his own offspring. For if he devoured Dathan, who had spoken against Moses, and opened his mouth against him who had wickedly opened his mouth A, how could he have borne with feet running against a parent? When, then, he was hanging aloft in the tree, Joab, the commander of the army, came upon him and fixed three darts in the heart of the heart, striking him there, where was the receptacle of iniquity; and as he hung high upon the tree, David sang a beautiful epitaph for him: "I have seen the impious one being superexalted and raised up like the cedars of Lebanon; and I passed by, and behold, he was not" (Ps. 36:35). A Psalm of David, when he fled from the face of Absalom his son. He fled indeed, not as one afraid, but as one who was cautious of killing his son; for he spared him as a son, but those who were with him did not spare him as a rebel. Whence David, while his son was pursuing him and Semei was dogging him with curses on his account, himself indeed used patience; but since many were being scandalized against him, and especially those who were rising up with Absalom, and were henceforth rising against him as if destitute of divine providence, saying: "David is now deserted and altogether without help; now God has departed from him, as He did at one time from Saul; for just as He then departed from Saul and was with David, so now He has departed from David and is with Absalom; let us arise, let us invade, there is no salvation for him in God." Since, I say, they were saying these things, David, bearing these things more indignantly than the insults of his son, asks of God: 2. "O Lord, why are they multiplied that afflict me?" I am surrounded by trials, I am encompassed by the torrents of evils, a dangerous rain has descended, the rivers of the enemies have come, the winds of the evil spirits have breathed, they have broken into my house, wishing to move my soul away from Thee, but founded upon the rock of faith, I do not fall, but I bow down, that I may learn: "O Lord, why are they multiplied that afflict me?" The one who was born of me is against me, but Thou art for me. My own bowels wage war against me; my people are being armed against me after Absalom. My sheep have become wolves, and lions are lambs, and dogs mad with rage are little lambs, and bulls butting with horns are rams: I am not affected with sadness on my own account, but I grieve for the destruction of these.
EXPOSITION ON PSALM IV
"When I called, the God of my justice heard me" (v. 2). B Not so that we may learn simply that he was heard, does the Prophet utter these things, but that we may learn how we too, when calling upon God, shall be able to be heard quickly, and to obtain what is asked before the end of the prayer. For he did not say: "After I called, He heard me," but, "When I called." For such a promise belongs to God Himself, when He says somewhere to him who calls: "While you are yet speaking, I will say: Behold, I am present" (Is. 58:9). For it is not the multitude of words that is accustomed to persuade God, but a pure soul and the demonstration of good works. Therefore, to those who indeed live wickedly, but who think they appease Him with the prolixity of their words, see what He says: "When you multiply prayer, I will not hear you. If you stretch forth your hands, I will turn away my eyes from you" (Is. 1:15). Before all other things, therefore, it behooves him who prays to have confidence, and he will altogether obtain what is asked. And for this reason the Prophet did not say, "He heard me," but "my justice," showing his confidence in God, and that he always approaches Him with it. Nor let anyone suppose that he is boasting while he says these things. For he does not say these things to exalt himself, but to bring forward a certain doctrine and a common admonition that is very useful. For let no one say: "That man was heard because he was David, but I shall not be heard because I am small and abject"; he shows that God neither hears that man in any manner whatsoever, nor does He not hear you rashly and led by no reason, but that He always contemplates matters and deeds exactly. If you possess these, and are able to use their patronage, you shall be heard entirely. Just as if you do not possess them, not even if you were David, will you be able to appease God. And just as the covetous look neither at dignity nor at anything else, unless it be only at those who possess money, and they approach them as if they will effect everything; C so also, because God is a lover of justice, whoever has approached Him with it will not depart empty; just as he who lacks it, and is defiled by things that are contrary to it, however much he may pray and entreat, will not effect anything more, since he lacks the power to persuade. Therefore, if you wish to effect anything before God, having received it, proceed. But do not think that justice is a part of virtue, but the whole and the entire. Thus also was Job just, as one who possessed all human virtue, not one who indeed refrained from this evil but held onto that one. Thus also we say that a just pair of scales is that which is equal on every side: not if it can indeed balance gold, but otherwise lead, but that which exhibits equity in any material whatever; and again a measure, which is equal on every side. Thus also was Job just, being equitable from every side. For he did not preserve that equity in money only, but also in all other things, never exceeding the limit. Nor could anyone say that he loved equity in money indeed, but in his meeting and conversation with his neighbors exceeded the limit, as one who was proud and arrogant. For he was fleeing this with the greatest zeal. And for this reason he said: "What if I even despised the judgment of my servant or my handmaid, when they were litigating with me? Or did they not, even as I was, exist themselves?" (Job 31:13). And this, therefore, is also injustice, to be proud and arrogant. D
3'. Just as we call a covetous man [one who desires to take of the things of others...]
and is not content with his own, so also do we call him proud and arrogant, when he demands more than what is owed to him by his neighbor, when one sets himself in every honor, but holds his neighbor in contempt. But this arises from nowhere else but from injustice. For consider from this that it is injustice. God made you and him, and He gave you all things in common and equal in relation to him. How, then, do you cast him out and defraud him of the honor which God gave, and do not permit him to be a companion, but making everything your own, do you make him poor not only in money, but also in glory? God has granted one substance to both; He has deemed them worthy of the same dignity, of equal creation. For "Let us make man" (Gen. 1:26) is common to the whole race. How, therefore, do you cast him out of his paternal substance, leading him into extreme poverty, and making the common things your own? But the blessed prophet was not like this; therefore he was also saying with confidence: "He heard my righteousness." So, too, Paul often brings himself into the center, not puffing himself up, nor blowing himself up, but becoming a model for others; as when he says: "I wish all men to be even as myself in continence" (1 Cor. 7:7). So too David, when the occasion calls for it, brings his own bravery, which happened from the inclination of God, into the mid-st, saying that he even strangled bears and embraced lions, not puffing himself up even then—far from it—but managing for himself from this a reputation for trustworthiness. For if I have righteousness, someone may perhaps say, what need is there for prayer, when the thing itself is sufficient to put all things right, and the One who is to give knows what we need? Because prayer is no small bond of love toward God, bringing to us the habit of conversing with Him, and leading us into philosophy. For if one who associates with some admirable man reaps much from the contact, how much more one who converses continuously with God? But we do not know the gain of prayer as we ought, because we do not attend to it with care, nor do we use it according to the laws of God. For when we are about to converse with certain men who are above us, we regulate our appearance, and gait, and dress, and everything to what is becoming, and then we converse; but when we approach God, we yawn, we scratch ourselves, we turn about, we are slothful; while our knees are on the ground, we wander in the marketplace. But if we had approached with the required reverence, and as about to converse with God, then we would have known, even before receiving what we asked for, how great a gain we reap. For a man who has learned to converse with God will henceforth be an angel A; thus, the soul is freed from the bonds of the body; thus, his reasoning becomes elevated; thus, he is moved toward heaven; thus, he looks down on worldly matters; thus, he stands by that royal throne, even if he is poor, even if he is a servant, even if he is a commoner, even if he is unlearned. For God does not seek the beauty of the tongue, nor the composition of words, but the beauty of the soul; and if that soul utters the things that seem good to Him, it will depart having accomplished the whole. Do you see how much ease there is? For with men, one who approaches someone must be also skilled in rhetoric, and able to flatter all those who are around the ruler, and invent many other things so as to become acceptable. But B here one needs nothing, but only a sober mind, and there is nothing to prevent one from being near to God. "For I am a God drawing near," He says, "and not a God from afar" (Jer. 23:23). So, the being far off comes from us; for He Himself is always near. And why do I say that we do not need rhetoric? Often we do not even need a voice. For even if you speak in your heart, and call upon Him as you ought, He will readily incline even then. So too He heard Moses; so too Anna (Exod. 14:15). There is no soldier standing by to drive one away, no bodyguard to interrupt the time; there is no one saying, "It is not possible to approach now, come back later"; but whenever you come, He stands listening, even if it is the time of lunch, even if it is the time of dinner, even if it is at the very hour of night, in the marketplace, on the road, in the bedchamber, even if you are standing before a ruler in court, and you call Him, there is nothing to prevent Him from inclining to your petition, if you call as you ought. There is no such thing as saying, "I fear to approach and ask; my enemy has stood by"; but even this obstacle is removed; for He does not pay attention to your enemy, nor does He interrupt your request; but you can always and continuously entreat, and no difficulty is present; for there is no need of door-keepers to bring you in, stewards, proxies, guards, or friends; but when you yourself approach through yourself, C then He will hear you most, then, when you need no one.
3. We do not, therefore, persuade Him so much by asking through others as by ourselves. Since He loves our friendship, and does all things so that we might have confidence in Him, when He sees us doing this through ourselves, then He most especially inclines. Thus He also acted in the case of the Canaanite woman: and though Peter and James were approaching on her behalf, He did not incline; but she persisting, He quickly gave what was asked (Matt. 15:22 sqq.). For even if He seemed to delay a little, He did this not that He might put off the woman, but that He might crown her more greatly, and might more endear her persistence to Himself. Let us practicing, therefore, we also entreat God; D
let us learn how this good fortune must be attained. It is not necessary to go off to the libraries, nor to spend money, nor to hire tutors, rhetoricians, and sophists, nor to waste much time so that you might learn this art of speaking; but it suffices only to have willed it, and the art has been perfected. And you will be able to speak not only for yourself in this court, but also for many others. What, then, is the goal, what the objective of this forensic art? It is the mode of prayer.
B The mode of praying, and what expansion is. One must approach Him with a sober mind, with a contrite soul, and with fountains of tears; asking for nothing that pertains to this life, desiring future things, making supplication for spiritual things, not praying evil against enemies, not holding in memory an injury received, casting out all disturbances from the soul, approaching Him in such a way as to crush the heart, being depressed in spirit, practicing great gentleness, and turning the tongue toward speaking well, engaging in no wicked work, and having nothing in common with the common enemy of the world—with the devil, that is. For if someone speaks before a king on behalf of others while at the same time communicating with his enemies, even external laws will take notice. And you, therefore, if you wish to speak both for yourself and for others, see to it that in this matter you conduct yourself most correctly, so that you have nothing in common with the common enemy of the world. For so it will come to pass that you are righteous; and being righteous, you will be heard, since you have such an intercessor. C *In tribulation You have expanded me.* He did not say, "You have brought afflictions," nor, "You have taken away temptations," but, "You permitted me to stand," and, "You have expanded me." For how great and how ready God’s ingenuity is, is shown by this most of all: not only that He induces afflictions, but also that He makes them, while they remain, tolerable. This shows both God’s power and makes those who fall into them wiser, since growth is at hand which consoles the afflicted soul, and the affliction is not removed, which might otherwise restrain the negligent and free them from all sloth. And how, you will ask, can there be expansion in affliction? Just as in the furnace of the three children (Dan. 3:24), as in the den of lions (Dan. 6:22). For He did not extinguish the flame and then cause them to be in a free state, nor did He kill the lions and then make Daniel secure; but even there while the furnace was burning vehemently, and here while the beasts remained, the righteous stayed in great liberty. Expansion can also be understood in another way: as when the soul, oppressed by temptations, is liberated from disturbances and from many diseases; for then especially does it enjoy a free state. For many, as long as they remain in prosperous circumstances, are held by the foulest loves that torment the soul—of money, of bodies, and other such things that are absurd; but after they fall into affliction, they are liberated from all these and escape into the open field. D And just as those who suffer from fever, as long as they enjoy intemperate pleasures—I mean a luxurious table and pure wine, and other such things—are forced into greater straits; but if they should wish for a little while to persevere in afflicting themselves, they enjoy a wide and free state, and having put aside that which was distressing them, they live thereafter pleasantly in pure health; so too it happens in affairs and circumstances. For nothing is accustomed to relax as much as the affliction that leads one away from all worldly things. How do you suppose the Jews were in affliction, even when their affairs were prosperous? Is this not the behavior of a soul febrile and wasted by disease, to say: *Make us gods who shall go before us; for as for this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him* (Exod. 32:4)? Are those not the words of a philosophizing soul, one breathing from the disturbances of this life, when the afflicted ones prayed so vehemently that they drew to themselves the help of God? Now indeed, this very prophet himself, when he was living in tranquility, how was he afflicted, pressed into straits and lacerated by wicked desire? But when he was living in affliction, you know how tranquil he was. For not only did the fire not touch him, but the entire flame was extinguished. For nothing troubles one as much as when the soul is besieged by disturbances. For other things fall upon us from the outside, but these are born from within, and this is the greatest affliction. Even if the world should vex us, if we do not vex ourselves, nothing will be burdensome to us. It is, therefore, in our power whether we are afflicted or not afflicted.
A That you may learn also from the apostolic voice how great a liberty arises from affliction, hear Paul himself narrating the fruit of affliction: *Tribulation produces patience, and patience probation, and probation hope; and hope does not put to shame* (Rom. 5:3-5). Have you seen the ineffable breadth? Have you seen the harbor of joy? Patience, he says, is produced by affliction. For what is more tranquil than a most patient man, one who can easily bear all things? What could be stronger than one who is approved? And what can be compared with the gratification that arises from this? For he tells us of three pleasures that arise from this: patience, probation, and the hope of future goods. Concerning these things the prophet now, acting the philosopher, was saying: *In tribulation You have expanded me.* For since he said: *God heard me*, he says in what way He heard him. Not in money—for he was requesting nothing of that sort; not that he might conquer his enemies—for he was not asking for this either; but in the tranquility that arose in the midst of affliction. *Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.* What are you saying? You mentioned justice above; here mercy and compassion; and why do these have a connection? They have a great one, and are very much chained to the previous points. For even if we have done countless things rightly, we are heard through mercies and clemency. Even if we have reached the very pinnacle of virtue, we are preserved by mercy. From this we learn that together with justice, there is need also of a contrite mind. For although one is a sinner, if he prays with humility—which is a part of virtue—he will be able to accomplish great things; and although one is righteous, if he approaches with arrogance, he will fall away from all goods. The publican and the Pharisee have taught us examples of both (Luke 18). Therefore, it is necessary...
to know also the manner of prayer. But what is the manner of prayer? Learn from the publican, and do not be ashamed to take him as your teacher, who succeeded so well in this that from mere words he accomplished everything. For because his mind was well prepared, even a single word sufficed to open heaven for him. But how was it prepared? He lamented himself, he struck his breast, he did not even dare to look up to heaven. If you too are about to pray in this way, you will make your prayer lighter than a wing. For if the sinner became righteous through prayer, consider how great the righteous man will be if he learns to offer such a petition. For this reason, he does not here posit himself simply, but his prayer; above he spoke of righteousness, here of prayer, saying: "Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer." Thus also Cornelius was heard, because he had this as his advocate. "Your prayers and your alms," he says, "have ascended before God" (Acts 10:4). Justly so; for works are what are heard, and good deeds—not simply prayers, but prayers carried out according to the law of God. And what are these? Those which ask for what it is fitting for God to grant, which do not invoke Him against His own laws. And who is so audacious, he says, as to ask God to do things contrary to His own laws? He who invokes Him against his enemies; for this is against the law laid down by Him. For He Himself says: "Forgive your debtors" (Matt. 6:12). Do you then call upon Him who commands you to forgive to act against your enemies? And what could be worse than this madness? A supplicant must have the form, the mind, and the disposition of one praying: why then do you put on yourself another mask, that of an accuser? For how will you be able to receive forgiveness for your own sins when you ask God to be the punisher of what others have done wrong? Let prayer, therefore, be gentle, serene, having a graceful countenance, and be mild. For such is the prayer made with gentleness, and not against enemies; whereas that which is contrary to this resembles a woman who is drunk and delirious, swinish and savage. For this reason heaven is inaccessible to it. But prayer with gentleness is not such; rather, it has something clear, pleasant, and worthy of royal ears, sweet, harmonious, and well-tuned. For this reason it is not cast out of the theater, but departs crowned; for it has a golden lyre, a golden robe. For this reason, it pleases the Judge by its form, by its gaze, and by its voice. For these reasons, no one drives it away from the heavenly arches. For it stirs up that whole theater to joy. This is the prayer worthy of the heavens; this is the language of the angels, when it speaks nothing bitter, but everything pleasing; when it approaches making supplication on behalf of those who do injustice and cause affliction, then the angels also stand by listening with great silence, and after it has finished, they do not cease applauding, praising, and marveling at it. Let us too offer such a prayer, and we shall certainly be heard. And when we approach God, let us not think that the theater is such A a thing, but that it is gathered from the whole world, or rather from the worlds above in the heavens, and that the King is sitting in the midst, wishing to listen to our prayer. And let us make the matter a demonstration. Let there be no one who is a harpist, nor a lyre-player so anxious, about to enter the stage, and fearing that he might strike something discordant, as we are when about to enter into the theater of the angels. And let our tongue be the plectrum, discoursing nothing unpleasant, but melodious and harmonious in accordance with the appropriate mindset; and when we approach God, and when we call upon Him and beseech Him, let us strike the string on behalf of our enemies; for thus we too shall be heard on our own behalf.
5. This voice puts demons to shame, this gives us boldness; this puts the devil to B shame and makes him withdraw. For the demon does not fear a man who casts him out and drives him from another man as much as he fears the man who controls his own anger and prevails over his own temper; for this, too, is a grievous demon, and one ought to lament these people more than those possessed by demons. For being possessed by a demon does not cast one into hell; but to be angry and to harbor a grudge casts one out of the kingdom of heaven itself. If we regulate C our prayer in this way, we shall be able, with boldness, to say to God also: "Hear my prayer." Thus you will not only benefit yourself, and prepare the way for your supplication, but you will also delight God, who hears it, asking for something worthy of His commandments; therefore, He will also readily assent. This is worthy of that adoption; this, most of all, shows that character. "Be," He says, "merciful, as your Father who is in heaven" (Luke 6:36); and again, "Pray for those who afflict you, so that you may become like your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:44). What then is equal to this prayer? It makes one like, not angels or archangels, but the King Himself. And the one who has become like the King to the extent possible, consider of what boldness he will enjoy in his prayers. "Sons of men, how long will you be dull-hearted? Why do you love vanity, and seek after a lie?" To whom does He extend this speech, and make this rebuke, and bring in this advice? Whom does He call sons of men? Those who live in wickedness, those who are prone to vice. Why is this? For are we not sons of men? By nature, indeed, we are sons of men, but by grace, no longer, but sons of God. If, therefore, we maintain the image according to virtue toward Him, the gift will remain whole for us; for those who have become sons of God through grace and through their way of life must characterize this image. But that He calls those who are more worldly, and who lean toward vice, sons of men, listen: "And the sons of God saw the daughters of men" (Gen. 6:2). Yet you say you have stated the contrary. By no means; for here He called those who previously were from virtuous men, and had enjoyed the honor of God, sons of God, and then they changed, and became worse, and betrayed their honor. For in order to increase their condemnation, He reminded them of their honor, showing that it was a ground of the greatest accusation that, being such, and from such origins, they should have been brought down to such vice. And again God says: "I said, you are gods, D and all of you are sons of the Most High. You..."
however, shall die as men" (Ps. LXXXI, 6, 7).
Consider the prudence of the Prophet. Since he had already shown the power, the resources, the skill, the goodness, and the clemency of God—that He expands in affliction and that He gives assent when He shows mercy—he then ponders the vice that has been poured out among men and the tyranny of impiety. As if suffocated by his own sadness, he turns his speech toward those who live in wickedness, almost saying: "Since you have such a God, so good, so benevolent, so powerful, how is it that you have declined into impiety?" And see with what anger combined with gentleness, with what philosophy, this admonition is filled. For what does he say? "O sons of men, how long will you be heavy-hearted?" (Ps. IV, 3). This is the reproach of one who is severely vexed, even by the length of time. For if it is a crime not to have known the beneficence of God from the beginning, what pardon will he receive who remains blind to the truth for so long?
What is it to be "heavy-hearted"? The heavy-hearted are those who are of a gross heart, carnal, fixed to the earth, pursuing vice, practicing wickedness, corrupted by lust and pleasure; for such is the carnal man. By reproving their life, he indicates the source of their impiety, signifying that this is the greatest impediment for them in reaching higher doctrines. For nothing so weighs down the heart as evil lust and the care and concern for secular and earthly things. One would not be wrong to call a heart of this kind muddy; and therefore he called it "heavy," and said this is the cause of all evils, because, holding the place of the charioteer, it not only does not restrain the horse with the reins, but is even dragged down and precipitated along with it. And whereas it ought to furnish the flesh with wings, keep it sublime, and lift it to heaven, it is instead dragged down with the heavy burden of diseases. When, therefore, either the charioteer or the pilot is such, what hope of salvation is there? Just as when He says, "If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness?" (Matt. VI, 23). When the pilot is drunk and imitates the inconsistency of the waves and winds, how will the ship be saved?
It would be wonderful if we were to aspire to nothing of this life, and if we were to tie nothing of those things that are carried—and that cause to be carried—downward to our feet. For among bodies, some are accustomed to be carried downward, as stones, wood, and things of such nature; others upward, as fire, spirit, and a feather which is light by its nature. If, therefore, you tie any of those things that are carried downward to that which is light, there is no benefit in wings or spirit, since weight exceeds, surpasses, and conquers. So also, if anyone has feet that are burdened, whether by bad humors flowing into them or by some other malady, it will not help him at all if the rest of his body is light. But if this is true of our bodies, it is much more so of our heart. Let us not, therefore, make it heavy; let us not let it sink, like ships that have too much ballast. For this lies in our own power. For nature is not such, but it was made light and tending upward; we, however, make it heavy against nature, and therefore the Prophet reproves it. If it were such by nature, he would never have reproved it. For as we walk according to nature, but if we burden our knees, the situation becomes unnatural—while we are ourselves the impediment—so also it is wont to happen in the feet of the mind, namely, in our thoughts.
"Why do you love vanity, and seek after a lie?" (Ps. IV, 3). Here, he seems to me to speak of idols and a wicked life. For that is called "vain" which is empty, when there is a name, but no reality at all. Thus among the Greeks, there are many names of gods, but no reality; and similarly in other things: a name for riches, but no reality; a name for glory, but no reality; a name for power, and only the name remains. Who is so senseless, then, as to seek names that are destitute of realities, and to pursue hollow things that one ought to flee? Are not the pleasures and happiness of life of such a kind? Do not all things lie and deceive? Even if you speak of glory, even if of riches, even if of power, all is vanity. And therefore the Ecclesiastes said: "Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity" (Eccles. I, 2). For this reason the Prophet is afflicted with pain while he sees such madness in life; for it is as if someone, upon seeing a man fleeing the light and pursuing darkness, should say to him, "Why do you act so absurdly and irrationally?" So he too speaks: "Why do you love vanity, and seek after a lie?"
4. "And know that the Lord has made his holy one wonderful" (or as another interpreter says: "But know that He has made it wonderful").
Do you see the wisdom of the Prophet? From where does he lead them to the knowledge of God? From a part that is most manifest and from customs that are more widely known, namely, by bringing himself into the center. "I am," he says, "the servant of the true God; from me, therefore, learn His power, His strength, His providence." For it is no small thing that leads one into the knowledge of God. Indeed, the Prophet makes this clear from created things when he discourses about His providence, when, being raised to the sun, the heaven, the earth, and the air, he proclaims the Creator from the order of the things that are seen. He also draws his argument from His servants and from those things that happened by His authorization; which indeed happened even in the case of Abraham. For they said to him, "We know that you are a king among us from God" (Gen. XXIII, 6). Whence do you know? From the victory, from the trophies, from the wars. This also happened among the Jews. For the miracles that were performed for them brought fear to the whole earth, which even then that harlot of Jericho said: "The fear of you and the trembling has fallen upon us" (Jos. II, 9).
There is one way, therefore, which is through created things; but another, and one more manifest, which is through His servants; and this doctrine God disseminated from many ages past in each generation. Thus He taught the Egyptians through Abraham, the Persians once again through the same, the Israelites through his descendants, and countless others, and through Jacob those who lived in Mesopotamia. Do you see the whole world being instructed...?
if they but willed it, by the saints? And even before these, the flood and the confusion of tongues were enough to rouse their minds. For that the event might not fall into oblivion due to the passage of time, the place received the name, and Babylon is called so from the confusion of tongues, so that the hearer, led by the very name, might arrive at the origin of the events and learn the power of God. A Thus also all who dwelt in the West learned everything, associating with the Egyptians for trade. And truly, in the beginning and at the start, not many nations were in that part of the inhabited world, but the great crowd and multitude of men were established in the eastern parts. For Adam went out from there, and the families of Noah dwelt there, and after the tower they were there, and for the most part they tarried in the East. Yet in every generation God appointed teachers for them: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Melchizedek. Wherefore this prophet also leads those living in wickedness up from what happened to the saints, saying: *Know that the Lord hath made wonderful His holy one* (Ps. IV, 4). What is, *hath made wonderful*? He has made him whom He has set apart for Himself wonderful, eminent, brilliant, and manifest. Therefore, learn the power of the Master from the servant and the things that happen to him. He did not say simply, "He has given a good thing," but, *He hath made wonderful*, showing that He gave it with great wonder, with much paradox. B So it happened also with Abraham. For He not only gave back the wife untouched, but also made him wonderful, so that the gift consisted not only in his suffering no harm, but also in his becoming brilliant while in Egypt. For the former happened because of his righteousness—that he suffered nothing unpleasant—and the latter for the benefit of those others—that he returned from there with a miracle. This happened in the case of the three children, this in the case of the lions, this in the case of the sea monster and Jonah; and everywhere He saves with a miracle, not simply everyone, but the holy one.
7. Do you see how, along with the knowledge of God, he gives an exhortation to a precise life, teaching us to place the hopes of salvation not only in the kindness of God, but also in the virtue of our own works? *The Lord will hear me in my crying unto Him*. Having said that He made him wonderful, he does not stop there, but mentions another form of prosperity. What is this? To have God perpetually as an ally and helper, and present everywhere. For He does not do this once, twice, or three times, but, he says, perpetually, if we call upon Him; and you see again here the promptness. C For just as he said above, *In my calling, the God of my righteousness heard me*, so also here, *In my crying unto Him*. Why then, he says, are many not heard? Because they ask for what is not beneficial. For here, not to be heard is better than to be heard. So even if we are heard, let us not for this reason rejoice, but also when we are not heard, let us for this cause glorify Him. For either, asking for things that are not beneficial, we are not heard, and by not receiving we profit; or we ask sluggishly, and through the delay of the giving, God contrives for us a constancy in praying, and this is no small profit. For if you, he says, know how to give good gifts to your children, much more our God, who knows how to give, and when to give, and what to give (cf. Matth. VII, 11). For Paul also asked, and did not receive, for it was not beneficial; and Moses, and God did not assent even to him. Let us not, therefore, withdraw when we are not heard, nor become languid and numb, but let us persist in the constancy and in the asking. For God does all things for our benefit. *Be ye angry, and sin not: what you say in your hearts, upon your beds receive compunction* (Ps. IV, 5). What I said before, I say now also. For since he is about to guide them to the knowledge of God, he rids the soul of diseases. He knows that a corrupted life becomes a hindrance to the precision of sublime doctrines, which Paul also, alluding to, said: *I could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal* (1 Cor. III, 1). And again: *As to infants in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not meat* (ibid. v. 2). And again: *Of whom we have much to say, and hard to be explained, because you are become weak to hear* (Hebr. V, 11). And Isaiah again: *This people seeketh me, and desireth to know my ways, as a people that hath done justice, and hath not forsaken the judgment of God* (Isai. LVIII, 2). And Hosea: *Sow for yourselves in justice, enlighten the light of knowledge* (Osee X, 12). And Christ, teaching, said: *Everyone that doeth evil, hateth the light, and cometh not to the light* (Joan. III, 20). And again: *How can you believe, who receive glory one from another, and look not for the glory that is from God alone?* (Joan. V, 44). And again: *These things his parents said, because they feared the Jews, that they might not be expelled from the synagogue* (Joan. IX, 22). And again: *Many believed in Him, but by reason of the Pharisees they did not confess* (Joan. XII, 42). And everywhere one might see a corrupted life becoming an obstacle to the precision of doctrines. For just as rheum settling upon the clear pupil of the eyes darkens and clouds that which illuminates, so also a mind taken by wickedness darkens and blinds the understanding. Therefore, the Prophet, knowing this, says: *Be ye angry, and sin not*. D For He does not do away with anger—for it is useful—nor does He cut off spirit, for it is indeed useful against those who work injustice and against the slothful; but He forbids unjust anger and irrational spirit. And just as Moses, having fallen into the discourse on ethics, makes the beginning of legislation from this, saying, *Thou shalt not kill* (Exod. XX, 13), so also this one—nay, this one even more, in proportion as the things of piety were better known. For the former cuts off murder; but this one restrains even the mother of murder, anger, being the root and fountain of evil. Therefore, Christ also, restraining anger, said: *Everyone who is angry with his brother without cause, shall be liable to the hell of fire* (Matth. V, 22). You see measures everywhere: *Be ye angry, and sin not*. Whoever is angry...
without cause is one who takes vengeance for his own sake; but he who corrects others is the meekest of all. For God, too, even when He is said to be angry, is not angry while taking vengeance for Himself, but to correct us. Let us, therefore, imitate Him. For to take vengeance in this way is divine; but otherwise, it is human. But God does not differ from us only in this, that He is justly angry, but also in that in God there is no perturbation of mind. Let us not, therefore, be angry without cause. For anger is implanted in us, not that we might sin, but that we might restrain others from sinning; not that it might become a perturbation and a disease but a remedy for diseases.
A Consider, then, the excess of wickedness, when medicine becomes poison, when that which should be used to heal the wounds of others is used to inflict wounds even as if one, having taken a sword to excise the rot in others, should wildly cut himself, wounding his whole body, or as if a helmsman should sink his boat with the rudder with which he ought to have checked the rush of disordered winds. Anger is something of this nature: a useful instrument to awaken our sluggishness, to instill vigor into the soul, to make us sharper, to make us indignant on behalf of those who are wronged, to urge us to inflict punishment upon those who lie in wait. For this reason he says, *Be ye angry, and sin not*. And if this were not possible, he would not have commanded it. For no one commands things that are impossible. Introducing, therefore, an apostolic rule and an evangelical philosophy, having said the very things that Christ said, he adds another admonition, saying: *Those things which you say in your hearts, be pricked in your beds* (Ps. IV, 5).
What is the meaning of this? For it seems obscure. After supper, he says, when you go to sleep, when you are about to lie down, and when great is the silence, deep the tranquility, and no one is present to disturb you, then set up the tribunal of your conscience. Demand an account of yourself, and bring into the middle of that quiet time all the evil plans you have hatched during the day—whether you were plotting deceits, or cheating a neighbor, or entertaining base desires—and when you have brought them into the light and made your conscience the judge of those wicked thoughts, then prick them, tear them to pieces, and take vengeance upon them; scourge the thought that has sinned. For this is the meaning of *Be pricked*: to prod and stimulate the things you said in your hearts during the day—that is, the evil plans you conceived—and to punish and pay attention to them in your beds during that time of quiet, when no friend disturbs, no servant irritates, and no crowd of business presses. Then, demand an account of the life lived during the day. And why does he not say "of words and deeds" but "of evil thoughts"? To teach us, by way of excess, that if evil plans must be punished so that they do not proceed to action, much more must we be vexed in soul for deeds and words. Let this be done every single day, nor shall you sleep, O man, before you have turned over in your mind the things you did wrongly during the day, and on the following day you will be far slower to attack those very things again.
B And just as you do in matters of money, not allowing two days to pass without settling accounts with your servant, lest forgetfulness lead to confusion, do this also with your actions individually each day. In the evening, demand an account from your soul, and condemn the thought that has sinned; hang it up as if on a cross, scourge it, and command it not to approach such things again. Do you see the best method of healing, how he has used both preventative and corrective medicines? To command that you do not fall into sins occupies the place of a preventative medicine—that is, *Be ye angry, and sin not*; but that other, *Those things which you say in your hearts, be pricked in your beds*, is corrective. For after one has sinned, he again applies medicine, the remedy introduced by the one who has sinned. Let us, therefore, use this medicine, which has no difficulty at all.
But if the soul cannot endure to remember its sins, blushing and suffused with shame, say to it: "You gain nothing by not remembering; rather, you suffer a great loss. For if you do not remember them now before yourself, then they will be brought forward before the eyes of all." If, however, you reckon them now, you will both be quickly freed from them and will not easily fall into others again. For the soul, fearing the evening judgment, lest it endure the same sentence again, if it is scourged and punished, becomes slower toward sin; and there will be so much profit from this matter that, if we did this for only one month, we would establish ourselves in a perfect habit of virtue. Let us not, therefore, neglect such a great good. For he who sets up this judgment here will not endure bitter punishments there. For if we were to judge ourselves, we would not be judged; but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined, he says, so that we may not be condemned with the world (1 Cor. XI, 31-32). That we may not be condemned, therefore, let us do this.
C *Sacrifice a sacrifice of righteousness, and hope in the Lord* (Ps. IV, 6). Have you seen the consequence of this excellent advice? Have you seen the perfect admonition? For after he has pricked the soul on account of sins, and made it slower to attack the same things again, and has set up a judgment that cannot be corrupted, and has demanded an account of life, he thus leads it to the exercise of virtue. For it is not sufficient if we abstain from evils, but it is necessary that good acts also be added. Wherefore, also advancing, he admonishes, saying: *Turn away from evil, and do good* (Ps. XXXIII, 15). For not only the doing of wickedness, but also the cessation from virtue brings about our punishment. For even those who did not feed the hungry, who did not give drink to the thirsty, and who did not clothe the naked (Matth. XXV, 42 ff.), did not steal, nor were they greedy, nor did they snatch the goods of others; but because they did not perform charity, they are handed over to immortal punishment and to a torture which has no end. From this we understand that to abstain from evils is not the beginning of salvation for us, unless there is also the possession of good things and the exercise of virtue.
A For this reason, the Prophet, having led us away from wickedness through contrition, and having made us more fit for the work of virtue, and having softened the hardness of the mind and made it tender through contrition, introduces the discourse concerning justice, and says: "Offer a sacrifice of justice, and hope in the Lord." What is "Offer a sacrifice of justice"? Practice justice, offer justice; this is the greatest gift to God, this is a sacrifice that is acceptable, this is an offering that possesses great acceptability—not to sacrifice sheep and calves, but to do what is just. Do you see the polity of the Church being prefigured from above, and instead of those sensible things, the intelligible ones being sought? But here, as I said before, he does not mean by justice the partial virtue, but the universal—inasmuch as we call a man just who possesses all virtue in himself. B This sacrifice does not need money, nor a sword, nor an altar, nor fire; it does not dissolve into smoke and ashes and fat, but is satisfied by the intention of the one offering it. For this, neither poverty becomes a hindrance, nor indigence an obstacle, nor place, nor anything else of that kind; but wherever you may be, you shall be able to offer it, having become yourself a priest, and altar, and sword, and sacrifice. For such are those things that are intelligible and spiritual; they have greater ease, needing none of the external manual labor. "And hope in the Lord." Another says: "And trust in the Lord." For he who, through a just way of life, has gained him as propitious and favorable, possesses the greatest alliance, an invincible help, and great assistance from Him. Do you see the fruit of the sacrifice being already at the doors? Do you see the treasure of good things suddenly springing forth? For he who has God as his ally, whom will he fear henceforth? No one. And this also is no small virtue: to be confident in Him, and to trust in Him. Along with justice, He demands from us this virtue: to trust in Him, to hope in Him, to rely on nothing of the affairs of this life, but having withdrawn oneself from all of them, to fasten the mind there. C For the things of the present life are like dreams and shadows, and are more sluggish than these, at once appearing and flying away, and while they are present, causing many disturbances for those who have them; but the hope in God is immortal, unchangeable, immovable, not receiving change, establishing one in all security, and making him invincible who uses it with precision and the fitting disposition.
"Many say, Who will show us good things? The light of thy countenance, O Lord, has been signed upon us." Having completed the exhortation concerning morals, and led them to the knowledge of God, and set in motion every way capable of rousing the mind of those who have wandered, and especially by showing His providential care for them from the things that are devoted to Him, he introduces and sets forth an objection brought by the weaker and crasser ones, and says: "Many say, Who will show us good things?" Not the few, the genuine and tried who know how to philosophize, say these things, but the dispersed multitude, those without discernment, D those fastened to foolishness. And what is it that he says: "Who will show us good things?" There are some who say this, some indeed accusing the providence of God, while others, being lovers of pleasure, of ease and wealth, of glory and power, who are also enamored of them, say such things: "Where are the good things of God? I am in poverty, and sickness, and calamity, and extreme miseries, and outrages, and slanders; while another is in prosperity, and luxury, and power, and glory, and wealth." And some seek only these as the good things, passing by the truly good things—I mean virtue and philosophy; while others, as I have just said, even from this accuse the providence of God, saying: "Where is the providence of God, when such confusion occurs in life, and the majority are in poverty and indigence and the extreme evils? What is the proof of His care?" For those who say these things do the same as if one in steady and clear midday were to seek to see the sun, and were to harbor doubt about the light. Which the Prophet, showing, and immediately bringing the solution, said: "The light of thy countenance, O Lord, has been signed upon us." He did not say, "It appeared"; he did not say, "It shone," but "It has been signed," showing that just as what is signed upon the forehead is manifest to all, and it is not possible for anyone to miss it, nor can anyone be ignorant of a face that is full of light and shedding rays; so, he says, neither can anyone be ignorant of Thy providence. For just as light signed—that is, imprinted and engraved—on the countenance is manifest to all, so also is the providence of Thy philanthropy. For here by "light" he means the protection, the care, the alliance, the providence. Then, having stated this, he also brings forward a proof. What, then, is this? "Thou hast given gladness to my heart." Having accused the irrational multitude, he makes the proof of God’s providence from those who have understanding and are sound, and says: "Thou hast given gladness to my heart"; that is, "Thou hast taught me to philosophize, to look down upon the affairs of this life, to know the true and abiding things; Thou hast lifted me up with good hopes, Thou hast guided me toward the future life; before the enjoyment of the good things, Thou hast made me fly aloft by the expectation of the good things." Well did he say this. A For if one who is about to inherit wealth, or is on the way to a great command, is steadied not only at the time of enjoyment, but even before the experience, by hope, enjoying all the time through that hope; consider what it is likely for him to be who expects the living and immortal kingdom, and those good things which neither eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor have they entered into the heart of man. For this reason he says: "Thou hast given gladness to my heart," which was a sign of the greatest providence, to have prepared and readied those things then. But if the crasser ones, being flesh, and fastened to the earth, do not pay attention to these things, the disturbance and the tumult do not arise because of the One who promised, but because of their own lack of wisdom. And he did not say simply, "Thou hast given gladness," but, "To my heart."
A For the joy is not in external things, neither in servants, nor in gold, nor in silver, nor in garments, nor in a sumptuous table, nor in the magnitude of power, nor in the magnificence of houses. For this joy is not of the heart, but only of the eyes. Many, therefore, of those who possess these things consider life not to be worth living, and they carry around a furnace of anguish in their soul, exhausted by a multitude of cares, and oppressed by continuous fears. But, he says, for me, joy is not in these things, but in an intelligent heart, in an incorporeal mind, and in one that meditates upon incorporeal things. Wherefore, if present things delight you, and you discern the providence of God from them, learn it much more from things to come, inasmuch as those things are more excellent, more lasting, and things which cannot be taken away. If the fact that you abound in riches and fare prosperously persuades you that there is a providence of God, much more ought the riches that are in heaven persuade you of this. If, however, you say: "Why are these things situated in hope, and do not appear?" I would say this, that we indeed, as the faithful, consider those things that are situated in hope more manifest than those things which are manifest; for such is the certainty of faith. B But if you say again, "For what reason do we not receive retribution here?" I will say this: This is indeed the time of stadiums and contests, but that is the time of crowns and rewards. And this also is an effect of the providence of God, to circumscribe labors and struggles within this brief and fleeting life, but to extend rewards and crowns into the immortal age that knows no old age. Otherwise, even when many were of a weaker mind, He gave them these sensible goods as well. And so, He led the Jewish people through that manner of living. For riches abounded for them, their life was prolonged even to old age, every disease was far away; there was added the destruction of enemies, deep peace, triumphs, victories, a happy multitude of good children, and other things of that kind were present to those who obeyed God. But after our Lord Jesus Christ drew near, calling us to heaven, and persuading us to despise the things that are here, implanting in us a love for those things, and drawing us away from the things that pertain to this life, these things were deservedly drawn into a narrow compass, but in those things is concentrated all wealth, as for those of us who have already become perfect. For even in the case of children, to those who are still a little younger, fathers provide things of this kind: shoes, clothing, golden ornaments, and bracelets; C but after they have grown up, these are taken away and they give them other, greater things—the glory of speaking well from the platform, splendor in the city, freedom of speech in the imperial court, magistracies and principalities—leading them away from all puerile ambition. So also has God done: leading us away from those small and childish things, He has promised those things which are in heaven. Do not, therefore, admire or crave these things which flow and hasten by, nor be of a faint heart. Although He has not left you altogether empty of these things either. For because it was necessary that those who are covered with flesh and dwell in a body not be completely deprived even of these, He provides these things for us also in abundance. And therefore the prophet, when he had discussed that lofty and philosophical D manner of providence, and had said, "Thou hast given gladness to my heart," subjoins: "From the fruit of their grain, and wine, and oil, they have been multiplied." When he says this, he touches upon no small part of that providence which is seen in those things which fall under our perception. For when he says grain, and wine, and oil, and their abundance, he speaks also of rain, and the good order of the seasons, the conception and birth and offspring of the earth, the diffused air, the course of the sun, the orbits of the moon, the choir of the stars, summer, winter, autumn, spring, the art of cultivating the land, and the convenience of implements, and the collection of other arts. For unless all these things concur, it is impossible for fruits to be perfected and to arrive at maturity. When, therefore, he says grain, and wine, and oil, he gives to the wise man an opportunity to understand the whole from a part, opening the sea of God's providence which appears in sensible things.
11. Wherefore also Paul, preaching somewhere and discoursing concerning His providence, begins to speak from this point, saying: "Who gives rains, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14.17). But since the prophet avoids things that are unnecessary, having passed over all other things—fruits, berries, generations of plants, generations of seeds, generations of herbs, meadows, flowers, gardens, and whatever other things there are—he sets forth those things which are congruous and necessary for our life, making those things also manifest from these. Which He not only gives to us, but with great abundance, and every year. But if He also sometimes contracts these and gives more sparingly, in that also He shows His providence, awakening the sluggishness of many and raising them up to seek these good things from Him. But if some say that it is not of God to give rain, but of the idols, let us interrogate them, "Whence will this be consistent?" Because the poets, they say, have said that it is Zeus who rains. But those same people have said that he is an adulterer, a corrupter of boys, a parricide, ascribing to him other crimes no less than these. But "they are not true," they say. Therefore neither is it true that he rains. For if you admit this, it is necessary to admit those things also: and if you reject those, this one also with them. For as often as we provide witnesses of the power of God, we accept whatever is said of Him by them. It is necessary, therefore, for you to admit that he is also an adulterer, and all the rest that is said of him by those people, and from that to learn that such crimes are far removed from divine power, and that he who is such is in no wise a god. But the myth itself contradicts itself, and the falsehood is convicted by itself, even if you are unwilling to admit this, and it utterly casts out the poets. That, however, with them cast out, all your things are about to perish, is clear. For they invented their names and imposed them, as even some of your own philosophers have said.
A If, however, you have recourse to allegories, I will ask you this: What is Jupiter? He is, they say, the seething substance and the part which is above the air, and which they call the ether, because it seethes and burns. Therefore, it is not a rational and discerning substance, but an irrational one. For that the nature of air possesses neither reason nor calculation is surely clear to everyone, and everyone knows this, even if someone were more senseless than stones. So Jupiter is already taken away, and his substance has vanished. For if Jupiter is air, and air is what we have said, then from this the myth will pass away. But if he is air, he was neither the father of anyone, nor did he beget any substance, of the kind they fashion for the sun, whom they also call Apollo and say is his son; for neither does the sun possess any calculation or mind or understanding, but it too is a natural work, being led and brought around by the law which God ordained for it in the beginning. Otherwise, he is the most wretched of all those who are opposed by the inhabited world. It belongs to the ether to rain, but rather to the clouds receiving the water either from the sea or from the waters which are carried from above over the heaven, just as the prophets say.
If, however, you do not believe the prophets, we provide clear and manifest signs, which especially show them to have been divinely inspired, and not to have discoursed to us from their own resources, but to have been inspired by that divine and supercelestial grace. For all things spoken by them have an end, and all have turned out according to the truth of the facts, whether you wish to deal with the old or the new. For all things spoken to the prophets concerning the Jews have reached their end, the outcome of which has become plain to all; and [things] concerning Christ in the New [Testament], which especially shows each of the Scriptures to be divine. But if it is divine, then all things said in it concerning God are true. Do not, therefore, doubt concerning the providence of God, but marvel at his care, that though there are wicked and good [men], he has surrendered the inhabited world and the sun to all, and gives rains. And if he allows some to be in poverty and need, he allows it to correct their soul, rendering their mind more philosophical. For you know, you know clearly, that wealth for those who do not pay attention is a servant of wickedness; but poverty is the mother of philosophy; and facts show this every day. How many of the poor are more sensible and more philosophical than the wealthy, and healthier in their bodies, with poverty correcting both their flesh and their soul for them? B *In peace I will both sleep and rest. For you, O Lord, have settled me alone in hope.* Behold another form of providence, not small, for those who are devoted to God to enjoy peace. *For peace is for those who love your law, and there is no stumbling block for them.* For nothing is accustomed to cause peace so much as the knowledge of God and the acquisition of virtue, which exiles the war of the passions from within, and does not allow the person to be at variance with himself. For if he were not to enjoy this peace, even if he were in the deepest peace externally, and no enemy C were attacking, he would be more wretched than all those who live in the inhabited world.
12. For Skytes, nor Thracians, nor Sarmatians, nor Indians, nor Moors, and as many wild nations as are accustomed to make war, are not so much [a threat] as a most absurd calculation dwelling in the soul, and unbridled desire, and the love of money, and the longing for power, and the clinging to worldly affairs. And reasonably so; for that war is external, but this battle is within. And that those things born within are more grievous than those assaulting from without, and are more accustomed to destroy, this is possible to see in all things. For indeed a worm born inside a piece of wood destroys it more, and diseases sprouting from within do greater damage to the strength and health of the body than those coming from without; and cities are not so much undone by external enemies as by those from within; thus also the soul is in its nature more damaged by the diseases born from within than by external contrivances assaulting it. But if someone, having the fear of God, should with precision destroy this war, and calm the passions, and having strangled those diverse beasts of absurd calculations, should ensure they do not lurk within, this person will enjoy the purest and deepest peace. Christ came and granted this peace; Paul also prayed this for the faithful, saying in every epistle: *Grace to you and peace from God our Father.* For he who has this peace fears not only a barbarian and an enemy, but not even the devil himself; but he laughs at the whole phalanx of demons, and is more cheerful than all men, not being pressed by poverty, not burdened by sickness and infirmity, not disturbed by any other of the human things that happen unexpectedly, because he possesses a soul—which is able to manage these things with precision—healthy and strong. And so that you may know that this is true: let there be someone envious, and let no one make war on him; what is the profit? For he makes war on himself, sharpening against himself calculations sharper than any sword, stumbling against all things that happen, and wounding himself in response to each of the people he encounters, and being kindly disposed toward no one, but seeing all as common enemies. What then is the profit of external peace to this man, when he, being raging and mad, and being a common enemy of nature, wanders about carrying such a war within, and praying for myriad bows and arrows, or rather myriad deaths, rather than to see any of those born of the same race prospering and enjoying well-being? Again, another man, possessed by the love of money, gathers myriad wars and battles and seditions into his own soul, and being in noise and confusion, he is not able to breathe even a little. But he who is freed from these passions is not so disposed, but sits in a calm harbor, delighting in philosophy, and D...
suffering no such unpleasantness. Wherefore, A enjoying this providence, the Prophet said: "In peace I will both lie down and sleep" (Ps. IV, 9), indicating that for him who does not possess this peace, not even the common harbor of all is open, but that this too is obstructed—namely, that of rest and the night. For such disturbances dissipate even the security given by nature, driving away the tyranny of sleep with a far more grievous tyranny. For the envious, the covetous, and the rapacious—carrying this war with them everywhere and having these enemies positioned within—wherever they may depart, cannot escape the battle. Even if they remain at home, even if they lie upon their beds, they endure clouds of missiles, and tumults more violent than waves, and slaughters, and shouts, and wailings, and many things far more grievous than those that happen among enemies. But the righteous man is not so; rather, he is vigilant and enjoys it with pleasure, and in the time of the night takes his sleep with great delight. What is it, then, "In peace"? He says, "I am turned entirely into myself, not divided into innumerable cares, not thinking of the affairs of this one or that one, nor distributing my solicitudes to the circumference of the world; but thinking of what is mine, and what is useful to me, and what is most convenient for man: 'For You, Lord, have established me alone in hope'" (Ps. IV, 10). And what he says is of this kind: Because of the hope of future things, and the expectation which is in You, I have quieted all the disturbances of my mind. Just as Paul also says: "For our present light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen" (2 Cor. IV, 17-18). For there is no matter so burdensome that it does not become most easy through the hope of future glory from God. Therefore he says: "In hope You have established me." And that word, "alone," is a virtue of instruction of no small account.
B "In solitude," he says, "apart from the wicked." For I have secured this peace, he says, with You, and I dwell in solitude, fleeing from wicked and corrupt men. And very reasonably. For just as bodies are often destroyed, infected by the contagion of corrupt air, so too does the soul receive damage from the meeting with the wicked; and just as a healthy eye, when it sees one suffering, is affected, and he who is full of sores imparts it even to those who are healthy, so also it often happens in the association of wicked men. And for this reason Christ advised not only to flee from those who are of such a kind, but even to excise them, saying thus: "If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you" (Matt. V, 29). He is not speaking of the eye—for what evil could the eye do, if the soul is healthy?—but of friends who are necessary, and who are in the place of these members to us, yet work us harm; these He has determined, commanding us to despise even their friendship, so that our salvation may be made more secure. Wherefore he himself also says again in the following: "I have not sat with the council of vanity, and I will not enter with those who act iniquitously" (Ps. XXV, 4). Indeed, Jeremiah also says he is blessed who sits alone, and takes up the yoke from his youth (Lam. III, 27-28). Now, why do the Proverbs make many words about this matter, counseling and persuading everyone not only to decline, but even to recoil from those who counsel evil, and not to associate with them? For if things which are natural often change their nature from bad company, how much more do the things of our will? For color and health are in us by nature, but they are sometimes corrupted by another contrasting habit; and again the appetite for food, which we often lose through the vice of sickness; and we see many other things of this kind happening. But if things that are natural are changed, much more are the things of our will more easily changed to either side. Let us not think that the association with the wicked brings little harm; but before all else, let us avoid those who are such, even if they are wives, even if they are friends, even if they are anyone at all. For this also destroyed those great ones: Solomon, I mean, and Samson; indeed, the whole Jewish nation perished in this way. For wild beasts are not accustomed to harm as much as human wickedness. For those bear their poison openly; but these, little by little and without any noise, daily inject corruption, daily diminishing the strength of virtue little by little. Wherefore God also removes the unchaste gaze, saying: "He who looks at a woman to lust for her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt. V, 28); because it is an easy and precipitous ruin. But you, if you are about to dwell in some city, make curious inquiry about the air, whether it is healthy, or temperate, or dry; but as you are about to initiate matters of the soul, are you not concerned about the company of those who are to associate with it? But instead you expose it rashly and inconsiderately to everyone? What pardon, I ask, will you obtain, you who neglect it so? Whence do you think those who inhabit the deserts become admirable and illustrious? Is it not because they flee the noise and the marketplaces? Is it not because they have placed themselves far from the smoke of the business that is in the midst? Imitate them yourself as well, pursuing solitude in the midst of the city. How then will this be? If you flee the wicked, and if you follow the good. For thus you will perceive greater security than those who dwell in the deserts, not only in fleeing those who harm, but also in communicating with those who benefit. For if you flee the bad, but follow the good, from both sides virtue will increase, and vice will decrease. That this, therefore, may happen, let us do these things, obeying the Psalmist who says: "For You, Lord, have established me alone in hope." Here, indeed, I shall make an end of speaking, having, I think, sufficiently solved the proposed questions, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and empire, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
EXPOSITION OF PSALM V
To the end, for her who receives the inheritance, a Psalm of David (v. 1).
A also falls to us; then the time when it is given. It is indeed absurd, when a will involving money is announced to us, and we are convinced that the inheritance belongs to us, that we should busy ourselves and make diligent inquiry, seek out the documents, pay money, approach the offices, copy down what is written, and display every eagerness; yet here, when the spiritual wills are laid before us B and all the books are opened, we should be slothful and sluggish—and this even though the inheritance is not something sensible. Let us proceed, therefore, and open the documents, and let us examine what is written, and let us see upon what terms this inheritance has been left to us, and what the nature of the inheritance is. For He did not leave us the inheritance simply, but upon a certain condition. What condition is this? *He who loves me*, He says, *will keep my commandments* (John 14:23). And again, *Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me* (Matt. 10:38); and many other things which are written in the Testament. Let us also learn the time when we are to receive these things. For it is not the present, but the future; or rather, both the present and the future. *Seek*, He says, *the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you* (Luke 12:31); but the fullness will be given then. For since the present life is frail, and we are still in a more imperfect state, just as those who are lawgivers outside do, who entrust the paternal estate to children only when they have become perfect, so too does God act. When we have attained to a perfect man and the measure of age, C and have passed over to the incorruptible life, then He entrusts that inheritance to us. In the meantime, He has made His testament, and left us the writings, and has said what must be done to attain the inheritance, so that we might not fall away, nor become disinherited. And if anyone is troubled because we are not yet perfect, and suspects these things, let him hear Paul saying: *When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things* (1 Cor. 13:11), discoursing concerning the present and future age. And again: *Until we all attain to a perfect man, to the measure of age* (Eph. 4:13). In the present life, he says, we are nurtured as if by a nurse, namely, by this creation; but when we are about to be led into the Master's house, divesting ourselves of the garments of corruption, and putting on incorruptibility, we shall be moved to another state. This testament has threatened to make many disinherited, if they become unworthy of the terms written therein. But let us see what the inheritance is, then. *Things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man* (1 Cor. 2:9). How then were we to receive the use of these in the present life, when even the knowledge of them transcends our understanding? For this reason it is stored up for us there. And He exercised great care. He apportioned the labors D to the present life, in order that the toil might be finished along with the brevity of time; but He stored up the good things in the age to come, in order that the rewards might be extended along with the ageless life. He calls that state a kingdom. For although it transcends speech, yet insofar as it is possible for us to hear, He has hinted at the things to come: now, as I already said, calling it a kingdom; now marriage; now an authority—opening up for us, from the bright names among us, the conception concerning those things: the eternal glory, the incorruptible beatitude, the life with Christ, than which nothing could be equal. But what are the terms of the Church, or rather, of the inheritance? They have nothing burdensome. *What you want*, He says, *that men should do to you, do you also to them* (Matt. 7:12). Do you see how He introduced nothing strange, but what nature herself had already legislated? "Whatever," He says, "you want to happen toward you from your neighbors, that you yourself perform." Do you want to be praised? Praise. Do you want not to be robbed? Do not rob. Do you want to be honored? Honor. Do you want to be shown mercy? Show mercy. Do you want to be loved? Love. Do you want not to hear evil? Do not speak it yourself. And consider the precision. He did not say, "Whatever you do not want to happen, do not do," but, "What you want." Since there are two paths that lead to virtue—one, the abandoning of evil, and the other, the practice of virtues—He sets this one forward, making the other manifest through it; and He hinted at the former by saying, *What you hate, do not do to another*, but He clearly declared the latter by saying, *What you want men to do to you, do you also to them* (Tob. 4:16).
2. There is also another condition. And what is this? *To love your neighbor as yourself.* What could be easier than this? For to hate is burdensome and causes turmoil; but to love is easy and light. For if He had said, "Being men, love wild beasts," the commandment would have been difficult; but to command men to love fellow men, where the common essence and kinship also contribute much force, and the exhortation comes from nature itself—what difficulty could it have? This is what happens even among lions and wolves; for in them, too, the kinship of nature is a guide to friendship. What excuse, then, could we have, who tame lions and let them live with us, yet do not draw to ourselves those of our own kind? Do you not see that many, for the sake of an inheritance, go around hunting down old men, and endure all the evils of old age—being young and vigorous, they endure the gout and the other diseases of old age, and the catarrh, by sitting by them constantly? And yet there it is money, and an uncertain hope; here it is heaven, and before heaven, the pleasing of God. And who is the one inheriting? For the superscription speaks of the one inheriting. The Church, and the fullness of it; concerning which Paul says: *I espoused you to one man, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ* (2 Cor. 11:2). And John: *He who has the bride is the bridegroom* (John 3:29). But the bridegroom, after the first days, abates the fervor of love; but our bridegroom remains loving us continuously, and increasing the desire: which, signifying this, John calls Him bridegroom, when desires are in their prime. Not only for this reason is He called bridegroom...
but also because He wishes all to be one body and one soul by reason of virtue and love; and because, just as a bride does everything to please her husband, so we too ought to be such throughout our whole life. As the bride who sits in her chamber on that day, thinking only of this one thing, how she may please her husband, so we too, sitting in this life, should look to this one thing alone, that we may please the Bridegroom, and preserve the modesty and decorum of the bride. A Of this bride David also makes mention, saying: *The queen stood at thy right hand, in vesture of gold, encompassed with variety in golden fringes* (Ps. XLIV, 10). Do you wish to see her shoes? Hear Paul the paranymph, who says: *Having your feet shod for the preparation of the gospel of peace* (Eph. VI, 15). Do you wish also to see her belt, and how it is composed of truth? He himself will teach you: *Having your loins girt about in truth* (Ibid. VI, 14). Do you wish also to see her beauty? You will learn this also from the same one: *Not having spot or wrinkle* (Ibid. V, 27). Hear also what the Ecclesiastes says concerning her: *Thou art all fair, my neighbor, and there is no spot in thee* (Cant. IV, 7). Do you wish also to see the feet? *How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things* (Rom. X, 15)! And what is exceptional, and most worthy of admiration, when he had thus adorned her, he did not come to demonstrate his own glory, lest he should stun her with his remarkable beauty and render her senseless; but he came clothed in the same garment as the bride; for he is a partaker just as she is of flesh and blood; neither does he call her upward, but he comes to her, observing here too the law of the bridegroom, which brings the bridegroom to the bride. B Which Moses also said: *For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife* (Gen. II, 24). And Paul: *This is a great sacrament; but I speak in Christ and in the Church* (Eph. V, 32). When therefore he had come into her dwelling, and had found her defiled, squalid, naked, stained with blood, he washed, anointed, fed, and clothed her with a garment to which no equal can be found. Since he himself had become a covering for her, he thus takes her up. An inheritance is prepared for her. What then does the prophet say about her? Many things: for he is her patron, and he has predicted and proclaimed many things of those that are to happen to her: as concerning the bridegroom, concerning the betrothals and the leading to the bridegroom, concerning the good things that are to happen to her. For this reason he also speaks here for her, and beginning, like those patrons and orators in court, he says whom he defends with his speech, namely, that he is speaking for her who receives the inheritance. But let us hear what that heir petitions. 2. *Give ear, O Lord, to my words.* She calls the Bridegroom Lord; for this is the duty of a frugal bride. For if this is done in those who are of the same substance, and a wife calls her husband lord, how much more so in Christ and in the Church, where He is also Lord by nature. Thus therefore she calls Him Lord, not only as bridegroom, but also as truly Lord, and she draws Him to hear her petitions. Since indeed an inheritance is proposed for her, and this inheritance attains its effect if she has correctly performed what is commanded her, she prays and beseeches that He may bring her aid, so that she may accomplish what is proposed, and not fall from the inheritance. She says therefore: *Give ear, O Lord, to my words*, and she says this with confidence, since she asks for those things which He himself also desires to give: just as if someone asks for those things that are unworthy of him who is to give, he cannot ask for that grace. When she prays against enemies, when against those who have inflicted some trouble, those are not the words of a human being, but of the devil. For if to swear is from the devil (*For what is more than these, is from evil*—Matt. V, 37), it is clear that it is so also to pray against enemies. If, therefore, you say, *Give ear to my words*, speak those words which are of a meek and humane human being, and who has nothing diabolical.
3. Of what sort true prayer is, and how we ought to prepare ourselves to pray.
*Understand my cry.* He calls the cry here, not the tension of the voice, but the affection of the mind. For to Moses even while he was silent, He said: *Why criest thou to me* (Exod. XIV, 15)? He did not say, Why prayest thou to me? but, *Why criest thou to me*? Because he had approached Him with vehement affection. So that you might know that here too is mentioned not an outcry, but the affection of the mind and intense zeal, he did not say: Give ear to my cry: but what? *Understand*, that is, Learn. For even if he used human words, yet in these human words he signifies what is rightly represented. *Attend to the voice of my supplication.* Again he speaks of the internal voice. Thus also Anna cried out. And he did not say simply and absolutely, Attend to the voice of my prayer, but, *Of my supplication* (I Reg. I, 13). For it is necessary for him who prays to put on both the habit and the mind of a suppliant. For he who is a suppliant does not use the words of an accuser: but he who prays evil against an enemy is an accuser rather than a suppliant. C Did you see how she brought the prayer, when she made it worthy to be heard? Thus also we, when we pray and wish to be heard, let us first so prepare it, that it may be a prayer and not an accusation, and let us introduce it consonant with the laws laid down by Him. *My King and my God.* What the prophet frequently says, or rather what was the exceptional attribute of Abraham, as Paul says: *For which reason God is not ashamed to be called their God* (Hebr. XI, 16); this she has assumed for herself, and impelled by desire has used it splendidly. For she did not say, King, absolutely, but, *My King and my God*, indicating her own love. Then he brings causes for which he wishes her to be heard. But what are they? 4. *Because I will pray to thee, O Lord.* Who, you will say, does not pray to God? Many indeed appear to pray to God, but they do it that they may display themselves to men. But not she: but she was carried to God Himself, all human affairs having been dismissed. *In the morning thou wilt hear my voice.* Do you see a vehement zeal, and a contrite soul? From the beginning, he says, I do this. Let those hear who, after countless works, at last come to prayer. But not she: but from the beginning of the day she gave to God the first...
fruits. A For it is necessary, he says, to forestall the sun in giving thanks to you, and before the rising of the light to intercede with you. But you, in the presence of a king, would not endure for one of lower rank to anticipate your worship; yet when the sun worships, you yourself are sleeping, and you yield to the creation the priority, and do not anticipate all the creation that came into being for your sake, nor do you return thanks to him, but upon rising you wash your face and hands, while you neglect your soul, which is unclean? Do you not know that just as the body is cleansed by water, so the soul is cleansed by prayer? Wash, therefore, the soul before the body. Many defilements of wickedness beset it; let us cast these away through supplication. For if we hedge the mouth in this way, we shall have laid a good foundation for our daily conduct. B *In the morning I will stand before you, and look out.* I will stand before you, he says, not in place, but in works. For such a person is able to be near to God. For "near" and "far" come to pass from this; for God is everywhere. *I will stand before you, and look out, that you are not a God who wills iniquity.* Another interpreter says: *And I will observe, that you are not a God who wills iniquity.* *Neither shall the worker of evil dwell with you.* Here he alludes to idols: that they rejoiced in these, and in all lawlessness, and in other things involving wickedness. *Neither shall the worker of evil dwell with you.* He will not be a friend to you, he says; he will not be a neighbor to you. *Neither shall the lawless abide before your eyes.* He shows here the God who hates wickedness, C teaching those who would become near to him to fashion themselves in such a way, since it is not possible to be near otherwise. For if someone could not possibly be near a good man, being distant from him in character, much less so to Him. For that wicked men can be near men of virtue—hear what they say about the righteous man: *He is grievous to us even to behold* (Sap. 2.15). Thus John, even while dwelling in the prison and not being seen, grieved Herodias; although the woman was so far from him; yet after his death, it was the conscience even of that tyrant then that it shook. Let no one, therefore, who lives in virtue think he is suffering any terrible thing, even if he is plotted against by the wicked. For those who suffer evil are the ones who do it. *You hated all who work iniquity, you will destroy all who speak lies. The Lord abhors the man of blood and deceit.* These things are said, not so that we might only hear them, but so that we might also be instructed, hearing these things constantly, and be fitted to the way of the bridegroom, and become near to him. D As if these things were not, we are deprived of the grace from above, than which nothing could be worse. 4. *You hated all who work iniquity:* whether, he says, one be a slave, or free, or king, or whoever it may be. For God is accustomed to approve friends not by their titles, but by their virtue. But since many of the simpler sort think that being mediocre is nothing, hear how he added the fear of punishment, saying: *You will destroy all who speak lies;* transferring the word to the more serious types of sins. For the punishment will not stop at hatred, although even this is an unspeakable punishment; but He will also "destroy all who speak lies." Although even the former is grievous, and worse than hell, to be hated by God; 75 but he set that before those who are able to understand; and to the simpler ones he added this as well. Do not, therefore, be agitated, O man, nor troubled, when you see some lying, seizing, taking advantage, and suffering nothing terrible; for this will surely come to pass. For such is the nature of God: he turns away from wickedness, and he always hates it, and is disgusted by it. And by "those who speak lies" he means those who live in wickedness, those who pursue false things, those who are frantic about pleasures, about gluttony, about greed. For He knows how to call all these things lies. *The Lord abhors the man of blood and deceit.* By this he means the murderer, the one who plots, the underhanded one, the one who carries one thing on his tongue but other things in his mind, the one who wears the mask of gentleness but exhibits the cruelty of wolves, than which nothing could be worse. For the manifest enemy might be easily guarded against; but the one who covers his wickedness and uses malice, being hard to detect, works many terrible things. Therefore Christ also, whenever they would arrive, commanded us to be sober. *For they come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves* (Matt. 7.15). *But I, in the multitude of your mercy, will enter into your house.* Since the Church has been gathered from such people—Pagans, sorcerers, murderers, magicians, liars, the underhanded—and he said that *you hate and turn away,* showing that she was not brought into the innermost parts according to justice and accomplishments, but having been delivered from those things according to love for mankind, he added: *But I, in the multitude of your mercy, will enter into your house.* For lest anyone say: "How then were you, who did such and such things, saved?" he said the way of salvation, that through great love for mankind, through unspeakable goodness, I was saved. But there are some who do not even accept mercy, being incurably ill, such as the Jews were; for grace and mercy, even if it be grace and mercy, saves those who want it and who possess gratitude, not those who are rebellious and do not want to receive the gift, such as the Jews have become, concerning whom even Paul was saying, that *ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted to the righteousness of God* (Rom. 10.3). Then, since he spoke of the things of God, he says also the things on his own part: *I will worship toward your holy temple in your fear.* For when I enjoy grace, and bring what is on my part, I will bring this sacrifice to you, he says. *I will worship toward your holy temple in your fear.* Not as many of those who pray, sighing, yawning, numbed, but with fear and trembling, he says. For the one who prays in this way, puts off all wickedness, is led by the hand to all virtue, and renders God propitious to himself. *Lord, lead me in your righteousness because of my enemies.* He spoke the praises of God, the hatred of wickedness, the love for mankind, the guardianship, he spoke of his own salvation, he spoke of the way by which he was saved, he spoke what [one] after the...
A salvation has brought about; it has diverted him from wickedness, it has guided him toward virtue. He has revealed good hopes even to those who live in wickedness, if they should wish to be converted, that they might be able to obtain mercy. He turns the discourse to a petition, which he says next: "Lord, lead me in Your righteousness," through these things teaching the hearer first to offer hymns to God, and to give thanks for the benefits received; and then to ask for what he wishes, and for those things which he has received to give thanks in return. But let us see what these things are that he asks for. Is it anything of those things which pertain to this life? Is it something temporal and momentary? Is it of those things which pass away? Does he speak of riches? Does he speak of glory? Does he speak of power? Does he speak of taking vengeance on enemies? None of these things. But what? "Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my enemies." You see how he asks for nothing fleeting or B perishable, and how he asks for the help from above? For those who are entering upon that way, they stand in need of this help most of all. By righteousness here, he means universal virtue. And he rightly says, "In Your righteousness." For there is also the righteousness of men, which proceeds from external laws, but it is cheap, and has nothing perfect or absolute, and consists of human reasonings. But I ask for Your righteousness, which is brought down from You, which leads to heaven; and [I ask for the] help, so that I may secure this righteousness for myself.
5. It is a way that requires being led by the hand from above. For if, being about to enter a city, we have need of someone to show us the way, much more, being about to journey into heaven, do we have need of help from above, so that He may point out, strengthen, and lead: for there are many paths that divert one. Therefore, let us hold to the right hand of God. "Because of my enemies." Many, he says, are the enemies who have risen up, wishing to divert my steps, and lead me into error, and take me along another way. Since, therefore, such are their snares, such are their attacks, do You Yourself lead me. For I am in need of Your help. For while it is His [duty] to lead [us] in the way, it is for our diligence to be made worthy so that we may be held by that hand. For if you are unclean, that hand will not hold you; if you are covetous, if you have any other stain. "Direct my way in Your sight": that is, make it clear, open, known to me; make it sure and straight for me. Another interpreter said, "Make Your way level before me"; that is, make it plain and easy.
10. "For there is no truth in their mouth; their heart is vain." It seems to me that he is speaking here both of those who wander in error, accusing both mouth and mind as being destitute of every good; and [he is speaking] of those who live in wickedness. He speaks here of them delighting in slaughter, or bringing forth dead and foul-smelling dogmas. No one would err if he were to say that the mouth of those who speak obscene words is also called an open sepulcher. For that stench is much more grievous than a sensory one, which indeed arises from the corruption of the soul: such also are the mouths of the avaricious, when they bring forth nothing other than slaughters and robberies. Let not your mouth, therefore, be a sepulcher, but a treasury. For treasuries C differ greatly from sepulchers, because the latter indeed corrupt what they have received, but the former preserve it. Have you, therefore, also the riches of the study of wisdom which remain perpetually, but not some stench and corruption. And he did not say simply and absolutely "a sepulcher," but "an open [one]," so that he might also signify that the abomination is greater. For when it was fitting for them to conceal words of this kind, they even bring them forth so as to show their own disease all the more. And in the case of dead bodies, we do the contrary, and hand them over to the earth; but these men do the contrary in these [their] words, and what they ought to have hidden and smothered in the depths of the heart, they bring forth, and offend many, and propose them for all to see. But let us send away, I pray, those who are such. For if we bury dead bodies outside the city, much more is it necessary to drive far away those who bring forth dead words, and who act in such a way, and do not even wish to cover or overshadow them; for the mouths of such men are a ruin to the common city. "With their tongues they dealt deceitfully." You have seen another kind of wickedness. These, indeed, conceal the deceit in their mind, using smooth words; but others are so crafty and cunning that they cover up their wickedness in the very words themselves, and construct frauds and snares. "Judge them, O God; let them fall away from their designs." See here also how mild the prayer is. For he did not say, "Punish [them]," but "Judge them, and make them cease from their vice; make their plots of no effect," which is even a prayer for them, that their wickedness may not progress any further. "According to the multitude of their impieties, expel them, for they have provoked You, O Lord." This is: "I do not care about the things that have been done to me; but I grieve because of the things which they have done to You." For this is typical, first of all, of a pious and wise soul—not to want to avenge itself, but vehemently to prosecute injuries done to God. Many do the contrary to this, despising the things done against God, but most acrimoniously avenging the sins committed against themselves. But not so the saints; rather, they were most acrimonious avengers of those things which were done against God; but those [things done] against themselves, they neglected.
12. "And let all those who hope in You rejoice." See the gain of prayer. And they themselves will turn out better, and will desist from their vices; and others will be filled with great pleasure, seeing their change, and their conversion to that which is better, and [seeing] others become better for that reason. "They will exult forever, and You will dwell among them." For this is the greatest, perpetual joy; for other joys are no more stable than the currents of rivers, which, as soon as they are seen, flow past; but the joy which is from God remains, and clings to firm roots, and is sufficient, perpetual, and stable, which is not interrupted by any unexpected and unlooked-for accidents, but is rendered greater and more sublime by the things that hinder it. For even the apostles were beaten with scourges, and they rejoiced; and Paul was afflicted, and he exulted: he was about to die, and he called them sharers of [his] joy, saying: "But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering for the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share in the joy with you all. Likewise, you also rejoice, and share your joy with me." (Phil. 2:17-18). With those who D
are thus pleased, God dwells. Wherefore she also says thus: "They shall exult forever, and you shall dwell in them." Christ himself, indicating this, also said, showing the indissoluble nature of this joy: "I will see you again, and your joy no one takes away." (John 16:22). And Paul again: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing." (1 Thess. 5:16-17). "And those who love your name shall boast in you." For to these it is given most of all to boast, to these to rejoice, to these to be glad; for he who prides himself on worldly things differs in no way from those who revel in a dream.
6. For tell me, what among human things is of such a kind as to provide a sure basis for boasting? Strength of body? But this achievement is not a matter of choice, and therefore it is deprived of the ability to boast; moreover, it withers and fades quickly, and often it has even injured the one who possesses it, by not being used for a proper purpose. This can also be said regarding beauty, and fairness of form, and wealth, and power, and luxury, and all worldly things. But to boast in God, and in the love for him, is a greater ornament than all things; a brightness exceeding a myriad of crowns, even if he who boasts be a prisoner. This ornament is not destroyed by disease, nor by old age, nor by the reversal of circumstances, nor by the irregularity of times, nor by death itself; rather, even then it shines forth more brightly. "For you shall bless the righteous." Since many who are disposed in this way are maligned and mocked by men, and especially those who pursue virtue, so that none of the more simple-minded might fall away because of these things, see how he lifts up his mind, saying: "For you shall bless the righteous." For what harm is there in men—and indeed the whole world—despising one, when the Master of angels praises and proclaims him? Just as, if He does not bless, though all who dwell on earth and sea should praise, it is of no benefit. Therefore, let us keep this in view everywhere: that He himself might proclaim us, that He himself might crown us. If this be the case, we are higher than all, even if we are in poverty, even if in disease, even if we remain in the extremest evils. Since even the blessed Job, even while sitting on the dung-heap and covered with the ichor of his wounds, and teeming with myriad fountains of worms, and suffering those incurable things, and being spat upon by servants, and by friends, and by enemies, and plotted against by his wife, and cast down into poverty, and into hunger, and into that incurable sickness, was more blessed than all. How? Because God blessed him, saying: "A man blameless, righteous, true, God-fearing, abstaining from every evil thing." (Job 1:1). "Lord, as with a shield of favor you have crowned us." Again he ended with thanksgiving, bringing back hymns of thanksgiving to God. And what is a "shield of favor"? An excellent shield, a shield according to the intent of God, a most beautiful shield. And that which he says is such: You have walled us round with most excellent protection. Another interpreter, saying, "You will crown him," teaches that this is said concerning the righteous man: that you shall crown him, the righteous one—that is, your good pleasure becomes as a shield, and a most excellent shield. Or that other: that you wall the righteous man with most excellent protection, and neither is his beauty deprived of security, nor is his security destitute of glory. For what is stronger than a man, and what is more beautiful than one being walled by the right hand from above? This crown is woven also from mercy, just as the same David says elsewhere: "Who crowns you in mercy and compassion" (Ps. 102:4). This is also from righteousness, just as Paul says: "Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness" (2 Tim. 4:8). There is also a crown of grace, as another says: "With a shield of graces you will protect him" (Prov. 4:10). There is also a crown of glory, just as Isaiah says, saying: "The crown of hope shall be, which is woven of glory" (Isa. 28:5). For the crown possesses all these: philanthropy, righteousness, grace, glory, comeliness. For it is the gift of God, bringing forth varied grace. There is also a crown of incorruption, just as Paul says: "They indeed that they might receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible one" (1 Cor. 9:25). Therefore, what he says here is this: You have clothed us with security and glory. For such are the gifts of God, strong and full of comeliness; such are the crowns. For among men this is not possible; but he who is in glory is not always secure, and he who is in security is not always in glory; nor would these things easily happen simultaneously. But if they should happen, they are quickly withdrawn. What do I mean? Those who are in power are indeed brilliant and conspicuous, yet not in security; but on account of this very thing they are particularly established in a slippery place, on account of the magnitude of the glory. Those cast aside and despised are indeed in security because of not being known, but are not in honor; but on account of this very thing they are particularly in dishonor, because of being in security. But in the case of God this is not so; but both run together with much abundance, both glory and security. Having therefore considered the magnitude of these good things, and above all how great a good it is to please God—which is both a shield and glory and security and the myriad of good things—let us run with endurance the contest set before us, and let us never fall back, nor appear stripped of our armor. For this form of this war does not endure to see an unarmed soldier; but then the preparation is dissolved, when the theater shall be dissolved; and the theater is dissolved when the soul is released from the body. So that as long as we are here, there is a necessity to box, and sitting at home, and entering the marketplace, and having our meals, and being sick, and being healthy. For indeed in the time of sickness is the time of this battle especially, when pains excite the soul from every side, when afflictions besiege, when the devil stands by, goading one to say some bitter word. It is then that we must especially be secured, to be fenced about with the breastplate, with the shield, with the helmet, with the other arms, and continuously to give thanks to God. These are grave missiles against the devil, this is a timely wound against the demon; then especially D
the crowns; for the blessed Job (for nothing prevents us from taking refuge in him again) rendered this particularly clear, honored it with the greatest praises, and crowned it, in that he appeared during the time of temptations, sickness, and poverty with an immovable spirit and an unshaken mind, offering to God words of thanksgiving and that spiritual sacrifice. For his words, which he said, were a sacrifice: "The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it pleased the Lord, so it has come to pass; blessed be the name of the Lord forever" (Job 1:21). This is what we also do always, in temptations, in calamities, in snares, glorifying and honoring God and blessing Him perpetually: for to Him is glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.
EXPOSITION ON PSALM VI
"O Lord, do not rebuke me in Thy fury, nor in Thine anger chasten me."
A 1. When you hear of "fury" and "anger" regarding God, do not suspect anything human; for these are words by which He lowers Himself to our capacity. For God is free from all these things. He speaks in this way so as to fall within the understanding of the simpler-minded. For we, too, when we speak with barbarians, use their language; and if we speak with a child, we lisp along with him, and however wise we may be, we descend to his humility. And what is the wonder if we do this in words, since this is done by us even in deeds, to the point that we even bite our hands and simulate anger in order to correct the child? In the same way, God also, wishing to affect the simpler-minded, used such words. For He did not study to speak according to His own dignity, but according to the utility of the hearers. B For showing elsewhere that He is not subject to anger, He said: "Do they provoke me to anger? Do they not provoke themselves?" (Jer. 7:19). But how would you have Him discourse with the Jews, when He neither grows angry nor bears hatred toward the wicked—for hatred is a perturbation of the soul—nor looks upon human things (for "seeing" is taken from the body), nor hears (for this, too, is from the flesh)? But from this, another evil doctrine would have been introduced, namely, that not all things are governed by God's providence; and while they refused to hear such things about God, many of those who were then alive would have completely ignored the fact that God is; and, He being ignored, all things would have perished. By that C doctrine being introduced, however, correction could quickly come about. For to whom it is persuaded that God is, even if he does not have the opinion of God that is proper, but suspects something of Him that is simpler, in a certain time he will be persuaded that nothing of the sort falls upon God. But he who is persuaded that there is no providence of His, nor that He takes any care of things, nor, if they exist, that He cares, what would it profit him if one were to discourse about the impassibility of God? For this very reason, having first discoursed with them, after He has persuaded them to believe that He is, He gradually cleanses them again, leading them to this doctrine, speaking of Him more D sublimely, and treating in his oration that He is removed from affection. For another prophet says: "He shall not hunger, nor labor" (Is. 40:28): and he who had said with him "I grow angry," the same, again showing that God is impassible, subjoins: "Do they provoke me to anger? Do they not provoke themselves?" (Jer. 7:19). And he who had said He is in the temple, again says: "I am not man in you, holy, and I shall not enter into the city" (Osee 11:9): this is to say, I am not contained by a place. But if He did not punish all, yet He surely left it to the more prudent to consider from what was said that because He is free from tyrannical affections, and those without which one cannot live, He is much more free from others. He says, therefore: "Will You be as a man sleeping?" (Jer. 14:9); and everywhere he treats and speaks of impassibility. Wherefore here also, when you hear of "fury," do not think it to be an affection. If men who occupy themselves with philosophy remain, as far as it is possible, alien to anger; much more that substance which is free from destruction and corruption, and which can neither be uttered nor comprehended. Do you not see even physicians, while they cut or cauterize, not doing so brought on by anger, but proposing to themselves to correct what is badly affected, not growing angry with the sick, but pitying them and freeing them from diseases? When, therefore, He says, "Do not rebuke me in Thy fury," he says this: Do not take penalty for my sins, nor avenge my transgressions.
3. "Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak." We all need this voice, even if we have done innumerable things rightly and out of virtue, and have arrived at the highest justice. Wherefore He Himself also afterward says again: "No living man shall be justified in Thy sight" (Ps. 142:2); and that: "If Thou shouldst observe iniquities, who shall sustain it?" (Ps. 129:3); and Paul: "I am conscious of nothing in myself, yet I am not justified by this" (1 Cor. 4:4); and another: "Who shall assert that he is clean from filth?" (Prov. 20:9). We all, therefore, need mercy; but we are not all worthy to attain mercy. For even if it is mercy, it yet requires one who is worthy, just as He Himself used to say to Moses: "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will show pity on whom I will show pity" (Exod. 33:19). Whoever, therefore, has done something worthy of mercy will say: "Have mercy on me"; but whoever has removed himself from His pardon will say "Have mercy" in vain. For if mercy were to come to all, no one would be afflicted with punishment. Although it itself also has some judgment, and requires him who is worthy and fit to enjoy it. — are punished. Many, therefore, have often committed the same sins, and yet have not given the same penalties, as those who had other causes which preceded them; and if you wish, let us now linger on this discourse. All the Jews sinned and were idolaters, but they did not all give the same penalties; but some indeed fell, others indeed attained pardon. For regarding sins, not only is the nature of what was done sought: but also the intent, and the time, and the cause, and after the sin, whether they indeed persisted, or whether they repented, and whether by chance, whether from fraud, and whether by design. And there are many things which are sought—the difference of time, and the state of the commonwealth. As for example: those who were under the Old sinned; those who are under the New Testament also sin;—
A but they do not pay the same penalties; indeed, these pay harsher ones. And Paul, indicating this, said: *He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant an unholy thing?* (Hebr. 10. 28. 29). And when he says, *of how much sorer punishment shall he be thought worthy*, he signifies an intensified punishment. They sinned who were before the law, and they who were in the law. Again, the former paid lighter penalties. And Paul, indicating this, said: *For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law* (Rom. 2. 12). The term "without law" implies not something harsher, but something milder. *And as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law* (Ibid.). Why so? Because the former have nature as their accuser, while the latter have the law along with nature; and by how much more teaching they enjoyed, by so much greater punishment they shall undergo.
Again, one may see the same thing happening from the status of the persons, and it is clear from the sacrifice. For a distinct sacrifice was offered for the entire sinful people as for the priest alone; the argument showing that by how much greater the dignity, by so much the harder is the punishment in the things wherein they sin. For this reason, she who had simply committed fornication was put to death; but the daughter of the priest was burned. It is also possible to see from another source when leniency and the intensification of punishment occurs; such as when someone having sinned pays the penalty here, while another enjoys luxury. For the one will undergo a greater punishment there, and the other a smaller one, if he does not pay for everything here. And Christ, indicating this, introduces Abraham saying to the rich man: *Thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented* (Luc. 16. 25). But this man [the rich man] had laid up his punishment in full, for the things in which he fared badly; others, however, not in full, but in part; wherefore they are punished more mildly.
One might also see a difference in punishment arising from intensified understanding and from simplicity B when He says: *That servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and did not commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes* (Id. 12. 47. 48). And one might find many other things that create a difference in punishment, and a difference of mercy and philanthropy.
But consider also the first-formed. Eve sinned, Adam also sinned, and the sin was one. For both ate from the tree, yet both did not pay the same penalty. Cain slaughtered, and Lamech slaughtered; and the one was shown mercy, the other was punished. One gathered wood on the Sabbath and met with no leniency; David committed murder and adultery and enjoyed philanthropy. Let us then dwell on this question; for it is much better to seek these things than to be fixed upon trifles and syllogisms in the marketplaces. For not only the finding of such things, but even the seeking is a great gain, even if we do not find them. For we shall be compelled to be occupied in these matters, and to spend all our time in them.
Why then (for it is necessary to return to the former argument), when all the Jews made the calf, were some punished and others not C punished? Because some repented and ignored their very nature, slaughtering their own kin out of piety; while the others remained [in their sin]. So that the sin was equal; but the things after this were not equal. And why was it that even in the case of Adam and Eve there was not the same punishment, if the sin itself was the same? Because it was not equal to be deceived by a woman, and [for the woman to be deceived] by the serpent. Wherefore Paul called that a deception, saying: *Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression* (1 Tim. 2. 14). And why did he who gathered the wood not obtain philanthropy? Because it was of great lawlessness to transgress the commandment straightway from the start, and it was necessary that great fear be put into the others. This also happened in the case of Sapphira and Ananias (Act. 5).
And so we, too, when we sin, let us consider if we are worthy of mercy, if we have done something so as to be pitied, if we have repented, if we have become better, if we have desisted. For indeed, that he who has repented should be saved is of mercy. Thus, at any rate, this man [the Psalmist] asks to be saved from here, from the tears, from the lamentations. *For I will wash*, he says, *my bed during every night; with my tears I will wet my couch.* That is, from the compunction. *My bones are troubled, and my soul is troubled D extremely.* He does not say these things straightway, but he flees to the slipperiness of human nature, saying: *Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak.* Thus he spoke, showing that this alone does not suffice; for if it sufficed, we would all be saved from this; for we are all human.
But to me, if I must say something more precisely about this, perhaps he does not seem to be saying even this. Rather, he is hinting at the weakness that arises from temptations, putting forward even this as no small justification for obtaining mercy and philanthropy. This, indeed, he also hinted at as he went on, saying: *I have grown old among all my enemies.* For he knows that affliction borne with thanksgiving provides a subject for great philanthropy, and renders God propitious. This, therefore, he seems to me to hint at also here, saying: *Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled, and my soul is troubled extremely.* He did not say, "Remit unto me," nor, "Pardon me," but "Heal." For he asks that the former wounds be obliterated. But he calls "trouble" here the entire force: by trouble, the blow, the scourging, the punishment. *Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled, and my soul is troubled extremely.*
Just as, therefore, in the case of physicians there are these three things, or rather four, or even five: the physician, the art, the patient, the disease, the power of the medicines, and a certain array and battle occurs; for if, along with the physician, and the art, and the medicines, the choice of the patient is also [present], they have prevailed over the disease; but if the patient ceases to array himself with them, he brings himself out toward the infirmity; or even if he arrays himself with that [infirmity] against the physician and the medicines and the art, he has removed himself; so too it happens in our case; or rather not so, but much more paradoxically. For in the case of physicians, the patient often stands with the disease, and with the art, and with the medicines, and it profited nothing, nature having grown weak, and the art having become at a loss, and the power having fled through some hindrance; but in the case of God, it is not—
so; but if you stand with the Physician, the ulcer must be healed. For it is not a human art, so as to lack effect, but a divine power, which overcomes nature, and diseases, and wickedness, and in short every vice. A And therefore, having approached God as a physician, he said: "Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled." Some, however, say that he here speaks of that disturbance which arises from sin. For just as when violent winds fall upon the sea, they disturb everything, and the sand which is in the deep is carried upward, and those who are sailing are involved in great danger; so also in us the soul is disturbed, the body is moved, everything is filled with tempest, and our boat is thereafter full of tumult and perturbation; thick are the shadows, and everything perishes having been left from its own place, and there is the greatest confusion. This is wont to happen most of all in lascivious desires, and also in anger, and in calamities. For all these things disturb both the bones and the soul; and the pupils of the eyes are inverted, and the eyes themselves no longer look aright; but as when a charioteer is disturbed, the horses are carried along insolently, so also when reason is troubled, everything is confounded, everything is inverted, and loses its proper path. But it is necessary to say how this disturbance occurs. For it does not happen as in the sea from the impact of the winds, but in the soul it comes from our own sloth. For as to whether a thing happens or does not happen, we ourselves are the cause. As, for example, when desire has arisen, if you do not kindle the flame, the furnace is not ignited, if you do not give nourishment to the matter. B But the furnace is not ignited unless you curiously investigate beautiful faces, unless you have been too solicitous about another's beauty, unless you have ascended the theaters of iniquity. For unless you make the flesh fat with delights, unless you overwhelm your reason with wine, the flame is not excited, the furnace is not ignited, the beast does not grow more ferocious, the purity of thought is not cut off as if by monstrous winds.
Are these things, then, he says, sufficient for avoiding the flame of sin? These things alone are not sufficient, but it is necessary that other things also be added: assiduous prayers, the companionship of the holy, moderate fasting, a spare diet, necessary exercises; and before all other things, the fear of God, the future judgment, the intolerable punishments, the promises of good things. By all these you can bridle desire agitated by frenzy, and calm the sea moved by the waves. But you, O Lord, how long? 5. "Turn, O Lord, deliver my soul, save me for your mercy's sake." He constantly poses that "O Lord," as if bringing forward a kind of reason for grace and forgiveness; for this is our greatest hope: His ineffable clemency and kindness, and that He is by His very nature prone to forgive. However, that "How long" is not that of one bearing it grievously and annoyedly, but of one suffering and mourning, and not bearing the weight of temptations.
4. C "Turn, O Lord, deliver my soul." He sets down two things here—both to be Himself turned, and to deliver my soul. For it is striven for with the greatest effort by the righteous that He himself should be reconciled, be kind and propitious, and not turned away. For another thing follows upon this: namely, that the soul be saved; not as many men, and especially the more crass ones, who seek only one thing: that they might enjoy present prosperity. But not so they; but that they might attain the salvation of the soul, than which nothing is more ancient to them. 6. "For there is no one in death who is mindful of you; and in the infernal regions who shall confess to you?" See how many causes of salvation he brings forth. "For I am infirm," he says, "for my bones are troubled," for "I seek these things from the Lord," "For there is no one in death who is mindful of you." Not saying this—that our affairs are circumscribed by the bounds of the present life, far from it; for he knows the resurrection; but after we have departed from here, there is not given a place for repentance. For the rich man was confessing and was being led by repentance, but it profited him nothing, because the time had passed (Luke 16). The virgins also wanted to receive oil, but no one gave it to them (Matt. 25). He asks this here, therefore, as well: that he might wash away sins here, that he might be able to stand trustfully before the terrible tribunal. Then, teaching the listener that with the clemency of God it is necessary also for our own deeds to follow—(for even if we pretend weakness, if disturbance, if the goodness of God, if this very thing which he was saying, yet if our own deeds do not accompany these, it profits us nothing)—see what he subjoins. 7. "I have labored in my groaning; I will wash my bed through every night; with my tears I will bedew my couch."
He encourages to repentance. Let them hear who are humble and abject, what kind of repentance a king and one clothed in purple would show; let us hear, let us be pricked in heart. He did not labor only, but he labored groaning; he did not only weep, but he even washed his bed with tears, not for one or two or three days, but even each night; and he does not only speak of the past, but also of the future. For do not think that, having done these things once, he thereafter surrendered himself to rest and used relaxation; but he did this assiduously through his whole life, not like us, who, doing it for the most part for one day—nay, not even for one—surrender ourselves to laughter and pleasure and leisure. But not he; but he lived perpetually in tears. Let us also imitate this confession. For if we are unwilling to weep here, it will be altogether necessary to weep and wail there; there, indeed, uselessly; here, however, with profit; there with ignominy and disgrace; here most decorously and honorably. For why it is necessary that this be done, hear what Christ says: "There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 8:12). But not so those who weep here; but they shall attain great consolation. For "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall receive consolation" (Matt. 5:5). "Woe to you who are rich, D for you receive your consolation" (Luke 6:24). Let them hear who have the beds of...
of the king was: nothing inlaid with gems, nothing overlaid with gold, but washed with tears. For him, the nights were not for rest, but nights of weeping and lamentation. Because many cares distracted him during the day, the time which everyone considers a time for relaxation, he made a time for confession, weeping all the more fervently then. For it is good to weep always, but especially at the time of the night, when no one prevents this marvelous pleasure, but it is available for whoever wishes it, with full freedom. Those who have had experience know what I am saying, how much joy these fountains of tears possess. These tears can extinguish the unquenchable fire, that river which is dragged before the tribunal. For this reason, Paul also wept for three years, night and day, correcting the B sufferings of others; but we—not even our own, but giving ourselves over to laughter and luxury—bury the night in deep sleep and debauchery. And some are fixed in a sleep like death; others keep a watch more grievous than death, pondering over interest, loans, and the plots of others at that time. But the sober do not; rather, they cultivate their own souls, using these tears as rain, and increasing the seeds of virtue. A bed in which such tears are received is inaccessible to every vice and sensuality. He who sheds such tears considers things on earth as nothing, but delivers his soul from every siege, and renders his mind brighter than the sun. And do not think that I am saying these things only to monks; for the exhortation is also for those in the world, and even more to these than to them; for these are they who most need the remedies of repentance. He who laments in such a way will arise having his soul in a better state, a tranquil harbor, casting out all passions; full of much joy, such a one will come in boldness to the house of God, and will converse with his neighbor with pleasure; for wrath does not lie within, desire does not burn, no love of money, no envy, nothing else of such things. For all these things, like wild beasts dwelling within, that groaning and those tears made to retreat. "My eye is troubled by anger." Do you see a soul that is contrite? Having spoken of repentance, he again speaks of the passions, the disturbance that is in the mind, the fear that is produced from the anger of God. C 5. By "eye" here, he means that of the soul, that discerning and rational faculty which the thought of one’s own sins is accustomed to disturb. Because he kept his transgressions before his eyes at all times, and pondered the anger of God, being in a state of nature, not living insensibly like the many, but anxious and trembling. Such disturbance is the mother of tranquility; such fear is the foundation of confidence. He who is thus disturbed casts out every storm: he who does not have his soul thus, will endure a grievous tossing. And as a ship without ballast, surrendered to the violence of wild winds, is quickly submerged, so too a soul living insensibly is subject to countless passions. Wherefore the blessed Paul, indicating this condition, said: "Who, having become past feeling, have given themselves over to licentiousness for the practice of all uncleanness in greediness" (Eph. 4:19). And as a pilot, as long as he is troubled by cares for those sailing, keeps everyone in calm, but if, having been freed from this, he sleeps, he brings about a great disturbance; so too is man: he who is anxious, trembling, and disturbed, keeps his own mind in peace; but he who gives himself over to the sleep of sloth makes his vessel go under. "I have grown old among all my enemies." What is, "I have grown old"? I have become weak, he says, by my enemies. For our life is one of struggle, and our life is filled with countless enemies, who also become stronger when we fall into sins. Therefore it is necessary to do everything to evade their grasps, and never to be reconciled to them: for this is for us the foundation of D the greatest security. Paul, signifying the phalanx of these enemies, said: "We do not have a struggle against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against powers, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age" (Eph. 6:12). Since, therefore, the phalanx of the enemy is such, it is necessary to be armed always and continuously, and to flee the assaults of sins. For nothing is so accustomed to making one grow old as the nature of sin. Wherefore Paul, commanding us to rub away the aging that comes from this, said: "Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2). When, therefore, you are made old by sin, renew yourself by repentance. "Depart from me, all you who work iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord has received my prayer." This, too, is no small path leading to virtue—to flee the wicked. This Christ, with such excess, also requires of us, so that he commands us to cut off even friends who are in the order of our most necessary members, when they scandalize us, and their association brings us some harm. For if, he says, your eye scandalizes you, pluck it out; and if your hand scandalizes you, cut it off, and cast it from you (Matt. 5:29, 30); not speaking of members, far from it; but of genuine friends, whose friendships must be dishonored, when there is neither profit for them nor for us, but harm. Having achieved this virtue, he did not only not seek such associations, but also exhorted them to depart from himself. 6. This is the fruit of repentance, this the gain of tears. For the mind thus contrite is caught by no attachment thereafter. Let us, too, do this; even if someone is wearing a diadem, but harms us, let us dishonor his friendship. For nothing is more contemptible than a man, even if he is ruling, when he lives in vice; just as nothing is more kingly than one in fetters, when he possesses virtue.
EXPOSITION ON PSALM VII
A ...the Lord heard the voice of my weeping. He did not say, "He heard my voice," simply, but "the voice of my weeping." You see how he brings it forth lavishly and copiously—both the voice and the weeping; calling "voice" here not the intensity of the cry, but the affection of the mind, and "weeping," not only that which flows from the eyes, but also that which flows from the soul. For he who introduces repentance and is heard by God, can easily attain also this good: to remove the company of the wicked. B 11. Let all my enemies be ashamed and troubled; let them be turned back, and very speedily ashamed. This prayer has the greatest utility—shame, I say, and retreat. For those who are running badly, if they be ashamed and retreat, will desist from wickedness. Just as if we see a man walking towards a precipice and steep places, we will restrain him from going further, saying, "Man, where are you being carried? A precipice will meet you right ahead"—so also here, he wishes the wicked to retreat. Just as a horse that is running madly, if one does not quickly rein it in, will quickly be destroyed. So also physicians, when a serpent's venom is creeping and spreading into the whole body, they stay it with great speed, lest it progresses further, cutting off its malignity. So let us also do, and let us repress the vice that is in us with the greatest speed, lest by proceeding further it increases the disease. For neglected wounds of sins often become greater, and the disease and infirmity do not halt even at the wounds, but often beget even an immortal death; just as if we had taken away small things from the beginning, great things would not follow. Consider. He who has exercised himself not to do injury, will not know how to fight; he who does not know how to fight, will also conduct himself rightly in friendship; he who conducts himself rightly in friendship, will not have an enemy; and he who has no enemy, but possesses love, will possess every virtue. Let us not neglect the former, therefore, lest evils grow into something greater. Judas, had he restrained the love of money, would not have come to sacrilege; had he compressed that, he would not have leapt forth to the pinnacle of evils, as they say. C And therefore Christ also suppresses not only fornication and adultery, but even the shameless gaze, pulling up the root from below, so that the vice may more easily be overcome. He used to do this also for the Jews, more crudely indeed, and as it were through enigmas; for He was speaking with those who were more carnal, yet He did it. How? He did not permit that there should be any connection between different kinds in beasts, He did not allow them to eat the blood of brutes, He did not permit to keep pledges after the evening, suppressing great evils through these—through the first indeed the coitus of males, through the second, murders, and through the third, cruelty and inhumanity. But now all things are done everywhere and quite impudently, and therefore all things are being turned upside down and carried off. When, therefore, you receive a small agitation of the mind, do not neglect it because it is small, but consider that which is nourished by it, that it begets the greatest evils. For after we see a little tow kindled in a house, we are troubled and move a tumult; for we do not attend to the beginning, but considering the end from the beginning, we are moved and we rush to extinguish the whole kiln. D Vice consumes the soul more vehemently than this fire. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent it. For if we are negligent, the correction will turn out more difficult. one might see this happen even on a ship, that the sailors are troubled, not when the sea is already overcoming them, but when they see that it is about to do so. Let us not, therefore, be slothful in small sins, but let us repress them with great vehemence, that we may be delivered from greater ones, and attain future goods, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, honor, and dominion, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
ON THE SEVENTH PSALM
A A Psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Chusi, the son of Jemini.
2 O Lord my God, in thee I have hoped; save me from all those that persecute me, and deliver me.
a. It would have been desirable to have such an accurate knowledge of the Scriptures that we would not need a longer discourse for their instruction; but because some are occupied with worldly matters, and others are giving themselves over to sloth, they have not heard these things, and it is necessary to use a somewhat longer discourse, explaining the argument of the Psalm. But attend diligently. What, then, is the argument? A Psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord. Another: A Psalm for the ignorance of David. Another: The ignorance of David; and for Chusi, the Ethiopian, he says. But even so, the things said are obscure, because you are ignorant of the history. But since it is not right only to rebuke, but to teach, it is worth the effort to approach the narrative. Who, then, is this Chusi, the son of Jemini, and what are the words, for which David sang this song to God? From here on, it must be spoken, drawing the discourse from the beginning.
Absalom was the son of David, a youth incontinent and depraved; and having ejected his father from the kingdom, and from the house, and from the fatherland, he was holding all things in his stead, and he regarded or revered nothing—neither nature, nor upbringing, nor age, nor things that had come before; but he was, to say it once, cruel, immitigable, and a beast rather than a man, so that having broken through all these barriers, he insulted the very laws of nature, and filled all things with mobs and tumult; for then all things were being overturned—decrees of nature, reverence for men, piety and religion toward God, humanity and mercy, the recompense of food, and reverence for old age. For even if he did not wish to revere his father as one who had grown old; but even if he neglected his gray hair, as...
a benefactor, he ought to have felt shame. But if not even thus, then as one who had done him no injury. Yet the desire for rule cast out all this sense of shame and made the man a beast. And this blessed man, who had both begotten and raised him, was wandering in the desert as a vagabond and a fugitive, like an exile in a foreign land, pressed by the evils that follow such a state; while that other was luxuriating in his father’s goods.
Things being in this state, with the armies arrayed against him and the cities subject to the tyrant, a certain upright man named Chusi, who was a friend of David, remained, holding to his friendship A even in this shift of times. And when he saw him suddenly wandering in the desert, he tore his tunic, cast ash upon himself, and lamented bitterly and miserably; and since he could do nothing else, he brought the consolation of his tears. He was not a friend of the times, nor of power, but of virtue; for this reason, when the leadership had shifted, he did not shift his friendship. When David saw him acting in this way, he said to him: "Such things are the mark of a friend, and one sincerely disposed toward us; but this will profit us nothing. Rather, we must take counsel and consider how the evils that have overtaken us may be resolved, and how we might find a way out of our calamities." Having said this, he suggests to him the following plan: "Go to my son, and assuming the mask of a friend, scatter his designs for me, and make the counsel of Achitophel void." This Achitophel was in power under the tyrant at that time, being clever in military affairs, and clever at maneuvering in war and battle; for which reason David feared him even more than the tyrant; B so clever was the man in his judgments. Having heard this, he was persuaded, and he reckoned nothing small-minded, nor unmanly, nor did he say: "But what if I am caught? But what if my mask is revealed to me? But what if the drama of this hypocrisy is detected? Achitophel is clever; perhaps he will expose this and make it manifest, and I shall perish in vain and for nothing." Having pondered none of these things, he leaped into the camp of the tyrant, having cast everything upon God, and threw himself into the midst of the dangers.
I have said these things not only so that we might praise, but so that we might learn of the painful trials David suffered, and how many other gains it is possible to harvest from history, and let us bring these into the midst. For behold, that which is constantly sought by many—why the just are afflicted, while the wicked are at ease—this can be found here. For the just man was in calamities, while the profane man, the parricide—the enemy and foe of nature itself—was in prosperity and royal courts. But neither did the one profit from this, nor was this holy man harmed; rather, the one became liable to greater afflictions, while the other shone more brilliantly, just like gold in a furnace, becoming purer through the affliction.
2. Learn first from this, not to be troubled in such adversities when you see them happening to the just; C another thing second: not to shift with the times, but to know the laws of friendship; third: to dare to approach even dangers for the sake of virtue; fourth: to be hopeful even in desperate situations, waiting for the alliance of God. For that Chusi, even then, did not look at the camp, nor the fear of the tyrant, nor the multitude of horses, nor the phalanxes of the armored men, nor the fact that cities were already captured, nor the desertion of David, nor his isolation and weakness; but looking to one thing only—the unconquerable alliance of God and His goodwill—he thus judged both sides, and found the one to be brittle, and the other strong. He who was acting unjustly, and he who kept himself with the just one. Whoever, therefore, is not where there is a multitude of men, but where there is an alliance of virtue, he has thus drawn God to himself. D I say these things so that we too, even if those who have justice on their side are weak, may cherish theirs; and even if the unjust are strong, may we flee their alliance. For wickedness, even if it has the whole world with it, is weaker than all; while virtue, even if it happens to be isolated, is more powerful than all; for it has God standing with it. Who then can save him who is warred upon by God? Or who can destroy him who is being aided by Him?
All these things Chusi was pondering, and having become hopeful, he went off to where he was being sent; and as he stood there, seeing the tyrant driving in, he approached. He, seeing him suddenly, and drunk on the love of power, did not examine him closely, but mocking and reproaching him said: "Go with your companion," not even deigning to speak his name, out of much hatred and loathing. To which Chusi, not in the least disturbed or thrown into confusion, says: "When God was with him, I was of his mind; but since He is now with you, it is the logical consequence to attend to yours." This lifted the tyrant up, and puffed him up, and having examined nothing closely (for a light-minded man believes every word; which is what happened to him), and having been turned headlong by his opposites, he immediately leads him into his genuine circle and enrolls him among his first friends. But God was managing the whole thing, being present and acting as general over the events that were taking place. And subsequently, a council being proposed concerning the war, and some suggesting one thing and others another concerning whether it was necessary to attack immediately or to delay a little, Achitophel—that man who was clever at giving counsel—came forward, and having brought his own judgment, he suggests this counsel, saying: "Let us attack your father, who is now wretched and in turmoil. For by not allowing him to stand even for a little, thus we would take him; for if we attack him now while he is unprepared, there will be no toil for us." Having heard this, the tyrant calls also for Chusi, who had defected to him in hypocrisy, and shares with him the word of counsel; which was not in accordance with human logic, for one who had come suddenly to honor him in such a way, and to deem him trustworthy enough to be worthy of counsel for such matters; but, as I had said earlier, whenever God acts as general, even difficult things become easy. And Chusi is brought in, and he gives him boldness of speech, and deems him worthy to say what occurs to him. What then did Chusi...
