by that world unchangeable which is called the world's world, And hence the one abides in the art, that is, in the wisdom and power of God, but the other is made to pass in the governance of creation. For after all it be not a repetition, so that after it was said for the world, lest it should be understood of this world that passeth away, it were added for the world's world.
For in the Greek copies it is thus, eston eona, which the latins have for the most part rendered not for the world and for the world's world, but for ever and for the world's world. And in the words for the world's world, the words for ever should be explained. The name then of the ungodly thou hast effaced for ever, for from henceforth The ungodly shall never be, and if their name be not prolonged unto this world, much less unto the world's world. The swords of the enemy have failed at the end. Not enemies in the plural, but this enemy in the singular. Now what enemy's swords have failed but the devil's? Now these are understood to be the diverse, erroneous opinions, whereby, as with swords, he destroys souls.
In overcoming these swords, and in bringing them to failure, that sword is employed, of which it is said in the seventh Psalm, If ye be not converted, he will brandish his sword. And perventure this is the end, against which the swords of the enemy fail, since up to it they are of some avail. Now it worketh secretly, but in the last judgment it will be brandished openly. By it the cities are destroyed. For so it follows, the swords of the enemy have failed at the end, and thou hast destroyed the cities. The cities, indeed, wherein the devil rules, where crafty and deceitful councils hold, as it were, the place of a court, on which supremacy attend as officers and ministers the services of all the members.
The eyes for curiosity, the ears for levaciousness, Or, for, whatsoever else is gladly listened to that bears on evil, the hands for rapine, or any other violence or pollution soever, and all the other members, after this manner, serving the tyrannical supremacy, that is, perverse counsels, of this city the commonalty, as it were, are all soft affections and disturbing emotions of the mind, stirring up daily seditions in a man, So, then, where a king, where a court, where ministers or commonalty are found, there is a city. Nor again would such things be in bad cities, unless they were first in individual men, who are, as it were, the elements and seeds of cities. These cities he destroys, when, on the prince being shut out thence, of whom it was said, the prince of this world has been cast out.
These kingdoms are wasted by the word of truth, evil counsels are laid to sleep, vile affections tamed, the ministries of the members and senses taken captive, and transferred to the service of righteousness and good works, that as the apostle says, sin should no more reign in our mortal body, and so forth. Then is the soul at peace, and the man is disposed to receive rest and blessedness. The memorial has perished with an uproar. With the uproar, that is, of the ungodly. But it is said, with uproar, either because, when ungodliness is overturned, there is uproar made. For none passeth to the highest place, where there is the deep silence. But he who with much uproar shall first have warred with his own vices, or with uproar, is said, that the memory of the ungodly should perish in the perishing even of the very uproar, in which ungodliness riots.
And the Lord abideth for ever. Wherefore, then, have the heathen raged, and the people imagined vain things, against the Lord and against his anointed? For the Lord abideth for ever. He hath prepared his seat in judgment, and he shall judge the world in equity. He prepared his seat when he was judged. For by that patience man purchased heaven, and God in man profited believers. And this is the Son's hidden judgment. But seeing he is also to come openly, and in the sight of all to judge the quick and dead, he hath prepared his seat in the hidden judgment, and he shall also openly judge the world in equity. That is, he shall distribute gifts of proportion to desert. Setting the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left.
He shall judge the people with justice. This is the same as was said above. He shall judge the world in equity, not as men judge who see not the heart, but whom very often worse men are acquitted than are condemned. But in equity and with justice shall the Lord judge, conscience bearing witness, and thoughts accusing, or else excusing. And the Lord hath become a refuge to the poor. Whatsoever be the persecutions of that enemy who hath been turned behind, what harm shall he do to them whose refuge the Lord hath become? For this will be, if in this world, in which that one has an office of power, they shall choose to be poor, by loving nothing which either here leaves a man while he lives and loves, Or is left by him when he dies.
For to such a poor man hath the Lord become a refuge, an helper in due season, in tribulation. Lo, he maketh poor, for he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. For what an helper in due season is, he explained by adding in tribulation. For the soul is not turned to God, save when it is turned away from this world. Nor is it more seasonably turned away from this world, except toils and pains be mingled with its trifling and hurtful and destructive pleasures.
Verse 10. And let them who know thy name hope in thee. When they shall have ceased hoping in wealth, and in other enticements of this world, for the soul indeed that seeketh where to fix her hope, when she is torn away from this world, The knowledge of God's name seasonably receives. For the mere name of God hath now been published everywhere, but the knowledge of the name is, when he is known whose name it is. For the name is not a name for its own sake, but for that which it signifies. Now it has been said, The Lord is his name. Wherefore, whoso willingly submits himself to God as his servant hath known his name. And let them who know thy name hope in thee. Again the Lord saith, I am that I am, and thou shalt say to the children of God, I am hath sent me.
Let them then who know thy name hope in thee, that they may not hope in those things which flow by in time's quick revolution, having nothing but will be and has been. For what in them is future, when it arrives, straightway becomes the past. It is awaited with eagerness, it is lost with pain, but in the nature of God nothing will be as if it were not yet, or hath been as if it were no longer. But there is only that which is, and this is eternity. Let them cease then to hope in, and love things temporal, and let them apply themselves to hope eternal, who know his name, who said, I am that I am. Of whom it was said, I am hath sent me. For thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee, O Lord. Whoso seek him, seek no more things transient and perishable, for no man can serve two masters.
Verse 11, Sing to the Lord, who dwelleth in Zion. It is said to them, Whom the Lord forsakes not, as they seek him. He dwelleth in Zion, which is interpreted watching. And which beareth the likeness of the church that now is, as Jerusalem beareth the likeness of the church that is to come, that is, the city of saints already enjoying life, angelical. For Jerusalem is, by interpretation, the vision of peace. Now watching goes before vision, as this church goes before the one which is promised, the city immortal and eternal. But in time it goes before, not in dignity, because more honorable is that whither we are striving to arrive than what we practice. That we may attain to arrive, now we practice watching, that we may arrive at vision.
But again this same Church, which now is, unless the Lord inhabit her, the most earnest watching might run into any sort of error. And to this church it was said, For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Again, that Christ may dwell in the inner man in your hearts by faith. It is enjoined us then that we sing to the Lord who dwelleth in Zion, that with one accord we praise the Lord, the inhabitant of the church. Show forth his wonders among the heathen. It has both been done, and will not cease to be done. Verse 12. For requiring their blood, he hath remembered. As if they who were sent to preach the gospel should make answer to that injunction which had been mentioned, show forth his wonders among the heathen, and should say, O Lord, who hath believed our report?
And again, For thy sake we are killed all the day long. The psalmist suitably goes on to say, That Christians, not without great reward of eternity, will die in persecution, for requiring their blood he hath remembered. But why did he choose to say, their blood? Was it, as if one of imperfect knowledge, unless faith should ask, how will they show them forth, seeing that the infidelity of the heathen will rage against them, and he should be answered, For requiring their blood he hath remembered, that is, the last judgment will come, in which both the glory of the slain and the punishment of the slayers shall be made manifest. But let no one suppose he hath remembered to be so used, as though forgetfulness can attach to God.
But since the judgment will be after a long interval, it is used in accordance with the feeling of weak men, who think God hath forgotten, because he doth not act so speedily as they wish. To such is said what follows also, He hath not forgotten the cry of the poor. That is, he hath not, as you suppose, forgotten. As if they should, on hearing, He hath remembered, say, then, He had forgotten. No, he hath not forgotten, says the psalmist, the cry of the poor. But I ask, What is the cry of the poor, which God forgetteth not? It is that cry, the words whereof are these. Verse 13. Pity me, O Lord, see my humiliation at the hands of my enemies. Why then did he not say, Pity us, O Lord, see our humiliation at the hands of our enemies, as if many poor were crying, but as if one, Pity me, O Lord.
Is it because one intercedeth for the saints? Who first for our sakes became poor, though he was rich? And it is he who saith, Who exalteth me from the gates of death? Verse 14, That I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion. For man is exalted in him, not that man only which he beareth, which is the head of the church, But whichsoever one of us also is among the other members, and is exalted from all deprived desires, which are the gates of death. For that through them is the road to death, but the joy in fruition is at once death itself, when one gains what he hath in abandoned willfulness coveted. For coveting is the root of all evil, and therefore is the gate of death.
For the widow that liveth in pleasures is dead. At which pleasures we arrive through desires, as it were, through the gates of death. But all highest purposes are the gates of the daughter of Zion, through which we come to the vision of the peace in the Holy Church. In these gates, therefore, all the praises of God are well shown forth, that what is holy may not be given to dogs, Nor pearls cast before swine. Who would rather forwardly bark than earnestly inquire? Who would neither bark nor inquire, but wallow in the mire of their own lusts? But when God's praises are shown forth in good earnestness, to them that seek it is given, to them that inquire it is made manifest, to them that knock it is opened.
More haply are the gates of death, the bodily senses and eyes, which were opened when the man tasted of the forbidden tree, from which they are exalted, to whom it is said that they should seek not the things that are seen, but the things that are not seen. For the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal. And the gates of the daughter of Zion, the sacraments and the beginnings of faith, which are open to them that knock, that they may arrive at the hidden things of the sun. For eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it ascended in the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him. Thus far is the cry of the poor, which the Lord hath not forgotten.
Then follows, I will exult for thy salvation. That is, with blessedness shall I be holden by Thy salvation, which is our Lord Jesus Christ, the power and wisdom of God. Therefore, says the Church, which is here in affliction and is saved by hope, as long as the hidden judgment of the Son is, in hope she says, I will exalt for Thy salvation, for now she is worn down, either by the roar of violence around her or by the errors of the heathen. Verse 15. The heathen are fixed in the corruption which they made. Consider ye how punishment is reserved for the sinner out of his own works, and how they have wished to persecute the church have been fixed in that corruption which they thought to inflict, for they were desiring to kill the body, whilst they themselves were dying in soul.
In that snare which they hid, has their foot been taken? The hidden snare is crafty devising. The foot of the soul is well understood to be its love, which when depraved is called coveting or lust, but when upright, love or charity. For by love it is moved, as it were, to the place whither it tendeth. But the soul's place is not in any space which bodily form occupies, but in the delight at which she rejoices to have attained through love. But a pernicious delight follows coveting, a profitable one charity. Whence coveting is also called a root. The root, moreover, is taken for, so to say, the foot of the tree. Charity, too, is called a root, where the Lord speaks of the seed, which in the stony places withers under the scorching sun, because it had not deep root.
Whereby he points out those that rejoice in receiving the word of truth. But give way in persecution, which can be withstood by love only. And the apostle says, That being rooted and grounded in love, ye may be able to take in. The foot, then, of sinners, that is, their love, is taken in the snare which they hide. For when delight shall have followed on to deceitful dealing, when God shall have delivered them over to the lust of their heart, that delight at once binds them, And they dare not tear away their love thence, and apply it to profitable objects. For when they shall make the attempt, they will be pained in heart, as if desiring to free their foot from a fetter, and giving way under this pain, they refuse to withdraw from pernicious delights.
In the snare, then, which they have made, that is, in deceitful counsel, their foot hath been taken. That is their love, which through deceit attains to that vain joy whereby pain is purchased.
The Lord is known executing judgments. These are God's judgments, not from the tranquility of his blessedness, nor from the secret places of wisdom. Wherein blessed souls are received is the sword, or fire, or wild beast, or any such thing brought forth, whereby sinners may be tormented. But how are they tormented, and how does the Lord do judgment? In the works, he says, of his own hands hath the sinner been caught. Here is interposed the song of the Dicelma, as it were, the hidden joy, as far as we can imagine, of the separation which is now made, not in place, but in the affections of the heart, between sinners and the righteous, as of the corn from the chaff, as yet on the floor, and then follows, verse 17, let the sinners be turned into hell.
That is, let them be given into their own hands when they are spared, and let them be ensnared in deadly delight. All the nations that forget God, because when they did not think good to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a retrobate mind. Verse 18, For there shall not be forgetfulness of the poor man to the end. Who now seems to be in forgetfulness, when sinners are thought to flourish in this world's happiness, and the righteous to be in travail? But the patience, saith he, of the poor man shall not perish for ever. Wherefore there is need of patience now to bear with the evil, who are already separated in will, till they be also separated at the last judgment.
Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail. The future judgment is prayed for. But before it come, let the heathen, saith he, be judged in thy sight, that is, in secret, which is called in God's sight, with the knowledge of a few holy and righteous ones. Verse 20 Place a lawgiver over them, O Lord. He seems to me to point out Antichrist, of whom the Apostle says, When the man of sin shall be revealed, let the heathen know they are men, that they who will be set free by the Son of God, and belong to the Son of man, and be sons of men, that is, new men, may serve man, that is, the old man the sinner, For that they are men. But because it is believed that he is to arrive at so great a pitch of empty glory, and he will be permitted to do so great things, both against all men and against the saints of God, that then some weak ones shall indeed think that God cares not for human affairs, the psalmist interposing a daisoma, Adds, as it were, the voice of men groaning, and asking why judgment is deferred.
Psalm 10, verse 1. Why, O Lord, saith he, hast thou withdrawn afar off? Then he who thus inquired, as if all on a sudden he understood, or as if he asked, though he knew that he might teach, adds, Thou despisest in due seasons, in tribulations, that is, thou despisest seasonably, and causest tribulations, to inflame men's minds with longing for thy coming, or that fountain of life is sweeter to them that have much thirst. Therefore he hints the reason of the delay, saying, Verse Two, whilst the ungodly vaulteth himself, the poor man is inflamed. Wondrous it is, and true, with what earnestness of good hope The little ones are inflamed unto upright living, by comparison with sinners, in which mystery it comes to pass that even heresies are permitted to exist, not that heretics themselves wish this, but because divine providence worketh this result from their sins, which both maketh and ordaineth the light, but ordereth only the darkness, that by comparison wherewith The light may be more pleasant, as comparison with heretics, the discovery of truth is more sweet.
For so by this comparison the approved who are known to God are made manifest among men.
They are taken in their thoughts which they think. That is, their evil thoughts become chains to them. But how become they chains? For the sinner is praised, saith he, in the desires of his soul. The tongues of flatterers bind souls in sin, for there is pleasure in doing those things, in which not only the reprover feared, but even an approver heard. And he that does unrighteous deeds is blessed. Hence are they taken in their thoughts which they think. Verse 4. The sinner hath angered the Lord. Let no one congratulate the man That prospers in his way, to whose sins no avenger is nigh, and approver is by. This is the great anger of the Lord. For the sinner hath angered the Lord, that he should suffer these things, that is, should not suffer the scourging of correction.
The sinner hath angered the Lord, according to the multitude of his anger, he will not search it out. Great is his anger, when he searcheth not out. When he, as it were, forgetteth, and marketh not sin, and by fraud and wickedness man attains to riches and honors, which will especially be the case in that Antichrist, who will seem to men blessed to that degree, that he will even be thought God. But how great this anger of God is, we are taught by what follows.
God is not in his sight, verse 5. His ways are polluted in all time. He that knows what in the soul gives joy and gladness knows how great an ill it is to be abandoned by the light of truth. Since a great ill do men reckon the blindness of their bodily eyes, whereby this light is withdrawn. How great then is the punishment he endures, who through the prosperous issue of his sins is brought to that pass, that God is not in his sight, And that his ways are polluted in all time, that is, his thoughts and counsels are unclean. Thy judgments are taken away from his face. For the mind conscious of evil, whilst it seems to itself to suffer no punishment, believes that God doth not judge, and so are God's judgments taken away from its face, while this very thing is great condemnation.
And he shall have dominion over all his enemies. For so it is delivered that he will overcome all kings, and alone obtain the kingdom, since too, according to the apostle who preaches concerning him, he shall sit in the temple of God, exalting himself above all that is worshipped and that is called God. And seeing that being delivered over to the lust of his own heart, and predestined to extreme condemnation, he is to come, by wicked arts, to that vain and empty height and rule. Therefore it follows, verse 6, For he hath said in his heart, I shall not move from generation to generation without evil. That is, my fame and my name will not pass from this generation to the generation of posterity, unless by evil arts I acquire so lofty a principality, That prosperity cannot be silent concerning it.
For a mind abandoned and void of good arts, and estranged from the light of righteousness by bad arts, deceives a passage for itself to a fame so lasting, as is celebrated even in posterity. And they that cannot be known for good desire that men should speak of them for ill, provided that their name spread far and wide. And this, I think, is meant here. I shall not move from generation to generation without evil. There is, too, another interpretation. If a mind vain and full of error supposes that it cannot come from the mortal generation to the generation of eternity, but by bad arts, which indeed was also reported of Simon, when he thought that he would gain heaven by wicked arts, and pass from the human generation to the generation divine by magic, where, then, is the wonder, if that man of sin, too, who is to fill up all the wickedness and ungodliness which all false prophets have begun, and to do such great signs, that, if it were possible, he should deceive the very elect, shall say in his heart, I shall not move from generation to generation without evil.
Verse 7, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness and deceit. For it is a great curse to seek heaven by such abominable arts, and to get together such earnings for acquiring the eternal seat. But of this cursing his mouth is full, for this desire shall not take effect, but within his mouth only will avail to destroy him, who dared promise himself such things with bitterness and deceit, that is, with anger and insidiousness, whereby he is to bring over the multitude to his side. Under his tongue is toil and grief. Nothing is more toilsome than unrighteousness and ungodliness, upon which toil follows grief, for that the toil is not only without fruit, but even unto destruction, which toil and grief refers to that which he hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved from generation to generation without evil, and therefore under his tongue, not on his tongue, because he will devise these things in silence, and to men will speak other things, that he may appear good and just, and a son of God.
Verse 8. He lieth in ambush with the rich. What rich? But those whom he will load with this world's gifts. And he is therefore said to lie in ambush with them, because he will display their false happiness to deceive men, who, when with a perverted will they desire to such as they, and seek not the good things eternal, will fall into his snares. That in the dark he may kill the innocent. In the dark, I suppose, is said, where it is not easily understood what should be sought, or what avoided. Now to kill the innocent, is of an innocent to make one guilty. His eyes look against the poor. For he is chiefly to persecute the righteous, of whom it is said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Verse 9. He lieth in wait in a secret place, as a lion in his den. By a lion in his den, he means one in whom both violence and deceit will work. For the first persecution of the church was violent, when by prescriptions, by torments, by murders, the Christians were compelled to sacrifice. Another persecution is crafty, which is now conducted by heretics of any kind, and false brethren. There remains a third, which is to come by Antichrist, than which there is nothing more perilous, for it will be at once violent and crafty. Violence he will exert in empire, craft in miracles. To the violence the word lion refers, to craft the words in his den, and these are again repeated with a change of order.
He lieth in wait, he says, that he may catch the poor. This hath reference to craft, but what follows, to catch the poor whilst he draweth him, is put to the score of violence. For draweth means he bringeth him to himself by violence, by whatever tortures he can. Again, the two which follow are the same. In his snare he will humble him, his craft. He shall decline and fall, whilst he shall have dominion over the poor, his violence. For a snare naturally points to lying in weight. But dominion most openly conveys the idea of terror. For, well does he say, he will humble him in his snare. For when he shall begin to do those signs, the more wonderful they shall appear to men, the more those saints that shall then will be despised, and, as it were, said it not.
He whom they shall resist by righteousness and innocence shall seem to overcome by the marvels that he does, But he shall decline and fall, whilst he shall have domination over the poor, that is, whilst he shall inflict whatsoever punishments he will upon the servants of God that resist him. But how shall he decline and fall? Verse 10. For he hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten, he turneth away his face, that he see not unto the end. This is declining, and the most wretched fall, While the mind of a man prospers, as it were, in its iniquities, and thinks that it is spared, when it is being blinded, and kept for an extreme and untimely vengeance, of which the psalmist now speaks. Verse 12.
Arise, O Lord, let Thine hand be exalted, that is, let Thy power be made manifest. Now he has said above, Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail. Let the heathen be judged in thy sight, that is, in secret, where God alone seeth. This comes to pass when the ungodly have arrived at what seems great happiness to men, over whom is placed a lawgiver, such as they had deserved to have, of whom it is said, Place a lawgiver over them. O Lord, let the heathen know that they are men. But now, after that hidden punishment and vengeance, It is said, Arise, O Lord God, let thine hand be exalted, not of course in secret, but now in glory most manifest, that thou forget not the poor unto the end. That is, as the ungodly think who say, God hath forgotten, he turneth away his face, that he should not see unto the end.
Now they deny that God seeth unto the end. Who say that he careth not for things human and earthly, for the earth is, as it were, the end of things, in that it is the last element, in which men labor in most orderly sort, but they cannot see the order of their labors, which specially belongs to the hidden things of the sun. The church, then laboring in such times, like a ship in great waves and tempests, awaketh the Lord, As if he were sleeping, that he should command the winds, and calm should be restored. He says therefore, Arise, O Lord, let thine hand be exalted, that thou forget not the poor unto the end. Accordingly understand now the manifest judgment, and in exaltation at it they say, verse 13, Wherefore hath the ungodly angered God?
that is, what hath it profit him to do so great evil? For he said in his heart he will not require it. Then follows, verse 14, for thou seest toil, and considerest anger, to deliver them into thine hands. This sentence looks for distinct explanation, wherein, if there shall be error, it becomes obscure. For thus has the ungodly said in his heart, God will not require it, as though God regarded toil and anger to deliver them into his hands, that is, as though he feared toil and anger, and for this reason should spare them, lest their punishment be too burdensome to him, or lest he should be disturbed by the storm of anger, as men generally act, accusing themselves of vengeance, to avoid toil or anger.
The poor hath been left unto thee. For therefore is he poor, that is, hath despised all the temporal goods of this world, that thou mayest be his hope. Thou wilt be a helper to the orphan, that is, to him to whom his father, this world, by whom he was born after the flesh, dies, and who can already say, The world hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For of such orphans God becomes the Father. The Lord teaches us in truth that His disciples do become orphans, to whom He saith, Call no man father on earth, of which He first Himself gave an example in saying, Who is my mother, and who my brethren? Whence some most mischievous heretics would assert that He had no mother, And they do not see that it follows from this, if they pay attention to these words, that neither had his disciples' fathers.
For as he said, Who is my mother? So he taught them, when he said, Call no man your father on earth. Verse 15. Break the arm of the sinner and of the malicious. Of him, namely, of whom it was said above, He shall have dominion over all his enemies. He called his power, then, his arm, to which Christ's power is opposed, of which it is said, Arise, O Lord God, let thine hand be exalted. His fault shall be required, and he shall not be found because of it. That is, he shall be judged for his sins, and himself shall perish because of his sin. After this, what wonder if there follow, verse 16, the Lord shall reign for ever. and world without end. Ye heathen shall perish out of his earth. He uses heathen for sinners and ungodly.
Verse 17. The Lord hath heard the longing of the poor. The longing wherewith they were burning, when in the straits and tribulations of this world they desired the day of the Lord. Then I hath heard the preparation of their heart. This is the preparation of the heart, of which it is sung in another psalm. My heart is prepared, O God, my heart is prepared. Of which the Apostle says, But if we hope for what we see not, we do with patience wait for it. Now by the ear of God we ought, according to a general rule of interpretation, to understand not a bodily member, but the power whereby he heareth. And so, not to repeat this often, by whatever members of his are mentioned, which in us are visible and bodily, Must be understood powers of operation, for we must not suppose it anything bodily, in that the Lord God hears not the sound of the voice, but the preparation of the heart.
Verse 18. To judge for the orphan and the humble. That is, not for him who is conformed to this world, nor for the proud. For it is one thing to judge the orphan, another to judge for the orphan. He judges the orphan even who condemns him. But he judges for the orphan who delivers sentence for him. That man add not further to magnify himself upon the earth. For they are men of whom it was said, Place a lawgiver over them, O Lord. Let the heathen know they are men. But he too, who in this passage is understood to be placed over them, will be a man of whom it is now said, That man add not further to magnify himself upon the earth. Namely, when the Son of Man shall come to judge for the orphan who hath put off from himself the old man, and thus, as it were, buried his father.
After the hidden things, then, of the Son, of which in this psalm many things have been said, will come the manifest things of the Son, of which a little has been now said at the end of the psalm. But the title is given from the former, which here occupy the larger portion. Indeed, the very day of the Lord's advent may be rightly numbered among the hidden things of the Son, although the very presence of the Lord itself will be manifest. For of that day it is said that no man knoweth it, neither angels nor powers, nor the Son of Man. What then so hidden as that which is said to be hidden even to the judge himself? Not as regards knowledge, but disclosure, but concerning the hidden things of the Son, even if any one would not wish to understand the Son of God, but of David himself, to whose name the whole Psalter is attributed.
For the Psalms we know are called the Psalms of David. Let him give ear to those words in which it is said to the Lord, Have mercy on us, O Son of David. And so even in this manner Let him understand the same Lord Christ, concerning whose hidden things is the inscription of this psalm. For so likewise it is said by the angel, God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. Nor to this understanding of it is the sentence supposed in which the same Lord asks of the Jews, if Christ be the Son of David. How then doth he in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I put thine enemies under thy feet. For it was said to the unskilled, Although they looked for Christ's coming, yet expected him as a man, not as the power and wisdom of God.
He teacheth then, in that place, the most true and pure faith, that he is both the Lord of King David, and that he is the word in the beginning, God with God, by which all things were made. and Son, and that he was made to him of the seed of David according to the flesh. For he doth not say, Christ is not David's son, but if ye already hold that he is his son, learn how he is his Lord, and do not hold in respect of Christ that he is the Son of man. For so is he David's son, and leave out that he is the Son of God, For so is he, David's lord.
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10 10 - Psalm 11 28:21
Psalm 11 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. To the End, a psalm of David himself. This title does not require a fresh consideration, for the meaning of to the end has already been sufficiently handled. Let us then look to the text itself of the psalm, which to me appears to be sung against the heretics. Who, by rehearsing and exaggerating the sins of many in the Church, as if either all or the majority among them themselves were righteous, strive to turn and snatch us away from the breasts of the one true Mother Church, affirming that Christ is with them, and warning us, as if with piety and earnestness, that by passing over to them we may go over to Christ, whom they falsely declare they have.
Now it is known that in the prophecy, Christ, among the many names in which notice of him is conveyed in allegory, is also called a mountain. We must accordingly answer these people and say, verse 1, I trust in the Lord. How say ye to my soul, remove unto the mountains as a sparrow? I keep to one mountain wherein I trust. How say ye that I should pass over to you? As if there were many Christs, or if through pride you say that you are mountains. I had indeed need to be a sparrow, winged with the powers and commandments of God. But these very things hinder my flying to these mountains, and placing my trust in proud men. I have a house, where I may rest. In that I trust in the Lord, for even the sparrow hath found her house.
And the Lord hath become a refuge to the poor. Let us say then with all confidence, lest while we seek Christ among heretics, we lose him. In the Lord I trust. How say ye to my soul, Remove unto the mountain as a sparrow?
Verse two. For lo, sinners have bent the bow. They have prepared their arrows in the quiver, that they may in the obscure moon These be the terrors of those who threaten us as touching sinners, that we may pass over to them as the righteous. Lo, they say, the sinners have bent the bow. The scriptures, I suppose, by carnal interpretation of which they omit envenomed sentences from them, they have prepared their arrows in their quiver. The same words, that is, Which they will shoot out on the authority of Scripture. They have prepared in the secret place of the heart, that they may in the obscure moon shoot at the upright in heart, that when they see from the church is light being obscured by the multitude of the unlearned and the carnal.
That they cannot be convicted, they may corrupt good manners by evil communications. But against all these terrors we must say, And the Lord I trust. Now I remember that I promised to consider in this psalm with what suitableness the moon signifies the Church. There are two probable opinions concerning the moon, but of these, which is the true? I suppose it either impossible or very difficult for a man to decide. For when we ask whence the moon has her light, some say that it is her own. But that of her globe half as bright and half dark, and when she revolves in her own orbit, that part wherein she is bright gradually turns towards the earth, so as that it may be seen by us, and that, therefore, at first her appearance is as if she were horned.
But if you make a ball half white and half dark, if you have the dark part before your eyes, You will see none of the white, and when you begin turning that white part to your eyes, if you do it gradually, at first you will see horns of whiteness, and afterwards it increases gradually, until the whole white part is brought opposite to the eye, and none of the other dark part is visible. But if you continue still gradually turning, the darkness begins to appear and the whiteness to diminish, until it returns again to horns. And is, at last, wholly removed from the eye, and again that dark part alone can be seen, which they say takes place, when the light of the moon seems to increase up to the fifteenth day, and again diminishes up to the thirteenth, and returns to horns, until no light at all appears in it.
According to this opinion, the moon in allegory signifies the church, because in its spiritual part the church is bright, But in its carnal part is dark, and sometimes the spiritual part is seen by good works, but sometimes it lies hid in the conscience, and is known to God alone, since in the body alone it is seen by men. As happens when we pray in heart, and as it were seem to be doing nothing, whilst we are enjoined to have our hearts upward, not to the earth, but toward the Lord. But others say that the moon has no light of her own, but is lighted by the sun, but that when she is with it, she keeps that part in which she is not lighted towards us, and therefore there is no light visible in her.
But when she begins to recede from the sun, she is lighted in that part also, which is towards the earth, and that she necessarily brings with horns, until the fifteenth day, She becomes opposite the sun, for then she rises when the sun sets, so that whosoever shall observe the sun setting, if he turn to the east, as he first loses sight of it, may see the moon rising. And thenceforward, when she begins to approach him on the other side, she turns towards us that part in which she is not lighted, till she returns Two horns, and afterwards altogether vanishes, because then the part which is lighted is on high towards the heaven, but towards the earth the part which the sun cannot irradiate. Therefore, according to this opinion also, the moon is understood to be the church, because she has no light of her own, but is lighted by the only-begotten Son of God, who, in many places of Holy Scripture, as allegorically called the sun, whom certain heretics, being ignorant of and not able to discern him, endeavor to turn away the minds of the simple to this corporal and visible sun, which is the common light of the flesh of men and flies.
And some, they do pervert, who, as long as they cannot behold with the mind the inner light of truth, will not be content with the simple Catholic faith, Which is the only safety to babes, and by which milk alone they can arrive, in assured strength, at the firm support of more solid food. Whichever, then, of these two opinions be the true, the moon, in allegory, is fitly understood as the church. Or, if in such difficulties as these, troublesome rather than edifying, there be either no satisfaction or no leisure to exercise the mind, Or, if the mind itself be not capable of it, it is sufficient to regard the moon with ordinary eyes, and not to seek out obscure causes, but with all men to perceive her increasings and fulnesses and wanings.
And if she wanes to the end, that she may be renewed, even to this rude multitude she sets forth the image of the Church, in which the resurrection of the dead is believed. Next we must inquire, What in this psalm is meant by the obscure moon, in which sinners have prepared to shoot at the upright in heart? For not in one way only may the moon be said to be obscure, for when her monthly course is finished, and when her brightness is interrupted by a cloud, and when she is eclipsed at the full, the moon may be called obscure. It may then be understood first of the persecutors of the martyrs. That they wished in the obscure moon to shoot at the upright in heart, whether it be yet in the time of the Church's youth, because she had not yet shone forth in greatness on the earth, and conquered the darkness of heathen superstitions, or by the tongues of blasphemers, and such as defame the Christian name.
When the earth was, as it were, beclouded, the moon, that is, the Church, could not be clearly seen. Or when by the slaughter of the martyrs themselves, and so great a fusion of blood, as by that eclipse and obscuration, wherein the moon seems to exhibit a bloody face, the weak were deterred from the Christian name, in which terror sinners shot out words crafty and sacrilegious, to pervert even the upright in heart. And secondly, it can be understood of these sinners, whom the Church contains, Because at that time, taking the opportunity of this moon's obscurity, they committed many crimes, which are now tauntingly objected to us by the heretics, whereas their founders are said to have been guilty of them.
But howsoever that bewitch was done in the obscure moon, now that the Catholic name is spread and celebrated throughout the whole world. What concern of mine is it to be disturbed by things unknown? For in the Lord I trust, nor do I listen to them that say to my soul, Remove into the mountains as a sparrow. For, lo, sinners have bent the bow, that they may in the obscure moon shoot at the upright in heart. Or, if the moon seem even now obscure to them, because they would make it uncertain, which is the Catholic Church, And they strive to convict her by the sins of those many carnal men whom she contains. What concern is this to him who says in truth, In the Lord I trust? By which word every one shows that he is himself wheat, and endures that chaff with patience unto the time of winnowing?
In the Lord therefore I trust. Let them fear who trust in man. Who cannot deny that they are of man's party, by whose gray hairs they swear, and when in conversation it is demanded of them of what communion they are, unless they say that they are of his party, they cannot be recognized. Tell me, what do they do when the so numberless and daily sins and crimes of those of whom that society is full are recounted to them? Can they say, In the Lord I trust, How say ye to my soul, Remove into the mountains as a sparrow? For they do not trust in the Lord, who say that the sacraments are then holy, if they be administered by holy men. Accordingly, when it is demanded of them, Who are holy, they are ashamed to say, We are.
Moreover, if they are not ashamed to say so, the hearers are ashamed for them, So then they force those who receive the sacraments to put their hope in man, whose heart they cannot see. And cursed is every one that putteth his hope in man. For what is it to say, What I give is holy, but put your hope in me? What if you are not holy, or show your heart? But if you cannot do this, how shall I see that you are holy? Or perhaps you will say that it is written, Ye shall know them by their works. I see, indeed, marvelous works, the daily violences of the circumcellions, with the bishops and presbyters for their leaders, flying about in every direction, and calling their terrible clubs Israels, which men now living daily see and feel.
But for the times of Macarius, respecting which they raise an invidious cry, most men have not seen them. And no one sees them now, and any Catholic who saw them could say, If he wished to be a servant of God, in the Lord I trust. Which indeed he says now, when he sees many things in the church which he would not, who perceives that he as yet swims within those nets full of fish, good and bad, until all arrive at the end of the sea, where the bad are separated from the good. But these, what do they answer? If he whom they baptize say to one of them, How would you have me feel confidence? For if it be the desert of both the giver and the receiver, be it of God the giver, and of my conscience the receiver.
For these too, his goodness and my own faith, are not doubtful to me. Why do you interpose yourself, of whom I can know nothing certain? Allow me to say, In the Lord I trust. For if I trust in you, how can I trust that you have done no evil this night? Lastly, if you would have me believe you, can I do more than believe respecting yourself? How then can I trust in those with whom you communicated yesterday and communicate today and will communicate tomorrow, as to whether even in these three days They have not committed aught of evil. But if what we do not know defileth neither you or me, what cause is there for rebaptizing those who have known nothing of the times of the surrender of the books and of the Marcian cry?
What cause that thou shouldest dare to rebaptize Christians coming from Mesopotamia, who never even heard the names of...
and deny that they are Christians. But if other men's sins, which they know not of, defile them, whatever is each day committed on your side, without your knowledge, makes you guilty, who vainly object the imperial constitutions to Catholics, whilst private clubs and fires rage as they do in your own camp. See where unto they have fallen. Who, when they saw sinners in the Catholic Church, could not say, In the Lord I trust, and have placed their hope in man, which they would most certainly say, if they were not themselves, or even if themselves were such as they supposed them to be, from whom, with sacrilegious pride, they pretend that they wished to separate themselves. Let the Catholic soul then say, In the Lord I trust.
How say ye to my soul, Remove into the mountains as a sparrow? For lo, the sinners have bent the bow, they have prepared their arrows in the quiver, that they may in the obscure moon shoot at the upright in heart. And from them let her turn her speech to the Lord, and say, Verse 3, For they have destroyed what thou hast perfected. And this let her say not against these only, But against all heretics, for they have all, as far as in them lies, destroyed the praise which God hath perfected out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, when they disturb the little ones with vain and scrupulous questions, and suffer them not to be nourished with the milk of faith. As if then it were said to this soul, Why do they say to you, Remove into the mountains as a sparrow?
Why do they frighten you with sinners, who have bent the bow, to shoot in the obscure moon at the upright in heart? She answers, Therefore it is, they frighten me, because they have destroyed what thou hast perfected, where but in their convectacles, where they nourish not with milk, but kill with poison the babes in ignorance of the interior light. But what hath the just done? If Marcius— Who, Chalcinus, offend you, what hath Christ done to you, who said, My peace I give unto you, my peace I leave with you, which ye with your abominable dissensions have violated? What hath Christ done to you, who, with such exceeding patience, endured his betrayer as to give to him, as to the other apostles, the first Eucharist consecrated with his own hands and blessed with his own mouth?
What hath Christ done to you, who sent this same betrayer, whom he called a devil, who before betraying the Lord could not show good faith even to the Lord's purse, with the other disciples to preach the kingdom of heaven, that he might show the gifts of God come to those that with faith receive them, though he through whom they receive them be such as Judas was. Verse 4. The Lord is in his holy temple. Yea, and such wise as the Apostle saith, For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Now if any man shall violate the temple of God, him shall God destroy. He violateth the temple of God, who violateth unity, for he holdeth not the head, from which the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, According to the working after the measure of every part maketh increase of the body to the edifying of itself in love.
The Lord is in this his holy temple, which consisteth of his many members, fulfilling each his own separate duties, by love built up into one building, which temple he violateth, who for the sake of his own preeminence separateth himself from the Catholic society. The Lord is in His holy temple. The Lord, His seat, is in heaven. If you take heaven to be the just man, as you take the earth to be the sinner, to whom it was said, Earth thou art, and unto earth shalt thou go. The words, The Lord is in His holy temple, you will understand to be repeated. Whilst it is said, The Lord, His seat, is in heaven. His eyes look upon the poor. He is to whom the poor man hath been left, and who hath been made a refuge to the poor, and therefore all the seditions and tumults within these nets, until they be drawn to the shore, concerning which heretics upbraid us to their own ruin, and our correction are caused by those men who will not be Christ's poor.
But do they turn away God's eyes from such as would be so, For his eyes look upon the poor. Is it to be feared lest, in the crowd of the rich, he may not be able to see the few poor, whom he brings up in safe keeping in the bosom of the Catholic Church? His eyelids question the sons of men. Here, by that rule, I would wish to take the sons of men, of those that from old men have been regenerated by faith. For these, by certain obscure passages of Scripture, As it were, the closed eyes of God are exercised, that they may seek, and again, by certain clear passages, as it were, the open eyes of God are enlightened, that they may rejoice. And this frequent closing and opening of the holy books, as it were, the eyelids of God, which question, that is, which try the sons of men, who are neither worried with the obscurity of the matter, but exercised, Nor puffed up by knowledge, but confirmed.
Verse 5. The Lord questioneth the righteous and the ungodly. Why, then, do we fear, lest the ungodly should be any hurt to us? If so be, they do with insincere heart share the sacraments with us, seeing that he questioneth the righteous and the ungodly. But whoso loveth iniquity hateth his own soul, that is, not him who believeth God, And putteth not his hope in man, but only his own soul doth the lover of iniquity hurt. Verse 6. He shall rain snares upon the sinners. If by clouds are understood prophets generally, whether good or bad, who are also called false prophets, false prophets are so ordered by the Lord God, that by them he may rain snares upon sinners. For no one but the sinner falls into a following of them, Whether by way of preparation for the last punishment, if he shall choose to persevere in sin, or to dissuade from pride, if in time he shall come to seek God with a more sincere intent.
But if by clouds are understood good and true prophets only, by these two it is clear that God rained the snares upon sinners, although by them he watereth also the godly unto fruitfulness. To some saith the apostle, We are the savour of life unto life, but to some the savour of death unto death. For not prophets only, but all who with the word of God water souls may be called clouds, who, when they are understood amiss, God reineth snares upon sinners, but when they are understood aright, he maketh the hearts of the godly and believing fruitful. As, for instance, the passage, And they too shall be one flesh. If one interpret it with an eye to lust, he raineth a snare upon the sinner. But if you understand it as he who says, But I speak concerning Christ and the church, he raineth a shower on the fertile soil.
Now both are affected by the same cloud. That is, holy scripture. Again the Lord says, Not that which goeth into your mouth defileth you, but that which cometh out. The sinner hears this, and makes ready his palate for gluttony. The righteous hears it, and is guarded against the superstitious distinction in meats. Hear then also, out of the same cloud of scripture, according to the several deserts of each, upon the sinner the rain of snares, upon the righteous the rain of fruitfulness is poured. Fire and brimstone, and the blast of the tempest is the portion of their cup. This is their punishment and end, by whom the name of God is blasphemed, that first they should be wasted by the fire of their own lusts, then by the ill-savor of their evil deeds, cast out from the company of the blessed, at last carried away and overwhelmed, suffer penalties unspeakable, for this is the portion of their cup.
As of the righteous, thy cup inebriating, how excellent it is! Now, I suppose a cup is mentioned for this reason, that we should not suppose that anything is done by God's providence, even in the very punishments of sinners, beyond moderation and measure. And therefore, as if he were giving a reason why this should be, he added, verse 7, The plural Not without meaning, but only because he speaks of men, is as that righteousnesses be understood, to be used for righteous men. For in many righteous men there seem, so to say, to be righteousnesses, whereas there is one only righteousness of God, whereof they all participate. Like as when one face looks upon many mirrors, what in it is the only one?
is by those many mirrors reflected manifoldly. Wherefore he recurres to the singular, saying, His faith hath seen iniquity. Perhaps his face hath seen equity, is as if it were said, Equity hath been seen in his face, that is, in knowledge of him. For God's face is the power by which he is made known to them that are worthy, or at least, His face hath seen equity, because he doth not allow himself to be known by the evil, but by the good, and this is equity. But if any one would understand the moon of the synagogue, let him refer the psalm to the Lord's Passion, and of the Jews say, For they have destroyed what thou hast perfected, and of the Lord himself, but what had the just done? Whom they accused as the destroyer of the law, whose precepts, by their corrupt living, and by despising them, and by setting up their own, they had destroyed, so that the Lord himself may speak as man, as he is wont, saying, In the Lord I trust.
How say ye to my soul, Remove into the mountains as a sparrow? By reason, that is, of the fear of those who desired to apprehend and crucify him, since the interpretation is not unreasonable of sinners wishing to shoot at the upright in heart, that is, those who believed in Christ, in the that is, the synagogue filled with sinners. In this too, the words, the Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord his seat is in the heaven, are suitable. That is, the word in man.
His eyes look upon the poor, either on him whom he assumed as God, or for whom he suffered as man. His eyelids question the sons of men, the closing and opening of the eyes, which is probably meant by the word eyelids. We may take to be his death and resurrection, whereby he tried the sons of men, his disciples. Terrified at his passion, and gladdened by the resurrection, the Lord questioneth the righteous and ungodly, even now from out of heaven governing the church. But whosoever loveth iniquity hateth his own soul. Why is it so? What follows teaches us. For he shall rain snares upon the sinners, which is to be taken according to the exposition given above. And so on with all the rest of the psalm.
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11 11 - Psalm 12 5:05
Psalm 12 Exposition on the Book of Psalms. on the book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo. To the end for the eighth, a psalm of David. 1. It has been said on the sixth psalm that the eighth may be taken as the day of judgment. For the eighth may also be taken for the eternal age, for that after the time present, which is a cycle of seven days, it shall be given to the saints. 2. Verse 1. Save me, O Lord, for the holy hath failed. That is, is not found. As we speak when we say, corn fails, or money fails. For the truths have been minished from among the sons of man. The truth is one whereby holy souls are enlightened, but forasmuch as there are many souls, there may be said in them to be many truths, as in smearers there are seen many reflections from one face.
3. Verse 2. He hath talked vanity each man to his neighbor. By neighbor we must understand every man, for that there is no one with whom we should work evil, and the love of our neighbor worketh no evil. Deceitful lips with a heart in a heart they have spoken evil things. The repetition with a heart in a heart signifies a double heart. Four. Verse Three. May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips. He says all that no one may suppose himself accepted, as the apostle says, Upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first and of the Greek. The tongue speaking great things, the proud tongue. Five. Verse Four. Who hath said, We will magnify our tongue, our lips, or our own? Who is Lord over us?
Proud hypocrites are meant putting confidence in their speech to deceive men and not submitting themselves to God. 6.5. Because of the wretchedness of the needy and the sighing of the poor, now I will arise, saith the Lord. For so the Lord himself in the gospel pitied his people, because they had no ruler when they could well obey. Whence too it is said in the gospel, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. This must be taken as spoken in the person of God the Father, who, because of the needy and the poor, That is, who in need and poverty were lacking spiritual good things, vouched safe to send his own son. For thence begins his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, where he says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
I will place in salvation. He does not say what he would place, but in salvation, must be understood as in Christ. According to that, for my eyes have seen thy salvation. And hence he is understood to have placed in him what appertains to taking away the wretchedness of the needy, and to comforting the sighing of the poor. I will do confidently in him according to that in the gospel, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. Seven, verse six, the words of the Lord are pure words. This is in the person of the prophet himself, the words of the Lord are pure words. He says pure without the alloy of pretence. For many priests the truth impurely, for they sell it for the bribe of the advantages of this life.
Of such, the apostle says that they declared Christ not purely, silver tried by the fire for the earth. These words of the Lord by means of tribulations approved to sinners, purified seven times by the fear of God, by godliness, by knowledge, by might, by counsel, by understanding, by wisdom. For seven steps also of beatitude there are, which the Lord goes over according to Matthew in the same sermon which he spake on the mount. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed the meek. Blessed they that mourn. Blessed they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness. Blessed the merciful. Blessed the pure in heart. Blessed the peacemakers. Of which seven sentences it may be observed how all that long sermon was spoken.
For the eighth where it is said, Blessed are they which suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, denotes the fire itself, whereby the silver is proved seven times. And at the termination of this sermon it is said, For he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. Which refers to that which is said in this psalm, ideal competently in him. 8. Verse 7. Thou, O Lord, shalt preserve us, and keep us from this generation to eternity, here as needy and poor, there as wealthy and rich. 9. Verse 8. The ungodly walk in a circle round about. that is, in the desire of things temporal, which resolves as a wheel in a repeated circle of seven days, and therefore they do not arrive at the eighth, that is, at eternity, for that which this psalm is entitled.
So too it is said by Solomon, For the wise king is the whineer of the N'gali, and he bringeth on them the wheel of the wicked. After thine height thou hast modified the sons of men. For there is in temporal things too a multiplication, which turns away from the unity of God. Hence the corruptible body weigheth down to the soul, and the earthly tabernacle presseth down the mind that museth upon many things. But the righteous are multiplied after the height of God, when they shall go from strength to strength. End of Psalm 12.
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12 12 - Psalm 13 5:06
Psalm 13 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms. Psalm 13. A psalm of David. For Christ is the end of the law to every one that believeth. Verse 1. How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me unto the end? That is, put me off as to spiritually understanding Christ, who is the wisdom of God, and the true end of all the aim of the soul. How long dost thou turn away thy face from me? As God doth not forget, So neither doth he turn his face away. But Scripture speaks after our manner. Now God is said to turn away his face when he doth not give to the soul, which as yet hath not the pure eye of the mind, the knowledge of himself. Verse 2. How long shall I place counsel in my soul? There is no need of counsel but in adversity.
Therefore... How long shall I place counsel in my soul? Is as if it were said, How long shall I be in adversity? Or at least it is an answer, so that the meaning is this. So long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me to the end, and so long turn away thy face from me, until I shall place counsel in mine own soul. So that, except a man place counsel in his own soul to work mercy perfectly, God will not direct him to the end, nor give him that full knowledge of himself, which is face to face. Sorrow in my heart through the day. How long shall I have, is understood. And, through the day, signifies continuance, so that day is taken for time. From which, as each one longs to be free, he has sorrow in his heart, making entreaty to rise to things eternal, and not endure man's day.
How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Either the devil or carnal habit. Verse 3. Look on me, and hear me, O Lord my God. Look on me, refers to what was said, How long dost thou turn away thy face from me? Here refers to what was said. How long wilt thou forget me to the end? Lighten mine eyes, that I sleep not in death. The eyes of the heart must be understood, that they be not closed by the pleasurable eclipse of sin. Verse Four. Lest at any time mine enemies say I have prevailed against him. The devil's mockery is to be feared. They that trouble me will exult if I be moved. The devil and his angels, who exulted not over that righteous man, Job, when they troubled him, because he was not moved, that is, did not draw back from the steadfastness of his faith.
V. But I have hoped in thy mercy. Because of this very thing, that a man be not moved, and that he abide fixed in the Lord, he should not attribute to self, lest when he glories that he hath not been moved, he be moved by this very pride. My heart shall exult in thy salvation, in Christ, in the wisdom of God. Verse 6. I will sing to the Lord who hath given me good things, spiritual good things, not belonging to man's day. And I will chant to the name of the Lord Most High. That is, I give thanks with joy, and in most due order employ my body, which is the song of the spiritual soul. But if any distinction is to be marked here, I will sing with my heart, I will chant with my works, to the Lord, that which he alone seeth, but to the name of the Lord, that which is known among men, which is serviceable not for him but for us.
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13 13 - Psalm 14 9:24
Psalm 14 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms.
Psalm 14, to the end, a psalm of David himself. What to the end means must not be too often repeated. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth, as the apostle saith. We believe on him when we begin to enter on the good road. We shall see him when we shall get to the end, and therefore is he the end. Verse 1. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. For not even have certain sacrilegious and abominable philosophers, who entertain perverse and false notions of God, dared to say, There is no God. Therefore it is, hath said, in his heart, for that no one dares to say it, even if he has dared to think it. They are corrupt and become abominable in their affections.
That is, whilst they love this world and love not God, these are the affections which corrupt the soul, and so blinded that the fool can even say, In his heart there is no God. For as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind. There is none that do with goodness. No, not up to One. Up to One can be understood either with that One, so that no man be understood, or besides One, that the Lord Christ may be accepted. As we say, this field is up to the sea, we do not, of course, reckon the sea together with the field, and this is the better interpretation. So that none be understood to have done goodness up to Christ, for that no man can do goodness, except he shall have shown it.
And that is true, for until a man know the one God, he cannot do goodness. Verse 2. The Lord from heaven looked out upon the sons of men to see if there be one understanding or seeking after God. It may be interpreted upon the Jews, as he may have given them the more honorable name of the sons of men, by reason of their worship of the one God, in comparison with the Gentiles, of whom I suppose it was said above, The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God, etc. Now the Lord looks out that he may see, by his holy souls. Which is the meaning of from heaven, for by himself nothing is hid from him. Verse 3. All have gone out of the way, they have together become useless. That is, the Jews have become as the Gentiles, who were spoken of above.
There is none that doeth good, no not up to one. Must be interpreted as above. Their throat is an open sepulchre. Either the voracity of the ever-open palate is signified, or, allegorically, those who slay, and, as it were, devour those they have slain, into whom they instill the disorder of their own conversation. Like to which with the contrary meaning is that which was said to Peter, Kill and eat. that he should convert the gentiles to his own faith in good conversation. With their tongues they have dealt craftily. Flattery is the companion of the greedy and of all bad men. The poison of asps is under their lips. By poison he means deceit, and of asps, because they will not hear the precepts of the law, as asps Will not hear the voice of the charmer, which is said more clearly in another psalm, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
This is the poison of asps. Their feet are swift to shed blood. He here shows forth the habit of ill-doing. Destruction and unhappiness are in their ways. For all the ways of evil men are full of toil and misery. Hence the Lord cries out, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light, and the way of peace have they not known. That way, namely, which the Lord, as I said, Mentions in the easy yoke and light burden. There is no fear of God before their eyes. These do not say, There is no God, but yet they do not fear God. Verse 4. Shall not all who work iniquity know, He threatens the judgment, who devour my people as the food of bread, that is, daily, For the food of bread is daily food.
Now they devour the people, who serve their own ends out of them, not referring their ministry to the glory of God, and the salvation of those over whom they are. They have not called upon the Lord. For he doth not really call upon him who longs for such things as are displeasing to him. Verse 5. There they tremble for fear, where no fear was. That is, for the loss of things temporal. For they said, If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation. They feared to lose an earthly kingdom, where no fear was, and they lost the kingdom of heaven, which they ought to have feared. And this must be understood of all temporal goods, the loss of which, when men fear, they come not to things eternal.
For God is in the just generation. It refers to what went before, so that the sense is, Shall not all they that work iniquity know that the Lord is in the just generation? That is, he is not in them who love the world. For it is unjust to leave the Maker of the worlds, and serve the creature more than the Creator. Verse 6. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, for the Lord is his hope. That is, ye have despised the humble coming of the Son of God, because Esau not in him the pomp of the world. that they whom he was calling should put their hope in God alone, not in the things that pass away. Verse 7. Who will give salvation to Israel out of Zion? Who but he whose humiliation ye have despised is understood.
For he will come in glory to the judgment of the quick and the dead, and the kingdom of the just. that, forasmuch as in that humble coming, blindness hath happened in part unto Israel, that the fulness of the Gentiles might enter in. In that other should happen what follows. And so all Israel should be saved. For the Apostle, too, takes that testimony of Isaiah, where it is said, There shall come out of Zion he who shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For the Jews, as it is here, who shall give salvation to Israel out of Zion? When the Lord shall turn away the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. It is a repetition, as is usual, for I suppose, Israel shall be glad is the same as, Jacob shall rejoice.
End of Psalm 14.
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14 14 - Psalm 15 5:38
Psalm 15 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo. Translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm 15, a psalm of David himself. Touching this title, there is no question. Verse 1. O Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? Although tabernacle be sometimes used even for an everlasting habitation, yet when tabernacle is taken in its proper meaning, it is a thing of war. Hence soldiers are called tent fellows as having their tents together. This sentence is assisted by the words, Who shall sojourn? For we war with the devil for a time, and then we need a tabernacle wherein we may refresh ourselves, which specially points out the faith of the temporal dispensation, which was wrought for us in time through the incarnation of the Lord.
And who shall rest in thy holy mountain? Here, perhaps, he signifies at once the eternal habitation itself, that we should understand by mountain the super-eminence of the love of Christ in life eternal. Verse 2. He who walketh without stain, and worketh righteousness. Here he has laid down the proposition. In what follows he sets it forth in detail. Who speaketh the truth in his heart. For some have truth on their lips, and not in their heart. As if one should deceitfully point out a road, knowing that there were robbers there, and should say, If you go this way, you will be safe from robbers. And it should turn out that in fact there were no robbers found there. He has spoken the truth, but not in his heart.
For he supposed it to be otherwise, and spoke the truth in ignorance. Therefore it is not enough to speak the truth, unless it be so also in heart. Verse 3. Who hath practiced no deceit in his tongue? Deceit is practiced with the tongue when one thing is professed with the mouth, another concealed in the breast, nor done evil to his neighbor. It is well known that by neighbor every man should be understood, and hath not entertained slander against his neighbor. That is, hath not readily or rashly given credence to an accuser. Verse 4. The malicious one hath been brought to naught in his sight. This is perfection, that the malicious one have no force against a man. And that this be in his sight, that is, that he know most surely that the malicious is not, save when the mind turns itself away from the eternal and immutable form of her own creator to the form of the creature, which was made out of nothing.
But those that fear the Lord he glorifieth. The Lord himself, that is. Now, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. As then the things above belong to the perfect, so what he is now going to say belongs to beginners. Who sweareth unto his neighbor, and deceiveth him not. Verse 5. Who hath not given his money upon usury, and hath not taken rewards against the innocent? These are no great things, but he who is not able to do even this, much less able is he to speak the truth in his heart, and to practice no deceit in his tongue. But as the truth is in the heart, so to profess and have it in his mouth, yea, yea, nay, nay, and to do no evil to his neighbor, that is, to any man. And to entertain no slander against his neighbor, all which are the virtues of the perfect, in whose sight the malicious one hath been brought to naught.
Yet he concludes even these lesser things thus, Whoso doeth these things shall not be moved forever. That is, he shall attain unto those greater things, wherein is great and unshaken stability. For even the very tenses are, perhaps not without cause, so varied as that in the conclusion above the past tense should be used, but in this the future. For there it was said, The malicious one hath been brought to naught in his sight, but here shall not be moved forever.
End of Psalm 15
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15 15 - Psalm 16 8:06
Psalm 16 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms. Psalm 16. The inscription of the title of David himself.
Our King in this psalm speaks in the character of the human nature he assumed, of whom the royal title at the time of his passion was eminently set forth. Now he saith as follows. Verse 1. Preserve me, O Lord, for in thee have I hoped. Verse 2. I have said to the Lord, Thou art my God, Verse 3. To the saints who are on his earth. To the saints who have placed their hope in the land of the living, the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, whose spiritual conversation is, by the anchor of hope, fixed in that country, which is rightly called God's earth. Although as yet in this earth too they be conversant in the flesh. He hath wonderfully fulfilled all my wishes in them. To those saints, then, he hath wonderfully fulfilled all my wishes in their advancement, whereby they have perceived how both the humanity of my divinity hath profited them that I might die, and the divinity of the humanity Verse 4.
Their infirmities have been multiplied. Their infirmities have been multiplied not for their destruction, but that they might long for the physician. Afterwards they made haste. Accordingly, after infirmities multiplied, they made haste, that they might be healed. I will not gather together their assemblies by blood. For their assemblies shall not be carnal, nor will I gather them together as one propitiated by the blood of cattle, nor will I be mindful of their names within my lips. But by a spiritual change what they have been shall be forgotten, nor by me shall they be any more called either sinners or enemies or men, but righteous, and my brethren, and sons of God through my peace. Verse 5.
The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup. For together with me they shall possess the inheritance, the Lord himself. Let others choose for themselves portions, Earthly and temporal, to enjoy. The portion of the saints is the Lord eternal. Let others drink of deadly pleasures. The portion of my cup is the Lord. In that I say, mine I include the church, for where the head is there is the body also. For into the inheritance will I gather together their assemblies, and by the inebriation of the cup I will forget their old names. Thou art he who will restore to me my inheritance, that to these two whom I free may be known the glory wherein I was with thee before the world was made.
For thou wilt not restore to me that which I never lost, but thou wilt restore to these who have lost it the knowledge of that glory, in whom, because I am, thou wilt restore to me.
The lines have fallen to me in glorious places. The boundaries of my possession have fallen in thy glory as it were by lot, Like is God as the possession of the priests and Levites. For mine inheritance is glorious to me. For mine inheritance is glorious. Not to all, but to them that see, in whom, because I am, it is to me. Verse 7. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me understanding. whereby this inheritance may be seen and possessed. Yea, moreover, too, even unto night my reins have chastened me. Yea, besides understanding, even unto death, my inferior part, the assumption of flesh, hath instructed me, that I might experience the darkness of mortality, which that understanding hath not. Verse 8.
I foresaw the Lord in my sight always. But coming into things that pass away, I remove not mine eye from him who abideth ever, foreseeing this, that to him I should return after passing through the things temporal.
For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. For he favoreth me, Verse 9. Wherefore my heart was glad, and my tongue exulted. Wherefore both in my thoughts is gladness, and in my words exultation.
Moreover, too, my flesh shall rest in hope. Moreover, too, my flesh shall not fail unto destruction. but shall sleep in hope of the resurrection. Verse 10. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell. For thou wilt neither give my soul for a possession to those parts below. Neither wilt thou grant thine Holy One to see corruption. Neither wilt thou suffer that sanctified body, whereby others are to be also sanctified to see corruption. Verse 11 Thou hast made known to me the paths of life. Thou hast made known through me the paths of humiliation, that men might return to life, from whence they fell through pride, in whom because I am. Thou hast made known to me. Thou wilt fill me with joy with thy countenance.
Thou wilt fill them with joy, that they should see nothing further when they shall see thee. Face to face. In whom, because I am, thou wilt fill me. Pleasure is at thy right hand even to the end. Pleasure is in thy favor, and mercy in this life's journey. leading on even to the end of the glory of thy countenance.
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16 16 - Psalm 17 10:00
Psalm 17 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms. Psalm 17, A Prayer of David himself.
This prayer must be assigned to the person of the Lord, with the addition of the Church, which is His body. Verse 1. Hear my righteousness, O God. Consider my supplication. Hearken unto my prayer, not in deceitful lips. Not going forth to thee in deceitful lips. Verse 2. Let my judgment from thy countenance go forth. From the enlightening of the knowledge of Thee, let me judge truth, or at least let my judgment go forth, not in deceitful lips, from Thy countenance, that is, that I may not in judging utter aught else than I understand in Thee. Let mine eyes see equity, the eyes of course of the heart. Verse 3 Thou hast proved and visited mine heart in the night season. For this mine heart hath been proved by the visitation of tribulation.
Thou hast examined me by fire, and iniquity hath not been found in me. Now not night only, in that it is wont to disturb, but fire also, in that it burns, is this tribulation to be called. Whereby, when I was examined, I was found righteous. That my mouth may not speak. Verse 4. The works of men. That nothing may proceed out of my mouth but what relates to thy glory and praise, not to the works of men, which they do beside thy will. Because of the words of thy lips. Because of the words of thy peace, or of thy prophets, I have kept hard ways. I have kept the toilsome ways of human mortality and suffering. Verse 5. To perfect my steps in thy paths, that the love of the church might be perfected in the straight ways whereby she arrives at thy rest.
That my footsteps be not moved. That the signs of my way, which, like footsteps, have been imprinted on the sacraments and apostolical writings, be not moved, that they may mark them who would follow me. Or, at least, that I may still abide fixedly in eternity, After that I have accomplished the hard ways, and have finished my steps in the straits of thy paths. Verse 6. I have cried out, for thou hast heard me, O God. With a free and strong effort have I directed my prayers unto thee. For that I might have this power, thou hast heard me when praying more weakly. Incline thine ear to me, and hear my words. Let not thy hearing forsake my humiliation. Verse 7. Make thy mercies marvelous. Let not thy mercies be disesteemed, lest they be loved too little.
Who safest them that hope in thee from such as resist thy right hand? From such as resist the favor whereby thou favourest me.
Keep me, O Lord, as the apple of thine eye. Which seems very little and minute, yet by it is the sight of the eye directed, whereby the light is distinguished from the darkness, As by Christ's humanity, the divinity of the judgment distinguishing between the righteous and sinners. In the covering of Thy wings protect me. In the defense of Thy love and mercy protect me. Verse 9. From the face of the ungodly who have troubled me. Mine enemies have compassed about my soul. Verse 10. They have shut up their own fat. They have been covered with their own gross joy. After that their desire hath been satiated with wickedness. Their mouth has spoken pride. And therefore their mouth spoke pride in saying, Hail, King of the Jews, and other like words.
Verse 11. Casting me forth, they have now compassed me about. Casting me forth outside the city, they have now compassed me about on the cross. Their eyes they have determined to turn down on the earth. The beat of their heart they have determined to turn down on these earthly things, deeming him who was slain to endure a mighty evil. and themselves that slew him, none.
As a lion ready for prey, have they taken me. They have taken me, like that adversary who walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, and as a lion's whelp, dwelling in secret places. And as his whelp, the people to whom it was said, Ye are of your father the devil, meditating on the snares, whereby they might circumvent and destroy the just one. Arise, O Lord, prevent them and cast them down. Arise, O Lord, thou whom they supposed to be asleep, and regardless of men's iniquities, Be they blinded before by their own malice, that vengeance may prevent their deed, and so cast them down. Deliver my soul from the ungodly. Deliver my soul by restoring me after the death which the ungodly have inflicted on me.
Thy weapon. Verse 14 From the enemies of thine hand. For my soul is thy weapon, which thy hand, that is, thy eternal power, hath taken to subdue thereby the kingdoms of iniquity, and divide the righteous from the ungodly. This weapon, then, deliver from the enemies of thine hand, that is, of thy power, that is, from mine enemies. Destroy them, O Lord, from off the earth, scatter them in their life. O Lord, destroy them from off the earth, which they inhabit, scatter them throughout the world in this life, which only they think their life, who despair of life eternal. And by thy hidden things their belly hath been filled. Now not only this visible punishment shall overtake them, but also their memory hath been filled with sins, which as darkness are hidden from the light of thy truth, that they should forget God.
They have been filled with swine's flesh. They have been filled with uncleanness, treading under foot the pearls of God's words. And they have left the rest to their babes, crying out, This sin be upon us and upon our children. Verse 15 But I shall appear in thy righteousness in thy sight. But I, who have not appeared to them that, with their filthy and darkened heart, cannot see the light of wisdom. shall appear in thy righteousness in thy sight. I shall be satiated when thy glory shall be manifested. And when they have been satiated with their uncleanness that they could not know me, I shall be satiated when thy glory shall be manifested in them that know me.
In that verse indeed, where it is said, filled with swine's flesh, Some copies have filled with children. For from the ambiguity of the Greek a double interpretation has resulted. Now by children we understand works, and as by good children good works, so by evil evil.
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17 17 - Psalm 18 28:49
Psalm 18 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms.
Translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm 18. To the end for the servant of the Lord, David himself.
That is, for the strong of hand, Christ in his manhood. The words of this song which he spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him out of the hands of his enemies and of the hand of Saul, and he said, on the day when the Lord delivered him out of the hands of his enemies and of the hand of Saul, namely, the king of the Jews, whom they had demanded for themselves. For as David is said to be, by interpretation, strong of hand, so Saul is said to be demanding. Now it is well known how that people demanded for themselves a king, and received him for their king, not according to the will of God, but according to their own will. Christ, then, and the Church, that is, Whole Christ, the head and the body, saith here.
Verse 1. I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength. I will love Thee, O Lord, by whom I am strong. Verse 2. O Lord, my stay and my refuge and my deliverer. O Lord, who has stayed me, because I sought refuge with Thee, and I sought refuge because Thou hast delivered me. My God is my Helper, and I will hope in Him. My God, who hast first afforded me the help of Thy call, that I might be able to hope in Thee. My Defender and the Horn of my Salvation, and my Redeemer. My Defender, because I have not leaned upon myself, lifting up, as it were, the horn of pride against thee, but have found thee a horn indeed, that is, the sure height of salvation, and that I might find it, thou redeemest me. Verse 3. With praise will I call upon the Lord, and I shall be safe from mine enemies.
Seeking not my own but the Lord's glory, I will call upon Him, and there shall be no means whereby the errors of ungodliness can hurt me. Verse 4. The pains of death, that is, of the flesh, have compassed me about, and the overflowings of ungodliness have troubled me. Ungodly troubles stirred up for a time Like torrents of rain which will soon subside, have come on to trouble me. Verse 5. The pains of hell compassed me about. Among those that compassed me about to destroy me were pains of envy which work death and lead on to the hell of sin. The snares of death prevented me. They prevented me, so that they wished to hurt me first, which shall afterwards be recompensed unto them. Now they seize unto destruction such men as they have evilly persuaded by the boast of righteousness, in the name but not in the reality, of which they glory against the Gentiles.
Verse 6 And in mine oppression I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God, and he heard my voice from his holy temple. He heard from my heart, wherein he dwelleth, my voice. And my cry in his sight entered into his ears. And my cry, which I uttered, not in the ears of men, but inwardly before him himself, entered into his ears. Verse 7. And the earth was moved and trembled. When the Son of Man was thus glorified, sinners were moved and trembled. And the foundations of the mountains were troubled. And the hopes of the proud which were in this life were troubled. And were moved, for God was wroth with them. That is, that the hope of temporal goods might have now no more establishment in the hearts of men.
Verse 8. There went up smoke in his wrath. The tearful supplication of penitents went up when they came to know God's threatenings against the ungodly. And fire burneth from his face. And the ardor of love after repentance burns by the knowledge of Him. Coals were kindled from Him. They who were already dead, abandoned by the fire of good desire and the light of righteousness, and who remained in coldness and darkness, re-enkindled and enlightened, have come to life again. Verse 9 And he bowed the heaven and came down. And he humbled the Just One, that he might descend to men's infirmity, and darkness under his feet. And the ungodly, who savour of things earthly, in the darkness of their own malice, knew not him, for the earth under his feet is, as it were, his footstool.
Verse 10 And he mounted above the Keravim, and did fly. And he was exalted above the fullness of knowledge, that no man should come to him but by love. For love is the fulfilling of the law. And full soon he showed to his lovers that he is incomprehensible, lest they should suppose that he is comprehended by corporeal imaginations. He flew above the wings of the winds. But that swiftness, whereby he showed himself to be incomprehensible, is above the powers of souls, whereon, as upon wings, they raised themselves from earthly fears into the air of liberty. Verse 11. And hath made darkness his hiding-place. And hath settled the obscurity of the sacraments, and the hidden hope in the heart of believers, where he may lie hid, and not abandon them.
In this darkness, too, wherein we yet walk by faith, and not by sight, as long as we hope for what we see not, and with patience wait for it. Round about him is his tabernacle. Yet they that believe him turn to him and encircle him, for that he is in the midst of them, since he is equally the friend of all, in whom, as any tabernacle, he at this time dwells. Dark Water in Clouds of Air Nor let any one on this account, if he understand the Scripture, imagine that he is already in that light, which will be when we shall have come out of faith into sight. For in the prophets and in all the preachers of the word of God there is obscure teaching. Verse 12. In respect of the brightness in his sight.
in comparison with the brightness which is in the sight of His manifestation. His clouds have passed over. The preachers of His word are not now bounded by the confines of Judea, but have passed over to the Gentiles. Hail and coals of fire. Reproofs are figured, whereby, as by hail, the hard hearts are bruised. But if a cultivated and genial soil, that is, a godly mind, received them, the hail's hardness dissolves into water, that is, the terror of the lightning charged, and as it were frozen reproof, dissolves into satisfying doctrine, and hearts kindled by the fire of love revive. All these things in his clouds have passed over to the Gentiles. Verse 13. And the Lord hath thundered from heaven.
And in confidence of the gospel the Lord hath sounded forth from the heart of the Just One. And the Highest gave His voice, that we might entertain it, and in the depth of human things might hear things heavenly. Verse 14. And He sent out His arrows, and scattered them. And he sent out evangelists, traversing straight paths on the wings of strength, not in their own power, but his by whom they were sent. And he scattered them, to whom they were sent, that to some of them they should be the savor of life unto life, to others the savor of death unto death. And he multiplied lightnings and troubled them. And he multiplied miracles and troubled them. Verse 15. And the fountains of water were seen, and the fountains of water, springing up into everlasting life, which were made in the preachers, were seen.
And the foundations of the round world were revealed. And the prophets, who were not understood, and upon whom was to be built the world of believers in the Lord, were revealed. At thy chiding, O Lord, crying out, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. At the blasting of the breath of thy displeasure, saying, Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Verse 16. He hath sent down from on high, and hath fetched me, by calling out of the Gentiles for an inheritance, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle. He hath taken me out of the multitude of waters. He hath taken me out of the multitude of peoples. Verse 17. He hath delivered me from my strongest enemies. He hath delivered me from mine enemies, who prevail to the afflicting and overturning of this temporal life of mine, and from them which hate me, for they are too strong for me, as long as I am under them knowing not God.