A say? "Achitophel," he says, "has erred." Do you see his prudence? He does not immediately reject his opinion, but instead praises it. By praising him for having given timely counsel in the past, he thus blames his present opinion. And what he says is to this effect: "I am amazed at how he has now erred; for his reasoning does not seem useful to me. For if we attack him now, your father, being like a bear provoked by rabies, full of fury, and in despair of his life, and fighting with the utmost distress, will take no thought for his own safety, and will rush upon us with great vehemence. But if we wait a little, we will overtake him with greater preparation and greater security, and, with all ease, we will catch him as if we had taken him in a net, and then we will rest." He praises the opinion of B Absalom, and says that it is more advantageous for him. Chusi said these things, wishing to give David time to rest a little and to breathe, so that he could gather an army. Having thus cast out the opinion of Achitophel, through some hidden men he sent word to report everything to David, and that the tyrant had confirmed the opinion which brought victory to David. And so it happened. For because he had given way a little, David, having prepared himself, attacked, and set up his trophy. And this, because of his great wisdom and cleverness, Achitophel foresaw; and thus, having already perceived the end, that this opinion would bring destruction to Absalom, not bearing the insult, he went away, tied a noose, and hanged himself, and thus ended his life.
3. Having learned all these things, David writes the Psalm, offering hymns of thanksgiving to God, and attributing the whole strategy to Him. Therefore, beginning, he says thus: C "O Lord my God, in thee I have trusted, save me." Not in Chusi, nor in human wisdom, nor in the wisdom of the former, nor in my own opinion, but "In thee." This, then, let us also do; and if any feat is accomplished by us through men, let us thank God, for the benefits that have come to us both through us and through others. For if we do so, nothing will be burdensome or difficult. This is what David also did, practically saying: "I had not the hope of salvation in the words of Chusi, but in Thy help." And see with what disposition he speaks—as he is accustomed to do. For he did not say, "Lord God," but, "Lord my God." And elsewhere: "O God, my God, for thee I watch at dawn." For he had a special relation with Him, even more than with all others, because of his exceeding love. Thus, God also does this toward the just, and being the God of all, he says that He is separately the God of the just. "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." See also his wisdom. Having said, "O Lord my God, in thee I have trusted," he did not say, "Punish the enemy, take the foe from the midst," but he seeks only what is his own, and says, "Save me," that is, do not permit me to suffer evil, from all those persecuting me, and free me. See how, even when suffering bad things, he remembers the parricide D by name, recognizing nature in the calamity, and, in the war, looking upon his son, and in dangers not forgetting his bowels. So great was his piety and charity toward his children, or rather, so great was his philosophy. For it was not the tyranny of nature, but the gentleness of his mind that made him such, and he accounted it more a matter of the army than the tyrant. And therefore he says: "Save me from all those persecuting me, and free me." See how he does not mention them with much envy? For he did not say, "From those who are waging war against me, from those who are plundering my things, from those who are insulting my kingship with supreme lust and are sated with all pleasures," but, "From those persecuting me."
4. "Lest at any time he snatch like a lion my soul, while there is no one to redeem, nor one to save." He had gathered an army, and had many with him; how then does he say, "While there is no one to redeem, nor one to save"? Because he does not consider even the whole universe as a source of help, unless he has attained divine aid, nor does he consider himself to be in solitude, even if he is alone, if he is a partaker of that help. And therefore he said, "The king is not saved by much power, and a giant shall not be saved in the multitude of his strength." Some, however, interpreting this saying anagogically, say that the lion and those persecuting him are the devil and the demons. For because he saw his son snatched and devoured by him, he prays that this might not also happen to him, and he even mentions the cause for which this happens to him. And what is the cause? Because of wickedness, he says, he turned away the help of God from himself. Therefore he says, "While there is no one to redeem, nor one to save." But that the devil is called a lion by the Scripture, hear it saying: "Your enemy the devil goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." And this same prophet elsewhere says: "And you shall trample upon the lion and the dragon." For the beast is manifold. But if we are wise, this lion and dragon will be more worthless than any mud, and he will not draw up a battle line against us openly; but if he should have drawn it up, he will be trampled upon. For "Walk," He says, "over serpents and scorpions." For he goes about burning with anger like a lion; but if he attacks those who have Christ, and the cross on their forehead, and the fire of the Spirit, and a lamp that is never extinguished, he will not even be able to lift his eyes against them, but will go away with his back turned, not daring even to look back. And that you might not think the things that have been said are empty and vain, consider Paul for me. For he too was a man, but this lion so feared him, that he would flee from his garments and his shadows. Deservedly; for he could not bear the fragrance of Christ breathing and rising from him, and he could not look upon the lamp of virtue. "O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands." This must be observed perpetually, that we not only pray, but so pray that we may also be heard. For prayer is not sufficient to accomplish that which is proposed, unless we have composed it in such a way that it is acceptable to God. For the Pharisee also prayed, and it did not help him; and the Jews again prayed, but while they were praying, God was turning away: so that we must pray in a way that is capable of being heard. This...
also he indicated in the preceding prayer, not simply asking to be heard, but with the addition of offering his own deeds. And what were these? "If I washed my couch every night, I will bedew my bed with my tears"; that "I labored in my groaning"; that "Depart from me, all you who work iniquity"; that "My eye is troubled by fury." A For all these are sufficient to draw God—lamentations, tears, groanings, and the distancing oneself from evil things, and the fearing and trembling at His judgment. And elsewhere he said, "God has heard the righteousness of my hands; in tribulation you have widened for me." For to be heard comes about in this way: first, from being worthy to receive; then, from praying according to the laws of God; third, from doing so constantly; fourth, from asking for nothing worldly; fifth, from seeking what is beneficial; sixth, from offering everything from one's own self. See, then, many who were heard in this way: Cornelius by his life; the Syrophoenician woman by her importunity; Solomon by the manner of his petition—for he says, "Because you did not ask for money, nor for the souls of your enemies"; the publican by his humility; others by other means. Just as, therefore, from these things being heard comes about, so from other things it comes about that one is not heard, even if those who ask are righteous. For what has been more righteous than Paul? But because he asked for things that were not beneficial, he was not heard. "On account of this," he says, "I thrice besought the Lord, and He said to me: My grace is sufficient for you." And again, what is more righteous than Moses? But neither was he heard, with God saying: "Let it be sufficient for you." Because he was asking to enter into the land of promise, and this was not beneficial, God did not permit it. Along with these, there is another thing that causes one not to be heard, when we pray while persisting in sins. This is what God said to Jeremiah concerning the Jews: "Do not pray for this people. Or do you not see what they are doing? They have not departed from impiety," He says, "and you are bringing up a petition on their behalf? But I will not hear you." Again, when we ask against enemies, not only are we not heard, B but we even provoke Him. For prayer is a medicine; but if we do not know how to apply the medicine, we do not reap its benefit. Let us see, therefore, what this man also says as he prays: "O Lord my God, if I have done this." What is it, "If I have done this"? What I am suffering, he says, if I have risen up against a father, if I have acted lawlessly in such a way. But not even here does he endure naming the man who acted unjustly, but he is ashamed on behalf of the child and blushes. As if some noble man, seeing his own wife committing adultery, would not even endure to bring the sin by name into the midst; so also this man: he did not say, "If I have risen up against the one who begat me, if I became a patricide," but "If I have done this." And why do I say this? he says. C For what virtue is it not to be a patricide, which one might not even see among the wild beasts? "If there is injustice in my hands." I do not speak about this injustice; but not even another, he says, would be found to be injustice in my hands. These things he says, not boasting, but having fallen into the necessity of stating his own accomplishments. But not even so is this a great thing, if it is compared with what is to be spoken of. And what is this? "If I have repaid those who repay me with evils," he says. Attend with accuracy. For it is no common thing that is said. For it is good not to do injustice; but it is much greater, and of a philosophical soul, not to take vengeance upon the one who does injustice. And yet the law provided for this, ordering an eye for an eye, and to knock out a tooth for a tooth, and what was happening was not a transgression of the law; but he was not a philosopher since he not only did not transgress the law, but even [it was a sign of] great excess to go beyond it, and to jump over the hurdles. For he did not think it sufficient for virtue if he did not also overshoot the commandments. Just as Paul also did, when ordered to live from the Gospel, and not living [from it], but offering the Gospel free of charge; thus, therefore, the blessed David, with the law allowing [one] to take vengeance on the one who does injustice, did not remain within this measure, but even overshot it. But we are required not only this, not to repay, but also to show kindness. "For pray," He says, "for those who treat you spitefully, do good to those who hate you." And in the case of David, it is not a small thing not to take vengeance, but even much greater than the legal commandment. Therefore he says, "If I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands; if I have repaid those who repay me with evils." For in the case of the child, nature itself was forbidding; but if I have done injustice to others, he says, or even taken vengeance. What pardon, then, could we have, or what defense, after the coming of Christ, not reaching the measures of those living under the Old Testament, and that too when required [to possess] a great abundance? For if, he says, your righteousness does not abound more than that of the Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven. For just as the one who fulfills the same things in the law is not equal to the one of before the law; thus neither is the one in grace [equal] to the one in the law, but even from the time there is a great difference. Showing this, Paul, both in vice and in virtue, see those also, how he admires these even more greatly, and declares those to be worthy of greater punishment, while saying thus: "For when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things of the law, these, not having the law, are a law to themselves." D v. Have you seen how he praises and proclaims those who accomplish things without the law? See again also those who sin in grace, how they are worthy of greater punishment.
A For if anyone setting aside the law of Moses dies without mercy under two or three witnesses, of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who has trodden under foot the Son of God and has counted the blood of the covenant an unholy thing? (Heb. 10:28-29) And again, showing those who were before the law to be worthy of less punishment than those who transgressed in the law: "As many," he says, "as have sinned without law shall also perish without law" (Rom. 2:12)—that is, more mildly, as those who do not have the law as an accuser, but nature only; "But as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law"—that is, having a heavier accuser, the law along with nature. "Let me therefore fall empty from mine enemies." B
6. "Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it, and let him tread down my life upon the earth, and bring my glory to the dust" (Ps. 7:5). Have you seen the confidence of a just man and his excellent conscience? For if he had not confided in himself exceedingly, he would not have prayed for such things.
The Meekness of David
What he says is of this kind: "If I have done wrong, if I have avenged myself, let these things happen to me." He passes sentence upon himself and does not ask to be judged according to the measure of the matter, but rather to suffer punishment beyond his desert, and renders himself liable to that punishment from which the law itself prohibits him. But see what it is: "Let me," he says, "fall empty from mine enemies." "Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it, and let him tread down my life upon the earth, and bring my glory to the dust." This is: "Let him destroy me—inglorious, stripped of good fame and reputation—and together with my life let him destroy my glory." What is "and bring my glory to the dust"? Let him humble it, let him trample it down. "Let me," he says, "be made easy to be conquered by my enemies." What could be more wicked than Absalom, who pursued his father—and such a father, so meek and gentle—while being unchaste, petulant, and insolent? What then? Did he return evil to those who returned evil to him? Did he call injustices back to memory? By no means. And if you examine the history of Saul, then you will see this voice most clearly and brilliantly. For when he had in his hands—once, twice, thrice, and often—him who, after innumerable benefits, and trophies, and victories, was doing him injury, plotting against him, and daily desiring to remove him from the midst, while he was sleeping—as if shut up in a prison and destitute of guards—and many were bidding him to kill him and remove him from the midst, he spared him, and conquered his anger, C and this while knowing that if he let him go, he would be letting go an enemy and an irreconcilable foe. But yet, neither the memory of the past, nor the fear of the future, nor any other thing of the kind urged him to commit that slaughter; but he used wisdom, he restrained his hand and curbed his anger, and preferred to run the risk, to be attacked by plots, to fall from his fatherland and liberty, rather than to kill and remove from the midst an enemy who for no cause was plotting against him, who after innumerable benefits was contriving his death. From many other things also can his philosophical mind be known; and for this reason he prays for many things for himself, and those heavy and difficult, so that he may return with the work unaccomplished, that his enemies might be altogether victors, that he might die inglorious, that he might suffer from his enemies that which seems much more grievous than death; therefore he struggles to do everything so that after death his memory might survive. See, therefore, how many things he prays for himself: that he might labor in vain, that he might be conquered by his enemies, that he might die, and not even by a common death, that even his memory might be deleted, that he might die with ignominy; he would not have prayed so many and such things for himself unless he trusted vehemently in his conscience. But if he had an enemy, no fault can be imputed to him; for he did not provide the occasion himself. For what occasion did he give to his son? What to Saul? He did not return and restore that one, when he had done things worthy of death, after temporarily chastising him; but this one, who was machining death for him, he preserved when he often fell into his hands. Do not, therefore, look at whether he had enemies, but whether he made them for himself. For Christ did not command us not to have enemies, but not to hate. For this is within our power, but that is by no means so. But that we are hated without cause is not in our power, but in those who hate. For the wicked are accustomed to hate the good for no cause at all. For they also hated Christ without cause, just as He says: "They hated me without a cause" (John 15:25). And the apostles had as enemies the false apostles, and the prophets the false prophets. For this is not to be watched, that we do not have enemies, but that we do not have them justly, and without cause; and though we be hated a thousand times, let us not hate, nor be averse; for in this do enmities consist: in our hating and being averse. When, therefore, I am hated and I do not hate, he considers me an enemy, but I do not consider him one. When I pray well for him, when I wish to benefit him, how am I an enemy to him? Therefore Paul was saying: "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men" (Rom. 12:18). D Let us, therefore, bring forward our own, and we shall receive sufficient praise from this same thing. And what are our own? As for example: this person hates you and attacks? You love, and treat him with benefit. He attacks you with insults and curses? You bless and praise. But not even then does he dissolve the enmities? He brings you a greater reward. For the wicked, the more they are treated by us and do not want to be reconciled, the more splendid remuneration they procure for us, and render themselves weaker. For he who hates and is not reconciled, wastes away, pines, and lives in perpetual war; but he who is superior to these darts stands far removed from great storms, and benefits himself before that person most of all, while he strives to be reconciled to him and not to wage war with him, freeing himself from war and fight. Let us therefore flee from waging war with others, and let us remove from the midst the root of such things: vain glory and avarice. For either on account of money is one an enemy, or on account of vain glory. That
A if we are superior to these, we shall be superior to being caught by enmity. If, then, one insults you, bear it nobly; for he has insulted himself, not you. If he strikes you, do not extend your hand in counter-attack; for he is the one who is struck, smiting you with his hand, but himself with his anger, and receiving an evil reputation from everyone. If these things seem difficult to you, reflect: if some madman were to tear your garment, whom would you say is suffering injury, you who endure it, or he who does it? Clearly, it is he. Therefore, where the garment is torn, the one who does it has suffered worse than the one who endures it; but where the heart is torn—for anger does this—will you not hold that he has suffered more terrible things than you, who endure nothing at all? Do not even say this: that it is your garment, but rather that he first tore his own heart. For just as jaundice would not occur if the bile were not ruptured and exceeded its own limits, so an immeasurable anger would not occur if the heart were not ruptured. Just as, therefore, if you see someone possessed by B jaundice, even if he does ten thousand terrible things, you would not wish to draw the disease upon yourself; so too in the case of anger. Do not covet, nor imitate the malice, but pity also that man who does not curb the beast within him, but first harms and corrupts himself. For that such people harm themselves, it is possible for one to hear from many who dissolve such fights, admonishing them with this: Spare yourself; you are wronging yourself. For such is malice: it harms only the one who produces it, turning everything upside down. Do not, therefore, wishing to take vengeance on others, ourselves fall out of the harbor. For if someone about to be shipwrecked and to sink were to insult you sitting on the land, you would not be pained, nor, departing from the land, would you share in the shipwreck with him. Reflect, therefore, on this: that the one insulting you and acting recklessly, as if sinking by some vertigo or storm, becomes engulfed, having fallen into the shipwreck of anger; but you who bear it nobly, feast in the harbor and by the shore. But if you are carried along to the same zeal as him, you have shipwrecked not him, but yourself. C Arise, O Lord, in your anger, be exalted in the boundaries of your enemies. He said this thus, showing that it is possible to arise, and not in anger; as when he says, "Arise, O Lord, save me, my God" (Ps. 3. 7). But hearing "Arise," do not suspect anything physical. For, just as "sitting" in relation to God is not spoken physically, so neither is this. "For you," he says, "sit forever." What, then, is the meaning of what is hinted at through the session? The stability, the fixedness, the certainty of his nature, the permanence, which he also revealed through the contrast. For having said, "You sit forever," he added, "But you shall perish forever." As, therefore, the sitting is not physical, so neither is the arising; but in the former case, it means stability, while here, it means the power of punishing and consuming. But there is a place where "sitting" signifies also judicial authority; as when he says: "You have sat upon the throne, you who judge righteousness" (Ps. 9. 4); and Daniel: "Thrones were set, and the judgment sat" (Dan. 7. 9). It also indicates royal authority; as when it says: "Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the rod of uprightness is the rod of your kingdom" (Ps. 44. 7). Whence also, "Sit at my right hand," indicates equality of honor. What then is, "In your anger"? This also must be understood in a way worthy of God. For the anger of God is not a passion, but punishment and chastisement. D Be exalted in the boundaries of your enemies. Another says, "In wrath against your enemies." Another, "In indignation of those who afflict me." Another, "In unavoidable bondage." The Hebrew, for "In the boundaries," says *Bebaroth*. See again how here he does not take vengeance for himself, but speaks these things for the sake of God's glory. For he did not say simply, "Punish my enemies," or "your enemies"; but, "Be exalted." And how is the exalted one exalted, he who is always the Most High? For his height of nature neither diminishes, nor receives anything; for he is perfect and needs nothing, and is always existing in the same way. How, then, and in what manner is he exalted? He is exalted in the intellects of many. For instance, he was long-suffering many times; but the enemies did not consider it to be of long-suffering, but of lowering and weakness. So he is also lowered, but not in the reality, but in the intellect of those men. 7. For just as the sun appears dim to those weak in eyesight, so too God is considered weak and lowly in their minds. But just as the sun is so thought of, yet is not dim, but the defect is of their weakness; so too God, even if he is suspected of this, is not weak, but the failure is of their foolishness. What then does the righteous man say? Be exalted even among our enemies, come forth and show your strength, so that those who think you to be lowly from the things they suffer may see your glory. You see his purpose, not seeking his own, but that of God. And the "In the boundaries"—some say, "In the heads," others, "Let no one of the enemies escape." Great is the virtue of the righteous man when he has the same enemies as God and the same friends; just as it is great malice when someone has the friends of God as enemies, and his enemies as friends. Just as, therefore, God is said to have enemies, not hating or turning away from them, but loathing their evil deeds; so too the righteous man has enemies, not taking vengeance on them, but turning away from the wickedness. And Arise, O Lord my God, in the ordinance which you have commanded. Another says, "In judgment." And a congregation of peoples shall surround you. Another says, "Let them surround you." And for this, return on high, O Lord. Another says, "And above it return on high." Another, "And upon it return on high." The Hebrew, for "Above it," says *Ouela*. What is, "In the ordinance which you have commanded"? That you might help those who are wronged, and not, he says, overlook those being plotted against. What you have legislated for us, this also do you yourself perform for us through your deeds. Some also [original-script column: see facsimile]
say that he has promised that he will be an enemy to his enemies. A *And the congregation of the peoples shall compass thee about.* Do not suspect anything human even here. For even if the phrasings are such, the meanings are nevertheless worthy of God. What then is, *shall compass thee about*? It means, it shall sing to you, it shall praise you; it shall follow you with abundant good and honorable words. For because they used to do this by means of choirs, standing in a circle in the temple and at the altar, and thus offering their thanksgivings, he signifies their praise by the very form of their standing. And what he says is equivalent to: Avenge, bring aid. This will render you exalted even among your enemies, and will cause your people to adorn you with many praises and hymns. See how he seeks not what is his, but everywhere what is God’s. For he desires that He be glorified and honored everywhere, both among enemies and among his own people. B *And for this, return on high.* For this—for what? For the congregation, he says; that is, on account of it, "return on high." Exalt us, raise us up, make matters high and lofty, make it [the congregation] brighter and illustrious, lead it back to its former prosperity. See, moreover, how he mixes doctrine with prayers in every place. For when he had said earlier, *Have mercy on me and heed me* (Ps. IV, 2), he turned his discourse to counsel, saying thus: *O sons of men, how long are you of heavy heart?* And here, when he had said, *Return on high, O Lord* (Ibid. v. 3), he subjoins: C *9. The Lord shall judge the peoples.* Another, however, says, "The Lord shall debate." He teaches those who think that all things happen by chance and heedlessly, that a certain providence presides over affairs, which demands an account of the things that occur. By judgment, moreover, he here speaks of both the future and the present. For there it will be universal and manifest; but here He exacts penalties in part, both rousing the more sluggish and drawing the more faithless to consider the providence of the whole world. *Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness.* Another says, "According to my right." *And according to my innocence upon me. 10. Let the wickedness of sinners be brought to an end.* Another says: "Let vexation be carried out against the impious." *And thou shalt direct the just.* Another, "And you shall establish the just." How is it that, while elsewhere he says, *Enter not into judgment with thy servant* (Ps. CXLI, 2), he here says, *Judge me according to my righteousness*? Because this is one thing, and that is another. For he who says, *Enter not into judgment with thy servant*, signifies: "Do not enter into judicial contention with me; do not examine my life by comparing it with your benefits." And on this account he further subjoins: *For in thy sight no one living shall be justified*, that is, if he should contend with you in judgment. D Here, however, he does not say this; for he does not wish to contend in judgment with Him, but in comparison with himself. And therefore he says, *According to my righteousness*, that is, "According to the righteousness that is mine." By righteousness, moreover, he here speaks of not having initiated a quarrel with wicked hands; which he said above, *If I have done this*, and the things that follow. The same, however, is signified by that phrase, *According to my innocence*; "According to this," he says, "I wish to be judged." Great is the confidence of the just man here as well. These things, furthermore, he says under compulsion. And how? Because many foolish people had conceived a bad opinion of him from the things he was suffering. For most foolish people are accustomed to blame life itself from the calamities that occur, which is what also happened to Job. Wherefore they even said to him, as though he had done something evil: *You have not been scourged worthily for your sins* (Job XXXIII, 27). The barbarians also thought that Paul was some wicked man and a malefactor, because a viper had seized his hand, and for this reason they said: *The vengeance does not allow this man to live, though he has been saved from the sea* (Acts XXVIII, 4). Furthermore, Semei also called David a murderer, passing judgment upon him on account of this wretched calamity (II Reg. XVI, 7).
*8. Lest, therefore, the same thing happen also to you, come, let us discourse about these things for a little while.* For I hear many saying: "If God loved the poor, He would not allow them to be poor"; and again others, when they see someone suffering with an infirmity or a long illness: "Where are his alms? Where are his good deeds?" Therefore, so that you do not sin in these matters, let us speak about them clearly and distinctly. For if a man who is wise can neither hate the good nor love the bad, how do you dare to say of the Lord that God hates those who are in poverty, even if they be possessed of virtue, while He loves the rich, even if they be vicious and wicked; opening a mouth that is cursing and blaspheming, and not discerning the gravity of the absurdity?
Whom God loves.
— Therefore, so that you do not sin in such matters, learn what God loves and hates. Whom, then, does God love? Him who keeps His commandments. *For I will love him*, He says, *and I will come to him* (John XIV, 21, 23): not him who is rich, not him who is healthy, but him who obeys my precepts. Whom, moreover, does He hate and turn away from? Him who does not do His precepts. When, therefore, you see someone who does not keep His precepts, even if he be healthy, even if he abounds in wealth, reckon him in the number of those who are held in hatred; but count the man who is possessed of virtue, even if you see him sick and oppressed by want, among those who are loved. For friendship does not consist in these things, but in those. Do you not see even in human affairs that the friends of kings go into the greatest dangers in wars, receive wounds, and set out abroad? Have you not heard what is written: *Whom the Lord loves, He chastises; and He scourges every son whom He receives* (Heb. XII, 6)? But many, he says, are offended seeing these things. Not because of the things themselves, but because of their own stupidity. For here, the reward of labors is not given to us; but here indeed are the stadium and the arena: later, however, there will be prizes and crowns. In the time of the struggle, therefore, and on the day of the pancratium, do not seek rest and remission of soul: and do not confuse the times. But many, he says, are weaker. But God has provided for these also; and He has permitted many just men to live in prosperity here as well, not for their own sake, but for the sake of the weaker. Wherefore, even if those who are in affliction offend you, let those who pass their life in rest edify you in return; and if those who use their prosperity [wickedly] overthrow you, those who are upright [in their prosperity] set you straight.A affliction and punishment. Have you not heard Christ saying: In the world you shall have tribulation (John 16:33)? Why then do you seek rest, when He has said these things? Have you not heard Him saying: The world shall rejoice; but you shall be sorrowful (Ibid. v. 20)? Therefore it would be logical for the more foolish to be scandalized if the opposite of what He said came to pass; but if all things proceed according to consequence, why are you scandalized? And why, he says, did God decree it so? Do not inquire, nor be overly curious. For the clay shall not say to the potter: Why have you fashioned me thus? (Rom. 9:20). For this reason the prophet also rebuked the Jews, because while filled with innumerable evils, they were overly curious about the ways of God, saying: They desire to know my ways, as a people that has done righteousness, and has not forsaken the judgment of their God (Isa. 58:2); they act like a servant who has offended and is liable for innumerable crimes, neglecting to appease the master's anger, [but] demanding an account of him as to why he has done this. Do not therefore inquire into these things, but rather weep and lament, and wash away your own evils. I say this, not because I am at a loss to provide an account, but because I wish to tumble you out of this excessive curiosity into concern for your own salvation. Why then did He so ordain? Because He spares the human race. For He assigned the labor here, where life is short; but He has stored up crowns for the future, where life is ageless and unending. And this labor is quickly dissolved and passes away, but those things remain immortal and never have an end. Otherwise, it also trains souls for the love of virtue. For when one chooses it even with labors, never receiving a reward, one learns to be disposed toward it with great precision; and when one flees vice even with pleasure, never enduring punishment, one is trained to hate and avert from it. So that from this, one will acquire a habit of aversion toward wickedness and of love toward virtue. There is also another reason. And what is this? That tribulation most of all whets [the soul] for philosophy, and makes it stronger. And with this again another. What is this? He wishes to teach [us] to despise present things, and not to be fixed or bound to them. For this very reason He has assigned both tribulation and labor, and has made these pleasant and bright things easily destructible. Let the wickedness of sinners be finished, and You shall direct the just. What is, Let it be finished? Bring, he says, punishment, and you will stop them from wickedness. For just as putrefactions yield to bitter medicines, and to cauterizations and incisions; so also is wickedness restrained by punishment. B
9. Those who weep for those who are not punished here for sin. — Since we know these things, we ought not to weep for those who are being punished or chastised, but for those who sin with impunity. For the first evil is to sin; the second, for those who sin to attain no remedy. Or rather, one might rightly say that this is the first, and by far the most grievous. For just as it is not the being ill that is grievous, but the sufferer not being treated; nor do we simply mourn one who has a putrefaction, but one who lies idle, and does not receive medical hands — yet one who is being cut and cauterized, we would say is in need of health, not looking at the pain from the incision, but at the health from the incision— so also must we be disposed regarding the soul; not to weep and mourn for those who are being punished (for they are being drawn toward health), but for those who sin with impunity. And if punishments are a hindrance to wickedness, he says, why do we not give an accounting of [our] sins each day? Because if this had happened, the race of men would have been snatched away beforehand, and C the time for repentance would have been destroyed. Consider, for example, Paul. For if he had paid the penalty for the persecution, and had been destroyed, how would he have had time to repent, and after repentance to work innumerable good things, and, so to speak, to lead the whole world from error to the truth? Do you not see even physicians, when someone is covered with many wounds, not applying as much treatment as the nature of the wounds requires, but as much as the constitution of their strength will bear, lest, having treated the wounds, they carry off the patient? For this reason God neither punishes all at once, nor all according to merit, but quietly, and by giving way; and often by punishing one, he has made many sober through him. This also frequently happens in the body; the cutting off of one limb has provided health for many others. Consider the affectionate soul of the just man, how everywhere he seeks what is commonly beneficial and the removal of wickedness, not so that he himself might take satisfaction from his enemies, but so that the enemies might cease from wickedness. Let us therefore everywhere look to this, how things of wickedness might stand still, and let us lament those who are in it, even if they are clothed in silken garments; and let us call blessed those who are in virtue, even if they struggle in extreme poverty, entering into the mind of each from the outside. For then we will touch one’s wealth, and the other’s poverty. For what if he is wrapped in a bright garment on the outside? In what does he differ from the workshops, and the trees that hold them up? In what is this man more well-to-do than those who take them to sell? But the wealth of the just is not like this, but permanent and set fast. But if the rich do not perceive that they are in poverty, it is nothing surprising. D Not even those seized by frenzy gain a perception of their disease, and for this reason they are especially pitiable, not blessed. For if they had perceived it, they would have run to the physician; now, this is the most grievous thing in wickedness, that while in it, they do not even perceive that they are in it. Do not, therefore, look at the fact that the rich man rejoices in his wealth; but for this very reason especially weep for him, that he does not even perceive in what great evil he lies. For it is not human to boast in these things, but of the utmost irrationality. And You shall direct the just. What is this? For when the wicked are punished, he says, the just become more attentive. So two goods [result] from this; for those [wicked] withdraw from wickedness, and these [the just] approach virtue more. For just as a healthy person seeing someone being cauterized or cut becomes more attentive regarding his own health; so also here. For indeed many of those at that time were being scandalized, and of those who seemed to themselves to be attentive, they were still disposed in a more incomplete way toward the prosperity of the wicked. Therefore he also said elsewhere: My feet had almost slipped.
because I envied the wicked (Ps. LXXII, 2). And another again: Why does the way of the wicked prosper (Jer. XII, 1)? Even Job sought many such things. But at that time they spoke and sought these things while being in a more incomplete state; now, however, no one who is troubled by these things is worthy of pardon, he who has learned so many and such great tenets of philosophy, and has received such doctrines regarding the future, and has been instructed more clearly concerning hell and the kingdom, that there each one shall receive according to his merits. A Scrutinizing the hearts and reins is God the just. 11. My help is from God, who saves the upright in heart. Another: The examiner of hearts and reins is God just, my defender. And another: God is just. The Seventy, however, said it thus: Scrutinizing hearts and reins is God. Just is my help from God. He stated that He will judge the inhabited world; he says next also how He will judge. He said that He needs no witnesses, no proofs, no demonstrations, no written records or legal instruments, or any other such thing; for He is the one who knows even the things that are secret. Let not, therefore, any foolish person say: And how will He judge such a world? For the One who created it when it was not, He shall judge it when it has come to be. By "reins" here he refers to the secrets of the mind, which are the innermost, the deepest things, signaling this by the positioning of the part.
10. What is, Scrutinizing? What another said, Testing. Even if the expressions are human, yet the meanings are appropriate to God. For just as Paul, when he says, He who searches the hearts (Rom. VIII, 27), uses "to search" to mean to know openly, so also here "scrutinizing" means perfectly possessing the knowledge. To examine, moreover, is to lay bare, which is a mark of perfect knowledge, as also Paul says: All things are bare and laid open to His eyes (Hebr. IV, 13). B What things should be sought. — My just help. Another: My just defender. What is, My just help from God? By right and merit it shall come to me from God; for I ask nothing unjust. Wherefore, if we wish to obtain help from above, such things should be sought as also possess the reasoning of justice, so that by the nature of the petition we may draw to ourselves the help of Him who saves the upright in heart. This is His office, this is His custom. Since, therefore, I have neither provoked with injury, nor do I desire to take vengeance, for this reason my help shall be just from God. Knowing these things, therefore, let us seek nothing such as would forbid the giving. For when you petition against enemies, the help you seek is not just; for it is contrary to the law of Him who provides. Likewise, when you petition for riches, when for beauty, when for anything else that pertains to this life, which passes away, this is contrary to the philosophy of the soul. Let us seek, therefore, so that we may also obtain. C 12. God is a judge just, strong, and patient, and not bringing wrath upon every day. Another says: Threatening every day. The Hebrew, however, says: In all life. And another: Threatening, being angry, not punishing. Now what he says is of this sort. If He is just, He will altogether desire to punish the wicked; if He is strong, He will altogether be able to. And where, he says, is the clemency, if He will judge justly? First, indeed, in this, that He does not inflict punishments immediately, and especially in this, that He has already remitted all sins through the laver of regeneration; second, however, in that He has also given repentance. For if you think that we sin daily, then you will see most especially the ineffable magnitude of His clemency. D Which indeed also signifying, he subjoined, saying: God is a judge just, strong, and patient. Do you doubt why, when He wills and is able, He does not punish? Learn, he says, that He is patient, and not bringing upon wrath every day. For lest any foolish person imagine that He does not take vengeance on account of weakness, he indicates the cause of the delay: that His patience has great spans and a great measure. Because, therefore, He is meek and patient for this reason, that He might lead you to repentance, when this medicine profits you nothing, He also takes vengeance. We, therefore, are worthy to be punished every day. For were it not so, he would not have posited that as something great: Not bringing wrath every day; but he says this as if for things indeed requiring it, yet the clemency of God restraining the just punishment. You see how here also he shows God removed from harassment, and calls punishment "wrath"? For no one brings wrath upon another; but he himself indeed has wrath, yet he brings the punishment upon another. Nothing else, therefore, does he signify than punishment, when he says: And not bringing wrath every day. And how does he say, Every day? Let each one enter into his own conscience, and then he will see. For to let pass the secret sins of each one, who will escape these common ones? And what are these? What is the day in which we do not pray sluggishly, and with great negligence? That this also is worthy of wrath, can be known from hence. For tell me: if you had approached a judge yawning, and had been convicted, would he not have immediately taken vengeance upon you, and sent you into exile? Certainly, you say; for he is a man. And what then? For if a man has been affected by an insult, it would not be right that he become angry; for by him has he been affected with insult who is his equal in honor: but God, being affected with insult, justly shall have brought the punishment; for greater is this sin than that which is committed against a man. And a man indeed does this, seeking what is his own: but God [seeks] what is yours. Wherefore on this account also He might more justly be angry. For it is not the same to despise those who seek their own, and Him who [seeks] what is yours. For this [index: entries preserved]
A reason, although this defense has been preempted by us, [we are] indeed vigilant in those matters, [but] in these we are quite supine. And lest those who hear that He is long-suffering should become more slothful, He added: *If you do not turn, He will whet His sword.* Another says: *He will sharpen His blade.* *He has bent His bow and made it ready.* Another says: *He will stretch [it]. And in it He has prepared vessels of death; He has wrought His arrows for those who are burning.* Another says: *For burning.*
11. What will those who call God anthropomorphic say here, from the fact that He is said to have hands and feet and eyes? Are there, then, bows above, and arrows, and a whetstone, and a blade, and a quiver? And yet another says: *At your looking, the mountains shall be troubled.* And this same one: *Who looks upon the earth and makes it tremble.* If, by merely seeing the earth, He melts the nature of stones, how much more shall He be able to do this to humans? Why, then, B when He is able to destroy the inhabited world by merely looking—or rather, by merely willing (for He who made it by will alone, it is evident that by will alone He is also able to destroy it)—is He said to have a sword and a bow? For if *in His hand are the ends of the earth, and those who dwell in it, as locusts*—and *all the nations shall be reckoned as a drop from a bucket, and as the movement of a balance*—and His angel also, going forth, in a brief moment of time slew one hundred and eighty-five thousand; what do I say "angel"? Flies and caterpillars and worms destroyed the army of the Egyptians; where is there need of a bow there? And where of a blade? Why, then, have these things been said? Because of the dullness of the hearers, and so that, by names familiar to them as weapons, He might shake their mind. For He in whose hand is the breath of us all, and before the face of whose cold no one shall stand, how does He have need of weapons? But, as I said before, because of the dullness and insensibility of the hearers, these things were said in such a way. And what is, *and He will whet*? *He will sharpen.* Is there, then, need of a whetstone? And of rust around the blade? And who, with any sense, would endure to interpret these things as they are said? But, as I said before, He depicts the punishment through all these figures, and proceeds to the duller things, so that even the extremely foolish may perceive that one must not sit by the words, but must derive from them senses worthy of God. If, then, anyone is perplexed as to why anger and wrath are spoken of regarding God, he will be much more perplexed for the sake of these. If, however, these things are not to be taken as they are said, but in a divine manner, it is clear that those things concerning wrath and anger are C also such [as are] to be taken, in order to reach the dullness of the hearers. On this account, He was not even content with the things said, but proceeds still further toward the more human, increasing the fear. For He does not only introduce Him having a sword, but also arming Himself. Because one is not similarly afraid hearing that the blade is being sharpened, and that the bow is in hand, He shakes the mind of the hearers by human images, saying: *He has bent His bow, and made it ready*; frightening the hearer, and at the same time exhibiting both [His] long-suffering and [His] wrath. For He did not say "He released" [it], nor "He took" [it], but, *He bent and made ready*; that is, He is ready for the dispatching. And what do you marvel, if such is said in the Old [Testament], where even in the New, John, discoursing to the Jews, says something of this kind? *And now the axe lies at the root of the trees.* What then? Does God imitate a woodcutter chopping wood with an axe? And are the axe and the wood to be taken [literally]? Far from it; just as neither the chaff and the wheat, when he says: *Whose winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly cleanse His threshing floor, and the wheat He will gather into His storehouse, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.* What, then, is the axe? The punishment and the chastisement. And what are the trees? Men. And what is the chaff? The base. Who is the wheat? The good. What is the winnowing fan? Discernment. So also here, the sword, and the bow, and the arrows are the chastisement and the punishment. Then, by the *bending* and *making ready*, He represented the delay, and that the punishment is indeed distant, yet not far distant, but is at the doors.
He says that the *vessels of death* are the arrows. Just as vessels of agriculture are those that perform agriculture; and of navigation, those that prepare us to sail; and of weaving, those that perform the weaving; so also are vessels of death, those that work death. Then, interpreting what the vessels of death are, He adds: *His arrows*, showing the speed of the punishment, when He wills. And what is, *for those that are burning*? For those being punished, for those being chastised. Then, is not the fire sufficient, but is there need of arrows? You see that everything has been said D metaphorically and emphatically, and so that through all of them fear might be increased? For what He is saying is such as this: He has prepared the punishments for those who are to be punished. But if He had not said [it] in this way, He would not have struck [them] so; but now, having mentioned arrows, and sword, and bow, and dispatching, and bending, and vessels of death, and conflagration, by the variety of names He increased the agony. Then, comforting the fear again, He added: *For those that are burning.* For so that none of the more foolish might think that He is bringing His hand upon all, and is armed against all, He added: *For those that are burning.* Which also Paul intimates about the ruler, saying: *For he does not bear the sword in vain.* If, in the case of rulers, the sword does this and causes fear, much more so in the case of God. And this is a sign of no ordinary philanthropy: to frighten and magnify the punishment through words, so that by experiencing it in reality we might not experience it.
B 15. And he clarifies the word by means of the “vibrating,” indicating the vehemence and sharpness of the punishment; but by “He hath bent,” he indicates the closeness; and by “He hath prepared,” he indicates that which will absolutely come to pass, if they do not change. By “Ardent,” he points out those who are liable [to punishment], so that by being instructed through all things, they might restrain the wickedness. But if these [signs] were of anger and rage, he would not have predicted that he was about to attack. For anger does not do this, but the opposite, especially when it has reached its peak and is on the point of inflicting the punishment and of preparing the means for it. Enemies at any rate, and those who wish to inflict punishment, not only do not speak of it, but even attack while hiding it, so that those who are to be punished, if they learn [of it], might not be on their guard. But God is not like this, but quite the contrary: He foretells, and delays, and frightens with words, and does everything [He can], so as not to bring about what He threatens. He did this also in the case of the Ninevites. For there, too, he bent the bow, and vibrated the sword, and prepared the arrows, and yet did not inflict the blow. Does the Prophet’s “bow and arrow and sharpened sword” C not seem to you to be words, when he says: “Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jon. 3:4)? But he did not let the arrow fly; for it was not prepared to be let go, but to be set aside. For soldiers, indeed, arm themselves for this reason, that they may punish; but God [70] is not like this, but [He does so] that, having rendered them more modest by fear, He might withhold His hand from the punishment. Let us not, therefore, be troubled; for there is terror in the words of greatest kindness, and the more intolerable the things He speaks of, the more He says them out of great gentleness. For parents also, when they do not wish to punish their children, raise their anger through threats; thus He also, because He does not wish to punish, makes the fear more grave through words. He even says that He has prepared Gehenna, that He might not cast [anyone] into Gehenna; and for this reason even in the Gospels many words are stored up concerning punishment, and more than concerning the kingdom. Because, indeed, for those who are dimmer of mind, D not the promise of good things so much as the fear of torments leads to virtue and leads away from vice; for this reason He dwells more on these, and lays them out constantly. Let us not, therefore, be afflicted by distress when we hear heavy words; for they contain great profit in themselves; but considering both His patience and His just judgment, let us not despair of salvation: for He is patient; let us not be of a sad spirit: for He is just; here indeed showing much patience, but there assigning those who have not profited here to the experience of punishment; which, for it not to happen, let us here already cast off the punishment. “Behold, he hath travailed with injustice.” The Hebrew, however, instead of “hath travailed,” [says] *Jebul*. “He hath conceived sorrow.” Another, “And when he had travailed.” “And he hath brought forth iniquity.” Another, “Deceit.”
16. “He hath opened a pit, and digged it, and shall fall into the pit which he hath made.” Another: “Into the destruction which he hath made.” He said that God is prepared for punishment; he said that He sends forth punishments: through this he has corrected and rendered the hearer modest, by having shown him that supernal wrath is hanging over him. He teaches him subsequently by showing even from the facts themselves, that before the punishment, vice itself is the penalty. Which indeed Paul also, demonstrating, used to say: “And receiving the reward which was fitting for their error in themselves” (Rom. 1:27); and he brings into the middle those who have suffered the extremes from wickedness. For because many of the more thick-witted are then especially accustomed to be restrained and become more moderate when they see those who have suffered; for this reason he himself also brings them into the middle. Thus also Christ does, who, when He had discoursed much about Gehenna, brings into the middle also those who are cast hither: for instance, the rich man who was there in the time of Lazarus (Luc. 16:19 et seq.), the foolish virgins, in addition to this the one who had hidden the one talent (Matth. 25:1 et seq., 24 et seq.); and in the present life those who had been buried in the tower, and whose blood Pilate mingled with the sacrifices (Luc. 13:1, 4). Thus also Peter, when he had discoursed much about Gehenna, then struck them most, when he brought into the middle those affected by the punishment, and showed before their eyes the punishment of Ananias and Sapphira (Act. 5:1 et seq.): which indeed Paul also did in the case of the magician (Act. 13:11). He confirms this also in another way, when he remembers those who had been in the wilderness, speaking thus: “I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all were baptized into Moses, and did eat a spiritual food, and did drink a spiritual drink [71]; but with most of them God was not well pleased, but they perished and fell” (1 Cor. 10:1-5). For because he had discoursed concerning future things—concerning Gehenna, I say, and pain, and punishment—he offers proof of these from past things as well, bringing into the middle those who were smitten, those indeed by the serpents, the others by the destroyer. Which indeed David here also does, speaking either of Achitophel or of Absalom. Some, therefore, say [the words] were spoken concerning Achitophel. For it was not his [David’s] place to say, “Spare my child Absalom,” and after his fall, “Who would give me death in thy stead?” (2 Reg. 18:5, 35) and [to] say these things now; but those things he spoke under the prompting of nature, while now [the passage] is spoken as if inspired by the Spirit. But whether it was spoken concerning Absalom or concerning Achitophel, the things which were said must be considered; for the persons [themselves] are not of great concern to me. He who diggeth a pit before his neighbor, he shall fall into it himself; and just as women in labor are torn apart by their pains, so also the one who creates deceit, before he affects his neighbor with injury, is himself torn apart and tormented, and is affected not by some light, but by a most vehement pain. Wherefore, when he wished to show the bitterness of the pain, he called the pain [the process] of birth. For when Scripture wishes to show some intolerable pain, it describes it by the name of birth-pains. Hence elsewhere it says: “Birth-pains have taken hold of the inhabitants of Philistia” (Exod.
15. 14). There it hints at two things: the intolerable nature of it, and the unexpected nature. And Hezekiah says: “For the birth-pains have come to the one about to bring forth, but she has not the strength to bring forth” (Isai. 37. 3), indicating his intolerable fear and pain through the imagery of birth-pains. So also the prophet here. For even if a person is a thousand times wicked, the judgment of conscience is not corrupted; for it is natural, and implanted in us from the beginning by God. Even if we persist in thousands of contentions, that [conscience] stands by, crying out, chastening, condemning; and there is no one among those living in wickedness who does not endure a thousand pains, both when planning evil and when carrying the plan into action. For what was more wicked than Ahab? And yet, consider how much pain he felt when he coveted the vineyard (3 Reg. 21. 4). Being a king, and having power over all, and having no one to contradict him—since he could not bear the verdict of his conscience, he entered [his house] sad, looking down, confused, B bearing much gloom upon his face, proclaiming the conviction of the judgment of conscience upon his countenance, and not being able to conceal the pain that was born in him from his distress. Thus, then, he was even exposed by his wife. The traitor, however, who had slipped into such great wickedness, since he could not bear the pain from the tribunal of his conscience, even tied a noose and thus ended his life (Act. 1. 18-19). As, therefore, the one who lives in wickedness suffers such things, so the one who lives in virtue enjoys tranquility and a settled mind. But observe: if anyone wishes to avenge himself on someone, or begin unjust acts, see how many dreadful things he suffers. He is filled with anger, he is cut to pieces by rage, he sets in motion a thousand waves of thoughts, he treads a thousand paths; fear, agony, and trembling come upon him, as anger cuts him and fear shakes him, [wondering] how he might succeed, how he might carry it out; and before the person he intended to wrong is harmed, he destroys himself. But the man who has cast out anger is freed from all these things; and with good reason. For of his own mind he is the master, and has brought the whole thing to completion; but the other is no longer [master], but needs both time, and place, and guile, and wickedness, and weapons, and devices, and clashes, and flattery, and slavery, and hypocrisy. Do you see how easy virtue is, and how difficult wickedness is? How the former is tranquil, and the latter full of turmoil? Describing this, then, the prophet was saying: “Behold, he travailed with iniquity, he conceived pain, and brought forth lawlessness.” From this it is shown that iniquity is not according to our nature, but is something alien. Hence it also weighs [us] down, and until we are rid of it, it wraps us in birth-pains. For even a fetus, until it is fully formed, lies in the womb according to nature; for this reason it remains, and causes no pain. But after it is matured, if it remains inside, its presence there is against nature; hence birth-pains occur. Wherefore nature, being troubled, is forced to push it out, since it has done its work and brought it to completion, and can no longer bear it. But in that case [of the woman], there is first conception, and then birth-pain; here, however, he first travailed, and then conceived and brought forth. What, then, is to be said? That in the one case the birth-pain is at the time of delivery, but here the birth-pain is from the beginning. For as soon as one has planned something wicked, and before establishing it in the mind, there is tumult and agitation in the mind. 102 For in the case of the woman, the seed once deposited is itself also formed toward the structure of what is being born; but in the case of those weaving guile, this thought is deposited today, and another tomorrow; and there are infinite deposits of these wicked things, and every single day there are C conceptions and birth-pains destroying the mind that brings them forth. For the place is not like that in the case of women; but just as with vipers, they tear open the womb, and the young ones come forth tearing the sides; so also is it in the case of guile and iniquity. But even if we argue a thousand times, we will not be able to represent in words the agony which the wicked endure. Therefore, also, someone says: “The wicked one alone shall drain the evils” (Prov. 9. 12). For what is more grave and painful than the one who is envious, who is plotting, who is lusting after the things of others? More cruelly than any executioner do these passions scour the soul. 14. So, with good reason he called such thoughts birth-pains. But just as women bring forth from intercourse, and if the bodies are healthy, the offspring are born healthy; but if they are corrupted, they imitate the nature of the parents: so also is it in the case of thoughts. If you associate with good thoughts, such will your offspring also be; if with wicked ones, and you do not pay attention, you will receive much harm from them. Hear, then, what the prophet says: “From your fear, O Lord, we conceived in the womb, and we travailed, and brought forth a spirit of salvation” (Isai. 26. 18). But in those from the devil: “They have broken the eggs of asps, and they weave a spider’s web” (Isai. 59. 5). Let us flee, then, the wicked. For how is it not absurd, when it is possible to conceive and bring forth from God’s commandments, not to wish for this, but to pursue the intercourse of the wicked, doing the same as if a woman who had the power to be joined to a king, would not endure it, but instead of him chose to take a robber and a housebreaker as a companion? “He has dug a pit, and hollowed it out, and he shall fall into the ditch which he made” (Prov. 26. 27). Again he uses metaphors; D as if, through the [image of] birth-pains, he were indicating the pain, so through the pit he signifies the difficulty of escaping. “And he shall fall into the ditch which he made.” Which another says: “He who digs a pit for his neighbor shall fall into it” (Prov. 26. 27). And this is also of God’s loving-kindness, to assign such a nature to plotting that the nets turn back upon those who plot, so that even from this they might desist from the battle and device against their neighbor. This also happened in the case of Moses. For he who was about to be destroyed was saved; but Pharaoh, through the very path which he plotted against the infants, himself perished by it. For having ordered the infants to be destroyed, he forced the mother of Moses [to cast him out] because of the fear.
but when the daughter of Pharaoh had taken up the wicker basket from the river, and had found the infant, she reared him; and that wretched man destroyed them all. Hence, the cleverness of God shines forth most brightly, and there is a great chastisement for the wicked, and delight for those who escape. Thus it happened also in the case of the illustrious Joseph. For when his brothers had cast him into servitude, they suffered many things, and while they did him no harm at all—but actually helped him—they themselves endured that tragedy. But since many such things can be said, consider also things on high.
He who invades what belongs to others destroys himself. B Did someone invade what belongs to another? He has destroyed himself. For he often even helped him whose goods he invaded, but betrayed his own soul. Did someone do an injury? He has pierced himself with a sword. For to be ill-treated is not to suffer evil; rather, to have acted in an evil manner is the chief way to suffer harm. And therefore Paul also counseled to be injured rather than to injure (1 Cor. 6:7), and Christ, to be struck on the cheek and not to strike back, but even to offer oneself to suffer (Matt. 5:39). This is the mark of the greatest strength; this produces patience; this makes the soul strong; this makes it more powerful than all the passions of the mind. For he who does an injury to another, or beats him, or insults him, is first himself conquered by the passion of the mind C and reduced to slavery, and then he seems to do injury to his neighbor; but he himself has suffered worse things, reduced to the extreme of slavery. 17. His pain shall be turned upon his own head, and his iniquity shall descend upon his crown. And they think these things are said concerning Ahithophel and Absalom; for the head of each descended to punishment. For the one ended his life using a noose, but the other, when he had come under a tree and had been suspended by his hair, hung there for a long time. Thus also Judas ended his life by a noose, knowing that he had done all these things to the ruin of his own head. And Ahithophel, seeing that David would surely prevail, strangled himself; but Absalom hung against his will, and he was not taken out of the way at once, but was suspended as if in a court of law and affixed to the wood; and God, delivering sentence from on high, [left him] hanging for a long time, scourged thereafter by his conscience. For he himself desired to dip his right hand into his father's throat; D but the father even so asked the soldiers to spare him. And he was so free from vain glory that he mourned him even after his death. And that you might know that what happened was not of human industry, but was entirely of divine judgment, his hair and the tree bound him, and [nature] delivered him over to a brute animal, and in place of a rope there was his hair, in place of wood/gallows was the tree; and in place of a soldier, a mule brought him. Consider the wonder of it. When he suffered these things, no one of his own men dared to approach him, and take him down, although such a space of time had passed. But God had provided this, so that he would not be taken down, nor brought to his father in bonds, because the fatherly affections had indicated a willingness to show him pity beyond measure; and what is even more admirable, he who reconciled the father to him, he himself killed him, being almost like a vehement accuser; but he indeed killed him, yet God passed the sentence.
15. For that the sentence was carried from on high, hear how he himself demonstrated this: for when he had said, And his iniquity shall descend upon his crown, he says: 18. I will confess to the Lord according to his justice, and I will sing to the name of the Lord most high. Let us give thanks, he says, not rejoicing in the slaughter of others, but accepting the judgment of God. And who can give thanks to Him according to His justice? And who will praise Him as He is? No one. What is, According to His justice? That is, on account of His justice. And I will sing to the Lord most high. For the victory is His, the trophies are His, not mine. For just as in wars, when a king has conquered, they lead choirs and sing, bringing praises to him; so too will I do, he says. Therefore he did not say, "I have confessed," but, "I will confess": signifying that he is not oblivious of benefits even after he has obtained them, nor does he become more negligent, but he is vigilant: not that God needs these things, but because this is useful and profitable for us. For just as He used to accept sacrifices, not needing sacrifices (For if I am hungry, He says, I will not tell you [Ps. 49:12]), but leading men to His own honor: so too He accepts hymns, not needing our praise, but desiring our salvation. For it is a matter of great care to God that we should grow in virtue.
Communication with God increases virtue. Nothing, however, promotes virtue as much as to dwell and converse with God continually, and to give Him thanks and sing to Him perpetually. But he sings to God while marveling at His just judgment and His long-suffering. And where, he says, is His long-suffering in the tyrant being killed? Surely it is greatest. For He left him for a long time, so that he might come to repentance: and He gave him the kingdom to hold, so that when he saw the house in which he had grown and been reared, and the signs of his father, he might come to repentance. For if he had not been a savage beast, and had not had a heart of stone, all those things were sufficient to lead him back: the table of which he was a participant with his father, the house, the seats, where words had reconciled him—even when he had committed such a slaughter: with these there were also other things, which were sufficient to soften him. For he had heard that he [David] was a fugitive and wandering in uncertain settlements, and enduring grievous evils. But if not even these things softened him, it was necessary for those things which had happened to Ahithophel to chasten him—the noose, specifically, and death—so that through all these things he might come to repentance. For he was not ignorant of what had happened to his friend. And what fault of the father was he bringing forward to do these things? That he had removed him from his sight? But on that account he ought to have admired and looked up to him, because when he had killed his brother, he had borne it with a gentle spirit. But when no charge could be laid against him, but he was held by an untimely desire, and that when his father was already an old man, and there was an expectation at the gates, he did not wait even a little. How then [...]
[105] A ...and how did he not consider that even having conquered, he would have a life more miserable than all others, being defiled and unclean, and [miserable] even from his trophy? 16. Where now are those who bewail poverty? How are these things not far more grievous than any poverty? Than any disease? Than any pain? He said nothing of the sort to himself, nor did he even break out in frustration, nor did he lament, saying: "Truly I am receiving fine rewards, I who meditate on his law day and night, I who am in such honor, having become more humble than all; I who spared my enemies, have been delivered into the hands of a lascivious lad." He said nothing of the sort, he did not consider [it], but bore all things with philosophy, having one consolation in what was happening: that God knew these things were occurring. Just as the three children also said: "But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, [76] and we do not worship the golden image which you have set up" (Dan. 3:18). If someone had said to them: "And with what hope do you die? What are you expecting, and what are you hoping for after death, [and] after the fire (for the expectation of the resurrection was not yet)?" they would have heard that "This is our greatest recompense, to die for God." So he, too, considered this to be his greatest consolation, that God, knowing these things, did not prevent them. For a lover would ten thousand times choose to be slaughtered for his beloved, even though he expects nothing from her after death. Thus, we too must suffer all things, not for the expectation of a kingdom, nor for the hope of any other of the good things to come, but for God himself. But there are many who are so indolent and sluggish that they do not reach out [for virtue] even with a reward. And God, even when promising a kingdom, is not listened to; but the devil, by causing hell, is loved. What is more grievous than this madness? And what do I say "hell"? Even before hell, he brings here pain, and shame, and mockery, and countless punishments, [and] has many who run to him. Consider, then, the adulterer, how he lives more miserably than all, even before hell fearing everything, trembling at shadows, looking no one in the eye with free gaze, but fearing all—those who know, those who do not know—seeing sharpened swords, impending deaths, executioners, [106] courts. What does temperance have that is like this, even if it has ten thousand labors? Is the temperate man not always in pleasure, and the adulterer always in pain and darkness? So too in the case of others, it is possible to see those who are conquered by anger and those who master anger; those who plunder, and those who give—or rather, cast away—their own possessions for God’s sake. For the latter sit in the harbor; the former, having been carried off into the swirling torrent of present evils, are driven around every day. Besides these things, when one who lives in greed and lacks sufficient restraint to enjoy life reaches an advancing age, and [sees] the fear of death hanging over him, consider what terrible things he suffers. But not so the one who is in virtue; rather, he rejoices and is glad all the more when he reaches old age, not having the pleasure of his life dampened, but rather blooming. For indeed, for adulterers, the incontinent, the greedy, and gluttons, old age is a deprivation of those pleasures; but for those pursuing virtue, that is when an intensification of pleasure occurs. So that even before hell, and before the griefs of this world, this [realization] is sufficient to shake the mind. Pondering these things, therefore, let us flee wickedness, let us choose virtue, let us love God—not for his benefits, but for himself. Thus, we shall walk the path according to virtue in this present life, which is narrow by nature, but becomes broad by the disposition of those who travel it; may it be that we all arrive at its summit, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.
EXPOSITION ON PSALM VIII
1. Unto the end, for the winepresses. Another: A triumphal song for the winepresses. Another: To the conqueror, concerning Gittith. But the Hebrew: Lamanasse, hagethith. 2. O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is your name in all the earth! Another: How great is your name!
1. In the previous psalm he said: "I will confess to the Lord according to his righteousness, and I will sing to the name of the Lord most high" (Ps. 7:18); here he fulfills his promise, offering a hymn to him. And in that one, the things said are as if from one person: "For O Lord my God," he says, "in you I trusted, save me" (Ibid. v. 2). But here, as from many: "For O Lord," he says, "our Lord, how admirable is your name!" But provide silence, and listen with precision. For if in a theater of satanic choirs there is much quiet, so as to receive those ruinous melodies—and this with the choir being composed of mimes and dancers, with some profane person and cithara-player presiding over them, and the melody itself being satanic and destructive, being sung by a small and evil demon—here, where the choir is of holy men, and the choir-leader is the Prophet, and the melody is not from satanic operation but from spiritual grace, and the one being sung to is not a demon but God; how much [more] must [we] provide silence, and listen with trembling? For we have become co-choreuts of the powers above. For the choirs above, even the Cherubim and Seraphim, have this as their task, to hymn God incessantly. From these choirs, [they] even appeared on earth with the shepherds abiding in the fields, singing. Let us therefore listen to this ode as well. Those, then, who hymn a king on earth speak to him about his reign, about his trophies, about his victory.
and recount the nations conquered by him, calling them combatants, conquerors of barbarians, and things of that sort. This blessed man sings a hymn of this kind, too. For he tells of a victory and a trophy and finished wars, not indeed such as those, but ones far more difficult than those. Observe, however, how he begins: "O Lord, our Lord." For to those who do not believe in Him, He is Lord in one way; to us, however, He is Lord in a double sense: both because He made us out of what was not, and because He is recognized by us. A And see how straightway at the beginning he places the sum of His kindness. For if you learn how your Lord became your Lord—by having made those who were alienated and enemies and affected by death to be His own and having brought them to life—you will see clearly that this is the sum of the kindness.
Against the Anomeans. The Name of God is admirable with Christ.
This, therefore, the Prophet admires and says: "How admirable is Thy name!" that is, "very admirable." B But he did not say "how" it is admirable; for he was not able to measure it, but he brought forward instead an amplification and a hyperbole. Where are those who curiously investigate the essence of God? For if, when he had spoken His name, he was so filled with wonder that he was struck dumb, how will any pardon be given to those who say they know the essence of God, when not even the Prophet could fully grasp how admirable His name is? "How admirable is Thy name!" For in Your name death has been vanquished and broken, demons have been bound, heaven has been opened, the gates of paradise have stood wide, the Spirit has been sent down; the enslaved have become free; enemies, children; the alienated, heirs; humans, angels. What am I saying, "angels"? God became human, and human became God; heaven received the nature taken from the earth; the earth received Him who sits above the Cherubim with the angelic host. The wall that stood between has been razed, the fence has been broken; that which was divided and sundered has been united; darkness has been extinguished, C light has shone forth, death has been swallowed. Thinking of all these things, and of things far more than these, the Prophet cried out, saying: "How admirable is Thy name in all the earth!" Where now are the Jews, who are shameless against the truth? For I would gladly ask them regarding whom these things are said. "Regarding the Almighty," they will say. But His name was not "admirable in all the earth." Isaiah bears witness, saying: "Because of you My name is blasphemed among the nations" (Is. 52:5). But if those who worshipped Him were the cause that He Himself was blasphemed, where was it admirable? For that it is admirable by nature is clear; but among men it was not, at that time, admirable to many, but rather vile and despised. But it is not so now: because when the only-begotten Son approached, His name is everywhere admirable with Christ. "From the rising of the sun," He says, "even unto the going down, My name has been glorified among the nations" (Mal. 1:11). And again: "In every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure sacrifice. You, however, profane it" (Ibid. v. 12). And another says: "The whole earth has been filled with the knowledge of the Lord" (Is. 11:9). And again: D "They shall come saying: Our fathers possessed false idols" (Jer. 16:19). For His name is indeed admirable in all the earth. "For Thy magnificence has been elevated above the heavens." Another version: "Who hast set Thy praise above the heavens." For because he mentioned the earth, he transfers the prayer also to heaven, which he was always accustomed to do, showing that the whole universe praises its Lord. Showing this also here, he says: "Admirable below, admirable above." For not only men, but even angels praise the things that have been done and give thanks for His kindnesses toward men; which they also did in the beginning, when they led choirs on the earth. Therefore, either this says that the angels also are singing, or it wishes to show His magnitude. For whenever Scripture wishes to say something of great magnitude, it brings into the middle the distance of these elements, as when it says: "According to the height of the heaven from the earth." And again: "As far as the east is distant from the west, so far has He removed our iniquities from us" (Ps. 102:11-12). Here, therefore, he admires how great and how grand all the things that have been done are; for He made the lowest substance of all things superior to all.
"Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise." Another version: "Out of the mouth of infants Thou hast founded strength." Another: "Thou hast established power." But what he says is of this kind: You have shown Your power most of all from this, that You have set in motion forces incapable of fighting and have made a stammering tongue clear and ready to render glory (Matt. 21:15). For he predicts here the hymning which was done by children in the temple. And for what reason, having passed over other miracles—the resurrection of the dead, the cleansing of lepers, the expulsion of demons—does he now make mention of this miracle of the children? Because those things had indeed been done even before; and even if not as they were [now done], still they were done, and they had something in common with one another, even if not in the same manner. For a dead man was raised under Elisha (4 Kings 4:35), and a leper was cleansed (Ibid. 5:14), and a demon was expelled by David when Saul was being attacked by a demon, and he spoke for the first time. Therefore, so that the Jew might not behave shamelessly, saying that these things were spoken about the things that occurred in the Old [Testament], He chose a sign which occurred then for the first time and only then. And for the rest, the things that were happening were a type of the apostles; for although they were very much infants, and more mute than the very fish, they caught the whole inhabited world in their net. But that this is most of all God's virtue and power, see also the Prophet saying this about the Father. For speaking with Moses, He says: "Who hath made a stammering and deaf man, a seeing and blind..."
man" (Exod. 4. 11)? And again: "Who giveth ready tongues to the stammerers" (Isai. 35. 6). And again: "The Lord giveth me the tongue of discipline, that I should know when I ought to speak a word" (Id. 50. 4). And in the beginning He also says: "Come, let us go down and confound their tongues" (Gen. 11. 7). Great, therefore, and strong is the demonstration. For in the case of others, even if unreasonably, they still suspected some deviousness A in those who were being shameless; but here they had nothing to say, the nature [of the infants] itself struggling, naked and bare. And it is for this reason he did not say simply, "of infants," lest one should think he was speaking of the guileless and simpler ones; but he added, "and of sucklings," characterizing the age by the addition of the breast. For he does not say "infants" simply, but "of those at the breast," who have never partaken of solid food. It is not therefore this alone that is wonderful, that they uttered a voice, and a clear voice, but that it was also filled with countless good things. For the things which the apostles did not yet understand, these children were celebrating with hymns. From this he also hints at another thing, that those who approach the dogmas must become children in their understanding. For unless one receives the kingdom of heaven as a child, he says, he cannot enter into it (Matt. 18. 3). "Because of thy enemies." He also states the reason why this miracle happened; for the other [miracles] were not done because of the enemies, but so that those who approached might enjoy a benefit, and others might be instructed. But this was done not only for this reason, but so that the enemies might also be silenced; whom another B, indicating them more accurately, calls: "Because of those who bind thee." For they were the ones who had bound him as he was being led to the cross. "To destroy the enemy and the avenger." Another [interpreter] says: "To make to cease the enemy and the one who punishes himself," calling the Jewish people by this name here. For they were indeed sLANDERING Christ as an enemy, but they pretended that they were doing this to avenge the Father. For this reason, taking away this excuse from them, He used to say: "He that hateth me, hateth my Father also" (John 15. 23); and again: "He that believeth in me, believeth in him that sent me" (Id. 12. 44); linking the Father with the honor and abuse directed towards Himself, up and down. And observe the precision of the Prophet. He did not say, "to punish," but "to destroy"; which the other indicates more clearly, saying, "to make to cease," that is, to remove their shamelessness, not to teach [them]; for they were suffering from an incurable disease. Seeing then such a miracle, and having nothing to counter-argue, they were turning to Him, saying: "Hearest thou what these say?" (Matt. 21. 16)? When it was time rather to worship and marvel, they were in great perplexity, and being in debt to say to one another, "Hearest thou what these say?", they left off questioning themselves and said [this] to Christ. And why was not the voice of angels brought forth? Because that would have appeared as a phantom to them; but to this [the children’s voice] they had nothing to answer. And what were the children saying? Nothing burdensome, nor offensive, nor capable of striking them [as blasphemous], but rather [something] declaring the harmony with the Father. "Blessed," they said, "is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."
3. At that time, then, He destroyed their shamelessness. But later the city also, and there is no part of the world that is not full of the calamities of the Jews; but like a maimed body, it is scattered everywhere, showing off its wounds; and just as judges, when they execute many murderers, hang one [on the cross], so that even after they have died, the spectacle of the suffering, as if newly enacted, might teach the living to be sober: so indeed also here, He made them an example to all, not having died, but [while still] living, by scattering them; and those who were inhabiting one country are now scattered in every part of the earth. And if you inquire the reason, you will find no other than the crucifying of Christ. For why, tell me, has this not happened [to others] in this way? But even if it has happened once, they were limited to one nation, and for a few years; but now [it is] not so, but they are punished with an infinite punishment. And if you ask them: "Why did you crucify Christ?" they say: "Because He was a deceiver and a sorcerer." But therefore it was fitting that you should be honored for this and should receive more land, as having pleased God. For he who has destroyed a deceiver and a sorcerer and an adversary of God has destroyed an enemy of God; and he who has destroyed an enemy would be just in being well-regarded. But now, when Phinehas, to destroy one harlot, was so well-regarded by God as to be deemed worthy of the priesthood C and of such honor, you, however, who ought to be far more well-regarded than he, if indeed you destroyed a deceiver, are wandering and stateless and are going around everywhere. So it is for no other reason that you have suffered these things, than that you crucified a protector and benefactor and teacher of the truth. For if He was a deceiver and an adversary of God, and, not being God, wished to be God, and was drawing the worship of the Father to Himself, then you ought to have been more well-regarded than Phinehas and Samuel and all of those, having been so zealous for the law. But as it is, what you never suffered while practicing idolatry, while acting impiously, while slaughtering your children—these things you have suffered now, and there is no release from your miseries; and you are vagrants and exiles and wanderers and enslaved to the laws of the Romans, you traverse land and sea, refugees and stateless, without homes and enslaved, having been cast out of liberty and fatherland and priesthood and all that you had before, scattered among barbarians and countless nations, hated by all men, abominable, and exposed to all to suffer evil. "Very true; for we did not receive the prizes because we slew the enemy of God." These [words] are madness and nonsense. For what you are suffering now is not [the lot] of those who destroy the enemies of God, but of those who destroy His friends. "But, my good sir," they say, "we do not say these things; we suffer these things because of our sins." Now you confess [this], you disobedient ones? And what kind of sins? If D
A you have sinned, is it the first time? Now, in truth, you have become more moderate and decent. But let us not yet speak of this; I would rather ask you: why is it that when you sinned before, you enjoyed divine philanthropy, but now you no longer do? And consider the more astonishing thing: that since you now commit lesser sins, you suffer more grievous ones? For in those days you were initiated into Beelphegor B and worshiped the calf and slaughtered your sons and killed your daughters, and yet you enjoyed signs. But now, though you see not the sea being parted, nor the rock being broken, nor a prophet appearing, nor do you enjoy the customary providence, you show greater decency, yet you are punished with more severe chastisements. Is it not clear even to the extremely senseless that the reason for this is that your sin now is greater? For as long as you were sinning against slaves, you met with C indulgence, even as you slew and stoned the prophets; but since you stretched out your hands against the Master, the ulcer has remained incurable from then on. For four hundred years have now passed since the very ground of the city vanished, and the priesthood was abolished, and the kingdom was dissolved, and the tribes were confounded, and all those holy and splendid things were destroyed, and there is not even a trace among you of what once existed. But in the beginning D, when the temple was razed, the prophets remained, and the gift of the Spirit, and miracles; but now, so that you may clearly learn that God has turned away from you forever, even these things have been taken away, and there is now servitude, and captivity, and the inversion of all things, and, most grievous of all, God’s abandonment.
And God has done the same thing as a master who, for an ungrateful slave who has been beaten many times and yet is not corrected, strips him of his garments and casts him out, naked, desolate, and truly drifting, and hounds him and pursues him everywhere. Formerly, your situation was not like this, but you had prophets, both in Egypt, and in the wilderness, and in Babylon—Moses in Egypt, Daniel and Ezekiel in Babylon, and Jeremiah again in Egypt—and miracle was added to miracle, and the nation became more brilliant and illustrious when those of you who were captives were superior to kings. But now all those things are gone, and the punishment is more grievous than the former ones, not only because of the length of time, but because you are completely abandoned from every side. For what reason, tell me, I pray, when you were sinning more, did you enjoy such great care and providence? And when you were roused with zeal for the law, did you suffer more grievous things? For from this you condemn God, as if He were unjust, asserting that He honored sinners, but those who acted rightly and with virtue, He treated with ignominy. For if you slew a deceiver, as you say, your conduct was righteous and splendid; but if God is just—as He surely is just—if He honors those who do good and does not punish, then if He does punish, it is clear that your sins are now more grievous. And if you are not now acting impiously, nor sacrificing children as you did before, what other sin is there on account of which you suffer more grievous things? Is it not evident that the wickedness of the cross of crucifixion is, as it were, the crowning achievement of your evils? This has destroyed you more than the worship of idols and the calf and the slaughter of your sons. For it is not the same thing to kill your own son and to crucify your own Master. Therefore, when you slaughtered your sons, you obtained indulgence; but when you murdered the Son of God and your own Master, you are punished from then on without any indulgence.
How many years from the exodus from Egypt to the coming of Christ? I believe one thousand five hundred years, or more. How then did He tolerate you, while you were sinning through all that time, and yet now has He cast you off, when He ought to have crowned you most of all, even if you had sinned many times? For your action would have been a splendid one if you had slain a deceiver. But as it is, you now seem to observe the Sabbath, and you do not worship idols at all, and you contend to keep other things with great zeal. When, therefore, your life is better, and you performed such a "splendid" action, as you say, it is then that you suffer the ultimate [calamity]. What could be worse than this madness? What could be more demented than this, that while wishing to offer a defense, you blaspheme against God? For if the sin which you committed against Christ is not worse than all those others, but was, as you say, a just action on your part, why does He punish you, who act so rightly, while He spared those who were sinning? This not only God, but no one who is of sound mind would ever think to do. But what do they say to these things? "We have been scattered in order that we might become teachers of the world." These are trifles, and nonsense. For those who are to be teachers ought first to have lived righteously themselves, and then be sent for this purpose, as were the prophets and the apostles. But when they are perverse themselves, and filled with every vice, how were they sent to teach? Let us see, then, what their life was that preceded this. For we shall find them to have been more savage than wild beasts. For they have been parricides, and murderers of their children, and idolaters, and encroachers upon the goods of others; and the prophecies are full of these things. And Jeremiah, indicating your licentiousness, said: "They have become as horses mad for the females; each one neighed after his neighbor's wife" (Jer. 5:8). What could be worse than this impurity? For they did not cohabit with each other's wives as humans do; and for this reason he called their frenzy a "neighing." And he does not rebuke them only for whoredom, but he also accuses them of adultery, which was even unashamedly admitted by them, just as it is among beasts. Another prophet says: "They went in unto a woman, making curtains, son and father unto the same handmaiden" (Amos 2:7). For this reason, then, tell me, I pray, did He send you as teachers, so that we might learn whoredoms and adulteries, and that a father and son ought to share the same bed? And what of Ezekiel? "Not even according to the ordinances of the nations" have you done, he says. These people, then, who are worse than the nations, these He sent...
as teachers? Tell me. And who could bear their bloodguiltiness? A For they slaughtered their sons and daughters to the demons, and they burned them. David also shows this, saying: *And they slaughtered their sons and their daughters to the demons* (Ps. 105. 37). For these things, then, did He send them? So that the nature of men might learn that it is necessary to sacrifice sons and daughters? Are you not ashamed, are you not covered in confusion, for inventing such nonsense? For another also says: *Blood mingles with blood, and cursing, and lying, and theft, and adultery have been poured out upon the earth* (Osee 4. 2). Another says: *The appearance of a harlot has become yours; you have become shameless before all* (Jer. 3. 3). Another again: *Your rulers are as the wolves of Arabia* (Soph. 3. 3). Another again: *There is none who understands, there is none who seeks after God. All have turned aside, together they have become useless* (Ps. 13. 2, 3).
5. Did you go forth to teach these things—shamelessness, folly, fornication, adulteries, murders, every way of wickedness? Will you not cease compelling us to parade your evils? You, who were taken up from the womb and instructed until old age; you, who are blind and cast one another into a pit? *For if a blind man leads a blind man*, he says, *both will fall into a pit* (Matt. 15. 14; Luc. 6. 39). You, who enjoyed the prophets at every turn, and never became better, were you about to be teachers of others? Will you not cease babbling such things, and acknowledge your own wickedness? For this is what has always destroyed you: the refusal to know or acknowledge the underlying cause of your sins. B Therefore, just as judges do, who order those who are being scourged to follow the heralds and proclaim the causes of the scourging—did they not steal? were they not robbers?—so also God, bringing you forward as a spectacle everywhere, ordered the prophets to follow you, declaring the cause of the punishment. For everywhere in the inhabited world they are bound to you, and even now they are running alongside you. And if you enter into the synagogues, you shall hear them constantly saying these words. David indeed describes that, depicting the robber-like tribunal of Caiaphas, that it was because of this that you perished. For having said, *Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke from us* (Ps. 2. 3), he added: *Then He will speak to them in His wrath, and in His anger He will trouble them* (Ibid. v. 5). And Isaiah, having said that *as a sheep he was led to the slaughter* (Isai. 53. 7), added: *And I will give the wicked in return for his burial, and the rich in return for his death* (Ibid. v. 9). And again elsewhere, discussing the vineyard: *I waited that it should work justice, but it worked iniquity, and not justice, but a cry* (Isai. 5. 7). And what cry? *Crucify, crucify* (Luc. 23. 21). And he adds: *Therefore I will pull down its hedge, and it shall be for a trampling; and I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it* (Isai. 5. 6). Therefore, it was not for these reasons that you were dispersed, but because of those things dared at the cross; and this is clear from the prophets. C And so that you may know the power of Christ, and so that you may be instructed by your own selves, about which you were not instructed through the prophets, look at the events themselves testifying. For what the law instructed you in, the power of Christ did in abundance. For as long as you possessed the law, you were both murdering, and committing child-slaughter, and committing adultery. But since the sun of justice shone, and many of your evils were diminished, you adopted a more moderate life, corrected by the zeal toward us. Therefore He dispersed you, so that you might know how great a commonwealth He planted upon the earth; and He dissolved the temple, leading you away even against your will from wickedness. And where the temple was destroyed, there also Christ was buried, so that by going out because of His tomb they might see the trophy of His power, and the word standing that says: *There shall not be left here a stone upon a stone* (Matt. 24). For His trophies and memorials of power are everywhere. D If, however, as you say, He was impious and an adversary of God, even if you sinned ten thousand times, you ought not to have been punished—or at least, not then; so that no one might think that you were paying the penalty on His behalf. Or did you not hear God saying, when you were in captivity, that *I do not do it for your sake, but for mine, so that my name might not be profaned* (Ezech. 36. 22)? And yet at that time your wickedness was piled high. But nevertheless, He says, so that the barbarians might not think Me weak, I overlook your sins and save you. Then, He saved you when you were violating the law, so that His name might not be profaned; but now, would He not have done this? For even if you sinned ten thousand times, you ought not to have suffered such things if Christ were indeed an impostor, but even to have been saved. But if you had to suffer—as I have already said—not then. But now, these things have happened together. For when the cross went forth, the apostles departed a little later, and immediately a grievous war was fanned against that city; and that which is in the Gospels—*Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing* (Matt. 24. 19)—and all those things came to pass in the deeds. And that which says, *Then there shall be tribulation, such as has not been* (Luc. 21. 23), was fulfilled. For women were eating their children, and the enemy were ripping open the bellies of the dead, and barbarian fire was distributed everywhere, and everything was full of blood; and there were new tragedies, and the whole inhabited world was filled with Jewish evils. Pondering these things, then, acknowledge your Master. Did you not slaughter the prophets? Did you suffer anything like this? Did you not tear down altars? Did such a calamity befall you? Did you not worship a calf, and were you not initiated into Beelphegor, and were you not ignorant of nature? Did you not experience such enemies? Were you not saved while ungrateful in the midst of blessings? Whence, then, are your evils endless? Is it not manifest, that because the sin was dared against the Master, not against his servants? Whence for you there is no release from the evils that hold you, nor will there be. For if there were, the prophets would have foretold it. But now, they spoke of the captivity, but nowhere of a return, even though they constantly mingle good things with the punishments, and from time to time...
they define the periods. 86 For Jeremiah defined seventy years, and Daniel likewise three years and a half, and in Egypt four hundred and thirty it was said they would serve. But for this captivity, nowhere is the time set, nor the end, but it is left as "your house is desolate," and each day your affairs proceed for the worse.
6. By considering all these things precisely among yourselves, and by expanding upon these words (for “give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will become wiser”), you will be able to refute their impudence and ingratitude. B “For I will behold thy heavens, the work of thy fingers.” Another: “I see the heavens.” “The moon and the stars which thou hast founded.” Another: “Thou didst prepare.” Another: “Thou didst establish.” Having said that He “destroyed the enemies,” he brings the evidence of this brilliant victory. For you, he says, who were crucified, who were removed from the midst, appeared as the Creator and Maker of the universe. Therefore he says, “I will behold thy heavens,” signifying that many had not known beforehand, whereas afterwards all will certainly know. And why did he not go through all the parts of the world? Because by going through the most important of the things that are seen, there was no need to teach about the rest. So thoroughly were the enemies destroyed that He who was expelled by them, and was removed from the midst by them, appeared as the Maker of all things that are seen. And why did He not say, “of thy hands,” but “of thy fingers”? Showing that those things which are seen are the work of minimal effort, and an admirable piece of craftsmanship, that the hanging stars do not fall; even though the nature of foundations requires that they be placed below, not above; but the best Craftsman, who does wondrous things, has done more in these things that appear than the sequence of nature requires. And why does he say nothing about the incorporeal powers, so as to show His creation of them as well? Because, for the present, this was His intent, that they might learn from those things that were appearing. And for this reason, the Father also, when He conversed at length with the Jews, does not say, “I made the angels and the Cherubim,” but, “I stretched out the heaven; my hand founded the earth, my right hand made it firm,” and He always consumes the whole discourse on the things that appear, doing all things for the salvation of the hearers. Since they were duller, they were led more by the things that are seen than by those which do not fall under the sight. For this reason, Paul also, always entering and preaching, takes his starting point from the creation that is seen, saying: “God who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all things that are in them,” and he always starts his discourse from the annual rains and the human race. For if I say that He made the Cherubim, I will have two things to prove: that there are Cherubim, and that He made them; but in those things that are seen, I am forced to show only that He made them. 87 Therefore the discourse is easier; for it has the sight as a witness of what is being said. And the hearer sees the magnitude, the beauty, the use, and the position, and the constant and numerous course. Therefore, in this one thing, I must exert myself to show that God made it. And why does he not mention the sun, but the moon and the stars? By saying this, he signified that too. For since some separate the night from God’s craftsmanship, by the moon he shows it, saying that He is the Maker of this as well. For the variety of the stars and the demonstration of the lunar courses is not a small thing.
5. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?” Another: “What is man, that thou rememberest him?” Another, for “thou visitest him,” says: “Thou wilt visit him.” Having spoken about the craftsmanship, and having indicated the whole from a part, he subsequently introduces language about providence for men. For those things also that were said are for the sake of our race, and indeed those that pertain to His providence, for all creation is for the sake of man. But he also treats another kind of providence, and he does not set out to speak about these things rashly; but very prudently and rightly, giving thanks for the whole world, remembering the universal benefit, and showing the magnitude of His dispensation for man. For if He was nothing before, much more when Christ arrived after so many and such great sins. And he shows that Christ’s advent was not alien to forgiveness, but that it came from the greatest clemency. For as some best physician, having left the healthy, came to us who were suffering from the disease, who were nothing. Showing this, therefore, he said: “What is man?” for which means, “He is nothing, he is something vile.” For looking to such great care and providence of God, and to the things He did for the salvation of men, he is profoundly amazed and wonders why He deemed him worthy of such providence. For consider that for his sake are all the things that are seen. For his sake, the things that were dispensed and administered from Adam until His advent; for his sake, the paradise, and the commandments, and the punishments, and the miracles, and the chastisements and the benefits after the Law; for his sake, the Son of God became man. For what is the point of speaking of the future? Therefore, reflecting on all these things, he says: “How great a thing is man, that he has been deemed worthy of such and so many good things!”
7. For if anyone will have considered how many and how great things have been done for his sake and are being done, and how many he is about to receive afterwards, he will be filled with much horror, and then he will see clearly how much of a care this living being is to God. 6. “Thou didst make him a little lower than the angels.” Another: “A little lower than God.” Another: “A little something than God.” The Hebrew, however, says: *Outhasreou mat me eloim*. Here he mentions the condemnation and the old sin, 88 bringing death into the midst. But the Only-Begotten, having come, solved even this. “With glory and honor thou hast crowned him.” Another: “With glory and dignity thou shalt crown him.” One may indeed accept these things historically, and one may also accept them anagogically. For he speaks both of his rule, which was given to him when he was made, and he speaks also of the good things he obtained after the advent of Christ. For in the beginning he heard, “The tremor and the fear of you shall be upon all the beasts of the earth,” and, “Let them rule over the fishes of the sea.”
A After this: “Tread upon serpents and scorpions.” But leaving these aside, he weaves his discourse from more humble things, leaving those to be understood by those whose sight is more keen. For the greater glory and honor are those things which took place under the New Covenant, when it has Christ as its head, when it is complete in his body, when it becomes brother and fellow-heir and conformed to his body, when it receives a glory greater than Moses’, just as Paul made clear, showing that not as Moses did he place a veil, but all of us with unveiled face behold the glory of God. Wherefore also he says: “For that which has been made glorious has not been made glorious in this respect, because of the surpassing glory.” B This, then, the Prophet calls the glory according to the anagoge [spiritual interpretation]. For what is equal to this, when we dance in chorus with the angels, when we are led into adoption as sons, when He does not spare even the Only-Begotten for our sake? To what purple, to what diadem are these things not far more brilliant, when we laugh at death, when we are shifted toward the impassibility of the incorporeal powers, we who were before this disgraced, and inglorious, and abominable? Adam, having done neither any evil nor any good, was honored immediately upon being created. For how could he have acted, who did not yet exist? But we, having committed myriad terrible deeds, have enjoyed much greater honor. “I no longer call you servants,” he says, “for you are my friends.” C No longer are the angels ashamed of us, but they even serve for our salvation. For an angel came also to Philip, and to many others; and they brought the good news to men. We are not heirs on earth, but participants of the heavenly blessings, and partners of Christ, and we are called into the communion of the Only-Begotten. All these things he hints at through the glory and the honor. Wherefore also he was saying, “With glory and honor you shall crown him,” foretelling the future. “And you have set him over the works of your hands.” Another version: “You have made him to have authority over the works of your hands. You have subjected all things under his feet, sheep and oxen in their entirety, and also the cattle of the field.” D Another version: “The wild beasts. The birds of heaven, and the fish of the sea, those that traverse the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is your name in all the earth.” Just as when discoursing about creation he does not touch upon only the powers above, but brings the discourse down to sensible things: so also when teaching about the honor that has come to men, having hinted at those ineffable and incorporeal things which he enumerated, now he lingers more upon sensible things, which were clearer than those to the slower [intellectual] powers. And what were these? The earthly authority given to him. And it is the most admirable thing, and the one he most particularly hinted at, that having been honored before the transgression, he did not lose the honor even after the sin. “For you have humbled him,” he says, “a little lower than the angels,” that is to say: You condemned him to death for sinning; yet, because you condemned him to death, you did not strip him of the gift. Therefore, having said that, then he adds this, showing forth the unspeakable philanthropy of God, that even when he was humbled because of his own transgression, He let him be crowned with the honor of glory, and did not annul the authority. A And if He withdrew it a little, even this was of His paternal care. For before the disobedience, he ruled even over wild beasts; but after the disobedience, he was cut off from a little of this power. For he rules over them even now by certain crafts, but with fear and trembling. For He did not take away all the authority, nor did He leave all of it, but as many as were useful to him for food and for work, He allowed to be subject; but the more beastly ones no longer, so that he might be reminded from their struggle of the ancient sin of the forefather Adam. So that even from their not being fully subject to us, a great gain has come to pass. For what profit is there in having a lion under one’s hand and tame? And what more from having a leopard that is gentle? None, but only arrogance and madness. B Therefore, He allowed these to remain outside of our authority, but those things useful to us He has made tame: the ox plowing, and the sheep providing clothing for the nakedness of the body, and beasts of burden fit for the transport of supplies, birds and fishes, so that our table might be more abundant.
8. For just as some one making a son disinherited does not cast him out of everything, but out of a certain part, so that he may discipline him, so also God; or rather not so, but from the opposite. For man, when disinheriting, casts [the son] out of the greater part, and leaves the lesser; but God, having left the greater, cast him out of a certain little, and this for our benefit, that he might not easily prevail over everything. C But even this is of the care of God; for sharpening his wisdom, and lowering his pride, and cutting off untimely leisure (since, having everything with ease, he had become unruly), He mixed in a certain difficulty into the use of life, and He allowed him to reap neither everything with labor, nor everything without labor; but those things for need He allowed him to have without labor and sweat, but those for luxury with labor and sweat, wishing to cut off from us this great negligence. D If someone says: “What is the use of the wild animals?” We will say: First, it works out soul-lowliness [humility], and makes man competitive, and reminds the very arrogant person of his own nature, when the unreasoning beast is fearful to him. And many medicines for those suffering in their bodies come from these as well. And he who asks these things, why the wild beasts came to be, will ask also why phlegm and bile are in us? For these things too, if they are provoked, go out more harshly than a wild beast, and harm the whole body. And anger is present in us, and lust again; and these, if we do not restrain and bridle them, harm us more harshly than wild beasts. And why do I speak of anger and rage...
when our sight itself precipitates us into passions worse than wild beasts, and fastens us wholly upon a bitter love? A Yet we shall not for this reason say, "Why have these things been done?" but rather we shall give thanks to the Master for all things. For what the lash is to a boy, this, a wild beast, is to men. For if, when constrained by so many grievous things, the majority are nevertheless lifted into such great arrogance, if you were to take away this bridle, consider to what lengths wickedness would eventually proceed. On this account our body has been fashioned to be so susceptible to disease and to be besieged by ten thousand evils; and the earth produces its own fruits with labor; and all life is full of sweat. Since the present life is as it were a kind of training ground, and leisure and relaxation ruin the majority of men, for this reason He has mixed in business and labor, so that the sharpness of the mind might be chastened as if by certain bridles. But do you consider how the Master has subjected to you by his skill even those things which swim through the depth of the waters, and those which are lifted on high? And why did He not go through all things that are visible, plants and seeds and trees? By a part He signified the whole, and left the talk concerning these for the studious. And again it ends at the same goal from which it began: "O Lord, our Lord," setting the same words both before and after the proof. Let us therefore persevere also in saying the same things assiduously, marveling at His solicitude, standing in awe of His wisdom, His love for mankind, and His providence over us. And these things have been said by us for the sake of B interpretation. But if you wish, let us handle the argument more contentiously, and ask the Jews, "Where have the children uttered this voice? Where has such a voice destroyed the enemy? When has His name become admirable?" But they could not mention another time than this, which shows the power of the truth brighter than the sun. And therefore he says, "I will see the heavens, the works of your fingers," and yet Moses had already said, "In the beginning God made heaven and earth" (Gen. 1:1).
[91] But against the Jews these things, and those mentioned before, are sufficient. But since those who imitate and emulate their dogmas, setting aside circumcision, the followers of Paul of Samosata, say that Christ was from that time from which He proceeded from Mary, let us ask them also: "How, if Christ was from that time, did He fashion the heavens?" For he says that he who perfected praise from the mouth of infants and sucklings is the same as the one who fashioned the heavens. If, then, He is the Creator of the heavens, it remains that He was before the heavens and did not take His beginning from Mary; nay, He was before Mary. But consider the wisdom of the prophet. For he does not introduce Him only as the creator, but also as fabricating with great ease. And therefore he says: "I will see the heavens, the works of your fingers," not that God has fingers, but showing the minimal aspect of His operation to our companions, teaching us by means of names familiar to us those things which are above us. For even when He says, "Who measures the heaven with a span, and the earth with a palm" (Is. 40:12), He does not mean a span or a palm, but wishes to display the infinite power of God. How then do some dare to call the Son a minister? For if He did not move even His whole operation when it was necessary to make heaven—what do I say "whole"?—but not even the smallest, but that which was even the most tiny: how could He be a minister? How a minister, if "whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise" (John 5:19)? For where is that "likewise," if the one is a minister and the other the creator? How then does He say it is His work, sometimes saying, "Lord, you founded the earth from the beginning, and the heavens are the works of your hands," and here, "I will see the heavens, the works of your fingers" (Ps. 101:26)? For works do not belong to ministers, but to creators; and if there is a minister, the work is not attributed to him, but to the one who fabricates. Therefore, even those things said before by Moses concerning the Son—namely, that "In the beginning God made heaven and earth," and that "Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea" (Gen. 1:1, 26). For He who perfected praise from the mouth of infants and sucklings is the one who has visited man. C For what Moses says about the Father, Paul accepts about the Son, showing great equality. When, therefore, it is permitted to the saints to attribute indiscriminately to the Son those things which are said about the Father, and those which are about the Son to the Father ("For all things were made through Him" [John 1:3]), where has the name of "minister" been placed at all? No one will have seen this anywhere. "Nay," he says, "it has been said, 'Through Him.'" What of the fact that this very thing has been said also about the Father? Hear, however, how: "God is faithful, through whom you were called into the society of His Son" (1 Cor. 1:9). And again: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God" (2 Tim. 1:1). And again: "Since through Him, and from Him, and in Him are all things" (Rom. 11:36). For what reason then do you say He is a minister? "So that we may honor the Father," they say. And yet the Son says: "So that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father" (John 5:23). But he who does not honor the Son, it is clear that he does not honor the Father either. "What then," he says, "shall I call the Father the Son?" By no means. For He does not say, "So that you may call Me the Father," but what? "So that you may honor the Son, while He remains, as the Father." But if you call the Father the Son, you will confuse all things. While this property remains, therefore, the honor is common. For this reason He said "Son" and "Father," lest you confuse the hypostases. If, however, there were not the same substance, how would He have demanded equal honor? For what reason then does Christ speak many low and humble things? Teaching us humility, and because of the covering of the flesh, and because of the dullness of the Jews, and because it is necessary to lead the race of men little by little to knowledge, and because they were imperfect hearers, and otherwise He often speaks according to the opinion of the hearers. For the things which belong to dignity alone are more sublime; or rather, whatever you say concerning God is far inferior to that substance, and is said according to the capacity of the hearers. For what do you wish to say? That God is great? But this D
great? For what do you wish to say? God is great? But this is a small thing to be said of God; for the great, whatever it may be that is great, is limited; but God is infinite. And this is small, to be said of God. For that He has no limit, I know; but what He is, or where He is, I do not understand. And if you should call Him wise, if you should call Him good, even if these are infinite, you have said nothing worthy of that Essence, unless a thought befitting God accompanies the word. If then such great things do not present His worth, who would be worthy of excuse who attempt to mutilate even these? Let us flee, then, from their gatherings, and having learned of the Only-Begotten the pre-eternal existence, the creative power, the authoritative dominion, His unchangeableness with the Father, the condescension of the economy, the multiform providence of His care for us (for the treasure lying in the Psalm teaches all these things and more than these to those who attend with accuracy), let us preserve the accuracy of the doctrines, and let us show forth a conduct worthy of them, that we may attain also to the good things to come; to which may it be granted that we all be made worthy, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.
EXPOSITION ON PSALM IX
1. Unto the end concerning the hidden things of the Son, a Psalm of David. Another: Triumphal for the death of the Son, a canticle of David. Another: Of the Youth of the Son. 2. I will confess to Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will recount all Thy wonders.
1. Long is this Psalm. And this too is of the wisdom of the Spirit. For He did not make all [the Psalms] short, nor did He draw them all out to length, but He varied the book also in its measure, rousing the slothful by the length, and relieving the weary by the brevity. B I will confess to Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will recount all Thy wonders. Double is the kind of confession. For it is either a conviction of one's own sins, or it is thanksgiving to God. Here, however, it signifies thanksgiving. But what is, With my whole heart? With all promptness, he says, with zeal. Not only for prosperity, but also for things contrary. For this is most characteristic of a thankful and philosophic soul, to give thanks even in grievous things, to glorify God for all things, not only for benefits, but also for punishments. For this is the cause of greater reward. For when you give thanks for good things, you have paid a debt; but when you do so for evils, you have made God your debtor. For the one who has received good, and is grateful, has paid a debt. But he who has suffered C evil, and gives glory, has constructed a credit. For in return for this thanksgiving, God repays many other good things both then and now; so that we shall not even perceive the suffering of evils. For no one grieves over those things for which he knows how to thank God; so that we shall also reap another profit, that of dispelling despondency. For when you have been deprived of money and you give thanks, the loss cannot sting you as much as the thanksgiving gladdens you. This is a fatal wound to the devil; this makes the mind philosophic; this establishes the true judgment concerning present things. For many men do not hold the correct opinion concerning things here; and therefore they are despondent. Just so, even the insane fear things that are not to be feared, and often dread things that do not exist, and flee from shadows. To these are like those who fear the loss of money. For the fear is not of nature, D but of the will. For if the thing were grievous, it would behoove all who have been deprived to grieve; but if we do not all grieve when we fail, it is no longer of the nature of the thing, but of an imperfect mind. For as in darkness one often fears even a cord, thinking it a snake, and suspects everything, and deems friends to be enemies; so also those who are possessed by irrationality, having fallen into what is like a deep darkness, do not recognize the nature of things, but wallow in the mire, and do not think the grass to be grass; and being filled with the love of money, they do not perceive the stench; but if they should depart from it, then they will know. And just as those who are in love with an ugly woman, when they put an end to the disease, then they understand her ugliness; so also the lovers of the love of money. And how, he says, shall I be able to end the love? I will use the same example again. Just as he who loves an ugly woman, if he be continuously in her company, he kindles the furnace, but if he withdraws himself a little, the passion flows away little by little; so do you also withdraw a little, give way a little, and the little will be a great interval. Only begin the correction. Do you have a superfluous house? Sell it, and give to those who are in need, not considering that you are alienating it from yourself, but that you are rather making it more your own. Look not at the expenditure, but at the profit; not that you are deprived of it here, but that you become master of it there. So also you will be able to recount the wonders of God continually. For this is what the Psalm says from the beginning. For the lover of money is not able to dwell long upon this; for he is always concerned with interest, transactions, contracts, wares, testaments, prices of fields, prices of houses, gains, traffic, and he does not cease recounting and caring for these. Where the treasure of a man is, there is his heart also (Matt. 6:21). These things he utters, these he worries about; and as servants are concerned with the affairs of their masters, so he is concerned with the affairs of the Master; what has He commanded? what has been accomplished? what has not yet been accomplished, but is about to be? Therefore I exhort [you], having been set free from that siege, to dwell upon these narratives.
A Telling of the miracles of God which happen every day, which occur privately and commonly, to all and to each one. For life is full of these narratives; and from wherever you begin, you will see a brilliant prologue emanate, whether from the sky, from the earth, from the air, from the brute beasts, from seeds, or from plants and trees; whether you wish to recount ancient gifts, those which preceded the Law, those which were under the Law, those which are in grace, those which occur after the departure from this life, or even in death itself, you will find an immense sea of narratives. How great, then, is the folly, when such things can be narrated through which pleasure, profit, and benefit can accrue to the soul, to pollute the reason with mire, speaking of avarice and rapine!
B But if you wish, leaving those higher things, let us discourse about the earth, about its magnitude, position, use, nature, its constant birthing, and the various and diverse things which are generated from it: seeds, herbs, plants, flowers, meadows, gardens. From these, let us again divide by reason the figure of every single tree, its position, height, fragrance, fruit, season, and service, considering all other things, and the earth itself, both the fertile and the barren; for nothing of it is useless. For indeed, one part brings forth iron, another copper, another gold, another silver; one bears spices, another indeed various medicines of every kind. What is the point of speaking of the utility of waters, of drinkable and salty ones, of the use of mountains, of the mines of various marbles, of the springs that are within them, of the trees that are suitable for roofs and buildings? All these are fruits of the wilderness; it feeds both animals and all wild beasts. For what is the point of speaking of lakes, springs, and rivers? For just as women who have given birth, pouring forth a fountain of milk, provide nourishment to the offspring, so also the earth, by offering rivers and springs to gardens and orchards like breasts, irrigates them abundantly. But in women, the infant must come to the breast; here, however, it itself extends its breasts, letting them down everywhere from on high.
– *The Eulogy of Solitude.* There is also another use of solitude. It is also more suitable for the health of the body, as it provides a purer air to breathe, and the whole globe of the earth to be contemplated from on high, and the exercise of philosophy in solitude, and a slight breathing-space from the cares of life. What is the need to commemorate the birds that sing and the life of animals that are caught by hunting? Solitude has also another utility. For often it has provided the place of walls for estates, having mountains raised on high, ravines, and precipices. For what will you say of the herbs which grow in them, which bring great help to laboring bodies? If, therefore, the use of deserts and mountains is so great, and such is the abundance of goods from them, if you come to arable land and level plains, consider how many springs of narratives you will see. For just as in our body: C these are bones, those indeed are sinews, others are flesh: so also on earth, some are mountains, others ravines, others fertile fields: and all these things are useful. But why do I speak of the earth, which is so great an element? If you wish to tell the figure, use, fruit, leaves, season, and all other things of one tree, you will see great material for narrating; likewise if of the position of the mountains, and of all other things: but if you pursue this man himself with a discourse, and the formation of the body itself, from this you will again find an immense sea of narratives. In these, therefore, let us dwell; from this will be our greatest pleasure, from this profit, from this ineffable philosophy. For this reason, signifying this, he added:
3. *I will rejoice and exult in thee.* Another: *And I will exult.*
*I will sing to thy name, O Most High.*
Another: *I will sing thy name.* This is no small kind of philosophy, to rejoice in God. For he who rejoices in God as is fitting, casts out every worldly pleasure. But what is *I will rejoice in thee*? Having such a Lord, he says, this is pleasure to me, this is exultation. If anyone knows this as one ought to know, he feels no other pleasure. For this is properly pleasure; all other things are merely the names of pleasure, destitute of the thing itself. This makes a man sublime; this frees the soul from the body; this causes him to aspire to heaven; this renders him higher than earthly things and those pertaining to life; this frees him from vices, and deservedly so. For if those who love beautiful and magnificent bodies have no sense of those things which pertain to life, but dwell in the one, sole aspect of the beloved: he who loves God as is fitting, what in turn will he sense of those things which are good or evil in life? Nothing; but he will be superior to all, bathed in the pleasure of the immortals, since such is he who is loved by them. For those who love other things, even against their will, are quickly led to oblivion, since the things that are loved perish and wither: but this love is infinite, which cannot cease, which both has a greater pleasure and more profit: and it delights and recreates the lover by the very fact that it is never dissolved. *I will sing to thy name, O Most High.* This is wont to be done especially by a lover. For those who love, sing songs to those whom they love; and even if they do not see them, they console themselves through the song. So also the prophet does: because God cannot be seen, he makes songs unto him, engaging with him through chants, kindling desire, and imagining himself to be seeing him: or rather, by chant and hymns he inflames the desire of many. For just as those who love celebrate the eulogies of those they love, and carry about their names, so here too: *I will sing,* he says, *to thy name, O Most High.* D See how he has divided himself from the earth, and has lifted up his whole being to that Essence, dedicating himself to God. And therefore he constantly turns his name: for this is the habit of a lover.4. *When my enemy is turned backward, they shall be weakened, and perish from thy face.* Another: *My enemies having been turned back, and broken/crushed, and perished.*
B This too is the custom of a lover: to speak of benefits constantly and to take pride in them. For this springs from love, and in turn reignites love. Nor would anyone err in saying that he calls intellectual enemies by this name here; for these too are turned back when they find a noble soul. For just as a spear falling upon a shield, if it is soft, pierces it, but if it is hard and resistant, it does nothing, but the point, having been bent, falls off—so too it happens with the soul. For if it finds it soft and lax, the darts sent by the devil pass through into the depths; but if it finds it hard and stronger, he himself departs ineffective, and has wrought nothing terrible against it; and two gains are achieved, or rather even three: for it harmed it in no way, but actually made it stronger, and he himself became weaker from it.
Consider, then, how he proclaims the power of God. *They shall be weakened,* he says, *and perish from thy face.* Again, hearing "face," do not suspect anything bodily. For here he signifies his activity, his manifestation, the ease of his power, as he says elsewhere: *He who looks upon the earth, and makes it tremble.* So too he says the same thing here. For the mere looking is enough to destroy the wicked. For if the presence of saints makes the power of demons weak, how much more does God’s? If his lightning, when it appears, strikes everyone with terror, consider that deathless power—how it strikes, how it destroys the wicked.
Did you see the type of hymn? Did you see the manner of glorification, and how he tells of his power? He teaches no small dogma of philosophy from this, by saying: *I will sing to thy name, O Most High, when my enemy is turned backward.* What is this? That he was sober not only in afflictions, but also in respites. For many, while humbled by evils, become more diligent; but by blessings, they become more slothful and lax—which he says of the Jews later: *When he slew them, then they sought him.* But he is not such a one; rather, he is sober even in prosperity, and kept awake. This is no small thing for philosophy. *For thou hast executed my judgment and my cause.* Another: *Thou hast defended my case.* C *Thou hast sat upon the throne, O thou that judgest righteousness. Thou hast rebuked the nations, and the ungodly man has perished.* Another: *Thou hast destroyed.* *Thou hast blotted out his name for ever and ever.*
See again the philosophy of the man, how he does not avenge himself on his enemies, but yields the judgment to God, keeping the apostolic command: *Not revenging yourselves.* But this is not the only thing to observe, but that he also suffered these things unjustly. For if he had not suffered unjustly, God would not have proceeded to act. *Thou hast sat upon the throne, O thou that judgest righteousness.* He speaks in a more human way, naming a throne and a seat. But saying, *O thou that judgest righteousness,* he speaks of what is customary for God, and the singular attribute of his being. For in the case of men, one cannot say this. For they do not always judge righteousness, even if they are righteous a thousand times over, sometimes through ignorance, sometimes through sloth, failing to see what is just; but God, exempt from all these, knows and wills to bring forth a just verdict.