Verse 18 They have prevented me in the day of my affliction. They have first injured me in the time when I am bearing a mortal and toilsome body. And the Lord hath become my stay. And since the stay of earthly pleasure was disturbed and torn up by the bitterness of misery, the Lord hath become my stay. Verse 19 And hath brought me forth into a broad place. And since I was enduring the straits of the flesh, he brought me forth into the spiritual breadth of faith. He hath delivered me because he desired me. Before that I desired him, he delivered me from my most powerful enemies, who were envious of me when I once desired him. Verse 20. And the Lord shall reward me according to my righteousness.
And the Lord shall reward me according to the righteousness of my good will, who first showed mercy before that I had the good will. And according to the cleanness of my hands he will recompense me. And according to the cleanness of my deeds he will recompense me, who hath given me to do well by bringing me forth into the broad place of faith. Verse 21. Because I have kept the ways of the LORD, that the breadth of good works that are by faith and the long-suffering of perseverance should follow after. Nor have I walked impiously apart from my God. Verse 22. For all His judgments are in my sight. For with persevering contemplation I weigh all His judgments, that is, the rewards of the righteous, and the punishments of the ungodly, and the scourges of such as are to be chastened, and the trials of such as are to be proved.
And I have not cast out his righteousness from me, as they do that faint unto their burden of them, and return to their own vomit. Verse 23. And I shall be undefiled with him, and I shall keep myself from mine iniquity. Verse 24. And the Lord shall reward me according to my righteousness. Accordingly, not only for the breadth of faith which worketh by love, but also for the length of perseverance, will the Lord reward me according to my righteousness, and according to the cleanness of my hands in the sight of His eyes. Not as men see, but in the sight of His eyes. For the things that are seen are temporal. But the things that are not seen are eternal, whereto the height of hope appertains. Verse 25.
With the holy thou shalt be holy. There is a hidden depth also, wherein thou art known to be holy with the holy, for that thou makest holy. And with the harmless thou shalt be harmless. For thou harmest no man, but each one is bound by the bands of his own sins. Verse 26. And with the chosen thou shalt be chosen. And by him whom thou choosest thou art chosen. And with the forward thou shalt be forward. And with the forward thou seemest forward, for they say, The way of the Lord is not right, and their way is not right. Verse 27 For thou wilt make whole the humble people. Now this seems forward to the forward, that thou wilt make them whole that confess their sins. And thou wilt humble the eyes of the proud.
But them that are ignorant of God's righteousness and seek to establish their own, thou wilt humble. Verse 28. For thou wilt light my candle, O Lord. For our light is not from ourselves, but thou wilt light my candle, O Lord. O my God, thou wilt enlighten my darkness. For we through our sins are darkness. But, Thou, O my God, wilt enlighten my darkness. Verse 29 For by Thee shall I be delivered from temptation. For not by myself, but by Thee, shall I be delivered from temptation. And in my God shall I leap over the wall. And not in myself, but in my God, shall I leap over the wall, which sin has raised between men and the heavenly Jerusalem. Verse 30. My God, his way is undefiled. My God cometh not unto men, except they shall have purified the way of faith, whereby he may come to them, for that his way is undefiled.
The words of the Lord have been proved by fire. The words of the Lord are tried by the fire of tribulation. He is the protector of them that hope in Him. And all that hope not in themselves, but in Him, are not consumed by that same tribulation, for hope followeth faith. Verse 31. For who is God but the Lord? whom we serve. And who God but our God? And who is God but the Lord, whom after good service we sons shall possess as the hoped-for inheritance? Verse 32. God, who hath girded me with strength. God, who hath girded me that I might be strong, Lest the loosely flowing folds of desire hinder my deeds and steps. And hath made my way undefiled. And hath made the way of love, whereby I may come to Him, undefiled, as the way of faith is undefiled, whereby He comes to me.
Verse 33. Who hath made my feet perfect like heart's feet? Who hath made my love perfect to surmount the thorny and dark entanglements of this world, and will set me up on high, and will fix my aim on the heavenly habitation, that I may be filled with all the fullness of God. Verse 34. Who teacheth my hands for battle? Who teacheth me to work for the overthrow of mine enemies, who strive to shut the kingdom of heaven against us? And thou hast made mine arms as a bow of steel, and thou hast made my earnest striving after good works unwearied. Verse 35. And thou hast given me the defense of my salvation, and thy right hand hath held me up. And the favor of thy grace hath held me up. And thy discipline hath directed me to the end.
And thy correction, not suffering me to wander from the way, hath directed me that whatsoever I do, I refer to that end, whereby I may cleave to thee. And this thy discipline it shall teach me. And that same correction of Thine shall teach me to attain to that whereunto it hath directed me. Verse 36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, nor shall the straits of the flesh hinder me, for Thou hast enlarged my love, working in gladness even with these mortal things and members which are under me. And my footsteps have not been weakened. And either my goings or the marks which I have imprinted for the imitation of those that follow have not been weakened. Verse 37. I will follow up mine enemies and seize them.
I will follow up my carnal affections, and will not be seized by them, but will seize them, so that they may be consumed. And I will not turn till they fail. And from this purpose I will not turn myself to rest, till they fail who make a tumult about me. Verse 38. I will break them, and they shall not be able to stand. And they shall not hold out against me. They shall fall under my feet. When they are cast down, I will place before me the loves whereby I walk forevermore. Verse 39 And thou hast girded me with strength to the war. And the loose desires of my flesh hast thou bound up with strength, that in such a fight I may not be encumbered. Thou hast supplanted under me them that rose up against me.
Thou hast caused them to be deceived, who followed upon me, that they should be brought under me, who desired to be over me. Verse 40. And thou hast given mine enemies the back to me. And thou hast turned mine enemies, and hast made them to be a back to me, that is, to follow me. And thou hast destroyed them that hate me. But such other of them as have persisted in hatred, thou hast destroyed. Verse 41. They have cried out, and there was none to save them. For who can save them, whom thou wouldest not save? To the Lord, and he did not hear them. Nor did they cry out to any chance one, But to the Lord, and He did not judge them worthy of being heard, who depart not from their wickedness. Verse 42.
And I will beat them as small as dust before the face of the wind. And I will beat them small, for dry they are, receiving not the shower of God's mercy. That, borne aloft and puffed up with pride, they may be hurried along from firm and unshaken hope, and, as it were, from the earth's solidity and stability. As the clay of the streets I will destroy them. In their wanton and loose course along the broad ways of perdition, which many walk, will I destroy them. Verse 43 Thou wilt deliver me from the contradictions of the people. Thou wilt deliver me from the contradictions of them who said, If we send him away, all the world will go after him. Thou shalt make me the head of the Gentiles, a people whom I have not known have served me.
The people of the Gentiles Wom in bodily presence I have not visited have served me. Verse 44. At the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me. They have not seen me with the eye, but receiving my preachers, at the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me. The strange children have lied unto me. Children, not to be called mine, but rather strange children, to whom it is rightly said, Ye are of your father the devil, have lied unto me. Verse 45. The strange children have waxen old. The strange children, to whom for their renovation I brought the New Testament, have remained in the old man. And they have halted from their own paths. And like those that are weak in one foot, for holding the old they have rejected the New Testament, they have become halt, even in this old law, rather following their own traditions than God's.
For they brought frivolous charges of unwashing hands, because such were the paths which themselves had made and worn by long use in wandering from the ways of God's commands. Verse 46. The Lord liveth, and blessed be my God. But to be carnally minded is death, for the Lord liveth, and blessed be my God. And let the God of my salvation be exalted. And let me not think after an earthly fashion of the God of my salvation, nor look from him for this earthly salvation, but that on high. Verse 47, O God, who giveth me vengeance, and subduest the people under me. O God, who avengeth me by subduing the people under me. My Deliverer from my angry enemies. The Jews crying out, Crucify Him! Crucify Him!
Verse 48 From them that rise up against Me, Thou wilt exalt Me. From the Jews that rise up against Me in My Passion, Thou wilt exalt Me in My resurrection. From the unjust men, Thou wilt deliver Me. From their unjust rule, Thou wilt deliver Me. Verse 49. For this cause shall the Gentiles confess to thee through me, O Lord. And I will sing unto thy name, and thou shalt be more widely known by my good deeds. Verse 50. Magnifying the salvation of his king. God, who magnifieth, so as to make wonderful the salvation which his Son giveth to believers, and showing mercy to his Christ. God, who showeth mercy to his Christ. To David and to his seed for evermore. To the Deliverer himself strong of hand, who hath overcome this world.
And to them whom, as believers in the gospel, he hath begotten for evermore. What things soever are spoken in this psalm which cannot apply to the Lord himself personally, that is, to the head of the church, must be referred to the church, for whole Christ speaks here, in whom are all his members.
End of Psalm 18
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18 18 - Psalm 19 39:18
Exposition of the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo. Translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm 19. First Exposition. To the end, a psalm of David himself. It is a well-known title, nor does the Lord Jesus Christ say what follows, but it is said of him. Verse 1. The heavens tell out the glory of God, the righteous evangelist, in whom, as in the heavens, God dwelleth, set forth the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, or the glory wherewith the Son glorified the Father upon earth. And the firmament sheweth forth the works of his hands. And the firmament sheweth forth the deeds of the Lord's power, that now made heaven by the assurance of the Holy Ghost, which before was earth by fear. Verse 2. Day unto day uttereth word.
To the spiritual the Spirit giveth out the fullness of the unchangeable wisdom of God, the Word which in the beginning is God with God, and night unto night announceth knowledge. And to the fleshly, as to those afar off, the mortality of the flesh, by conveying faith, announceth future knowledge. Verse 3. There is no speech nor language in which their voices are not heard. In which the voices of the evangelists have not been heard, seeing that the gospel was preached in every tongue. Verse 4. Their sound is gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the sun hath he set his tabernacle, now that he might war against the powers of temporal error, the Lord being about to send not peace, but a sword on earth, in time, or in manifestation, set, so to say, his military dwelling, that is, the dispensation of his incarnation.
Verse 5. And he, as a bridegroom coming forth out of his chamber, and he, Coming forth out of the virgin's womb, where God was united to man's nature as a bridegroom to a bride, rejoiced as a giant to run his way, rejoiced as one exceeding strong and surpassing all other men in power in his life. Incomparable, not to inhabit, but to run his way, for he stood not in the way of sinners. Verse 6. His going forth is from the highest heaven. From the Father is his going forth. Not that in time, but from everlasting, whereby he was born of the Father, and his meeting is even to the height of heaven. And in the fullness of the Godhead he meets even to an equality with the Father, and there is none that may hide himself from his heat.
But whereas the Word was even made flesh and dwelt in us, assuming our mortality, he permitted no man to excuse himself from the shadow of death, for the heat of the Word penetrated even it. Verse 7. The law of the Lord is undefiled, converting souls. The law of the Lord, therefore, is himself who came to fulfill the law, not to destroy it, an undefiled law, who did no sin, Neither was guile found in his mouth, not oppressing souls with the yoke of bondage, but converting them to imitate him in liberty. The testimony of the Lord is sure, giving wisdom to babes. The testimony of the Lord is sure, for no man knoweth the Father save the Son, and he to whosoever the Son will reveal him. Which things have been hidden from the wise, and revealed to babes.
For God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Verse 8. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. All the statutes of the Lord are right in Him who taught not what He did not, that they who should imitate Him might rejoice in heart, in those things which they should do freely with love, not slavishly with fear. The commandment of the Lord is lucid, enlightening the eyes. The commandment of the Lord is lucid, with no veil of carnal observances, enlightening the sight of the inner man. Verse 9. The fear of the Lord is chaste, enduring forever. The fear of the Lord, not that distressing fear under the law, dreading exceedingly the withdrawal of temporal goods, He said, Perfect love casteth not out this fear, but it endureth forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true, justified together. The judgments of him who judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, are justified in truth unchangeably. For neither in his threatenings or his promises doth God deceive any man, nor can any withdraw, either from the ungodly, his punishment, Or from the godly his reward. Verse 10. To be desired more than gold and much precious stone, whether it be gold and stone itself much, or much precious, or much to be desired, still the judgments of God are to be desired more than the pomp of this world, by desire of which it is brought to pass that the judgments of God are not desired, but feared, or despised, or not believed. But if any be himself gold and precious stone, that he may not be consumed by fire, but received into the treasury of God, more than himself does he desire the judgments of God, whose will he prefereth to his own, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.
And whether one be even now Honey, who, disenthralled already from the chains of this life, is awaiting the day when he may come up to God's feast, or whether he be yet as the honeycomb wrapped about with this life as it were with wax, not mixed and become one with it, but filling it, needing some pressure of God's hand, not oppressing But expressing it, whereby from life temporal it may be strained out into life eternal, to such a one the judgments of God are sweeter than he himself is to himself, for that they are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Verse 11, For thy servant keepeth them. For to him who keepeth them not the day of the Lord is bitter. In keeping them there is great reward.
Not in any external benefit, but in the thing itself, that God's judgments are kept, is their great reward. Great because one rejoiceth therein.
Verse 12, who understandeth sins? But what sort of sweetness can there be in sins, where there is no understanding? For who can understand sins which close the very eye, to which truth is pleasant, to which the judgments of God are desirable and sweet? Yea, as darkness closes the eye, so do sins the mind, and suffer it not to see either the light or itself. Cleanse me, O Lord, from my secret faults, from the lusts which lie hidden in me. Cleanse me, O Lord. Verse 13, And from the faults of others preserve thy servant. Let me not be led astray by others. For he is not a prey to the faults of others who is cleansed from his own. Preserve therefore from the lusts of others, not the proud man, and him who would be his own master, but thy servant.
If they get not the dominion over me, then shall I be undefiled. If neither my own secret sins nor those of others get the dominion over me, then shall I be undefiled. For there is no third source of sin, but one's own secret sin, by which the devil fell, and another sin, by which man is seduced, so as by consenting to make it his own. And I shall be cleansed from the great offense. What but pride! For there is none greater than apostasy from God, which is the beginning of the pride of man. And he shall indeed be undefiled, who is free from this offense also. For this is the last to them who are returning to God, which was the first as they departed from Him.
Verse 14, And the words of my mouth shall be pleasing, and the meditation of my heart is always in thy sight. The meditation of my heart is not after the vain glory of pleasing men, for now there is pride no more. But in thy sight, alway, who regardest a pure conscience, O Lord, my helper, and my redeemer, O Lord, my helper, and my approach to thee, for thou art my redeemer, that I might set out unto thee, lest any attributing to his own wisdom his conversion to thee, or to his own strength his attaining to thee, should be rather driven back by thee, who resistest the proud, for he is not cleansed from the great offense, nor pleasing in thy sight. Who redeemest us that we may be converted, and helpest us that we may attain unto thee.
Second Exposition.
As we have entreated the Lord to cleanse us from our own secret faults, and preserve his servants from those of others, we ought to understand the meaning of this, that we may sing with man's intelligence, and not, as it were, with the voice of birds. For blackbirds, and parrots, and ravens, and magpies, and such like birds, are often taught by men to utter they know not what. But to sing with understanding has been granted by the divine will to humankind. And how many bad and dissipated men thus sing what is worthy of their ears and hearts, we well know and we deplore. For they are so much the worse as they cannot be ignorant of what they sing. For they know that their songs are impure, and yet the greater the impurity, the greater their readiness to sing.
For they think themselves the more joyous in proportion as they are more unclean. But we who, in the church, have learnt to sing the oracles of God, Should at the same time be instant to be that which is written, Blessed is the people that understand the joyful sound. Therefore, dearest brethren, what we have sung with accordant voice, we ought also with an undisturbed heart to know and understand. For each one of us has in this canticle prayed unto the Lord, and said unto God, Cleanse thou me. from my secret faults, and preserve thy servant from those of others. If they shall not get the dominion over me, then shall I be undefiled and cleansed from the great offense? Now that we may well understand what this is, and the nature of it, let us, as the Lord shall help us, shortly run over the contents of this psalm.
For the canticle is of Christ, as evidently appears from that passage, where it is written, He as a bridegroom coming forth out of his chamber. For who is the bridegroom but he to whom has been betrothed by the apostle, that virgin, for whom the chaste friend of the bridegroom In this, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, therefore abundant and full grace, resides, of which the Apostle John saith, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Verse One. This glory the heavens declare. The heavens are saints, raised up from the earth, bearing the Lord. Although the visible heaven also, in some sort, hath declared the glory of Christ, when? When, at the same Lord's Nativity, a new star, which had never before been seen, appeared.
But, nevertheless, these are truer and higher heavens, of which it is said in the following verses of the Psalm, There is no speech nor language in which their voices are not heard. Their sound is gone out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. Whose words but the heavens? Whose then but the apostles? It is they declare unto us the glory of God, residing in Jesus Christ through grace for the remission of sins. For all have sinned and want the glory of God, being justified gratuitously by his blood, Because gratuitously, therefore, grace. For grace is no grace if it be not gratuitous. Because we had before done no good thing, whereby we might deserve such gifts, rather, in that punishment was, not for nothing, to be inflicted, therefore was the boon for nothing accorded.
Nothing had gone before in our deserts but what would entitle us to condemnation. But he, not for our righteousness, but of his own mercy, hath saved us by the laver of regeneration. This, I say, is the glory of God. This have the heavens declared. This, I say, is God's glory, not thine. For no good hast thou done, and yet so great good hast thou received. If, therefore, thou attainest unto the glory which the heavens have declared, Say unto the Lord thy God, My God, his mercy shall prevent me. For it hath prevented thee, of course it hath prevented thee, for that it found no good in thee. Thou preventedst his punishment by thy pride. He prevented thy punishment by effacing thy sins. For as of a sinner justified, of ungodly made godly, of one condemned, received into the kingdom, Say thou unto the Lord thy God, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give the glory.
Say we not unto us. For unto whom, if as unto us, Say we, I repeat, not unto us. For if he were so to deal with us, he could only inflict punishment upon us. Not unto us, but unto his own name. Let him give the glory, because he hath not dealt with us according to our iniquities. Not therefore unto us, O Lord, not unto us. The repetition is confirmation. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name. Give the glory. This those heavens knew, which declared the glory of God. And the firmament sheweth the works of his hands. What was before said, the glory of God, is here repeated, the works of his hands. What are the works of his hands? It is not, as some think, that God made all things by the word, and man, as more excellent than all other things, he made by his own hands.
We must not think this. This is a weak and inexact notion, for he made all things by the word. For although diverse works of God are mentioned, among which he made man after his own image, yet all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made. But as respects the hands of God, it is said of the heavens too, and the heavens are the works of thy hands. And that you might not suppose that saints are in the place called heavens, he added, They shall perish, but thou abidest. Therefore, not man only, but the heavens also, that shall perish, did God make with his hands, to whom it is said, The heavens are the work of thy hands. And of the earth is this selfsame said, For the sea is his, and he made it, and his hands laid the foundations of dry land.
Therefore, if he made the heavens with his hands, and the earth with his hands, he made not man alone with his hands. And if by the word he made the heavens, and by the word the earth, therefore by the word man too. What by the word that by the hand? What by the hand that by the word? For the stature of God is not marked out by human members, who is holy everywhere, and is nowhere contained. What therefore he made by the word, he made by the wisdom, and what he made by the hand, he did by the power. Now Christ is the power of God, and the wisdom of God, and all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made. The heavens have declared, Do declare, will declare, the glory of God.
The heavens, I say, that is, the saints will declare the glory of God, raised aloft from the earth, bearing God, thundering with precepts, lightning with wisdom, will declare that glory of God, as I said, whereby we that are saved are unworthy of it. This unworthiness, that is, wherein we were unworthy, the younger son acknowledges when straitened by want. This unworthiness, I say, the younger son acknowledges, far from his father's home, a worshipper of demons, as it were a feeder of swine. He acknowledges the glory of God, but when straitened by want, and since by that glory of God we have been made What we were not worthy of, he says to his father, I am not worthy to be called thy son.
Unhappy, he obtains happiness by his lowliness, and shews himself worthy in the confession of his unworthiness. This glory of God the heavens declare, and the firmament sheweth the works of his hands. The heavens, the firmament, are a firm heart, a fearless heart. For these things are shewn among the ungodly, among the enemies of God, among the lovers of the world, and the persecutors of the righteous. In the midst of a violent world are these things shewn. But what could the violence of the world affect when the firmament shewn these things? The firmament sheweth. What? The works of his hands. What are the works of his hands? The glory of God. Whereby we are saved, whereby we are created in good works.
For we are His work, created in Christ Jesus in good works. For He not only made us men, but righteous men too, if so we be, and not we ourselves. Verse 2. Day unto day uttereth the word, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. What is this? Perhaps it is plain and evident what day unto day uttereth the word is, evident and plain as if by day. But what night unto night sheweth knowledge is, is obscure as if by night. Day unto day, saints unto saints, apostles unto believers, Christ himself unto apostles, to whom he said, Ye are the light of the world. This seems plain and easy of apprehension, but how doth night unto night shew knowledge? Some have understood these words simply, and perhaps it may be so, considering the meaning of this sentence to be that what the apostles heard in the Lord Jesus Christ's time during his converse on earth, this has been passed on to posterity as from time to time, day unto day, night unto night, the former day unto the latter day.
The former night unto the latter night. For that this doctrine is preached day and night. Let this simple interpretation suffice him whom it will suffice. But some words in scripture have from their obscurity this advantage, that they give birth to many interpretations. Accordingly, had this been plain, you would have heard some one thing, but as it is obscurely spoken, you will hear many. There is, too, another interpretation, Day unto day, night unto night, that is, spirit unto spirit, flesh unto flesh. There is another, day unto day, spiritual unto spiritual, night unto night, carnal unto carnal. For both hear, though both do not equally understand. For the one hear it as a word uttered, the other as knowledge declared.
For what is uttered is uttered to those present, But what is declared is declared to those that are far removed. More senses of the word heavens may be discovered, but because of the stress of the present time, a limit must be imposed. Yet let us mention one more meaning, which certain have, as if by conjecture, open. When they say, The Lord Christ talked with the apostles, day unto day uttered a word, When Judas betrayed the Lord Christ to the Jews, night unto night declared knowledge.
Verse 3. Read the Acts of the Apostles. How? When the Holy Ghost came upon them, they were all filled with him, and spake in the tongues of all nations, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Lo! there is no speech nor language in which their voices are not heard. But not there only, where they were filled, was the sound. Verse 4. Their sound went forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. And therefore are we even speaking here. For that sound hath come even unto us, the sound which went forth into all the earth, and the heretic cometh not into the church. For this cause hath the sound gone forth into all the earth, that thou mayest enter into heaven. O man full of mischief and strife, most evil, and still liking to err, O haughty son, hear thy father's will.
Lo! What can be more plain? What more evident? Their sound went forth into all the earth, and their words into the ends of the world. Needs it any interpreter? Why strivest thou against thyself? Wouldst thou hold a part in dissent? Who canst hold the whole in concord? In the sun hath he set his tabernacle, his church, that is, in open sight, not in secret, not that it should lie hid, Not veiled as it were, lest haply as veiled it should light upon the flocks of the heretics. It is said again to one in holy scripture, For thou didst this secretly, thou shalt suffer in the sun, that is, Thou didst the evil in secret, thou shalt suffer the punishment in the open sight of all men. In the sun, therefore, hath he set his tabernacle.
Why, O heretic, fliest into darkness, art thou a Christian? Hear Christ, art thou a servant? Hear thy Lord. Art thou a son? Hear thy father. Amend thyself, return to life again. Let us say of thee too, He was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found. Say not to me, Why dost thou seek me, if I am lost? For therefore do I seek thee, because thou art lost. Do not seek me, says he. This is indeed the wish of ungodliness, whereby we are divided, but not of charity, whereby we are brethren. I should not be extravagant if I were to seek my servant, and am I called extravagant because I seek my brother? Be this his conceit, in whom brotherly love exists not, yet will I seek my brother. Let him be even angry, so he be still sought, who is appeased when he is found.
I will seek, I say, my brother, and appeal to my lord, not against him, but for him. Nor in my appeal will I say, Lord, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me, but speak to my brother, that he hold the inheritance with me. Why then, errest thou brother? Why fly by the corners? Why try to lie hid? He has set his tabernacle in the sun. Verse 5. And as a bridegroom coming forth out of his chamber, I suppose that thou mayest recognize him. As a bridegroom coming forth out of his chamber, he rejoiced as a giant to run his course. He hath set his tabernacle in the sun. That is, as a bridegroom, when the word was made flesh, he found a bridal chamber in the virgin's womb, and thence, coming out as from a closet of surpassing purity, joined to the nature of man.
Humble in his mercy below all, strong in his majesty above all. For this is, he rejoiced as a giant to run his course. He was born, grew up, taught, suffered, rose again, ascended, he ran his course. He halted not therein. This selfsame bridegroom, then, who did all this, he set in the sun, that is, in the open sight of all men, his tabernacle, that is, His holy church. Now wouldst thou hear what course he swiftly ran? Verse 6. His going forth is from the highest heaven, and his meeting even to the height thereof. But after that he went forth thence, and returned on his backward course he sent his spirit. There appeared to them upon whom he came cloven tongues as a fire, As fire, the Holy Ghost came to burn the hay of flesh, to smelt and refine the gold.
As fire he came, and therefore it follows, and there is none that can hide from the heat thereof. Verse 7. The law of the Lord is undefiled, converting souls. This is the Holy Ghost. The testimony of the Lord is sure, giving wisdom to babes, not to the proud. This is the Holy Ghost. Verse 8. The statutes of the Lord are right, not terrifying, but rejoicing the heart. This is the Holy Ghost. The commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes, not dulling them, the eyes not of the flesh, but of the heart, not of the outer, but of the inner man. This is the Holy Ghost. Verse 9. The fear of the Lord. Not a slavish fear, but chaste, loving freely, not fearing to be punished by him at whom it is alarmed, but to be separated from him whom it loves.
This is chaste fear, not which perfect love casteth out, but enduring forever. This is the Holy Ghost, that is, this fear the Holy Ghost giveth, bringeth, implanteth. The judgments of the Lord are true, justified together, Not for the contentions of division, but for the gathering together of unity. For this is together. This is the Holy Ghost. Therefore he made them, upon whom he first descended. Speak in the tongues of all nations, because he announced that he would gather together the tongues of all nations into unity. What one man did then on receiving the Holy Ghost, that one should speak in the tongues of all nations? This unity itself now doth. She speaketh in all tongues. And now one man speaketh in all nations, in all tongues, one man, the head and the body, one man, Christ and the church.
Perfect man together, the bridegroom and the bride. But they too, saith, He shall be one flesh. The judgments of the Lord are true, justified together because of unity. Verse 10. To be desired more than gold, and much precious stone, either much gold, or much precious, or much to be desired, much any way, with the heretic little. They do not love together with us, yet with us they confess Christ, the same Christ whom, with me thou doth confess, him love with me. And he who willeth not together refuses, resists, rejects, With him there is not this desirableness more than gold, and much precious stone. Listen again, sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb. But this is all against the wanderer.
Honey is bitter to the one in a fever, but notwithstanding sweet and acceptable to one restored in health, for to sound health it is dear. To be desired more than gold, and much precious stone, sweeter also than honey, Verse 11. For thy servant also keepeth him. How sweet they are, thy servant proves by keeping them, not by talking. Thy servant keepeth them. For that they are both at present sweet and healthful for time to come, for in keeping them there is great reward. But enamored of his strife, the heretic neither sees This brilliancy nor taste the sweetness. Verse 12. For who understandeth the sins? Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Therefore saith he, He is a servant, who keepeth the sweetness, the pleasantness, of charity, the love of unity.
I, he says, myself who keep it, entreat thee, for who understandeth sins? Lest some steal over me, Man as I am, and by some, as a man, I be first entangled. Cleanse me, O Lord, from my secret sins. This, then, we have sung. See to this I have come in my discourse. Let us say, and sing with understanding, and pray in our song, and by our prayer obtain our petition. Let us say, Cleanse me, O Lord, from my secret sins. For who understand its sins? If darkness is seen, sins are understood. In fact, when we repent of sin, we are in the light. For whilst one is entangled in his sin, with eyes as it were darkened and closed, he sees not the sin. For so, if the eye of thy body be covered, thou canst neither see aught else, nor that by which it is covered.
Therefore say we to God, who can see you? Verse 13. And preserve thy servant from those of others. My own sins, he says, pollute me. The sins of others afflict me. From the one cleanse me. From the other preserve me. Take away from my heart, I pray, the evil thought. Keep back from me the evil counselor, that is, cleanse me from my secret sins, and preserve thy servant from those of others. For these two kinds of faults, both our own and those of others, appeared even from the very first in the beginning. The devil fell by his own sin, and he degraded Adam by another's sin. The same servant of God, who keepeth the judgments of God, in which there is great reward, in another Psalm 2 prays thus, Let not the foot of pride come unto me, and let not the hand of the wicked move me.
Let not the foot of pride come unto me, that is, cleanse me, O Lord, from my secret sins, and let not the hand of the wicked move me, that is, preserve thy servant from the sins of others. If they get not the dominion over me, then I shall be undefiled. If they get not the dominion over me, mine own secret sins and the sins of others, then shall I be undefiled. This is no daring reliance on his own strength, but he entreats the Lord to fulfill it, to whom it is said in another psalm, Order my ways according to thy word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me. If thou art a Christian, fear not the dominion of any man without. The Lord thy God fear alway. Fear the evil in thyself, that is, thy lust, not what God made in thee, but what thou hast made for thine own self.
The Lord made thee a good servant. Thou hast created in thine own heart an evil Lord for thine own self. Justly wilt thou be subjected to iniquity, justly wilt thou be subject to the Lord, whom thou hast made for thine own self, since thou wouldst not be subject to him who made thee. But if, he says, they get not the dominion over me, then shall I be undefiled and cleansed from the great offense? What offense do we suppose? What is that great offense? It is other than that I am about to mention, yet I will not conceal what I think. I deem the great offense to be pride. This, perhaps, is in another way intimated in that he saith, and I shall be cleansed from the great offense. Do you inquire how great that offense is, which cast down an angel, which of an angel made a devil, and forever closed the kingdom of heaven against him?
This is the great offense. He says, Christian humility is displeasing to this vice in those persons which you see to be of high degree. By reason of this vice, men disdain to submit their necks to the yoke of Christ, being more straightly fastened to the yoke of sin. For no release from serving will be theirs. For they do not like to serve, but to serve is expedient for them. By misliking to serve, they gain nothing, but that they serve not a good Lord, not that they do not serve at all. Since whoever will not be the servant of love, he must needs be the servant of iniquity. From this vice, which is the head of all vices, for that all other vices spring from thence, is produced a departing from God, whilst the soul goes into darkness, and makes an evil use of its free will, with all other sins too in its train, so that a man squanders all his substance by On account of this vice, on account of this great sin of pride, God came in humility.
This cause, this great sin, this mighty disease of souls, brought down the almighty physician from heaven, humbled him even to the form of a servant, exposed him to despiteful treatment. Hung him on a tree, that by saving strength of so great medicine this swelling might be cured. Let man now at length blush to be proud, for whose sake God hath become humble. So, saith he, shall I be cleansed from the great offense, because God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble? Verse 14. And hereby shall the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in thy sight alway. For if I be not cleansed from this great offense, my words will be pleasing in the sight of men, not in thy sight.
The proud soul would be pleasing in the sight of men. The humble soul would be pleasing in secret where God seeth. So that, if she shall please men with any good work, she would congratulate them whom the good work pleases, not herself, to whom it ought to be enough that she hath done a good work. Glory, saith the Apostle, is this testimony of our conscience. And therefore, let us also say what follows, O Lord, my Helper and my Redeemer, Helper and good, Redeemer from evil. Helper that I may dwell in thy love, Redeemer that thou mayest deliver me from mine iniquity.
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19 19 - Psalm 20 6:15
Psalm 20. Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo. Translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm 20. To the End. A Psalm of David. This is a well-known title, and it is not Christ who speaks, but the prophet speaks to Christ under the form of wishing for telling things to come. Verse 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble. The Lord hear thee in the day in which thou saidest, Father, glorify thy Son, the name of the God of Jacob, protect thee. For to thee belongeth the younger people, since the elder shall serve the younger. Verse 2. Send thee help from the holy, and from Sion defend thee, making for thee a sanctified body, the church from watching safe, which waiteth when thou shalt come from the wedding.
Verse 3. Be mindful of all thy sacrifice. Make us mindful of all thy injuries and despiteful treatment, which thou hast borne for us, and be thy whole burnt offering made fat. And turn the cross whereon thou wast wholly offered up to God into the joy of the resurrection. Dioppsalma. Verse 4. The Lord rendered to thee, not according to their heart, who thought by persecution they could destroy thee, but according to thine heart. Wherein thou knewest what profit thy passion would have. And fulfill all thy counsel, and fulfill all thy counsel, not only that whereby thou didst lay down thy life for thy friends, that the corrupted grain might rise again to more abundance, but that also whereby blindness in part hath happened unto Israel, that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter in.
And so all Israel might be saved. Verse 5. shall not only not destroy us, but shall even magnify us.
The Lord fulfill all thy petitions. The Lord fulfill not only the petitions which thou madest on earth, but those also whereby thou intercedest for us in heaven. Verse 6. Now have I known that the Lord hath saved his Christ. Now hath it been shewn to me in prophecy. He will hear Him not from earth only, where He prayed to be glorified, but from heaven also, where interceding for us at the right hand of the Father, He hath from thence shed abroad the Holy Spirit on them that believe on Him. In strength is the safety of His right hand. Our strength is in the safety of his favor, when, even out of tribulation, he giveth help, that, when we are weak, then we may be strong. For vain is the safety of man, which comes not of his right hand, but of his left.
For thereby are they lifted up to great pride, whosoever in their sins have secured a temporal safety. Verse 7. Some in chariots, and some in horses. Some are drawn away by the ever-moving succession of temporal goods, and some are preferred to proud honours, and in them exult. But we will exult in the name of the Lord our God. But we, fixing our hope on things eternal, and not seeking our own glory, will exult in the name of the Lord our God. Verse 8. They have been bound and fallen. And therefore were they bound by the lust of temporal things, fearing to spare the Lord, lest they should lose their place by the Romans. And rushing violently on the stone of offense and rock of stumbling, they fell from the heavenly hope, to whom the blindness in part of Israel hath happened, being ignorant of God's righteousness.
And wishing to establish their own. But we are risen, and stand upright. But we, that the Gentile people might enter in, out of the stones raised up as children to Abraham, who followed not after righteousness, have attained to it, and are risen. And not by their own strength, but being justified by faith, we stand upright. Verse 9. And hear us in the day when we shall call on Thee. And as He now offereth for us, hear us in the day when we shall call on Thee.
End of Psalm 20
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20 20 - Psalm 21 6:21
Psalm 21. To the end, a psalm of David himself. The title is a familiar one. The psalm is of Christ. Verse 1. O Lord, the King shall rejoice in thy strength. O Lord, in thy strength, whereby the Word was made flesh. Man, Christ Jesus, shall rejoice, and shall exult exceedingly in thy salvation, and in that whereby thou quickenest all things shall exult exceedingly. Verse Two. Thou hast given him the desire of his soul. He desired to eat the Passover, and to lay down his life when he would, and again when he would to take it. And thou hast given it to him, and hast not deprived him of the good pleasure of his lips. My peace, saith he, I leave with you, and it was done.
Verse 3. For thou hast presented him with the blessings of sweetness. Because he had first quaffed the blessing of thy sweetness, the gall of our sins did not hurt him. Diopselma. Thou hast set a crown of precious stone on his head. At the beginning of his discoursing, precious stones were brought, and compassed him about, his disciples from whom the commencement of his preaching should be made. Verse 4. He asked life, and thou gavest him. He asked a resurrection, saying, Father, glorify thy Son, and thou gavest it him, length of days for ever and ever, the prolonged ages of this world which the church was to have, and after them an eternity, world without end. Verse 5. His glory is great in thy salvation.
Great indeed is his glory in the salvation whereby thou hast raised him up again. Glory and great honor shalt thou lay upon him. But thou shalt yet add unto him glory and great honor when thou shalt place him in heaven at thy right hand. Verse 6. For thou shalt give him blessing for ever and ever. This is the blessing which thou shalt give him for ever and ever. Thou shalt make him glad in joy together with thy countenance. According to his manhood, thou shalt make him glad together with thy countenance, which he lifted up to thee. Verse 7. For the king hopeth in the Lord. For the king is not proud, but humble in heart. He hopeth in the Lord. And in the mercy of the Most Highest, He shall not be moved.
And in the mercy of the Most Highest, His obedience, even unto the death of the cross, shall not disturb His humility. Verse 8. Let thy hand be found by all thine enemies. Be thy power, O King, when thou comest to judgment found by all thine enemies, who in thy humiliation discerned it not. Let thy right hand find out all that hate thee. Let the glory wherein thou reignest at the right hand of the Father find out for punishment in the day of judgment all that hate thee, for that now they have not found it. Verse 9 Thou shalt make them like a fiery oven. Thou shalt make them on fire within, by the consciousness of their ungodliness. In the time of thy countenance, in the time of thy manifestation, the Lord shall trouble them in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
And then, being troubled by the vengeance of the Lord, after the accusation of their conscience, they shall be given up to eternal fire to be devoured. Verse 10. Their fruit shall thou destroy out of the earth. Their fruit, because it is earthly, shalt thou destroy out of the earth, and their seed from the sons of men, and their works, or whomsoever they have seduced, thou shalt not reckon among them.
Verse 11. They imagined a device, saying, Verse 12, For thou shalt set them low. For thou shalt rank them among those from whom in degradation and contempt thou wilt turn away. In thy leavings thou shalt make ready their countenance, and in these things that thou leavest, that is, in the desires of an earthly kingdom, thou shalt make ready their shamelessness for thy passion. Verse 13. Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thy strength. Be thou, Lord, whom, in humiliation they did not discern, exalted in thy strength, which they thought weakness. We will sing and praise thy power. In heart and in deed we will celebrate and make known thy marvels.
End of Psalm 21
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21 21 - Psalm 22 58:36
Psalm 22 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo. Translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm 22. First Exposition. To the end. For the taking up of the morning, a Psalm of David. To the end, for his own resurrection the Lord Jesus Christ himself speaketh. For in the morning on the first day of the week was his resurrection, whereby he was taken up into eternal life, over whom death shall have no more dominion. Now what follows is spoken in the person of the crucified. For from the head of this psalm are the words which he cried out whilst hanging on the cross, sustaining also the person of the old man, Verse 1.
Far from my salvation, far removed from my salvation, for salvation is far from sinners. The words of my sins. For these are not the words of righteousness, but of my sins. For it is the old man nailed to the cross that speaks, ignorant even of the reason why God hath forsaken him, or else it may be thus, The words of my sins are far from my salvation. Verse 2 My God, I will cry unto thee in the daytime, and thou wilt not hear. My God, I will cry unto thee in the prosperous circumstances of this life, that they be not changed, and thou wilt not hear, because I shall cry unto thee in the words of my sins, and in the night season, and not to my folly. And so, in the adversities of this life, will I cry to thee for prosperity, and in like manner thou wilt not hear.
And this thou doest not to my folly, but rather that I may have wisdom to know what thou wouldest have me cry for, not with the words of sins out of longing for life temporal, but with the words of turning to thee for life eternal. Verse Three. But thou dwellest in the holy place, O thou praise of Israel! But thou dwellest in the holy place, and therefore wilt not hear the unclean words of sins, the praise of him that seeth thee, not of him who hath sought his own praise in tasting of the forbidden fruit, that on the opening of his bodily eyes he should endeavour to hide himself from thy sight. Verse 4. Our fathers hoped in thee, all the righteous, namely, Verse 5. They cried unto thee, and were saved.
They cried unto thee, not in the words of sin, from which salvation is far, and therefore were they saved. They hoped in thee, and were not confounded. They hoped in thee, and their hope did not deceive them, for they placed it not in themselves. Verse 6. But I am a worm, and no man. But I, speaking now not in the person of Adam, but I, in my own person, Jesus Christ, was born without human generation in the flesh, that I might be as man beyond men, that so at least human pride might deign to imitate my humility, the scorn of men, and outcast of the people, in which humility I was made the scorn of men, so as that it should be said, as a reproachful railing, Be thou his disciple, and that the people despise me.
Verse 7. All that saw me laughed me to scorn, all that saw me derided me, and spake with the lips, and shook the head, and they spoke not with the heart, but with the lips. For they shook their head in derision, saying, He trusted in the Lord. Let him deliver him. Let him save him, since he desireth him. These were their words, but they were spoken with the lips. Verse 9 Since thou art he who drew me out of the womb, since thou art he who drew me not only out of that virgin womb, for this is the law of all men's birth, that they be drawn out of the womb, but also Out of the womb of the Jewish nation, by the darkness whereof he is covered, and not yet born into the light of Christ, whosoever places his salvation in the carnal observance of the Sabbath, and of circumcision, and the like.
My hope from my mother's breasts, my hope, O God, Not from the time when I began to be fed by the milk of the virgin's breast, for it was even before, but from the breasts of the synagogue, as I have said, Out of the womb thou hast drawn me, that I should not suck in the customs of the flesh. Verse 10. I have been strengthened in thee from the womb. It is the womb of the synagogue which did not carry me, but threw me out. But I fell not, for thou heldest me. From my mother's womb, thou art my God. From my mother's womb, my mother's womb did not cause that, as a babe, I should be forgetful of thee. Thou art my God. Verse 11. Depart not from me, for trouble is hard at hand. Thou art, therefore, my God.
Depart not from me, for trouble is nigh unto me, for it is in my body, for there is none to help. For who helpeth if thou helpest not? Verse 12. Many calves come about me. The multitude of the wanton populace came about me. Fat bulls closed me in, and their leaders, glad at my oppression, closed me in. Verse 13. They opened their mouths upon me, they opened their mouth upon me, not out of thy scripture, but of their own lusts, as a ravening and roaring lion, as a lion whose ravening is that I was taken and led, and whose roaring, Crucify! Crucify! Verse 14. I was poured out like water, and all my bones were scattered. I was poured out like water when my persecutors fell, and through fear, the stays of my body, that is, the Church, my disciples were scattered from me.
My heart became as melting wax in the midst of my belly. My wisdom which was written of me in the sacred books was, as if hard and shut up, not understood. But after that, the fire of my passion was applied. It was, as if melted, manifested, and entertained in the memory of my church. Verse 15. My strength dried up as a pot sherd. My strength dried up by my passion, not as hay, but a potsherd, which is made stronger by fire, and my tongue cleaved to my jaws, and they, through whom I was soon to speak, Kept my precepts in their hearts, and thou broughtest me down to the dust of death, and to the ungodly appointed to death, whom the wind casteth forth, dust from the face of the earth, thou broughtest me down.
Verse 16. For many dogs come about me, for many came about me, barking, not for truth, but for custom. The counsel of the malignant came about me, The counsel of the malignant besieged me. They pierced my hands and feet. They pierced with nails my hands and feet. Verse 17. They numbered distinctly all my bones, while extended on the wood of the cross. Yea, these same regarded and beheld me. Yea, these same, that is, unchanged, regarded and beheld me. Verse 18. They divided my garments for themselves, and cast the lot upon my vesture. Verse 19. But thou, O Lord, withhold not thy help far from me. But thou, O Lord, raise me up again, not as the rest of men, at the end of the world, but immediately.
Look to my defense. Look that they in no wise hurt me. Verse 20. Deliver my soul from the sword, deliver my soul from the tongue of dissension, and my only one from the hand of the dog, and from the power of the people, barking after their custom, deliver my church. Verse 21. Save me from the lion's mouth, save me from the mouth of the kingdom of this world, and my humility from the horns of the unicorns. And from the loftiness of the proud, exalting themselves to special preeminence, and enduring no partakers save my humility. Verse 22. I will declare thy name to my brethren. I will declare thy name to the humble, and to my brethren that love one another as they have been beloved by me. In the midst of the church will I sing of thee.
Verse 23. Seek not your own praise, but praise Him. All ye seed of Jacob, magnify Him. All ye seed of Him whom the elders shall serve, magnify Him. Let all the seed of Israel fear him. Let all who have been born to a new life and restored to the vision of God fear him. Verse 24. Since he hath not despised nor disregarded the prayer of the poor man, since he hath not despised the prayer, not of him who, crying unto God in the words of sins, was loath to overpass a vain life, but the prayer of the poor man, Not swollen up with transitory pomps. Nor hath he turned away his face from me, as from him who said, I will cry unto thee, but thou wilt not hear. And when I cried unto him, he heard me. Verse 25.
With thee is my praise, for I seek not mine own praise, for thou art my praise, who dwellest in the holy place. And Praise of Israel, thou hearest the Holy One now beseeching thee. In the great church I will confess thee. In the church of the whole world I will confess thee. I will offer my vows in the sight of them that fear him. I will offer the sacraments of my body and blood in the sight of them that fear him. Verse 26. The poor shall eat and be filled. The humble and the despisers of the world shall eat and imitate me, for so they will neither desire this world's abundance nor fear its want. And they shall praise the Lord. Verse 27. All the borders of the earth shall remember themselves, and be turned to the Lord.
They shall remember themselves, for, by the Gentiles, born in death and bent on outward things, God had been forgotten. And then shall all the borders of the earth be turned to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship in his sight, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship in their own consciences. Verse 28. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and he shall rule over the nations. For the kingdom is the Lord's, not proud men's, and he shall rule over the nations. Verse 29. All the rich of the earth have eaten and worshipped. The rich of the earth, too, have eaten the body of their Lord's humiliation. And though they have not, as the poor, Been filled even to imitation, yet they have worshipped.
In his sight shall fall all that descend to earth, for he alone seeth how all they fall, who abandoning a heavenly conversation, make choice, on earth, to appear happy to men who see not their fall. And my soul shall live to Him, and my soul shall live to Him. Verse 30. They who through me believe on him shall serve him. Verse 31. The generation to come shall be declared to the Lord. The generation of the New Testament shall be declared to the honor of the Lord. And the heaven shall declare his righteousness, and the evangelist shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born, whom the Lord hath made, to a people that shall be born to the Lord through faith.
Second Exposition. A sermon delivered on the anniversary of the Lord's Passion. What God would not have passed over in silence in his scripture must not either by us be passed over in silence, and by you must be heard. The Lord's Passion, as we know, happened once, for once hath Christ died, the just for the unjust. And we know, and are sure, and hold fast, with faith unshaken, that Christ rising from the dead dieth no more, and death shall have no more dominion over him. These are the Apostles' words. Yet, That we may not forget what once occurred, it is transacted in our memory every year. Does Christ die as often as the Easter celebration comes round? But yet, the yearly memorial does, as it were, represent what occurred long since, and causes in us such emotions as if we saw the Lord hanging on the cross, not, of course, as mocking, but believing in Him, For as he hung on the cross, he was mocked.
As he sitteth in heaven, he is worshipped. Or, haply is, he mocked still. And now we must not be angry with the Jews, who mocked him at all events, as he was dying, not as he was reigning. And who is there who mocks Christ still? Would it were one, would it were two, would that they could be numbered, All the chaff of his threshing-floor mocks him, and the wheat sighs for the mocking of the Lord. This I would sigh for with you, for it is the season of sorrow. The Lord's Passion is in course of celebration. It is the season of sighing, the season of weeping, the season of confession and supplication. And which of us is sufficient for shedding tears answerable to the just demands of so great sorrow?
But what now saith the prophet, Who will give my head water, and mine eyes a fountain of tears? If there were really a fountain of tears in our eyes, even this would not suffice Christ mocked in a matter that is clear, in a matter where no one can say, I understood it not. For to him who possesses the whole world, a part is offered, and to him who sitteth at the right hand of the Father, it is said, See what thou hast here, and for the whole earth, Africa alone, is shewn him. The words which we have just heard, brethren, where shall we place them? Oh, that they could be written with our tears. Who was the woman who came in with the ointment? Of what was she the type? Was she not of the church?
Whereof was the ointment the figure? Was it not of that sweet savour of which the apostle says, We are a sweet savor of Christ in every place. For the apostle too was speaking in the person of the same church. In the words, we are, he said, to the faithful. And what said he? We are a sweet savor of Christ in every place. In every place, Paul said that all the faithful are a sweet savor of Christ, and he is contradicted, and it is said, Africa alone has a sweet savour. All the world besides stinketh. Who says, We are a sweet savour of Christ in every place? The Church. This sweet savour, that box of ointment figured, with which the Lord was anointed. Let us see if the Lord himself do not also bear witness to it.
When some who sought their own things covetous thieves, that is, That Judas said of the ointment, To what purpose is this loss? The costly thing might be sold and benefit the poor. For he wished to sell the sweet savour of Christ. What was the Lord's answer? Why trouble ye the woman? She hath wrought a good work upon me. And what shall I say more? When he himself said, And wheresoever the gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done. Be told. Is there ought to add to this? Is there ought to take away? Is there any reason why we should lend our ears to revilers? Has the Lord spoken this falsely, or been deceived? Let them make their choice which to say.
Let them say either that the truth hath spoken falsely, or let them say that the truth was deceived. Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached, and as if thou wouldest ask him, But where shall it be preached? He answers, in the whole world. Let us listen to the psalm. Let us see if it say the same. Let us listen to that which is sung in lamentation, and truly a matter it is worthy of plaint, when it is sung to the deaf. I wonder, brethren, if this psalm is read to-day among the party of the Donatists too. I ask you, my brethren, I confess to you, Christ's mercy knoweth that I wonder thus, as though they were made of stone, and cannot hear. What thing more plain can be spoken to the deaf? Christ's Passion is set forth as clearly as the Gospel, and it was written.
I know not how many years before the Lord was born of the Virgin Mary. It was a herald announcing the future Judge. Let us peruse it as far as the stress of time permits, not as the promptings of our sorrow would move us, but as, I said, as far as the stress of time permits. Verse 1. O God, my God, look upon me, why hast thou forsaken me? This first verse we heard on the cross, where the Lord said, Eli, Eli, that is, my God, my God, lama sabachthani. which is, Why hast thou forsaken me? The evangelist hath interpreted this, and said that he spoke in the Hebrew tongue, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? What did the Lord intend to say? For God had not forsaken him forasmuch as he was himself God, of course as the Son of God, God, of course as the Word of God, God.
Here, at the very commencement, That evangelist who poured forth what he had drunk in the Lord's breasts. Let us see whether Christ be God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The very Word then that was God was made flesh, and dwelt in us. And when the Word, God, was made flesh, he was hanging on the cross, and said, My God, my God, look upon me. Why hast thou forsaken me? Why is it said, But because we were there, but because the church is the body of Christ? Wherefore, said he, My God, my God, look upon me, why hast thou forsaken me? Unless in some sort as rousing our attention, and saying, Was this psalm written concerning me? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins.
What sins in him, of whom it is said, Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth? How then saith he, My sins, unless that he prayeth for our sins, and made our sins his sins, that he might make his righteousness our righteousness? Verse 2. My God, I will cry unto thee in the daytime, and thou wilt not hear, and in the night season, and not to my folly. He spake, of course, of me. of thee, of such an one. For he bare his body, that is, the church. Unless haply ye think, brethren, that when the Lord said, Father, if it be possible that this cup pass from me, he was afraid to die. The soldier is not braver than the captain. It is enough for the servant that he be as his Lord. Paul, a soldier of Christ, the king says, I am in a strait, betwixt two, He says, Yet fear death.
Did he speak thus? Hence came that voice. It was the voice of his members, not of the head. And so also in these words I have cried by day and by night season, and thou wilt not hear. For many cry in tribulation, and are not heard, but unto salvation, not to folly. Paul cried that the thorn in the flesh might be taken away from him, and he was not heard for it to be taken away. And it was said to him, My grace is sufficient for thee, for strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore was he not heard, but not to folly, but to wisdom. To the end that man may understand that God is a physician, And that tribulation is a remedy for salvation, not a punishment for condemnation. While under treatment thou art cauterized, cut, Christ out.
The physician heeds not for thy wish, but he heeds for thy health. Verse 3. But thou dwellest in the holy place, O thou praise of Israel. Thou dwellest in them. Whom thou hast sanctified, and whom thou makest to understand that some to their prophet thou hearest not, and some to their condemnation thou hearest. To his prophet Paul was not heard, to condemnation the devil was heard. He asked to tempt Job, and it was granted. The devils asked to go into the swine, and they were heard. Devils are heard, an apostle is not heard, but they are heard under condemnation. The apostle is not heard unto salvation. For not to my folly, but thou dwellest in the holy place, O thou praise of Israel. Why dost thou not even hear thine own?
Why say I this? Remember, that it is always said, Thanks be to God. And there is a great concourse here, and those who are not in the habit of coming have come. I say to all that the Christian, when under tribulation, is tried whether he have not forsaken his God. For when it is well with a man, the Christian is left to himself. The fire is brought to the furnace, and the refiner's furnace is a thing of high mysterious meaning. There is gold there. There is chaff, there is fire working in a confined space. This fire is not diverse, yet its effects are diverse. It turns chaff into ashes, from gold it takes away its impurities. Now they in whom God dwelleth are assuredly made better in tribulation, proved as gold.
And if perchance the adversary, the devil, ask to prove any, and it be granted him, whether by some bodily pain, or some loss, or bereavement. Let him keep his heart fixed on him who withdraweth not himself, and if he seem to withdraw his ear from his lamentations, yet he sheweth mercy to his supplications. He who made us knoweth what to do. He knoweth how to remake us. He is a good builder who built the house, and if anything therein hath fallen to decay, he knoweth how to repair it. And see what he says. Verse 4, Our fathers hoped in thee, they hoped, and thou didst deliver them. We know and read how many of our fathers God hath delivered who hoped in him. He delivered the whole people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
He delivered the three children out of the fiery furnace. He delivered Daniel out of the den of lions. He delivered Susanna from a false accusation. They all called upon him and were delivered. What? Was He wanting to His own Son that He should not hear Him when He was hanging on the cross? But why is He not delivered forthwith, who said, Our fathers hoped in thee, and thou didst deliver them? Verse 6. But I am a worm, and no man. A worm, and no man. For a man is a worm also, but he is a worm, and no man. How no man? Because God... Why, then, did he so abase himself as to say a worm? Is it because a worm is born of the flesh without question, as Christ of the Virgin Mary? But a worm even, and yet no man.
Why a worm? Because mortal, because born of the flesh, because born without question. Why not a man? Because the Word was in the beginning, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. A scorn of men, and the outcast of the people. Consider how great things he suffered. Now that we may speak of the Passion, and that we may approach it with the greater grief, consider first how great things he suffers, and then consider wherefore. For what was the fruit thereof? Lo, our fathers hoped, and were delivered out of the land of Egypt. And as I said, so many called upon God, and immediately at the time, not in the life to come, but forthwith, were delivered. Job himself was given up to the devil at his request, corrupted with worms, yet he recovered his health in this life, and received twice as much as he had lost.
But the Lord was scourged, and there was none to help. He was defiled with spittle, and there was none to help. He was smitten with buffetings, and there was none to help. He was crowned with thorns, and there was none to help. He was raised on the tree, and there was none to deliver. He cried out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? There is no help. Wherefore, my brethren? Wherefore? What the recompense of so great sufferings? All these his sufferings are a price. What so great sufferings are the price of? Let us repeat. Let us see what he says. Let us first inquire what he suffered. After that, wherefore? And let us see how much they are Christ's enemies, who confess that he endured so great sufferings, and take away the wherefore.
Hence, let us hear the whole in this psalm, both what he suffered and wherefore. Keep to these two, the what and the wherefore. At present, let me explain the what. Let us not dwell at length on this, so the very words of this psalm will come to you the better. See what the Lord suffers. Take heed ye, Christians, the scorn of men and the outcast of the people. Verse 7. All that saw me laughed me to scorn. They spake with the lips, and shook the head. Verse 8. He trusted in the Lord. Let him deliver him. Let him save him, since he desireth him. But why said they this? Because he was made man. They said it as against a man. Verse 9. Since thou art he who drew me out of the womb, would they ever say this to that which in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God?
For that Word, by which all things were made, was not drawn out of the womb, save that the Word was made flesh, and dwelt in us. Since thou hast drawn me out of the womb, my God, from my mother's breast. For before the worlds, my Father, from my mother's breast, my God. Verse 10. I was cast upon thee from the womb, that is, that thou only shouldest be my hope, now as man, now as weak, now the Word made flesh. From my mother's womb thou art my God, not from thyself my God, for from thyself my Father, but from my mother's womb my God. Verse 11. Depart not from me, for trouble is hard at hand, for there is none to help. See him forsaken, and woe to us, if he forsake us, for there is none to help.
Verse 12. Many calves come about me, fat bulls closed me in. The people and their leaders, the people, many calves, their leaders, fat bulls. Verse 13. They opened their mouth upon me as a ravening and a roaring lion. Let us hearken to their roaring in the gospel. Crucify! Crucify! Verse 14, I was poured out like water, and all my bones were scattered. He calleth his strong ones his bones, for his bones are strong in the body. When did he scatter his bones? When he said to them, Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Then scattered he his strong ones, and he was poured out like water. For when water is poured out, it either cleanses or waters. Christ was poured out like water.
The filthy were cleansed. Mines were watered. My heart became as melting wax in the midst of my belly. He calls the weak ones in his church his belly. How did his heart become as wax? His heart is his scripture, that is, his wisdom which was in the scriptures. For the scripture was closed, no one understood it, the Lord was crucified, and the scripture was melted like wax, that all the weak ones should understand it. For hence, too, the veil of the temple was rent, because what was veiled hath been unveiled. Verse 15, My strength dried up as a potsherd, gloriously expressed, for my name has been made stronger by tribulation. For as a potsherd is before the fire soft, after the fire hard, so the Lord's name was before the passion despised, after the passion it is honored, and my tongue cleaved to my jaws.
As that member in us is of use only for speaking, so he said that his preachers, his tongue cleaved to his jaws, that from his inward parts they might derive wisdom. And thou broughtest me down to the dust of death. For many dogs came about me, the counsel of the malignant ones came about me. See here the very gospel. They pierced my hands and my feet. Then were the wounds made. The scars whereof the doubting disciple handled. The same who said, Unless I shall put my fingers into the scars of his wounds, I will not believe. Whereupon he said to him, Come, thou heart of belief, put thy hand. And he put his hand, and cried out, My Lord, and my God. And he answered, Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed, blessed are they that see not, and believe.
They pierced my hands, and my feet. Verse 17, They numbered distinctly all my bones. When he was hanging, extended on the tree, the extension of his body on the tree could not be better described than by the words, They numbered distinctly all my bones. Yea, they regarded and beheld me. They regarded and understood not. They beheld and saw not. They lifted up their eyes to the flesh, not their heart unto the word. Verse 18, They divided my garments for themselves. His garments, his sacraments. Mark, brethren, his garments, his sacraments, could be divided by heresies. But there was a garment which no one divided, and cast a lot upon my vesture. There was there, says the evangelist, a coat woven from above.
From heaven, therefore, from the Father, therefore, from the Holy Ghost, therefore, What is this coat but love, which no man can divide? What is this coat but unity? Upon it is the lot cast. No man divideth it. The sacraments heretics have been able to divide for themselves. They have not divided love. And because they could not divide it, they withdrew. But it abideth entire. It falls by lot to some. Whoso hath it is safe. No one moves him from the church Catholic. And if being without he begin to have it, he is received within, as the olive branch, by the dove. Verse 19. But thou, O Lord, withhold not thy help far from me. And it was so. After three days he rose again. Look to my defense. Verse 20.
Deliver my soul from the sword, that is, from death, from Phraimia, is a sword, and by a sword. He would have us understand death. And thine only one from the hand of the dog. My soul, mine only one, the head and the body. By only one he meant the church from the hand, that is, from the power of the dog. Who are dogs? They that bark like dogs, and understand not against whom. Nothing is done to them, and they bark. What will a man do to a dog when he is going on his way? Yet he barks. They that bark with blinded eyes, not discerning against whom or for whom are dogs. Verse 21. Save me from the lion's mouth. You know who is the roaring lion going about and seeking whom he may devour, and my humility from the horns of the unicorns.
By unicorns he would mean only the proud. Therefore he added, My humility. You have heard what his sufferings were, and what he prayed, that he might be delivered from them. Let us now give heed to the wherefore he suffered. Now then, brethren, consider, whoso is not in that lot for which Christ suffered, wherefore he is a Christian. Lo, we know what he suffered. His bones were numbered distinctly. He was mocked. His garments were divided. Moreover, the lot was cast upon his vesture. Men in furiousness and raging stood around him, and all his bones were scattered. We hear it here, and we read it in the Gospel. Let us see wherefore, O Christ, Son of God, if thou hadst not willed, thou couldst not suffer.
O shew us the fruit of thy passion. Hear, saith he, the fruit. I am not silent, but men are deaf. Here, saith he, the fruit wherefore I suffered all these things. Verse 22. I will declare thy name to my brethren. Let us see whether he declareth God's name to his brethren in any separate part. I will declare thy name to my brethren. In the midst of the church will I sing of thee. So is it accomplished now. But let us see what the church is. For he said, In the midst of the church will I sing of thee. Let us see the church for which he suffered. Verse 23. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him. Wheresoever God is feared and praised, there is the church of Christ. See, my brethren, whether in these days throughout the whole world it is said without a cause.
Amen and hallelujah. Is not God feared there? Is not God praised there? Donatus has gone out and says, He is altogether not feared, the whole world is lost. Without any reason thou sayest, the whole world is lost. Has then a small portion only remained in Africa? Doth Christ then say nothing, whereby to stop these men's mouths? Doth he say nothing, whereby to pluck out the tongues of such as speak thus? Let us see, if happily we may find. Still it is said to us, In the midst of the church he speaketh of our church. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him. Let us see whether they praise the Lord, and let us understand whether he speaketh of them, and whether in the midst of their church he be praised.
How do they praise Christ, who say, He hath lost the whole world, the devil hath taken all from him, and he hath remained in a part only? But let us look farther. Let him declare himself more openly. Let him speak more openly. Let it not be a matter for interpretation or conjecture. All ye seed of Jacob magnify him. Perhaps they still say, We are the seed of Jacob. Let us see whether they be. Let all the seed of Israel fear him. Let them still say, We are the seed of Israel. Let us allow them. Let them say it. Verse 24. Since he hath not despised nor disregarded the prayer of the poor, what poor? Not they that rely upon themselves. Let us see whether they be poor, who say, We are the righteous.
Christ crieth out, Far from my salvation are the words of my sins. But let them still say what they will. Nor hath turned away his face from me, and when I cried unto him, he heard me. Wherefore heard he? To what purpose? Verse 25. With thee is my praise. With God he hath put his praise. He hath taught us not to rely on man. Let them still say what they will. Already, indeed, they begin to burn. The fire begins to draw nigh. There is none who may hide himself from the heat thereof. But let them still say, We too have put our praise with him. We too rely not on ourselves. Let them still say so. In the Great Church will I confess Thee. Now here, I suppose, he has begun to touch the quick. The Great Church, brethren, what is it?
Is a scanty portion of the earth the Great Church? The Great Church is the whole world. Now if one would wish to gainsay Christ, tell us, thou hast said, In the Great Church I will confess Thee. What Great Church? Thou art reduced to a morsel in Africa. The whole world thou hast lost. Thou hast shed thy blood for the whole, but thou hast suffered from the invader. Thus have we spoken to the Lord, as if by way of inquiry, yet knowing what we are about to say. Let us suppose that we do not know what he would say. Doth not he answer us? Peace, I will yet say what no one can raise a doubt about. Let us await, then, what he is about to say. I would wish at once to pass sentence, and not admit men to give any other explanation, forasmuch as Christ saith, In the great church, and you say, That he hath continued in an extreme part, and they still dare to say, And ours is the great church.
What think you of Bege and Tamugade, if he say not something to stop their mouths? Let them still say, That the great church is Numidia only. Let us see. Let us hear the Lord further. I will offer my vows in the sight of them that fear Him. What are His vows? The sacrifice which He offered to God. Know ye what sacrifice? The faithful know the vows which He offered in the sight of them that fear Him. For there follows, verse 26, the poor shall eat and be filled. Blessed poor who eat to the end, that they may be filled. For it is the poor that eat, but they that are rich are not filled, because they are not hungry. The poor shall eat. From them came Peter the fisherman, from them came the other fishermen, John and James his brother, from them came too Matthew the publican.
These were the poor who ate and were filled, having suffered such things as they ate, He gave his supper, he gave his passion, he is filled, who imitates it. The poor imitated it, for they so suffered as to follow Christ's footsteps. The poor shall eat, but why poor? And they shall praise the Lord who seek him. The rich praise themselves, the poor praise the Lord. Why are they poor? Because they praise the Lord and seek the Lord. The Lord is the riches of the poor, for therefore is the house empty that the heart may be full of riches. Let the rich seek wherewith to fill their chest, the poor seek wherewith to fill their heart, and when they have filled it, they praise the Lord who seek him. And see, brethren, wherein they, that are truly poor, are rich, that it is not in the chest, not in the garner, Not in the storehouse.
Their hearts shall live for ever and ever. Now then, give heed. The Lord hath suffered. All that ye have heard hath the Lord suffered. We ask why he suffered. He begins to declare it, I will declare thy name to my brethren. In the midst of the church will I sing of thee. But they still say, This is the church. Let all the seed of Israel fear him. They say, We are the seed of Israel. Since he hath not despised, nor disregarded the prayer of the poor, still they say, We are they. Nor hath he turned away his face from me. Christ the Lord himself hath not turned away his face from himself, that is, from his church, which is his body. With thee is my praise. Ye would praise yourselves. But they answer, Nay, without a doubt we too praise him.
I will offer my vows unto the Lord in the sight of them that fear him. The sacrifice of peace, the sacrifice of love, the sacrifice of his body, the faithful know. On this I cannot now enlarge. I will offer my vows in the sight of them that fear him. Let the publicans eat, let the fishermen eat, let them feed, let them imitate the Lord, let them suffer, let them be filled. The Lord himself hath died. The poor die also, and the death of the disciples is added to the death of the master. Wherefore, give me the fruit. Verse 27. All the borders of the earth shall remember themselves, and be turned to the Lord. See here, brethren. Why ask ye of me what answer we should give to the Donatist party? Look at the psalm.
Both among us is it read today, and among them is it read today. Let us write it on our foreheads. Let us go forth with it. Let not our tongue keep silence. Let it repeat the words. See, Christ hath suffered. See, the merchant displayeth his gains. See, the price which he gave, his blood was shed. In a scrip he bare our price. He was smitten with a spear. The scrip was rent, and the price of the whole world floweth forth. What answer thou, O heretic? Is it not the price of the whole world? Hath Africa only been redeemed? Thou darest not say, The whole world was redeemed, but is lost. From what spoiler's hand hath Christ so suffered as to lose his own possession? Lo, all the borders of the earth shall remember themselves, and be turned to the Lord.
Let this satisfy thee, and let him speak. Had he said the ends of the earth, and not all the borders of the earth, they had been able to say, Lo, we have the ends of the earth in Maritania. He said, All the borders of the earth. O heretic, he said, All. What outlet is there for thee to escape the difficulty? Outlet hast thou none, but thou hast whereby to enter. I appeal to you. I am unwilling to enlarge upon this, lest it should be said that my words are of any influence. Attend to the song. Read the song. Lo, Christ hath suffered. His blood hath been shed. Lo, our Redeemer. Lo, our price. Let me be told what hath he brought. Why do we ask? What if one say to me, Why, O foolish man, dost thou ask?
Thou hast the volume in thine hands. Thou hast therein wherewith he bought, seek therein what he bought. Lo, there thou hast. All the borders of the earth shall remember themselves, and be turned to the Lord. For the borders of the earth shall remember themselves. But heretics have forgotten, and therefore do they hear it every year. Do they give ear to this, think ye, when their reader says, All the borders of the earth shall remember themselves, and turn to the Lord? Well, perchance it is but one verse. Thy thoughts were elsewhere. Thou wast talking idly with thy brother when he spoke thus. Mark, how he repeats it, and knocks at deaf man's ears. And all the kindreds of the nation shall worship in his sight.
He is still deaf. He does not hear. Let the knocking be repeated. Verse 28. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and he shall rule over the nations. Remember these three verses, brethren. Today have they been sung even among them, or it may be they have erased them. Believe me, my brethren, I am so embarrassed, I am so pressed, that I am astonished at the strange deafness and hardness of their hearts, that I sometimes doubt whether they have it in their copies. All run today to the church, all today attentively listen to the psalm, all listen with uplifted heart. But suppose that they are not attentive. Is it one verse only? All the borders of the earth shall remember themselves, and be turned to the Lord.
Thou art awaking, but art still rubbing thy hands on the ground. Thine eyes, and all the kindreds of the nation shall worship in his sight. Shake off sleep, thou art still drowsy. Listen, for the kingdom is the Lord's, and he shall rule over the nations. Whether they have anything yet to allege, I know not. Let them contend with the Scriptures, not with us. See the volume itself. Let them contend against it. Where is their saying, We preserve the Scriptures from being burnt? They have been preserved, whereby thou mayest be burnt. What did ye preserve? Open, read. Thou didst preserve, and thou dost impugn them. Why preservest thou from the flames what thou wouldest destroy with the tongue? I do not believe.
I do not believe that thou preservest them. I do not at all believe it. Thou didst not preserve them. Most truly do our party say that thou didst deliver them up. He is proved to be the deliverer of them up, who, when on reading the testament, doth not follow it. See, it is read, and I follow. It is read, and thou refusest to follow. Whose hand hath cast them into the flames? He that believes and follows, or he that grieves that there is ought to be read. I do not wish to know who may have preserved them. In what place soever the volume hath been found, from what cave soever our Father's testament hath come to light. For some thieves or other Wish to take it away. Some persecutors or other wish to burn it.
From what place soever it hath been brought forth, let it be read. Why dost thou quarrel? We are brethren. Why do we quarrel? The Father hath not died in testate. He hath made a testament, and so died. He died and rose again. So long does the dispute touching the inheritance of the dead last until the testament is publicly produced. And when the testament has been publicly produced, all are silent, that the instrument may be opened and read. The judge listens with attention, the advocates hold their peace, the heralds procure silence, every body is in suspense that the words of the deceased, unconscious in the tomb, may be read. He lies without consciousness in the tomb, and his words have force.
Christ sitteth in heaven, and his testament gains said, Open, let us read. We are brethren. Why do we contend together? Let us calm our temper. The Father hath not left us without a testament. He who made the testament liveth forever. He heareth our words. He recognizeth his own. Let us read. Why do we quarrel? When the whole inheritance shall have been found, let us hold to it. Open the testament. Read in the very beginning of the Psalter itself. Ask of me. But who speaketh? Peradventure not Christ. You have there the Lord said unto me, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. The Son of God then speaketh, or the Father speaketh to his Son. What then saith he to his Son? Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the bounds of the earth for thy possession.