Therefore, *Thou hast sat upon the throne* means: you have judged, you have intervened, you have vindicated. *Thou hast rebuked the nations, and the ungodly man has perished.* Do you see how he has no need of weapons, of swords, of bows and arrows—but those terms were spoken in a more human way; for it is enough for God to rebuke, and for those who are to be punished to perish. But that you may learn of his power, hear also what follows: *Thou hast blotted out their name for ever, and for ever and ever.* You have destroyed them root and branch, you have uprooted them, you have so vanished them that their memory also has perished. D *The swords of the enemy have failed forever.* Another: *The ruins.* The Hebrew: *Arboth.* *And thou hast destroyed cities.* What is this? That having consumed his engines and his counsels, he says, you have made him destitute of his own weapons. For such is the wrath of God: it destroys and ruins everything. Or, as another interpreter teaches, saying *Deserts*—that you have not only destroyed their cities, but also their deserts, and you have pulled down the cities. For thus the righteous man fights, thus he cast down his opponents, not using weapons and spears, but having the power from God. Therefore his war is brilliant and manifest, and the victory is decisive. *His memorial has perished with a sound/noise.* Another: *Together with them.* The Hebrew: *Em.* What is *with a sound*? He speaks either of utter destruction, or the long-drawn-out wailing of evils. And this too is of God’s providence, not to do these things hiddenly, so that by the calamities of others, others too may become better. Therefore it signifies the manifestation of the destruction.
4. *And the Lord abides forever.* Another: *He shall sit.* For "sitting" is used in many places for the permanence of one’s being, as Jeremiah also shows, saying: *Thou art sitting forever.* And the Hebrew here says *Jeseb.* The prophet speaks this constantly regarding the destruction of men, showing the endlessness of his being, and that while the race of men is perishable, his being and greatness are endless. This produces fear, so that they may tremble before him on both counts: on account of the magnitude of his glory, and on account of the incompleteness of their own being, and as one who always abides, and as one who always punishes with excess.
If one must also say something according to anagoge, it is not to be declined. For some things can be contemplated; others must be understood as they are spoken, like *In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth*; and others differently from the words—for example: *Let the hind of love, and the foal of thy graces, converse with thee.* And again: *Let them be thy own only, and let no stranger partake with thee. Let thy fountain of water be for thyself alone.* For if you understand the text—and do not flee from the word, but pursue the meaning—it is also a matter of great inhumanity to share one’s water with no one; but the discourse here is about a wife, that one should enjoy her with temperance, calling her a fountain and a hind, because of the purity of the marital union. And here it is thus; but elsewhere...
A it is written: *But I am a beggar and poor*. He knew—knew it clearly—that all human things were weaker than a shadow, and that nothing is more proper to us than virtue, while all other things are like leaves attached from the outside. For it is clear from this that virtue is proper to us: wherever we go, we carry it with us; the others do not remain. This, therefore, is more proper to us, while the others are more distant. As, then, we call that person more of a relative who is nearer to us, so we call this [virtue] more proper than money, because it is always nearer to us.
5. Observe also his gratitude and his philosophic soul. For while he possessed horses, and camps, and countless other things, he disregarded all those and attributed his salvation to Him. For he did not say, "The camps were my refuge," nor "My money," nor "My walls," but, *The Lord has become a refuge for the poor*. He Himself, he says, placed me in safety; for nothing can be compared to this refuge in terms of ease and security. Other refuges are subject to plots, nor can they be found readily, but are hindered by time, and place, and countless circumstances; but this one, because it is nearby, you will find if you seek it with diligence. For it says: *While you are yet speaking, I will say, Lo, I am here* (Isa. LVIII, 9). And, *I am a God approaching, and not a God afar off* (Jer. XXIII, 23). We do not need, therefore, to run or to travel, but even sitting at home we can call forth this refuge. And sometimes He delivers us from dangers; at other times He makes the same persons more illustrious and more powerful than their enemies, and both in the proper season. For when those who receive these things act with moderation, He grants both. But if they do not conduct themselves rightly, it stops at one, lest by the addition of the second they come to arrogance. And that you may know that this is often the cause of people becoming puffed up—Hezekiah was lifted up on account of this, but not even so did He despise him, but because the success of the victory had lifted up his mind, He brought upon him an infirmity to correct him (Isa. XXXIX, 2). *A helper in due seasons, in tribulation*. What is *in due seasons*? In the opportune time, he says. He calls the opportunity twofold: that He brings help, and that it is in due time. For he calls affliction "the opportunity" here. Why? For it is the mother of philosophy, and it will deliver man from death, and it especially attracts divine aid. Then listlessness and sloth are removed; then we devote ourselves more diligently to supplications. And just as winter is the opportune time for the cultivation of the land, so also is affliction for the care of the soul. For we always have need of His help, even if we have success, but then especially do we perceive it when we are in afflictions. *A helper*. Here he also signaled something else: that we must also be active.
It is not fitting, therefore, for us to be idle and to grow soft in spirit, but rather to bring prayers, and alms, and everything that can be offered by us ourselves. For even allies in war bring help to those who are fighting, not to those who shrink back and give themselves to idleness. If, then, you wish to enjoy the alliance of God, never betray what comes from you. Thus also was Job helped, while he stood firm and fought with all his might. Thus also the apostles, being active. 11. *And let them hope in you who know your name.* Another, *And they shall place their confidence.* The Prophet does this continuously, turning the discourse from prayer to exhortation, as a common teacher of the world, and placing in the midst the treasure of philosophy. He well said: *Let them hope who know your name.* For those who know you—and your taking up, he says, and your alliance—have a sufficient anchor in the hope they place in you, a sufficient alliance, and an immovable tower, one who not only promises release from evils, but also does not permit them to be disturbed by present evils. For he who has been set free from human affairs, and hangs his own hope from above, not only brings about the swiftest release from evils, but also is not disturbed or troubled in the very midst of the evils, being helped by the hope of that anchor. Thus, in any case, the three youths were not only released from the furnace, but while they were even spending time within the furnace, they were not troubled. For they knew the alliance from God. For this reason also another says: *And they shall place their confidence*, instead of saying, *they shall be bold.* For the security that comes from hope in God is far greater than the command—if one may so call it—that comes from troubles. For the former is a human thing, but the latter is divine and invincible. C Since he said that he became a helper, that he became a refuge, he shows also how he becomes so. How, then, does he become so? When we remain continuously hoping in him. But if he does not immediately resolve the evils, this also happens for your testing. Just as, though able not to allow them to approach, he nonetheless allows them, so that he may work you to be more steadfast; so too, although able to resolve them from the beginning, he lingers and delays again, increasing your intensity, and exercising your hope, and making your disposition toward him more earnest; and he neither permits you to be always afflicted, lest we grow weary, nor to be always relieved, lest we fall into laxity. *That you have not forsaken those who seek you, O Lord.* Another, *For you have not forsaken.* Thus also another says: *Look at the ancient generations and see: who has hoped in the Lord and was put to shame? Or who called upon him and he forsook him?* And how is God sought, he says, he who is everywhere? With eagerness and readiness, and with the casting away of all life’s concerns. For we have many things before our eyes and in our hands which we do not know, but we go around seeking—often that which we hold, whenever the mind is turned toward something else. D 6. How, then, is it possible to seek God? When we stretch our mind toward that, when we are released from life’s concerns. For he who seeks, having cast everything out of the soul, comes to that which is sought. And one must not simply *seek*, but also *diligently seek* [ἐκζητεῖν]. He who diligently seeks does not only seek himself, but also takes others as helpers, so as to find what is sought. But in the case of the affairs of life, we often sought and did not find; but in the case of spiritual things, this is not the case, but it is entirely necessary for him who seeks to find. For if we only go forth to seek, God does not allow us to labor much; for this reason he says: *Every one who seeks finds.* *Sing to the Lord who dwells in Sion.* Another, *Who sits.* *Declare among the nations his deeds.* Another says: *Among the peoples his machines.* What are you saying? He whose throne is heaven and footstool the earth, he whose hands hold the ends of the earth, does he dwell in Sion? Yes; for he does not mean a dwelling here in the sense of being enclosed (for his greatness is boundless), but the intimacy with the location, and the having a relationship with it, for the sake of drawing the Jews to himself through this condescension; since even a "house" is called such among us, because we have a relationship with it. And he is even said to dwell in us, not as being contained by us, but as having a relationship with us. Sion, according to anagogical interpretation, is called the Church. *For you have approached Mount Sion, and the Church of the firstborn.* And the Church is well called a mountain, because of its steadfastness, and stability, and because it cannot be moved. For just as it is not possible to shake a mountain, so neither the Church of God. *Declare among the nations his deeds.* He wants them to be heralds of the benefits of God, and never to conceal his benefits. And he seeks this everywhere, both for the sake of those who speak and those who hear. For there is profit for both these and those, if they pay attention. *That he who diligently seeks remembered their blood.* Have you seen what he calls "deeds"? The benefits. Here he also hints at a great doctrine: that murder is not committed with impunity, but is always avenged; which Moses also shows in Genesis, saying: *Your blood I will seek.* This is a proof of his infinite providence, of his extended care. But if he does not seek it on the heels of the crime, do not be surprised; for he gives to those who sin an occasion for repentance. *He did not forget the cry of the poor.* See again that the poor are approved. He does not simply say "the poor," but those who are *poor in spirit*, as Christ says. For these are most heard as they pray, those who are humble in heart, and contrite. He places two things here: both prayer and humility. *For upon whom shall I look*, he says, *but upon the humble, and quiet, and trembling at my words?* And humility is found everywhere to be the vehicle of prayer. *For the Lord is near to those who are contrite in heart.* So that he who prays must avoid inflammation, which also Paul seeks, saying: *Without anger and disputing.* He well said, *the cry of the poor*, calling "cry" the disposition of the mind, not the volume of the voice; by saying *he did not forget*, he revealed that he is continuously...
invoking [God], yet not attaining [his request] from the beginning. A What, then, is it that he says? Do not think that God has forgotten, and that for this reason He has not taken vengeance; for it is habitual to Him to seek out such things, even if no one asks; but when they do ask, and those who ask are humble, much more so. 14. *Have mercy on me, O Lord; see my humiliation from my enemies.* 15. *You who exalt me from the gates of death, that I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion.* Another: *Thy hymns.* Another: *Thy praises.* See him perpetually affixed to prayer. For having been delivered from evils and set in safety, he does not cease to pray again, saying, *Have mercy on me*, and asking Him for things to come. For we always have need of God’s providence; especially, however, while we are being delivered from evils. For one war succeeds another that is more difficult—that of sloth and arrogance; for then the devil breathes more vehemently. Wherefore, especially after we have been delivered from evils, we have need of that help, so that we may easily bear prosperous circumstances. For the Jews also, having been delivered from the Egyptians, were vexed by a more grievous war—arrogance and sloth. Thus, then, they perished most of all, as those who could not lead an army correctly. For because they stood not bravely in the line of battle neither against gluttony nor against the vice of a faint heart, but emulated the vices of the Egyptians, these things destroyed them. David also, when he had been delivered both from the difficulties of Saul and from all other enemies, after he obtained rest and relaxation, suffered a more difficult war of incontinent desire, which afflicted him also with a greater punishment. Wherefore, it is most to be feared when we have been delivered from miseries. For just as a beast bound is not feared in the same way as when it is let loose, so also vice is not so much to be feared in affliction; for then it is bound by the sickness of the soul and other chains; but after rest and remission, it is most to be feared. And therefore you will often see prosperous success in affairs bringing forth greater evils than adverse circumstances. Thus also Hezekiah, after his trophy, was about to perish. Wherefore he himself also says elsewhere: *It is good for me that thou hast humbled me* (Ps. CXVIII, 71). He seeks mercy, moreover, even after deliverance, and brings the cause of his petition for mercy, [which is] that he has been badly affected: *See my humiliation from my enemies*, and another again: *You who exalt me from the gates of death.* For I take refuge with Him who aids me, and takes care of me, and always holds out His hand to me. Do you see him, in the petitioning for things to come, giving thanks also for things past, and speaking of a double benefit? For he did not say, *Who deliverest me from the gates of death*, but, *Who exaltest me*. For God’s benefit did not stop at merely solving their evils, but He made them also admirable, notable, and more glorious. He did not say, *From the gate*, but, *From the gates*, B signifying many dangers. *That I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion.* What he persuaded others to do, he does himself: *For declare*, he says, *His deeds among the nations.* This I too will now do, and I will not do it only with one present, or two, or three, but in the midst of the theater. 16. *I will exult in thy salvation.* This is for me a crown, this a diadem, to raise a trophy for thy sake, for thy sake to attain salvation. Thus we too should seek not merely to be saved, not merely to be delivered from evils, but according to God. I say this, however, because of those who in sickness use incantations, and seek out other sorceries to alleviate their sickness. For this is not to be saved, but to perish. For the greatest salvation is to be saved through God. *The nations are fixed in the destruction which they made.* Another: *They are immersed.* He calls vice destruction or corruption; for nothing corrupts as much as vice. For there is nothing weaker than the wicked man; he is captured and conquered by his own weapons, just as iron by rust, and wool by the moth; so also the wicked man by vice. Whence, even before the punishment which is brought by God, vice itself demands penalties from the one who commits it. Because he discoursed much concerning the justice above, and concerning God’s aid, and [since] it itself does not come immediately, but hesitates and delays, and this makes many more cowardly, he shows that the punishment is at the doors, and that the wicked suffer it, as Paul also says: *And receiving in themselves the recompense which it behooved of their error* (Rom. I, 27). See, moreover, how properly he uses the terms. *Are fixed*; this is, they are held fast by force, the snares are prepared for them, unavoidable. And again, *In this snare which they hid, their foot has been caught.* By chains, he says, which cannot be loosed, the wicked are bound. These things came to pass for the apostles and the Jews. When they were waging war with the apostles, they were harming them not at all, but were implicating themselves in innumerable evils, ruined in city, and freedom, and all other things, and indeed the preaching was growing, but those who were preparing snares were being destroyed. And those who cast the three children into the Babylonian furnace were caught by it again; which is what happened also in [the case of] Daniel. But in Daniel, indeed, this happened deservedly, for they themselves had cast him in; but in the case of the three children, what is the cause, that when the king had sinned, those who were standing before the furnace are punished? Because those also who were burned had served the tyrant’s command, and had worshiped the golden statue. *In the snare which they hid.* See how he showed their shame to be unspeakable. For because what was happening was full of ignominy, for that reason they hide, and attempt to remain unseen. *The Lord is known making judgment.* That is, punishing, avenging, pursuing. Have you seen another kind of benefit from castigation...
he says, that it makes those who are chastised more diligent, but also prepares the word of His knowledge to shine forth? And one might see Him from this point of view turning men back. When, therefore, He allowed the herd of swine to rush down the cliffs and be drowned in the sea, then they were particularly astonished. And in the Old Testament, the Jews, *when he slew them, then they sought him out,* as the Prophet says. And why on earth does He not do this more frequently? Because He does not wish for the affairs of virtue to be accomplished more by force, but rather by choice, and through being treated with benevolence rather than through being punished. And by how much, he says, is it better to be good by necessity than evil by choice? It is not possible to be good by necessity. For he who becomes good through a bond will not be good at all times, but once released from necessity, he will return to evil. But he who is instructed so as to become good by choice, once he has becomes so, remains steady. *In the works of his hands the sinner was caught.* He did not say, of the hands of God, but of the hands of the sinner.
8. Have you seen how he varies the discourse, bringing in the punishment from above, and inflicting the penalty from the vice? How the punishment from above? *The Lord is known,* he says, *making judgments.* How the penalty from the vice? *The nations were stuck fast in the corruption that they wrought.* And again, that from wickedness: *In the works of his hands the sinner was caught.* For he declares neither the punishment from God alone, since it is often delayed and slow; nor only that from vice, since many even dwell in it; but he secures the discourse from both sides. Wherefore he says, *In the works of his hands he was caught.* A Another copies, *His snares*. Do not, therefore, think that you are preparing the engines for another when you plot; for you are weaving the nets for yourself. *Song, diapsalma.* Another says, *Voice always*. Another, *Melodic song always*. But the Hebrew, *Higaion selah*. *Let the sinners be turned back into Hades, all the nations that forget God.* Another, *They shall return*. Again he persists in the same points, showing that vice has punishment allotted to it, and impiety gives birth to death, and sin to dangers. *For the poor shall not be forgotten to the end; the patience of the needy shall not perish to the end.* Another interpreter says: *For the expectation of the meek shall not be forgotten to the end.* He did well to say, *to the end*, showing that one does not always seek relief. For where would the fruits of patience be shown, if there were always to be relief? But what he says is this: The wicked shall pay the penalty, and they shall suffer the ultimate things. For God will not endure forever that those who are wronged should be in plots. Hence he also comforts these, and strikes fear into those, and shows the philanthropy of God, that delay both makes the more tested and draws others to repentance. See again the needy prospering—not merely needy, but those who are contrite in heart. These B are indeed most suitable for patience—or rather, these things construct one another: humility [constructs] patience, and patience [constructs] humility. And if someone were to say, “And how is poverty humility?” we shall say this, that it is more suitable for virtue. For he who is wealthy is anxious and troubled, while he who is poor bears everything easily, being often exercised in poverty as in a wrestling school. For this reason also Christ was saying that it is difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom. What is *The patience of the needy shall not perish to the end*? Never, he says, but it shall by all means receive its proper fruit. This is not the case with worldly things, but often it falls short of its end, with the labors having perished. For both the husbandman waits and the merchant; but often, because of the intemperance of the air, both fall short of the fruit of their labors. But with God this is not so, but it is necessary to enjoy the end by all means. This is not a small matter for the sake of comfort, to be confident always about the end. *Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail.* Another, *Let him not be bold*. *Let the nations be judged in your sight.* Another, *And against your face*. Having spoken of the wickedness that possesses the majority of men, and having narrated the malice, the rapine, the greed, the murders, he entreats God on behalf of the aid of the wronged. For such are the bowels of the saints, not to care for their own things only, but as if for one house—the inhabited world—or for one body—the multitude of men—thus to entreat God. *Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail.* And what is, *Arise, C O Lord?* Come forth, he says, help, punish those who do injury. And he made good use of the naked names, having said, *Arise*, and, *Let not man prevail*—so as to declare that he is worthless, from the earth, ashes and dust. *Let the nations be judged in your sight.* What is this? Let them pay the penalty, he says, for their sins. They have not become better by the long-suffering; exact the penalties for what has been dared. *Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver over them. Let the nations know that they are men. Diapsalma.* Another, *Always*. What is, *Appoint a lawgiver over them?* Since, he says, they perform everything as if in lawlessness, not wishing to pay the penalty, come forth, and let the punishment become their instruction. This also another, declaring it, said: *Appoint, O Lord, a fearful thing over them.* See how he does not seek their punishment, but instruction and correction, and the not living lawlessly. For the punishment will be for them, he says, instead of instruction; and not for them only, but also for others. And that you may learn how great the gain is, and how it suppresses the disease, hear the following. *Let the nations know,* he says, D *that they are men.* But what he says is this: Many have even lost this; they have forgotten their nature, they have slipped into madness, they have been ignorant of themselves. And he rightly added *Always*, in order to declare that not only in adversities, but also...
in prosperity, they should maintain their fear, and the memory of the evils that have befallen them, even if they should come into prosperity, let them know their own nature.
B Why does he offer prayer on their behalf, and why does he desire their madness to be corrected? For to be ignorant of oneself is the height of madness, and more grievous than phrenitis. For this is a disease of necessity, but that is of a corrupted will. *Why, O Lord, have you stood afar off, do you overlook in times of need, in tribulations?* The Prophet says these things, praying and suppliant from the person of those who are afflicted, not blaming—far be it. For many of those who are afflicted, because of their pain, desire the judgment to happen before the appropriate time; just as those who are being operated on, before the surgery is finished, ask the physician to withdraw his hand, requesting a harmful favor, doing this because they cannot bear the pain. And often they shout at the physicians: "You have tortured me, you have destroyed me, you have taken me away!" Yet these words do not proceed from the mind, but from the pain. So, certainly, many of those who are small-minded and abject say such things in their afflictions, not bearing the labor. Sophonias also handles such a matter. But these examples are in the Old Testament, when the contests were moderate; but they are far removed from the philosophy of the New.
C Let them be caught in the counsels that they devise. Another: *Let them be caught.* 3. *For the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul, and the unjust man is blessed. 4. The sinner has provoked the Lord.* The Prophet, having put upon himself the person of the suppliant, and praying for those who are suffering injury, mentions also the affections that have come, which are of human weakness; namely, that the one to whom the injury is done is vexed and tormented before the punishment, not bearing the prosperity of the wicked one. This is not a small punishment either. Then he asks that they pay the penalty, and that their snares be turned back against themselves; he also speaks of an intolerable kind of wickedness. What is this? *Because the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul.* For those for whom he ought to hide himself, for whom he ought to be ashamed, for these he is held in admiration, for these he is praised. How then will a remedy be able to be applied to this person hereafter, when vice is praised? But this happens now as well. This man is held in admiration, as one who is powerful; another, as one who takes vengeance on his enemies; another as prudent, because he has gathered up the goods of all; and when he has ruined himself, they say he has "found himself," and others say other things—but about spiritual things, not even a word. He who is detached from business is not quickly praised, nor the lover of poverty; but he who is wealthy, a shopkeeper, a flatterer, who for the sake of nothing useful performs servile ministries. The Prophet laments these things, that vice has so prevailed that it flatters and pleases itself, and what is more grievous, that it is not at all ashamed, and that it not only praises itself for what it does, but also has others as its praisers. What could be worse than this madness? *The sinner has provoked the Lord.* Another: *Because when the iniquitous man praised according to the desire D of his soul, and the covetous man blessed, he irritated the Lord; when his wrath has been exalted, he does not seek.* Another: *Because he praised in the desire of his soul, and the covetous man who blessed, he drew aside from the Lord. The impious man according to the exaltation of his wrath will not seek.* But the Seventy: *The sinner has provoked the Lord; according to the multitude of his wrath he will not seek.* Do you see where vice has proceeded? What do I say, he asks, that he molests the poor? He irritates God Himself. And *according to the multitude of his wrath he will not seek,* he says, God. But another shows this to be said about the impious man saying, *Of his exaltation,* that is, of his arrogance, of his insolence. Do you see the remarkable madness and corruption? He is an enemy and a foe to those who are of the same race and kin, an alien to virtue, a lover of vice and a praiser of it. And another said beautifully, *God is not in all his thoughts,* signifying that he does not seek God, that he is full of darkness, that he does not have the fear of Him before his eyes. But just as a cataract darkens the pupil, so also does wickedness darken the mind, and carries his thoughts toward the precipice. His ways are defiled in every time. Your judgments are taken away from his face. Another: *Your judgment has been removed.* Do you see the fruit of vice? His light is extinguished, his reasonings are dulled, he is delivered captive to wickedness. For just as he who is deprived of sight frequently falls into pits, so also this man, because he does not have the fear of God before his eyes, dwells perpetually in vice; not now indeed in virtue, and now in vice, but always in vice, nor does he remember hell, nor the future judgment, nor the rendering of an account; but, these supports being shaken off like a bridle, like a ship with no ballast, he is delivered to evil spirits and savage waves, with no one to guide and instruct his soul. Do you see the evil man paying the penalty even in vice itself? For what is heavier than an unbridled horse, what than a ship that lacks ballast, what than a man who is blind?
...one ought not to flatter the sinner. But more miserable than all these is he who lives in vice, as one who, with the light that proceeds from the fear of God extinguished, is delivered up as a captive. *He will rule over all his enemies. 6. For he said in his heart: I shall not be moved from generation to generation without evil.* Another: *He tosses all his enemies, saying in his heart: I shall not turn from generation to generation. For I shall not be in affliction.* Do you see the arrogance? Do you see the unspeakable destruction? Do you see how destruction is gradually increased? Do you see how the things that are considered blessed among fools are truly full of much misery, and how they are overwhelmed? *He is praised in his sins, he is blessed in his misdeeds.* This is the first pit, which is enough even to precipitate one who does not notice. And therefore those who accuse and correct are more to be welcomed than those who praise and flatter toward destruction. For these corrupt the dull-witted, and propel them to greater vice: just as those who have puffed up this sinner have schooled him for madness. And therefore Paul also says this very thing to the Corinthians, about the one who was
A a fornicator: And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned (1 Cor. 5:2)? It is proper to mourn for one who sins, not to praise him. Do you see a perverse wickedness, how it is not only not accused, but even praised? From this, out of his own folly and the praises he receives, he increased his wickedness, he forgot the fear of God and His judgments; from this he also forgot his own nature. For he who forgets the judgments of God, henceforth in time forgets even himself. See, then, what he reasons: I shall not be moved from generation to generation, without evil. What is more foolish than this thought—that a man, being mortal, subject to temporal things, and exposed to myriad mutations, should imagine such things? Whence does this arise? From folly. For when a foolish man enjoys much prosperity, and overcomes his enemies, and is praised and admired, he becomes the most wretched of all. For by not expecting a change, he neither bears prosperity soberly, and having fallen into adversity, being untrained and unpracticed, he is troubled and B confounded. But not so Job; but even in prosperity he expected adversity every day; wherefore he also said: For the fear which I feared has come upon me, and that which I was afraid of has met me. I had no peace, neither had I quiet, neither had I rest; yet trouble came (Job 3:25-26). And therefore another said: Remember the time of famine in the time of plenty, of poverty and need in the day of riches (Eccli. 18:25). But this man, having become corrupted once for all, does not look upon human affairs, but thinks that because of his own success they have become immutable; which is a cause of the utmost folly and corruption, and a source of destruction. Do not, therefore, call those blessed who are wealthy, who overcome their enemies, who are praised for these things. For these are great pits and precipices for those who are not C watchful, casting them down into the very bottom of impiety. Of cursing his mouth is full, and of bitterness, and of deceit. Under his tongue is toil and pain. Another [version]: Useless. He sits in ambush with the rich in secret places, to kill the innocent. Another: Lying in wait by the enclosures. His eyes look upon the poor. He waits in secret as a lion in his den. Another: As in his covert. He lies in wait to snatch the poor, to snatch the poor when he draws him. Another: In his drawing. In his trap he will humble him. Another: In his net. He will stoop and fall in his mastering of the poor. Another: And he being crushed shall be bowed, when he has fallen with his strong ones upon the weak.
Do you see that he has even become a beast? For just as the Prophet, describing a beast, speaks of him D thus, bringing to light his deceits, his ambushes, his plots. What could be more wretched than this, or what more impoverished, when he stands in need of the poor man's money? Shall we, tell me, call this man rich? Then we should also call the thief and the house-breaker rich. Far from it, he says. For what if he does not break into courts? What if he does not come by night, but by deceit extinguishes the light of the judge? What if he does not come when men are sleeping, but when all are wide awake? For this man is all the more shameless. Since even the laws punish those who steal by day more severely than others. Do you see the poverty? Do you see the cruelty? The poverty, in that he desires the things of the poor; the cruelty, in that he is not moved even by their misfortune, but the very poverty which he ought to pity and rectify, he grinds down. But yet he does not perform these things with impunity; but when he prevails, when he seems to overcome, when he thinks himself invincible, then he shall perish; that both the resourcefulness of God may be manifest, and the patience of the poor, and the incorrigibility of this man, and the long-suffering of God's forbearance. Therefore, justice does not follow at his heels, as God through His long-suffering calls him to repentance; but when he gains nothing from this long-suffering, then He admonishes him through punishment. For these men, though they have been injured, were not harmed; but they became even better and more luminous from the affliction; but God displayed His own long-suffering, bearing with him and being forbearing, and along with His long-suffering, He displayed His power and His abundance; for when he is more powerful than himself, then He overcomes him; and this man, having remained incorrigible, pays the final penalty. And this is no small tempering for those who prosper.
to the aid of his victim, and demanding that he be both helper and vindicator of those who are wronged, so that the former might recover his breath and the latter might be corrected. Let no man, therefore, pursue an abundance of riches and resources. Many evils arise from this for those who do not pay attention: arrogance, sloth, envy, vainglory, and other far greater things than these. But that you may be freed from all these evils, tear out the root; for if it does not remain, the evil sprouts do not bud forth. And for this reason, these things have been said not only that we might hear them, but that we might be corrected and demonstrate great virtue in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
EXPOSITION ON PSALM X
For the end, a Psalm of David. Another: A triumphal hymn for David. Another: A victory song for the author.1. In the Lord I put my trust: how will you say to my soul, “Be a migrant to the mountains like a bird?” Another: “Cross over to the mountains like a bird.” Another: “Move.” 2. For behold, the sinners have bent their bow; they have prepared their arrows in the quiver, to shoot down the upright in heart in the darkness. Another: “As if in the darkness.” 3. Because what you have perfected, they have destroyed. Another: “Because the laws have been dissolved.” Another: “Because their teachings shall be crushed.”
Great is the power of hope in the Lord, a fortification that cannot be overcome, a tranquil harbor, a tower that cannot be besieged, invincible weapons, unconquered powers, and that which finds a way out even in the most difficult and impossible circumstances. Through this, the unarmed have prevailed over the armed, and women have overcome men, and children have easily become superior to those who were exercised in the arts of war. But what is surprising if they defeated enemies, when they even surpassed the world itself? For the elements ignored their own nature and were changed to what was useful to them; the wild beasts were no longer wild, nor was the furnace a furnace (Dan. 3). For hope in God changes all things. The teeth were sharp, and the prison was narrow, and the cruelty of nature, and famine were goading nature (Dan. 6:22); nowhere was there anything to restrain them, and the mouths were close to the prophet's body. But hope in God, which is more powerful than any bridle, rushing into their mouths, dragged them backward. The same man also philosophized, saying to those who were bidding him to flee and to provide for his own safety from the protection of places: “In the Lord I put my trust: how will you say to my soul?” What are you saying? I have the Lord of the world as my helper; I have Him who easily accomplishes all things everywhere as my leader, and as one standing at my side; and you send me to uninhabited land, and you procure security for me from the wilderness? Would the help from the wilderness be greater than that from Him who can do all things with the greatest of ease (Job 42:2)? Why do you urge one who is well-armed to take flight as if he were naked and unarmed, and why do you command him to migrate? Therefore, if you would not command one who has an army and is fortified with walls and weapons to flee into the desert, but would appear ridiculous if you were to advise such a thing, then you are acting ridiculously and behaving foolishly when you drive away one who has the Lord of the world with him, and you exile him and command him to migrate because of the war, which...
A you are carrying on due to the war waged by sinners? For along with the things mentioned, I have this other justification for not fleeing. For when God helps, and the ones waging war are sinners, how does one who advises imitating the timidity of birds not incur the uttermost shame? Do you not understand the army arrayed against me, how it is more worthless than a spider? For if the enemy of an earthly king, wherever he arrives, lives insecurely and fears and trembles, how much more so the enemy of the God of all? For wherever he arrives, he has everyone for an enemy, and creation itself. For just as his friends both fear the elements and the beasts, and all creation respects them, so the enemy and the adversary is warred against and spat upon even by inanimate things. For this reason, some were destroyed by beasts even before they could touch the ground, and others were consumed by fire. But they have bows and a quiver, and everything is prepared for them—for they have prepared them, he says, for a quiver; but there is no strength in these, and we are not terrified by them. For I would not have been afraid even if I had seen someone holding a bow that was unstrung. For what utility do weapons have if there is no strength? Therefore, neither is this the case here, if God's favor is absent. But they weave deceits, and they do not approach in a straightforward manner. For this reason I especially laugh at them, because they shoot in the dark. For there is nothing weaker than a man who plots. He does not need to be caught by the weapons of others, but he falls by his own hand, and is overturned by his own deceit. What, then, could be weaker than when he is caught by his own machinations?
Besides these things, there is also something else to say: that not only do sinners wage war with those aided by God and do so with deceit, but they do so even against those who are unaccountable and have done them no wrong. Nor does this make them weak just by chance. For just as those who kick against the goads did no harm to them, but made their own feet bleed, so it is with these as well. Along with these things, there is also another reason that disarms the power of their war. What is this? "For what you have established," he says, "they have destroyed." What he says is of this kind: They war and fight against You, destroying Your law and Your commandments. For they attempt to pull down the commandments, and these [commandments] were already established. He means either this, or that they are also transgressors of the law. And this is no small cause of weakness, that they go to war like this, not having kept Your laws. For because of this they both war against the upright and weave deceits, since they do not listen to Your commandments.
2. Having therefore described the weakness of the enemies, and having shown it B not from those things from which others do, but from which it was fitting for him—for he did not say, "They have no money, or forts, or allies, or cities, or that they are inexperienced in wars," but passing by all these things and spitting upon them as being nothing, and having said that they are lawless, because they wage war against those who have done no wrong, because they destroy the things of God—he then tells of the battle array of the righteous, and from there shows that those [the sinners] are easily defeated. Thus we too should test the strong and the weak, but let us not fear those things which the laughable sort of men fear, but rather fear because of these things. For what do they say? "He is terrible, he is wicked, he is surrounded by a mass of money and power." For this reason I especially laugh at him. For these are forms of weakness. "But he knows how to plot," he says. Again, you tell me of another form of weakness.
What then, because many succeed while being such? Since you do not know how to box well; since you too are wrestling for the same things for which they become weaker, for glory and power. Flee the subject of the contest, and strike the approaching ones from another direction: the arrogant with gentleness, the greedy with poverty, the licentious with temperance, the envious with kindness; and thus you will easily overcome them. But, as I just said, having described the weakness of the adversaries, see how he also speaks of the full armor of the righteous. For he adds: "But what did the righteous man do?" That is: "Those men being arrayed in such a way, you ask where the righteous man took up his arms? Hear: The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord is in heaven, His throne."
See how briefly he described his alliance? You ask, "What did he do?" He took refuge in God who is in the heaven, who is present everywhere. He did not string bows, nor did he prepare a quiver, like that man, nor did he array himself in the dark; but leaving all these things, he fortified the hope in God against everyone, and set Him against them C who needs none of these things, not times, not places, not weapons, not money, but accomplishes everything by a nod. Have you seen an alliance that is unconquerable, easy, and simple? "His eyes gaze upon the poor, His eyelids examine the sons of men. The Lord examines the righteous and the ungodly, but he who loves iniquity hates his own soul." Another, "His eyelids test." Another, "The Lord is a righteous examiner." Another, "He tests the righteous and the ungodly, and His soul hated him who loves injustice." Another, D "He who loves injustice, hates his own soul." Have you seen an ally prepared, a helper ready, everywhere present, seeing everything, looking at everything, whose work it is especially, even if no one is calling, to provide, to care for, to hinder those doing wrong, to help those being wronged, to the ones rendering the rewards of their good deeds, and to the others setting the punishments for their sins? Therefore He is ignorant of nothing; for His eyes gaze upon the inhabited world. Nor does He just know, but He also wills to correct these things. Wherefore also another, declaring this very thing, said, "Righteous." For if He is righteous, He will not endure to simply look on as these things are happening. He turns away from the wicked, He praises the righteous. Then what he was saying in the former psalm, showing that wickedness itself is sufficient to consume them, this too he declared here, and added, "But he who loves iniquity, hates his own soul." For wickedness is an enemy to the soul, an adversary and destructive, so that even before the punishment the wicked man is paying the penalty. Have you seen how he shows those opposing to be easily captured from every side, when he has such an ally, and they are caught by their own weapons, being consumed by those things through which they wall themselves in, and...
the enemies; you see the ease of the alliance? For there is no need to walk anywhere, or to run, nor to spend money, since God is everywhere present and sees all things. A *And the spirit of a storm is the portion of their cup.* 8. *Because the Lord is righteous and loves righteousness, his countenance has seen equity.* Another says: *He shall rain coals upon the unrighteous* (a). Another says: *His countenance shall see rectitudes*, that is, those of the righteous, or even of God Himself. After having spoken of the punishment which arises from wickedness—since many despise this—he subsequently shakes up the mind of the wicked from the blow which is brought down from above, using emphatic language and proceeding through terrible terms. For *fire and sulfur and a spirit of a storm and coals*, he says, he shall rain from above, wishing to show by this metaphor of the words an inescapable punishment, the diversity of the torment, the ease of the blow, and the consuming power for those who wish to be destroyed. B *This is their lot, this is their possession; in this they shall dwell, in this they shall be consumed.* Then he also brings forward the cause: because he who looks upon all things does not permit these to pass by unpunished. Which another prophet also says: *Your eye is pure, so as not to see evils, and you cannot look upon labors:* this also he shows here, saying: *Because the Lord is righteous and loves righteousness* (Habakkuk 1:13). This is peculiar to God, to admit what is just, to embrace equity; nor would he ever endure those things which are done otherwise.
EXPOSITION ON PSALM XI
C *To the end, for the octave. Another, For the leader, for the octave. The Hebrew, Aseminith, he says.*
*Save me, O Lord, because the holy one has failed, because truths have been diminished from among the sons of men.* Another says: *Because the faithful have been brought to an end from among the sons of men.*
A. Virtue is difficult and hard to achieve, and in itself, especially when one who practices it lives in a city where good men are scarce. For just as for one traveling a journey there is labor, but much more so if the traveler is alone and has no companion for the way, so it is here also. For the society and exhortation of brothers is no small thing. And therefore Paul also says: *Considering one another to provoke unto love and good works* (Heb. 10:24). For this reason D the ancients are especially to be judged blessed, not because they lived rightly and out of virtue, but because it was then, when there was a great sterility of virtue, that those who performed themselves rightly did not appear anywhere. Thus, signifying this also, Scripture said: *Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generation* (Gen. 6:9). For this reason we admire Abraham, for this reason Lot, for this reason Moses, because like stars in a deep night they appeared, and like roses among thorns, and sheep among innumerable wolves, as those who entered upon a way contrary to all, and who did not at all interrupt the journey they had begun. For if this very thing is difficult among a multitude, and one who walks a track contrary to many is himself alone, he is afflicted with great troubles; and if in navigation it is difficult, when waves and the tide move against one, to steer the ship in the contrary direction, much more so in virtue. Therefore this righteous man here also, as one who alone has apprehended it, walks a path wholly contrary.
And he did not say, "Save me, because I am not holy," but, "Because the holy man has ceased," showing that even those who were once holy have perished, since wickedness grew strong and the disease prevailed. Paul also fears this, saying: "Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" (1 Cor. 5:6). And again: "Evil companionships corrupt good morals" (1 Cor. 15:33). What is, "Truths have diminished"? Truths are many. Just as with colors and other kinds [of things], some are true and others are false, and there is true purple and false purple, and in saffron, and in stones, and in perfumes, and in other things of this sort—so too with virtues. For truth is that which is truly being, and falsehood is that which is not. Since, then, these things had been twisted and darkened—not having lost their substance by their own nature, but having been banished by men—for this reason he did not say only that "truths have diminished," but he added, "from the sons of men," wishing to signify this very thing. Observe now: there is a true ornament; there is also a false one. What then is the true ornament? That which is in the soul. And what is the false one? That which is in the body. There is true wealth; there is also false. False is that of money, true is that of righteous deeds. There is joy, one false and the other true, and likewise beauties, powers, and glories. But if the majority of men, leaving behind the truth of these things, pursue the false ones—just as there is a true man and a false one—the true one being he who lives and works, the false one he who is [merely] painted—so too with virtues it is possible to see.
B 2. "Each one spoke vain things to his neighbor. Deceitful lips in a heart and in a heart they spoke evil." Another says, "In each and every heart he speaks." He speaks of two evils here: that they spoke vain things, and that they spoke them to their neighbor—he calls either falsehoods vain, or things superfluous and useless. Paul says something similar, saying: "Do not lie to one another" (Col. 3:9). And what is even more grievous is that all were corrupted. Therefore he did not say "So-and-so," but "Each one." For the wickedness was not simply superficial, but from below, and from the heart. "In a heart and in a heart," which another interpreter said [was] "In each and every heart," teaching that there is much duplicity in their hearts. This is more bitter than all enemies. For some are manifest and clear, whence they are also easy to guard against; but these people, by putting forward one mask and being another, become difficult to detect by those being plotted against, being far more grievous than those who [merely] brandish swords. "The Lord will utterly destroy all deceitful lips and the boastful tongue, those that say, 'We will magnify our tongue.' Another [says], 'We will be powerful. Our lips are with us.' Another, 'He is with us.' Who is our lord? Another, 'Who will lord over us?'" Did you see the prophet's care? How he prays for them? For what is said is not against them, but for them. For he did not say they were to be destroyed, but that wickedness was to be wiped away. For he did not say, "The Lord will destroy them," but, "the deceitful lips."
3. And again, he does not wish for their substance (the person themselves) to be destroyed, but the tongue, the madness, and the deceit, and for their vanity to be cut away. Mocking their folly, he says: "Our lips are with us. Who is our lord?" These are the words of the crazed and the deranged. For this reason Paul, speaking in opposition to them, admonishes: "You are not your own; you were bought with a price" (1 Cor. 6:19-20); and he bids them not to live for themselves. "The lips are not yours," he says, "but the Master's." For He Himself made them, He crafted them, He breathed life [into them]. But do you possess them? Not everything we have is ours; for we possess wealth, but it is entrusted to us by others; and we lease land, others having given it to us. Thus indeed God has leased these things to you, not that you might produce thorns, but that you might transform seeds into something useful; not that you might cultivate madness or deceit, but that you might cultivate humility, praise, love through them. He gave eyes, not that you might see impure things, but that you might adorn them with self-control; and hands, not that you might strike, but that you might show mercy. And how do you say that "our lips are with us," when you make them slaves to sin, to fornication, to impurity? "Who is [our] lord?" O devilish word! O demonized soul! Do you see, man, all of creation proclaiming the power, the wisdom, the care, the providence of your Master? Your body, your soul, your life, the things that are seen, the invisible things, almost everything, giving utterance and proclaiming the power of the Creator, and you say: "Who is our lord?" This is of madness, this is of derangement, this is of a corrupted soul. Therefore [come] ten thousand evils. But while these men say, "Who is our lord?", others confess the Master, but nullify the word concerning judgment and punishment, purchasing great punishment with a brief pleasure, and wishing to comfort themselves by not remembering Gehenna; they remain unaware that through this fearlessness they are casting themselves into the abyss of destruction. Therefore I exhort you both to remember Gehenna and to discuss Gehenna; in this way mold the beauty of your soul. For the utility of these words is great. For God did not threaten it simply, and did not make it known from that point on without purpose, but that by fear He might make them better. For this reason the devil does everything and makes every effort, wishing to remove the memory of it. Therefore do not cast away the memory, nor say, "Why should I grieve myself out of season?" Are you grieved out of season? It is that which is "out of season" to ache, when you ache in Gehenna. This is the season for grieving, not that. And this is shown by the rich man in the story of Lazarus, who, having been grieved ten thousand times [there], profited nothing. If he had grieved in due season, he would not have suffered what he suffered. "Because of the misery of the poor and the groaning of the needy, now I will arise," says the Lord.
"I will set Him in safety; I will deal boldly in Him." Another, "I will set forth a conspicuous salvation." A Exhortation to patience. Learn how great is the power of humility. There is power in the poor (of the poor, I say, of those who are contrite in heart), it is a protection in evils. For He does not say that it is life, or virtue, but the suffering of evils that rouses God and evokes Him to punishment and vengeance. It is a great thing, if an injury is done to thee, to bear it with a strong spirit; so great a care does God have for those who are affected by insults: calamity and affliction B serve in the place of the greatest defense. Great is the power of a cry, which calls forth heavenly aid. Fear, whoever you are who injure the poor. You have power, wealth, money, and the benevolence of judges; but they have the most powerful of all arms, lamentations and cries, and those very injuries which draw aid from the heavens. These arms dig up houses, these overturn foundations, these destroy cities, these submerge entire nations; the groaning, I say, of those who are affected by injury. God respects their good spirit, when, suffering evils, they bring forth no evil word, but only groan and bewail their own evils. What is it, then, "I will set Him in safety, I will deal boldly in Him"? With confidence, He says, I will openly and manifestly defend them, that all may understand. And when does He not preserve them C openly and manifestly? Sometimes He does this not manifestly, but secretly; for He has no need of that glory which comes from men. Now, however, because it was likely that enemies would rush in, and insult them, and reproach them as not having God as a helper, so that they too might be amended and become better, when they had learned by experience the aid of the Lord, "Openly," He says, "I will effect salvation for them." 7. "The words of the Lord are pure words; silver tried in the fire, proven for the earth." And how are these things a consequence of what has been said? Quite beautifully. For, He says, do not think these words were spoken rashly, or that the threats are empty and superfluous; for His words are pure, free from falsehood. For just as silver D ignited has nothing alien or adulterated, so also God’s words, what He has said, must altogether come to pass. And therefore He says, "Silver tried in the fire, proven for the earth." Another, "Ignited, yielding to the earth." But the Hebrew, for that which is "yielding to the earth," said *Baalil laares*, that is, molten, flowing into the earth. "Purified sevenfold." 8. You have seen how He demonstrated that which is true, and alien to falsehood, by the similitude of matter? For just as that molten, ignited [silver], having undergone this often, is alien to alien matter, most accurately purified; so also is the sentence pronounced by God. 8. "Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us, and shalt preserve us
...do not discard even the superfluous, but living in abundance, we disregard the holy ones. The earth again brought forth so many gifts for another friend of God from its own depths, such an abundance as was never seen before. And why do you marvel if they themselves were venerable, when even their garments and their shadows were fearful to demons, and to death, and to disease? And angels revered men, and honored them with excess. For how could they not, whom their own Master honored? And this can be seen in both the Old and the New Testament. For this reason it says: *According to thy height thou hast multiplied the sons of men.* Understanding therefore the magnitude of the honor, let us render the reward worthy of it, so that the excess of honor may not become for us a provision for punishment; from which may we all be delivered, both those who teach these things and those who learn them, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom belongs all glory, honor, and adoration unto the ages of ages. Amen.
EXPOSITION ON PSALM XII
*To the end, a Psalm of David.* Another: *A song of victory of David.* Another: *For victory.* *How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me unto the end?* Another: *Thou wilt ignore me utterly.* *How long wilt thou turn away thy face from me?* Another: *Thou hidest.* *How long shall I set counsels in my soul?* Another: *I shall appoint opinions.* *Pains in my heart by day and by night.* Another: *Anxiety in my mind by day.*
1. It is no small good, this, to have a perception of the forgetfulness of God. Consider this forgetfulness not to be a passion, but abandonment. Many, surely, having suffered this, neither know it nor lament it; but this blessed man not only knew it, but also calculated the time. For the "How long" shows that the time was long; for this reason he also laments and mourns. But you, observe for me how he is nowhere pained for the sake of anything worldly, not for riches, not for glory, but everywhere for divine favor. And whence, he says, did he know that God had forgotten him? Because he knew when He was mindful of him, and he clearly understood what forgetfulness is, and what memory is; not like the crowd of men who, when they are wealthy, when they are esteemed by men, when all things go according to their desire, when they overcome their enemies, then they think that God is mindful of them; for this reason they do not know even when He forgets them. For those who do not know the sign of memory, do not understand the sign of forgetfulness either. For if they do not know the symbols of friendship, they do not know those of enmity. For God forgets many of those who have these things, and especially them; but He remembers often those who are in adverse circumstances. For nothing produces memory in God so much as doing something good, being sober, being vigilant, caring for virtue; just as nothing produces forgetfulness [so much] as being in sins and greed and rapacity. And you therefore, beloved, when you are in afflictions, do not say, "God has forgotten me"; but [say it] when you are in sins, and all things go according to your desire. For if you were to know this, you would quickly depart from wicked deeds. *How long dost thou turn away thy face from me?* This is intense forgetfulness. For from human traits He shows the energies of God, and characterizes His anger and His punishment. But God turns away His face again when we do things unworthy of His commands. For, He says, *When you sretch out your hands, I will turn my eyes away from you.* Then also the cause: *For your hands are full of blood.* But this also is again of great care, both the abandonment and the turning away of the face; He does this so that He may draw us to Himself more vehemently. For even a mad lover lets go and abandons the beloved who regards him with contempt, not casting him from his mind, but wishing to turn him around and join him to himself.
Having spoken of the turning away, he also speaks of the forgetfulness, and the things that came to him from it. What, then, are these? What he adds by saying: *How long shall I set counsels in my soul?* For just as he who has gone out of the harbor wanders everywhere, and he who is deprived of light stumbles in many things: so also he who has fallen into the forgetfulness of God is given over to worries, and anxieties, and pains continuously. But this too is no small thing for turning God back to oneself: to be anxious, to care, to be consumed, to be in pain, to make an account of His turning away. Which Paul also, writing to the Corinthians, said concerning himself: *And who is he that makes me glad, if not he who is grieved by me?* For it is no small gain, beloved, to have a perception of God's turning away, to be pained, to be distressed. For thus we shall quickly turn Him back to us. *How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?* *Look upon me, hear me, O Lord my God. Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death.* For just as when God holds on and is with us, all things that grieve are moved out of the way; so when He stands apart and forgets, the soul is cut through, and the heart is pained, and the things that grieve trample over us, and everything is cliffs and precipices. But these things are permitted advantageously, so that, being bitten by all things, the more slothful may return more zealously [to the place] from which they fell. *For your apostasy will instruct you,* he says, *and your wickedness will reprove you.* So that even the abandonment of God is a form of providence. For when He who provides and cares is despised, He lets go for a little and abandons, so that then, the sloth being cast out, the negligent may become more zealous. *Look upon me,* he says, *see my enemy being exalted over me; and if not for my misery, at least for his arrogance and madness look...*
B upon me. And what do you ask? That you might conquer your enemies? He does not say this, but, *That the eyes of my heart may be enlightened, that the darkness which has covered the discerning faculty of my soul and blinded the eye of my understanding may be driven away.* This is what I ask, *Lighten my eyes.* *Lest at any time my enemy say,* when he sees me overthrown unto the death of sin: *I have prevailed against him.* I have overcome him; what I desired to see has happened to me. What is, *I have prevailed against him*? Even if he is not strong in himself, against me he certainly has become strong. Our defeat brings strength to him; it renders him powerful, and mighty, and unconquerable. B C We truly, when we sin, do not only disgrace and destroy ourselves, and cast ourselves into death, but by the fact that we are defeated, we proclaim our enemies strong and powerful; and not only this, but we also place them in great joy and exultation. Papae, what a great folly, what a great stupor it is to bring help to adversaries against oneself, and to provide a cause of joy and exultation to those who torture and afflict our soul! See how many absurdities there are. When I ought to conquer the enemy (for *his swords have failed for the end, and he has perished,* Ps. IX, 7), when, I say, I ought to conquer, I am conquered; and not only that, but I also render him strong and powerful: and our madness and extreme disease do not stop even there, but we provide for him even those things that bring him joy and exultation. Truly, sin is an extreme drunkenness and the greatest of evils. *They will exult,* if I am moved. The prophet offers three reasons to move the Lord and intreat Him, so that He might look upon him, and turn His face, and hear his prayer: the strength of the enemies, and before that their rising up and exaltation; third, their joy and exultation, as if to say: If not for the sake of my prayer, and not for the sake of my misery, You do not turn Your face toward me, O Lord; at least look upon me for the sake of the enemies' arrogance, in that they show off their strength and are very pleased with themselves; because they rejoice in my evils and mock my fall. *Hear me, lighten my eyes. Remove the heavy sleep* brought on by my sins, *with which, having been lulled, I have been led—so to speak—to the death of the soul. For if I am moved from your security, this is reckoned as joy, glory, and strength for them; on this account they boast, and are very pleased with themselves, and are intolerable; but if I am led to death, what would they not do? You see how great a loss the prophet considers it, and no less than punishment and torment, to provide joy to a common enemy, and to bring it about that he himself might seem powerful and exalted. For if he did not consider these things to be the greatest and most intolerable evils, he would not have proposed them to appease God and to draw His benevolence toward himself. Let us also do the same, and consider, and strive that we may not exalt the enemy, that we may not make him powerful, that we may not bring him joy, but on the contrary, we may render him humble, and cast down, and weak, and sad, and downcast. For if He sees that those who have sinned are acting rightly and from virtue, all these things happen at once. D *But I have hoped in Thy mercy.* What then, have you done rightly that you should ask, that He should again look upon you, that He should hear your prayer, that the eyes of your mind should be enlightened? And from where do you hope that these things will happen for you? Let others say, he says, if they can say anything; but I know one thing, I say one thing: I place all my hope in Him; I propose to myself that, Your mercy, Your clemency. *But I,* he says, *have hoped in Thy mercy.* Have you seen the humility of the prophet? Have you seen the pious and grateful soul of the man? Although he could tell of countless things he had done rightly, and through them entreat God, he says none of them, but takes refuge solely in God's mercy. Whence it is clear that when he says these things, namely, *If I have done this, if I have returned evil for good* (Ps. VII, 4-5), and things of this sort, he says them having been brought into great necessity; and if this is not present, he says none of those things, but proposes mercy and God's clemency as his entire supplication. Then, trusting that he would not be disappointed in his hope, he added, *My heart will exult in Thy salvation.* Giving of thanks before the benefit. Have you seen a soul hoping well? He requested, and before he received, as one who had received, he gives thanks, and sings a hymn to God, and does all the things that have been mentioned. And whence is he endowed with such good hope? From a pious and grateful soul, from great and vehement zeal in his petition; he knew that one who asks in this way is heard by God, from great heat and agitation of heart. Just as those who ask sluggishly and negligently, even when they have received, scarcely feel the gift; so those who ask with intense zeal and vehement tension of mind, even before they have received, from their great and pure affection, feel the gift as if they had received it, divine grace sending joy ahead: and on account of this they give thanks, and are not far from receiving. *My heart will exult in Thy salvation.* This, he says, fills my soul with joy, that I should attain salvation from You; my soul rejoices that You are its salvation. Do you see exultation over a fall, and the exultation of the soul over its own salvation? That one is of the Wicked One; this one is of those who are being saved. That one is the destruction of the one who seemed to exult, and of the one on account of whom he exulted; this one is the salvation and restoration of the one who exults. Let us therefore rejoice and exult with this exultation; let us flee that one and turn away from it. *I will sing to the Lord who has dealt bountifully with me, and I will chant to the name of the Lord Most High.* A monument, he says, of this benefit I will offer to the Lord, because He has treated me with a benefit, has rendered the enemy humble and cast down, has filled him with ignominy, has shown him to be weak, has heard my prayer, has turned His face toward me, with the mist and darkness dissolved through which I was being carried toward death; and, exulting on account of His salvation, as if some
ADMONITION ON THE EXPOSITION OR HOMILY OF CHRYSOSTOM ON PSALM XLI
In this Exposition, or Homily—for it is truly a Homily—Savile notes the following: "It is a homily delivered to the people on the beginning of Psalm 41, not a continuous exposition of the whole Psalm; nor does it have anything A *hypomnematikon* (commentary-like) or similar to the rest. Add that it was delivered after another one concerning Melchizedek. We provide it based on the authority of two codices, in one of which it is found among the various and singular ones; rightly so, and not inserted among the other commentaries on the Psalms, as it is in the other codex."
It is certainly established that this homily does not belong to the Expositions on the Psalms, but is a moral exhortation, with its argument taken from the beginning of Psalm 41. As to the time it was delivered, Chrysostom himself indicates it not obscurely at the beginning: "You, indeed," he says, "were recently admiring us when we discoursed on Melchizedek, because of the length of what was said; but I was admiring you for your attention and wisdom in listening, and because, although the discourse presented itself as somewhat prolix, you followed us right to the end." And with some things interposed: "As therefore I was saying then, that while wolves invade the flock, the shepherds, leaving the pipe, take the sling into their hand: so now, while the feasts of the Jews have passed, who are more savage than any wolves, leaving the sling again, let us return to the pipe." B Here you see that this Homily on Psalm 41 was delivered when he had already said many things about Melchizedek and had completed the Homilies against the Jews. He said many things about Melchizedek in the seventh Homily against the Jews, which is the penultimate one of that argument; and that ought to be counted among the long speeches of Chrysostom; the eighth and final one is longer, however, but in it there is nothing about Melchizedek, from which one might perhaps conjecture that this Homily on Psalm 41 was delivered in the days intervening between the seventh and the eighth.
For although this is said to be on Psalm 41, it happened when the feasts of the Jews had passed—feasts which were celebrated with fasting—yet that eighth Homily against the Jews is also said at the beginning to have been delivered after the feasts and fasts of the Jews: *The fast of the Jews has passed*. And Chrysostom convinces us that it was spoken after this one on Psalm 41, when he says that he had recently—that is, as it seems, in the last discourse—woven a long speech and said many things about Melchizedek, which certainly pertains to the seventh against the Jews. C When, however, he later says that *then* he had brought forward the example of the shepherd, who, seeing a wolf, lays aside the pipe and takes up the sling, you should understand that "then" to refer to the entire struggle against the Jews, which, having already arisen in the year 386 during the feast of the Jews, around the month of September—at which time Chrysostom delivered the first three discourses against the Jews—also recurred in the following year, 387, upon the return of the same feast, when he spoke the remaining five homilies against the Jews. Therefore, in the fourth one, at the beginning of the second war, he seems to sound the trumpet call thus. Chrysostom... D
to answer him. In that sense, the term *hypakouein* (to answer) is also used in Job 14:15, where the Septuagint has: *kaleseis, ego de soi hypakousomai*, where the Vulgate reads: *Vocabis me, et ego respondebo tibi* ("You will call me, and I will answer you"). Athanasius is clear in his *Apology for his Flight* (p. 354): "Sitting upon my throne, I instructed the deacon to read the psalm and the people to answer, 'For his mercy is for ever'." And in his *Letter to Marcellinus the Count* (p. 998): "To sing the Psalter having an *alleluiaria*," where he indicates Psalms 104, 105, 106, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 118, 134, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150. From these testimonies it is clear that *hypakouein* and *hypopsallein* mean to answer the reader or to sing along with the one who is chanting; and thus an *hypakoe* is an answer or a response—contrary to the translation of Gentianus Hervetus, who, always seeking an interpretation from the verb "to hear," ruins the sense of the passages. This is also misunderstood by Goar in his *Euchologion* (p. 57), where he translates *hypakoe* as "hearing," although he expresses doubt and brings forward the opinions of various others. Therefore, the people were said to *hypakouein* and *hypopsallein* when they sang along with the deacon or priests or clerics who were leading the chant, or when they answered those who were reading; and an *hypakoe* was that very thing which was answered; for example, "As the deer pants for the water brooks," etc. "Just as the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, O God,"—this was the *hypakoe* or response; there were also other *hypakoe* responses.
ON PSALM XLI
"As the deer pants for the water brooks" (v. 2). And for what reason the Psalm is introduced into our life, and why it is sung with a chant. And concerning the gentleness and patience of God.
We previously spoke about Melchisedech, on account of the length of those things that were said; yet I was admiring you for your attention and wisdom in listening, and because, even though the discourse was rather long, you followed us to the very end, although the discourse was not only long but also possessed great difficulty. But neither the length nor the difficulty of the matter conquered the eagerness of your spirit. Come, then, let us remunerate you for that labor by conversing with you today in a clearer manner. For the mind of the audience must not be kept constantly tightened, for it is easily broken; nor, on the other hand, should it always be remitted and relaxed, for from this it becomes duller. Therefore, a varied manner of teaching must be used: at one time a more popular discourse, and one better adapted to delight the congregation, must be used, and at another time a sharper one, and one more suited to striving. Just as I was saying then, that while wolves attack the flock, the shepherds leave the flute and take the sling in hand: so now, while the Jewish feasts—which are more savage than any wolves—have passed, let us leave the sling again and return to the flute; and ceasing from a more competitive manner of speaking, let us approach some other more open topics, taking up the cithara of David himself, and bringing into our midst the response that we all sing today. What response, then? "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, O God."
On the power of music; why the Psalms were invented; that we should sing with understanding.
It is necessary, first of all, to say for what reason this Psalm was introduced into our life, and why this prophecy is said especially with a chant. Hear, therefore, for what reason it is said with a chant. When God saw that many men were quite sluggish and neither came willingly to read spiritual things, nor were willing to tolerate the labor involved in it, wishing to make the labor more pleasant and to diminish the sense of its fatigue, he mingled melody with prophecy, so that all, delighted by the modulation of the chant, might emit their sacred hymns with great eagerness of spirit. For nothing so lifts up the soul, makes it, as it were, winged, frees it from the earth, and loosens it from the bonds of the body, and makes it love wisdom, and causes it to laugh at all things connected with this life, as the modulation of the chant and the divine song composed in rhythm. Our nature is surely so delighted by chants and songs that even infants hanging at the breast, if they are weeping and distressed, are lulled by such a means. Nurses, certainly, who carry them in their arms, often going back and forth and singing some childish songs to them, hush them to sleep in this way. For this reason, also, travelers driving their beasts of burden at midday often do this, singing to console them for the difficulty of the journey with those songs. And not only travelers, but also farmers treading grapes in the winepress, gathering the vintage, and tending the vines, and doing any other work, often sing. Sailors also do this while pulling the oars. And now women, too, weaving and sorting the tangled threads with the shuttle, often do this, each one by herself, and often...
all together in harmony, singing one certain melody. Women do this, and travelers, and farmers, and sailors, hastening to comfort the toil of their labors with song, inasmuch as the soul, when it hears a melody and chant, is more easily able to bear all things that are troublesome and burdensome. A Since, therefore, the soul is by nature so inclined toward this kind of delight, that it might not be that the demons introduce lewd songs and ruin everything, God has fortified it with Psalms, so that the thing brings both pleasure and profit simultaneously. For from external songs come harm, and destruction, and many grievous things would be introduced; for the more profligate and lawless of these songs, taking root in the parts of the soul, make it weaker and softer; but from the spiritual Psalms comes much gain, and great is the benefit, and great is the sanctification, and it becomes an occasion for all philosophy, since the words cleanse the soul, and the Holy Spirit quickly flies to the soul that sings such things. For that those who sing with understanding call upon the grace of the Spirit, hear what Paul says: "Do not be drunk with wine, in which is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit." He added also the manner of being filled: "Singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord." What is "in your hearts"? With understanding, he says, so that the mouth might not speak the words while the mind spends its time wandering everywhere outside, but that the soul may listen to the tongue.
B And just as where there is mud, pigs run, but where there are aromas and incense, bees settle; so where there are lewd songs, demons gather; but where there are spiritual melodies, the grace of the Spirit arrives and sanctifies both the mouth and the soul. I say these things not that you might only praise them, but that you might also teach children and wives to sing such songs of this kind, not only at the loom, nor in other jobs, but especially at the table. For since the devil lies in wait for the most part at banquets—having drunkenness and gluttony as his allies, and disorderly laughter, and a relaxed soul—it is then most necessary, both before and after the meal, to fortify against him the safety that comes from the Psalms, and for you to rise up together with your wife and children after the banquet and offer holy hymns to God. For if Paul, having unbearable lashes laid upon him, and being bound to wood, and living in a prison, in the middle of the night—when sleep is most sweet to all—continued with Silas singing hymns to God, and was forced by neither the place, nor the time, nor the worry, nor the tyranny of sleep, nor the pain of those tortures, nor from anywhere else at all to abandon the melody; much more do we, who live pleasantly and enjoy the good things of God, owe it to send up hymns of thanksgiving to Him, so that even if something improper should come into our soul from drunkenness and gluttony, the psalmody entering in may cause all those improper and evil designs to flee away. And just as many of the wealthy, having filled a sponge with balsam, wipe their tables, so that if any stain has come from the foods, it might be swept away and show the table clean; so let us also do, having filled the mouth instead of with balsam with spiritual melody, so that if any stain were made from gluttony in the soul, through that melody we might wipe it off, and say standing together: "You have gladdened us, O Lord, in your work, and we shall exult in the works of your hands" (Ps. XCII, 5). And let a prayer be added after the psalmody, so that along with the soul we may sanctify the house itself. C For just as those who bring mimes, and dancers, and lewd women into banquets call demons and the devil there, and fill their own houses with countless wars (for from thence come jealousies, and adulteries, and fornications, and countless evils); so those who call for David with the cithara summon Christ within through him. And where Christ is, no demon will ever dare to enter, or rather, not even to peer in; but there is peace, and love, and all good things will come as if from fountains. They make their house a theater; you make your room a church. For where there is a psalm, and prayer, and a choir of prophets, and a mind of the singers that is beloved of God, one would not err to call this gathering a church. And even if you do not know the power of the words, for the time being train the mouth itself to say the words. For the tongue is sanctified even through words when these are spoken with eagerness. If we establish ourselves in this habit, we will never—not even if we are busy or slothful—approach this good service, as the habit will force us, even against our will, to perform this good worship every day. In this melody, even if someone is aged, even if young, even if rough-voiced, even if ignorant of all rhythm, no accusation is made. For that which is sought here is a sober soul, an awakened mind, a contrite heart, a resolute reasoning, a cleansed conscience. If having these you enter into the holy choir of God, you will be able to stand beside David himself. Here there is no need of a cithara, nor of stretched strings, nor of a plectrum and skill, nor of any instruments; but if you wish, you will make yourself a cithara, having mortified the members of the flesh and having made much harmony between your body and your soul. For when the flesh does not desire against the Spirit, but yields to the commands of that One, and brings this [flesh] to the end of the excellent and admirable path, thus you will produce spiritual melody. D There is no need for skill here that is perfected over a long time; but there is need for a noble intention only, and we shall receive the experience in a brief moment of time. There is no need of a place, no need of a time; but it is permitted to sing in the mind in every place and at every time. For even if you are walking in the marketplace, even if you are in the roads, even if you are sitting with friends, it is permitted to stir up the soul. It is permitted to cry out while silent. Thus Moses also cried out, and God heard (Exod. XIV, 15). And if you are an artisan, sitting in a workshop and working, you will be able to sing. And if you are a soldier, serving in a court, you will be able to do this same thing.
It is possible to sing even without a voice, by the mind resounding within. For we do not sing to men, but to God, who possesses the power to hear even our hearts and to enter into the secret things of our mind. Paul also, pointing this out, cries out, saying: *The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, that He makes intercession for the saints according to God* (Rom. 8:26-27). He said this not because the Spirit groans, but because spiritual men, who have the gifts of the Spirit, when praying for their neighbors and offering supplications, do so with contrition and groanings. Let us also do this, and everyday intercede with God through the psalms and prayers. But in order that we may not offer words only, but may also know the very power of the expressions, come, let us bring the proem of this Psalm into our midst. What, therefore, is the proem? *As the deer pants after the fountains of waters, so my soul pants after Thee, O God.* This is the custom of those who love: not to keep love in silence, but to declare it to their neighbors, and to say that they love. For the nature of love is a warm thing, and the soul cannot bear to keep it in silence. And for this reason, Paul the lover also said to the Corinthians: *Our mouth is opened to you, O Corinthians* (2 Cor. 6:11); that is to say, I cannot contain it and suppress love in silence, but I carry you always and everywhere, both in my mind and on my tongue. Thus also this blessed man, loving God and burning with love, cannot bring his soul to be silent, but sometimes he says, *As the deer pants after the fountains of waters, so my soul pants after Thee, O God*; and at other times, *O God, my God, I watch for Thee at dawn.* *My soul has thirsted for Thee, as a land inaccessible, waterless, and desert* (Ps. 62:1). For thus did another interpreter say. Because he cannot represent love by words, he explores this way and that, seeking an example, so that he might indicate his love to us even by that means, and make us partakers of his love. Let us therefore believe him, and learn to love in this way.
We are able to love God, even if we do not see Him. And let no one say to me, "And how can I love God, whom I do not see?" For we love many, even though we do not see them, such as our friends who have gone abroad, or our children, or parents, or relatives and kin; and the fact that we do not see them causes us no impediment; rather, this very thing more kindles the love, and increases the desire. And for this reason, speaking of Moses, Paul also says that, having left behind treasures and wealth and the splendor of a kingdom and all other glitter in Egypt, he preferred to be afflicted with the Jews; then, teaching us the reason, that he was doing all these things on account of God, he added: *For he endured as seeing the Invisible* (Hebr. 11:27). You do not see God, but you see His creatures, you see His works, the heaven, and the earth, and the sea. But he who loves, if he sees the handiwork of the beloved, if a shoe, if a garment, if any other thing, he is kindled. You do not see God, but you see His servants, His friends—I mean the holy men, and those who have confidence toward Him. Observe and cherish those now, and you will have no light comfort for your desire. Indeed, among men, we are accustomed to love not only our own friends, but even those who are loved by them. And if one of those who are loved by us should say, "I love this man or that," and if that person has been affected by some benefit, I consider that I have received a benefit myself; we do everything and expend all our efforts in order that, just as if we were seeing the beloved, we might show every zeal toward him. We can do this same thing most excellently in the case of Christ. He said: "I love the poor"; and if they receive any good thing, it is as if I myself had received it, and I return the recompense (cf. Matt. 19:21). For the sake of cherishing and supporting them, let us not fail to do anything; nay, rather, let us pour out all our resources upon them, believing that we are feeding God through them. For that He is being fed while they are fed, hear what Christ says: "You saw me hungering," He says, "and you fed me; thirsting, and you gave me drink; naked, and you clothed me" (Matt. 25:35-36); and He has given us many ways by which we can comfort our desire.
Three things stir up love. The beauty of God.
But otherwise also, there are three things that are accustomed to bring about love among us: the beauty of the body, the magnitude of a benefit, or the fact that we are loved by that person. For each one of these by itself is able to create love in us. For even if we have received no benefit from someone, but only hear that he loves us constantly, as one who praises and admires us, we are immediately glued to him, and we love him as a benefactor. In the case of God, however, it is possible to see not only this, but also these three things, so great and so distinguished, that no speech can explain them. And first, the beauty of that blessed nature, which is alien to corruption, is something infinite and in no way to be surpassed, which exceeds every reason and eludes every thought. But when you hear of beauty, do not suspect anything corporeal, O beloved, but a certain incorporeal glory and ineffable magnificence. The Seraphim stood in a circle around Him, and with two wings covered their face, and with two covered their feet, and with two they flew and cried out, "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Isai. 6:2-3), out of amazement, out of admiration, out of that decorum, out of that glory. And again, David, when he had grasped in his mind this same beauty of that blessed nature, and had been struck with wonder at the glory, said: *Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O Mighty One, with Thy form and Thy beauty* (Ps. 44:4-5). For this reason, Moses often desired to see Him, struck with this love, and loving that glory (Exod. 33:13). Wherefore Philip also said: *Show us the Father, and it suffices us* (John 14:8). Or rather, whatever we might say, we shall not be able to explain even a small, indeed not even a slight trace of that beauty. But shall we enumerate the benefits? Not even these will speech be able to reach. And for this reason, Paul said: *But thanks be to God for His ineffable gift* (2 Cor. 9:15). And again: *Which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard...*and which have not entered into the heart of man, those things which God has prepared for them that love Him* (1 Cor. 2:9). And again: *O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!* (Rom. 11:33). But who could set forth in speech the affection that He has shown toward us? In amazement at this, John said: *For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son* (John 3:16). But if you wish also to hear His words and learn of His longing, listen to what He says through the prophet: *Will a woman forget to have pity upon the offspring of her womb? But even if a woman should forget these things, yet I will not forget you* (Isai. 49:15). And just as he said: *As the deer longs for the fountains of water, so my soul longs for Thee, O God*; so also Christ says: *As a hen gathers her chicks, so I wished to gather your children, and you would not* (Matt. 23:37). And again: *As a father pities his children, so the Lord has pitied them that fear Him* (Ps. 102:13). And again: *For according to the height of heaven from the earth, the Lord has strengthened His mercy upon them that fear Him* (Ibid. 11). And just as the prophet seeks a pattern in order to show his own longing, so also God has used certain patterns in order to reveal to us the love that He has for our salvation. And the prophet spoke of a thirsty deer and scorched earth; but God speaks of the affection of birds for their chicks, and the care of fathers, and the height of heaven from the earth, and the tender mercies of mothers—not because He loves us only so much as a mother loves her child, but because there are no greater proofs of friendship A to be found among us than these common terms, norms, and examples. Since He loves us not only as much as a tender mother loves her children, but much more, listen to what He says: *For if a woman should even forget her offspring, yet I will not forget you*. By this He was saying, showing that His longing for us is warmer than any natural affection. As you gather all these things together, reflect upon them with yourself, and you will kindle a warm love, and you will light a bright flame. Since, therefore, nothing is as accustomed to kindle friendships among us men as the memory of the benefits we have enjoyed, let us do this also in the case of God. Let us reflect upon how many things He has done for our sake: the heaven itself, the earth, the sea, the air, the plants on the earth, the varied flowers, the livestock, the reptiles, those in the sea, those in the midst of the air, the stars in the heaven, the sun, the moon, all things visible simply, the lightnings, the orderly arrangement of the seasons, the succession of day and night, the annual changes. He breathed in a soul, granted reason, and honored us with the greatest authority. He sent angels, He sent prophets, and later His own only-begotten Son. And after those things, this One also exhorts us both through Himself and through the only-begotten Son, that you might be saved; and Paul does not cease B pleading, *As God exhorts through us, we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God* (2 Cor. 5:20). He made us receive the first fruits, He made Him sit above every principality, power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come (Ephes. 1:21). Now truly it is timely to say: *Who shall tell of the powers of the Lord, and shall make all His praises heard?* (Ps. 105:2). And that again: *What shall I render to the Lord for all that He has rendered unto me?* (Ps. 115:12). For what could be equal to this honor, to see the first fruit of our race, which had offended in so many ways, and which was dishonored, sitting at such a height and enjoying such honor? And do not count only the common benefits, but also your own: if ever you fell into slander and were delivered from the accusation; if ever in the dead of, and middle of, the night you encountered robbers and escaped their snares; if ever you were delivered from a loss that had been brought upon you; if you fell into a grievous illness and found consolation.
5. Call to mind all the benefits of God that have happened throughout your whole life, and you will find many, not only throughout your whole life, but even in a single day. And if God wished to set in our midst all the benefits that He bestows upon us daily, while we are unaware and do not know of them, we would not be able to count them. C How many demons are carried about in this air? How many opposing powers? If He only allowed them to show their own terrifying and joyless appearance to us, would we not have gone out of our minds? Would we not have perished? Would we not have been destroyed? Therefore, reflecting upon all these things, and our own sins—as many as we stumble into willingly and as many we commit in ignorance (for even this is no small thing in the account of benefits, that God does not pursue our transgressions every single day)—we will be able to love God. For when you think of how many sins you commit each day, and how many benefits you receive each day, and how much forbearance you enjoy, and how much relief, and that if God were to pursue us every day, you would not have lived even a short time (according to the Prophet who says: *If Thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?* (Ps. 129:3)), you will give Him thanks, and you will not be vexed at anything that happens; but you will say that even if you suffer ten thousand things, you have not yet rendered the equivalent punishment. And being so disposed, you will kindle a great longing, and you will be able to say with the prophet: *As the deer longs for the fountains of water, so my soul longs for Thee, O God*. It is worth investigating why He brought this animal into the midst. How is the deer thirsty? And for this reason it runs constantly to the fountains of water. It becomes thirsty both by nature D and because it eats snakes and is nourished by their bodies. Do you also do this: eat the intelligible snake; strike down sin, and you will be able to thirst for the longing of God. For just as a wicked conscience makes us filthy and plunges us into despair, so if we strike down
sins, if we have purged away wickedness, we shall be able to look toward spiritual longing, to call upon God with great alacrity of mind, and to kindle a more vehement love, and to echo this response not only with words but also with deeds. For it was for this reason that that blessed man sang the psalms for us, or rather, the grace of the Spirit did, not so that we might merely utter the words, but so that we might meditate upon them with our actions as well. Do not, therefore, suppose that you come here only to say the words, but that when you respond, you may consider that pacts and covenants have been made. For when you say, "As the hart panteth after the fountains of waters, so panteth my soul after thee, O God," you have made a pact with God, you have written a contract without paper or ink, having professed with your voice that you yourself love Him above all things, and that you prefer nothing to Him, and that you burn with love for Him. If, therefore, upon leaving, you see some beautiful and shameless woman enticing you and alluring you to the love of herself, say to her: "I cannot follow you, I have made a pact with God, and in the presence of the brethren, the priests, and the teachers, I have professed and promised by that response that I love Him in such a way, 'As the hart panteth after the fountains of waters.' I am afraid to transgress the covenants; I meditate upon that one love from now on." If you see silver lying in the marketplace, or golden garments, or others walking about gloriously, surrounded by servants, and having horses with golden bridles, let not that pomp move you, but sing again to yourself, and say to your soul: "A little while ago we sang, 'As the hart panteth after the fountains of waters, so panteth my soul after thee, O God,' and that which was written we have attributed to ourselves, and have made it our own." Let us therefore love none of those things that pertain to this life, so that that love may remain pure and entire for us, and not become divided and weaker. These riches will be able to bestow upon us all wealth, all treasure, all glory, all reputation, all brightness. Let us obtain these, and we shall be in need of nothing else. For if those who are possessed by a base love, and are inflamed by the ardor for some girl, even if she be deformed, neither fear the threats of parents, nor heed the reproaches of friends, nor care for the criticism of many others, but, striving toward her as if to a target, both despise their home, and their paternal inheritance, and hold in contempt their glory, their reputation, and the exhortations of friends, thinking that they have great consolation regarding all these things if they are only held in value and honor by their beloved, even if she be vile, infamous, and whoever she may be: shall those who love God as is fitting ever feel what is either glorious or troublesome among men? They will not even grasp the pomp of the present life, as those who are directed toward that love, but they will laugh at every prosperity, and will hold in contempt all adverse things, as those who are bound by the desire for God, and see nothing else except Him alone, and always think upon Him, and consider themselves more blessed than all others. Even if they are in poverty, even if in ignominy, even if in chains, even if in afflictions, A even if they are in the direst evils: in all things that they suffer they will think themselves to be in a better condition than kings, having a certain admirable consolation, because they suffer these things for the sake of Him whom they love. B Paul was in daily deaths, in prisons, in shipwrecks, in deserts, in scourges, in innumerable other punishments, yet he rejoiced, and exulted, and gloried (2 Cor. 11.23) not only in the hope of the glory of God, but we also "glory in tribulations" (Rom. 5.2, 3); now however again: "I rejoice in my passions, and I fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ in my flesh" (Col. 1.24); and he calls that thing a grace, thus confessing and saying: "To us it is given by Christ not only that we should believe in Him, but that we should also suffer for Him" (Philip. 1.29). Let us also study to be of the same mind, and let us bear all the troubles that befall us placidly and willingly. But we shall be able to bear them if we have loved God as the prophet loved Him. For we can see His love not only from that response, but also from those things that follow. For when he had said: "As the hart panteth after the fountains of waters, so panteth my soul after thee, O God," he subjoined, saying: C "My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God: when shall I come and appear before the face of God?" He did not say: "My soul has loved the living God," nor, "My soul has cherished the living God," but in order to show the affection, he called the love a "thirst," signifying to us both things, both the ardor of the love, and the perpetuity of the same. For just as those who thirst do not undergo this in one day, and two, and three, but through their whole life, nature leading us to this: so also that blessed man, and all the saints, were not in compunction for one day alone, as many men are, nor for two, nor for three (for this would not be a thing to marvel at), but they persevered in loving religiously and daily, and grew in love. Which indeed he himself also signifying said, "My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God," wishing at the same time to state the cause, so that through you he might show how someone can love God in this way. For this he declared through those things that follow, when he said: "My soul hath thirsted after God," and he subjoined, "the Living," almost urging and shouting to all who are panting after the things of this life: "Why do you grow insane over bodies? Why do you love bodies? Why do you desire glory? Why do you covet pleasure?" None of those things remains and lives for eternity, but it flows away and passes by, and is emptier than a shadow, and more deceitful than dreams, and it is corrupted and dies more quickly than spring flowers. D For why should I not say it is more quickly corrupted and dies, when some things indeed leave us together with the present life, and others are dissolved even before? Uncertain is the possession of them, unstable the use and enjoyment of them, swift is the change. But in God there is nothing of this kind, but He indeed lives and remains forever, receiving no change, nor any conversion. Therefore, having left behind those things that fall and are momentary, let us love Him who is eternal and perpetual. For it cannot be that he who loves Him can ever be affected by shame; it cannot be that he should fall from Him; it cannot be that he should be destitute of Him whom he loves. He who loves money, either by death approaching, or even before death, is stripped of those things which he desires. He who loves present glory, the same thing often [happens to him].
The beauty of bodies, too, is often extinguished much faster than the things already mentioned, and all worldly things, in a word, are transient and ephemeral, and before they arrive and appear, they immediately vanish. But the love of spiritual things is the exact opposite; it thrives and blooms constantly, and it does not know old age, nor does it admit of antiquity, nor is it liable to any change, alteration, or uncertainty of the future. Indeed, it even benefits those who possess it here, encircles them on every side, and does not abandon them when they depart from here, but travels with them, transfers with them, and renders them brighter than their own luminaries on that day. B Knowing this, the blessed David continued to love, and could not bear to keep this love within; he strove in every way to show to those who heard him the fire that was confining him within. For after saying, *My soul has thirsted for the living, strong God*, he added, *When shall I come and appear before the face of God?* See the man burning, see him inflamed. Knowing that he would see Him after departing from here, he does not even await the postponement; he cannot bear the delay, but here he shows us an apostolic mindset; for just as he [Paul] groaned at the delaying of his departure from here, so too did this man experience the same thing. For this reason he said, *When shall I come and appear before the face of God?* And if he had been a private C and lowly individual, living in poverty, it would still have been a great thing to despise the present life; but it is not as great as it is now for one who is king, enjoying such luxury, partaking of such glory, having won countless victories, having vanquished many wars, and being radiant and famed everywhere, to laugh at all these things—at wealth, and glory, and every luxury—and to pant for the things to come. This is the mark of a great-souled mind, of a philosophical soul, and one winged with heavenly love.
7. Let us, then, also imitate this man, and let us not admire the present, so that we may admire the future; or rather, let us admire the future, so that we may not admire the present. For if we constantly dwell in thoughts about those things—and we ponder within ourselves the kingdom of heaven, the immortality, the life that never ends, the choir with the angels, the dwelling with Christ, that D unsullied glory, the life exempt from all pain—and we realize that both tears, and insults, and revilings, and death, and sadness, and pain, and old age, and disease
leaving the rest to be chosen by each [person] to obey, and to search out the power hidden within it. Here I shall end my discourse, having exhorted your charity—that you should not depart from here in vain, but take the responses as pearls, keeping them perpetually at home, meditating upon them, and telling all these things to your friends and wives. And if any disturbance of soul should vex you, if a desire [or] anger should be stirred up, or any other perturbation alien to reason, speak these [things] incessantly, that we may enjoy great tranquility in this life, and attain to the eternal goods in the next life, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power, [and] honor, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM XLIII
O God, our ears have heard, our fathers have told us a work which Thou didst work in their days, and in the days of old. Another interpreter says, In the days before. Another, In the days from the beginning.
A 1. This Psalm is spoken not by the Prophet in his own person, but in the person of the Maccabees, narrating and predicting things that were to happen at that time. For such are the prophets: they run through all times, the present, the past, the future. Who these Maccabees are, what they have suffered, and what they achieved, it is necessary to say first, so that what is said in the underlying subject may be clearer. For when Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, had invaded Judea, and had devastated everything, and constrained many who then existed to depart from their ancestral institutions, they remained unharmed by those trials. And when a grievous war was indeed pressing, and they were able to accomplish nothing that was profitable, they were hiding themselves. Which the apostles also did; for they did not always throw themselves into the midst of looming dangers, but sometimes also, by fleeing and hiding, they retreated. But after they had recovered their breath, like certain noble lion-cubs springing from dens, and emerging from hiding places, they resolved no longer to preserve only B themselves, but also others, as many as they could. And circling through the city and the whole region, they gathered together as many as they found still sound and whole, and many also who had labored and been corrupted they brought back into their former state, persuading them to return to the ancestral law. For they said that God is benevolent and Clement, and never takes away the salvation which proceeds from repentance. Saying these things, they had a selection of valiant men. For they were not fighting for wives, children, and handmaids, and for the overthrow and captivity of their country, but for the law and the ancestral republic; and their leader was God. When, therefore, they were directing the battle-line and subjecting their own souls, they were routing the adversaries, not trusting in arms, but judging the cause of the battle to be sufficient for victory. And going to war, they did not stir up tragedies, they did not sing paeans, as some do; they did not bring in pipers, as happens in other camps; but they invoked the aid of God C from above, that He might be present, bring help, and lend a hand, for whose sake they were waging war, for whose glory they were struggling. Let us see, therefore, how these camps of God speak, which are armored with spiritual aid, when they are about to attack enemies. "O God, our ears have heard." For because some of those who stood with them in the battle-line, seeing Antiochus's multitude, the marshaled line, and the victory, and that he had taken everything in the first assault, and considering their own weakness and fewness, were softer and weaker, he [the leader] excites their minds and spirits, and showing that the whole thing lies in the guidance of God, and that even without an army, if He brings help, victory can be provided, he brings forth an exhortation composed in the manner of a prayer, and by addressing God, makes them more prompt and alert. And this is no small part of exhortation. For a speech turned toward them would not have had so much strength as one directed to God. And therefore proceeding he said: "For they did not possess the land by their own sword, and their right hand did not save them" (v. 4). This belongs, indeed, to him who consoles and refreshes those who are weaker D and more feeble of spirit for taking up labors, who seek victory from the human order of events. All this prayer, therefore, is an exhortation to the soldiers, which bids them to cast everything upon God, and to establish the victory by hanging [their] hope on Him. But why did he not say simply, "We have heard," but, "Our ears have heard"? For by what other part of the body is one heard? Are the things said therefore superfluous? Far from it; but this is a common custom of men, who, when they recount certain things about which they have been made certain, and relate great things and things of great weight, they always add [a mention of] cars to those to whom these things are not quite so certain, saying that they heard them with their own ears. And not only in this action, but also in others, we are accustomed to do this very thing, bringing forward our own senses into testimony. Thus it is for those who wish to create belief in a listener to add ears. For in [the case of] eyes, and in hands, we do this very thing, as when we say: "We have handled with our hands." The apostles also used to say: "Which our eyes have seen, and our hands have touched" (1 John 1:1). See, moreover, their virtue even from this prologue: who, having suffered so many and such great things for the sake of God, having fallen from country and liberty, having undergone dangers, and while others were driven into flight, pursuing mountains and solitudes, they say nothing of these in the meantime—namely, "We suffered this and that for Thee, give us help"—but as if they lacked these things, which they could by right have brought forward, and nor having confidence from their own deeds, they take refuge in those things which God had done for their ancestors. For it is not to be wondered at that those who have no confidence do these things, since necessity draws them to this; but when those who, because they have done rightly, can speak magnificently, do not wish to be saved by these [deeds],
A but only from those things which have been given to others, but also from those which have been previously bestowed upon us ourselves, as is often a valid request: which Paul also did, writing to the Philippians, and saying: "For even in Thessalonica and once and again you sent for my needs" (Philipp. 4. 16). And therefore many who give to many advise this, that they should not say so to others: so that the favor done to one may not stir up many who are asking to the one who has given, as if the one who has given once had no refuge unless he should give to others also. But while men reasonably command this, as they become poorer by giving, God on the contrary both proclaims and shouts aloud those things given to others, so that there may be an opportunity for others to ask him again. For by giving, his wealth is shown to be greater. Therefore Paul says: "Who is rich unto all, and over all who call upon him" (Rom. 10. 12). B Do you see a new nature of wealth? Imitate this generosity yourself. For when you expend the wealth stored up, then you more greatly increase it; but if you bury it, then you more greatly diminish it. And what is to be wondered at if this happens in spiritual matters, where it even happens thus in carnal ones? For if a person, sparing his grain so it lies at home, does not spend it, nor cast it into the furrows, he has surrendered it to be eaten by worms; but if he scatters it, he produces a greater harvest.
3. The sum of the wealth of the rich is poverty. — Hear, as many as are slothful toward almsgiving. Hear, you who diminish your wealth by keeping it. Hear, you who are in nothing better off than those who are rich in dreams. For things present are nothing better than a dream; but just as those who imagine in their sleep that they possess money, even if they become masters of royal treasuries, are poorer than everyone when the day has come; so also in the present life, he who has been unable to bring anything there, shall be poorer than all, even if he has possessed all things; for he was rich only in a dream. If, therefore, you wish to show me the wealthy man, show him to me when the day has arrived, when we have departed into that country: but now I will not endure to distinguish the rich man and the poor man. For it is not the truth of things, but a favor of names and a reputation. For just as most people call blind men "keen-sighted," but the thing does not follow the name, but rather these are the ones who do not see: so also do I say that the name of the rich is carried about here among those who possess nothing there. C For when he is rich here, then I know most especially that he is poor. For if he were not very poor, he would not be very rich. Just as the blind man, if he were not altogether sightless, they would not have called "keen-sighted": so it must be considered here as well. Having put off, therefore, the deception of names, let us lay hold of the truth of the things. For things do not stand in names, but the natures of things fashion the names according to their own substance. Such-and-such a man is called rich, but is not. And how is he not, when much silver, and much gold, and precious stones, and golden garments, and all other things stream around him? Because it is not gold, nor garments, nor money, but almsgiving that makes a man rich. For these are hay, these are wood and stubble. For what garment, tell me, will be able then to clothe the naked standing before that terrible judgment seat?
A Which Paul, fearing, said: *If indeed when clothed, we shall not be found naked* (2 Cor. 5:3). What wealth will be able to rescue him who has been brought into danger? What servants will be able to stand by their master who is being scourged? What house? What precious stones? What baths will be able to wash away the filth acquired from sins? How long do you deceive yourselves? How long do you not discern the truth of things, but gape after dreams, while the judgment is near and at the doors? But let us return to the things that are proposed. *Our fathers have declared to us the work which Thou hast done in their days, in the days of old.* This word can also be taken anagogically. For even if the fathers told them to those, yet God's grace has given to us also—through the advent of the Holy Spirit—to learn the things that were done among them. B And how will one be able to explain these things anagogically? By drawing them to the glorious achievements of the new grace, that we have been raised up to heaven, that we have been judged worthy of the kingdom, that God has become man, that He has broken down the middle wall of the partition. But let us return to the history. *The work which Thou hast done in their days, in the days of old.* He mentions a certain ancient story, and he brings forward things that were once done gloriously. And why does he not mention something new? Because among men, indeed, we rightly narrate things which have been done recently, and by them we draw people in, because their memory is weak; but to God all things are equally known, both old and new. *For behold*, He says, *Thou hast known all things, the final and the ancient* (Ps. 138:5). It does not matter whether one calls it a narrative of old or new things, provided it is suitable for the purpose. But what does he wish to call the ancient narrative? Let us hear. C 3. *Thy hand destroyed the nations, and Thou didst plant them; Thou didst afflict the peoples, and cast them out.* Have you understood what war he speaks of, what victory, what trophy? Do you have need that it be explained by us? I think, indeed, many have already understood what is said; but for the sake of those who are ignorant, it is necessary to add something of our own. Of what trophies, then, of what deeds does he make mention? Of those which were done in Egypt, those which were in the desert, and those which were in the land of promise; or rather of those things done in the land of promise. For those who went out from Egypt did not reach Palestine, but all fell in the desert (Num. 14:23; Heb. 3:17). When, therefore, those who were born from them, and those who were educated in the desert, entered into Palestine, he says, they had no need of weapons, but they took cities by their cry alone; and when they had crossed the Jordan, the first city that met them, Jericho, they destroyed in the manner of those dancing rather than those warring (Jos. 6). D For they went out armed, not as to a battle, but as to a festival and a dance, equipped with weapons for the sake of ornament rather than that they might be safer, and clad in sacred garments, and having the Levites who were leading the camp, they surrounded the walls. And it was a sight to behold, admirable and almost incredible, so many thousands of an army proceeding in a certain order and with great number, in total silence, and honestly and becomingly, as though no one were present, and having accomplished everything by the harmony of those trumpets. Let them be ashamed who behave tumultuously in the church. For if, where trumpets were sounding, there was such beauty of order, and such moderation, where God Himself speaks, what pardon shall they obtain who because of their own tumults prevent what is said from being heard? But why, he says, does he not mention those who came out of Egypt? Because they all fell, because they paid the penalty. But why did all perish? Because they sinned greatly. From this, however, he also provided another thing, that those who were to occupy Palestine might not see the evils that were in Egypt, namely all superstition, all impiety, and that they might have no teacher of such great wickedness. For the custom of the Egyptians had so preoccupied them, and had so seized them, that after so many miracles they could not even in the desert purely wipe away the remnants of error. But if they had even received the Canaanites as teachers, worse than the former ones, into what would their impiety not have broken out? And for this reason, He kept those who had been born in the desert until their sons had arrived at the age of men.
4. And we do not say these things speaking from ourselves, but we prove them from the Scriptures. For through Ezekiel, God Himself reproaches them for this very thing, that when He had led them into the desert and had discoursed much with them, He was not heard (Ezek. 20:10). But for what reason did He command them to be clothed in arms when they were about to attack Jericho? For it would have been more admirable if they had done this without arms. Truly, when He commands us to do something human, and to receive some sensible help, He does this by descending to their weakness. For what could weapons accomplish toward the casting down of walls? What indeed, the sound of trumpets? For if it had been a war against men, there would have been some importance to be placed in weapons; but if walls were to fall, why be clothed in arms? Under Gideon also, those who were taken were equal to those who were not taken: for all were manifest (Judg. 7). Why, therefore, do these things happen? That those who are kept under these commands may be led to faith. For the soul which is united to the body, and has never seen anything incorporeal, and is intent upon things sensible, needs to be led from the things which are seen to those which are comprehended by the mind. Whence also, when the prophets spoke of God, there was a need to make mention of the human shape of members, not that they might paint that nature which is alien to corruption and death with the figures of members, but that they might teach the soul, nurtured in sensible things with the body, those doctrines from human examples which are above man. Since, therefore, God's operation is something which is apprehended by the intellect, so that those who were then present might not disbelieve, He sets also something sensible. For if He had said, "In seven days the city will be overturned, while you are quiet and doing nothing," perhaps many would not have believed; but now He sets these precepts as a kind of foundation for the human mind. And so that you may not think it is some conjecture, a record of ancient history...
I wish to relate, to confirm the word for you. Naaman was a certain Syrian. He, having been seized by leprosy, and being ashamed thereof, as though he were in the greatest danger, comes into Palestine (for I must shorten the discourse), wishing to find a release from his evil from the prophet. Having come, therefore, and stood at the door of the man, he called for the physician. And he, although he heard, did not in fact come out, but sent to him, A commanding him to be washed in the river Jordan. Now he, since the command was slight, and had much that was sensible, and required no lofty meditation, was not persuaded. But what does he say? "I thought that he would surely come out and lay his hand upon me, and call upon his God, and heal the leprosy" (4 Reg. 5. 11). Do you see how the soul desired some sensible manifestation? For the fact that he did not think the physician’s command sufficient, but required a hand, was a sign of the weakness of the one being healed. And many other things are resolved for us from this. For this reason Christ also does not everywhere heal by word, but also by the hand; for He even put His hand into the mouth and upon the tongue; and in other places by word alone, and in other places by will doing all things, He healed those who approached. Why then did He do this? Because of the weakness of those who were approaching. And so that you might learn that this was done because of their weakness, He praised those who did not require such things. "For I say unto you," He says, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel" (Matt. 8. 10); inasmuch as the centurion did not draw Him into his house, but said that His command was sufficient. So in the case of Hezekiah (4 Reg. 18), nothing of the sort happens, but a prediction only, and nothing human was added; for this reason also in the case of the man jealous of his wife, a somewhat more robust thing was commanded. B If, however, you wish to take this in an anagogical sense—"For all these things happened unto them for types, and were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Cor. 10. 11)—you will see the best of the teachers of the Church using the word instead of a trumpet, and casting down the walls of the adversaries, and the peoples armed with the panoply of Jesus. C But the number of seven days previously resolves for us the Sabbath. For such commandments of the law were not given primarily. For this reason He says concerning sacrifices: "Who hath required this at your hands?" (Isai. 1. 12). And again: "Shall vows and holy flesh take away thy sins?" (Jer. 11. 15). And again: "Have ye offered unto me in the desert forty years victims and sacrifices?" (Amos 5. 25)? And again: "To what purpose bringest thou me frankincense from Saba, and cinnamon from a land far off?" (Jer. 6. 20)? And again: "Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldst not" (Ps. 39. 7). And again: "Will God have burnt offerings and sacrifices, or that thou shouldst obey Him?" (1 Reg. 15. 22)? And again: "If thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would have given it" (Ps. 50. 18). And again: "Obedience is better than sacrifice" (1 Reg. 15. 22). And casting out the feasts, He says: "I have hated, I have rejected your feasts. Turn away from me the sound of thy songs, and I will not hear the music of thy instruments" (Amos 5. 21, 23). And, "A great day I will not endure, and them fasting and idleness my soul hateth" (Isai. 1. 13, 14). And again: "This is not the fast which I chose" (Isai. 58. 5). And again: "I will give you precepts that are not good, in which you shall not live" (Ezech. 20. 25). Thus even the Sabbath is here dissolved. But why does He say: "Who hath required these things at your hands?" I leave this for you to resolve; but you will be able to find such things, if you show a pure life.
5. For if He called Cornelius to the knowledge of hidden things because of his excellent life (Acts 10. 4), and caused the eunuch to learn because he read diligently (Acts 8. 27 ff.), much more will He teach clearer things to you who have now enjoyed the faith, and have exhibited an upright life. For just as an impure life hinders the knowledge of these things (as Paul says: "I could not speak to you as unto spiritual, because there are contentions and jealousies among you" [1 Cor. 3. 1, 3]; and Isaiah again: "They shall desire to know my ways, as a people that hath done justice" [Isai. 58. 2]), so a pure life guides, and the zeal that is in seeking. "Seek, for," He says, "and ye shall find" (Luc. 11. 9). And the parable of the one asking bread from a friend who was already sleeping (Ib. v. 5-8) shows this. D For this reason Solomon also, because he asked for spiritual things, received even those things which he did not ask for (3 Reg. 3. 11). When, however, both persistent attention, and spiritual petition, and a pure life are present, consider how great will be the ease in receiving; although persistent attention in itself was powerful alone. "For I say unto you," He says, "if he will not give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will give to him" (Luc. 11. 8). But let us return to the subject at hand. "A work which thou didst work in their days, in the days of old. Thy hand destroyed the nations, and thou didst plant them." See how He uses the word properly. For He says, it was not only until victory and defeat that you stood things then; but all things proceeded further; although before this the state of the battle was not equal. For the ones possessed the land, and the others were the immigrants; but yet such a change occurred, that the former were plucked up by the roots, and the latter became citizens and inhabitants. For this reason He says concerning those: "Thy hand destroyed the nations"; but concerning the Jews: "Thou didst plant." And by hand he signifies His power. But if those who were coming from without, and had neither city nor house, nor where they might rush and stand, were so quickly shown to be more powerful than those who dwelt within, much more, He says, will He not overlook us who have been cast out of our paternal goods. But what is "Thou didst plant"? Thou didst establish.
A What then? They did not migrate, tell me, pray? They were not led away to foreign lands? They were indeed led away, but not because of the weakness of Him who had placed them, but because of the wickedness of those who were planted. For if the things they had done had not been an impediment to them, nothing would have prevented them from remaining at home. B "Thou hast afflicted the peoples, and cast them out." Some say these things are spoken of the Egyptians; I, however, am of the opinion that this is said of the Gentiles as well. For He exacted punishment from them too, showing His power in both—both in destroying the enemies and in confirming His own.
C "For they did not possess the land by their own sword." Another says, "By their own blade." "And their arm shall not save them; but Thy right hand, and Thy arm, and the light of Thy countenance." Another says, "Light." "Because Thou didst take pleasure in them." And yet all were armed and were victorious in battles; they were armed, indeed, but this came to pass not by the force of arms, but by the virtue of God, who presided over the army. Do you see how, in place of prayer, he attaches counsel, persuading them to cast everything upon God and to leave it to His discretion? But how does he call the thing an inheritance, since the fathers, the grandfathers, and the great-grandfathers did not occupy the land, but were consumed at one time or another? Because the promise was made to the fathers. "Come," He says, "into the land which I will show thee" (Gen. xii, 1); and, "I will give to thee the land, and to thy seed" (Gen. xvi, 7). Having mentioned words that are somewhat crasser, see how he elevates the discourse, again subjoining and saying, "And the light of Thy countenance," that is, the defense, the providence. For the mere fact of willing and being present with them would suffice. Then he also adds the cause: "Because Thou didst take pleasure in them"—that is, because Thou didst love them, because Thou didst will it. The things, therefore, that were happening were matters of grace, not of successful deeds, nor did they achieve this by their own virtue, but from God’s benevolence.
D "Thou art Thyself my King and my God, who commandest the salvations of Jacob." Another says, "Command the salvation of Jacob." And what is this connection? It is great, indeed, with what has been said. For what he says is of this sort: We derived our origin from those men; and Thou art that very same God who didst these things both then and now. From whence, therefore, is such a change? For it is not the case that that one was a different God and Thou art another, but Thou art the same Thyself. I ascribe God to myself, but "Thou art my King and my God." We have not recoiled from Thy empire, we have not registered another leader. "Who commandest the salvations of Jacob"—that is, both the God is the same, and the providence is the same. From whence, therefore, is the change of things? What then is, "Who commandest"? He who directs, who orders that Jacob be saved. Here again, he shows the ease of the aid and the greatest power. But he does not mention the forefather, namely Jacob, without cause, but so that he might give more credit to his own case; he adduces his virtue, wishing to render God propitious to himself.
"In Thee will we push down our enemies with the horn." And Thou art the same, he says, and the providence is the same, and we have ascribed our own things to Thee, and we have used the same weapons. For this is what that means: "In Thee will we push down our enemies with the horn." Another says, "Those who afflict us we will pierce with horns." "And in Thy name we will despise those who rise up against us." Another says, "We will trample upon." What, he says, do I mean, "In Thee"? Even to call upon Thy name alone suffices for all things to be performed excellently. For he did not say, "We will conquer," or, "We will overcome," but, "We will consider them as nothing," and we will not think them to be anything. For this is what that means: "In Thee will we push down our enemies, and in Thy name we will treat those who rise up against us as nothing." For we will not esteem them to be anything, nor will we be terrified, but we will pursue them as those who are nothing. Signifying which, another interpreter said, "We will trample upon," showing the victory gained by force, the army arrayed without a struggle, the battle without fear.
"For I will not trust in my bow." Another says, "I will confide." "And my sword shall not save me." And why hast thou used these? Why, then, art thou armed, and why dost thou handle the bow and the sword? Because our God so ordered, for that reason I have used them; but I cast the whole upon Him, and I leave it to His discretion. Thus they were taught to war against sensible enemies, fortified by heavenly aid; thus also against spiritual enemies. Thou too, when thou wagest war against the devil, say thus: "I do not trust in my arms"; that is, not in my own virtue, nor in my own righteousness, but in the mercy of God. Thus also Daniel said: "We do not cast our supplications before Thee because of our righteousness" (Dan. ix, 18). "For Thou hast saved us from those who afflict us, and Thou hast confounded those who hate us." Another says, "Because Thou hast saved us." What need is there, he says, to speak of old things, and those things which were done by the ancestors? We, he says, ourselves have many pledges of providence, and glorious trophies, and we are able to recount frequent, admirable, and incredible victories. For it is for this reason he said, "thou hast confounded," showing that He not only delivered us, nor only rescued us, but did so with great disgrace to those who were invading us. "In God will we make our boast all the day; and in Thy name will we confess for ever." A day, for life. Another says, "We praise God all the day." The victory, he says, has passed, but for us the act of thanksgiving remains. For he says "all the day," meaning the whole life. For we do not cease, he says, to praise Thy aid and to glory in it. This is our glory, in this kind of boasting we use before all; not because we have a great and admirable city, nor because we are the first to conquer, nor because we are superior in the strengths of the body, but because we have the true God; in Him do we glory, not only when Thou aidest us, but even when Thou forsakest. For this is what "All the day" means, just as Paul also says: "But far be it from me to glory, except in the cross of Christ" (Gal. vi, 14). For there is no, there is not, I say, any other glory of this kind. Wherefore he says again: "And not only so, but also glorying in God" (Rom. v, 11). Let no one, therefore, boast and glory on account of riches, let no one on account of those things which pertain to this life, but on account of this alone, that he has God as Lord. This is better than all freedom, this is more excellent than the very heavens. For if being said to be of this or that person often brought an occasion of glorying among men, consider what glory it brings to be said to be of God. Therefore Paul [alt-version omitted]
A puts this, saying: "But those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh" (Gal. 5:24). *Diapsalma*. Another says, *Always*. But the Hebrew, says this, *Selah*. "But now you have cast off and put us to shame." Another says, "Although you have cast off." Another, "And indeed you have cast off." Another, "But in addition to these, you have rejected us." "And you do not go forth, O God, in our powers." Another, "And you do not advance in our armies." For upon rejection, shame immediately follows, and the being subjected to all so as to suffer evils. By "powers" he here calls their camps, since in them is the power of the king, and this God has wisely ordained, that there might be a bond between the ruler and those who are ruled. For the king has need of his subjects, and they of their protector, and they are in great need of one another. So that there might not be any haughtiness, God has ensured that great things often have need of small things. This He did also in inanimate things. Often, for instance, a pebble placed under a shaking column B has steadied it, and a small rudder guides a ship capable of carrying thousands, and delivers it from dangers.
What is, "Although you have cast off"? That even having suffered such things, we depart not from You, but continue to glorify, to hymn, and to take pride in You. "You have turned us back before our enemies, and those who hate us were plundering for themselves." Another says, "You have set us as the last of every opponent." See how he heightens the terrible things with his speech, and dramatizes the calamity, showing that even if they were great sinners, nevertheless they have paid a sufficient penalty.
7. This the children also do in abundance in the furnace, at that time chanting and saying: "You have delivered us into the hands of lawless enemies, most hateful, apostates, and to an unjust king and most wicked beyond all the earth" (Dan. 3:32). And again: "We have become smaller than all the nations, and we are humbled in all the earth" (Ibid. v. 37). This same thing he signifies here also, as if saying: We have become of all men the most dishonored and abject, since we have been stripped of Your providence; and the evils did not stop even at this, but we have also become plunder for the enemies, who distribute us at their own pleasure. For this is what it means: "They were plundering for themselves," that is, with no one to prevent them.
"You have given us as sheep for meat, and have dispersed us among the nations." Another says, "You have winnowed us." What is "as sheep for meat"? Having made us easy to attack, having shown us to be of little value. For there are also sheep of possession, which are fit for breeding; but others, on account of old age or barrenness, are useful only for meat. And what is more grievous, the being divided even among the nations, which was to them the heaviest of all, that they could not even keep the law with precision there, and had fallen away from their ancestral way of life. And not even into one nation, but everywhere, he says, and we are prepared for one thing only: to suffer evil; but to defend ourselves or to lift up hands, we have not even the strength. For this the image of the sheep signifies. "You have sold your people without price." Another says, "In non-existence." Another, "Of no value." "And there was no multitude in our exchanges." Another says, "And you did not make the price of them much." And what he says is of this kind: for C the expression seems very obscure, but pay attention, so that you may chant with understanding. What then is that which is said? He sets forth their cheapness and worthlessness. As though they were worth nothing, as though they were base and worthy of easy contempt, thus You have left us. And he says this from human custom. For it is our custom to give away the dishonored and the cheap things without price; but those for which we have much concern, even if we sell them, we sell for a high price; but those for which we have no great concern, these we provide even for free. Therefore, of those who have ungrateful servants, some sold them for half the price, others sold them having received nothing at all. If, then, the yielding of a lesser price shows the cheapness of the thing being sold, the receiving of no price at all, but giving them "without price," shows it much more. This, therefore, he says: Just as if any man were to part with his own possessions without price, so also You have left us as dishonored, and have brought us to great contempt. This, therefore, he signifies also in the addition, saying: "And there was no multitude in our exchanges"; that is, in our purchase. Wherefore another says, "In our valuation"; that is, in our sale. For price is an exchange: for we often give a servant, and receive silver or gold.
"You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those around us." Another says, "A spectacle to those around us." "You have made us a parable among the nations." This is a grievous and intolerable punishment, especially the being reproached by the impious, the suffering such things from enemies, and having those who trample upon them round about, and being surrounded on all sides by those who reproach them. What is "a parable"? A narrative, a reproach. For those around them were some wicked and senseless people, not only not pitying, but even reproaching them, which is what stung them the most. And here he seems to me to speak of the Arabs, who lived near to them. D "A nodding of the head among the peoples." Another says, "A moving." But the Hebrew, *Manoud*. Either he says this, that "You have moved us," or by the gesture of the shaking of the head of one who is greatly derided, he indicates the insult. "All the day my disgrace is against me." Another says, "My indecency." "And the shame of my face has covered me, from the voice of the reproacher and speaker against me." Another says, "And of the blasphemer." "From the face of the enemy and persecutor." These things stung them more than the punishments. For since they always and continuously enjoyed prosperity, and were getting the better of their enemies, the mouths of all were then opened, when they fell and were tripped up, and they could not even look up, but endured a perpetual punishment. "All these things have come upon us; we have not forgotten You, and we have not dealt unjustly in Your covenant." Another, "Neither have we dealt falsely with Your agreement." We came into being in opposition to the others, he says. For those were tripped up even before the terrible things; but we, he says, have stood even after the terrible things, having our mind unswerving. And these things they say, making those who are with them full of hope. Wherefore indeed when Daniel and the three children are saying, "We have sinned, we have committed iniquity," these others are saying...
A That which I was saying from the beginning, I say also now, that they are confirming the spirits of those who are with them in the manner of prayer; as if they were saying to them: Why have you cast away hope of salvation? We have God who defends us; and if we have sinned in anything, we have paid sufficient penalty; we have stood bravely in temptations; we have as leader the one who is always concerned even for sinners; and therefore a good outcome is entirely to be expected by us. What is it, then, "We have not done iniquity in thy covenant"? That is, we have not behaved iniquitously in the things which were entrusted to us, but have kept them perfectly. For it is the greatest iniquity when someone transgresses the law, which vindicates, which does not allow even our neighbors to be harmed, and which forbids wickedness; when someone is ungrateful toward Him who provides us with so many good things. "And our heart has not turned back." Another says, "Has not departed." "And thou hast not turned aside our paths from thy way." Another says, "Nor are those things inclined which raise us up." Another says, "And our heart has not turned backward, nor have our steps declined." What he said before, he says also here, that they have not slipped even in the slightest amid such great billows of evils. And he says this beautifully. For just as the law leads toward what is before, so iniquity transfers us backward; and just as the law commands one to walk on the straight path, so iniquity leads a man into a desert and inaccessible place. B By "path" he means the law here. But "Thou hast turned aside," which others say as "Nor are those things inclined which raise us up," from thy way: the Hebrew says, *Vathet aschurenu meni orach*. But if one wishes to follow the interpretation of the Seventy, and not of the others, "Thou hast turned aside our paths from thy way," this means: Thou hast placed us far from Thy temple, and hast caused us to dwell in a foreign land; which did not permit the worship to be celebrated. "Since thou hast humbled us in the place of affliction." Another, "In an inhabited place." Another, "In the place of sirens." C "And the shadow of death has covered us." Another, "Thou hast obstructed us." This seems to me to be a retribution, because above, when they were recounting their evils, they said: "And the confusion of my face has covered me, from the voice of the one reproaching and speaking against me: Since thou hast humbled us." What is "the shadow of death"? If one were to accept it as referring back to that, "Thou hast turned aside our paths from thy way," he has here a consequence consistent with the sense we have mentioned. For it signifies how He repelled them from His ways—that is to say, from the laws and institutions—and led them away into desert places, and dismissed them among enemies. For this is what "The shadow of death has covered us" signifies; referring to the dangers which produce death, and to which death is near, in which sense Scripture calls them the pains of death and the gates of the underworld. He shows here by "shadow" and "covering" that the evils were unavoidable, from which one could neither be freed nor even breathe in the slightest.
"If we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have stretched out our hands to a strange god: will not God search out these things? For he knows the hidden things of the heart." D This is the way of good servants, to worship the master even while suffering evils, and to persevere: these are the teachings of philosophy. Here also they teach their audience not to dissimulate, but to worship God with their whole heart. For He knows, he says, the hidden things of the heart. But they say these things, terrifying those listeners, so that they might not think anything unworthy of God. But consider the great increase in virtue: for he adds, saying: "Because for thy sake we are killed all the day: we have been accounted as sheep for the slaughter." For it is a great thing to remain worshipers of God and not to have lapsed to another; but it is much greater, when death is imminent and daily dangers loom, to preserve such love. Consider, moreover, what kind of philosophy this is, since even Paul himself uses it, enumerating the tempests of apostolic dangers in the Epistle to the Romans. How worthy of crowns, then, were these men, when in the Old Testament they reached the same measure of struggles which were to be undertaken in the New? When Paul says, "I die daily," these men likewise say it, not experienced in action, nor by way of event, but in intention. But why does he say, "For thy sake"? It was permitted to us, he says, to fail, to withdraw from the institutions of our ancestral republic, and to be safe, but we prefer to suffer evil and to preserve the ancestral institutions, rather than to live in peace after we have fallen away from the ancestral institutions. "We have been accounted as sheep for the slaughter." So easily, he says, do they slaughter us. But here he shows their gentleness. Yet although we are so easily exposed, we remain with a firm and immovable mind. Here also God's power is surely to be admired, that He has preserved those who were exposed as sheep for the slaughter, and, though dying daily, has not allowed them to fall into death. "Arise, why dost thou sleep, O Lord?" Another, "Why art thou as one sleeping?" Another, "Awaken." Another, "Awake." "Arise, and do not repel us to the end." "Why dost thou turn away thy face?" Another, "Dost thou hide it?" "Dost thou forget our poverty and our tribulation?" Another, "Our malice." But what he says is of this kind: Thou canst dissolve evils; for these things happen not on account of Thy weakness, but by Thy permission. He calls "sleep" here rest; "arising," retribution; but "face," protection, providence, care, aid, and a grateful mind. He did not say, "of those who did right"; he did not say, "of a firm and immovable mind"; he did not say, "of a soul tested in temptations": but when certain people purify themselves, they put those things forward; but when they seek aid, they ask that they might be saved from those things from which those who are condemned are saved. Since, he says, they have paid sufficient penalty, since they have suffered the extreme. This also is often...
these men were saying, while they knew nothing yet of hell, nor of the kingdom, nor had they been taught to philosophize on such things, and yet they bore all things easily. A *For our soul is humbled to the dust; our belly is attached to the earth.* For since he said: *Will you forget our poverty?* that is, our affliction, he subsequently mentions the affliction. What he says is this: We are undone, we are buried, we are in no better condition than the dead. And one might justly say that for those who have attached their soul to present things, it is humbled to the dust, and for the gluttons, their belly is attached to the earth. For indeed, he who is bound by desire, and who gapes after mud, and who enslaves the incorporeal power within him to ashes, might reasonably be said to suffer these things. For what else is the beauty of the body but dust and mud, or rather, something even more unsightly than these? If you disbelieve, examine the tombs of men, and you will see the mud and the dust. For when the person has stripped off the present life, then it appears as what it is; or rather, even before death. For when old age comes on, when disease strikes, then you will see what is manifest; for it is mud. But as a wise craftsman, even out of base material, he made incredible beauty arise, not that you might commit fornication, but that he might provide you a demonstration of his own wisdom. Do not, therefore, insult the craftsman, nor make his work—a subject of wisdom—into a topic of licentiousness and fornication. Admire the beauty only so far as to glorify the craftsman, and do not proceed further, stirring up passion. The work is good; therefore one ought to worship the one who made it, and not insult him. Tell me, if someone, having taken a golden statue and a royal image, defiled it with filth and other such things, would he not be given the ultimate punishment? If the one who is ungrateful in human affairs is liable to such punishment, what will he suffer who covers the work of God with such dishonor, especially when he who does these things appears to have a wife? For do not speak to me of the desire of nature. For this is why marriage was permitted, that you might not go beyond the proper boundaries. For see of what punishment you will be worthy. For God took thought both for your rest and for your glory, that you might both release the madness of nature through your wife, and do this without danger, and be delivered from all indecency. And do you, from abundance, insult the one who thus takes thought for you? For tell me, if he had not wished to legislate marriage, how much force would you have suffered? How much torment? It was fitting, therefore, for you to give thanks and to glorify him, because he cut off the greater part of your labors, having devised no small comfort, yet you insult him ungratefully, and you act shamelessly, and you cross the established boundaries, B and you disgrace your own glory? Do you not hear Paul saying even now, and crying out in our midst, *Flee fornication* (1 Cor. 6:18), or rather, [the voice of] Christ who moves that man’s soul? Why do you examine beauty that is not yours? Why do you investigate a face not your own? Why do you rush toward precipices? Why do you throw yourself into nets? Wall in your eyes, fence in your gaze, set a law for your eyes. Hear Christ threatening, and judging the wanton look as equal to adultery (Matt. 5:28). What is the profit of pleasure, when it breeds a worm? When it brings constant fear? When it brings eternal punishment to the one who acted? How much better to endure a little of the force from our own thoughts, and be in rest forever, than to grant a small indulgence to perverse desires and be punished eternally? My children, do not do so; the report which I hear of you is not good. I know to whom the word is directed, not to all; but wherever it finds a wound, there it applies the medicine. Why do you insult marriage? Why do you wrong the marriage bed? Why do you harass your own members? Why do you disgrace your glory? Cut off the passion, remove the luxuries. Luxury and drunkenness are the sources of fornication. If you do not use your rest for its proper purpose, it brings you affliction. Hear what the Jews suffered who fornicated, who did not partake of the body of Christ, who did not enjoy the spiritual table. *Let us not commit fornication, he says, as some of them committed fornication, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day* (1 Cor. 10:8). *Arise, O Lord, help us, and deliver us for the sake of your name.* Another: *Stand, defending us, and deliver us for the sake of your mercy.* See how they concluded their prayer: after their ten thousand accomplishments, from where do they ask to be saved? From mercy, from philanthropy, for the sake of the name of God. What is it, *For the sake of your name?* That it might not be profaned, which he himself also often says, that *I act for the sake of my name.* Did you see humility and a contrite mind? And from where do they ask to be saved? From philanthropy, from mercy; as those who have no [of their own] accomplishments, as those who have no right at all to salvation, even though they excelled in such great labors and dangers, yet they referred everything to God. Let us, too, who are in grace, imitate them, and send up glory to God, to whom is the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
ON PSALM XLIII
1. *For victory, for the flowers of the sons of Core.* Another: *For the victor on the lilies of the sons of Core.* But the Hebrew, instead of *lilies*, says *Sosannim*. *A song of understanding for the beloved.* Another: *A song of understanding for friendship.* Another: *For the beloved*; but the Hebrew says *Idithon*. And the Seventy: *To the end, for those who shall be changed, to the sons of Core, for understanding, a song concerning the beloved.*A 2. *My heart has erupted a good word.* Another says: *has crept in.* Another: *My heart has been moved with a good word.*
1. The testimony of enemies is least susceptible to suspicion; eruption is prophecy; the prophet differs from the soothsayer. I would wish that all Jews and Gentiles were present now, and taking this book from the Jews, were to read the Psalm. For you certainly know that, both in courts and everywhere, the testimony of matters is then most removed from suspicion when it is brought forward by enemies. That this result may occur today also, let us exhibit the testimony from the Old Testament, so that both Jews and Gentiles may be struck with shame: the Jews, indeed, by reading and not understanding; the Gentiles, by seeing the books offered to us by enemies. For they will not be able to say that these things were fabricated by us, since not we, but those who crucified Christ, provide us with the books that speak of His power. But whether they are present or not, let us perform our duty and begin the interpretation. For this Psalm is inscribed to Christ, and therefore it bears the inscription, *To the beloved*, and, *For those who shall be changed*. For He has wrought for us a great change and a conversion and transition of things. Signaling this change, Paul also said: *Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature* (2 Cor. 5:17). And therefore he does not say at the beginning, "My heart said." For since nothing of what was being said was human, but he was about to narrate heavenly and spiritual things, and these not from his own invention but from divine operation, he signifies this by the name of *eruption*. For we do not erupt when we wish, but this word we have when we wish, and we both speak it and repress it: but an eruption, not in the same way. Showing, therefore, that what is said is not of human study but of divine inspiration that moved him, he called the prophecy an eruption. For just as with an eruption, that which is produced arises from the quality of the foods, so also in spiritual doctrine. Such, therefore, he erupted as he was eating. See, however, elsewhere also another prophet expressing this operation by a sensible likeness, and eating the volume of a book, and that with pleasure. For it was, he says, *in my mouth as honey for sweetness* (Ezek. 3:3). Because, therefore, they received spiritual grace, they also erupted things similar to them. For that it is not about this sensible eruption, nor about foods that the matter stands, hear what it is that he erupts, and who it is that erupts. Not the stomach, which is the receptacle of foods, but the heart. *My heart*, he says, *has erupted*. And what does it erupt? Not food, nor drink, but things suitable for the table, *a good word*, namely about the Only-Begotten; for He is most good. For *I came*, He says, *not to judge the world, but to save the world* (John 12:47). All things are mild and gentle, all things free from punishment. And he erupts such things because he has purged his heart. For just as the belly, when it is full of filthy juices, erupts things related and similar to them, but when it is healthy, it also produces a suitable eruption: so also the heart of the prophet, after it was free from sins, received the grace of the Spirit, and erupts a good word. Hence also we learn something else, namely that the prophets were not B as the soothsayers. For there, when a demon has invaded the soul, it blinds the mind and thought, and darkens the reason, and thus all things are spoken by it through the mouth, the mind understanding nothing of what is spoken, no differently than if some inanimate flute were speaking. This also one of the philosophers among them [(a)] said, in these words: *Just as those who sing inspired responses and soothsayers say many things, but understand nothing of what they say.* But the Holy Spirit does not do so, but permits the heart to know what is said. For if it did not know, how would it say, *A good word*? For the demon, as an enemy and foe, wages war against human nature: but the Holy Spirit, as one who takes care of us and confers benefit, acts so that those who receive Him may be partakers of understanding, and while they understand, He reveals what is said. *I speak My works to the king.* Another: *My deeds.* Which works does he speak of? The prophecy. For just as it is the work of the coppersmith to make a chisel, and of the architect to build a house, and of the shipbuilder to assemble a ship: so also it is the prophet's to weave prophecy. For that this also is a work, hear Christ saying about the apostles: *The laborer is worthy of his hire* (Luke 10:7). And Paul: *Especially those who labor in the word and doctrine* (1 Tim. 5:17). For if there was no work, how did he have labor? For what is more excellent than this work? What, indeed, more useful? It is more sublime than all the arts. What, therefore, is this work that he says he speaks to the king? This hymn, this prophecy. But he did not say to *which* king, signifying that he means God of all. For just as when we say the King of the Persians, we do not speak of a king simply and absolutely, but we add *of the Persians*, so also *of the Armenians*; but when we say *our* king, we have no need of an addition, but it suffices for us to say *the King*: so also the prophet, because he speaks of Him who is truly King, has enough if he says, *to the King*. For just as when we say the Almighty, we have no need of an addition, because there is no other almighty: so also when we say the King, we have no need of another addition, because there is no other King God. Otherwise, he who was saying it was king. Whence it is clear he is speaking not about a man, but about the God of all; and therefore he did not say *basilei*, but *tō basilei*, showing the peculiar dominion by the addition of the article.
2. Then again, declaring that what is said is not thought up, meditated upon, and composed by man, but is of divine grace, and that he merely lent his tongue to them, he subjoined: *My tongue is the pen of a scribe writing swiftly.* A pen writes things that the hand of him who holds it commands. Another says: *My tongue is as the stylus of a swift scribe.* What does that mean, *swift*? So that from this also he may show grace. For he who speaks something brought forth from himself, delays and hesitates, meditating, composing, hindered by ignorance, lack of skill, and postponement; and there are many things that interrupt the speed of discourse: but when the Spirit moves the mind, there is nothing that hinders; but like an impetus of water, when
it is carried along with a loud noise, so also the grace of the Spirit proceeds with great speed, bringing forth all things smooth and easy. Then, sifting this very thing again, and showing that none of the things said are merely human, he added: A *Fair in beauty beyond the sons of men.*
Some, indeed, say that this was spoken concerning the tongue, saying that the pen is fair in beauty; but to me it seems that he is speaking henceforth of Christ. Wherefore also another interpreter says: *You were adorned with beauty beyond the sons of men.* For he turns his discourse to him through great fervor and the disposition toward him, as also Jacob was saying: *From a shoot, my son, you have grown up; you reclined and slept as a lion* (Gen. 49:9). For being inspired, he henceforth speaks to him and directs his discourse to him. He says this not by way of comparison; for he did not say, "fairer," but, *Fair in beauty beyond the sons of men.* This beauty, he says, is other than that. And consider how he first stirs the discourse concerning the economy. That this is concerning the economy is clear from what follows. For having said, *Fair in beauty beyond the sons of men,* he added: *Grace has been poured out upon your lips.* But God has no lips; rather, the discourse is of the economy. Another interpreter, having said, *Grace has been poured out into your lips,* made this clearer. B What is it, *has been poured out,* or as one might say, that which was within has gushed forth and streamed out? How, then, does another prophet say: *We saw him, and he had no form nor beauty, but his form was dishonored, failing beyond the sons of men* (Is. 53:2, 3)? He was not speaking of ugliness—God forbid!—but of the contemptible. For having deigned once to become man, he passed through all things base, neither claiming a queen mother, nor, in the time of his swaddling clothes, being placed upon a golden bed, but in a manger; nor being raised in a luxurious house, but in a base carpenter's chamber. And again, having taken disciples, he did not take rhetoricians and philosophers and kings, but fishermen and tax collectors; and he pursued this simple life, having neither a house, nor clothed in luxurious garments, nor enjoying such a table, but being fed by others, being insulted, being despised, being driven, being persecuted. He did these things, out of his great abundance, trampling upon human pride. Since, therefore, he had put on no show or pomp, and had no attendants or guards, but sometimes even walked alone, as one of the many, for this reason that one C says: *We saw him and he had no form nor beauty;* but this one says: *Fair in beauty beyond the sons of men,* revealing the grace, the wisdom, the teaching, the miracles. Then, sketching the beauty, he says: *Grace has been poured out upon your lips.* Do you see that the discourse is concerning the economy? What then is this grace? That through which he taught, that through which he performed miracles. He calls grace here that which came upon the flesh: *Upon whom you see the Spirit,* he says, *descending as a dove, and remaining upon him, this is he who baptizes* (John 1:33). For all the grace was poured out into that temple. For he does not give the Spirit by measure to him: *We indeed have received from his fullness* (John 1:16); but that temple received the grace in its entirety. This also Isaiah, signifying, was saying: *The Spirit of wisdom and understanding shall rest upon him, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and piety. The Spirit of the fear of God shall fill him* (Is. 11:2, 3). But there, the grace was entire; but among men, it was a small thing, and a drop from that grace. For this reason he did not say, "I give the Spirit," but, *I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh* (Joel 2:28).
3. This, then, also happened. For the whole inhabited world received from that Spirit. For the gift began in Palestine and went forth into Egypt, into Phoenicia, into the land of the Syrians, of the Cilicians, into the Euphrates, into Mesopotamia, into the land of the Cappadocians, of the Galatians, of the Scythians, of the Thracians, into Greece, D into the land of the Gauls, of the Italians, into all Libya, into Europe, into Asia, even unto the Ocean itself. And why is there need of many words? As much land as the sun beholds, this grace has visited; and this drop, and this trickle of the Spirit, has filled the whole inhabited world with knowledge. Through this, signs were performed; the sins of all were dissolved. But yet, the grace given in so many climates is a part of the gift and an earnest. *Having given,* he says, *the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts* (2 Cor. 1:22); he speaks of the portion of the operation; for the Paraclete is not divided. See also the fountain, how great it is: *For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; and to another faith; and to another gifts of healings; and to another operations of powers in the same Spirit; and to another prophecies; and to another discernings of spirits; and to another kinds of tongues* (1 Cor. 12:8-10). And so many gifts in so many nations the grace in baptism has extended over the whole earth; and all these things the trickle of the Spirit works. For that it was a trickle, he made clear by saying, *I will pour out of my Spirit,* and by calling it an earnest. For through this it is clear that a small portion of the whole was given. For this reason also John, signifying this very thing, was saying: *From his fullness we all have received* (John 1:16): from the overflowing, as one might say, from the superabundant, from that which is being poured out over, we all have received. Consider, therefore, how the grace of the Spirit is all-sufficient, sufficient for the inhabited world for such a long time; and it is not consumed, but it fills all with wealth and grace, while it itself is neither described, nor spent, but is consumed in all. Then, because the name of the spirit is something many-named (for it is also called angel, and soul, and wind, and many other things), he added, *Of my Spirit.* As therefore
A the human spirit is kindred to the human being, though it remains in its own hypostasis; and as Paul, indicating this, said: *For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of a man which is in him? Even so the things of God no man knows, save the Spirit of God* (1 Cor. II, 11), not confusing the hypostases—far from it!—but indicating the nobility of the Spirit: so great as is the soul's harmony with itself, so great is the Spirit's kindred relationship with the Father. As, therefore, the Son is also called Word, and yet he is not such that he does not subsist, but through this we know his kindred relationship with the Father: so also the Spirit of God is indeed called Spirit, yet he does not fail to subsist. And just as, since he is the genuine and true Son of the Father, for this reason he grants to us the adoption of sons: so also the Spirit, since by nature he is of the substance of God, provides his gifts to us. For man, too, since by nature he is man, is for this reason able to write an image of man. *Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.* A
The difference between Prophets and Evangelists.
You see how he directs his prayer toward him with intense affection? For this reason, he does not elsewhere simply predict the future, but brings before us the image of an accusation, as when he says: *Why did the nations rage, and the peoples imagine vain things?* (Ps. II, 1). So also here, when he says: *Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.* For since he had said nothing about his birth, nor his upbringing, nor other things, he here incidentally introduces his word about him. Why so? Because to speak everything in sequence belongs to the evangelists; for this reason he reserved those things to them, for that was the office of their narrative, but the function of prophecy is to take certain parts and discourse upon them. And for this reason, the prophets also do this everywhere; for by interjecting and foreshadowing a few things that pertain to the history, they withdraw. Therefore here too, *God hath blessed thee*, he says, *for ever*, thus declaring that his words were full of such great grace. Consider, then, the power of the grace. He walks at some point near the sea, and he finds James and John, and says to them: *Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.* And they, leaving both father and nets, followed him (Matt. IV, 21-22). Then too, when he said elsewhere to all the apostles: *Do you also wish to go away?* Peter says to him: *Lord, you have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and known that you are Christ the Son of the living God; and to whom shall we go?* (John VI, 67-69). What shall I say of the disciples? The Pharisees themselves, having sent officers, heard them saying: *Never did a man speak thus, as this man* (John VII, 46). And others again said: *Never was it seen thus in Israel.* And they were amazed, he says, because he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes and Pharisees (Matt. IX, 33; VII, 28-29).
B Consideration of the weight and moment of his precepts, and you will see his power. *Unless one renounces all, and besides hates his own soul*, he says, *he is not worthy of me* (Luke XIV, 33; John XII, 25; Matt. X, 37). But nevertheless, the word prevailed to become a deed; so great was his grace. And yet, his soul was also deemed worthy of contempt because of that command of his. But you, when you hear, *God hath blessed thee*, do not slip, nor conceive anything humble or abject. For as I said just before, he speaks of the flesh, which has lips, which receives grace, which receives blessing. For God has no need of blessing, nor of grace; for God stands in need of nothing. *For as*, he says, *the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he wills* (John V, 21). And again: *The works which he does, these also the Son does in like manner* (Ibid. v. 19). And again: *As the Father knows me, I also know the Father* (Ibid X, 15). For that *as*, and *in like manner*, and *as* signify that he is in all things equal; but here the discourse is about the human nature that he had assumed. We hear, moreover, him himself saying again: *Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life for the sheep* (Ibid. X, 17). Was he not loving him before? How, therefore, did he say: *This is my beloved Son* (Matt. III, 17)? But he set this down wishing to show how great and how noble was the deed being done by him. As therefore there is some cause in the rendering of the account there, so also here the cause is manifest. For this reason he said before: *Fair in form beyond the sons of men*; and, *Grace is poured out on thy lips*; and, *Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever*: ascribing this to the assumed humanity, so that when he is about to say something human again, and something below his dignity, you may not slip, but may know of whom he says it. So also Jacob, indicating the counsel of the assumed humanity, after many other things was saying: *His eyes are gracious like wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk* (Gen. XLIX, 12). But the Divinity does not have teeth. Another prophet also says: *He shall strike the earth with the word of his mouth, and with the spirit of his lips he shall destroy the impious* (Isa. XI, 4), saying the same things as Paul: *Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall abolish by the appearance of his presence* (2 Thess. II, 8). C
Christ that he might be blessed.
Do not you, therefore, when you hear these things, despise it; he shows you the powers of the Divinity. For he neither divides the flesh from the divinity, nor the divinity from the flesh, not confusing the substances—far from it!—but showing the union. Therefore he says: *God hath blessed thee for ever.* Who, however, is the manner of the blessing? Angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, powers stand by, celebrating with praises: the whole earth from end to end sings of the incarnate God, and affects him with praises. For the first Adam was filled with a myriad of curses; this one, on the contrary, with much blessing. He heard: *Cursed art thou in thy works* (Gen. III, 17); and another after him: *Cursed is he who does the work of God negligently* (Jer. XLVIII, 10), and, *Cursed is everyone who does not abide in all things written in this book* (Deut. XXVII, 26); and, *Cursed is he who hangs on a tree* (Gal. III, 13, citing Deut. XXI, 23). Do you see how many curses? From all these Christ has delivered you, having become a curse (Gal. III, 13). As therefore he was condemned...
that he might justify you, and died, that he might make you immortal—so also he became a curse, that he might fill you with blessing. What is equal to this blessing, when he imparts a blessing through a curse? For he did not himself need a blessing, but he bestows it upon you. For just as when I say that he was humbled, I do not mean a change, but the condescension of the economy—so also when I say that he was blessed, I do not mean this, that he stood in need of a blessing, but I demonstrate once again the condescension of the economy. Human nature, then, has been blessed. For Christ, having risen from the dead, no longer dies, nor is he subject to a curse; or rather, he was not subject to it even before this, but he took upon himself the curse that he might deliver you from it.
A Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one (Ps. XLIV, 3). Another says: Gird your sword upon your thigh. Another: Put on as your sword upon your thigh. In your splendor and in your beauty. Another says: Your praise and your dignity. Another: In your majesty and your distinction. What is the change and the displacement of the words? For as he was discoursing about a teacher (for this is what the phrase, Grace has been poured out upon your lips, means), he suddenly depicts for us a king equipped with arms, and not in the order of prophecy, but in the order of supplication. For he did not say: He shall gird on his sword; but he makes a request, and says: Gird on your sword. Then he mingles beauty with this arming, at one moment indicating a soldier, at another one who is being adorned; for, he says, in your splendor and in your beauty. Then a bowman: For your arrows, he says, are sharpened, O mighty one. And again, a victor and a possessor of trophies: Peoples, he says, shall fall beneath you in the heart of the king’s enemies. And this same person he introduces again, anointing with myrrh the soldier, and king, and bowman, and victor: For myrrh, he says, and aloes and cassia are from your garments.
B 5. What communion, then, is there between weapons and myrrh, anointing and a sword, instruction and war, bows and adornment? For the former are symbols of peace, the latter of battle and of battle-array. Who, therefore, is at once peaceful and warlike; who drips with myrrh and is protected by weapons; who comes forth from ivory palaces and strikes a myriad of enemies, and accomplishes such great slaughter? C How shall we solve this difficulty? If we know precisely that these things are said also about his Father. For the Prophet introduces him also as armed, when he says: If you do not turn, he will sharpen his sword; he has bent his bow, and prepared it, and in it he has prepared the vessels of death (Ps. VII, 13). And again elsewhere: He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate (Wis. V, 19). And again, showing that he does everything from his own authority, he says: Your right hand shall lead you miraculously (Ps. XLIV, 4). You do not receive power from another, he says, but you are sufficient to yourself. Hear also him, the God of peace, saying to the disciples: I have not come to cast peace upon the earth, but a D sword (Matt. X, 34). And again: I came to cast fire upon the earth, and what do I wish if it be already kindled? (Luke XII, 49). And speaking of himself, how he shall come, he says: He shall descend like rain upon a fleece, and as a drop that falls upon the earth (Ps. LXXI, 6). I say these things so that you may be awake, and by understanding with precision what is signified by the words, you may solve the difficulty among yourselves. For these names are indicative of his actions. Thus, therefore, even here when you hear, Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one, think of it as a name for his action; and likewise for the bows and the arrows. For just as Scripture says that God is angry, not attaching a passion to him, but through this word manifesting his punitive action, and keeping in view those who are duller; so also when it speaks of weapons, it signifies this. Since we are punished not by ourselves but by other instruments, wishing to show his punishing power, through names familiar to us he has indicated it, not so that we might conceive of weapons in relation to God, but so that we might hear of his punishment even more emphatically. But many, he says, have been harmed from this place. But they have been harmed in vain and to no purpose and by their own folly; for especially when they hear "God," they ought to understand that it is said figuratively; whereas now, Scripture has not neglected to instruct them about the impassibility of God by other words. Hear, at any rate, elsewhere how it shows the ease of his punishment, saying: Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered (Ps. LXVII, 2). Is there need of weapons? Is there need of a sword? The resurrection alone, he says, is sufficient. But this also is again coarse; therefore in many places it says: He who looks upon the earth, and makes it tremble (Ps. CIII, 32). And again: From his face the earth was moved (Ps. CXIII, 7). But this too is coarse. Hear that which is higher: Everything, whatever he willed, he did (Ps. CXXXIV, 6); for to him, willing alone is sufficient. And observe how even in these coarser terms he shows the self-sufficiency of God. For he did not mention weapons before it, until he called him "mighty"; and again, having enumerated the weapons, he attributed the entire victory to his right arm, that is, to his nature and power. Which another prophet also signifies, saying: His beginning is upon his shoulder; not that you should conceive of a shoulder (far be it), but that you should know that God has no need of another’s alliance. Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and in your beauty. What, therefore, does he say here? Through these coarser names he shows his action, through which he set the world right, through which he ended the war, and set up the trophy. For indeed the war was grievous, of all wars the most bitter, not with barbarians warring, but with the demons.
plotting, and bringing destruction upon the whole world. Because of this, Isaiah also said: *And he shall divide the spoils of the strong* (Is. LIII, 12). And again elsewhere: *The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore has he anointed me, he has sent me to preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives* (Is. LXI, 1). For this reason, Paul also, writing at the beginning of his Epistles, used to say: *Grace to you, and peace from God our Father.* And again: *For he is our peace, who has made both one* (Eph. II, 14). But that you might not, when you hear, *Gird thy sword upon thy thigh*, take the sword to be a physical one, hear what follows. For having said, *Gird thy sword upon thy thigh*, he subjoined, *With thy splendor and thy beauty*: this is the sword, its splendor, its beauty, its glory, its authority, its majesty, and its magnificence. That Substance needs nothing for the right execution of what has been proposed: for It is in need of nothing. B The prophet, therefore, encourages Him, leading Him forth to war for the sake of the world. Then, from these elevated things, he brings the discourse back down to more material ones. For having mentioned the sword and the thigh, he ascended to beauty and splendor; and from there he descends back to those things which are more bodily, and says: *Bend thy bow, and prosper, and reign.* When he said, *Bend*, he signified the bow and the arrow. Then, showing again that He does not need weapons, he subjoined, *Prosper, and reign.* Another interpreter says here, *Make progress.* And he calls that *reign* which he administered when he had come in the last times, and which is according to His own propriety and knowledge, He already seeing what was to be done by Him, and the whole world being led to the truth; and therefore he used the trope and figure of one commanding. For those in a lesser position, when they are inflamed by an eagerness greater than their own, are accustomed to use such expressions. *For the sake of truth, and meekness, and justice.* He uses the adverb of truth. Do you see how the Scripture interprets itself, and shows that the victory resides in the intelligence and is spiritual? For if he mentions weapons, and swords, and bows, how does he mention meekness here? For what do war and meekness, modesty and battle have in common? Very much indeed, if one weighs it rightly. For both David and Moses were meek: and therefore concerning the former the Scripture says: *Remember, O Lord, David, and all his meekness* (Ps. CXXXI, 1); and concerning Moses: *Moses was the meekest of all men who were upon the earth* (Num. XII, 3): yet those who were the meekest of all appear to be the ones who most of all took vengeance. But if you wish, let us speak first of their meekness. When this blessed man had often captured Saul, and it was in his power to remove him from the midst, he did not lay C his hand upon him; nay, even when others incited him, he spared him and repressed his anger. Now, when Shimei was heaping contumely upon him, and insulting his calamity at that time, and the commanders wanted to cross over and slay the man who was cursing him with such reproaches, what words did he bring forth, full of all wisdom? How does he also commend to his commanders that parricidal and incontinent youth, saying: *Spare for me the little child Absalom* (2 Kings XVIII, 5)? And when he was speaking in the beginning with his brothers who envied him because of the future victory, think how meekly he speaks, saying: *Is it not a word?* (1 Kings XVII, 29). And what of Moses? For the sake of those who had sought to stone him, for the sake of those who, as far as was in them, had removed him from the midst, hear what he says: *If thou wilt forgive their sin, forgive; and if not, blot me also out of the book which thou hast written* (Exod. XXXII, 31-32). When others again moved him to emulation and incited him to anger, he spoke those beautiful words, full of wisdom, saying: *Who will give that all the people of the Lord were prophets?* (Num. XI, 29). And for his sister again, who had assailed him with curses, how suppliantly he prays! His meekness can be seen from many other places also, when even cast out from the land, and prohibited from entering into Palestine, he speaks to the Jews with all civility and meekness (Num. XII, 13). But yet this D meek man, when Dathan, Abiron, and Core had invaded the priesthood, thought it just that they be swallowed up by the earth, and that others be consumed, because they had offered strange fire (Num. XVI, 15 sqq.). David, too, that meek man, both struck down Goliath, and put the army to flight, and brought back victory (1 Kings XVII). For this is especially characteristic of the meek: to remit their own injuries, but to defend those to whom injury is done, just as Christ also did. For when He had ascended the cross, He said: *Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do* (Luke XXIII, 34). And weeping over Jerusalem again, He said: *How often would I have gathered your children, and you would not; behold your house is left to you desolate* (Matt. XXIII, 37-38). And when a blow was dealt to Him, He did not return a blow, but excuses Himself to the one who had struck (John XVIII, 22-23); and when He was called a demoniac, He cast out demons (Matt. IX, 32 sqq.); and when He was called a deceiver, and impious, and an adversary of God, He was leading them into the kingdom. He charged His disciples also that they should everywhere endure flagellations, suffer persecution, be expelled, and choose the lower place (John VII, 12). *For whoever wishes to be first among you,* He says, *let him be your minister* (Matt. XX, 26). He subjoined a domestic example, saying: *As the Son of man did not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many* (Ibid. v. 28). But if He casts out demons, and wages war with the devil, and takes error from the midst, this also is of the greatest meekness—to abolish all vice, and to liberate those held by it, to restrain the plotting demons, and to rescue those who have been afflicted by them from evils. What then is, *For the sake of truth, and meekness, and justice*? He spoke of war, he spoke of an ordered battle-line, he showed an armed soldier; he tells next what beautiful and illustrious things He performed in His kingdom, the kind of trophy, the condition and nature of the victory. For all other men reigning wage war either for the sake of cities, or for riches, or for enmities, or for vainglory; He himself
A acts not because of any of these, but because of truth, that He might plant it in the earth; and because of meekness, that He might make those who are more savage than wild beasts into meek ones; and because of justice, that those tyrannized by lawlessness might be made righteous, first through grace, then through good works. And thy right hand shall guide thee wonderfully. Another, B And light shall shine upon thee on the terrible [things] by thy right hand. Another, And thy right hand shall show thee terrible [things]. 7. See how again He has opened up to us the dignity of the One who accomplishes such things! For just as above, having spoken of arms and a sword, He ascended to beauty, and led the hearer to incorporeal understandings; so again, having descended to what is coarser, the bow and the arrows, little by little He raises the listener again, relating the causes of the war—truth and meekness and justice—and then again also the manner of the victory. And what is this? And thy right hand, he says, shall guide thee wonderfully. But what he says is this: The nature itself is sufficient for itself; the power itself is sufficient for itself both to see what must be done and to impose an end upon them. And well did another say, Terrible is thy right hand; for the things accomplished are very terrible and full of dread. Death was destroyed, Hades was broken open, Paradise was opened, heaven was spread wide, demons were silenced, things below were mingled with things above, God became man, man sits on a royal throne; the hopes of resurrection were opened, immortal expectations, the enjoyment of unspeakable good things, and all the other things which He accomplished through His coming. For this very reason He said, Thy right hand shall guide thee unto these terrible things, showing that the nature, he says, and the power is self-sufficient both to discover and to accomplish the things set before it. But the Seventy say: Thy right hand shall guide thee wonderfully; that is, one must marvel not only at the things accomplished, but that they were accomplished even paradoxically. For through death, death was destroyed; through a curse, the curse was taken away, and a blessing was given. Through eating we were cast out formerly, through eating we were brought in again. A virgin cast us out of Paradise, through a virgin we found eternal life. Through the things for which we were condemned, through them we were crowned. Pondering these things, therefore, the Prophet said: Thy right hand shall guide thee wonderfully. Is there need of arms? Is there need of a sword, is there need of bows and arrows? See how the nature itself, the power is self-sufficient! But see him again, like an excellent dancer, again descending from the lofty things to the coarser ones. Thy arrows are sharp, O Mighty One. Peoples shall fall under thee, in the heart of the king's enemies. Another says, Against the hearts [are] the king's enemies. See again, when he mentioned arrows, how he took up the expression "of the Mighty One," that you might learn that He has no need of arrows, but is Himself sufficient for Himself. And the sequence is this: Thy arrows are sharp, O Mighty One, in the heart of the king's enemies. But the [phrase], Peoples shall fall under thee, is inserted in the middle. Here, therefore, it seems to me that the interpretation is twofold: for [he refers] either to the Jewish capture and the enslavement of the city and its utter destruction, or, according to anagoge, he calls the power of the Word "arrows." For it went around the whole world more sharply than arrows, and touched the heart of the enemies of the King who were before this time—not to destroy, but to draw them unto Himself; which also happened in the case of Paul. For one would not err in calling that utterance an arrow, which, having been darted from heaven, touched the heart of the enemy who was before this time, and made him a friend. Peoples shall fall under thee. See the accomplishment of the war? The bringing in of those who were previously rebelling? The teaching? The instruction? For this falling [at the feet], and being under Him, is for all a subject and root of height. For having delivered them from arrogance and empty conceit, and from the error of the demons, He subjected them to Himself. Thus also another prophet shows Him stained with blood, saying thus: Who is this who comes from Edom, the redness of his garments from Bosor? Nowhere are there arms there, and bows and arrows, but garments. The expression is coarser, yet more subtle than this; nevertheless, even in its crudeness, there too he leads the discourse little by little toward the incorporeal. For because the Prophet asks, why are the garments red, he says: I trod the winepress alone, showing the ease of the victory, and that he had no one to help Him, but that He was sufficient for Himself. For just as here he says, Thy right hand shall guide thee wonderfully; so also there, I trod the winepress alone. For in the way it is easy for the treader of the winepress to trample the clusters; so it is for God to work what He willed; or rather, not even so, but much more. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A rod of uprightness is the rod of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved justice, and hated lawlessness. Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Another, Thy throne, O God, is eternal, and further. But the Hebrew says the [words], God, thy God, Eloim, Eloach. What would the Jew say here? For about whom are the things spoken? And what [would] the heretic [say]? For if he should say it is spoken about the Father, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, how will the following fit Him: Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee? For the Father is not Christ, nor has He Himself been anointed. Whence it is clear that the discourse is about the Only-Begotten, about whom also the things before were spoken; which also Isaiah was saying, that Of his kingdom there shall be no end. 8. But perhaps someone might ask this: Why does He now discourse about the divinity, having previously made the discourse concerning the economy? Because Matthew also does so. For he begins from the flesh, and prefaces it thus: The book of the generation of Jesus Christ. Likewise also Luke and Mark; but John alone [writes] differently. For having first spoken about the divinity, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and having discoursed much about it, then he said: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. And if he used the writing of the Gospel contrary to the others, yet even so he showed great harmony with them. And how could it make sense, he says, in the contrary to agree?
Or do you not know that eating is opposed to not eating, and drinking to not drinking, and giving to not giving? Yet a physician often does many things of this sort, not fighting against himself, but being in great agreement with himself; for he proposes to himself one end: the health of the sick. This very thing happens also A with the evangelists. For summer is also contrary to winter, yet it looks toward one end, the perfection and maturity of the fruits. Furthermore, the entire universe also consists of contraries, but it shows much agreement for the use of our life. Moreover, Christ also entered upon a way contrary to John. For John was eating, while He was not eating. For John came, he says, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a gluttonous man and a wine-drinker (Luc. 7. 33, 34). But even if the things taking place were contrary, B yet they looked toward one end, namely the salvation of those who were to be caught in the net. So also this order of the divinity and of the human nature assumed, even if it was introduced by John otherwise than by the others, it was done in a way very harmonious with them. And how, I shall say. Because, in the beginning indeed, when the Word had not yet been disseminated, it was fitting to dwell upon the explanation of the humanity, and to open up the doctrine concerning the flesh, leading from the more coarse and sensible things; but after the knowledge had been introduced, and they had already received the preaching, it was then the C seasonable time to begin from the more sublime things. Wherefore the prophets also, if ever they discourse about Him, begin from the assumption of human nature, and take their starting point there. See, therefore, how Micah starts from below: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, you are by no means least among the princes of Judah. For out of you shall come forth to me a leader who will shepherd my people Israel (Mich. 5. 2). And yet the divinity was not from Bethlehem, but the flesh. But he did not remain in this alone, but he ascended also to the divinity, saying: And His going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity. And again Isaiah: Behold, D the virgin shall conceive in her womb, and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which is translated, God with us (Is. 7. 14). Do you see how he, too, ascended from the flesh to the divinity? And again elsewhere consider this very thing to have been done by him: for he says: A child is born to us, a son, and is given to us, and His name is called, messenger of the great counsel, wonderful counselor, God strong, mighty, prince of peace, father of the future age (Is. 9. 6). Do you see how again from the child and the assumption of flesh, as if by certain steps ascending, he stops at the divinity? So also His Father was known first from the creatures. For His invisible things, says Paul, from the creation of the world are understood and perceived through His works (Rom. 1. 20). And for this reason He, too, often depicts Himself in a sensible form, gradually lifting up the human race to incorporeal thoughts. And why do you marvel if in dogmas he used this plan and this economy, when in precepts and commands he does the same? A Wherefore the prophet also thus used speech in this place, ascending from the flesh to the divinity (for the lips are of the flesh), and again descending from the divinity to the flesh, and using a variety of speech for the salvation of the catechumens. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. He does not here call the throne merely a throne, but a kingdom. Here, therefore, he calls it eternal, but elsewhere also high: For I saw, he says, the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up (Is. 6. 1). And again, Since thy throne is high. Another prophet also saw Him sitting upon a throne of glory; but David B shows also the throne of humanity: For mercy, he says, and judgment are the correction of His throne (Ps. 88. 15). Although it lacks an end (for this is, For ever and ever), let it be glorious, let it be high, let it be powerful and strong. Again, let it be without beginning, when he says, Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages (Ps. 144. 13). Just as the throne is a symbol, so also the rod is a symbol, both of the kingdom and of the judicial authority. And therefore he says: The rod of direction, the rod of thy kingdom. For what is just is clear therein, what is C right is clear, there is nothing therein shadowed over. Let them hear, who are insane and muddle-headed; nay, rather who are worse than they. And who are these? Those who criticize divine providence, and say: Why was this and that done so? For how is it not absurd, that one who sits by a craftsman, and watches him breaking and cutting wood, does not demand an account from him; and while a physician cuts and cauterizes the flesh, and shuts the sick man in a little room, and afflicts him with hunger, neither any of the bystanders, nor he who suffers, D investigates with curiosity the things that are done; and while a helmsman stretches a rope, and pulls taut and again slackens the sail, and the ship is taking on water, no one is curious, nor inquires and asks questions in the case of every one of these craftsmen, but is silent and stays quiet, even though they often sin in their art: yet about the ineffable wisdom, about the inexpressible mercy, about the infinite providence, should anyone investigate with curiosity? How great is this madness? And to offer help, or to dispense money for those to whom injury is being done, or for the poor, they are not easily found who are willing; but they are perpetually inquiring, why is this one poor, why is that one a beggar, and why is the other rich. You wicked and foolish servant, why do you not cast down your eyes, and condemn yourself, and putting a bridle on your tongue, restrain your mind, and instead of sending your mind to inquire curiously about such great things, do you not turn this anxious investigation toward your own life? Look back at the things you have done, look back at the sea of your sins: and if you are a curious and anxious inquirer, demand from yourself the account of the words you spoke badly, and of the things you did badly: but now, while passing over the examination of yourself, even though this neglect indeed brings punishment, but curious investigation brings salvation, you sit judging God, and adding to your sins. The prophet hears you saying...
The rod of uprightness is the rod of your kingdom?* And another again: *His judgment, he says, shall come forth as light* (Osee 6:5). But if you do not know accurately all the things of your Master, on account of this very thing praise him, for this reason most of all worship him, because of his ineffable majesty, because of his incomprehensible providence, because of his varied and wise stewardship. *You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity.* A Since he spoke above of his achievements, his victories, his triumphs, the salvation of the world, that he filled it with truth, with meekness, with righteousness, showing that it is nothing strange for these things to have occurred, he speaks henceforth of the dignity of him who has performed them, that he is God, that he is King, that he is without end, that he is an impartial judge, that he is a lover of the just, and a hater of evil. Since such is he, he says, for this reason such things have been achieved by him. Let no one therefore disbelieve, he says. For he who achieved so many things, and being able and willing, achieved them. B Having spoken then of the high things of his divinity, he brings the discourse back to the flesh, and says: *Therefore God, your God, has anointed you.* Another says: *For this he has oiled you.* For having achieved the things mentioned, he says, to cast out iniquity, to plant righteousness, to do what you have done. But you, do not be disturbed when you hear that these things are attributed to the Father. For he does not say these things to deprive him of the achievements, but attributing the things of the Son to the Father, just as he also says the things of the Father are his own: *For all things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine* (John 17:10). C For concerning the resurrection also, Paul, discoursing, says that *God raised him from the dead* (1 Cor. 6:14); but John says: *Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it* (John 2:19). But what is, *Oil of gladness*? And yet Christ was nowhere anointed with oil, but with the Holy Spirit. On this account he added, *Above your fellows*: signifying by this very thing, that no one is as he is. For many were anointed before him, but none so; just as there are many lambs, but he is exceptional; so many sons, but he is the Only-begotten. For all things of his are exceptional, not those of his divinity alone, but those of his dispensation also; for no one was anointed with such a Spirit. But if he calls it oil, do not wonder; for being a prophet, he speaks more enigmatically. D And he said well, *Of gladness*, in order to show that it is of joy. For the *fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace* (Gal. 5:22). Another, however, said, *With oil of splendor*. But the Hebrew, *Sason*, that is, of adornment, glory, ornament. But if it is also of joy, this too is true. Therefore, as when you hear of a sword, you do not think of a (physical) sword, and arrows and bows, you do not think of bows and arrows, but of his power which achieved such things, which I have spoken of before; so also when you hear of oil, do not think of oil simply, but think of the anointing. For the oil was a symbol of the Spirit, and the preceding and necessary thing was the Spirit.
Since, then, he is such a one, do not doubt to call him Christ, since even Abraham was called Christ, and the prophets, but not all were anointed with oil; just as when he says: *Do not touch my christs, and do not act wickedly against my prophets* (Ps. 104:15). But when was Christ anointed? When the Spirit came upon him in the form of a dove (Matt. 3:16). He calls all the spiritual ones "fellows" here, just as John says: *We all have received from his fullness* (John 1:16); but concerning him: *God does not give the Spirit by measure* (John 3:34). And again: *I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh* (Joel 2:28). But there, not "out of the Spirit," but the whole Spirit came; wherefore he also said: *God does not give the Spirit by measure*. *Myrrh and stacte and cassia from your garments.* Another, *Upon your apparel.* Another, *All your garments.* Some, then, say that the prophet here hints at the burial, but others, that he indicates the variety of the anointing. For the anointing of old was not composed of these perfumes, but of others. And in order that we might learn that this is a different manner of anointing, by the difference of the materials he indicated the difference of the working. But the, *From your garments*, shows that his garments also were full of grace. So, at least, the woman with the issue of blood stopped the streams of blood, having touched the hem (Matt. 9:20). Whether this or that is to be accepted, no argument prevents; for both are acceptable to me. Therefore, just as (for nothing prevents saying the same things again) hearing of bows and a sword, and all such things, you do not hear sensuously; so, hearing of myrrh and cassia, do not conceive it sensuously, but intellectually. *From ivory palaces, from which they gladdened you, the daughters of kings in your honor.* Another says: *From ivory temples, whence they gladdened you, in honoring you.* Another: *Among your glories.* Having said what he achieved, he also declares the honor that followed from his achievements: that he is to be worshipped in precious temples. For of old this material was most precious and highly desirable, the one from the tusks of elephants. Wherefore another prophet also said: *Woe to you who sleep on beds of ivory* (Amos 6:4). And he shows again that the preaching will not touch the illiterate only, but will also subject kings, and they will raise for him precious houses. These things are already seen happening in the events. For the prophet, wishing to show the power of the preaching, tells how he captured, how he subdued women, private men, the rich, those themselves who wore diadems, and those who lived with them, so that everywhere they raise temples to God. Then, since he has henceforth turned to this subject, he weaves it more broadly, delineating his worshippers and suppliants. And showing how peoples fell down, how he touched their heart...
A how his right hand guided him, how he planted truth and gentleness and justice—and again he employs metaphor consistent with the Word, just as if sketching the Church in an image. And those things which the apostles after this have said—the one saying: "I betrothed you to one man, to present a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:2); the other: "He who has the bride is the bridegroom" (John 3:29); another indeed: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man, a king, who made a wedding for his son" (Matt. 22:2)—these things he here also predicts, introducing the bride and queen together: and for this reason he says, "The queen stood at your right hand." Another says: "Stabilized," that is, stood firmly; it stood immovably. Which Christ elsewhere states: "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). Do you see the exceptional honor? Do you see the summit of dignity? That which had been trampled upon, and which had been cast down to the lowest depths, to what height he has raised it, so that it might stand by him! Have you recognized to what dignity she who was a captive, an alienated harlot, wicked and detestable, has ascended? She stood with the ministering powers. For the Son indeed, as one equal in honor, sits at the right hand: but she stood. For although she is a queen, yet she is of created substance. How then does Paul say: "And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6)? But attend to how accurately he speaks. He did not say only: "Raised up together and made us sit," but, "In Christ," that is, through Christ. For since, he says, our head is above, and we are the body, since our head sits above, we have become participants of the honor (Eph. 1:22), even if we stand here, "clothed in gold, encompassed with variety." Another B says: "In a crown of gold from Ophir."
Spiritual Garments
Just as in a king we do not understand bows and arrows, so neither should you understand garments in the bride; but through those things which are sensible, accept thoughts that befit God. For lest anyone should suspect any such thing, he subjoined: "All the glory of the daughter of the king is from within" (Ps. 44:14). And yet garments are, most of all, things from without, and for the sake of those who see. But this is thus, when the things are corporeal; but when it is a matter of spiritual things, turn the eyes of the mind inward. This garment the King wove, and clothed her in it through baptism. "For as many of you," he says, "as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27). For before this she was naked, shameful, and unseemly, exposed to all who were passing by the way; but from the time she put on that garment, she was lifted to that height, and was held worthy to stand at the right hand. And he beautifully calls it also "variety." For the garment does not consist of one kind only. For it cannot be preserved by grace alone, but there is need of faith also, and after faith, of virtue. But now the subject is not [merely] about garments. For neither did the Spirit put so much effort into depicting the golden clothes of a woman. For if Isaiah reproaches women who adorn themselves, and if luxuries are everywhere driven out, how would he here praise an adorned woman? (Isa. 3:16). C "...forget your people, and your father's house. And the king will desire your beauty." Another says, "That he may desire." Since he himself is your Lord. Another, "For he himself is your Lord. And they will worship him." Another, "And worship him." D "And the daughter of Tyre [will come] with gifts." Another, "But the strong daughter will bring gifts. All the rich of the people will entreat your face."
How is there nothing sensible? How is there nothing corporeal, but all things spiritual? For how is the bride also his daughter? And how is the daughter a bride? In corporeal things these do not exist, but this is one thing, and that is another; but in God both exist. For he himself regenerated her through baptism, and he himself also betrothed her. "Hear, O daughter, and see." He provided two things for her: both instruction, which is imparted through words, and vision, which is received through miracles and through faith: and these things he gave, while those things he promised. Hear, therefore, my words, see my miracles, and my works, and accept my exhortations. But see what command he makes first. "Forget your people, and your father's house." For because he betrothed her from among the gentiles, this he commands her first: to strike out that custom from her soul, to remove it from her memory, to cast it out of her mind, not only by fleeing from them, but by not even remembering them. "And forget your people, and your father's house." And when he mentions both the people and the house, he understands all that is done there by them, both concerning life and concerning dogmas. "And the king will desire your beauty." You see that he does not speak of the beauty of the body: if you do these things, then, he says, you will be beautiful, then the king will desire your beauty. For corporeal beauty does not do these things. And yet among the infidels we see corporeal beauty, and among the gentiles, attractive women. But so that you may know that he does not speak of the beauty of the body, he says that it is constituted by her obedience; obedience, however, does not constitute the beauty of the body, but of the soul. For if, he says, you do these things, then you will be beautiful, then you will be lovable to the bridegroom. "For he himself is your Lord." Behold, father, and bridegroom, and lord has appeared. For because he ordered her to depart from her parents, to forget her people, to expel her custom, he shows that it is the greatest and most just cause why he commanded these things, and that there is a great logical consistency, and that it ought to be done. For if the same person is your father, the same your bridegroom, and the same your lord: it is fair that you should separate yourself from all those, and dedicate yourself to him. And he did not say, "For he himself is your father," but, "For he himself is your Lord," that he might touch her by that very reason: since he who is your lord and master and father, willed also to become your bridegroom; nay rather, that this very fact was brought about, that he should become lord, is of the highest solicitude and mercy: that she who was the slave of demons, and was being trampled upon by error, he should wish to be his own. And not only a handmaid, but he has made her a daughter and a bride. "Forget your people, and your father's house." For you are not coming to some stranger, but to him who made you, and who is closer to you than all those, and who is solicitous for you, and takes care of you. For he himself is your Lord and father, and he himself has given you all things. And they will worship him and...
the daughter of Tyre with gifts. What is this sequence? It is indeed excellent; for this is a most major form of exhortation. Come forward, he says; for his power is great; and all will obey him. A And the Prophet, leaving the inhabited world to speak, mentions the neighboring city, which was then especially laboring under the disease of impiety, the stronghold of the devil, which had a great name for luxury, signifying the whole by the part.
10. It seems to me that he thus names all impiety and licentiousness; for he knows how to characterize ways of life by cities, as when he says: Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of God, you people of Gomorrah (Isai. 1:10). And yet he was speaking to the Jews; but because they were doing what happened in Sodom, he calls them by the names of the Sodomites. And why do you wonder, if he calls them so from their fatherland, whereas he even gives them such parents, saying: Your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite (Ezech. 16:3)? And he does not even stop the accusation here, but leads the word even to wild beasts, in the New Testament indeed speaking thus: You offspring of vipers (Luc. 3:7); and again in the Old: They have broken the eggs of asps, and weave the web of a spider (Isai. 59:5). And elsewhere: Are you not as the sons of the Ethiopians to me? (Amos 9:7). So too he called the Tyrians, who had lived in impiety and debauchery, by such names. But, he says, I will overcome them and will hold sway, and I will hold sway in such a way that they will even worship, and not simply worship, but also offer gifts and firstfruits, which is the greatest form B of worship, and a sign of exceeding obedience. *The face* (Tullum tuum) *of the rich of the people shall entreat.* What is, *Shall entreat*? The great and high ones will now honor and glorify you. For this happens in the Church: everyone honors and respects those who live in virtue, even if they be abounding in wealth and dignities. For virtue is greater than all abundance.
11. You see the Church honored by all. And well did he say, *Your face*, that is, your glory, your beauty, your comeliness. Then, because he made mention of the face, and garments, and beauty, that no one of the duller sort might think of anything sensible, he added, saying: *All the glory of the daughter of the king is within.* Enter into the mind, he says, and discern the beauty of the soul; I am discoursing to you about those things, and even if I speak of garments, or if I speak of beauty, or if I speak of gold, or if I speak of fringes, or if I speak of gold-work, or whatever else of this kind, the discourse is about the mind, the instruction is about the soul, the thing spoken of is about virtue, about the glory within. Therefore, he again boldly leads the word to physical images, having once corrected the dull auditor with what has been said. C *Clothed in gold-fringed garments, variegated.* Another: *Clad in golden clasps and variegated garments*; again calling virtue by the name of gold. So also Paul says: If anyone builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble (1 Cor. 3:12); representing to us virtue and vice by the appellations of these materials. For so that you might not think these things to be what is stored within, he does not allow you to imagine external things, but drags the mind inside. For just as a body appears beautiful when clothed in these things; so the soul is beautified when clothed in virtue. *Virgins shall be brought to the king after her.* Another: *They shall follow.* Another: *They shall be brought.* *Her neighbors shall be brought to you.* *They shall be brought in gladness and exultation; they shall be brought into the temple of the king.* Have you seen the fringed garments? Have you seen the golden robe, the flower of virginity? This is the garment of the Church. And behold for me the precision of the Prophet. Since, for the Church, because it was not immediately upon its constitution that the good of virginity flowered, but later and after some time, therefore he himself puts it down after these things, after it had forgotten the people and the house of the father, and had put on that adornment, and shone with beauty. Therefore he says: *Her neighbors shall be brought after her.* Her neighbors, not by place simply, but by way of life, and in harmony with her in the doctrines; for one would not call the virgins of the heretics [neighbors]; D for they are not neighbors to the queen. *They shall be brought in gladness and exultation.* See the apostolic element shining here, and that sentence also being shown in the Prophet. What is this? That they shall have tribulation for the flesh who marry (1 Cor. 7:28). And just as those have tribulation, so these have exultation and gladness. For the one is forced to be anxious about children, and husband, and house, and servants, and relatives, and fathers-in-law, and sons-in-law, and grandchildren, and many children, and childlessness (for it is not the time now to depict the burdens of marriage); but the virgin, being crucified, and having departed from present things, and having become higher than life's cares, and having crossed the Euripus, and looking every day toward heaven, enjoys the joy of the Spirit, and delights in exultation. The prophet hints not only at present things, but also at future things, when, having bright and splendid lamps, they meet the bridegroom, welcoming him. And by the *temple of the king* he calls here the palace, and by *chambers* the bedchambers. *Instead of your fathers, your sons have been born.* Another: *You shall have sons.* Since he mentioned people and fathers above, saying, Forget your people, and your father's house; showing that she will enjoy much prosperity also in this respect, he added this. For the barren woman is the mother of myriad children. So if you were torn away from parents, yet the choirs of children will be so glorious, so bright and prominent, as to fill the whole inhabited world.
13. To me he seems to speak of the apostles, who became teachers in her. Then, describing their power and strength, and glory, he says: *You shall set them as princes over all the earth.* Do these things need interpretation? I do not think so, just as the sun does not, when it is bright; and the things spoken of are clearer than this; for the apostles ran through the whole inhabited world, and became princes of all rulers, more sovereign, more powerful than kings. For kings indeed rule while living, but when they have died, they are undone; but these, when they have died, have ruled all the more.
and the laws of the fishermen have been extended throughout the entire inhabited world. The Roman Emperor could not impose laws upon the Persians, nor could the King of the Persians impose laws upon the Romans; but these men—these Palestinians—gave laws to the Persians, and to the Romans, and to the Thracians, and to the Scythians, and to the Indians, and to the Moors, and, in short, to the entire inhabited world. And they were firm and valid not only while they lived, but were confirmed even after they were dead; and those who received these laws would rather shed their blood a thousand times over than depart from them. B 18. "I will be mindful of Thy name from generation to generation." Therefore the peoples will confess Thee forever, and for ever and ever. Another says: "I will call to mind Thy name in each generation. Therefore the peoples will praise Thee perpetually." Another says: "For this cause the peoples will confess Thee." He declares the magnitude of the kingdom, from the length of the earth, from the breadth of the inhabited world, from the multitude of the nations that are subjected. He speaks also, from another angle, of his authority, that it will extend not only over the whole inhabited world, but also over all time. "For immortal," he says, "will be the memory of Thee, inscribed in our books, inscribed in public affairs, inscribed in the commandments." See how he prophesies the perpetuity of his own prophecy as well. For when he said, "I will be mindful of Thy name from generation to generation," this is what he signaled. "Even if I die," he says, "I will praise Thee even in death." The body will be dissolved, but the letters remain, and the law is perpetual. "Therefore the peoples will confess Thee." Where he began, there he ends, namely, in Christ. "Therefore." Therefore for what reason? Because Thou hast rightly performed so many and such great things, because Thou hast established such princes, because Thou hast driven out vice, because Thou hast planted virtue, because Thou hast joined our nature [to Thee], because Thou hast wrought these ineffable good deeds: the entire inhabited world will offer praise to Thee, not in a short time, nor in ten, or twenty, or a hundred years, nor in a part of the inhabited world, but earth and sea, the region that is habitable and the one that is not, will sing [Thy praise] for all eternity, giving thanks for the benefits they have received from Thee. For all these things, let us also give thanks to the kind and clement Christ; through whom, and with whom, be glory to the Father together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM XLV
[For the end, for the sons of Core, for the hidden things.] Another: [For the sons of Core, a song for [the] youth.] 1. God is our refuge and strength, a helper in afflictions, which have found us exceedingly. Another: [A helper found in afflictions.] 3. Therefore we will not fear when the earth is troubled, and the mountains are moved into the heart of the seas. A a. The Prophet employs his customary philosophy, drawing the hearer away from worldly affairs and lifting him up to the hope that is from above. "Do not," he says, "talk to me of weapons, walls, and moats, nor of wealth, nor of military experience, nor of a multitude of horses, nor of bows, and arrows, and breastplates, nor of a multitude of allies, nor of phalanxes of soldiers, nor of the strength of the body, and the experience of enemies." All these are thinner than spiderwebs and shadows. "But if you wish to see an invincible power, an insuperable refuge, a fortress that is inviolable, a tower that cannot be shaken, flee to God, draw that strength to yourself." B And rightly he said, "God is our refuge and strength," showing that we sometimes conquer by fleeing, and sometimes by standing and fighting. For it is necessary to do both: to stand fast, and to withdraw. Paul also used to do this: sometimes yielding, and sometimes attacking those who opposed the word of truth. Christ also used to do this to teach us; we too must do this, and know with precision the fitness of the time, and pray indeed that we may not enter into temptation, according to that evangelical saying; but when it has arrived, [we must] not be soft or cowardly, but stand bravely. "A helper in afflictions, which have found us exceedingly." What I have often said, I repeat now: He does not prevent afflictions from coming, but when they have arrived, He stands by, making us frugal and upright. Moreover, that "exceedingly," or "very," must be added to that word, "Helper." For He does not provide a light, but a signal aid, providing more consolation from the help brought than the pain suffered from the afflictions. For it is not the case that He provides us aid only as much as the nature of the evils demands; rather, He provides far more. "Therefore we will not fear," he says, "when the earth is troubled." Do you see how He brings a greater and far more abundant aid? For He said not only, "We will not be taken," or "We will not fall," but "We will not even suffer that which is proper to nature," namely, to be terrified and afraid. Wherece then does this come? From the fact that the aid is abundant. By "earth," however, and "mountains," and "the heart of the seas," he does not mean the elements, but by their name he signifies intolerable dangers. C If we see all things, he says, in confusion, even if [there were] an utterly intolerable disturbance, and even if all those things were to happen which have never occurred, and even if, so to speak, creation itself were to collide with itself, its own boundaries of nature were to be moved, and all things were to be torn up from their very foundations, the primary elements confounded, and finally the greatest possible disturbance of all things occurred, not only will we not be conquered, but we will not even fear. The reason is that the Lord of all these things brings aid, stretches out a hand, and stands by. If, then, we would not in the least yield even when these things occurred, nor be rendered soft or cowardly, how much more so if enemies invade us and direct their battle line against us? 4. Their waters have roared and were troubled. The mountains were troubled by His strength. Another: "As the waters were roaring and troubled, and the mountains were shaken in His glorification." After he said, "We will not fear," even if all things were to be broken and to collide, he subsequently discourses on His power, that is, that His forces are invincible. And he is rightly [doing so], D since he is discussing His power because His strength is invincible. And it is natural, [he says], that I do not fear, which he is always doing...A sometimes from creation, and now from those things which happen to men, he proclaims His strength; this he does here as well.
The meaning of his words is this: He shakes everything, stirs it, changes it, whenever He wills; thus, everything is easy and ready for Him. To me, it seems that he here hints at the multitudes of the brave, and the high-ranking of the enemies, and the infinite common people of the opponents. For such is His power, he says, that it is enough for Him merely to nod, and all these things happen. How, then, can we fear when we have such a Master? B *Diapsalma*. Another: *Always*. *The onsets of the river*. Another: *Divisions*. The Hebrew [version reads]: *Phalagan*. *They make glad the city of God; the Most High has sanctified His tabernacle*. Another says: *The holy place of the dwelling of the Most High*. *God is in the midst of her, and she shall not be shaken. God shall help her in the early morning* [the morning]. Another says: *About the dawn*. Another: *The nodding of the morning*. Having spoken about His power and strength, and that everything is easy for Him, he shifts the discourse to the subject of the Jewish providence, representing in a few words the goods given to them. For this One, who is so powerful, who is so strong and terrible, and who leads and bears everything, who shakes and moves everything, and changes and displaces [everything], has filled our city with myriad goods. For "river" here represents the abundance of the supply of gifts from above, and the unobstructed and poured-out nature [of them], as if he were saying: Just as from fountains all goods flow to us. For just as a river, divided into myriad parts, waters the underlying land, so the providence of God flows from every side, carried in abundance, and coming with a rushing sound, and filling everything. It provides us not only with security, nor only with unbreakable help, but also with spiritual joy; therefore he says: *The Most High has sanctified His tabernacle*. And this, too, is no small part of His benevolence: that He called the place "His tabernacle."
2. And he has not placed the word "Most High" without cause. C He, then, who is so high, whom no place can contain, the ineffable Essence, deigned to call our city His tabernacle, and He encompasses it from every side. For this is what "in the midst of her" means, just as He says elsewhere: *Behold, I am with you*. He strengthens it from every side; for this reason, not only will it suffer no harm, but it will not even be shaken. And the cause is that it enjoys help that is very fast, being ready and prepared; for this is what "early morning" means: not failing, not delaying, but always fresh and flourishing, and at the fitting time. *Nations were troubled*. Another: *Nations were gathered*. *Kingdoms bowed*. *The Most High gave His voice, the earth was shaken*. D Here he shows the power of His help. For it was not merely by ordinary people attacking, but by kings and nations gathering from every side, circling, and besieging one city, [yet] it not only suffered no harm from them, but it even prevailed, and got the upper hand, and overturned those who attacked. For this serves as the meaning of *Kingdoms bowed, the Most High gave His voice*; as one might say, He took the cities by a mere shout. The word is coarse and humanly spoken. For God does not conquer with voice and shouting, but by a nod alone and by a will. But nevertheless, leading him [the reader] up from the coarser things, he devised a more elevated term. Because he introduces Him as one always arming Himself, showing that all those things are said metaphorically, and more tropically, and more condescendingly (for God has need of none of these things), he added, *The Most High gave His voice, and the earth was shaken*; showing that He shakes not only cities and nations and lands, but the very element itself. He knows also how to call the multitudes "earth," as when he says: *And all the earth was one lip*. *The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our helper*. The Hebrew [instead] of "of hosts" said "Sabaoth." Observe how he leads the discourse up from the earth to heaven, to the infinite companies of angels, to the nations of the archangels, to the powers above. For what are you telling me of camps, and barbarians, and men perishing? he says. Consider His strength from the kingdom in the heavens: how many camps of the invisible powers He has arranged under Himself. And he rightly called them "powers," indicating their strength; which he also says elsewhere: *Mighty in strength, doing His word*. For, indeed, one angel once going forth destroyed one hundred and eighty-five thousand. What then, if He is powerful indeed, but does not wish to reach out a hand to us? But do not fear even this, he says; for this reason he added, *Our helper*. Therefore, He both wills it and is able; do not fear then. What then if we are unworthy? But we have paternal philanthropy towards Him. Therefore, even adding this, he said, *God of Jacob*, as if he were saying: This is always His custom, he says, from above, and from the beginning. *Diapsalma*. Another: *Always*. *Come and see the works of God, who has set signs upon the earth, taking away wars until the ends of the earth. He shall shatter the bow, and break the weapon* (another says: *He shattered*), *and burn shields in fire*. Another: *And He shall burn chariots in fire*. Having spoken about the earth, about the sea, about the mountains, about the spiritual supply which had occurred to them, about the help, he again extends the subject to the spectators, calling them to the trophies with great pleasure and disposition toward the Master, and recounting the victories which He wrought on their behalf. And he rightly said, *Signs*, he did not say, "victories and trophies." For the things that happened did not occur according to sequence, nor were the matters of the battle judged by weapons and strength of bodies, but by the nod of God, with the events demonstrating that He was the One commanding. For since the weak were defeating the strong, the few the many, the conquered the rulers, and things were happening beyond hope, he naturally calls them "signs," as occurring paradoxically and spread throughout the earth.
3. And one would not be wrong in taking this also according to anagogy, and for the present time. For He indeed put an end to a grievous war, that of the demons, and...
the end of the world, and He has extinguished the sensible war of the same. Which Esaias also signifying said: They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, and nation shall not take up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore (Is. II, 4). For before the coming of Christ, all men were instructed in arms, and no one was exempt from this duty, and cities fought against cities, and war was carried on everywhere; but now the greater part of the world lives in peace, with all people safely pursuing their crafts, tilling the land, and sailing the sea; and there are but few soldiers, who fight on behalf of all the others. And indeed, even for these there would be no remnant of use, if we were to do what is fitting, and were not in need of being reminded by afflictions. He calls his wrath "fire" here, and speaks of the thing that happened, namely that He burned their arms and chariots, when He had conquered them by force, which Ezechiel also says (Ezech. XXXIX, 10); and those who are studious know the history. A 11. Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted in the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Another says: Take heed, and know. Another: Cease, so that you may know. The Hebrew, however, says: Ouarphou ouadou. Here he seems to me to be addressing the nations, saying almost this: You certainly know His strength, and the power which extends everywhere in the world; but you have need of leisure, you need a sound mind. Furthermore, the word "cease" signifies this same thing: abandon error, depart from your former way of life, take breath from the darkness of the wicked things that hold you, so that, led by the teaching of miracles, and possessed of a quiet mind, you may know the God of all things. For miracles alone do not suffice, if a pious and grateful mind is not present. For even among the Jews miracles took place, and yet no profit was brought from them for their salvation. Just as the rays of the sun are not sufficient, if the eye is not also pure and sound: so neither are miracles alone sufficient here. Wherefore, having discussed those matters, he exhorts those who are to reap the benefit from them to repent of the evils that hold them captive, so that they may be able to know the God of all things. Be still, and know that I am God, not idols, nor statues. Be still, therefore, and I will show you many most evident proofs. For this is what "I will be exalted in the nations, I will be exalted in the earth" intends, that is, through works I will be shown to you as great and high. For that pure, incorruptible, and ineffable nature has its own height. But because you do not perceive it, I will show it to you through works. And not only in Palestine, nor only in Jerusalem, but also among you nations. Thus, therefore, is He exalted, conquering and overcoming them, working miracles in Babylon, miracles in Egypt, miracles in the wilderness, miracles throughout the whole world, so that they might have the instruction of His knowledge everywhere. 12. The Lord of hosts is with us, the protector of us is the God of Jacob. This, therefore, is the God who is great everywhere, who is high everywhere, who has always stood with us. Do not fear, therefore, nor be troubled, since you have a Lord so unconquerable: to whom belongs glory, honor, and magnificence, with the Father, who is without beginning, and His life-giving Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
CONCERNING PSALM XLVI
To the end, for the sons of Core. Another: To the sons of Core. 2. All nations, clap your hands. Another: With a voice of exultation. Another: Signify with a voice of praise. 3. Because the Lord is most high, terrible, a great king over all the earth. A Since he describes the victories and trophies they prepared for themselves against enemies, and calls the whole world to praise the things that have been done. But to some it perhaps seems that the prelude is unworthy of the exhortation of the divine Spirit, as is such a command for applause, noise, and shouting. For someone might say that these things perhaps do not befit those who gather in this venerable place established for teaching, but rather those who spend their time in the theater and at banquets, to beat cymbals and clap hands; but quiet, order, and moderation befit men who are instructed by the grace of the Spirit. B What, then, is signified by these things, and what jubilation, what applause does he mention? For those who are about to do battle in array have been accustomed to do this—to jubilate, I say, and to give the greatest applause with their hands, to terrify the enemy; but this is foreign to a tranquil mind. The Psalm, however, commands both, to clap the hands and to jubilate. What is it, then, that has been said? It signifies nothing else but pleasure and a symbol of victory. For elsewhere also the prophet introduces rivers clapping their hands, saying: The rivers shall clap their hands for the same (Ps. XCVII, 8). Esaias also introduces trees doing this, [and the mountains and hills] leaping (Ps. CXIII, 4): not that we should understand that the mountains and hills are leaping, or that the rivers are clapping or have hands (for this would be the height of madness), but that we might learn of extreme joy. C Thus also we are able to see this in men. And why did he not say, "Rejoice and leap," but "Clap and jubilate"? To show us the remarkable joy. Just as Christ, when He says, But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face (Matth. VI, 17) (for none of us does this), is not commanding anointing, but is showing joy and a glad mind (for He commands that one should fast joyfully, not wearing a sad face): so even here we are not commanded to clap our hands and to jubilate, but while we sing psalms, to rejoice and be affected with pleasure. Justly, then, might one take the Psalm by way of anagoge, having been raised above history. For even if it takes its beginning and prelude from sensible things, it nevertheless leads the auditor to intelligible ones. For what was said before on the subject of how holy Scripture is to be received D remains.
I say: some things must be received as they are said, but others the opposite of what is stated, as it is in that passage: *Wolves and lambs shall pasture together* (Isai. 11. 6). For we shall not understand wolves and lambs, nor chaff, and ox, and bull, but we characterize the manners of men through the image of the irrational creatures. Other things must be received in a double sense, understanding both the sensible objects and receiving the intelligible ones: just as in the anagogy of the son of Abraham. For we know that the son was brought up, and we select another thing hidden in the meaning through the son, namely, the cross. And regarding the lamb in Egypt, again in the same way we characterize the image of the passion. This must be done also in this place. For the discourse is not simply about the Arabs and their neighbors, but it calls all the nations. *For the Lord is most high, terrible, a great king over all the earth.* A He therefore rouses the auditor from the very prelude to such a weight of Gospels, and to the festival of the inhabited world, and to a certain divine and spiritual feast, and to the mystery delivered down from the heavens. For this reason, he says: *Clap your hands*; that is, be glad, exult. For the evangelical word also commands this, saying: *Exult*; not altogether commanding to leap and jump (for this is illiberal), but declaring the intensity of the joy. For what is taking place is worthy of great pleasure. For as much land as the sun surveys, the evangelical word has run over, and the whole inhabited world was saved, and those who before this were held in error showed a philosophy greater than the Jewish worship. *All nations, clap your hands.* Those filthy ones before this, he says, B those accursed ones, those stained with blood every day through the unclean sacrifices, through which you slaughtered children, and dared shameful acts, and went against nature itself, through these now clap your hands. *Shout to God with a voice of exultation.* Through that tongue, through which you tasted the cursed things, through which you brought forth blasphemous words, through this shout the victory song. For it is a custom for armies, when the camp of the adversary inclines, to no longer use close-quarters combat, but with one voice, with a cry and a shout, to shake the souls of those already defeated; which is the greatest proof of a brilliant victory and a trophy, when the war is not decided by hands, but the cry and the shout begins, instead of hands and instead of weapons.
2. The entire work, then, has become Christ's; for He himself destroyed this grievous war, having bound the strong man and plundered his vessels. Being a lover of mankind, He makes those who have labored nothing to enjoy this victory and the trophies, and prepares them to offer the victory cry, just as if they themselves were the ones who had succeeded and conquered. Therefore all cry out, not some obscure voice, but one that is very distinct: *Where is your sting, O death? Where is your victory, O Hades?* (1 Cor. 15. 55). And again: *God ascended with a shout.* For this has been said in this psalm. And again elsewhere: *You ascended on high, you led captivity captive, you received gifts among men* (Ps. 67. 19; Eph. 4. 8). The Jews also once offered a victory voice when the camp of the Egyptians was being submerged, saying: *Let us sing to the Lord; for he has been gloriously glorified* (Exod. 15. 1). But ours is much greater, not with Egyptians, but with demons submerged; C not with Pharaoh, but with the devil conquered; not with sensible weapons taken, but with wickedness destroyed; not in the Red Sea, but in the laver of regeneration; not with those departing into the land of promise, but those being moved into heaven; not eating manna, but feeding on the Master’s body; not drinking water from a rock, but blood from a side. For this reason he says: *Clap your hands*, because having been released from stones and woods, you have passed over the heavens, and the heavens of heavens, and have stood before the royal throne itself. *Shout* therefore *to God*; that is, offer the thanksgiving to Him, to Him the victory, to Him the trophy. The war is not human, nor is the battle sensible, nor is the struggle for any of the things of this life, but for the heavens themselves, and those in the heavens. He himself commanded this war, and shared with us the victory. *For the Lord is most high, terrible, a great king over all the earth.* Where now are those who diminish the glory of the Only-begotten? Behold, the Son is called a great king, which was said about the Father: *For do not swear*, he says, *neither by heaven, for it is his throne; nor to Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king* (Matth. 5. 34, 35). And again elsewhere: *God the mighty, the powerful* (Isai. 9. 6); which is to be king. D When, therefore, you hear that your Master was crucified, that He was hung on the cross, that He was buried, that He descended into the lower parts of the earth, do not fall, nor be troubled; for He is most high, and most high by nature. That which is high by nature could never be moved from its height, nor could it become lowly; but even in His lowliness the height remains and is displayed. Since even when dying, then most of all He showed His power against death. *The light shines in the darkness*, it says, *and the darkness did not comprehend it* (Joan. 1. 5): so truly also His height was shown in the lowliness. See Him, therefore, being in Hades, and shaking all the high things. For the sun then turned back its rays, rocks were split, the veil was rent, the earth was shaking, Judas was hanging himself, Pilate and his wife were terrified, the judge himself was making his defense. When, therefore, you hear that He was bound and scourged, do not be confused; but see Him even in bonds demonstrating power. He said, *Whom do you seek?* (Joan. 18. 4), and he cast them all backward. Have you seen how terrible He is, working so many things by voice alone and by a nod? When, therefore, you see Him dead, let your mind conceive the stone being taken away, the angels who remained at the tomb with fear, Hades being loosed, death being melted, the prisoners being released: and then you will see His terrible nature. If in the time of dishonor He displayed such things, in heaven, on earth, in Hades, what will He not display in the time of His future presence? Hear what the demons say in the time of His lowliness, those who were foaming, those who were loosening bonds, those who were making the road impassable: *What have we to do with you, Son of God?*
A Are you come hither to torment us before the time? If things were so then, when He arrives and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon shall not give her light, what will they say? Therefore He says: *Highest, terrible.* Or rather, who could worthily describe that day, when He sends the angels through the whole world, when all things shall be shaken, when the earth shall be moved, giving back the deposit of the dead, when innumerable bodies shall be raised, when the heaven shall be rolled up like a parchment, when the terrible throne shall be set, when rivers of fire shall be drawn, when the books shall be opened, when the things done by each in darkness shall be brought into the midst, when those unbearable punishments and torments, when the threatening powers, when the drawn swords, when the abduction into Gehenna shall be; when all authority of emperors, generals, consuls, and governors shall perish, when so great a multitude of angels shall be present, when the ranks of martyrs, prophets, apostles, priests, and monks, when those unspeakable rewards, when the prizes, when the crowns, when the good things that surpass every mind shall be?
191 B Who shall describe this in words? For if, when the Prophet looked upon creation, he grew weary and retreated, saying, *How magnified are your works, O Lord!* and if Paul, searching into one kind of providence, cried out, saying, *O the depth of the riches!* what shall one say describing that day? Having foreseen all these things, the Prophet said: *The Lord is highest, terrible, a great king over all the earth,* showing forth the salvation of the world. He was therefore a great king even before, but He was unknown. For *the world was made by Him, and the world,* he says, *knew Him not.* But now He has accomplished this also most excellently: that by joining us to Himself in familiarity, He has become a great king. And why is He not great, who sent poor fishermen, illiterate, simple men, eleven in number, obscure, strangers, more mute than fish, having a single tunic, without shoes, naked, throughout the whole world, and as by a command took them all? This is truly to be a great king: who freed the whole earth from error, and in a brief moment of time brought back the truth, and destroyed the tyranny of the devil; who, even before there were those who obeyed Him, was a great king, not having the power of command in servants, nor in appearance and clothes, but in nature itself. *For to this,* He says, *I was born.* This is to be a great king: who has no honor brought from outside, who has need of nothing to be king, who does all things C whatsoever He wills. *Go, therefore,* He says, *teach all nations;* and the word turned into action. *I will, be thou clean.* *I say to thee, deaf demon, come out of him; be silent, be muzzled.* *Go into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil. Come, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.* Do you see power everywhere? Do you see might? For He so captured those who obeyed that He persuaded them to pour out their souls rather than transgress what was commanded. For a king has honor from those who are subject to his rule, but this one provides honor to those who obey Him: and therefore the former is merely a name, but the latter is reality. He is a great king who made the whole earth heaven, and took care that barbarians should be philosophers and imitate angels. *He has subjected peoples to us, and nations under our feet.* O wonder! He persuaded those who had crucified Him to worship Him: those who were treating Him with contumely, those who were pursuing Him with curses, those who were fixed to stones, He taught to pour out even their own souls, at His pleasure. For this was not being done by the apostles, but by the One who preceded them and was moving their mind. For how would a fisherman or a tentmaker have changed such an inhabited world, unless His words had removed all obstacles? And magicians, and tyrants, and orators, and philosophers, and finally all who resisted, shaking them off like dust, dissolving them like smoke, thus they sowed the light of truth, not using arms, nor the power of money, but only a simple sermon; nay, indeed, it was not a simple sermon, but was more powerful than any work. How, finally? They used to invoke the name of the Crucified, and death fled, demons were put to flight, diseases were cured, the defects of the body were corrected, wickedness was put to flight, dangers instantly receded, and the elements were changed.
Christ: why He did not descend from the cross. When therefore they say to us: Why did He not give Himself aid upon the cross? let us say this: because this was more wonderful. For they are not equal, to have descended from the cross, and after He was crucified, for so many to have been raised in His name. For that He remained there of His own will, He showed D from the things that followed thereafter. For He who expelled death, which had invaded others, could much more have driven it off from Himself before it invaded, and He who provides life to others could much more provide it for Himself: which He also did three days later, having been raised from great power. And this He showed through the things that followed thereafter. For when His name was seen to have such great virtue in certain bodies, that when invoked it put death to flight, no one could doubt that He could also have shown great power in His own body, and have subjected death to Himself.
4. *He has subjected peoples to us, and nations under our feet.* Observe the wisdom of the prophet, who says all things accurately. For what the apostles said afterwards, *Why look you at us, as if by our own virtue or piety we have made this man walk?* this the prophet says long before. That phrase, *under our feet,* shows what was subject, or rather a great subjection. But if you wish to know how great was the subjection, hear. *As many,* it says, *as were possessors of lands or houses, selling them brought the prices of the things that were being sold, and laid them before the apostles' feet.* Others, however, with their money, poured out their souls as well. *Who,* he says, *for my soul have laid down their own necks.* Writing of others also, he said: *If it had been possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes, and given them to me.*
4. You have seen the authority and power. Yet all these things were accomplished by that word which He spoke when sending them, saying: *I am with you* (Matt. 28. 20). He Himself removed the obstacles, walking before them: He Himself made all things smooth, and made the difficult easy. And yet all places were full of wars, full of precipices and crags, and there was nowhere a place to set a foot, nor to stand; all the harbors were silted up, every house shut, the ears of all were stopped; and yet, as soon as they entered, they spoke, and they were dismantling all the fortifications of the enemies, so that they even laid down their own souls, and sustained countless dangers thereafter for the things which had been spoken. A *He chose for us his inheritance, the beauty of Jacob, which He loved.* Another says: *The praise of Jacob.* See the precision of the prophecy. For above He was saying: *He subjected peoples to us and nations.* For indeed the Jews came first, first three thousand, then five thousand, and after these the nations. For He Himself said again: *And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and there shall be one fold, one shepherd* (Joan. 10. 16). Then, lest anyone hearing, *He chose for us his inheritance,* should be perplexed, and distressed, and say: "How then do the Jews now disbelieve?" He solved the perplexity by the addition. For indeed, for His part, He chose them too, and as far as it depended on Him, He left no one out. But if you also seek the end, hear the following: for He adds, *the beauty of Jacob, which He loved.* For here it seems to me He speaks of the faithful, which Paul was indicating when he said: *Not as though the word of God has failed; for all who are of Israel are not Israel, but in Isaac shall thy seed be called* (Rom. 9. 6-8): that is, that not the children of the flesh are the children of God, but the children of the promise are considered the seed. And the beauty of the people might fittingly be called the faithful. For what is more beautiful than those who have believed? He calls the nation His inheritance, not as though He ever neglected the others, but showing the intensity of His love for them, and the intimacy, and the addition of His providence. And that you may learn the prophetic precision, see how He uses the word used by the many, which the many use for wares. For many, when they often buy something, call those things which excel others, beauty. Showing, therefore, that not all will agree, He says, *The beauty of Jacob.* These things are shown also in the Gospels through countless parables.
*God ascended in a shout.* He did not say, *was raised up*, but, *ascended*; showing that He ascended not with another guiding Him, but He Himself was traversing that path. For Elijah, although he did not come as far as Christ, was led by another power. For it was not of human nature to be able to traverse a strange path. But the Only-Begotten ascended by His own authority. For this reason Luke also said thus: *And they were looking on as He was going into heaven* (Act. 1. 10). He did not say, *while He was being taken up*, nor *being carried*; for the journey was His own, what was taking place. But if, before the cross, He was borne upon the waters, still wearing a subject-to-suffering and heavy body, what is wonderful if, after receiving it [as] incorruptible, He was cutting through the air? And where is *In a shout*? Who shouted, because He ascended? And yet this took place in silence, and with only eleven disciples present. Do you see that one must not take the words simply, but know what is signified by them? For what I was saying in the preface of the Psalm, that the shout signifies something else, the victory, the trophy: what He says here, *In a shout*, this is, that He ascended in victory, having overcome death, having cast down sin, having put the demons to flight, having driven out error, having changed all things for the better, having led our nature towards the ancient homeland, or rather towards one much better. For no one stood against Him when He arrived, not the tyranny of sin, not the power of death, not the strength of the curse, not of corruption, not the intensity of malice, not anything else of such things; but having ripped all these apart like a spider, and having dissolved the phalanxes of demons and the nerves of the devil, and all these things, He ascended having accomplished what He wished.
B 5. Wherefore Paul also, recounting His trophy, said: *Stripping off the principalities and powers, He showed them openly, triumphing over them in it* (Col. 2. 15). And again: *Blotting out the handwriting of the decree that was against us, which was contrary to us, He took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross* (Ibid. v. 14). *The Lord in the voice of a trumpet.* Again it signifies the same thing, that is, in clear victory. But here something else is to be understood, the conspicuous, the manifest, the loud. And yet at that time no one knew that this had happened, but it became so clear, as if a trumpet were sounding, or rather also much more. For that which happened in secret [at that time], almost no one of those who inhabited the world remained ignorant [of it later], but the nature of the events uncovered it, as if a trumpet were sounding, or rather also much more. For a trumpet sounding would not have called everyone to that spectacle, as afterwards the voice of the events showed the ascension, having made the matter manifest, more powerfully than any thunder. For not even thunder would have called the world [to attention] as the demonstration of the facts [did] both those present then, and those who were to be later. For the thunder is manifest to those present; but this is manifested to all generations more brightly than a trumpet, and more clearly than thunder. Nor would one err by calling the mouths of the apostles trumpets, not brazen trumpets, but more precious than gold, and more costly than gems. Why then did He not say, *of a trumpet*, but, *In the voice of a trumpet*?
B It signifies their concord, as Paul also says: *Whether therefore it were I, or they, so we preach* [1 Cor. xv, 11]. And again: *The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul* [Acts iv, 32]. They sounded trumpets, not inciting to war, but preaching and announcing victory. For just as in a camp, when they go out into battle with standards, the trumpets go before to stir up those who are present, not by sight alone, but also by hearing: so it was then; as the apostles entered every city, the trumpets sounded, and all ran together to hear. *Psallite to our God, psallite: psallite to our King, psallite* [Ps. xlvi, 6]. *For God is the King of all the earth, psallite sapienter* [Ps. xlvi, 7]. After he recounted how great and how glorious are the things which He has done, he calls the whole world to celebrate Him with praises with great zeal and diligence: he used a repetition for this reason; and he does not invite them only to sing, but to sing with great wisdom. What is, *Psallite sapienter*? When, he says, you have learned what has been done, considering the magnitude of the deeds. But it seems to me to also suggest something else, when he said, *sapienter*: to sing not with the voice only, but also with deeds; not with the tongue only, but also with one's life. C *For God has reigned over the nations*, he says. Another, *Over the nations*. And what reign does he speak of here? Not that which He possesses by reason of creation, but that which He has by reason of the relationship to which He has adopted them. For He was King of all even before, as the Artificer and Creator: but now He is also King of those who are willing and grateful: a thing which is indeed worthy of the greatest praise, and most to be admired, that He who was previously treated with contumely by the Jews, should have brought it to pass that such a change should occur, so that it might be sung everywhere; and they, who had neither read the prophets nor been educated in the law, nay indeed were plainly of savage manners, were suddenly changed, and having cast away all those errors, they subjected themselves to Him, not two, or three, or four, or ten nations, but those who inhabited the whole world. *God sits upon His holy throne* [Ps. xlvi, 8]. What is it for God to sit? To reign holily. What is, *He sits upon a throne*? He reigns, he says, He holds the empire. And he rightly said, *holy*. For He not only reigns, but He also reigns holily. What is it, to reign holily? Purely. For men who come to this lordship use that power to inflict injury. But that kingdom is untouched by every such thing, pure and holy. D For neither guile, nor anything of that sort corrupts or circumvents that judgment, but it is pure, sincere, shining more brightly than any purity, resplendent with ineffable glory. *The princes of the peoples are gathered together with the God of Abraham: for the strong ones of the earth are exceedingly lifted up* [Ps. xlvi, 9].
5. Here he shows how the Gospel has been extended, which reached not only private citizens, but also those who are crowned with a diadem and sit upon a royal throne. Then, showing Him to be the one God of the New and Old Testament, he says: *With the God of Abraham*, that is, He Himself who is the God of our ancestors, and who gave the law to them. And therefore Jeremiah said: *I will make a new testament with you, not according to the testament which I gave to your fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt* [Jer. xxxi, 31, 32], showing that He is one and the same Lawgiver of both the New and the Old Testament. And Baruch again said: *This is our God, no other shall be reckoned to Him. He found out all the way of knowledge, and gave it to Jacob His servant, and to Israel His beloved. Afterwards He was seen upon earth, and conversed with men* [Baruch iii, 36–38], signifying that He is the same who gave the law, and who was incarnate; and that He who was incarnate gave the law. This also the prophet says: *Are gathered together with the God of Abraham*. The Hebrew, for that which is, *With the God*, says, *Em Eloi Abraham*. And how, I ask, has this been done? *For the strong ones of the earth are exceedingly lifted up*. And who are the strong ones of God, if not the apostles, all the faithful? Since their power has shone forth even to this point, they have conquered all: and he rightly called them strong. For why are they not strong, who drew up battle lines against the world, against demons, against the devil, against peoples, against cities, against nations, against tyrants, against torments and punishments, against frying-pans, against furnaces, against custom, against the tyranny of nature, and who tore down all things, and emerged superior to all, and were overcome by none? How are they not strong, who even after death show such virtue? How are they not strong, whose words are harder than any adamant, and no time has abolished them, but they daily receive greater increase; while the evangelical preaching pervades all parts of the world? For all these things let us give thanks to the kind and merciful God: for to Him is the glory and the power, now and always, and for ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM XLVII
1. *A canticle of a psalm for the sons of Core.* 2. *Great is the Lord and exceedingly to be praised, in the city of our God, in His holy mountain.* 3. *Firmly establishing roots with the exultation of the whole earth.* Another says, *With beautiful sprout, with the joy of all the earth.* Another, *From the beginning appointed with splendor of all the earth.*1. Here also he signifies the liberation from wars and battles. For because, having returned from Babylon, and having been freed from long captivity, they received their ancestral land, and had escaped many wars, for all these things they sing these hymns, giving thanks to the Author of these good things: and they say: *Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised.* Great, indeed, they say, but how great, they do not tell: for no one knows this; and therefore he added: *And exceedingly to be praised.* For there is no limit to His greatness. What he says is of this kind: It is necessary to attribute glory to Him alone and to praise Him, and that above all measure
And to praise him also on account of this infinite and incomprehensible immensity of his essence, and on account of the superabundance of the benefits bestowed upon us. For he both willed it, and was able to accomplish what he willed. A *In the city of our God, in his holy mountain.* What are you saying? Do you shut up his praise there, the praise of the Great One, the praiseworthy one, in the city and in the mountain? I do not say this, he says, but that we have known this before others. Was it for this reason then that he said, *In the city of our God*, or wishing to reveal that through the miracles wrought for it his greatness and his glory were shown—that he caused those who were captives, those who were cast aside, those who were held in contempt, those held in the enemy's land as in a tomb, suddenly to shine forth in such a way that they overcame those who had mastered them, and returned, and he led them back to their former prosperity, and restored the ancient condition of their fatherland? For he says that he reveals himself also through the magnitude of the visible works of creation; but since most people in the past were disposed more foolishly, he adds also the knowledge derived from enemies and from victory, constantly setting up these paradoxical trophies, and producing a change for the better, and working such miracles beyond all hope and expectation. He calls this his city, not depriving other places of his providence, but showing that these people possess something more than others in the mode of knowledge. For those other places could be spoken of as his only in the mode of creation; this one also in the mode of kinship, and because all these miracles occurred there. Therefore, at that time it was called the city of God; but now we are all called God’s. For "those who belong to Christ," he says, "have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal. 5: 24). Do you see the intensity of virtue? For this reason it was also called the mountain of God, since God was worshipped there. *Well-rooted for the exultation of all the earth.* B There is much obscurity in the statement, and therefore one must pay attention. For to one reading it simply, it causes much difficulty, but one who goes through these things with exactness will see the sequence and the accurate testing of the thoughts. For what he says is of this kind: *Great is the Lord in the city of our God, in his holy mountain well-rooted*, that is, well-planted, well-established, well-confirmed in the joy and gladness of all the world. Another, hinting at this, said: *As an ornament set apart for all the earth.* For he made it an ornament and a joy for all the world. For from there is the fountain of piety, and the roots and principles of the knowledge of God. Therefore, being such, he rooted it well, and firmly planted it in the world, for exultation, for the joy of the whole earth. For Jerusalem was then the school of the earth, and those who desired to enjoy joy, and to be beautified, and to be adorned, learned there what was necessary. Therefore, the one who declares this did not say "rooted," but "well-rooted." And if you wish to take this also by way of anagoge, you will touch the truth of the things. For from there joy has everywhere become of the world; from there come gladness and exultation; from there are the fountains of philosophy, where Christ was crucified, from whence the apostles set out: *For out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem* (Mich. 4: 2); and this joy possesses immortal roots. *Mount Sion, the sides of the north.* Another says, *Mount Sion, the thighs of the north.* The Hebrew says, *Ar Sion jerchthe saphoun.* For what reason, tell me, does he now make mention of the north, and describe for us the position of the place? Because from there war was constantly fanned against them, as the barbarians attacked, and the prophets constantly say this, calling it "from the north," and describing a boiling cauldron from there; for thus the land of the Persians lies in relation to Palestine. Admiring, therefore, what has happened, he adds this, signifying that you have made it impregnable against the one that was constantly harassing it from there. Just as if someone were speaking about a body, saying, *You have made that weak part stronger*, this is also what he himself hints at here: from where there were wailings and tears, from where there was the subject matter of calamities, these parts have been filled with pleasure, these with good cheer. From where there were threats and fears and dangers, from there [come] joy and gladness, and no one any longer fears that northern part of the world, no one labors, no one is suspicious, C but all are in gladness, since you have rooted it in delight. *The city of the great king.* 4. *God is known in her palaces, when he takes up her cause.* Another says, *He is known.* Another, *God shall be known in her palaces for a bulwark.* Another, *God is known in her palaces to deliver her.* 2. He proclaims her dignity, the praise, the crown, saying, *The city of the great king.* Then, showing how it is the city of the great king, he adds, *God is known in her palaces*, indicating his great providence, that he saves it entirely throughout, not only caring for it in its entirety, but also showing his providence in every single house. For to us it is known even without this, but to the enemies he also showed his power from this. For when, in the time of Ezechias, a cloud of barbarians had come, and [the Assyrians] had surrounded it entirely as in a net, they departed, leaving the greater part of them as corpses (4 Reg. 19). And many others, too, having entered into it many times, departed covered in shame. All these things were accomplished by the providence of God, he says, and he made it brilliant. And not only by being brilliant, but by becoming thus brilliant, it became great. *For behold, the kings of the earth gathered, they came together.* Another says, *Behold, the kings drew up in order.* They, seeing it thus, marveled, were troubled, were shaken, trembling took hold of them. *There were pains as of a woman in labor, in a violent spirit.* Another says, *by a violent wind.* Another, *of heat.* *You shall break the ships of Tharsis.* Another. *You shall shatter.* But the Hebrew says, *Tharsis.* Here he recounts a war, a cruel war joined from all sides, and a more brilliant victory. Since he said that he takes up her cause and shows great providence, he shows finally also how he takes it up. For he indicates [that] the multitude of the kings, D and he added the word "Tharsis"; for so the Hebrew also disclosed through the word, which we have also cited.