It is usual, brethren, when there is a question of possession for the borderers to be sought. Between this and that borderer the heir is sought out, either to whom it is given or who has brought it. Between what borders is he sought? Between this and that man in possession? He who hath left all borders hath left no borders. Wheresoever thou turnest thyself, Christ is. Thou hast the borders of the earth for thine inheritance. Come hither, with me possess the whole. Why by quarreling dost thou call to a part only? Come hither to thine own good, thou shalt be conquered, thou shalt have the whole. Dost thou wrangle still? I have already read the testament, and thou wranglest, and thou still wrangling, because he said, the borders of the earth, and not all the borders of the earth.
Let us read on then. How does it stand? All the borders of the earth shall remember themselves and turn to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship in his sight. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and he shall rule over the nations. His it is, not yours. Acknowledge ye the Lord. Acknowledge the Lord's possession. But ye again, because ye would possess your goods privately, and not in common unity, and with Christ, for ye wish to rule on earth yourselves, not to reign with him in heaven, ye have your own houses. And sometimes we come to them, saying, Let us seek the truth, let us find the truth. They answer, Keep what you have, thou hast thy sheep, I have mine. Forbear to meddle with my sheep, for I do not meddle with thine.
Thanks be to God. The sheep are mine, the sheep are his. What hath Christ bought? Nay, let them be neither mine, nor thine, but his. Who hath bought them? His who hath marked them? Neither is he that planteth anything, nor he that watereth, but God, who giveth the increase. Why have I mine, and thou thine? If Christ be there, let mine go thither, but they are not mine. If Christ be here, let thine come hither, for they are not thine. Let us kiss head and hands for possessions, and let the strange children perish. It is not my possession, he says. What is this? Let us see whether it be not thy possession. Let us see whether thou dost not claim it for thyself. I labor for the name of Christ, thou for the name of Donatus.
For if thou look to Christ, Christ is everywhere. Thou sayest, Lo, here is Christ. I say, He is throughout the world. Praise the Lord, ye servants. Praise the name of the Lord. Wherefrom do they praise? Whereunto do they praise? From the rising of the sun, unto the going down thereof, praise ye the name of the Lord. See the church which I shew to you. See what Christ hath bought. See what he hath redeemed. See for what he hath given his blood. But what sayest thou? I gather for him too. He that gathereth not with me, Christ saith, Scattereth. Thou dividest unity. Thou seekest thine own possessions. And why have they Christ's name? Because for the defense of thine own possession, thou hast affixed Christ's titles.
Do not some do the same with their own houses? Lest some powerful person should attack his house, he affixes thereon the title of some powerful one, a false title. He would be himself the owner, and would have the front of his house protected by another man's title, that on reading the title one may be scared at the power of the name, and abstain from attacking the house. This they did when they condemned the Maximilianists. They pleaded before judges and induced their own counsel, as it were, shewing their titles, that they might appear to be bishops. Then the judge asked, "'Who is the other bishop here, of the party of Donatus?' The official answered, "'We know none but Aurelius, the Catholic.' In fear of the laws, they made answer of one bishop only.
But they—' that they might gain the ear of the judge affixed Christ's name, on their own possession they affixed his title. Gracious is the Lord to spare them, and claim that for his own possession, wheresoever he findeth his title, powerful is his mercy, who doeth that for them, who gathereth together, whomsoever he findeth bearing the name of Christ. And consider, brethren, When any powerful one findeth his title, doth he not justly claim it for his own, and say, He would not affix my title, unless it were my property. He hath affixed my title, it is my property, that whereon I find my name, is mine. Does he change the title? The title is the very same as before. The owner is changed, the title is not changed.
So also, with those who have the baptism of Christ, if they return to unity, we do not change or destroy their title, but we acknowledge the title of our King, the title of our Captain. But what do we say, O wretched house? May he own thee, whose title thou bearest, thou bearest Christ's title, be not the possession of Donatus. We have spoken at great length, brethren, but let not that which is read to-day, depart from your recollection. Lo, I repeat it, and often must it be repeated. By this very day, that is, by the mysteries of this day, I adjure you that it go not out of your hearts. All the borders of the earth shall remember themselves, and be turned to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship in his sight, for the kingdom is the Lord's, and he shall rule over the nations.
Against so clear and so manifestly Proven a possession of Christ. Listen not to the words of the wrangler. Whatever they say to gainsay it, they are men that say it. But this God saith. End of Psalm 22.
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22 22 - Psalm 23 3:48
Psalm 23 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo. Translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm 23, a psalm of David himself. The Church speaks to Christ. Verse 1. The Lord Jesus Christ is my shepherd, and I shall lack nothing. Verse 2. In a place of pasture there hath He placed me. In a place of fresh pasture, leading me to faith, there hath He placed me to be nourished. By the water of refreshing hath he brought me up. By the water of baptism, whereby they are refreshed who have lost health and strength, hath he brought me up.
Verse 3. He hath converted my soul. He hath led me forth in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. He hath brought me forth in the narrow ways wherein few walk of his righteousness, not for my merit's sake, but for his name's sake. Verse 4. Yea, though I walk in the midst of this life, which is the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. I will fear no evil, for thou dwellest in my heart by faith, and thou art now with me, that after the shadow of death I too may be with thee. Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me. Thy discipline, like a rod for a flock of sheep, and like a staff for children of some size, and growing out of the natural into spiritual life, they have not been grievous to me.
Rather they have comforted me, because thou art mindful of me.
V. Thou hast prepared a table in my sight against them that trouble me. Now, after the rod, whereby, whilst a little one, and living the natural life, I was brought up among the flock in the pastures, after that rod, I say, when I began to be under the staff, Thou hast prepared a table in my sight, that I should no more be fed as a babe with milk, but, being older, should take meat, strengthened against them that trouble me. Thou hast fattened my head with oil. Thou hast gladdened my mind with spiritual joy. And thy inebriating cup, how excellent is it! And thy cup, yielding forgetfulness of former vain delights, how excellent is it! Verse 6, And thy mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, that is, as long as I live in this mortal life, not thine, but mine, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord for length of days.
Now thy mercy shall follow me, not here only, but also that I may dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
End of Psalm 23.
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23 23 - Psalm 24 6:57
Psalm 24 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo. Translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm 24, a psalm of David himself on the first day of the week. A psalm of David himself, touching the glorifying and resurrection of the Lord, which took place early in the morning on the first day of the week, which is now called the Lord's Day.
Verse 1. The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof, the compass of the world, and all they that dwell therein. When the Lord, being glorified, is announced for the believing of all nations, and the whole compass of the world becomes his church. Verse 2. He hath founded it above the seas. He hath most firmly established it above all the waves of this world, that they should be subdued by it, and should not hurt it, and hath prepared it above the rivers. The rivers flow into the sea, and men of lust lapse into the world. These also the church, which, when worldly lusts have been conquered by the grace of God, hath been prepared by love for the reception of immortality, subdues. Verse 3.
Who shall ascend into the mount of the Lord? Who shall ascend to the height of the righteousness of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? Or who shall abide in that place whither he shall ascend, founded above the seas, and prepared above the rivers? Verse 4. The innocent of hand, and the pure in heart. Who then shall ascend thither, and abide there, but the guiltless in deed, and pure in thought? Who hath not received his soul in vain, who hath not reckoned his soul among things that pass away, but feeling it to be immortal, hath longed for an eternity steadfast and unchangeable, and hath not sworn in deceit to his neighbor. And therefore, without deceit, as things eternal are simple and undeceiving, hath so behaved himself to his neighbor.
Verse 5. This man shall receive blessing from the Lord, and mercy from the God of his salvation. Verse 6. This is the generation of them that seek the Lord. For thus are they born that seek him. Of them that seek the face of the God of Jacob, the Absalma. Now they seek the face of God, who gave the preeminence to the younger-born. Take away your gates, ye princes. All ye that seek rule among men, remove, that they hinder not, the entrances which ye have made, of desire and fear. And be ye lift up, ye everlasting gates. And be ye lift up, ye entrances of eternal life, of renunciation of the world, and conversion to God. And the King of glory shall come in. And the King, in whom we may glory without pride, shall come in, who, having overcome the gates of death, and having opened for himself the heavenly places, fulfilled that which he said, Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.
Verse 8, Who is this King of glory? Mortal nature is awestruck in wonder, and asks, Who is this King of glory, the Lord strong and mighty? He whom thou didst deem weak and overwhelmed, the Lord mighty in battle. Handle the scars, and thou wilt find them made whole, and human weakness restored to immortality. The glorifying of the Lord, which was owing to earth, where it warred with death, hath been paid.
Take away your gates, ye princes. Let us go hence straightway into heaven. Again let the prophet's trumpet cry aloud. Take away too, ye princes of the air, the gates, which ye have in the minds of men, who... Worship the host of heaven, and be ye lift up ye everlasting gates, and be ye lift up ye doors of everlasting righteousness, of love and chastity, through which the soul loveth the one true God, and goeth not to whoring with the many that are called gods. And the King of glory shall come in, and the King of glory shall come in. That he may, at the right hand of the Father, intercede for us. Verse 10. Who is this King of glory? What, dost thou too, Prince of the power of this air, marvel and ask, Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of powers, he is the King of glory. Yea, His body now quickened. He who was tempted marches above thee. He who was tempted by the angel, the deceiver, goes above all angels. Let none of you put himself before us, and stop our way, that he may be worshipped as a god by us. Neither principality, nor angel, nor power separateth us from the love of Christ. It is good to trust in the Lord, rather than to trust in a prince, that he who glorieth should glory in the Lord. These, indeed, are powers in the administration of this world. But the Lord of powers, he is the King of glory.
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24 24 - Psalm 25 12:19
Psalm 25 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo, translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm 25. To the End. A Psalm of David himself. Christ speaks, but in the person of the Church, for what is said has reference rather to the Christian people turned unto God. Verse 1. Unto Thee, O Lord, have I lift up my soul. With spiritual longing have I lift up the soul that was trodden down on the earth with carnal longings. Verse 2. O my God, in Thee I trust. I shall not be ashamed. O my God, from trusting in myself I was brought even to this weakness of the flesh, and I, who on abandoning God wished to be as God, fearing death from the smallest insect, was in derision ashamed for my pride.
Now, therefore, in thee I trust. I shall not be ashamed. And let not my enemies mock me. And let them not mock me, who by ensnaring me with serpent-like and secret suggestions, and prompting me with, Well done, well done, have brought me down to this. Verse 3. For all that wait upon thee shall not be confounded. Let them be confounded who do vain things unrighteously. Let them be confounded who act unrighteously for the acquiring things that pass away. Verse 4. Make thy ways, O Lord, known to me, and teach me thy paths. Not those which are broad, and lead the many to destruction, but thy paths, narrow and known to few, teach thou me. Verse 5. In thy truth guide me, avoiding error, and teach me, for by myself I know nothing but falsehood.
For thou art the God of my salvation, and for thee have I waited all the day. For, dismissed by thee from paradise, and having taken my journey into a far country, I cannot by myself return, unless thou meetest the wanderer. For my return hath throughout the whole tract of this world's time waited for thy mercy. Remember thy compassions, O Lord. Remember the works of thy mercy, O Lord, for men deem of thee as though thou hadst forgotten, and that thy mercies are from eternity. And remember this, that thy mercies are from eternity. For thou never wast without them, who hast subjected even sinful man to vanity indeed, but in hope, and hast not deprived him of so many and great consolations of thy creation.
Verse 7. Remember not the offenses of my youth and of my ignorance. The offenses of my presumptuous boldness and of my ignorance reserve not for vengeance, but let them be as if forgotten by Thee. According to Thy mercy be mindful of me, O God. Be mindful indeed of me, not according to the anger of which I am worthy, but according to Thy mercy, which is worthy of Thee. For Thy goodness, O Lord. Not for my deservings, but for thy goodness, O Lord. Verse 8. Gracious and upright is the Lord. The Lord is gracious, since even sinners and the ungodly he so pitied as to forgive all that is past. But the Lord is upright too, who after the mercy of vocation and pardon, which is of grace without merit, will require merit to meet for the last judgment.
Wherefore he will establish a law for them that fail in the way. For he hath first bestowed mercy to bring them into the way. Verse 9. He will guide the meek in judgment. He will guide the meek, and will not confound in the judgment those that follow his will, and do not, in withstanding it, prefer their own. The gentle he will teach his ways. He will teach his ways, not to those that desire to run before, as if they were better able to rule themselves, but to those who do not exalt the neck, nor lift the heel, when the easy yoke and the light burden is laid upon them. Verse 10. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth. And what ways will he teach them but mercy wherein he is placable, and truth wherein he is incorrupt?
Whereof he hath exhibited the one in forgiving sins, the other in judging deserts. And therefore all the ways of the Lord are the two advents of the Son of God, the one in mercy, the other in judgment. He then attaineth unto him holding on his ways, who, seeing himself freed by no deserts of his own, lays pride aside, and henceforward bewares of the severity of his trial, having experienced the clemency of his help. To them that seek his testament and his testimonies. For they understand the Lord as merciful at his first advent, and as the judge at his second, who in meekness and gentleness seek his testament, when with his own blood he redeemed us to a new life, and in the prophets and evangelists his testimonies.
Verse 11. For thy name's sake, O Lord, thou wilt be favorable to my sin, for it is manifold. Thou hast not only forgiven my sins, which I committed before I believed, but also to my sin, which is manifold, since even in the way there is no lack of stumbling. Thou wilt be made favorable by the sacrifice of a troubled spirit. Verse 12. Who is the man that feareth the Lord? From which fear he begins to come to wisdom. He shall establish a law for him in the way which he hath chosen. He shall establish a law for him in the way which in his freedom he has taken, that he may not sin now with impunity. Verse 13. His soul shall dwell in good, and his seed shall by inheritance possess the earth, and his work shall possess the stable inheritance of a renewed body.
Fear seems to belong to the weak, but the Lord is the stay of them that fear him, and the name of the Lord which hath been glorified throughout the whole world, is a stay to them that fear him, and his testament that it may be manifested unto them. And he maketh his testament to be manifested unto them, for the gentiles and the bounds of the earth are Christ's inheritance. Verse 15. Mine eyes are ever unto the Lord, for he shall pluck my feet out of the snare. Nor would I fear the dangers of earth, while I look not upon the earth, for he upon whom I look will pluck my feet out of the snare. Verse 16. Look upon me, and have mercy upon me, for I am single and poor. For I am a single people, keeping the lowliness of thy single church, which no schisms or heresies possess.
Verse 17. The tribulations of my heart have been multiplied. The tribulations of my heart have been multiplied by the abounding of iniquity and the waxing cold of love. O bring thou me out of my necessities. Since I must needs bear this, that by enduring unto the end I may be saved, bring thou me out of my necessities. Verse 18. See my humility, whereby I never, in the boast of righteousness, break off from unity, and my travail, wherein I bear with the unruly ones that are mingled with me, and forgive all my sins. And, propitiated by these sacrifices, Forgive all my sins, not those only of youth and my ignorance before I believed, but those also which, living now by faith, I commit through infirmity, or the darkness of this life.
Verse 19. Consider mine enemies, how they are multiplied. For not only without, but even within, in the Church's very communion, They are not wanting. And with an unrighteous hate they hate Me. And they hate Me who love them. Verse 20. Keep my soul and deliver Me. Keep my soul, that I turn not aside to imitate them and draw Me out from the confusion wherein they are mingled with Me. Let Me not be confounded. For I have put my trust in thee. Let me not be confounded, if haply they rise up against me. For not in myself, but in thee, have I put my trust. Verse 21. The innocent and the upright have cleaved to me, for I have waited for thee, O Lord. The innocent and the upright, not in bodily presence only, as the evil, are mingled with me.
But in the agreement of the heart, in the same innocence and uprightness, cleave to me, for I have not fallen away to imitate the evil, but I have waited for thee, expecting the winnowing of thy last harvest. Verse 22. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. Redeem thy people, O God. Whom thou hast prepared to see thee, out of his troubles, not those only which he bears without, but those also which he bears within.
End of Psalm 25.
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25 25 - Psalm 26 46:36
Psalm 26 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms. Psalm 26, First Exposition of David himself. It may be attributed to David himself, not the Mediator, the man Christ Jesus, but the whole Church now perfectly established in Christ.
Judge me, O Lord, for after the mercy which thou first showedst me, I have some desert of my innocence. The way whereof I have kept. And trusting in the Lord, I shall not be moved. And yet not even so trusting in myself, but in the Lord, I shall abide in him. Verse 2. Prove me, O Lord, and try me. Lest, however, any of my secret sins should be hid from me, prove me, O Lord, and try me. Making me known, not to thee from whom nothing is hid, but to myself and to men. Burn my reins and my heart. Apply a remedial purgation, as it were fire, to my pleasures and thoughts. Verse 3. For thy mercy is before mine eyes. For that I be not consumed by that fire, Not my merits, but thy mercy, whereby thou hast brought me on to such a life, is before my eyes.
And I have been pleasing in thy truth. And since my own falsehood hath been displeasing to me, but thy truth pleasing, I have myself been pleasing also with it and in it. Verse 4 I have not sat with the counsel of vanity. I have not chosen to give my heart to them who endeavor to provide what is impossible, how they may be blessed in the enjoyment of things transitory. And I will not enter in with them that work wickedly. And since this is the very cause of all wickedness, therefore I will not have my conscience hid, with them that work wickedly. V. I have hated the congregation of evil-doers. But to arrive at this council of vanity, congregations of evil-doers are formed, which I have hated.
And I will not sit with the ungodly. And therefore with such a council, with the ungodly I will not sit, that is, I will not place my consent, and I will not sit with the ungodly. Verse 6. I will wash mine hands amid the innocent. I will make clean my works among the innocent. Among the innocent will I wash mine hands, with which I shall embrace thy glorious gifts. And I will compass thy altar, O Lord. Verse 7. That I may hear the voice of Thy praise, that I may learn how to praise Thee, and that I may declare all Thy wondrous works. And after I have learnt, I may set forth all Thy wondrous works. Verse 8. O Lord, I have loved the beauty of Thy house, of Thy church. And the place of the habitation of thy glory, where thou dwellest and art glorified.
Destroy not then, together with them that hate thee, my soul, which hath loved the beauty of thy house, and my life with the men of blood. And with them that hate their neighbor. For thy house is beautiful with the two commandments. Verse 10. In whose hands is wickedness? Destroy me not then with the ungodly and the men of blood whose works are wicked. Their right hand is full of gifts. And that which was given them to obtain eternal salvation, they have converted into the receiving this world's gifts. Supposing that godliness is a trade. Verse 11. But I have walked in mine innocence. Deliver me, and have mercy on me. Let so great a price of my Lord's blood Avail for my complete deliverance, and in the dangers of this life let not thy mercy leave me.
Verse 12. My foot hath stood in uprightness. My love hath not withdrawn from thy righteousness. In the churches I will bless thee, O Lord. I will not hide thy blessing, O Lord, from those whom thou hast called. For next to the love of Thee I join the love of my neighbor.
Psalm XXVI Second Exposition When the Apostle Paul was being read, ye heard, as we did, holy brethren. As, saith he, the truth is in Jesus, that ye lay aside after the former conversation the old man, Who is corrupt according to the deceitful lust? But be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put ye on the new man, which after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth. And lest any one should suppose that any thing material is to be laid aside, as one takes off a coat, or any thing to be taken from without, as one takes up a garment, as if putting aside one coat and assuming another. And this carnal understanding of it should not allow men to carry into action within themselves spiritually what the apostle enjoined.
He went on and explained what it was to put the old man off one and put on the new. For the rest of this lesson relates to the idea. He speaks as if to one asking, And how am I to put off the old man, or how put on the new? Am I myself a third person to lay aside the old man, which I have had, and to take a new man, which I have not had? So that three men should be conceived, And he that lays aside the old man and takes the new should be between the other two. Lest any one, then, hindered by such a carnal thought, should fail to do what is commanded, and excuse himself for not doing it by the obscurity of the lesson. The Apostle says in the following words, Wherefore, laying aside lying, speak ye the truth.
And lo! This is the laying aside the old man, and the putting on the new. Wherefore, laying aside lying, speak ye the truth, every one with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. But let not any one of you, brethren, imagine that truth must be spoken with a Christian, and falsehood with a pagan. Speak with thy neighbor. He is thy neighbor, who is with thee a child of Adam and Eve. We are all neighbors by the lot of our earthly birth, but brethren after another manner by the hope of an heavenly inheritance. Thou oughtest to deem every man thy neighbor, even before he be a Christian, for thou knowest not what he is with God. Thou knowest not how God may have foreknown him. Sometimes he, at whom thou scoffest as worshipping stones, is converted, and worshippeth God, perchance more devoutly than thyself, who wast but just now scoffing at him.
There are then neighbors of ours lying hid among those who are not as yet in the church. And there are those lying hid in the church. who are far from us. And therefore let us, who know not things future, regard every one as our neighbor, not only by the lot of human mortality whereby we came into this world under the same condition, but also by the hope of that inheritance, since we know not what he is to be, who now is nothing. Attend then to what follows in the putting on the new man, and putting off the old man. Laying aside, saith he, lying, speak ye the truth, every one with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not. If thou art angry with thy servant, because he hath sinned, be angry with thyself, Lest thou sin also.
Let not the sun go down upon thy wrath. It is understood, brethren, it is true, with reference to time, because, although from the very condition of our humanity and weakness of our mortal nature which we bear, wrath doth steal upon the Christian, yet it must not be long retained, nor last to the second day. Cast it out of the heart, before this visible light go down, lest that light invisible abandon thee. But it is also well understood in another sense, for that Christ, the truth, is our Son of Righteousness, not this Son, which is worshipped by pagans and Manichaeans, and is seen by sinners even. But that other Son, by whose truth human nature is enlightened, at which the angels rejoice. But the weakened vision of the heart of man, although it quails beneath his rays, is purified nevertheless to contemplate him by his commands.
When this Son hath begun to dwell in a man by faith, let not the wrath which is borne within thee so far prevail against thee. that it should go down upon thy wrath, that is, that Christ should abandon thy soul. For Christ will not dwell with thy wrath. For he seemeth, as it were, to go down from thee, when thou dost go down from him. For anger, when it hath become inveterate, becomes hatred. When it hath become hatred, thou art at once a murderer. For as the apostle John saith, Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. Again he saith, that every one that hateth his brother abideth in darkness, and no wonder if he abide in darkness, from whom the sun hath gone down. To this, too, perhaps, refers what we have heard in the gospel.
The ship was in jeopardy in the lake. And Jesus was asleep. We, too, are sailing through a lake, so to say, and there is no want of wind and tempest. Our ship is almost filled through the daily temptations of this life. And whence comes it? But because Jesus is asleep? If Jesus were not asleep within thee, thou wouldest not be exposed to these storms, but wouldest have calm within, Through Jesus watching with thee. But what is, Jesus sleepeth? Thy faith, which is of Jesus, hath fallen asleep. The tempest of this lake arise, thou seest evil men flourishing, the good in trouble. It is a temptation, it is a wave. And thy soul saith, O God, is this thy justice? That the evil should flourish, the good be in trouble?
Thou sayest to God, Is this thy justice? And God to thee, Is this thy faith? For have I promised thee this? Wert thou made a Christian for this, that thou shouldst flourish in this life? Art thou tormented, because the evil flourish here? Who shall hereafter be tormented with the devil? But why speakest thou thus? Why art thou disturbed by the waves of the sea and the storm? Because Jesus is asleep. That is, because thy faith, which is of Jesus, hath been laid asleep in thine heart. What doest thou that thou mayest be delivered? Awake, Jesus, and say, Master, we perish. For the doubtful dangers of the deep alarm us, we perish. He will awake, that is, thy faith will return to thee, and with his help thou wilt consider in thy soul that what is, for a time given to the evil, will not abide with them, for either it will leave them while they live, or is left by them when they die.
But what is promised to thee will abide forever. What is granted them for a time is soon taken away, for it hath flourished as the flower of the grass. For all flesh is grass, the grass withereth, and the flower falleth, but the word of the Lord abideth forever. Turn therefore the back upon that which falleth, and the face to that which abideth. Now that Christ is awake, the storm shall no more shake thy heart, the waves shall not fill thy bark, for thy faith commands the winds and the waves, and the danger shall pass away. For to this, brethren, all that belongs, which the apostle saith of putting off the old man, be ye angry, and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil.
The old man then did give place. Let not the new. He that stole, let him steal no more. The old man then did steal. Let not the new. It is the same man. It is one man. It was Adam. Let it be Christ. It was the old man. Let it be the new. And so on with what follows there. But let us examine this psalm somewhat more carefully, because when any one hath made progress in the church, he must needs endure evil men in the church. But the man who is such does not recognize them. Although many evil men murmur against the evil, just as one man in health bears more easily with two sick men than two sick men with one another. Therefore, brethren, we give this charge. The church of the time present is a threshing-floor.
We have often said it. We often repeat it. It contains both chaff and corn. Let no man look for all the chaff to go out thence, save in the time of winnowing. Let no man leave the floor before the time of winnowing, as if in his unwillingness to endure sinners, lest, being found without the floor, he be picked up by the birds, before he enter into the barn. Now, brethren, mark how we would enforce this. When the corn has begun to be threshed, The grains amidst the chaff do not touch each other. It is as though they did not know each other, because of the intervention of the chaff. And anyone who looks at a floor at some little distance thinks there is nothing but chaff. Except he look more narrowly, except he put forth his hand, except he make a separation by the breath of his mouth, that is, by a purifying wind.
He hardly attains to distinguish the grains. Therefore sometimes even the very grains are so separated as it were from each other, and not touching one another, that any one, when he has made progress, may think that he is alone. This thought, brethren, tempted Elias, so great a man, and he said to God, as the Apostle also records. They have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God to him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee before Baal. He said not to him, Thou hast two or three others like thyself. Do not deem thyself alone. There are, saith he, seven thousand others, and dost thou deem thyself alone?
Accordingly this briefly we enjoin, as I had begun to say. Do ye, holy brethren, give heed with me, and may God's mercy be with us in our hearts, that it may be so understood by you as to bear fruit and work in you. Hear it briefly. Whosoever is still evil, let him not deem that no one is good. Whosoever is good, let him not deem that he only is good. Do ye apprehend this? Lo, I repeat it. Mark ye how I say. Whosoever is evil, let him not, in questioning his own conscience and receiving a bad report of himself, Imagine that no one is good. Whosoever is good, let him not imagine that he only is good. And let not the good man fear in the mixture with the evil, for the time will come that he shall be separated from them.
For to this end we have sung to-day, Destroy not my soul with the ungodly, and my life with the men of blood. For what is? Destroy not with the ungodly. Destroy not together. Why doth he fear, lest God to destroy him together? For I see that it is said to God, Because thou sufferest us now together, destroy not together those whom thou sufferest together. And this pervades the whole psalm, which I would briefly consider with you, holy brethren, for it is brief. Verse 1. Judge me, O Lord. It is a serious and seemingly perilous wish which he expresses for himself that he may be judged. What is to be judged? Which he wishes? He wishes to be separated from the evil. In another place he clearly speaks of this judgment of separation.
Judge me, O Lord, and separate my cause from the unholy nation. He shows what he meant by, Judge, lest, as if without judgment, both the good and bad, for both good and bad enter at present into the church, should go into eternal fire. Judge me, O Lord. Why? For I have walked in mine innocence, and, trusting in the Lord, I shall not be moved. What is trusting in the Lord? For he stumbles among the evil who does not trust in the Lord. Hence it has come that schisms arose. They trembled among the evil, when they were worse themselves, and were unwilling, as it were, to be good among the evil. Oh, if they were corn, they would endure the chaff in the floor till the time of winnowing. But because they are chaff, the wind hath blown before this winnowing, and hath caught up the chaff from the threshing-floor, and cast it forth among thorns.
And the chaff indeed hath been cast forth thence. But is that which remains corn only? It is only the chaff that flies away before the winnowing, but there remains both corn and chaff. But the chaff will be winnowed, when the time of winnowing shall come. This the psalmist meant, I have walked in mine innocence, and trusting in the Lord I shall not be moved. For if I shall trust in man, I shall see perhaps this man sometime living ill, and not keeping to those good ways, But because I trust in the Lord, I shall not be moved. There follows. Verse 2. Prove me, O Lord, and try me. Burn my reins and my heart. What is, burn my reins and my heart? Burn my delights, burn my thoughts. He hath used heart for thoughts, and reins for delights.
Lest I should think any evil, lest any evil should delight me. But wherewith wilt thou burn my reins? with the fire of thy word, wherewith wilt thou burn my heart, with the heat of thy spirit, of which heat it is said elsewhere, and there is none who can hide himself from the heat thereof. And of which fire the Lord saith, I came to send fire on the earth. Therefore there follows, verse three, For thy mercy is before mine eyes, and I have been pleasing in thy truth. That is, I have not been pleasing in man's sight, but I have been pleasing unto thee within, where thou seest, and I care not if I be displeasing where men see, as the apostle saith. Let every one prove his own work. And then shall he have glory in himself alone, and not in another.
Verse 4. I have not sat, saith he, with the counsel of vanity. Give heed, holy brethren, to what this, I have not sat, is. According as God seeth, he saith, I have not sat. Sometimes thou art not in the council, yet thou sittest there. For instance, thou dost not sit in the theatre, but thou thinkest on the shows of the theatre, against which it is said, Burn my reins. Thou sittest there in heart, though thou art not there in body. But it may happen that thou art held there by someone, and fast bound, Or some pious duty may make thee sit there. How can this happen? It chances from some duty of piety that a necessity may lie on a servant of God to be in the amphitheater. He wished to deliver some gladiator or other.
It might happen that he was sitting and waiting, until he whom he was desirous of delivering came out. See, he hath not sat in the council of vanity, Though he was seen sitting there in body, what is it to sit? To consent unto them who sit there. Which, if thou have not done, though present, thou hast not sat there. If thou have done it, though absent, thou hast sat there. And I will not enter in with them that work wickedness. Verse 5. I have hated the congregation of evildoers. You see that it is within that, and I will not sit with the ungodly. Verse 6. I will wash my hands in innocency. Not with this visible water. Thou dost wash the hands when thou dost think piously of thy works, and innocently in God's sight.
For there is an altar, too, in God's sight, whereunto the priest hath entered, who first offered himself up for us. There is an heavenly altar, and no man embraceth that altar but he who washes his hands in innocency. For many unworthy men touch this altar here, and God endures that his sacraments should suffer injury for a time. But what? My brethren, will the heavenly Jerusalem be as these walls? You will not be so received with the evil into Abraham's bosom as you are now received with the evil within the walls of the church. Fear not, then. Wash thine hands. And I will compass the altar of the Lord. Where thou offerest vows unto the Lord, where thou pourest forth prayers, Where thy conscience is pure, where thou dost tell God what thou art, and if there be happily ought in thee that displeaseth God, he to whom thou dost make confession taketh care for it.
Watch then thine hands in innocency, and compass the altar of the Lord, that thou mayest hear the voice of praise. For this follows. Verse 7, That I may hear the voice of praise, and declare all thy wondrous works. What is, that I may hear the voice of praise? He means, that I may understand, for this is to hear before God, not as these sounds which many hear, and many do not. How many are there hearing now as regards us? Who yet are deaf toward God? How many who have ears, and have not those ears of which Jesus saith, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear? What is it then to hear the voice of praise? I will tell you, if I can, with the help of the Lord's mercy and your prayers. To hear the voice of praise is to understand inwardly, That whatever of evil from sin is in thee is thine own.
Whatever of good in works of righteousness is God's. So hear the voice of praise, as not to praise thyself even when thou art good. For in praising thyself as good thou dost become evil. For humility hath made thee good, pride maketh thee evil. Thou wast converted that thou mightest be illuminated, and by thy conversion thou wert made full of light, having been enlightened by conversion. But whereunto? Unto thyself? If thou couldst be illuminated by conversion to thyself, thou couldst never be in darkness, because thou wouldst ever be with thyself. Wherefore wert thou illuminated? Because thou turnest thyself to something else, which thou wert not. What is the something else, which thou wert not?
God is light. For thou wast not light, because thou wast a sinner. For the apostle saith to them, whom he would have hear the voice of praise. For ye were sometime darkness, But now are ye light. What is, ye were sometime darkness, but the old man? But now light. Not without a cause are ye light, who were sometime darkness, but because ye have been illumined. Think not that thou art thyself light. That is the light which lighteth every man that cometh into this world. But thou by thyself, by evil will, by thy turning away from God, wast in darkness. Now thou art in light. But he immediately subjoined, lest they should be proud to whom it was said, But now light, and added, In the Lord. For thus he saith, Ye were some time darkness, but now light in the Lord.
Therefore, if without the Lord, then not light. But if therefore light, because in the Lord, what hast thou that thou hast not received? But if thou hast received it, why dost thou glorious if thou hadst not received it? For thus the apostle himself spake in another place to men who bore themselves proudly, and would attribute to themselves what is God's, and glory and good, as if it were their own. He saith to them, For what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now, if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? He who hath given to the humble taketh away from the proud, because he who gave can take away. This is the bearing, brethren. If so be, I have explained it as I wished.
I have indeed explained it as far as I could, although not as far as I would. This is the bearing of the words, I will wash my hands in innocency, and I will compass thine altar, O Lord, that I may hear the voice of thy praise. That is. That I may not for this good thing in me rely on myself, but on thee who gavest it me, that I should not wish to be praised for myself in myself, but for thee in thee. Therefore there follows, that I may hear the voice of thy praise, and declare all thy wondrous works, not mine, but thine. And now see, brethren, see that lover of God, who relieth on God, placed among the evil, entreating God, that he be not destroyed with the evil, for that God erreth not in judgment.
For when thou seest men have entered into one place, thou thinkest their merits equal. But God is not deceived. Fear not. By the judgment of the wind thou dost discriminate between the chaff and the wheat. Thou dost wish the wind to blow for thee, and thou art not the wind, but thou dost wish the wind to blow for thee. And when with the winnowing fan thou hast shaken out both chaff and wheat, the wind takes away the light, the heavy remains. Thou dost look, then, for the wind to judge the floor. What? Doth God look for another to judge with him, lest he destroy the good with the evil? Fear not, then. Be thou secure in thy goodness, even in the midst of the evil, and say what thou hearest. Verse 8.
O Lord, I have loved the beauty of thine house. God's house is the church. As yet it contains evil men. But the beauty of God's house is in the good, is in the holy. This beauty of thine house have I loved. And the place of the habitation of thy glory. What is this? This, too, will I explain. It has a somewhat obscure reference to that meaning. May the Lord help me. And your heart's earnest attention, inspired by the same Lord. Why doth he say, The place of the habitation of thy glory? He said before, The beauty of thine house. And he explains what is the beauty of God's house. The place, saith he, of the habitation of thy glory. It is not enough to say, The place of God's habitation, but the place of the habitation of God's glory.
What is God's glory? Whereof I spoke a little before, that he even who is made good should not glory in himself, but in the Lord. For all have sinned, and are in need of the glory of God. In whom then the Lord so dwells, that he receiveth glory for his own good things, that they are unwilling to attribute to themselves, and claim as it were for their own what they have received from him. These belong to the beauty of God's house. Nor would Scripture have them distinguished, unless there were some who have indeed the gift of God, and will not glory in God, but in themselves. They have indeed the gift of God, But they do not belong to the beauty of God's house. For they who belong to the beauty of God's house, in whom God's glory dwelleth, are themselves the place of the habitation of God's glory.
And in whom doth God's glory dwell? But in such as so glory, that they glory not in themselves, but in the Lord. Since then I have loved the beauty of thine house, That is, all who are there and seek thy glory. And, moreover, I have not put my trust in man, and have not consented to the ungodly, and will not enter into nor sit in their assembly. Since I have been such in the church of God, what reward wilt thou give me? What should be our answer follows. Verse 9 Destroy not my soul with the ungodly, nor my life with the men of blood. Verse 10. In whose hands are wickednesses, their right hand is full of gifts. Gifts are not only money, not only gold and silver, not only presents, nor do all who receive these receive gifts, for sometimes they are received by the church.
Yea, moreover, Peter received such. The Lord received such. He had a bag. Judas stole what was put therein. But what is to receive gifts? To praise a man for gifts, to flatter a man, to fawn and wheedle, to judge contrary to truth for gifts. For what gifts? Not for gold and silver, and anything of this kind only. But he, too, who judges amiss for praise, receives a gift, and a gift than which nothing is more empty. For his hand was opened to receive the judgment of another's tongue, and he hath lost the judgment of his own conscience. Hence, in whose hands there are wickednesses, their right hand is full of gifts. You see, brethren, that they are before God also, In whose hands are no wickednesses, neither is their right hand filled with gifts, of course, in God's sight.
And they can say to none but God, Thou knowest. To none but Him can they say, Destroy not my soul with the ungodly, and my life with the men of blood. Who alone can see that they receive no gifts? For instance, it happens that two men have a cause before a servant of God. No one calls any but his own cause just, for if he thought his own cause unjust, he would not seek the judge. This one thinks that he has a just cause, and so does the other. They come before the judge. Before a sentence is pronounced, they both say, We accept your judgment. Whatever you shall judge. Far be it from us to reject. What say you two? Judge what you will, only judge. If I should resist at all on any point, may I be anathema.
Both love the judge before he passes judgment. But when sentence shall have been pronounced, it will be against one, and neither of them knows against whom it will be. The judge, then, if he shall wish to please both parties, receives for a gift the praise of men. But, having received that gift, see what gift he loses. He receives what sounds, and passeth away. He loses what is uttered, and never passeth away. The word of God is being ever uttered. It never passeth away. The word of man, as soon as it has been uttered, presently passeth away. He holds the shadow. He lets go the substance. Now, if he have regard to God, he will pronounce sentence against one of the parties, having his thoughts on God, under whom as judge he pronounces it.
But he, against whom it has been pronounced, and if it cannot now be disannulled, Because it is maintained, it may not be by the law of the Church, but of this world's princes, who have granted so much authority to the Church, that whatever has been judged therein cannot be set aside, if, I say, it cannot be disannulled. He has no wish any longer to look into himself, but turns his blinded eyes against the Judge, and maligns him as much as he can. He wished, saith he, to please the other party. He favored the rich man. Either he received something from him, or he was afraid to offend him. He makes an accusation, as if gifts had been received. But if the poor man shall have had a cause against a rich man, and judgment shall have been for the poor man, the rich one again says, He has received gifts.
What gifts from a poor man? He saw, saith he, a poor man, and that he might not be blamed as having acted against the poor, he has overborne justice, and pronounced sentence against the truth. Since then it must needs be that this be said. See how it cannot be said by them who do not receive gifts, save in God's sight, who alone seeth, who receiveth, and who doth not receive. Verse 11. But I have walked in mine innocence. O deliver me, and be merciful unto me. Verse 12. My foot hath stood in uprightness. I have been shaken indeed on every side by scandals and temptations from those who blame my judgment with the rashness of men. But my foot hath stood in uprightness. But why in uprightness? Because he had said above, And trusting in the Lord, I shall not be moved.
How then does he conclude? In the churches I will bless thee, O Lord. That is, in the churches I will not bless myself, as if certain of men, but I will bless thee in my works. For this it is to bless God in the churches, brethren, So to live, that God may be blessed by each man's conversation. For he who blesseth the Lord with his tongue, and curseth him in his deeds, doth not bless God in the churches. Almost all bless with the tongue, but not all indeed. Some bless with the voice, some with their conversation. Now those in whose conversation there is not found what they say cause God to be blasphemed, so that they who do not as yet enter the church, although they love their sins, and therefore are unwilling to be Christians, yet excuse themselves by the evil, so as to flatter themselves, deceiving their own selves, and saying, Why dost thou persuade me to be a Christian?
I have suffered fraud at a Christian's hands, and never did any. A Christian has sworn falsely to me, and I have never done so. And when they speak thus, they are kept back from salvation, that it profited them nothing, not indeed that they are already good, but that they are but moderately bad. For as it is no profit to open the eyes, If a man be in darkness, so it is no profit to be in the light if the eyes are closed. And so the pagan indeed, to speak of them the rather as though their lives were good, is with open eyes in darkness, because he acknowledgeth not the Lord his light. But the Christian, whose life is evil, is in none other light than God's. But with closed eyes. For by his evil life he will not see him, in whose name he is, as it were, blind, in the midst of light, quickened by no vision of the true light.
End of Psalm 26
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26 26 - Psalm 27 54:48
Psalm 27 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms. Translated by Philip Schaaf. Psalm 27. First Exposition of David himself before he was anointed. Christ's young soldier speaketh on his coming to the faith. Verse 1. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord will give me both knowledge of himself and salvation. Who shall take me from him? The Lord is the protector of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? The Lord will repel all the assaults and snares of mine enemy. Of no man shall I be afraid. Verse 2. Whilst the guilty approach unto me to eat up my flesh. Whilst the guilty come near to recognize and insult me, that they may exalt themselves above me in my change for the better, that with their reviling tooth they may consume not me but rather my fleshly desires.
Mine enemies who trouble me. Not they only who trouble me, blaming me with a friendly intent and wishing to recall me from my purpose, but my enemies also. They became weak and fell. Verse 3. If camps stand together against me, my heart will not fear. But if the multitude of gainsayers conspire to stand together against me, my heart will not fear, so as to go over to their side. If war rise up against me, In this will I trust. If the persecution of this world arise against me, in this petition which I am pondering, will I place my hope? Verse 4. That as long as I am in this life, no adversities may exclude me from the number of them, who hold the unity and the truth of the Lord's faith throughout the world.
That I may contemplate the delight of the Lord. With this end, namely, that persevering in the faith, the delightsome vision may appear to me, which I may contemplate face to face. And I shall be protected, his temple. And death being swallowed up in victory, I shall be clothed with immortality, being made his temple.
Verse 5. On a rock hath he exalted me, and that what I believed might be made manifest for salvation, he hath made my confession to be conspicuous in his own strength. Verse 6. Verse 1. I have gone about and have sacrificed in His tabernacle the sacrifice of rejoicing. I have considered the circuit of the world, believing on Christ. And in that for us God was humbled in time, I have praised Him with rejoicing. For with such sacrifice He is well pleased. I will sing and give praises to the Lord. In heart and in deed I will be glad in the Lord. Verse 7. Hear my voice, O Lord, wherewith I have cried unto Thee. Hear, Lord, my interior voice, with which a strong intention I have addressed to thy ears.
Have mercy upon me, and hear me. Have mercy upon me, and hear me therein. Verse 8. I have not sought from thee aught without thee as a reward, but thy countenance. Thy countenance, O Lord, will I seek. In this search will I perseveringly persist. For not aught that is common, but thy countenance, O Lord, will I seek, that I may love thee freely, since nothing more precious do I find. Verse 9. Turn not away thy face from me, that I may find what I seek. Turn not aside in anger from thy servant, lest, while seeking thee, I fall in with somewhat else. For what is more grievous than this punishment to one who loveth and seeketh the truth of thy countenance? Be thou my helper. How shall I find it if thou help me not?
Leave me not, neither despise me, O God my Savior. Scorn not that a mortal dares to seek the eternal, for thou, God, dost heal the wound of my sin. Verse 10. For my father and my mother have left me. For the kingdom of this world and the city of this world, of which I was born in time and mortality, have left me seeking thee, and despising what they promised, since they could not give what I seek. But the Lord took me up. But the Lord who can give me himself took me up. Verse 11. Appoint me a law, O Lord, in thy way. For me, then, who am setting out toward thee, and commencing so great a profession of arriving at wisdom, from fear appoint, O Lord, a law in thy way, lest in my wondering thy rule abandon me.
Verse 12. Deliver me not up unto the souls of them that trouble me. Suffer not them that trouble me to be satiated with my evils. For unrighteous witnesses have risen up against me. For there have risen up against me they that speak falsely of me, to remove and call me back from thee, as if I seek glory of men. And iniquity hath lied unto itself. Therefore iniquity hath been pleased with its own lie. For me it hath not moved.
Verse 13. Verse 14. Wait on the Lord. Quit thyself like a man, and let thy heart be strong. Yea, wait on the Lord. But when shall this be? It is arduous for a mortal. It is slow to a lover. But listen to the voice that deceiveth not of him that saith, Wait on the Lord. Endure the burning of the rains manfully, and the burning of the heart stoutly. Think not that what thou dost not as yet receive is denied thee. That thou faint not in despair, see how it is said, Wait on the Lord.
Second Exposition. The Lord our God, in addressing and consoling us, whomsooth He regards as eating our bread by His own righteous judgment in the sweat of our face, vouchsafes to speak to us out of ourselves, to shew us that He is not only our Creator, but also our Indweller. These words of the psalm, which we have heard and partly sung, if we say that they are our own, we must be reverently careful how we speak the truth, for they are rather the words of God's Spirit than our own. Again, if we say that they are not ours, we do indeed lie. For groaning belongs not but to those who are in distress, or all that speech, which is uttered here, full of grief and tears, may be his who never can be miserable.
The Lord then is merciful. We are miserable. In His mercy He vouchsafes to speak to the miserable, vouchsafes even in them to use the speech of the miserable. So each is true, both that the speech is ours, and that it is not ours, that it is the speech of God's Spirit, and that it is not His. The speech is that of God's Spirit, in that but for His inspiration we should not speak thus. But it is not his, in that he is neither miserable nor in distress. But these words are those of the miserable and distressed. Again, they are ours, because they are words indicating our misery. And yet they are not ours, because it is of his gift that we are vouchsafed even to groan. A Psalm of David before he was anointed.
Thus runs the title of the psalm. A Psalm of David before he was anointed. That is, before he received unction. For he was anointed as a king, and the king was then anointed alone, and also the priest. These two persons were anointed at that time. In the two persons was prefigured the one future king and priest. In either office, one Christ, and therefore Christ from the chrism. But not only was our head anointed, but his body also, we ourselves. Now he is king, in that he ruleth and leadeth us, priest in that he intercedeth for us. And verily he alone hath been such a priest, as to be also himself the sacrifice. He hath offered none other sacrifice to God than himself. For he could not find besides himself a most pure, reasonable victim, as a lamb without spot, redeeming us by the shedding of his own blood, incorporating us with himself, making us his own members, that in him Therefore, anointing belongs to all Christians.
But in the former times of the Old Testament, it belonged to two characters only. But it appears from this that we are the body of Christ. In that we are all anointed, and we all in Him are both Christs and Christ, because in some sort whole Christ is the head and body. This anointing will perfect us spiritually in that life which is promised us. But this voice is of one longing for that life. It is the voice, as it were, of one longing for the grace of God, which shall be perfected in us at the last. Therefore it is said, before He was anointed. For we are anointed now in the sacrament, and by this sacrament something is prefigured, which we shall be, and that certain unspeakable future thing we ought to long for, and to groan in the sacrament, that we may rejoice in that thing which is foreshune in the sacrament.
See what he says. Verse 1. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? He enlightens me. Let darkness vanish. He saves me, let weakness vanish. Walking in the light with firmness, whom shall I fear? For God giveth not such salvation as can be wrested by anyone, nor is He such a light as can be obscured by anyone. The Lord enlightening, we enlightened. The Lord saving, we saved. If then He be the Enlightener, and we the enlightened, and He the Savior, we the saved, without Him... We are darkness and weakness. But having in Him a sure and established and true hope, whom shall we fear? The Lord thy light, the Lord thy Savior. Find one more powerful in fear. I belong in such wise to the most powerful of all, to the all-powerful, that He both enlighteneth me and saveth me, nor fear I any but Him.
The Lord is the protector of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? Verse 2. I therefore, what shall I fear? Or whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be afraid? Or of what shall I be afraid? They who persecute me, they are weakened, they fall. Now why do they persecute me? To eat up my flesh. What is my flesh? My fleshly affections. Let them rage in their persecution. Nothing dies in me but what is mortal. There will be somewhat in me which the persecutor cannot reach, where my God dwelleth. Let them eat my flesh. When my flesh is gone, I shall be spirit and spiritual. And indeed, so great salvation doth my Lord promise me, that even now this mortal flesh, which seems to be given up to the hands of the persecutors, doth not perish forever.
But what hath been exhibited in the resurrection of my head may all the members hope for. Whom should my soul fear, which God inhabiteth? Whom should my flesh fear, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption? Would ye know, because they who persecute us eat our flesh, how that we need not fear even for this very flesh of ours? It is sown a natural body, it shall rise a spiritual body. Now how great confidence should there be in him who can say, The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? The general is protected by guards and fears not. A mortal is protected by mortals and is secure. A mortal is protected by the immortal.
And shall he fear and be afraid? Now how great confidence there should be in him who speaks thus, do ye hear. Verse 3. If camps stand together against me, mine heart shall not fear. Camps are well defended, but what stronger defense than God? If war rise up against me, what can war do to me? Can it take away my hope from me? Can it take away what the Almighty gives? As he who gives is not conquered, so what he giveth is not taken away. If the gift can be taken away, the giver is conquered. Therefore, even these things which we receive in time, no one can take away from us, my brethren, but he alone who gave them. The spiritual things which he bestoweth he will not take away, unless thou shalt let them go.
But things fleshly and temporal he taketh away, because whoever else taketh them away, taketh them away by his giving him the power. We know this, and read in the book of Job, that not even the devil, who appears so to say to have the greatest power for a time, can do anything without permission. He received power over the lowest things, and lost the greatest and the highest. And this is not the power of one enraged, but the punishment of one damned. Not even he then can have any power without permission. You see this both in the book which I have quoted, and in the Gospel the Lord saith, This night Satan hath desired that he might sift you as wheat, and I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not.
Now it is permitted either for our punishment or for our trial. Therefore, since no one can take away from us what God giveth, let us fear none but God. Whatsoever else threaten, whatsoever else vaunt itself against us, let not our heart fear. If war rise up against me, In this will I trust. In what? Verse 4. One, saith he, have I asked of the Lord. He named some boon in the feminine gender, as if he had said one petition. And as we are in the habit of saying in conversation, for instance, duos habes in the feminine, and not duo in the neuter, so scripture has used this manner of speech. One, saith he, have I asked of the Lord, this will I require. Let us see what he asketh, who feareth nothing.
Great security of soul! Would ye fear nothing? Ask this one, which he asketh, who feareth nothing, or which he asketh that he may fear nothing. One, saith he, have I asked of the Lord, this will I require. This is practice here by them that walk honestly. What is this? What is this one? In this state of pilgrimage, the word house is used, but the proper name is tent. A tent belongs to those who are in pilgrimage, and in a measure warring and fighting against an enemy. Since then there is a tent in this life, it is plain that there is an enemy too. For to have tents in common, this is to be comrades, and you know this is the name for soldiers. Here, then, is a tent. There, a house. But this tent, too, is sometimes by application of its resemblance called a house, and the house is according to the same method called a tent.
Yet, properly, the latter is the house, the former the tent. Now, what shall we do in that house? You have clearly expressed in another psalm, Blessed are they that dwell in thine house. They will be praising thee forever. On fire, if we may so say, with this desire, and boiling with this love, he longs to dwell all the days of his life in the house of the Lord. In the house of the Lord all the days of his life, not as if they were to come to an end, but days eternal. For so is the word days used as years, of which it is said, and thy years shall not fail. For the day of life eternal is one day without setting. This then he said to the Lord, I have desired this. One have I asked, this will I require.
And as if we should say to him, And what wilt thou do there? What will be thy delight there? What the recreation of thy soul? What the pleasures there whence thy joys will be supplied? For thou will not continue there, unless thou shalt be happy. But that happiness, whence will it come? For here we have the diverse happinesses of the human race, and anyone is called miserable when what he loves is withdrawn. Men, then, have diverse things, and when any man seems to have what he loves, he is called happy. But he is truly happy, not if he have what he loves, but if he love what he ought to love. For many are more miserable in having what they love than in wanting it. For men miserable by the love of hurtful things are more miserable by having them.
And God in mercy, when we love amiss, denieth what we love, but in anger giveth to him that loveth what he loves amiss. You have the apostles saying expressly, God gave them up to the lust of their own hearts. He gave them what they loved, but in condemnation. You have again God denying what was asked. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, saith he that he would take it away from me, namely, the thorn in the flesh. And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for strength is made perfect in weakness. See, he gave those up to the lust of their hearts. He denied the Apostle Paul what he prayed for. To the former he gave unto condemnation, to the latter he denied unto salvation. But when we love that which God wills us to love, beyond doubt He will give it to us.
This is that one which should be loved, that we may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our life. And because in these earthly habitations men are charmed with diverse delights and pleasures, and everyone wishes to dwell in that house, where he will have nothing to offend his mind, and have many things to delight him. But if those things which did delight are withdrawn, The man wishes to remove from what place soever it be. Let us then ask him, as it were, more inquisitively, and let him tell us what we ourselves, what he will do in that house, where he wishes and desires, longs and asks this one thing from the Lord, that he may dwell therein all the days of his life. What wilt thou do there, I ask thee?
What is it for which thou longest? Hear what, that I may contemplate the delight of the Lord. See what I love. See why I wish to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. He has there a grand spectacle to contemplate the delight of the Lord Himself. He wishes when His own night is over to be fixed in His light. For then will be our morning when the night is past. Whence He says in another Psalm, In the morning I will stand before thee, and will contemplate. Now therefore I do not contemplate, because I have fallen. Then I will stand and will contemplate. This is man's voice. For man has fallen, and one would not be sent to raise us up if we had not fallen. We have fallen, he hath descended.
He hath ascended, we are lifted up. For no man hath ascended, but he who descended. He who hath fallen is lifted up. He who descended ascendeth. And let us not therefore despair that he alone hath ascended. For he lifteth us up to whom in our fall he descended, and we shall stand and shall contemplate, and enjoy great delight. Lo, I have said this, and ye have cried out for the longing after some vision not seen as yet. Let your soul go beyond all ordinary things, and let your reach of thought go beyond all your customary imaginations according to the flesh, derived from the senses of the flesh, and figuring out all manner of vain fancies. Cast all away from your mind. Reject whatever may have occurred to you.
Recognize the weakness of your heart, and for the very fact of anything occurring to you that you are able to imagine, say, It is not that. For if it had been that, it would not have occurred to me. So will ye long for some certain good? What kind of good? The good of all good. Whence cometh all good, the good to which cannot be added what good it is. For we use the expression, a good man, and a good field, and a good house, and a good animal, and a good tree, and a good body, and a good soul. You have added in speaking of all these, good. There is the simple good, the very good by which all things are good, the very good of which all good things are. This is the delight of the Lord. This we shall contemplate.
Now, brethren, Mark, if these goods which are called goods delight us, if goods which are not in themselves goods, for all things changeable are not in themselves goods, delight us, what will be our contemplation of the good unchangeable, eternal, abiding ever in the same fashion? For these things which are called good would by no means delight us, except they were good. Nor could they be by any other means good, save from him who is simply good. See why I wish to dwell, saith he, in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. I have told you why, that I may contemplate the delight of the Lord, but that I may always contemplate that no annoyance may befall me in my contemplation. No temptation turn me aside.
No power of any hurry me away, that I may not be exposed to the violence of any enemy in my contemplation, but have secure and thorough enjoyment of my delight, the Lord my God Himself. What shall be done for me? He shall protect me. Not only then, saith he, would I contemplate the delight of the Lord, but also that I, His temple, be protected, that He may protect me, His own temple. I shall be his temple and be protected by him. Is the temple of God such as the temples of idols are? The idols of the Gentiles are protected by their temples. The Lord our God will protect his temple, and I shall be secure. I shall contemplate for delight and be protected for salvation. As that contemplation shall be perfect, so shall this protection be perfect.
And as that joy of contemplation shall be perfect, so also shall the incorruption of sound health be perfect. To these two expressions, that I may contemplate the delight of the Lord and be protected His temple. Those two with which the psalm commences, the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? And that I shall contemplate the delight of the Lord. He is my light. But why doth he make this good for us unto the end? Verse 5. My dwelling, then, shall be in his house all the days of my life to this end, that I may contemplate the delight of the Lord, and be protected his temple. But whence my assurance of arriving thither, For he hath hidden me in his tabernacle in the day of my evils.
Then the days of my evils will be no more, but he hath seen me in the days of my evils. He then who mercifully regarded me when far off, how shall he gladden me when brought near to him? For which cause, therefore, I did not make that one petition shamelessly? Nor did my heart say to me, What art thou asking, or from whom art thou asking? For dost thou dare, unrighteous sinner, to ask anything from God? Darest thou hope, infirm one, of heart impure, that thou shalt have any contemplation of God? I do, he answers, not of myself, but of his delight, not of self-reliance, but of his earnest. He who hath given such an earnest to the pilgrim, will he desert him on his arrival? For he hath hidden me in his tabernacle in the day of my evils.
The day of our evils is this life. Days of evil the ungodly have in one way, the faithful in another. For even they that believe, but who as yet are in pilgrimage from the Lord, for as long as we are in this body, we are in pilgrimage from the Lord, as the apostle hath said. If they spend no days of evil, once the words in the Lord's Prayer deliver us from evil, if we are not in days of evil. But far differently do they spend the days of evil, who have not yet believed. Yet even these hath he not disregarded. For Christ died for the ungodly. Therefore let the soul of man dare to feel confidence, and make that one petition. It will have it in safety. It will possess it in safety. So greatly hath she been loved in her deformity, how shall she shine in her beauty?
For he hath hidden me in his tabernacle in the days of my evils. He hath protected me in the secret of his tabernacle. What is the secret of his tabernacle? What is this? For there are, so to say, many members of a tabernacle seen from without. There is too, so to say, the shrine, which is called the secret sanctuary, the innermost part of the temple. And what is this? That which the priest alone entered. And happily the priest himself is the secret of God's tabernacle. For he received flesh from this tabernacle, and made for us the secret of the tabernacle, so that his other members, believers on him, should be his tabernacle, but himself the secret of the tabernacle. For ye are dead, saith the apostle, and your life hath been hid with Christ in God.
Would ye know that he is speaking of this? The rock assuredly is Christ. Hear what follows. For he hath hidden me in his tabernacle in the days of my evils. He hath protected me in the secret of his tabernacle. You were asking, what is the secret of the tabernacle? Hear what follows. On the rock hath he exalted me. Therefore, in Christ hath he exalted me. Because thou hast humbled thyself in the dust, he hath exalted thee on the rock. Hear the words following. Verse 6. Even now, before I come to that house where I wish to dwell all the days of my life, before I come to that contemplation of the Lord, even now hath He exalted mine head above mine enemies. As yet I suffer from the enemies of the body of Christ, as yet I have not been exalted above mine enemies, but mine head hath he exalted above mine enemies.
Christ our head is already in heaven. Our enemies can as yet rage against us. We are not yet exalted above them, but our head is already there. Whence he spake the words, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? He hath said that he is in us here below, therefore we too are in him there above, for that even now he hath exalted mine head above mine enemies. See what an earnest we have, whereby we too are by faith and hope and charity with our head in heaven forever, because the head himself, by divinity, goodness, unity, is with us on earth even unto the consummation of the world. I have gone about and have sacrificed in his tabernacle the victim of rejoicing. We sacrifice the victim of rejoicing.
We sacrifice the victim of gladness, the victim of thankfulness, the victim of thanksgiving, which cannot be explained in words. But we sacrifice where? In his very tabernacle in the Holy Church. What then do we sacrifice? Most abundant and inexpressible joy, with no words, with speech ineffable. This is the victim of rejoicing. Whence hath it been sought where found? By going about. I have gone about, saith he, and sacrificed in his tabernacle the victim of rejoicing. Let thy mind go about through all creation. Everywhere will creation cry out to thee, God made me. Whatever in art delighteth thee, sets forth the artificer, and much more, if thou go about the universe, doth consideration conceive the great workman's praise.
Thou seest the heavens, they are God's great work. Thou seest the earth, God made the numerous seeds, the varieties of herbs, the multitude of animals. Go yet about the heavens, even unto the earth. Leave nothing. On all sides all things proclaimed to thee, the Framer, and the very species of creatures are, so to say, the voices of the Creator's praisers. But who can set forth the whole creation? Who set it forth in praises? Who worthily praised the heaven and the earth, the sea, and all things that are therein? And these, indeed, are things visible. Who can worthily praise angels, thrones, sovereignties, principalities, and powers? Who can worthily praise that very power that works actively within us, quickening the body, moving the limbs, bringing the senses into action, embracing so many things by the memory, discriminating so many things by the intellect?
Who can worthily praise it? But if in these creatures of God human language is so embarrassed, how fares it in the case of the Creator? Except in default of language, there remain rejoicing alone. I have gone about and have sacrificed in his tabernacle the victim of rejoicing. There is another interpretation also, which seems to me to have a closer reference to the context of the psalm. For since he had said that he was exalted on the rock, which is Christ, and that his head, which is Christ, was exalted above his enemies, he would have it understood that he himself, who was exalted on the rock, was exalted in the same, his head, above his enemies, referring this to the church's honor, to which the persecution of the enemies gave way.
And since this was effected through the faith of the whole world, he saith, I have gone about And have sacrificed in his tabernacle the victim of rejoicing. That is, I have considered the faith of the whole world, in which faith my head hath been exalted above them that persecuted me. I will sing and give praises to the Lord. We shall be in safety and sing in safety, and give praise in safety, when we shall contemplate the delight of the Lord, and shall be protected as his temple, in that in corruption, when death shall be swallowed up in victory. But what now? For those joys which we shall have, when we shall have gained that one petition, have been already spoken of. But what now? Hear my voice, O Lord.
Let us groan now. Let us pray now. Groaning belongs not but to the miserable. Prayer belongs not but to the necessitous. Prayer shall pass away. Praise shall take its place. Tears shall pass away. Joy shall take their place. Now in the meanwhile, whilst we are in the days of our evils, let not our prayer to God cease, from whom we ask that one petition, and from this petition let us not desist, until by His gift and guidance we attain unto it. Verse 7. Hear my voice, O Lord, wherewith I have cried unto thee. Have mercy upon me, and hear me. He makes that one petition. Entreating, weeping, groaning so long he makes but that one. He has put an end to all his desires. There hath remained that one petition which he asks.
Hear why he makes this petition. Verse 8. If our joy were in this visible sun, our heart would not say, I have sought thy countenance, but the eyes of our body. To whom saith our heart, I have sought thy countenance, but to him who appertaineth to the eye of the heart. The eyes of the flesh seek this visible light. The eyes of the heart seek that other light. But thou wouldest see that light, which is seen by the eyes of the heart. Because this light is God. For God is light, saith John, and in him is no darkness at all. Wouldst thou then see that light? Purify the eye, whereby Christ is seen. For blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. My heart hath said unto thee, I have sought thy countenance.
Thy countenance, O Lord, will I seek. I have made one petition of the Lord. This will I seek, thy countenance. Turn not away thy face from me. How he hath planted himself in that one petition! Wouldst thou obtain thy request? Seek nothing else. Be thou sufficient, but for one petition, for one will suffice thee. My heart hath said unto thee, I have sought thy countenance. Thy countenance, O Lord, will I seek. Turn not away thy face from me. Turn not aside in anger from thy servant. Magnificent! Nothing can be more divinely spoken. This is the feeling of those that truly love. Another man would be blessed and immortal in these pleasures of earthly lusts which he loves. And peradventure for this reason would worship God and pray, that he may long live here in his delights, and that nothing should fail him, which earthly desire has in his possession neither gold nor silver nor any estate that charms his eyes, that his friends, his children, his wife, his dependents should not die.
In these delights would he live forever. But since he cannot forever, for he knows that he is mortal, for this happily does he worship God, and for this pray to God, and for this sigh to God, that all these things may last even to old age. And if God should say to him, Lo, I make thee immortal in these things, he would accept it as a great boon, and in the exaltation of his joy and self-congratulation would be unable to contain himself. Not so doth this man wish, who hath made one petition of the Lord. But what doth he wish? To contemplate the delight of the Lord all the days of his life, and on the contrary the other, who in this way and for this reason would worship the Lord, if those temporal advantages were at his hand, would not fear the anger of his Lord, unless he should take them away.
This man feareth not his anger on this account, since he hath said of his enemies, that they may eat my flesh. For what doth he fear his anger, lest he take away that which he hath loved? What hath he loved? Thy countenance. Therefore he deems this to be the anger of the Lord, if ye turn away his countenance from him. Verse 9. Turn not aside in anger from thy servant. He might by chance be answered thus, Why fearest thou, lest he should turn aside from thee in anger? Rather, if he should turn aside from thee in anger, he will not avenge himself on thee. If thou meet him in his anger, he will be avenged on thee, rather than desire that he may turn aside from thee when in anger. No, says he, for he knows what he longs for.
His anger is nothing else than the turning away of his countenance. What if he will make thee immortal in these delights, and in the enjoyment of earthly gratifications? Such a lover answers, I would not have it. Whatever I have beside him has no charms for me. Whatever my Lord would give me, let him take away all, give me himself. Turn not aside in anger from thy servant. From some peradventure he doth turn aside not in anger, as from certain who say to him, Turn away thy face from my sins. When he turneth away his face from thy sins, he doth not turn aside from thee in anger. Let him then turn away his face from thy sins, but let him not turn away his face from thee. Be thou my helper, leave me not.
For lo, I am in the way. I have made the one petition of thee to dwell in thy house all the days of my life, to contemplate thy delight and be protected as thy temple. This is my one petition, but that I may attain unto it, I am in the way. Peradventure thou wilt say unto me, Strive, walk, I have given thee free will. Thou art master of thine own will. Follow on the way, seek peace, and ensue it. Turn not aside from the way, abide not therein, look not back. Persevere in walking, for he that shall persevere unto the end, the same shall be saved. Now that thou hast received free will, thou dost rely, as it were, on the power of walking. Rely not on thyself. If he should leave thee, thou wilt faint in the very way.
Thou wilt fall, wilt go astray, wilt come to a stand. Say then to him, thou hast given me indeed a free will, but without thee my efforts are nothing. Be thou my helper, leave me not.
Verse 10. He hath made himself a babe unto God. He hath made him father, he hath made him mother. He is father, in that he made, in that he calleth, in that he ordereth, in that he ruleth him. Mother, in that he cherisheth, in that he nourisheth him, in that he suckleth, in that he beareth him. My father and my mother have left me, but the Lord hath taken me up, both to rule me and to nourish me. Mortal parents beget, children succeed, mortals to other mortals. And for this were they born who might succeed, that those who begot them might depart. He will not depart who created me. I will not withdraw from him. My father and my mother have left me, but the Lord hath taken me up. Beside those two parents also, of whose flesh we were born, the man the father, the woman the mother, as Adam and Eve, besides those two parents, we have here another father and another mother, or rather, we had.
The father, according to the world, is the devil. And he was our father when we were unbelievers. For to unbelievers the Lord saith, Ye are of your father the devil. If he be the father of all the ungodly, who worketh in the children of disobedience, who is the mother? There is a certain city that is called Babylon. This city is the company of all the lost from the east even unto the west. She hath a kingdom on earth. After this city a certain state is named, which ye now see growing old and waning. This was our first mother. In this were we born. We have known another father, God. We have left the devil. For how dare he approach those whom he who overcometh all things hath taken up? We have known another mother, the heavenly Jerusalem, which is the holy church.
A portion whereof is a pilgrim on earth. We have left Babylon. My father and my mother have left me. They have nothing now to give me. Since even when they seemed to give it to me, it was thou who gavest, and I set it down to them. For by whom, even with respect to this world, is aught given to man but by God? Or what is taken away from man, except he order or permit who gave it? But vain men imagine that those spirits whom they adore give it, and sometimes they say to themselves, God is necessary for life eternal, for that spiritual life. But these powers ought to be worshipped by us for these temporal things. O the folly of mankind! Thou hast more love for those things for which thou wouldest worship them.
In good truth, thou hast more mind to worship them, or not to say more, At least as much. But God will not be worshipped together with them, not even though he be worshipped much more and they much less. What then thou wilt say? Are they not necessary too for these things? No. But we have reason to fear, lest they do one harm in their anger. No harm will they do unless he permit. They have always the wish to do harm, nor, if they be appeased or if they be entreated, do they cease to wish to do harm. For this is a property of their malevolence. Therefore what wilt thou gain by worshipping them, save that thou wilt offend him, by offending whom thou wilt be given over into their power, that they who could do nothing to thee when he is favourable may do what they will when he is angry.
And that thou mayest know, whosoever thou art who thinkest so, how vainly thou dost worship them, as if for temporal benefits. Of all that worshiped Neptune, have none suffered shipwreck? Or of all who blasphemed Neptune, have none arrived in port? Have all the women who worshiped Juno had a good delivery? Or all who blasphemed Juno a bad delivery? From this, beloved brethren, ye may understand the folly of those men who will worship them. Even for these temporal things. For if for these temporal things they ought to be worshipped, their worshippers alone would abound in all temporal blessings. And indeed, if this were the case, we ought to avoid such gifts and make one petition to the Lord. To this must be added that it is he who giveth even these things, who is offended when these spirits are worshipped.
Therefore, let our Father and our Mother leave us. Let the devil leave us, the city Babylon leave us. Let the Lord take us up to console us with things temporal and to bless us with things eternal. For my father and my mother have left me, but the Lord hath taken me up. Now then, he hath been taken up by the Lord, having abandoned that city and its ruler the devil. For the devil is the ruler of the ungodly, the ruler of the world of this darkness. What darkness? Sinners, unbelievers. Whence the apostle saith to them that now believe, Ye were sometimes darkness, but now light in the Lord. Being then now taken up by him, what say we? Verse 11. Appoint me a law, O Lord, in thy way. Hast thou dared to ask for a law?
What if he should say to thee, Thou shalt fulfill the law? If I give a law, thou shalt fulfill it. He would not dare ask it unless he said first, But the Lord hath taken me up. He would not dare ask it unless he said first, Be thou my helper. Therefore, if thou helpest, if thou takest me up, give me a law. Appoint me, O Lord, a law in thy way. Therefore, appoint me a law in thy Christ. For the way himself hath spoken unto us, and said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. A law in Christ is a law with mercy. This is the wisdom of which is written, She carrieth law and mercy in her tongue. And if thou shalt commit any offense in the law, he who shed his blood for thee pardons thee on confession.
Only forsake not thou the way, say unto him, Be thou my upholder, and direct me in the right path because of mine enemies. Give me a law, but take not mercy away. As he said in another psalm, Therefore, appoint me a law, O Lord, in thy way. This refers to the precept, what refers to mercy? And direct me, saith he, in the right path, because of mine enemies. Verse 12. Deliver me not up unto the souls of them that trouble me. That is, let me not consent to them that trouble me. For if thou shalt consent to him that troubleth thee, unto his soul he will not, so to say, devour thy flesh, but by a perverted will he will eat up thy soul. Deliver me not up unto the souls of them that trouble me. Deliver me, if it please thee, into the hands of them that trouble me.
For this martyrs have said to him, and he hath delivered his own into the hands of them that trouble them. But what hath he delivered? The flesh. Which is meant in the book of Job, the earth hath been delivered into the hands of the wicked, the flesh hath been delivered into the hands of the persecutor. Deliver me not up, not my flesh, but me. I speak unto thee as a soul, as mind I speak unto thee. I do not say, deliver up my flesh into the hands of them that trouble me, but deliver me not up unto the souls of them that trouble me. And how are men delivered up unto the souls of them that trouble them? For unrighteous witnesses have risen up against me. Now for that there are unrighteous witnesses, and they speak much evil against me, and in many things defame me.
If I shall have been delivered up unto their souls, I also shall lie, and shall be their companion, not a partaker of thy truth, but a partaker with them in a lie against thee. Unrighteous witnesses have risen up against me, and iniquity hath lied unto itself. Unto itself, and not unto me. Unto itself let it ever lie, but let it not lie unto me. If thou shalt have delivered me up unto the souls of them that trouble me, that is, if I shall have consented to their wishes, now will not iniquity already have lied unto itself, but unto me also. Verse 1. He returns to that one petition after these dangers, after toils, after difficulties, amid the hands of them that persecute and trouble him.
He sighed at last and said, Verse 13. And when shall I see you, ye good things of the Lord? I believe to see you, but not in the earth of the dying. I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the earth of the living. The Lord shall deliver me from the earth of the dying, who for my sake vouchsafe to take upon himself the earth of the dying, and to die amid the hands of the dying. The Lord shall deliver me from the earth of the dying. I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the earth of the living. Panting he spoke, travailing he spoke. He spoke in peril amid a mighty crowd of temptations, but yet wholly depending on his mercy, to whom he said, Appoint me a law, O Lord. And what doth he say, who hath appointed him a law?
Let us hear the voice of the Lord, too exhorting us from on high, consoling us. His voice, whom we have for father and mother, who have left us. Let us hear his voice. For he hath heard our groans, he hath seen our deep sighs, he hath beheld our longing, and our one petition, the one request through Christ our Advocate, hath he gladly received. And until we accomplish this pilgrimage, during which he will defer, not take away what he hath promised, he hath said unto us, Wait on the Lord. Thou wilt not wait on a false one, not on one that can be deceived, The Almighty hath promised. The Sure One hath promised. The True hath promised. Wait on the Lord, quit thyself like a man. Faint not, be not of them to whom it is said, Woe unto them that have lost endurance.
Wait on the Lord is said to us all, and to one man it is said, We are one man in Christ. We are the body of Christ, who have that one longing, who make that one petition, who in those days of our evils groan, who believe to see the good things of the Lord in the earth of the living. To us all who are one in one it is said, Verse 14, Wait on the Lord, quit thyself like a man, and let thy heart be strong. Yea, wait on the Lord. What else saith he to thee, than repeat what thou hast heard? Wait on the Lord, quit thyself like a man. Therefore he who hath lost endurance, hath become effeminate, hath lost vigor. Let men, let women listen to this. For in the one man is man and woman. Such an one in Christ is neither male nor female.
Wait on the Lord, quit thyself like a man. Let thy heart be strong, yea, wait on the Lord. By waiting on the Lord, thou shalt possess him. Thou shalt possess him on whom thou shalt wait. Long for somewhat else, if thou canst find aught greater, better, sweeter.
End of Psalm 27.
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27 27 - Psalm 28 6:48
Psalm 28 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo. Translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm 28 of David himself. It is the voice of the mediator himself, strong of hand in the conflict of the passion. Now what he seems to wish for against his enemies is not the wish of malevolence, but the declaration of their punishment. As in the gospel, with the cities, in which though he had performed miracles, yet they had not believed on him, he doth not wish in any evil will what he saith. but predicteth what is impending over them.
Unto thee, O Lord, have I cried, My God, be not silent from me. Unto thee, O Lord, have I cried, My God, separate not the unity of thy word from that which as man I am. Lest at any time thou be silent from me, and I shall be like them that go down into the pit. For from this, that the eternity of thy word ceaseth not to unite itself to me, it comes that I am not such a man as the rest of men, who are born into the deep misery of this world, where, as if thou art silent, thy word is not recognized. Verse Two. Hear, O Lord. The voice of my supplication, whilst I pray unto thee, whilst I hold up my hands to thy holy temple, whilst I am crucified for their salvation, who on believing become thy holy temple.
Verse 3. Draw not my soul away with sinners, and destroy me not with them that work iniquity, with them that speak peace with their neighbors. With them that say unto me, We know that thou art a master come from God, but evil in their hearts. But they speak evil in their hearts. Verse 4. Give unto them according to their works. Give unto them according to their works, for this is just, and according to the malice of their affections. For aiming at evil, They cannot discover good. According to the works of their hands give thou unto them. Although what they have done may avail for salvation to others, yet give thou unto them according to the works of their wills. Pay them their recompense. Because for the truth which they heard, they wished to recompense deceit, let their own deceit deceive them.
Verse 5. For they have not had understanding in the works of the Lord. And whence is it clear that this hath befallen them? From this forsooth. For they have not had understanding in the works of the Lord. This very thing, in truth, hath been even now their recompense, that in him whom they tempted with malicious intent as a man, they should not recognize God, with what design the Father sent him in the flesh, and the works of his hands. Nor be moved by those visible works, which are laid out before their very eyes. Thou shalt destroy them, and not build them up. Let them do me no hurt, nay, nor again in their endeavor to raise engines against my church. Let them aught avail. Verse six, blessed be the Lord, for he hath heard the voice of my prayer.
Verse seven, the Lord my helper and my protector. The Lord helping me in so great sufferings, and protecting me with immortality in my resurrection.
In him hath my heart trusted, and I have been helped, and my flesh hath flourished again, that is, and my flesh hath risen again. And of my will I will confess unto him. Wherefore, The fear of death being now destroyed, not by the necessity of fear under the law, but with a free will with the law, shall they who believe on me confess unto him, and because I am in them, I will confess. Verse 8. The Lord is the strength of his people. Not that people. Ignorant of the righteousness of God, and willing to establish their own. For they thought not themselves strong in themselves, for the Lord is the strength of his people, struggling in this life's difficulties with the devil, and the protector of the salvation of his Christ.
That, having saved them by his Christ, After the strength of war, he may protect them at the last with the immortality of peace. Verse 9. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance. I intercede, therefore, after my flesh hath flourished again, because thou hast said, Desire of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance, for all mine are thine, and rule them, and set them up even for ever. And rule them in this temporal life, and raise them from hence into life eternal.
End of Psalm 28
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28 28 - Psalm 29 7:14
Psalm 29 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine.
Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo, translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm Twenty-nine. A psalm of David himself, of the consummation of the tabernacle. A psalm of the Mediator himself, strong of hand, of the perfection of the church in this world, where she wars in time against the devil. The Prophet speaks. Verse 1 Bring unto the Lord, O ye sons of God, bring unto the Lord the young of rams. Bring unto the Lord yourselves, whom the apostles, the leaders of the flocks, have begotten by the gospel.
Bring unto the Lord glory and honor. By your works let the Lord be glorified and honored. Bring unto the Lord glory to his name. Let him be made known gloriously throughout the world. Worship the Lord in His holy court. Worship the Lord in your heart, enlarged and sanctified, for ye are His regal holy habitation. Verse 3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The voice of Christ is upon the peoples. The God of majesty hath thundered. The God of majesty from the cloud of the flesh hath awfully preached repentance. The Lord is upon many waters. The Lord Jesus himself, after that he sent forth his voice upon the peoples, and struck them with awe, converted them to himself, and dwelt in them.
Verse 4. The voice of the Lord is in power. The voice of the Lord now in them themselves, making them powerful.
The voice of the Lord is in great might. The voice of the Lord working great things in them. Verse 5. The voice of the Lord breaking the cedars. The voice of the Lord humbling the proud in brokenness of heart. The Lord shall break the cedars of Lebanus. The Lord, by repentance, shall break them that are lifted on high by the splendor of earthly nobility, when to confound them he shall have chosen the base things of this world, in the which to display his divinity. Verse 6, And shall bruise them as the calf of Lebanus. And when their proud exultation hath been cut off, he will lay them low after the imitation of his own humility, who like a calf was led to slaughter by the nobility of this world.
For the kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers agreed together against the Lord, and against his Christ, and the beloved is as the young of the unicorns. For even he, the Beloved, and the Only One of the Father, emptied himself of his glory, and was made man, like a child of the Jews, that were ignorant of God's righteousness, and proudly boasting of their own righteousness as peculiarly theirs. Verse 7. The voice of the Lord cutting short the flame of fire. The voice of the Lord, without any harm to himself, passing through all the excited ardour of them that persecute him, or dividing the furious rage of his persecutors, so that some should say, Is not this haply the very Christ? Others, Nay, but he deceiveth the people.
and so cutting short their mad tumult as to pass some over into his love and leave others in their malice. Verse 8, The Voice of the Lord Moving the Wilderness The voice of the Lord moving to the faith the gentiles once without hope and without God in the world, where no prophet, no preacher of God's word, as it were, No man had dwelt. And the Lord will move the desert of Caddis. And then the Lord will cause the holy word of his scriptures to be fully known, which was abandoned by the Jews who understood it not. Verse 9. The voice of the Lord perfecting the stags. For the voice of the Lord hath first perfected them that overcame and repelled the envenomed tongues, and will reveal the woods. And then will he reveal to them the darknesses of the divine books, and the shadowy depths of the mysteries, where they may feed with freedom.
And in his temple doth every man speak of his glory. And in his church all born again to an eternal hope, praise God, each for his own gift, which he hath received from the Holy Spirit. Verse 10. The Lord inhabiteth the deluge. The Lord therefore first inhabiteth the deluge of this world in his saints, kept safely in the church as in the ark. And the Lord shall sit a king forever, and afterward he will sit reigning in them forever. Verse 11. The Lord will give strength to his people. For the Lord will give strength to his people fighting against the storms and whirlwinds of this world, for peace in this world he hath not promised them. The Lord will bless his people in peace. And the same Lord will bless his people, affording them peace in himself.
For saith he, My peace I give unto you, my peace I leave with you.
End of Psalm 29
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29 29 - Psalm 30 48:59
Psalm 30, First Exposition. To the End. The Psalm of the Canticle of the Dedication of the House of David himself. To the End. A psalm of the joy of the resurrection and the change, the renewing of the body to an immortal state, and not only of the Lord, but also of the whole Church. For in the former psalm the tabernacle was finished, wherein we dwell in the time of war. But now the house is dedicated, which will abide in peace everlasting.
It is then whole Christ who speaketh. Verse 1. I will exalt Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast taken me up. I will praise Thy High Majesty, O Lord, for Thou hast taken me up. Thou hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me. And those who have so often endeavored to oppress me with various persecutions throughout the world, Thou hast not made to rejoice over me. Verse 2 O Lord my God, I have cried unto Thee, and Thou hast healed me. O Lord my God, I have cried unto Thee, and I no longer bear about a body enfeebled and sick by mortality. Verse 3 O Lord, Thou hast brought back my soul from hell, and Thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit. Thou hast saved me from the condition of profound darkness and the lowest slough of corruptible flesh.
Verse 4. Sing to the Lord, O ye saints of His. The prophet, seeing these future things, rejoiceth, and saith, Sing to the Lord, O ye saints of His, and make confession of the remembrance of His holiness, and make confession to Him that He hath not forgotten the sanctification wherewith He hath sanctified you, although all this intermediate period belong to your desires.
V. 5. For in his indignation is wrath. For he hath avenged against you the first sin, for which you have paid by death, and life in his will, and life eternal, whereunto you could not return by any strength of your own hath he given because he so would. In the evening weeping will tarry. Evening began. When the light of wisdom withdrew from sinful man when he was condemned to death. From this evening weeping will tarry as long as God's people are amid labors and temptations awaiting the day of the Lord. And exaltation in the morning. Even to the morning when there will be the exaltation of the resurrection which hath shown forth by anticipation in the morning resurrection of the Lord. Verse 6.
But I said in my abundance, I shall not be moved for ever. But I, that people which was speaking from the first, said in mine abundance, suffering now no more any want, I shall not be moved for ever. Verse 7. O Lord, in Thy will Thou hast afforded strength unto my beauty. But that this my abundance, O Lord, is not of myself, But that in thy will thou hast afforded strength unto my beauty, I have learnt from this. Thou turnest away thy face from me, and I became troubled. For thou hast sometimes turned away thy face from the sinner, and I became troubled when the illumination of thy knowledge withdrew from me.
VIII Unto thee, O Lord, will I cry, and unto my God will I pray. And bringing to mind That time of my trouble and misery, and as it were established therein, I hear the voice of Thy first begotten, my head, about to die for me, and saying, Unto Thee, O Lord, will I cry, and unto my God will I pray. Verse 9. What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to corruption? What profit is there in the shedding of my blood, whilst I go down to corruption? Shall dust confess unto thee? For if I shall not rise immediately, and my body shall become corrupt, shall dust confess unto thee? That is the crowd of the ungodly, whom I shall justify by my resurrection, or declare thy truth, or for the salvation of the rest declare thy truth.
Verse 10. The Lord hath heard, and had mercy on me. The Lord hath become my helper. Nor did he suffer his Holy One to see corruption. Verse 11. Thou hast turned my mourning into joy to me. Whom I, the church, having received, the first begotten from the dead, now in the dedication of thine house, say, Thou hast turned my mourning into joy to me. Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness. Thou hast torn off the veil of my sins, the sadness of my mortality, and hast girded me with the first robe, with immortal gladness. Verse 12, That my glory should sing unto thee, and I should not be pricked. That now, not my humiliation, but my glory, should not lament, but should sing unto thee, for that now, out of humiliation, thou hast exalted me, And that I should not be pricked with the consciousness of sin, with the fear of death, with the fear of judgment.
O Lord my God, I will confess unto thee forever. And this is my glory, O Lord my God, that I should confess unto thee forever, that I have nothing of myself, but that all my good is of thee, who art God, all in all. Psalm 30, Second Exposition. This truly have we sung. Verse 1. I will magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast taken me up, and hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me. If we shall know from the Holy Scriptures who our enemies are, we recognize the truth of this canticle. But if the wisdom of the flesh deceive us, so that we recognize not against whom our wrestling is, In the very commencement of this psalm we find a difficulty which we cannot solve. For whose voice do we suppose his to be, who praiseth God, and giveth thanks, and rejoiceth, and saith, I will magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast taken me up, and hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me.
First let us consider the Lord himself, who in that he vouchsafed to be man, could by a prophecy going before Apply these words not unsuitably to himself. For wherein he was man, therein also was he weak, wherein weak, therein also praying. For as we have just now heard, when the Gospel was being read, how he even retired into the desert from his disciples, whither they followed and found him. But he, retiring thither, prayed, and it was said by his disciples who found him, Men seek thee. But he answered, Let us go to other places and villages also to preach. For therefore have I come. If thou dost consider the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is it that prays? To whom doth He pray? Why doth He pray?
Doth God pray? Doth He pray to one equal to Him? But what occasion for prayer hath the ever-blessed, the ever-almighty, the ever-unchangeable? The Eternal and Co-Eternal with the Father. Regarding then what Himself hath thundered forth by John, as, so to say, by a cloud of His, saying, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made. What was made in Him is life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Reading thus far, we find no prayer, nor cause for praying, no occasion for praying, no disposition for praying.
But since he saith a little afterwards, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt in us, thou hast the majesty to which to pray, thou hast the humanity to pray for thee. For it was said by the apostle, even after the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who sitteth, saith he, at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Why doth he make intercession for us? Because he vouchsafed to be a mediator. What is it to be a mediator between God and men? Not between the Father and men, but between God and men. What is God? Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. What are men? Sinners, ungodly, mortals. Between that trinity, and the weakness and wickedness of men, man was made mediator, not wicked, but yet weak, that inasmuch as he was not wicked he might join thee to God, inasmuch as he was weak he might draw near unto thee, and so that there might be a mediator between man and God, The Word was made flesh, that is, the Word was made man.
For men are called by the name of flesh. Hence, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. By all flesh is meant all men. And the Apostle, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, that is, against men, but against princes and powers, and the rulers of the world of this darkness, of which we will speak. If God help us in what follows. For this distinction bears upon the exposition of the psalm, which we have undertaken in the name of the Lord to unfold to you, holy brethren. Yet I have mentioned these examples for this reason, that ye may know that men are called flesh, and understand that by the saying, And the Word was made flesh, is meant, and the Word was made man. Nor have I said this without reason, Ye should know, holy brethren, that there existed a certain heresy, or haply that the remains are still found of certain men, who were called Apollinarians.
For some of them said that the man which the wisdom of God assumed, and in which he manifested forth his person, not as in other men, but as it is said in the psalm, God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows, that is, more than thy fellows. That it should not be supposed that Christ was anointed as other men, as other righteous men, as the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and whatsoever there is great among mankind. Since among mankind there hath not appeared aught greater than John the Baptist, neither hath risen among them that are born of women. If thou lookest for excellency in man, John the Baptist is it. But he of whom John saith that he is not worthy to unloose the latchet of his shoes, what was he but greater than other men, even in his very manhood greater than other men?
For as to his being God, and as to his divinity, and as to his being in the beginning the Word, and the Word being with the Father, and the Word being God, he is above every creature equal to the Father. But we speak of his manhood. Perhaps some one of you, brethren, may imagine that the man assumed by the wisdom of God was equal to other men. If in the members there be great distinction between the head and the rest of the members, undoubtedly all the members make one body. Yet there is great difference between the head and the rest of the members. For in the other members thou hast only perception by touch, by touching, Thou hast perception in the other members. But in the head thou both seest, and hearest, and smellest, and tastest, and touchest.
If the excellence of the head as compared with the rest of the members be so great, how great is the excellence of the head of the church universal, that is, of that man whom God hath willed to be the mediator between God and men. Those heretics then said, that that man which the word assumed when the word was made flesh had no human mind, but was only life without human intelligence. For you know of what man consists, of a principle of life and a body. But this same principle of life of man has somewhat which the living principle in beasts has not. For even beasts have animal life and are called animals, For they would not be called animals, but from animal life, and we see that they too live.
But what has man more, wherein he was made after the image of God? In that he has intelligence and wisdom, in that he distinguishes good from evil, herein was he made after the image and likeness of God. He has then somewhat which beasts have not, and in that he despises in himself That wherein he is superior to the beasts, he destroys in himself, or defaces, and in a manner effaces the image of God, so that to such it is said, Be ye not like to horse and mule, which have no understanding. These heretics then said that our Lord Jesus Christ had no human mind, nor that which the Greeks call logikon, and we rationale, that wherewith man reasons. Which the other animals have not. But what say they, that the very word of God was in that man in the place of mind?
These have been shut out, the Catholic faith has rejected them, and they have made a heresy. It has been established in the Catholic faith that that man which the wisdom of God assumed had nothing less than other men as far as relates to entireness of nature. but as far as relates to excellency of person, something else than other men. For other men may be called partakers of the word of God, as having the word of God, but no one of them can be called the word of God, which he was called, forasmuch as it is said, the word was made flesh. There have not been wanting some others, too, proceeding from this same error, to say not only that that man, Christ the Mediator between God and men, had no mind, but no principle of life either.
But they have said merely, He was the Word and flesh, and no human animal life was in Him, neither was human mind in Him. This have they said. But what was He? The Word and flesh. The Catholic Church rejecteth these two, and driveth them out from among the sheep, and from the simple and true faith. And it hath been established, as I said, that that man, the Mediator, had all that is man's except sin. For if he did many things after the body, whereby we may understand that he had a body, not in falsehood but in truth, as, for instance, how do we understand that he had a body? He walked, sat, slept, was seized, was scourged, was buffeted, was crucified, died. Take away the body. None of these things could have been done.
As then from these signs we recognize in the Gospel that He had a true body, as Himself also said even after the resurrection, handle and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have. As from these circumstances, from these actions, we believe and understand and know that the Lord Jesus had a body, So also from certain other natural functions that he had animal life. To be hungry, to be thirsty, these are functions of animal life. Take away animal life, a lifeless body will not be able to be so. But if they say these were unreal, those things too will be unreal, which are believed of the body. But if the body be therefore real, because the functions of the body are real, The animal life is therefore real, because its functions are real.
What then? Because the Lord was made weak for thee, O man, who hearest me, compare not thyself with God, for thou art a creature, he thy Creator. And compare not thyself with that man, because thy God, and the word the Son of God, was man for thee. But prefer that man to thyself as the mediator, yet God above every creature, and so understand that he who is made man for thee not unsuitably prayeth for thee. If therefore he doth not unsuitably pray for thee, he could also not unsuitably say those words for thy sake. I will magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast taken me up, and hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me. But these words, If we do not understand enemies, we'll be false when we think of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
For how is it true, if the Lord Christ speak, I will magnify Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast taken me up? In His character as man, in His character of weakness, in His character of flesh, how is it true? Since His enemies did rejoice over Him when they crucified Him, held, scourged, and buffeted Him, saying, Prophesy unto us, O Christ. This rejoicing of theirs, as it were, compels us to think what is said, Thou hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me, to be false. And afterwards, when he was hanging on the cross, and they were passing by, or standing and looking and wagging their heads, and saying, See the Son of God. He saved others, himself he cannot save. Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe on him.
Were they not in speaking thus rejoicing over him? Where, then, is that saying, I will magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast taken me up, and hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me? Perhaps this is not the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ, but of man as such, of the universal church of the Christian people, for that all men are in Christ one man, and the unity of Christians is one man. Perhaps man as such, that is, the very unity of Christians, saith, I will magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast taken me up, and hast not made mine enemies to triumph over me. And how is this true of them? Were not the apostles seized? Were they not beaten? Were they not scourged? Were they not slain? Were they not crucified?
Were they not burnt alive? Fought not they with wild beasts, whose memories we solemnize? And since men thus treated them, did they not rejoice over them? How, then, can either the Christian people say, I will magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast taken me up, and hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me? We shall understand this if we look first to the title of the psalm. This is, To the End, a psalm of the canticle of the dedication of the house of David himself. In this title lies all the expectation and the whole mystery of the solution of this difficulty. The house will sometimes be dedicated, which is now in building. For now the house, that is the church, is in building. Hereafter it will be dedicated.
In the dedication will appear the glory of the Christian people, which is now hidden. Now let our enemies rage. Let them humble us. Let them do, not whatever they wish, but whatever they are permitted to do from above. For we must not set down whatever we have suffered from our enemies to our enemies, and not to the Lord our God, seeing that by his own example the Mediator hath shown when from above he permitteth men to injure, that not the will to injure is given from above, but the power. For every evil man hath in himself the will to injure, but the ability to injure is not in his power. That he hath the will, he is at once guilty. That he hath the power, by the hidden dispensation of God's providence, it is permitted him against one for punishment.
Against another it is permitted for his trial. Against another it is permitted for his crown. For punishment, as the alofuloi, that is, foreigners, were permitted to take captive the people of Israel, because they sinned against God. But for trial permission was given to the devil against Job. Job was tried. The devil was put to confusion. But for a crown has permission been given to persecutors against martyrs. The martyrs have been slain. Their persecutors fancied they had conquered. They triumphed in the open sight of men, unreally. The others were in secret, truly crowned. Therefore, against whom permission is given is a matter of the hidden dispensation of God's providence. But the will to injure Accordingly, the Lord Himself, the Judge of quick and dead, standing before a human judge, affording us a pattern of humility and patience, not conquered, but exhibiting to the soldier an example for fighting, when the judge was threatening, and swelling with pride, and saying, Knowest thou not that I have power to release and to slay thee?
Took away the pride of the boaster, and giving back as it were the breathing by which his swelling might go down, answered, Thou couldst have no power against me, except it were given thee from above. Job, too, now the devil has slain his children, the devil has taken away all his substance. What did he say, too? The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. As it hath pleased the Lord, so hath it been done. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Let not the enemy triumph, because he hath done it. I know, saith he, by whom permission hath been given him. To the devil let there be a sign the will to injure, to my Lord the power of proving. Even under his bodily sores his wife, who was left, comes up to him like Eve the devil's helper, not her husband's comforter, tempts him, and among many reproaches says, Speak some word against God, and die.
And that Adam on the dunghill was more guarded than Adam in Paradise. For Adam in Paradise consented to the woman that he should be sent out of Paradise. Adam on the dunghill rejected the woman that he should be admitted into Paradise. What then does that Adam on the dunghill, travailing with immortality within, without, overspread with worms, What says he to the woman? Thou hast spoken as one of the foolish women. What, if we have received good at the hand of the Lord, shall we not bear with evil? Here again, too, he acknowledged in himself the hand of the Lord, because the devil had smitten him. For he did not attend to who smote, but who permitted. For even the devil himself called the same power which he wished to be given him, the hand of the Lord.
For accusing that just man to whom the Lord bare testimony, he says to God, Doth Job fear the Lord for naught? Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the works of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. So great goods hast thou given him, and therefore doth he honour thee. But put forth thine hand, and touch All that he hath, and verily he will bless thee to thy face. What is put forth thine hand, when he wished himself to put it forth? But because he could not put forth his own hand, he called this very power which he received of God the hand of God. What follows then, brethren, because the enemies have done so great things against Christians, and have exulted and rejoiced over them?
But when will it appear that they have not really rejoiced over them? When they shall be confounded, and these shall rejoice at the coming of the Lord our God, when He shall come bearing retribution in His hand, damnation to the ungodly, a kingdom to the righteous, fellowship with the devil to the unrighteous, fellowship with Christ to the faithful. When I say He shall show this, when the righteous shall stand in great boldness, I speak from the Scriptures. You remember the lesson from the Book of Wisdom. Then shall the righteous stand in great boldness against them that have afflicted them. But they, repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit, shall say among themselves, What hath pride profited us?
Or what good hath the vaunting of riches done us? For all those things are passed away like a shadow. And what will they say of the righteous? How are they reckoned among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints? Then will the dedication of the house be, which is now being built in tribulation. Then will that people rightly say, I will exalt thee, O Lord, for thou hast taken me up, and hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me. These words then will be verified in the people of God, the people that now is in straightness. Now in tribulation with so great temptations, so great offenses, so great persecution, so great pressure. These torments of soul he doth not feel in the church, who maketh no progress, for he thinks all is peace.
But let him begin to make progress, and then he will see in what pressure he is. For when the blade had increased, and had brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. And he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. Let him make progress, and he will see where he is. Let there be fruit, and tares will appear. It is a true saying of the apostle, and cannot be destroyed from the beginning unto the end. Yea, and all, saith he, that will live godly in Christ suffer persecution. But malignant men and seducers wax worse and worse, themselves deceived and deceiving others. And whence are those words of the psalm, Wait on the Lord, quit thyself like a man, and let thine heart be strengthened.
Yea, wait on the Lord. It were not enough once, wait on the Lord, if it were not repeated. Unless, happily, he might wait two days, three days, four days. And therefore he added, And because it will be so from the beginning even to the end, what the sentence has in the beginning, the same it has at the end. Yea, wait on the Lord. These things which press upon thee will pass away. And he will come on whom thou waitest, and wipe away thy sweat. He will dry the tear, thou shalt weep no more. But now we must groan in tribulation, says Job saith. Is not man's life upon earth a trial? Nevertheless, brethren, before the day of the dedication of the house come, let us consider that our head hath already been dedicated.
Already hath the dedication of the house taken place in the head as the dedication of the foundation. The head is above, the foundation below. May we not perhaps have spoken amiss in saying that Christ is the foundation. He is rather the top. He hath ascended into heaven. He sitteth at the right hand of the Father. But I think we have made no mistake. For the Apostle hath said, For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, they who live godly, who honor and praise God, who are patient in tribulations, who long for their country, these build gold, silver, precious stones. But they who still love the things of this world, and are involved in earthly business, And are given up to certain bonds and affections of the flesh, to their homes, wives, possessions, and yet are Christians, so that their heart doth not withdraw from Christ, and that they place nothing before Christ, as in building nothing is placed before the foundation.
These indeed build wood, hay, stubble. But what hath he gone on to say? The fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. The fire of tribulation and of trial. This fire has tried many martyrs here, but in the end it trieth all the human race. Martyrs have been found who possessed these worldly goods. How many rich men and senators have suffered! Yet some of them did build wood, hay, stubble in their affection for carnal and worldly cares. But still, because they had Christ for a foundation upon which they built, the hay was burnt And they were left on the foundation. So saith the apostle, If any man's work abide, he shall receive a reward, and shall lose nothing. Because what he loved, this shall he find.
What then hath the fire of tribulation done for them? It hath tried them. If any man's work abide, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss. But he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. But it is one thing not to be injured by the fire, another thing to be saved through the fire. And whence? Because of the foundation. Let not then the foundation withdraw from thine heart. Lay not the foundation upon hay, that is, lay not hay before the foundation, that the hay should have the first place in thine heart, and Christ the second. But if now it must needs be that there be hay there, at least let Christ have the first place there, and the hay the second.
Christ, then, is the foundation. As I said, our head hath been dedicated. The head is itself the foundation. But a foundation is usually below, and a head above. May you, holy brethren, understand my words. Peradventure I shall explain this in the name of Christ. Weights are of two kinds, for a weight is a certain force in any substance, struggling, as it were, to gain its proper place. This is a weight. You carry a stone in your hand, you bear the pressure of its weight, it presses down your hand because it seeks its proper place. And would you know what it seeks? Withdraw your hand, it comes to the ground, it rests on the earth. It is arrived where it tended. It has found its proper place. That weight, therefore, was, as it were, spontaneous motion, without life, without sensation.
There are other things which seek their place upwards. For if you pour water upon oil, by its own weight it goes to the bottom. For it seeks its proper place. It seeks to be duly ordered. For water above oil is out of its order. Until it arrives, then, at its proper order, there is a restless motion till it occupies its proper place. On the other hand, let out oil under water, as, for instance, if a vessel of oil fall into water, into the deep, into the sea, and be broken, the oil does not rest below. As the water poured upon oil by its weight towards the bottom seeks its proper place, so oil Poured out under water by its weight seeks its proper place towards the top. If then this be so, brethren, whither does fire and water tend?
Fire is born upwards, it seeks its proper place, and water seeks its proper place by its own weight. Stone seeks the bottom, and the wood, and the pillars, and the earth wherewith these houses are built. They are then of that kind of substances which by their own weight Are born downwards. It is clear, then, that they receive their foundation down below, because they are by their own weight born downwards. And except there is something to sustain it, the whole falls, because the whole tends towards the earth. With things, then, that have a downward tendency, the foundation is laid below. But the Church of God which is laid below tendeth towards heaven. Our foundation therefore hath been laid there, even our Lord Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father.
If then ye have understood, holy brethren, how that our foundation hath been already dedicated, let us shortly listen to and run through the psalm. I will exalt thee, O Lord, for thou hast taken me up, and hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me. What enemies? The Jews? In the dedication of the foundation let us understand the very dedication of the future house. For what is now said in the person of the foundation will then be said in the person of the whole house. What enemies, then? The Jews? Or the devil and his angels, rather, who retired in confusion after the Lord's resurrection? The Prince of Death grieved at the victory over death. And thou hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me.
Because I could not be kept in hell. Verse 2. O Lord my God, I have cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. The Lord prayed in the mount before his Passion. He healed him. Healed whom? Him who was never sick? The Word God? The Word, the Divinity? No, but he bore the death of flesh. He bore thy wound, being about to heal thee of thy wound. And the flesh was healed. When? When he rose again. Listen to the apostle. See the true healing. Death, saith he, hath been swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O death, where is thy struggle? Therefore that exaltation will then be ours to declare. The exaltation now is Christ's. Verse 3. O Lord, Thou hast brought back my soul from hell. This needs no explanation.
Thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit. Who are they that go down into the pit? All sinners who sink into the deep. For the pit is the depth of this world. What is this depth of the world? The abounding of wantonness and wickedness. They, then, who immerse themselves in lusts and earthly desires, Go down into the pit. Such persecuted Christ! But what did he say? Thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit. Verse 4. Sing to the Lord, O ye saints of His. Since your head hath risen, all ye other members hope for that which ye see in the head. All ye other members hope for that which ye have believed in the head. It is a true and ancient proverb, where the head is There are the other members.
Christ hath ascended into heaven whither we are about to follow. He hath not remained in hell. He hath risen again. He dieth no more. When we too shall have risen again, we shall die no more. Having then these promises, sing to the Lord, O ye saints of His, and make confession of the remembrance of His holiness. What is make confession of the remembrance? For ye had forgotten him, but he hath not forgotten you. Verse 5. For in his indignation is wrath, and life in his will. Wrath in indignation against the sinner. In the day that ye shall eat, ye shall surely die. They touched, they died, having been dismissed from paradise. For in his indignation is wrath. But not without hope, for there is life in his will.
What is in his will? Not in our strength, not in our merits, but because he willed it he hath saved us, not because we were worthy. For of what is the sinner worthy but of punishment? He hath given life. And if he hath given life to the ungodly, what doth he reserve for the faithful? In the evening weeping will tarry. Fear not, for that he had said to us, Sing, and hear his groaning. In singing exaltation, in prayer groaning. Groan for things present, sing for things to come. Pray for what is here, sing for what is hoped. In the evening weeping will tarry. What is in the evening weeping will tarry? It is evening when the sun sets. The sun hath set on man, that is, that light of righteousness, the presence of God.
Hence, when Adam was expelled, what is said in the book of Genesis? When God walked in paradise, he walked in the evening. The sinner had now hid himself in the wood. He was unwilling to see the face of God, at which he had been wont to rejoice. The Son of Righteousness had said on him, he did not rejoice at the presence of God. Thence began all this mortal life. In the evening weeping will tarry. Ye will long be in weeping, race of man, for ye will be born of Adam, and so it has come to pass. We too are of Adam, and as many as have begotten children and shall beget them are of Adam, of whom they too themselves were born. In the evening weeping will tarry, and exultation in the morning, when that light shall have begun to rise on the faithful which had set on sinners.
For therefore too did the Lord Jesus Christ rise from the tomb in the morning, that what He hath dedicated in the foundation, the same He might promise to the house. In our Lord it was evening when He was buried, and morning when He rose again on the third day. Thou too wast buried in the evening in Paradise, and hast risen again on the third day. How on the third day? If thou consider the course of the world, there is one day before the law, Another under the law, a third under grace. What on that third day thy head showed, the same is on the third day of the world shown in thee. When? In the morning we must hope, we must rejoice, but now we must endure and groan. Verse 6. But I said in my abundance, I shall not be moved for ever.
In what abundance hath man said, I shall not be moved for ever. We understand, brethren, the character of man in his humiliation. Who hath abundance here? Not one. What is man's abundance? Care, calamity. But the rich have abundance? The more they have, the more they want. They are wasted by longings, torn by desires, racked by fears, waste away with sorrow. Where is their abundance? There was abundance when man was settled in Paradise, when nothing was wanting to him, when he enjoyed God, but he said, I shall not be moved forever. How did he say, I shall not be moved forever? When he heard with satisfaction the words, Eat, and ye shall be as gods, whereas God said, In the day that ye eat thereof ye shall surely die, and the devil ye shall not surely die.
In believing then him who thus persuaded him, he said, I shall not be moved for ever. But since the Lord had said truly that he would take away from the proud what he had given to the humble when he created him, the psalmist proceeds and says, O Lord, in thy will thou hast afforded strength unto my beauty, that is, since I was not good and strong of myself, but was both fair and strong of thee, To my beauty thou hadst afforded strength, of thine own will, wherewith thou hadst made me. And that thou mightest show me that I was this from thy will, thou turnest away thy face from me, and I became troubled. He turned away then his face from him whom he sent forth out of Paradise. Placed now here, let him cry out, and say, To thee, O Lord, will I cry, and to my God will I pray.
In Paradise thou didst not cry out, but didst praise. Thou didst not weep, but didst rejoice. Having been put without, weep now, and cry. He draweth nigh to him troubled, who deserted him when proud. For God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.
To thee, O Lord, will I cry, and unto my God will I pray. What follows now is in the person of the Lord. Of our foundation himself. Verse 9. What profit is there in my blood whilst I go down to corruption? What then doth he pray for? That he may rise again. For if I shall go down, saith he, to corruption, if my flesh shall be so corrupted as other men's, so as to rise at the last, to what purpose have I shed my blood? For if I rise not now, I shall show forth to none. I shall gain none. But that I may show forth to any thy marvels, thy praises, life eternal. Let my flesh rise again. Let it not go into corruption. For if it shall go so, as other men's, what profit is there in my blood? Shall dust confess unto thee, or show forth thy truth?
Confession is twofold, either of sin or of praise. When it is ill with us, Let us in tribulation confess our sins. When it is well with us, let us in the exaltation of righteousness confess praise unto God, but without confession let us never be. Verse 10. The Lord hath heard and had mercy on me. How? Remember the dedication of the house. He hath heard and had mercy. The Lord hath become my helper. Listen now to the resurrection itself. Verse 11. Thou hast turned my mourning into joy to me. Thou hast rent off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness. What is sackcloth? Mortality. Sackcloth is made of goats and kids, and goats and kids are set among sinners. The Lord took from our condition the sackcloth only.
He assumed not that of which sackcloth is the dessert. That of which sackcloth is the desert is sin, the sackcloth is mortality. For thee he assumed mortality who had no desert of death. For he hath desert of death who sins, but he who sinned not deserved not the sackcloth. In another place he himself saith, But when they troubled me, I clothed myself with haircloth. What is this, I clothed myself with haircloth? I opposed to my persecutors that which I have from the haircloth, that they might think him a man. He hid himself from the eyes of the persecutors, because the persecutors were not worthy to see him clothed with haircloth. Therefore thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.
Verse 12. That my glory should sing unto thee, and I should not be pricked. As it is in the head, so in the body. What is, I should not be pricked? I should die no more. For he was pricked when he hung on the cross, he was smitten with a spear. Our head therefore saith, that I should not be pricked, I should die no more. But we, what do we say because of the dedication of the house? That our conscience should not prick us with the goads of our sins. For all will be remitted, And we shall then be free. That my glory, saith he, should sing to thee, not my humiliation. If ours, Christ's too, for we are the body of Christ. How? Because although Christ sitteth in heaven, he will say to some, I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat.
He is both there and here, there in himself, here in us. What then doth he say? Now at the end, O Lord my God, I will confess unto thee forever. What is, I will confess unto thee forever? I will praise thee forever. For we have said that there is a confession in praises also, and not only in sins. Confess then now what thou hast done against God, and thou shalt confess what God shall have done to thee. What hast thou done? Sins. What hath God done? On confessing thine iniquity he remitteth thy sins, that afterwards confessing unto him his praises for ever thou shouldest not be pricked with sin.
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30 30 - Psalm 31: First Exposition and Sermon 1 1:06:02
Psalm 31, First Exposition and Sermon 1 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Gillian Hendry. Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo. Translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm 31. First Exposition.
To the end, a psalm of David himself, an ecstasy. To the end, a psalm of David himself, the mediator, strong of hand in persecutions. For the word ecstasy, which is added to the title, signifies a transport of the mind, which is produced either by a panic, or by some revelation. But in this psalm, the panic of the people of God, troubled by the persecution of all the heathen, and by the failing of faith throughout the world, is principally seen. But first the Mediator himself speaks. Then the people redeemed by his blood give thanks. At last, in trouble, it speaks at length, which is what belongs to the ecstasy. But the person of the prophet himself is twice interposed, near the end and at the end.
2. Verse 1. In thee, O Lord, have I trusted. Let me not be put to confusion forever.
In thee, O Lord, have I trusted. Let me never be confounded, whilst they shall insult me as one like other men.
In thy righteousness, rescue me, and deliver me.
And in thy righteousness, rescue me from the pit of death, and deliver me out of their company. 3.2. Bend down thine ear unto me.
Hear me in my humiliation, nigh at hand unto me. Make haste to deliver me. Defer not to the end of the world, as with all who believe on me, my separation from sinners.
Be unto me a God who protecteth me.
Be unto me God and protector. And a house of refuge, that thou mayest save me.
And as a house wherein taking refuge I may be saved. 4.3. For thou art my strength and my refuge. For thou art unto me my strength to bear my persecutors, and my refuge to escape them. And for thy name's sake thou shalt be my guide, and shalt nourish me.
And that by me thou mayest be known to all the Gentiles, I will in all things follow thy will. And by assembling by degrees saints unto me, Thou shalt fulfill my body, and my perfect stature. 5.4. Thou shalt bring me out of these snares, which they have hidden for me, for thou art my protector. 6.5. Into thy hands I commend my spirit.
To thy power I commend my spirit, soon to receive it back.
Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
Let the people too, redeemed by the passion of their Lord, and joyful in the glorifying of their head, say, Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. Seven, six, quote, though he is them that hold to vanity uselessly and quote, though he is them that hold to the false happiness of the world, quote, but I have trusted in the Lord and quote. Eight, verse seven, quote, I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy, and quote, which doth not deceive me, quote, For thou hast regarded my humiliation, wherein thou hast subjected me to vanity in hope. Thou hast saved my soul from necessities.
Thou hast saved my soul from the necessities of fear, that with a free love it may serve thee. 9. Verse 8. And hast not shut me up into the hands of the enemy, and hast not shut me up that I should have no opening for recovering unto liberty, and be given over forever into the power of the devil, ensnaring me with the desire of this life, and terrifying me with death. Thou hast set my feet in a large room. The resurrection of my Lord being known, and mine own being promised me, my love having been brought out of the straits of fear, walks abroad in continuance, into the expanse of liberty. 10.9. But what is this unlooked-for cruelty of the persecutors, striking such dread unto me? Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am now no more alarmed for death, but for torments and tortures.
Mine eye hath been disordered by anger. I had mine eye upon thee, that thou shouldst not abandon me. Thou art angry, and hast disordered it. My soul and my belly. By the same anger my soul hath been disturbed, and my memory, whereby I retained what my God hath suffered for me, and what he hath promised me. 11, verse 10, for my life hath failed in pain.
For my life is to confess thee, but it failed in pain, when the enemy had said, Let them be tortured until they deny him. And my years in groanings. The time that I pass in this world is not taken away from me by death, but abides, and is spent in groanings. My strength hath been weakened by want.
I want the health of this body, and racking pains come on me. I want the dissolution of the body, and death forbears to come. And in this want my confidence hath been weakened.
And my bones have been disturbed.
And my steadfastness hath been disturbed. 12, verse 11. I have been made a reproach above all mine enemies.
All the wicked are my enemies. And nevertheless they, for their wickedness, are tortured only till they confess. I then have overpassed their reproach. I, whose confession death doth not follow, but racking pains follow upon it.
And to my neighbors too much.
This hath seemed too much to them who were already drawing near to know thee, and to hold the faith that I hold.
And a fear to mine acquaintance.
And into my very acquaintance I struck fear by the example of my dreadful tribulation.
They that did see me fled without from me.
Because they did not understand my inward and invisible hope, they fled from me into things outward and visible.
Verse 12. I have been forgotten as one dead from the heart, and they have forgotten me as if I were dead from their hearts.
I have become as a lost vessel.
I have seemed to myself to be lost to all the Lord's service, living in this world and gaining none. When all were afraid to join themselves unto me. 14. Verse 13. For I have heard the rebuking of many dwelling by in a circuit. For I have heard many rebuking me in the pilgrimage of this world near me, following the circuit of time, and refusing to return with me to the eternal country. Whilst they were assembling themselves together against me, they conspired that they might take my soul.
That my soul, which should by death easily escape from their power, might consent unto them, they imagined a device whereby they would not suffer me even to die. 15 verse 14. But I have hoped in thee, O Lord. I have said, Thou art my God.
For thou hast not changed, that thou shouldst not save who dost correct. 16, verse 15. In thy hands are my lots.
In thy power are my lots. For I see no desert for which out of the universal ungodliness of the human race thou hast elected me particularly to salvation. And though there be with thee some just and secret order in my election, yet I, from whom this is hid, have attained by lot unto my Lord's vesture. John chapter 19 verse 24. Deliver me from the hands of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. 17 verse 16. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant.
Make it known to men who do not think that I belong unto thee that thy face is bent upon me, and that I serve thee.
Save me in thy mercy. 18, verse 17. O Lord, let me not be confounded, for I have called upon thee.
O Lord, let me not be put to shame by those who insult me, for that I have called upon thee.
Let the ungodly be ashamed, and be brought down to hell.
Let them rather who call upon stones be ashamed, and made to dwell with darkness. Let the deceitful lips be made dumb. End quote. In making known to the peoples thy mysteries wrought in me, strike with dumb amazement the lips of them that invent falsehood of me. Quote. Which speak iniquity against the righteous in pride and contempt. End quote. Which speak iniquity against Christ in their pride and contempt of him as a crucified man. Twenty. Verse 19. Here the prophet exclaims, having sight of all this, and admiring how manifoldly plenteous is thy sweetness, O Lord.
which thou hast hid for them that fear thee.
Even those whom thou correctest thou lovest much. But lest they should go on negligently from relaxed security, thou hidest from them the sweetness of thy love, for whom it is profitable to fear thee. But thou hast perfected this sweetness for them that hope in thee, for thou dost not withdraw from them what they look for perseveringly. Even unto the end.
In sight of the sons of men.
For it does not escape the notice of the sons of men, who now live no more after Adam, but after the Son of Man.
Thou wilt hide them in the hidden place of thy countenance.
Which seat thou shalt preserve for everlasting in the hidden place of the knowledge of thee. For them that hope in thee.
From the troubling of men.
So that now they suffer no more trouble from men. 21 verse 20. Thou wilt protect them in thy tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues.
But here, meanwhile, whilst evil tongues murmur against them, saying, Who hath known this? or, Who hath come thence? Thou wilt protect them in the tabernacle, that of faith in those things which the Lord wrought and endured for us in time. 22, verse 21. Blessed be the Lord, for he hath made his mercy marvelous in the city of his compassing.
Blessed be the Lord, for after the correction of the sharpest persecutions, He hath made his mercy marvellous to all throughout the world, in the circuit of human society. 23 verse 22. I said in my ecstasy, Whence that people again speaking saith, I said in my fear, when the heathen were raging horribly against me, I have been cast forth from the sight of thine eyes. For if thou hast regard to me, thou wouldst not suffer me to endure these things. Therefore thou heardest, O Lord, the voice of my prayer, when I cried unto thee.
Therefore putting a limit to correction, and showing that I have part in thy care, thou heardest, O Lord, the voice of my prayer, when I raised it high out of tribulation. Note high. Nymus. 24, verse 23. Love the Lord, all ye his saints.
The prophet again exhorts, having sight of these things, and saith, Love the Lord, all ye his saints, for the Lord will require truth, since if the righteous shall scarcely be saved, Where shall the sinner and the ungodly appear? 1 Peter 4, verse 18. And he will repay them that do exceeding proudly.
And he will repay them who even when conquered are not converted, because they are very proud. 25, verse 24. Quit you like men. And let your heart be strengthened.
Working good without fainting, that ye may reap in due season. All ye who trust in the Lord. That is, ye who duly fear and worship Him, trust ye in the Lord.
Psalm 31, Second Exposition, Sermon 1. Let us investigate as we best can the hidden things of this psalm which we have just sung, and let us offer to your ears and minds a discourse framed upon it. Its title is, To the End, A Psalm of David Himself, An Ecstasy. What to the end is, we know, if we know Christ. For the apostle saith, For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. End quote. Romans chapter 10 verse 4. An end not consuming, but a perfecting. For we use the word end in a double sense, either as that by which it is brought to pass that what was is not, or by which it is brought to pass that what had been commenced is perfected. To the end, therefore, is to Christ.
Two. A psalm to David. An ecstasy. The word ecstasy is Greek. In Latin, as far as we can understand it, it may be expressed in one word if it be called a transport, excessus. For a transport of the mind is properly and usually called an ecstasy. Now, by transport of the mind, two things are understood, either a panic or a straining after things above, so that, in some sort, things below glide from the memory. In such an ecstasy have all the saints been, to whom the secrets of God exceeding this world have been revealed. Of this transport of the mind, that is, ecstasy, when Paul spake, alluding to himself, he says, For whether we be transported in mind, it is to God. Or whether we temper ourselves, it is to you.
For the love of Christ constraineth us. 2 Corinthians 5, verses 13 and 14. That is, if we would only do such things and only contemplate such things as we behold in a transport of the mind, we should not be with you, but should be in things above. As it were, despising you. And how should you, with weak step, follow us to those more lofty and interior things, unless, again, the love of Christ constraining us, quote, who, when he was in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, end quote. Philippians chapter two, verses six and seven. We should consider that we are servants, and being not ungrateful to him from whom we have received higher things, should for their sakes, who are weak, not despise lower things, and should attemper ourselves to them who cannot with us see things sublime.
Therefore it is, he says, whether we be transported in mind, it is to God, for he seeth what we see in a transport of the mind. He only revealeth his secret things. For he speaks thus, who says that he was caught up and carried away into the third heaven, and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Yea, such was his transport of mind, that he said, "...whether in the body or whether out of the body, I know not, God knoweth." 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Therefore, if the title of this psalm signifies this transport of the mind, that is, this ecstasy, we ought indeed to look that he will give utterance to things great and lofty who composed the psalm, that is, the prophet, yea rather the Holy Ghost by the prophet.
But if this ecstasy is to be understood as panic, The context of the psalm will not be wanting to this signification of the word either, for he seems to be about to speak of suffering, in which there is panic. But whose panic? Christ's, in that he said, to the end, and we understand Christ to be the end? Or peradventure, our panic? For what can we rightly understand panic to be in Christ? On the approach of suffering, who had come on account of it? When he had come to that for which he had come, had he panic at the prospect of death? If he were so entirely man as not to be God, he would more rejoice at the prospect of the resurrection than have panic at the prospect of death. Nevertheless, since he vouchsafed to assume the form of a servant, And therein to clothe us with himself, he who disdained not to assume us unto himself, did not disdain to transfigure us into himself, and to speak with our words, that we too might speak with his words.
For this wonderful interchange hath taken place, and a divine traffic hath been transacted, an exchange of things duly solemnized in this world by the heavenly merchant. He came to receive reproaches, to give honors. He came to drink the cup of sorrow, to give salvation. He came to submit to death, to give life. Being then about to die from that which he had of ours, he was in panic not in himself, but in us. Since, too, he both said this, That his soul was sorrowful, even unto death. Matthew chapter 26, verse 38. And all we ourselves, of course, with him. For without him we are nothing, but in him is Christ himself and we. How? Because whole Christ is head and body, the head, that saviour of the body, who hath already ascended into heaven.
But the body is the church, which toils on earth. Now, unless this body did cleave to its head in the bond of love, so as for there to be made one of the head and the body, he could not say in reproving from heaven a certain persecutor, quote, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? End quote. Acts chapter 9 verse 4. Since no man was touching him now sitting in heaven, how did Saul, by his violence against Christians on earth, any way inflict injury upon him? He does not say, Why persecutest thou my saints or my servants? But, Why persecutest thou me, that is, my members? The head cried out for the members. And the head transfigured the members into himself, for the tongue takes up the utterance of the foot.
When by chance the foot, bruised in the crowd, is in pain, the tongue cries out, You are treading upon me! For it does not say, You are treading on my foot, but it says that it is itself being trod upon, when no one touched it. But the foot which has been trod upon, For what shall I say, brethren? If there were absolutely no panic in those that are about to suffer, would that he said to Peter himself, which we heard on the Apostle's birthday when the Lord predicted to him his future suffering, End quote.
John chapter 21, verses 18 and 19. If, therefore, the apostle Peter, of so great perfection, went unwillingly whether he would not. He died unwillingly, but was crowned willingly. What wonder if there be some panic in the suffering even of the righteous, even of saints. Panic comes from human weakness, hope from divine promise. That for which thou feelest panic is thine own. What thou hopest is the gift of God in thee. And it is better thou dost acknowledge thyself in thy panic, That, in thy deliverance, thou mayest glorify him who made thee. Let human weakness be panic-struck. Divine mercy faileth not in that fear. In fine, this panic-struck one begins with this. Verse 1. In thee, O Lord, have I hoped.
Let me not be confounded forever.
You see that he both is panic-struck and hopes. You see that this panic is not without hope. Even though there be some disturbance in the human heart, divine consolation withdraws not. Four. Here, then, Christ speaketh in the prophet. I venture to say, Christ speaketh. The psalmist will say some things in this psalm which may seem as if they could not apply to Christ, to that excellency of our head. And especially to that word which was in the beginning with God. John chapter one, verse one. Nor perhaps will some things here seem to apply to him in the form of a servant, which form of a servant he took from the Virgin. And yet Christ speaketh, because Christ in Christ's members. And that ye may know that the head and his body are called one Christ.
He saith himself, when he was speaking of marriage, "...they shall be two in one flesh, therefore they are no more two but one flesh." Genesis 2, verse 24. Mark 10, verse 8. But, peradventure, he may say this of any marriage. Hear the Apostle Paul, "...and they shall be two, saith he, in one flesh." This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.
Ephesians chapter 5 verses 31 and 32. There is produced, then, as it were out of two, one certain person, of the head and the body, of the bridegroom and the bride. For the wonderful and excellent unity of this person the prophet Isaiah also sets forth. For speaking in him too, Christ saith in prophecy, He hath bound a mitre on me, as on a bridegroom the chaplet, and adorned me with ornaments as a bride.
Isaiah chapter 61 verse 10. He called himself the bridegroom and the bride. Why called he himself the bridegroom and the bride? Unless because they shall be two in one flesh. If two in one flesh, why not two in one voice? Christ may therefore speak because the church speaks in Christ, and Christ in the church, and the body in the head, and the head in the body. Here the apostle expressing this very thing more clearly. For as the body is one, End quote. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 12. Speaking of the members of Christ, that is, of the faithful, he doth not say, so also are the members of Christ, but to all that he hath expressed he gave the name of Christ. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ, many members, one body.
Therefore we are all together with our head, Christ, without our head, nothing worth. Why? Because with our head we are the vine, without our head, which God forbid, lopped branches. Destined to no work of the husbandman, but to the fire only. So he himself in the gospel, quote, I am the vine, ye are the branches, my father is the husbandman, and without me, saith he, ye can do nothing, end quote. John chapter 15, verse 5 and verse 1. O Lord, if without thee nothing, in thee all. For whatsoever he worketh by us, we seem to work. He can do much and all without us, we without him nothing. 5. Therefore, in whatever ecstasy he speaketh, whether in panic or transport of the mind, what is said is suitable.
Let us speak in the body of Christ. Let us all speak as one, for that all are oneness. Let us say, quote, In thee, O Lord, have I trusted. Let me not be confounded for ever, end quote. That confusion do I dread, saith he, which is for ever. For there is a certain confusion for a time which is useful, the disturbance of a mind looking back on its sins, amazed at the looking back, in its amazement ashamed, in its shame reforming. Whence too the apostle saith, Therefore he saith, that they now faithful are ashamed, not of present gifts, but of past sins. Let not the Christian dread this confusion, yea rather, if he have not this. He will have everlasting confusion. What is everlasting confusion?
When that shall happen, which is said, quote, and their iniquities shall take them over on the contrary part, end quote. Wisdom chapter four, verse 20. And as their iniquities take them over on the contrary part, all the bad flock shall go to the left hand as goats separated from the sheep. And they shall hear, quote, Go ye into the fire everlasting, which hath been prepared for the devil and his angels. End quote. Matthew chapter 25 verse 41. They ask why? Quote, For I was unhungered, and ye gave me no meat. End quote. Matthew chapter 25 verse 42. They despised then when they gave no meat to Christ as he hungered, when they gave no drink to the thirsty, when they clothed not the naked, took not in the stranger, visited not the sick.
Then they despised. When these things shall begin to be enumerated to them, they will be confounded, and this confusion will be for ever. And in fear of this, He who is afraid, or whose mind is transported toward God, maketh this request. Quote, In thee, O Lord, have I trusted. Let me not be confounded forever. End quote. Six. Quote, And in thy righteousness rescue me, and deliver me. End quote. For if thou lookest to my righteousness, thou condemnest me. Quote, "...in thy righteousness rescue me." End quote. For there is a righteousness of God which becomes ours too when it is given to us. Now it is therefore called God's righteousness, that man may not deem that he hath righteousness of himself.
For thus the apostle Paul saith, quote, "...to him that believeth on him who justifieth the ungodly." What is who justifieth the ungodly? Who of ungodly maketh a man righteous? His faith is counted for righteousness.
But the Jews, because they thought that they could by their own strength fulfill righteousness, stumbled at the stumbling stone and rock of offense, and did not acknowledge the grace of Christ. Romans chapter 9 verse 33. For they received a law whereby they could be made guilty, but could not be freed from guilt. In fine, what saith the apostle of them? For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Romans chapter 10 verses 2 and 3. What is what he says? The Jews have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Hear what not according to knowledge is. For they being ignorant of the righteousness of God, End quote.
If then, for this reason, they have not a zeal of God according to knowledge, Because they are ignorant of God's righteousness, and wish to establish their own as if they were made righteous of themselves. For this reason have they not come to know the grace of God, because they would not be saved freely. Who is he that is saved freely? In whom the Saviour findeth not what to crown, but what to condemn, findeth not deserts of good things, But findeth deserts of punishment. If he deal as it were strictly according to the rule of the law laid down, the sinner must be condemned. If he were to act by this rule, whom would he deliver? He found all men sinners. He alone came without sin, who found us sinners.
So saith the apostle, quote, for all have sinned and are in need of the glory of God. Romans 3.23 What means are in need of the glory of God? That he should himself deliver, and not thou. Because thou canst not deliver thy Thou needest a deliverer. Wherein dost thou vaunt thyself? Wherein dost thou rely on the law and on righteousness? Seest thou not what is inwardly struggling in thee, of thee? Hears thou not one fighting and confessing and longing for help in the fight? Hears thou not the Lord's combatant asking of the disposer of the contest help in his fight? For God doth not so look on at thy struggles as the exhibitor of the games looks on, if so be, thou fightest in the amphitheatre. He can give thee a prize if victorious.
He cannot help thee in danger. Not so doth God look on. Look there. Mark him that saith, For I delight in the law of God after the inward man, but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and leading me captive in the law of sin, which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans chapter 7 verses 22 to 25. Why grace? Because it is given gratuitously. Why is it given gratuitously? Because thy merits have not gone before, but the kindnesses of God have prevented thee. Glory then be to him who delivereth us. For all have sinned, and are in need of the glory of God. Romans chapter 3 verse 23. In thee then, O Lord, have I trusted, not in myself. Let me not be confounded for ever, because I trust in him who confoundeth not.
In thy righteousness rescue me, and deliver me.
Since thou hast not found in me my own righteousness, rescue me in thine. That is, let that rescue me which justifieth me, which maketh me of ungodly, godly, of unrighteous, righteous, of blind, seeing, of falling, rising, of weeping, rejoicing. This delivereth me. Not I myself. In thy righteousness rescue me, and deliver me. 7. Verse 2. Bend down thine ear unto me.
God did this when he sent Christ himself unto us. He sent him to us who Bending his head, wrote with his finger on the earth when the adulterous woman was brought before him to be punished.
But he had before bent himself to the earth, that is, God to man, to whom it was said, Earth thou art, and unto earth thou shalt go. Genesis 3, verse 19. For God, Doth not bend his ear to us as if in bodily space, nor is he bounded by these circumscribed bodily members. Nay, let not human fancies form any such notions as these. God is truth. Truth is neither square, nor round, nor long. It is everywhere present, if the eye of the heart be open to it. Nevertheless... God bendeth his ear to us, letting down mercy upon us. What greater mercy than that he should give us his only one, not to live with us, but to die for us? Quote, bend down thine ear unto me, end quote. Eight, quote, make haste to deliver me, end quote.
For he is heard in this when he saith, Make haste. For for this purpose this word was used, that thou mayest understand how that all this age, which seems to us while it is passing long, is but a moment. That is not long, which hath an end. The period from Adam to this day is past, and much more in truth hath been past already than remains to be past. If Adam were still living, and should die today, what would it profit him to have been so long, to have lived so long? Why, then, this haste? Because time flies by, and what is slow to thee is in God's sight short. This haste he had already understood in ecstasy. Quote, Make haste to deliver me. Be unto me a God who protecteth me, and a house of refuge, that thou mayest save me.
Be thou unto me a house of refuge, a God who protecteth a house of refuge. For sometimes I am in peril, and I would fly. Whither do I fly? To what place fly safely? To what hill? To what cave? To what guarded shelter? What castle can I hold, with what walls be encompassed? Whithersoever I go, I accompany myself. For, O man, whatsoever thou wilt, thou canst fly, except thy conscience. Enter into thy house, rest on thy bed, enter the inner chambers. Thou canst have no place within, whither thou mayest fly from thy conscience, if thy sins torment thee. But because he hath said, Make haste to deliver me, and rescue me in thy righteousness, that thou mayest remit my sins, and build up thy righteousness in me, thou shalt be to me a house of refuge, to thee do I fly.
For whither shall I fly from thee? God is angry with thee, whither wilt thou fly? Hear what, in fear of the anger of God, He saith in another psalm, Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I fly from thy presence? If I climb up into heaven, thou art there. If I go down into hell, thou art present. Whithersoever I go, there I find thee. And if thou art angry, I find thee an avenger. If thou art propitious, a helper, nothing then remains for me but to fly unto thee, not from thee. If thou art a servant, to escape a human master, thou flyest to places where thy master is not. To escape God, fly to the Lord. For there is no place whither thou mayest fly from God. All things are present and naked to the eyes of the Almighty.
Be thou then to me, saith he, a house of refuge. For if I shall not be made whole, how shall I fly? Make me whole, and I fly to thee. For if thou dost not make me whole, I cannot walk. How shall I be able to fly? Whither should he go, whither fly? If he be unable to walk, half dead in the way, maimed and wounded by robbers, whom the priest going by passed over, the Levite going by passed over, the Samaritan going by pitied, that is, the Lord himself, who hath pitied the race of man. For Samurite is by interpretation keeper. And who keepeth us if he deserteth us? With good reason, when the Jews said, railing at him, Say we not truly that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? John, chapter eight, verse 48.
He rejected the one, accepted the other, saying, quote, I have not a devil, end quote. John chapter eight, verse 49. He did not say, I am not a Samaritan. Wishing it to be understood that he is our keeper. In pity then he drew nigh, he took care of him, brought him to an inn, fulfilled his mercy towards him. Now he is able to walk, he is able even to fly. Whither should he fly but to God, where he hath made for himself a house of refuge?
Nine, verse three. Quote. For thou art my strength and my refuge, and for thy name's sake thou shalt be my guide, and shalt nourish me.
Not for my merit's sake, but for thy name's sake, that thou mayest be glorified, not because I am worthy. Thou shalt be my guide, that I go not astray from thee, and thou shalt nourish me. that I may be strong to eat the food wherewith thou feedest angels. For here hath he nourished us with milk, who hath promised us heavenly food, and hath exercised a mother's pity. For as a mother, when suckling, conveys through the flesh the same food which the infant is not able to take, and infuses milk, for the little one receives the same as he would receive at table. But what is conveyed through the flesh is suited to the little one. So the Lord, that he might make his wisdom milk to us, came to us clothed with flesh.
Hence the body of Christ speaketh, Thou shalt nourish me. 10. Thou shalt bring me out of this trap which they have hidden for me.
Now is suffering intimated. Thou shalt bring me out of this trap which they have hidden for me. Nor is it that suffering only wherewith our Lord Jesus Christ suffered. The devil hath spread his trap even unto the end, and woe to that man that falleth into it. Now every one doth fall who trusteth not in God, who saith not, In thee, O Lord, have I trusted. Let me not be confounded for ever, and in thy righteousness rescue me and deliver me. The trap of the enemy hath been spread and prepared. He hath baited the trap with error and terror. Error to entice with, terror to crush and hurry away. Shut thou the door of desire against error. Shut the door of fear against terror. And thou shalt be led out of the trap.
Of this kind of fight, thy captain himself, who for thy sake vouchsafed even to be tempted, hath given thee an example in himself. And he was first tempted with enticements, for the door of desire was tempted in him when the devil tempted him, saying, Command these stones, that they be made bread. Worship me, and I will give thee these kingdoms. Cast thyself down, for it hath been written, He hath given his angels charge over thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Matthew Chapter Four, verse Three and following. Look, chapter four, verse three and following. All this enticement tempts desire. But when he found the door of desire shut in him who was tempted for us, He betook himself to tempting the door of fear, and prepared suffering for him.
In a word, the evangelist speaketh thus, quote, and the temptation being ended, the devil departed from him for a season, end quote. Luke chapter four, verse 13. What is for a season? As if he would return and tempt the gate of fear, because he found the gate of desire closed. The whole body, then, of Christ is tempted even unto the end. My brethren, when some evil or other was enjoined against the Christians, this body was attacked together, the whole was attacked. Hence it was said in the psalm, quote, As a heap of sand I was shaken that I might fall, and the Lord held me up, end quote. Psalm 118, verse 13. But when these things were over, which attacked the whole body, that it might fall, temptation began in its separate parts.
The body of Christ is tempted part by part. So Oxford manuscripts.
One church does not suffer persecution, another does. It suffers not the rage of the emperor, but the rage of an evil people. How great devastations from the populace! How great evils have been heaped upon the church by bad Christians, by those who, having been taken in that net, have so multiplied as to weigh down the ships in that fishing of the Lord before the Passion. Luke 5, verse 7. There is no want, then, of the weighing down of temptation. Let no one say to himself, It is not a time of temptation. Whoso saith this to himself, Let the whole body of Christ then say, verse 4, "...thou wilt bring me out of this trap, which they have hidden for me."
Because our head even hath been brought out of the trap which they hid for him, to whom it was just now said in the Gospel that they would say, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.
And on being questioned, They pronounced sentence against themselves. He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen. What, and have ye never read? The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. For what is here, the builders rejected, is expressed in the gospel, quote, they cast out of the vineyard and slew, end quote. He too then hath been delivered. Our head is above, is free. Let us cleave to him by love. That we may be hereafter the better united to him by immortality. And let us say all, quote, thou wilt take me out of that trap which they have hidden for me, for thou art my protector, end quote. 11. Let us listen to the words of the Lord which he spake on the cross, quote, into thy hands I commend my spirit, end quote.
At least when we meet in the Gospel with his words from this psalm, let us not doubt that he himself hath spoken here. We have this in the Gospel. He said, verse 5, "...into thy hands I commend my spirit." And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. Luke 23, 46. John 19, 30. It was not without a cause that he would have the words of this psalm to be his own words, but only that he might warn you that he hath spoken in this psalm. Seek him here. Consider how he wished to be sought for in that psalm. Quote, For the taking up of the morning, they pierced my hands and my feet. They numbered distinctly all my bones. Yea, they regarded and beheld me. They divided my garments for themselves, and cast the lot upon my vesture.
Psalm 22, verses 16, 17, and 18. That he might warn thee that this was fulfilled in himself, he placed in his mouth the heading of this very psalm. O God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Psalm 22, verse 1. And yet he transferred in a figure the voice of his body unto himself, for the father never at any time forsook his only son. Quote, Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. End quote. Doing what thou hast promised, not failing in thy promise, O God of truth. Twelve, verse six. Quote, Thou hatest them that hold to vanity uselessly. End quote. Who holds to vanity? He that by fear of death dieth. For by fear of death he lieth, and dieth before he dies, who therefore lied, that he might live.
Thou wouldst lie, that thou mayest not die. Thou both liest and diest. And whereas thou shunnest one death, which thou canst put off, but canst not put away. Thou fallest into two, so as that thou diest first in soul, and afterwards in body. Whence is this but from holding to vanity? Because the passing day is sweet to thee, because the flying seasons, of which thou retainest nothing, and art moreover thyself retained, are sweet to thee. Quote, thou hatest them that hold to vanity uselessly. End quote. But I, who do not hold to vanity, have trusted in the Lord. Thou trustest in money, thou holdest by vanity. Thou trustest in honor and in some eminence of human power, thou holdest to vanity. Thou trustest in some powerful friend, thou holdest to vanity.
When thou trustest in all these things, either thou diest and leavest them here, Or, in thy lifetime, they all perish, and thou failest in thy trust. Of this vanity Isaiah maketh mention when he saith, All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof is as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth, but the word of the Lord abideth forever. Isaiah chapter 40, verses 6 to 8. But I am not as they who trust in vanity and do hold to vanity, but have trusted in the Lord, who is not vanity. 13.7. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy, not in mine own righteousness. For thou hast regarded my humiliation, thou hast saved my soul from necessities. And hast not shut me up into the hands of the enemy.
What are the necessities from which we wish our soul to be saved? Who can number them? Who duly amplify them? Who fitly set them forth to be shunned and avoided? First, it is a hard necessity in the human race not to know another's heart, to think ill frequently of a faithful friend. To think well frequently of a faithless friend. O hard necessity! And what canst thou do to look into hearts? What I apply, O weak and lamentable mortality? What canst thou do to see to-day thy brother's heart? Thou hast nothing thou canst do. There is another greater necessity. Thou seest not even thine own, how it will be to-morrow. What shall I now say of the necessities of mortality itself? Death is inevitable, and no man wishes it.
No man wishes what is inevitable. No man wishes that which will be, whether he will or no. Hard necessity not to wish that which cannot be shunned. For if it were possible, we should be unwilling, doubtless to die, and should wish to be made as angels. But by some transformation, not by death. As the apostle saith, We have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, if so be that we be found clothed and not naked. For we who are in this habitation do groan, being burdened. wherein we would not be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality may be swallowed up of life. Second Corinthians, chapter five, verses one to four.
We wish to attain unto the kingdom of God, but we do not wish it through death. And yet necessity saith unto thee, This way shalt thou come. Dost thou hesitate, O man, to come this way? When God hath come this way to thee, what again are the necessities in conquering most inveterate lusts and evil habits, the growth of years? To conquer habit, you know, is a hard battle. Thou seest how evil are thy deeds, how detestable, how unhappy, and yet thou doest the same. Thou didst so yesterday, thou wilt do so today. If they are thus displeasing to thee whilst I am speaking, how do they displease thee when thou thinkest on them? And yet thou wilt do the same. By what art thou hurried along? Who drags thee captive?
Is it that law in thy members, worrying against the law of thy mind? Cry out then, quote, Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans chapter 7 verse 24 and 25. And so that is fulfilled in thee, which we just now said. But I have trusted in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy, for thou hast regarded my humiliation. Thou hast saved my soul from necessities.
For how hath thy soul been saved from necessities, but because thy humiliation hath been regarded? Unless thou wert first humbled, he would not hear thee, who should deliver thee from necessities. He was humbled, who said, Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? They were not humbled, who, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and wishing to establish their own, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. Romans chapter 10, verse 3. 14, verse 8. And thou hast not shut me up into the hands of the enemy.