And indeed, for a multitude of nations having come—for he indicates this by the multitude of the kings—and not simply having come, but having come gathered together and drawn up in array, such things have happened that they departed themselves struck with wonder at the things which were done through such a miracle. For in this way the war was turned aside, so that they withdrew filled with horror and numbness, and with great anxiety, while the many feared the few, and those who were drawn up in array were no better off than women in childbed. B Whence it is clear that the war was not brought about according to human sequence, but that God was the leader in the joining of battle, who not only cast down their spirits, but also shook their mind, and put them into labor pains, and worked in them an unspeakable fear. And the same happened, as if a great fleet having met, a violent wind having fallen [upon it] should break all the ships and sink the triremes, and quickly cast great confusion [upon them]. For here it seems to me that [the prophet] indicates by this example both the ease of the victory and the magnitude of the confusion. For these [men] also, having used a great fleet and having arrived from long and foreign lands, just as if by some violent wind, the wrath of God, they all perished. And therefore, indicating the place from whence they came, he added "Tharsis." Thus also the Hebrew signified it by the word which we have added for your sake in the reading of the context. This, therefore, is what it is to say, either that which I said before, that just as a harsh wind falling upon the ships of Tharsis broke them many times, so also God disturbed that multitude. As we have heard, C so we have seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God. Do you see how he explains what is above, "[He] establishes"? For he did not say, "Who has established," but, "Establishing"—that is, continually providing, continually taking care, continually fortifying. For having spoken of the things that happened then, he again turns the discourse to narrating ancient things, showing that these have an affinity with those. For the things, he says, that we have heard in words, we have seen in deeds—the victories of God, the trophies, the care and providence, and the things that are beyond expectation [as] wonders. For God never ceased doing these things. Therefore it belongs to Him both to deliver from dangers and to lead to the knowledge of God. And [the prophet] rightly mentions the things that happened a long time before. For it was necessary to be taught both from ancient narrations and from things recently done, so that the more dull of mind might believe from the things that were happening even in the things that had been done, and might reap a double profit, and the hearing might be for them instead of sight. God has established it forever. "We have received, O God, Thy mercy in the midst of Thy people." Another [version]: "We have estimated, O God, Thy mercy in the midst of Thy people." But the Hebrew: "Echalach demmenu." 11. According to Thy name, O God, so also is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth. D Now he says both what he heard and what he saw. What, then, did he hear, and what did he see? That the grace of God makes the city firmer and unshaken. For this is its foundation, this is its strength, this makes it impregnable, not human wealth and help, not the force of arms, nor towers and walls; but what? God rules and contains it. For it was necessary for them to be taught this especially, and the prophet continually leads them to it. "We received, O God, Thy mercy in the midst of Thy people." What is "We received"? We hoped, we awaited, we acknowledged Thy humanity and clemency. Because he said, "He has established," "he has rooted," "he has fortified," showing that such great providence does not proceed from the merits of those who receive it, but proceeds from the goodness of Him who does these things, and at the same time wishing to compress their pride, he spoke so, saying almost this: These glorious deeds are Thy mercies, [they are] Thy glories, Thy goodness. And therefore he added: "According to Thy name, O God, so also is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth." Thy praise, he says, works such glorious, great, and admirable things, so lofty and glorious. For you did not take care of those whom you benefit unto a measure, nor according to their deserts, but according to Thy magnitude. Therefore Thy praise, that is, Thy glorification, which has proceeded from the works, caused Thy glorious deeds to be proclaimed. For they occurred in Palestine, but because of their immense magnitude they reached the extreme ends of the world, and those who were far off knew these things. The things, therefore, that had happened in Egypt, the harlot of Jericho knew better than those who had participated in them. Again, the things that had happened in Palestine, those living in the land of the Persians were proclaiming; the things, again, that had happened in Persia, they who lived at the ends of the earth knew. Wherefore the king also sent letters through the whole world, proclaiming the things that had happened in the furnace. And therefore here also, having said, "Thy praise [is] unto the ends of the earth," he adds: "Thy right hand is full of justice." For what he is accustomed to do continually—to ascend from things that happen among men to those things that pertain to His nature—this he did also in the present: not that we should think that anything approaches or departs from God, far be it; but since the discourse and human tongue is weak, it is necessary to attribute a meaning worthy of God to the words. Justice adheres to God. Therefore, he speaks of the things that are present to the nature of God, which are joined to His substance. And what are these? "Thy right hand," he says, "is full of justice." For he shows that the things which happen are not from the merits of those whom He benefits, but from His own substance, since His very substance finds delight in justice, finds joy in kindness and clemency. This is His work, this is His custom, and therefore they received such great benefits from Him. For just as it is for the fire to warm, and for the sun to illuminate, so also it is for Him to do good; or rather, not even so, but by far more. And therefore he spoke so also: "Thy right hand is full of justice," signifying its abundance, and that it is joined to His substance. 12. Let Mount Sion be glad, and the daughters of Judea rejoice, because of Thy judgments,
A *Domine*. Another: *For your judgments*. 13. *Go around Zion, and encompass her*. Another: *And go around her*. *Tell of her towers*. Another: *Count her towers*. Another: *Praise*. *Set your hearts upon her strength*. Another: *In her circuit*. Another: *In her abundance*. *And distribute her houses*. Another: *Measure her royal palaces*. *That you may tell it to the next generation*. Another: *To the following generation*. 14. *For this is our God forever, and unto ages of ages. He shall shepherd us for ages*. Why does He command these things—to go around the city, to count the towers, to attend to the buildings, to consider her decorum, to calculate her enclosures and walls, to measure her houses and palaces? There is no need for our interpretation; the Word himself clarifies it. For having said these things, He immediately added B the cause. What is this, then? *That you may tell it*, he says, *to the next generation*. What he says is of this kind: Be filled with joy, rejoice, exult. But not simply, nor as it happened, but learn her strength with precision. For because she had become a ruin, because she had been uprooted, and her foundation had almost perished, and they despaired of her change for the better, so as to say, *Our bones have become dry, we have failed, we have been consumed* (Ezek. 37:11), and they did not expect that they would receive her back—yet they did receive her, and not such as they had discarded, but far better, and more brilliant, and more illustrious, and greater, and wealthier, and more powerful, and more spacious in buildings, in merchandise, in strength, in the abundance of her subsistence. For, he says, *The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former* (Hagg. 2:10). He exhorts the people, and he almost says these things: Behold this city, which was abandoned, which was despaired of, which was a ruin—how has she returned to a more brilliant form? Learn, therefore, these very things, her building, her brilliance, her splendor, so that, having learned from this the power of God, how He made the despaired-of one greater, you may tell your descendants of the power of God, of the permanence of His providence: that He remained ever caring for us, and presiding over us, and shepherding us. For these narratives will be a subject of great philosophy for those who come after, and an occasion for most precise knowledge of God, and an attention to virtue. For this reason, He commands them to go around her, so that they may become precise teachers of their descendants. C
4. Therefore, let us also, always and continuously looking upon her, have our city, Jerusalem, in mind, ever imagining her beauties, which is the metropolis of the King of ages, in which are the spirits of the just, the choirs of patriarchs, apostles, and all the saints; where everything is without sedition, and not passing away; where are the incorruptible and invisible beauties, which it belongs to those alone to inherit who have made a complete forgetfulness of these corruptible and temporary worldly concerns—I mean wealth, and luxury, and the harmful pleasures of the devil. But increasing daily brotherly love and hospitality toward the needy, love toward one’s neighbor, and the forgiveness from the heart of one who has caused pain, so that, living thus well and pleasing to God, we may become heirs of the kingdom of the heavens, in Christ Himself our Lord, to whom is the glory and the power with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
UPON PSALM XLVIII
*To the end, to the sons of Core. Another: Epinikios.* 1. *Hear these things, all nations. Another: Hear this. Give ear, all you who inhabit the world. Another: The indwelling. Another says: The diving down. The Hebrew: [original-script column: see facsimile]. Those born of the earth and the sons of men. Another: Both the human race, and furthermore the sons of every man. Together rich and poor. Another: Together.*
1. The Prophet is about to discuss certain great and hidden things with us now. For he would not have called those everywhere on earth to a hearing, nor would he have assembled the theater of the world, if he were not about to tell us something great, and brilliant, and worthy of the magnitude of the gathering. For he no longer speaks as though prophesying to the Jews who live in Palestine, but like some apostle and evangelist he directs his word to the entire nature of man. For the Law was teaching the nation in one corner of the world; but the [word] of the proclamation resounded everywhere on earth, and extended itself, having traversed as much land as the sun traverses. For that [the Law] was a certain pedagogy and introduction, and a ministry of D condemnation and death; but these [the Gospel] are grace and peace. Since, therefore, he has summoned the whole race to the hearing, let even us come here, and let us see what the Psalmist, the common guardian of the race of men, wishes to tell us. Even if some are barbarians, even if wise, even if unlearned, do you command them to be present? Yes, he says. For this reason, beginning he said, *All nations*; and again he intensified it, saying: *Those born of the earth and the sons of men*, calling the whole of humanity. Oh, the brilliance of the teaching! How it is suitable for all, and common! For this very reason he does not merely call everyone, but also with much eagerness and precision he commands them to attend to what is said. For he did not say, *Hear only these things, all nations*, but also, *Give ear*. But to give ear is nothing other than to hear with eagerness and with a strained mind. For to give ear...
A is said properly when one addresses an ear to those who are speaking, and compels the other to pay attention to what is being said. *Give ear, all you who inhabit the world*. Even if some, he says, are not recorded in the number of the nations, but are mixed, and roaming nomads, I also call them to listen. See the prudence of the orator. First, he excited their mind and raised it up to listen, in that he called everyone at once. Then, having called them, he restrains their pride, lest they be puffed up into arrogance because of the multitude. For such is the audience that is most needed when one is about to speak words that pertain to the study of wisdom—namely, those who are contrite, composed, and free from all pride and vanity. How, then, did he restrain their ferocious mind? By calling nature to mind. For after he said, *Nations*, he added, *Both earthborn and sons of men*. He spoke of the substance from which is the beginning of our generation, and brought to mind the common mother of us all. And why did he say, *Sons of men*? Because he had said *earthborn*, lest anyone should think, as the mythologists wish, that men sprouted from the earth from the beginning, just as some have spun fables, introducing certain seed-begotten beings; therefore he added, *Sons of men*. For men are your fathers, but the earth is the beginning of generation for you and for them. Why, then, does earth and ashes exalt itself (Eccli. 10:9)? Reflect within yourself on who your mother is, and restrain your pride; tread down and crush your haughty spirits; consider that *You are earth, and to earth you shall return* (Gen. 3:19), and expel all arrogance. For such is the audience I need. Therefore, I render you settled and composed, so that I may receive you apt to receive the things that are being said. B *Together, rich and poor*. You have seen the nobility of the Church. For why not nobility, when it does not ward off the listener on account of difference in condition, but the whole doctrine is poured forth equally, and the table is exhibited common to both poor and rich? For after he said that which unites all, namely that they are earthborn and sons of men, and showed that nature is common: then he casts out through his speech the difference and inequality that seemed to be from worldly affairs, calling everyone in common; for our nature is common. I call everyone in common; for our city is common, namely the orb of the earth (Acts 17:26). But from poverty and wealth you have devised some difference, and have introduced inequality. Yet I cast that out again, not indeed admitting the rich while holding the poor in contempt, nor calling the poor while expelling the rich, but both these and those; and not only these and those—for example, these ones first, those indeed last, or those indeed last, these truly first—but together. Let the meeting be common, the gathering common, the assembly of listeners common. Even if you are rich, you were born from the same clay; the entry for you was the same as for the poor man, the same birth. You are a son of man, and so is he. If, therefore, you have things equal, and of equal honor, why do you swell up because of shadows and dreams, distinguishing common things from those which are nothing? Common are those of nature, common those of birth, common those of affinity and relationship. Why do you bring in an exterior covering to create a distinction from it? I do not suffer it, I do not endure it. And therefore I call you with the poor man, saying: *Together, rich and poor*. For in other places, rich and poor cannot be seen together; not in courts, not in royal halls, not in the forums, not at tables. But you see the one honored, the other despised and rejected; the one acting freely and confidently, the other affected by shame and disgrace; *For the wisdom of the poor is counted as nothing, and his words are not heard* (Eccle. 9:16). The rich man has spoken, and they say he has spoken beautifully and rightly; the poor man has spoken, and no place was given to him (Eccli. 13:27, 28). But not here. For in this Church and assembly, I do not suffer that foolish ambition and desire for honor, but I propose a doctrine common to all. See the doctor’s prudence, how even before he begins his sermon, he has brought forth a C maximum decree of doctrine from the very calling alone. For he who called everyone at once, neither allowed the one to puff himself up, nor the other to be vile and abject; but he showed that riches are not a good, just as poverty is not an evil, but that they are superabundant and external. Wherefore it is of no concern to me whether you are this or that; for neither if you are rich do I see anything added to you, nor if you are poor, anything taken away. But perhaps someone might say: "And why, since you are a man and share the same nature, do you make so much of yourself that you think you are fit to be a teacher of the world, and call those who are in the extreme ends of the earth? What can you say that is worthy of such a theater?" I can, he says. For after he called the world, making the discourse credible and worthy of faith, hear what he says: *My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart prudence*. Another, *And my heart shall murmur prudence*. But the Hebrew said *Ovagith*. You see how he immediately lifted up his discourse. I shall not speak, he says, of money, nor of dignities, nor of power, nor of bodily strength, nor of any other fleeting thing; I am about to speak exactly of wisdom, which did not come to me rashly and on the spur of the moment. *I will incline my ear to a parable*. Another, *I will incline my ear to the parable*. The Hebrew says, *Lamasal*. I will open my problem on the psalter. Another, *My enigma*. But the Hebrew, *Idathi*. And how are these consistent with the aforementioned? For now I see the audience instead of the teacher. For you called us as if we were to hear something good and useful; but after everyone is present and has gathered, and you have promised that you will say something learned and illustrious, having said nothing yet, you relinquish the place of the teacher and take on the role of the listener. *For I will incline*, he says, *my ear to a parable*. Why does he do this? Very prudently, and consistently with the things that have been said. For since he said, *I will speak wisdom*, lest anyone should think that what is being said is human, and *meditation of the heart*, lest he should hold his invention suspect... D
he indicates by these things that the words are divine, and that he utters nothing of his own, but that these are what he heard. For *I inclined*, he says, *my ear to God, I heard from him*, and what was brought down from above into my mind, these things I speak. Wherefore Isaiah also said: *The Lord gives me the tongue of discipline, to know when it behoves me to speak a word; he gave me an ear to hear* (Isa. 50. 4). And Paul again: *Faith is from hearing, and hearing through the word of God* (Rom. 10. 17). Do you see how he, too, becomes a hearer first, and then a teacher? Wherefore another interpreter also said, *And my heart shall hum*. What is, *shall hum*? It shall sing, it shall say a certain spiritual psalm. But if he speaks of meditation, be not troubled; for what he received from the Spirit, this he was constantly meditating upon, and stirring up within himself, and then, having stirred it, he brought it forth to others. A And what is, *In a parable*? The name is of many meanings. For a parable is speech, and an example, and a reproach, as when He says: *You have made us a parable among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples* (Ps. 43. 15). A parable is also an enigmatic speech, which many call a problem, indicating something, but not strictly clear from the words themselves, but having a hidden meaning within, such as those of Samson, which he said: *Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness* (Jud. 14. 14); and Solomon: *He shall understand a parable, and a dark speech* (Prov. 1. 6). A parable is also called a likeness: *Another parable he put before them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like to a man sowing good seed* (Matt. 13. 24). A parable is also called a figure of speech: *Son of man, speak this parable to them: The great eagle, with great wings* (Ezech. 17. 1-3), calling the king an eagle. A parable is also called a type and image, just as Paul B also shows, saying: *By faith Abraham offered Isaac, when he was tried, and he who received the promises offered up his only begotten: from whence also he received him in a parable* (Heb. 11. 17, 19), that is, in a type and in an image.
3. Why then does the parable mean here? To me it seems he means a narrative. But if he makes the word enigmatic and having much difficulty, do not even so be troubled; for to stir up the hearer, he does this; and besides, since ease leads many into sloth, for this reason he speaks in a parable. Since Christ also spoke many things in parables, but in private he resolved these for the disciples. For the parable separates the worthy from the unworthy; for the worthy seeks to find what is said, but the unworthy passes it by; which is what happened then. For the Jews, not even being stirred up by the difficulty, were drawn to the questioning: so entirely did they not attend to what was being said. And it is enough to stir this up toward inquiry, whenever there is anything shadowed over. Wherefore Christ also did this at that time, and spoke in parables, provoking and stirring them up toward a desire for hearing, who were relaxed and sleeping: but not even so did they attend; but the disciples were insistent, and remained ignorant for this very thing, that they were ignorant. Wherefore he also resolved the parables for them in private. For this reason he also says: *I will incline my ear to a parable, I will open my problem on the psaltery*. And a problem is a word shadowed and enigmatic, wherefore also elsewhere he says: *I will utter problems from the foundation of the world*. For this reason he also dared to call it wisdom, trusting in divine revelation; for this reason he says *on the psaltery*, indicating the spiritual nature of the teaching, that his possession came from above, and he makes the counsel in the order of a song, harmonizing the word. You have seen what sort of prologue he prepared, how he called the inhabited world, how he cast out the irregularity in life, how he reminded them of nature, how he restrained pride, how he promised to say something great and noble, how he said he uttered nothing from himself but what he heard from Him, how he hinted that there was much obscurity in the word, rendering them more attentive; how he promised to teach us spiritual wisdom, which he was always meditating upon. Let us attend, therefore, and let us not pass by. For if the word is wise, and a parable, and a problem, it needs a ready mind. What then is the counsel, and what is the problem, and what is the parable, and what is the wisdom which he heard from above? *Why shall I fear in an evil day?* Another says: *In days of evil*. Another: *Of malice*. The Syrian, *Ra*. *The iniquity of my heel shall encompass me*. Another: *Of my footsteps*. But the Hebrew: *Aon accubai isubbunei*. Have you seen how it is a problem, and an enigma, and the word is dark, and the obscurity is great? But, if it pleases, let us first learn what he calls an evil day. What then does Scripture usually call an evil day? That of calamities, that of punishments, that of adversities. Which it also says elsewhere: *Blessed is he who understands concerning the needy and poor: in an evil day the Lord shall deliver him* (Ps. 40. 1). And such is the day that is coming to the sinners, that terrible and intolerable one. Have you seen the first definition of the highest philosophy, and how the word distinguishes for you, what things are worthy of fear, and what of condemnation? For if one does not make this best division, just as if he were carried about in deep darkness and confusion of things, he is at a loss. If we do not distinguish what we must fear and what we must not, great will be the wandering in life, great the danger. For it is of extreme folly to fear things not worthy of fear, but to laugh at what it is righteous to fear. In this, when we are in an immature mind, men are distinguished from children, because those, when they are at an immature age, give masks, and men in sackcloth; but are not afraid of serious things; while men fear what is not at all terrible; but the men...
for there are many who are more foolish than children—he provides this distinction, and says what things ought to be feared; not those which to many seem terrible—I mean poverty, disgrace, and disease (for these are not only terrible to many, but also troublesome and heavy; yet he determines that none of these is such a thing)—but sin alone: for this is what it means: *The iniquity of my heel shall encompass me*. This, then, is an enigmatic discourse, this is A a new and admirable mode. For it seems very novel and admirable to many to say that one ought not to fear any of those things which are grave and troublesome in life. “What therefore shall I fear,” he says, “in the evil day?” One thing only: lest perhaps the iniquity of my path and life encompass me. Scripture is accustomed to call deception the “heel”: *For he that ate bread with me*, it says, *hath lifted up his heel against me* (Ps. XL, 10). And Esau again said concerning Jacob: *He hath supplanted me now the second time* (Gen. XXVII, 36). For sin is a thing of this kind—fraudulent, and adapted for seizing. “This,” he says, “do I fear, the sin which deceives me, which encompasses me.”
4. And therefore Paul calls it *circumstanced* (Heb. XII, 1), signifying that which continues, which is easy, which encompasses about and surrounds with no difficulty. In these B judgments, therefore, men fear many things—both the violence of wealth, and power, and injury, and fraud; but there, nothing of the sort exists, but sin alone is terrible, which surrounds on all sides those who are captured, more heavily than any army. All things must therefore be done so that we are not encompassed by it; but after we have seen that it wishes to seize us, it is necessary to flee its occasions, as excellent soldiers do; but if we have even been captured, it is necessary to cut it away quickly, just as David did, who through repentance severed its strength (II Reg. XII, 13). For he had been encompassed by it, but he immediately fled from it. He who has feared this will never fear anything else, but will mock the things which are good in the present life, and will despise those which are troublesome, since that one fear alone occupies his mind. For there is nothing, certainly nothing else, formidable to him who is endowed with this fear: and is not even death itself, which is the head of terrible things, so—if not for this one thing alone? How? Because it delivers to gehenna, because it transmits to immortal C punishments. If anyone, on the other hand, conducts himself rightly in this, he introduces every virtue. For consider what a thing it is, neither to be puffed up by good things, nor to cast down one’s soul by troublesome ones, to take no account of the present, to look toward the future, to await that day, and to dwell assiduously in such fear. He who is such will be an angel, who has feared this alone and nothing else: for he will fear nothing else, if he has feared this one thing as he ought to fear; just as he who has not feared this will be subject to many terrors. 7. *Who trust in their own strength, and glory in the multitude of their riches.* Another: *The haughty.* 8. *A brother does not redeem, will a man redeem? He shall not give to God an atonement for himself, 9. and a price of the redemption of his soul.*
And what is this connection? one might say. It is beautiful, and rightly coherent, and depends greatly upon the prior things. Because indeed he was speaking of the judgment, and of that terrible rendering of an account, and of the sentence which cannot be corrupted; but many in the judgments which are here, by bribing judges, have corrupted justice, and evaded punishment; by preaching that sentence which can least of all be corrupted, and increasing the fear which he had previously mentioned, he subjoined these things, showing that he had rightly said that there ought to be one fear, namely, that which proceeds from sin, and no other. For justice cannot there be D corrupted by money; nor is it allowed by gifts to rescue oneself from gehenna; nor can patronage and the defense of an orator bring salvation, nor anything else. For even if you are wealthy, even if powerful, even if known and familiar to someone, all these things are there useless; there each one is either punished or crowned according to his deeds. Since even he who was in the age of Lazarus was very wealthy, but his riches did not profit him at all (Luc. XVI); and the virgins were known to the virgins, but that familiarity did not aid them at all (Matth. XXV): for one thing only is sought there. “You, therefore,” he says, “who trust in wealth, and are surrounded by power, you are puffed up in vain: for neither will the abundance of money be transmitted with you into that judgment, nor the forces of power; but not even any relationship or kinship, nor anything of the sort, will rescue you there. It is not permitted there, by paying money, or by any expiation, or for the price of the soul, for anyone ever to be saved.” What therefore is it that Scripture says: *Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity, that they may receive you into everlasting dwellings* (Luc. XVI, 9)? What is it that has been said? Nothing contrary, nor repugnant to what came before, but even strongly in agreement. For in the present life, friends must be made by spending money, by bestowing and consuming resources upon the needy. Nothing else, therefore, is signified here but large and copious almsgiving. For if, having done none of these things, you depart thither, no one will defend you. For it is not their friendship that defends us, but that they happened to be made friends through mammon; therefore he added, *Friends of the mammon*, that you might know that your very works will spare you, almsgiving, clemency, munificence toward the poor. For that neither kinship, nor relationship avails anything without works, hear what the prophet says: *If Noah, and Job, and Daniel should stand, they would not deliver their sons and their daughters* (Ezech. XIV, 14, 18). And what do I say of the future life, when friendship does not aid even in the present? How much did Samuel lament and weep, and he did not rescue Saul (I Reg. XV, 35)? How much indeed did Jeremiah make supplication, and it did not aid the Jews at all (Jer. XIV, 7, 11)? Or even while he was praying, he was rebuked. And why do you marvel if Jeremiah profited nothing, when he says that not even Moses, if he had been present at that time, could have saved the Jews, since their wickedness had prevailed, and they had brought forward nothing of their own (Jer. XV, 1)?
A For you might say to me, "You are only promising future things. You give me here and now the pledges of crowns, or rather, the earnest-money itself and the rewards." How, and in what way? Because since he is a philosopher and is built up by the hope of things to come, he will not even consider death to be death; but seeing the dead man lying before his eyes, he will not be affected like the many, but will contemplate crowns, rewards, and the ineffable goods which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and that life, and the choir with the angels. Just as the farmer, seeing the grain dissolving, does not fall into despair, nor does he become downcast, but then especially he rejoices and is glad, knowing that this dissolution becomes the beginning of a better generation and the basis for a more abundant harvest; so too the just man, abounding in good deeds and expecting the kingdom every day, when he sees death lying before his eyes, does not languish, as the many do, nor is he troubled and disturbed; for he knows that death for those who have lived rightly is a migration to better things, and a departure toward better things, and a course toward crowns. But whom does he call wise? Not those who are truly wise, but those who are thought to be wise. To me it seems he is calling the wise of the outside world [wise], mocking them even from this, that while appearing to be wise, they were made foolish, having philosophized nothing about the resurrection.
When, therefore, he sees those philosophers perishing, being lamented, being bewailed, being sent forth with wailing, then he himself will suffer nothing of the sort, but will be above such missiles, being built up by good hopes, and knowing that this corruption is not the destruction of the substance, but the spending of mortality and the consumption of decay. For this death does not destroy the body, but consumes corruption; for the substance remains, rising again with more glory, though not [the substance] of all. For the resurrection will indeed be common to all, but the resurrection with glory will be for those who have lived rightly. *Simul insipiens et stultus peribunt, et relinquent alienis divitias suas. Et sepulchra eorum domus eorum in æternum: tabernacula eorum in progeniem et progeniem: vocaverunt nomina sua in terris suis. Alius dicit, Quæ sunt intra domos eorum in æternum. Alius, Habitationes eorum in generationem, nominantes nominibus suis terras.* B C [The Hebrew word is Adamoth.]
6. You see how, not only from future things, but also from those which happen here, he leads away from wickedness and greed, and guides toward virtue, restraining the frenzy for money, and calling those who are fluttered by present things foolish, and proving this by the facts themselves? For what is more foolish, tell me, than a man who labors and suffers, and gathers so much, so that others may revel in his labors? What is worse than this vain labor, when he himself goes off, having endured the sweat and suffered the toils, while he provides the D enjoyment of these fruits to others, and does not even have the ...
claim to them, not even for his own acquaintances, but often for enemies and foes? For this reason he did not say, "to others," but, "to strangers will they leave their wealth." What is it that he says, "The foolish and the senseless shall perish together"? Together with those mentioned previously, he says. Here it seems to me that he is speaking of the impious, who are entirely fixed upon present things and look to these, while they do not philosophize at all about future things, and for this reason he calls them foolish. For if after this, as you suppose, there is nothing, why do you vex and torment yourself, gathering money from every direction and enduring labors, yet not enjoying the fruit of them? "And their graves shall be their houses forever." He says this according to their own estimation. "Their tabernacles for generation and generation; they called their names upon their lands."
What could be worse than this madness, than to believe that graves are a permanent dwelling? To follow vainglory in these things? A Many have certainly often built graves more magnificent than their own houses. For they either labor and are afflicted for their enemies, or for the worms and the dust, wasting these things foolishly. Such is the mind and sentiment of those who hope for nothing regarding the future. But here it comes into my mind to deplore that many of those who do hope for the future imitate those who have no hope for the future in this matter, building graves and constructing splendid monuments and burying gold, and transmitting their resources to others: who are in this matter even worse than the others. For he who expects nothing after these things, even if he does it contrary to reason, yet because he expects nothing, he bestows his labor and industry on present things. But you, O man, who know the future life and those ineffable goods, and that, according to the gospel word, "The just shall then shine like the sun" (Matt. XIII, 43): what excuse will you obtain, how will you defend yourself, and what punishment will you not justly suffer, you who consume everything here into the dust, into the ash, into the monuments, into the enemies, into the foes? "They called their names upon their lands." Behold another kind of madness, to inscribe one's name upon buildings, fields, and baths, and to think that one receives great consolation from this, and to pursue a shadow for the truth of the thing. For if you desire a permanent memory, do not, O man, inscribe your name on buildings, but erect trophies of good deeds, which both in the present life preserve your name, and in the future life prepare for you an immortal rest. If you are desirous of memory, I teach you the true and most manifest way: take care of virtue. For nothing makes a name so immortal as the nature of virtue. The martyrs show this, the relics of the apostles show this, the memory of those who lived correctly and in virtue shows this. How many kings raised cities, constructed harbors, and departed having imposed their own names upon them? And yet it profited them nothing, but they were committed to silence and oblivion! But the fisherman Peter, who did none of these things, because he pursued virtue and occupied the most royal city, shines even after death more brightly than the sun. But what you do is ridiculous and full of ignominy. For these monuments will not only not render you famous, but will also make you ridiculous, and will open the mouths of all. For buildings do not allow your greed—which could have been committed to oblivion—to be extinguished by the passage of time, and they stand as it were like columns and trophies erected against greed.
B "And man, being in honor, did not understand; he was compared to the senseless beasts and became like them." Here it seems to me that the Prophet henceforth deplores that an animal partaking of reason, to whom dominion on earth was entrusted, has declined so as to be no less base and vile than the brutes, while he labors in vain things and plots things that are contrary to his own salvation, pursues vainglory, is held by greed, and exercises himself in useless things. For virtue is the honor of man, and to philosophize about future things, and to procure everything that pertains to that life, and to neglect present things. For the life of brutes is concluded by the limits of the present life; but our life tends toward another that is better, and of which there is no end. But these who know nothing of the future are worse than the brutes: and not only they, but also those who lead a wicked and corrupt life, inasmuch as they become serpents, and scorpions, and wolves because of their wickedness, and oxen because of their stupidity, and dogs because of their impudence. C For what, tell me, I pray, is more senseless than those who place their labor in graves and monuments, and are left gaping and astonished at the naming of other names? For nothing effects memory except virtue alone, not buildings, not statues, not children, nor anything else of this kind. For buildings are the work of an architect, statues of a sculptor, but children of nature; but of you there is no memory anywhere. And for this reason the Prophet calls him a brute: because when he has submitted himself to the yoke of senselessness, he is reckoned worse than a brute. For the latter is useful and apt for agriculture; but the former, who has subjected himself to senselessness, has become in this even worse than that. For since he had said above how thick, earthy, base, and abject their mind was, and how useless their labor was in gathering money: wishing to amplify their accusation, he brings in the benefits of God, which the prophets are wont to do often. For Isaiah, when he was about to accuse them, says first the honor with which the Jews were favored by God, writing thus: "I have begotten sons, and exalted (them); but they have despised me" (Isa. I, 2). Therefore in this place, by one expression declaring the benefits which men have received from God, he says: "Man, being in honor, did not understand." And what honor does he mean? Hear him saying in another Psalm: "You have made him a little less than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor" (Ps. VIII, 6). Then explaining the honor, he subjoins: "You have subjected all things under his feet, sheep, and all oxen; and even the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air..."
and the fish of the sea, that pass through the paths of the seas." For this is a very great honor, to entrust to him the scepters of all visible things, and that too while he had as yet achieved nothing. For not yet having fashioned him, He said: "Let us make man according to our image and likeness" (Gen. 1. 26). Then, explaining the "according to our image," He added: "And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the beasts of the earth, and the fowls of the air." And this short creature, of three cubits, so much inferior to the irrational animals in bodily strength, He made higher than all by kinship with the Word, having graced him with a rational soul, which is especially a token of honor. For by this he also built cities, and clove the sea, and adorned the earth, and discovered countless arts, and prevailed over the fiercer irrational animals; and, what is the greatest and chiefest of all, he knew his Creator, God, and was guided toward virtue, and knew what was good and what was not so. Of visible things, he alone prays to God; he alone enjoyed revelations, and this again; he knew many of the mysteries, he was instructed in the things in heaven; for him the earth, for him the heavens, for him the sun and the stars; for him the courses of the moon, and the differences of the seasons and of the turnings; for him the generation of fruits, and plants, and so many kinds of irrational animals; for him day and night; for him apostles and prophets were sent, for him angels were often dispatched. What need is there to say much? For it is not possible to go through everything. For him the only-begotten Son of God became man, and was crucified, and was buried, and those terrible wonders after the resurrection happened for his sake. For him the law, for him paradise, for him the flood. For this too is a very great form of honor, to correct him both through beneficence and through punishment. For him were all the many dispensations in the time before. And even this judgment which is to come happens for the sake of the honor conferred upon him. Wherefore Job also says: "What is man, that you have brought him into judgment?" (Job 14. 3), just as elsewhere this same Psalmist says: "What is man, that you are mindful of him?" (Ps. 8. 5). For his sake again the Only-begotten will come, bestowing countless good things. For the things which He has already given through baptism, and the mysteries, and the other initiation, are the good things bestowed, and He filled the earth with other wonders; but the things which He has promised to give are the kingdom of heaven, and eternal life, and to make them His heirs, and to prepare them to reign with Him. Wherefore Paul also said: "If we endure, we shall also reign with him" (2 Tim. 2. 12). The Prophet, therefore, considering all these things, rightfully compares to irrational animals those who have surrendered such nobility to wickedness, and have deserted to the passions of those creatures. Other prophets do this as well, wishing by comparison to put to shame the shameless hearer. And one says: "Horses become maddened by desire" (Jer. 5. 8); and another: "The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master's crib" (Isai. 1. 3), speaking more harshly than David. For David indeed says: "He is compared to the senseless cattle, and is become like to them" (Ps. XLVIII, 21); but that other says that they have become even more irrational than these; for those know their owner, but "Israel has not known me" (Isai. 1. 3), he says.
8. And elsewhere, another wise man, showing that the slothful man is worse than even the ants, and the one lying prostrate and being corrupted by idleness, sends him there to learn how to work: "Go," he says, "to the ant, O sluggard, and emulate his ways" (Prov. 6. 6). For he, though there is no farmer for him, nor having anyone to compel him, nor being under a master, prepares his food in the summer, and makes much provision in the harvest. And again, he commands to go to the bee: "Go to the bee, and learn how industrious she is; for her fruit is the beginning of sweetness, whose labors kings and private men bring for health" (Eccli. 11. 3). Another says: "Thy princes are as wolves of Arabia" (Sophon. 3. 3). And another: "Thou hast sat in the desert as a crow" (Jer. 3. 2). That of Zechariah says: "Serpents, offspring of vipers, who has shown you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Matt. 3. 7). And another again: "They have burst the eggs of asps, and weave the web of a spider" (Isai. 59. 5). Elsewhere this same prophet says: "The venom of asps is under their lips" (Ps. 139. 4). And again: "Their anger is according to the likeness of a serpent" (Ps. 57. 5). Such is wickedness: it casts down one who is so great and of such stature, and who wears so many diadems, to the baseness of irrational animals. Wherefore, also, in the present Psalm, selecting two kinds of wickedness, and leaving the hearers to infer the others, he thus pricks those who have been ensnared. For what could be more irrational than man, who runs about the world in vain and to no purpose, and for the evil of his own head, and gathers countless riches, not for himself, but for others unknown, and often even for enemies and plotters? And he well said: "They shall leave their riches to others" (Ps. XLVIII, 11). For what is more senseless than when they endure the labors and the sins that come from the gathering, yet yield the enjoyment to others? Then, bringing into the middle, along with the love of money, the vainglory, he pricks them with much vehemence, saying: "They have named their names on their lands" (Ps. XLVIII, 12). What is more irrational than this again, that they entrust their own memory to stones, and woods, and inanimate matter, and confide their own glory to them? For they have overturned entire estates, and stripped widows, and robbed orphans, so as to make their house brilliant for the worm, and for the moth and for corruption to build brilliant enclosures, by thinking that their memory will be immortal through these, who could not even hold their bodies for a small moment of time. "This their way is a stumbling-block to them" (Ps. XLVIII, 14). What is this way, tell me? The zeal for such things, the vanity, the great madness for money, the insatiable drunkenness of glory; and before the punishment, he says, that which is to come, it becomes here a stumbling-block and an obstacle to them. No small stumbling-block, therefore, no small obstacle, no small hindrance is this way to the working of virtue. Wherefore he says, "This their way is a stumbling-block to them." And well did he call their D way a stumbling-block to them...
They cast chains upon themselves; they impede themselves. A "And after this they will take pleasure in their mouth." This which he says is most grievous, and a cause of the remaining evils. For those who sin in such ways, and transgress, and are so senseless, account themselves happy and blessed, and worthy of emulation, and they delight in the things that are done; and vice, when it is praised by those who are suffering from it, consider what great increase of evil desire it makes. For if, while it is being blamed, while it is being insulted, while it is being rebuked, while it is being scourged by the conscience of one who has received even a little [sense]—as one who is somewhat sober-minded—while it is being lacerated, and is held in hatred, it nevertheless so shamelessly flourishes, and gains strength, and increases day by day: when there are not only no things that prevent it—namely, accusation, the reproof of conscience, the correction of deeds, repentance for crimes, shame, blushing, lamentation and tears—but, on the contrary, even those who do these things praise themselves, and compose encomia for themselves, and by that very fact consider themselves better than others, and after they have performed them, they praise the things that they have done (for this is what "And in their mouth they will take pleasure" means), where will they not have defivied? For they are driven with such madness, and are so bereft of mind, that even when they have fulfilled their lust, when they ought to be ashamed at seeing their iniquity, they exult, they are puffed up, they delight in the crime. For sin is of such a nature that, before it is done, it veils its own ugliness, shrouding its abomination with the drunkenness of pleasure; but after it has been done, and the pleasure of lust has withdrawn a little, and the accusation of conscience has burst in, scourging the naked reason, then most especially is it seen how pernicious it is. But these men, not even then, after they have fulfilled themselves, but after they have seen wealth heaped up, tombs raised, vain buildings finished—when they ought to have been pricked at heart and to have lamented—after these things, that is, after the work, after the matter has been accomplished, then they are still more diseased. Since, therefore, there is left for them no remedy from these things, then it remains that God should execute what is His own. B Those who, anticipating the sentence that would have been brought by God, avoid the sins they have committed, are as Paul also says: "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged." But those who are led to no repentance, and, while sinning, do not condemn their own sins, attract the punishment of God upon themselves with the greatest vehemence. Since, therefore, those who seize the things of others, or who waste their own recklessly—and what ought to have been distributed to the poor, they consume on tombs, for worms and moths—and are touched by no repentance for the things they have done, but remain incurably diseased, hear what happens next. What, then, happens? They are handed over to punishment by God; and therefore he added: C"As sheep they are put in hell; death shall feed upon them." He does not here signify meekness by the name of 'sheep' (for what could be more cruel than those who despise the naked bodies of the poor and their bellies consumed by hunger, but magnificently construct houses for corruption, for the worm and for the moth?), but their easy destruction, their sudden ruin, and how easily they can be taken by those who lie in wait for them. For nothing is more feeble than a man who passes his life in vice. Which will happen to these also: and thus they will be cut down, thus they will perish utterly, and so easily will they arrive at hell, as briefly, as expeditiously, as effortlessly, as sheep that are being slaughtered. This is death, or rather the thing is more bitter than death. For after such a death, an immortal death will receive them; and therefore they are nowhere seen to withdraw into the bosoms of Abraham, nor into any other region, but into hell—this is the name of their punishment, of their suffering, of their utter destruction. And here their death is vile and contemptible: and there they remain in punishment. Thus also we are accustomed to speak of those who perish easily: "He was killed like a sheep." Because they lived like brutes, they also perish like brutes, having no good hope concerning the future: and not this alone, but also to their great evil. "Death shall feed upon them." D Here it seems to me that he calls 'death' the destruction that is there, and the punishment, as he also says elsewhere: "The soul that sinneth, it shall perish" (Ezech. 18:20); signifying not an extinction of nature, but punishment. But he persists in the metaphor. For since he said "sheep," he also shows their shepherd. Who, however, is this? A poisonous worm, darkness that will never cease, chains that cannot be loosened, the gnashing of teeth. See, therefore, them being punished on all sides. In life, because they had an impediment brought to them against virtue, because they became servants and slaves of vice, and undertook useless and ridiculous labor; in death, because their death was common and inglorious; in the time following death, because destruction holds them perpetually. "And the just shall have dominion over them in the morning." Because many are duller, and possessed of no more sense than stones, have no certain and clear hope concerning the future, but pant after the things that are present and that are seen, he touches them enigmatically. And then, having obscurely signified the future in a few words, he brings the discourse again to the contempt of them and the punishment in the present life, showing how they are feeble, vile, contemptible, and that although they be thousand-fold wealthy, and be girded with great power, they are nevertheless held as servants and slaves by those who exercise virtue. Therefore he says, "The just shall have dominion over them in the morning": that is, quickly, continuously, and they will need no time, nor labor, nor delay. For such is the nature of things, that vice serves virtue, and fears and trembles before it, although indeed the former may be covered with coloring and countless pigments; but the latter is naked, and struggles by itself. And yet, on the contrary, we see the wicked obtain dominion over the good. But let us not look to the error of the judgment of the multitude: for that arises from false opinion; but let us discern matters with a right judgment, and you will see that what I say is most certain. For let there be some wicked master, and a good servant; or, if you prefer, let us bring the matter to another, greater example. Let there be a wicked king, and a good private citizen, let us see
A who is the master of whom, and where the brightness of lordship shines; who is the one ruling, and who is the one ruled. How then shall we know this? Let the wicked king order the private citizen to do some wicked thing, full of transgression: what then does the righteous private citizen and subject do? He will not only not yield, nor will he obey, but he will also attempt to lead the one ordering him away from his purpose, even if it be necessary to die. Who then is free? He who does what he wills and does not fear even the king, or he who is despised by his subject? And that we may not advance our argument with an indefinite example, was not the Egyptian wife of Pentaphrerus a queen? Did she not rule over all of Egypt? Did she not have a king as her husband? Was she not clothed with great power? But what of Joseph? Was he not a slave? Was he not a captive? Was he not a purchased servant? With all of her own military array did she not arm herself against the youth, not entrusting the war to another, but coming herself to the battle line? Who then was in slavery at that time, and who was in freedom? She who was begging, and entreating, and beseeching, and who had become a captive not of a human being, but of a most wicked passion; or he who was despising both the diadem, and the scepter, and the purple, and all of that outward show, and was cutting off her machinations? Did she not depart, having been frustrated, and having become a slave to another passion again, to irrational anger, to murderous intent; while he went out having ten thousand crowns upon his head, and in that very servitude showing freedom shining forth all the more?
10. For nothing is so free as virtue, nothing so much a slave as vice. For this reason also somewhere a Wise Man says: B A wise servant shall have dominion over foolish masters (Prov. 17:2). For just as a captive, even if he has ten thousand talents of wealth, is for this very reason especially captive to all; so also he who is ensnared by the passions is cheaper than a spider. But what of war? Do we not see these men prevailing? What of affairs and counsels? Do not the matters of these men stand, even if there is no one who obeys? What of the things hereafter? Does not the rich man, like a beggar, ask for a drop, and fail to obtain it; while the poor man, because he was honorable and virtuous, was he not in the greatest prosperity, having the same lot as Abraham? What of the apostles? Were they not, while being bound, scourged, and suffering ten thousand terrible things, prevailing over those doing these things? Consider, then, into what a state of helplessness they threw them, so that those men said: What shall we do to these men (Acts 4:16)? Although they held them bound, and arrested in the midst of the courts; and the one party stood in the rank of judges and rulers, and the others in the rank of those being judged, yet these prevailed over those. And everywhere, if anyone were to go through the argument with precision, he shall see the virtuous man prevailing over the wicked, the ruling that is sovereign, not this rule of the many, which is false, which is wandering and easily refuted, but that which is fixed and immovable. And their help shall grow old in hell; that is, it shall be weak. What he says is this: Not only will they be easily handled here, with no one defending, with no one stretching out a hand, exposed to all, but C what is more grievous, neither there will they have anyone standing by, and helping, and stretching out a hand, and comforting their punishment. Thus indeed neither were the wise virgins able to help the foolish, nor Abraham the rich man, nor Noah, and Job, and Daniel their own sons and daughters. For the expression, "It shall grow old," means it shall be weak, it shall be done away; for that which grows old and ages is near to destruction. They were cast out from their glory. That which they desired most, for the sake of which they were doing and managing everything, so that even after death they might enjoy much glory, through their money, through their buildings, through their tombs, through the names inscribed upon the tombs; from this, he says, they shall fall, which was the very thing that grieved them when living and learning these things. For such buildings are indictments of those who have departed. For even if the body is hidden in the earth, nevertheless the stones send forth a voice, accusing every day their cruelty, their shamelessness, proclaiming them common enemies, always drawing those who pass by into curses, and accusations, and slanders. What glory is this, then, to leave an accuser who is not silent, but through the sight of them opens the mouths of all, and makes, to all who see and pass by, the most vehement suit against those who built them? What could be equal to this folly, when they perform acts for which they are punished, for which they are put to shame, for which they are accused, for which even after death they are dug up by many; for which there are curses for them, and slanders, and ten thousand indictments, both from those who have been injured, and from those who have not? But God shall redeem my soul from the hand of hell, when He shall take me. Having spoken of the wages of the wicked, the D rewards of sin, he speaks also of the prizes of the righteous; which it is his habit to do both to himself and to other prophets, so as to regulate the listener from both sides, both from the punishment of sins and from the prizes of virtue. The things of those men, therefore, are such, he says: dishonor, vain labor, folly, laughter, shame, utter destruction, death, retribution, perpetual punishment, being easily insulted, to have fallen from both glory and security, both living and dying, to be slandered, to be accused, to find no comfort for evils. Whereas our things are the total opposite: deliverance from punishment, freedom of soul, security, glory, honor. For all these things he hinted at, having said: But God shall redeem my soul from the hand of hell, when He shall take me. Calling indeed the punishment here at the present time, those unbearable torments. But consider also how great are the things of honor, not in this alone, but also in what follows. For when He shall take me, he says, then I shall see Him more accurately than now. For now we walk by faith, not by sight, but then face to face. With the soul being redeemed, also the body shall share in the good things. Fear not when a man becomes rich, or
EXPOSITION ON PSALM XLVIII
A 17. *Fear not when a man becomes rich, nor when the glory of his house is multiplied.* Since these things are so, he says, why do you fear present things? Why does poverty trouble you? Why do you fear the rich man? Have you heard what was said concerning the resurrection, the inheritance of goods, and the punishment of the wicked? Why then do you fear shadows? For those things are firm and stable, whereas these things are like flowers that wither. Having therefore passed over all other things, he has invaded the citadel of evils—namely, the desire for riches; for once this is destroyed, the other things are also destroyed along with it.
B 18. *And how shall I not fear*, he says, *with so many things gathered around?* But prosperity is for a short time, the strength of an hour, the success of things passes away; money, riches, and such great honor imitate shadows and dreams, and therefore he added: 18. *Because when he dies, he shall take nothing away, nor shall his glory descend with him*; subjoining the reason why one should not fear what is momentary. Death comes, he says, it shears off the root, and all the hair falls down with the leaves, and the house is easily captured by all. Just as, therefore, sheep and goats invade a fallen tree after it has been chopped down, so too in the case of those who are wealthy in this way, many friends and many of those they have benefited are found plundering and destroying their belongings; and he who possessed so many and such great things, having so many cupbearers, so many cooks, golden and silver mixing bowls, so many and such large acres of land, houses, slaves, horses, mules, camels, and camps of servants, departs alone, and no one goes away with him, not even taking his garments with him. For the more splendidly he is dressed, the more lavish a feast he prepares for the worm as he departs, and he creates greater desire in those who dig the graves, and greater traps for his wretched body. For the more he adorns himself, the greater the insult he prepares for himself, arming the hands of those who dig up the tombs against himself and inviting them. And what then? you will say; yet this man certainly boasts, glories, and swells with pride until death. Nay, indeed, many do not even last until death, but with conspirators rising up against them, they have suffered things more grievous than any criminal, despoiled of their money, marked with infamy, dwelling in prison. For he who was yesterday in a chariot, today is in chains; he who was yesterday observed by flatterers is now surrounded by executioners; he who smelled of perfumes is now splattered with blood; he who reclined on a soft bed lies on the hard ground; he who was revered by all is despised by all. But at his death there are magnificent and splendid funeral rites. And what is that to him who does not feel it? The stench is greater, the horror greater, the envy more vehement; for there is a perpetual war for the heirs with the dead man because of that magnificence. See, moreover, how accurately the word is placed, and how great the philosophy is. For he does not only pursue him with the fact that they do not depart together, but he also despoils him here of all pomp and display, and shows that they were not even riches when he used to enjoy their possession. For he did not say, "When his glory is multiplied," but, "The glory of his house." For all these things which I have enumerated, fountains, gardens, porches, and baths, gold and silver, horses and mules, C tapestry bedding and clothing are the glory of the house, not of the man who inhabits the house. The man’s glory is virtue. For a man’s glory is virtue, whence it also goes along with the possessor. But the glory of that house remains; or rather, it does not even remain, but is dissolved together with the house, and it profited nothing him who was moving about in it; for indeed it was not his.
19. *Because his soul shall be blessed in his life.* After he spoke of his glory and wealth, now he moves on to speak of praises. For because the rich pursue this with great zeal, the sycophancy in the forum, the respect from the populace, public praises, encomia filled with simulation, and it seems to be a great thing to be received with applause in theaters, in banquets, in courts, to be heralded by all, to be considered blessed: see how he detracts from this too by time. In his life, he says—that is, this respect and this being affected by praises—belongs to the present life; but together with other things, this also is dissolved, as being something fleeting and momentary. But even when it is exhibited by those who praise, after death it retreats to the contrary, when the mask of fear has been removed. *He will confess to you, when you have done well by him.* See how he also accuses their benefits. For you flatter and respect, feigning a certain respect for a time; but he will even have thanks for you, buying from you that you might do what is pleasing to him, and buying it at a great price, then, he says, he will thank you. For this is what that means: *He will confess to you, when you have done well by him.* He did not say, "When you have done what is useful, when you have done well," but, "When you have done those things which are dear to him, and which are according to the opinion of his mind," showing that there is damage on both sides, both from the feigned flattery and from the pernicious ministry.
20. *He shall enter even into the generation of his fathers, he shall not see the light for ever. 21. And a man when he was in honor did not understand: he was compared to senseless beasts, and was made like to them.* He will enter, or he will imitate the zeal of his fathers, and having been born of wicked men, he will receive wickedness as his lot; or you may understand it thus: unless he has done something good, he will be found to have perceived no fruit from his riches: he will leave his ancestors in the dust until the judgment; he will not be able to see the light according to the law of nature. Then he resumes again those things he had said before with these words: *And a man when he was in honor did not understand: he was compared to senseless beasts, and was made like to them.* D That man, he says, who died in such a way, and did not dispense his money as was fitting, will differ nothing from a brute, inasmuch as he did not recognize the honor received from God; he was made like to beasts, whose end of life is death alone. From which may we be delivered, both students and teachers, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.
ON PSALM XLVIII
*From the rising of the sun even to the going down thereof.*
A in the assembly of gods. And again: *I have said, Ye are gods* (Ps. 81. 6). And Paul: *For though there be that are called gods, and lords many* (1 Cor. 8. 5). And Moses: *Thou shalt not revile the gods* (Exod. 22. 28). And elsewhere: *the sons of God saw the daughters of men* (Gen. 6. 2). And again the same one: *He that curseth God shall bear his sin: but he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord shall be stoned* (Lev. 24. 15, 16). And again: *Gods, which have not made the heavens and the earth, shall perish under the heaven* (Jer. 10. 11). Whom then does he signify by this name in those testimonies, and whom does he here call gods? The rulers. Wherefore he also adds: *Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor speak evil of the ruler of thy people* (Exod. 22. 28). He also speaks of those who are born from some virtuous ancestor. For since Enos B showed much virtue, and the temple was called by the name of God; and all those from him, and the descendants of his brother, mingled with one another, he calls the sons of the virtuous one "sons of God." *For they began,* he says, *to call upon the name of the Lord* (Gen. 4. 26). He also mentions the people of the Jews, having been honored with this designation in the saying: *I have said, Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High* (Ps. 81. 6). For so he called their people out of his own kindness. Thus also is that saying solved: *He that curseth God shall bear his sin*; C that is, he who speaks evil of a ruler sins. *But he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord shall be stoned*: that is, he who attributes the name of the existing God to those who do not exist. For since the sin is unpardonable and the punishment for it is most severe, the gods of the Greeks are also mentioned, not according to honor or by grace of designation, but because of the deception of those who were led astray and called them so. For this reason Paul also says: *For though there are that are called gods,* thereby showing that they are not even gods by the honor of the name. Whom then does he mean here by "God of gods"? It seems to me, the Greek ones, not as beings, but as they are suspected by those who have been led astray. Since the Jews were still rather dull D and not entirely free from idolatry, but gaping toward idols and having many remnants of lawlessness, he here casts down their conceits, showing that he is Lord even of those. For he is Lord also of the demons, of their very substances, I say; for the judgments and all the malice are brought in from them. It seems to me that this psalm also holds to the former one. For here too, a rebuke and accusation is written against those who have offended; but there he called the whole inhabited world to a hearing, whereas here [he calls] the very elements that are spread over the whole inhabited world. A different theater here and a different audience; there the nations, the earth-born, the rich, the poor; here the heaven and the earth, and he introduces God himself judging, and he moves such arguments from him, defending his cause before the people of the Jews. A And later he adds: *I have said, Ye are gods* (Ps. 81. 6). And Paul: *For though there are those who are called gods and lords many* (1 Cor. 8. 5). And Moses: *Thou shalt not revile the gods* (Exod. 22. 28). And elsewhere: *The sons of God saw the daughters of men* (Gen. 6. 2). And again the same: *He who curses God shall bear his sin: but he who names the name of the Lord shall be stoned* (Lev. 24. 15, 16). And again: *The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from under the heaven* (Jer. 10. 11). Whom then does he indicate by this name in those testimonies, and whom does he call gods here? The rulers. Wherefore he also adds: *Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor speak evil of the ruler of thy people* (Exod. 22. 28). And he speaks of those who are born of a certain virtuous ancestor. For since Enos, as he shows, possessed great virtue, and since then God was called by name, and all who were from him, and the descendants of his brother intermarried, he calls those of the virtuous one the "sons of God." *For they began,* he says, *to call upon the name of the Lord* (Gen. 4. 26). He also mentions the people of the Jews, who were honored with this title when it is said: *I said, Ye are gods, and all of you sons of Israel* (Ps. 81. 6). For thus he used to call their people because of his own kindness. Thus also is that saying solved: *He who curses God shall bear his sin*; that is, he who speaks evil of a ruler sins. *But he who names the name of the Lord shall be stoned*; that is, he who attributes the name of the existing God to those who do not exist. Since the sin is unpardonable and the punishment for it is most grievous; the gods of the Greeks are also spoken of, not according to honor, nor by grace of address, but because of the deception of those who have been led astray and thus called upon them. For this reason Paul also says: *For though there are those who are called gods*, showing that they are not even up to the honor of the name. Whom then does he speak of here as "God of gods"? It seems to me, those of the Greeks, not as existing, but as suspected by those who have been led astray. For since the Jews were still rather coarse B and not entirely free from idolatry, but were gaping at idols and had many remnants of lawlessness, he therefore strikes down their pride, showing that he is Lord even of those. For he is Lord also of the demons—of their substances, I mean; for their intents and all wickedness are brought in by them. It seems to me that this psalm also follows the preceding one. For here too, a rebuke and accusation of those who have failed is written; but there he called the entire world to a hearing, whereas here [he calls] the very elements, which are extended over the whole world. A different theater here and a different audience; there the nations, the earth-born, the rich, the poor; here the heaven and the earth, and he introduces God himself as judge, and he employs such arguments as he makes in his defense before the people of the Jews. C Therefore, it is necessary that we be more attentive. Another prophet also does this, and he introduces God as judging, and he places in the rank of judges the chasms and the foundations of the earth. *Hear,* he says, *ye chasms and foundations of the earth: for there is a judgment for God against his people, and he will dispute with his people* (Mic. 6. 2). And again: *He shall plead against you, and against your fathers* (Jer. 2. 9). And in many places of the Scriptures one may see this figure, which is most striking and worthy of the kindness of God. For he shows his ineffable goodness, D in that he lowers himself so as to judge with men. *Out of Zion is the beauty of his excellence.* It has something prophetic, and it also has a historical [meaning], that which is spoken; for it happened also in the Old [Testament] that his beauty was from there. For the temple was shown and called by the name of God; and all the Holy of Holies, all the worship and the way of life of the old legislation, and the multitude of priests, and sacrifices, and burnt offerings, and holy hymns and psalms, and everything was from there, and the type of things to come was predicted from there. But since the truth also has arrived, it took its beginning from there again. From there the cross shone forth; from there the myriad accomplishments. For this reason also Isaiah, writing about the law of the New Testament, says: *For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall judge among the nations* (Isa. 2. 3-4). For by Zion he here calls the entire place, and the city which is situated near it, the metropolis of the Jews. For from there, as if from some starting-gate, the apostles, like swift horses, were released into the entire world; from there they began to perform signs; there the resurrection happened, there the ascension, there the preliminaries and the beginning of our salvation; there those ineffable dogmas began to be preached. There the Father was first revealed, the Only-begotten was made known, and such grace of the Spirit was given. And there the apostles were exercising the discourse concerning incorporeal things, concerning gifts, and powers, and the promises of things to come. All of which the Prophet, considering them, calls his beauty. For the kindness and the kindness and the beneficence toward all are the beauty and comeliness of God. *God shall come manifestly, our God, and shall not keep silence.* You see how, as he proceeds, he strips bare the word, and reveals the treasure, and sends out a brighter ray, saying: *God shall come manifestly.* For when did he not come manifestly? When? In his first coming; for he came without noise, hiding from the many, and for a long time remaining unknown. Why do I say from the many, when even the Virgin herself who carried him did not know the mystery, nor did his brothers believe in him, nor did he who was thought to be his father imagine anything great about him? 2. And why do I speak of men? He was hidden even from the devil himself; for if he had known, he would not have questioned him so long after on the mountain, *If thou be the Son [of God]...*
A And once, and twice, and a third time, he did this. Therefore, he said to John, when he was beginning to reveal him, "Suffer it now"—that is, "Keep silent; for the time has not yet come for the mystery of the Economy of the flesh assumed to be revealed. I wish the devil to remain in ignorance yet a while. Be silent, therefore," he says, "for thus it becomes us." And when he had descended from the mountain, he commanded them to tell no one that he was the Christ. For he came then as a shepherd seeking the wandering sheep, and wishing to hunt the rebellious beast, and therefore he veiled himself. For as a physician does not immediately show himself terrifying to the patient, so neither did he wish to manifest himself at the beginning, but quietly and gradually. This coming of his, which took place without noise, the prophet himself, speaking subsequently, indicates: *He shall come down like rain upon a fleece, and as drops that distil upon the earth* (Ps. LXXI, 6). He did not come creating a noise, nor disturbing or shaking the earth, nor casting forth lightning, nor striking the heaven, nor sending forth hosts of angels, nor tearing through the middle of the firmament, and thus descending upon the clouds; but without noise through the womb of the Virgin, having been carried for nine months’ time, he is born as a craftsman's son in a manger, is sought by plots in lowly swaddling clothes, and flees with his mother into Egypt. Then, after the death of him who had committed the most wicked deeds, he returns, and wandering here and there, he always had the appearance of one of the many, and his clothing was lowly, and his table still lowlier; his walking was perpetual, and so constant that he was even wearied from his journeying. But he will not come thus at that time; rather, he will come so manifestly that there will be no need of any one to announce his arrival. For this reason, he himself, indicating his own brightness, said: *If you hear that he is in the inner rooms, do not enter; if in the wilderness, do not go forth. For as the lightning goes forth from the east and shines even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of man be* (Matth. XXIV, 26, 27). For this happens even in the case of lightning; one does not need any one to announce it, but as soon as it appears, it is known to all. So also says Paul: *For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a cry, with the voice of the archangel, and at the last trumpet* (I Thess. IV, 16). So also the prophet saw him being carried upon the clouds, and a river being drawn before him, and a throne, and a tribunal, and an inevitable account of things to be rendered. For then, then there is need of judgment and of a sentence; and therefore he appears no longer as a physician, but as a judge. Daniel, therefore, sees both his throne, and the river which is drawn before the tribunal, and all things are shown to him as fiery, the chariot and the wheels (Dan. VII, 9, 10). But he did not show such things at the beginning, nor when he arrived at his first coming; not fire, not a river, nor anything of that sort; but a manger, an inn, a hut, and a destitute mother. Although, otherwise, he shows even from this that he is alien to change and mutation. For since he said that the one who sat upon the throne had hair white like wool, and a garment B like snow, he says that fire is everywhere: *Fire shall kindle in his presence, and round about him a severe tempest* (Dan. L, 3). In this way he shows here that he is at once entirely unexposed to mutation and change, and that he is luminous and inaccessible through these comparisons. Nor does he pause even at the fire, but wishing to show the intensity of the punishment, he adds, saying: *A severe tempest.* Now a *catagis* (tempest) is either an intolerable mass of snow that drags down and overturns everything into which it falls, or a vehement rush of winds that effects the same thing, and is intolerable to those it encounters. Wishing, therefore, to show that that punishment is intolerable, he brought in these comparisons.
4. *He shall call heaven from above, and the earth, to discern his people.* Again he mentions the elements, through which innumerable good things have come to the human race, not only for the life and constitution of the body, but even for the cognition of God. For the beauties, and the magnitudes, and the accounts of the situations, and the substances from which these elements consist, and what is made from them, and what happens generally at all times, or often individually, all these feed and sustain bodies, and lead one to the cognition of the Creator. And for this reason Paul said: *For his invisible things are clearly seen from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and divinity* (Rom. I, 20). *The world did not know God through wisdom* (I Cor. I, 21), that is, through the wisdom which is perceived in the creatures, as if it were not a small thing, but a most great and clear teaching. And those things which happen daily through him, even if they seem to occur according to the succession of nature, still they themselves proclaim the Creator. For the Creator is the Lord of nature. C discussing the general judgment. For so also Paul says: *Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that does evil, of the Jew first and of the Greek* (Rom. II, 8, 9). And again: *For as many as have sinned without law shall perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law* (Ibid. v. 12).
5. *Gather unto him his saints, who ordain his covenant upon sacrifices.* Why does he call those whom he is about to accuse, and whom he is about to condemn, "saints" in this place? Increasing the accusation and adding honor, for a greater indication of the punishment. Thus we also, when we see some who have sinned, and wish to attack them more vehemently, call them by their dignities, that we may make the accusation heavier, saying: "Call the deacon or the presbyter." Since, therefore, these too were called a *royal priesthood* and a *peculiar people*, and took great pleasure in that name, from that very thing he weaves the magnitude of their crimes. *Who ordain his covenant upon sacrifices.* Because when they dared innumerable evils, and took upon themselves so many kinds of vices—plundering, invading the goods of others through avarice, murdering, committing adultery, mingling blood with blood—they imagined that they were acting nobly and fulfilling the law and the covenant, if they brought [as] sheep and calves, *not considering*
A that they were slaughtering the bodies of irrational animals. *And the heavens shall proclaim his righteousness.* Here again, wishing to show that the radiance of his righteousness is bright, clear, irrefutable, and acknowledged, he introduces the insensible elements, proclaiming it according to the same pattern he spoke of earlier: *For God is judge.* Defining justice for each, he says. For he has not placed the word "judge" here simply, but to signify that he is both just, and that he grants this to others. For in the case of God, "judge" is taken to mean "just," even as Paul also used it, saying: *For how shall God judge the world?* For this is truly judgment, this is truly a judge—not simply to pass a sentence, but to pass a just sentence. The Jews will be judged—both those of that time, and those who afterward committed iniquity under the New Covenant; the former having nature and the law as their accuser, the latter having, along with these, the things Christ did for them. For what could they have to say, or what cause could they put forward for why they did not believe? But pay attention to what is said, I beseech you, so that you may be able to stop the mouths of those who contradict. For it is better for them to be defeated by us now and corrected, than to think they are winning and depart to that place, only to be condemned by the common Judge of the world. What, therefore, could the Jews have to say for why they killed Christ? What small or great charge can they bring? *Because he made himself God*, he says. And yet, those were not the words at the time of the cross, but other ones. For they did not say, "He who makes himself God," but, "He who makes himself king is no friend of Caesar." And yet they often wanted to appoint him king, and he fled. But before this, he says, they accused him because he made himself God. And what of that? If he did so falsely and unjustly, and was not God, the charge would have some merit; but if he did so justly, he ought to have been worshipped, not crucified. Let us see, then, if he who is truly God made himself God—that is, showed and revealed it. From where, then, do you wish to learn? From those of that time? From those of the present? From those in that place? Who was ever born of a virgin? Who showed such a star? Who led the Magi such a long journey, not by force and violence, but by persuasion and revelation? Do you see the whole of creation recognizing the Master? Nature itself yields, and does not contradict, nor does it stand against him saying: "I do not loose the pangs [of birth]; I have not learned to bring forth a child from a virgin womb; I do not know how to make a mother without marriage"; but it stepped aside and retreated from its own bounds; for it recognized its own Master. Upon his birth, again, angels were present, announcing to those on earth the one who is in heaven, and earth became heaven, as the King was there; and the Magi worshipped, having arrived from such a great distance. And the child lay in a manger in Palestine, while they, from the barbarian region, brought as much honor and service as it is fitting to bring to God. But perhaps they will not accept these things, but will seek out other signs, those pertaining to the present generation. But we will not be lacking in these either. For such is the truth; it is surrounded on all sides by its own justifications. B For even here they have not a shadow of an argument to put forward. For even if you were not present when he was born of a virgin, you ought to believe the prophet who says: *Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel.* If you were not present when, clothed in flesh, he walked about the earth, and the Master associated with his servants, consult Jeremiah, and he will discuss it with you, saying thus: *This is our God; no other shall be reckoned alongside him. He has found every way of knowledge, and has given it to Jacob his servant, and to Israel who was loved by him. Afterward he was seen on earth, and conversed with men.*
4. And in the case of all the others, you will see the prophets—whose books you turn over for no reason, and annoyingly, until this day—clearly proclaiming all things for the sake of this subject. But the struggles concerning these have been recounted by us many times, and will be recounted; for the present, let us hold to the things set before us: *And the heavens shall proclaim his righteousness, for God is judge.* Here it seems to me he calls "righteousness" his great providence, his philanthropy toward those very people, his manifold and varied economy toward all men—that through creation, through the law, through grace, through visible things, through invisible things, through the prophets, through the angels, through the apostles, through punishments, through benefits, through threats, through promises, through the order of time. *Hear, O my people, and I will speak to you, O Israel, and I will testify to you.* See again his reasonableness and gentleness from the very opening. For as if a man were to say to a man who is making noise and a disturbance, "If you hear, I will speak; if you pay attention, I will say it," so also does the Master [speak] to his servants: "If you hear me," he says, "I will speak." For they were sluggish and negligent, and did not even for a little while provide a hearing to the reading of the laws in quiet. And some prophet who was living in Persia signifying this said: *I will be to them as the sound of a sweet-voiced psaltery*; and they were continually telling the prophets not to prophesy, or rather they even rejected them, and seemed to be annoyed. And a king appears to be threatening a certain prophet with this, and commanding that he should not gather the people. *I am the Lord thy God.* The duplication is not placed there simply, but since he was speaking to those who were senseless, and hardened, and deafened, he moves the discourse concerning his lordship, giving from this point an excellent beginning for the subsequent narrative, and showing that they owe him their freedom, and would be in debt to offer it as slaves to a Master, as works to a Creator, as those who have received the greatest benefits, and have been honored with such great honor. Not by [animal] sacrifices C...
will I argue with you; but your burnt offerings are before me always. For in this way the other prophets also accuse them, because, neglecting the better part of virtue, they placed their hope of salvation in these things. For they were about to bring these forward for their defense, saying: “We offer sacrifices, we offer burnt offerings.” But I have not come, he says, to dispute about these, nor to blame you because these were neglected. B But Isaiah attacks them more vehemently, saying: What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? I am full. I desire not the burnt offering of rams, and the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and goats. For who has required these from your hands? (Is. 1:11, 12). Yet many things have been said about sacrifices, but he does not decree these as if he specially desires them, but he lowers himself to their weakness. Jeremiah also says: “Wherefore do you bring me frankincense from Saba, and cinnamon from a far-off land?” (Jer. 6:20). In sum, to say it once, all the prophets say that this is nothing great. For this reason he himself also acting as coming, says thus: “I am God, your God,” C thereby showing that this way of serving him is unworthy of him.
That God is to be worshipped; why sacrifices were permitted to the Jews.
For one ought to worship and honor God not with smoke and savor, but with an excellent manner of life, one that is not bodily but situated in the mind. But the demons of the outsiders are not like this; rather, they even require these things, and a certain poet among the Greeks seems to show this, saying: “Such is the honor we have obtained.” But our God is not like this. D For they, craving human blood and wishing to entice men little by little into these slaughters, were constantly asking for these; but He, when he wished to lead them little by little away from the slaughter of brute animals, used this indulgence and permitted sacrifices, so that he might abolish sacrifices. 9. I will not take calves from your house, nor goats from your folds. 10. For all the beasts of the forest are mine, the cattle on the mountains and the oxen. See how he gradually raises their mind, which had been fixed on the earth, opening their blinded understanding, and showing that he commanded these things not because he needed them, nor did he sanction them by law because he approved of them. For if, he says, I wished to be worshipped in such a way, since I possess all the earth that is under the sun, and I have created all things, I would have ensured that I had expensive and rich sacrifices. Then, mocking and reproaching them so as to sting their accusation more, he subjoined: 12. If I should be hungry, I will not tell you: for the world and its fullness are mine. Because he himself granted these things, so that he might lead them little by little away from them; but they persisted in a matter so vile and abject, having received no great fruit from that indulgence: for this reason, speaking more thickly and humanly, he says: If I should be hungry, I will not tell you. This is to say, “Neither am I hungry; for God will not hunger, nor will he be weary; nor if I wished to be worshipped by these, would I lack countless sacrifices and burnt offerings.” For all things are available to me in abundance and in plenty, and since I am the Master, I wish to receive my own from you, so that by this way and reason I may draw you to my friendship and lead you away from the custom of vain things.Raising [them] A to that which is more sublime, he subjoined: 13. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? These, he says, I did not command even men to do, but I even set the greatest punishment for those who eat blood (Lev. 7:16, 26, 27). How, therefore, would I be in need of blood, I who lead my servants away from such food? Having therefore rejected all these, and shown that they were unworthy, and having sprinkled his accusation with many things said for the sake of mockery, he did not end his speech here, but showed another way of sacrifice, fulfilling in this matter the office of the best physician, so that, leading them away from useless things, he might apply to their wounds the things that are able to help. After he finished these things, he says: 14. Sacrifice to God. And how will I sacrifice? he says. Without blood. For this sacrifice is most suitable to God. And therefore when he had said, Sacrifice to God, he subjoined, A sacrifice of praise: that is, of thanksgiving, of sacred hymns, of glory to be attributed to God through good works. What he says is of this kind: So live that your Master may be glorified. Which even Christ taught, saying: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). For praise is nothing other than laudation, glory, and celebration. Let your life be of such a kind, therefore, that your Master may be praised and celebrated, and you have offered a perfect sacrifice. This sacrifice Paul also requires, saying: “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God” (Rom. 12:1). And again this same prophet elsewhere: “I will praise the name of my God with a canticle, I will magnify him in praise: and it will please God more than a young calf producing horns and hoofs” (Ps. 68:31, 32). In this way also Job sacrificed after those wounds which transcended nature, giving thanks and speaking these words: “The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away: as it pleased the Lord, so it is done: may the name of the Lord be blessed forever.” And pay your vows to the Most High (Job 1:21). Here he mentions supplications, persuading [us] to persevere assiduously in prayer and to pay with speed what we have professed. And he beautifully said, Pay. For after a promise the thing becomes a debt. Thus Anna handed over her son, as the greatest debt (1 Kings 1:28). You, therefore, whether you promise alms, or a chaste life, or anything else of that kind, hasten to pay it. But if anyone weighs it exactly, even if it is not promised at all, virtue is nonetheless owed to it. And Christ, signifying this, was saying: “We have done what we owed to do” (Luke 17:10). Yet he told the parable of the servant, to whom the minimum was commanded, namely, not to recline, but to pass by and serve. And a certain [wise man] also says: “Do not delay to pay your vow” (Eccli. 5:3). Have you promised? Pay, lest perhaps death invades you and rescinds it. And what is that to me? he says: for life was not in my power. And therefore it was not right to delay, while you consider that the outcome is uncertain, and that it is not in your power either to live or to depart from this place. Therefore, what you seem to bring forward for your defense clearly condemns you. For death was not the cause that prevented you from paying, but your delay and procrastination. 15. And
call upon me in the day of your tribulation, and I will deliver you, and you will honor me. Do you see what an abundant reward is being offered? What then could be equal to such kindness, when He gives us rewards even for virtue itself, and rewards much greater than the labors, and granted at the most opportune time? And why, he says, did He say: Call upon me? Why does He wait to be called upon by us? Wishing to create a closer relationship for us, and to make our friendship with Him warmer, by giving, and by being called upon, and by receiving. For virtue draws us to God, and the recompense effects the same; and prayer, in turn, strengthens this relationship. That is why He says: Give to me, and I give to you. And in the act of giving, you yourself receive; for He is in no need of these things. Thus, even if you become upright, or moderate, or temperate, you have added nothing to God, but you have made yourself brilliant and better; yet, nonetheless, for these things, as if one were benefiting Him, He appoints for you most great rewards and crowns. And before those crowns, you enjoy no small pleasure, being nurtured by a good conscience, and winged by wholesome hopes. By "day of tribulation" He means here, not that of calamities or of circumstances, but that even if sin wages war, or the devil besieges, introducing evil desires, you will enjoy great alliance. And I will deliver you, and you will honor me. Again, He says this, not because He is in need of glory from us (for how would the God of glory be?), but so that through the hymn of thanksgiving the memory of the benefit might remain, and the affection toward Him might be warmer, and that we might first receive the greatest well-being. 6. One will not err from the proper meaning if he says that the day of tribulation spoken of here is the future day; for that tribulation is incessant. In this present life, death coming upon us dissolves calamities, and friends console, and there is an end that is awaited, and often the hoped-for change of affairs, and length of time, soften the soul’s passion, and the misfortune of neighbors. For having fellow-sufferers in painful things, and seeing many such examples, has seemed to many to be a great comfort. But there, there is nothing of the kind; for neither is anyone present to console, but all are in a desert of friends. No length of time softens the pain (for how could it, with the flame pressing on throughout?); there is no hope of departure; for the punishment is eternal; there is no expectation of death; for the retribution is immortal, and the bodies that are being punished are also immortal; but not even this seems to bring comfort to many—to see others in punishment. In the first place, it is not even possible to see those being punished, with the darkness overshadowing the eyes instead of any barrier; then, the excess of the pain does not even allow for a perception of this consolation. The rich man, at least, reaped no word of consolation from that source, nor do those who gnash their teeth. And to the sinner God said: Why do you recount my ordinances? You have seen the perfectly tuned lyre, the harmonious cithara, sounding one harmony in diverse notes? For this meaning can be seen both among the apostles and set forth by other prophets; and Paul says something like this, showing himself also, that there is no benefit in teaching others, when one does not first learn by taking hold of oneself. Since they were proud as if regarding their sacrifices, so also regarding the fact that they possessed the law and were named teachers of others, showing that they reap nothing great when they themselves remain unlearned, and rebuking such people more severely, he says: You therefore who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one must not steal, do you steal? You who abhor idols, do you commit sacrilege? You who boast in the law, through transgression of the law do you dishonor God? For this reason he also said concerning himself: I fear, lest by any means, after having preached to others, I myself should become disqualified; castigating the puffed-up pride of those who were great in their pretensions because of teaching the word, while they themselves were empty of virtue. And he handles this argument differently, turning it toward the Jews, when he says: For when the Gentiles who do not have the law do by nature the things of the law, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. And again: For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law will be justified. And the prophet: They that hold fast to the law knew me not. And again: In vain have they been made a lying bow for the scribes. For what reason? Because the turtledove and the swallow and the field sparrows knew the times of their coming, but my people did not know my judgments. And this man says that he does not only gain nothing from teaching others, while he does not pursue virtue, but also that he is cast out from this chairmanship. For if, in the courts of the world, he who acts wrongly is punished with the dishonor of silence, how, he says, could one who is liable for sin have a voice in the common school of instruction? And this school is greater than that court. There, indeed, those who are punished pay penalties; here, however, everything is done so that the fault committed may be corrected. And in the royal courts no one would be an interpreter of the royal voice who has been convicted of corrupt living, but one would be punished by repentance. For why do you recount ordinances, and teach others, and yet do the opposite, your life contradicting what is said, and turning away some of those who wish to pay heed? For you do not teach as much by words as you drive away by your deeds. For this reason Christ also praises that teacher who displays his teaching perfected both by works and by words. For whoever performs and teaches, He says, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Let your life, therefore, have a brilliant voice, teaching these things; even if you lock your mouth, you will sound more brilliantly than a trumpet, both to those present and to those who are far away. Thus the heaven declares the glory of God, not having a mouth, nor moving a tongue, nor emitting a spirit from below, but by the beauty of its appearance leading the spectator to wonder at the Creator. Therefore, whatever the beauty of the appearance is there in heaven, let virtue be that in your soul. But if you are defiled, and have ten thousand accusers, and before all, your conscience, and you strive to seize the teacher’s throne, when you reproach wickedness, you will be accusing not others so much as yourself. And do you take up my covenant through your mouth? He rightly said: Through your mouth. For the heart is destitute of the fruits thereof.
and the lips are moved in vain, and to the condemnation of him who speaks. But if anyone should examine the mind, he will find a great war. A 17. *But you have hated discipline and cast my words behind you.* By discipline he here means the instruction of the Law, which composes the soul, drives away vice, and implants virtue. How, therefore, do you handle it, and sow [it] in others, while you do not have it in your own deeds? For you have cast, he says, my words behind you. You have not only failed to make progress, but you have even mutilated what you have by nature. For the principles of things that ought to be done and ought not to be done are implanted in us by nature. But you have repelled them and not held them in your memory.
18. *If you saw a thief, you ran with him, and set your portion with adulterers.* Since it is impossible for a man to be entirely liable to no sin—and for this reason someone said, "Who will boast that he has a clean heart? Or who will boldly say he is pure from sin?" (Prov. 20:9); and Paul, when he had said, "I am conscious of nothing in myself," added, "Yet I am not justified in this" (1 Cor. 4:4); and, "A just man is his own accuser at the beginning of his speech" (Prov. 18:17), clearly of his own sins—that therefore no one might be able to say, "If all are sinners, and He has ordered a sinner not to relate [His] righteousness, who then shall relate [them]?"—so that no one might say these things, He enumerates the kinds of sins by species. For there is a sin unto death (1 John 5:16), just as Heli also used to say: "If a man sins by sinning, the priest shall pray for him; but if he sins against the Lord, who shall pray for him?" (1 Reg. 2:25). In the Law, also, some things were indeed incurable, as even to be punished by death, while others had some very ready remedy. Thus also Christ in the New [Testament]: "If your brother sins," He says, "argue with him between you and him alone. But if he will not hear, take with you two more. If he will not hear even them, let him be to you as an ethnic and a publican" (Matt. 18:15). And yet, when Peter asked elsewhere, "How often, if my brother sins against me, shall I forgive him?" he heard, "Until seventy times seven" (ibid. 21). Here, however, after two admonitions, He shows the transgression to be great, and compels [one] not to wait again.
What, therefore? Are these things contrary to those? God forbid. But that "seventy times seven" He says *if* he repents. For how will anyone forgive him who neither confesses that he has sinned nor is led by repentance? For when we seek remedies from a physician, we show [him] the wound. Who, therefore, is the sinner of whom the Scripture here speaks? Let us listen attentively. For He describes him through those things that follow, thus saying: *If you saw a thief, you ran with him, and set your portion with adulterers. 19. Your mouth abounds in malice, and your tongue wove deceits. 20. Sitting, you spoke against your brother, and against the son of your mother you set a stumbling block.* Do you see the wickedness, as if in some image, described in its own colors? And how B the rogue has become a beast through vice, while he has betrayed the nobility of nature? Let us not, therefore, treat this image lightly, but inquire into each detail accurately.
*If you saw a thief, you ran with him.* To praise vice is a sin; one must feel indignation toward those who sin. This is the cause of all evils: this is what most overturns virtue, what retards and represses the zeal of many toward things that are honest—when some not only do not rebuke [it], but even congratulate those who sin. Now this is no less than to sin. Hear Paul saying: "Not only do they do these things, but they also consent to those who do them" (Rom. 1:32). Now this is not a small sin—even if one does not do the evil things—to rejoice together with the wicked, and to congratulate them. For that [first] man can plead necessity, can blame poverty, even if these are not just pretexts; but why do you praise what has been done, when you do not perceive any pleasure from it? And that [man] might perhaps be led to repentance; you, however, close these doors against yourself as well, you take away the medicine, and you overturn such great consolation, blocking for yourself on every side the return to repentance.
When, therefore, he sees you, who ought to rebuke others—not being liable to sin—not only not doing this, but even making excuses for and casting a shadow over [the sin]; and not only casting a shadow, but even bringing help: what will he think about himself, and what about that which has been committed? For many men, in the greatest part, do not form a judgment about things to be done from those things they have conceived in their own mind, but also [are] corrupted by the practice and opinion of others; and if any man who has sinned sees all turning away from him, he will think that he has committed some great and unworthy wickedness; but when he sees [them] not only not indignant, but even bearing it calmly, and indeed even flattering, with the judgment of [his] conscience subsequently corrupted, with the opinion of the many supporting his own depraved mind, what will he not dare? And when will he condemn himself, and cease to sin without scruple?
It is necessary, therefore, even if one does evil, to condemn oneself; for through that one arrives at ceasing from evil, and, if one does not do the things that are good and honest, [at least] to praise them. For the way to working is eagerness. But here, since he applauds the things that are done, He justly pricks and marks him out significantly and vehemently. For if, even when rebuked, vice flourishes so much, and praised virtue hardly provokes its own to sweat: what will it be if this has not been done? One might see this C happening even in a choir of priests; and if this is grave even in disciples, it is much more so in teachers. [When?] it is contemplated [how] so many sins have been committed by one of those who perform the priesthood, the infernal things have been confounded with the supernal; and indeed, the supernal things have been made infernal—and do you not shudder?
But the Prophet, indeed, calls even the insensible elements themselves to mourn and deplore together with the most grievous pain the evils which happen commonly: "The heaven was stupefied, and the earth shuddered exceedingly" (Jer. 2:12). "The vine shall mourn" (Isa. 24:7). And indeed inanimate creatures mourn and groan, and are indignant together with the Lord; you, however, who are a participant in reason, do not feel pain, do not rebuke, are not a vehement avenger of the laws of God?
A For does He need help? Or is it that he might have need of those who bring assistance? But He wishes you to become a minister of this, that you might not fall into the same things, becoming more sober-minded by your indignation against another, that from this source also you might show your love for God. For when another has sinned and you run past it, and do not proceed against it, nor feel pain, you make your own soul more sluggish and prone to fall, and you often prepare it to fall into the same things; and you harm him no small amount by this untimely grace, by making the penalties in the future more severe for him, and by making him more sluggish toward the present state. These things are not spoken only concerning thieves, but concerning every sin; and he sets the ultimate of the offenses last, so that you might know that he who does not have a pardon for such a one, will much less enjoy this consolation for another. Hear, then, also what he says next: *And you were setting your portion with adulterers* (Ps. XLIX, 18); having come to a greater matter. For that is far less than this. And someone, making a comparison of these sins, was saying thus: "It is not wonderful if one is caught stealing; for he steals that he might fill his own soul when it is hungry" (Prov. VI, 30). If, therefore, this is unpardonable, much more is adultery. And here he calls fornication adultery. If, therefore, you see one of those who gather with you committing fornication, and approaching the mysteries, say to him who is serving in the distribution of these: "Such a one is unworthy of the mysteries; restrain the profane hands." If for he is not worthy even to recount the statutes, consider to where the things of punishment will B proceed for him, when he touches also the sacred table, and not for him alone, but also for him who casts a shadow over him. For he did not say, "And you were committing adultery," but, *And you were setting your portion with adulterers*. Great heavens, how great an evil it is from concealing the gangrenes of others, where he says that he is a partner in the punishment for the offense, and no less than the one who committed it. For the one can say that he has the passion, even if the excuse is unpardonable, as the thief his hunger; but you not even this. For what cause, therefore, when you do not enjoy the pleasure, are you a partner and sharer in the punishment? For this reason also the judges from without, not only those who have dared, but even if they see servants who are privy to the matter, they punish; and the masters who surrender them would gladly drink their blood and taste of their flesh, and they reckon the authority of what has occurred to them as no less than that of the woman who has been debauched. For those who did not draw back the curtains, they themselves have given greater authority to those who are hidden; these have insulted both her who was debauched and the man who was wronged and the one himself who committed the adultery. For if they had proclaimed it in advance, if they had made it manifest, they would have scared off the entire prey. And just as those are most responsible for being the ones who cast into the traps—those who cover the traps, and sit around those about to be caught, and everywhere hide all the deceit, and allow neither noise nor anything else to happen which is able to scare away the hunt—so also here, if you sit beside the trap laid by the devil, C and knowing that the adulterer is about to fall, do not stir up a clamor, nor alarm him, then you destroy him most of all. Do not, therefore, say to me that word which is full of much lack of feeling: "And what is it to me? I am looking after my own affairs." For then you will most of all look after your own, when you seek your own in the interest of your neighbor. Wherefore also Paul said: *Let no one seek his own, but that of the other* (1 Cor. X, 24). So that, he says, you might find your own, seek that of the other. *Your mouth abounded in wickedness, and your tongue wove deceits. You sat and were speaking against your brother, and against the son of your mother were setting a scandal.* For so that he might not say, "I do these things out of philanthropy"; most of all, what kind of philanthropy would this be, not to restrain the one about to fall into the abyss, nor to hold him back? To grant indulgence to an unjust pleasure? To overlook him drinking a deadly poison? But, however, not even this will you be able to say. For that this is not of philanthropy, but of sleep and sluggishness and sloth, how is it that, having spared the one acting unjustly, you speak evil of the brother who has done no wrong? How do you plot against him who has done nothing, nor has committed an offense? See wickedness extended to the extreme on both sides. The one who is drunk with desire you do not restrain from being drunk, so that he might become sober; but the one who has done nothing wrong you punish. For *you sat and were speaking against your brother, and against the son of your mother were setting a scandal.*
9. D See how by the explanation he increases the accusation. The one who broke the same pangs of birth with you, he says, the one who partook of the same womb with you, the one who shared in the same house and table and nourishment, the one having sprouted from the same root, the one having the same beginning of birth, the one who grew up with you from the first age—this one you speak evil of, and you do not only speak evil of him, but you also bring the plotting into action? For this is what it is: *You were setting a scandal*. And if one should not speak evil of him who shared the natural pangs of birth, much more should one not do so of him who shared the spiritual ones. Do not, therefore, slander and revile either the one about to sin and fall, nor the one who has done nothing wrong. For the former is of envy, but the latter of lack of feeling; for not to rein in the one about to fall is of lack of feeling; but of envy is to cast down the one who is standing. And see how he does not simply hint at the accuser, but the one who does this work with deceit and zeal. *For sitting*, he says, *you were speaking against your brother.* And Cain, having killed his brother, banished one only from the present life; these, however, through the things by which they speak evil, cast down ten thousand, and themselves first. For they do not harm the one accused only, but also others; or rather, those only who receive the accusations. For the one hearing evil falsely, not only has he not been harmed, but he also has a very great reward. For not the one suffering evil, but the one doing it, this is the one worthy of the punishment; thus also the one speaking, not the one hearing, assuming that the latter does not provide reasonable handles for the backbiting. Let us not, therefore, make it our concern that we not hear evil (for this is impossible; and there is a sentence of Christ saying,
A “Woe to you when all men shall speak well of you” [Luke 6:26]), but rather that we do not ourselves provide the occasions. For he who wishes to hear well from all men often loses his own soul, loving human glory, serving in matters that are not fitting, pleasing where he ought not, so as to purchase grace from them. Again, he who is indifferent to hearing ill from all men also loses his own soul. For just as it is impossible for a good man to hear well from all, so is it not possible for him to hear ill from all, unless he has provided to many, for many reasons, occasions to speak ill. But if, while you provide no cause for offense, there are those who speak evil of you, then you have a greater reward, just as happened to the Apostles and those noble men. One must know this, too: that even if someone speaks ill regarding a matter for which our conscience does not condemn us, the accuser is not on that account to be despised because of the injury he does you, but all things must be done with the appropriate caution, so as to remove an unjust occasion. For this reason, Paul also sent many with money to carry food to the poor (1 Cor. 16:3); he offers the reason, saying: “That no one should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us” (2 Cor. 8:20). He did not see that they were destined to be offended and simply overlook and neglect it, but because it was in his power to remove the stumbling block, he took forethought also for those who were being offended. And elsewhere he says: “If food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause my brother to stumble” (1 Cor. 8:13). If, he says, they bring an offense, even if they do not injure me, I do not neglect the salvation of those who are offended. If the damage is greater than the salvation, overlook the one who is offended; but if not, do not overlook it. For this might be a general decree and rule, teaching when it is necessary to overlook those who are offended, and when not, as for instance: the Jews were offended because Paul did not observe the Law, and because of this many thousands drew back and were faltering in the faith. What, therefore, does he do? Wishing to heal the offense (for the salvation of so many thousands was greater), and to provide a remedy for the faltering, he interim prevented it from being seen that he was not observing the Law, which was greater. Again, they were offended because he preached the Crucified (1 Cor. 1:23) — but the gain of the preaching was greater. Christ also did this. For while He was conversing with them about foods, and they were offended, at His saying, “What enters the mouth does not defile a man, but what comes out” (Matt. 15:11, 18), He says: “Let them alone; every plant which my Father has not planted will be rooted up” (Matt. 15:13-14). Yet when they demanded taxes of Him, although He knew He was not bound to pay them, yet because the time did not yet call for His authority to be revealed, He says: “But lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the fish that comes up first, and in it you will find a stater; give it to them for Me and for you” (Matt. 17:26). For when He was bringing them the Law, which was full of much wisdom, and they were incurable, He rightly despised them and set the Law aside; but when they were not capable of receiving the account of His divinity, He rightly again condescends, and shadows and hides the account of His divinity by paying the tax. B “Sitting, you were speaking against your brother.” But, he says, I was doing it in order to correct him. It was not necessary, therefore, to slander in secret, but, as Christ commanded, to take him aside and correct him (Matt. 18:15). For public accusations often make them even more impudent. And many sinners, as long as they see that it is possible to remain hidden, easily persuade themselves to return to the right path; but when they have lost their good reputation among many, some next fall into despair and slip into impudence. But he did you an injury. Why, therefore, do you injure yourself as well? For he who avenges himself strikes himself with a sword. For if you wish both to benefit yourself and to truly avenge yourself on him, speak well of the one who injured you: you will thus make many his accusers in your stead, and you yourself will receive a great reward. But if you speak evil, you will not even be believed, as one who labors under the suspicion of enmity. Wherefore your zeal is turned against you. For you wish to overturn his good reputation, but the opposite occurs: for this happens *through praise*, not through accusation; quite to the contrary. And you indeed afflict yourself with greater ignominy, but your arrows will not touch him. For enmities, which offer themselves to the minds of the hearers, do not allow what is said to be admitted into their ears, and the same thing happens as in legal proceedings. For when someone in court brings an objection, the whole matter is dispersed; so, too, here the suspicion of enmity does not allow judgment to be admitted. Do not, therefore, speak evil, lest you pollute yourself; nor weave mud with mud and bricks, but connect crowns of roses, of violets, and of the remaining flowers; nor carry dung in your mouth, like beetles (for that is what those do who speak evil, being the first to feel their own stench), but be like bees, and compose honeycombs as they do, and be gentle and kind to all. For everyone turns away from the slanderer as one who smells of filth, and who, like a leech with blood and a beetle with dung, is nourished by the evils of others; but a mouth that willingly praises is accepted as a common member, as a true brother, as a son, as a father. And why do I speak of present things and of the judgments of men? Consider with me that terrible day, that judgment which cannot be corrupted, where, if you speak falsehoods, you will add others to your sins. For I say to you, that “every idle word that men may speak, they will give an account of it to God in the day of judgment” (Matt. 12:36). Even if they are true, he says, you will not even then escape being condemned, as one who parades the calamities and disgraces of your neighbor. Consider in yourself the Pharisee. He was not a publican, yet he was wickeder than the publican, because he passed judgment on the publican. Was there not
the Pharisee; but he became more righteous than the Pharisee, because he accounted himself a wretch. A *These things you have done, and I have kept silence. You supposed wickedness, that I would be like you. I will reprove you, and set your sins before your face* (Ps. XLIX, 21).
11. Do you see an unspeakable love for mankind? Do you see an excess of goodness? Do you see an infinite wealth of longsuffering? For by "silence" he here means longsuffering. You have dared so many things, he says, and I did not go forth, but I endured, and I bore it, giving you room for repentance. But you not only gained nothing from this, but you also slipped into greater wickedness. For you not only did not change, nor were you ashamed, nor did you condemn yourself for what had been done, but you even thought that I, who was longsuffering toward you, B who endured, who kept silence, who bore so much, did so not because of longsuffering and love for mankind, but because I did not wish to correct these things, nor was I displeased at what was happening. *Understand these things, you who forget God* (Ps. XLIX, 22). Which ones? The things mentioned, he says. What is, *Understand*? Consider. For what has been said in shadow, and what stands in need of much investigation? Most of all, the very manner of the teaching introduces a changed way of life. For without saying much about sacrifices, he introduces the evangelical legislation; and furthermore, since they were buried in a great mire of sins, as though wishing to pull them up from some sloughs of wickedness, and to cleanse as it were a film from their eyes, he stirs them to call to mind the things that have taken place, so that, by not delivering them to oblivion, they might not depart empty. For habituation in sins creates great calluses in the soul, renders it senseless, and blinds the sharp-sighted eye of the mind. *Lest he snatch, and there be no one to deliver* (Ps. XLIX, 22). O unspeakable love for mankind! The words are those of an affectionate mother, or rather, of a goodness that infinitely surpasses that affection. For he who has unveiled such a charge, he who has shown such C anger, provides protection. He who said, *I will reprove you, and set your sins before your face*, and brought forth a sentence of condemnation, dissolves the sentence again, not as if abandoning the condemned to punishment, but as consigning them to be corrected by exhortation and counsel, disciplining them by fear, and saying, *Lest he snatch like a lion, and there be no one to deliver*. *A sacrifice of praise shall glorify me, and there is the way, which I will show him, the salvation of God* (Ps. XLIX, 23). Having shown his love for mankind, having exhorted, having counseled, having threatened, having struck fear, having set the punishment before them, and having brought in counsel, he also says the way by which it is possible to correct what has been done, saying: *A sacrifice of praise shall glorify me*. And what he says is this: He will not only stop my anger, and not only will he dissolve the condemnation, but he will also glorify me. Observe the magnitude of the achievement, when God is glorified by it. *And there is the way, which I will show him, the salvation of God*. Do you see an unspeakable reward? Do you see an excess of love for mankind? For he promises to show D the way of God, and the true salvation of God to those who succeed. Let us therefore obey him who promises, and by a right life and a sacrifice of praise let us glorify him. For this is the way that leads to salvation, through this sacrifice; which may we all attain, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, for to him is the glory and the power, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
CONCERNING THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTH PSALM
*O God, do not pass over my praise, because the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceitful man have been opened against me* (Ps. CVIII, 1-2). *They spoke against me with a deceitful tongue, and with words of hatred they encompassed me, and fought against me with nothing to cause it* (Ps. CVIII, 3). *Instead of loving me, they maligned me; but I was praying* (Ps. CVIII, 4). *And they set against me evil for good, and hatred for my love* (Ps. CVIII, 5). *Set a sinner over him, and may the devil stand at his right hand* (Ps. CVIII, 6). *When he is judged, let him go forth condemned, and let his prayer become sin* (Ps. CVIII, 7). *Let his days become few, and let another take his office* (Ps. CVIII, 8). *Let his children become orphans, and his wife a widow; let his children be cast out as wanderers, and let them beg, and be cast out of their dwellings* (Ps. CVIII, 9-10). *Let the usurer search out all that he has, and let aliens ransack his labors* (Ps. CVIII, 11).
1. We have need here of great understanding. For the words, according to the literal pronunciation and the cursory hearing, disturb many of those who are not paying attention. For you see that the whole Psalm is filled, and the discourse has passed through our hands in such a way, that it manifests a kind of seething and burning anger in the speaker, which does not stop at the one doing wrong, but extends the punishment to children, and father, and mother, and is not satisfied with one calamity, but joins evils upon evils. For observe how many things he prays for. *Set a sinner over him, and let the devil stand at his right hand*. That is, let him be under wicked men as accusers and conspirators, and let him not prevail over them. This is what *When he is judged, let him go forth condemned* means. And he was not satisfied with this punishment, but with this condemnation he prays for someone else after him to take his honor, saying, *Let another take his office*. And he does not stop here, but he also fills up the only harbor left, considering him unworthy of any love for mankind from God, and saying: *And let his prayer become sin*. And furthermore, he deems him worthy to suffer an untimely death. For, *Let his days*, he says, *become few*. And he does not stop here, although to say these things alone was sufficient, but he adds more, which is a sign of a very incensed soul, not to be satisfied with one or two punishments, but to ask for so many to be brought upon him. And the things that follow are still far more grievous than these. For he prays for orphanhood and widowhood of his…
A he says, and let his children be wanderers. This is, let them be wanderers and vagabonds, not having even necessary food, and let them not cease changing from place to place continuously, driven, pursued throughout the whole earth, and nowhere finding a place in which to stand. Together with these, he imprecates upon them also poverty, and that extreme and intolerable, so that they might not even attain help from their relatives, but might go around begging it from strangers and those unknown to them. And hear how he sets forth what this means. For after he said: Let his children be wanderers and beg, he adds: Let them be cast out of their dwellings. Let the usurer search out all his substance, and let strangers plunder his labors. This is another kind of calamity, for their goods to be handed over to be plundered, and for them to suffer the ambushes of usurers, and to be affected by reproaches and outrages in every way, and, what is far more grievous, in such great evils to lack a defender. And he imprecates this, saying: B 12. Let there be no helper for him. For evils themselves are intolerable by themselves: but when not even a defender is present, they are far more grievous. And let there be no one to show mercy upon his orphans. Alas, the magnitude of the wrath, when not even the immaturity of orphanhood attains mercy, and not only this, but extreme destruction is brought upon him! For he says: 13. Let his offspring be brought to destruction. In one generation let his name be blotted out. Have you seen a prayer full of wrath, and one which does not restrain itself? He wishes for them to live in various and manifold and every kind of misery, and to perish utterly without any fame of their name. And as if the calamity of the children were not enough, he adds again: 14. Let the iniquity of his fathers come to memory, and let the sin of his mother not be blotted out. 15. Let them be before the Lord always, and let their memory perish from the earth. For it is of the greatest anger to distribute in this way the calamities which he spoke of generally, and to turn the same things over assiduously. For after he said, Let the iniquity of his fathers come to memory, he added: And let it not be blotted out. And yet it is the same thing; C nevertheless, anger compelled him to say both; but what he wishes to say is this: Kill him, slay him, take him from the midst. Have you seen how many imprecations there are? But, if you wish, I will gather them again. Let him fall, he says, into the hands of wicked men, let him be accused, let him be in their power, let him be condemned, let him undergo an untimely death, let him be deprived of honor, and may he not even see his own affairs, but may he watch those of others transferred; may his wife perish, and let his children sustain poverty, orphanhood, and the life of beggars, let them be condemned, let them be cast out from everywhere, let them have no helper, let them fall away from the benevolence of God, let there be no port nor refuge for them: let his name be blotted out from the earth, let him perish inglorious, and may both father and mother pay the penalties of their own sins, may they be lost and perish utterly.
D Does what has been said not strike the hearers with fear and astonishment? Indeed, do you not desire to know who it is who is so condemned? For if, when we hear a man being afflicted with reproaches and curses, we ask those standing by to tell us who it is who hears these things, much more, when we hear the prophet imprecating these things, is it necessary to learn, and to learn with fear and trembling, who he is upon whom such vehement wrath has come, who he is who has filled the Holy Spirit with such great sadness, that He should hear so many kinds of evils. Let us therefore, if it seems good, say the Psalm from the beginning with great attention. But let no one be perturbed. For I will narrate as accurately and diligently as I can. For the problem raised is no small one: but one indeed and the first, for what reason, when the one who is being assailed with reproaches had sinned, his children are punished with him, and his wife and parents. The second, who is this person who is being cursed. The third, how the leader of the apostles shows this Psalm to have been said about Judas, or rather, not the whole Psalm, but a part of the Psalm. For it is written, he says, in the book of Psalms: Let his habitation be made desolate, and let there be no one to inhabit his tabernacles (Acts 1:20). But this provides us with a new question: for both things are not written in this Psalm: and on that account he did not say "this Psalm," but "the whole book of Psalms." For that: Let his habitation be made desolate (Ps. 68:26), is in another Psalm: but this: And let another take his office, is in this one. Peter, however, brought both together into one testimony. Which Paul also does everywhere, as when he says the prophet says: There shall come out of Sion he who shall deliver, and he shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob (Rom 11:26; Isa 59:20). And this is the covenant to them from me, when I shall have taken away their sins (Isa 27:9). But what, one might say, is that which is said, a prophecy, or is it an imprecation? A prophecy under the guise of an imprecation. For we shall find such a thing elsewhere: Jacob did this also. Since it was necessary for the hearers to be helped by the things which were happening to others, they bring forth many prophecies in this way, so that even by the very manner of the telling, fear might be increased in the republic. For it is not the same thing if you say: "This man will suffer this or that," as if you were to introduce it as one angry and indignant. And that I do not say these things rashly, I will make this manifest to you from the prophetic words. For Jacob, when he was about to die, "Come," he said to his sons, "and I will tell you what shall befall you in the last days" (Gen 49:1). As if struck by wrath, he begins the prophecy from an imprecation, saying thus: Ruben my firstborn, hard to bear, hard and stubborn, you have committed an outrage, so that you shall not grow as water (Ibid. v. 3): predicting his future destruction under the guise of an imprecation. So again, when he says good things, he narrates them under the guise of a prayer, saying: May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth (Ibid. 27:28). Although this too is a prophecy. That this is not a human emotion, is clear. For in the case of Canaan also his father does this, saying: Canaan shall be his servant (Ibid 9:25); so that you might know that God, who anticipates those who are being injured, takes action against those who commit injury.
A Christ also employed a similar method, recalling them through the form of prophecy rather than by direct speech, and imitating one who laments as he says: Woe to you, Chorazin; woe to you, Bethsaida (Luke 10:13). And again, as when he says: Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets (Id. 13:34).
Of whom, then, is this Psalm spoken? Part of it is about Judas, with the Spirit prophesying through David, and the rest is about others. For this, too, is a mode of prophecy. We shall often find it constructed in this way, with the prelude spoken of one person and the remaining parts of another. That you may see this same thing clearly from elsewhere: when the Jews were entering the land of promise, Joshua, the son of Nun, was ordered by God to divide the twelve tribes into twelve parts, being commanded that he should bless some and curse others. The blessing and the curse were prophecies of things to come. For he said: Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed in the field (Deut. 28:16); and the tribes, by composing myriads of such curses, completed a long discourse. This is also what may be said here: that the prophecy is composed in the form of a curse, reporting and foretelling the things that were to happen to Judas, and then, after him, stirring up another subject and standing against certain ones who had risen up against the priesthood, so that we might learn what a great evil it is to rise up against the priests of God, and to use deceit and injustice against them.
For the things stated are nothing other than a teaching of the things that will happen to those who injure their neighbors, to those who rise up with deceit and a corrupted mind against those who have done them no wrong. But if he deems that the children should be punished, do not be disturbed, beloved; for he means here by "children" those who have shared in the wickedness of such men. For the Scripture knows how to call by the name "children" both those related by blood and those who have lived together in wickedness, even if they are not naturally children, as when it says: You are children of the devil (John 8:44). And yet, by nature, the Jews were not children of the devil. For how could those who are clothed in flesh be children of an incorporeal being? But they drew this relationship to themselves by the communion of wickedness. In this way he also casts them out from Abraham, saying: If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham (John 8:39). That a son is not punished for the father, nor a father for the son, is surely plain to everyone. And this is shown to be stated in the Law, unless one were to interpret it wrongly; and even then, not for the son, but for one's own negligence, just as was the case with Eli (1 Kings 3:13).
3. But if it seems good, let us go through the Psalm from the beginning. B O God, do not be silent regarding my praise. A different interpreter says: O God, do not be deaf to my hymn. Another says: Do not keep silence; that is, do not pass over the punishment, but go after those who have done these things. You are glorious, great, and powerful to set such things right. Because the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceitful man have been opened against me. They spoke against me with a deceitful tongue and surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without cause. In return for my loving them, they slandered me; but I was praying. Do you see wickedness carried out at length? Do you see the communion of treachery? Do you see the premeditated plan? For this especially provokes God, when those who proceed to do evil do so out of counsel, and deliberation, and much practice. For it is one thing to be overtaken and deceived and tripped up; it is another to make wickedness one’s work; and it is another, a greatest crime, when they also act wickedly against one who is not acting wickedly.
For the saying, In return for my loving them, they slandered me, shows nothing other than that, toward a benefactor, and one worthy of being loved and receiving good returns, they displayed the opposite. But I was praying. Do you see philosophy? Do you see gentleness? Do you see meekness? Do you see the piety of his soul? I was not arming myself, he says, nor was I setting myself in battle array, but I was taking refuge in You; I was calling upon Your alliance, Your inclination, the greatest weapon, the unconquerable help. Then, having spoken of the matters concerning Judas, how he condemned himself, how he passed the verdict of death upon himself, how he strangled himself, how his apostleship was transferred to another, he again holds to his former subject. For this, too, is a form of prophecy: to interrupt in the middle, to insert a historical account, and after having gone through this, to return again to the former things. For the prophecy has been obscured because of the ingratitude of the Jews. It hints, therefore, at someone—as I have already said—who plotted against the priesthood after the times of the return from Babylon. And those who are more studious know this, having gone through the history. C And he prophesies great evils for such a one: desolation of leaders; and he decrees that every harbor be closed to him, and that he obtain no patience, nor philanthropy, nor forgiveness.
These words, as I have already said and will not cease to say continuously, appear to be a curse; but they are a prophecy, showing how God is provoked when the priesthood is plotted against. Then he goes through the calamities literally, and says: 16. In return for the fact that he did not remember to show mercy. 17. And persecuted the poor and needy man, and the one pierced in heart, to kill him. This is the extreme of cruelty, this is total inhumanity, when someone not only plots against another, but also plots against the one who is able to soften one toward mercy and to incline one toward sympathy. For one who is such has slipped into the wildness of beasts, or rather, has become more savage than they. For in beasts, wildness is according to nature; but this man, honored with speech, betrayed his nobility for wickedness. And those creatures, D toward those of the same tribe and kin, have a certain friendship and gentleness; but these men did not even respect the community of nature; for him whom they ought to have pitied and sustained and raised up, they pushed down and overturned. 18. And he loved cursing, and it shall come to him; and he did not desire blessing, and it shall be far from him. Since he prayed for many calamities for him, he shows the beginning and cause of these things not to be from himself, but from that man.
by his deeds he repelled the impulse from God, but attracted the divinely sent wound. And he clothed himself with cursing as with a garment, and it entered like water into his inward parts, and like oil into his bones. A Here he shows both the vehemence of the wound and the stability of the punishment, indicating that evils befall all men from themselves and from the judgment of their own mind, since they reject goods by their deeds and actions, but throw themselves into punishments. *Let it be for him like a garment in which he is covered, and like a belt with which he is always girded.* He says this, showing the ineffable wrath of God which will pursue such men. And what he says is of this kind: Evils shall hold them so that they do not have even any change, but in them they will remain firm and stable. Then, showing that he punishes dishonesty and corrects wickedness, and that this sentence is to be decreed not only against him, but also against all who are liable to what is being said, he added: *This is the work of those who slander me before the Lord.* That is, this is the penalty, this is the punishment of those who oppose me, who plot against me, who wage war, *And who speak evil against my soul.* Therefore, punishments are exacted even for words, and the most bitter punishments. B
4. Having finished therefore the discourse concerning him, he flees again to God on behalf of the help for himself. Neither does he stop at the punishment of those who prepare plots, but showing that those who are treated badly have even God as an avenger for the injuries they receive, and obtain a firm and valid defense, he adds, saying: *But you, O Lord, deal with me for your name's sake.* See the grateful and pious spirit, see the humility. For although he had a sufficiently just cause for asking for help because he was suffering evils (for this can be seen in many places of the Scripture, that those who are unjustly mistreated by men have a just and honorable occasion for freely obtaining help from God), he, however, omitting to say this, flees to the sole clemency of God and says: *Deal with me for your name's sake,* saying almost this: Not because I am worthy, but for your own sake, since you are clement and merciful. And therefore he adds, *Because your mercy is sweet.* And he rightly said, *Because your mercy is sweet.* For men are often not of this kind: for they often use it to the detriment and destruction, but God always for utility. *Deliver me, for I am needy and poor, and my heart is troubled within me.* Do you see him pray again to be saved, not as one who is worthy, nor righteous, but as one who is completely overturned and worn out, as one who has suffered innumerable evils? *And my heart is troubled within me.* For such is the power of calamities: it does not vex the body alone, but also disturbs the soul. C *Like a shadow when it declines, I was taken away, I was shaken off like locusts.* He speaks of the vehement plots of those who brought injury upon him, as well as the ineffable malignancy, and again the diligence which he himself employed in them. *My knees are weakened by fasting, and my flesh is changed because of oil.* Do you see what weapons he prepares against the plots, and the affliction with which they vexed him? *They moved their heads.* Such are the minds of the wicked: not only do they not yield when they see the righteous man opposing piety and religion to them, but they even heap reproaches upon them, and mock and attack them. What then here? He flees to an impregnable aid, to an insurmountable help, saying: *Help me, O Lord, my God, and save me according to your mercy. And may they know that this is your hand, and you, O Lord, have done it.* What is, *This is your hand?* Your help. Your protection, he says. For I do not wish only to be saved, but also for them to know from whom I have been saved, so that it may be for me a double trophy, a double crown, immense glory. *They will curse, and you will bless. Let those who rise up against me be confounded, but your servant will rejoice.* He teaches the listener a certain philosophy here. For he shows that even if they devote with innumerable curses, if God blesses, he will receive no detriment from them, but reproaches and ignominies will be turned upon themselves. *But your servant will rejoice in you.* He rightly said, *In you*, indicating that joy proceeds from there, whence goods are supplied. It remains that no trouble can disturb me, since your joy remains intact for me. *Let those who slander me be clothed with shame, and be covered with their own confusion as with a double cloak.* See how he again prays, that they not only be handed over to punishment, but also to shame and ignominy, so that it may reach them as a lesson of correction, and an occasion of change for the better. *I will give great thanks to the Lord with my mouth, and in the midst of many I will praise him. Because he stood at the right hand of the poor, to save my soul from those who pursue it.* For all these things he remunerates God with hymns, with praise, with thanksgiving; by announcing his illustrious deeds before all, by preaching in the middle of the theater those things which were conferred by him. For this is a sacrifice, this is an offering, to have the benefits of God perpetually in memory, and to imprint them on one's mind, to preach with the mouth, and to make his benefits heard by many. For thus he who received the benefit will receive a reward for his grateful spirit, and will attract greater aid of God upon himself; and those who listen, from those things which were done for others, will turn out better, and will receive the greatest incentive for pursuing virtue from the benefits which were received by others.