Not thy neighbor, not thy partner, not him with whom thou hast been on service and injured him, Or it may be, in thine own city hast done wrong to, for these are such as we ought to pray for. We have another enemy, the devil, the old serpent. We all at death, if we die well, are delivered out of his hands. For whoever die ill in their iniquities are shut up into his hands, that they should be condemned with him at the end. The Lord our God then delivereth us from the hand of our enemy, for he wishes to catch us by our lusts. Now our lusts, when they are strong and when we serve them, are called necessities. But when God delivereth our soul from our necessities, what shall there be which the enemy can lay hold of in us, that we should be shut up into his hands?
Thou hast set my feet in a large room.
But yet the way is narrow. It is narrow to the toiling, broad to the loving. The same way which is narrow is made broad. In a large room, saith he, thou hast set my foot, that my feet straightened for room should not knock against each other, and by such knocking throw me down. What then doth he mean by saying, Thou hast set my feet in a large room. Thou hast plainly made righteousness easy to me, which once was difficult to me. This is, thou hast set my feet in a large room. 16, verse 9. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am troubled. Mine eye hath been disordered by anger, my soul and my belly. For my life hath failed in pain, and my years in groanings."
Let this suffice you, dearly beloved. With the help of the Lord, we will perhaps fulfil our engagement. That this psalm ended, we may proceed on our way.
Footnote. We may see from this that the first and the two following discourses on Psalm 30 31. Were delivered in a strange place, not in the church of Hippo. End footnote.
End of Psalm 31. First Exposition and Sermon 1.
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31 31 - Psalm 31: Sermon 2 41:20
Psalm 31, Sermon 2 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms.
Translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm 31. Sermon 2. 1. Let our attention turn again to the rest of the psalm, and let us recognize ourselves in the words of the prophet. For if we look into ourselves in the time of tribulation, we shall rejoice in the time of retribution. I set forth to you, dearly beloved, when I was expounding the first part of this psalm, that it is Christ who speaketh. And I did not omit to say how that Christ is to be taken, wholly, with the head and the body. I established this also by testimonies of Scripture, as it appeared to me adequate enough and clear, so that it could not in any wise be doubted that Christ is head and body, bridegroom and bride, the Son of God and the Church, the Son of God made Son of man for our sakes.
That he might make the sons of men sons of God. And so there might be two in one flesh in a great mystery, who are recognized in the prophets as two in one voice. The thanksgiving of the psalmist himself hath been expressed above in the words, quote, Thou hast regarded my humiliation, thou hast saved my soul from necessities, and hast not shut me up into the hands of the enemy. Thou hast set my feet in a large room.
It is the thanksgiving of man delivered from tribulation, of Christ's members delivered from affliction and snares. And again he saith, Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am troubled.
In tribulation, of course, there is straightness. How, then, thou hast set my feet in a large room? If he be still troubled, how are his feet in a large room? Is it haply so that there is one voice, because there is indeed one body, but in some of the members thereof largeness is felt, in others straightness? That is, some feel the easiness of righteousness, others are distressed in tribulation. For if the condition of different members was not different, The apostle would not say, quote, If one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, and if one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it, end quote. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 26. Some churches, for instance, have peace, some are in tribulation.
In such as have peace, the feet are in a large room, such as are in tribulation. Suffers straightness. But both the tribulation of the latter saddens the former, and the peace of the former comforts the latter. For the body is in such wise one that there is no schism. Now nothing maketh schism but dissension. But charity produceth closeness. Closeness embraceth unity. Unity preserveth charity. Charity attaineth to glory. Let her say then in the person of some members, Verse 9, Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am troubled. Mine eye hath been disturbed by anger, my soul and my belly. Two. We ask, Whence comes this trouble? Since a little before he seemed to rejoice in his deliverance, through a certain righteousness poured in upon him bountifully by the gift of God.
And room thereby made for his feet in the expanse of charity. Whence, then, is this trouble also, unless, peradventure, from that which the Lord saith, because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Matthew Chapter 24, verse 12. For when at first the fewness of the saints had been set forth by the casting, as it were, of the net, The church was multiplied, and countless numbers were taken, of whom it had been foretold, I declared and spake, they were multiplied out of number, and some 40 verse 5. Who were even to overload the ships and break the nets, as it was recorded in that first fishing before the Lord's Passion. Out of these multitudes, then, are those numbers swelled by whom the churches throughout Easter are so crammed that the confined space of the walls cannot contain the crowds of them.
Now how should he not be troubled for this multitude, when he seeth those very same filling the theatres and amphitheatres, who a little before filled the churches, those very same in their iniquities, who were a little before in the praises of God? Those very same blaspheming God who were answering Amen unto God. Let him abide, let him endure, let him not fail even in the abounding multitude of the wicked, because neither does the grain of corn fail in the multitude of the chaff until that after the time of fanning he be sent into the barn, and there be in the company of the saints, and suffer nothing from the clouds of dust. Let him then endure to the end, because the Lord too, when he had said, "...because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold," lest through this that abundance of iniquity is foreannounced, our feet should slip and stumble.
Immediately added, for the encouragement and consolation and confirmation of the faithful, saying, "...he that shall persevere unto the end." The same shall be saved. 3. Give heed accordingly to the psalmist, situated, as it appears to me, in this trouble, when, as being in trouble, he ought, as it were, to grieve, for trouble hath a suitable partner in grief. He declares that he is angry in trouble, and saith, Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble. Mine eye hath been disordered by anger.
If thou art in trouble, why art thou angry? He is angry for others' sins. Who would not be angry seeing men confessing God with their mouths, and in their lives denying Him? Who would not be angry seeing men renouncing the world in word, and not in deed? Who would not be angry, seeing brethren plotting against brethren, not keeping good faith with the kiss which they imprint in the sacraments of God? And who can enumerate all the things at which the body of Christ is angry, which liveth interiorly by the Spirit of Christ, which groaneth as the grain among the chaff? For they scarcely appear who thus groan, who are thus angry. As the grain scarcely appears when the floor is being threshed, he who knows not how many ears have been gathered in thinks the whole chaff.
And out of this, which is all thought to be chaff, a large heap will be cleansed. Among these, then, who do not appear and who groan, he is angry who saith in another place, quote, the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up, end quote. Psalm 69, verse 9. He saith, too, in another place, when he seeth many doing evil, "...weariness possessed me, at sinners forsaking thy law." Psalm 119, verse 53. He saith again in another place, "...I saw the senseless, and I wasted away." Psalm 119, verse 158. 4. But for this anger there is cause for fear, lest it be so great as to be turned into hatred. For anger is not yet hatred. For thou art angry with thy son, thou dost not hate the child. Thou art keeping his inheritance for him, who is sensible of thine anger.
And therefore thou art angry, lest he lose what thou mayest have kept for him, should he turn out ill by depraved habits. Anger, then, is not yet hatred. We do not yet hate them with whom we are angry. But if this anger abide and be not quickly plucked out, it increases and becomes hatred. Therefore that new-born anger be plucked out and turn not into hatred, Scripture thus teacheth us, saying, Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Ephesians 4, verse 26. Now thou dost sometimes meet with a brother cherishing hatred, and he reproves one who is angry. There is hatred in him, and he blames anger in another. He hath a beam in his own eye, and reproveth a mote in his brother's eye. But that mote and shoot, if it be not quickly plucked out, will become a beam.
He doth not therefore say, Mine eye hath been put out by anger, but disordered. For if it be put out, it is now hatred, not anger. And see how that it is put out. Hence John saith, quote, He that hateth his brother is in darkness even until now, end quote. 1 John chapter 2 verse 9. Before one then pass into darkness. The eye is disordered by anger. But care must be taken that the anger turn not into hatred, and the eye be put out. Therefore, he saith, mine eye hath been disordered for anger, my soul and my belly. That is, my inward parts have been disturbed. He used belly for inward parts, for sometimes with the wicked and perverse, with those who wander from the law and live evilly, One may be angry, one may not cry out.
When we are angry and may not cry out, our inward parts are disturbed, for so great sometimes is the perversity that it cannot be corrected. 5.10. For my life hath failed in pain, and my years in groanings.
My life hath failed in pain, he saith. Now we live, saith the apostle, if ye stand fast in the Lord. First Thessalonians, Chapter Three, Verse Eight. Whosoever are perfect through the gospel and the grace of God live not here but for others, for their life in this world is no more necessary for them. But because their services are necessary for others, there occurs in their case what the same apostle saith, Having a desire to depart and be with Christ, for it is far best. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is needful for you. Now when a man sees that from his services, from his labors, from his preaching, men make no progress, his life is weakened by want, a truly miserable want and hunger, Since those whom we gain to the Lord, the church in a manner eateth.
What is eateth? Passeth into her body. For whatever we eat, we pass into our body. This the church doeth by the saints. She hungareth after those she would gain, and those whom she has gained in any way she in a manner eateth. Peter represented this church when a vessel was let down to him from heaven. Full of all manner of four-footed beasts, creeping things, and fowls of the air. Acts chapter 10 verse 11. By which kinds all the Gentiles are denoted. The Lord showed the church in figure beforehand that she should devour all the Gentiles and change them into her own body. And he said to Peter, quote, kill and eat, end quote. Matthew chapter 16 verse 18. That is, O Peter, for, quote, upon this rock I will build my church, end quote.
Kill and eat. First kill, and so eat. Kill what they are, and make them what thou art. When then the gospel is preached, and he who preaches it sees that men make no progress, how can he not cry out, for my life hath failed in pain? And my years in groanings. My strength hath been weakened by want, and my bones have been disturbed. These years of ours which we pass here are in groanings. Why? Because iniquity hath abounded, the love of many waxeth cold. Matthew 24, verse 12. In groanings, not in plain speeches. When the church seeth many going wrong. She stifles her groans in her own breast, so as to say to God, My groaning is not hid from thee. Psalm 38, verse 9. So it is said in another psalm, but it is suitable here.
My groaning, though hidden from men, hath not been hidden from thee. My strength hath been weakened by want, and my bones have been disturbed. Of this want we have spoken above. By bones are meant the strong ones of the church, who, though they be not disturbed by the persecutions of aliens, are nevertheless disturbed by the iniquities of brethren.
Six, verse 11. I have been made a reproach above all mine enemies, and to my neighbors too much, and fear to mine acquaintance.
I have been made a reproach above all mine enemies. Who are the church's enemies? Heathens? Jews? Bad Christians live worse than all. Would ye see how bad Christians live worse than all? Of such the prophet Ezekiel saith that they are like useless vine branches. Ezekiel chapter 15. Grant that the heathen are wood, quote, of the trees of the forest, end quote. Without the church. Still something can be made of it, as of carpenter's woods is made wood fit for the carpenter. And if it be as yet knotty and crooked, and covered with bark, still it may be trimmed, chipped, planed, and can come to some work for man's use. But of vine branches cut off, carpenters can make nothing. The fire only awaits them.
Mark, brethren. Seeing that the branch which abideth in the vine is everywhere preferred to the wood of the trees of the forest, because the branch yieldeth fruit, and the wood doth not. Yet, if the wood of the trees of the forest be compared with the branch cut off from the vine, the wood is understood to be better, because of it the carpenter can make something, while the other none seeketh but to supply the hearth. Giving heed, therefore, to the multitude of evil livers in the church, he saith, I have been made a reproach above all mine enemies. Bad men, saith he, live worse in my sacraments than they who have never approached them. Why should we not speak out plainly in Latin, even when we explain the psalm?
Even if we do not dare to speak at other times, at least let the obligation of exposition have the liberty of rebuking. I have been made, saith he, a reproach above all mine enemies. Of such the Apostle Peter saith, The latter end with them is worse than the beginning, for it were better for them not to know the way of righteousness, than, knowing it, to turn aside from the holy commandment delivered unto them. Second Peter, Chapter Two, Verses 20 and 21. When he saith, It were better for them not to know the way of righteousness, did he not judge that enemies stationed without are better than evil livers within, by whom the church is oppressed and weighed down? It had been better, saith he, For them not to know the way of righteousness, than knowing it, to turn aside from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
Finally, see to how shocking a thing he compared them. It hath happened to them according to the true proverb, The dog hath turned to his vomit again. Second Peter, Chapter Two, Verse 22. Seeing then that the church is full of such as these, Do not the few say truly hear, yea, rather the church herself, by the voice of the few, I have been made a reproach above all mine enemies, and to my neighbors too much, and fear to mine acquaintance.
I have been made a reproach to my neighbors too much, that is, to those who were already drawing near to me that they might believe, that is, my neighbors have been too much frightened, By the bad life of bad and false Christians. For how many, do you think, my brethren, wish to be Christians, but are offended by the evil conversation of Christians? These are the neighbors who were already drawing near, and we have seemed too great a reproach unto them.
Seven. Quote, I have been made a fear to mine acquaintance. End quote. What is so much to be feared? I have been made, saith he, a fear to mine acquaintance. What is so much to be feared as when a man sees many living evilly, and those of whom good was hoped found in many evil practices? He fears lest all whom he thought good be such, and almost all the good come into evil suspicion. What a man! How has he fallen? How has he been found in that disgraceful business, in that wickedness, in that evil deed? Think you all are not the same? This is a fear to mine acquaintance, that even with those to whom we are known, we very often come into suspicion, and unless if thou art anything, what thou art thyself, console thee.
Thou dost not believe there is any other like thee. A good conscience, whatever it be, consoleth a man, so as that a man whose life is good may say to himself, O thou who art fearing now, lest all be such, art thou such? Conscience makes answer, I am not. Then, if thou art not such, art thou alone? Beware lest this pride be worse than that wickedness. Say not that thou art alone. For so Elias once, for weariness of the multitude of the ungodly, said, They have killed thy prophets, and digged down thy altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee before Baal. Romans chapter 11, verses 3 and 4.
1 Kings chapter 19, verses 10 and 14. Therefore, brethren, amid these offenses there is one remedy, that thou think not badly of thy brother. Be thou in humility what thou wouldst have him be, and thou wilt not think him to be what thou art not. But still he is made a fear even to his acquaintance, even to those who have had proof of him.
Eight, quote, they that did see me fled without from me, and it were pardonable if they that did not see me had fled without from me, for even they that did see me fled without from me. But if they that did not see me have fled without from me, and it must not be said they fled without, for they were never within, for if they had been within, they would have seen me. That is, they would have recognized the body of Christ, they would have recognized the members of Christ, they would have recognized the unity of Christ. This is more to be lamented, this is altogether unbearable, that many who saw me fled without from me. That is, many who had knowledge of what the church was, went out and made heresies and schisms against the church.
To-day, for instance, you find a man born in Donatus' party. He knows not what the church is. He holds to what he was born in. You cannot tear him away from the usage which he has sucked in with his nurse's milk. Give me a man who is daily conversant with Scripture, who reads it, who preaches it. Is it possible, I ask, that he does not see there, desire of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance? and the limits of the earth for thy possession. Psalm 2, verse 8. Does he not see there, quote, all the ends of the world shall remember themselves and be turned unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him, end quote. Psalm 22, verse 27. If thou seest there the unity of the whole world, why dost thou fly without?
So as not only thyself to suffer blindness, but also to create blindness for others. They that did see me, that is, who knew what the church was, who saw it in the scriptures, fled without from me. For think ye, my brethren, that all they who have made heresies in diverse parts and places have not known in the scriptures of God that the church hath not been foretold, but as diffused throughout the whole globe. I say the truth, dearly beloved, we are all at least Christians, or are all called Christians, and all sign ourselves with the sign of Christ. The prophets have spoken more obscurely of Christ than of the Church. I suppose because they saw in the Spirit that men would make parties against the Church, and would not have so much strife concerning Christ.
Concerning the Church would stir up great contentions. And hence that, out of which greater contentions were to arise, was more plainly predicted, and openly prophesied of, that it may avail for the conviction of those who have seen and fled without. Nine. For example, I will mention one instance. Abraham was our father not by reason of carnal propagation, but of the imitation of faith. Righteous, and well-pleasing to God, By faith he begat a son, Isaac, who had been promised to him of Sarah his wife being barren in his old age. This same son he was commanded to offer up to God. He doubted not, nor disputed, nor argued about God's command, nor thought that evil, which the best, could enjoin. He led his son to be offered up, placed upon him the wood for the sacrifice, came to the spot, Raised his right hand to strike him, lowered it, at his prohibition, at whose command he had lifted it up.
He who had obeyed to strike the blow, obeyed to spare. Everywhere obedient, never fearful. But that the sacrifice might be completed, and they might not go away without blood, a ram was found, caught in a thicket by his horns. Genesis chapter 22 verse 13. It was offered up. The sacrifice was accomplished. Search what this means. It is a figure of Christ wrapped up in a mystery. Now that it may be seen, it is examined. That it may be seen, it is thoroughly discussed, that what is wrapped up may be unrolled. Isaac, as the only beloved son, having the type of the Son of God, Carrying the wood for himself, as Christ carried the cross. Finally, that very ram signified Christ. For what is it to be caught by the horns, but in a manner to be crucified?
This is a figure of Christ. Forthwith, the church was to be preached. The head having been foreannounced, the body was to be foreannounced too. The Spirit of God began. God began to wish to preach the church to Abraham, and took away all figure. He was preaching Christ in figure. He preached the church openly. For he saith to Abraham, Because thou hast obeyed my voice, and hast not spared thy beloved son for my sake, in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand of the sea. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Genesis chapter 22, verses 16, 17, and 18. And almost everywhere, Christ is preached by the prophets in some cover of a mystery, the church openly, that they even might see her who were to rise against her, and this wickedness might be fulfilled in them which the psalm foretold.
They that did see me... fled without from me. They went out from us, but they were not of us. This the Apostle John said of them. 1 John 2, 19. 10, verse 12. I have been forgotten, as one dead from the heart.
I have been forgotten. I have fallen into oblivion. They that saw me have forgotten me. They have forgotten me, and so forgotten me as if I were dead from their hearts. I have been forgotten as one dead from the heart. I have become as a lost vessel. What is this, I have become as a lost vessel? He was toiling, and profiting none. He saw that he was a vessel, and profited none, and he saith that he is, as it were, a lost vessel.
Verse 13, For I have heard the rebuking of many dwelling by in a circle.
Many dwell by in my circle, and blame me daily. How many evil words do they speak against wicked Christians, evil words which reach to all Christians? For does he who speaks evil off or blames Christians Does he say, See what bad Christians do? No, but, See what Christians do. He makes no separation, does not discriminate. Yet they say this who dwell by in a circle, that is, who go round about and do not enter. Why go they round about and do not enter? Because they love the wheel of time. They do not enter into truth. Because they do not love eternity. Devoted to things temporal, as it were fast bound to a wheel, of whom it is said elsewhere, Make their princes as a wheel, and, again, the ungodly walk in a circle.
Psalm 12, verse 8. Whilst they were assembling themselves together against me, they conspired that they might take my soul.
What is they have conspired that they might take my soul? That I might consent to their wickednesses. For it is a little matter for those that speak evil and do not enter in, that they do not enter in. They would, moreover, cast men out, hence, by their rebuking. If they have cast thee out of the church, they have taken thy soul, that is, have obtained thy consent, and thou wilt be in a circle, not in rest. 12. But I, amidst those reproaches, amidst those scandals, amidst those evils, amidst these seductions, ungodlinesses without, and perversenesses within. When I was looking for righteous men, and seeking whom to imitate, and there were none, what did I do? What counsel did I find? Verse 14.
But I have hoped in thee, O Lord. Nothing more healthful, nothing more secure. Thou wast wishing to imitate someone, thou didst find him not good. Away with this imitation. Thou didst seek another. Something or other displeased thee. Thou didst seek a third, and he too did not please. What, because this one and that one did not please, shalt thou too be lost? Take away thy hope from man, for, Cursed be every one who putteth his hope in man. Jeremiah Chapter 17, Verse 5. If thou look still to man, and seekest to imitate him and depend on him, thou dost wish still to be fed with milk, and thou wilt become a breast-bread, as those children are called who suck longer than they ought. For to use milk, to wish food to be passed into one, as it were through the flesh, this is to live by man.
Get strength for the table. Thence take nourishment from whence he took it, or perchance did not take it. Perhaps thou hast, to thy profit, fallen in with a bad one, whom thou thoughtest good, that so thou mightest find bitterness, as it were, in thy mother's milk, and so by that distaste be repelled and attracted to stronger food. For nurses act thus to the breast-bread. Place something bitter on the nipples of their breasts, by which infants, being disgusted, refuse the breast, and crave after the table. Therefore let him say, But I have hoped in thee, O Lord. I have said, Thou art my God. Thou art my God. Let Donatus retire, Sicilianus retire. Neither the one or the other is my God. I do not walk after man's name.
I hold to the name of Christ. Hear Paul himself, saying, Was Paul crucified for you, or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? 1 Corinthians Chapter One, Verse 13. I should be lost if I were of Paul's party. How shall I not be lost if I shall be of Donatus's party? Yes, let them retire altogether, men's names, men's charges, men's fictions. In thee, O Lord, have I hoped. I have said, Thou art my God. Not any man, but Thou art my God. One man faileth, another advanceth. My God neither faileth nor advanceth, nor hath the perfect one any whither to advance. Nor the Eternal, any whither to fail. I said to the Lord, Thou art my God. 13, verse 15, quote, in thy hands are my lots, and quote, not in hands of men, but in thy hands.
What are these lots? How lots? When we hear the word lots, We must not look out for lot diviners, for the lot is no evil thing, but it is an event in human doubt, indicating the divine will. For so the apostles cast lots when Judas perished after betraying his Lord, and, as it was written of him, he went to his own place. Acts chapter 1, verse 25. Then began search to be made who should be ordained in his place. Two were chosen by man's judgment, and of the two one was chosen by divine judgment. God was consulted concerning the two, which of them it would be, and, quote, The lot fell upon Matthias, and quote, Acts, Chapter One, Verse Twenty Six. What then is in thy hands are my lots? By lots, to the best of my opinion, he expressed the grace whereby we are saved.
Why does he call the grace of God by the name of lot? Because in a lot there is no choice but the will of God. For when it is said, This man does so, that man does not, there is an estimate of deserts, and when deserts are estimated there is choice. Not lot. But since God hath found no deserts of ours, he hath saved us by the lot of his own will, because he willed, not because we were worthy. This is a lot. With much significance upon that vesture of the Lord woven from the top, John chapter 19, verse 23, which signifies the eternity of love. When it could not be divided by the persecutors was the lot cast. By them to whom it came, it signified those who seemed to attain to the lot of the saints.
By grace ye are saved through faith, saith the apostle. Ephesians Chapter Two, Verse Eight. By grace ye are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves. Recognize the lot. And this not of yourselves, but it is the gift of God, not of works, as if ye did any good, and so were worthy of attaining thereunto, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Jesus Christ unto good works. This, so to say, hidden lot, is the will of God. It is a lot among mankind. A lot coming from the hidden will of God, with whom there is no unrighteousness. For he accepteth no man's person, but his hidden justice is to thee a lot. 14 Mark, therefore, dearly-beloved, see how this very thing is confirmed by the Apostle Peter, when that Simon the sorcerer, having been baptized by Philip, continued with him.
Believing the divine miracles which were performed in his sight. Acts chapter 8 verse 13. The apostles came to Samaria, where this sorcerer also had himself believed, and where he had been baptized. The apostles laid their hands on the baptized, and they received the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with tongues. Simon wondered, and was astounded at so great a divine miracle. That at the laying on of men's hands the Holy Ghost came and filled men. And he longed for this, not grace, but power, not whereby he might be set free, but whereby he might be puffed up. But when he longed for this, and pride and devilish ungodliness and exultation, which deserved a fall, had filled his heart, he said to the apostles, How much money would you take of me, that men may receive the Holy Ghost at the laying on of my hands, too?
He who was seeking after things of this world, who was dwelling by in a circle, thought that for money he could buy the gift of God. He who thought that he could by money procure the Holy Ghost, judged the apostles also to be covetous, as he was himself ungodly and proud. Forthwith Peter said, Thy money go into perdition with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this faith. Acts chapter 8, verses 20 and 21. That is, thou dost not belong to this grace, which we all receive freely. Because thou dost think to buy that which is given freely. Now from this, that it is given freely, it is called a lot. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this faith.
I have said thus much, that we might not be alarmed at what he saith. In thy hands are my lots. For what are lots? The church's inheritance. To what extent is the church's inheritance? Within what bounds? Even unto all bounds. I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the boundaries of the earth for thy possession. Psalm Two. Verse Eight. Let not man promise me some small portion or other. O my God, in thy hands are my lots. Let this suffice you, dearly-beloved, for the present. The remainder in the Lord's name, and with his help we will make good to-morrow. End of Psalm 31. Sermon 2.
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Psalm 31, Sermon 3 of Exposition on the Book of Psalms. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, Psalm 31. Sermon 3. 1. The remainder of this psalm, on which we have already delivered two discourses, is somewhat more than a third part of it, and we see that today our task must be fulfilled. Wherefore I beg of you, dearly beloved, to be content that we do not dwell on the plainer words of it than those parts which occupy us which it is necessary to explain. For there are many things which occur spontaneously to the minds of the faithful, many which need a brief hint, while there are some, though more infrequent, on which much labour must be bestowed, that they may be understood.
That the time, then, may suffice both for your strength and mine. See how evident these parts are, and recognise them without further delay, together with us, and praise God in them with us. And if the psalm pray, do ye pray, and if it lament, do ye lament, and if it joy, do ye rejoice, and if it hope, do ye hope, and if it fear, do ye fear. For all that is here written is a mirror for us. Two, verse 15, Deliver me from the hands of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
Let us say this, yea, let each one for his own enemies say this. For good it is, and we ought to pray that God would deliver us from the hands of our enemies. But we must understand for what enemies we are to pray, and what to pray against. Men who are our enemies, whatsoever they be, must not be held in hatred, lest when a bad man hates a bad man from whom he is suffering, There be two bad men. Let the good man love even the bad man from whom he suffers, that there be at all events but one bad man. Those are the enemies against whom we must pray, the devil and his angels. They envy us, the kingdom of heaven. They would not that we should ascend up whence they have been cast down. From these let us pray that our soul be delivered.
For even when men are stirred up against us, they are made the instruments of these. Wherefore the Apostle Paul, warning us how guarded we ought to be against our enemies, saith to the servants of God who were suffering tribulations, and that, questionless by the dissensions, unfairnesses, enmities of men, quote, We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, that is, not against men, but against princes and powers and the rulers of the world. Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12. What world? The heavens and the earth? God forbid. There is no ruler of this world but the Creator. But what world doth he mean? The lovers of the world. In fine, he goes on in continuation and explains, When I say of the world, I mean of this darkness.
What darkness forsooth but unbelievers and ungodly? For when from ungodly and unbelievers they have been made godly and believers, the same apostle addressed them thus, For ye were sometimes darkness, but now light in the Lord. Against spiritual wickednesses in heavenly places, saith he, against the devil and his angels ye fight. Your enemies ye see not, and ye conquer. Deliver me from the hands of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
Three, verse 16. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant. Save me in thy mercy. We were saying before, if such of you as were present, dearly beloved, remember yesterday's discourse, that those are the greatest persecutors of the church who, being Christians, will not live good lives. For through these the church incurs obloquy, and from them sustains enmity. When they are reproved, when they are not permitted to live evilly, When they are dealt with even by a word, they meditate evil in their hearts, and seek an opportunity of breaking out. Among them is the psalmist morning, and so are we, if we will, for they are the more numerous, and amidst their great numbers the good are scarcely seen, as grains of wheat in the flour, by which nevertheless, when they are cleansed, the Lord's garners are to be filled.
Therefore in the midst of these the psalmist morning saith, Make thy face to shine upon thy servant. For a sort of confusion is supposed when all are called Christians, and good livers and evil livers all are marked with the same mark, all draw near to one altar, all are washed in one baptism, all utter the same Lord's Prayer. All are present at the celebration of the same mysteries. When are they that mourn distinguished, and they for whom they mourn, except he make his face to shine upon his servants? What then is, make thy face to shine upon thy servant? Let it appear that I belong to thee, and let not the ungodly Christian say so too, that he belongs to thee. Lest I shall have said to thee in vain in another psalm, Judge me, O God, and divide my cause from the ungodly people.
Psalm 43, verse 1. What he said there, Divide my cause, he expresses here, Make thy face to shine upon thy servant, and nevertheless that he too be not proud. And seem, as it were, to justify himself. He goes on to say, Save me in thy mercy. That is, not in mine own righteousness, not in my merits, but in thy mercy. Not because I am worthy, but because thou art merciful. Hear me not according to judicial severity, but according to most merciful goodness. Save me in thy mercy. Four, verse 17. O Lord, let me not be confounded, for I have called upon thee.
He hath pleaded a weighty cause. Let me not be confounded, for I have called upon thee. Wouldest thou that he should be confounded, who hath called upon thee? Wouldest thou it should be said, Where is he in whom he trusted? But who even of the very ungodly doth not call upon God? Unless then in some special way he said, I have called upon thee, which cannot be common with the many, he would by no means venture to claim so great a reward from this calling upon God. For God might answer him after a sort in thought, and say, Why dost thou ask of me, that thou mayest not be confounded? Wherefore? Because thou hast called upon me? Do not men daily call upon me, that they may fulfil, it may be, the adulteries which they lust after?
Do not men daily call upon me, that those may die from whom they are expecting an inheritance? Do not men daily call upon me, who are devising some fraud, that they may execute it with a prosperous issue? How, then, dost thou claim so great a reward as to say, Let me not be confounded, for I have called upon thee? All those men, it is true, call, but do not call upon thee. Thou dost call upon God when thou dost call God unto thyself. For this is to call upon him, to call him unto thyself, to invite him, so to say, into the home of thine heart. Now thou wouldest not dare to invite any householder merely, unless thou first knewest how to prepare a habitation for him. For what if God say to thee, Lo, thou hast called upon me, I come to thee, where shall I enter in?
Shall I bear this great filth of thy conscience? If thou wast to invite my servant into thine house, wouldst thou not first take care to cleanse it? Thou dost call me into thine heart, and it is full of rapine. The place into which God is called is full of blasphemies, is full of adulteries, is full of frauds, is full of evil lusts. And dost thou call upon me? Of such men, in short, what saith the psalm in another place? They have not called upon the Lord. Psalm 14, verse 4. And Psalm 53, 4. And in very truth, they have called, and yet they have not called upon him. I say briefly, since the question has arisen, how a man can claim so great a reward by alleging only one merit, in saying, For I have called upon thee, when we see that God is called upon by so many bad men.
The question has arisen, and we must not pass from it. I say briefly then to the covetous man, Dost thou call upon God? Why dost thou call upon God? That he may give thee gain? Thou dost call then upon gain, not upon God. Because thou canst not have this gain, which thou covetest, by thy servant, because thou canst not have it by thy tenant, by thy client, by thy friend, by thy satellite, thou dost call upon God. Thou makest God the minister of thy gain. God is held cheap by thee. Wouldst thou call upon God? Call upon him for his own sake. Thou covetous one, is it a little thing to thee if God himself fill thee? If God come to thee without gold and silver, wouldst thou have none of him? What, then, of those things which God hath made is sufficient for thee?
For whom God himself sufficeth not. With good reason, then, doth the psalmist pray, Let me not be confounded, for I have called upon thee. Call ye upon the Lord, brethren, if ye would not be confounded. For the psalmist dreads a confusion of some sort, of which he spoke in the former part of the psalm. In thee, O Lord, have I trusted. Let me not be put to confusion for ever. For that ye may know that he fears this confusion, what did he add when he had said, Let me not be confounded forever, for I have called upon thee. Let the ungodly be ashamed, and be brought down to hell. With that confusion, of course, forever.
Five, verse 18. Let the deceitful lips be made dumb. Which speak iniquity against the righteous in pride and contempt. This righteous one is Christ. Many lips speak iniquity against him in pride and contempt. How in pride and contempt? Because he who came in such humility appeared contemptible to the proud. Wouldest thou not that he should be condemned by them that love honors? He who endured so great reproaches? Wouldst thou not that he should be condemned by these that so highly prize this life, he who died? Wouldst thou not that he should be condemned by those who think the death of condemnation on the cross shameful, he who was crucified? Wouldst thou not that he should be condemned by the rich, he who spent a life of poverty in the world?
When he was the creator of the world. All these things which men love, because Christ would not have them, that he might show by his not having them that they were to be condemned, not because he had it not in his power to possess them. All that love these things condemn him. And whosoever of his servants would follow his footsteps, To walk himself in that lowliness in which he hath learnt that his Lord walked, is condemned in Christ, as a member of Christ. And when the head and the members are condemned, whole Christ himself is condemned. For this whole righteous one is the head and the body, and it must needs be that whole Christ himself be despised by the proud and the ungodly. That that may befall them which is said, Let the deceitful lips be made dumb, which speak iniquity against the righteous, in pride and contempt.
When will those lips be made dumb? In this life? Never. Day by day do they cry out against Christians, most of all against the lowly. Day by day do they blaspheme. Day by day do they bark. Multiply punishment by those tongues with which they shall thirst in hell, and long in vain for a drop of water. It is not now, then, that these men's lips are made dumb, but when, when, quote, their iniquities shall lead them over on the contrary part, and quote, as it is said in the Book of Wisdom. Wisdom, Chapter Four, Verse 20. Then shall the righteous stand in great boldness against those that have afflicted them. Then shall they say, These are they whom we had sometimes in derision and in a proverb of reproach.
How are they numbered among the sons of God, and their lot is among the saints? We fools counted their life madness. Wisdom, chapter 5, verses 1, 3, 5, and 4. Then shall their lips be made dumb, who speak iniquity against the righteous in pride and contempt. For just now they say to us, Where is your God? What do ye worship? What do ye see? Ye believe, and ye are distressed. That ye are distressed is certain. What ye hope for is uncertain. When that we hope for shall come in certainty, Then shall the deceitful lips be made dumb. 6. Wherefore see what follows, for that the deceitful lips shall be made dumb, which speak iniquity against the righteous in pride and contempt. The psalmist who thus lamenteth hath given heed.
He hath seen the good things of God within in the Spirit, hath seen these good things which are seen in secret. But are not seen by the ungodly. He seeth that they therefore speak iniquity against the righteous, in pride and contempt, because they have skill to see the good things of this life, but the good things of the life to come they skill not even to imagine. But that he might set forth the value of good things of the life to come to men whom he enjoins to endure, not love things present, He cried out, and added, Verse 19, How great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord. Here, if an ungodly man should say, Where is this multitude of sweetness? I will answer, How can I show thee the multitude of this sweetness, who hast lost thy palate from the fever of iniquity?
Didst thou not know what honey is? Thou wouldst not cry out how good it is, unless thou hadst tasted it. Thou hast no palate of the heart for tasting these good things. What shall I do for thee? How shall I show thee? He is not one to whom I can say, quote, taste and see that the Lord is sweet, end quote. Psalm 34, verse 8. How great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hid. For them that fear thee, what is, hast hid for them? Thou hast preserved for them, not denied to them, to the end that they alone may attain unto it, for that is good which cannot be common to the just and to the ungodly, to the end that they may by fear attain unto it, for as long as they still fear, they too have not yet attained.
But they believe that they shall attain, and they begin with fear, for nothing is sweeter than the immortality of wisdom. But, quote, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and quote, Proverbs, Chapter Nine, verse 10, which thou hast hid for them that fear thee. Seven, quote, But thou hast perfected it for them that hope in thee in sight of the sons of men.
Not, thou hast perfected it in sight of the sons of men, but for those that hope in thee in sight of the sons of men. That is, thou hast perfected thy sweetness for those that hope in thee in sight of the sons of men. As the Lord saith, Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father. Matthew 10, 33. Therefore, if thou trust in the Lord, trust before men, lest haply thou hide this trust of thine in thine heart, and fear to confess him when it is objected to thee as a crime that thou art a Christian. But to whom is it objected now that he is a Christian? There are so few left who are not Christians. that it may rather be objected to them that they are not Christians than that they should dare to object to any that they are Christians.
Notwithstanding, I say to you, my brethren, begin, whosoever thou art that hearest me, to live as a Christian, and see if it be not objected to thee even by Christians, Christians that is in name, not in life and conversation. No man feels this but he who has had trial of it. Give heed, then. Look well into what thou hearest. Wouldest thou live as a Christian? Wouldest thou follow the steps of thy Lord? It is objected to thee. Thou art ashamed, and in thy shame thou dost leave off. Thou hast lost the way. Thou seemest to thyself to have— believed with the heart unto righteousness, but thou hast lost, with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
If then thou wouldst walk the way of the Lord, trust in God even in the sight of men. That is, be not ashamed for thy trust. As he liveth in thine heart, so let him dwell in thy mouth. For not without a cause hath Christ been pleased that his mark should be imprinted on our forehead as on the seat of shame, and that a Christian should not be ashamed at the reproach of Christ. If then thou shalt have done this in the sight of men, if thou shalt not have been ashamed thereof before men, If thou shalt not have denied Christ in sight of the sons of men, either by word or deed, hope thou that the sweetness of God is perfected for thee. What comes next? Eight, verse 20. Thou wilt hide them in the hidden place of thy countenance.
What is this place? He said not, Thou wilt hide them in thy heaven. He said not, Thou wilt hide them in Paradise. He said not, Thou wilt hide them in Abraham's bosom. For the future places of the saints are designated in holy scriptures by many names. Let all whatsoever is out of God be held cheap. Let him who defendeth us in the place of this life be himself our place after this life. Because even this very psalm above saith this to him, Be thou unto me a God who protecteth me, and a house of refuge. Therefore shall we be hidden in the countenance of God. Are ye waiting to hear from me what retreat there is in the face of God? Cleanse the heart, that he may himself enlighten you, and he upon whom ye call may enter in.
Be thou his house, and he will be thy house. Let him dwell in thee, and thou shalt dwell in him. If thou shalt entertain him in this life in thy heart, he shall entertain thee after this life with his countenance. Thou wilt hide them, saith he. Where? In the hidden place of thy countenance, from the troubling of men, for there they are not troubled when they are hid. In the hidden place of thy countenance, they are not troubled. Is there, think ye, a man in this world so happy as that when he begins to hear men's reproaches because he serveth Christ, he flieth in heart to God, and beginneth to have trust in his sweetness, and enter with his conscience into the countenance of God from the troubling of men from whom he heareth reproaches?
He doth enter doubtless, if he have wherewith to enter, that is, if this same conscience be not laden, if it make not a heavy burden for him, at the narrow gate. Thou wilt hide them, then, in the hidden place of thy countenance, from the troubling of men. Thou wilt protect them in thy tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues. Some time or other. Thou wilt hide them in the hidden place of thy countenance from the troubling of men, that thenceforward no troubling of men may harass them. But meanwhile, whilst they sojourn in this life, since they who serve thee are exposed to many contradicting tongues, what dost thou do for them? Thou wilt protect them in thy tabernacle. What is thy tabernacle?
The Church of the present time. For it is for this reason called a tabernacle, because as yet it sojourneth on this earth. For a tabernacle is the habitation of soldiers encamped in an expedition. These are called tabernacles. A tabernacle is not a home. Fight thou as a sojourner on thy expedition, that having been saved in thy tabernacle, thou mayest be received in glory into thy house. For thy everlasting home will be in heaven, if only thou shalt have lived well in this tabernacle. Therefore, in this tabernacle, thou wilt protect them from the contradiction of tongues. Many tongues contradict. Diverse heresies, diverse schisms make a noise. Many tongues contradict the true doctrine. Do thou run to the tabernacle of God?
Hold to the Catholic Church. Depart not from the rule of truth, and thou shalt be protected in thy tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues. Nine, verse 21, quote, Blessed be the Lord, for he hath made his mercy marvelous in the city of Compassing, and quote, What is the city of Compassing? In Judea alone were God's people placed, as it were, in the midst of the world, where the praises of God were celebrated and sacrifices offered unto him, where prophecy did not cease foretelling those future events which we now see in course of fulfillment. This people were, as it were, in the midst of the nations. This prophet marked and saw that the Church of God should be in all nations. And because all nations were around on every side, which placed the single nation of the Jews in the midst of them, he called these nations compassing her about on every side, the City of Compassing.
Thou didst indeed, O Lord, make thy mercy marvelous in the city Jerusalem. There Christ suffered, there he rose again, there he ascended up into heaven. There he did many wonderful things. But greater is thy praise for that thou hast made thy mercy marvelous in the city of compassing, that is, in all nations hast spread abroad thy mercy. Nor hast thou kept thine ointment in that Jerusalem as in a vessel, but as from a broken vessel the ointment hath been poured forth throughout the world. That it might be fulfilled, which is said in Holy Scripture, Thy name is as ointment poured out. Song of Solomon, Chapter One, Verse Three. And so thou hast made thy mercy marvelous in the city of Compassing.
For he ascended up into heaven, Acts Chapter One, Verse Nine. He sitteth at the right hand of the Father. After ten days he sent the Holy Ghost. The disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost. They began to preach the wonderful works of Christ. They were stoned, slain, dispersed in flight. And when they were made to flee from thence, as from one place, Acts chapter 8, verse 1. As brands burning with divine fire, they filled the whole wood of the world, kindled by the heat of the Spirit and the light of truth. And the Lord made his mercy marvelous in the city of compassing. 10. Verse 22. I said, in my ecstasy, call to remembrance the title of the psalm. See, here is that ecstasy. Mark what he saith.
I said, saith he, in my ecstasy, I have been cast forth from the sight of thine eyes. I said in my panic, that is, I said in my ecstasy. He saw that he was panic-struck inwardly by some great tribulation or other, such as there is no want of. He gives heed to his panic-stricken and trembling heart, and saith, I have been cast forth from the sight of thine eyes. If it were in thy sight, I should not fear thus. If thou hadst thine eye upon me, I should not tremble thus. But as he saith in another psalm, If I said my foot hath been moved, thy mercy, O Lord, help me. Psalm 94, verse 18. So at once he saith here, Therefore thou hast heard the voice of my prayer, because I confessed, because I said, I have been cast forth from the sight of thine eyes.
Because I have not been proud, but accused my own heart, and, staggering in my tribulation, have cried out to thee, Thou hast heard my prayer. That, therefore, hath been fulfilled, which I set forth from that other psalm. For what is here, I said in my ecstasy, I have been cast forth from the sight of thine eyes, is there, if I said my foot hath been moved. And what is there? Thy mercy, O Lord, helped me, is here. Therefore thou hast heard, O Lord, the voice of my prayer. Mark that in Peter's case he seeth the Lord walking on the water. He thinks him a spirit. The Lord crieth out, It is I, be not afraid. Peter hath affiance, and saith, If it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. So hereby do I prove whether it be thou, if in thy word I am able to do as thou art able.
He saith, Come, and the word of the bidder is made the power of the hearer. Come, saith he, and he came down. He began to go. He was going without fear, as trusting in him. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid. I said in my ecstasy, I have been cast forth from the sight of thine eyes. And beginning to sink, he cried, Lord, I perish. And Jesus, stretching forth his hand to him, raised him up, saying, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Matthew Chapter Fourteen, Verses 26 to 31. I said, therefore, in my ecstasy, I have been cast forth from the sight of thine eyes, and as though I were now beginning to perish in the sea, thou hast heard, O Lord, the voice of my prayer.
Now thou heardest when I cried unto thee. Crying unto God is not with the voice, but with the heart. Many who are silent with the lips cry with the heart. Many clamorous with the mouth With heart averted, are able to obtain nothing. If then thou criest, cry inwardly, where God heareth. When I cried unto thee, saith he, thou heardest the voice of my prayer. 11. Now then that he made trial, to what doth he exhort us? Verse 23. Love the Lord, all ye his saints.
As if he should say, Trust me, I have made trial of it, I have had tribulations, I have called upon him, and have not been deceived. I have hoped in God, and have not been confounded. He hath enlightened my thoughts, he hath established my fear. Love the Lord, all ye his saints. That is, do ye love the Lord, who love not the world. That is, all his saints. For how do I tell him to love the Lord who still loves the amphitheatre? How do I tell him to love the Lord who still loves the stage-player, still loves the harlequin, still loves wine-bibbing, still loves all the pomps and all the vanities and lying madnesses of the world? I tell such, learn not to love. Turn away, that thou mayest be turned to.
Pour out, that thou mayest be filled. Love the Lord, all ye his saints. 12. For the Lord will require truth.
You know that now many evildoers are seen. You know that now they are puffed up in their vanities. The Lord will require truth, and he will repay them that do exceeding proudly.
Bear with them until you bear them to their graves. Endure them until you are free of them. For it must needs be that the Lord who requireth truth will repay them that do exceeding proudly. Art thou at once about to ask, When will he repay? When he wills. Thou mayest be certain that he will repay, doubt not of his repaying. For the time do not venture to give counsel to God. Assuredly he will require truth, and will repay them that do exceeding proudly. Some he will repay even here, and we have seen and learnt that he doth repay, for when they that fear the Lord are abased, If perchance they had been distinguished in some dignity of this world, though abased, they have not fallen, because they have not shut out God from their hearts.
God is their exaltation. Job seemed abased when he lost his property, when he lost his children, when he lost what he was keeping, when he lost those for whom he was keeping. He was left without inheritance, and what is sadder, Without an heir. He was left with his wife alone, no comforter to him, but rather the devil's helper. He seemed abased. See whether he were wretched. See whether he were not in the hidden place of God's countenance. Quote, Naked, saith he, came I out of my mother's womb. Naked shall I return into the earth. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. As it pleased the Lord, so hath it been done. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Job Chapter One, Verse 21. These pearls of praise of God, whence are they?
Behold him poor without, rich within. These pearls of praise of God would not proceed out of his mouth, except he had a treasure in his heart. Ye who would be rich, Covet such riches as ye cannot lose even by shipwreck. Therefore, when such as these are abased, deem them not wretched. Ye are mistaken. Ye know not what they possess within. Ye who love the world, judge from your own selves, because, when ye lose such things, ye are reduced to wretchedness. Do not by any means think this. They possess within wherewith to rejoice. Their ruler is within. Their shepherd and their comforter is within. These are they who fall miserably, even they who place their trust in this world. Their outward glitter is taken away.
Nothing remains within but the smoke of an evil conscience. They have no source of comfort. They have no place whither they may go abroad. They have no place whither they may return within. Abandoned by the pomp of the world, void of the grace of the Spirit, they are indeed abased. And with many God dealeth thus in this life, but not with all. For if he dealt thus with none, divine providence would seem as it were to slumber. If he dealt thus with all, divine long-suffering would not be preserved. Nevertheless, thou, Christian, hast learnt to forbear, not to repay vengeance. Wouldest thou avenge thyself, O Christian? Christ is not yet avenged. Hast thou suffered from the evil, and hath not he suffered?
Did not he first suffer for thee, who had no cause for suffering? For in thee tribulation is the refiner's furnace. If so be, thou art gold and not chaff, that thou mayest be cleared of dross, not be turned into ashes. 13. Love the Lord, all ye his saints, for the Lord will require truth, and will repay them that do exceeding proudly.
But when will he repay? O that he would repay now! Now would I see these men abased and laid low. Hear what follows. Quit you like men. Do not hang down the weary hands in tribulation. Let not your knees totter. Quit you like men, and let your heart be strengthened. Let your heart be strengthened to endure and bear all the ills of this life. But who are they to whom the prophet saith, Quit you like men, and let your heart be strengthened? Is it to them who love the world? Nay, but listen to whom he speaketh. All ye who trust in the Lord.
End of sermon three. End of Psalm 31.
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33 33 - Psalm 32 1:11:33
Psalm 32 on Exposition of the Book of Psalms.
Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo. Translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm Thirty Two. First Exposition. To David himself for understanding. To David himself for understanding, by which it is understood, Verse 1. Verse 2. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin, nor is there guile in his mouth, nor has he in his mouth boastings of righteousness when his conscience is full of sins. Verse 3. Because I kept silence, my bones waxed old. Because I made not with my mouth confession unto salvation, all firmness in me has grown old in infirmity. Through my roaring all the day long, Verse 4. Through the continual punishment of thy scourges, I was turned in misery, while a thorn was fixed through me.
I was made miserable by knowing my misery, being pricked with an evil conscience. Verse 5.
Verse 6. For this shall every one that is holy pray unto thee in an acceptable time. For this wickedness of the heart shall every one that is righteous pray unto thee. For not by their own merits will they be holy, but by that acceptable time That is, at his coming, who redeemed us from sin, nevertheless in the flood of great waters they shall not come nigh him. Nevertheless, let none think, when the end has come suddenly, as in the days of Noah, that there remaineth a place of confession whereby he may draw nigh unto God. Verse 7. Thou art my refuge from the pressures which hath compassed me about. Thou art my refuge from the pressure of my sins, which hath compassed my heart. O thou, my rejoicing, deliver me from them that compass me about.
In thee is my joy, deliver me from the sorrow which my sins bring upon me. Dioppsalma, the answer of God. Verse 8. I will give thee understanding, and will set thee in the way in which thou shalt go. I will give thee understanding after confession, that thou depart not from the way in which thou shouldest go. Lest thou wish to be in thine own power. I will fix my eyes upon thee, so will I make sure upon thee my love. Verse 9. Be not ye like unto horse or mule, which have no understanding, and therefore would govern themselves. But, saith the prophet, hold in their jaws with bit and brittle. Do thou then, O God, unto them, that will not come nigh thee. What man doth to horse and mule?
Verse 10. Verse 11. Be glad, and rejoice, ye righteous, not in yourselves, but in the Lord. And glory, all ye that are right in heart. And glory in him, all ye who understand that it is right to be subject unto him, that so ye may be placed above all things beside.
Exposition Two. A psalm of the grace of God, and of our justification, by no merits of ours proceeding. but by the mercy of our lord god preventing us, highly commended by the mouth of the apostle, as the lesson preceding this psalm hath conveyed unto all, is undertaken by my weakness to be handled together with you, my beloved. Wherefore first I recommended my infirmity to your prayers, as saith the apostle, that utterance may be given unto me in the opening of my mouth, so to speak, as may be both to me not dangerous to utter, and for you wholesome to hear. For the human mind doubting and wavering between confession of infirmity and the boldness of presumption is ever buffeted on this side and on that, and in such wise driven, that yet to fall to either side is to be cast headlong.
For if one hath wholly given himself up to his own infirmity, and hath inclined to such thoughts as to say, The mercy of God to all sinners, in whatever sins persisting, so they believe that God delivereth, God pardoneth, is so sure at the last that none can perish of ungodly believers, that is, that none can perish of those who say to themselves, Whatever I do, with whatever crimes and wickedness I be defiled, how much soever I sin, God delivereth me by his mercy, because I have trusted in him. Whosoever then sayeth that none of such can perish, by evil thoughts is led to look for impunity of sin. And the righteous God, to whom the psalmist sings of mercy and judgment, Not mercy only, but also judgment, finds one mispresuming of himself and abusing God's mercy to his own destruction, and so must needs condemn him.
Such a thought, therefore, casteth the man headlong. But if any, terrified thereby, hath lifted up himself to a certain bold presumption, and hath presumed on his own strength his own righteousness, and hath proposed in his heart to fulfill all righteousness, and so to do all things which are commanded in the law, As in none to offend, and to have his own life in his own power, that he nowhere slip at all, nowhere fail, nowhere stumble, nowhere be in the dark, and attribute this to himself and to the power of his own will, even if haply he hath fulfilled all things which seem righteous in the eyes of men, so that nothing be found in his life which can be reproved by men, that very presumption and proud boasting God condemneth.
What then? If man justify himself and presume on his own righteousness, he falleth. If one considering and weighing his own infirmity, and presuming on God's mercy neglect to cleanse his life from sins, and hath plunged himself in all the depths of wickedness, he also falleth. The presumption of righteousness is as the right hand, the thought of impunity of sin is as the left. Let us hear the voice of God saying to us, Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left. Presume not of thy righteousness so to reign. Presume not of God's mercy unto sin. From both the divine command recalleth thee, both from this height and from that depth. Hither if thou ascend, thou wilt fall headlong. Thither, if thou sink, thou wilt drown.
Turn not, saith he, to the right hand, nor to the left. Again, I say briefly, what ye should all keep fixed in mind, Presume not of thy righteousness so to reign. Presume not of God's mercy unto sin. Thou wilt answer, What then shall I do? This very psalm teacheth us, which being read through and handled, I trust, God's mercy assisting us. We shall see that way wherein we either already walk, or which we ought to hold. Let every one according to his own measure hearken, And as he shall be conscious unto himself, either lament, if need incorrection, or rejoice, if to be approved. If he find himself to have strayed from the way, let him return to walk therein. If he find himself in the way, let him walk on, that he may arrive at the end.
Let none out of the way be proud, none in the way slothful. Now that this psalm doth relate to the grace whereby we are Christians, the Apostle Paul hath testified, Wherefore, We have chosen to have that very lesson read unto you. This shewed the apostle, when he was commanding the righteousness which is by faith, against those who boasted of the righteousness which is by works, thus saying, What shall we then say that Abraham, our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. God himself avert from us such glorying. And let us rather hearken to that saying, He that gloreth, let him glory in the Lord. For many glory in their own works, and we find many pagans therefore unwilling to become Christians, because they are in a manner satisfied with their own good lives.
To live well is needful, saith one. What will Christ command of me? That I should live well? I live well already. Wherein is Christ necessary to me? I commit no murder, no theft, no violence. I covet not another's goods. I am defiled with no adultery, for let any thing be found in my life worthy of blame, and he who can blame it shall make me a Christian. He hath whereof to glory, but not before God. But not so our father, Abraham. For this passage of Scripture would direct our attention to this very thing. For because we confess, and such is our belief concerning the Holy Patriarch, who pleased God, that we both say and know that he hath whereof to glory before God. Therefore saith the Apostle, it is evidently known unto us and manifest that Abraham hath whereof to glory before God.
But if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. But he hath whereof to glory before God, therefore is he not justified by works. If then Abraham is not justified by works, whereby is he justified? The answer follows, For saith he, for what saith the scripture? That is, whereby saith the scripture that Abraham is justified. Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Therefore Abraham was justified by faith. But whoever hears this, not by works, but by faith, must beware of that gulf of which I spoke. Thou seest then that by faith, not by works, is Abraham justified, Therefore, sayest thou, I will do what I will, because though I have not good works, but only trust in God, that is counted to me for righteousness.
If so one hath spoken and determined, he falleth and is drowned. If yet he thinketh and wavereth, he is perilous. But the scripture of God And its true understanding, not only when perilled freeth him from peril, but even when drowned, raiseth him out of the deep. I answer, therefore, as against the apostle, and say of Abraham himself, what we find, indeed, in the epistle of another apostle, who wished to correct certain men that had misunderstood this apostle. For James, in his epistle, Writing against those who would not do good works, presuming on faith only, commended the works of that same Abraham as Paul his faith. And the two apostles are not contrary to each other, but he speaks of a work known unto all, that Abraham offered unto God his own son for a sacrifice, a great work, but a faith.
I laud the superstructure of works, but I see in faith the foundation. I laud the fruit of good works, but I discern in faith the root. But if Abraham had done this without a right faith, it would have profited him nothing, however good that work might be. Again, if Abraham had so held his faith as that when God commanded him to offer up to him his son for a sacrifice, he should say with himself, I do it not, and yet I believe that God will deliver me, even despising his commands. His faith without works had been dead, and had remained dry and barren as a root without fruit. What, then? Ought no works to be placed before faith, so that before faith one may be said to do good works? No, for those very good works so called before faith, although they may seem to men worthy of praise, are nothing worth.
To me they seem to be such as great strength and the swiftest speed out of the way. Let none then count his works before faith good. Where faith was not, good works were not. For it is the intention that maketh the work good, faith that directs the intention. Attend not so much to what one doth, as to what, in doing it, he hath regard, whither he is directing his arms, which steer so excellently. For suppose a man to steer shipwright well, and yet to have lost his course, what avails that he holds the topsail bravely, moves it bravely, keeps the head to the waves, careth lest the sides be beaten in, hath so great strength, that he turn the ship whither he will, and whence he will. And suppose it be said to him, Where goest thou?
And he say, I know not, or say not, I know not, but I am going to such a port. And yet goeth not to the port, but hurrieth on to the rocks. Doth not such a one? The more he seemeth to himself active and powerful in steering the ship, so much the more dangerously steer it, so as through haste to bring it to shipwreck at last. Such is he who runs the best out of the way. Were it not better and more tolerable that the pilot should be somewhat weaker, so as to direct the ship with some labor and difficulty, and yet hold his right and due course, and that the other, again, should walk even somewhat slowly and feebly, yet in the way. Then out of the way, run bravely. He, then, is the best who both holds the way, and walks well therein.
But he is next in hope, who though he halteth somewhat, yet not so much as to go astray, or stand still, but advances through by little and little. For haply there is hope that he will arrive whither, though slowly he tendeth. Therefore, brethren, by faith was Abraham justified. But if works did not precede his faith, yet they followed it. For can thy faith be barren? If thou art not barren, thy faith is not barren. Thou hast believed somewhat of evil, and in the fire of thy evil hast burned up the root of thy faith. Therefore hold fast thy faith, and work. But thou sayest, The apostle Paul said not this. Nay, this said the apostle Paul, Faith which worketh by love, and in another place, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
And in another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. See, if he does not will thee to work, who saith, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not covet, and if there is any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in the saying, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor, therefore, Love is the fulfilling of the law. Doth love permit thee to do any evil to him whom thou lovest? But perhaps thou only doest no evil, and dost not father any good? Doth love then permit thee not to do whatever thou canst for him whom thou lovest? Is not that love which prayeth even for enemies?
Doth he then desert his friend whom blesseth his enemies? Therefore, if faith be without love, it will be without works. But lest thou think much of the works of faith, add unto it hope and love, and think not what thou workest. Love itself cannot be empty. For what is there in any man that worketh at all, even to evil, except love? Shew me the love that is empty, and doth no work. Uncleanness, adulteries, violence, murders, every luxury. Doth not love work these? Therefore cleanse thy love. The waters flowing into the draught, turn into the garden. What desires it had for the world, the same let it have for the world's creator. Do we say unto you, Love nothing? God forbid! Dull, dead, hateful, miserable will ye be, if ye love nothing.
Love! But look well what ye love. The love of God, the love of our neighbor, is called charity. The love of the world, the love of this life, is called covetous. Let covetous be brittle, charity stirred up. For the very charity of him that doeth good works gives him hope out of a good conscience. For a good conscience produceth hope. As an evil conscience is holy in despair, so a good conscience is holy in hope. And so there will be these three, of which the apostle speaketh, faith, hope. Charity. Also in another place speaketh he of three likewise, but instead of hope he has placed a good conscience. For the end of the commandment, said he, what is the end of the commandment, that by which the commandments are perfected, not whereby they are destroyed?
For in one sense we say, the meat is ended, in another the coat is ended, which was being woven, meat is ended, so that it be not, the coat is ended, so that it be made perfect. And yet both in this we say the end, and in that. Here then he calleth not that the end of the commandment, whereby as it were the commandments perish, but that whereby they are perfected and consummated, not consumed. The end then is for these three. The end of the commandment, saith he, is charity out of a pure heart and a good conscience, and of faith unfamed. Instead of hope he placed a good conscience, for he hath hope, He says, In one place, then, the apostle begins from faith. Faith, hope, charity. In the other, he begins from charity itself, charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.
We but now began from the middle, from conscience itself, and from hope. Who wishes, I say, to have good hope? Let him have a good conscience. And that he may have a good conscience, let him believe and work. From the middle we go to the beginning and end. Let him believe and work. That he believeth is of faith, that he worketh is of charity. How then saith the apostle, that man is justified without works by faith, when in another place he saith, Faith which worketh by love? Let us then oppose not the apostle James to Paul, but Paul himself to Paul, and say unto him, Here thou permittest us in some wise to sin with impunity, where thou sayest, We conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
There thou sayest, Faith which worketh by love. How am I here made as it were secure, even if I have not worked? But there seem to have neither hope nor faith itself aright, unless I have worked by love. I hear thyself speak, O apostle. Certainly thou wouldest here commend unto me faith without works. But the work of faith is love. Which love cannot so be void, but that it must both work no evil, and work whatever it can of good. For what doth love depart from evil, and do good? This faith then without works thou commendest, and in another place thou sayest, Though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. If, then, faith without charity profiteth nothing, but where charity is, needs must that it works.
Faith itself worketh by love. How, then, shall man be justified by faith without works? The apostle himself answers, For this cause said I this to thee, O man, lest thou shouldst seem, as it were, to presume of thy works, and for the merit of thy works to have received the grace of faith. Therefore presume not of works before faith. Thou knowest that faith found thee a sinner. Although faith given made thee righteous, it found ungodly whom it made righteous. To him that believeth, saith he, on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. If the ungodly is justified from being ungodly, he becometh righteous. If from being ungodly he becometh righteous, what are the works of the ungodly?
The ungodly may boast indeed of his works, and say, I give to the poor, I take nothing from any, I covet not another man's wife, I do no murder, I do no wrong to any. That which is pledged with me, no man witnessing, I restore. All this may he say, I ask, whether he be godly or ungodly. And how am I ungodly, saith he, doing all these things? Even as they, of whom it was said, they serve the creature more than the creator. Who is blessed forever? How art thou ungodly? What if for all these good works thou either hope for that which is to be hoped for, but not from him from whom alone it is to be hoped for, or hope for that which is not to be hoped for, even from him from whom eternal life is to be hoped for?
For thy good works thou hast hoped for some earthly happiness. Thou art ungodly. That is not the reward of faith. A precious thing is faith, to a vile thing hast thou devoted it. Ungodly, then, art thou, and vain are those works of thine. Though in good works thou mayest move thine arms, and seem to steer the ship exceeding well, thou art running on the rocks. What if thou hope for that which is to be hoped, that is, life eternal, but not from the Lord God, through Jesus Christ, through whom alone eternal life is given? But thinkest that thou canst arrive at life eternal through the host of heaven, through the sun and the moon, through the powers of the air, of the sea, of the earth, of the stars, thou art ungodly.
Believe in him that justifieth the ungodly, that thy works may be indeed good works. For neither call I them good, as long as they proceed not from a good root. What is this? Either thou hopest for life temporal from God the eternal, or life eternal from devils. On either side thou art ungodly. Correct thy faith. Direct thy faith aright. Direct thy way aright. And if thou have good feet, walk on secure. Run. Thou holdest the way. The better thou runnest, the more speedily wilt thou arrive. But perhaps thou haltest somewhat. At least wander not out of the way. Though, but slowly, thou wilt arrive. Stand not still. Turn not back. Go not astray. What then? Who are blessed? Not they in whom God findeth no sin, for he findeth it in all.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. If then sins are found in all, it remains that none are blessed, but they whose sins are forgiven. This then hath the apostle thus commended, Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. And to him that worketh, That is, presumeth of works, and saith that for their merits the grace of faith is given him, is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. What is this but that our reward is called grace? If it be grace, it is given gratis. What meaneth it is given gratis? Gratis is evident. Thou hast done nothing good, and yet forgiveness of thy sins is given thee. Thy works are considered, and are found all evil. If God should pay thee what is due to those works, he would surely condemn thee, for the wages of sin is death.
To evil works what is due? What but condemnation? To good works what is due? The kingdom of heaven. But thou art found in evil works. If that be paid thee, which is thy due, thou must needs be punished. What befalls then? God payeth thee not the punishment due, but giveth thee grace not due. He owed vengeance. He giveth mercy. Thou beginnest then to be in faith through mercy. Now thy faith, having added to itself hope and love, beginneth to do good works. But even so glory not, nor lift up thyself. Remember by whom thou art set in the way. Remember that with strong and swift feet thou wast wandering. Remember that when thou wast languishing, and lying in the way half dead. Thou wast set upon a beast, and brought to an end.
But to him that worketh, saith he, is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. If thou wouldst be an alien unto grace, boast of thy merits. Yet he seeth what is in thee, and knoweth what he oweth to each. But to him that worketh not, what? Suppose here some ungodly sinner, see, he worketh not, what then? He believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. But in that he doeth not good works, he is ungodly, though he seemed to do good works, yet, because without faith, neither are they to be called good. But believing on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness, even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.
But what righteousness? That of faith, which good works have not preceded, but which good works do follow. Attend ye then, otherwise, by misunderstanding ye will plunge yourselves into that gulf of sinning with impunity. But I am free, as the apostle himself was from all who misunderstood him, free. For they misunderstood him willfully, lest good work should follow. But not ye, my brethren, in the number of such. It is said in a certain psalm of a certain man, such as this. that is, of a class of men, as it were under the name of one, he hath refused to understand that he might do good. It is not said he could not understand. It behoveth you, then, to be willing to understand that ye may do good, for so ye will not fail to clear understanding.
What is the clear understanding? Let none boast in his good works before faith. None be slothful in good works after faith received. God sheweth mercy, then, to all ungodly, and justifieth them through faith. Verse 1, 2. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord impudeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Now the psalm beginneth, and therewith beginneth understanding. Understanding then, or intelligence, is this. To know that thou oughtest not to boast thyself of thine own merits, nor to presume upon impunity of sin. For so is the title of the psalm, to David himself for understanding. This psalm is called a psalm of understanding.
The first understanding, then, is this, to know thyself a sinner. The understanding next following is, that when through faith thou hast begun to do good works by love, thou impute not this to thine own strength, But to the grace of God, so will not guile be in thy heart, that is, in thine inward mouth, nor wilt thou have one thing on thy lips, another in thy thoughts. Thou wilt not be of those Pharisees of whom it is said, Ye are like unto whited sepulchres, for ye outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Whoso then, being unrighteous, pretendeth himself righteous, Is he not full of hypocrisy? He is not that Nathanael, of whom the Lord saith, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.
But whence was there no guile in that Nathanael? When, saith he, Thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Under the fig tree was he, under the condition of flesh was he. If he was under the condition of flesh, because he was holden by original sin, under that fig tree was he. wherein one groaneth in another psalm, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity. But he who came with grace saw him. What is saw him? had mercy on him. Therefore he so commandeth a man without guile as to commend his own grace in him. When thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee. I saw thee. What is that so great, unless thou understand it as said in a particular manner? What is it so great to see a man under a fig tree? If Christ had not seen under that fig tree the human race, we had either withered away wholly, or been as the Pharisees, in whom it was guile, that is, who justified themselves in words, but in deeds were wicked.
And so there would be found in us leaves only no fruit. For such a fig tree, when Christ saw, he cursed it, and it withered away. I see, said he, Leaves only, that is, words only, without fruit. Let it wither away, saith he, that it have not even leaves. And taketh he away words also? Yes, for a withered tree cannot have even leaves. So then were the Jews, the Pharisees, were that tree. Words they had, deeds they had not. According to the sentence of the Lord, they purchased to themselves barrenness. Let Christ then see us under the fig tree. Let him see in our flesh the fruit of good works, lest we under his curse wither away. And since all is imputed to his grace, not to our merits, blessed are they whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
Not they in whom are not found sins, but they whose sins are covered. Are sins covered? They are hidden. They are blotted out. If God hath covered sins, He hath willed not to animadvert upon them. He hath willed not to punish. If he hath willed not to punish, he hath willed not to acknowledge them, he hath willed rather to pardon them. Blessed are they whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Neither so understand ye what he said. whose sins are covered as though they should be in the same, and yet live. Why then spake he of sins covered, that they might not be seen? For what else is it for God to see sins but to punish sins, that thou mightest know that this is for God to see sins, namely, to punish sins?
What is said unto him, Turn thy face from my sins. Thy sins, then, let him not see, that he may see thee. How see thee? As he saw Nathanael, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee. The shade of the fig-tree hindered not the eyes of God's mercy, and in whose spirit there is no guile. But they truly, who will not confess their sins, labor in vain in defense of their sins. And the more they labor in defense of their sins, boasting their own merits, seeing not their own iniquities, the more their strength and courage faileth. For he is strong, who not in himself but in God is strong. According to that saying, I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee.
My grace, saith he, not thy strength. My grace, saith he, is sufficient for thee. For my strength is made perfect in weakness. Whence the same saith in another place, When I am weak, then I am strong. He then, who would be strong, as pursuing upon himself, and boasting at his own merits, of whatever sort they may be, will be like that Pharisee who, what he had said that he had received from God, yet proudly boasted of this, I thank thee, saith he. Observe, my brethren, what kind of pride God bringeth to notice. Truly such as can enter into even a righteous man, such as can creep over even one of good hopes. I thank thee, said he. Therefore, when he said, I thank thee, he confessed that he had received from him what he had.
For what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Therefore, I thank thee, said he, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. Whence then was he proud, not because he thanked God in his own good works, but because he exalted himself above the other for his good works. Attend, brethren. For wherefore the Lord began to speak that same parable the evangelist hath promised, for when Christ had said, When the Son of Man cometh shall he find faith on earth? Then, lest there should arise certain heretics who, considering and thinking the whole world as fallen, for all heretics are among the few, and of the smaller part, should boast of themselves that that remain still in them, which had perished to all the world beside, then immediately when the Lord had said, When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
The evangelist added and said, And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, the other a publican, and the rest which ye know. The Pharisee then said, I thank thee, but where was he proud? In that he despised others, whence provest thou this? From his own words. The Pharisee, saith he, despised him that stood afar off, unto whom, confessing his sins, God drew nigh. The public Why stood not God afar off from him? Because, as is said in another place, the Lord is nigh unto them that have broken their heart. See, if that publican had broken his heart, and then will ye see that the Lord is nigh unto them that have broken their heart.
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast. The smiting of the breast is the contrition of the heart. What said he smiting his breast? God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And what, in sentence, the Lord? I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, whereby it is the judgment of God. I am not as this publican. I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. The other dares not lift up his eyes unto heaven. He mindeth his own conscience. He standeth afar off, and he is justified rather than the Pharisee. Wherefore, I pray thee, Lord, explain to us this thy judgment.
Explain to us the righteousness of thy law. God doth explain the rule of his law. Would ye hear wherefore? For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Attend, therefore, dearly beloved. I said that the publican dared not lift up his eyes to heaven. Why looked he not to heaven? Because he looked to himself. He looked to himself, that he might first displease himself, and so please God. But thou boastest thyself, thou upliftest thy neck. To the proud man saith the Lord, Wilt not thou look to thyself? I look to thee. Wouldest thou that I look not to thee? Look thou to thyself. For this reason dared not the publican lift up his eyes unto heaven, because he looked upon himself, he punished his own conscience, he was judge unto himself.
that he might intercede for him. He punished himself that he might set him free. He accused himself that he might defend him. And so did he defend him. In that he declared sentence for the same. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. He looked to himself, saith he, and I would not look to him. I heard him saying, Turn thy face for my sins. For who is it that said this? But he that said also that, for I acknowledge my transgressions. And in like manner, my brethren, was the Pharisee also a sinner, for neither because he said, I am not as other men are, Extortioners, unjust, adulterers, nor because he fasted twice in the week, nor because he gave tithes, was he a sinner.
But even if he had been without any other sin, his very pride was a great sin, and yet he said all those words. Who in the world is without sin? Who can boast that he hath a clean heart? Or who can boast that he is free from sins? He had then sins, but like one perverse, and not knowing whither he had come, he was, as it were, in the physician's house to be cured, and shewed his sound limbs, covering his wounds. Let God cover thy wounds, do not thou, for if thou wish to cover them, being ashamed, the physician will not cure. Let the physician cover and cure, for he covereth with a plaster. By the covering of the physician the wound is healed, By the covering of the wounded man the wound is concealed.
And from whom dost thou conceal? From him who knoweth all things. Consider then, brethren, what this man said. Verse 3. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. What is this? It seems as it were contradictory. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring. If through his roaring, how kept he silence? Somewhat he kept silent, somewhat he kept not silent. He kept silent that whereby he might profit, he kept not silent that whereby he would fail. Confession he kept silent, presumption he proclaimed. For said he, I kept silence, I confessed not. Then it behooved him to speak, to keep silent his merits, to proclaim his sins. But now, perversely, he kept silent his sins, his merits he proclaimed.
And what befell him? His bones waxed old. Be ye sure that if he had proclaimed his sins and kept silent, his merits, his bones, had been made new, that is, his strength had been made new. He would have been strong in the Lord, because he was found in himself weak, but now because in himself he would be strong, he was made weak, and his bones waxed old. He remained still in oldness, because he would not, by confession, love newness. For what men are made new, ye know, brethren, because, blessed are they whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. He would not that his transgressions should be forgiven him. He accumulated, he defended them, he boasted his own merits, because then he kept silence from the confession, his bones wax old.
Through my roaring all the day long. What is, through my roaring all the day long? Through my persevering in defense of my sins, and yet see ye what manner of man he is, how that he acknowledgeth himself. For now will there be understanding, and he shall regard nothing beside himself, and displease himself, because he doth acknowledge himself. Now ye will hear, that ye may be made whole. Verse 2-4. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord impudeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me. What is, thy hand was heavy upon me? A great matter. Brethren, remember the sentence ruled between those two, the Pharisee and the publican.
What was said of the Pharisee? That he is abased. What was said of the publican, that he is exalted? Why is the one abased? Because he exalted himself. Why is the other exalted? Because he humbled himself. Therefore that he may abase him that exalteth himself, God maketh heavy his hand over him. He would not humble himself by confession of his transgression. He is abased by the weight of God's hand. How could he endure that heavy hand of him abasing? How light was the hand of him exalting? Both in the one was he strong, and in the other was he strong, strong to abase the one, strong to abase the one. to exalt the other. Verse 4. Because day and night thy hand was heavy upon me, I was turned in misery until a thorn was fixed through me.
By the very aggravation of thy hand, By very humiliation, I was turned in misery. I was made miserable. A thorn was fixed through me. My conscience was pricked. What happened when the thorn was fixed through him? The sense of pain was given him. He found out his infirmity. And he who kept silent confession of his sin, so that by his exclaiming in defense of his sin his strength waxed old, that is, his bones were turned into oldness, what did he now, when the thorn was fixed through him? Verse 5. I acknowledge my sin unto thee. Now then, he acknowledgeth. If he acknowledgeth, he pardoneth. Hear ye what follows. See, if he saith not himself, I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid.
This was what I was saying. Cover not thou, and God covereth. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, and whose sin is covered. They who cover their sins are laid bare, but he laid them bare, that he might be covered. Mine iniquity have I not hid. What is, have I not hid? Before had I kept silence. What now? I said, somewhat contrary to that silence, I said, What saidest thou? I will confess my transgression unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my heart. I said, What saidest thou? He doth not now confess. He doth but promise that he will confess, and he even now forgiveth. Attend, brethren, it is a great matter. He said, I will confess. He said not, I have confessed, and thou hast forgiven.
He said, I will confess, and thou forgavest. Because in that very thing that he said, I will confess, he shewed that he had not yet confessed with his mouth, but in his heart he had confessed. This very thing to say, I will confess, is to confess. Therefore also, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my heart. My confession then had not yet come to my mouth, for I had said, I will confess against myself. Nevertheless, God heard the voice of my heart. My words were not yet in my mouth, but the ear of God was already in my heart. Thou forgavest the iniquity of my heart, because I said, I will confess. But this sufficed not. He said not only, I will confess my transgression unto the Lord, he said with good cause, I will confess against myself, and this makes a difference.
For many confess their transgressions, but against the Lord God himself. When they are found in sin, they say, God willed it. For if a man say either, I did it not, or this deed which you blame is no sin, he confesseth neither against himself nor against God. If he say, I surely did it, and it is a sin, but God willed it. What have I done? This is to confess against God. Happily you may say, No one saith this, who is there that saith, God willed it. Many say even this, But those who say not this, what say they else when they say, My fate did it, my stars caused it? And thus by going about will they come at last to God. By going about would they come at last to accuse God. Who will not by going straight come to appease God?
And they say, My fate did it. What is fate? My stars caused it. What are stars? Surely those which we perceive in the heavens. And who made them? God. Who ordained them? God. Thou seest then what thou wouldest say. God made me to sin. So is he unrighteous? Thou righteous, because if he had not caused thee, thou hadst not sinned. Away with those excuses and sins. Remember that psalm, Incline not my heart to wicked words, to make excuses in my sins, with men that work iniquity. But there are great men forsooth who defend their sins. There are also great men who tell the constellations, and who reckon the stars in their seasons, and who would say any one either sinneth or liveth well. And when Mars maketh a murderer, or Venus an adulteress, great learned, chosen men they seem in this world.
But what saith he in the psalm? Incline not my heart to wicked words with men that work iniquity, and I will not partake with their chosen. Call they chosen and learned the tellers of constellation. Call they wise those who, as it were, arrange on their fingers the fates of men and foreshoe men's characters from the stars. With the free will hath God created me. If I have sinned, I have sinned myself, so must I confess my transgression not only unto the Lord, but against myself, not against Him. I said, Lord, be merciful unto me. The sick man crieth to the physician. I said, Why, I said, I is said with an emphasis, I, even I, not fate, nor chance, nor the devil, for neither did he compel me, but I consented to him persuading me.
I said, Lord, be merciful unto me. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee. For hath this man also determined and purposed, I said, I will confess against myself my transgression unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Verse 6. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in an acceptable time. At what time? For this. For what? For ungodliness. For what? Even for the pardon of sins. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in an acceptable time. Therefore shall every one that is godly pray unto thee, because thou hast forgiven sin. For if thou forgivest not sins, there would not be one godly man to pray unto thee. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in an acceptable time.
When the New Testament shall be manifested, when the grace of Christ shall be manifested, for that is the acceptable time. But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, that is, a female, for the ancients used these words differently, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law. From whence to redeem them? From the devil, from perdition, from their sins, from him to whom they had sold themselves, to redeem them that were under the law. Under the law were they, because the law pressed them, their own condition pressed them, by convincing of guilt, not by saving. It did indeed forbid sin, but because they had not of themselves the power of justifying themselves, they ought to have cried unto him, as he cried who was led captive under the law of sin.
O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? All men were under the law, not in the law. While it already pressed sore upon them, convincing them of guilt. For the law manifested sin. It forced the thorn. It made the heart to be pricked. The law warned every man that he should acknowledge himself guilty and cry unto God for pardon. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in an acceptable time. Therefore said I of the time, when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son. Again saith the Apostle, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in a day of salvation have I succored thee. And because this concerning all Christians had been predicted by the prophet, the Apostle added, Behold, now is the accepted time.
Behold, now is the day of salvation. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in an acceptable time. Surely in the floods of waters they shall not come nigh unto him. Unto him. Unto whom? Unto God. For he is wont to change the person. As it is written, Salvation belongeth to the Lord. Thy blessing is upon thy people. He saith not, Salvation belongeth unto the Lord, and his blessing is upon his people. Nor, O Lord, Salvation belongeth unto thee, and thy blessing is upon thy people. But when he had begun, Salvation belongeth unto the Lord. Speaking not unto him, but of him, then he turned to him, and said, And thy blessing is upon thy people. So hear also, when thou hearest first to thee, then to him.
Think not that it is another. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in an acceptable time. Surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. What is in the floods of great waters? They who are floating in the floods of great waters come not nigh unto God. What are the floods of great waters? The multiplicity of various doctrines. Attend, brethren. The great waters are the variety of doctrines. The doctrine of God is one. There are not many waters, but one water. Whether the water of the sacrament of baptism, or of the doctrine of salvation, concerning that doctrine, by which we are sprinkled through the Holy Spirit, it is said, Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
To those waters approach not the ungodly, but they that believe on him that justified the ungodly, now justified, approach. Other waters there are many. Many doctrines defile the minds of men. As I said, but now, one doctrine there is. My fate did it. Another. Chance did it for me. Fortune caused it. Men are governed by chance. There is no providence whereby anything is directed. This is another doctrine. Another man said, There is against us the race of darkness which rebelled against God. The same maketh men to sin. In this flood of great waters they shall not come nigh unto God. Which is that water, that true water which flows from the inmost vein of the pure fountain of truth? Which is that water, brethren, but that which teaches to confess unto the Lord?
Which is that water, but that which teaches? It is a good thing to confess unto the Lord. Which is that water, but that which teaches this word? I said, I will confess against myself my transgression unto the Lord. And I said, Lord, be merciful unto me. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee. This is the water of confession of sin. This is the water of humiliation of heart. This is the water of a life leading unto salvation, abasing itself. Presuming nothing of itself, attributing nothing proudly to its own power. This water is not in any of the books of the Gentiles, not in the books of the Epicureans, not of the Stoics, not of the Manichaeans, not of the Platonists. Even where the best precepts of morals and disciplines are found, yet is not found that humility.
The way of that humility flows from another source. It comes from Christ. This way is from Him. who, when he was high, came lowly. For what else taught he by humbling himself being made obedient unto death, even death of the cross? What else taught he by paying that which he owed not, that he might free us from debt? What else taught he by being baptized, who did no sin, crucified, who had no guilt? What else taught he but this humility? Not unjustly saith he, I am the way, the truth, and the life. In this humility these men come nigh unto God, because the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. But in the floods of great waters, lifting up themselves against God and teaching pride and ungodliness, shall they not come nigh unto God?
But what? Art thou who art even justified still in the midst of those waters? On every side, my brethren, Even when we are confessing our sins, roar around us the waters of that flood. We are not indeed in the flood, but we are surrounded by the flood. They press upon us, but overwhelm us not. They trouble us, but drown us not. What then wilt thou do, seeing thou art in the midst of the flood, whilst thou walk in this world? For doth not one hear such teachers? Doth he not hear such proud men? Doth he not from their word suffer in his heart daily persecutions? What then should he say, who is now justified, and presuming upon God, who is surrounded by that flood? Verse 7 Thou art my refuge from the pressure which hath surrounded me.
Let others fly for refuge, either to their gods, or to their devils, or to their own strength, or to the defense of their sins. For me, in that flood, is there no refuge but thou from the pressure which hath surrounded me. O thou, my rejoicing, deliver me. If already thou rejoicest, why wouldst thou be delivered? O thou, my rejoicing, deliver me. I hear the voice of joy. O thou, my rejoicing, I hear a groan. Deliver me. Thou rejoicest and groanest. True, saith he, I both rejoice and groan. I rejoice in hope. Chapter 1. It follows, patient in tribulation. O thou, my rejoicing, deliver me. The apostle also was already justified, and what saith he? And not only they, But ourselves also, which hath the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves.
Wherefore deliver me, because we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies. There the same apostle goes on, and says, We are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. If thou dost hope, thou dost rejoice. If with patience thou waitest, yet thou groanest. For there is no need of patience where thou sufferest no evil. That which is called endurance. That which is called patience, that which is called submission, that which is called longsuffering, is not but in evils. When thou art sore pressed, there is anguish.
If then we wait with patience, still we say, Deliver me from the pressure which hath compassed me about. But because we are saved by hope, we say at the same time both of these, O thou, my rejoicing, deliver me. The Answer of God. Verse 8. I will give thee understanding. The psalm indeed is for understanding. I will give thee understanding, and set thee in the way in which thou shalt go. What is, I will set thee in the way in which thou shalt go? Not that thou mayest stand still therein, but that thou stray not therefrom. I will give thee understanding, that thou mayest know thyself ever, and rejoice ever in hope before God, Until thou come at last to that country, where shall be now no more hope but reality.
I will fix mine eyes upon thee. I will not take off from thee mine eyes, because thou also wilt not take off thine eyes from me. Now, being justified, now after remission of thy sins, lift up thine eyes unto God. For thine heart was corrupt while it was on earth. It is not in vain that thou hearest. Lift up thine heart, lest it be corrupted. Therefore do thou also lift up thine eyes even unto God, that he may fix his eyes upon thee. But why fearest thou, lest while thou hast thine eyes upon God, thou shouldst stumble, shouldst not look before thee, and happily fall into his snare? Fear not, for even there are his eyes, which he fixeth upon thee. Take no thought, saith he, and the apostle Peter saith, Cast ye all ye cares upon him, for he careth for you.
Therefore I will fix mine eyes upon thee. Do thou then raise thine eyes unto him, and fear not, as I said, lest thou fall into a snare. Hear another psalm. My eyes are ever toward the Lord. And, as if one said to him, What dost thou for thy feet, when thou lookest not before thee? For he shall pluck, saith he, my feet out of the net. I will fix mine eyes upon thee. To this man promised he understanding, and his protection, now turneth he to the proud who defend their sins, and sheweth unto us what is true understanding. Verse 9. Be not ye as the horse or as the mule, which have no understanding. The horse and mule are of uplifted neck, The horse and mule are not like that ox which knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib, but not ye as the horse or as the mule, which have no understanding.
For what do such suffer? Hold in their jaws with bit and brittle, who come not near unto thee. Wouldst thou be as the horse or as the mule? Wouldst thou not have a rider? Thy mouth and thy jaws shall be held in with bit and brittle. Thy mouth shall be held in. Even that wherewith thou boastest thy merits, and keepest silent thy sins, hold in their jaws, who come not near unto thee by humbling themselves.
Many are the scourges of the sinner. It is no wonder if after the applying of the bitten brittle there follow scourges. For the beast desired to be untamed, he is tamed with brittle and scourge, and I wish he may be thoroughly tamed. For there is fear, lest by too much resisting he deserve to be left untamed, and to go on in his own unrestrained liberty, so that, if it be said of him, their iniquity standeth forth as from their fatness, as of them whose sins are as yet unpunished. Therefore, when he is scourged, let him be amended, let him be tamed, for even so this man also declared himself to be tamed. A horse and a mule had he called himself When he kept silence, but whereby was he tamed? By scourges.
I was turned, saith he, in misery, until a thorn was fixed through. Whether scourges thou sayest, or goads thou sayest, God tammeth the beast whereon he rideth. For it is expedient for the beast that it be ridden upon. For not because he is weary by going afoot doth God ride the beast. And truly, Is it not full of mystery that an ass was brought unto the Lord? A people meek and gentle, bearing well the Lord, is that ass, and tendeth toward Jerusalem. For the meek will he guide in judgment, as saith another Psalm, and the gentle will he teach his way. What meek? Those that lift not up their necks against their tamer. Suffering patiently the scourges and the brittle, afterwards so tamed that without a scourge they amble, and without bit or brittle keep the way.
If thou be without that rider, thou wilt fall, not he. Many are the scourges of the sinners, but he that trusteth in the Lord mercy shall compass him about. How is there refuge from pressure? Him whom first pressure compasseth, afterwards compasseth mercy, because he will give mercy, who gave also law, law in scourges, mercy in consolation. But he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about. What then is the conclusion? Verse 11, Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous. O ye who rejoice in yourselves! O ye ungodly! O ye proud, who rejoice in yourselves! Now believe ye on him that justifieth the ungodly, and let your faith be counted for righteousness. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice ye righteous, and rejoice, understand again, in the Lord.
Wherefore, because ye are now righteous, whereby righteous, not by your merits, but by his grace. Wherefore righteous, because justified. And glory all ye that are right in heart. What is right in heart? Not resisting God. Attend, my beloved, and understand the right heart. I speak briefly, but yet a thing of all the most to be commended. And God be thanked that it cometh at the end, that so it may remain fixed in your thoughts. Between a right heart and an heart not right is this difference. Whatever man, whatsoever he suffereth against his will, Afflictions, sorrows, labours, humiliations, attributeth them not but to the righteous will of God, not charging him with foolishness, as though he knoweth not what he doth, because he scourgeth such a one, and spareth such another, he indeed is right in heart.
But perverse in heart, and forward, and distorted are they, who whatever evils they suffer, say that they suffer them unjustly, charging him with injustice, through whose will they suffer. Or, because they dare not charge him with injustice, take from him his government. Because God saith one cannot do injustice, but it is unjust that I suffer, and such an one suffer not. For I grant that I am a sinner, yet surely there are some worse, who rejoice while I suffer tribulation. Because then this is unjust, that even some worse than I should rejoice, while I suffer tribulation, who am either righteous or less a sinner than they, And it is certain unto me that this is unjust, and it is certain unto me that God doth know injustice.
Therefore God governeth not the things of men, nor is there any care for us with him. They then, who are not right in heart, that is, who are distorted in heart, have three conclusions. Either there is no God, for the fool saith in his heart, There is no God. And it hath been said, in speaking of those floods, there wanted not such a doctrine among philosophers. There wanted not men who said that there was no God, who governeth all things, and who created all things, but that there were many gods, living at ease beyond this world, caring not for it. Either, therefore, there is no God, which saith the ungodly, who is displeased with whatever happens to him against his will, and happens not to another to whom he prefereth himself, or God is unjust.
Who is pleased at these things, and who doeth these things, or God governeth not human things, and there is no care for all men with him. In these three conclusions great ungodliness is it, either to deny a god, or to call him unrighteous, or to take from him the government of the world. Wherefore this, because he is distorted in heart, God is right, and therefore a distorted heart acquiesceth not in him, as it is in another psalm. How good is God to Israel, even unto such as are of an upright heart! And because even he had once such a thought as this, how doth God know, and is there knowledge in the Most High? Therefore he added in that place, but as for me, my feet were almost gone. As a warped beam, though you lay it on an even pavement, Taketh not its place, nor is it joined and fastened to the rest, but always moves about and totters, not because that is uneven where thou placest it, but because that which thou placest is warped.
So thy heart, as long as it is crooked and warped, cannot coincide with the rightness of God, and cannot be so placed therein as to cleave unto the same, and for that to be he that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit. Therefore said he, Glory, all ye that are right in heart. How glory the right in heart? Hear their glorying. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, saith the Apostle. For it is no great thing to glory in gladness, to glory in rejoicing. The right in heart glorieth in tribulations also. And hear how he glorieth in tribulation. For it is not in vain, nor without reason, that such an one glorieth. See. Knowing saith the right heart, that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us.
So then is the right heart. Brethren, let every man to whomsoever anything happens say, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Lo, this is a right heart. As the Lord pleased, so it is done. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Who hath taken away? What hath he taken away? From whom hath he taken away? When hath he taken away? Blessed be the name of the Lord. He said not, The Lord gave, and the devil hath taken away. Attend therefore, beloved, lest happily you should say, The devil did this to me. Unto thy God alone refer thy scourge. For not even the devil doth any thing against thee, unless he permit who hath power above. Either for punishment or for discipline, for the punishment of the ungodly, for the discipline of his son.
For he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Neither must thou hope to be without a scourge, unless haply thou wish to be disinherited. What? Every son? Where then wouldst thou hide thyself? Every one, and none will be accepted, none without a scourge. What? Even to all? Would you hear how truly he saith all? Even the only-begotten, without sin, was yet not without a scourge. Wherefore, even the only-begotten, bearing thy infirmity, and foreshing in himself thy person as the head beareth the person of its own body, when now he was approaching his passion, out of his manhood, which he bore, became sorrowful, that he might make thee glad, became sorrowful, How was the soldier able? I heard Paul exulting as he approached his passion.
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto them that love is appearing. See how he exalteth, coming to his passion. He then rejoiceth who should be crowned. He who should crown sorroweth. What therefore did he bear, the infirmity of some, who, when tribulation or death cometh, are sorrowful? But see how he leadeth us to rightness of heart. Behold, thou wouldest live, thou wouldest not that any thing should happen to thee, but God hath willed otherwise. Here are two wills, but thy will must be made straight to the will of God, not God's will bent to thine. For thy will is crooked, his is even the rule.
The rule must be fixed, that what is crooked may be made straight to the rule. See now the Lord Jesus Christ teacheth this, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. And, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. See, he sheweth the human will, but see the right heart. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. Do thou, then, the same. Rejoice in those things which happen unto thee. And even if the last day come upon thee, rejoice. Or if the frailty of any human will creep over thee, let it speedily be made straight unto God, that thou mayest be among those of whom it is said, Glory. End of Psalm 32.
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34 34 - Psalm 33: First Exposition and Discourse the First 39:16
Psalm 33. First Exposition.
Verse 1. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous. Rejoice, O ye righteous, not in yourselves, for that is not safe, but in the Lord. For praise is comely to the upright. These praise the Lord, who submit themselves unto the Lord, for else they are distorted and perverse. First two, praise the Lord with harp. Praise the Lord presenting unto him your bodies a living sacrifice. Sing unto him with the psaltery of ten strings. Let your members be servants to the love of God. And of your neighbor, in which are kept both the Three and the Seven Commandments. Verse 3. Sing unto him a new song. Sing unto him a song of the grace of faith. Sing skillfully unto him with jubilation. Sing skillfully unto him with rejoicing.
Verse 4. For the word of the Lord is right. For the word of the Lord is right to make you that which of yourselves ye cannot be. And all his works are done in faith. Lest any think that by the merit of works he hath arrived at faith, when in faith are done all the works which God himself loveth. Verse 5. He loveth mercy and judgment. For he loveth mercy, which now he sheweth first, and judgment, wherewith he exacteth that which he hath first shewn. The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. Throughout the whole world are sins forgiven unto men Verse 6. by the breath of his mouth, and all their faith by his Holy Spirit. Verse 7. He gathereth the waters of the sea together, as into a bottle. He gathereth the people of the world together, To confession of mortified sin, lest through pride they flow too freely, he layeth up the deep in storehouses, and keepeth in them his secrets for riches.
Verse Eight, Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let every sinner fear that so he may cease to sin. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him, not of the terrors of men or of any creature, but of him let them stand in awe. For he spake, and they were made. For no other one made those things which are to fear, but he spake, and they were made. He commanded, and they were created. He commanded by his word, and they were created. Verse 10. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to naught. Of them that seek not his kingdom, but kingdoms of their own, he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. Of them that covet earthly happiness, and reproveth the counsels of princes, of them that seek to rule over such peoples.
Verse 11. But the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever. But the counsel of the Lord, whereby he maketh none blessed, Verse 12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. One nation is blessed, belonging to the heavenly city, which hath not chosen, save the Lord for their God, and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance, and which not of itself, but by the gift of God, hath been chosen, that he by possessing it may not suffer it to be uncared for and miserable. Verse 13, The Lord looketh from heaven, he beholdeth all the sons of men, From the souls of the righteous the Lord looketh mercifully upon all who would rise to newness of life. Verse 14. From his prepared habitation, from his habitation of assumed humanity, which he prepared for himself, he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
He looketh mercifully upon all who live in the flesh, that he may be over them in ruling them. Verse 15. He fashioneth their hearts singly. He giveth spiritually to their hearts their proper gifts, so that neither the whole body may be eye, nor the whole hearing, but that one in this manner, another in that manner, may be incorporated with Christ. He understandeth all their works. Before him are all their works understood. Verse 16. A king shall not be saved by much strength. He shall not be saved who ruleth his own flesh, if he presume much upon his own strength. Neither shall a giant be saved by much strength, nor shall he be saved, whoever warreth against the habit of his own lust, or against the devil and his angels, if he trust much to his own might.
A horse is a deceitful thing for safety. He is deceived who thinketh either that through men he gains salvation received among men, or that by the impetuosity of his own courage he is defended from destruction, In the abundance of his strength shall he not be saved. Verse 18. Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear him. Because if thou seek salvation, behold, the love of the Lord is upon them that fear him. Upon them that hope in his mercy, that hope not in their own strength, but in his mercy. Verse 19. To deliver their souls from death, and to keep them alive in famine. To give them the nourishment of the word and of everlasting truth, which they lost while presuming on their own strength, and therefore have not even their own strength from lack of righteousness.
Verse 20. My soul shall be patient for the Lord, that hereafter it may be filled with dainties incorruptible. Meanwhile, whilst here it remaineth, my soul shall be patient for the Lord. For he is our helper and defender, our helper he is. While we endeavor after him, and our defender while we resist the adversary. Verse 21, For our heart shall rejoice in him, for not in ourselves, wherein without him there is great need, but in himself Shall our heart rejoice? And we have trusted in his holy name, and therefore have we trusted that we shall come to God, because unto us absent hath he sent, through faith, his own name. Verse 22. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in thee.
Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, for hope confoundeth not, because we have hoped in thee. Second Exposition. Discourse the First. On the first part of the Psalm. This psalm admonishes us to rejoice in the Lord. It is entitled, Of David himself. Whoever then belonged to the most holy seat of David Let them hearken to their own words, and speak their own words, and let them rejoice in the Lord. But thus it begins. Verse 1. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous. The unrighteous rejoice in the world. With the world ended is ended the rejoicing of the unrighteous. But let the righteous rejoice in the Lord, because while the Lord remaineth, remaineth also the rejoicing of the righteous. But it is meet so to rejoice in the Lord, as to praise him.
Who alone has not any thing which can displease us, and has many things, none so many, which displease the unfaithful. And that is a short precept. He pleaseth God, whom God pleaseth. And think not lightly of this, dearly beloved. For ye see how many dispute against God, how many are displeased with his works. For when he would do contrary to the will of men, because he is the Lord, and knoweth what he doth, and regardeth not so much our will as our benefit, They who would have rather their own will to be fulfilled than God's would bend God to their will, not make right their will unto God. Such men, unfaithful, ungodly, unrighteous, though it grieveth me to say it, yet I will say it, for ye know how truly I say it, are more easily pleased with the pantomime than with God.
Therefore, when he had said, Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous. Because to rejoice in him, except by praising him, we cannot. And we praise one whom we please the more, the more he pleaseth us. For praise, saith he, is comely to the upright. Who are the upright? They who direct their heart according to the will of God, and whom, if human frailty disturb them, divine justice consoleth. For although in their mortal heart they may privately wish something, which may suit their own immediate case, or interest, or their present necessity, yet when they have understood and learned that God willeth otherwise, they prefer the will of the better to their own will, the will of the omnipotent to the will of the weak, the will of God to the will of man.
For far as God differs from man, so far the will of God from the will of man. Wherefore, Christ having put on man, and proposing a rule to us, teaching us to live, and granting us to live, she would also man's private will, whereby he figured both his own and ours, because he is our head, and we, as ye know, belong to him as real members. Father, saith he, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. This was the human will, wishing something proper to itself, and as it were private. But because he willed man to be right in heart, that whatever in him was somewhat crooked, he might make straight to him who is ever right. Nevertheless, saith he, not as I will, but as Thou, Father. But what evil could Christ will?
What, in short, could he will other than the Father? Whose divinity is one, their will cannot be different. But in the person of man, transforming his own into himself, whom he had transformed into himself when he said, I was an hungry, and ye gave me meat. Whom he transformed into himself, when to Saul raging and persecuting the saints, he cried from heaven, though none touched him. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? He shewed, as it were, man's proper will. He shewed thee, and corrected thee. Behold, saith he thyself in me, for thou also canst will something proper to thyself, though God will otherwise. This is granted to human frailty, it is granted to human infirmity. To have a proper will, it is difficult that this should not happen to thee.
But think straightway, who is above thee? Think of him above thee, thyself below him, him the creator, thyself the creature, him the Lord, thyself the servant, him omnipotent. Thyself weak, correcting thyself, submitting to his will, and saying, Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt, wherein art thou severed from God, who now willest that which God willeth? Then shalt thou be upright, and praise shall be comely to thee, for praise is comely to the upright. But if thou art crooked, thou praisest God, when it is well with thee, blasphemest, when it is ill, which ill indeed, if it be just, is not ill. But just it is, since it is done by him who can do nothing unjust. And so thou wilt be a foolish boy in the house of thy father, loving thy father, if he fondle thee, and hating him when he scourgeth thee, as if he were not, both when fondling and when scourging, preparing for thee the inheritance.
But see how praise is comely to the upright. Hear the voice of the upright praising from another psalm. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. What is at all times, that is, continually, and what is, I will bless, that is, his praise shall be in my mouth, at all times and continually, whether in prosperity or in adversity. For if in prosperity and not in adversity, how at all times, how continually? And we have heard many such words from many. When any good fortune befalls them, they exalt, they rejoice, they sing to God, they praise God. Nor are they to be disapproved. Nay, we must rejoice in them. For many praise him not even then. But they who have now begun to praise God on account of their prosperity must be taught to acknowledge their father also when scourging them, and not to murmur against the hand of him correcting.
Lest remaining ever perverse, they deserve to be disinherited, so that being now made upright, what is upright? So that nothing which God doth displease them, They may be able to praise God even in adversity, and to say, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. As the Lord pleased, so it is to come to pass. Blessed be the name of the Lord. To such upright praises comely, not to them that will first praise and afterwards blame. Therefore, ye righteous upright, rejoice in the Lord, for your praise is comely. Let none say, Who am I that am righteous? or When am I righteous? Cast not yourselves away, and despair not of yourselves. Ye are men, in the image of God were ye created. He who made you men, for you also was made man, that ye, being many sons, might be adopted to an eternal inheritance.
The blood of the only begotten was shed for you. If ye unto yourselves have become vile through earthly frailty, according to your own price, weigh yourselves. What ye eat, what ye drink, whereto ye subscribe, amen. Do we give you this warning, that ye may be proud, and dare to claim to yourselves some perfection? No, but neither again ought ye to think yourselves to be exiled from all righteousness. For I will not question you of your righteousness, for perhaps none of you would dare to answer, I am righteous, but I question you of your faith. As none of you dares to say, I am righteous, so none dares to say, I am not faithful. I ask not yet how thou livest, but how thou believest, thou wilt answer, and thou believest in Christ.
Hast thou not heard the apostle, The just shall live by faith? Thy faith is thy righteousness, because truly if thou dost believe, thou dost beware. If thou dost beware, thou dost endeavour, and God knoweth thy endeavour, and beholdest thy will, and considereth the wrestling with the flesh, and exhorteth thee to fight. Therefore, rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous. Or this I would say, Rejoice in the Lord, O ye faithful, because the just shall live by faith. Praise is comely to the upright. Learn to give thanks unto God, both in prosperity and in tribulation. Learn to have in thy heart what every man hath in his tongue, the will of God be done. The common speech of the people is mostly saving doctrine.
Who saith not daily, What God willeth, that let him do. And so the upright will be among those, who rejoice in the Lord, and to whom praise is comely, whom the psalm addresseth in the words following, and saith, Verse Two. Praise the Lord with harp, sing unto him with the psaltery of ten strings. For this even now we sang, this expressing with one mouth we instructed your hearts. Hath not the institution of these vigils, in the name of Christ brought it to pass, that harps should be banished out of this place? And lo, the same are bid to sound. Praise the Lord, saith he, with harp. Sing unto him with the psaltery of ten strings. Let none turn his heart to instruments of the theatre. That which is commanded him, he hath in himself, as it is elsewhere said, Thy vows are upon me, O God.
I will render praises unto thee. They remember who some, while still were present, when what difference there is between the psaltery and harp. As best I could, I explained in my discourse, and tried withal to bring it home to the understanding of all. But how much I affected, they know best who heard. And now, in due season, I repeat it, that in this diversity of two musical instruments, we may find the diversity of human action signified by the same, and to be fulfilled in our life. The harp hath that hollow board, like a taber, covered with tortoiseshell, on which the cords lean, so that when touched they sound. I speak not of the staff wherewith they are touched, but the hollow board, I mean, over which they are laid, upon which in somewise they lean, so that from thence, trembling, at the touch, and from that concavity, conceiving sound, they are rendered more harmonious.
This board, then, the harp hath in the lower, the psaltery in the upper part. This is the distinction between them. Now in this place we are bidden to praise the Lord with harp, and to sing to him with the psaltery of ten strings. He saith not, with a harp of ten strings, neither in this song, nor, if I mistake not, in any other place. My sons, the readers may read, and examine more thoroughly and leisurely for themselves. But as far as I myself remember, I have found in many places a psaltery of ten strings, a harp of ten strings, nowhere occurs, that I have read. Remember that the harp hath that wherefrom it sounds in the lower part, the psaltery in the higher. In our lower life, that is, our earthly, we have prosperity and adversity.
Wherefore, we must praise God in both, that his praise may be continually in our mouth, and that we may bless the Lord at all times. For there is an earthly prosperity, and there is an earthly adversity. In both must God be praised, that so we may harp. What then is earthly prosperity? When we are sound in body, when all things abound whereby we live, when our safety is sure, when the fruits come in largely, when he maketh the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. All these things contribute to earthly life. Whoever therefrom praiseth not God is ungrateful, because they are earthly things. Are they therefore not of God? Or is therefore another to be thought to give them, because they are given also to the evil?
For manifold is the mercy of God, patient it is, long-suffering. Thereby sheweth he the more what things he reserveth for the good, when he sheweth what great things he giveth even to the evil. And adversities there are, Forsooth, from the lower part, from the frailty of the human race, in griefs, in weariness, in pressures, in tribulations, in temptations, in all these let him praise God who harpeth. Let him consider, not that they are from below, but that they cannot be ruled and governed but by that wisdom which reacheth from end to end mightily, and sweetly ordereth all things. For he does not rule heavenly things and leave alone earthly, or it would not be said unto him, Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I go down into hell, thou art there. Where then is he wanting, who nowhere is not? Praise then the Lord on the harp, whether any earthly thing abound to thee. Give thanks to him who gave it. Or whether ought to be wanting to thee, or haply, by misfortune, be taken from thee, harp without care, for he is not taken from thee who gave, though that be taken from thee which he gave. Even so, I say, harp without care, assured in thy God, touch the strings in thy heart, and say, as to an harp sounding well in the lower part, the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Whatever the Lord please, that did he. Blessed be the name of the Lord. But now, when thou considerest the superior gifts of God, what commandments he hath given thee, with what heavenly doctrine he hath imbued thee, what things he hath commanded thee from above, from the fountain of his truth, turn also to the psaltery, sing unto the Lord with the psaltery of ten strings.
For the commandments of the law are ten, and the ten commandments of the law thou hast the psaltery. The thing is complete. Therein thou hast the love of God in three, and the love of thy neighbor in seven. And truly thou knowest, the Lord himself having said it, that on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Saith God unto thee from above, The Lord thy God is one Lord. Thou hast one string. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Thou hast another string. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, not carnally, not with their Jewish delights who abuse rest unto wickedness. For better were it that they should dig the whole day, than the whole day dance. But thou, thinking on rest in thy God, and for that rest, doing all things, abstain from servile work.
Now, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin, and would that I could say of man, and not of sin. These three relate to the love of God. Of whom consider thou the unity, the truth, and the pleasantness? For there is a pleasantness in the Lord, where there is a true Sabbath, a true rest, Wherefore, it is said, Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. For who giveth such delight as he who maketh all things which delight? In these three is the love of God, in the other seven is the love of our neighbor, that thou do not to another what thou wouldest not suffer. Honor thy father and thy mother, because thou also wouldest be honored by thy children.
Thou shalt not commit adultery. Because thou wouldest not that thy wife should commit adultery behind thy back. Thou shalt not kill, because thou also wouldest not be killed. Thou shalt not steal, because thou also wouldest not suffer robbery. Thou shalt not bear false witness, because thou hatest him that beareth false witness against thee. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, because thou wouldest not thy wife to be coveted by another. Thou shalt not covet anything, that is thy neighbor's, because if any other covet ought that is thine, thou art displeased. Direct thy tongue to thyself also, when thou art displeased at him who injures thee. All these are the commandments of God. By wisdom herself were they given.
Their sound cometh from above. Touch the psaltery. Fulfill the law, which the Lord thy God came, not to destroy, but to fulfill. By love wilt thou fulfill, what by fear thou couldest not. For he who through fear doth not evil would fain to do it if he could, and so through the power is not given, the will remaineth. I do it not, saith he. Wherefore, because I fear, not yet lovest thou righteousness, thou art still a servant, be a son. But of a good servant is made a good son. Now do it not through fear. Thou wilt learn also to do it not through love. For there is a beauty in righteousness. Punishment may deter thee, but righteousness hath its own comeliness. It seeketh men's eyes, it enflammeth its lovers.
For this the martyrs, treading under foot the world, shed their blood. What loved they when they renounced all things? For were they not lovers? Or say we this to you, that ye may love not. Who loveth not, is cold, is dead. Love we, but that beauty which seeketh the eyes of the heart. Love we, but that beauty which with the praise of righteousness inflameth the mind. Men exclaim, they cry aloud, they say everywhere, How good! How excellent! What see they? Righteousness they see, in which an old man bowed down is beautiful. For neither if an old man that is righteous walk abroad, is there any thing in his body to be loved, and yet he is loved by all. Even there is he loved where he is not seen.
Nay. There is he loved where he is seen, but with the heart. Let him then delight you, and pray ye to the Lord, that he may delight you. For the Lord shall give sweetness, and our land shall yield her increase, that through love ye may fulfill what by fear it is hard to fulfill. Why say I, it is hard? The mind is not yet able. It would rather that there were not any commandment. If to do, it is not led by love. But by fear constrained. Do not steal, fear hell. He would rather that there were no hell into which he should be cast. When beginneth a man to love righteousness, but when he had rather that there were no stealing, even though there were no hell into which thieves should be cast, this it is to love righteousness.
And what is righteousness herself like? Who painted her? What beauty hath the wisdom of God? Through her are all things beautiful, that are pleasant to the eyes. Her to see, her to embrace, our hearts must be cleansed, her lovers we profess ourselves, herself so dresseth us that we may not be displeasing to her. And when men reprove us for those things, whereby we please her whom we love, how is it that we so little regard our reprovers? How is it that we so despise them, and altogether care nothing for them? Women's lovers, loose and worthy of condemnation, when their mistresses dress them after their own fancy, If they can but please them, care not for those whom they displease, thinking it sufficient for them that they please their eyes, whom they court, and grave men they mostly displease.
Nay, grave men they always displease, and by better judgment are blamed. Thou art not well shorn, saith a grave man to a wanton youth. It becometh thee not to go with such like curls. He knoweth, however, that a certain person is pleased with those curls. He hateth thee that with true judgment blamest, and keepest in himself that which pleaseth his perverse will. He thinketh thee his enemy, because thou wouldest take away his disgrace. He flieth thy eyes, and altogether careth not by what rule of righteousness he be blamed. If therefore these regard not their reprovers in truth, that they may be handsome in falsehood, Ought we, in those things whereby we please the wisdom of God, ought we to regard unrighteous mockers, having no eyes wherewith they may see what we love?
These things, considering all ye upright in heart, praise the Lord with heart, sing unto him with a psaltery of ten strengths. Verse 3. Sing unto him a new song. Put off oldness, ye know the new song, a new man, a new testament, a new song. A new song belongeth not to men that are old. None learn that but new men, renewed through grace from oldness, and belonging now to the New Testament, which is the kingdom of heaven. For that singeth all our love, and singeth a new song. A new song let it sing, not with the tongue, but with the life. Sing unto him a new song. Sing skillfully unto him. Every man asketh how he should sing unto God. Sing unto him, but sing not unskillfully. He would not that his ears be offended.
Sing skilfully, brother. If, in the audience of any good musician, when it is said to thee, Sing, to please such an one, without some knowledge of the musical art, thou fearest to sing, lest thou shouldst displease a master of the art, because what an unskilful person findeth not amiss in thee, a master blameth. Who can undertake to sing skilfully before God, so judging of the singer, so examining every part, so exactly hearing? How canst thou shoe so nice a skill in singing, as in nothing to displease ears so perfect? Behold, he giveth, as it were, the tune of thy song. Seek not words as if thou couldst explain whereby God is pleased. Sing with jubilation, for this is to sing skillfully unto God.
To sing with jubilation. What is it to sing with jubilation? To be unable to understand, to express in words what is sung in the heart. For singers, either in the harvest, or in the vineyard, or in any other busy work, after they have begun in the words of their hymns to exult and rejoice, being as it were filled with so great joy, that they cannot express it in words, then turn from actual words and proceed to sounds of jubilation. The jubilee is a sound signifying that the heart laboreth with that which it cannot utter, and whom beseemeth that jubilation but the ineffable God. For he is ineffable, whom thou canst not speak, and if thou canst not speak him, and oughtest not to keep him silent, what remaineth to thee but jubilation, that the heart may rejoice without words, and the boundless extent of joy may have no limits of syllables?
Sing skilfully unto him with jubilation. Verse 4. For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done in faith, in that even wherein he displeaseth The not right, he is right, and all his works are done in faith. Let thy works be done in faith, for the just shall live by faith, and faith worketh by love. Let thy works be done in faith, because, by trusting in God, thou art rendered faithful. How can the works of God be done in faith, as though God also should live by faith? We find God also called faithful, and that not in our own words, here an apostle, God, saith He, is faithful. Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it?
Thus ye have heard God, called Faithful, hear it also in another place. If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He will also deny us. If we believe not, yet He abideth Faithful, He cannot deny Himself. We have, then, a faithful God also. But let us well distinguish faithful God from faithful man. Man is faithful when he trusteth in God promising. God is faithful because he performeth what he promised to man. Let us hold him a debtor most faithful, since we hold him a promiser most merciful. For neither have we lent unto him any loan that we should hold him a debtor, Since from him we have whatever we offer unto him, and from him cometh whatever good there is in us. All the good things in which we rejoice are from him.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him are all things. We then, We say not unto God, Lord, render what thou hast received, but render what thou hast promised. For the word of the Lord is the Lord. What is the word of the Lord is right? He deceiveth thee not. Do not thou deceive him? Rather, do not thou deceive thyself? For who can deceive the omniscient? But iniquity hath lied unto itself. For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done in faith. Verse 5. He loveth mercy and judgment. Do thou the same, because he doth. Observe ye both mercy and judgment.
The time of mercy is now. The time of judgment shall be hereafter. Whence is it now the time of mercy? He calleth those but now averted. He forgiveth sin to them converted. He is patient with sinners until they be converted. When they are converted, he forgetteth things past. He promiseth things to come. He exhorteth the slothful, consoleth the afflicted, teacheth the studious, assisteth the fighting. He deserteth none, laboring and crying unto himself. He giveth that wherewith sacrifice may be done unto himself. He bestoweth that wherewith he may be reconciled. Let not the great time of mercy pass. Brethren, let it not pass away from us. There will come a judgment, and then, Also there will be repentance.
But then, without fruit, then, they repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit shall say within themselves, Is it not written in the book of wisdom? What hath pride profited us? Or what good hath riches with our vaunting brought us? All these things are passed away like a shadow. Let us now say, All these things are passing away like a shadow. Let us now say to our prophet, They are passing away. Lest then, we say without avail, they are passed away. This, then, is the time of mercy. There will come also the time of judgment. But think not, brethren, that these two can, in any wise, be separated, the one from the other, in God. They do indeed seem somewhat contrary to each other, as if one who is merciful could not observe judgment, and one who is tenacious of judgment would forget mercy.
But God is omnipotent. Neither in mercy loseth he judgment, nor in judgment mercy, for he hath compassion, he considereth his own image, our frailty, our wandering, our blindness, and he calleth, and to those converted unto him he forgiveth sins, to the unconverted he forgiveth not. Is he merciful to the unrighteous? Has he therefore lost judgment, or ought he not to judge between the converted and the unconverted? Seemeth it just to you that the converted and the unconverted be treated equally, that the same regard be paid to one confessing and one lying, to the humble and the proud? Therefore hath he judgment, yea, even in mercy. Again, in the judgment will he have mercy, namely, upon those unto whom he shall say, I was unhungered, and ye gave me meat.
For in a certain apostolic epistle it is said, For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy. Blessed, saith he, are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Therefore in the judgment shall there be also mercy, but not without judgment. For if not every one, but he shall have mercy, who hath before shewed mercy, even mercy itself will be just, because it will not be indiscriminate. Mercy it surely is, that sin should be forgiven. Mercy it is, that life eternal should be bestowed. See then also judgment. Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given to you. Surely this, it shall be given unto you, and ye shall be forgiven, is mercy. But if judgment had departed therefrom, he would not say, With what measure ye meet, it shall be measured to you again.
Thou hast heard how God sheweth mercy and judgment. Do thou also shew mercy and judgment? Do these things, perhaps, belong unto God? Do they not belong unto man? If they belonged not unto man, the Lord would not have said to the Pharisees, Ye have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy. Therefore unto thee belong mercy and judgment. Think not that mercy belongeth unto thee, but judgment belongeth not unto thee. If may be thou hearest a cause between two, of whom one is rich and the other poor, and it may happen that the poor man hath a bad, the rich a good cause. Now if thou art not instructed in the kingdom of God, thou seemest to thyself to do well, if... As pitying the poor man, thou hide and conceal his iniquity, and strive to justify him, so that he may seem to have a good cause.
And if thou shouldest be blamed, because thou hast judged ill, thou answerest concerning mercy. It is true, and I too know it. But he was poor, mercy was due unto him. How hast thou kept mercy and lost judgment? And how, sayest thou, if I should keep judgment, should I not lose mercy? Should I pronounce against a poor man, who had not wherewithal to pay, or if he had, could not? After that he had paid, find wherewithal to live. Thy God saith unto thee, Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. It is an easy thing that we should be warned not to accept the person of the rich. This every man knoweth, and would that every man so did. That is where one is deceived, where one would please God, by accepting the person of the poor in judgment, and saying unto God, I have shewn favour unto the poor.
Nay, but thou shouldest hold fast both, even both mercy and judgment. First what sort of mercy hast thou shewed towards him whose iniquity thou hast favoured? Lo, his purse thou hast spared, his heart thou hast wounded. That poor man hath remained in his iniquity, and is so much the more in iniquity, as he hath seen thee, as if a righteous man favour his iniquity. From thee hath he departed, unjustly succoured. By God he remaineth justly to be condemned. What sort of mercy hast thou shewn to him, whom thou hast made unrighteous? Lo, thou art found more cruel than merciful. What then, sayest thou, should I do? Thou shouldst judge first according to the cause. Thou shouldst convict the poor, prevail on the rich man.
There is one time for judgment, another for supplication. When the rich man saw that thou hadst held justice, hadst not lifted up the head of the wicked because he was poorer, but according to the merits of his sin hadst justly punished him, would not he be prevailed on to mercy at thy supplication, who had been made glad by thy judgment? My brethren, though there remaineth indeed more of the psalm, yet we must now spare our strength, both of mind and body, by reason of the variety of hearers. For also, when we are taking food from the same wheat, many new tastes, as it were, are made for us, so as to do away loathing. May this suffice you. End of Psalm 33. First Discourse.
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35 35 - Psalm 33: Discourse the Second 50:23
Psalm 33, Second Discourse of Exposition on the Book of Psalms.
Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo. Translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm 33. Discourse the Second. On the second part of the psalm. Both in preaching and hearing the word of truth is labor, and this labor, my brethren, we bear with patience, if we remember the Lord's sentence, and our condition. For from the very first beginning of our race hath man heard, and that not from man that deceiveth, nor from the devil that seduceth, but from truth itself out of the mouth of God. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread. Therefore, if our bread is the word of God, Let us sweat in hearing, lest we die in fasting. A few verses of the first part of this psalm, at the solemnity of the vigil, lately passed, were handled.
Let us hear what remaineth. Now thus begins the part which remaineth, which but now we sang. Verse 5. The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. Verse 6. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made firm. For it is the same thing, By the voice of the Lord were the heavens established. He had said above, Sing skillfully unto him with jubilation, that is, sing ineffably. Verse 4. For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are in faith. He promiseth nothing which he payeth not. He that is faithful is made a debtor. Be thou a covetous exactor. Then when he had said, All his works are done in faith. He added, Wherefore, he loveth mercy and judgment. He then who loveth mercy pitieth. But he who pitieth, can he promise and not give, who could give though he promised not?
Therefore, because he loveth mercy, it behoveth him to afford that which he promiseth. And because he loveth judgment, it behoveth him to exact what he gave. Wherefore, said the Lord himself to a certain servant, Wherefore gavest thou not the money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? Which therefore we mention, that we may understand what we have but now heard. For the same Lord saith in another place, in the gospel, I judge no man. The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him at the last day. Nor let him excuse himself, who will not hear, lest haply there be aught which may be required of him. For that very thing is required of him, that he would not receive when it was given.
For it is one thing not to be able to receive, another not to be willing. There is the excuse of necessity, here the guilt of willfulness. Therefore all his works are done in faith. He loveth mercy and judgment. Receive ye mercy. And fear judgment, lest he, when he cometh to require of you, so require as to send you empty away. For he requireth an account, the account rendered, he giveth eternity. Receive ye therefore mercy. Brethren, let us all receive it. Let none of us slumber in receiving, lest he be wakened untimely to give account. Receive ye mercy, so God crieth unto us, as in time of famine it would be said, Receive corn. Which, when thou heardest in time of famine, truly by the very spur of necessity, goaded thou wouldest run, turning thee this way and that way.
Thou wouldest ask, whence thou couldest receive that of which it was said, Receive ye, and when thou hadest found, how wouldest thou contain thyself? What delay wouldest thou interpose? So even now it is said, Receive ye mercy, for he loveth mercy and judgment. When thou hast received, use it well, that thou mayest give a good account. When his judgment cometh, who now sheweth unto thee mercy beforehand in this famine. I would not then that thou shouldst say unto me, Whence receive I, whither go I? Remember what thou hast sung, the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. Where is not the gospel now preached? Where is the word of the Lord silent? Where doth salvation not work? It needs but that thou be willing to receive.
The barns are full. This very fulness and abundance waited not for Thee coming, but unto Thee sleeping came of themselves. It was not said, Let the nations arise and come into one place, but the same were preached unto the nations where they were, that thenceforward the prophecy might be fulfilled which saith, And men shall worship him, every one from his place. The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. What of the heavens? Hear what of the heavens? For they want not mercy, where there is no misery. On earth aboundeth the misery of man, more aboundeth the mercy of the Lord. With the misery of man the earth is full, and with the mercy of the Lord the earth is full. The heavens, then, in which is no misery, because they want not mercy, do they not want the Lord?
All things want the Lord, both the miserable and the happy. Without him is not the miserable man lifted up, without him is not the happy governed. Therefore, lest haply thou shouldest ask concerning the heavens, when thou hast heard, The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord, hear how the heavens also want the Lord. Verse 6, By the word of the Lord were the heavens made firm. For neither of themselves were the heavens a support unto themselves, nor did they of themselves bestow on themselves their own firmness. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made firm, and all the strength of them by the breadth of his mouth. It was not that they had somewhat from themselves, and received, as it were, a supplement from the Lord, but by the breath of his mouth was made not a part, but all the strength of them.
See now, my brethren, the works of the Son and the Holy Spirit are the same, for it ought not to be negligently passed over by reason of certain unrighteous discerners and troublesome confounders, for out of both cometh evil. They confound, by ill-discerning, the creature with the Creator, and when the Spirit of God is the Creator, reckon Him among the creatures. Again they discern, and yet confound. May they be so confounded that they may be converted. Hear now how the work of the Son and of the Spirit is one. The Word is certainly the Son of God, and the breath of His mouth is the Holy Spirit. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made firm. But what is it to be made firm, but to have a sure and firm strength?
And all the strength of them, by the breath of his mouth. It might have been said thus, By the breath of his mouth were the heavens made firm, and, by the word of the Lord, all the strength of them. For what is, all the strength of them, that is, were made firm? This then doth the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Is it without the Father? Who then acteth by his word, and his spirit, but he whose is the word, and whose is the spirit? This trinity, then, is one God. Him worshipeth he who knoweth how to worship. Him hath he everywhere who hath converted himself. For he is not sought by them that are averted from him, but averted, himself calleth them, that converted he may fill them. Now, my brethren, excepting those superior heavens, unknown to us on earth, laboring and seeking after them, as we may by human conjectures, Excepting then those heavens, concerning which, how they be one above another, and how many they be, or in what manner they be distinguished, with what inhabitants they be filled, with what order they be ruled, how therein one hymn unfailing chanted in concert by all glorifieth God, it is much for us to find out, yet do we toil to arrive thither.
For there is our country, which perhaps through our long travel, We have forgotten, for our voice is in that psalm. Woe is me that my travel is prolonged. Concerning those heavens, then, it is both for me difficult, if not impossible, to discourse, and for you to understand. Whoever in these things in understanding preventeth me, let him enjoy that whither he hath first arrived, and pray for me that I may follow. Meanwhile, Excepting those heavens, I have whereon now to discourse, as best I may, those heavens that are nearest to us, the sacred apostles of God, the preachers of the word of truth, by which heavens we are watered, that so, through the whole world, the wheat of the church may spring up, although with the tares, now drinking one common rain, but not to have one common garner.
When then it had been said, The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord, As if thou hadst asked, Whence is the earth made full of the mercy of the Lord? First were the heavens sent to scatter the mercy of the Lord over the earth, and that too over the whole earth. For see what is elsewhere said concerning the heavens themselves. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. What are the heavens, that is the firmament? Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no cessation, no silence. But where have they preached, and how far have they preached? There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. But this relateth to that, that they spake in the tongues of all men in one place.
Speaking in the tongues of all men, they fulfilled that which was said, There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. But I ask, that same voice in the tongues of all men, how far hath it reached? What places hath it filled? Hear then what follows. Their sound is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. Of whom but of those heavens that declare the glory of God. If then their sound hath gone out into all the earth, and their words to the end of the world, what they have preached to us, let him declare who sent them. He declareth plainly, faithfully he declareth, because even before they came to pass, he predicted that they would be, he, All whose works are in faith.
For he rose again from the dead, and after handling of his limbs, being recognized of his disciples, he said, It behooved Christ to suffer and to rise again the third day, and that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name. Whence, and how far? Among all nations, saith he, beginning at Jerusalem. But what mercy do we expect, my brethren, more abundant from the Lord, than that our sins be forgiven? Since then that is the great mercy of the Lord, the remission of sins. This remission of sins also hath the Lord predicted should be preached among all nations. The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. Wherewith is the earth full? With the mercy of the Lord. Wherefore? Because everywhere God forgiveth sins, because he hath sent the heavens to water the earth.
And how dare those same heavens to go with confidence of weak men to be made heavens, except that by the word of the Lord were the heavens made firm. Whence could sheep among wolves have such strength, except that by the breath of his mouth were all the strength of them? Behold, saith he, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. O Lord most merciful, surely thou dost this, that the earth may be full of thy mercy. If then thou art so merciful as to fill the earth with thy mercy, see whom thou sendest, see whither thou sendest, whither, I say, thou sendest, and whom thou sendest, sheep into the midst of wolves. If one wolf be sent into the midst of innumerable sheep, who resisteth him?
What doth he not overthrow, unless it happen that he is soon satisfied? For he could devour all. Sendest thou the weak among the savage? I send them, saith he, because they are become heavens to water the earth. Whence can weak men be heavens? But all the strength of them by the breath of his mouth. Behold, the wolves shall take you, and deliver, and give you up to powers for my name's sake. Now arm ye yourselves with your own strength? Far be it. Take no thought how or what ye shall speak, for it is not ye that speak. But the Spirit of the Father which speaketh in you, for all the strength of them by the breadth of his mouth. These things were done, the apostles were sent, they endured pressures.
Do we now bear as great to hear this word as they to sow it? No. Will then, brethren, our labor be unfruitful? No. I see your thronging together. But ye also see my sweat. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. Behold, those things are come to pass. From those sheep sent into the midst of wolves, we celebrate also the martyr's memories. This very place, when, the body of a blessed martyr was smitten, was then full of wolves. So many wolves were overcome by one sheep captured, and the place was filled with sheep by one sheep slain. Then raged the sea with great waves of persecutors, into a dry land, and thirsty went the heaven of God. But now, Through those things which they suffered, who broke the enemy's line, in the name of Christ glorified, walking over the heads of swelling waters, it hath occupied even powers themselves.
And because those things are come to pass, they also who now see, not yet believing, our conventicles, our celebrations, our solemnities, the praises now openly, now publicly offered to our God, think ye that they grieve not, think ye That they do not rave? But now is fulfilled that which is written of them, The wicked shall see it, and shall be enraged. What then, though he be enraged? Fear not the wolf, O sheep. Fear not now their threats in raving. He is enraged, but what followeth? He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. Because then the salt sea water which hath remained, dares not now to rage against Christians, but grinds to itself a secret murmur, and within the mortal skin roars the confined saltness.
See what follows. Verse 7. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as into a bottle. Since then, before, the sea having its waves free raged, but now being confined within mortal breasts, is bitter. He, who in those saints was victorious, Who then set bounds to the sea, he hath caused that its waves returning into themselves should be abated. He hath gathered as into a bottle the waters of the sea, the mortal skin covereth bitter thought. For fearing for their own skin, men keep within that which they dare not to utter. For their bitterness is the same. They hate as much, they detest as much. But what then raged openly, now rageth secretly. What else can I say? Then that which is spoken he shall gnash with his teeth and melt away.
Let the church then go on, let it walk forward. The way is made, our highway is paved for us by the Emperor. Let us be fervent in our journeys of good work, for this it is for us to walk on. And if ever arise pressures of temptations, whence we expected them not, the waters of the sea being now gathered together as into a bottle, Let us understand that the Lord doth this for discipline, that he may shake out of us too confident a security in temporal things, and direct us to the kingdom which compose desire, which desire by tribulations buffeting on this side and on that is lengthened out, so that we become tuneful to the ears of the Lord like ductile trumpets. For this also is said in the Psalms, that we should praise God on ductile trumpets.
A ductile trumpet is enlarged by the hammer, so the Christian heart, by the blows of pressures, is enlarged towards God. Let us remember then, brethren, now at this time in which the water of the sea has been gathered as into a bottle, that there is not wanting to God, whence he may bring forth somewhat wherewith to amend us, When we have need of amendment. For therefore it follows, He layeth up the deep in storehouses. The secrets of God he calleth God's storehouses. He knoweth the hearts of all, what to bring forth at any time, whence to bring it forth, what power to bestow upon the evil over the good, to judge indeed the evil, but to instruct the good. He knoweth how to do these things, who layeth up the deep in storehouses.
Let that, then, come to pass which followeth. Verse eight, let all the earth fear the Lord. Let not proud, rejoicing, glory with rash exultation, saying, Now is the water of the sea gathered together as into a bottle. Who can do anything to me? Who will dare to hurt me? Knowest thou not that he hath laid up the deep in storehouses? Knowest thou not whence he bringeth forth what is needful to scourge thee? Who is thy father? He indeed for thy discipline keepeth the treasures of the deep, wherewith he may instruct thee unto the treasures of the heavens. Therefore return thou unto fear, who wast going, but now into security. Let the earth rejoice, but let it also fear. Let it rejoice. Wherefore?
Because the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. Let it fear. Wherefore? Because he hath so gathered into a bottle the waters of the sea, as to lay up the deep in storehouses. In it then come these things to pass, both of which elsewhere are briefly spoken of. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. Let them not fear another instead of Him. Of Him let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe. Doth a wild beast rage? Fear God. Doth a serpent lie in wait? Fear God. Doth man hate thee? Fear God. Doth the devil fight against thee? Fear God, for the whole creation is under him whom thou art commanded to fear.
Verse 9. For he spake, and they were made, he commanded, and they were created. This followeth in the song. For when he had said, Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him, lest man should betake himself to fearing anything else, and being averse to the fear of God, should fear some creature instead of him, and worshiped that which was made, leaving him who made it. He confirmed us in the fear of God, as it were speaking to us and addressing us. Why wilt thou fear aught in heaven, aught in earth, aught in the sea? He spake, and they were made, commanded, and they were created. When he who spake, and they were made, who commanded, and they were created, when he bids, they move, when he bids, they rest.
The malice of men can have the desire of injuring for its own, but the power, if he giveth not, hath it not. For there is no power but of God. It is the definitive sentence of the Apostle. He said not, There is no desire but of God, for there is an evil desire, which is not of God. But because that evil desire hurteth none, if he permit not, there is no power, saith he, but of God. Wherefore God, as man standing before man, said, Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above. The one judged, the other taught. When he was being judged, he taught, that he might judge those whom he had taught. Thou couldst have, said he, no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.
What is this? Hath man only no power, except when he hath received it from above? What? dared even the devil himself to take one sheep from holy Job, without first saying, Put forth thine hand now, that is, give me power. He was willing, but he suffered not, when he permitted, he had the power. Therefore had not he the power, but he who permitted him. Therefore Job himself also, being well instructed, said not, As I have already often observed unto you, the Lord gave. And the devil hath taken away, but the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he, not whatsoever the devil pleased. See then, my brethren, who with such labor eat wholesome and useful bread, see that ye fear not any one but the Lord.
Beside him, that thou fear no other, Scripture commandeth thee. Therefore, Let all the earth fear the Lord, who layeth up the depths in storehouses. Of him let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe. For he spake, and they were made. He commanded, and they were created. But now have evil kings ceased. They are made good. They too have believed. The sign of Christ's cross now bear they in their forehead, a sign more precious than any jewel of a diadem. They who raged are destroyed. But who hath done this? Hapley thou, that thou mayest extol thyself. Verse 10. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to naught. He maketh the devices of the people of none effect, and reproveth the counsels of princes.
While they said, Let us away with them from off the earth, the Christian name will no longer be, if we do this. Thus be they slain, thus tortured, be such and such things inflicted on them. These things were said, And amid these did the church grow. He maketh the devices of the people of none effect, and reproveth the counsels of princes. Verse 11. The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart, to all generations. It is a repetition of the same sentence. What before he called the counsel, he calleth afterwards the thoughts of his heart. And whereas above he saith, Standeth forever, so afterwards he saith to all generations. Repetition is confirmation, but think not, brethren, because he said, the thoughts of his heart, that God, as it were, sitteth down, and thinketh what he should do, and taketh counsel to do any thing, or not do any thing.
To thee, O man, belong such tardiness. His word runneth very swiftly. When can there be delay of thought in that word which is one, and embraceth all things? But the thoughts of God are spoken of, that thou mayest understand, that according to what is in thee, thou mayest dare to lift up thy heart even to words suited in thine infirmity, because the thing itself is too much for thee, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. What are the thoughts of his heart, and what is the counsel of the Lord, which standeth forever? Against which counsel? Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? Since the Lord maketh the devices of the people of none effect, and reproveth the counsel of princes.
How then standeth for ever the counsel of the Lord, except it be concerning us, whom hath first foreknown and predestined, who taketh away the predestination of God? Before the creation of the world he saw us, he made us, he healed us, he sent unto us, he redeemed us, This his counsel standeth forever, these his thoughts to all generations. Then raged the heathen, openly swelling and roaring. Now let them melt away, as it were confined and gathered into a bottle. They had free boldness. Let them now have fierce and bitter thoughts. When can they destroy that which he hath thought of, and which standeth forever? But what is this? Blessed is the nation. Who is there that hearing this Doth not rouse himself.
For all love blessedness, and therein are men perverse, that wicked they would be, miserable they would not. And though misery is the inseparable companion of wickedness, they perversely not only would be wicked, and would not be miserable, which is impossible, but therefore would they be wicked, lest they be miserable. What is this that I have said, therefore would they be wicked, lest they be miserable? Observe this now in all men who do evil, they ever wish to be blessed. Once dealest, dost thou ask, Why? From hunger, from necessity. Therefore, lest he should be miserable, he is wicked, and therefore is he the more miserable, because he is wicked. For the sake, then, of driving away misery, and of acquiring blessedness, do all men whatever either of good or evil they do.
Always, then, they wish to be blessed, whether living ill, Or living well, they wish to be blessed, and that happeneth not to all which all wish to happen to them. For all would be blessed, but there shall not any be except they who will be righteous. And lo, some one, though he doth evil, would be blessed. Whereby? By money? By silver and gold? By estates? By lands? By houses? By slaves? By the pomp of the world? By honor fleeting and perishable? By having something would men be blessed. Ask then what thou shouldest have, that thou mayest be blessed. For when thou shalt be blessed, thou wilt surely be better than when thou wast miserable. But it cannot be that any thing worse than thyself should make thee better.
Thou art a man. Worse than thou is whatever thou covetest, whereby thou desirest to be blessed. Gold, silver, any other bodies which thou gapest to acquire, To possess, to enjoy, are inferior to thee. Thou art better, thou art worthier, and surely thou wouldest be better than thou art, since thou wouldest be blessed, because thou art miserable. For it is surely better to be blessed than to be miserable. Thou wouldest be better than thyself, and thou seekest, thou searchest out, wherewith thou mayest become so, things worse than thyself. Whatever thou hast desired on earth is worse than thou. This every man wisheth for his friend, thus he adjureth him, So mayest thou be better, so may we see thee better, so let us rejoice in thee being better.
What one wisheth for his friend, this he would also for himself. Accept then a faithful counsel. Thou wouldest be better than thyself, I know it, we all know it, we all wish it. Seek then what is better than thyself, that thereby thou mayest be rendered better than thyself. Consider now the heavens and the earth. Let not beautiful bodies so please thee that by them thou wish to be blessed. In the soul is what thou seekest, for thou wouldest be blessed. Enquire thou what is better than thy soul itself. For since there are two things, that is, soul and body, because of these two, that is, the better, which is called the soul, therefore can thy body be made better by the better, because the body is subject to the soul.
The body then can be made better by thy soul, so that when thy soul shall be righteous, thy body also may hereafter be immortal. For through the illumination of the soul the body merits incorruption, that through the better there may be a reparation of the worse. If then thy body's good be thy soul, because it is better than thy body, when thou seekest thine own good, seek that which is better than thy soul. But what is thy soul? Beware, lest haply, despising thy soul, and thinking that it is something vile and worthless, thou shouldst seek things more vile, wherewith thy soul may be made blessed. For thy soul is the image of God, the mind of man containeth it. It received it, and by inclining unto sin disfigured it.
The same came unto it as the reformer, who was before the former of it. For by the word were all things made, and by the word was this image impressed. The word himself came, that we might hear from an apostle, Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. Now then it remaineth that thou seek what is better than thy soul. What shall that be, I pray thee, but thy God? Thou findest no other better than thy soul. For when thy nature shall be perfected, it will be equaled with the angels. Now is there nothing higher save the Creator. Lift up thyself unto him. Despair not. Say not, It is too much for me. Rather, it is too much for thee to have. It may be gold which thou seekest. Gold, though thou wouldest haply, thou wilt not have.
God, when thou wouldest, thou shalt have. For even before thou wouldest, he came unto thee. And when thou wast in will averted, he called thee. And when thou wast converted, he frightened thee. And when frightened, thou didst confess. He consoled thee. He who hath given thee all things, he who hath caused that thou shouldest be, who to those also who are with thee, even the wicked, giveth the sun, giveth rain, giveth fruits, fountains, life, health, so many consolations. He keepeth for thee something which he giveth not save to thee. But what is that which he keepeth for thee but himself? Ask somewhat else, if thou hast found better. God keepeth himself for thee, thou covetest. Why longest thou after heaven and earth?
Better is he who made heaven and earth. Him shalt thou see, him shalt thou have. Why seekest thou that which of villa should be thine, and passing by it sayest, Blessed is he whose is that possession? How many say this, who pass by it, and yet when they have so said, and pass by it, though they can shake the head and sigh, can they also possess it? Everywhere thou soundeth covetous, soundeth iniquity. But thou shalt not covet anything which is thy neighbour's. Blessed whose is that villa, whose is that house, whose is that field! Restrain iniquity, hear the truth. Blessed is the nation whose... Whose what? Thou knowest already what I am about to say. Therefore desire that ye may have, then indeed shall ye be blessed.
With this alone shall ye be blessed. By a better thing than yourselves ye shall be made better. It is God that is better than thou, even he, I say, who made thee. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. This desire, this possess, this when thou wilt, thou shalt have, this thou shalt have for nothing. Verse 12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the Lord our God. For of whom is he not God? Do we happily speak rashly in making God our possession, when He is the Lord, when He is the Creator? This is not rashness. It is the affection of desire. It is the sweetness of hope. Let the soul say, All secure. Let it say, Thou art my God, who saith to my soul, I am thy salvation. Let it so say, Secure, let it say, It will do no wrong when so it saith, Nay, it will do wrong if it say not.
Wouldst thou have trees, whereby thou mightest be blessed? Hear the scriptures speaking of wisdom. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her. See, he hath said that wisdom is our possession. But lest thou shouldst think that wisdom, because scripture hath called it thy possession, to be something inferior to thee, It goes on and adds, And to them that lean upon her, as on the Lord, she is safe. See thy Lord is made unto thee as a staff. Securely man leaneth, because he faileth not. Say then securely, This is thy possession, to them that lay hold upon her. Scripture hath said, Hath filled up thy doubts with confidence. Speak securely, love securely, hope securely. Thine also be those words in the psalm.
The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance. Therefore, by this shall we be blessed by possessing God. What then? Shall we possess Him, and will not He possess us? Whence then, Isaias, Lord, possess us? Therefore He possesseth us, and is possessed, and all for our sakes. For not as He, that we may be blessed in Him, is possessed by us, not so doth He also, that He may be blessed, possess us. He both possesseth, and is possessed, for nothing else than that we may be blessed. We possess him, and he possesseth us, because we attend on him, and he attendeth on us. We attend on him as our Lord God, he attendeth on us as his own possession. That we attend on him, none doubteth that he attendeth on us, who proveth to us.
He who saith, I am the vine, ye are the branches, my father is the husbandman. See in this psalm, also, both are declared to us, both are proved to us. He hath already said that we possess Him. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Whose is this farm? His. Whose is that? His. Whose is this? Let us so speak of God. Let us say whose He is. And as answer is wont to be made to us, when we inquire concerning certain farms and estates that are fine and very pleasant. He is a senator, and he is called so-and-so. Whose is that property? And we say, Blessed is that man. So if we should ask, Whose is this God? There is a blessed nation whose he is. For the Lord is their God, and not as that senator possesseth his farm, but is not possessed by his farm, so also the God of this nation.
Wherefore we ought to labor, that we may be his, but either of them possesseth the other. Ye have heard that a nation possesseth him. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Hear how he also possesseth it, and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. Nation blessed in its possession, inheritance blessed in its possessor, and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. Verse 13. The Lord looketh from heaven. He beholdeth all the sons of men. All in this place so receive as to understand all of that nation who possess that inheritance, or who are that inheritance. For they themselves are God's inheritance. Even all of them hath the Lord looked upon from heaven, and he hath seen them, who said, When thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
He saw him because he had mercy on him. Wherefore, oftentimes praying mercy, we say to a man, Look upon me, and of him that despiseth thee, What sayest thou? He seeth me not. There is then a seeing of him that hath mercy, and not seeing of him that punisheth. That looking upon sins is the punishment of sins, which sins he would not, to be seen, who saith, Hide thy face from my sins. What he would to be overlooked, that he would not to be looked upon. Hide, saith he, thy face from my sins. When then he hath hidden his face from thy sins, will he not see thee? And wherefore saith he in another place, Hide not thy face from me. Let him then hide from thy sins. Let him not hide from thee. Let him see thee.