IN PSALM CIX
The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand. For the psalm treats of very sublime matters, resisting not one heresy alone, but various and diverse ones. D For against the Jews, against Paul of Samosata, against the Arians, against the Marcionites, [index: entries preserved]
against the Manichaeans, and against all who disbelieve in the resurrection, the battle line is drawn. Since, therefore, the battle is against so many, we too need many eyes in order to observe the wrestling matches with precision. For in external contests, even if some points of the wrestling are missed, it does not harm the spectator; for that theater is gathered not for the sake of instruction, but of entertainment. A Here, however, if you do not know with precision from where he is arrayed and from where we strike him, you will suffer no small loss. In order, therefore, that you may not suffer this, rouse your mind and make your hearing attentive. We strike the Jews first, and we are arrayed against them, taking the prophet as an ally from these words. For when we say that these things were spoken plainly concerning Christ, they do not accept these, but fabricate others. Therefore, let us first refute their argument, and then demonstrate our own. And meanwhile let us ask them now, who is the Lord of this just one? For he said, he says, "The Lord said to my Lord." For he does not mention one person here, but one conversing with another. Whom, then, do they say is the one speaking? God. And the one hearing? Abraham. But others say Zerubbabel, and others another; just like those who are drunk, and speaking nothing that is coherent, or rather, just like those walking in the dark and bumping into one another. What then, tell me, is Zerubbabel the Lord of David? And how could that be logical, B when he himself is called David for the sake of great honor? And the following things show that nothing has been said here about Zerubbabel, nor about David; for none of them was honored with the priesthood; but here it is said about someone holding a strange and paradoxical priesthood. "For you," he says, "are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (v. 4). But for now, let us unfold the present. For they also say other things more stale than these, saying that these things were spoken about the people; but neither did the people become a priest, nor could the other things that have been said ever suit them. Wherefore, passing over this too as stale, and as something not needing much preparation for its overthrow, let us bring into the middle another thing that they say. For what do others say again? That the servant of Abraham says these things about his own master. And what could be more stale than this again? For what does the servant of Abraham want here? And where has his master become a priest, who himself used the priest Melchizedek and sought the blessings from him? C And how could it be logical for it to be said about Abraham, "From the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten you?" And how could these things suit David, or Zerubbabel, or the people? For the thing said is above human nature. And the phrase, "Sit at my right hand," what interpretation could it have, if those persons are the subjects? Not one. And how did he say to Abraham, "Sit at my right hand," who considers even standing before the angels to be worthy of the greatest honor? But what is their wise argument? And how, he says, do you introduce another Lord, when the Scripture expressly says: "The Lord your God is one Lord, and you shall worship him alone, and besides him there is no God" (Deut. 6:4, 13, and c. 4:35)? D To whom, then, tell me, is this said? Especially those things are spoken to your own ungratefulness, O Jew. For why was nothing of the sort said to Abraham, nor to Isaac, nor to Jacob, nor to Moses, but to you alone, when you went out of Egypt and made a calf? For what reason, tell me? If you yourself are at a loss, learn the cause from me. Because when you went out you made a calf, and were initiated into Beel-Peor (Num. 25), and were enthralled by the crowd of gods, introducing that lawless polytheism, [God] placed the word "one" to repress your disease, in opposition to those who are not gods, not to the rejection of the Only-Begotten. For why was it said immediately in the prologue: "Let us make man in our image and likeness" (Gen. 1:26)? And again: "Come, let us descend and confuse their languages" (Gen. 11:7)? And again David: "Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions" (Ps. 44:8). But if Moses says, "The Lord your God is one Lord," your weakness was the cause of these things. And why do you wonder if this happened in matters of dogma, where even in practical affairs God led the discourse from the more perfect to the lesser, condescending to our weakness? For this reason, he permitted one to cast out a wife, and another to bring one in, not having legislated so from the beginning (Deut. 24). And he made many distinctions regarding foods, even though he had said the opposite from the beginning, that "I have given all things to you as the green herbs of the field" (Gen. 9:3). And he placed many laws regarding place, not allowing prayers to be performed everywhere, even though he had not legislated even this from the beginning. But he appeared to Abraham in the Persian region, and in Palestine, and everywhere; and to Moses after this in the desert.
2. What then, he says, does Scripture fight against itself? Far from it; but it ordains each thing in time according to what is profitable, correcting the weakness of each generation. For this very reason it was said to you: "The Lord your God is one Lord." But that he also has a Son, the prophets laid up beforehand in their books, and they did not speak so very plainly, so as not to harm your weakness; nor did they conceal it, so as to give you [the opportunity] to recover after these things, and to gather the dogmas of the truth from your own books. Thus we shall especially be able to show that the prophets were prophets, when we converse with the Greeks, and we shall demonstrate the Old Testament to be highly credible. For if you remove this, how will you close the mouth of the Greek? For what will you say? The exodus from Egypt, and the things prophesied to you? But he will not accept them readily. But if you relate the things said about Christ in the Old Testament, and show the truth of the events testifying to the outcome of the prophecy, he will not even be able to resist. But if you take hold of our things, O Jew, how will you make a defense for the Old Testament? And if someone says to you, from where are the things of Moses true, what will you say? That we believed them. Therefore, all the more so our own; for truly...
we have believed. And you indeed are one nation, but we are the whole world; and Moses did not persuade you as Christ has persuaded us. The things of yours have ceased, but ours stand firm. A Or perhaps from the prophecies? But there are more among us. If you take away our own, you cast a shadow over yours. Or from the signs? But you indeed cannot show any sign of Moses: for it happened, and passed away. We, however, have many and diverse signs of Christ, which are happening even now, and prophecies brighter than the sun. Or from the laws? But ours contain more wisdom. But what is this? Did you depart while the Egyptians were hindering you? But it is not the same to have conquered a world at war as it is to have overcome only the Egyptians. And I say these things, not to pit the Old [Testament] against the New; heaven forbid! but because I wish to stop the mouths of ungrateful Jews. For both these and those were given and brought to pass by the same God. But I wish to prove this: that the Jew, by removing the prophecies regarding Christ, overturns the greatest part of the prophecies, and cannot clearly demonstrate the nobility of the Old, unless he admits the New. B And that these things were not said about a mere man, and from the fact that it is said, *Sit at my right hand*, and that he is named Lord just as that Lord who speaks, and that he is begotten from the womb *before the morning star*, and from the fact that he is a priest *according to the order of Melchizedek*, and from the fact that it is said, *With thee is the beginning*, is clear to those who have understanding.
Against Paul of Samosata and against the Arians
But if another Jew rises up before us again wearing the mask of a Christian—Paul of Samosata, I mean—it is possible indeed to speak against him from the New [Testament] as well. But lest we seem to have left the present matters to move to another part of the battle-line, let us attack him from this side also. What, then, does he say? He is, he says, a man only: and from the time he was born of Mary, from that time alone he exists. Tell me, then, I ask, what will you say to that saying which holds: *From the womb before the morning star I have begotten thee*? C It is necessary for us to say to those who have sprung from him the same things that were spoken against the Jews. Nor are we the cause, but they themselves, who have a great kinship of dogmas with them; whence we shall use these same weapons against them. For it is necessary to strike those who are waging war in a similar way with the same missiles. What, then, does the fellowship of the throne mean? For here is shown the equality of honor, which is enough to stop the mouth of the Arians. And therefore, Christ, against the Jews who said that Christ was the son of David, subjoined: *How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand*? (Matt. 22:43–44). Paul, moreover, discussing the dispensation later (Heb. 7), and interpreting it more openly, strikes a lethal blow to Marcion and Manichaeus, and to all those who suffer from a similar disease; for he interprets with the prudence that is due how he was a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. D Let us, however, return to the matter at hand. *The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand.* Have you seen the equality of honor? For where there is a throne, there is a sign of royalty; and where there is one throne, there is an equality of honor of the same royal power. Therefore, Paul also said: *Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.* But to the Son: *Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever* (Heb. 1:7–8). Thus also Daniel sees the whole creation indeed standing by, both angels and archangels, but the Son of Man coming upon the clouds, and arriving even to the *Ancient of Days* (Dan. 7). But if some are offended by the fact that we speak thus, let them hear that he sits at the right hand, and let them cease being offended. For just as we do not say he is greater than the Father because he sits at the right hand, which is a most honorable seat, so neither should you say he is lesser and inferior, but equal and of the same honor. For that is what the fellowship of the sitting signifies. *Until I put thine enemies as thy footstool.* And who are the enemies? Hear Paul saying: *Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's at his coming, then the end. For he must reign until he hath put all his enemies under his feet.*
The agreement and concord of the prophetic and apostolic words
For there he says: *Until I put thine enemies as thy footstool*; 253 but here: *Until he hath put all his enemies.* But neither is that *until* there, nor this *until* here, a limit of time. For how would that prophetic word stand which says: *His power is an everlasting power, and his kingdom a kingdom that shall not pass away, and of his kingdom there shall be no end* (Dan. 7:14; Luc. 1:33), if he is to reign only until those times? Do you see that one must not attend only to the words, but must ascend to the understanding? You, however, when you hear the prophet saying that the Father puts [them] under his feet, do not be disturbed by this. For these things were not said because the Son is weak. For Paul shows that the Son puts the enemies under his feet, saying: *For he must reign until he hath put his enemies under his feet* (1 Cor. 15:25). And again, he attributes the whole to him as well, saying: *When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father, when he shall have abolished all power and authority* (Ibid. v. 24). That is to say, when he shall have rightly administered the kingdom, he will cause every power to cease. For that is what *shall have abolished* signifies. But that he says the whole is his, does not separate the Father from him, just as he does not divide the Son from the Father. For the things which are His are His [the other's], and those which are His are His. And therefore he says: *All mine are thine, and thine are mine* (John 17:10). When, therefore, you shall hear that the Father has subjected, do not think that the Son is separated from that glorious feat; and if you understand that the Son has subjected, do not say that the Father is a stranger to these things. For the things which are done beautifully and gloriously are common, just as all works are common.This verse, "The rod of thy strength," etc., is explained anagogically regarding Christ. The cross of Christ is the rod
2. *The Lord shall send forth the rod of thy strength out of Sion.* By the rod of strength he means the power. And he mentions Sion, because he received the beginning of his achievements from there. For there he gave the law, therehe performed the miracles; from there A the preaching that began was extended throughout the whole world. But if you wish to accept what is said by way of anagogy, hear Paul saying: *But you are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an assembly of the firstborn.* (Heb. 12: 22). *The Lord will send the rod of thy strength out of Sion.* The rod is at times chastising and beneficial, at other times consolatory, and a symbol of royalty. And that it is both, hear the Prophet saying: *Thy rod and thy staff they have comforted me.* (Ps. 22: 4). And again: *Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.* (Ps. 2: 9). And Paul: *What will you? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?* (1 Cor. 4: 21)? You saw how it is of chastisement; see how it is also of royalty. For Isaiah says: *And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise out of his root* (Is. 11: 1). And David: *Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.* (Ps. 44: 7). He called the power here a rod, with which the disciples ran around the world, correcting morals and leading human nature from a certain mindless vice to a reasoned one. For *going*, he says, *teach all nations.* (Matt. 28: 19). Moses also had a rod, but having received the operation of God, through which he worked in all things. And that one indeed divided rivers, but this one shattered the impiety of the world. Nor would anyone be wrong to call the cross a rod of power. For this rod turned back land and sea, and filled them with great power. With this rod the apostles went forth into every part of the world, and performed all those things. Bearing this, they accomplished everything, having taken their beginning from Jerusalem. *And rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.* See a prophecy shining brighter than the sun. And what is this, *Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies?* Instead of, in the midst of Greeks, in the midst of Jews. For thus were the Churches planted in the midst of cities; thus did they prevail and overcome. This is the proof of the brilliant victory: to have raised up altars in the midst of enemies, to be as sheep in the midst of wild beasts, and lambs among wolves. This is what he said, sending them: *Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves* (Matt. 10: 16); which is not less than the former miracle. For to have prevailed while being hemmed in is not less than, being in the order of sheep, to overcome wolves; but it is even much greater, and that being twelve in number they drew the world to themselves. *And rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.* He did not say, Conquer in the midst of thine enemies, but, Rule, in order to show that the trophy was not achieved through battle, but the dominion through command. For thus the apostles held sway, having Christ in themselves, as if doing all things by command. Whence also every house was opened to them, and those who believed obeyed more readily than any slave, selling their belongings and laying the prices B at the feet of the apostles, not even daring to take for their own need; so greatly did they magnify them, that they did not even dare to attach themselves to them.
4. And they had not only such power over the faithful, but also over the infidels. For tell me, what is the proof of a slave? Is it not to do what his master commands? And what is the sign of a master? Is it not to accomplish among his slaves what he himself wishes? Who, then, were those who accomplished what they wished upon the kings and rulers of that time? Were they not the apostles? It is evident. For the kings and rulers wished to keep the world in impiety, and commanded [the people] to worship demons; but the apostles [willed] the opposite, and their will was done. But if you speak to me of the prison, and the lashes, and the tortures, you tell me of greater dominion. How and in what way? Because even when these things were happening, their will was done. For they did not obtain this dominion by the law of the many masters, but by virtue, which requires nothing from outside, but shines while being C plotted against by all. For those masters were often destroyed by the slaves who plotted against them, since that dominion was incomplete and very weak; but this one they were unable to extinguish, but by plotting against it, they showed it shining all the more. Who, then, would be a more brilliant master: he who needs countless aids in order to rule his servants, or he who is free of all those, and leads and carries his subjects with authority? It is evident that it is the latter. For those masters of much dominion, if they do not have the laws helping them, and the advantage of living in cities, often lose their lives along with their dominion; but Paul displayed his sovereignty even in wildernesses and everywhere. Do you wish also to see him more brilliant than kings? He introduced laws everywhere in the world, and people, abandoning the laws of kings, obeyed his writings. Besides, the former ruled bodies, but the latter souls. Who, then, was ever such a slave to a master, or a subject who obeyed a king with such goodwill, as the faithful were to Paul when he merely wrote to them? What can one say of their longing, their zeal for him, where they were even ready to gouge out their eyes (Gal. 4: 15)? Who ever acquired servants such as these? Reflecting on all these things, the Prophet—how they brought the faithful into submission, how they were fearful to the infidels, pressing them with might, and how through them Christ prevailed—did not say simply, Rule in the midst of thine enemies, but *Rule thou* (katakyrieue), signifying the intense dominion. And seeing these things, the enemies could do nothing, even though they had the laws with them, and executioners, and all authority. But these men were more powerful because of Him who dwelt within them. He ruled through them; He did not simply rule, but *He ruled* (katekyrieuse); for He prevailed intensely. Through Him who was in them, they were even bold against fire and iron, and beasts, and everything else. For Christ was with them in all things, and they, struggling as if in bodies not their own, and having been freed from all the painful things in this life, thus rejoiced, and thus exulted, and D
did not spare their money, nor their bodies, nor their lives. And these things, indeed, were done by those who were once enemies and adversaries; yet the invincible power of Christ not only freed them from enmity but even brought them to such servitude and such intimate association. Wherefore, even if it be said that the Father puts his enemies under his feet, it is not said in such a way, as I have said, as though the Son were doing nothing—for the entire work was accomplished by the Only-Begotten—but rather, as I have said before, so that you might understand that the Father and the Son are one God, with the property of each being preserved, and that you might not imagine that there are two unbegotten beings. For consider from the things that have already been done that every work is his; and do not understand the statements merely in a human way, for a great absurdity would follow. But that you may also learn, listen to what I am about to say. Among men, some indeed become friends who were formerly enemies, while others still remain enemies. But that he himself made enemies into friends, Paul also signifies by saying: "When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father" (1 Cor. 15:24); and the Savior also signifies this, saying to the Father: "I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do" (John 17:4). Now to subject the enemies was the work of the Father; and yet the latter is greater than the former. For it is not the same thing to punish those who remain enemies and to make those who are enemies into friends. But the Son is not for this reason less than the Father, nor is the Father for this reason less than the Son. But that you may know that those things also are the Son's, just as these are the Father's, listen: "Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). And he who sends the angels to gather up the tares is the Only-Begotten, and we see him everywhere punishing the devil (Matt. 13:30). The demons themselves also confess this, saying: "Are you come here before the time to torment us?" (Matt. 8:29). So that even if the things that are done are said to be done by the Father, they are nevertheless the works of the Son. But that the works of the Son are also the Father's, listen again to him saying: "No man can come to me, except the Father who has sent me, draw him" (John 6:44). And again: "No man comes to the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). These things, therefore, are not to be interpreted in a human way. For that [passage], "Thy enemies," is also to be understood in this way, not as signifying that they are his enemies alone. For "he who does not honor the Son," he says, "does not honor the Father" (John 5:23); so that they are also the Father's enemies. On account of this, he also brought destruction upon them, and razed their city, and overturned it to its foundations, even if not immediately after the cross, and he gave them a long time for repentance, if only they were willing to come to their senses, and he sent the apostles, so that when they had learned his power through them, even if late, they might eventually turn. But since their disease was incurable, he brought the climax of evils upon them; calling them to repentance once more by this very means, that when they had fallen from their former mode of government, they might perhaps be led to the truth, even by necessity itself, when they see him whom they subjected to reproaches and injuries being worshipped everywhere, and all their own affairs wretchedly collapsed. And when they had not become better even so, then at last, as those to whom no excuse remains, they will be cast down into immortal punishment. When, however, you hear "footstool," do not think he refers to anything sensible, but to the subjection itself. And that he subjects them to him is clear from what follows; for because there is one throne, there is also one footstool.
The Princeliness of the Only-Begotten. Christ’s Principality is Eternal.
Since he said above, "Until I make your enemies your footstool," lest anyone should think the Son weak, and having need of operation, just as any one of the apostles might, listen to how he brings a remedy for this suspicion, saying: "With you is the principality in the day of your power." What is, "With you is the principality"? In you, he says, is the principality, which did not accrue to you later, but is in you eternally: which Isaiah also similarly signifying said: "Whose principality is upon his shoulder" (Isa. 9:6); that is, in him, in his substance, in his nature—which indeed does not exist in kings. For their principality is in a multitude of troops, which was not the case with the apostles. For the principality of them, too, was established through power brought to them from without; but he himself had the principality in his nature, in his substance, as one who did not receive it after he was generated, nor possess it as something brought in from the outside or adventitious, but he was generated in this way. And therefore, when questioned about the kingdom also, he said: "For this I was born, and for this I came—with you is the principality in the day of your power" (John 18:37). But "With you is the principality" signifies not only these things just said, but also other things, namely that his principality is not in another, but is eternal and immortal. For humans often abandon their principality, at least while they live—and if not while they live, certainly when they die; indeed, what is more, it is not even with them while they live, but, as I have already said, in armies, and satellites, and bodyguards, in a great store of money, in the circuit of walls, and in all other things: but in God it is not only not so, but it is in him, and it is eternal; and just as it is impossible that his substance should not exist, so also it is impossible that his kingdom should not. "In the day of your power." You may call the day of power both the day that has already passed, and the day that is to come. For in both, the greatest power is demonstrated. Or does it not seem to you to be a greatest argument of power, when by death death is destroyed, when bronze gates are broken, when sin is abolished, when the curse is dissolved, when all ancient evils are overturned, and other new good things are introduced? For what can be compared with this power, whether you consider the miracles or the most beautiful deeds? The dead were raised, lepers were cleansed, demons were cast out, the sea was bridled, sin was forgiven, the paralyzed were made strong, paradise was opened, stones were split, C the veil was rent, the rays of the sun D
were turned back, A and darkness covered the whole world; the bodies of the sleeping saints were raised, the thief returned to his ancient homeland, the arches of heaven were opened, and nature, which had been trodden down, was lifted up above the heaven of heavens to the heights; and, what is greater than this, seated on a royal throne, with angels and powers standing by Him, all wickedness was driven away, virtue was restored, the grace of the Spirit was given; fishermen, publicans, and tentmakers stopped the mouths of philosophers, turned back the tongues of orators, and overthrew the tyranny of demons. Altars, temples, festivals, and Greek public gatherings were dissolved; the savor and smoke and all unholy sacrifices were forcefully driven away; soothsayers, wonder-workers, augurs, and all the workshop of the devil fled; churches blossomed everywhere in the world, choirs of virgins were organized, orders of monastics, andとともに with the cities, the desert was filled with piety; and choirs of righteous and holy men, standing by the heavenly powers of the angels, echoed them in melody; and throngs of martyrs and crowds of confessors were planted everywhere in the world. Virtue was attained with great ease, the nations of the barbarians were trained to philosophize, and those more savage than wild beasts displayed a zeal to rival the angelic way of life; and as far as the sun looks upon the land, so far did the word run after the cross and the resurrection. B Considering all these things, the Prophet said: *With thee is the beginning in the day of thy power*.
6. If you desire to see the future day as well, and to learn how that day is also of His power, consider how great a thing it is to see the heaven being furled like a scroll, and all of corrupted nature rising again, and everyone standing at His nod; the devil put to shame, demons bowing their heads, the righteous being crowned, each one giving an account of his transgressions, receiving the prizes for their good deeds, and another state of life coming into being. For there is no more death, sickness, or old age; no more poverty, injustices, or plots; no more houses, cities, crafts, or voyages; no more clothing, food, drink, roofs, beds, tables, or lamps; no more plots, wars, or law courts; no more marriages, delivery pains, or births; but all these things are dissolved and swept away like dust, and another better state of life is given, with much power granted to the body, incorruptibility, and immortality. C This is what Paul also meant when he said: *For the fashion of this world passes away*. If you do not believe what is said because you do not see these things present, take the proof for what is to come from what is present. Traverse in your mind the whole world: the land, the sea, Greece, the barbarian lands, the inhabited world, the uninhabited, the cities on the earth, the islands in the sea, the mountains, and the glens; and having seen the power of Christ shining everywhere, and everyone proclaiming the honorable name, reflect with yourself that He who was able to do such things is the same One who promised the things to come.
If you would like to take proof from a part of it, consider why the whole world runs together to see a tomb that does not contain a body; what power draws those from the ends of the earth so that they may see where He was born, where He was buried, and where He was crucified? Consider the cross itself, of what power it is a sign. For this cross before this was an accursed death, a shameful death, a death the most disgraceful of all. But behold, now it has become more honorable than life itself, and more brilliant than diadems, and we all carry it on our foreheads, not only not ashamed of it, but even glorying in it. It is not only private citizens, but those who wear diadems who bear it on their foreheads above their diadems, and very reasonably so; for it is better than a thousand diadems. D For the diadem adorns the head, but the cross secures the mind. This is an averter of demons, this is the diadem that destroys the diseases of the soul; this is a weapon unconquered, this is an impregnable wall; this is a security that cannot be overcome: it dissolves not only the incursions of barbarians and the raids of enemies, but also the phalanxes of the savage demons themselves. *In the brightness of the saints*. Another version: *In the beauty of the holy ones*. Another: *In the glory of the saints*. He still discourses concerning the day, both the present and the future. By "brightness" here he refers to the beauty of the saints. For what is more brilliant than Paul? What more conspicuous than Peter? Who ran through the world shining brighter than the sun, casting the seeds of piety? As angels descended from heaven, so were they inaccessible to all. Showing this, he who composed the book of Acts said that no one dared to cleave to them. For their garments were full of great grace, and the shadows of their bodies displayed great power. If they were such even here, consider with me concerning that day, when they shall receive incorruptible bodies, when they shall be immortal, when they outshine all visible brightness—who will these be, as well as the prophets and apostles, the righteous, the martyrs, the confessors, and all who have distinguished themselves in the excellent way of life and in the faith in Christ? Consider for me those crowds, the lamps, the rays, the glory, the beauty, the splendor, the festival. Who shall portray these things? No human word; but experience alone will clearly teach those worthy of this vision that brightness. For I think it happens as if many suns shone above the heaven, or as if there were continuous lightnings; or rather, whatever I might say in a struggle to portray that beauty, I shall not be able to speak worthily. For all these examples are corporeal; but the brightness and the glory that is then about to shine there will shine forth above any such beauty. For not only will the bodies be incorruptible, nor only immortal, but...
then they will also be clothed with unspeakable glory. A *In the splendors of the saints.* In order to show that He is not only terrible, He shows His gentleness and beneficence, saying: *In the splendors of the saints.* And this is of His power, to make them so radiant; which Paul also, signifying, said: *Who shall transform the body of our humility, that we may be made like to the body of His glory* (Philip. 3:21).
B And since He had said great and ineffable things, He added: *According to the operation whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself.* Do not ask, he says, how, or in what manner. He is able to do whatever He wills. Why, then, did He not say "In the splendor of the saints," but *In the splendors*? Because the rewards are many and diverse. For *one is the glory of the sun, and another the glory of the moon, and another the glory of the stars. For star differeth from star in glory, so also shall the resurrection of the dead be* (1 Cor. 15:41). And Christ says: *In my Father's house there are many mansions* (John 14:2). Therefore that splendor has no end; for it does not yield to night, nor does it give place to darkness, but being great, ineffable, and surpassing even this which is seen, it has also this greatest quality, that it does not receive an ending—which is indeed a property of the power of the ineffable King, that He should have brought bodies that were subject to destruction and decay into such power and strength. Then, because He had said certain great things and raised the hearer up with hopes, He shows that these things also happen by right, because He who does these things is of such a kind and so great. Who, then, is He who does these things? He who is of the same substance with the Father. For, signifying this, he added: *From the womb before the daystar I begat Thee.* C These words, *Before the daystar I begat Thee*, are said concerning the eternal generation of Christ. But those who twist these words according to their own opinion contend that these things were said concerning the generation of the flesh. How then, tell me, I pray, *Before the daystar*? He thus designated the night in which He was born; for He was born before the dawn. But this is not to say what is being sought, nor did He say this for the sake of history; and otherwise they cannot show that what the evangelists taught was said by the prophets, who for the most part speak in obscurities. Therefore, this *Before the daystar* does not mean before the rising of the daystar, but before the nature, before the daystar was made. For Scripture is accustomed to distinguish these matters when it says, "before the nature," and when, "before the operation"; as when it says: *We must prevent the sun to give Thee thanks* (Wisd. 16:28); and to speak to You before the rising of the light. For here it says "the morning." It did not say, "Before the sun," but, "Before the rising"; not "Before the nature"—for nothing was made before the nature of the sun—but, "Before the rising of the sun," to signify the dawn. But elsewhere when it says, "Before His nature," it does not say "Before the rising," but "Before the sun"; as when it says: *His name continues before the sun, and before the moon unto generations of generations* (Ps. 71:17). D Just as therefore it is one thing, "Before the sun," and another, "Before the rising of the sun"—for the latter signifies the operation of the sun and the morning, while the former signifies the nature—so also here, if He had wished to signify the night, He would not have said, *Before the daystar*, but "Before the rising of the daystar." And otherwise, Christ also received this Psalm not concerning the economy of human flesh, but concerning the generation through the Spirit. For when He had said to the Jews: *What think you of Christ? Whose son is he?* after they said, "David's," He added the Psalm, saying: *How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?* (Matt. 22:42-45). What then is it that is said? He shows here a true and genuine generation. What then? Is He only before the daystar? By no means. For He says also elsewhere: *Before the moon is His throne.* And not only before the moon; for concerning the Father He also says: *Before the mountains were brought forth, and the earth and the world were formed, from everlasting and to everlasting Thou art* (Ps. 89:2). Not only from the everlasting, but also before the everlasting; for it is not "until the everlasting," but unto infinity. But do not be offended at the expressions, but receive the understanding that befits God. See, however, the wisdom of the prophet. Beginning the Psalm, he did not start from these words: *From the womb before the daystar I begat Thee*; but when he had first shown His illustrious deeds, and had proclaimed Him through His works, afterwards in its proper place he showed His dignity. Thus even He Himself said: *If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though you will not believe me, believe the works* (John 10:37); so that when you have learned that this is He who sits at the right hand of the Father, who is called Lord as having the Father with Him who has the sovereignty, who effects such splendor, who obtains dominion among the nations, may you not be disturbed if you hear Him being the Son even before the entire creation. By right, however, the prophet is to be admired, how he speaks those things from the person of God, but these things here from his own person. For the words, *Sit on my right hand*, and, *From the womb before the daystar I begat Thee*, which surpassed him in loftiness, introduce God Himself speaking, but the other things he relates himself. See, however, with what propriety of diction he uses. For it would have been enough to say, "I begat Thee"; but because of those who creep on the ground, that He might show the true generation, he makes mention of this expression also. And as when he says "hand," he does not mean it in order that we might suspect it to be a hand, but in order that we might understand the creating power, so also he makes mention of a "womb," that he might show the generation to be true.
If one wished to construct the prophecy in the manner of a judge, he directs the discourse to Himself, which indeed was of most vehement love and signal joy and of a soul that was occupied by the divine Spirit. 4. *The Lord hath sworn, and He will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech.* You see how he brought the discourse down to that which is lower, now discoursing about the divinity, now about the humanity, which the evangelists also do, that on both sides the perfection of the dogmas might be preserved. And why did he say, *According to the order of Melchisedech*? Both because of the sacraments, because he also offered bread and wine to Abraham; and because this priesthood is...
A end-less, just as Paul says, and without beginning. For what he had in shadows, that has come to pass in truth in Jesus; and just as names went before, such as Jesus, such as Christ, so too this. Therefore, Melchisedech appears to have neither beginning of days nor end of life, not by not having them, but by not being genealogized. But Jesus had neither beginning of days nor end of life, not in this manner, but because there is no temporal beginning for him at all, nor any end. For the one was shadow, the other truth. Just as, when you hear "Jesus," you do not suspect the true Jesus, but receive only the archetype of the name, and seek nothing further; so too, when you hear that Melchisedech is without beginning and without end, do not seek him in the reality of things, but be satisfied with the name alone, and discern the truth in Christ.
When you hear "oath," do not think it is an oath. For just as when "anger" is spoken of regarding God, it is not anger, but a punitive aspect, and it is not a passion; so too it is not an oath. For God does not swear, but speaks what will most certainly come to pass. Having said, therefore, the splendor of the saints, the placing of his enemies under his feet, the day of his power, he says the present things as well. And see what order he employs in discourse, softening the hard hearer. For having first terrified him with the discourse on judgment, and softened his resistance, he thus introduces the discourse on present things. For this reason he makes such a mixture. But observe: *Until I set your enemies as a footstool for your feet.* This concerns future things; then the present: *The Lord will send the rod of your power from Sion; and rule in the midst of your enemies*; then the future: *With you is the power in the day of your splendor among the saints.* Then again the present, no longer having punishment, but benefit: *You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech.* For this is the removal of sin, and reconciliation with God.
Then, having remained on these things as much as he wished, he again touches upon the economy, turning the discourse to what is more humble, and saying: *The Lord is at your right hand.* Yet above he said that he sits at the right hand of the Father. Do you see how one must not merely cling to the phrasing? What is, *The Lord is at your right hand*? Since he touched upon the economy, he transfers the discourse to the flesh which receives assistance. For he is seen in agony, and sweating, and so sweating as to shed clots of blood, and being strengthened. For such is the nature of the flesh. *He will crush kings in the day of his wrath.* One would not err by saying this also concerning the present, those who rise up against the Church, and concerning those who will give an account for what they have sinned and practiced impiety in the future. *He will judge among the nations, he will fill with ruins.* What is, *He will judge among the nations*? He will pass judgment, he says, he will condemn the demons. And that he did judge, hear Christ saying: *Now is the judgment of this world; now the prince of this world shall be cast out.* And elsewhere: *And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men to myself.* And if he has used a more sensory expression, do not stumble. For this is the custom of Scripture. *He will crush heads over the earth of many.* If you wish to receive this according to anagoge, one might say that he will overthrow arrogance; but if also perceptibly, then the Jewish calamity, which he destroyed completely with great force.
*He shall drink from the brook in the way.* Here he shows the humility of his lifestyle, the poverty of his conduct, that he accomplished these things not by exulting, nor having bodyguards, nor being draped in any perceptible displays of power, but living a simple life, and such a one as to drink from a brook. For as was his table, so was his drink. The table was barley bread, the drink water from the brook. For he came to teach this philosophical lifestyle: to control the stomach, to trample on display, to turn away from pride. Then, showing the profit of this life, he added: *Therefore he shall lift up his head.* For this is the fruit of humility and a hard life. B
9. These things are not said concerning his divinity, but concerning the flesh that drank from the brook, which was exalted. For not only did this poverty not harm it at all, but it even led it up to ineffable height. You too, therefore, O beloved, having these examples, discount the life that is inflamed and full of displays, and pursue the poor and simple one, if you wish to be brilliant and great. For your Master came for this very reason, to teach you this path. For this reason the prophet, having spoken of his accomplishments, added this very thing, as if to say: "Having heard of victory and trophies, do not hope to see weapons and soldiers, and chariots, and horses, and cavalry, and men-at-arms, and disturbances, and uproars." So humble is he who accomplishes these things, so restrained, as to drink water from a brook; and yet such a one as this will accomplish all these things. Let them hear who have the Sybaritic tables, and the food, and who devise every sort of seasoning, and collect from everywhere various types of cooks, and enlist sailors and captains and rowers so that they might bring in strange types of wine and perfumes and the rest of the stupidity, and sink themselves into that very abyss, and become more base than all. For having many needs is not accustomed to make one elevated, nor is it base to be in need of few things. And if you wish, let us fashion the likeness of each; and let there be one having many people providing from every direction, and sailors and captains, and craftsmen and servants, and weavers and embroiderers, and herdsmen and shepherds, and grooms and horse-keepers, and let him have much attendance in everything; and let another enjoy none of these, but only bread and water and a simple garment: who is the elevated one in these cases? And who is the humble one? Is it not clear that it is the one who has only the garment? For this one will be able to despise even the one who is king; but that one is a slave to all those who provide these things, cringing, fawning, serving all, fearing lest someone, by leaving him, might harm him in essential matters; for nothing makes one a slave as much as needing many things; just as, conversely, nothing makes one free as much as needing only the essentials. This applies also to...
and requires only that. This same thing may be seen in the brutes. For what does it profit an ass laden with burdens, even if he enjoys them a thousand times over? And what harm is there to another, free from all these things, if necessary sustenance is provided? Therefore, Christ invested his own disciples with high spirits, as those who were about to speak to the whole world, and freed them from all cares, making them winged and rendering them more constant than any adamant. For nothing adds such strength to the soul as being free from these: nothing enervates it so much as being bound and held by them. For just as it is not possible to find sorrow here quickly, so neither can you find pleasure there. The former has many savage and inhuman masters and mistresses; but the latter serves no one, yet commands everyone, enjoying the rays of the sun in security, enjoying the breeze of the air with pleasure, and having no one to cause him annoyance. Neither anger, nor envy, nor jealousy vexes and agitates him; cares do not consume him, nor contentions, nor vain glory, nor pride, nor anything else of this kind; but as a quiet harbor, free from waves, so settled is his soul, and he travels the road to heaven easily, as one whom no present thing hinders. So that we too may enjoy this security, and obtain tranquility in the present life, and ease in our pilgrimage, let us pursue this path, so that we may also reach the eternal goods, which surpass all reason, mind, and thought, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and empire unto ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CX
A1. What is, *In whole*? With all alacrity of mind and diligently, free from all cares of worldly things, sublime and erect, the soul freed from the chains of the body. *In heart*. Not in words only, nor in tongue and mouth alone, but with mind and thought. Thus also Moses, giving the law, said: *You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your mind* (Deut. 6:5). By confession here, it seems to me, he means thanksgiving. I will praise, he says, I will give thanks. For he consumed his whole life in this; from this he begins, and in this he ends; this was his work perpetually: to give thanks for the benefits which both he and others had received. For God asks for nothing as much as this; this is sacrifice, this is offering, this is the sign of a pious and grateful mind, this is the wound that strikes the devil; hence the blessed Job was crowned and proclaimed, because although countless temptations were brought upon him, and his wife also wished to trip him up, he was not turned away, but gave thanks to the Lord for all things perpetually, not only when he was rich but also when he was poor (Job 1:21): not only when he was healthy, but also when he was struck in his flesh; not only when all things succeeded according to his mind, but also when that grave storm settled upon his entire house, and upon the very nature of his body. For this is the mark of a grateful soul above all, to have great thanks perpetually to God in adverse and harsh affairs. B Indeed, he himself also hinting at this, declared it by the things that follow. For because many men, while affairs are indeed merry, give thanks; if it happens otherwise, they bear it ill: there are even those who censure the things that happen: showing that this does not come from the nature of the things that occur, but from a depraved mind, he subjoined, saying: *In the counsel of the just and the congregation, great are the works of the Lord.* This he said, showing that the work needs an upright judge and an uncorrupted assembly, and it will be clear that the works of God are great and full of great miracle. For they are great in themselves, and yet they do not seem great, unless they have a right judge. For *the sun* also is by itself bright and luminous, and illuminates the whole world: but to those whose eyes are suffering, it is not such. And yet the sun is not in fault, but it is the vice of their own weakness. Therefore, when you see someone accusing the works of God, do not, because of his wickedness, slander the works of God; but take his dementia as the greatest proof of God's providence. For just as he who calls the sun dark has not disparaged the star, but has brought forth a certain argument of his own blindness: and he who calls honey bitter does not obscure its sweetness, but passes judgment on the disease from which he suffers: so also he who censures the works of God. C And just as this man brings no detriment either to those things, or to the reputation held of them, but rather argues his own madness to the maximum: so those who do not have a right judgment of the works of God do not know even the miracles that have been done; just as, on the contrary, if anyone is of an equal and not depraved mind, he will be stupified at each one of those things which seem to be difficult. For what, I ask, of the things that happen is not admirable? If you wish, however, leaving others aside, let us come to those which seem to many to be troublesome and grave, death, disease, poverty, and whatever things are of this kind. For if anyone will be of a right heart, he will not receive them with difficulty, but will marvel. For even if death entered through sin (Rom. 5:12), nevertheless, such is the abundance of God, and his philanthropy, and his care in excess, that he has converted it to the utility of our race. For what grave thing, tell me, I ask, does death have? Does it not set free from labors? Does it not snatch away from cares? Do you not hear Job praising it, and saying: *Death is rest to a man, whose way is hidden* (Job 3:23)? Does it not rescind vice? For even if someone were evil, with his death, vice has been cut off: *For he who is dead, is justified from sin* (Rom. 6:7). But if he be good, when he has passed on, all his virtue will be placed in safety, and stored in the safest treasury. Does it not, tell me, I ask, render the living more modest and temperate? D Do you not often see rich men who swell with pride, and lift their eyebrows, when at a funeral they see the body lying lifeless and motionless, and the children in orphanage, the wife in widowhood, and the friends in mourning, and the servants clad in black garments, and finally the sad and lugubrious appearance of the whole house; how they are...
constrained, how they are humbled, how they are crushed? For, having enjoyed myriads of instructions and having gained nothing from them, suddenly, from that sight, they become philosophers, learning the cheap and transitory nature of human existence, the fragile and unstable state of their own authority, and in the calamities of others, foreseeing their own changes.
B 2. If, when death exists, there are so many robberies and so many forms of greed; and just as fish devour those who are smaller, so the more powerful devour those who are weaker; if death did not exist, when would they have ceased their greed? For if, knowing that they will not enjoy what they plunder but will, whether they wish it or not, leave it to others, they are so frantic and rabid; if they had this in security, when would the fires of their wicked desire ever have been extinguished? But what? Are the crowns of martyrdom not woven through death? And what of Paul? Did he not erect myriads of trophies, saying: "I die daily, by your boasting" (1 Cor. 15. 31)?
For it is not death that is evil, but a wicked death. Therefore he says: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints" (Ps. 115. 15). And elsewhere he says: "The death of sinners is evil" (Ps. 53. 22). He calls it evil because it involves departing with a wicked conscience, burdened and pressed by many anxieties regarding transgressions. Whereas the one who has a pure conscience runs to the rewards and departs toward the crown. And that you may learn that it is not the nature of things, but the opinion of men, that causes this turmoil, listen to how Paul seeks this, at one time saying: "For we who are in this tent groan, longing to be further clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life" (2 Cor. 5. 2-4 and Rom. 8. 23); and at another time, expressing the same thing elsewhere: "But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. And you too rejoice and share your joy with me" (Philipp. 2. 17-18). If death is not burdensome, but even desirable to those who live rightly, how much more so are poverty and all other things.
"Sought out for all his will." Another says: "Accurately prepared." Here, it seems to me that he is discoursing about created things, proclaiming the wisdom of God; previously he called them "works" (if we, for the sake of the short-sighted and those of different minds, have touched upon these things), those portents and wonders which He often performed, managing the race of men. And what is meant by "Sought out for all his will"? They are precisely made, he says—just as another interpreter has said—prepared, complete, brought into being, fulfilled, sufficient to perform His will, capable of testifying to His power; not limping, nor lacking in anything to execute His commands, which he also says elsewhere: "Fire, hail, snow, frost, stormy wind performing his word" (Ps. 148. 8)—that is, his commands. Thus also the Prophet said: "He made the moon for times; the sun knew his setting; you made darkness, and it became night" (Ps. 103. 19-20). And they do not only accomplish that for which they were prepared; but even if He commands the contrary, even there, there is great obedience. For he commanded the sea, and it not only did not sink them—which was its nature—but having calmed its waves, it allowed the host of the Jews to pass over more safely than on dry stone. The furnace not only did not burn, but it provided, as it were, a cooling breeze (Dan. 3. 21). The wild beasts not only did not devour, but they stood in the place of bodyguards for Daniel (Id. 5. 22). The whale not only did not swallow him, but it kept the deposit safe (Jon. 2). The earth not only did not bear their weight, but it sank them more cruelly than the sea, when it opened and swallowed Dathan, and covered the congregation of Abiron (Num. 16. 32): and one might see many such miraculous occurrences in created things; so that the most foolish, who deify nature, may learn that things are not governed by the tyranny of nature, but that all things yield and defer to the will of God. For He is the Maker of nature, and He changes all things according to what seems good to Him, now maintaining their boundaries immovable, and now, when He wills, easily removing them, and changing them to the contrary. "Sought out for all his will." For His commands, he says, for His injunctions; and not only for His injunctions, but also so that He might be known by men, which is His primary will, and for which He especially made these things. What, then, the Prophet says is this: that they are so perfected as to instill in the minds of those who reflect and possess intellect the most accurate, clear, and manifest knowledge of Him. For even regarding this, His primary will from the beginning, He constructed them, by their magnitude, their beauty, their position, their operation, their service, and all other things, stirring the soul of the spectator and awakening the mind to seek the Creator and most excellent Artisan, God, and to worship Him who made them, and for the whole body of creation to become instead of books and letters.
C 3. But creations bring us great instruction not only for the knowledge of God, but also for our conduct. For the greedy man, when he sees the day yielding to the night, and the sun to the moon, will be moved to respect the orderliness of the elements, and however powerful he may be, he will not desire the possessions of those who are lesser; and the adulterer and the unchaste, when he sees the sea raging, then being bridled by the shore, again respecting the order of the chaotic waters, will be able to quickly restrain his own mounting desire, and with the fear of Christ to bridle the rush toward the face, and to dissolve all the foam of this unchaste impulse, and to lead it back to temperance. And regarding the resurrection, looking to the dry land, he will easily be able to philosophize and receive the doctrine concerning it. For when he sees the earth receiving the solid grain of wheat, then first dissolving and rotting, and bringing forth much better fruit; when he sees the vine in winter naked of leaves and tendrils and clusters, and that same dry wood, like dry bones, then upon the arrival of spring receiving all its beauty, in the bodies of plants and seeds which rise again after having been destroyed, he will be able to philosophize concerning his own flesh also. And the industriousness he will learn again from the ant, and the love of beauty from the bee, and the social nature—as the Proverb says—and the communion between themselves.
C And just as someone might say of those who have already passed, he turns each thing toward a beneficial purpose. He threatens hell, and just as fathers are fathers not only when they indulge their children but also when they strike them, and they are no less fathers when striking than when indulging; so too is God. Therefore Paul also said: "For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?" And Solomon: "For whom the Lord loves he disciplines, and he scourges every son whom he receives. His righteousness remains unto the age of the age." (Prov. III, 12).
D This seems to me to be said here for the sake of those who are scandalized by the afflictions that befall some people contrary to expectation, almost persuading them and saying: "Do not be troubled when you see men suffering hardships and suffering evils undeservedly through slander; for the incorrupt tribunal remains, the pure vote remains, which grants to each what is merited." But if you demand it now, see that you do not first cast the vote against yourself. For if God were to inflict punishment for each of the sins and bring the just vote upon every one who commits an offense, the human race would have been cut off long ago. And why do I speak of this one or that one? For by bringing into the midst the leader of all men, I will attempt to show this: that Paul himself, the herald of the inhabited world, who was snatched up to the third heaven, who was carried off into paradise, who partook of the fearful mysteries, the vessel of election, the groomsman of Christ, who showed an angelic way of life, and who reached such a peak of virtue—if He had not willed to be long-suffering towards him and had not borne with him, but when he sinned and blasphemed and persecuted, had immediately brought the just sentence upon his feet, He would have long ago snatched him away from repentance. Therefore he himself, also knowing these things, said: "I thank Him who empowered me, Christ, that He considered me faithful, having placed me in service, who was previously a blasphemer and a persecutor and a reviler; but I gained mercy, that in me first He might show all long-suffering, for the example of those who are to believe in Him unto eternal life." (1 Tim. I, 12-16). What then? The harlot, when would she have been converted? What then? The publican Matthew, if in the time of his publican duty before his change He had exacted punishments from him, would He not have snatched him away from repentance? So also with the Magi, so also with every sinner. Therefore He holds back His anger and the retribution according to each merit, calling men to repentance. But if they remain uncorrected, they will altogether undergo the just vote. Therefore the Prophet, comforting those who are treated with injustice and admonishing those who inflict injustice, added that: "His righteousness remains unto the age." Now what he wishes to say through this is of such a kind: "Neither you, who are being treated with injustice, should despair if you finish your life, as if you would not obtain your rights; for after you have departed from here, you will surely receive the rewards for your labors; nor you again, who seize everything and invade the goods of all and confuse everything, living in peace [271] be confident, for all...
shall you render an account after your departure hence, and shall pay the debt of your wickedness. For God is He who always remains, and always possesses remaining justice, not at all interrupted by death, nor indifferent to the reward of the labors undergone for the sake of virtue, nor to the paying of punishments which are owed to wickedness. B *He hath made a remembrance of his wonderful works.* What is, *He hath made a remembrance of his wonderful works*? He ceased not, he says, from working wonders continually. For this is what *He hath made a remembrance* means: he did not stop, he did not depart through every generation from working wonders, and rousing the slower-witted through the marvels. For the high-minded and philosophical man will need none of the signs—*for blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed.* But since He cares not just for these, but even for the slower-witted, He does not cease from working wonders in almost every generation. For the whole creation of visible things is a sufficient wonder; yet, rousing the sloth of the many, in the midst of this theater He displayed many marvels, both privately and publicly: such as that in the flood, that in the confusion of the tongues, those at Sodom, those of Abraham, those of Isaac, those of Jacob, those in Egypt, those in the exodus of the Jews, those in the wilderness, those in the land of Palestine, those in Babylon, those after the return, those in the time of the Maccabees, those after the coming of Christ, those in the coming itself, those happening down to the present day—the fall of Jerusalem, the building of the Church, the word that runs everywhere, which was raised by the waves, which grew through wars, the crowds of the martyrs, and everything else. C And one might see many wonders happening specifically and in the home, and in cities. But for the time being, let us look at the general ones, which are clear and known to all, and which happen in every generation. How many things happened under Julian, who surpassed all the impious, when the Church was being attacked? How many under Maximin? How many before those emperors? And if you wish, also things that happened in our own generation, such as the crosses that were suddenly inscribed upon our garments, the temple of Apollo that was brought down by lightning, the translation of the holy martyr Babylas at Daphne, and the manifest victory against the demon, the unexpected death of the keeper of the imperial treasures, the very taking off of the emperor, of Julian himself who had surpassed all the impious, and the destruction of that uncle of his, the swarms of worms, and ten thousand other things—the famine, the drought, and the scarcity of water which fell upon the cities along with him, and ten thousand other things everywhere.
5. And you learned of the things that happened back then in Palestine. For when the Jews wished to rebuild that temple which had been destroyed by the decree of God, fire leaped from the foundations and drove them all away, and the work remaining unfinished bears witness to this. D *The Lord is compassionate and merciful: he hath given food to them that fear him.* Having declared his benefits, those through the wonders, those through the works, the care that has occurred for our sake, he again by this increases the discourse, showing that He who did so many and such great things for the salvation of humanity, and who instructed them in every way, and continues to instruct them unto the knowledge of God and ultimate philosophy, and who sustains their life, does not do this as a duty (which is the greatest grace), but for mercy and love for humanity, not as needing them himself, but for his goodness alone. *He hath given food to them that fear him.* Why has he placed those who fear him here? For he does not truly feed them alone. For it says in the Gospel, *That he maketh his sun to rise upon the evil and the good, and raineth upon the just and the unjust* (Matt. 5. 45). How then did he say, *To them that fear him*? It seems to me he speaks here of food not bodily, but that of the soul. For this reason he discourses only about those who fear him; for this is what is set apart for them. For just as the body is nourished, so too is the soul nourished. And that it is nourished, listen: *Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God* (Id. 4. 4). This food, then, he mentions, which he gave exceptionally to them that fear him: the instruction through the word, the education, the whole philosophy. *He shall be mindful for ever of his covenant.* Again, suppressing the pride of the Jews, and cutting off their conceit, or rather showing that the good things they enjoyed they did not enjoy because of their own merit, but because of his friendship towards the fathers, and the covenants made with them, he says, *He shall be mindful for ever of his covenant*; which also Moses commanded them that were entering into the land of promise to say and to contemplate. For if you build, he says, splendid cities, and pile up wealth of money, do not say, That because of my justice these things have come about, but because of the covenants with your fathers (Deut. 9. 4. 5). For nothing is worse than arrogance; for this reason God constantly cuts it off in every way and at all times. *He hath declared the power of his works to his people, to give them the inheritance of the nations.* He moves the discourse from the general to the specific; from the things that happened throughout the inhabited world, to those that befell the Jews. And yet, if one were to examine accurately, these too were teachings for others, and the wars and victories serve in the place of a proclamation for those who pay attention. For these things happened not by human sequence, but beyond reason. For what sequence is that, for the walls to be cast down as they played the trumpets, and a woman commanding the army to win and prevail, and a small child to end barbarian wars by the throwing of one stone (Jos. 6. 20. Jud. 4. 1. 1 Reg. 17. 49)? And other such strange things happened. Thus they overcame the enemies, thus they cast them out of Palestine. When therefore he says, *He hath declared the power of his works to his people*, he says nothing else, but that he displayed his [power].
not only in casting out the nations, but in casting them out in such a way that they were most able to recognize [it]—even though the prior events were sufficient, when the plague was sent upon them divinely, and with Him leading the army, the matters of the enemies were decided. For He did not teach them through words only, but through deeds: through sandals, through garments, through nourishment, through the light by night and by day, through the cloud, through wars, through peace, through trophies, through agriculture, through rains. All things, in short, emitted a voice proclaiming the Lord and stirring up their blinded minds; nor was any time ever skipped in which He did not demonstrate His signs frequently. *The works of his hands are truth and judgment.* After He discourses concerning His power, He discourses also concerning His just judgment, that He not only showed power in the things He did, but also great justice. For He did not cast out the nations without cause when He willed to introduce the Jews, but He cast them out with justice as well. And therefore Moses also said elsewhere: *For not yet are the sins of the Amorites fulfilled* (Gen. XV, 16). But these things can be said not only of the Jews and of what happened to them, but again, the discourse is universal. For whatever things are done by Him are truth and judgment; judgment, that is, justice. But Scripture is accustomed to call clemency *truth* many times. What He says, therefore, is of this kind: He mingled and tempered all things with justice and clemency. For if He had used justice alone, all things would have perished. *Enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified* (Ps. CXLII, 2). And again: *If thou shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, O Lord, who shall stand?* (Ps. CXXIX, 3). Whatever things, therefore, are done by Him are full of both these. For whether He exacted service by strict justice alone, all would perish; or if He used clemency alone, many would be rendered more negligent. Wherefore, varying the salvation of men, He used both for their correction.
All his commandments are faithful
. That which He does in many places, He does here also, passing from the wisdom which is in the manifold and varied workmanship of the creatures, and from His providence, to His laws, and handling again that part of [His] providence. For not only because He fashioned such and so great a creature, but also because He gave a law, did He correct the human race. And therefore in the eighteenth Psalm, when He had divided both these parts, beginning [it], He said: *The heavens declare the glory of God* (Ps. XVIII, 1). But when He had come to the middle, and finished the discourse concerning creation, He subjoined: *The law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls: the testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones* (Ibid. v. 8, 9). A Thus here also, after He spoke of the miracles and His admirable works, now He approaches to speak of the commandments, saying thus: *Faithful are all his commandments, confirmed for ever and ever, made in truth and equity.* He did not say "all" in vain, but treating of the manifold genus of the commandments, he placed this diction. For there are commandments of creation, which every creature observes—sun and moon, day and night, and the stars, and the course of the earth and nature. There are also commandments which were given to nature from the beginning, when He fashioned man, of which Paul says: *For when the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature those things that are of the law, these not having the law, are a law to themselves: who show the work of the law written in their hearts* (Rom. II, 14, 15), and he speaks of the *inward man* (Rom. VII, 22). There are also commandments that are written. All these have remained. But if some have even been abrogated, they were not changed for the worse, but for the better. For that, *Thou shalt not kill* (Exod. XX, 13), has not been abrogated, but amplified; and that, *Thou shalt not commit adultery* (Ibid. v. 14), has not been done away with, but made greater. And therefore He said: *I am not come to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfil them* (Matth. V, 17). For he who is not angry will much more abstain from B slaughter; and he who does not look with unchaste eyes sits farther from adultery. The law, therefore, has this especially excellent quality: namely, immortality and perpetuity—the law of creation, the law of nature, the law of philosophy, and the law of the New Testament. Therefore He says: *Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall not pass* (Matth. XXIV, 35), showing their immobility. For whatever things God wills to remain, they remain perpetually, and there is nothing that can move them. *Made in truth and equity.* What is *In truth and equity*? There is nothing, he says, in them oblique, nothing twisted, nothing obscure, nothing [done] for the sake of any favor or hatred, but all things [are] for the good and utility; not like the laws of men, which are for the most part momentary, and obscure, and which have much from man. For many laws are often laid down due to human perturbations. For one avenging an enemy, or wishing to gratify a friend, composed the writings as they were conceived. But the divine laws are not of this kind, but remain clearer than the sun, seeking the utility of those for whom they are brought, leading them to virtue, and to the truth of things; not to these false things—I mean riches and power (for these are false; what are God's, however, are truth), nor how they may become richer, nor how they may attain to present things, but teaching how they may be able to enjoy things to come. Concerning true and right things, and those which have nothing perverse, all those laws spoke. *Faithful are all his commandments.* C What is *Faithful*? Firm, remaining. For even if they are crossed, punishments follow, and they are not in the least weakened; and if men transgress them, God nevertheless vindicates them. Do not, therefore, say that what is spoken is said threateningly or hyperbolically. No one bringing a law says it only to threaten, but also to punish. But if you do not greatly believe regarding the future, let the past give you faith. What, therefore, was the flood in the time of Noah, and the conflagration of Sodom, and the destruction of Pharaoh, and the ruin of the Jews, the captivities, and the wars—did they consist in threats, or were they brought to an experiment of events? But if those things were truly done which were in figure, much more [shall those things which are in truth], by how much greater was the wickedness of those things committed after such medicine and correction. 9. Redsent the Lord to His people. As far as the history is concerned, he speaks of the freedom of the Jews; but A regarding the anagogical sense, he speaks of the freedom of the whole world, which the following also indicates: "He has sent redemption unto His people."
7. Yet not only is there redemption, but after the redemption there is the Law, so that we may show a manner of life worthy of grace. "Holy and terrible is His name." For since He has considered all things that proclaim His care, His providence, that which is in the Old and in the New [Covenants], that which is in deeds and works, that which is through commandments, that which is through miracles and wonders, becoming inspired and struck with awe at His majesty, he concludes his discourse to glorification, offering a hymn to Him who has done these things. "Holy and terrible is His name"—that is, full of awe, full of great wonder. And if His name is such, how much more is His substance? And how is His name holy and terrible? Demons tremble at it, diseases fear it; using this name, the apostles put the whole world in order. B By using this as a weapon, David struck down that barbarian; by it, countless things were accomplished; by it, we are initiated into the sacred mystery. Considering, therefore, how many miracles His name works, how many benefits it bestows, how it disperses adversaries and secures its own, and reflecting on things that transcend the order of nature and surpass human reason, he says: "Holy and terrible is His name." And if it is holy, it requires holy lips for hymnody, holy and pure.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding to all who practice it." What is "beginning"? A fountain, a root, a foundation. Since he said so many and such great things about the Master of the world, and was filled with such awe, he adds this consequentially, showing henceforth that he who fears Him is filled with all wisdom and becomes sensible. Then, lest anyone think that the matters of wisdom are limited to knowledge, he added: "A good understanding to all who practice it." For faith is not sufficient unless a manner of life corresponding to the faith is also present. How is "the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom"? It frees one from all wickedness and completes every virtue. And he refers not to the wisdom that is in words, but to that which is in deeds. Since even those outside [the Church] defined wisdom as this: the knowledge of divine and human affairs. This art, however, the fear of God teaches, by removing wickedness, cultivating virtue, preparing one to despise present things, and translating one to heaven. And what is wiser than such a soul? C He does not seek only the hearer here, but also the doer. "A good understanding to all who practice it"—that is, to those who perform the wisdom, and through their works show it to be a good understanding. A "good" understanding, he said, because there is also an evil understanding, as when [Scripture] says: "They are wise to do evil; but to do good they have not known." But He seeks the understanding that is in virtue.
"His praise remains forever and ever." What praise? Tell me. The thanksgiving, the glorification, that which is brought about through works—immortal, and before these, that [praise] which is bound up with His very substance. For God is indeed immortal, and in Himself greatly to be praised; but He is also to be praised when you consider His majesty and all other things; He is to be praised also through His works, when you see His wisdom through the things that are seen. D He says these things while exhorting to thanksgiving, and showing that those who are sullen regarding what has come to pass are worthy of no pardon, not even the slightest. For when His praise, and thanksgiving, and glorification are thus manifest, clear, evident, immovable, firmly established, and permanent, so as even to be immortal, endless, and without termination, and those who ignore this speak the opposite—they are doing nothing other than contradicting things that are far clearer than the sun, and they are willingly blinding themselves. It is not, therefore, temporary, so that they might be ignorant of it, nor is it dim and obscure, but it is clear, perpetual, and immortal, always remaining, and never having an end.
CONCERNING PSALM CXI
"Blessed is the man who fears the Lord." 1. It seems to me that the beginning of this psalm follows most appropriately upon the end of the previous one, and that it is, as it were, one continuous and connected body. For there he says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"; and here, "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord," teaching the fear of God with other words indeed, but with the same thoughts. There, he said he was wise; here, blessed. And this is the truly blessed [state], as all else is vanity, shadow, and bare things; even if you speak of wealth, or power, or the beauty of the body, or the abundance of possessions. For they are like falling leaves, passing shadows, and fleeting dreams. But this is the truly blessed [state]. Then, because even demons fear Him and shudder, lest you think this alone is sufficient for salvation—which he has done above—he does the same here. For just as there, having said, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," he added, "A good understanding to all who practice it," attaching the corresponding conduct to the doctrines; so also here, having spoken of fear, he does not mean only that which comes from knowledge, which even demons possess; but he also adds this, saying: "In His commandments he will greatly delight." This he said, demanding a life and a refined manner of life, and a philosophical soul. And he did not say, "He will perform His commandments," but "he will delight," seeking something more. What, then, is this? To do them with eagerness; to be their ardent lovers; to pursue their precepts; to love them...
not for the sake of the reward set before them, but for the sake of Him who appointed them; to pursue virtue with pleasure, not for fear of Gehenna, nor for fear of the threats of punishment, nor for the promise of the kingdom, but for the sake of Him who gave the laws. And elsewhere he does this, showing the pleasure which he takes from the commandments of God: "How sweet," he says, "are your words to my throat, more than honey to my mouth" (Ps. CXVIII, 103). Paul also seeks this, saying somewhat obscurely and enigmatically: "Just as you presented your members as slaves of impurity and of lawlessness unto lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness unto sanctification" (Rom. VI, 19).
That is to say, with as much zeal, with as much desire as you pursued wickedness, even though there was no reward set before you, but rather punishments and retribution, so with as much zeal should you pursue virtue. And yet he said that even this measure was one he required of them in moderation. For having to say these things, he speaks thus: "I speak what is human, because of the weakness of your flesh" (Rom. VI, 19), indicating that one ought to show no less desire in virtue than we showed in vice. And this is what he says: If they do not show the same zeal for virtue, what excuse will they have, or how will they attain pardon, since they do not approach it even with the same desire? And for this reason, A the prophet also said this: "In his commandments he shall delight greatly." For he who fears God as he ought receives His commandments with great eagerness; and for this reason, love for the Lawgiver makes the law easy and pleasant, even if it may seem to have some difficulty. Let no one blame me for the example I have used, for Paul also used it, saying: "Just as you presented your members as slaves of impurity, so present them to righteousness." Therefore, he who B is taken by the love of a harlot, even if he be visited with shame and insult, even if he be beaten, even if he behaves himself basely and indecently, even if he be cast out from his country, even if he be ruined in his paternal estate, even if he be deprived of his father's favor, even if he suffer things more grievous than these, bears them pleasantly and willingly because of his unchaste love.
But if they receive those things with pleasure, how much more ought one to receive the commandments of God—which are salutary, and full of glory, and provide us with great philosophy, and make the soul better—with great pleasure, and imagine that there is nothing difficult in them? For the difficulty is usually caused not by the nature of the commandments, but by the sloth of many. Therefore, if anyone receives them with zeal and eagerness of soul, he will see that they are light and easy. Therefore Christ said: "My yoke is pleasant, and my burden is light" (Matt. XI, 30). And to know that they have it this way, and that the sloth of many makes things that are easy difficult, while zeal and diligence make things that are otherwise difficult easy: when the Jews were enjoying the manna, they both bore it with vexation and desired death: but Paul, while struggling with hunger, rejoiced and exulted. And those folk said: C"Our soul is empty because of the manna (Num. XI, 6). Did you lead us out to kill us, because there were no monuments in Egypt?" (Exod. XIV, 11)? Paul, however, said: "I rejoice in my sufferings, and I fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, in my flesh" (Coloss. I, 24). With what sufferings? With hunger, thirst, nakedness, and all other things. "In his commandments he shall delight greatly." But how shall this come to be? If we fear and love God rightly, if we consider the nature of virtue itself. For before other rewards, it has in itself its own recompense. For if you have not committed adultery, if you have not committed murder, think of what pleasure you enjoy, not being condemned by your conscience, not blushing before your own, looking upon all with pure eyes. Truly, the adulterer is not of this kind, but he fears and dreads everyone, and holds even the shadows in suspicion. He who is free from these, however, will have the opposite.
D 2. "His seed shall be mighty in the earth." Scripture is accustomed often to call seed not that which is born by the order of nature, but that which is from the fellowship of virtue. Wherefore Paul also, interpreting that, "I will give this land to you and to your seed," said: "For not all who are from Israel are Israel; nor because they are seed of Abraham are all children, but 'in Isaac your seed shall be called'" (Rom. IX, 7). And again: "In your seed shall all the nations be blessed" (Gal. III, 8). For that it was not said concerning the Jews, the facts themselves indicate: for being themselves full of curses, how could they be a cause of blessing to others? But he speaks of the Church, which is said to be His seed from the fellowship of the faith. Such, therefore, are those who are endowed with virtue, and their children, who fear God. "His seed shall be mighty in the earth."
Why did he say, "In the earth"? To show that this is so even before they depart from here, and before they have a trial of the goods that are there. For as I said before, virtue has its recompense in the performance itself, even before the rewards. That he who is such has a mighty seed, and that he who is fortified by the protection of virtue is the most powerful of all, the apostles taught, the prophets showed. Similarly also the Lord, signifying concerning these, says: "Whoever hears my words and does them, will be likened to a prudent man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain descended, the rivers came, the winds blew; and they rushed upon that house, and it did not fall: for it was founded upon the rock" (Matt. VII, 24, 25). How many incursions of peoples, how many of tyrants, how many swords, how many lances, how many darts, how many furnaces, how many teeth of wild beasts, how many precipices, how many seas, how many ambushes, how many calumnies, how many plots were stirred up against the apostles? Nevertheless, nothing has overturned them; but they were higher than all these, overflying the reeds of those who were lying in wait for them, and converting the plotters themselves to their own side. For there is nothing more powerful than virtue: it is both more solid than a rock, and stronger than adamant; just as, on the other hand, nothing is more base, nothing more weak, than wickedness, even if one were to be fortified with infinite...
wealth and great power from without. But if the strength here is so great, consider how much power they will enjoy in the heavens. A *Generation of the upright shall be blessed.* Do you see it shining forth and having countless heralds, praisers, and admirers? And not just anyone at all, but the wise. For not everyone among men who are base will be able to discern it, but these will praise it most, these will admire it, and proclaim it—those who do not have a distorted mind. Therefore, consider how great a possession it is, so that it is not even lacking when compared with the angels, nor with the apostles, nor with those who are great and wonderful; for if those who praise it must be of such a kind, observe and calculate how great it is likely to be.
*Glory and riches are in his house.* He passes again from visible things to intelligible ones. For Scripture knows how to call even the wealth that exists in good works "riches"; as when it says, *To do good, to be rich in good works* (1 Tim. 6:18). For this is the true wealth, whereas the other is merely the name of wealth, devoid of the reality. But if someone also says this refers to the other, we will not swerve from the argument even so. For what could have been more wealthy than the apostles, to whom everything flowed as if from springs? For as many as were owners of lands or houses would bring them and lay the prices at the feet of the apostles (Acts 4:34). Do you see the generosity of wealth? They possessed all things, relieved of the concern for them, and being, as it were, stewards of them rather than masters. B For those who had them, withdrawing from the possession of them, brought them to the apostles; they themselves bartered them and made them into money, while entrusting the distribution to be in their power. Therefore Paul said: *As having nothing, and yet possessing all things* (2 Cor. 6:10). For this is the wondrous thing: that, being in such wealth, they were higher than this affluence; for the multitude of riches did not hold them. This is wealth indeed: not to need wealth.
*Glory and riches are in his house.* Here, finally, there is no need of interpretation. For they had the glory from God. This also followed according to the divine word which says: *Seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you* (Matt. 6:33). For what was more noble than them? As if they were angels of God, people received them, brought the money, and placed it at their feet; and in the end they appeared more brilliant than those wearing a diadem. Which king ever entered with such splendor, with as much as Paul was admired everywhere, speaking, and freeing from deaths, and driving away diseases, causing demons to flee, and doing such things through his own garments? This man made the earth heaven, and he guided everyone toward virtue.
3. But if such things are on earth, consider what kind of glory they will enjoy in the heavens. What is meant by, *In his house*? "With him," he says. But external wealth is not with its possessor, since it does not lie in safety, but in the hands of slanderers, in the hands of flatterers, in the hands of rulers, in the hands of servants; for this reason, he scatters it everywhere, not trusting to keep it entirely in his house; for this reason, there are guards, and inner guards, and nothing more, for that man is able to escape everything.
*And his justice abideth unto the ages of ages.* Another says: *His alms abideth unto the ages of ages.* He speaks here either of virtue in general, or that which is opposed to injustice, or, as another interpreter said, he calls mercy the philanthropy. For such is the power of almsgiving—an immortal and uncorrupted thing, which can never be extinguished. All things human are torn away, but the fruit of almsgiving remains immortal and continuous, tested by no difficulty of times. For even if the body is dissolved, that does not perish with the life, but goes before to prepare a dwelling for it, concerning which Christ says that *In my Father's house there are many mansions* (John 14:2). C So it also prevails over human things by being continuous and permanent, which none of the worldly things possess. For if you speak of beauty, it is withered by disease and consumed by old age; if you speak of power, it is often changed; if of wealth, or any other of the brilliant and manifest things of this present life, it either left them while living, or left them naked and destitute when they died. But the fruit of justice is not like this; it is not consumed by time, nor cut short by death, but then it becomes more secure, when it has sailed into that harbor free from waves.
*Unto the upright there hath risen light in darkness.* Describing the blessedness of him who fears God, he mentions also the things that occur in the present, such as that his possessions are immortal, that he will enjoy glory and be superior to all, that he will see those who are like him in virtue, and who are becoming his children, as unconquerable, that in the difficulty of circumstances he will obtain much security. For this is, *Unto the upright there hath risen light in darkness.* For to those who are so disposed, to those walking uprightly, he will cause light to rise in the midst of darkness. What is meant by *In darkness*? Even if they are in affliction, and distress, and temptation, and dangers (for he calls these darkness), he will cause great joy to be theirs immediately. This is what Paul also meant when he said: *But I would not have you ignorant concerning the affliction that occurred to us in Asia, that we were burdened beyond measure, so as to despair even of life* (2 Cor. 1:8-10). Do you see the darkness? *But we had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from such great deaths.* Do you see how the light rose? Observe this also in the case of the three youths. For expecting to be burned, they enjoyed the purest dew. And also in the case of Daniel and the other prophets. But if someone wishes to take these in another sense, he will see this having happened in the inhabited world. For while darkness held earth and sea,
and error was spread everywhere, the sun of righteousness arose from below. For since men at that time left heaven and were seeking God on earth, He appeared to them from that place, lowering Himself to their weakness, so as to lift them up to an infinite height. A *Miserable and merciful, and righteous is the Lord God.* Since He said His righteousness remains, and comforted them in that way; yet many who are merciful and who live their lives rightly here experience the opposite here, He brings in another consolation, saying, *Miserable and merciful, and righteous is the Lord,* producing a double provision from this. For if He is merciful, and frequently grants pardon to those who sin, much more will He not leave those who conduct themselves rightly un-crowned, once they have departed from here. But even if He does not reward them here, He will certainly reward them there. Then he also added, *Righteous:* and if He is righteous, as He is, He will reward each man according to his deserts, even if He does not reward them here; which is the greatest argument for the future resurrection. For when many of those who are endowed with virtue are seen to have suffered many terrible things, and the wicked to live with impunity and security, where will each man receive his due, if there is to be no future resurrection, and another life, judgment, and recompense? Then, since by mentioning righteousness he had struck fear into the hearer—as one who is to render account for sins—he quickly provides the remedy, saying: B *Jucundus [Pleasant/Kind] is the man who shows mercy and lends; he will dispose his words in judgment.* That his fruit may remain perpetually, that he may be delivered from temptations, that he may imitate God; for God is merciful; that his sins may be forgiven him. For this is what it means: *He will dispose his words in judgment*; that is, he will obtain patronage, defense will not be lacking for him, there will be no condemnation for him then, since alms will beautifully provide him a defense. Another interpreter said, *Disposing his affairs with judgment.* This is, the fruit is of great prosperity, nothing absurd or alien will be taken from him, as one who has been an excellent steward. For he who is cruel and inhumane, and is not moved by mercy, is alien to the true rationale of stewardship. For what could be more grievous than this, when one who is about to face the peril of his soul spares his money, and neglects that soul? For this reason, Christ also praised that steward who, when he was about to be called into danger, dissolved the records and cut away what was owed (Luke 16:8). For how is it not absurd, that those who are indeed in danger in the present life pour out all their own possessions to redeem themselves from peril, but when they come into danger of being delivered to punishment, they do not use the same stewardship? And therefore he calls the wise steward "merciful," as one who buys many things with few: heaven with money, a kingdom with a garment, the goods of the future with bread and a cup of cold water. What indeed can be compared with this stewardship, when one gives things that perish, flow away, and pass away, and receives those things that are future and immovable, and through them enjoys security in the present life? Therefore he says, *He will dispose his words in judgment.* Or, as another interpreter said, *Disposing his affairs with judgment.* In what judgment does he say, if not in the future day? Or he declares that he will also administer all his own affairs superlatively well, and nothing in them will be confused, but all things will be arranged in order, and all things will proceed by a straight and consequent path, and there will be no perturbation in them, no clamor or tumult, since alms renders all things easy and expeditious for them. Which, while rendering it more clearly, another interpreter said: *Disposing his affairs with judgment.* For he is merciful who disposes his affairs with judgment; as anyone else is empty of fruit, who is alien to the true rationale of stewardship. C *For he will not be moved forever.* Who can be compared with this stewardship, when one has found such a path, which frees him from unexpected misfortunes, and constitutes him in a harbor outside the waves of life, and though he is a man, he suffers nothing human, or if he does suffer, he is by no means ever overturned? For this is a thing to be wondered at, when he does not yield to temptations nor is cast down by them. What then? Have not many merciful people been moved? By no means. For even if they have become poor, and have been led to extreme beggary, and have fallen into straits and calamities, they have not been overturned in the least: considering the things that have been done by them, drawing to themselves God’s benevolence and protection, and possessing a certain strong and secure anchor, namely, a good conscience. He did not say, therefore, "They shall not be attacked by snares," but, *They shall not be moved.* Which Christ also said about him who built upon the rock (Matt. 7:25): not that he will not suffer the storm, but that even while sustaining the storm, he is by no means to be overturned. For this is the thing to be wondered at, not when he has been in safety while all temptations were ceasing, but when, attacked by most frequent machines, he will remain immobile perpetually. For indeed it is impossible that a soul rich in mercy should ever be overwhelmed by grave perturbations of mind. D *The righteous shall be in eternal remembrance.* Behold him not only in the time of life, but even after death, teaching and instructing many. How then, while he lives, will he suffer anything evil, when even dying he is for others a teacher of tranquility? For so that even those who are most incredulous may know that his fruit remains immortal in the heavens, from this he gives the experience of that matter: for though the body be buried and covered with earth, his memory is carried about everywhere. How effective is virtue. Such is the power of virtue: it does not yield to time, it does not wither with the passage of days. But this happens for the salvation of the wicked. For they do not have need of the praise of men: but those who live in wickedness are in need of these encomiums, so that from their praise...
A they might become more earnest and eventually be delivered from wickedness. Where, then, are those who build sumptuous tombs and raise up magnificent houses? B Let them hear what makes for a perpetual memorial. It is not the construction of stone, nor the circuit of walls and towers, but the demonstration of good works. He sets these things forth because of those who are extremely unbelieving and do not attend to the things which are to come, so that by drawing them from the present and visible things, he may guide them toward those which are to come: and besides, he shows that virtue, as I have often said, has its reward within itself even before those prizes. *He shall not be afraid of evil tidings.* Another says: *He shall not be afraid of an evil report.* Just as above he did not say that he would not be plotted against, but that although plotted against he would not be shaken, so also here he does not say that he will not hear an evil report, but that hearing it, he will not be afraid.
5. And how will he not be afraid? Even if he should see a war approaching, or an earthquake destroying cities, or thieves and burglars carrying off everything, or barbarians making incursions, or disease threatening death, or the anger of a judge, or anything else whatsoever, he is not afraid; for he has deposited C his wealth in a safe place beforehand, and not only does he not tremble at the approach of death, but he even hastens to depart quickly, where his merchandise is. For where the treasure of a man is, there also will his heart be (Matt. 6:21). For if merchants, having shipped many cargoes home, hasten every day to see their wealth, much more will this man, who has deposited all his wealth in the heavens, desire to be severed from the present things and hasten to those which are to come. Therefore, nothing can cast him into fear. *His heart is ready to hope in the Lord.* Another says: *His heart is steadfast*, signifying the same thing, and interpreting *ready*. What he says, then, is this: there is nothing that causes him to waver, and attaches him to the present, but he is entirely and altogether stretched out toward God, and awaits that hope, and is D firmly fixed by this expectation, and he is not softened or distracted by any of the present things. For such are the anxieties of worldly affairs; they divide the mind, and cleave the judgment. It is necessary, therefore, again to say that evangelical word: *Where the treasure of a man is, there also will his heart be* (Matt. 6:21). *His heart is fixed, it shall not be shaken.* Have you seen the one building his house upon the rock? For what can he fear, who is naked and girded, and provides no handle against himself to anyone? What can he fear who has God as propitious and favorable? So that his security is from both sides, both from the inclination from above and the ease from below; and nothing can shake him—no loss of money, no insults, no false accusations. For he has nowhere to be harmed, having moved his anchorage hence into heaven, into a place inaccessible to all wickedness and plotting. For know clearly that all plots are about money and for the sake of money, and all the effort of men is about these things. *Until he looks upon his enemies.* And who is the enemy of such a man, but the wicked demons, and the devil himself?
*He has dispersed, he has given to the needy, his righteousness remains for ever.* Since he remembered almsgiving, and lending, and having pity; and there are many measures of almsgiving—for one gives less, another more—let us see which merciful man he describes: the one who gives from his abundance, or the one who is emptying out his possessions. It is evident that it is the one emptying his possessions, the one who has used the thing unsparingly; such as Paul seeks, saying: *He who sows bountifully, will also reap bountifully* (2 Cor. 9:6). But see how the Prophet also uses words excellently. For he did not say, "Distributed," "Divided," but, *Dispersed*, at once showing the abundance of the one providing, and naming the thing a seed. For such are those who sow; they disperse what is stored up, and give away what is manifest, so that they may receive the things to come. This is better than collecting; for thus to disperse is much better than to collect. Money is dispersed, and righteousness is collected; the things which do not remain are dispersed, in order that the things which do remain may be acquired. This also farmers do. But they do so for uncertain things, for it is earth that is receiving; but you, into the hand of God, whence it is impossible to lose anything. When, therefore, you see that gold is good, and you hesitate to cast it out, think of those who sow, think of those who lend, think of the merchants, who begin from expenditure and outlays, and each of these entrusts these things to uncertain outcomes; for waves and gulfs of earth and the records of debtors are all uncertain. For often in the principal the lenders sustained the loss; but he who farms heaven fears none of these, but has confidence both concerning the principal and the interest, if one must call such a thing by that term, and not rather that he has much more than the principal. For the principal is money, but the interest is the kingdom of heaven. Have you seen the nature of the loan, having interest much greater than the principal? And these things are in the future; but in the present you will enjoy great freedom. You will have a state without plots, you will extinguish the desire for the false accusers and the plotters; you will live your whole life in safety, neither being stretched by the anxieties of your possessions, but being winged by the hopes of the things to come. *His horn shall be exalted in glory.* What is most desirable to men, this he sets forth continually, the brilliant and distinguished, which will receive them there, and will be present to them here with much abundance. For no one is so brilliant and famous as the merciful man.
6. And if you wish, take those who in the circus and theaters waste their own things to no purpose; bring into the middle the merciful man, and then you will see how great the fruit of each is; how the latter is applauded by all continuously and admired, as they think him a common father and haven; while the former, after applauding them only on that day with an inopportune and irrational impulse, afterward slander them as inhuman, as cruel, as vain-glorious, as a minister of debauchery and a servant of wickedness. But even in conferences, whenever such words occur, the expenditures of those men are noted, and the outlays are slandered; but of these, there is no one so shameless and vile, who, even if he were ten thousand times most cruel...
A and inhuman, would not praise and admire. Such is the nature of virtue, that it is praised even by those who do not pursue it, just as vice, on the contrary, is hateful and full of reproach even to those who are addicted to it. And so, not even those who receive from them—harlots, I mean, charioteers, and dancers—praise them, but even they assault them; but this man, not only do the poor who have received from him admire and love him, but even those to whom nothing has returned from his generosity. 10. *The sinner shall see, and shall be angry; he shall gnash with his teeth and pine away.* Such is the nature of virtue; it is heavy and burdensome to vice. For just as fire ignites thorns, so too does kindness provoke savage men; for it reproves and accuses their wickedness. But observe him, not even when pining away with envy does he B dare to accuse and look directly at the bright face of virtue, but he melts in his mind, and shows his pain with his teeth, not daring to utter a word, but only being pained and tormented. The foulness of vice, the splendor of virtue. For such is vice; even if it should ascend to actual scepters, and stand near those whose heads are encircled with the diadem, it is the most wretched of all things and most fearful, and it is like some tumult and disturbance and a raging sea, even if it is surrounded by the greatest power; just as virtue, on the contrary, even if it is reduced to extreme poverty, and is in prison itself, is more splendid than kings, and enjoys great security, sitting in a harbor tossed by no waves; not only suffering nothing from the wicked, but, even by its silence, being able to avenge itself on the wicked and exact the most extreme penalties for wickedness. For what could be more miserable than a man living in wickedness, when, besides serving money, he considers the praise of others to be his own punishment, and exacts a penalty from himself, lacerating his own conscience, tormenting his mind, and showing himself to be his own executioner? Have you seen the excellence and power of virtue? Have you seen the weakness and misery of wickedness? But its calamity does not consist in this alone, but also in many others; which, signifying this also, he subjoined, saying: *The desire of the wicked shall perish.* What is, *The desire of the wicked shall perish*? It is never, he says, stopped. Because the things he desires are fleeting and passing away, the desire itself also imitates the things, so that it is extinguished and perishes, and has no root. But if such is the state of the sinner here, think how it will be in the future age. Therefore, let us not suffer these things; let us flee this way, let us choose that one, let us walk in it perpetually, safe, impregnable, full of pleasure, which is filled with glory, which gains heaven for us, which in everything conciliates the benevolence of God to us, which causes us to philosophize, which contains in itself so many and such great goods, as not even speech could explain; which may it be granted to us all to attain by grace and mercy, etc.
ON PSALM CXII
Many such praises are commemorated in the Scriptures; for it is not a light thing, but a certain sacrifice and offering acceptable to God: *For the sacrifice of praise shall glorify me* (Ps. XLIX, 23). And again: *I will praise the name of my God with a canticle, I will magnify him in praise; and it shall please God better than a new calf, bringing forth horns and hoofs* (Ps. LXVIII, 31, 32). The sacred books also often command this, and those who are saved offer this instead of great thanksgivings. And what difficulty, you will say, does this have? Or to whom is it not easy, even of humble and abject condition, to perform this and to praise God? If you learn the matter diligently and exactly, you will see both the labor that is C in the thing and the gain that is perceived from it. First, indeed, this praise is required from the righteous, and it is necessary that one who is first rightly establishing his life should thus sing hymns to God. For *praise is not comely in the mouth of a sinner* (Ecclus. XV, 9). But it is necessary to praise, and God most requires this praise, this glory; for *let your light so shine*, he says, *before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven* (Matt. V, 16). And the prophet also, when he had heard that mystical melody, declares himself miserable, saying: *Woe is me, because I am a man, and I have unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people that hath unclean lips* (Isa. VI, 5). And therefore, when he commands them to offer praises, he begins from the superior powers, thus saying: *Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him, all his angels* (Ps. CXLVIII, 1, 2). It is necessary, therefore, to become an angel, and thus to praise. Do not, therefore, consider this praise to be a light matter; but let our life sound it forth before our mouth, and let the conduct of our life cry out before our tongue. Thus, indeed, we can praise God even while silent; thus, also, even while speaking, we emit an act of modulation convenient to life. But we cannot say this from the Psalm alone, but also that it leads everyone to a symphony, and establishes an entire choir. For it does not address one or two only, but the whole people. And as Christ, leading us to charity and concord, commands common prayers to be offered, and to be said by the whole Church as if by one person, *Our Father*, and, *Give us this day our daily bread*, and, *Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive*, and, *Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil* (Matt. VI, 9, 11, 12, 13); everywhere using the plural name, and commanding each one, whether he prays alone or with others, to offer prayer for the brethren; so also the prophet calls all together to the concert of prayer, and says: *Praise the name of the Lord*. What, therefore, does this addition of the name mean? It explains most of all the affection of the speaker, but it also signifies something else. What is it? That His name may be glorified through us, that it may be seen to be laudable from our life also; for it is indeed by nature such, but He wants this praise also to be illustrated through our own conduct of life. And so that you may know that it is so, see what follows; he appends it next; for he adds, *Blessed be the name of the Lord*...
A Saying, "Let the name of the Lord be blessed, from this time forth and forevermore." What do you say? Is it not blessed, if you do not pray? You see that he is not speaking of the blessing which belongs to Him and is inherent in His nature, but of that which is given by men? Concerning this, also, Paul, writing, says: "Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit." He Himself, therefore, is indeed high, and great, and praiseworthy of Himself; but He becomes such also among men, when those who serve Him demonstrate such a life, that all who see them bless the Master. This is what Christ also commanded us in prayer to say always, praying: "Hallowed be Thy name"—that is, and by our life let it be glorified. For just as He is blasphemed when we live badly, so He is glorified, and blessed, and hallowed when we take heed to virtue. What he says, therefore, is this: Always deem us worthy to live a virtuous life, so that Thy name may be blessed also through us. "From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is to be praised." Do you see him now striking up the prelude of the new way of life, and revealing the nobility of the Church? For it is no longer in Palestine, nor in Judea, but everywhere in the inhabited world. When, then, did this happen, except when our affairs flourished? For of old it was not only B not blessed in Palestine, but it was even blasphemed because of the Jews who dwelt therein. "For because of you," He says, "My name is blasphemed among the Gentiles." But now, everywhere in the inhabited world, it is hymned. Which fact another prophet also, signifying it, said: "The Lord shall appear, and shall destroy all the gods of the nations, and they shall worship Him, everyone from his own place." And another again: "Because also among us, the gates shall be closed, and My altar shall not be kindled in vain; because from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, My name has been glorified among the Gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure sacrifice."
2. Do you see how he curtailed the Jewish affairs, and brought them to an end, and extended the manner of life of the Church throughout the whole world, and proclaimed beforehand the worship? For the prophet calling these things to mind is after the return from Babylon; and for this reason he prophesied these things then, so that the Jews might not say that he speaks of that shutting up and that desolation which was in Babylon. For after those things were resolved, and they returned to their former way of life, the angel says these things, signifying the desolation which took place under Vespasian and Titus, after which there will not be, henceforth, any change of that desolation. For the affairs of the Church succeeded them. Therefore he says, "My name is great among the Gentiles"—that is, blessed, and praised through their life—just as he also said here, "Blessed be the name of the Lord." "The Lord is high above all nations." Do you see again the nations receiving His worship, and not simply one and two and three, but all those in the inhabited world? What is clearer than this prophecy? And how is He high above all nations? In that we magnify Him, not adding height to Him? Far from it—but by the dogmas, by the worship, by all other things, thinking nothing lowly, as the Jews did, but much higher and greater. For such is this way of life; as much as the heaven is higher than the earth, so much is this higher than the old. Therefore he says: "The Lord is high above all nations." For indeed, even after magnifying Him through worship, we know this also, that even these things are a condescension. So that even if they are higher than those in the old law, they are still inferior to His worth. And Paul, signifying these things, and setting forth the difference of both types of knowledge—that which now holds sway, and that which will be then in the future—said: "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things." And again: "We know in part, and we prophesy in part." And, "We see now through a glass in a riddle, but then face to face." For he shows through this, that this knowledge is as far removed from that knowledge as the child is from the man who has arrived at mature age. "His glory is above the heavens." Since he has discoursed of the praise and height which came about through the human way of life, and exhorted one to raise up God in this way, to praise Him in this way, to magnify Him in this way, urging one toward greater virtue, he shows where this happens most. Where, then, does this happen? In the heavens. For there His glory is. For most of all the angels glorify Him, not from their own nature only, but also they glorify Him from the obedience of the men who serve Him, fulfilling His will and His commands with precision. Therefore he says: "Mighty in strength, doing His word." Wherefore also in the Gospels Christ commanded us to pray, and to say: "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." That is, just as the angels hallow Him, delivered indeed from all wickedness, and pursuing virtue with precision; so may we also be deemed worthy to hallow Him. C This, too, he signifying, added: "His glory is above the heavens." For do not see only on earth these visible works of creation, nor the order which is in the heaven, but ascend with the mind from the sensible to the intelligible, to the beauties of those substances, to the brightness of that way of life; and then you shall know how His glory is in the heavens. "Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, and looketh upon the lowly things?" Does it not seem a great thing that has been said? But when you consider concerning whom it has been said, it will be very inferior. Thus, as I was saying, one must not stop at the words, but ascend with the understanding. For how does He dwell in the heavens?
EXPOSITION ON PSALM CXII
How can He inhabit the heights, who fills heaven and earth? Who is present everywhere? Who says, "Is it a God who draws near that I am, and not a God far off?" (Jer. 23:23). Who measures the heaven with a span, and the earth with his fist; who contains the circuit of the earth (Isai. 40:12, 22)? But because He was addressing the Jews at that time, He used that manner of speaking, gradually raising their thought and gently lifting and elevating their mind. For this reason, He did not merely say, "Who inhabits the heights, and looks upon the humble": but when He had first said, "Who is like the Lord our God," He then added, "Who inhabits the heights, and looks upon the humble," indicating for what cause He said the latter, because of the Jewish weakness which was stultified by idols, and worshipped gods confined to places and temples. A For this reason He introduces, little by little, a comparison, although God by far surpasses all things; but for the sake of the weakness of his auditors—for I will not cease saying this constantly—He moderates the discourse. For He did not seek to say something worthy of the glory of God at that moment, but whatever he said had to be of a kind that could be grasped by them. And therefore He raises them up little by little; and yet not even so does He remain in the lowliness, but again opens up certain higher meanings. For after He said, "Who inhabits the heights, and looks upon the humble," raising his discourse again to higher things, He says: "In heaven and on earth," demonstrating that He is everywhere, both here and there. For He does not look from afar at what happens on earth as if enclosed in heaven; rather, He is present everywhere and stands by all. B Next, when He had lifted the auditor from the earth and placed him in heaven, again, providing that he might grasp something greater in his mind, He comes to another indication of His power, saying: "Raising the needy from the earth, and lifting up the poor from the dunghill." For it is a great and truly ineffable power to lift up small things. Elsewhere, however, someone else places the contrary, that He also brings down great things, saying: "Dividing contrition upon strength, and adding misery upon a fortification" (Amos 5:9). Here, however, it is certainly said that He can raise up the lowly. Therefore the statement is general. But if anyone wishes to take these things also anagogically, he will see this fulfilled in the Gentiles, he will see this happening to us men at the time of the advent of Christ. For what was more needy than our nature? Yet He raised it and lifted it into heaven with our firstfruits, and established it sitting in the heavens on the Father’s throne. And raising the poor from the dunghill, 8. "that He may set him with princes, with the princes of his people." The dunghill here signifies vileness and the sudden transformation that comes from it, showing that everything is easy and ready for Him. Then He passes to something greater. What is this? That He is not only able to transfer things and give authority to the humble, but also to move the limits of nature itself, and to make her who was barren a mother. And for this reason He added: 9. "Who makes the barren woman to dwell in a house, a mother rejoicing over children." This, indeed, was fulfilled in C Anna, as it happened in countless others. D Have you seen the perfect hymn? Have you seen the complete hymn? He told things that were to reform the whole world, how Judaism was to cease, how the new polity of the Church was to go forth in splendor, how the sacrifice was to be offered everywhere. Then, making the discourse worthy of belief even for the cruder sort, he confirms what is future by those things which are already happening. What he says is of this kind: Do not wonder at such a future change, and that the rejected nations were to come to the greatest glory. Do you not see these things happening daily? The humble being lifted up, and sitting with princes? Do you not see nature, which was maimed and stunted, being corrected, barren women becoming mothers? Something of the sort also happens in the Church. It was barren, but it has become a mother of many children. Wherefore Isaiah says: "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry, you who do not travail: because many are the children of the desolate more than of her who has a husband" (Isai. 54:1), foretelling that this was to happen in the Church. Therefore he also closed the discourse here, rendering the prophecy worthy of belief from this point, from those things which have already been done, from His magnificence. For whatever things have seemed good to God are easy to be done. For He can change nature, and transfer lowliness into height, and correct characters. Since we know all these things, then, let us bring what is ours, and we shall enjoy all glory, and we shall ascend to the ineffable height, relying on the help of God: to whom be glory and power, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CXII
"When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people, 2. Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion." ...custom. What is this? That when He first showed his power, then He demands that He be worshipped. For signifying this he was saying: "When Israel went out of Egypt, Judah became His sanctuary." For then He showed His power through the signs which were done in Egypt, and through those which were in the desert: then also He made the people familiar to Himself. This very same thing He also did in Adam. For since He had first made the world, and had showed the strength of His wisdom and power, so He fashioned man, and from him demanded worship. So also the only-begotten Son of God, when He had first provided many signs of every kind, then demanded faith. Wherefore to those who were approaching Him from the beginning, as they did not have tokens of Him, nor argument of His divinity, He did not say, "Do you believe that I can do this?" but He was only showing signs. But after He had established the monuments of His power everywhere through Palestine, bringing a remedy to maimed bodies, expelling vice, discoursing about the kingdom, sanctioning salutary laws, then He also demanded faith from those who were approaching. For men want first to obtain power, and then they attempt to do good: but God begins from benefits. And what do I say of other benefits, when He even endured the cross itself, and then...
A showed his care through deeds? This, therefore, is what the Psalm also signifies here, saying: In the departure of Israel from Egypt, out of a barbarous people, Judea became his sanctuary. That is, in the departure, in the release, in the freedom from Egypt. And he did not say simply, "from Egypt," but he added, "out of a barbarous people," showing God’s care by the very name of the enemies. For they could not have been freed from those cruel and savage Egyptians, who were disposed more barbarously than beasts, unless they had enjoyed the mighty hand and the unconquerable right hand. For they were wilder than beasts and harder than stones, being disciplined with countless blows, and yet not yielding. By calling the people "barbarous," therefore, he showed the preeminence of God's power, because He persuaded such a barbarous and cruel people—or rather, compelled them even against their will to let the slaves go—and those who were contentious He afterwards delivered to the sea, and thus liberated His own people.
What is it, "Judea became His sanctuary"? Meaning, a people serving Him, a people consecrated to Him, a people made His own property. Now, "sanctuary" was properly called the temple, the inner sanctum, the Holy of Holies, just as Zechariah also introduces some inquiring and saying: "Has the sanctuary entered here? Shall we fast?" (Zach. 7.3), signifying [the return of] the ark and all other things. "Judea became His sanctuary." For before this, the land was unclean and accursed; but when the people returned, the city became His sanctuary: that is, it was brought to holiness through oversight, through sacrifices, B through worship, through other such sanctification. "Israel His power." What is, "Israel His power"? Under His authority/rule, he says. Although the whole world was under His authority, these [were so] also according to a special relation; because they also received prophecies, and He conversed with them, and ordered their affairs more significantly. Furthermore, in another way, they were also called His people. For indeed, at His nod they often went out even to wars, and did many other things. For having delivered them from barbarian hands, from tyranny, from slavery, from extreme danger, and from lawless inclination, He became their King. This is also what He proves and shows elsewhere, that because He had first exhibited His own works, He demanded theirs in return, saying: "Have I become a wilderness to the house of Israel, or a deserted land?" (Jer. 2.31). What he says is this: Have I become unproductive to you, he says? Have I not displayed countless good things for you? Have I not changed nature itself? Have I not ordered the elements to your service? Have I not granted you a life removed from human labors? For this reason he says: "Have I become a wilderness to the house of Israel?" That is, have I not brought forth countless fruits? Freedom from Egypt, deliverance from barbarians, the display of wonders, the life in the desert, the inheritance of Palestine, the holding of the nations, the continuous C trophies, the successive victories, the paradoxical wonders, the continuous portents, the fertility of the land, the increase of your race, the glory through all the world, and other countless things? Do you see the fruits of God? For this reason he added: "Have I become a land laid waste?" That is, have you not reaped countless fruits from Me? Have I not blessed your coming in and your going out, your flocks, and your herds, your bread, and your water? Have I not set you in safety? Have I not made you unconquerable to all, fearsome and invincible? Have not all things from the earth and from heaven flowed to you as from springs? For a ruler shows this most of all: to provide for his subjects, to care for them and concern himself with them.
2. And for this reason Christ also said: The good shepherd, he did not say, "is honored and served," but, "lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10.11). This is authority, this is the pastoral science, to overlook one's own affairs and to care for those of the subjects. For what a physician is, that is a ruler; or rather, even more than a physician. For the physician procures health by his art; but the ruler [does so] even in his own dangers. Which Christ also did, being slapped, crucified, and suffering countless things. D Therefore Paul also said: "For Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: 'The reproaches of those who reproach You fell upon Me'" (Rom. 15.3; Psal. 68.10). Therefore, he sets forth here two—or rather three and countless—benefits: that He delivered them from barbarians, that He freed them from an alien power, that He cast out slavery, that He ended labors and miseries, that He performed countless wonders; then that He also deemed them worthy to become His sanctuary and subjects. For this too is no small form of benefit, to enroll them in the rank of His subjects. "The sea saw, and fled: the Jordan turned back." Observe the discourse reaching its climax, and the benefit increasing. For what need is there to speak, he says, of barbarians and nations, when even creation itself withdrew, and gave way, and shifted to the opposite, seeing the One leading, and giving way to the Guide? For all things then withdrew and gave way to the people of the Hebrews, so that they might learn that what was happening was not of human sequence, but that all the wonders were of a divine and ineffable power. And observe the emphasis of the word, how excellently he has placed it. For he did not say, "It withdrew," nor, "It gave way," but what? "The sea saw, and fled": wishing to signify the speed of the withdrawal by flight, the magnitude of the astonishment, the ease of God's operation. And so that no one might think this happened by a cycle or coincidence, it has not happened since, but once, when God commanded, and upon different persons. For the disordered rush of the waters, as if it were some rational and animate [being], God commanding, thus saved some and destroyed others, becoming for the one a tomb, for the other a vehicle. This one might see also in the case of the Babylonian furnace. For the fire, which is simply and accidentally borne, displayed great order, when God commanded, keeping those inside safe, but [consuming] those sitting outside...
The Jordan was turned backward.* See you that miracles are occurring at different times and in different places? That they might know that the power of God is extended everywhere, and is not enclosed by place: both in the barbarian region, and in the wilderness, He was present everywhere working miracles, sometimes in the sea, at other times in rivers, at one time under Moses, and later under Jesus; and they were transmitted everywhere through miracles, in order that He might soften their thoughtless minds, and those hardened by their insensibility, by means of signs, and make them more gentle and suitable for the reception of the knowledge of God.
B 4. *The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like lambs of sheep.* Here a small question arises for us. For some, being in doubt, say: "We know that the former things happened; for history has handed down that the Red Sea was divided at the exodus, and that the Jordan was turned backward when the ark passed over; but that the mountains and hills skipped, we nowhere see recorded." What then is this? Wishing to show the joy and the greatness of the miracles hyperbolically, the prophet brings in even the inanimate things themselves, as it were, leading dances and leaping, which indeed are wont to be done by those who are affected by joy. To this end, therefore, tends the addition of that comparison, *as rams and as lambs of sheep.* For those animals, when they are joyful, are wont to show their joy with leaps. Just as another says that in calamities the vine and the wine lamented—not that the vine laments (for how should a vine lament?), but wishing to place before our eyes a notable sorrow, he says that even inanimate things felt it hyperbolically—so here he introduces the creation as a participant in the joy, in order to show the greatness of the gladness. Thus also we are wont to say that things here have become joyful when we see that an honored man has arrived: *"Thou hast filled the house with joy,"* not speaking of the walls, but indicating supreme joy.
5. *What is it to you, O sea, that you fled? And you, Jordan, that you were turned backward?* 6. *You mountains, that you skipped like rams; and you hills, like lambs of sheep?* Through interrogation, he brings forth his speech, and converses with the elements, in the same sense with which he said they leaped. For just as he spoke those things—not attributing sense to them, but, as I have already said, showing notable joy and the greatness of the events—so he brings an interrogation to them; not as to things which can answer and have sense, but that what is said may become clearer, and he may show that the thing is wonderful, and surpasses the opinion of men. 7. *At the face of the Lord the earth was moved, at the face of the God of Jacob.* Here again he speaks of motion, of trembling, of wonder, in order to show the greatness of the events. C *God of Jacob*—the Lord, called by the name of a servant. Then, showing how great a thing the virtue of one man is, he called the Lord by the name of a servant. Which, indeed, Paul also says was granted to those saints as the greatest honor, because they were free from all things that belonged to this life. For he not only placed that honor, but also added the cause of the honor, that he might teach the hearer the way by which one might be able to obtain this place. Which way? That the Lord be called by the name of servants. For which cause he said: *Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God* (Hebr. XI, 16). How was God called their God? Saying: *I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob* (Exod. III, 6). Then, placing the cause of such a calling above, he said: *And all these died, not having received the promises, but seeing them afar off and saluting them, and confessing that they are strangers and pilgrims* (Hebr. XI, 13). This is the cause, and therefore he added: *Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God* (Ibid. v. 16). For what cause? Because they confessed that they were guests and pilgrims (Ibid. v. 13), and that they had nothing in common with present things, but being separated from those things which pertain to this life, they lived in a strange land.
8. *Who turned the rock into pools of water, and the flint into fountains of waters.* What, I ask, pardon will they obtain who are hard, and do not easily yield, when even the rock and the flint, which is hard and resistant, yields to the command of the Lord, but man, who is gifted with reason and is gentler than all things, turns out more hard than them? For D he here calls it the flint, which does not easily yield to iron, but is broken with difficulty on the summit. Yet it was changed into the opposite nature, and sent forth fountains of waters. For the Creator of nature is able to transfer even the limits themselves, and to show things that are contrary; which He has done time and again in many places, showing Himself to be the one who made all things out of things which were not. Therefore, after he has spoken of the ancient benefits, the miracles, the prodigies, how He freed them from barbarian slavery, how He led them back into liberty, how He changed the elements, and filled everything with joy, he asks also for the present things and flees to that same harbor. Then, because that also happened not because of the merits of those who were receiving the benefit, but because of God's benevolence and clemency, and His name—which, indeed, He said: *Lest my name be profaned* (Ezech. XX, 9), but that all might know through the things that were done His power and authority—and this becomes a basis for doctrine, he brings forward this reason even now, saying: Even if our life fails, and we do not have confidence in our own good deeds, do it for Thy name’s sake, as Moses was saying. To whom also he, saying these things in agreement, asserts: 9. *Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Thy name give glory.* Not for our sake, he says, nor that Thou shouldst render us brighter and more notable, but that Thou Thyself everywhere mayest render Thy power manifest. But just as His name is affected with glory and honor while He brings help, so again it is affected with glory while we live rightly and according to virtue, and are clear in our excellent manner of life. *Let your light shine,* he says, *before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in h…*
heaven* (Matt. 5:16). Just as He is glorified, therefore, when we are in virtue, so again He is blasphemed when we dwell in vice. This He demonstrated through the prophet when he said: *My name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you* (Isai. 52:5). Since he has no defense to offer for them from any other source, he takes refuge in this, just as Moses did.