Let him have mercy on thee. Let him secure thee. The Lord looked from heaven. He regarded all the sons of men, all that belong unto the Son of man. Verse 14. From his prepared habitation, from that which he hath prepared for himself, He looked upon us from the apostles. He looked upon us from the preachers of the truth. He looked upon us from the angels whom he sent unto us. All these are his house. All these are his habitation. For all these are the heavens which declare the glory of God. He beheld all the sons of men from his prepared habitation. He looked upon all the inhabitants of the earth. These are the same. They are his. It is that blessed nation whose God is the Lord. It is that people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance, for he is throughout all lands, and not only in one part.
He looked upon all the inhabitants of the earth. Verse 15. He hath fashioned their hearts singly. By the hand of his grace, by the hand of his mercy, he hath fashioned hearts. He formed our hearts. He fashioned them singly. giving to us, as it were, single hearts, which yet destroy not unity. As all our members are formed singly, have their operations singly, and yet live in the unity of the body, the hand doth what the eye doth not, the ear hath a power which neither the eye nor the hand hath. Yet all working together in unity, and the hand, and the eye, and the ear, do different things, and yet are not opposed to one another. So also in the body of Christ, single men, like single members, enjoy each their own gifts, because he who hath chosen the people for his own inheritance hath fashioned their hearts singly.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another the gifts of healing. Wherefore, Because he fashioned their hearts singly. But as in our members there are diverse operations, but one health, so in all the members of Christ are diverse gifts, but one grace. He fashioneth their hearts singly. He understandeth all their works. What is understandeth? Seeth in secret, and inwardly, thou hast in a certain psalm, understand my crying. For there is no such need as of words, that any thing may come to the ears of God.
Seeing in secret is called understanding. He spoke more expressly than if he should say, He seeth all their works. Lest thou shouldst think that those works are then seen, when thou seest the work of a man. A man seeth the act of a man by motion of the body, but God seeth the heart. Because then he seeth within, it is said, He understandeth all their works. Two men give to the poor. One seeketh his reward in heaven, the other the praise of men. Thou in two seest one thing, God understandeth two. For he understandeth what is within, and knoweth what is within. Their ends he seeth, their base intentions he seeth, he understandeth all their works. Verse 16. A king shall not be saved by much strength.
Unto the Lord must we all, and God are we all. Be God thy hope, be God thy strength. Be God thy firmness, thy supplication, let him be, thy praise, let him be, thy end in which thou rest, let him be, thy secure, when thou laborest, let him be. Hear the truth. A king shall not be saved by much strength, neither shall a giant be saved by much strength. A giant is any proud man, lifting up himself against God, as though he were something in himself and by himself. Such an one is not saved by much strength. Verse 17. A horse is a deceitful thing for safety. Understood ye what was said? A horse is a deceitful thing for safety. Let not thy horse promise thee safety. If he promised thee, he will lie.
For if God will, thou wilt be freed. If God will not, thy horse falling, thou wilt fall from a greater height. Therefore, think it not said, A horse is a deceitful thing for safety, as though a just man were deceitful for safety, because just men, as it were, tell lies for safety. For it is not written, Equus, which word is derived from equity, but Equus, a quadruped. This the Greek version sheweth, and evil beasts, men who seek to themselves occasions of lying, are refuted, when the scripture saith, The mouth that lieth slayeth the soul, and thou shalt destroy all them that speak leasing. What then is this, a horse's deceitful thing for safety? A horse lieth to thee when it promises safety. Doth the horse speak to any one and promise safety?
But when thou seest a horse well made, of great strength, and possessed of great speed, all these things, as it were, promise thee safety from it, but they deceive, if God guard thee not. A horse is a deceitful thing for safety. A horse also take figuratively. For any greatness of this world, any honor unto which thou ascendest proudly, The higher thou goest, not only so much the more lofty, but so much the more safe thou thinkest thyself, but falsely. For thou knowest not how he may cast thee down, dash the more heavily and more loftily thou wast carried. A horse is a deceitful thing for safety. In the abundance of his strength shall he not be saved. And whereby shall he be saved? Not by might, not by strength, not by power, not by glory, not by a horse.
Verse 18. Verse 1. Verse 19, to deliver their souls from death. He promiseth eternal life. What in this are travel? Doth he desert us? See what follows. And to keep them alive in famine. The time of famine is now. The time of plenty shall be hereafter. He who in the famine of this corruption deserteth us not, when made immortal, how shall he not satisfy us? But while it is the time of famine, we must bear, we must endure, we must persevere even to the end. Now must all be run, because both the way is plain, and we must consider what we carry. The spectators in the amphitheatre are haply still in their madness, and sit in the sun, and we, even if we stand, are yet in the shade. More useful and more beautiful is what we behold.
Let us behold the beautiful, and be beheld by the beautiful. Let us behold in mind those things which are declared in the sense of the divine scriptures, and let us rejoice in such a spectacle. But who is our spectator? Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy, to deliver their souls from death, and to keep them alive in famine. But for endurance of travel, while there is famine, and while we wait by the way to be refreshed, lest we faint, what is imposed upon us? Or what ought we to profess? Verse 20. Our souls shall be patient for the Lord. Securely shall it wait for Him, mercifully promising, mercifully and truly performing, and until He perform, what must we do?
Our souls shall be patient for the Lord. But what if in that patience we shall not endure? Nay, we shall surely endure, for He is our helper and defender. He assisteth in battle, He protecteth from the heat, He deserteth thee not. Bear thou, endure thou. He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And what when thou hast endured, when thou hast been patient, when thou hast come even to the end, what shall be given thee? For what reward dost thou endure? Why dost thou so long suffer such hardships? Verse 21. For our hearts shall rejoice in him, and we have trusted in his holy name. Hear hope, that there thou mayest rejoice. Hear hunger and thirst, that there thou mayest feast. He hath exhorted to all things, he hath filled us with the joy of hope, he hath proposed to us what we should love, and what only and by what only we should presume.
After this cometh a prayer, short and salutary. First, twenty two, let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, and upon what merit, according as we have hoped in thee. To some I have been burdensome, I perceive it. For some again I have finished my discourse even too soon, and this also I perceive. Let the weak pardon the stronger, and let the stronger pray for the weaker. Let us all be members in one body. From our head let us grow. In him is our hope, and in him is our strength. Let us not hesitate to exact from the Lord God mercy. He willeth it to be exacted of him. For he will not be troubled while it is exacted, or at all straitened, like one from whom thou seekest what he hath not, or of which he hath but little, and feareth to give, lest he have too little.
Wouldst thou know how God giveth thee mercy? Do thou give charity? Let us see if it come to an end, while thou givest it. What riches then is there in the Most High himself, if such can be in his image? Therefore, brethren, Above all things, I exhort you to this charity, not only towards yourselves, but also towards those who are without, whether they still be pagans, not yet believing in Christ, or divided from us, with us confessing the head, though severed from the body. Let us lament them, brethren, as though our brethren. Will they, nil they, our brethren they are? Then will they cease to be our brethren, when they shall cease to say, Our Father. Of some, said the prophet, To them who say unto you, Ye are not our brethren, say ye, Ye are our brethren.
Look around. Of whom could he say this? Whether of pagans? No. For we call not them brethren according to the scriptures, and the ecclesiastical mode of speaking. Of the Jews who believe not in Christ? Read the apostle, and see that when he saith, Brethren, without any addition, he willeth to be understood none but Christians. A brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases. When he spoke of marriage, he called a Christian man or woman a brother or sister. Again he saith, But why dost thou judge thy brother, or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? And in another place, Ye do wrong and defraud, and that your brethren. They then who say, Ye are not our brethren, call us pagans. And therefore do they wish to rebaptize us, saying that we have not that which they give.
Whence followeth their error to deny that we are their brethren? But why said the Prophet unto us, Say ye, Ye are our brethren, except because we acknowledge in them that which we repeat not? They then, by acknowledging our baptism, deny that we are their brethren. We, by not repeating theirs, but acknowledging it ours, say unto them, Ye are our brethren. Let them say, What seek ye us? What would ye with us? Let us answer, Ye are our brethren. Let them say, Depart from us, we have no concern with you. We certainly have concern with you. We confess one Christ, in one body, unto one head, we ought to be. Why then seekest thou me, saith one, if I am lost? A great absurdity, a great madness! Wherefore should I seek thee, unless because thou art lost?
If then I am lost, saith he, how am I thy brother? That it may be said to me of thee, For this thy brother was dead, and is alive again, and was lost, and is found. Therefore, brethren, we adjure you, by the very bowels of that love, by whose milk we are nourished, by whose bread we are strengthened, Even by Christ our Lord, by His mercy I adjure you. For it is time that we should shew toward them great charity, abundant mercy, in praying God for them, that He would give them again sober sense, that they may repent, and see that they have nothing at all to say contrary to the truth. There remaineth to them not but only the weakness of animosity, which is so much the more weak, as it thinketh that it hath more strength.
For the weak For the carnally wise, for the animal, and carnal, yet for our brethren, celebrating the same sacraments, though not with us, yet the same, responding the same Amen, though not with us, yet the same, For then pour forth the marrow of your charity unto God. For somewhat have we done in counsel for their good, which that I should explain to you now, the time sufficeth not. Wherefore I exhort you that with more alacrity and in greater numbers, for our brethren, not now present will hear you, ye come together to-morrow at the church of Tricleae. End of Psalm 33 Second Exposition
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36 36 - Psalm 34: Discourse the First 22:42
Psalm 34, Discourse I, of Exposition on the Book of Psalms. on the book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo. Psalm 34, Discourse I. On the title of the psalm. This psalm seems, indeed, to have nothing obscure or that needs an expounder in its text. But its title makes us attentive, and requires that we should knock. But as it is here written, that, Blessed is the man who trusteth in him, let us all hope that he will open to us knocking. For he would not exhort us to knock if he would not open to us knocking. For if it ever happens, that he who was proposing to shut the door always, being compelled by weariness, at the stroke of the knocker should rise and open, contrary to his own purpose, lest he should suffer him long knocking.
How much more ought we to hope that he will quickly open, who saith, Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. I knock then, with earnestness of heart, unto the Lord God, that he may deign to reveal unto us this mystery. Do ye also, my beloved, knock with me with earnestness of hearing, and with humble praying for me? For it is, it must be confessed, a hidden and great mystery. For so is the title of the psalm, a psalm of David, when he changed his countenance before Abimelech, And he sent him away, and he departed. We seek in the scriptures according to the histories which we have written concerning David, when this was done, as when, we find the title of another psalm, a psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom, his son.
For we read in the Book of Kings, and find when David fled from the face of his son, Absalom, and it is most true that it so happened, and because it happened, it was written. And although the title of the psalm is so written mysteriously, Yet was it drawn from an event which happened? So also I believe that what is here written, when he changed his countenance before Abimelech, and he sent him away, and he departed, is written in the books of kings, where every thing is written which pertaineth to the actions of David. But we find not this, and yet we do find somewhat, whence this appears to be drawn. For it is written that when David fled from his persecutor, Saul, he betook himself to Achis, the king of Gath, that is, to the king of a certain nation near to the kingdom of the Jews, where he lay hid that he might avoid the persecution of Saul.
But his glory was still recent, whereby he earned envy for his good service when he slew Goliath, and in one battle gave glory and security of government both to king and people. For Saul, although Goliath challenging, he quaked, yet Goliath being overthrown, began to be an enemy to him by whose hand he had destroyed his enemy, and envied the glory of David, chiefly because the people in their rejoicings, and the women in their dances sang the glory of David, saying, That Saul had slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. Hence being alarmed, because the youth through one battle had begun to have greater glory, and already in the praises of all was preferred to the king, as the nature is of the plague of envy and of worldly pride, he began to envy and to persecute him.
Then he, as I have said, betook himself to the king of Gath, who was called Achis. But it was suggested to the same king that he had with him one who had begun to have great glory in the people of the Jews. And it was said to him, Is this not David, to whom the women sang in the dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? But if for this glory Saul had begun to envy him, was it not to be feared by David, lest the king also, with whom he had taken refuge, should wish to oppress a man whom he might have near him as an enemy, if he should keep him safe. And he feared him, and, as it is written, he changed his countenance before them, and affected, and drummed upon the doors of the city, and was carried in his own hands, and fell down at the doors of the gate, and his spittle ran down over his beard.
The king with whom he lay hid saw him, and said unto his men, Wherefore have ye brought this madfellow unto me? Shall he come into my house? And so he sent him away, expelling him, and David departed safe thence through that feigning of madness. According then to this feigning of madness seemeth to agree to the real history, what is here written, a psalm of David, when he changed his countenance before Abimelech, and he sent him away, and he departed. But it was Achis, not Abimelech, For the name only seemeth not to agree, for the event is related almost in the very same words in the Psalms in which it was written in the Book of Kings. Therefore, ought it the more to move us to inquire of this mystery, that the name is changed?
For neither was that done without reason, however it was done, but because it figured something, nor was this written without reason, even for the name being changed. Surely. Brethren, ye see the depth of mysteries. If it be not mysterious that Goliath was slain by a stripling, it is not mysterious that he changed his countenance, and affected, and drummed, and fell down before the doors of the city, and the doors of the gate, and the spittle ran down over his beard. How can it be that this should not signify anything, when the apostle saith openly, Now all these things happened unto them in a figure, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. If the manna signified nothing, of which the apostle saith, they did all eat the same spiritual meat, if it signified nothing that the sea was divided, and the people led through the midst, that they might escape the persecution of Pharaoh, when the apostle saith, I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud, and in the sea.
If it signified nothing that the rock, being struck, the water flowed out, when the apostle saith, That rock was Christ. If then, these things signify nothing. However they happened, if, in short, nothing be signified by the two sons of Abraham, born according to the order of birth among men, and yet these two sons the apostle calleth the two covenants, the old and the new, saying, Which things are an allegory? For these are the two covenants. If then, these things signify nothing. Which you see, by the authority of the apostle, were done as figures of things to come. We ought to think that this also signifieth nothing, which I have just now related to you concerning David out of the Book of Kings.
It doth not then signify nothing, either that the name was changed, or that it was said before Abimelech. Attend with me, for all, that I have now said belongs as it were to the hand of the knocker. The door is not yet opened. I knocked, When I said these things, ye also knocked when ye heard these things. Let us still knock by praying, that the Lord may open unto us. We have the interpretation of Hebrew names. There have not been wanting learned men to translate for us names from the Hebrew into the Greek tongue, and from thence into Latin. Consulting then these names, we find they interpret Abimelech, the kingdom of my father, and Achis. How is it? Let us attend to these names. Thence beginneth the door to be opened to us knocking.
If thou askest, What is Achis? It is answered, How is it? How is it? is the expression of one wondering and understanding not. Abimelech, the kingdom of my father. David, strong in hand. David is a figure of Christ, as Goliath is a figure of the devil, and as David overthrew Goliath, it is Christ that destroyeth the devil. But what is Christ, who destroyeth the devil? Humility destroyeth pride. Therefore, when I name Christ my brethren, humility is most commended to us. For he made a way for us through humility, because through pride we had departed from God. We could not return unto him, but through humility, and we had none whom we might set before us to imitate. For all mortal men were swollen with pride, and if there arose any man of humble spirit, as were the prophets and patriarchs, the human race disdained to imitate humble men.
Lest then man should disdain to imitate a humble man, God was made humble, that even so the pride of the human race might not disdain to follow the footsteps of God. But there was before, as ye know, the sacrifice of the Jews, after the order of Aaron, with victims of cattle, and that too was a mystery. Not yet was the sacrifice of the body and blood of the Lord, which the faithful know, and those who have read the gospel, which sacrifice is now diffused through the whole world. Set then before your eyes two sacrifices, both that after the order of Aaron, and this after the order of Melchizedek. For it is written, The Lord hath sworn and will not repent. Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek, of whom is this said, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek, of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is Melchizedek, the King of Salem.
Salem was before a city, the same which afterwards, as learned men have delivered. was called Jerusalem. Before then the Jews reigned there. There was this priest Melchizedek, who is called in Genesis, the priest of the Most High God. The same met Abraham when he delivered Lot from the hand of his pursuers, and overthrew those by whom he was held captive, and delivered his brother. After the deliverance of his brother, Melchizedek met him. And so great a man was Melchizedek, that Abraham was blessed by him. He brought forth bread and wine, and blessed Abraham, and Abraham gave him tithes. See what he brought forth, and whom he blessed. And afterwards was it written, Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek.
David said this in the spirit long after Abraham, but in the time of Abraham lived Melchizedek. Of what saith he? Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek, but of him whose sacrifice ye know. Therefore was the sacrifice of Aaron taken away, and began the sacrifice after the order of Melchizedek. Therefore someone, I know not who, changed his countenance. Who is the someone, I know not who? It should not be said, I know not who, for our Lord Jesus Christ is well known. In his own body and blood he willed our health to be, but whereby commended he his body and blood. by his own humility. For unless we were humble, neither could this be eaten, nor that drunk. Consider his Highness.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Behold, the food is from everlasting. But of it eat the angels, of it eat the hosts above, of it eat the heavenly spirits, and eating they are filled, and remaineth that whole which satisfieth them, and maketh them glad. But what man could be capable of that food? How could his heart be made fit enough for that food? Therefore behooved that table to become milk, and so to come even to babes. But how doth food become milk? How is food changed into milk, except it be passed through flesh? For the mother doth this, what the mother eateth, that eateth the infant. But because the infant is less fit to feed on bread, the same bread the mother incarnates, and through humility of her own breast and the juice of milk, of that very bread feeds the infant.
How then did the wisdom of God of that same bread feed us? The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. See then humility, in that man ate the bread of angels, as it is written, he gave them of the bread of heaven. Man did eat angels' food, that is, that word by which the angels live from everlasting, which is equal to the Father, did man eat, because, being in the form of God, he thought it not robbery to be equal with God. By that are the angels filled. But he made himself of no reputation, that man might eat angels' food, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in the fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, that so from his cross might be commended unto us the body and the blood of the Lord for a new sacrifice.
Because he changed his countenance before Abimelech, that is, before the kingdom of his father, For the kingdom of his father was the kingdom of the Jews. How the kingdom of his father? The kingdom of David, the kingdom of Abraham. For the kingdom of God the Father is rather the church than the people of the Jews. But according to the flesh, the kingdom of his father was the people of Israel. For it was said, And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. It is shewn then that according to the flesh the father of the Lord is David, but according to the divinity Christ is not the Son, but the Lord of David. The Jews indeed knew Christ according to the flesh. According to the divinity, they knew him not.
Therefore he asked them a question, saying, What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David, in spirit, call him Lord? Saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And they were not able to answer him. Because they knew not in the Lord Christ, save what was visible to the eyes, not what was understood in the heart. But if they had had within eyes as they had without, from that which they saw without, they had understood the Son of David. From that which they understood, within they had understood the Lord of David. Therefore he changed his countenance before Abimelech.
What is before Abimelech? Before the kingdom of his father. What is before the kingdom of his father, before the Jews? And he sent him away, and he departed. Whom did he send away? Even the people of the Jews he sent away, and he departed. Thou seekest now Christ among the Jews, and findest him not. Wherefore did he send away, and depart, because he changed his countenance? For they cleaving to the sacrifice after the order of Aaron, held not the sacrifice after the order of Melchizedek. And so lost Christ. And the Gentiles began to have him to whom he had not before sent preachers. For to them he had sent preachers. David himself, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets had he sent.
And a few thereby learned knowledge, but they a very few in comparison of them that perished, for they were many. For we read that there were thousands. For it is written, A remnant shall be saved. But now thou lookest for circumcised Christians, and findest not. But there were of the circumcision in the primitive times of the faith many thousands of Christians. Thou lookest for them now, and findest not. Rightly thou findest not. For he changed his countenance before Abimelech, and he quitted him, and he departed. And before Achis he changed his countenance, and he quitted him, and he departed. For therefore were the names changed, that the change of names might excite our attention to the signification of the mystery, lest we should think that nothing is told or related in the scriptures of the Psalms, save what is found in the books of kings to have been done, and should not seek there figures of things to come, but take them as histories of things past.
Therefore, when the names are changed, what is said to thee? Here is something shut up. Knock. Abide not in the letter, for the letter killeth. But desire the Spirit, for the Spirit giveth life. The understanding of the Spirit saveth him that believeth. How then he quitted King Achus, hear now, my brethren. I said, that Achus is interpreted. How is it? Recollect the Gospel. When our Lord Jesus Christ spoke concerning his body, he said, Except a man eat my flesh and drink my blood, he shall have no life in him. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. And his disciples who followed him feared, and were shocked at his discourse. And understanding it not, they thought that our Lord Jesus Christ said something hard, as if they were to eat his flesh and to drink his blood which they saw, and could not endure it, saying as it were, How is it?
For error and ignorance and folly are in the person of King Achus. For when it is said, How is it? something is not understood. Where something is not understood, there is the darkest of ignorance. There was then in them the kingdom of ignorance, as it were King Achus, that is, the kingdom of error prevailed over them. But he said, Except a man eat my flesh and drink my blood, because he had changed his countenance, it seemed like raving and madness, that he should give to men his flesh to be eaten and his blood to be drunk. Therefore David was thought, as it were, mad, when Achus himself said, Wherefore have ye brought this mad fellow unto me? Doth not this seem madness? Eat my flesh, and drink my blood?
And he, saying, Whoso eateth not my flesh, and drinketh not my blood, shall have no life in him, seemeth to be mad. But to King Achis he seemeth to be mad, that is, to the foolish and ignorant. Therefore he quitted them, and departed, understanding fled from their heart, lest they should be able to comprehend him. And what said they? As it were, how is it? Which is interpreted, Achis. For they said, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? They thought the Lord a mad fellow, and that he knew not what he spoke, and that he was insane. But he who knew what he said, in that change of his countenance, and in that seeming raving and madness, declared mysteries, and affected and drummed upon the doors of the city.
Now we must inquire what that also may be. He affected and drummed upon the doors. Not without reason, as it said, he fell down at the doors of the gate. Not without reason is it said, His spittle ran down upon his beard. These things are not said in vain. With the wages of understanding, a long discourse ought not to be burdensome. Ye know, my brethren, that those same Jews before whom he changed his countenance, and sent them away, and departed, this day rest. If they who lost Christ, whom he sent away, and departed, have a vain rest, we have a faithful rest, that we may understand Christ, who sent them away, And came unto us. All things are not done in vain. Neither were they in that madness of David, of which it is said, he affected and drummed upon the gates of the city, and was carried in his own hands, and fell down at the doors of the gate, and a spittle ran down over his beard.
He affected. What is he affected? He had an affection. What is to have an affection? He had compassion on our infirmities. And therefore would he to take upon himself the same flesh, that therein he might destroy death. Having then compassion on us, he was said to effect. Therefore doth the apostle reprove those who are hard and without affection? For reproving some, he saith, without natural affection, unmerciful. Where is affection, there is mercy. Where is mercy? He had mercy on us from above. For if he had refused to empty himself, remaining in that form in which he was equal with the Father from everlasting, we had always remained in death. But that he might deliver us from everlasting death, to which the sin of pride had brought us, he humbled himself, being made obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Therefore he effected, because he came even to the death of the cross. And because whoever is crucified is extended on wood, and that to make a drum, flesh, that is, skin, He was extended on wood. He affected, that is, he had affection for us, that he might lay down his life for his sheep. He drummed, how? Upon the doors of the city. The door is that which is open to us, that we may believe in God. We had closed the door against Christ, and had opened it to the devil. Against life eternal had we our hearts closed, but He, the Lord our God, because we men had our hearts closed against life eternal, and would not see the word which angels see, with His cross opened the hearts of mortal men, that is, He drummed against the doors of the city, and was carried in His own hands.
How indeed this could be done in case of a man who, brethren, can understand. For who is carried in his own hands? In the hands of others can a man be carried, In his own hands is no man carried. How this may be understood of David according to the letter, we find not, but in Christ we find. For Christ was carried in his own hands, when commending his own body, he said, This is my body. For that body he carried in his own hands. This is the humility of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is much commended unto men. According to this he exhorteth us, brethren, to live, that is, that we should imitate his humility, that we should slay Goliath, And holding Christ should conquer pride. For he fell down at the doors of the gate.
What is, fell down? Cast himself down unto humility. What is, at the doors of the gate? At the beginning of faith whereby we are saved. For none beginneth but from the beginning of faith, as it is said in the Song of Songs, Thou shalt come, and shalt pass through from the beginning of faith. We shall come face to face, as it is written, Beloved, now are we the sons of God.
Hear also the Apostle Paul. What is it that His spittle ran down over his beard. For in this he changed his countenance before Abimelech, or Achis, and he quitted them, and he departed. Those that understood not, he quitted. To whom went he? To the Gentiles. Therefore let us understand what they could not. The spittle of David ran down over his beard. What is the spittle? As it were, infantile words, for the spittle runneth down with infants. Were not these like infantile words, Eat ye my flesh, and drink my blood? But those infantile words covered his strength. For by the beard is understood strength. The spittle therefore running down over his beard, what is it but words of weakness covering his strength?
Your holiness hath now, as I trust, understood the title of the psalm. If we should wish now to explain the psalm also, there is fear, lest those things which ye have heard should slip out of your hearts. The title of this psalm have we explained in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since tomorrow is the Lord's Day, and we owe unto you a discourse, let us defer unto tomorrow the text of the psalm, that ye may hear it also with pleasure. End of Psalm 34 First Discourse
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37 37 - Psalm 34: Discourse the Second 1:11:38
Psalm 34, Discourse II, of Exposition on the Book of Psalms.
Translated by Philip Schaff. Psalm 34. Discourse the Second. Those of you who were present yesterday, I doubt not, remember our promise, and now it is time, in the name of the Lord, to pay the debt. He inspired us to promise He will also give us power to pay, being always debtors of charity. For that it is which is always paid, and yet always do, as saith the Apostle, O no man anything but to love one another. The title of this psalm we explained yesterday, and when the exposition detained us long, the text of the same psalm we deferred to explain. Let us then hear what the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of His holy prophet, saith in the words of the psalm, agreeable to the title which yesterday we handled.
Those who were not then present perhaps demand of us also this as a debt. But lest haply, through other such delays, we defraud those to whom we ought now to pay what we owe, from a brief recital thereof let them understand as much as they can, who today are here present, and yesterday were not. But if anything moveth them which they may wish to inquire of more diligently, they will find our ears open to them in Christ's name at any other time, lest this be hindered. I said that it was written in the Book of Kings that David, when he fled from Saul, would be hid with a certain king of Gath named Achis. But when his glory had been made known there, lest, through envy, the same king, to whom he had fled, should contrive anything against him, he feigned madness and, as if possessed with frenzy, changed his countenance, and, as we read, affected and drummed upon the doors of the city, and was carried in his own hands, and fell down at the doors of the gate.
And King Achus said, Wherefore have ye brought this fellow to me? Have I need of madmen? And so sent him away, that it might be fulfilled which here is written, He changed his countenance, and he sent him away, and he departed. But he quitted King Achus, but here it is written, that he changed his countenance before Abimelech, and he quitted him, and he departed. But I said that the names were changed that it might be shown to be a mystery, lest, if the same name had been repeated in the title of the psalm, he should seem not to have prophesied to us something mysterious, but to have related it as a fact. Both names, then, contain a great mystery. For Achis is interpreted, how is it? Abimelech is interpreted, the kingdom of my father.
In that word, then, which is called, how is it, is signified ignorance, and by it is to be understood the expression of one wondering and not perceiving. But in that which is called Abimelech is signified the kingdom of the Jews. For that in the person of Christ may be called the kingdom of my Father, because his Father, according to the flesh, was David. And the kingdom of David was in the nation of the Jews. Therefore, before the kingdom of his father, he changed his countenance, and he sent him away, and he departed. Because there was there a sacrifice after the order of Aaron, and afterwards he of his own body and blood appointed a sacrifice after the order of Melchizedek. He changed then his countenance in the priesthood, and sent away the kingdom of the Jews, and came to the Gentiles.
What then is he affected? He was full of affection. For what is so full of affection as the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, seeing our infirmity, That he might deliver us from everlasting death underwent temporal death with such great injury and contumely. And he drummed, because a drum is not made except when a skin is extended on wood. And David drummed to signify that Christ should be crucified. But he drummed upon the doors of the city. What are the doors of the city? But our hearts which we had closed against Christ, who by the drum of His cross hath opened the hearts of mortal men, and was carried in His own hands. How carried in His own hands? Because when He commended His own body and blood, He took into His hands that which the faithful know, and in a manner carried Himself when He said, This is my body.
And he fell down at the doors of the gate. That is, he humbled himself. For this it is to fall down even at the very beginning of our faith. For the door of the gate is the beginning of faith, whence beginneth the church, and arriveth at last even unto sight. That as it believeth those things which it seeth not, it may deserve to enjoy them. So is the title of the psalm. Briefly we have heard it. Let us now hear the very words of him that affecteth and drummeth upon the doors of the city. Verse 1. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall be ever in my mouth. So speaketh Christ, so also let a Christian speak. For a Christian is in the body of Christ, and therefore was Christ made man, that that Christian might be enabled to be an angel, who saith, I will bless the Lord at all times.
When shall I bless the Lord? When he blesseth thee, when the goods of this world abound, when thou hast great abundance of corn, oil, and wine, of gold and silver. of servants and cattle, when this mortal health remaineth unwounded and sound, when all that are born to thee grow up, nothing is withdrawn by immature death, happiness wholly reigneth in thy house, and all things overflow around thee, then shalt thou bless the Lord? No, but at all times. Therefore, both then and when according to the time, or according to the scourges of our Lord God, these things are troubled, are taken away, are seldom born to thee, and born pass away. For these things come to pass, and thence followeth penury, need, labor, pain, and temptation.
But thou who hast sung, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall be ever in my mouth, both when he giveth them, bless, and when he taketh them away, bless. For it is he that giveth, it is he that taketh away. But himself, from him that blesseth him, he taketh not away. But who is it that blesseth the Lord at all times, except the humble in heart? For very humility taught our Lord in his own body and blood, because when he commendeth his own body and blood, he commendeth his humility, in that which is written in this history, in that seeming madness of David, which we have passed by. And his spittle ran down over his beard. When the apostle was read, ye heard the same spittle. But running down over the beard, one saith, perhaps, what spittle have we heard?
Was it not read but now, where the apostle saith, the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom? But now it was read, but we preach, saith he, Christ crucified, for then he drummed, unto the Jews a stumbling block. And unto the Greeks, foolishness. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For spittle signifieth foolishness. Spittle signifieth weakness. But if the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men, let not the spittle, as it were, offend thee, but observe that it runneth down over the beard.
For as by the spittle weakness, so by the beard strength is signified. He covered then his strength by the body of his weakness, and that which without was weak appeared, as it were, in spittle. But within his divine strength was covered as a beard. Therefore humility is commended unto us. Be humble if thou wouldest bless the Lord at all times, and that his praise should be ever in thy mouth. Because Job not only blessed the Lord, when he had abundance of all things, wherewith we read that he was made both rich and happy, rich in cattle and servants and houses, happy in children and in all good things. Taken away were all these at one time, yet he fulfilled what in this psalm is written, saying, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.
As it pleased the Lord, so it came to pass. Blessed be the name of the Lord. See here thou hast an example of one blessing the Lord at all times. But wherefore doth man bless the Lord at all times? Because he is humble. What is it to be humble? To take not praise unto himself. Who would himself be praised is proud. Who is not proud is humble. Wouldest thou not then be proud? That thou mayest be humble, say what is here written. Verse 2. In the Lord shall my soul be praised. The humble shall hear thereof and be glad. Those then who will not be praised in the Lord are not humble, but fierce, rough, lifted up, proud. Gentle beasts would the Lord have. Be thou the Lord's beast, that is, be thou humble.
He sitteth upon thee, he ruleth thee. Fear not, lest thou stumble and fall headlong. That indeed is thy infirmity, but consider who sitteth upon thee. Thou art an ass's colt, but thou carriest Christ. For even he on an ass's colt came into the city, and that beast was gentle. Was that beast praised? Was it said to that beast, Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. The ass carried, but it was he that was carried, that by those going before and following was praised. And haply said the beast, In the Lord shall my soul be praised. The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. That ass never said this, brethren, but this must the people say, which doth imitate that beast, if it would carry its lord.
Happily the people is wroth that it is compared to the ass whereon the Lord sat. And some, uplifted and proud, will say to me, See, he hath made us asses. Let him be the Lord's ass, whoever sayeth this, lest he be horse or mule, which have no understanding. For ye know the psalm where it is said, Be not ye as the horse or as the mule, which have no understanding. For horse and mules sometimes lift up their neck, and by their own fierceness throw off their rider. They are tamed with the bit, with bridle, with stripes, until they learn to submit and to carry their master. But thou, before thy jaws are bruised with the bridle, be humble, and carry thy Lord. Wish not praise for thyself, but praised be he who sitteth upon thee, and say thou, In the Lord shall my soul be praised.
The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. For when they hear that are not humble, they are not glad, but wroth. And the same are they which say that we have made them asses. But let them which are humble deign to hear, and to be what they hear. Now followeth verse 3. O magnify the Lord with me. Who is this that exhorteth us that we should magnify the Lord with him? Whoever, brethren, is in the body of Christ ought for this to labor, that the Lord may be magnified with him. For he loveth the Lord, whoever he is. And how doth he love him? So as not to envy his fellow lover. For whoever loveth carnally... Must needs love with deadly jealousy. If haply for a great sum he hath been able to see naked, her whom with deadly love he hath desired, doth he wish that another also should see her?
Needs must he be wounded with jealousy and envy, if another also have seen her. And so is chastity preserved, if he alone hath seen who may, and not another, or not even he. Not so is the wisdom of God. Her we shall see face to face, and we shall all see, and no one there will be jealous. Unto all she showeth herself, and unto all is pure and chaste. They are changed into her, and she is not changed into them. She is truth indeed. She is God indeed. Have ye ever heard, brethren, that our God can be changed? The truth supreme above all is He. The word of God is He. The wisdom of God is He, by whom all things were made. He hath His lovers. But what saith his lover? O magnify the Lord with me. I would not alone magnify the Lord.
I would not alone love. I would not alone embrace him. For neither, if I embrace him, will there be no room where another may lay his hands. Such breadth is there in wisdom itself, that all souls may embrace and enjoy her. And what shall I say, brethren? Let them blush who so love God as to envy others. Abandoned men love a charioteer, and whoever loveth a charioteer or hunter wisheth the whole people to love with him, and exhorteth, saying, Love with me this pantomime, love with me this or that shame. He calleth among the people, that shame may be loved with him. And doth not a Christian call in the church that the truth of God may be loved with him? Stir up, then, love in yourselves, brethren.
And call to every one of yours, and say, O magnify the Lord with me. Let there be in you that fervor. Wherefore are these things recited and explained? If ye love God, bring quickly to the love of God all who are joined unto you, and all who are in your house. If the body of Christ is loved by you, that is, if the unity of the Church, bring them quickly to enjoy, and say, O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. What is, let us exalt His name together? That is, in one. For many copies so have it, O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name in one. Whether it be said, Together, or in one, it is the same thing. Therefore, bring quickly whom ye can, by exhorting, by transporting, by beseeching, by disputing, by rendering a reason, with meekness, with gentleness.
Bring them quickly unto love, that if they magnify the Lord, they may magnify him in one. The party of Donatus seem indeed unto themselves to magnify the Lord. Why doth the whole world offend them? Let us, brethren, say unto them, O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name in one. Wherefore would ye magnify the Lord in separation? He is one. Wherefore would ye make two peoples of God? Wherefore would ye rend the body of Christ? For surely he hung upon the cross when he drummed, and when he hung upon the cross he gave up the ghost, and they came who had suspended him, and found that he had given up the ghost, and they break not his legs, but the legs of the thieves, yet living on the cross, they break, that by a speedy death, through very pain, they might be freed from their torment.
Which thing was wont to be done to persons crucified? So came the persecutor, and found that the Lord had quietly given up the ghost, as he said himself, I have power to lay down my life. For whom laid he down his life? For all his people, for his whole body. So the persecutor came, and break not the legs of Christ. Donatus came and rent the Church of Christ. The body of Christ upon the cross is whole, even in the hands of his persecutors. And in the hands of Christians the Church of Christ is not whole. Let us then, brethren, cry with groans as much as we can, saying, O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name in one. For so the church crieth unto them. It is the voice of the church crying unto them who have cut themselves off from her.
For whereby were they rent from her? Through pride. But Christ teacheth humility, when he commendeth his body and blood. This, as I said to your holiness, is treated and celebrated in the text of this psalm. Wherein is commended the body and blood of Christ, when the humility of Christ is commended, which for our sakes he deigned to take upon himself. Verse 4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me. Where heard the Lord? Within. Where giveth he? Within. There thou prayest, there thou art heard, there thou art blessed. Thou hast prayed, thou art heard, thou art blessed, and he knoweth not who standeth by thee. It is all carried on in secret, as the Lord saith in the Gospel. Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
When therefore thou enterest into thy chamber, thou enterest into thy heart. Blessed are they who rejoice when they enter into their heart, and find therein naught of evil. Let your holiness attend. As men are unwilling to enter their houses who have bad wives, as they go out to their business and rejoice, when the hour has come to return to their own house, they are sorrowful. For they are about to enter to weariness, to murmurings, to bitterness, to confusions. For a house is not quiet, where between a man and his wife there is no peace, and to him it is better to wander about abroad. If, then, they are miserable, who, when they return to their own walls, fear lest they be troubled by some disturbance of their own family.
How much more miserable are they who are unwilling to return to their own conscience, lest they be overturned by the strife of their sins. Therefore, that thou mayest be able to return willingly to thy heart, cleanse it. For blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Take away thence filthy desires. Take away the spot of avarice. Take away the plague of superstition. Take away sacrilege and evil thoughts. Hatreds also. I say not against a friend, but even against an enemy. Take away all these. So enter into thy heart, and thou shalt rejoice therein. When, then, thou hast begun to rejoice, the very cleanness of thy heart will delight thee. And will make thee to pray. As when thou comest to any place where is silence, where is quiet, the place is clean.
Thou sayest, Let us pray here. And the quietness of the place delighteth thee, and thou believest that God will there hear thee. If then the visible cleanness of a place delighteth thee, wherefore doth not the uncleanness of thy heart offend thee? Enter in, cleanse all, lift up thine eyes unto God, and immediately he will hear thee. Cry and say, I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me out of all my troubles. Wherefore, because even when thou art enlightened, when thou hast begun here to have a good conscience, there remain troubles. Because there remaineth some infirmity until death be swallowed up in victory, and this mortal have put on immortality. Needs must thou in this world be scourged.
Needs must thou suffer some temptations, some suggestions. God will cleanse all. He will deliver thee from all thy troubles. Seek thou Him. I sought the Lord, and he heard me. Who then are not heard, seek not the Lord. Attend, holy brethren. He said not, I sought gold from the Lord, and he heard me. I sought from the Lord long life, and he heard me. I sought from the Lord this or that, and he heard me. It is one thing to seek anything from the Lord. Another to seek the Lord himself. I sought, saith he, the Lord, and he heard me. But thou, when thou prayest, saying, Kill that my enemy, seekest not the Lord, but, as it were, makest thyself a judge over thy enemy, and makest thy God an executioner.
How knowest thou that he is not better than thou?
Verse 29. And he will hear thee. And while thou yet speakest, he will say, Lo, here I am. What is, Lo, here I am? Lo, I am present. What wouldest thou? What seekest thou of me? Whatever I should give thee is more vile than I. Myself have thou. Me enjoy, me embrace. Not yet art thou able wholly. By faith touch me, and thou shalt cleave unto me. This God saith to thee, and thy other burdens will I remove from off thee, that thou mayest wholly cleave unto me. When I have changed this, thy mortal, to immortality, that thou mayest be equal to my angels, and ever see my face, and mayest rejoice, and thy joy none shall take from thee, because thou soughtest the Lord, and he heard thee, and out of all thy troubles delivered thee.
I have said who was the exhorter, namely, that lover, who would not alone embrace what he loveth, and saith, Verse 5, Approach unto him, and be ye lightened. For he saith what he himself proved. For some spiritual person in the body of Christ Or even our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, according to the flesh, the Head, exhorting His own members, saith, what? Approach unto Him, and be ye lightened. Or rather, some spiritual Christian inviteth us to approach to our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. But let us approach to Him, and be lightened, not as the Jews approach to Him, that they might be darkened. For they approached to Him that they might crucify Him. Let us approach to Him that we may receive His body and blood.
They, by Him crucified, were darkened. We, by eating and drinking the crucified, are lightened. Approach unto Him, and be ye lightened. Lo, this is said to the Gentiles. Christ was crucified amid the Jews raging and seeing. The Gentiles were absent. Lo, they have approached who were in darkness, and they who saw not are lightened. Whereby approached the Gentiles? By following with faith, by longing with the heart, by running with charity. Thy feet are thy charity. Have two feet, be not lame. What are thy two feet? The two commandments of love. Of thy God, and of thy neighbor. With these feet run thou unto God, approach unto him, for he hath both exhorted thee to run, and hath himself shed his own light, as he hath magnificently and divinely continued.
And your faces shall not be ashamed. Approach, saith he, unto him, and be ye lightened. And your faces shall not be ashamed. No face shall be ashamed but of the proud. Wherefore, because he would be lifted up, and when he hath suffered insult, or ignominy, or mischance in this world, or any affliction, he is ashamed. But fear not thou, approach unto him, and thou shalt not be ashamed. Whatever thy enemy doth to thee, he seemeth to be superior to thee before men, but before God thou art superior. I have taken, I have bound, I have killed. How superior seem they to themselves who say these things! How superior seemed the Jews unto themselves, when they buffeted the Lord, when they spat in His face, and smote Him on the head with a reed, when they crowned Him with thorns, when they covered Him with a robe of ignominy!
How superior were they! And He seemed inferior, because He fell down at the doors of the gate, but He was not ashamed. For he was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. As the light cannot be confounded, so he suffereth not him that is lightened to be confounded. Therefore approach unto him, and be ye lightened, and your faces shall not be ashamed. But sayeth someone, How shall I approach unto him? With so great evils, so great sins, am I burdened, so great crimes cry out from my conscience. How can I dare to approach unto God? How? If thou humble thyself through penance. But I am ashamed, sayest thou, to do penance. Approach then unto him, and thou shalt be lightened, and thy face shall not be ashamed.
For if the fear of being ashamed recalleth thee from penance, but penance maketh thee to approach unto God, seest thou not that thou bearest thy punishment in thy face? For therefore was thy face ashamed, because it approached not unto God, and therefore it approached not, because it will not do penance. As the prophet testifieth, verse 6, The poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. He teacheth thee how thou mayest be heard. Therefore art thou not heard, because thou art rich. Lest haply thou say, Thou criedst, and wast not heard, hear wherefore. The poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. As poor cry thou, and the Lord heareth. And how shall I cry as poor? By not, if thou hast ought, presuming therefrom upon thy own strength, by understanding that thou art needy, by understanding that so long art thou poor, as thou hast not him who maketh thee rich.
But how did the Lord hear him, and saved him out of all his troubles? And how saveth he men out of all their troubles? Verse 7. The angel of the Lord shall send round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them. So it is written, brethren, not as some bad copies have it, the Lord shall send his angel round about them that fear him, and he shall deliver them. But thus... The angel of the Lord shall send round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them. Whom called he here, the angel of the Lord, who shall send round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them? Our Lord Jesus Christ himself is called in prophecy the angel of the great council, the messenger of the great council.
So the prophets called him. Even he then, the angel of the great council, that is, the messenger, shall send unto them that fear the Lord, and shall deliver them. Fear not then, lest thou be hid. Wheresoever thou hast feared the Lord, there doth that angel know thee, who shall send to succor thee, and shall deliver thee. Now will he speak openly of the same sacrament. Verse 8. That seeming insanity and constant madness, the same insanity and sober inebriety of that David, who in a figure showed I know not what. When in the person of King Achis they said to him, How is it? When the Lord said, Except a man eat my flesh and drink my blood, he shall have no life in him. And they, in whom reigned Achis, that is, error and ignorance, said, What said they?
How can this man give us his flesh to eat? If thou art ignorant, Taste and see that the Lord is good. But if thou understandest not, thou art King Achis. David shall change his countenance, and shall depart from thee, and shall quit thee, and shall depart. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Why needeth this to be explained at length? Whoever trusteth not in the Lord is miserable. Who is there that trusteth not in the Lord? He that trusteth in himself. Sometimes, which is even worse, my brethren attend. Sometimes men trust not in themselves, but in other men. While Garcius is alive and well, thou canst do me no harm, saith one, and perhaps he speaketh of one already dead. In this very city, saith one, while such an one is alive and well, and he perhaps has died in another place.
And how soon do men say this? They say not, I trust in God, that he will not permit thee to hurt me. They say not, I trust in my God, that although he may permit thee to touch somewhat of mine, to touch my soul he will not permit thee. But when they say, while such an one is alive and well, they both refuse to have safety themselves, and weigh down these through whom they think to have safety. Verse 9. O fear the Lord, all ye his saints, for there is no want to them that fear him. For many, therefore, will not fear God the Lord, lest they suffer hunger. It is said to them, Defraud not. And they say, Whence can I feed myself? No art can be without imposture. No business can be without fraud. But fraud God punisheth.
Fear God. But if I should fear God, I shall not have whence to live. O fear the Lord, all ye his saints, for there is no want to them that fear him. He promiseth plenty to him that trembleth and doubteth, lest happily, if he should fear God, he should lose things superfluous. The Lord fed thee, despising him, and will he desert thee, fearing him? Attend, and say not, Such a one is rich, and I am poor. I fear the Lord, he by not fearing. How much has he gained? And I, by fearing, am bare. See what follows. Verse 10. The rich do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. If thou receive it according to the letter, he seemeth to deceive thee, for thou seest that many rich men that are wicked...
The Bible says, Their funeral pomp celebrated with great profusion, the man himself brought Rich even to the sepulchre, having expired in beds of ivory, his family weeping around. And thou sayest in thy mind, If haply thou knowest some, both sins and crimes, done by him, I know what things that man hath done. Lo, he hath grown old, he hath died in his bed, his friends follow him to the grave, his funeral is celebrated with all this pomp. I know what he hath done. The Scripture has deceived me and has spoken falsely, where I hear and sing. The rich do lack and suffer hunger. When was this man in need? When did he suffer hunger? But they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Daily I rise up to church.
Daily I bend the knee. Daily I seek the Lord and have nothing good. This man sought not the Lord, and he hath died in the midst of all these good things. Thus thinking, the snare of offense choketh him, for he seeketh mortal food on the earth, and seeketh not a true reward in heaven. And so he putteth his head into the devil's noose, his jaws are tied close, and the devil holdeth him fast unto evil doing. That so he may imitate the evil men whom he seeth to die in such plenty. Therefore understand it not so. And how shall I understand it? Of spiritual goods. But where are they? They are not seen with the eyes, but with the heart. I see not those same goods. He seeth them who loveth. Righteousness I see not.
No, for it is not gold, nor is it silver. If it were gold, thou wouldest see it. Because it is faith, thou seest it not. And if thou seest not faith, wherefore lovest thou a faithful servant? Ask thyself, what sort of servant thou lovest? Perhaps thou hast a servant handsome, of good stature, well formed, But a thief, good for nothing, fraudulent. But perhaps thou hast another, small of stature, deformed in face, of bad complexion, but faithful, thrifty, sober. Attend, I pray thee, which of these two lovest thou? If thou askest the eyes of the flesh, the handsome, dishonest one prevaileth with thee. If the eyes of the heart Then prevaileth the deformed faithful. Thou seest then what it is thou wouldest that another should show unto thee, namely, faith.
Do thou show unto him the same? Wherefore rejoicest thou at him who showeth faith towards thee, and praisest him for those goods which are not seen, but with the eye of the heart? When thou art filled with spiritual riches, canst thou be poor? And was he therefore rich, because he had a bed of ivory? And art thou poor, who hast the chamber of thy heart filled with such jewelry of virtues—justice, truth, charity, faith, endurance? Unfold thy riches, if thou hast them, and compare them with the riches of the rich. But such an one has found in the market mules of great value, and has bought them. If thou couldst find faith to be sold, how much wouldst thou give for that, which God willeth that thou shouldst have, gratis, and thou art ungrateful?
Those rich, then, lack, they lack, and what is heavier, they lack bread. But do not haply think that they lack gold and silver, although indeed they lack these also. How much had such a man? And yet what could ever satisfy him? So he died lacking, because he wished to gain more than he possessed. They lack even bread. How lack they even bread? If thou understandest bread. For he hath said, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. And again, blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. But they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. But what manner of good I have already said. Verse 11. Come, ye children. Hearken unto me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Ye think, brethren, that I say this. Think that David saith it. Think that an apostle saith it. Nay, think that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself saith it. Come, ye children, hearken unto me. Let us hearken unto Him together. Hearken ye unto Him through us. For he would teach us, he the humble, he that drummeth, he that affecteth, would teach us. And what saith he? Come ye children, hearken unto me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Let him then teach. Let us give ear, let us give heart. Let us not open the ears of the flesh, and shut those of the heart. But as he himself said in his Gospel, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Who would not hear Christ teaching through his prophet? Verse 12.
What man is he that desireth life, and loveth to see good days? He asketh a question. Doth not every one among you answer, I? Is there any man among you that loveth not life, that is, that desireth not life, and loveth not to see good days? Do ye not daily thus murmur, and thus speak? How long shall we suffer these things? Daily are they worse and worse. In our Father's time were days more joyful, were days better. Oh, if thou couldst ask those same. Thy fathers, in like manner would they murmur to thee of their own days. Our fathers were happy. Miserable are we. Evil days have we. Such an one ruled over us. We thought that after his death might some refreshing be given to us. Worse things have come.
O God, show unto us good days. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth to see good days? Let him not seek here good days. A good thing he seeketh, but not in its right place doth he seek it. As if thou shouldest seek some righteous man in a country wherein he lived not, it would be said to thee, A good man thou seekest. A great man thou seekest. Seek him still, but not here. In vain thou seekest him here. Thou wilt never find him. Good days thou seekest. Together let us seek them, seek not here. But our fathers had them. Ye are deceived. All men here have so labored. Read the Scriptures. Therefore God willed them to be written, that we might have consolation. In the time of Elias was there a famine.
Our fathers suffered it. The heads of dead beasts were sold for gold. They slew their own people and ate them. And two women agreed together to kill their sons and eat them. One killed her son, and the two ate him together. The other refused to kill her son, and she who had first slain her son sued her, and this her suit came before the king. They betook themselves even before the king, contending concerning the slaying of their sons. As concerning such food, God avert what we read. Always are there evil days in this world, but always good days in God. Good days had Abraham, but within, in his heart. Evil days had he, when, through famine, he changed his place and sought food. So all men have sought food.
Had Paul good days, who saith, In hunger and thirst, in fasting softened, in cold and nakedness? But let not the servants be wroth. The Lord Himself had not good days in this world. Insults, injuries, the cross, and all those evils did He suffer. Let not a Christian then murmur. Let him see whose steps he followeth. But if he loveth good days, let him hearken unto him teaching and saying, Come ye children, hearken unto me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What wouldest thou, life and good days, hear and do? Verse 13. Keep thy tongue from evil, this do. I will not, saith a miserable man, I will not keep my tongue from evil, and yet I desire life and good days. If a workman of thine should say to thee, I indeed lay waste this vineyard.
Yet I require of thee my reward. Thou broughtest me to the vineyard to lop and prune it. I cut away all the useful wood. I will cut short also the very trunks of the vines, that thou have thereon nothing to gather. And when I have done this, thou shalt repay to me my labor. Wouldest thou not call him mad? Wouldest thou not drive him from thy house? Or ever he put his hand to the knife? Such are those men who would both do evil, and swear falsely, and speak blasphemy against God, and murmur, and defraud, and be drunken, and dispute, and commit adultery, and use charms, and consult diviners, and withal see good days. To such it is said, thou canst not, doing ill, seek a good reward. If thou art unjust, shall God also be unjust?
What shall I do then? What desirest thou? Life I desire, good days I desire. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak no guile, that is, defraud not any, lie not to any. But what is, depart from evil? It is little that thou injure none, murder none, steal not, commit not adultery, do no wrong, speak no false witness. Depart from evil. When thou hast departed, thou sayest, Now I am safe, I have done all, I shall have life, I shall see good days. Not only saith he, Depart from evil, but also, and do good. It is nothing that thou spoil not, clothe the naked. If thou hast not spoiled, thou hast declined from evil. But thou wilt not do good, except thou receive the stranger into thine house.
So then depart from evil, as to do good. Seek peace, and ensue it. He hath not said, Thou shalt have peace here. Seek it, and ensue it. Whither shall I ensue it? Whither it hath gone before? For the Lord is our peace, hath risen again, and hath ascended into heaven. Seek peace, and ensue it. Because when thou also hast risen, this mortal shall be changed, and thou shalt embrace peace there, where no man shall trouble thee. For there is perfect peace, where thou wilt not hunger. For here it is bread that maketh thy peace. Withhold bread, and see what a war there will be within thy bowels. How is it that even the righteous groan here, brethren? That ye may know that here we seek peace, but shall obtain it only in the end.
But in part must we have it here, that there we may deserve it wholly. What is in part? Let us be peaceful here. Let us love our neighbor as ourselves. So love thy brother as thyself. Be at peace with him. But there cannot but exist some strifes, as between brethren and between saints have existed, as between Barnabas and Paul, but not such as to destroy concord, not such as to interrupt charity. For even thyself thou sometimes resistest, and yet thou hatest not thyself. For every one who repenteth of anything, striveth with himself. He hath sinned, he returneth, he is angry with himself that he hath done this, that he hath committed that. Therefore he is at strife with himself, but that strife tendeth to concord.
See how a certain righteous man striveth with himself, saying, Why art thou sorrowful, O my soul? And why dost thou disquiet me? Hope thou in God, for I will yet praise him. When he saith to his soul, Why dost thou disquiet me? It surely did disquiet him. He wished perhaps himself to suffer for Christ, and his soul became sorrowful. And he who knew and said, Why art thou sorrowful, O my soul, and why dost thou disquiet me, had not yet peace with himself? But in his heart he clave unto Christ, that his soul might follow him, and not disquiet himself. Seek then peace, brethren. The Lord saith, These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. Peace in this world I promise not unto you.
In this life is not true peace, neither tranquility. The joy of immortality, the society of angels, is promised. But whoever hath not sought it while here he hath been shall not have it, when there he shall arrive. Verse 15. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous. Fear not, then. The eyes of the Lord are upon thee, and his ears are open unto their prayers. What wouldest thou more? If an householder in a great house should not hearken to a servant murmuring, he would complain and say, What hardship do we here suffer, and none heareth us? Canst thou say this of God? What hardships I suffer, and none heareth me? If he heard me, haply sayest thou, he would take away my tribulation. I cry unto him, and yet have tribulation.
Only do thou hold fast his ways, and when thou art in tribulation, he heareth thee. But he is a physician, and still hast thou something of putrefaction. Thou criest out. But still he cutteth, and taketh not away his hand, until he hath cut as much as pleaseth him. For that physician is cruel, who heareth a man, and spareth his wound and putrefaction. How do mothers rub their children in the baths for their health? Do not the little ones cry out in their hands? Are they then cruel, because they spare not, nor hearken unto their tears? Are they not full of affection? And yet the children cry out, and are not spared. So our God also is full of charity, but therefore seemeth He not to hear, that He may spare and heal us for everlasting.
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers. Haply say the wicked, I securely do evil. Because the eyes of the Lord are not upon me, God attendeth to the righteous, me he seeth not, and whatever I do, I do securely. Immediately added the Holy Spirit, seeing the thoughts of men, and said, The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. Verse 16. But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. Verse 17. The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their troubles. Righteous were the three children. Out of the furnace cried they unto the Lord, and in His praises their flames cooled.
The flame could not approach, nor hurt the innocent and righteous children praising God. And he delivered them out of the fire. Someone saith, Lo, truly righteous were those who were heard, as it is written, The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their troubles. But I have cried, and he delivereth me not. Either I am not righteous, or I do not the things which he commandeth me, or haply he seeth me not. Fear not, only do what he commandeth. And if he deliver thee not bodily, he will deliver thee spiritually. For he who took out of the fire the three children, did he take out of the fire the Maccabees? Did not the first sing hymns in the flames, these last in the flames expire?
The God of the three children, was not he the God also of the Maccabees? The one he delivered, the other he delivered not. Nay, he delivered both, but the three children he so delivered, that even the carnal were confounded. But the Maccabees, therefore, he delivered not so, that those who persecuted them should go into greater torments, while they thought that they had overcome God's martyrs. He delivered Peter when the angel came unto him, being in prison, and said, Arise and go forth. And suddenly his chains were loosed, and he followed the angel, and he delivered him. Had Peter lost righteousness when he delivered him not from the cross? Did he not deliver him then? Even then he delivered him.
Did his long life make him unrighteous? Happily he heard him more at last than at first, when truly he delivered him out of all his troubles. For when he first delivered him, how many things did he suffer afterwards? For thither he sent him at last, where he could have suffered no evil. Verse 18. The Lord is nigh unto them that have broken their heart, and savest such as be lowly in spirit. God is high. Let a Christian be lowly. If he would that the Most High God draw nigh unto him, let him be lowly. A great mystery, brethren. God is above all. Thou raisest thyself, and touchest not him. Thou humblest thyself, and he descendeth unto thee. Verse 19. Many are the troubles of the righteous. Doth he say, Therefore let Christians be righteous, therefore let them hear my word, that they may suffer no tribulation.
He promiseth not this, but saith, Many are the troubles of the righteous. Rather, if they be unrighteous, they have fewer troubles, if righteous, they have many. But after few tribulations, or none, these shall come to tribulation everlasting. Whence they shall never be delivered. But the righteous, after many tribulations, shall come to peace everlasting, where they shall never suffer any evil. Many are the tribulations of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of all. Verse 20. The Lord keepeth all their bones, not one of them shall be broken. This also, brethren, let us not receive carnally. Bones are the firm supports of the faithful. For as in flesh our bones give firmness, so in the heart of a Christian it is faith that gives firmness.
The patience, then, which is in faith, is as the bones of the inner man. This is that which cannot be broken. The Lord keepeth all their bones. Not one of them shall be broken. If of our Lord God Jesus Christ he had said this, The Lord keepeth all the bones of his Son, not one of them shall be broken. As is prefigured of him also in another place, when the Lamb was spoken of that should be slain, and it was said of it, Neither shall ye break a bone thereof. Then was it fulfilled in the Lord. Because when he hung upon the cross, he expired before they came to the cross, and found his body lifeless already, and would not break his legs, that it might be fulfilled which was written. But he gave this promise to other Christians also, The Lord keepeth all their bones, not one of them shall be broken.
Therefore, brethren, if we see any saint suffer tribulation, And happily, either by a physician so cut, or by some persecutor so mangled, that his bones be broken, let us not say, This man was not righteous. For this hath the Lord promised to his righteous, of whom he said, The Lord keepeth all their bones, not one of them shall be broken. Wouldst thou see that he spoke of other bones? Those which we called the firm supports of faith, that is, patience and endurance in all tribulations. For these are the bones which are not broken. Hear and see ye in the very passion of our Lord what I say. The Lord was in the middle, crucified. Near him were two thieves. The one mocked, the other believed. The one was condemned, the other justified.
The one had his punishment both in this world and that which shall be. But unto the other said the Lord, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And yet those who came break not the bones of the Lord, but of the thieves they break. As much were broken the bones of the thief who blasphemed as of the thief who believed. Where then is that which is spoken? The Lord keepeth all their bones. Not one of them shall be broken. Lo, unto whom he said, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Could he not keep all his bones? The Lord answereth thee, Yea, I kept them. For the firm support of his faith could not be broken by those blows whereby his legs were broken. Verse 21. The death of sinners is the worst.
Attend, brethren, for the sake of those things which I said. Truly great is the Lord, and his mercy. Truly great is he who gave to us to eat his body, wherein he suffered such great things. And his blood to drink. How regardeth he them that think evil, and say, Such an one died ill, by beasts was he devoured? He was not a righteous man, therefore he perished ill, for else would he not have perished. Is he then righteous, who dieth in his own house, and in his own bed? This then, sayest thou, it is whereat I wonder. Because I know the sins and the crimes of this same man, and yet he died well, in his own house, within his own doors, with no injury of travel, with none even in mature age. Hearken!
The death of sinners is worst. What seemeth to thee a good death is worst if thou couldst see within. Thou seest him outwardly lying on his bed. Dost thou see him inwardly carried to hell? Hearken, brethren, and learn from the gospel what is the worst death of sinners. Were there not two in that age, a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day? Another, a poor man, who lay at his door full of sores, and the dogs came and licked his sores, and he desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Now it came to pass that the poor man died, righteous was that poor man, and was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom. He who saw his body lying at the rich man's door, and no man to bury it, What haply, said he?
So die he who is my enemy, and whoever persecutes me, so may I see him. His body is accursed with spitting, his wounds stink, and yet in Abraham's bosom he resteth. If we are Christians, let us believe. If we believe not, brethren, let none feign himself a Christian. Faith bringeth us to the end. As the Lord spake these things, so are they. Doth indeed an astrologer speak unto thee, and it is true? And doth Christ speak, and it is false? But by what sort of death died the rich man? What sort of death must it not be, in purple and fine linen? How sumptuous! How pompous! What funeral ceremonies were there? In what spices was that body buried? And yet, when he was in hell, being in torments, from the finger of that despised poor man, he desired one drop of water to be poured upon his burning tongue, and obtained it not.
Learn, then, what meaneth, the death of sinners is worst. And ask not beds covered with costly garments. And to have the flesh wrapped in many rich things, friends exhibiting a show of lamentation, a household beating their breasts, a crowd of attendants going before and following, when the body is carried out, marble and gilded memorials. For if ye ask those things, they answer you what is false, that of many not light sinners, but altogether wicked. The death is best, who have deserved to be so lamented, so embalmed, so covered, so carried out, so entombed. But ask the Gospel, and it will show to your faith the soul of the rich man burning in torments, which was nothing profited by all those honors and obsequies, which to his dead body the vanity of the living did afford.
But because there are many kinds of sinners, and not to be a sinner is difficult, or perhaps in this life impossible, he added immediately of what kind of sinners the death is worst. And they that hate the righteous one, saith he, shall perish. What righteous one but him that justifieth the ungodly? Whom but our Lord Jesus Christ, who is also the propitiation for our sins, who then hate Him, have the worst death, because they die in their sins, who are not through Him reconciled to our God. Verse 22. For the Lord redeemeth the souls of His servants. But according to the soul is death to be understood either the worst or best, Not according to bodily either dishonor or honors which men see, and none of them which trust in him shall perish.
This is the manner of human righteousness, that mortal life Amen.
End of Psalm 34, Discourse II
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38 38 - Psalm 35: Discourse 1 48:14
Psalm 35, Discourse 1. Delivered upon the occasion of some council. On the first part of the psalm. How that this psalm, by command of my brethren and fellow bishops, hath been laid on me to be handled, be your charity aware. They have willed that we all hear somewhat therefrom. For from him do we all hear, from whom we learn together, and in whose school we are fellow disciples. The title of it causeth us no delay, for it is both brief and to be understood not difficult, especially to those nursed in the church of God. For so it is to David himself. The psalm, then, is to David himself. Now David is interpreted strong in hand or desirable. The psalm, then, is to the strong in hand and desirable.
To him who for us hath overcome death, who unto us hath promised life, for in this is he strong in hand, that he hath overcome death for us. In this is he desirable, that he hath promised unto us life eternal. For what stronger than that hand which touched the bier, and he that was dead rose up? What stronger than that hand which overcame the world, not armed with steel, but pierced with wood? Or what more desirable than he, whom, not having seen, the martyrs wished even to die, that they might be worthy to come unto him? Therefore is the psalm unto him. To him let our heart, to him our tongue sing worthily. If yet himself shall deign to give some what to sing, none to him singeth worthily, but who hath from him received what to sing?
Nay, this which now we sing was spoken by his Spirit through his prophet, and in those words wherein we acknowledge both ourselves and him. Neither do we wrong, because we say both ourselves and him, since when he was in heaven He so cried, Why persecutest thou me? When him none touched, and we on earth were in trouble. His voice then let us hear, Now of the body, now of the head. For this is a psalm calling on God, against enemies, amid the tribulations of this world. And surely he is the same Christ, then the head being in tribulation. Now the body being in tribulation, yet through tribulations to all his members giving life eternal, which by promising became he desirable.
Verse 1. Judge thou, O Lord, saith he, them that hurt me, and fight thou against them that fight against me. If God be for us, who can be against us? And whereby doth God this for us?
Verse 2. Take hold, saith he, of arms and shield, and rise up to my help. A great spectacle is it to see God armed for thee. And what is his shield? What are his arms? Lord, in another place, saith the man who here also speaketh. As with the shield of thy good will hast thou compassed us. But his arms, wherewith he may not only us defend, but also strike his enemies, if we have well profited, shall we ourselves be. For as we from him have this, that we be armed, so is he armed from us. But he is armed from those whom he hath made. We are armed with those things which we have received from him who made us. These our arms the apostle in certain place calleth, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
He hath armed us with such arms as ye have heard, arms admirable and unconquered, insuperable and shining, spiritual truly and invisible. Because we have to fight also against invisible enemies. If thou seest thine enemy, let thine arms be seen. We are armed with faith in those things which we see not, and we overthrow enemies whom we see not. Nevertheless, dearly beloved, think not that these arms are so that what is a shield is always a shield. Or what is a helmet is always a helmet. Or what is a breastplate always a breastplate. For in these arms, corporal, it is so, although even those which are made of steel may be changed, so that out of a sword may be made an axe. But the same apostle we find to have said in one place, the breastplate of faith, and in another to have said, the shield of faith.
Therefore the same faith can be both a breastplate and a shield. A shield it is, because it receives and repels the darts of the enemies. A breastplate, because it suffers not thy inward parts to be pierced through. These are our arms. But what are God's? We read in a certain place, Deliver my soul from the ungodly, thy weapon from the enemies of thy hand. What first he said, from the ungodly, that in the following verse is, from the enemies of thy hand. And what above he called, my soul, that in the following verse he called, thy weapon, that is, thy sword. His soul, then, he called the weapon of God. Deliver, saith he, my soul from the ungodly. that is, deliver thy weapon from the enemies of thy hand.
For thou takest told of my soul, and warrest upon my enemies. And what is our soul, however splendid, however far-reaching, however sharpened, however anointed, however with the light and gleam of wisdom glistening? What is our soul, or what can it do, Unless God hold it and fight with it. For the best made weapon, unless it have a warrior, is useless. But I have said of our own arms that nothing ought to be taken as so fixed, that what is one thing, the same cannot be another. So also we find in God's arms. Lo! here he called the soul of the righteous the weapon of God. Again he saith that the soul of the righteous is the seat of God, the soul of the righteous is the seat of wisdom. Therefore, whatever he will, he maketh of our soul.
Since it is in his hand, let him use it as he will. Let him then rise up, for so is he called on. Let him take hold of his arms. Let him rise up for our help. Whence he should rise up is said unto him also in another place in these very words, Rise up, why sleepest thou, O Lord? And when he is said to sleep, we sleep. And when he is said to rise up, we are awakened. For the Lord also slept in the ship, and therefore was the ship tossed, because Jesus slept. For if Jesus had watched therein, The ship had not been tossed. Thy ship is thy heart. Jesus in the ship. Faith in the heart. If thou rememberest thy faith, thy heart is not tossed. If thou forgettest thy faith, Christ sleepeth. Beware of shipwreck.
Nevertheless do what remaineth, that if he sleep, he may be awakened. Say unto him, Lord, rise up. We perish, that he may rebuke the winds, and there be a calm in thy heart. For all temptations will retire, or surely will prevail nothing, when Christ, that is, thy faith, shall watch in thy heart. What then is, rise up? Make thyself known, apparent, felt. Rise up, therefore, for my help. Verse 3 Pour forth the weapon, and stop the way against them that persecute me. Who are they that persecute thee? Hapily thy neighbor, or he whom thou hast offended, or to whom thou hast done wrong, or who would take away what is thine, or against whom thou preachest the truth, or whose sin thou rebukest, or whom living ill by thy well-living thou offendest.
There are indeed even these enemies to us, and they persecute us. But other enemies we are taught to know, those against whom we fight invisibly, of whom the Apostle warneth us, saying, We wrestle not against flesh and blood, that is, against men, not against those whom ye see, but against those whom ye see not. Against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the world, of this darkness. Now when he said, the rulers of the world, as he spake of the devil and his angels, there was need to take care lest men should misunderstand and think that the world is ruled by the devil and his demons. But because the world is said of this fabric which we see, And the world is it of sinners, and of those who love the world, of whom it was said.
The world knew him not, and of whom also the whole world lieth in wickedness. Therefore the apostle explained of what world they were rulers. He said, Of this darkness. The rulers of this world, I say, are the rulers of this darkness. Again, he maketh us to understand what he said of this darkness. Of what darkness are the devil and his angels' rulers? Of all the unbelievers, of all the wicked, of whom it is said, The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Lastly, out of the number of the same as many believe, what sayeth the same apostle? Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Wouldst thou not be ruled by the devil? Come to the light. And how shalt thou come to the light, unless he pour forth the weapon, and deliver thee from thy enemies, and from them that persecute thee?
How poureth he forth the weapon! For we have already heard what his weapon is, even the soul of the righteous. Let the righteous abound. So is the weapon poured forth, and the way is stopped against the enemies. For from the very pouring forth of the weapon the apostle warning us to live righteously, in the sequel saith, that he that is of the contrary part may have no evil thing to say of you. The way is stopped against him, because what to say against the saints He cannot find. And whence shall these be righteous? Or what say the enemies who persecute us? Those invisible enemies, what say they? Say they nothing? Most of all is it suggested to the human heart, by the enemies who invisibly fight against it, that God is not our helper.
This, then, is suggested. Against these voices, what is here said? Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. When thou hast said unto my soul, I am thy salvation, then will it live righteously, so that I seek no helper besides thee. And what follows? Verse 4. Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul. For to this end they seek after it, to destroy it. For I would that they would seek it for good. For in another psalm he blameth this in men, that there was none who would seek after his soul. Refuge failed me. There was none that would seek after my soul. Who is this that saith, There was none that would seek after my soul? Is it happily he, of whom so long before it was predicted, They pierced my hands and my feet, they numbered all my bones, they stared and looked upon me, they have parted my garments among them, and cast lots for my vesture.