The salvation of men is a greater care to God than His own glory. But God does not always do this, taking care for the salvation of men. For if He were always to do this, many of the slothful would become worse, having as a A sure pledge that they would suffer no evil because God must always save them for the sake of His own glory. But it is not so. Neither does it concern God as much for His own glory as it does for the salvation of men. For if men despise Him, God does so much more, He who has no need of anything from us; but as I said, the Prophet, since he performs the role of an advocate, makes his plea from what is at hand, and repeats the words, saying: *Not to us, O Lord, not to us,* showing clearly the unworthiness of those being saved; *but give glory to thy name.* For we are worthy of countless evils; but [let it be] so that thy name may not be profaned. *For thy mercy and for thy truth's sake.* Another interpreter says: *For thy mercy's sake.* You see how he himself also clearly knows that God often disregards this [glory] and looks only to one thing: the reformation of those who sin. For this reason he added: *For thy mercy and for thy truth's sake.* That is to say, for thy mercy's sake help us, even if thou dost not care for the glory that comes from men, yet for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake [do it]. For it is possible, it is possible even by punishing to receive glory, and not by showing mercy alone. But not so, he says, but for thy mercy's sake. It was necessary that glory be given to thy name by us through our life and conduct; but since we have betrayed this, do it through thy providence, through [thy] mercy and loving-kindness. *Lest the Gentiles say, Where is their God?*
4. I hear many now praying and saying these things; but I fear lest they say, *Where is their God?* in another sense, when many plunder, and deal unjustly, and commit countless evil deeds.
*But our God is in heaven and in earth; he has done all things whatsoever he has willed.* Here he corrects the error of the senseless. Since many are unaware that there is a God, correcting such a notion, he says: *But our God is in heaven; he has done all things whatsoever he has willed.* And if [He is] in heaven, much more [is He] on earth. And what is it, *He has done all things whatsoever he has willed*? He means either the powers above, and those countless hosts, or the commands which are fulfilled with ease. And if the earth has much confusion and disorder, do not be surprised. This B happens from the wickedness of men, and the malice of those who follow it, and not from the weakness of God. For that He is mighty and strong, the things that are done in heaven manifest. It is not so on earth, for those who make themselves unworthy are the cause. And one might interpret this argument otherwise, that many things are done through long-suffering, and do not receive their just retribution. For this reason, also, the wicked gain the upper hand over the just, because the philanthropic God does not wish to demand the accounts of every transgression on the spot; since otherwise our race would have been snatched away long ago. This, therefore, he says here, that He is mighty and strong, and capable of taking vengeance; and this is clear from what has come to pass in heaven; but He does not do this, everywhere using long-suffering, and drawing those who live in wickedness unto repentance. *The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men. They have a mouth, and will not speak: they have eyes, and will not see: they have ears, and will not hear: they have noses, and will not smell: they have hands, and will not feel: they have feet, and will not walk: they will not cry out in their throat. Let those who make them be like them.*
In the one hundred and fifth Psalm, describing their madness, he said that they sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons; but in the present one he describes their senselessness, because they are attached to inanimate materials. And he goes through all their members, making the comedy more expansive. Then he also adds: *Let those who make them be like them.* And yet this is a virtue, to be like God; but here it has become a curse. Consider, therefore, what they must be like when the likeness to them is uttered as a curse of the utmost [degree]. And well did he shape the discourse thus, mocking them as to the utmost folly, and showing them to be ridiculous.
For how is it not ridiculous, tell me, to be bound to a statue that has the form of the utmost indecency? For who would choose to see a woman naked? And yet the demon C sits by even in a naked form. And now indeed the statues are images of fornication, and now of the madness against males. For what does the eagle mean? And what the Ganymede? And what Apollo pursuing the virgin? And what other abominable forms? Everywhere lust, everywhere lasciviousness, everywhere types of illicit unions and maddened loves. For indeed the statues, and the festivals, and the public assemblies, and the mysteries, are proofs and monuments and teachings of shameful things. And not only of shameful things, but also of murders against men. Whence also they turn away from the demons. For there is nothing else among them but lust, and intemperate drunkennesses, and cruelty, and inhumanity, and bloodguiltiness; and one might see the entire festivals composed of these. Having therefore mocked the senselessness of the idols, and the folly of those who trust in them, he turns the discourse to the hymn of God, saying: *The house of Israel has hoped in the Lord; he is their helper and defender. The house of Aaron has hoped in the Lord; he is their helper and defender. Those who fear the Lord have hoped in the Lord; he is their helper and defender.* For through these [words] he [shows] also the power of God…
and His incomparable excellence over all. By bringing into the midst the things done for the Jewish people, he demonstrates His double, or rather, triple benefit. The first, indeed, is that He delivered them from demons; the second, that He manifested Himself; and the third, that He provided them with His own help.
A The priest far surpasses the private individual. Providence and the blessing of God are upon Israel and the proselytes themselves; the blessing is old and new.
He divides the discourse into Israel, the priestly lineage, and those who approach Him from the nations. For a private individual is not to be compared with a priest, but the latter far surpasses him; and therefore, he rightly makes that division. For a greater honor has been bestowed upon them.
B Not limiting it only to the Jews, he also mentions the proselytes, who approach from the nations, saying that the help and the blessing are made for all. *Lord, mindful of us, He has blessed us.* He has blessed the house of Israel; He has blessed the house of Aaron; He has blessed those who fear the Lord. What is "He has blessed"? He has filled [them], he says, with countless good things. For a man also blesses God, as when he says, *Bless the Lord, O my soul* (Ps. 102:1). But he who blesses God, he himself gains; for he renders himself brighter, yet bestows nothing upon Him; but God, in blessing, makes us brighter, while He Himself receives nothing. For God is in need of nothing; therefore, the profit is ours on both sides. But how did He bless them? He gave them bread from heaven, He rained water from the rock, He guarded their coming in and their going out, He increased their herds and their flocks, He named them a peculiar people and a royal priesthood, He gave the law, He sent prophets. These things he proclaims also elsewhere, saying, *He has not done so for any nation, and His judgments He has not manifested to them* (Ps. 147:20). And another: *What nation is so wise, to whom the Lord God draws near? To the small with the great* (Deut. 4:7). There was, he says, no race to whom a blessing was wanting, but these things were extended to all.
C *May the Lord add to you; to you, and to your children.* Do you see another kind of blessing, namely, that the race should grow? And therefore, another, offering the opposite in place of punishment, says, *And we have been diminished, and we are few more than all who inhabit the earth* (Dan. 3:37). They enjoyed this blessing even when they were in Egypt, although there were countless things hindering, [such as] labors, affliction, and calamity, [and] the cruelty of those who were pressing upon them; but the word of God interrupted none of these, but the blessing proceeded so far that in two hundred years they became six hundred thousand (Exod. 12:37). But then, indeed, the blessing consisted in these things; now, however, in the New [Covenant], it consists in much better things. And therefore Paul says, *Blessed be God, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ* (Eph. 1:3). And again, *Now to Him who is able to do all things far more abundantly than we ask or think, to Him be glory in the Church* (Eph. 3:20–21). And therefore the prophets also, seeking blessings from of old, provided this blessing. For Elisha rewarded with the gift of a son her who received him (4 Kings 4:16). But in the New [Covenant], not these [gifts], but much greater ones. And so, the purple-seller did not ask for these from the apostles, but what? *If you have judged me to be worthy of the Lord, having entered, stay with me* (Acts 16:15).
D The goods of the New Testament have nothing earthly. The nature of virginity. The carnality of the Jews. The blessing of men.
Do you see how much difference there is, and what those who were in the Old [Covenant] were asking for, and what those in the New are asking for? And again Christ: *Rejoice, because your names have been written in the heavens* (Luke 10:20). And Paul: *But may God fill you with all grace and hope in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit* (Rom. 15:13). Do you see the strength of the blessing that provides ineffable goods and has nothing earthly? And again Paul: *But God shall crush Satan under your feet swiftly* (Rom. 16:20). But in the Old [Covenant], when men were thicker, the blessing was woven from sensible things, and the begetting of many children was considered to be the greatest thing. For because death had entered through sin, God, comforting the race and showing that it would not only not consume it, nor bring about destruction, but that there would be even far more [people] than before, says, *Increase, and multiply* (Gen. 9:1). But after it was known that death was a sleep, the goodness of virginity was introduced. And therefore Paul was saying: *But I wish all men to be in continence, even as myself. And again: It is good for a man not to touch a woman* (1 Cor. 7:1). And Christ: *There are eunuchs, who have castrated themselves for the sake of the kingdom of heaven* (cf. Matt. 19:12). He signified that there is a need for virtue, not for a multitude of children. But hear how. For a certain wise man says: *Do not desire a multitude of useless children, unless the fear of God is with them; and do not attend to a multitude of them. For one is better than a thousand, and [it is better] to die without children than to have impious children; and one doing the will of the Lord is better than countless impious ones* (Ecclus. 16:1–4). But the Jews, possessing no understanding at all, always aspiring to the flesh and being negligent of virtue, were saying: *What does God seek, if not seed?* (Mal. 2:15). Showing them that He does not seek this, He destroyed them thousands of times, when they were lacking in virtue.
*Blessed are you by the Lord.* He rightly added, "by the Lord." For this is the blessing most of all. For there are also those who are blessed among men, but their affairs are human. But this is the greatest blessing. Men indeed bless—that is, they praise, they celebrate—those whose wealth, glory, and power are great. But this blessing is temporary, or rather, when it is present, it brings no profit at all; but the benevolence of God is perpetual, and it provides utility in the greatest matters. *Who made heaven and earth.*
A
6. Do you see the power of the blessing? For His steps become works. Indeed, His word made the heaven. For "By the word," he says, "of the Lord the heavens were established" (Ps. 32. 6). He blesses you with that word, with Him who is so powerful.
"The heaven of heaven belongs to the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of men" (Ps. 113. 24). What are you saying? Did He choose heaven as a dwelling for Himself, and, having taken the upper chambers, did He assign to us the things here below? Far from it! This is not so, but the wording is one of condescension. For if this is the case, how does the other thing stand that is said by God: "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" says the Lord (Jer. 23. 24). That is contrary to this, if we take it according to the superficial expression and do not consider the theory stored up for them. What is it, then, that he says: "The heaven of heaven to the Lord, but the earth He gave to the sons of men"? He employs condescending language, not excluding God from heaven. For neither is heaven His throne and the earth a footstool, just as the statement, "I fill heaven and earth," is not said in a manner worthy of Him, but even that is condescension. For He contains all things and bears all things, not needing a place, but Himself holding all things together. But heaven is called His house because it is a place pure from wickedness. Just as, therefore, heaven is not an election here, so too when He says, "He set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God" (Deut. 32. 8), or that "He chose the house of Jacob" (Ps. 134. 4). For He does not say this even here, that the Jews are His but other men are not; rather, that these others are destitute of His providence and deprived of His creation. For He is the God of all alike. But He uses this language to show the longing He had for them, since they seemed in some way to be better than the others. For that He did not choose them alone, but was the guardian of all, is shown by the things before Moses, and no less by the things in his time, and the things occurring individually after him. For He gave the sun, the earth, the sea, and all other things to all in common, and He sowed the natural law in all. And He loved Abraham—though he was a Persian—and guided him; and through him He corrected both the Egyptians and those in Canaan, and those who came from Persia; and again through that man’s child and his grandson He made many of those neighbors better, as far as His own part was concerned. And when Moses was born, after that, through the things happening to the Jews, He was leading the Egyptians toward the knowledge of God, and those in Palestine, and after that those in Babylon. So when He says, "The heaven of heaven belongs to the Lord," He means this: that for this reason He rests in those there, because they are stripped of all wickedness. And you, too, if you are not fastened to the earth but become an angel, you shall quickly be bound to heaven and your paternal home, and before the resurrection you have already moved from here, and you possess the dignity. For just as many who are among the great senate possess dignity even while spending time in the country, so you, too, if you wish to conduct yourself in heaven, even while spending time here, shall enjoy that dignity.
"The dead shall not praise you, O Lord, nor all they who go down into Hades. But we the living will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore." He calls "dead" not those who have passed away, but those who died in impieties or those who have rotted away in sins. Since Abraham had indeed passed away, and Isaac and Jacob, yet they lived in such a way that the living keep their memory. At any rate, Moses, praying for the people led by him, beseeches God through them, having taken them for intercession. And the three youths likewise ask to be saved through them; wherefore they also say: "Do not withdraw your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham your beloved, and for the sake of Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one" (Dan. 3. 35). But if they had such power, how were they dead? And again Christ says, "Let the dead bury their own dead" (Matt. 8. 22). For this reason Paul does not call those who have passed away "dead," but "those who have fallen asleep," writing: "I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep" (1 Thess. 4. 13). For the just man, even if he passes away, is not dead, but sleeps. For he who is about to be sent to a better life is sleeping; but he who is about to be led away to an immortal death, even while living, has stopped living, and is dead. They go down into Hades; these shall ascend into heaven and shall be with Christ. For this very reason the Prophet did not simply say, "The living," but, "We the living," also putting it regarding himself. And why did he not say, "The living," but added, "We"? Because Paul also said in this way, that "We the living, who are left, shall not precede the coming of the Lord" (1 Thess. 4. 16). Just as there the "We," being added, does not allow what is said to be spoken of all men, but of the believers and those resembling him in their manner of life, so too here, "We the living" refers to those according to David and those living in virtue. "From this time forth and forevermore." Do you see the addition also declaring this? This, which? That he speaks concerning those who live according to virtue. For no one lives this life forever, but those alone who also live the life with glory throughout. For sinners also live, but in punishment and torment and in the gnashing of teeth; but these in brightness and splendor, having as their work to offer mystical hymns to God together with the bodiless powers. In order, therefore, that we might also enjoy this joy, let us pursue this life, so that we might also arrive at that lot which neither speech, nor mind, nor any other thing will be able to represent, but it is D
experience alone that reveals its blessedness. May it be granted to us all to attain to this, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CXIV
1. *I have loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer.*
A 1. What things are truly advantageous to us.—And who is there, you might ask, who does not love when he is heard? Many worldly people do not. They do not want to hear what is truly advantageous to them, but they ask for things to happen that are not to their advantage; then, when they do happen, they are pained and afflicted with sorrow. For those things are advantageous which God knows to be advantageous for us, whether you speak of poverty, or hunger, or disease, or any other thing of this kind. But those things which God has approved as advantageous and has given, these are indeed useful. Hear, then, what He said to Paul: *My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness* (2 Cor. XII, 9). For these were the things that were advantageous to him: persecutions, afflictions, and straits. And having heard that these were advantageous, he said: *Therefore I am content in weaknesses, in insults, in persecutions* (Ibid. v. 10). It is not, therefore, for everyone to rejoice when God has heard them by providing what is advantageous. Many certainly desire things that are useless, and take pleasure in them; but not so the prophet. What then? He loved, because God heard him, by giving what is useful.
B 2. *Because he has inclined his ear to me.* Again, he shows the nod of God by using human terms. And through this word he also implies something else, saying: I am not worthy to be heard, yet He Himself descended to me. *And in my days I will call.* What is meant by "in my days"? He means: not because I have been heard will I draw back and become more negligent, but I will fulfill this duty during all the days of my life.
C 3. *The sorrows of death surrounded me, and the dangers of hell found me. I found tribulation and pain; and I called upon the name of the Lord.* Have you seen the mighty weapon? Have you seen the consolation that dissolves all that is grievous? Have you seen the soul inflamed with a desire for the Lord? What he says is of this kind: It is enough for me, in order to be delivered from the evils that surround me, to call upon God. What, then, is the reason that, although we call upon God often, we are nonetheless not delivered from our evils? It is because we do not call upon Him as we ought. For, that you may know that He is always prepared to provide, hear what He says in the Gospels: *Which of you, if his son asks him for bread, will hand him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will hand him a serpent? If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?* (Matt. VII, 9-11). Do you see how great His goodness is, when our wickedness is seen in comparison with it? Since, therefore, such is our Lord, let us always flee to Him, let us invoke Him alone as our helper, and we shall find Him ready to save us. For if those who have suffered shipwreck and are carried along on a plank, by calling out to those who are far off, persuade them to show kindness—even if there is nothing in common between them, but they are known only by their calamity—how much more will He who is benign and merciful, and who possesses natural goodness, snatch away those who are oppressed by grave calamities, if only they are willing to flee to Him and call upon Him truly and sincerely, having abandoned human hope? D When, therefore, you fall into some unexpected evil, do not abandon your courage, but immediately raise up your spirit, and flee to the tranquil harbor which is agitated by no waves, and to the fortress that is never taken, namely, the help of God. For He allowed you to fall, so that you might call upon Him. But most people are then especially cast down, and discard the piety they possessed, when they should do the opposite. For because He loves us deeply, He allows us to be afflicted, so that we may be more perfectly joined to Him. For mothers are also accustomed to frighten insolent children with various masks, forcing them to flee to their own bosoms, not indeed wishing to cause them distress, but contriving this so that they themselves may sit beside them; so too God, wishing to join us to Himself always, like a fervent lover—or rather, more fervent than any lover—permits you to be brought into such necessity, so that you may be continuously free for prayer, and call upon Him assiduously, and, having abandoned other things, be anxious for Him. *O Lord, deliver my soul.* Another interpreter: *I beseech, O Lord, rescue my soul.* Another: *O Lord, save my soul.*
4. You have seen the wise soul, how, having abandoned all things pertaining to this life, it seeks but one thing: that the soul may remain unharmed and suffer nothing of those things that can harm it. For if it is well, all other things follow; if it is not well, other prosperity helps us not at all. And therefore it is necessary to say and do everything so that we may preserve it. For this is what He hints at when He says: *Be wise as serpents* (Matt. X, 16). For just as that one casts away the rest of the body, so that it may preserve the head, so you also must give up all other things for the safety of the soul. For neither poverty, nor disease, nor what seems to be the head of all evils—death—will be able to harm the one who has fallen, if that is preserved; just as you will gain no profit from life if it is lost or corrupted. Therefore, having left other things behind, he makes this his concern, and asks that he not be held to too harsh an account for it, and that he be freed from intolerable punishments. 5. *The Lord is merciful and just, and our God is merciful.* Do you see how He teaches the listener that he should neither despair nor be slothful and more negligent? For he says, as it were, "Do not despair; for God is merciful; and do not be slothful; for He is just." Thus, He cuts off the sloth of the one, and the despair of the other.
A taking away despair and procuring salvation for us from every side.
2. Then, showing God to be inclined toward benevolence, he adds again, saying: "And our God has mercy." He rightly said, "Our God," in contrast to those gods of whom he made mention a little before. For the work of those was to slaughter and destroy and to wage implacable war; but to this One it belongs to be benevolent, to show mercy, and to snatch us from perils continually. And this especially, along with other things, proves those others to be demons and destroyers, while this One is the guardian, the protector, and the true God. "The Lord is the guardian of the little ones; I was humbled, and He saved me." Here he stirs up the greatest form of His providence. Since he said, "He is merciful and just, and He has mercy," he demonstrates the work of His greatest benevolence. And what is this? That of the little ones. For we have reason that instructs us to guard against some things and to choose others, to beat back evils that are coming upon us, and to dissolve those that are present; and we possess strength, and we know crafts. But infants are devoid of all these things, as being without a protector; yet through everything they have the providence of God, without which, if they did not constantly enjoy it, they would all perish. For even a serpent would have destroyed the infant still in swaddling clothes, as would a domestic bird, and many other things that creep in houses. For neither a nurse, nor a mother, nor anyone else suffices to show complete providence over them if they do not enjoy the impulse from above. Some also say that this word is spoken concerning embryos and those not yet come out of the womb. "I was humbled, and He saved me." He did not say, "He did not allow me to fall into perils"; but, "After I had fallen, He saved me." Since he spoke of His general providence, he also brings forward the discourse regarding his own person, which is his custom, to establish these things from both general and particular instances. Do not, therefore, seek a life filled with security; for it is not advantageous for you. For if it was not advantageous for the prophets, much less so for you. For as to why it was not advantageous, hear what he says: "It is good for me that You humbled me, so that I might learn Your righteousness" (Ps. 118: 71). There is a twofold thanksgiving here, because He allowed him to fall into perils, and because, having fallen, He did not abandon him. But both are in some way a kind of benefit, and the former is not less than the latter; rather, if one must say something wonderful, it is even greater. For the one dissolved the perils, but the other made the soul more philosophical. B "Turn, my soul, into your rest, for the Lord has benefited you. For He delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from slipping. I will be well-pleasing before the Lord in the land of the living." The discourse of the history speaks of a terrible deliverance and a certain relief and freedom. But if one were to interpret it anagogically, he will be able to call the departure from here a ransom, and C call this rest. For it is a release from all the unbearable evils, and he is no longer subject to uncertainty, having become secure, he who has ended his life with good hope. For even if death was brought in from sin, yet God used it for our benefit. For this reason, He was not satisfied with that alone, but also made life laborious, so that you might learn that He would not have allowed the former either, if it were not very useful according to His wisdom that this came to pass. For this reason, having said, "In the day you eat, you shall die by death," He was not satisfied with the penalty—for this was the penalty: "Earth you are, and to earth you shall return"—but now He also shows another, saying: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread. It will bring forth thorns and thistles for you; in labors you shall eat of it." And to the woman He said: "Multiplying I will multiply your sorrows, and your groaning. In sorrows you shall bring forth children." For that was not enough to make them sober-minded. At any rate, we see many becoming better by this very means. For death hands one over to insensibility when it comes; but these things make those still living better. But if the matter seems dreadful, it is because of the weakness of those who are so disposed. For that the fear was of weakness, hear Paul, even praying for this, and rejoicing, as when he says: "To depart and be with Christ is by much more better" (Phil. 1: 23); and again, "I rejoice and congratulate you all; the same also do you rejoice and congratulate me" (Phil. 2: 17, 18); and [concerning the contrary] he is pained: "Not only that," he says, "but we ourselves also groan within ourselves, awaiting the adoption, the redemption of our body" (Rom. 8: 23); and again, "We who are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened" (2 Cor. 5: 4).
3. You have seen how great a good philosophy is? What to others seems worthy of tears, this is to him a matter of prayer; and what to others seems worthy of gladness and pleasure, this is to him a matter of groaning. Or is it not worthy of groaning to be under another and to be moved far away from our own homeland? And is it not worthy of gladness to hasten quickly to the calm harbor and to receive the city above, where pain, grief, and groaning have fled away? And what is that to me, he says, the sinner? You see that it is not death that causes the grief, but the evil conscience? Cease, therefore, from being a sinner, and death will be desirable for you. "My eyes from tears." He rightly said this; for there is no grief there, nor despondency, nor wailing. "And my feet from slipping." This is greater than the former. How? Because we are not only delivered from grief, but also from being tripped up and plotted against. For the one who has departed with accomplishments stands on the rock; he has grasped the harbor; all hindrances are removed; henceforth there is nowhere noise or turmoil; but the one who has thus departed remains in perpetual D approval.
from constant departure. *I shall be well-pleasing before the Lord in the land of the living.* Another, *Before the Lord.* Another, *I walked.* This, Paul also shows, saying: *And we shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord* (1 Thess. 4:17). And he rightly said, *In the land of the living.* For that is the true life, free from death, which possesses pure and unmixed goods. For *when,* he says, *He shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power, the last enemy, death, shall be destroyed* (1 Cor. 15:24, 26). And when these have been destroyed, nothing sad or unpleasant will remain; there will be no care, no labor. Therefore all things will be joy, all things peace, all things charity, all things tranquility, all things delight, all things true and sincere, solid and stable. For there is no such falling there, no anger, no sorrow, no love of money, no desire for bodies, no poverty, no riches, no dishonor, nor anything else of that kind. Therefore, let us desire this life and direct all our actions toward it. For on account of this we are also commanded to say in prayer, *Thy kingdom come* (Matt. 6:10), so that we may always look to that day. For he who is held by that love, and is nourished by the hope of those goods, is overwhelmed by no present evils, is weighed down by no troubles of this world; but just as those who journey toward a royal city are not detained by anything that offers itself on the way—not by meadows, not by gardens, not by valleys, not by deserts—but, giving no thought to either, they look to one thing alone, the fatherland that is to receive them; so also he who portrays and describes that city to himself daily, and fosters and nourishes the longing for it, will consider none of the heavy things heavy, nor will he consider any of the pleasant and illustrious things pleasant and illustrious. But why do I say he will not consider them? Nay, he will not even see them, as one who has other eyes, and such as Paul commands when he says: *While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal* (2 Cor. 4:18). Did you see how he pointed out the way by another expression? Therefore let us embrace those things, so that we may also attain them, and enjoy life free from all destruction; which may it be granted to us all to attain, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CXV
*I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly humbled.*
A 1. Having recalled this saying, the blessed Paul speaks in some such way: *Having also the same Spirit of faith, according as it is written: I believed, therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak* (2 Cor. 4:13). It is necessary, therefore, to declare first how the Apostle used this, and concerning what the discourse had been set forth by him. For only in this way shall we know what the prophet means. The best method of teaching. B Otherwise, this is the best method of teaching: not to cut up the series of the discourse, nor to take a part and dwell upon it, but to derive the beginning of the narration from on high. Concerning what, then, is Paul speaking when he mentions this prophetic voice? Concerning the resurrection and the enjoyment of future goods, which surpass all reason, and mind, and thought. Since, therefore, these surpassed all discourse, and he could not explain them, but faith is needed to receive them—lest the Jew be disturbed and, inflated by vain hope, think he had been deceived—he corrects his imprudence with a prophetic saying, almost saying: "I do not seek anything new, faith, but an old good." And so indeed does Paul. But the prophet, since he himself was also about to predict certain goods that were to come to the Jews, which surpassed the human order of things, C so that no one could withhold faith from them, he began the Psalm, saying: *I believed, therefore have I spoken.* For because Jerusalem had perished, and the temple had been overturned and destroyed, and all had been led away captive and bound into a foreign land, and barbarians for their part were possessing their land and had been ordered to plant vineyards, build houses, and contract marriages; these things brought despair to the Jews, and subsequently they reflected among themselves: "If, when we had a city, weapons, towers, such great abundance of money, a temple, an altar, worship and ceremonies, and all other religious instruction, we were handed over and led away into slavery and captivity; now, when we dwell in a foreign land and are despoiled of all things, naked and slaves, how shall we be able to recover our fatherland?" Because, therefore, many of the weaker ones, reflecting on these things, were disturbed and did not heed the prophets who were predicting the return, D for this reason he said so, showing from this that faith is needed for those things which are spoken by God. But others are addressed by him in another way, just as Isaiah says: *Look unto the solid rock from which you were hewn, and to the pit of the lake from which you were dug out* (Isa. 51:1). And again: *Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah who bore you: that he was one, and I called him, and sanctified him, and multiplied him* (Ibid. v. 2). That which he says is of this kind: "Was not Abraham a barbarian? Was he not without children, and had he not already advanced in age? Did he not have a wife who, both because of her age and because of her nature, was useless for procreating children? Were not his circumstances entirely desperate? What then? Did I not from one without children and of advanced age fill the whole earth? Why, then, are you disturbed? For if from one I was able to fill the whole earth, much more from you few shall I fill Jerusalem."
A And therefore he says: *Look to the solid rock, from which you were hewn*, addressing Abraham in this way: *and the pit of the cistern, from which you were dug*, naming Sarah in this way. Just as a pit has no water of its own, but receives it from heavenly rains, but even when it had it, was private of the power of generation, he received it from above; and just as the rock never bore fruit, and yet Abraham was not able to—but I hewed you from there, and from one I have filled so many regions. For this reason he also leads Ezekiel into the plain, and shows him a pile of bones, and prophesying, he raises them up, showing them the bones and saying: *If I can raise the dead, much more you the living, to bring you back* (Ezek. 37: 13). They indeed thus; but this prophet, how? *I believed, therefore I spoke.* That is to say: there is need of faith for the things promised; for even I, pondering these things and considering them, and bringing in faith, cast out all disturbance. B Therefore Paul says this, that even in our sensible and visible goods there is need of faith. And if in sensible things, much more in intellectual ones. For if, in order for them to accept that they would recover their own city, they needed faith, much more do we who await heaven. For when something is great, and surpasses the understanding and is above reasonings, it is necessary to take this up, and not to examine matters by human sequence. For the miracle of God is above all these things. So that for this reason also, it is necessary to muzzle the reasonings and flee to faith, and glorify God. For he who contends with reasonings to find His things does not glorify Him, he who wishes to subject His unspeakable economies to the humility of his own reasonings.
2. Therefore, discoursing about Abraham, since Paul did not do this, but correcting the reasonings, he looked to the power of Him who promised, and showing that this most of all glorified God, he says: *For in the promise of God he did not waver in unbelief, but was strengthened by faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what He had promised, He is able also to perform* (Rom. 4: 20-21). What further is, *Having the same Spirit of faith according to what is written: I believed, therefore I spoke; and we believe, therefore we speak* (2 Cor. 4: 13)? He reveals a great mystery to us here. What is this, then? That the New and the Old are of the same Spirit, and the same Spirit that spoke in that one, also spoke here, and that faith is the teacher of all, and without this we are able to speak nothing. *And we also,* he says, *believe, therefore we speak.* For if you remove this, it is not even possible to open the mouth. And why did he not say, "Having the same faith," but, *Having the same Spirit of faith?* Declaring these things that have been said, and showing that there is need of the Spirit’s bestowal in order to ascend to the height of faith, and to dishonor the weakness of the reasonings. C Therefore also elsewhere the same one says: *But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, to another faith, to another gifts of healings.* But perhaps someone might say, which is also true, that he speaks of a different faith, through which miracles were done. I also know that that one is different, about which the apostles also said: *Increase our faith* (Luc. 17: 5); and this one is another, according to which we are all faithful, not doing signs, but having the knowledge of piety; but even here there is need of the Spirit’s help. For also regarding someone Luke writes, that *He opened her heart, to heed the things spoken by Paul* (Act. 16: 14). And Christ: *No one comes to me, unless the Father draws him* (Joan. 6: 44). If, therefore, this is of God, why do they sin who disbelieve, without the Spirit helping, or the Father drawing, or the Son guiding? For even concerning Himself He says: *I am the way* (Joan. 14: 6). This He says, showing that He is needed for being brought to the Father. If, therefore, the Father draws, the Son leads by the hand, the Spirit illuminates, why do they sin who have been neither drawn, nor led by the hand, nor illuminated? Because they do not make themselves worthy to receive this illumination. See, then, this happening in the case of Cornelius: for he did not find this of himself, but God called him, because having anticipated, he prepared himself to be worthy (Act. 10). For this reason also Paul, discoursing about faith, used to say: *And this is *not of yourselves, it is the gift of God* (Ephes. 2: 8). Yet He does not leave you destitute of accomplishments. For if it is His to draw and to bring, yet He still seeks a submissive soul, and then He introduces the alliance from Himself. Therefore Paul also says elsewhere: *To those who are called according to purpose* (Rom. 8: 28). For indeed, the matters of our virtue and of our salvation were not forced. D But even if the greater part is His, and almost the whole, yet He left something small even to us, so that the occasion for the crowns might also be decent. For this reason Paul, having said: *Having the same Spirit of faith*, that is, the one which spoke also in the Old, he added: *And we believe, therefore we speak.* For there was much more need of faith here, than there—both because of the nature of the promises being invisible and intellectual, and because of the order of the times. For it was not in the present life, but in the future that the prizes stood. Nay, rather, there was even more need of faith concerning the present things; for the very things being given needed faith even in the giving, both the communion of the mysteries, and the gift of baptism. Thus the power of the goods surpassed every word. If therefore there was need of faith in those most dense and sensible things, much more here. But the apostolic word has received the fitting interpretation; it is time, then, to come again to the prophetic one, and to say what the blessed one says.
A What, then, does he say? "I believed, therefore I have spoken." And yet he had not spoken anything as yet, but he is speaking of that which had already been spoken by him in his mind. And what is that which had already been spoken? When, he says, I had pondered that calamity and that Jewish tragedy, and that destruction and end-time desolation, I did not despair of a turn for the better; nay, I even hoped, and I announced it, and I spoke. For in the preceding Psalms, too, I discoursed much concerning these things; I spoke, however, and announced, instructed by faith.
3. But another, who is not very well instructed in this, see how he limps and is troubled. For although David says that Psalm, he does not say it from his own person, but recounting the perturbations of mind of those who limp, he said thus: "How good is God to Israel, to those who are upright in heart! But my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had well-nigh slipped" (Ps. LXXII, 1)—not speaking of feet and steps, but of limping reasonings. And he subjoined the cause, saying: "For I envied the wicked" (Ibid. 3), that is, seeing the barbarians flourishing, but the Jewish people humbled and broken. And what kind of limping does he mean? "And I said, Vainly have I justified my heart, and washed my hands among the innocent" (Ibid. 13). And what was it that compelled him to say these things, he says: "For behold, these sinners and flourishing ones have obtained riches for the age" (Ibid. 12). Then see how he B recovers himself again. If I were to say, I shall narrate thus: "This is a labor before me, until I enter into the sanctuary of God, and understand their end" (Ibid. 16-17). What he says is of this kind: I was vexed, I was afflicted in my reasonings. For such a thing is reasoning. Then I thought to myself to undertake a laborious task. For inquiring concerning these things, I shall be able to know nothing certain until I have departed to my homeland.
Matters of faith are not to be committed to human reasonings. Faith is a sacred anchor.
You see how great a danger it is to permit matters of faith to human reasonings, and not to faith? For if that man had been firm and constant in faith, he would not have spoken these things, would not have been perturbed; his feet would not have been moved, his steps would not have well-nigh slipped. But this prophet is not so, but standing upon the rock he was not troubled; rather, seeing the affairs of the Jews to be so affected, but the affairs of the barbarians otherwise, he was frequently proclaiming in many Psalms concerning the return with a clear voice and a constant and certain mind. And he strongly confided, attending neither to the strength of the barbarians nor to the vileness of the Jews, but to the power of God, who had promised these things. And therefore he says, "I believed, therefore I have spoken; but I was humbled exceedingly." Another says: "I was indeed afflicted C exceedingly." 2. "But I said in my ecstasy, Every man is a liar." Another: "And I said, anxious in spirit, every man lies." Here the splendor of faith is displayed again, in that not even the magnitude of the calamity cast him headlong into desperation. For faith is a thing of this kind: it is a certain sacred anchor, which sustains on all sides the mind that clings to it; and then it is most especially displayed when, in the greatest difficulty of affairs, it persuades him who is endowed with it to have good hope, having expelled the crowd of reasonings. Which he himself also signifying, says: "But I was afflicted too much": that is, I was indeed greatly afflicted, but I did not despair, nor did I cast away my soul. Then, showing that he had not been only afflicted, but most grievously afflicted, he subjoined, saying: "But I said in my ecstasy: Every man is a liar."What is ecstasy. Why man is called a liar.
What is, "In my ecstasy"? In the extreme, he says, of calamity, and the vast magnitude of evils. For so great, he says, was the temptation that came upon me that it threw me into an ecstasy and a heavy stupor. For he calls here by "ecstasy" an alienation from sense, which arises from evils. For when it is said that God sent upon Adam an ecstasy (Gen. II, 21), it hints at a certain alienation from sense. For ecstasy, D or being in an excess, is called "to be positioned outside oneself." Now an ecstasy was sent upon him then, so that he might not feel when his rib was being removed, nor take pain from that event; thus God, stealing away the sense of molestation so that he might not, by receiving pain, resent what was done, sent an ecstasy upon him. And again in another place: "There fell upon them an ecstasy," he says (Acts X, 10). He signifies there a heavy stupor and a removal from sense. Ecstasy henceforth signifies this everywhere. It happens either by God doing it, or by the magnitude of evils bringing on a heavy stupor and numbness. For calamity is wont to be the cause of ecstasy and stupor. Here therefore he calls "ecstasy" the magnitude of the evils that occupied him. What is it, however, which he says, "Every man is a liar"? Is no one truthful? How then is Job described: "A truthful man, just, religious" (Job I, 1)? What indeed are we to say of the prophets? For if they are liars, and in the things they said they were false, everything perishes. What indeed of Abraham? What of all the just? You see how great a crime it is if the diction only is accepted, and the meaning is not considered. What is it, therefore, that he said, "Every man is a liar"? That which he says himself elsewhere: "Man has been made like to vanity" (Ps. CXLIII, 4). Which also another prophet said: "All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass" (Is. XL, 6): that is, a thing most vile, flowing past, like to a shadow, a dream, and some image.4. And that you may know that I was not led to say these things by a light conjecture, another interpreter said, "False" (a). Another, however, "Lies"; another, "Is deceived"; another, "Fails." But this differs much from that. For to lie is a characteristic of vice, which is situated in the soul: but to fail, and to flow past, and to be a dream, a shadow, and a flower, signifies the vileness of nature. For the same is that which another said: "I am earth and ashes" (Gen. XVIII, 27); and another: "Why is earth and ashes proud?" (Eccli. X, 9); and again as when this prophet says: "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?" (Ps. VIII, 5). Everywhere he signifies the vileness of nature, and that it is nothing. For it is said regarding the harvest...
A "They have brought nothing worthy of their hope," and, "The year has played false," signifying the same thing again. Since, then, man is a thing of no account and vile, and we are accustomed to philosophize on such things especially in times of calamity, and to consider the weakness of nature; for this reason, he too, being in despondency and seeing nature being refuted, and its vileness and nothingness being demonstrated from every side, says: "Every man is a liar," that is to say: Man is nothing. Therefore he also said elsewhere: "Nevertheless, man walks in an image" (Ps. XXXVIII, 7).
"What shall I render to the Lord for all that He has rendered unto me?" See how he shows the benefit to be great, not from the things that have happened, but also from the fact that it happened to one such as he, explaining in other words, but with the same thoughts, what is in the Psalm. For just as he said there: "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitest him?" (Ps. VIII, 5), so it is here.
Benefits are shown to be double when they are great by nature, and when they are bestowed upon someone who is of no account; this is an intensification of benefit and grace. Wishing to set forth this very thing, he says: "What shall I render to the Lord?" signifying that God deemed one such as man, who is a falsehood, one of no account, and vile, worthy of such a gift. "For all that He has rendered unto me." This is of a grateful mind, to go about and seek to render something to the Benefactor in return for what he has received, and, after offering everything, to think he is giving nothing worthy. This, having hinted at from the beginning of the return, he promises further on that he will lay it down. For he shows a double thanksgiving: both in giving what he was able, and in thinking that, by giving these things, he was giving nothing worthy.
What then is it that he is about to give? Hear him saying, for he adds: "I will take the cup of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord" (Ps. CXV, 13). They, then, who take what is said according to the anagogical sense, say it is the communion of the mysteries. But we, holding for the time being to the history, say he calls them libations, and sacrifices, and hymns of thanksgiving. For there were various sacrifices in ancient times: for there was a sacrifice of praise, for sins, and burnt offerings, for salvation, and peace offerings, and many others. What he is saying, therefore, is this: I do not have anything worthy to lay down, but what I have, I lay down. For I will bring a thanksgiving sacrifice to God, and I will remind Him of my salvation. "I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people" (Ps. CXV, 14). Here he calls promises 'vows'. For in these dire straits he was fleeing to God, and he was making himself a debtor, promising that if he should escape the dire straits, he would pay these—that is, the sacrifices. Since, then, he says, the calamity has been resolved, "I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people." B "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints" (Ps. CXV, 15). Another, "Honorable."
And what is this sequence? And what does it have in agreement with what went before? If one examines it with accuracy, he will find it to be much. For since he said: "What shall I render to the Lord for all that He has rendered unto me?" showing His benefits, he says that not only life, but even the death of the saints is something much sought after by God, not merely occurring by the law of nature, C but occurring in many places also according to His will. D Or do you not hear Paul saying: "But to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you, and being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all" (Phil. I, 24, 25)? And why do you marvel, if even death is such, when not even the birth of some occurs by the law of nature, as that of Isaac and that of Samuel (Gen. XXVII; I Reg. I)? Wherefore he does not call them children of the flesh, but children of promise (Rom. IX, 8). Thus also Moses did not simply die, but by God commanding it; nor John, but by His permission. And yet he became the price of a harlot; but even so he became precious. For this is the wondrous thing, A that even when having died in such a way, he was honorable; for he finished his life for the sake of truth, and he was so honorable that even he who had killed him was afraid of him. And that he was afraid of him, hear what the evangelist says regarding Herod: "He was saying, that he himself has risen from the dead, and because of this, powers are working in him" (Mark VI, 14). See how even in the case of Abel death was precious. "Where is Abel thy brother? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me" (Gen. IV, 9, 10).
"Consider also in the case of Lazarus, how after his departure angels were leading him (Luke XVI, 22). Consider also the cities flocking to the tombs of the martyrs, and the multitudes inflamed with longing. This, then, is what he is saying: that there is much concern and much interest on the part of God even at the departure of the saints. For they do not die simply, or as it happens, but when He Himself permits it according to His dispensation. For this reason he said, "In the sight of the Lord," wishing to signify this. O Lord, I am Thy servant, I am Thy servant, and the son of Thy handmaid (Ps. CXV, 16). He does not speak of common servitude, but that which arises from great disposition and affection, being inflamed with longing, which is the greatest crown, and more brilliant than any diadem. Therefore God B also sets it in place of the greatest praise, saying: "Moses My servant is dead" (Josue I, 2). And "the son of Thy handmaid." That is, from above and from ancestors we are devoted to Thy servitude. This very thing Paul also set as the greatest ornament concerning Timothy, saying: "Having a remembrance of the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice. I am persuaded, however, that it is also in thee, and that from infancy thou hast known the sacred writings" (II Tim. I, 5; III, 15). And again regarding himself: "A Hebrew of Hebrews" (Phil. III, 5). And again: "Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I" (II Cor. XI, 22). For they who were this from ancestors and from above had something more than proselytes. For this reason he also says: "And the son of Thy handmaid."
"Thou hast broken my bonds" (Ps. CXV, 16). He did not say, "Thou hast shaken," but, "Thou hast broken," signifying that [the bonds are] so [broken] as to have become useless. Here he calls afflictions, temptations, and dangers "bonds." For there is also a good bond, by which it is better to be bound, as when C one is bound to Christ.
desired to be tightly bound, just as when it is said, "In the bond of love" (Eph. 4:3), and, "Which is the bond of perfection" (Col. 3:14). There is also a bond contrary to this, just as when it is said, "Each one is bound by the chains of his own sins" (Prov. 5:22). Christ also, hinting at this, was saying, "Ought not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, be loosed?" (Luke 13:16); and Isaiah concerning Christ, "I have given you for a covenant of the nations," saying to those who are in bonds, "Go forth" (Is. 49:8-9). Therefore He broke these bonds, He did not [merely] loose them: for this is something more than that. But if anyone also wishes to take these in an anagogical sense, calling these the bonds of sins, and the whole old man, he will not err in the least. There is also another bond, a most beautiful one, which Paul always carrying about said: "Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ" (Eph. 3:1, 6:20). And again, "For which cause I am also bound in a chain" (Acts 28:20). B 8. "I will sacrifice to You the sacrifice of praise." See how above, and below, and everywhere, he renders the same retribution to God; saying above, "I will take the cup of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord"; here, "I will sacrifice to You the sacrifice of praise," that is, I will give thanks, I will praise. "And I will call upon the name of the Lord." Do you see how it is a sacrifice of praise? 9. "I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people, 10. in the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of you, Jerusalem." He was doing this, however, not to show himself off, nor to catch glory, but inviting all to his own imitation, and wishing to have them as associates in thanksgiving. This, indeed, all the saints do, not men only, but also all creation, when they have received some benefit, calling them to the communion of praise. For there is nothing that God embraces with greater zeal than to be grateful, not only in favorable circumstances, C but also in adversities. This is especially a sacrifice, this is the greatest offering. Thus Job was proclaimed, thus Paul, thus Jacob: thus each of the just, showing his pious and grateful spirit toward God most especially in times of difficulty. Let us also do the same, and persevere in giving thanks perpetually, so that we may attain also to eternal goods: which may it be granted to us all to attain, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
ON PSALM CXVI
"Praise the Lord, all you nations. 2. For His mercy is confirmed upon us, and the truth of the Lord remains for ever." It is clear to everyone that these things which have been said are a prophecy of the Church of the believers, and a prediction of the preaching that occupied the whole world. For the Psalm does not call upon one, two, or three nations only, but the earth and the entire sea. Which even happened when the advent of Christ shone forth. Then he states also the cause of salvation, namely that they were saved not because of their own deeds, nor because of [their] life, nor because of confidence, but because of the sole kindness of God. "For it is confirmed," he says, "upon us His mercy": that is, it was brought together and coalesced, D and became firm and solid, and more stable than a rock. For it receives increment daily. "And His truth remains for ever." For then the truth shone forth most especially. And for this reason he said this, because those old things were a type and figure. The evangelist also signifying this very thing, said: "The law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).
ON PSALM CXVII
"Confess to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy is for ever." Regarding the melody (a), that is: "This is the day which the Lord has made, let us exult and be glad in it": which both excites many, and the people are accustomed to sing this especially in that spiritual and heavenly festival. We, however, if you wish, let us pursue the whole Psalm from the head and from the beginning, not beginning the exposition from the verse that is sung, but from the very prologue. For our Fathers decreed that the people should sing the verse, as one that was sonorous and contained some sublime dogma, since they were ignorant of the whole Psalm, so that they might receive perfect instruction even from this. To us, however, it is necessary to go through it all, even if those things which are in its midst have a very great prophecy. For here it was said: "The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner" (v. 22). Which indeed Christ also said to the Jews (Matt. 21:42), a bit more obscurely (for they were still burning with anger, and He did not wish to kindle it: "For He will not break a bruised reed, and He will not extinguish smoking flax" [Is. 42:3]), yet He said it. Let us set upon the Psalm, therefore, from the prologue itself, as we have already said. What then is the prologue? "Confess to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy is for ever." For when the prophet had pondered in his mind the benefit of the whole world, and the perennial kindness and clemency which the Lord showed in all things, he calls all at once to give thanks, with the greatest head of His goods placed in the middle. 2. "Let the house of Israel say now, for He is good, for His mercy is for ever." What are you saying? The house of Israel, which has suffered innumerable captivities, which served in Egypt, which was led away to the ends of the earth, which endured a thousand afflictions in Palestine? Certainly, he says. For they are the best witnesses of His goods, and they received greater and ampler [gifts] than others. Nay, this very thing which they suffered is an argument of a great benefit. But if one were to examine carefully, it is also consistent that they should give the greatest thanks for the coming of Christ. For although they suffered adverse things, that nevertheless did not proceed from Him who came, but from their own wickedness. For He Himself used to come to them, and frequently said: "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 15:24); and to the disciples: "Into the way of the nations go not..."
For He was doing everything and arranging everything for their salvation. If they appeared unworthy of the benefit, let them blame their own transgressions and the excess of their ingratitude.
B The house of Aaron should say that He is good, that His mercy is forever. Here He calls the priests separately to the hymnody, showing how great and preeminent the priesthood is. For by as much as these were greater than the others, by that much more did they enjoy honor from God, not only according to the reasoning of the priesthood, but also in all other things. For when fire was brought down, it was brought down because of them; and the earth was opened, and the rod blossomed, and countless other wonders happened because of them—or rather, for their sake.
Let all who fear the Lord say that He is good, that His mercy is forever. For these are especially the ones who are able to see His philanthropy and to learn of His goodness through all things. What does it mean, "That His mercy is forever"? It is continuous, He says, not interrupted, but shining and manifesting itself through all things. If many do not see it, they do not see it because of the weakness of their own reasoning. For just as those who suffer in their eyes do not see the sun for this very reason—just as even those who are healthy cannot always gaze at it because of the excess of its brilliance—so it is not possible to learn of the providence of God in all things with precision, because the magnitude of His understanding and wisdom greatly surpasses human thoughts.
C There are also many passions that darken the foolish, leading them to not see it at all. First is the love of pleasure; on account of which they pass by even things clear to all. Along with these, second is ignorance and the perversion of the mind. For how is it not absurd that one sees a father beating a child and approves and praises, and by this considers him a father most of all, yet towards God, if He should wish to exact justice for deeds done, one is displeased and troubled? And what could be worse than this perversion, [seeing that] they are also displeased at the opposites—now troubled because He does not exact justice, now because He does? For when they see those who are rapacious and greedy, they want them to account for their deeds; but when they are the ones sinning, they do not [complain] at all—which is [a sign] of a corrupted mind. Third, in addition to these, is that they do not even know what is good and what is evil, but are mistaken about the judgment of things because of a nature fond of wickedness and inclined toward vice. Fourth, that they do not even reason about their own sins. Fifth, that the distance between God and men is unspeakable and great. Sixth, that they do not wish for God to show Himself in all things everywhere, as things happening in part are sufficient. 519
D 2. One must, therefore, learn not to contend against the administration of God in all things (for we contend against impossible matters, and those that greatly transcend all created nature). But those who are about to know it in part must be delivered from the aforementioned passions, and they will see it brighter than the sun, even if not entirely; and having learned from the part, they will give thanks for the whole. From distress I called upon the Lord, and He heard me for enlargement. Did you see goodness and philanthropy? He did not say, "Because I was worthy"; He did not say, "Because I showed righteous deeds," but, "Because I called," was enough for the prayer to undo the calamity, which is also what He says in the case of the Egyptians: "Seeing, I saw the affliction of my people, and I came down to deliver them" (Exod. 3:7). He did not say, "I saw the virtue of my people," nor their turning for the better, but, "The affliction, and I heard their cry." Do you see a compassionate Father helping solely because of the calamities? And yet, not everyone in distress is worthy to be saved, not even among men. At any rate, we see many of our servants being whipped and in pain, and we do not let them go, considering the magnitude of their sins; but God released them from the distress alone—and He did not only release them from the distress, but also granted them much security. For, "He heard me for enlargement," he says. And the distress itself was permitted for this reason—so as to make those in distress more accurate and wiser. The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man will do to me (Ps. 117:6). Did you see the loftiness of mind? Did you see a disposition so ascending above human weakness, so as to disregard the whole of nature? Let us not only whisper these things, but also demonstrate them through our deeds. He did not say, "I will suffer nothing," but, "I will not fear what man will do to me." That is to say, even if I suffer, I am not afraid—which is what Paul also says: "If God is for us, who is against us?" (Rom. 8:31). And yet countless were those against them, but nothing harmed them. For how would it not be of extreme pettiness to fear the fellow servants when one has the Master as favorable? But this man was not such; rather, he was superior and higher in every way than such fears. Let us do this also, and let us not deprive ourselves of the Master’s alliance by fearing human things. For this is to insult the help of God. Therefore it is said that Hezekiah [suffered] what he suffered, since when the sun retreated, and ascended again the steps it had descended, and a sufficient sign had occurred to amaze everyone 520 coming to learn of these things, not from...
the things that had happened by divine power, but from human affairs, he wished to terrify and bring them to wonder, fearing lest he be invaded by them A; and therefore he showed them the treasures, placing his hope in those treasures. Wherefore God, being provoked, said, "They shall be taken," and all these things; that is, the things in which you place your hope, in which you confide. Israel, too, is accused of relying upon money and horses. Wherefore the prophet admonishes them to propitiate God through those things which are the opposite, and to say: "We will not ascend upon horses." [alt-version omitted] God honors you, promising you His own aid; and do you flee to human hopes, and commit the hope of your salvation to inanimate matter, namely, money? For He does not seek only to save, but to do so in an honorable way. He loves you greatly, and for this reason, drawing you away from all else, He joins you to Himself; and stripping away all things, He leads you to Himself, saying, as it were, through the things He does: "Have your hope in Me, and pay heed to Me perpetually."
B 7. *The Lord is my helper, and I will despise my enemies.* You see him not taking revenge, nor exacting punishments, but leaving the vindication for his enemies to God. Hope in God is a good thing; hope in man is dangerous; it is better to hope in the Lord than to trust in man. 9. *It is better to hope in the Lord, than to hope in princes.* He does not say this by way of comparison, but Scripture is accustomed to use this figure even in matters that do not admit of comparison, because of the weakness of those who hear at that time. He is not saying this by way of comparison, therefore, but lowering Himself to their grasp. And for this reason another prophet also said: "Cursed is every one who hopes in man" (Jer. 17:5); for there is nothing weaker than that hope—it is indeed weaker than a spider's web; nay, rather it is not only weak, but also dangerous. Moreover, those who have often trusted in men know well with whom they were together brought low. But hope in God is not only valid, but also secure, as one that has no mutation. And therefore Paul also said: "But hope does not disappoint" (Rom. 5:5). C Another wise man says: "Look at the ancient generations, and see who has hoped in the Lord and been put to shame" (Eccli. 2:10). "But I," one says, "have hoped, and I have been put to shame." Use fair words, O man, and do not contradict divine Scripture. Even if you have been put to shame, that has happened because you did not hope as you ought, because you yielded, because you did not await the end, because you were faint-hearted. But do not act so; rather, when you see that evils and difficulties are looming, do not lose heart. For this is most especially what it means to hope: when you have been cast into the midst of evils and grave dangers, then to be raised up. D For even when they were already caught in the snare itself, and were expecting the city to fall, not even then did they despair, but they showed the utmost repentance, and caused God to revoke His sentence once again. Have you seen what great power hope has?
But what of the prophet himself? When he was in the belly of the whale (Jon. 2:5), did he not remember the temple and his return to Jerusalem? And do you, therefore, even if you have arrived at death itself, and the greatest dangers are looming on every side, do not despair. For God is able to find an exit in even the most difficult circumstances; and therefore a certain wise man says: "From morning until evening there are many changes, and in His sight all things are easy" (Eccli. 18:26). Have you not seen the royal officer in the midst of the greatest abundance starving (4 Reg. 7)? Have you not seen the widow in the midst of famine abounding (3 Reg. 17)? When circumstances have fallen into the greatest destitution, then you should hope the most. For then God most shows His power, not from the beginning, but when matters have been plainly despaired of by men. For this is the time of divine aid. And therefore He did not rescue the children from the beginning, but after they had been cast into the furnace (Dan. 3:93); nor Daniel, before he had been cast in, but seven days afterwards (Dan. 14:39). And do not attend to the nature of things, which drives one into despair, but to the power of God, which brings those things which are despaired of into good hope. Showing this as well, and wishing to demonstrate how great is the facility of God's power—specifically, that He can lead out even those who have fallen into grave evils, and have been prostrate and trampled, and not only from the beginning—hear what he adds: 10. *All nations surrounded me.* Have you seen the inevitable danger? For there was no fighting in battle, nor were the enemies standing opposite, but he was intercepted, and hemmed in as by some drag-net, and comprehended as if by certain nets, by not one, two, or three, but by all nations; yet all these bonds were broken by hope in God. *And in the name of the Lord I have been avenged upon them. 11. Surrounding they surrounded me, and in the name of the Lord I have been avenged upon them. 12. They surrounded me like bees a honeycomb, and they were enkindled like fire among thorns, and in the name of the Lord I have been avenged upon them.* Do you see how he describes the magnitude of the troubles? For he did not say merely, "They surrounded," but, "Like bees, and like fire among thorns": signifying by the bees the great alacrity of their spirit, but by the thorns, their intolerable wrath, and the heat of bile which could not be extinguished. For who could restrain a fire that has fallen into thorns? Yet them, he says, so vehemently and so quickly enkindled, when they had intercepted me in the middle, I not only escaped, but I even took vengeance. See this very thing happening even in matter. For the fire was burning the bush, and neither was the bush consumed, nor was the fire extinguished, but both remained together conversing, and not consuming one another. And yet, what is more flaccid and weak than a bush? And what is more ardent than fire? Yet the power of God is admirable, which makes things
A both remain. A similar miracle was happening also in that case. For they attacked like fire, they set upon [me] with eagerness like bees; they had [me] enclosed within, and were unable to effect anything. For the invincible weapon, the unassailable alliance, the name of God, drove them all away. B *Being shoved, I was overturned to fall, and the Lord supported me.* He stated the magnitude of the dangers, from the multitude, from the appearance, from the eagerness, from the wrath of those coming upon [him]; he also speaks of what he himself suffered. Thus, he says, the dangers prevailed over me, such that I was near even to falling and being cast down. For I was so overturned being shoved, that I was about to fall; but when at last I was on the point of being brought to my knees and prostrated, and all human hope was despaired of, then he displayed his own alliance. God does this, so that no one may misappropriate the glory for himself. He did this also in the history of the Judges in the case of Gideon. For this reason also, in the case of Hezekiah, it being night, he set up the trophy. For if he, C having contributed nothing to the victory and the war, was nonetheless delivered to despair; if he had only stood by the array, if he had seen those being destroyed falling, would he not have suffered this even more greatly? Whenever, therefore, things are despaired of according to human hope, then he brings in the alliance from himself. He did this also in the case of Goliath; this also in the case of the apostles. Wherefore also Paul said: *But we ourselves had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not be trusting in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he became my salvation.* As if to say: He himself became my strength and help. And what is this which he says, *My song*? My glory, my praise, my ornament, my renown. For he does not merely deliver from dangers, but also makes [one] brilliant and renowned; and everywhere it is possible to see this, salvation being given with glory. And he hints at something else through this. What is this? That this, he says, is for me a perpetual song, this is for me a perpetual voice, the hymn to him, this is for me the work, continuously to hymn him.
D 4. Let them hear, those who are corrupted by satanic odes, when they endure harm, what kind of forgiveness might they obtain, while this one continuously hymns the savior, [and] they are continuously wallowing in the odes of the demons. *Voice of exultation and salvation in the tents of the righteous.* For when God achieves all things, those enjoying the victory rejoice, they leap, being glad with a double joy, both by being saved, and by being saved through God. This creates joy, he who has set up the trophy. Then, showing also the occasion of such an alliance, he added: *In the tents of the righteous.* He did not say, In houses, but, In tents, wishing to present the temporary nature of their dwelling. Such was the tent of Abraham, when he returned, having overcome the barbarians, having become brilliant from the achievements. Such was the tent of Paul, when he returned from overcoming the demons, and quashing the wandering, and recounting the achievements. *The right hand of the Lord has performed power; the right hand of the Lord has exalted me.*
A Mortification did not possess me, so that He might demonstrate that all things lie within His authority. Therefore, he gained a twofold salvation: namely, liberation from evils, and liberation from vice. Wherefore Paul said, writing to the Hebrews: *If you are without discipline, then you are bastards, and not sons* (Heb. 12:8).
*Open to me the gates of justice; I will enter into them and confess to the Lord.* To those who are disciplined, the gates are opened; to those who put away sins. B One can say with boldness: *Open to me the gates of justice.* For this saying must be taken anagogically, and the gates of heaven must be understood, which are closed to the wicked, and which must be knocked upon through virtue, through almsgiving, through justice.
*This is the gate of the Lord; the just shall enter into it.* There are gates of death, there are gates of destruction, there are gates of life, there are gates that are narrow and straitened. Because, therefore, they are many, he states the sign of the city of the Lord, adding: *This is the gate of the Lord.* For those others are not the Lord's. And what is its sign? That those who are disciplined, those who are afflicted, enter through it. For it is narrow and straitened; but if it is straitened, those who are crushed and distressed will enter through it, just as the one that leads to destruction is broad and spacious.
Grateful thanksgiving is the greatest sacrifice; why prophecies are for the most part obscure; Christ the cornerstone.
*I will confess to Thee, because Thou hast heard me, and hast become my salvation.* He does not say merely, "You have heard," but only after He has disciplined and made him better. And therefore he gives thanks, not only because he was heard, but also because he was disciplined. For he was heard for this very reason: and everywhere this kind of thanksgiving is a great thing in His sight. For, as I have said, and will not cease to say, this is the greatest sacrifice and oblation.
*The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner.* That this is said of Christ is manifest to everyone. For He Himself brings forward this prophecy in the Gospels, saying: *Have you never read, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?* (Matt. 21:42; Luc. 20:17). Now, if what is said does not seem to hang from the history, but the prophecy has entered in with the middle series of events interrupted, it is neither strange nor new; since most of the prophecies in the Old Testament were so stated that it behooved them at that time to be covered in such a way that the books themselves would not be abolished. For the prophecy regarding His birth indeed seems to hang from history, yet it has nothing in common with it, like that which says: *Behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel* (Isai. 7:14), which is interpreted, *God with us.*
*The stone which the builders rejected* (Matt. 1:23). By "the builders," he here refers to the Jews, the doctors of the Law, the scribes, the Pharisees, inasmuch as they rejected Him, saying: *You are a Samaritan, and have a devil* (John 8:48), and again: *This man is not from God, but deceives the multitude* (John 7:12). Yet this rejected man appeared to be so upright that He became the head of the corner. For not every stone is suited for a corner, but that which is most approved can bind and tie together walls from both sides. What, therefore, the Prophet says is this: He who was rejected by the Jews, and held as nothing, appeared so marvelous that He not only covered but also joined and bound together two walls. Which walls, finally? The Jews, namely, and those who believed from the Gentiles, just as Paul also says: *For He is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition, the enmities in His flesh, abolishing the law of commandments, which is in decrees; that He might build the two into one new man* (Ephes. 2:14, 15). And again: *Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone* (Ephes. 2:20). C The Jews are accused because, when they were building, they did not judge the suitable stone, but rejected Him even as a reprobate, who was able to contain such a building. If you want to know who those two walls are, hear Christ Himself also saying: *I have other sheep also, which are not of this fold; and them also I must bring, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd* (John 10:16). This was also done as in a figure many ages ago. For Abraham was the patriarch of both, both of those who were in uncircumcision, and of those who were in circumcision; but that was as in a figure, whereas this is in truth. *The same is become the head of the corner*: that is, He joined both nations.
*This has been done by the Lord.* What is, *This has been done by the Lord?* It was not, he says, a human thing that was done; it was not the work of one among many; it was not of angels; it was not of archangels to compose such a corner. Therefore, no one could do this—not a righteous man, not a prophet, not an angel, not an archangel—but it was the excellent achievement of God alone; for it is His own. Another interpreter says, *This was done by the Lord*; that is, this work is admirable, and surpasses all opinion, namely, this work of the corner. *And it is wonderful in our eyes.* Who is wonderful? The corner, namely, the coming together of two peoples unto piety. For many myriads from among the Jews believed, and indeed the apostles themselves were from the Jews. Rightly, therefore, he said, *In our eyes*: for this miracle is not manifest to all. For who would not be struck with awe, who would not marvel that where Christ was crucified, there Christ is worshipped, and those who crucified Him are affected with ignominy, while those who worship Him are affected with glory? For the Word has pervaded the entire world, joining all to the truth. D It is, therefore, wonderful, even to those who consider it in any way whatsoever, but much more and far more evidently to those who believe. And therefore he said, *In our eyes.*
*This is the day which the Lord has made; let us exult and rejoice in it.* He calls the "day" not the course of the sun, but the splendid achievements that were wrought in it. For just as when one says an "evil day," he refers not to the course of the sun, but to the evils that are in it, so also he calls the "good day" the splendid deeds that were in it. But what he says is of this sort: God performed the splendid things that were done in it; for it was the hand of Him alone to effect what was done.
reconciled to men, and a long war was abolished, and the earth was shown to be heaven, and wretched men of earth appeared worthy of the kingdom, and the first-fruits of our nature were carried up above the heavens, and paradise was opened, and we recovered our ancient fatherland, and the curse was obliterated, and sin was dissolved, and those who had been punished through the law attained to salvation without the law, and all the earth and sea acknowledged its own Master, and ten thousand other things happened, which it is not possible to go through now in speech? Wherefore the Prophet, having considered all these things, attributes the whole to God, declaring B that the things which have come to pass are the works of God. *Let us rejoice and be glad in it.* He speaks here of spiritual, intellectual, mental gladness. *Let us rejoice and be glad in it*, because we have attained to such great goods. For this is no small achievement, to rejoice in good things, to exult, to be glad, to receive the benefits of God with pleasure. *O Lord, save now; O Lord, send prosperity now.* Since he saw the prosperity of the world, and the transformation of affairs, and the change for the better, C rejoicing with those who partake, he said: *O Lord, save now; O Lord, send prosperity now*. That is, save, I pray, those who partake, so that they may also be filled, and show forth fruits worthy of the grace; make the way easy for them, so that having attained it, they may not fall away from such good things. *Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.* For our [blessings] do not stop at things already accomplished, but proceed to other greater things—the resurrection, the kingdom, the lot with Christ—all of which, wishing to present, he added: *Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.* This also Christ was saying to the Jews: *Amen, amen I say to you, you shall not see me until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord* (Matt. 23.38). For since he was constantly throwing this out, that he is not from God, that he is an adversary of God, he says to them: You shall bear witness to me, that I am not an adversary of God, when you see me coming on the clouds, and you utter this voice saying, *Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord*, by words of praise casting yourselves out from [the need of] defense. For the manifestation of the things coming to pass at that time will cause them to utter this voice, at once praising, and at the same time making the accusation against themselves more bitter. *We have blessed you from the house of the Lord; God is the Lord, and he has appeared to us.* He speaks of the whole faithful people, who partake of the blessing in the house of God. For everywhere the prophets appear blessing those who are about to believe. For what reason did you bless, and whence the beatitude? Because *God has appeared to us*. For *the grace of God has appeared*, he says, *bringing salvation to all men, instructing us, that denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this present world, looking for the blessed hope and manifestation of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ* (Tit. 2.11-13). Here, therefore, the Prophet marvels at the incarnation, that being God, and Lord, and of that essence, he deigned to appear. And he called the dispensation *manifestation*, the coming into a virginal womb, the becoming man, and associating with men. Wherefore he says: *We have blessed you*, because you have partaken of such a gift. This also Christ D hinting at, said, *Many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see them, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear them.*
*Keep the feast in the shade, even unto the horns of the altar.* Another interpreter says: *Bind the shade in a festive gathering.* Another: *Bind the feast among the fat things.* He returned again from the prophecy to the history. And what he says is of this kind: Keep a feast, celebrate. And what is, *Keep the feast in the shade*? According to one interpreter: *Sacrifice fat sacrifices*; according to the other: *Wreath and branches bring into the temple.* The Hebrew, however, said this thus: *Esrou ag baad oththim*. Whether, therefore, this be so, or that, it signifies a feast, and a bright day, and a festal meeting. For he brought the discourse back again from things intelligible to things sensible, and made mention of their return. *Thou art my God, and I will confess to thee; thou art my God, and I will exalt thee.* *I will confess to thee*, because you heard me, and you became my salvation. Here he shows that even without benefits we ought to give thanks to God, and for this reason to glorify him, because of his greatness, or because of his ineffable glory. For he hints at this after saying the benefits with which he was benefited, thus adding: For he says: Even without these I will give thanks, and I will confess, because I have such a Master, so high, so great, so invisible, so incomprehensible; for *I will exalt* is, *I will glorify*. *Confess to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy is forever.* He is not satisfied with offering this sacrifice himself alone, but he calls many participants to the praise and the thanksgiving, and proclaims the philanthropy of God, everywhere singing of its permanence and its magnitude. Knowing these things, therefore, let us too remain always giving thanks to the philanthropic God, and let us offer this sacrifice, that we may also attain to the good things to come, by the grace and philanthropy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory together with the holy Spirit, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
CONCERNING PSALM CXIX
*A song of ascents. Another interpreter says: A song of ascents.* *To the Lord when I was in distress I cried, and he heard me.* 1. While each of the other Psalms has its own inscription, here many having come together received one designation, *A song of ascents*, or as another interpreter said, *of ascents*. And some call them also *ascents*. And for what, he says,are they so called? If you look to the history, because they speak of the return from Babylon and make mention of the captivity that was there; but if you take them anagogically, because they lead to the path of virtue: for some have received them thus. For the road that leads there is like stages, raising and lifting up the man endowed with virtue and wisdom little by little, and setting him in heaven itself. Others, however, say that the ladder of Jacob, which was shown to him reaching unto heaven, is indicated by these things. Even so, with stages and ladders placed beneath, they can approach places for which there is no access, and which are higher. But since it is necessary for those who ascend, after they have been lifted on high, to be dizzy, for this reason it is necessary that not only those who are ascending, but even those who have reached the very summit, be confirmed by having received caution. But one safety is when we have not looked back at how much we have ascended, so that we may not become of a proud and lifted mind; but have kept in view how much remains to be ascended, and have reached forth to that. Which Paul also signifying said, *Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before* (Philipp. 3:13). And this is the manner of the anagoge; but let us now, if it seems good, come to history, and see those who were delivered from the captivity. How then were they delivered from the captivity? By the desire for Jerusalem; whereas those who were not affected with equal zeal, although from the grace of God earned nothing of profit, but finished their days in perpetual slavery, whom we also, if we imitate, will suffer the same. For if we are not held by the love of heavenly things and the desire for the heavenly Jerusalem, but if we cling perpetually to the present life, wallowing in the mire of worldly cares, we will not be able to receive the fatherland.
A
The profit of affliction; affliction has the greatest excuse.
*I cried unto the Lord when I was afflicted, and he heard me.* Have you seen the profit of affliction? Have you seen the swiftness of clemency? The profit of affliction, because it led them to pour out pure prayers; the swiftness of clemency, because it assented to them immediately when they called: which he also did earlier to those who were in Egypt. And therefore he says, *Seeing I have seen the affliction of my people, and have heard their cry, and I have come down to deliver them* (Exod. 3:7, 8). And you therefore, O beloved, when you are in affliction, do not despair, nor labor in sloth, but at that time be most aroused: for then prayers are purer, and the benevolence of God toward you is greater; and live perpetually so that life may be laborious for you, knowing that *all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution*, and that *through many afflictions we must enter into the kingdom of God* (2 Tim. 3:12; Acts 14:22). B Do not therefore love a soft and dissolute life, nor wish to enter by the wide way (for that does not lead to heaven), but the narrow and constrained one. If, however, you wish to arrive at the supernal mansions, flee pleasures, trample underfoot the outward pomp and appearance of the world, neglect riches, glory, and power; but hold to poverty, contrition of mind, confession, and the fountain of tears, and pursue all things which can reconcile salvation. For these render him who possesses them even safer, and make prayers more sublime. If you have prepared yourself thus, and have called upon God with this mind, he will entirely hear you. C And therefore the prophet said, *I cried when I was afflicted, and he heard me*, in order that you may learn to ascend little by little, and, if I may say so, to make winged prayers, so that you may not be angered, nor take it ill in afflictions, but derive utility from them. For if the prophet Elisha, while he was a man, did not permit a disciple to push away the woman who came to him, saying: *Let her be, for her soul is affected with bitterness* (4 Kings 4:27), wishing to show nothing else from this than that she had the greatest excuse and defense, namely, affliction: much less will God repel you, if you approach him with a sad and anxious soul. And therefore Christ also pronounces those blessed who mourn, and wretched who laugh (Luke 6:25). Wherefore he began the beatitudes from hence, saying: *Blessed are they who mourn* (Matt. 5:4). If you wish therefore to ascend these steps, cut away what is soft and enervated and dissolute in life, and tighten and contain yourself with a laborious manner of living: refrain from earthly businesses. This is the first ascent. It cannot otherwise be, it cannot be that you at once ascend the ladder, and at the same time cling to the earth.2. You see how great is the height of heaven; you know the shortness of time; you know how uncertain death is. Do not delay therefore, nor put off, but tackle this pilgrimage with great force, so that in one day you may ascend two, three, ten, and twenty steps.
D
The deceitful are to be fled; the punishment of wickedness.
2. *O Lord, deliver my soul from unjust lips, and from a deceitful tongue.* See here also that evangelical commandment shining: *Pray that you enter not into temptation* (Luke 22:46). For there is no temptation, O beloved, more grievous than to fall upon a deceitful man: for he is indeed more savage than any beast. For that is seen to be what it is; but this man, behind the veil of assumed gentleness and integrity, often hides his poison, so that his snares cannot easily be discerned, and one falls into the pit without any caution being applied. Wherefore he everywhere persistently demands this of God, that he be delivered from such snares. If, however, the fraudulent and malicious are to be fled, much more so the deceivers, and those who bring forth evil dogmas. But you shall call those lips most unjust, which harm in virtue, and lead to vice. And therefore the prophet asks here that his soul be delivered: for it is at it that he aims his arrows. 3. *What should be given to you, or what should be added to you against a deceitful tongue?* Another interpreter says: *What shall a deceitful tongue offer you, or what shall it add?* Another, however: *What shall it give you, and what shall it add to you according to deceit?* Therefore it shows nothing else that was said than this, that this is a great wickedness, and a foul kind of vice. Wherefore you see also the prophet growing angry and moved, and saying: *What should be given to you, or what should be added to you against a deceitful tongue?* But what he says is of this kind: What punishment could be found worthy of this vice?A Or he says this, or at least that this itself is the punishment, and you exact punishment from yourself before the judgment, by begetting the vice from yourself. For the greatest punishment for the soul is vice, even before the judgment. What judgment, then, could be found worthy of such a one? In this life there is none; but the stroke comes from God. For a man could not avenge according to desert; for wickedness exceeds every punishment; but God will bring the stroke. Wherefore, also, revealing this, he quickly added, saying, *The arrows of the mighty are sharpened with desolate coals.* Again, he calls punishments "arrows" here. But another interpreter said, *The arrows of the mighty have been sharpened with coals layered together,* B and another, *With juniper coals,* increasing the terror of the punishment by the metaphor of the names. For both "layered together" and "juniper" have the same meaning. The one indicates the multitude; the other, the quality and the severity of the punishment. Therefore, also the Septuagint, indicating the same, rendered it *with desolate coals*, that is, those that desolate, consume, and destroy. For the Scriptures fashion the punishments of God from the fearful materials among us, calling them arrows and fire. C But here it seems to me that he is hinting at the barbarians. Wherefore also another interpreter, declaring this, said, *Deliver my soul from a lying lip.* For such are7 their words, such are their deceits and their snares, full of all wandering and much wickedness.
*Woe is me, that my sojourning has been prolonged! I have dwelt with the tabernacles of Kedar.* D Another interpreter says: *Woe is me, because I have dwelt as a sojourner.* Another: *Woe to me, I have sojourned in a far-off place.* These, then, lament for the captivity in Babylon; but Paul, speaking for the sojourn here, says: *For we who are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened.* And, *And not only so, but even we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, we ourselves also groan within ourselves.* For the present life is a sojourn. And why do I say "sojourn," where it is a thing even more vile than a sojourn? Whence Christ also called it a way, saying: *Narrow is the gate, and straitened is the way that leads to life.* For this is excellent teaching, and indeed the first, to know that we are sojourners in the present life. Wherefore also the ancients confessed this, and for this reason they were especially admired. This also Paul, manifesting, said when writing: *For this cause God is not ashamed to be called their God. What cause? Tell me. Because they confessed themselves to be strangers and pilgrims.* This is the root and foundation of all virtue. For he who is a stranger to those things here will be a citizen of those above. He who is a stranger to the things here will not linger in the present things; he will not care for houses, A nor riches, nor food, nor any other such thing; but just as those who stay in a foreign land do everything and scheme for their restoration to their fatherland, and urge themselves on each day to see the day that brings it about, so also he who is a lover of the things to come will neither be humbled by the present sorrows, nor puffed up by the good things, but will pass by both, as one walking a road. For this reason we are also commanded in prayer to say, *Thy kingdom come,* so that, turning our longing and desire toward that day and having it before our eyes, we may not even look to the present things. For if the Jews, desiring Jerusalem, lament the past things, and even after being set free, what indulgence could we find, or what defense, not being held by a vehement longing for the Jerusalem above?
B 3. See, then, how even they lament the dwelling with them, saying, *I have dwelt with the tabernacles of Kedar; my soul has long sojourned.* For here they lament not only the dwelling in a foreign land, but also the living with barbarians. Which the other prophets also did, lamenting for the present life and saying: *Woe is me! Because the godly man has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among men;* and he himself, saying: *Save me, O Lord, for the holy has ceased.* For the life is not only laborious in this way, that it has much vanity and untimely cares, but because the number of the wicked is great. And nothing is more burdensome and difficult than conversation with such people. For smoke and dust are not accustomed to weigh upon the eyes as conversation with the wicked is wont to afflict the souls. C Dost thou not see also our Lord Jesus Christ indicating the difficulty of such a way of life? For when He says, *How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you?* He is saying this hinting at, *I have dwelt with the tabernacles of Kedar.* This race is barbarian, disposed to be more beast-like toward those conquered, using tents and huts and having fallen to the ferocity of beasts. But far more grievous than these are the plunderers, the covetous, those living in licentiousness, those living in luxuries. *My soul has long sojourned.* And yet not much; for it was only seventy years; but he does not call them "much" by the multitude, but by the difficulty of the circumstances. For even if they be few, they seem many to those who are afflicted. D So also it is necessary for us to be disposed; even if we live few years here, to deem them many by the desire of the things to come. In saying these things I do not accuse the present life—far be it; for this too is the work of God—but I am spurring you on toward the love of the things to come, and so that you might not linger in the present things, nor be fastened to the body, nor be disposed like the small-souled of the many, who, even if they live ten thousand years, say these are few. For what could be more irrational? What could be more dull, if, when heaven is set before us, and the goods in the heavens, *which eye has not seen, nor ear heard,* we are standing in awe of shadows, and wish to cross the Euphrates of the present life into the eternal
In Psalmum CXX
...tossed by waves, storms, and shipwrecks? But Paul was not so; rather, he hurried and pressed on, and one thing alone held him, namely, the salvation of men. (Phil. 1:24). A *When I spoke to them, they made war against me without cause.* Do you see how he shows how grievous it is to dwell there? For he did not say, "With those who do not have peace," but, "I was peaceful among those who hated peace." Have you seen the profit of affliction? Have you seen the fruit of captivity? But now, who among us will be able to say this? For it would be enough if we were peaceful toward the peaceable; but he was peaceful even with those who hated peace. The chief cause of war and strife. Remain a sheep, and you will overcome the wolves; where meekness is most to be displayed. How, therefore, will we also act rightly in this matter? If we live here as sojourners—for I am leading the discourse back to the same argument—if we live as guests, if we are not held back by any of the things that are present. B For nothing is so much a cause of strife and war as the love of present things, such as the desire for glory, or money, or luxury. But when you have severed all these bonds and allowed your soul to be held by none of these, then you will see whence war takes its beginning, and whence the foundation of virtue is to be laid. Therefore, Christ also commands us to be sheep among wolves (Matt. 10:16): do not say, "I have suffered this or that," and therefore have become savage and wild. Even if, he says, you have suffered innumerable things, remain a sheep, and in this way, you will overcome the wolves. This man is wicked and corrupt, but you possess such power that you may even become superior to the wicked. What is more meek than a sheep? What, indeed, is more savage than a wolf? Yet that one shall be overcome by this one; and this was shown in the apostles. For there is nothing more powerful than meekness, nothing stronger and firmer than gentleness. C For this reason, Christ also commands us to be sheep among wolves. Then, after He said this, as if this meekness—that is, the sheep—was not sufficient for him whom He wishes to show as His disciple, He adds something else: "Be," He says, "simple as doves" (Matt. 10:16); mixing the meekness of two meek and simple animals: such is the gentleness He demands of us when we dwell among the savage and wild. For do not say, "He is wicked, and I cannot bear it." For it is then most of all that meekness must be displayed, when our situation is with savage and wild men, when it is with those who are alien to humanity: then its virtue is shown, then its function, duty, and fruit shine forth. *When I spoke to them, they made war against me without cause.* But another interpreter D says, "And when I spoke to them, they were at war," signifying this: "I was peaceful among those who hated peace," or, "when I spoke to them, they attacked me." What he says is this: at the very time of the conversation, when, he says, I was most showing charity, when I was sending forth words that were most friendly, then they were enraged, then they were plotting guile, and nothing restrained them; yet I was showing my own virtue, although they were so affected. Thus also we ought to be affected; namely, although we who love them are struck by them, although they lay snares for us, we ought to show our own, remembering that parable which commands us to be as sheep and doves in the midst of wolves, so that we may both render them better, and we ourselves may attain the heavenly goods; which may it be given to us all to attain, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is glory for ever and ever. Amen.
In Psalmum CXX
A Canticum of Ascents. Another: A Song of the Ascensions
*I lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence my help will come.* Another: *I lift up my eyes to the mountains, whence my help will come.*
1. "O soul that is distressed and helpless, as though you were in evils, and wanting to find escape, and wishing to find a way out, and wanting to attain solace, looking toward God." These again are the goods of temptations, which lift it up and rouse it, and move it to invoke help from above, and draw it away from all things that pertain to this life. For if the Jews, who were gross and fixed to the earth, from the affliction of captivity became so good, and looked toward heaven in such a way, it is much more just that we should do this in our own calamities, and take refuge in God, from whom a far greater perfection is required than from them. For because they were then in the midst of enemies, and possessed neither a city, nor a fortress, nor human aid, nor money, nor anything else of the kind, but were living as captives and slaves among masters and enemies, yet, oppressed by the magnitude of their calamities, they took refuge in the invincible hand, and, abandoned by human defenses, from that very abandonment they betook themselves to philosophy. And therefore they said, *I lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence my help will come.* All things that can be conferred by men have failed, all have perished, all have receded far away; one salvation, he says, is left thereafter, which is clearly brought by God.
2. *My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.* Do you see them seeking God everywhere? From the earth, from the heaven, from the mountains, from the solitudes, setting Him before their eyes everywhere? Have you seen their mind becoming more exalted, and His supreme providence being proclaimed by them everywhere? For he did not add this for no reason: *Who made heaven and earth*; but reasoning this out obscurely, and saying: "If He made heaven and earth, He can also bring help in a foreign land, and everywhere, even in a barbarian land, He can offer a helping hand, and preserve those who have been driven from their fatherland." For if He produced the elements by a word alone, much more will He be able to free us from the barbarians. Do you see how those who were endowed with less sense than stones philosophize while living in a foreign land? For they no longer remember the temple, but heaven and earth. See how they proclaim the creation of the world and the wisdom and providence of God. For those who previously used to say to wood, *You are my God*, and to stone, *You have begotten me*, now...
acknowledge the Creator of the universe. *My help is from the Lord*, not from men, not from horses, not from riches, not from allies, not from ramparts. *Our help is from the Lord*; this is an unconquerable alliance, this is an invincible help; and not only invincible, but also easy and accessible. For there is no need to travel a long road, to flatter gatekeepers, to spend money, or to send out an embassy; rather, even while staying at home, it is possible to draw down this assistance, if only one withdraws oneself from human things, clings to that hope, possesses an acute eye, and looks to the heights. A
For this reason, God created the formation of this animal alone upright, and placed the eyes in the height of the flesh, teaching even from sensible things that one must look to the height. For this animal alone is thus fashioned; all other animals look downwards and are inclined toward the earth. But this one is stretched toward heaven, in order that he may look around at things there, philosophize on them, contemplate them, and possess an acute eye of the soul. For this reason also, a certain wise man said, *The eyes of a wise man are in his head* (Eccl. II, 14); that is, he has been freed from all things below, he dwells in heaven, and he contemplates things on high. *Give not thy foot to be moved, and he shall not slumber that keepeth thee*. Do you see how much diligence the word requires of us? Since they remembered help and are calling upon the assistance from above, he exhorts and counsels, speaking as it were this: If you wish to enjoy this, contribute what comes from yourself. And what is it that he counsels? Hear: *Give not thy foot to be moved*; that is, do not be overturned, do not be scandalized, and then you will have God holding out his hand, not abandoning, not forsaking. B
So the beginnings are with us, and we are masters of this. Since we are masters, when we wish to attain something, we too must contribute what we have (for so God also wills), though they be small and insignificant. Yet one must contribute, not being idle, not sleeping and snoring, not lying prostrate, but working and striving to be saved. For this reason he even hired those at the eleventh hour. And yet what great thing were they going to do at the eleventh hour? But it was so that he might have an occasion for work, so that he might have a pretext for the crowns. Therefore he says: *Give not thy foot to be moved, and he shall not slumber that keepeth thee*. If you provide what is yours, then his will follow. From this also, something of this sort is shown: that even if we contribute what is ours, yet even so we are in need of assistance from him, so that we may be in safety, so that we may remain unturned.
2. Who is it that gives his foot to be moved? He who sets his foot on slippery things that have no firm foundation, such as the love of money, such as the desire for earthly things. For this reason they are constantly overturned and fall, and hang upon themselves the danger of the ultimate things. For those things are never unshakable, and they are never unmoved, but are always changing, shifting, and are more troubled than waves, and pass away faster than river currents, and are weaker than any sand, and flow away. C *Behold, he shall not slumber, nor shall he sleep, that keepeth Israel*. If you are disposed in this way, he says, *He shall not slumber, nor shall he sleep*; that is, he will not abandon, he will not forsake, he will not leave you naked and desolate. Wishing to hint at this—but not simply—he added, *that keepeth Israel*. What he says is this: If it is his constant work, from above and from your ancestors, to set you in safety, he will not abandon his own work, and he will not leave off the things it is his custom to do, unless you *give your foot to be moved*. And not only will he not abandon you, but he will also preside over you with great security. Therefore he also added, saying: *The Lord shall keep thee; The Lord is thy protection upon thy right hand*. Another says, *At thy right hand*. He will be your helper, he says, an ally, an assistant. Do you see how even here he wishes you to be active? But from the metaphor of those who stand in battle ranks, he will stand at your right hand, so that you may be unconquerable, so that you may be active, so that you may be strong, so that you may be a potentate, so that you may set up a trophy, so that you may snatch the victory, since this is especially that through which we do all things. He will not be a helper to you alone, nor an ally, but also a protection. Again I say: through things that are ours he characterizes the help of God, and through the right hand and the protection he sets forth his complete guardianship and his very near alliance. *The sun shall not burn thee by day, nor the moon by night*. And this happened when they were returning from Egypt, and were passing time in the desert. But here he speaks of the great freedom from harm. It is likely that even then, as they returned, they enjoyed some such paradox of works in some other way. Wishing, therefore, to show his providence in abundance, that he not only delivers from evils, but does not even allow you to suffer human things, he added this. For the bounty of his help is generous, his love for mankind is ineffable, not providing the help from himself according to the measure of our need, but exceeding even our requests with his answers: *The Lord shall keep thee from all evil; the Lord shall keep thy soul*. For he who does not even allow these small things to grieve you, but extends his own providence and his care to such a degree, will much more make you unconquerable by others. Each of the evils that come upon us, he softens and yields to the nod of God, things which are not possible with men. But even if he many times delivered one from this evil, he was not able to deliver from another. Or he could indeed, but he did not wish to; but the omnipotent and powerful hand of God, even if anything at all comes, to loosen [it]—
and all-powerful, whatever he may attack, he will be able to destroy, and to liberate you from all things. B 8. *The Lord shall keep your coming in and your going out.* Another interpreter says, Your access. Do you see his perpetual aid present everywhere, to one entering and one exiting? What can be conferred equivalent to such charity? What with such clemency? This certainly signifies the whole life: for in these [two] the entire life consists, namely, in the coming in and the going out. And to signify this more clearly, he added: *From now and unto the age.* Not, he says, for one, or two, or three, or ten, or twenty, or a hundred days, but perpetually; which indeed does not exist in humans; but there are many changes, frequent accidents, and continuous vicissitudes: who is a friend today, is an enemy tomorrow; who grants aid today, deserts you tomorrow. And often he not only deserts but even attacks, and plots more grievously than any enemy; but the things of God remain immovable, perpetual, immortal, stable, devoid of an end. In order, therefore, that we may attain these, let us also bring our own [efforts], so that we may enjoy great security and attain future blessings in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory to the ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CXXI
*I rejoiced at those who said to me, We shall go into the house of the Lord.* a'. But many are vexed at the word; if someone calls them to the horse races or to the theaters of iniquity, many run together; but if to the house of prayer, there are few who do not hesitate. But the Jews are not so; what could be more grievous than this, when Christians are seen to be more negligent than they? Whence, however, has it come to pass that they were such? I say again: they became better from the captivity. Hence those who before were nauseated, and were abandoning the temple and the hearing of the divine oracles, and giving themselves over to mountains, glens, hills, and the greatest impiety, ceased from the desire of that worship, and are warmed toward this promise, are raised up, stand firm, and rejoice in their soul. For because they had labored with hunger and thirst—not the hunger of bread and the thirst of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord (Amos 8:11)—they longed for those things from which they had fallen. Thus also they were embracing the very ground itself, saying, *Your servants have taken pleasure in her stones, and they shall have pity on her dust* (Ps. 101:15); and again, *When shall I come and appear before the face of God?* (Ps. 41:3); and again, *I remember you from the land of Jordan and Hermon, from a little mountain;* and again, *These things I remembered, and I poured out my soul upon me.* But tell me, what did you remember? *That I shall pass into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even to the house of God* (Ps. 41:5). This is to say, That I shall pass into the choirs and the great assemblies, and that worship and the ceremonies of God.2. *Our feet were standing in your courts, Jerusalem.* Another: *I rejoiced when they said to me, We have come into the house of the Lord.* Did you see the remarkable pleasure? Just as if they were enjoying the things themselves, or they were rejoicing at the very words, embracing with great desire the house of prayer and the city. The deprivation of goods makes their sense [keen], which the enjoyment of them did not effect. Thus God is accustomed always to do. For when we possess blessings and do not perceive them, He casts them out of our hands, so that what the enjoyment could not effect, the deprivation may effect: which happened also to them as they embraced the city and the temple, giving great thanks that they had received their homeland.
D 3. *Jerusalem which is built as a city.* Whether, therefore, according to the opinion of the Seventy, this means of itself, "Jerusalem shall be built as a city," by which is signified the time that preceded the building; or as another interpreter wishes, "We have received Jerusalem, built as a city," which signifies the things that happened after the captivity. For because at that time there was maximum solitude of the city, and it had been then overturned; with the towers pulled down, the walls scattered, and only the remnants of the old fatherland remaining: when they had returned and seen the solitude, they recall to memory the ancient prosperity, and they recount its praises, relating how it was previously clear and illustrious, which possessed the church, the princes, the kings, and the pontiffs, and was most beautiful and by far the most adorned, having been reduced to such a foul and deformed appearance. But that it is so, hear what follows: *Jerusalem which is built as a city.* For then it was not yet a city. And it is clear also from that which he subjoins: *Whose participation is in the same.* He says indeed that its frequency [of gathering] and its safe buildings [were such that] nothing in it had been deserted, but [that it was] dense, perfect, and populous on every side before the captivity. And therefore a certain interpreter says, signifying this, "Having conjunction." Then after that, he says another praise of it also.
4. *For there the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord, a testimony for Israel to confess unto the name of the Lord.* For in this the city was most especially adorned; not so much on account of its magnitude and buildings, as because all were gathered there, whether a senate were held, or a council, or if anything were being deliberated upon. For because the temple was there, and all the rites and ceremonies were performed there; there were the priests, and the Levites, the palace, the inner sanctuaries, the vestibules, the sacrifices, and the altar, the feasts and the famous assemblies, the prayers and the councils, and, to speak at once, there the whole form of the commonwealth consisted; it was necessary that the tribes be gathered there especially three times in the year, at the public and solemn feasts, at the Passover, at Pentecost, and at the Scenopegia, at the feast of tabernacles. For it was not permitted elsewhere. For its praise, therefore, he says: *For there the tribes went up.* And another, *There went up the scepters.* But he did not say only, *Tribes*, but, *Tribes of the Lord*. All the tribes were the Lord's, yet it was not permitted for them to perform these things in their own homeland, but the metropolis was affected with that honor, which gathered and attracted all to itself.
A For this reason He commanded them to sacrifice there, to pray there, to hold the festival there, curbing, restraining, and checking their wandering minds with the narrowness of the place, lest they should be carried away toward impiety. This is what He Himself disclosed when He said: The tribes of the Lord, a testimony to Israel. What is, *A testimony to Israel?* A great testimony, a reproof, a proof of God’s providence, that no excuse should remain for them when they slip away, leap off, and desert to idols. For this was the greatest proof of His providence, His power, and His wisdom. For the law was read there, containing narratives and histories of ancient achievements. There, too, they were bound fast in love, mingling with one another. For the sub-plots of the festivals became an occasion and a subject for their mingling with one another, and there was greater fear, and piety flourished, and countless good things were prepared by their being together in the city. *For the confession of the name of the Lord.* That is, for giving thanks, for worshipping, for praying, for offering, for sacrificing—things which led them to piety and made the discipline of their way of life more secure. 5. *For there sat thrones for judgment, thrones for the house of David.* Behold, he declares also another advantage of the city. What is this? That the royal palaces were there. For this is what *For there sat thrones for judgment, thrones for the house of David* means. Another says, *Of the house of David.* For the dual authority, both that of the priests and that of the kings, had its joining place there, just as if the city were adorned with a double crown and diadem through all these things. There were the judges, to whom even the cases exceeding the many were referred. For if any verdict were to be reached in the other cities upon which there was some doubt, just as in appeals, they referred the verdict to the knowledge of the judges in Jerusalem, and the resolution came from there. B But those ancient things were such; the present things are much more pitiable than these. For there is complete desolation, and destruction, and burning, only a few remains of the buildings being present, a mournful form, and possessing only a memorial of the former prosperity, and an enigma. Therefore, he does not conclude the discourse into wretchedness, but leads them back to the hope of brighter things, saying: 6. *Ask now for the things for the peace of Jerusalem.* What is, *Ask now for the things for the peace of Jerusalem?* Instead of, "Beseech, entreat." Another says, *Greet Jerusalem.* That is, "Pray that she might return to her former prosperity, that she might be delivered from the frequent wars, that she might finally enjoy security." Either he says this, or he prophesies. *Ask now for the things for the peace of Jerusalem.* That is, "Peace shall overtake her. And prosperity to those who love her." C Another says, *There shall be rest.* Another, *May those who love thee have well-being.* Here is a great abundance of prosperity, when good things do not stop with her alone, but even those who love her enjoy them: a thing which in former times happened the opposite way. For those who hated her and made war upon her, these were especially strong, and were more powerful than others, and more brilliantly and with ease they erected trophies. But those who love thee now shall be in great security. *Those who are enclosed with thee.* He says this either of those who are about to join in, or of the citizens themselves. *Let there be peace in thy power.* Another, *In thy bulwark.* Another, *In thy enclosure.* What is, *In thy power?* In thy subsistence, in those who dwell in thee, in thy prosperity. Because war is destructive, and this is what destroyed her, he prays for peace for her. *And prosperity in thy towers.* Another, *In thy royal palaces.* Another, *Well-being.* Another, *Rest.* For he does not merely prophesy to them a change from evils, but also an addition of countless good things, peace, plenty, fertility. For what use is there in peace, when they live together in poverty, beggary, and famine? And what use is there of prosperity, when war is impending? Therefore, he prophesies both these good things to them, so that they may both be in prosperity and hold this in safety through peace. *For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors.* He either speaks of those from the neighborhood, who rejoiced over them when they fell, and he prays for peace to be, so that those too might be humbled and know the strength of God; or he calls those who dwell in the city brothers. Therefore *for the sake of my brothers and my neighbors* let there be peace, so that at least late in the day they might recover, having become better from their calamities. *I was speaking peace concerning thee. For the sake of the house of the Lord our God I sought out good things for thee.* Another, *I will speak peace in thee.* Since he said, *For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors,* showing that he prays this not because of their merit, but so that He might benefit them more, he added: *For the sake of the house of the Lord our God;* that is, for the sake of His glory I pray for peace, so that His worship might return again, and the teaching become greater. For some were born during the captivity, while others were witnesses of both the descent and the return. And when the worship was being performed, they were learning all these things from the elders, the ancient prosperity, the well-being, that it was because they were in these things that they fell away. Do you see how he curbs their arrogance, so that, as having paid the penalty, they might not think they have recovered the goods as their due, but might learn that it was for the sake of God’s glory that they returned to their own homeland, and having learned this, they might remain with great security, and not by sinning again experience the same things? Knowing these things, therefore, let us too, primarily, not fall into sin; but if ever we should fall into sins, let us endeavor to rise up quickly, and not to backslide into previous things, lest we hear the things of the paralytic: *Behold thou art made whole, sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.* For because of this he spoke thus, instructing both those who are in virtue to preserve it...
and those who are delivered from sins to remain in the best change, so that all may obtain together the heavenly goods; which may it be granted to us all to enjoy, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
ON PSALM CXXII
1. *Unto thee have I lifted up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in heaven.* A You see everywhere the benefit of captivity shining forth. For they who were fixed upon worldly things, and trusted in the Assyrians and Egyptians, as well as in the circuit of walls and the abundance of money, tearing themselves away from all those things, flee to the invincible hand, and hang upon that hope; and being instructed with a lofty mind, and pulled away from earthly things—not being able to approach the temple according to their custom, because it had been overturned—they invoke God at last from the heaven. But he is said to dwell in heaven, not as if circumscribed by place, far from it: for he himself fills all things; but as if he rests and remains in those heavenly powers; for he is said to dwell also in men: *For I will dwell in them and walk among them* (2 Cor. VI, 16). Since, therefore, they were dwelling in the land of the barbarians, they were imbued with no mediocre doctrine: for this reason, that they had been sequestered from all worldly advantages, and were learning that God, if he is invoked, readily listens to prayers everywhere. For because B it was about to be that the light of a new way of life would at last arise, the prophet begins to touch upon the things which were to come, solving and removing the observation of places slowly and as if by an enigma. 2. *Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hands of their masters; as the eyes of a maiden unto the hands of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until he have mercy upon us.* See here also piety thriving and firm: for they do not hope for a brief time only, but are fixed and panting for a longer one. And for this reason they brought the example into the midst, judging this same thing: that they had no hope of help and support from elsewhere, and that they looked to nothing else; since a maiden and a servant have this one recourse, by which they obtain food and clothing and other necessities, that they look to their masters; and they do not withdraw, but wait until they receive, and when they receive, they give thanks; and they do this same thing assiduously. In order therefore to show this—that they themselves looked to him, and did this assiduously, and had no other hope, but were fixed in the expectation of this support, as though all their goods were his—he commemorated the maiden and the servants. See in what way those who were formerly invited C to run to God, and heard these things with nausea and loathing, have now become better through calamity; so that they do not wish to desist from him, but remain, serve, and entreat until he have mercy upon them. He did not say, "Until he pays the wages, until he gives the reward," but, "Until he have mercy." You therefore, O man, remain assiduously, whether you receive or do not receive: even if you do not receive, do not withdraw, and you shall receive altogether. For if the assiduity of the widow swayed that cruel prince, what favor would you obtain, you who so quickly shrink, grow sluggish, and fail (Luke XVIII)? Do you not see how maidens depend on their mistresses, while they permit neither their mind nor their eye to wander elsewhere? So do you act: follow God alone, and, having dismissed all other things, be among the number of his servants, and whatever useful things you petition for, you shall obtain.
On mercy we attain salvation.
3. *Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. 4. Our soul is exceedingly filled.* Did you see the contrite soul? They ask to obtain salvation from mercy; indeed, not even from mercy, as though they deserved it; but because they have suffered great punishments, as Daniel says: *We are become few before all the nations which are upon the earth* (Dan. III, 37): this same thing they say in their prayer. We have suffered the utmost misery, we have fallen from country and liberty; we have remained servants of barbarians, in reproaches, consumed by famine, D need, and thirst: we have spent all the time spit upon and trampled: therefore spare and have mercy upon us. But what does *Our soul is exceedingly filled* mean? Our soul, he says, is dissolved, wasted by the magnitude of evils. One may see many who are severely vexed and bear it bravely. But we, they say, have lost this: we bear our affliction heavily, we are broken. For because they had not used honors as they ought, God corrects them with contrary things, which we may see him doing everywhere. Thus also he corrected Adam with expulsion because he had not used the habitation of paradise rightly, and he made the wife, who had become worse from the equality of honor, better through servitude and subjection. He corrects the Jews also, who had been changed for the worse by liberty and long-standing security at home, and who had become unbridled and dissolute, through contraries. These, moreover, asking to obtain mercy, address God thus: *Our soul is exceedingly filled. Contempt to the abundant, and neglect to the proud.* Another: *Our soul is satiated with the speaking, the abundance, and the despising of the proud.* Another: *With the mocking of the arrogant.* Another: *With the contempt of those who abound in goods.* These, therefore, hold to the same opinion. For they deplore their calamity when they say: *Our soul is satiated with those who despise us.* The Septuagint, however, say another thing: Let these things pass to them, and let them enjoy the same things they did to others, and let their pride and swelling be depressed. Which we see has often happened: for God is frequently accustomed to do this, namely, taking up the high-minded he depresses them, and humbles the puffed up, that he may turn them from the path leading to destruction. For nothing is worse than pride. Therefore temptations and troubles, the mortal body, and many coming calamities: therefore sicknesses and diseases; so that numberless bridles are applied to the soul that is proud and inflated with swelling. Therefore do not be troubled, beloved, when in...
you are caught in a trial; but remembering the prophet who says, *It is good for me that you have humbled me, that I might learn your statutes* (Ps. 118:71), accept the calamity as a remedy, and use the temptation for a necessary purpose, and you shall be able to attain greater relief; of which may we all be deemed worthy, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
ON PSALM CXXIII
1. *If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.* A What I have often said, I say now also, and will not cease to say, that the fruit of the captivity is great, and sufficient to lead those who attend to it toward philosophy. For see, those who used to run to idols, and who despised God, and who drifted into impiety, what do they say now after the captivity, and how do they attribute their own salvation to God? And the prophet, like a skilled choir-leader, continually commands them to say the same things. For instance, after saying it first himself, he instructs them—as a teacher does his disciples—to say: *Let Israel now say, If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive.* For they were unarmed and naked, captives and slaves, and just delivered from evils, and having a city without walls—or rather, not even a city—and after their return they lay as prey ready for everyone. But instead of a wall and a tower, God became these things to them. B Let us, too, say this now: *If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, then they would have swallowed us up alive.* For what would our enemy the devil not have done, if the Lord had not been on our side? Hear what Christ says to Simon: *Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has asked to have you, that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail* (Luke 22:31)? For the beast is wicked and insatiable, and if he were not continually bridled, he would have overturned and confounded everything. For if, in the case of the blessed Job, having received a small measure of permission, he tore his house up by the roots, mangled his body, caused such a tragedy, destroyed his substance, buried his children, made worms swarm over his flesh, set his wife against him, and prepared his friends, his enemies, and his servants to say such things, if he were not held by a thousand bridles, how would he not have harmed everyone? For this reason, this one also says: *If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.* For they were indeed very few and of no account, and many attacked them C when they returned. And in this, too, the wisdom of God was revealed, in not giving them safety all at once, but gently and little by little. He did this, keeping them in the knowledge of God, and not allowing the correction that came to them from the captivity to dissipate. Since the deliverance from evils is accustomed to make people more slothful, even in the very giving of good things, He allows them to be continually tempted, so that they might have the temptations as a constant exercise of philosophy. For this reason, He does not always leave men in calamities, D so that they might not faint, nor in stillness, so that they might not become slothful, but He varies their salvation with alternations.
*Then they would have swallowed us up alive.* Do you see how he demonstrates the beast-like nature of those who attack? For there are even men who are such, displaying the cruelty of beasts, or rather, using their own kind even worse than those [beasts] do. For the beast, once it has attacked, lets go of its anger and withdraws, or, if it is warded off, does not come again; but men, having failed many times, attack many times, desiring to taste of their own flesh. Such is anger, not having reason; so the passion seethes and boils. How, then, could such a disease be extinguished? If we consider those who depart day by day, if we calculate our own nature, if we think of death and contemplate it, [remembering] that we are dust and ashes. But if the beauty of the face still deceives your mind, go to the 346 monuments and the tombs of your fathers, and see those who lie there, how they are dissolved into dust, and you will receive much cause from the sight to draw back. But do not judge the weight of the word [to be too harsh]. For just as those who are suffering from fever, when they have been freed from their diseases, require pure air, so too those who are maddened by their passions, if they go to the monuments, as if seizing upon a healthy place, they banish many of their diseases. For indeed, the sight of the sarcophagus is enough to bring even the most desperate man down. From these things, send your mind on to that future, fearful day, to those tortures and those reckonings, to the punishments that have no consolation, where no one will stand by you; with all these things, soothe your passions. And consider also those of men who in the present life fall from wealth to poverty, from glory to dishonor; and if you wish to be angry, be not with your kinsman, but with the wicked demon. You have the place where you can expend the passion: never spend it on him [the kinsman], but set a trap for him [the devil], and never be satisfied in warring against him. *At the anger of their fury against us, then the water would have overwhelmed us, our soul would have passed through the unbearable water.* He calls the [345/346 transition, no space in original] unspeakable wrath of the enemies a torrent and water, for water is what is carried along in disorder, and with much momentum and force, sweeps away whatever it encounters. He does not only speak of the onslaught of evils here, but also of the passing.
2. Let us not, therefore, fall when evils come upon us. For a torrent, whatever it may be, is a cloud that passes by. Whatever you say is grievous, it has an end; whatever you say is terrible, it meets with a limit. For if it had no end, nature would not have sufficed. *But it sweeps many away*, he says. But [this happens] not because of its own momentum, but because of those who are slothful and easily tripped. In order, then, that we may not be swept away, and that we go to its deeper places, let us consider its paths, let us take hold of the holy anchor, so that we may suffer no shipwreck.
IN PSALMUM CXXIII
For the torrent is terrible for a time, and again is humbled beyond measure. *The water would have overwhelmed us.* Another interpreter says: *Then perhaps the waters would have overwhelmed us, passing on against our soul. Perhaps our soul would have passed over the intolerable water.* Another says: *Then they would have passed over our soul, as waters, the proud.* Do you see how great God’s aid is? How, in such great evils, He did not allow them to be submerged? For He allows evils to grow, not that they may overwhelm us, but that He may make us more approved, and provide a greater demonstration of His own power. He calls the enemies "proud" here, who, rushing on more vehemently than any torrent or intolerable water, did them no harm. The cause, however, is God’s protection, the heavenly subsidy, the aid that cannot be overcome. And therefore, when He himself had spoken of the deliverance from evils, He mentions Him who delivered, and that with his highest praise. 5. *Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us to be a prey to their teeth. 6. Our soul hath been delivered as a sparrow out of the snare of the fowlers.* Do you see how he shows their own weakness and the others' power? For they invaded them like wild beasts and lions, ready even to feed on their flesh, armed with both strength and fury; but these were weaker than any sparrow. For then the miracles of God are especially shown, when those who are weak overcome the powerful. And the snares were not intolerable only because they were mighty and terrible, full of wrath, and ready even to feed on their flesh: and these were weak and few, who could easily be attacked: but also because they were intercepted in the midst of evils, and surrounded on all sides by difficulties, having wars encompassing them on every side: but He who is endowed with the greatest power, and can preserve from every side, even after dangers and evils have beset us; He has delivered us, he says, with great ease. Which indeed wishing to show, he said thus: *Our soul hath been delivered as a sparrow out of the snare of the fowlers,* showing also how, he subjoined: 8. *Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.* Do you see the virtue of the helper? Do you see his power? He even removed the very means of the snares.