Now all these things were done before their eyes, and there was none who would seek after his soul. Let us then call upon him, brethren, that he may say unto our soul, I am thy salvation. And may open its ears, that it may hear him saying, I am thy salvation. For he saith it, but some are deaf, wherefore they hear rather those enemies that persecute them, being in tribulation. If aught is wanting, if the soul is in trouble, in need of temporal goods, it seeks aid for the most part from devils. It chooses to consult the possessed of devils. It seeks the diviners. Its persecutors, the invisible enemies, have approached it, have entered into it, have fought against it, have taken it captive, have conquered it by saying, There is no salvation for him and his God.
He was deaf to the voice, saying, I am thy salvation. Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation, that they may be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul. To which thou sayest, I am thy salvation. Let me hear him saying unto me, I am thy salvation. Other salvation will I not seek after, except the Lord my God. By some creature is salvation suggested to me. It is from him. And if I lift up mine eyes into the hills, from whence cometh my help? Yet cometh not my help from the hills, but from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. In very temporal troubles God helpeth through man. He himself is thy salvation. Through his angel God helpeth. He himself is thy salvation. All things to him are subject, and for this temporal life he indeed helpeth one from this side, another from that.
Eternal life he giveth not but from himself. Behold, when thou art in trouble, that is not before thee which thou seekest, but he is near thee whom thou seekest. And seek thou him who never can be wanting. Let those things be withdrawn, Which he gave. Is he therefore withdrawn, who gave? Let those things be restored, which he gave. Is that true riches, when these things are restored, and not he who withdrew them to prove thee, and restored them to console thee? For he consoleth us when these things are not wanting to us. He consoleth us in the way, but only if we understand the way. For the whole of this life, and all things which thou usest in this life, ought to be to thee as an inn to a traveller, not as a house to dwell in.
Remember, though thou hast performed somewhat, that somewhat remaineth, that thou hast stayed for refection, not for defection. There are who say, God the Good, the Great, the Most High, The invisible, the eternal, the incorruptible, will indeed give unto us eternal life, and that incorruption which he hath promised in the resurrection. But these worldly and temporal things belong to devils, and to those rulers of the darkness of this world. By thus saying, When they are entangled in the love of these things, they abandon God, as though these things belonged not unto Him, and seek by wicked sacrifices, by I know not what remedies, and by I know not what unlawful persuasion of men, to provide for themselves that which is temporal, as money, wife, and children.
And whatever either comforts human life passing by, or hinders it going its way. Divine Providence watching against this opinion, that God might show all these things to belong to Him, and to be in His power, not only things eternal which He promiseth hereafter, but also things temporal which on earth He giveth to whom He will, and when He will, in good time. Knowing to whom he should give, to whom not give, as a physician his medicines, knowing better the sick man's disease than the sick man himself. God, then, that he might show this, divided the times of the Old and New Testament. In the Old Testament are promises of things earthly, but in the New of a kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. Most of the commandments, both of worshipping God and of living well, are the same both in this and in that.
But because the promise here seems of one kind, there of another. The command of him that ordereth, and the obedience of him that serveth, is the same. But the wages, as it were, are not the same. For unto them it was said, Ye shall receive the land of promise. In it ye shall reign, your enemies ye shall conquer, ye shall not be subdued by them. All things shall abound to you in this land. In it ye shall beget children. These earthly things were promised, but yet in a figure. Suppose that some so received them as they were promised, and truly many so received them. For the land was given to the children of Israel. Riches were given, children were given even to their barren and old women, who prayed unto God, and in him alone presumed, and other helpers sought not even for those things.
They heard the voice of God in their heart, I am thy salvation. If for things eternal, why not for things temporal? This did God show in the case of that holy man Job. Because even the devil himself had no power to take away these things, except when he had received it from that most high power. He would envy the holy man. Could he also hurt him? He could accuse him. Could he also condemn him? Could he take aught from him? Could he hurt even a nail? Could he a single hair, until he had said unto God, Put forth thine hand. What is, put forth thine hand? Give me the power. He received it. He tempted him. He was tempted. Yet the tempted conquered. The tempter was conquered. For God, who had permitted the devil to take those things, had not deserted his servant within.
And to overcome the devil himself, Of the soul of his servant had made to himself a weapon. Whereunto tended this? I speak concerning man. Conquered was he in paradise, a conqueror on the dunghill. There was he conquered by the devil through the woman. Here he conquered the devil and the woman. Thou speakest, saith he, as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? How well had he heard, I am thy salvation. Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul. Look to men. Pray, saith he, for your enemies. But here it is a prophecy. And those things which are said under the figure of wishing are to be explained in the sense of prophesying.
Let this be done, or that be done, is nothing more than, this or that will be done. So then understand the prophecy. Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my life. What is, let them be confounded and put to shame? They shall be confounded and put to shame, for even so was it done. Many have been confounded to their health. Many, put to shame, have passed over from the persecution of Christ to the society of his members with devoted piety. And this would not have been, had they not been confounded and put to shame. Therefore he wished well to them. But because there are two kinds of those who are conquered, for in two ways are they conquered, either to this end they are conquered, that they may be converted unto Christ, or to this, that they be condemned by Christ.
Here also are explained the same two kinds, obscurely indeed, but wanting only an understanding hearer. Of those who are converted, hear what is said. Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul. Let them be turned back. Let them not go before, but follow. Let them not give counsel, but take it. For Peter would go before the Lord when the Lord spake of his future passion. He would to him as it were give counsel for his health. The sick man to the Savior give counsel for his health. And what said he to the Lord, affirming that his future passion? Be it far from thee, Lord, be gracious to thyself. This shall not be to thee. He would go before that the Lord might follow. And what said he?
Get thee behind me, Satan. By going before thou art Satan, by following thou wilt be a disciple. The same then is said to these also, Let them be turned back and brought to confusion that think evil against me. For when they have begun to follow after, now will they not think evil against me, but desire my good. What of others? For all are not so conquered as to be converted and believe. Many continue in obstinacy, Many preserve in heart the spirit of going before, and if they exert it not, yet they labor with it, and finding opportunity bring it forth. Of such what followeth? V. Let them be as dust before the wind. Not so are the ungodly, not so, but as the dust which the wind driveth away from the face of the earth.
The wind is temptation. The dust are the ungodly. When temptation cometh, the dust is raised. It neither standeth nor resisteth. Let them be as dust before the wind, and let the angel of the Lord trouble them. Verse 6. Let their way be darkness and slipping. A horrible way. Darkness alone who feareth not. A slippery way alone who avoids not. In a dark and slippery way, how shalt thou go? Where's that foot? These two ills are the great punishments of men. Darkness, ignorance, a slippery way, luxury. Let their way be darkness and slipping, and let the angel of the Lord persecute them, that they be not able to stand. For any one in a dark and slippery way, when he seeth that if he moves his foot he will fall, and there is no light before his feet, happily resolveth to wait until light come.
But here is the angel of the Lord persecuting them. These things he predicteth would come upon them, not as though he wished them to happen, although the prophet and the Spirit of God so speaketh these things. Even as God doth the same, with sure judgment, with a judgment good, righteous, holy, tranquil, not moved with wrath, not with bitter jealousy, not with desire of reeking enmities, but of punishing wickedness with righteousness. Nevertheless it is a prophecy. But wherefore these so great evils? By what desert? Here by what desert? Verse 7. For without cause have they hid for me the corruption of their trap. For him that is our head, observe, the Jews did this. They hid the corruption of their trap.
For whom hid they their trap? For him who saw the hearts of those that hid. But yet was he among them like one ignorant, as though he were deceived, whereas they were in that deceived, that they thought him to be deceived. For therefore was he as though deceived, living among them, because we among such as they were so to live, as to be without doubt deceived. He saw his betrayer, and chose him the more to a necessary work. By his evil he wrought a great good, and yet among the twelve was he chosen, lest even the small number of twelve should be without one evil. This was an example of patience to us, because it was necessary that we should live among the evil. It was necessary that we should endure the evil, either knowing them or knowing them not.
An example of patience he gave thee, lest thou shouldest fail, when thou hast begun to live among the evil. And because that school of Christ in the twelve failed not, how much more ought we to be firm, when in the great church is fulfilled what was predicted of the mixture of the evil? For neither did the same school see render to the seed of Abraham what had been promised. And that very threshing-floor, whence the grain that shall fill the garner must proceed. Wherefore then, when the threshing is, is not the chaff justly endured therein, until it be purged by the last winnowing? For this will surely come upon the evil which ye have heard. But what yet is to be done? Without a cause have they hid from me the corruption of their trap.
What meaneth without a cause? I have done them no evil. I have hurt them not at all. Vainly have they reviled my soul. What is vainly? Speaking falsely, proving nothing. Verse 8. Let a trap come upon them which they know not of. A magnificent retribution, nothing more just. They have hidden a trap that I might know not. Let a trap come upon them which they know not of. For I know of their trap. But what trap is coming upon them? That which they know not of. Let us hear, lest happily he speak of that. Let a trap come upon them which they know not of. Perhaps that is one which they hid for him. That another which shall come upon themselves. Not so. But what? The wicked shall be holden with the cords of his own sins.
Thereby are they deceived, whereby they would deceive. Thence shall come mischief to them, whence they endeavoured mischief. For it follows. And let the net which they have hidden catch themselves. As if any one should prepare a cup of poison for another, and, forgetting, should drink it up himself, or as if one should dig a pit that his enemy might fall thereinto in the darkness, and himself, forgetting what he had dug, should first walk that way and fall into it. Verily, brethren, thus believe, thus be assured. Thus, if there be in you any more excellent reason or prudence, thus observe and know. There is no wicked man who hurts not himself first. For so think of wickedness as a fire. Thou wouldest burn something.
That which thou appliest is first burned. If it be not burned, it burneth not. Thou hast a torch. This torch thou appliest to something to burn it. Is not the torch itself which thou appliest first burned, that it may be able to burn anything? Wickedness, then, proceedeth from thee, and whom doth it first waste but thyself? Doth it hurt the bough to which it is put forth, and where it hath root doth it not hurt? And I verily say, that thy wickedness should not hurt another. It is possible. That it should not hurt thee, it is not possible. For what hurt was done to holy Job, of whom I have spoken above? As it is said in another psalm, Like a sharp razor hast thou wrought deceit. What is done with a sharp razor?
Hairs, things superfluous, are cut off. What then dost thou to him whom thou wouldest hurt? If a worthless man, whom thou wouldest hurt, consent with thee to do ill, not thy wickedness will be hurtful to him, but his own. But if he be inwardly free from wickedness, and can present a clean heart to the voice that saith, I am thy salvation, outwardly thou fightest against him, the inner man thou takest not. Yet thy wickedness proceeds from thy inner man. The first it maketh empty. Thou art corrupt within, whence that worm proceeded. Within it hath left nothing sound. And let the net which they have hidden catch themselves, and let them fall into their own trap. Not that which haply thou thoughtest of, just before when thou heardest, Let a trap come upon them which they know not of, that is, as though it were some other one, secret and inevitable.
In what then fall they? In the same iniquity which they have hidden for me. Was not this done to the Jews? The Lord conquered their iniquity. They by their own iniquity were conquered. He rose for us. They died in themselves. This, then, for the wicked that would hurt me. What for me? Verse 9. But my soul shall rejoice in the Lord, as in him from whom it hath heard, I am thy salvation. As not seeking other riches from without, as not seeking to abound in pleasures and good things of earth, But loving freely the true spouse, not from him wishing to receive aught that may delight, but him alone proposing to itself by whom it may be delighted. For what better than God will be given unto me? God loveth me.
God loveth thee. See, he hath proposed to thee. Ask what thou wilt. If the Emperor should say to thee, Ask what thou wilt, what commands, what dignities, wouldst thou burst forthwith? What great things wouldst thou propose to thyself, both to receive and to bestow? When God saith unto thee, Ask what thou wilt, what wilt thou ask? Empty thy mind, exert thy avarice, stretch forward as far as possible, and enlarge thy desire. It is not any one but Almighty God that said, Ask what thou wilt. If of possessions thou art a lover, thou wilt desire the whole earth, that all who are born may be thy husbandmen, or thy slaves. And what when thou hast possessed the whole earth? Thou wilt ask the sea, in which yet thou canst not live.
In this greediness the fishes will have the better of thee. But perhaps thou wilt possess the islands. Pass over these also. Ask the air, although thou canst not fly. Stretch thy desire even unto the heavens. Call thine own the sun, the moon, and the stars. Because he who made all said, Ask what thou wilt. Yet nothing wilt thou find more precious, nothing wilt thou find better, than himself who made all things. Him seek, who made all things, and in him and from him shalt thou have all things which he made. All things are precious, because all are beautiful. But what more beautiful than he? Strong are they, but what stronger than he? And nothing would he give thee rather than himself. If aught better thou hast found, ask it.
If thou ask aught else, thou wilt do wrong to him, and harm to thyself, by preferring to him that which he made, when he would give to thee himself who made. In this love said a certain soul unto him, Art not thou my portion, O Lord? That is, thou art my portion. Let those who will choose for themselves what they shall possess. Let them make for themselves portions of other things. Thou art my portion. Thee have I chosen for me. And again. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance. Let him possess thee, that thou mayest possess him. Thou shalt be his property. Thou shalt be his house. He possesseth, that he may profit. He is possessed, that he may profit. Is it that thou mayest profit him at all?
I have said unto the Lord, Thou art my God. For my goods that wanteth not. But my soul shall be joyful in the Lord. It shall rejoice in his salvation. The salvation of God is Christ. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Verse 10. All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee? Who can speak anything worthily of these words? I think them only to be pronounced, not to be expounded. Why seekest thou this or that? What is like unto thy Lord? Him hast thou before thee? All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee? The unrighteous have declared unto me delights, but not after thy law, O Lord. Persecutors have been who have said, Worship Saturn, worship Mercury. I worship not idols, saith he.
Lord, who is like unto thee? They have eyes, and see not. Ears have they, but they hear not. Lord, who is like unto thee? Who hath made the eye to see, the ear to hear? But I, saith he, worship not idols, for them a workman made. Worship a tree or mountain. Did a workman make them also? Here, too, Lord, who is like unto thee? Earthly things are shown unto me. Thou art creator of the earth. And from these happily they turn to the higher creation, and say to me, Worship the moon, worship this sun, who with his light, as a great lamp in the heavens, maketh the day. Here also I plainly say, Lord, who is like unto thee? The moon and the stars thou hast made, the sun to rule the day hast thou kindled, the heavens hast thou framed together.
There are many invisible things better. But happily here also it is said to me, Worship angels, adore angels. And here also will I say, Lord, who is like unto Thee. Even the angels Thou hast created, the angels are nothing but by seeing Thee. It is better with them to possess Thee than by worshipping them to fall from Thee. All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto Thee. O Body of Christ, Holy Church, let all thy bones say, Lord, who is like unto Thee. And if the flesh under persecution hath fallen away, let the bones say, Lord, who is like unto thee. For of the righteous it is said, The Lord keepeth all their bones, not one of them shall be broken. Of how many righteous have the bones under persecution been broken?
Finally, the just shall live by faith, and Christ justifieth the ungodly. But how justifieth he any except believing and confessing? For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Therefore also that thief, although from his theft led to the judge, and from the judge to the cross, yet on the very cross was justified. With his heart he believed, With his mouth he confessed. For neither to a man unrighteous and not already justified would the Lord have said, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And yet his bones were broken. For when they came to take down the bodies by reason of the approaching Sabbath, the Lord was found already dead, and his bones were not broken.
But of those that yet lived, that they might be taken down, the legs were broken, so that from this pain having died, they might be buried. Were then of the one thief, who persisted in his ungodliness on the cross, the bones broken, and not also of the other, who with his heart believed, and with his mouth made confession unto salvation? Where then is that which was said, The Lord keepeth all his bones, not one of them shall be broken? Except that in the body of the Lord the name of bones is given to all the righteous, the firm in heart, the strong, to no persecutions, no temptations, yielding, so as to consent unto evil. And whence should they be able to yield to no temptations? Except when the persecutors say, Behold this God!
Behold what a God! Let him come to thee, let him charm thee. Behold, here is in the mount some great priest. Happily therefore thou art poor, because this God helpeth thee not. Entreat him, and he will help thee. Happily therefore thou art sick, because thou entreatest him not. Entreat him, and thou shalt be well. Happily therefore thou hast no children. Entreat him, and thou shalt have. But if in the Lord's body he be one of the bones, he repelleth all these words, and saith, Lord, who is like unto thee? Give, if thou wilt give, even in this life, what I ask. But if thou wilt not, be thou my life. Whom I seek always. Shall I depart hence unto thee with a clear face, if I worship another, and offend thee?
Tomorrow perhaps I shall die. With what face shall I see thee? Great is his mercy, and therefore hath he admonished us to live well, and hath hidden from us the last day of our life, lest we should promise ourselves aught from the future. Today I work and live. Tomorrow I work not. What if tomorrow find thee not? Say then among the bones of Christ, Lord, who is like unto thee, all my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee. Which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him? Yea, the poor and needy from him that spoileth him. Thus far has the psalm been read to-day. Thus far is it to be handled, lest that come to disgust, which hath been said, while we wish to say other things.
Let this then suffice for to-day, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him. Who that deliverest, but he who is strong in hand, even that David shall deliver the poor from him that is too strong for him. For the devil was too strong for thee, and held thee, because he conquered thee, when thou consentest unto him. But what hath the strong in hand done? No man entereth into a strong man's house to spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man. By his own power, most holy, most magnificent, hath he bound the devil by pouring forth the weapon to stop the way against him. That he may deliver the poor and needy, to whom there was no helper. For who is thy helper but the Lord, to whom thou sayest, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer?
If thou wilt presume of thine own strength, thereby wilt thou fall, whereof thou hast presumed. If of another's he would lord it over thee, not succor thee. He then alone is to be sought, who hath redeemed them, and made them free, and hath given his blood to purchase them, and of his servants hath made them his brethren.
End of Psalm 35 Discourse 1
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39 39 - Psalm 35: Discourse 2 40:53
Psalm 35, Discourse II, of Exposition on the Book of Psalms. Psalm 35, Discourse 2, on the remaining part of the psalm. To the rest of this psalm let us apply our minds, and to the Lord our God let us pray, both for soundness of understanding and for the quiet of well-doing. As far as yesterday was discoursed, I trust that ye remember, dearly beloved. From the same place to-day let us take our beginning. Now we understand here the words of Christ, The words, namely, both of the head and of the body of Christ. When thou hearest Christ, do not separate the bridegroom from the bride, but understand that great sacrament, and they, too, shall be one flesh. If, too, in one flesh, why not also in one voice?
For neither the head alone suffered here temptations, and the body suffereth not, nor indeed was there any cause of suffering to the head, but that he might give an example to the body. For the Lord suffered of free will, we of necessity. He out of commiseration, we out of our condition. Moreover, his voluntary passion is our necessary consolation. So that when we happily suffer like things, we may look upon our head, that, being warned by his example, we may say unto ourselves, If he did so, what must we? And, even as he was, so let us also be. For however much raged the enemy, to the death of the body could he only approach. Which body yet could he not destroy in the Lord? Because on the third day it rose again.
What in him was done on the third day, that in ours shall be at the end of the world. The hope of our resurrection is put off. Is it therefore put away? Here, then, most dearly beloved, let us acknowledge the words of Christ, and let us distinguish them from the words of the ungodly, For they are the voices of the body, suffering persecutions and troubles and temptations in this world. But since many suffer here also for their sins and for their crimes, with great vigilance must we discern the cause, not the punishment. For a criminal can have like punishment with a martyr, but yet a cause unlike. Three were there on the cross, one the Saviour, another to be saved, Another to be damned. Of all the punishment was equal, but the cause unequal.
Let then our head say, Verse 11. False witnesses did rise up. They laid to my chart things that I knew not. But let us say to our head, Lord, what knewest thou not? Didst thou indeed not know anything? Didst thou not know the hearts of them that charged thee? Didst thou not foresee their deceits? Didst thou not give thyself into their hands knowingly? Hadst thou not come that thou mightest suffer by them? What then knewest thou not? He knew not sin, and thereby he knew not sin, not by not judging, but by not committing. There are phrases of this kind also in daily use, as when thou sayest of any one, he knoweth not to stand, that is, he doth not stand, and he knoweth not to do good, because he doth not good, and he knoweth not to do ill, because he doth not ill.
That which is alien from operation is alien from conscience. That which is alien from conscience seems alien also from science. So God is said to know not, as art knoweth not faults, and yet by art faults are discovered and discerned. This, then, to our interrogatories out of the very truth of his own gospel doth our head answer. When we have said, Lord, what knewest thou not? Wherewith couldst thou be charged which thou knewest not? He answereth, Ungodliness I knew not. With ungodliness I was charged. Thou hast in the Gospel, if thou believed not that I knew not ungodliness, that even the ungodly themselves I know not, unto whom at the end I shall say, I know you not. Depart from me, ye that work ungodliness.
Did he not know those whom he condemned? Or can any condemn justly, but a good cognizant? And yet a good cognizant lied not in saying, I know you not. That is, ye are not joined to my body, ye cleave not to my rules, ye are vicious, but I am that very art which haveth no vice, and in which a man learneth not save not to do vice. False witnesses did rise up, they laid to my charge things that I knew not. What knew not Christ so much as to blaspheme? Thereof was he called in question by his persecutors, and because he spake truth he was judged to have spoken blasphemy. But by whom? By them of whom it followeth. Verse 12. They rewarded me evil for good and barrenness to my soul. I gave unto them fruitfulness, they rewarded me barrenness.
I gave life, they death. I honor, they dishonor. I medicine, they wounds. And in all these which they rewarded me was truly barrenness. This barrenness in the tree he cursed, when seeking fruit he found none. Leaves there were, and fruit there was not. Words there were, and deeds there were not. See of words abundance, and of deeds barrenness. Thou that preachest man should not steal. Stealest? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery. Committest adultery? Such were they who charged Christ with things that he knew not. Verse 13 But I, when they troubled me, clothed myself with sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer shall return into mine own bosom. We are taught indeed, brethren, that we belong to the body of Christ, that we are members of Christ, And we are admonished in all our tribulations to consider not how we may answer our enemies, but how by praying we may propitiate God, and chiefly to pray that we be not overcome by temptation, then that even those who persecute us may be converted to soundness and righteousness.
There is no greater No better employment in tribulation than to retire from the noise which is without, and to go into the inner closet of the heart, there to call upon God, where none seeth thee groaning and him succoring. That chamber door to close against every invading trouble, to humble thyself in confession of sin, to magnify and praise God, both chastising and consoling. This must by every means be held firm. But of the body must we say this, that is, of ourselves. Of our Lord Jesus Christ, what such as this do we find? The Gospel, being looked through and most diligently searched, we find not that the Lord in any passion or tribulation clothed himself with sackcloth. That he fasted indeed, we read, after he was baptized.
Sackcloth there we hear of none, read of none. But that he fasted, the Jews not yet persecuting, but the devil tempting him. At that time I say that the Lord fasted not, when they charged him with things which he knew not, and when they rewarded him evil for good, by railing, by persecuting, by holding fast, by scourging, by wounding, by slaying. But yet in all these, brethren, if for some little space, with pious curiosity, we lift the veil, and search with the intent eye of the heart the inner part of this scripture, we find that even this the Lord did. Sackcloth, haply he called his mortal flesh. Wherefore, sackcloth? For the likeness of sinful flesh. For the apostle saith, God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, that through sin he might condemn sin in the flesh.
That is, he clothed his own Son with sackcloth, that through sackcloth he might condemn the goats. Not that there was sin, I say not in the word of God, But not even in that holy soul and mind of a man, which the word and wisdom of God had so joined to himself as to be one person. Nay, nor even in his very body was any sin, but the likeness of sinful flesh there was in the Lord. Because death is not but by sin, and surely that body was mortal. For had it not been mortal, it had not died. Had it not died, it had not risen again. Had it not risen again, it had not showed us an example of eternal life. So then, death, which is caused by sin, is called sin, as we say the Greek tongue, the Latin tongue, meaning not the very member of flesh, but that which is done by the member of flesh.
For the tongue in our members is one among others, as the eyes, nose, ears, and the rest. But the Greek tongue is Greek words, not that the tongue is words, but that words are by the tongue. Thou sayest of one, I know his face, speaking of a member of his body. And thou sayest also, I know his hand, though he is absent. Not the hand of his body, but the writing which was made by the hand of his body. So then, the sin of the Lord is that which was caused by sin, because he assumed flesh of the same lump which had deserved death by sin. For to speak more briefly, Mary, who was of Adam, died for sin. Adam died for sin, and the flesh of the Lord, which was of Mary, died to put away sin. With this sackcloth the Lord clothed himself, and therefore was he not known, because he lay hid under sackcloth.
When they, saith he, troubled me, I clothed myself with sackcloth. That is, they raged, I lay hid. For had he not willed to lie hid, neither could he have died, since in one moment of time one drop only of his power, if indeed it is to be called a drop, he put forth, when they wished to seize him, and at his one question, Whom seek ye? They all went back and fell to the ground. Such power could he not have humbled in passion, if he had not lain hid under sackcloth. I clothed myself with sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting. Again, if we have understood the sackcloth, how understand we the fasting? Wished Christ to eat when He sought fruit on the tree, and if He had found, would He have eaten?
Wished Christ to drink when He said to the woman of Samaria, Give me to drink? When He said on the cross, I thirst? For what hungered, for what thirsted Christ but our good works? Because in them that crucified and persecuted Him He had found no good works, He fasted, for they rewarded barrenness to His soul. For what a fast was His, who found barely one thief, whom on the cross He might taste? For the apostles had fled, and had hidden themselves in the multitude. And even Peter, who even to the death of his Lord had promised to persevere, had now thrice denied him, had now wept, and still lay hid in the multitude, still feared lest he should be known. Lastly, having seen him dead, all of them despaired of their own safety, and despairing he found them after his resurrection.
And when he spake with them, found them grieving and mourning, no longer hoping anything. For so also did certain of them who spake with him. When he said, What talk ye between yourselves? For they were talking of him. Art thou only, they said, a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known what things our priests and rulers have done concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a man mighty in word and deed, how they have crucified and slain him. But we trusted that it should have been he that should have redeemed Israel. In great fasting had the Lord remained, had he not refreshed them that he might feed on them. For He refreshed them, He comforted them, He confirmed them, and into His own body converted them.
In this manner, then, was our Lord also in fasting. And my prayer shall return into mine own bosom. In the bosom of this verse is plainly a great depth, and may the Lord grant that it may be fathomable by us. For in the bosom a secret is understood. And we ourselves, brethren, are here well admonished to pray within our own bosom, where God seeth, where God heareth, where no human eye penetrateth, where none seeth but he who succoureth, where Susanna prayed, and her voice, though it was not heard by men, yet by God was heard. Of this indeed we are well admonished, but of our Lord ought we to understand something more, because He Himself also prayed. And indeed, His sackcloth we find not in the Gospel according to the letter, nor His fasting at the time of His Passion according to the letter.
And these therefore have explained to be spoken by an allegory or similitude, as I could. But His prayer even from the cross have we heard. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? But there also were we. For when did the Father forsake him, from whom he never departed? We read also that in the mount Jesus prayed alone. We read that he passed the night in prayer, even at the time of his Passion. What then? And my prayer shall return into mine own bosom. I know not what better to understand concerning the Lord. Take meanwhile what now occurs. Perhaps something better will occur hereafter, either to me or to some better. My prayer shall return into mine own bosom. This I understand to be said, because in his own bosom he had the Father.
For God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. In himself he had him to whom he prayed. He was not far from him, for himself had said, I am in the Father, and the Father in me. But because prayer rather belongeth to very man, for according as Christ is the word, he prayeth not, but heareth prayer, and seeketh not to be succored for himself, but with the Father succoreth all. What is? My prayer shall return into mine own bosom. But in me my manhood invoketh in me my Godhead. Verse 14. As a neighbor, as our brother, so I pleased him. As one mourning and sorrowful, so I humbled myself. Now looketh he back to his own body. Let us now look to this. When we rejoice in prayer, when our mind is calmed, not by the world's prosperity, but by the light of truth, who perceiveth this light knoweth what I say, and he seeth and acknowledgeth what is said.
As a neighbor, as our brother, so I pleased him. Even then our soul pleaseth God, not pleased afar off, for... In him, saith one, we live and move and have our being, but as a brother, as a neighbor, as a friend. But if it be not such that it can so rejoice, so shine, so approach, so cleave unto him, and seeth itself far off thence, then let it do what followeth. As one mourning and sorrowful, so I humbled myself. As our brother, so I pleased him," said he, drawing near. As one mourning and sorrowful, so I humbled myself," said he, removed and set afar off. For what mourneth any one but that which he desireth and hath not? And sometimes in one man happen both, that at one time he should draw near, at another be far off.
Draw near by the light of truth, be far off by the cloud of the flesh. For neither, brethren, unto God, who is everywhere, and is contained in no place, do we through place draw near, or from him through place remove. To draw near unto him, is to become like unto him, to remove from him, to become unlike unto him. Dost not thou, when thou seest two things nearly alike, say, This comes near to that? And when things unlike are shown to thee, though in one place, and though they be held often in one hand, say, This kind is far off from that. Thou holdest both, Joinest both, and saith, This thing is far from that, not forsooth in place, but in unlikeness. If then thou wouldest draw near to him, be like unto him.
If thou wilt not be like, thou wilt be far off. But when thou art like, rejoice, and when unlike, groan. That groaning may excite desire, nay, that desire may excite groaning, and that through groaning thou mayest draw near, who hadst begun to be afar off. Did not Peter draw near, when he said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God? And yet the same man became afar off by saying, Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee. Lastly, what said he, his neighbor, as it were, to him drawing near? Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona. To him afar off, as it were, and unlike, what said he? Get thee behind me, Satan. To him drawing near, flesh and blood, saith he, hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
His light is shed over thee. In his light thou shinest. But when having become afar off, he spake against the Lord's passion, which should be for our salvation. Thou savourest not, said he, the things that be of God, but those that be of men. One rightly placing together both of these, saith in a certain psalm, I said in my ecstasy, I am cast off from before thine eyes. In my ecstasy, would he not have said, had he not drawn near, for ecstasy is the transporting of the mind. He poured over himself his own soul, and drew near unto God. And through some cloud and weight of the flesh, being again cast down to earth, and recollecting where he had been, and seeing where he was, he said, I am cast off from before thine eyes.
This, then, As a neighbor, as our brother, so I pleased him. May he grant to be done in us. But when that is not, let even this be done. As one mourning and sorrowful, so I humbled myself. Verse 15. And against me they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together. Against me only, they rejoicing, I sorrowful. But we heard just now in the Gospel, Blessed are they that mourn. If they are blessed that mourn, miserable are they that laugh. Against me they rejoiced and gathered themselves together. Scourges were gathered together against me, and they knew not. Because they lay to my charge things that I knew not, they also knew not whom they charged. Verse 16 They tempted me and mocked me with mocking.
That is, they derided me, they insulted me, this of the head, this of the body. Consider, brethren, the glory of the Church which now is. Remember its past dishonors. Remember how once were Christians everywhere put to flight, and were ever found, mocked, beaten, slain, exposed to beast, burned, Men rejoicing against them. As it was to the head, so it is also to the body. For as it was to the Lord on the cross, so has it been to his body in all that persecution which was made but now. Nor even now cease the persecutions of the same. Wherever men find a Christian, they are wont to insult, to persecute, to deride him, to call him dull, senseless, of no spirit, of no knowledge. Do they what they will, Christ is in heaven.
Do they what they will, he hath honored his punishment. Already hath he fixed his cross in the foreheads of all. The ungodly is permitted to insult, to rage he is not permitted. But yet from that which the tongue uttereth is understood what he beareth in his heart. They gnashed upon me with their teeth.
Lord, when wilt thou look on? Rescue my soul from their deceits, my darling from the lions. For to us the time is slow, and in our person is this said, When wilt thou look on? That is, when shall we see vengeance upon those who insult us? When shall the judge overcome by weariness hear the widow? But our judge, not from weariness, but from love, delayeth our salvation, from reason, not from need, not that he could not even now succour us, but that the number of us all may be filled up even to the end. And yet out of our desire what do we say? Lord, when wilt thou look on? Rescue my soul from their deceits, my darling from the lions, that is, my church from raging powers. Lastly, wouldst thou know what is that darling?
Read the words following. Verse 18. I will confess unto thee, O Lord, in the great congregation, in a weighty people will I praise thee. Truly saith he, I will confess unto thee in the great congregation. In a weighty people will I praise thee. For confession is made in all the multitude, but not in all is God praised. The whole multitude heareth our confession, but not in all the multitude is the praise of God. For in all the whole multitude that is in the church, which is spread abroad in the whole world, is chaff and wheat. The chaff flieth, the wheat remaineth. Therefore, in a weighty people will I praise Thee. In a weighty people, which the wind of temptation carries not away, in such is God praised.
For in the chaff He is ever blasphemed. When our chaff is considered, what is meant? See how Christians live, see what Christians do. And it is fulfilled which is written, Through you is my name blasphemed among the gentiles. Wickedly, grudgingly, beholdest thou the threshing-floor, who art all on the chaff. Not easily appeareth the grain to thee. Seek, and thou shalt find a weighty people in which thou mayest praise God. Wouldest thou find? Be thou such. For if thou be not such, It is hard but that all should appear to thee such as thou art. Comparing, saith the apostle, themselves among themselves, they understand not. In a weighty people will I praise thee. Verse 19. Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me, for they rejoice over me because of my chaff.
Who hate me without a cause, that is, whom I never hurt, winking with their eyes, that is, pretending hypocrites. Verse 20. For they spake indeed peace to me. What is winking with their eyes, declaring by their looks what they carry not in their heart? And who are these winking with their eyes? Verse 20. For they spake indeed peace to me, and with wrath devised craftily. Verse 21. Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me. First, winking with their eyes, those lions sought to ravish and devour. First, fawning, they spake peace, and then with wrath devised craftily. What peace spake they? Master, we know that thou acceptest not man's person, and teachest the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
They spake indeed peace unto me. What, then? Didst not thou know them, and deceived they thee, winking with their eyes? Truly he knew them. Therefore said he, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Afterward, They opened their mouth wide against me, crying, Crucify him! Crucify him! And said, Aha! Aha! Our eyes have seen it. This, when they insulted him, Aha! Aha! Prophesy unto us, thou Christ. As their peace was pretended when they tempted him concerning the money, so now insulting was their praise. They said, Aha! Aha! Our eyes have seen it. That is, thy deeds, thy miracles. This man is the Christ. If he be the Christ, let him come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He saved others. Himself he cannot save.
Our eyes have seen it. This is all whereof he boasted himself when he called himself the Son of God. But the Lord was hanging patient upon the cross. His power had he not lost, but he showed his patience. For what great thing was it for him to come down from the cross, who could afterward rise again from the sepulchre? But he seems to have yielded to his insulters, and this behoved that, having risen again, he would show himself to his own, and not to them, and this is a great mystery. For his resurrection signified the new life, but the new life is known to his friends, not to his enemies. Verse 22. This thou hast seen, O Lord, keep not silence. What is keep not silence? Judge thou. For of judgment is it said in a certain place, I have kept silence.
Shall I keep silence forever? And of the delaying of judgment it is said to the sinner, These things hast thou done, and I kept silence. Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself. How keepeth he silence, who speaketh by the prophets, who speaketh with his own mouth in the gospel, who speaketh by the evangelists, who speaketh by us when we speak the truth? What then? He keepeth silence from judgment, not from precept, not from doctrine. But this his judgment the prophet in a manner invoketh, and predicteth. Thou hast seen, O Lord, keep not silence. That is, thou wilt not keep silence, needst must that thou wilt judge. O Lord, be not far from me. Until thy judgment come, be not far from me.
Verse 23. Arise, Lord, and attend to my judgment. To what judgment? That thou art in tribulation, that thou art tormented with labors and pains? Do not even many wicked men suffer the same? To what judgment? Therefore art thou righteous, because thou sufferest these things? No. But what? To my judgment. What followeth? Attend to my judgment, even to my cause, my God and my Lord. Not to my punishment, but to my cause. Not to that which the robber hath in common with me, but to that whereof it is said, Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake. For this cause is distinguished, for punishment is equal to good and bad. Therefore martyrs, not the punishment, but the cause maketh.
For if punishment made martyrs, all the minds would be full of martyrs. Every chain would drag martyrs. All that are executed with the sword would be crowned. Therefore let the cause be distinguished. Let none say, Because I suffer, I am righteous. Because he who first suffered, suffered for righteousness' sake. Therefore he added a great exception. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake. For many having a good cause do persecution, and many having a bad cause suffer persecution. For if persecution could not be done rightly, it had not been said in a certain psalm, Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him did I persecute. Then, brethren, doth not a good and righteous father persecute a prodigal son?
His vices he persecuteth, not himself, not that which he begat, but that which the other added. The surgeon truly, who is called in to give health, is not he mostly armed with the knife, but against the wound, not against the man. He cuts that he may cure, and yet when he cuts the sick man, he is pained, cries out, resists, and if happily by fever he hath lost his senses, even strikes the surgeon. Nor yet does he not desist from seeking the health of the sick man. What he knoweth right he doth, him cursing and reviling he regardeth not. Are not all lethargics roused, lest from heavy sleep they may sink down to death? And this they suffer from their own sons, whom they have begotten most dear to them.
And the son is not dear unless he hath been troublesome to his sleeping father. The lethargic are roused, the frenzied are bound, But yet both are loved. Let none then say, I suffer persecution. Let him not sift the punishment, but prove the cause, lest, if he prove not the cause, he be numbered with the ungodly. Therefore, how watchfully, how excellently hath this man recommended himself! O Lord, attend to my judgment, not to my punishments. Even to my cause, my God and my Lord. Verse 24. Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness. That is, attend to my cause, not according to my punishment, but according to my righteousness, O Lord, my God. That is, according to this judge thou me. And let them not rejoice over me.
That is, mine enemies. Verse 25. Let them not say in their heart, Aha! Aha! So would we have it. That is, we have done what we could, we have slain him, we have taken him away. Let them not say, Show them that they have done nothing. Let them not say, We have swallowed him up. Whence say those martyrs, If the Lord had not been on our side, then they had swallowed us up quick. What is had swallowed us up? Had passed into their own body. For that thou swallowest up, which thou passest into thine own body. The world would swallow thee up. Swallow thou the world. Pass it into thine own body. Kill and eat. As it was said to Peter, Kill and eat. Do thou kill in them what they are. Make them what thou art.
But if they, on the other hand, persuade thee to ungodliness, thou art swallowed up by them. Not when they persecute thee art thou swallowed up by them, but when they persuade thee to be what they are. Let them not say, We have swallowed him up. Do thou swallow up the body of pagans? Why the body of pagans? It would swallow thee up. Do thou to it what it would to thee? Therefore, perhaps that calf, being ground to powder, was cast into the water and given to the children of Israel to drink, that so the body of ungodliness might be swallowed up by Israel. Verse 26. Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion, together that rejoice at mine hurt. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor, so that we may swallow them up ashamed and brought to confusion.
Who speak evil against me? Let them be ashamed. Let them be brought to confusion. What sayest thou now, the head with the members? Verse 27. Let them shout for joy, and be glad that favor my righteous cause, who cleave to my body. Yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. Verse 28, And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness, and of thy praise all the day long. And whose tongue endureth to speak the praise of God all the day long. See now, I have made a discourse something longer. Ye are wearied. Who endureth to praise God all the day long? I will suggest a remedy, whereby thou mayest praise God all the day long, if thou wilt.
Whatever thou dost, do well, and thou hast praised God. When thou singest an hymn, thou praisest God, but what doth thy tongue, unless thy heart also praise him? Hast thou ceased from singing hymns, and departed, that thou mayest refresh thyself? Be not drunken, and thou hast praised God. Dost thou go away to sleep? Rise not to do evil, and thou hast praised God. Dost thou transact business? Do no wrong, and thou hast praised God. Dost thou till thy field? Raise not strife, and thou hast praised God. In the innocency of thy works, prepare thyself to praise God all the day long.
End of Psalm 35 Discourse to
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40 40 - Psalm 36 46:09
Psalm 36. 1. Attend, dearly beloved, a little to the text and the mysteries of this psalm. Let us run through it, since in many places it is plain, but when the necessity of its obscurity compels us to dwell upon it, you will endure it for the sake of the advantage of learning. Verse 1. The ungodly hath said in himself that he will sin. There is no fear of God before his eyes. Not of one man, but of a race of ungodly men he speaketh, who fight against their own selves, by not understanding, that so they may live well, not because they cannot, but because they will not. For it is one thing, when one endeavors to understand something, and through infirmity of the flesh cannot, as saith the scripture in a certain place.
For the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind, that museth upon many things. But another, when the human heart acts mischievously against itself, So that what it could understand, if it had but good will thereto, it understandeth not, not because it is difficult, because the will is contrary. But so it is when men love their own sins, and hate God's commandments. For the word of God is thy adversary, if thou be a friend to thy ungodliness. But if thou art an adversary to thy ungodliness, the word of God is thy friend, as well as the adversary of thy ungodliness. If then thou hatest thy ungodliness, thou joinest thyself to the word of God, and ye will be two against it, thou and the word of God, to destroy it.
For thou indeed by thyself of thy own strength canst do nothing. But he helpeth thee who hath sent to thee his word, and so ungodliness is overcome. If thou hatest it, God also hath remitted it, and thou shalt be free. But if thou love it, It is contrary to thee to understand aught that is said against it. Suppose a man to ask how the son can be equal to the father. He hath believed it. He seeketh to understand it, as yet he cannot. For it is a great matter, and requireth great powers that it may be comprehended. And it is the beginning of faith which keepeth the soul until it be strengthened. With milk it is nourished, that it may arrive at the fitness and firmness for stronger meat. that it may be able to understand this.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Before it can do this, it is nourished in faith, and it endeavors to understand that it may understand as much as God shall grant. Doth it with endeavors? Understand this also. What thou wouldest not to be done to thee, do not thou to another. That because thou wouldest not suffer iniquity, Thou shouldest not do iniquity, because thou wouldest not suffer treachery and deceit. Thou shouldest not contrive deceit against another. No, but this one thou wouldest not understand. It is attributed to thy will. Therefore, the ungodly hath said in himself that he will sin. He hath purposed to sin. 2. But doth he who purpose this to sin?
Say this in public, and not rather in himself. Why in himself? Because no man seeth him. What then, because man seeth not in the heart, wherein he saith to himself that he will sin? Doth not the god see therein? God doth see therein. But what followeth? There is no fear of God before his eyes. There is fear of a man before his eyes, for he dareth not in public to declare his iniquity. Lest he be either reproved or condemned by man. But he departeth from the sight of men. Whither to himself he betaketh himself within, and no man seeth him. Where he meditateth treachery and deceit and sin, there no man seeth him. Even there he might not meditate with himself, if he thought that God seeth him. But since there is no fear of God before his eyes, when he hath departed from the sight of men to his own heart, whom should he fear there?
Is not God present there? Yea, but there is no fear of God before his eyes. 3. Therefore he meditateth, deceits, and then followeth. Doth it haply escape him that God seeth there? The very thing is declared which I was beginning to speak of. It doth escape him, but of his own will, because he wrought against himself, not willing to understand. Verse 2. For he hath wrought deceitfully in his sight. In whose sight? in his, whose fear was not before the eyes of him that did work deceitfully, to find out his iniquity, and hate it. He wrought so as not to find it. For there are men who, as it were, endeavor to seek out their iniquity, and fear to find it, because if they should find it, it is said to them, Depart from it.
This thou didst before thou knewest, thou didst iniquity, being in ignorance. God giveth pardon. Now thou hast discovered it. Forsake it, that to thy ignorance pardon may easily be given, and that with a clear face thou mayest say to God, Remember not the sins of my youth, and of my ignorance. Thus he seeketh it, thus he feareth, lest he find it, for he seeketh it deceitfully. When saith a man, I knew not that it was sin, when he hath seen that it is sin, and ceases to do the sin, which he did only because he was ignorant, such an one in truth would know his sin. to find it out, and hate it. But now many work deceitfully to find out their iniquity. They work not from their heart to find it out, and hate it.
But because in the very search after iniquity there is deceit, in the finding it there will be defense of it. For when one hath found his iniquity, lo, now it is manifest to him that it is iniquity. Do it not, thou saith. And he who wrought deceitfully to find it out, now he hath found HATED IT NOT? FOR WHAT SAITH HE? HOW MANY DO THIS? WHO IS THERE THAT DOETH IT NOT? AND WILL GOD DESTROY THEM ALL? FOR AT LEAST HE SAITH THIS, IF GOD WOULD NOT THESE THINGS TO BE DONE, WOULD MEN LIVE WHO COMMIT THE SAME? SEE-ST THAT THOU DIDST WORK DECEITFULLY TO FIND OUT THY INIQUITY? FOR IF NOT DECEITFULLY, BUT SINCERELY, THOU HAST WROUGHT, THOU WOULDST NOT HAVE FOUND IT OUT, AND HATED IT? Now that thou hast found it out, and thou defendest it, therefore thou didst work deceitfully when thou soughtest it.
Four, verse three, the words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He would not understand that he might do good. You see that he attributeth that to the will. For there are men who would understand and cannot, and there are men who would not understand, and therefore understand not. He would not understand that he might do good. Five, verse four, he hath meditated iniquity on his bed. What said he on his bed? The ungodly hath said in himself that he will sin. What above he said in himself that here he said on his bed? Our bed is our heart. There we suffer the tossing of an evil conscience, and there we rest when our conscience is good. Whoso loveth the bed of his heart, Let him do good therein.
There is our bed, where the Lord Jesus Christ commands us to pray. Enter into thy chamber, and shut thy door. What is shut thy door? Expect not from God such things as are without, but such as are within, and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. Who is he that shutteth not the door? He who asketh much from God such things, and in such wise directeth all his prayers, that he may receive the goods that are of this world. Thy door is open. The multitude seeth when thou prayest. What is it to shut the door? To ask that of God, which God alone knoweth how, he giveth. What is that for which thou prayest, when thou hast shut the door? What eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man?
And haply it hath not entered into thy very bed, that is, into thy heart. But God knoweth what he will give. But when shall it be? When the Lord shall be revealed, when the judge shall appear. For what is plainer than that which he shall say to them, that are set at his right hand? Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. This they shall hear who are on the left hand. and shall groan with fruitless repentance, because so living they would not repent with fruit. Why shall they groan? Because there is for them no place of recovery. But they also shall hear somewhat themselves. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
That is an evil hearing. For the righteous at their good hearing shall rejoice, for so it is written, The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance, He shall not be afraid from any evil hearing. From what evil hearing? That which they shall hear. Depart, ye curse it, into everlasting fire. God, therefore, who is able to do exceedingly abundant above all that we ask or think, searcheth out our secret groaning, that in his sight we may be pleasing, and not as it were of our own righteousness, boast ourselves before men. For whoso by his own righteousness would please men, Not to that end that they who see him may praise God, but with this intention that he may himself be praised. He shutteth not his door against noise, for the door is open to that noise, and God heareth not as he would hear.
Our bed, then, our heart, let us strive to cleanse, that it may be well with us there. You know, my beloved, how many things many suffer in public, in the forum, in strifes, in contentions, in troublesome business. How a man, wearied with business abroad, runneth to his house, that he may rest there, and striveth quickly to finish his business abroad, and to betake himself for rest to his own house. For there hath every one a home of his own, that he may rest therein. But if there also he suffer trouble, where can he rest? What then? It is good to have rest in his own house. But if abroad he suffer enemies, With him, perhaps, a bad wife, he goeth forth into public. When he would rest from those troubles which are abroad, he entereth into his house.
But when he neither resteth here nor resteth abroad, where shall there be rest? At least in the closet of the heart, when thou betakest thyself to thine inmost conscience, if there thou hast haply found a wife that causes thee no bitterness, even the wisdom of God, with her join thyself. Rest within thy chamber. Let not the smoke of an evil conscience drive thee thence. But it was to meditate deceits, that he of whom the scriptures speaketh these things, betook himself thither where men see not. And such things did he there meditate to himself, that not even in his heart could he rest. He hath meditated iniquity on his bed. Six, he hath set himself in every way that is not good. What is he hath set himself?
He hath sinned perseveringly. Whence also of a certain pious and good man it is said, He hath not stood in the way of sinners. As this hath not stood, so that hath set himself. But wickedness hath he not hated? Therefore, there is the end, there is the fruit. If a man cannot but have wickedness, let him at least hate it. For when thou hatest it, It scarcely occurs to thee to do any wickedness, for sin is in our mortal body. But what saith the apostle? Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof. When beginneth it not to be therein? When that shall be fulfilled in us, which he saith, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality?
Before this come to pass, there is a delighting in sin in the body, but greater is the delighting in the pleasure in the word of wisdom, in the commandment of God. Overcome sin in the lust thereof. Sin and iniquity thou hate, thou thus mayest join thyself to God, who hated it as well as thou. Now, being joined in mine unto the law of God, in mine thou servest the law of God. And if in the flesh thou therefore serveth, the law of sin, because there are in thee certain carnal delightings, then will there be none when thou shalt no longer fight. It is one thing not to fight, and to be in true and lasting peace, another to fight and overcome, another to fight and to be overcome, another not to fight at all, but to be carried away.
For there are men who do not fight at all, such as he of whom he speaketh when he saith, Wickedness hath he not hated. For how fightest he against that which he hath not hated? He is carried off by wickedness, and doth not fight. But there are who begin to fight, but because they presume on their own strength, that God may show them that it is he that overcometh, if man joineth himself to God. Both when they fight, they are overcome, and when they begin after a sort to lay hold on righteousness, they become proud, and are confounded. These fight, but are overcome. But who is he that fighteth, and is not overcome? He who saith, I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind.
See, he fighteth, but not on his own strength presumeth he, therefore he shall be conqueror. For what followeth, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. He presumeth on him who commanded him to fight, and overcometh his enemy. assisted by him that commanded. But as for this man, wickedness hath he not hated. 7. Verse 5. Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and Thou truth reacheth even unto the clouds. I know not what mercy of him he meaneth which is in the heavens, for the mercy of the Lord is also in the earth. Thou hast it written, The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. Of what mercy then speaketh he, when he saith, Thy mercy, O Lord?
is in the heavens. The gifts of God are partly temporal and earthly, partly eternal and heavenly. Whoso for this worship God, that he may receive those temporal and earthly goods which are open to all, is still as it were like the brutes. He enjoyeth indeed the mercy of God, but not that which is accepted, which shall not be given, save only to the righteous, to the holy, to the good. What are the gifts which abound to all? He maketh his son to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Who hath not this mercy of God, first, that he hath being, that he is distinguished from the brutes, that he is a rational animal, so as to understand God? Secondly, that he enjoys this light, this air, rain, fruits, diversity of seasons, and all the earthly comforts, health of body, the affection of friends, the safety of his family.
All these are good, and they are God's gifts. Think not, brethren, that any can give these but God alone. Whoever then expected not these things but from the Lord is very different from those who expect them even from devils, or from diviners, or from astrologers. For these are in two ways miserable, both because they desire only earthly goods, and because they ask not from him who giveth all goods. But they who desire these goods, and in these goods would be happy, and seek them only from God, and this indeed are better, for they seek them from God, but yet they are endangered. Saith one, How are they endangered? Because sometimes they consider human affairs, and see that all these earthly goods which they desire, the ungodly and unrighteous, have abundantly, and think that they have lost the reward of worshipping God, because the same which the wicked have they also have, though they worship God.
Whom the others worship not, or because sometimes they who worship have not at all, and they have who blaspheme. Therefore they are still in danger.
But this man rightly understood what mercy he should pray for from God. Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and thy truth reacheth even to the clouds. That is, the mercy which thou givest to thy saints is heavenly, not earthly, is eternal, not temporal. And how couldst thou declare it unto men? Because thy truth reacheth even unto the clouds. For who could know the heavenly mercy of God unless God should declare it unto men? How did he declare it? By sending his truth even unto the clouds. What are the clouds? The preachers of the word of God, by whom in a certain place God was wroth with a certain vineyard. For I suppose, my beloved, ye have understood as well as heard the prophet Isaiah, where he saith of a certain vineyard, I looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
And lest any should think that he spake of a visible vineyard, he is so concluded. The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant. Therefore he reproved the vineyard. Which he looked should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And what said he? I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. And verily it came to pass. For the apostles were sent to the preachers. We find in the Acts of the Apostles that the Apostle Paul wished to preach to the Jews, and he found in them no grapes but wild grapes. For they began for his good to render evil and to persecute him, and he fulfilling what is written. I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it, said.
Unto you were we sent, but since ye reject the word of God, lo, we turn to the gentiles. Therefore was this fulfilled. I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. Truth reached even to the clouds. Therefore unto us could be declared the mercy of God, which is in heaven and not in earth. And truly, brethren, the clouds are the preachers of the word of truth. When God threatened it through his preachers, he thunders through the clouds. When God worketh miracles through his preachers, he lighteneth through the clouds. He terrifieth through the clouds, and watereth by the rain. Those preachers, then, by whom is preached the gospel of God, are the clouds of God. Let us then hope for mercy, but for that which is in the heavens.
Nine, verse six, thy righteousness is like the mountains of God. Thy judgments are a great deep. Who are the mountains of God? Those who are called clouds, the same as also the mountains of God. The great preachers are the mountains of God. And as when the sun riseth, he first clothes the mountain with light, and thence the light descends to the lowest parts of the earth. So our Lord Jesus Christ, when he came, first irradiated the height of the apostles, first enlightened the mountains. And so his light descended to the valley of the world. And therefore saith he in a certain psalm, I lifted up mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence cometh my help. But think not that the mountains themselves will give thee help, for they receive what they may give.
Give not of their own. And if thou remain in the mountains, thy hope will not be strong, but in him who enlighteneth the mountains ought to be thy hope and presumption. Thy help indeed will come to thee through the mountains, because the scriptures are administered to thee through the mountains, through the great preachers of the truth. But fix not thy hope in them. Hear what he saith next following. I lifted up mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence cometh my help. What then? Do the mountains give thee help? No. Hear what follows. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Through the mountains cometh help, but not from the mountains. From whom, then? From the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
There have been other mountains, by whom whosoever would guide his ship has made shipwreck. For there have risen up leaders of heresies who have been mountains. Arius was a mountain. Donatus was a mountain. Maximianus, even now, was like a mountain. Many looking to those mountains and desiring land, when they would be freed from the waves, were driven on the rocks, and made shipwreck on the land. By such mountains was not he seduced, who said, In the Lord put I my trust. How say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain. I would not my hope should be in Arius, I would not in Donatus. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Learn ye how far ye may presume upon God, and how much ye may attribute to men.
For cursed is the man that trusteth in man. Most meekly and humbly, the holy apostle Paul, being truly jealous of the church, but for the bridegroom, not for himself, and fearing those who would say, I am of Paul, and I am of Apollos, choose rather his own person to tread upon and despise that he might glorify Christ. Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul? He repels them from himself. but that he may send them to Christ. Even the friend of the bridegroom would not be loved by the bride for the bridegroom, for the apostles are the friends of the bridegroom. For the same bridegroom, the humble John also, who was thought the Christ, was jealous. Wherefore he said, I am not the Christ, but there cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down in a loose.
And so humbling himself, he truly showed that he was not the bridegroom, but the bridegroom's friend. And therefore he said, He that hath the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. And if the friend of the bridegroom is a mountain, yet hath not the mountain light for itself? But he heareth and rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. We, saith he, have all received of his fulness, of whose fulness? Of his, who was the true light, which lighteneth every man that cometh into the world. For him, then, the apostle also was jealous of the church, saying, Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
That is, I lifted up mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence cometh my help. Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. But lest they hope be again fixed on the mountains, and not on God, hear this, I hath planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase, and this, So then neither is he that planteth any thing, nor he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. Now then thou hast said, I lifted up mine eyes unto the mountains, for whence cometh my help. But because neither is he that planteth any thing, nor he that watereth, say, My help comes from the Lord, which made heaven and earth, and thy righteousness is like the mountains of God, that is, the mountains are filled with thy righteousness.
10. Thy judgments are like the great abyss, the abyss he calleth the depth of sin, whither one cometh by despising God, As in a certain place, it is said, God gave them over to their own hearts' lusts to do the things which are not convenient. Attend, my beloved. This is a great matter. A great matter is before us. What meaneth this? God gave them over to their own hearts' lusts to do the things that are not convenient. If then God has given them over to their own hearts' lusts to do these things which are not convenient, is it therefore they do such wickednesses? Suppose one should propose this question. If God maketh them to do the things which are not convenient, what have they done? The secret is that which thou heardest.
God gave them over to their own hearts lusts. Therefore it was lusts which they would not overcome, to which they were delivered by the judgment of God. But that they should be held worthy to be delivered, see what of them he said before, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. Neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Whereby? By their pride, for professing themselves wise, they became fools. And thereupon followeth God gave them over to their own hearts' lusts. Because then they were proud and ungrateful, they were held worthy to be delivered up to the lusts of their own hearts, and became a great abyss, so that they not only sinned, but also worked craftily, lest they should understand their iniquity and hate it.
That is the depth of wickedness, to be unwilling to find it out and to hate it. But how one cometh to that depth? See, thy judgments are the great abyss. As the mountains are by the righteousness of God, who through his grace became great, so also through his judgments come they unto the depth, who sink lowest. By this, then, let the mountains delight thee. By this turn away from the abyss, and turn thyself unto that of which it is said, My health cometh from the Lord. But whereby? I have lifted up mine eyes unto the mountains. What meaneth this? I will speak plainly. In the church of God thou findest an abyss, thou findest also mountains. Thou findest there but few good, because the mountains are few, the abyss broad.
That is, thou findest many living ill after the wrath of God, Because they are so worked that they are delivered up to the lusts of their own heart. So now they defend their sins, and confess them not, but say, Why? What have I done? Such an one did this, and such an one did that. Now will they even defend what the divine word reproves. This is the abyss. Therefore in a certain place saith the scripture, Hear this abyss. The sinner, when he cometh unto the depth of sin, despiseth. See, thy judgments are like the great abyss. But yet not art thou a mountain, not yet art thou in the abyss. Fly from the abyss. Tend towards the mountains, but yet remain not on the mountains. For thy help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
Eleven, O Lord, thou shalt save man and beast. Verse seven, as thy mercy is multiplied, O God. Because he said, Thy mercy is in the heavens, that it may be known to be also on earth, he said, O Lord, Thou savest man and beast, as Thy mercy is multiplied, O God. Great is Thy mercy, and manifold is Thy mercy, O God, and thou showest Thou both to man and beast. For from whom is the saving of men? From God. Is not the saving of beasts also from God? For he who made man makes also beasts. He who made both saveth both. But the saving of beasts is temporal. But there are who as a great thing asks this of God, which he hath given to beasts. Thy mercy, O God, is multiplied, so that not only unto men, but unto beasts also is given the same saving which is given to men, a carnal and temporary saving.
12. Have not men then somehow reserved with God, which beasts deserve not? And whereunto beasts arrive not? They have, evidently. And where is that which they have? The children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. Attend, my beloved, to this most pleasant sentence, Thou savest man and beast. First he spake of man and beast, then of the children of men, as though men were one, the children of men other. Sometimes in scripture children of men is said generally of all men, sometimes in some proper manner, with some proper signification, so that not all men are understood, chiefly when there is a distinction. For not without reason is it here put, O Lord, thou savest man and beast, but the children of men, as though setting aside the first, but keepeth separate the children of men.
Separate from whom? Not only from beasts, but also from men who seek from God the saving of beasts, and desire this as a great thing. Who then are the children of men? those who put their trust under the shadow of his wings. For those men together with beasts rejoice in possession, but the children of men rejoice in hope. Those follow after present goods with beasts. These hope for future goods with angels. Why, then, are those with a distinction called men, and these called the children of men? For in a certain place also saith the scripture, What is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that thou visitest him? What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Thou art mindful of him as of one absent, but the son of man thou visitest as present.
What is, thou art mindful of man? O Lord, thou savest man and beast. For even to the evil thou givest saying, and to them who desire not the kingdom of heaven, for he regardeth them, and deserteth them not after their manner, as they their cattle. He deserteth them not, but as of the absent is mindful of them. But he whom he visiteth is the son of man, and of him, it is said, the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. And if ye would discern these two types of men, first consider the two men, Adam and Christ. Hear the apostle, For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. We are born of Adam, that we may die. We rise again through Christ, that we may live forever.
When we bear the image of the earthly man, we are men. When we bear the image of the heavenly man, we are children of men. For Christ was called the Son of Man. For Adam was a man, but not a son of man. Therefore to Adam belong those who desire carnal goods and that temporal saving. We exhort them to become the children of men, to put their trust under the shadow of His wings. and to desire that mercy which is in the heavens, and which was declared by the clouds. But if as yet they cannot, and the mean, while even temporal goods let them not desire, but from God alone, so even let them serve after the Old Testament, that at the new they may arrive. 13. For that people also desired earthly goods, the kingdom of Jerusalem, the subjection of their enemies, Abundance of fruits, their own health, their children's health, such things they desired, and such things they received, under the law were they kept.
They desired from God goods which he gives even to beasts, because not yet had the Son of Man come to them, that they might be the children of men. Yet they had already clouds, declaring the Son of Man. Unto them came prophets, and declared Christ. And there were of them some who understood, and had hope of the future, To receive the mercy which is in the heavens. There were also of them some who desired but carnal things, and earthly and temporal felicity. The same men's feet slipped away to make and to worship idols, for when he warned them and scourged them in those things in which they delighted and took them away, they suffered famine, wars, pestilences, diseases, and so they turned themselves to idols, those goods which as a great thing they ought to have desired of God, They desired from idols, and abandoned God.
For they observed that those goods which they sought abounded to the ungodly and wicked, and they thought that they worshipped God in vain, because he gave them not their hire on earth. O man, thou art God's workman. Hereafter is the time of receiving thy hire. Why asketh thou now thy hire, before thou hast wrought? If thy workman come up to thy house, wilt thou give him his hire before he has finished his work? Thou wilt think him perverse if he say, First, let me receive my hire, and then I will work. Thou wilt be angry. But why wilt thou be angry? Because he trusted not a deceitful man. How will not God be angry when thou trusteth not truth itself? What he promised thee he will give thee. He deceiveth not, because he is truth who promised.
But, fearest thou, lest haply he have nothing to give? He is omnipotent. Fear not, lest he be not to give thee. He is immortal. Fear not, lest he be seceded. He is everlasting. Be secure. If thou wouldest thy workmen to rely on thee the whole day, trust thou also in God thy whole life, for thy life is a moment of time to God, and thou shalt be, what? But the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. Fourteen, verse eight, they shall be drunken with the fulness of thy house. He promiseth us some great things. He would speak it, and he speaketh it not. Can he not, or do not we receive it? I dare, my brethren, to say, even of holy tongues and hearts, by which truth is declared to us, that it can neither be spoken, which they declared, nor even thought of.
For it is a great thing, and ineffable. And even they saw through a glass darkly, as saith the Apostle. For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Lo, they who saw through a glass darkly thus burst forth. What then shall we be, when we shall see face to face? That with which they travailed in heart, and could not with their tongue bring forth, that men might receive it. For what necessity was there that he should say, They shall be drunken with the fullness of thy house? He sought a word whereby to express from human beings what he would say, and because he saw that men drowning themselves in drunkenness receive indeed wine without measure, but lose their senses, he saw what to say.
For when shall have been received that ineffable joy, then shall be lost in a manner the human soul. It shall become divine, and be drunken with the fullness of God's house. Wherefore also in another psalm it is said, Thy cup inebriating, How excellent is it! With this cup were the martyrs drunken when going to their passion. They knew not their own. What so drunken is not to know a wife, weeping, not children, not parents? They knew them not. They thought not that they were before their eyes. Wonder not they were drunken. Wherewith were they drunken? Lo, they had received a cup wherewith they were drunken. Wherefore, he also gives thanks to God, saying, What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me?
I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. Therefore, brethren, let us be children of men, and let us trust unto the shadow of his wings, and be drunken with the fullness of his house. As I could, I have spoken, and as far as I can, I see. And how far I see, I cannot speak. They shall be drunken with the fullness of thy house, and of the torrent of thy pleasure shalt thou give them to drink. A torrent we call water coming from a flood. There will be a flood of God's grace to overflow and inebriate those who now put their trust under the shadow of his wings. What is that pleasure? As it were a torrent inebriating the thirsty. Let him then who thirsts now lay up hope.
Whoso thirsts now, let him have hope. When inebriated, he shall have possession. Before he have possession, let him have thirst and hope. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Fifteen, with what fountain, then, wilt thou be overflowed? And whence runneth such a torrent of his pleasures? Verse 9 For with thee, saith he, is the fountain of life. What is the fountain of life but Christ? He came to thee in the flesh, that he might bedew thy thirsty lips. He will satisfy thee trusting, who bedewed thee thirsting. For with thee is the fountain of life. In thy light shall we see light. Here a fountain is one thing, light another. There not so. For that which is the fountain, the same is also light.
And whatever thou wilt thou callest, for it is not what thou callest. For thou canst not find a fit name. For it remaineth not in one name. If thou shouldest say that it is light only, it would be said to thee, then without cause am I told to hunger and thirst. For who is there that eateth light? It is said to me plainly, directly, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. If it is light, my eyes must I prepare. Prepare also lips, for that which is light is also a fountain, a fountain because it satisfieth the thirsty. Light, because it enlighteneth the blind. Here sometimes light is in one place, a fountain in another. For sometimes fountains run even in darkness, and sometimes in the desert thou sufferest the sun, findest no fountain.
Here, then, can these two be separated. There thou shalt not be wearied, for there is a fountain. There thou shalt not be darkened, for there is light. 16.10. Show forth thy mercy unto them that know thee. Thy righteousness to them that are of a right heart. As I have said, those are of a right heart who follow in this life the will of God. The will of God is sometimes that thou shouldest be whole, sometimes thou shouldest be sick. If when thou art whole, God's will be sweet, and when thou art sick, God's will be bitter, thou art not of a right heart. Wherefore, because thou wilt not make right thy will according to God's will, but wilt bend God's will to thine. That is right, but thou art crooked.
Thy will must be made right to that, not that made crooked to thee, and thou wilt have a right heart. It is well with thee in this world. Be God blessed, who comfort thee. It goeth hardly with thee in this world. Be God blessed, because he chasteneth and proveth thee. And so wilt thou be of a right heart, saying, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall be ever in my mouth. 17, verse 11. Let not the foot of pride come against me. But now he said, The children of men shall put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be drunken with the fullness of thy house. When one hath begun to be plentifully overflowed with that fountain, let him take heed, lest he grow proud. For the same was not wanting to Adam, the first man.
But the foot of pride came against him, and the hand of the sinner removed him, that is, the proud hand of the devil. As he who seduced him said of himself, I will sit in the sides of the north. So he persuaded him by saying, Taste, and ye shall be as gods. By pride, then, have we so fallen as to arrive at this mortality. And because pride had wounded us, humility maketh us whole. God came humbly, that from such great wound of pride he might heal man. He came, for the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. He was taken by the Jews. He was reviled of them. Ye heard when the gospel was read what they said, and to whom they said, Thou hast a devil. And he said not, Ye have a devil, for ye are in your sins, and the devil possesseth your hearts.
He said not this, which if he had said, he had said truly. But it is not meet that he should say it, lest he should seem not to preach truth, but to retort evil speaking. He let go what he heard, as though he heard it not. For a physician was he, and to cure the madman had he come. As a physician careth not what he may hear from the madman, but how the madman may recover and become sane, nor even if he receive a blow from the madman careth he. But while he to him giveth new wounds, he cureth his old fever. So also the Lord came to the sick man, to the madman came he, that whatever he might hear, whatever he might suffer, he should despise. by this very thing teaching us humility, that being taught by humility, we might be healed from pride, from which he here prayeth to be delivered, saying, Let not the foot of pride come against me, neither let the hand of the sinner remove me.
For if the foot of pride come, the hand of the sinner removeth. What is the hand of the sinner? The working of him that advises ill. Hast thou become proud? Quickly he corrupteth thee who adviseth ill. Humbly fix thyself in God, and care not much what is said to thee. Hence is that which is elsewhere spoken. From my secret sins cleanse thou me, and from others' sins also keep thy servant. What is from my secret sins? Let not the foot of pride come against me. What is from other men's sins also keep thy servant? Let not the hand of the wicked remove me. Keep that which is within, and thou shalt not fear from without. 18. But wherefore so greatly fearest thou this? Because it is said, Verse 12, Thereby hath fallen all that work iniquity, so that they have come into that abyss, of which it is said, Thy judgments are like the great abyss, so that they have come even to that deep wherein sinners who despise hath fallen.
Whereby did they first fall, by the foot of pride? Here the foot of pride. When they knew God, they glorified him not as God. Therefore came against them the foot of pride, whereby they came into the depth. God gave them over to their own hearts lusts, to do those things which are not convenient. The root of sin and the head of sin feared he, who said, Let not the foot of pride come against me. Wherefore, said he, the foot? Because by walking proudly man deserted God, and departed from him. His foot called he his affection. Let not the foot of pride come against me. Let not the hand of the wicked remove me, that I should wish to imitate them. But wherefore said he this against pride? Therefore have fallen all that work iniquity, because those who are now ungodly have fallen by pride.
Therefore when the Lord would caution his church, he said, It shall watch thy head, and thou shalt watch his heel. The serpent watcheth when the foot of pride may come against thee. when thou mayest fall, that he may cast thee down. But watch thou his head, the beginning of all sin is pride. Thereby have fallen all that work in equity. They are driven out, and are not able to stand. He first, who in the truth stood not, then threw him, they whom God sent out of paradise. Whencee, the humble, who said that he was not worthy to unloose his shoes latched, is not driven out, but standeth and heareth him, and rejoiceth, greatly because of the bridegroom's voice, not because of his own, lest the foot of pride come against him, and he be driven out, and be not able to stand.
And now, if with all my pains I have been tedious to any of you, I have finished the psalm. The tediousness has passed away, and I will congratulate you that the whole psalm is expounded. In the very middle of it, fearing lest I should burden you, I was about to let you go. But I thought that our attention would be broken off, and that we should not so return to the half remaining, as if we should now run through the whole. And I was willing rather to be burdensome to you than, leaving the subject unfinished, to keep the rest. For there is due to you also tomorrow's sermon. Pray ye for me, that I may be able to render it, and do ye bring hungry mouths and devout hearts.
End of Psalm 36 End of Exposition on the Book of Psalms by St. Augustine of Hippo