This might also be taken anagogically concerning the devil, and the race of mankind. For it shows how He snatched away, and how He removed his snares: for this has happened since He said to the disciples: *Walk upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy* (Luke 10:19). For there is no longer an open war, nor an equally matched line of battle; but he lies prone and prostrate, while you stand erect, striking him from above: he is enervated, but you are robust and strong. How does it happen, therefore, that he often wins? This happens because of our sloth, because of the laziness of those who sleep. If, therefore, you wish to resist, he dares not engage you in a set battle. But if he overcomes one who is sleeping, that is to be attributed not to his power, but to your negligence. For who would not overcome a person who is sleeping, even if he were the weakest of all? The strong man is bound, all his impediments are snatched away, his power is broken, his dwelling-place is torn down and ruined, his spears have failed. What more do you wish than this? For what cause do you fear him? Why are you afraid? You have been commanded to trample upon him who is enervated: for what reason, I ask, do you tremble? Why do you hesitate and doubt? Do you not consider what kind of person He is who brings you aid? For not only has your enemy become weaker, but your help is even greater. The exultation of the flesh has been compressed, the burden of sin has been taken away, you have received the grace of the Spirit, which has the power of anointing. *For what was impossible to the law, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and of sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the justification of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh* (Rom. 8:3-4). He has made your flesh obedient to you, He has gifted you with armor: the breastplate of justice, the girdle of truth, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit; He has given you the earnest, He feeds you with His own body, He offers His own blood for you to drink, He has handed the cross to you like a spear into your hands (Eph. 6). He has bound him, He has cast him to the ground. You have nothing, therefore, with which to defend yourself henceforth, if you are overcome; and if you are defeated, no pardon is to be granted to you. For you have countless opportunities for victory. The snare is broken, he says, and we have been delivered. *Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.* Do you see what kind of Commander you have, what kind of King, He who is the Maker of the universe, He who by a word alone produced so many bodies, such a mass, such a magnitude? Do not lose heart, resist with a strong spirit. Nothing prevents your trophy from standing erect. Knowing these things, therefore, O beloved, let us be sober, let us strive, and let us not sleep, but having cleansed our arms and confirmed the alacrity of our spirit, let us strike the enemy unceasingly, so that when we have carried off a brilliant victory, we may attain with great glory the kingdom of heaven: which may we be granted to attain by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and empire unto ages of ages. Amen.
IN PSALMUM CXXIV
AWhy did he not simply say, "As a mount," but remembers that mount? In order to teach that we ought not to lose heart in calamities, nor be overwhelmed by them, but hanging upon hope in God, to bear all things bravely, wars, battles, and tumults. For just as this mount, which had been at one time deserted and denuded of inhabitants, had returned to its former prosperity, having regained its ancient state, with the inhabitants having returned, and miracles being shown again: even so the brave man, even if he is invaded by countless calamities, will not be overturned. Do not, therefore, seek a life that is free from trouble, and without action, and without toil, but one that is not dragged away by dangers...
For it is not the same thing to demonstrate one’s skill sitting in a harbor as it is while tossing upon the open sea. The one becomes sluggish, soft, and unstrung; the other, having endured many hidden rocks, and many reefs, and many violent winds, and the other terrors from the sea, and having excelled in all these, makes his own soul stronger. For this reason you were brought into the present life, not that you might be idle, nor that you might lie supine, nor that you might feel no terror, but that, having suffered, you might become more brilliant. Let us not, then, seek ease, nor a life filled with luxury. For such a desire is not that of a noble man, but of a worm, or rather more irrational than that which possesses reason. But pray, indeed, above all, not to fall into temptation; but if you should ever enter into it, do not be indignant, do not be thrown into confusion, do not be troubled, but do everything so that you may become more brilliant. Do you not see the bravest of soldiers, how, when the trumpet calls, they look toward the trophies, toward the victories, toward the crowns, toward the successes of their own ancestors? And you, therefore, when the spiritual trumpet sounds, stand firmer than a lion; advance, even if there be fire, even if there be iron. The elements themselves know how to revere those who are truly brave. The beasts themselves know how to fear those who are so noble. Even if under hunger, or even under nature itself, it rages, it forgets all these things when it sees a just man, and masters its own passion. Arm yourself, therefore, with these weapons, and do not fear even fire, even if you see the flame rising up to the heavens. You have a noble General, and one who is capable of everything, and who by a nod alone A looses dangers. Everything is His, both heaven, and earth, and sea, and beasts, and fire; all are easy for Him to transfer and to change for [His] ease. From whence, then, are you afraid? Tell me. From nowhere else, but from sluggishness and your own dejection. Is not death the culmination of evils? But even this is a debt of nature. Why do you not manage the debt? For if it is necessary to travel this road, both willingly and unwillingly, why not with profit? But with tortures, not temporary ones, but those which provide pleasure greater than the pain. But if these things seem to you to be grievous, consider those who are surrendered to long decay without reward, those battling with chronic hunger, those having incurable and long-standing diseases, on account of which they have often wished to end their life, and many have even rushed to the noose or the sword. And you have heaven set before you, and the good things that are in the heavens, and do you not shudder, and are you not afraid, while being softened, and this when you have such an ally? Do you not hear the Prophet saying, *They that trust in the Lord are as Mount Sion?* For he called it a mountain to signify the unshakeable nature of the hope in God, the fixed, the unconquerable, the invincible. For just as even if one brings up ten thousand machines, a mountain could neither be uprooted nor shaken; so he who attacks one who has his hope in God will return home with empty hands. For hope in God is far more secure than a mountain. *He that dwelleth in Jerusalem shall not be shaken forever.* Another interpreter says: B An unshakeable one who dwells around Jerusalem forever. What then? He says, were the three children, and Daniel, not shaken? Far from it; for they fell from their homeland and underwent captivity, but they suffered no shaking whatever; but being in such a turmoil of events, and such a multitude of waves, they were as if standing upon a rock and mooring in a calm harbor; thus they suffered nothing unpleasant. Do not, therefore, call the circumstance of events a "shaking." For this is not a shaking, but the destruction of the soul, and falling away from virtue; which those who are sober do not undergo in dangers, but they possess their own philosophy more securely, and shine more brightly. If, however, you wish to take what has been said also in an anagogical sense, that *he who dwelleth in Jerusalem shall not be shaken forever*, subscribe to the lot there in the metropolis above. For those who have received that [city] are released from every circumstance; there are no longer there the things that trip one up, neither desire, nor pleasures, nor the circumstance of sins, neither sorrow and anxiety and danger, but all these things are out of the way. Jerusalem, mountains are round about her, and the Lord is round about His people from henceforth and even forever. He says, indeed, through these [words], also the alliance for the city from its very position; but he does not allow them to trust in these, but leads them up to the unconquerable aid, God. For even if, he says, the mountains wall it in, yet it has need of that security; and this is what makes it unconquerable. Wherefore also another interpreter says: *And the Lord is about His people.* That is, do not trust in the encirclement of the mountains. For that which makes it unconquerable is this, that *the Lord will not allow the rod of sinners upon the lot of the just*. He states a reasonable cause for the help of God, so that they might also be bold. What, then, is this? He says, He would not suffer the good things of the just to be in the hands of the sinners. He said this, at once preparing them to be bold concerning the alliance of God, and persuading them to remain in virtue, if indeed they should wish to enjoy His help continuously, and to be masters of their own good things. For he shows through these [words] C that both possession and security lie in their own volition. And by "rod of sinners" here he calls the kingdom of the enemies. But what he says is this: He will not suffer [the rod] to hold the inheritance of the just. For if He has done this even for a time, [He did it] for correction and admonition and sobering. *In order that the just may not extend their hands in inquities.* Another [says]: *For this reason the just do not extend their hands into iniquity.* For this reason; which one? Because of what was said, that He will stand by, that He will defend, that He will rebuff, that He will remove the enemies from their possessions. As if he were saying: having been disciplined by the temptation, and having become better through the provision of good things, they will continue to be in virtue, and will not touch wickedness, being taught from both sides. So that the whole thing, therefore, was done so that their soul might become better, being corrected by the occurrence of evils, and being made more eager by the giving of good things.
A "Good, O Lord, to the good." Another: "Do good." And to the upright in heart. "But those who turn aside to crooked paths, the Lord shall lead away with the workers of iniquity." You see that we provide the beginnings in all things, both for obtaining goods and for enduring punishments? Although the beginning is taken from us, yet the great light of God's loving-kindness shines forth; for He overcomes us with a certain profuse and redundant abundance in His rewards: and in sins, indeed, He imposes a moderate punishment, but in things rightly done, He bestows a far greater reward. Here, indeed, He calls the "upright" those who are simple, not feigned, who have nothing shadowed nor simulated. For that which is upright is such, which is what God everywhere most especially requires. Virtue is also of such a nature—plain and easy—just as wickedness is something perverse, various, and without an exit; and this can be seen from the things themselves. For he who wishes to lie and devise guiles, consider with yourself how many things he attempts and how great they are, what variety he has need of, and with what sort of feigned speeches, with what artifice, and with how much facility of expression. But he who speaks the truth has need of no labor, no difficulty, no simulation, no art, or machination, or anything of that sort, since it shines through of itself. Just as, indeed, deformed bodies have need of many artifices and coverings that might conceal the deformity of their nature, while those that are beautiful by nature are resplendent of themselves, even if nothing external is added; so, too, we can find this in truth and falsehood, in virtue and vice. Whence it is clear that even before the punishment, vice itself inflicts punishment, and before the reward, virtue is rewarded. For just as the latter has in itself prizes even before the crowns, so also does the former contain punishment in itself before it is punished. For what could be more grievous than sin, as it pertains to punishment? Wherefore Paul, too, making mention of those who practice B the harlot's art, prostitute the flower of their youth, and overturn the laws of nature, said that this was the greatest punishment, even before they are punished. "For the males," he says, "working dishonor in males, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was due of their error" (Rom. 1:27)—calling the intemperance and the act itself the recompense of their sin. "Peace upon Israel." With this prayer he closed his discourse. For such are the souls of the saints; with exhortation and counsel they join prayer, bringing in the greatest help for their hearers. "Peace of the saints." And he speaks here of peace, not this sensible peace alone, but that also which is higher than this, and he says whence it is born, and prays that the soul might not stir up sedition against itself, bringing in a war of the disturbances of the mind. Let us also seek this peace, that we may be able to attain the promised goods, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
CONCERNING PSALM CXXV
C 1. "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Sion, we became as those that are comforted." Another interpreter says, "When the Lord shall turn again the captivity, we shall be comforted."
The name of "captivity" is simple, but it has many meanings. For there is a good captivity, as when Paul says, "Bringing into captivity every thought to Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). There is a bad one, as when he says: "Leading captive silly women laden with sins" (2 Tim. 3:6). There is that which dwells in the mind, as that regarding which he says, "To preach deliverance to the captives" (Isa. 61:1). There is that which falls under the senses, as that which is done by enemies. The former, however, is more grievous. For those who have taken some in war often spare the captives, and if they order them either to fetch water, or cut wood, or pasture horses, they do not hurt their soul at all; but he who has been made a captive of sin has a savage and barbarian master, who compels him to do things most vile and most disgraceful. For this tyranny of vice knows not how to spare, nor to pity. Hear, therefore, how when it had taken the miserable and unhappy Judas captive, it did not spare him at all, but made him a sacrilegious person and a traitor; then, after he had perpetrated the crime, it led him into the theater of the Jews, and revealed his misdeed, and did not even permit him to receive the fruit of repentance, but before repentance led him to the noose. D For it is a savage tyrant, which commands things that are wicked, and brings disgrace upon those who obey. Wherefore I ask you, with the greatest zeal let us flee its dominion, and let us war against it, and let us never be reconciled to it, and, being liberated, let us remain in liberty. For if those who were liberated from the barbarians received comfort, much more does it behoove us, having been liberated from sin, to rejoice and exult, and to keep this joy immortal, and not to disturb and confound it, by again undertaking the same evils. "We became as those that are comforted (or truly, as those dreaming)." Other interpreters say this, "As those dreaming." The Hebrew, however, says, "Chaolemim." And what is "comforted"? We were filled, he says, with quiet, with joy, with delight. 2. "Then was our mouth filled with joy, and our tongue with exultation." 3. "Then shall they say among the gentiles, The Lord hath magnified to do with them." 4. "The Lord hath magnified to do with us." It contributes no little to a better change to rejoice on account of our liberation from captivity. And who, you will say, does not rejoice on that account? Their fathers, when they were liberated from Egypt and were brought from that servitude into liberty, through the highest vice of an ungrateful mind, were murmuring at the very goods themselves, were indignant, bore them ill, and remained sad. But not so we, he says; but we rejoice and exult. Now, indeed, he brings in the reason for the joy.
we do not, but rather that from this also all will know God’s providence concerning us. For then, he says, they will say among the nations, *The Lord has magnified to do with them.* The Lord has magnified to do with us. B The doubling is not put forth simply, but for the sake of indicating the great joy they possessed. For the one is the utterance of the nations, the other in turn is theirs. And see: they did not say, “He saved us,” nor, “He delivered us”; but, *He magnified*, wishing to demonstrate the paradox full of miracle through the designation of “magnifying.” Do you see that what I was saying continuously, that the world was being instructed through this nation, both as they were being led away and as they were being brought back? For the return became equivalent to a herald. For their fame traveled everywhere, making manifest to all the philanthropy of God, because the miracles that occurred concerning them were truly great and paradoxical. For Cyrus himself, who held them, released them, with no one asking, but God having softened that man’s mind; and he did not release them simply, but even with gifts and presents.
*We were made rejoicing.* Or, *Turn, O Lord, our captivity, as streams in the south.* How is it that, beginning the Psalm, *When the Lord turned again the captivity of Sion*, he said, but here, *Turn*? As if speaking about something future. For particularly the other interpreter leads us into this, not saying, “When [He] turned,” but, “When [He] shall turn”; because the matter was obtaining a beginning then, and the whole was not brought to completion in the start, but there were many returns for them; for indeed a first, and a second, C and a third took place.
2. This, then, can be said: that he is praying for the deliverance to be whole. For many of the Jews wished to remain in the land of the barbarians; wherefore, desiring with intensity that this might happen, he says: *Turn our captivity, as streams in the south*; that is to say, with much force, pushing and urging with much vehemence. Wherefore also another interpreter, manifesting this very thing, said: *As flowing-down*; another, *As channels*; another, *As releases*. *They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.* This was spoken indeed concerning the Jews, but it could have place to be said elsewhere in many instances. For such is virtue; it has bright rewards for labors; and we must first toil and suffer, and then seek rest. For this one could see happening everywhere, event in life’s affairs. For this reason he led the discourse to these things, to the sowing, I say, and the reaping. For just as he who sows has need of labor, and toil, and sweat, and winter; so also he who pursues virtue. For nothing is so useless toward rest as man. For this reason God made the way strait and narrow D. Or rather, he prepared not only the things of virtue, but also the things of life as laborious, and these much more so. For both he who sows, and he who builds, the traveler, the woodcutter, the artisan, every person, if he is to reap anything useful, has need of labor and toil; and just as seeds have need of rains, so we of tears; and just as the earth has need of being cut and broken up, so also the soul, instead of a mattock, has need of temptations and afflictions, so that it may not bring forth wicked weeds, so that its hardness may be softened, so that it may not leap wildly. For indeed, the earth not worked with much carefulness brings forth nothing sound. What therefore the Prophet says is this: that one must not only rejoice at the return, but also at the captivity, and render thanks to God for both. For that indeed is sowing; but this, reaping. Just as, therefore, those who sow, he says, laboring, enjoy the revenues afterwards; so also you, when you were being led away, imitated those who sow, toiling, suffering, being afflicted, bearing the winter, the war, the cloudiness, the cold, shedding tears. For what the rain is to the seeds, this are tears to those who are afflicted. But behold, he says, you received the reward of those labors. When therefore he says: *Going they went and wept, casting their seeds; but coming they shall come in joy, lifting their sheaves*, he is not speaking about wheat, but about realities, instructing the hearer not to grow faint in afflictions. For just as he who sows does not grow faint, even if the burdens are many, looking toward the crops that are flourishing; so also it is necessary that he who is afflicted should not be discouraged, even if the painful things are many, awaiting the reaping, considering the revenue that comes from the affliction. 355 These things, therefore, we also knowing, let us give thanks to the Master both for affliction and for rest. For if even the things that occur are diverse, yet towards one end all look, just as the sowing and the reaping; and let us bear the afflictions nobly and gladly, and the rests with thanksgiving; so as to attain also to the future goods, by the grace and philanthropy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power unto the ages of the ages. Amen.
CONCERNING PSALM CXXVI
*Unless the Lord build the house, in vain have they labored that build it. Unless the Lord keep the city, in vain has he watched who keeps it. In vain is it for you to rise before light; rise after you have sat.*
1. This Psalm was spoken concerning the state of the affairs after the return. Because, having been delivered from the captivity, and having returned from the barbarian land, and finding the city a ruin, and the walls with the towers cast to the ground, they were undertaking to raise them, but many, attacking from everywhere, were hindering the work, envying the prosperity of the Jews, and fearing their success; afterwards, these things happening, time was being wasted, and so much time was wasted that over forty years were spent in the building of the temple; which indeed the Jews also, declaring, said: *Forty and six years this temple was built*—not speaking…
of the former building which was done by Solomon, but of that which was done after they were delivered from the Persians. Since, therefore, much time was consumed in the building of the city, the temple, and the walls (for the construction of the city consumed many more years A), the prophet, teaching them to flee back to God, pursues these points, showing that all things come to pass in vain and to no purpose, unless they draw down divine help upon themselves. For not only is it impossible to be freed from captivity, but even after they are freed, to raise up walls is impossible without the divine assistance. And what do I say of raising up walls and building a city? Not even can one keep it perfect and complete if that help is not present to him. But he said these things persuading them in every way to flee back to the help of God, lest they should become more negligent through ease and favorable circumstances. For He did not grant them all these blessings at once and in a heap, but bit by bit and little by little, lest by a speedy liberation from evils they should recur to their former wickedness. Moreover, while giving blessings, He often admonished them, frequently stirring up their sloth through the irruption of B enemies. What is said here, therefore, is spoken in a general sense; but it has taken its beginning from this premise. For it is necessary to adapt it to all people, not that we should be slothful and lie supine, but that whilst we bring our own contribution, we should commit all things to the will of God, depending perpetually upon His hope in all things. For just as it is impossible for things to be brought to an end without God giving help, so if God gives help, but we are negligent and idle, we shall not be able to attain the end. *Vain is it for you to rise before the light, rise after you have sat down.* Another interpreter says, *To those who delay to sit*. Another, *To those who put off sitting*. But what he says is of this kind: Even if you are vigilant, even if you are roused in the morning, and even if you go to bed late, spending all your time in C labor and affliction, unless you attain His help, all human things will perish, and from that effort and diligence no utility will return. *You who eat the bread of sorrow.* He says this, showing that they lead a laborious life while they build under arms. For with one hand, he says, they carried a basket or a stone, and with the other a sword, dividing themselves for building and for warring, and together with shields carrying flints. For because the city was not fortified, but stripped bare, and they suspected sudden and unexpected attacks of enemies at every hour, they built the walls while armed; and swords, shields, and javelins were at hand, and there were certain watchmen at a distance who would signal their uncertain incursion and blow the trumpet if they saw any approaching from afar. But even if you do these things, he says, and eat the bread of D sorrow, all things, he says, you will do in vain and to no purpose, unless you draw down heavenly help. And if they stood in such need of heavenly help to raise the city and the walls, much more do we, who follow the way that leads to heaven. *When He shall have given sleep to His beloved sons.* *Lo, the inheritance of the Lord, children.* What kind of coherence is this? Truly beautiful, and very much consistent with the former. For this is what he says: If God does not bring help, all things perish; but when He does bring it, then sleep is pleasant, then there is leisure, and a life free from dangers and full of security. 364 When He has refreshed them, when He has driven back those who invade, not only then will they build the city, nor will they only guard it, but they will receive much greater things: for they will be fathers of many children, and their beautiful offspring will be increased. *The reward of the fruit of the womb.* Another says, *The reward is the fruit of the womb itself*. What is this? They will receive, he says, a reward—numerous offspring. For even if this be a work of nature, yet when God brings help, it proceeds more happily. For it too stands in need of heavenly help; and Jerusalem will be crowded with people. But their happiness will not consist in these things alone—namely, in building, in guarding, and in offspring; but to these other things will be added. And showing what these are, he subjoins, saying: *As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the sons of those who have been cast out.* Another, *Of those who have been bound*. But what he says is of this kind: They will not only be safe within the walls and in a fortified city, nor will they only have numerous offspring, but they will also be terrible to their enemies, and terrible as arrows. But he did not say simply, *Arrows*, but, *Arrows in the hand of mighty men*. For arrows are not terrible in themselves, but when they are held by a mighty man, threatening death to those whom they assail. So, therefore, these will be terrible. Who? These sons of those who were cast out. That is, of those who were once weak, who were bound and fettered. For he frequently brings their former adversities back to their memory in the time of prosperity, so that he may correct their mind on every side, both through what they have suffered, and from what they have been liberated, and through what they will follow. *Blessed is the man who shall fill his desire from them; they shall not be confounded when they speak to their enemies in the gate.* Another says, *Blessed is he who shall fill his quiver from them*. That is: This too will be present to them, strength of body, a terror that cannot be withstood, a beautiful and numerous progeny, security, the beauty of the city, victory and trophies in wars. Wherefore he also pronounces blessed those who are about to attain this happiness. For they will be, he says, armed. But their blessedness will not consist in these things only, but also in the fact that they will not be affected with shame. For they shall not be confounded, he says, when they speak with their enemies in the gate. What is this? The greatest trophy, the greatest splendor, the highest joy and happiness. For it will not be reproached to them that God did not have care for them, or that they had a weak God, or that they had indeed a powerful One, but had repelled His providence through their sins—but living in all things, through the city, through the walls, through the guard, through the children, through weapons, through the…
protection: but in all things bright and full of glory, because of the city, because of the walls, because of the garrison, because of the children, because of weapons, because of power, they shall not be covered with shame when they see the enemies, but will meet them with much bravery, adorning themselves, thinking great things, being adorned, because through all these things God shows His protection over them. For the head of good things and the pinnacle of blessedness is to be able finally to be adorned by the alliance of God. For this reason he ended his discourse here, teaching all men to seek that adornment before all other things, and to be bright because of this. Let us therefore emulate this, so that we may obtain the eternal good things, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father is the glory, together with the holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CXXVII
A1. Blessed are all they that fear the Lord. 1. See how he begins from where he left off. For just as there he pronounced them blessed because they were not put to shame, having God as a helper and with them; so also here he begins from this, saying: Blessed are all they that fear the Lord. And again he makes the discourse universal, having taken the beginning from those things. And well did he say, All: whether someone be a slave, whether a master, whether poor, whether B infirm in body, or whoever he may be, nothing of these things prevents one from having this blessedness, if, as he says, he fears the Lord. For the other kinds of blessedness, the false and fabricated one, which many emulate, is achieved with difficulty by many things coming together: and if all things do not concur, one would not be blessed among men. What kind of thing do I mean? If someone is rich, this is not enough for him for blessedness, but he also needs to be in health. For even if he is rich, but his body is maimed, for him the things of blessedness are lame, and he is more wretched than the poor. Many, therefore, who are wealthy and are wrestling with sickness, pronounce those poor who walk through the lanes blessed, and think themselves wretched despite their countless talents. Again, if his body is in health and he is rich, but he does not enjoy glory, there is another obstacle again. For there are some who possess much money and have a sound body, but suffer incurable things from those who are engaged in military service and have been clothed with power. For C because they share in no honor, they think themselves to be more wretched than all, cowering before those whom they often have as wealthier slaves. Again, if there be glory, and wealth, and health of body, but security be not present—with countless people plotting, envying, being jealous, hating, accusing, slandering—such a one will be more wretched than all, living the life of a hare, suspecting shadows, and trembling and fearing everyone. Even if he be rid of these, and be loved by everyone, and everything goes for him with the current—both glory, and wealth, and security, and honor (which is impossible to concur, but yet let it be laid down for the sake of the argument)—even if all these things flow in, and there be nothing that interrupts, but there is also the favor of the people, and greatness of glory, and abundance of money, and health of body, and complete security, and invincibility attends him, often having settled a wicked wife with himself—perverse and D twisted—he becomes more wretched than all those who possess none of these things. But if she too is of good character, and she happens to be to his mind and according to his judgment, it is necessary that such a man be more wretched than all if he has acquired bad children; or if he has not acquired any at all, he must mourn and lament. And wherever one looks upon the affairs of men, he will see many precipices. And why is it necessary to say other things? Often a wicked servant has overturned and confounded everything, and there is nothing so dangerous as to be overweening among men. But not so is he who fears God; rather, having been delivered from the waves, he sits in peace and a harbor, reaping the true blessedness. For this reason the prophet, having passed by all those things, declares this man alone blessed. For that other blessedness, if all things do not concur, would never stand; or rather, even when they do concur, then it is shaken by those very things that produce it. For wealth has ruined, and a beautiful wife has often destroyed, and a race of servants has betrayed, and children who were born have become parricides; and as I said before, it has many dangerous things from every quarter. But here, even if all contrary things flow in, not only does it not damage this blessedness in the least, but it even renders it stronger and more courageous. For even if there is poverty, even if dishonor, even if maiming of body, even if the wickedness of a wife, even if wicked children, even if you say anything you want, it does not trip up this blessedness, nor does it shake it. For it does not have its origin from those things, so that it might be shaken by those things that are swept along; but it possesses the root from above; therefore it also remains unconquerable. And if you wish, let us test this on the facts themselves. Was not Joseph a slave? Was he not a foreigner? Was he not without a country? Was he not a servant of barbarians, first of Saracens, later of the more savage Egyptians? Was he not considered an adulterer? Was he not accused? Was he not slandered? Was he not living in a prison? Was he not wearing chains? And what of these things harmed him? But for these things he was all the more blessed. For this is the astonishing thing, which I said before, that not only is this blessedness not damaged by this, but it even becomes brighter and clearer. For if he had suffered none of these things, he would not have been so blessed. 2. Do you wish that I also mention those who have spent their time in wickedness more violently, and then suddenly changed, and put off all that wickedness? What has become of the thief that is more wretched? Yet suddenly he appeared more blessed than all. Even though he had committed countless murders; for he was condemned by the cross, and was being led unto death, and all were accusing him, and all his time was wasted, and his life had been spent in wickedness; yet because in a short time he feared God as he ought to be feared, he became blessed. So also the harlot, although she was trading her beauty, and was exposed to all for insult, and because of this was more wretched than all, became blessed, having feared God as she ought. For there is no evil which the fear of God does not extinguish; but just as fire, whatever iron it takes that is twisted, or full of much rust, renders it bright, [alt-version omitted]A and perfectly straightens out the distortion, so also the fear of God does everything in a short time, and suffers those who have been steeped by it to be thwarted by nothing human. Was not Timothy infirm? Was he not perpetually vexed by illnesses and afflictions (1 Tim. 5:23)? What, then, became more blessed than he? But tell me, I pray, what of Job? Was he not reduced to poverty? Was he not reduced to childlessness? To the most grievous sores of the body? Was he not assailed with reproaches, insults, and injuries? Was he not tortured with hunger and all human evils? Yet he was the most blessed of all. For not only did none of these things break him, but it even made him firmer. Furthermore, even with all these things, his wife pressed upon him, harassing him with reproaches, and yet through all these he emerged illustrious. Reflecting upon all these things, the Prophet said: "Blessed," he says, "are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways" (Ps. CXXVII, 1). For lest you should think that fear suffices, he added: "Who walk in His ways," designating both; that is, those who fear and who walk. For many have perfect faith, but a flagitious life, and have become the most wretched of all. Lest, therefore, what he says should appear to be refuted by this, he added: "Who walk in His ways." And what are His ways, if not the life that is instituted according to virtue? For through it one is able to ascend into heaven, and to apprehend that primary city, and to see God Himself, insofar as He can be viewed by man. And they are called His ways, because through them it is possible to arrive at God in heaven. B
Many ways are set forth leading to heaven; the number concludes with the praise of almsgiving, whose efficacy is illustrated by the example of Lazarus.
He did not say "Way," but "Ways," showing that they are many and diverse. For this reason He constructed many ways, that by their multitude He might make our entry easy. For of men, some are illustrious in virginity, others indeed conduct themselves honestly in matrimony, others are adorned with widowhood; some have stripped themselves of everything, others of half; some enter by the straight way, others by repentance: and therefore He has constructed many ways for you, that you may enter easily. Were you unable to keep yourself clean after the laver? Yet through repentance you are able to cleanse it; you are able to do so through money, through almsgiving. But do you not have money? Yet you are able to visit the sick, you are able to approach him who is in bonds, to give a cup of cold water, and to receive a guest under the same roof, to offer two mites, like the widow (Luke 21), to groan for those who are afflicted. For this, too, is almsgiving. But are you destitute on all sides, and altogether poor, and your body so infirm that you cannot even walk? Bear all these things with a great spirit, giving thanks to God, and you will receive a great reward. For in this, too, Lazarus conducted himself beautifully. For he did not assist anyone with his own money. For who would have done that, when he even lacked necessary nourishment? He did not enter a prison. For how could he, who could neither be raised up nor sustain himself? He did not visit the sick. For who could have, he who was exposed to the tongues of dogs (Luke 16)? And yet, even without these, he snatched the prize of virtue, because he bore all things with a generous spirit, because, seeing a cruel and inhuman man held in honor and passing his life in delights, while he himself was involved in such evils, he did not utter even an indecorous word. And therefore he was received into the bosom of Abraham, who, when he was dead, was not better off, but was utterly useless, cast before the gate of the rich man; and while the patriarch, who had performed so many and such great things, was being crowned, was being proclaimed a victor, he was enjoying the bosom of him who had neither done almsgiving, nor reached out a hand to him to whom injury was being done, had not received guests, nor had been able to show anything else of such a sort, but had only in all things given thanks to God, and had carried off the bright crown of patience. For a great thing is the giving of thanks, and philosophy, and patience C which is exercised in so many and such great evils: and this was the greatest achievement of all by far. Whence also Job was crowned; wherefore the devil said: "Skin for skin, and all that a man has he will give for his soul; but send forth your hand, and touch his flesh" (Job 2:4-5). For it is no small thing to restrain a soul afflicted with pain to this, that it should sin in nothing. This is comparable to martyrdom; this is the colophon of the good. D
5. And therefore, O beloved, when you are often invaded by sickness, or fevers, or pains, forcing you by the torture to say something blasphemous, if you restrain yourself, and give thanks, and affect God with glory and honor, you will receive the same reward. For for what cause, tell me, I pray, do you blaspheme and bring forth harsh words? Does the pain thereby become lighter for you? Even if the pain were to become lighter by this reasoning, not even so would it be right to betray the salvation of the soul, with consideration for consolement of the body; but now, not only is the pain not lightened, but it is actually rendered heavier. For when the devil sees that he has been able to bring you to blasphemy, he subjects the furnace to more fire and inflames the pain, that you may fulfill his desire. Therefore, as I said, even if it were lightened, one ought not to do this; when, however, you make no gain, why does it befit you to destroy yourself? But you cannot be silent? Therefore give thanks to God; affect God with glory and honor, who proves you in the furnace. Instead of blasphemy, let the glory of God proceed from your mouth. Thus both the reward is great, and the wound is made lighter. In the same way also that blessed one, speaking, said, "The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away" (Job 1:21). And again, "If we have received good from the hand of the Lord, shall we not sustain the evil?" (Job 2:10). But to me, you will say, He did not give wealth. The wound is therefore less. For it is not the same thing to be stripped of wealth, when you have possessed it, and to live in need when you have never made a trial of it. For if, seeing the evils of others, and comparing them with their own hardships, many poor people, by the comparison of them, consider their own to be heavier—when they compare themselves not with others, but with themselves—think how much more heavy the pain is, as much as experience makes known, so that there is a greater sense of deprivation. Thus also it is lighter not to have had children from the beginning, than to be bereaved of them, when you have possessed them. For it is not the same thing not to have received, and after you have received, to be deprived of them. Bear, therefore, with a generous spirit
all that happens; for this is your martyrdom. For Christ does not consider it to be the only form of martyrdom to be told to sacrifice and *not* to sacrifice—preferring to be flayed rather than to do this—but also, when pain drives one to blasphemy, to choose to endure the agony and to say nothing unseemly, this makes one a martyr. For even Job was not crowned because he did not sacrifice when ordered, but because he bore his agonies with a noble spirit. And Paul, too, was proclaimed from this—from his stripes, from his tribulations, and from the other things he endured with thanksgiving.
C *You shall eat the labors of your fruits; you are blessed and it shall be well with you.* Why does he double the blessing? Because he knows the magnitude of it, and he delights in the vision of the matter. And what is "well"? Tell me... *Your wife [shall be] like a flourishing vine in the inner rooms of your house.* Another says: *In the inmost parts.* Another: *In the thighs.* *Your sons like young olive plants around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.* What are you saying, tell me? Is this the blessing? Is this the profit? The abundance of a household, and to enjoy the fruits of one's own labors, and a multitude of children, and a wife? Not this, but this results from an abundance. For, *seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all these things shall be added to you.* D Since, therefore, he was conversing with those who were still more imperfect, he led them by the hand from sensible things, just like little children. And do not be surprised. For if Paul does this in the time of such high philosophy while conversing with those still walking on the ground, the Prophet does so much more. And where does Paul do this? In many places. For when he discusses virginity, he says nothing to them about the things to come; but he puts forward only the deliverance from the troubles that result from marriage. And when he speaks about honoring parents, he uses the same way, saying: *Which is the first commandment with promises.* What is the commandment? *Honor your father and your mother, and you shall be long-lived upon the earth.* But even when he writes about the philosophy regarding enemies, he again puts forward a sensible reward, saying: *For in doing this, you will heap coals of fire upon his head.* But Christ does not do so; for he does not converse with the weak. But concerning virginity he sets down the kingdom, and concerning loving one's enemies, he sets down becoming like God, as it is possible for men who are such to become like [God]. Just as, therefore, even in the Old [Testament], where they were led by sensible things, we shall see them being led by those who knew how to philosophize from greater examples. And declaring this, Paul said: *According to faith they died, not having received the promises, but having seen them from afar and welcomed them.*
The reward of those who fear God is not, therefore, this alone—the enjoyment of one’s own things, and wife, and children, and the abundance of a household—but these things are indeed from an abundance and in the order of being "added." But the great and primary heads are: first, the very fearing of God, which contains the reward within itself; then, those ineffable [things], *which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man.*
*May the Lord bless you from Sion, and may you see the good things of Jerusalem.* Another: *And see the good things of Jerusalem.* By good things he means the city, wealth, comeliness, victories, honors, abundance, prosperity, security, peace.
A 4. *All the days of your life.* He has used the addition of the days well. For this, too, was the greatest sign that these things were bestowed by God, and a proof of His providence: that one should not suffer anything human, nor undergo change or endure alteration, unless indeed He, having been angered, interrupted them. *And may you see your children’s children.* And yet, he says, many who fear God have continued in childlessness. And what of this? For we did not strip ourselves naked for the sake of things present, but primarily for the sake of pleasing God; and then for the sake of future hopes. And then those were the rewards; but now, heaven and the good things in heaven. But if you did not have children, you who fear God, how do you know if He did not grant other, greater things than this prosperity? For He does not benefit everyone in one way, but variably, being rich. How many have had children and envied those who had none? How many have acquired wealth and departed this life more miserably than the poor? How many have enjoyed glory and, as if by a sword, were pierced by it and suffered irreparable harm? Do not, then, seek after [these] things, nor demand an accounting from God, but bear all things generously and with thanksgiving; or rather, do not be attached to any of the things present. For it is for this [reason] that you were commanded to pray such a prayer, in which you ask for only one sensible request, and nothing more. B But even this, by measure, becomes spiritual again. For all other things have been spoken to us concerning the heavens and the kingdom there, and the precise conduct [of life], and the deliverance from sins; but for the sake of sensible things we are commanded to say one phrase. What is this? *Give us today our daily bread,* and nothing more. For since we are now called to another fatherland, and have been transferred to a greater life, and it behooves us to make petitions suitable to that [life]; and these [sensible] things, even if they flow in, [we should] deflect with great precision.
*Peace upon Israel.* Another: *And see your children’s children, peace upon Israel.* Both read as one petition. For they long for this most of all, as those who have been tanned by long war. For what is the benefit to them of other things, if there is no peace? Therefore, he promises the head of the goods of that time, and their security, [which is] peace, and this perpetually; which is the work, most of all, of God’s providence, both to give [it] and to not allow it to fall away. Since, therefore, human nature itself is fluid and not permanent, showing that these things do not come to them simply but from the leaning from above, and by God inclining [to them], he said *All the days*, and promised perpetual peace. And this did come to pass, at least that which pertains to God. And if it was interrupted, this, too, came again from their own wickedness. For just as when He threatens punishments…
and by repentance turn away the wrath, the punishment is stayed: so also if He promises blessings, but they who are to receive the promises appear unworthy, the promise is revoked). As far as He is concerned, He has promised them for all days: but by their own wickedness they interrupted the gift. I say these things so that we may not despair when He threatens, but by repentance turn away the wrath; nor on the other hand grow slothful when He promises blessings, but by zeal and diligence in ordering our life, provoke the promises into action. For unless we do this, the promise alone does not suffice to save us. For He also promised Judas that he would sit upon a throne with the eleven disciples: yet he did not sit; and the cause was not He who promised, but he who showed himself unworthy of the promise. Wherefore let us too, having the promise of the kingdom, not be sluggish and idle, but bring our own efforts as well, that we may be able to attain eternal blessings, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
ON PSALM CXXVIII
A ...let Israel now say. 2. Frequently have they warred against me from my youth: and they could not prevail against me. Another interpreter says, (a) But they could not prevail against me. This Psalm also is connected with the former. Since the building was being interrupted, and the work was not being brought to an end, he leads them into good hope, that they might not despair; he bids them, from the past, to be of good courage concerning the future, and teaches them to say these words. Which are these? That although they had frequently attacked them, they could by no means overcome, nor did they win a complete victory. And yet, he says, they took captives, and led them into a strange land, and were victorious in many wars. And at that time, they overcame mostly not by their own strength, but because of the sin of the Jews. Yet for all that, the victors did not remain so to the end. For they could not entirely destroy the race, nor completely overturn the city, nor utterly ruin the nation, but after they had prevailed for a little while, God conceding it, they were defeated again. How, however, were they defeated? By the Jews returning to their former prosperity. Signifying which, another interpreter said, But they did not prevail against me.
3. Upon my back have sinners wrought, they have prolonged their iniquity. What is this? Not rashly, he says, and by chance did they lay snares, but they practiced and devised many things, framing guiles and attacking in secret. For that, Upon my back, signifies either fraud and festering malice, or force and violence. This is to say, They set out to break my power. Another however, for, Wrought, said, They plowed (b), to show that they put effort into preparing snares for the just. They have prolonged their iniquity. What is it that he says? It shows that they not only attacked with great force, but also with great perseverance, as those who spent a long time in that affair, and considered it their work to lie in wait, and persistently continued in it. But this availed them nothing, for they were restrained B not by our strength, but by the power of God. Wherefore, showing Him who raises up the trophy and grants the victory, he subjoined:
4. The Lord is righteous, He has cut down the necks of sinners. Another, however, for Necks, said, Ropes (a), signifying the snares, the assaults, the machinations. Rightly, however, he said not, Dissolved, but, Cut down: to show more clearly that He did this, rendering their counsels utterly useless. For when the city began to be built again, many from all sides made attacks, wasting away with envy: and they did not do this only once or twice, but very frequently. This very thing also happened in the Church. For when it began to spring up, all assailed it with persistence: in the beginning, indeed, kings, peoples, and tyrants: but afterwards the snares of the heretics: and the greatest, a varied and manifold war was stirred up from every side: but yet it did not prevail: but the enemies were routed, and the Church flourishes.
5. Let them be confounded and turned backward, all who hate Sion. Another, Let them be subverted backward (b). 6. Let them be as the grass of the housetops, which before it is plucked up, has withered : With my fist. And with my bosom, he who gathers the sheaves. Upon you. We have blessed you in the name of the Lord. He concludes the exhortation with a prayer, leading the hearer to confess by the narrative of things past and by his prayer, and showing the unjust cause of the war. For out of envy and hatred they undertook the war: and therefore he says: Let them blush and be turned backward, all who hate Sion. Not only, he says, let them be conquered, but shamefully and ridiculously. Then, when he had said, Let them be as the grass of the housetops, he persists in the simile, not merely comparing them to grass, but to grass which is upon the roofs. For although that which is in the rich field also flows away quickly; yet wishing to show how vile the adversaries were, he compares them to the grass which is upon the roofs: so as to show from both sides how fragile and caducous they are, namely, both from the nature of the grass, and from the nature of the place. Such, he says, are the assaults of the adversaries, which have no root, nor foundation: which seem to flourish for a little while, but afterwards fail, and fall away of their own accord. Such is the prosperity of those who live in wickedness, such is the pleasure of the things of this life: for it is at once seen and perishes, as a thing which has neither foundation nor power. And therefore our mind is not to be applied to them, but by considering how transient and fleeting they are, those things are to be desired which are eternal, immortal, immovable, and into which no change falls: which may it be granted to us all to attain, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father together with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
EXPOSITION ON PSALM CXXIX
A 4. Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice.
1. *The depth of prayer.* — What is, *Out of the depths*? He did not say simply, "From the mouth," nor simply, "From the tongue"—for the words of an erring mind are poured out—but, "From a most deep heart, with much eagerness and readiness, from the very depths of the mind." Such are the souls of those who are afflicted: they rouse up their whole heart, calling upon God with much compunction; and for this reason, they are heard. Such prayers have great power, so that they are neither overturned nor shaken, even if the devil attacks with great violence. For just as a strong tree, which sends its roots deep into the earth and grips its folds, resists every violence of the winds, whereas that which lies upon the surface is disturbed by a small breeze and lies uprooted upon the ground; so too, those prayers which ascend from beneath and are rooted in the depths, even if unnumbered thoughts come, and even if the whole host of the devil arrives, remain stretched out and unyielding, and are not overturned. But those which proceed from the mouth and lips, and do not ascend from beneath, cannot even rise to God because of the sloth of the one approaching. For one who is such is overturned by any noise at all; B even by a clamor, he is led away from his supplication; and the mouth leads, but the heart is empty and the mind is desolate. But the saints did not pray in this way, but with such intensity that they even bowed their whole body. Thus, blessed Elijah, when praying, first sought solitude, then, having placed his head between his knees and burning himself with great heat, he thus sent forth his prayers. And if you wish to see him standing upright in prayer, look again at him stretched out towards heaven, and so stretched out that he even brought down fire from above. Thus also, when he wished to raise the widow's son, having strained his whole self, he worked that resurrection, not broken, nor yawning as we do, but warmed by the readiness of his prayer.
But why do I speak of Elijah and those saints? I have often seen women, because of a husband away abroad or a sick child, praying thus from the depths, and sending forth such fountains of tears, that they finally attained the goal of their prayer. If women are so warmed in prayers for a child or a husband abroad, what pardon will a man have if he is softened and languid when his soul is wasted? For this reason, we often pray and depart empty again. Hear how Anna prayed from the depths, what fountains of tears she sent forth, how she was raised up by the prayer. For one who prays in this way, even before receiving what he asks for, reaps great good from the prayer itself, putting down all passions, softening anger, expelling envy, melting away desire, withering the love of worldly things, and standing in great calm, finally ascends into heaven itself. For just as rain falling on hard ground, or fire on iron, softens it; so too does such prayer, more violent than fire and better than rain, soften and moisten the hardness of the mind resulting from the passions. For the soul is indeed soft and malleable, but just as the water of the Danube often suffers, becoming petrified by the cold, so does our soul, hardened by sin and much sloth, become like a stone. We therefore need much heat to soften what is hard. This, prayer especially accomplishes. When, therefore, you engage in prayer, do not seek only to receive what you ask for, but also how you might make your soul better in the prayer itself. For this C too is the work of prayer. One who prays in this way becomes superior to worldly things, is winged in his mind, makes his reasoning light, and is overtaken by none of the passions. *Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord.* He places two things here: both "Out of the depths," and "cried"—by *cry* meaning not the tone of the voice, but the disposition of the mind. *Lord, hear my voice.* From this we learn two things: that it is not possible to obtain things from God unconditionally, unless our own part is fulfilled; for this reason he says first, *Out of the depths I have cried*, and then, *Hear*. Next, that prayer which is stretched out and full of the compunction of tears has great power to persuade God to assent to what is said. For as if he had accomplished something great, and fulfilled his own duty, he thus added: *Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.* By *ears* he means the faculty of hearing; and again he says *voice*, not alluding to the tone of the breath or the cry, but to the strained disposition. *If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who shall stand?* For so that no one might say, "Being a sinner, and full of unnumbered evils, I am unable to approach and pray and call upon God," by removing this excuse he says: *If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who shall stand?* For *who* here means "there is no one." For it is not, it is not possible for anyone who renders an account of his deeds with exactitude to ever attain mercy and philanthropy.
2. And we say these things, not casting souls into sloth, but comforting those who fall into despair. For who will boast of having a pure heart, or who will be bold enough to be clean from sins? And why do I speak of others? For if I bring Paul into the middle, and wish to demand of him an exact examination of what happened, he will not be able to stand. For what will he be able to say? He read the prophets with precision, being a zealot of the law of his fathers, he saw signs being performed, and yet remained persecuting, and did not change beforehand until he enjoyed that wonderful vision and heard the terrifying voice; but before this, he remained confounding and confusing everything. But yet, all those D things—
A he passed over, and deemed him worthy of great grace. What of that coryphaeus, Peter? After innumerable signs and miracles, and such great admonition and exhortation, did He not point out that he had fallen into that most grievous lapse? Yet even that He passed over, and appointed him the first of the apostles. Therefore He said: "Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail" (Luc. 22. 31. 32). Furthermore, after these things, if He does not come to judge with mercy and clemency, but strictly exacts an account, He will surely find everyone guilty and liable. B Therefore Paul also said: "I am not aware of anything against myself, yet I am not thereby acquitted" (1 Cor. 4. 4). "If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, Lord." The repetition is not without purpose, nor beside the mark, but of one admiring and struck by His immense clemency, and infinite majesty, and the vast ocean of His goodness. "Who shall stand?" He did not say, "Who shall escape?" but, "Who shall stand?" signifying that one would not even be able to remain upright. C 4. "Because with You there is propitiation." What is, "With You there is propitiation"? It means, not in our own good deeds, but in Your goodness does it lie to escape punishment. For that we should escape the judgment lies in Your clemency; but if we have not obtained that, our own works do not suffice to rescue us from the wrath to come. "I am He who blots out your iniquities" (Isai. 43. 25). That is, this is My own, of My goodness, of My clemency. For what is yours is never sufficient to deliver you from punishment, unless My clemency is added. And again: "I uphold you. For the sake of Your name I have waited for You, O Lord. My soul has waited for Your word" (Isai. 46. 4). 5. "My soul has hoped in the Lord." Another says: "Because of Your law." Another, again: "That Your word may be known." What he says is of this kind: Because of your clemency, because of Your name, because of Your law, I have awaited salvation; for if I had looked to my own deeds, I would have long since despaired, long since cast away all confidence; D but now, attending to Your law and Your word, I conceive a good hope. What word? The word of clemency; for He Himself is the one who says: "As the heaven is distant from the earth, so are My counsels distant from your counsel, and My ways from your ways" (Isai. 55. 9). "As the height of heaven from the earth, the Lord has strengthened His mercy upon those who fear Him" (Ps. 102. 11). And again: "As far as the east is from the west, He has removed our iniquities from us" (Ibid. v. 12). This means: I have not only saved those who acted rightly, but I have also spared sinners, and shown what patronage I afford you amid your offenses, and what care I take of you. Another says: "That You may be terrible," I have awaited the Lord. Terrible to whom? To the enemies, the plotters, to those who are hostile to me. What is it again, "Because of Your name"? Although, he says, I am a sinner and full of innumerable evils, yet I knew that, lest Your name be profaned, You would by no means disregard us as we perish. Which He Himself also said in Ezekiel: "I do not do it for your sake, but for My name's sake, that it may not be profaned among the nations" (Ezech. 36. 22). This is to say: We indeed are not worthy to be saved, nor are we led by anything in our own deeds to any good hope, but we expect to be preserved because of Your name, and that is the hope of salvation left to us. Another: "Because of fear I have waited for the Lord." Another: "Because of the law I have waited for the Lord. My soul has waited in Your word." Another: "My soul has awaited His word." Another: "My soul has waited, and I have awaited His word." This means: From the promises and frequent assurances concerning His kindness and clemency, I have kept a sacred anchor, and have not cast away hope for my salvation. 6. "From the morning watch until night let Israel hope in the Lord." All of life, he says, is this; every day and night. For there is nothing better for salvation than to look to Him perpetually, and to hang upon that hope, even if countless things happen that impel us to despair. This is the unbroken wall, the invincible fortification, the inexpugnable tower. Even if matters threaten death, danger, and destruction, do not cease to hope in God, and to await His salvation. To Him all things are easy and ready, and he will find a way out even in the most difficult and obstructed circumstances. Do not, therefore, expect aid to be present to you only if favorable matters abound: but then most of all, when the waves are greatest, and the storm is violent, and the extreme danger is imminent. For then especially does God show His power. This, therefore, is what it means: One must hope in God perpetually, for the whole time of life. 7. "Because with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. 8. And He Himself shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities." What is, "With the Lord there is mercy"? A fountain and treasure, he says, of clemency is there, perpetually gushing. But where there is mercy, there also is redemption: and not only redemption, but much and plenteous, and an immense ocean of clemency. Therefore, even if we are betrayed by our sins, we must not give way, nor despair. For where there is mercy and clemency, the accounts of transgressions are not exacted so strictly, as the Judge, because of great mercy and a strong propensity toward clemency, passes over much. Such is God: inclined and prone to constant pity and forgiveness. "And He Himself shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities." If, therefore, the magnitude of His clemency is so diffused everywhere, it is clear that He will save His people, and deliver them not only from punishment, but also from sins. Knowing these things, therefore, let us persevere in praying and entreating, and let us never desist, whether we have received or whether we have not received. For the Lord is good, and when He is Lord, that is...
and he himself knows the time exactly. Let us remain, therefore, supplicating, beseeching, trusting in his mercy and philanthropy, and never let us despair of our own salvation; but let us bring what we have to offer, and what is from him will surely follow, since his mercy is beyond utterance and his philanthropy is infinite. May we all attain to this, by the grace and philanthropy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father is glory together with the Holy Spirit, unto ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CXXX
A 1. Lord, my heart is not exalted, nor are my eyes haughty (a). Other [version]: Nor are they exalted. Nor have I walked in great, nor in wondrous things above me. Other: In greatnesses. Other: In magnificence, nor in those that are beyond me. What is this? Paul, even when there is necessity, says that it is foolishness for one to praise oneself; wherefore he also added, saying: I have become a fool in boasting; you have compelled me (2 Cor. 12:11). How then did the Prophet B ignore this and now boasts, not before two, or three, or ten, but before the whole world, and boasts saying, I am humble and moderate, and humble to the highest degree, and simple? For this is what it means: As one weaned upon its mother. Why then does he do this? Because the thing is not entirely forbidden everywhere, but there are times when it is even necessary; nay, rather, there are times when, by not boasting, we become fools. Wherefore also Paul says: He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31). For indeed he who does not boast in the cross is of all men most foolish and 372 lawless; he who does not boast in the faith is most miserable of all; he who does not boast and speak boldly in these things will utterly perish. For this reason the Apostle said confidently: But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14). And again: Let not the rich man boast in his riches, nor the wise man in his wisdom; but let him who boasts, boast in this, in understanding and knowing the Lord (Jer. 9:23-24). How then is it an evil to boast? If we do it like the Pharisee (Luc. 18). And why, one might say, did Paul say, I have become a fool in boasting; you have compelled me? Because he was recounting the achievements of his life and conduct, which he ought not to have put forward if there were no necessity. But elsewhere he says: If I should wish to boast, I shall not be a fool; for I will speak the truth (2 Cor. 12:6). Consequently, he who speaks the truth, when time calls for it, is not a fool. Therefore, the Prophet is not a fool for boasting either; for he spoke the truth. But what is the reason for which he brought his speech to this? It is in order to instruct his hearers not to return to arrogance after being delivered from evils, nor, having been freed from the bond, to leap away again, and fall into the necessity of another captivity. Therefore, in recounting his own affairs, he corrects the hearer; and he does not say, "I was exalted, but I restrained the passion," but what? My heart is not exalted; that is to say, C nor did wickedness touch my soul. For the intellect was like a harbor without waves, not receiving the surges of the disease, which is the cause of all evils, and the root of extreme lawlessness. What is it that he says, Lord, my heart is not exalted, nor are my eyes haughty? I have not, he says, arched my brows, nor have I lifted up my neck. For the disease, surging up from the inner fountain of passion, also shapes the body to match the inner inflammation. Neither have I walked in great, nor in wondrous things above me. What is, In great things? In inflated men, in those who are wealthy, in the arrogant, in the proud. Do you see the precision of humility? Not only was he himself outside the disease, but he also fled from those who were thus inflamed, and he would leap away from such gatherings because of his great hatred toward arrogance. For since he was D hostile to this vice, he not only would leap away from it, and not only made the territory of his intellect inaccessible to it, but he also fled from those who practiced it from a great distance, so as not to receive any damage even from there. And it is no small achievement to avoid the inflated, to hate the arrogant, to turn away and abhor them; it is supreme safety for virtue, supreme protection for humility. Nor in wondrous things above me. Other: Nor in things that are beyond me. If I were not humble, but exalted my heart, as the one weaned upon its mother, as thou wouldst repay upon my soul. Other: Thus may it be repaid to my soul. The statement is by hyperbaton, as if to say, If I were not humble, as the one weaned upon its mother, but exalted my heart, thus may it be repaid to my soul. What he says is of such a kind: I was not only pure of the vice, I mean arrogance, and not only a stranger to those who possess it, but I also adopted the virtue contrary to it with much excess, humility, moderation, contrition. This is that which Christ ordered to his disciples, saying: Unless you turn and become as little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:3). Such, he says, did I acquire humility, as one who is yet at the breast. 373 For just as that one clings to its mother, is humbled, is pure of all arrogance, and lives in candor and simplicity, so too was I toward God, clinging to him continuously. And he did not mention the one weaned simply, but wishing to represent the affliction, the straits, the pain, the magnitude of the evils. Just as then the child, having just been torn from the breast, does not even so depart from its mother, but, though pained, mourning, distressed, yearning, and wailing, nevertheless clings to the one who bore it, and would not depart; so I too, he says, even when I am in affliction, and in straits, and in many...
and in many calamities, I have always clung to God. But if I have not been so, "may it be returned," he says, "upon my soul," that is, let me undergo the ultimate punishment.
A 4. "Let Israel hope in the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore." You see, as I said at the beginning, that in matters pertaining to faith and doctrines, even if there is no cause, one ought to boast constantly, and he who does not boast perishes; but in upright deeds, when the time demands it, we must not refuse to boast. And what is the time? Many and various, one of which is to teach the listener. Knowing this too, and showing that he mentions his own upright deeds in order to draw the listener to his own imitation, he subjoined, saying: "Let Israel hope in the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore." Whether, he says, calamities, or sicknesses, or wars, and captivities, or whatever other grave and unexpected evil encompasses you, hold firmly to the hope in God and that expectation, and your end and outcome will be altogether good, since God surely compensates for this good hope of yours by granting you liberation from evils, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. Amen.
CONCERNING PSALM CXXXI
A "Remember, O Lord, David, and all his meekness."
Elsewhere [men] are content to be saved by the memory of their ancestors alone; but here [the Scriptures] recount good works, and that which is the cause of all good things: moderation, humility, meekness. For this reason Moses was also held in the highest admiration. "He was," it is said, "the meekest of all men who were upon the earth" (Num. XII, 3). But certain heretics, finding fault with his way of life and with what has been said, say: "What are you saying? Was he the meekest man, he who attacked the Egyptian and killed him? Who filled the Jews with blood and internal wars? Who ordered kin to kill their relatives? Who, by prayer, made the earth gape open, and cast down lightning from above, and drowned some and burned others? If this is the 'meek' man, who then is cruel and irascible?" Cease, and do not speak superfluous things. For that he was meek, and the meekest of all men, I myself say, and I will never cease to say it, and if you wish, I shall attempt to demonstrate his meekness from nothing else than from these very things that have been said. And I could have spoken about the things he said to God regarding his sister, the supplication he used for the people, all those words apostolic and worthy of heaven, the moderation with which he addressed the crowd. These could have been spoken, and many other things far more numerous than these could be recounted; but if you wish, passing these by, let us demonstrate from these very things B previously cited by his enemies that he was the meekest of all men—from the very acts for which some think him to be savage, wild, and irascible. How then shall we demonstrate this? If we first distinguish and define what meekness is, and what ferocity is. For neither is striking, by itself, a mark of ferocity, nor is sparing, of meekness; but he is meek who can bear the sins committed against himself, who repels the injury done to others and brings them aid, and is a vehement avenger of those who suffer insult; but he who is not of this sort, but is sluggish, indolent, drowsy, and no better than a dead man, is not meek nor gentle. To despise those to whom injury is done, not to grieve on behalf of those who are wronged, nor to be angry at those who inflict reproaches and insults, is not a virtue but a vice; it is not meekness, but cowardice. Therefore, this very thing demonstrates his meekness, and that he was so ardent that he would leap forward when he saw others being wronged, being unable to restrain his anger on behalf of justice; yet when he himself was afflicted with some evil, he did not retaliate, nor take vengeance, nor did he ever retreat from the practice of philosophy. If, however, he had been so savage and irascible, he who was so inflamed and provoked on behalf of others would never have been able to keep quiet regarding the things that concerned himself; but he would have been all the more irritated at that time. For you know that we bear our own sufferings more painfully than those of others. But he, C indeed, when others were suffering evil, would avenge them no less than those very ones who were being wronged; yet the sins that had been committed against himself, he would pass over with the greatest tolerance, standing in both extremes—showing himself to be harsh toward evils, yet on the other hand showing himself to be gentle and patient.
But tell me, I pray, what was he obliged to do? To despise the injury that was being inflicted, and the evil that concerned the people? But that was not the way of one who governed a people, nor of some patient and meek man, but of a sluggish and cowardly one. But you do not reproach a physician who restrains the rot permeating the whole body with a surgical cut; do you claim that he is most atrocious who willed to coerce, with a slightly heavier blow, a disease far graver than rot spreading throughout the entire people? But these are the [thoughts] of a judge not sufficiently considered. For it was necessary for one who was the leader of so great a people, and who was guiding a nation so harsh, hard, and intractable, to restrain them immediately from the beginning, and to cut [the evil] off at the very entrance, so that the evil would not creep further. "But he destroyed," someone says, "Dathan and Abiron." What are you saying? Was it necessary to despise the priesthood, to let it be trodden underfoot, and the laws of God to be overturned, and that which holds all things together to be dissolved—I mean the dignity of the priesthood; and to throw open the holy places to all, and because of their contempt to permit those who wished to trample upon the sanctified enclosures, and to turn everything upside down? But that would not have been a mark of meekness, but of inhumanity and cruelty, to despise so great an evil that was growing; and while sparing two hundred men, to destroy so many thousands. For tell me, I pray, when he ordered them to kill their relatives, what was he obliged to do, when God was angry, when impiety was growing, and there was nothing that could deliver them from [His] wrath? Was he supposed to permit the heavenly plague to descend upon all the tribes and bring destruction upon the entire race, and while inflicting punishment, neglect a sin that was incurable? Or by punishing D
A a few bodies, to take away the sin, to turn aside the wrath, and to render God propitious to those who had committed such things? If you examine the acts of the righteous man in this way, you will see from this especially that he was most meek.
2. But leaving these things for the studious to gather from what has been said—so that we may not make the digression from the matter at hand greater—let us proceed to the task before us. And what was the task? "Remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness: as he swore to the Lord, he vowed to the God of Jacob." Having set out to speak about meekness, and having omitted to recount the matters concerning Saul, the matters concerning his brothers, the matters concerning Jonathan, the patience he displayed toward the soldier who overwhelmed him with ten thousand insults, and other things more numerous than these, he draws the discourse to another chapter, which was especially one of great zeal. And why does he do this? For two reasons: first, because God is especially delighted by this. "For upon whom," He says, "shall I look, but upon the meek and quiet man, and him who trembles at my words?" And second, because this was the most pressing matter—the lifting up of the temple, the building of the city, and the restoration of the ancient state of the republic; to this he especially hastens the discourse. And the one thing he passes over as manifest and acknowledged—that which is manifest to all, the matter of meekness—this, which he B especially needed for the matter at hand, he brings into the midst. For what did he desire to see? The temple raised up, and the ancient sanctuary restored. Since, therefore, David shone especially in this, he demands from God the building of the temple as if it were a recompense for that man’s zeal, and he says: "Remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness: as he swore to the Lord, he vowed to the God of Jacob: If I shall enter into the tabernacle of my house, if I shall go up upon the bed of my couch, if I shall give sleep to my eyes, and slumber to my eyelids, and rest to my temples, until I find a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob."
And what is this to you? Because, he says, I am his descendant; and since, having accepted his zeal, you said that you would establish his lineage and his kingdom, for this reason we now demand these covenants. And he did not say, "until I build" (for this was not permitted to him), but, "until I find a place for the Lord and a tabernacle." Then he passes over him who built it, and places in the midst him who promised, so that you may learn how great a good a right intention is, and how God is accustomed always to define the reward according to the resolve. For this reason he remembers him the more, since he himself is the builder even more than the son. For the one promised, and the other was commanded. And behold his eagerness. He says that he will not only not enter into a house, nor go up into a bed, but that he would not even enjoy those things which were of natural necessity, until he should find a place and a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. C But when they themselves were reproached by God, who said: "You indeed dwell in paneled houses, but my house is desolate," [they were silent]. "Until I find a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob." See again from this, too, his zeal and his preoccupied soul. The king says, "Until I find a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob," he who rules over all. For he did not simply wish to build, but in a most suitable place, and one highly fitting for the temple, and it demanded searching; so wakeful was he in his soul. "Lo, we heard of it in Ephratha; we found it in the plains of the wood." He narrates ancient things now, showing that even before this the ark went about for a long time, changing from place to place; for this reason he says, "Lo, we heard of it in Ephratha"; that is, our fathers narrated these things to us, these things we possess by hearing, that even then, wandering everywhere, it was established afterward in fields and plains; let this indeed happen now. By Ephratha here he means the tribe of Judah, into which, after the long journey, it was brought. "We will enter into his tabernacles, we will worship in the place where his feet stood."
You saw how much speed of expression he uses, because of the great insensibility of the hearers, calling them tabernacles of God, and feet, and the place where his feet stood. By all these he means the place of the ark, since from there terrible voices were borne concerning the affairs among the Jews, resolving the obscure things and predicting the future. "Arise, O Lord, into your rest, you and the ark of your sanctification." Another: "Of your power." Another: "Of your might"; and both are true. For indeed sanctification was given from there, and the writings placed upon it were productive of sanctification and of power.
3. Well, therefore, did he speak in this way; for God D exhibited great power through it, both once, and twice, and often, such as when it was taken by the Azotians, when it brought down the idols, when it struck those who had taken it, when it made the plague cease upon being returned, and through other things as well, through which it was working there, it showed forth His own power. And what is, "Arise into your rest"? Halt us, he says, who are wandering, and the ark which is carried about, and at least now at last bring it to rest. "Your priests shall be clothed with justice." Another: "Let them be clothed." Another: "Let them be dressed," which is indeed more clear; for it is the prayer of one who is praying, not prophesying, and asking for the possession of virtue. By justice here he means the sanctuary, the priesthood, the service, the sacrifices, the offerings, and with these a precise manner of life, since this is especially to be required of priests. "And your holy ones shall rejoice," when these things have come to pass. See him not seeking the building of a city, not abundance of goods, not other prosperity, but the comeliness of the temple, the rest of the ark, the fulfillment of the priests, the sanctuary, the service, the priesthood. Then, since they asked for these, but they themselves were liable for many sins, he takes refuge in the ancestor again, saying: "For the sake of David your servant, do not turn away the face of your Christ." What is, "For the sake of David your servant"? Not for the sake of his virtue alone, he says, nor because he displayed such great zeal toward building the temple...
to stir up, and not only because He promised him this. A *“For the sake of David your servant, do not turn away the face of your Christ.”* Whose, he says? His who was then anointed, and who rules the people and presides over them.
11. *“The Lord swore to David the truth and will not frustrate it. Of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne.”* For after he remembers David, and the virtue of the man, and the zeal he had shown for the temple, and has recounted the old things, and prayed that he might appear in his former way of life, he brings forward the greatest head of all, the promises of God. And what are these? *“Of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne.”* But the promises were not made purely and absolutely, but with a certain condition attached to them. What was that condition? Listen; for he adds: B 12. *“If your sons keep my testament and these testimonies of mine which I will teach them, their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever.”* When God had made the promises conceived with these words, He entrusted to them the hand-written contract; and they in turn said, *“All things whatsoever the Lord says we will do and will hear”* (Exod. 24:7). Then, since He saw that one part had broken the covenants, He leads the discourse to the place, exciting consolation from all sides, and saying: 13. *“For the Lord has chosen Sion; he has chosen it for a habitation for himself.”* 14. *“This is my rest forever and ever. Here I will dwell, for I have chosen it.”* That is to say: Man did not choose the place, but God established it by His own judgment, lowering Himself to their weakness. This, therefore, is what he says: Whom you chose, whom you established by your own judgment, whom you deemed suitable, do not allow it to collapse and perish. For you said this, *“Here I will dwell.”* But He said this with those covenants. With what? *“If your sons keep my testament.”* 15. *“Blessing, I will bless his provision.”* Another, *“food.”* He says *“provision”*—the abundance C of things for sale, fertility—and he prays that all these things flow to them as if from fountains. For such was the state of the commonwealth of the Jews of old, that all things flowed to them as if from fountains, and they felt no natural necessities, whenever they had God propitious: for there was no shortage among them, no famine, no pestilence, no untimely death, nor anything of those things which usually befall men, but all things flowed to them as if from fountains, with the hand of God, of course, correcting the weakness of human affairs. This is therefore what he says here: You promised that you would bless his provision, that is, that you would provide an abundance of necessary things with great security. *“I will satisfy his poor with bread.”* 16. *“I will clothe his priests with salvation, and his saints shall exult with exultation.”* 17. *“There will I bring forth a horn for David; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ.”* 18. *“I will clothe his enemies with confusion; but upon him my sanctification shall flourish.”* See the prosperity established on all sides, in that they do not lack necessary things, that the priests are in safety, D that the people are in joy, that the king is strong and powerful. For here he says *“lamp,”* or *“king,”* or *“defense,”* or *“salvation,”* or *“light”*: and with these he says the greatest kind of prosperity. What is that? That his enemies are hidden, and there is no one who can bring any harm to these goods. But he did not say absolutely *“destruction,”* but *“confusion,”* wishing them to hide themselves while alive and to seek hiding-places, and by the things they suffer to testify how great is the power and happiness of this nation. *“But upon him my sanctification shall flourish.”* What is *“upon him”*? Upon my people. And for the phrase *“sanctification,”* another said *“horn.”* Another, *“his segregation.”* Another, *“his segregated one.”* What, then, is what has been said? It seems to me that he is speaking here of prosperity, security, strength, the kingdom. The promises of God wait for our operation.—Those things which I segregated for him from the beginning, he says, will remain flourishing, budding, not flaccid, nor decaying; but all these things will be, if the condition mentioned before remains. And what is that? *“If your sons keep my testament.”* For God's promises alone do not provide us with good things, unless we also do what is situated in our own power, and it is not fitting to be lazy or remiss while awaiting them. For God does not do many of the good things He promised if those who have received the promises are found unworthy: just as He does not bring evils into effect which He threatened, if those who provoked Him are later changed and cast off their anger. Since we know this, let us not be idle because of the promises, lest we fall, nor let us despair because of the threats, but let us be changed. For thus we shall be able to attain the future goods, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
ON PSALM CXXXII
*“Behold, what is good and what is pleasant”* (another: *“Behold, what is good and what is beautiful”*), *“but for brothers to dwell in unity!”* Indeed many things are beautiful and honorable, but they lack pleasure; others again are pleasant, but they lack what is honorable: and it does not easily happen that both meet. But in this which is said, both these things concur, both pleasure and the greatest honor. For charity/love has this in the first place, that it is at once the easiest and the most pleasant thing with utility. He praises it, therefore, here as well. For he did not say simply *“dwelling,”* nor to be contained in one little home, but *“to dwell in unity,”* that is, with concord and love: for this makes one soul. Then after he said *“honorable and pleasant,”* rendering it more clearly, he expresses the matter through examples, and sets forth bodily images, which can better subject it to the auditor's eyes. See, moreover, what the images are. 2. *“Like ointment on the head, which runs down into the beard, the beard of Aaron, which runs down to the fringe of his garment.”*
For being high priest, he was anointed with this ointment, and was bedewed on all sides, and was very graceful to those who saw him, and sweet, and desirable from this anointing. Just as then that one, he says, who has been anointed with this ointment, excels in appearance, is bright in countenance, is filled with much fragrance, and provides grace to the eyes that see him: so also is this good; and just as that spectacle is not only beautiful to behold, but also delights the eyes: so also this puts pleasure into the soul.
*As the dew of Hermon, that descendeth upon the mountains of Sion.* He brought forward another image that has much pleasure and provides delight to the spectator. He did not set these down simply, but because before the captivity the ten tribes and the two were scattered, and this became a cause of much lawlessness, and plunged them into seditions, contentions, and wars—in order that these things might not happen, he exhorts and advises the people no longer to be rent asunder, but to dwell together, and to be joined, and to be arranged under one leader and king, and for love to be flowing from beginning to end, just as the dew also passing through all things. And he compares love to ointment and dew, wishing to represent by the former the fragrance, and by the latter the rest and the pleasantness of the sight.
*For there the Lord commanded the blessing.* Where, *there*? In such a habitation, in such harmony, in such accord, in such common dwelling. For this is indeed a blessing, just as the opposite is a curse. Wherefore also someone praises this, saying: *Friendship of brethren, and concord of neighbors, and a man and a wife that agree together.* And another, enigmatically hinting at its strength, says: *If two sleep together, they have warmth; and the threefold cord shall not be quickly broken.* For he indicates here both the pleasure and the strength, and shows that even when they are at rest there will be much pleasure, and when they are active, much strength. And again: *A brother helped by a brother is like a strong city.* And Christ also says, *For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.* And this nature itself demands this. Wherefore also from the beginning, God, fashioning man, said: *It is not good for man to be alone;* and making this living creature, I mean the woman, he bound her to the man by the necessity of need, drawing us to one another by ten thousand ways. *And life for evermore.* Well did he add this. For where love is, there is much security, much inclination from God. For this is the mother of blessings, this is root and source, this is the destruction of wars, the disappearance of contention. Wherefore also declaring this, he added, *And life for evermore.* For just as sedition and contention work deaths, and untimely deaths: so also love and harmony [work] peace and concord; and where there is peace and concord, the things of life are with confidence and with all security. And what need is there to mention the present things? For this grants us heaven, and the ineffable blessings, and is the queen of the virtues. Knowing these things, therefore, let us pursue it with diligence, that we may enjoy both the present blessings and those to come; of which may we all be counted worthy to obtain, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory together with the holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CXXXIV
*Behold now, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord.*
Here he concluded the Psalms of Degrees, having closed the discourse to a good end, both praise and blessing. He wishes them to be servants of the Lord not according to doctrines only, but also according to the exactness of their conduct; wherefore he also added, *Who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.* For it is not permitted for the unclean and profane even to set foot in the sacred precincts. So that if anyone is worthy to enter, he is also worthy to bless. For the house of God is like heaven; and just as it is not permitted for any of the opposing powers to enter there, so neither [is it] in the house of God.
Consider of what dignity thou partakest, O man, where thou thyself hast also become a temple, when thou wouldst be just in providing purity. But how wouldst thou provide the purity? If thou wouldst cast out every evil thought, if thou wouldst make the territory of thy mind inaccessible to diabolical activities, if thou wouldst remain as in the holy of holies, adorning thine own mind. For if in the Jewish temple not every place was accessible to all, but there were many and various distinctions, and one was for the proselytes, another for those from the beginning Jews, another for the priests, and another for the high priest alone, and not even for him always, but once a year: consider of how much holiness thou standest in need, who hast received symbols far greater than those which the holy of holies then received. For thou hast not Cherubim, but thou hast the Master of the Cherubim Himself dwelling within, nor a pot, and manna, and tablets of stone, and the rod of Aaron, but the Master's body and blood, and Spirit instead of the letter, and grace surpassing human reasoning, and an ineffable gift. And by how much you have been deemed worthy of greater symbols and fearful mysteries, by so much the greater holiness you are accountable for, and [the greater] punishment, if you violate what has been enjoined. *In the nights lift up your hands to the holy places.* Another, *holily*. Another, *sanctifiedly*. And bless ye the Lord. Why does he say, *In the nights?* Teaching us not to spend all of it in sleep, and showing that prayers then are purer, when the mind is also lighter, and the leisure is greater. But if it is necessary at night to arrive at the holy places, consider of what pardon he will obtain who does not perform prayers even at home at that time. For the Prophet raised thee from the bed, and leads thee to the temple, commanding thee to pass the night there; but thou doest not even this while sitting at home. Well did he say, *holily*, showing that it is necessary to pray without evil reasonings, without holding a grudge, without greed, without any other such sin, which corrupts the mind. And bless ye the Lord. For this is indeed most perfect.
benedictio, when there is agreement between words and life, and by your works you bring glory to God who created you, as the Gospel intends, saying: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). A 3. "May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth." This is to say: If you do these things, you will also obtain God’s blessing, if you keep vigil, if you pray holily, if you are worthy to stand in the house of the Lord, if you have rendered yourself a suitable temple. Having therefore used the exhortation that was necessary, he concludes his prayer with a benediction. For this is the work of an excellent teacher, both to uplift the listener with counsel and to confirm him with prayers, and to render him robust. What is meant by his saying, "From Zion"? The name was desirable to them, and all the sacred rites were performed there; and therefore he prays that they might recover the former state of religion, and perform those sacred rites, and obtain this blessing. Then, lifting them up to higher doctrines, and teaching that God is everywhere, but that he had commanded the temple to be built on account of their infirmity, and that he ought to be invoked from everywhere, he added, "He who made heaven and earth."
B Prayers are to be offered everywhere. But they indeed invoked him there at that time, whereas we may do so in every place, in every field, in the house, in the marketplace, in solitude, in a ship, in an inn, and wherever we may be. For prayers are not forbidden by place, provided there are morals that harmonize with the prayers. After we have therefore conducted ourselves rightly in this matter, let us invoke God everywhere, and he will be present, and will help us, and will make whatever is difficult for us easy and expeditious, and will deem us worthy of future blessings: which may it be granted to us all to attain, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
ON PSALM CXXXIV
1. "Praise the name of the Lord, praise, O servants, the Lord." 2. "You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God." 3. "Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good."
1. Again he exhorts to this sacrifice, which is performed through praises. For this is a sacrifice and offering to God. And therefore he says elsewhere: "I will praise the name of my God with a song, I will magnify him with praise; and it will please God more than a young bull, putting forth horns and hoofs" (Ps. 68:31-32). He makes constant mention of the place and the courts, fixing them to the place and not permitting them to recoil; C since, from the beginning, he had also ordered it to be built for this purpose, that all impiety and idols might be taken away, that all might be gathered into one place, and not wander about freely and unrestrainedly, nor usurp groves, fountains, mountains, and hills and turn them into an occasion of impiety, sacrificing there and making libations on high places. Wherefore he also condemns to death him who sacrifices outside the temple, saying: "Who has not offered in the tabernacle, and has sacrificed, blood shall be imputed to him" (Lev. 17:4). For this reason he gathers them from everywhere into one place, so that those listening might conduct themselves modestly and temperately, and abstain from false and erroneous thinking. D He 388 commands them, however, to sing, to psalm, and to praise, because the praises of God were an occasion of piety for them, while they contained the ancient narratives, namely, those things which were done in Egypt, which were done in the wilderness, which were done in the land of promise, how the law was given, what things happened on Mount Sinai, and what wars they waged: and at the same time God was honored with praise, and those who sang received an argument of doctrine, which both composed their life and led them to perfect dogmas. "Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good." Another says: "Because he is kind." What is most to be desired by those who hear, this he puts constantly: humanity, mercy, kindness.
The power of the psalms. The election of the Jewish people.
"Sing to his name, for it is sweet." He says this, showing that the thing itself has a certain pleasure of its own, along with utility. Its primary gain is also to say hymns to God, to purge the soul, to lift the thought on high, to learn true and accurate dogmas, to philosophize about things present and future. It has with these, through the melody, much pleasure, some consolation and recreation, and it renders the one who sings venerable. That it makes men such is clear from the fact that one interpreter says, "Because it is comely"; the other, "Because it is sweet." But both speak truthfully. For even if he who sings is a thousand times dissolute, while he reveres the psalm, he lulls the tyranny of his licentiousness; even if he is oppressed by innumerable evils, and is occupied by a sickness of the soul, while he is soothed by the pleasure, he lifts the soul, raises the thought, and exalts the mind on high. 4. "For Jacob the Lord chose for himself, Israel for his possession." He does not speak of benefits which are common to them with others, but what is their own and special. What then was this? That the Lord chose this people, and dedicated it to himself, and showed a certain peculiar benevolence toward them before others. And the prophets do this everywhere, composing their many sayings from the benefits conferred upon them. What is it, however, "For his possession"? For riches, for resources. For even if the people is small, he chose them as if they were riches, attending not to paucity, but to virtue, to which wishing to lead them, he chose them, namely, because other men do not provide him with as many riches as this people, so that this proceeded both from the benevolence of him who chose him, and for their instruction. For Paul also is accustomed to call the salvation of men riches, as when he says, "The same Lord, who is rich to all, and over all who call upon him" (Rom. 10:12). And again, "To his own master he stands, or falls" (Rom. 14:4). You see how he shows God’s benevolence, providence, care, and affection toward them, when he called them his possession. By both these, therefore, he shows an exceptional providence toward them, that he chose them, and that he inAcites men to praise him; and for this reason, beginning, he said, Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.
For I have known that the Lord is great. Lo, he sets forth another reason for praising. Tell me, then: you have known, but do the others not know? They know, but not as I do. For it is the part of the most holy men, and of those who have attained a higher state, to know his greatness more accurately—not in its entirety, for this is impossible, but more clearly than others. And our Lord is above all gods. Lo, he says, the one who said that the Lord is great, and that you have known, proceeding, he lowers the discourse, and compares him to others, and by way of comparison gives him the preeminence. By no means, he says, but he was speaking to the weakness of those who were hearing at that time, bit by bit leading them upward to this. For this is not highly indicative of greatness, to be called "greater than God" and to be above those who are gods; but, as I have already said, he shares the discourse in the lowliness of the hearers, leading them up by degrees. For it was desirable that they should hear this for the time being, and be persuaded.
B 2. Since he transcends all things incomparably, he shows this by the things that follow, setting forth a most great proof of his power, and showing that even the former things were spoken on account of the weakness of the hearers. It is for this reason that, when he is making an affirmation, he speaks of small things; but when he is constructing and demonstrating and providing proof of his greatness, he sets forth great things. What, then, does he set forth after this, which is worthy of him and belongs to God alone? See, for he adds: All things whatsoever the Lord willed, he did in heaven and in earth, in the seas, and in all the abysses. Have you seen an all-powerful strength? Have you seen the fountain of life? Have you seen an invincible force? Have you seen an incomparable preeminence? Have you seen authority hindered nowhere? Have you seen that all things are easy and light for him? For, he says, all things whatsoever he willed, he did. Tell me also where? In heaven and in earth. That is to say, not here only, but also in heaven. Not in heaven only, but also in earth. Not in earth only, but also in the seas and in all the abysses. For by "abyss" he means that which is below the earth, just as by saying "in heaven," he means that which is above the heavens. By these, and so many of them, nowhere is his will hindered, but he attains all things. And wonder of wonders: he who made them did not do so with exertion, nor with labor, nor by command, but by his will; for he only willed, and the work followed. Do you see how he has presented both the ease, and the abundance of the created things, and the unhindered authority? Then, leaving off speaking of the heaven and the sea, he puts forward the things within them, and not even all the things within them, but having passed over the things in the heaven, although they are more wondrous, he speaks of the things around the heaven. Why so? Because the former, even if they were great, were unknown to the many; but these, even if they were lesser, were nevertheless visible, and had all men as spectators. Since, therefore, the speech was for him to men who were not so much instructed by faith to have an understanding of the unseen, as guided by the things that are seen, he proceeds from this point to weave the discourse, and he begins the instruction, doing himself what he exhorted others to do. What is this? To praise God from his works, and to offer up praises to him, learning each of the things that have been made, and glorifying him for each. For since he was exhorting to praise God, he said continuously, Praise the name of the Lord, praise, O servants, the Lord; he shows also how one must praise, going through the body of creation, and C wondering at and being struck with awe at [his] wisdom, providence, power, and guardianship. From this we learn that this sea of ours is not "one" that is alone, but that there are many and various [seas], and infinite deeps. For he said, In the seas and in all the abysses. For the Caspian, and the Indian, and the Red [Sea] are almost divided from this one, and the Ocean surrounds them from without. Bringing up clouds from the ends of the earth. Another says, "Raising up." A different one, "Drawing up from the extremities." Another, "From the ends." This was also said in Job: Binding up the water in his clouds ([Job 26:8]). And Solomon: Holding the water in a garment ([Prov. 30:4]). But this one does not say this, but something else that is wondrous. What is this? That air, being thicker, is carried with an upward movement, and is sustained, and the heavy [water] ascends, moving along a contrary path. It is wondrous, therefore, that water should be contained in it, but much more wondrous that it should be contained and carried on that which is light; and what is even more paradoxical: that the water contained by that air, when it flows out of the cloud, is no longer held by the air that follows it, and is contained, but flows away from everywhere, and is carried down to the earth. And yet, if this were contained by nature, it ought to be contained also in the air. Just as if someone were to leave a skin filled with water in the air, and it were then carried by the air, the water contained inside would have been carried along, having leaked from the skin; so it is logical that this should happen here as well. But since all things are full of wonder, and the things that happen are paradoxical, all these things come to be beyond logic, beyond reason. For truly, that which is contained in the air of the cloud is not contained in the air that is after it. Do you see the paradox, and how, having set forth what seems to be more deficient than the others, he showed that it is wondrous? Then he also shows another wonder, saying, From the ends of the earth. For they do not merely go up, but they also travel, and not wherever they appear do they release the rain, but having often passed by many regions, they produce rain elsewhere, and having bypassed cities and nations. This, then, is not the only wonder, that they are brought up, but that they also travel, as if in upper chambers, carrying the weight of such great waters.
3. He made lightnings for rain. See another paradox again, and contrary natures coming together. For there is nothing more fiery than lightning, nor anything colder than waters, but yet these are mixed. And they are not confused, nor are they commingled, but each preserves its own D boundaries. For fire remaining in water,
neither does this dry up that, nor does that extinguish this. And yet the lightning is sharper than the solar fire, and more brilliant, and cuts and divides more than it does. The sense of sight bears witness to this, for it encounters the rays of the sun constantly; but it cannot endure the onset of the lightning even for a moment. And the sun traverses the heaven throughout the whole day; but the lightning does so in the shortest moment of time across the entire world, just as Christ also testifies, saying: As the lightning cometh out of the east, and appeareth even unto the west (Matt. XXIV, 27). B Who bringeth the winds out of his treasures. This is again another species of nature, which affords us no small use, but so much that it contributes greatly to our life, and refreshes and cools bodies exhausted by labor, and makes the air lighter. For this is the task of the winds: to stir up and ventilate the air, lest, if it be stationary, it should be corrupted; to ripen fruits, to nourish bodies. But what, someone might say, of their use in navigation, the times in which they arise in a certain and fixed order, and yield to one another in turn, leading dances on the sea and transporting sailors? For one transmits, and another receives, and they travel contrary paths and serve, and their struggle is likewise useful for our life. And countless other functions of the winds might be mentioned. But the Prophet, omitting all these and leaving them for the listener to gather, points out the ease of their creation. For what he said, *Out of his treasures*, does not mean that there are some storehouses of the winds, but indicates the ease of the One who established them, and how prompt and ready the creature is. For just as he who has [goods] in a treasury brings everything forth securely and when he wishes, so also the Creator of the universe established everything with ease and delivered it to nature. Do you see how great a difference there is in the air as well, just as there are many changes in water and fire? For of waters, some are of fountains, others of the sea, others are aerial, others are in the clouds, others are celestial, others are above the heavens, others are subterranean. And in the case of fire: this one is in the sun, that one in the moon, another in the stars, another in the lightning, another in the air, another that is formed of wood, which is among us, and that which is in lamps, another from the earth: for often such a fire is produced from the earth, like fountains of water; another which is formed by clashing stones, another which is in the boughs of trees, which themselves also clash; another, moreover, in thunderbolts. So also in the air: this one is thicker, which is around us, that one more subtle; but that which is higher is more igneous. Of the winds also there are many differences: this one is more subtle, that one thicker; another colder, another drier; another more humid, another hotter. Moreover, the air and the clouds—the former is slower, the latter proceeds more rapidly, just as if it were a horseman. So also in the clouds and winds: these are like urns and vessels for water, such that they are sometimes full of waters, sometimes are carried empty; others, however, are like a fan. But you, considering these and their diversity and variety, marvel at the Creator. C 8. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt. After he spoke of general matters, and showed the providence of God over the entire world—through lightnings, through winds, through the air, through clouds, through rains—and refuted the trifles of those who say that providence reaches only as far as the moon, he approaches the particular things, namely those which happened to the Jews singly and privately. For that the earth, and the heaven, and all things that are visible, perceive the kindness of God, he shows from the things which have been said; but in order to make the Jews mindful and grateful, he recounts also the particular things, showing the God of the universe, and the one who has care for all things, to have bestowed certain peculiar benefits upon them. Although the things which were happening to them were also, in turn, general. For the fact that they themselves were chosen from the others, this caused them to be emulated: which Paul also signifies, saying, Through their transgression salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy (Rom. XI, 11). For just as a father, when his children depart from him, takes one of them and makes him sit upon his knees—but he does not do this for the sake of the one, but much more for the sake of the others, so that, moved by that honor, they might run to the father, to feel the same indulgence—so also God did to the Jews. For taking them not upon his knees, but upon his arms, as the prophet says, and upon his back (Osee XI, 3), he bestows those things which are to be desired by them: a temple, sacrifices, and what they sought with greater care, helps in war, victories, trophies, the abundance of earthly things, and the fertility of fruits. By these things he instructs and adorns them, and leads others to emulation. But since they were going to be wicked if he were forever to flatter them, he moderates them also through punishments. For great is the wisdom of God, and in the most difficult matters he finds a path and an outcome. 4. Providence of God pertains to all. Look at the prudence of the Prophet, who led the discourse from general matters to these: for lest any fool should think God’s providence is concerned [only] with particulars, when he comes to the general, then he touches also these, saying: Who smote the firstborn of Egypt. Do these not seem to you to have been done more for the sake of the Jews? If, therefore, I shall show that these things also were done for the sake of others, what will those say who babble that the providence of God does not pertain to the universe at all? How, then, can this be shown? Surely the sentence pronounced by God, which signifies this, is sufficient, and says: That I may show my power in thee, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth (Exod. IX, 16; Rom. IX, 17). Did you see that that death was a gospel, and that that plague divinely sent was a preaching, as one which permeated everywhere and preached the power of God? Therefore, he has care of the entire world, even when he administers the affairs of the Jews. And yet he declared his power also in the past, as in Joseph, as in Abraham, but now, however, more openly. How? Then indeed by a benefit: now, however, by a plague: and he does not intermit, as I have often said, to show himself constantly and in every generation, D and to render himself manifest through works. But he does not always do this in the same way, but variously and
through times of plenty; but after these things, through the successive plagues. A Since, therefore, they were judging God as powerless, and were killing the first-born themselves, and had stained the river with blood, he shows them also at that very time, through more obscure means, his power. For the midwives of the Egyptians, having despised those commands of theirs, and having bypassed the harsh decree of the king, enjoyed much prosperity. Both of these things were of God’s providence: both to show women to be braver than those who wear diadems, and to pay them rewards, and to increase them greatly in number. For, "He made houses for the midwives" (Exod. 1. 20) means that their lineage was extended; for through those things by which they did good to the Jews, through these they received their rewards from God. Since, therefore, they did not kill their children, God also granted them many children. B But since they remained disposed in lack of feeling, he brought a sharper blow, and the inhabited world was learning, and the Egyptians were learning; and the former from hearing, but the latter in their own sufferings, and by sight, and by experience, were seeing the power of God. For this reason he even foretold it to them, so that the plague might not be thought to be of some chance occurrence and of automatic death. What then has been said elsewhere concerning the Savior, this truly can also be said here. What is this? "And rule in the midst of your enemies" (Ps. 109. 2). For he did not lead them out into a desert, nor somewhere else, but brought the plague in the very city. And see, C indeed, even in the plague, benevolence. For he began first from the cattle, and then proceeded to the humans. Who then would not admire the power, how he brought all things in one moment of time, the sparing, the ineffable wisdom? For neither did he strike that first plague, wishing to correct them through other means, nor, when he struck, did he strike without warning. Why so? So that he might discipline them with words, and they might not come to the experience of the deeds; nor, again, since they were not corrected, did he allow the plague to become ambiguous. For, so that no one might think it automatic or a disease, or a pestilence coming on, see how many things happen. First, that in one night all. Second, that all the first-born. For if it were a pestilence, it would not have touched only all the first-born, and spared the second; but it would have come upon all indiscriminately. D Third, that if it were a pestilence, it would not have spared the Jews at all, and touched only the Egyptians, but it would have worked much more upon those bodies, those worn out by toil and hardship and so many evils, those in poverty and famine to such an extent brought to ruin; not the royal ones, nor those in high positions, those enjoying much immunity, and partaking of much care. If it were a pestilence, it would not have come on all at once, but displaying all the preliminaries of the coming first. But now these things happen at once, so that the ingratitude of the Egyptians might be tested.
[The text continues:]
B And why should He not benefit these as well? Because most men are accustomed to acknowledge God when struck rather than when beneficially treated. For that He did not wish to punish them, see how He is constantly delaying, restraining the blows, and by both means demonstrating His power and His kindness. And yet it would have sufficed after the first, second, and third [plague], as though they were suffering from an incurable disease, to destroy them utterly. But He did not wish to, but even though He foresaw the future, and that they would not be better after the fifth, sixth, or tenth, He did not cease doing what was His own part; from which it is right to admire His power, His care, His wisdom, and His goodness to the highest degree. His power, because He struck; His care, because He restrained; His wisdom, because, knowing the future, He did what was His part—which is also of the greatest kindness, that He begins from the smaller things, from those that are not endowed with reason. But proceeding, He even touched the king himself, which also made it most widely proclaimed that these things were happening. For the things that befall a private man are likely to remain hidden; but when it is a notable man who receives the blow, nothing prevents the matter from being heard everywhere.
Having therefore said the cause for why He struck, he also says the blows. But neither does he recount them in detail, nor trace them individually; but having signified them with one word, he passes them by, saying, "He sent signs and wonders in the midst of thee, O Egypt." Next, He again leads the people out of Egypt into the desert, everywhere showing that He is not a God of only a part, nor does He hold dominion over one region only, but over the whole world. Wherefore he added, saying:
10. "Who smote many nations, and slew strong kings," offering in various ways throughout the way pledges of His power, and in teaching them, leading them through the things themselves. For also through the former wars He taught them not the nature of the air, not the power of the elements, nor anything else of that kind, but the sovereign hand which was leading them, to wage war for them; and He showed each through the other, the things done in Egypt by those done in the wilderness, and those done in the wilderness by those done in Egypt. For when they were putting the enemies to rout without arms, battle-array, and war, He was clearly showing them that even in Egypt He had no need of elements to move them against them, but, wishing to show His power in various and different ways, He used the creatures for these ends.
... [he] pursues cities, neither insisting on specific details nor narrating the battles bit by bit, but again with great spirit passes by the countless swarms of miracles. For although He could have lingered and amplified that tragedy, He does not do this; but since a vast multitude of things done by God offered itself, He pursues them all by passing over them. And yet they were armed, and lived in fortified cities, and were skilled in military matters and the marshalling of the phalanx; but these were exiles, unskilled in war, delivered from long slavery and protracted tyranny, consumed by hunger and hardships, and exposed to all for the receiving of injury—yet with that hand leading, they were the most powerful of all.
C ...to have; but they were more powerful than all because of the army leading them.
5. But the war was also just. For they themselves did not fall, but provided the cause for others, blocking their path, which was of extreme inhumanity—that He did not leave them to enter into war against the Edomites. For so that they would not, trusting in silence, attack again later, but might know with whom they ought to wage war, and from whom they ought to abstain, He does this in the wilderness, establishing the law for them through the things themselves, how they ought to behave toward those who encountered them. "And all the kingdoms of Canaan." Did you see from these that the whole world is being taught? For just as fire [consumes] thorns, so did they invade all, and no one was able to withstand them. Hear, therefore, what Balaam says, who had learned not from the prophets, nor from Moses, but from the things themselves: "This is the nation that licks up all the earth" (Num. 22:4). Did you see the properly spoken metaphor? He did not say, "Which wages war, which pours out and overturns," but, "Which licks up," wishing to show how easily victory is brought forth by them and how, without blood, trophies are erected by them, and at their mere incursion the enemies are put to flight. They have no need, he says, of an instructed phalanx, nor that a battle be joined, but only to invade is sufficient, and all things yield to them.
For He did not only bring it about so that they might conquer by the law of war and an arranged phalanx—that no one might attribute what was happening to them—but He was moving the elements of the world against them; and therefore He was first casting down and troubling their minds, and hail falling killed many, and the sun stood still, and protracted the war further, and many such wonderful things were done, and the sound of trumpets more vehement than fire rushing into towers brought down the walls. But this was useful to both. For both they were learning that the war is not waged by men; and these were being taught to look to God, and never to boast about the things done, nor to take on great spirits, but to behave themselves honestly and modestly. For to have conquered in this way brought them greater ornament than merely to have conquered, as [it] rendered them splendid, and taught modesty: splendid indeed, because they had such a commander; modest, however, because they were not puffed up by their own illustrious deeds.
12. "And gave their land [for] an inheritance, an inheritance to Israel His people." This also is a greatest miracle, that not only could they expel, but they could also occupy the land, and divide the cities—which also provided them with great pleasure, great ornament, great joy. But this is also of God’s power. For it is no small thing to have occupied the land of enemies, but for this also there is need of great help from God.
13. "O Lord, Thy name [is] to eternity, and Thy memorial to generation and generation." Another, "The remembrance of Thee." Here he interrupts the series of the prayer with glorification, which the saints are always accustomed to do. For after they begin to say something about the miracles of God, they do not come to the end until, having glorified and praised God above the things mentioned, they fulfill their own desire. Which also Paul does everywhere; and in the beginning... D
of his Epistles, as when he says to the Churches of Galatia: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins according to the will of God and our Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" (Gal. 1:3-5). And in that to the Romans: "Whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the service, and the promise, whose are the fathers, and from whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is over all God blessed for ever. Amen" (Rom. 9:4-5). And again elsewhere: "Now to the King of ages, immortal, invisible, only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen" (1 Tim. 1:17). Thus indeed the prophet here also, having pondered the providence of God in all things, the plague in Egypt, the benefits shown in the wilderness, the varied and diverse ones brought to the Jews, and those on their behalf against the enemies, and being inflamed by his unspeakable loving-kindness, offered up a doxology, saying: "Lord, thy name is for ever, and thy memorial unto generation and generation." That is, your glory is continuous. For nothing damages it, nothing interrupts it, but it always is, and remains untroubled, immutable, flourishing, and blooming. What is "Thy memorial unto generation and generation"? The memory, he says, of you is endless and has no limit. "For the Lord shall judge his people, and shall be comforted in his servants" (Ps. 134:14). Both of these can be said of the people: that he will exact justice, and after that he will rest and restore them; or, dividing them, "shall be comforted" refers to the people, and "shall judge" refers to the enemies. That is, he will restore—for this is what "shall be comforted" means—and he will judge the enemies, that is, he will exact justice on their behalf. A 7. Then, since he could not speak of their right deeds in life, he uses these titles—the name of "people" and the name of "servants." But having said "shall be comforted," he shows the reconciliation of God's loving-kindness, not of their merit. For where there is comfort, there is need of forgiveness; and where there is need of forgiveness, it is a time not for worthiness of achievements, but for loving-kindness. Since, therefore, he said above, "Thy memorial unto generation and generation," and they alone of other nations at that time invoked God for themselves, he hints at something of this kind through this and says that the salvation on behalf of the people shows the glory which is among many concerning you. For the glory naturally inherent in him remains undiminished, indestructible, and unchangeable, even if there is no one to worship him; but the good reputation among many will also be made manifest from our salvation, once we have recovered the city, and the sanctuary, and the temple, and have again arrived at our former way of life.
"The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men" (Ps. 134:15). Since at the beginning he said, "And our Lord is above all gods," and seemed to introduce some superiority by way of comparison because of the weakness of the hearers, see how he intensifies this in his discourse. For starting from the power of God, and having spoken B of things in heaven, things in earth, things in the abysses, things concerning the Jews, things on their own land, things on the foreign land, things concerning the enemies, things concerning the nations, C and then having reminded them of his goodness, his loving-kindness, his guardianship, his wisdom, his power, and having shown that he is God over everything and provides for the universe, he proceeds to ridicule the weakness of the idols, and straightway from their very nature he uses his discourse to attack; or rather, he even brings their very name into the accusation. For an idol is nothing other than something inert and worthless, and a name for intensified weakness. Therefore he begins from there, saying: "The idols of the nations are silver and gold." Firstly, that it is an idol; secondly, that it is inanimate and dumb matter; thirdly, that being an idol, they have the small, and weak, and worthless qualities not only from themselves, but also from men. Wherefore he also added, "Works of the hands of men," which is the greatest accusation against those who worship them: that having themselves been the cause of their very existence, they have their hopes of salvation in them. D "They have a mouth, but they will not speak; they have eyes, but they will not see; they have ears, but they will not hear; for there is no spirit in their mouth. Let those who make them become like them, and all who trust in them" (Ps. 134:16-18). "They have a mouth," he says, "but they will not speak." Did you see how he intensifies the ridicule and exposes the deception? For since demons often move them, he strips away the hypocrisy and the drama, showing that "there is no spirit in their mouth." And for what reason does the evil demon not act without them, nor speak? Because the steles of the idols are types of these things—fornication, adultery, and countless evils—educating those who are deceived, through the sight of the statues, to imitate the deeds of which the idols are the forms. He frequents and sits by, moving them and deceiving. Then again he moves another form of ridicule, saying, "Let those who make them become like them." Consider how great the gods are, whose likeness is set in the order of a curse! But things of our own are not so. For the final end of virtue, and that which makes one rise to the very summit of goods, is to be made like God, so far as is possible for us. But with them, he says, the worship and the gods are such that the likeness to them is in the order of the ultimate curse. So that through the fact that they are inanimate matter, and through the fact that they are made by those who worship them, and through the fact that they are idols of shame, and through the fact that they are senselessly lying there, and through the fact that he added the likeness to them in the order of a curse—through all these the excess of the error is shown. Having, therefore, spoken of their weakness, the deception, the wickedness of the demons, the folly of those who make them, and having quickly departed from them, he concludes the discourse with a doxology, no longer recounting matters concerning God, but, as if having clearly proved them, he demands the good words from those who enjoy his benefits, on all that is acknowledged; for which reason he calls all to a doxology, saying thus: "House of Israel, bless the Lord. House of Aaron, bless the Lord."
ON PSALM CXXXV
A ...House of Levi, bless the Lord. You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord. B Blessed be the Lord out of Sion, who dwells in Jerusalem.
*On the differences of the benedictions.* Why, then, does he not call all together, but separates them into orders? So that you may know there is a great difference in the benediction. For the priest blesses in one way, the Levite in another, the layman in another, and the common people in yet another. To say, "Bless," however, belongs to one who identifies that blessed nature which is alien from destruction. For "Bless," he says, because you have been delivered from adversaries, because you have been deemed worthy to worship such a God, because you have recognized the truth. For he himself is blessed, having the blessing in his nature, and needing no praise from others; nevertheless, you too are to bless, not that he receives anything from it, but that you yourselves reap a great fruit from this act. For although he is blessed by nature, as he certainly is, he nonetheless wishes to be blessed by us. He mentions Sion again, and Jerusalem. For because their commonwealth was established there, and their worship was founded there, and they were taught and instructed from that place, he wishes to render those places venerable and magnificent by the very surname of God, so that since they were venerable, their zeal for them might be greater, and since the zeal was greater, they might be more drawn to them; and once drawn, they might be more fixed in the worship of God; and once fixed, they might be led toward the greater virtue for which all things were made. But then indeed it was Jerusalem and Sion, but today it is the heavens and the things which are in the heavens. Let us, therefore, I beseech you, be fixed upon those things, so that we may also obtain future blessings, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for unto the ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CXXXV
C Confess to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy is unto the age.
1. Having spoken above concerning the benefits of God toward men, he also discourses upon the greatness of his mercy, not measuring it—for that is impossible—but wishing to show its magnitude by the infinite, and he invites all to glorification, saying: Confess to the Lord: that is, give thanks, praise him. For his mercy is unto the age. What is, "unto the age"? He says that he does not bestow a benefit at one time and then withdraw at another; nor does he show mercy for a moment and then cease, which happens among men, whom mental perturbation prohibits, whom a broken and dejected spirit distracts, whom various chances of affairs hinder, and the condition of things does not allow. But God is not of this kind, but he shows mercy perpetually, and never ceases to do this, even if he does it in various and diverse ways. He therefore always shows mercy, and never ceases from bestowing benefits upon men. D Then, after he said that he shows mercy perpetually, he also shows the arguments of his mercy, that his mercy always remains, confirming it from visible things; and since he was leading them to piety and true religion, see how he again compares him with the gods of the gentiles, lowering himself to the capacity of the hearers in the same way. For what does he say? 2. Confess to the God of gods: subjoining to each, For his mercy is unto the age. And, 3. Confess to the Lord of lords (Ps. CXXXV, 3). In the preceding Psalm, indeed, he was saying that he is above all gods: here, however, he goes further, that he is their master and Lord, whether you speak of idols or of demons. For even if the demons were to affront [him], and be marked by disgrace and ignominy, they are nevertheless servants and subject to him. Therefore, he says, "confess," because you have a God who is supreme over all, to whom there is no equal, who is the master and Lord of all. And yet he is also called the God of those who please him, as when he says: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Exod. III, 6). How does he speak here of the demons? One way, and that another. For in that place it is to show intimacy and conjunction, and his great love for them: here, however, it is to signify his own eminence.
*The miracles of God are not only of power, but also of kindness. The heaven made for the sake of man; the use of the elements.* — 4. Who alone does great wonders: for his mercy is unto the age. After he asserted that he is the master and Lord of gods, he subsequently proves his assertion, and confirms what was said, preaching him again from his power. He did not say, however, "Who did," but, "Who does," showing that he bestows benefits assiduously, and does wonderful things, and things which are beyond expectation. And he puts forth these two things which are exceptional in him: that he does [them], and that he alone does [them]: and indeed three and four; namely, that he does, that they are wonders, that they are *great* wonders, and that he alone does them. These things were said not so that the Son would be disparaged, but so that the discrimination and distinction between him and the demons might be shown. And let us see what these great wonders are, which he alone does. And in the beginning he was not speaking about power, but about kindness and clemency. For "Confess," he says, "to the Lord, for he is good." How then does it happen that he now speaks of power? Because these miracles are not only of power, but also of kindness and clemency. And showing what the miracles are, he subjoins, saying: 5. Who made the heavens in understanding. 6. Who established the earth upon the waters. Another [version], Who piled up the earth upon the waters. 7. Who alone made great lights. 8. The sun to the power of the day. 9. The moon and the stars to the power of the night. These, even if they indicate his power and wisdom, nevertheless also show his great kindness. For because they are so great, beautiful, and firm, they preach his strength and wisdom: but that they were made for our sake and for our use, they preach his kindness and perpetual goodness. Do you see how his mercy is unto the age? For he did not make these things only for ten or twenty years, nor for a hundred, two hundred, or a thousand, but he extended them beyond our whole life. And therefore, signifying this, in each verse he subjoins, "For his mercy is unto the age." And what is wonderful, he did indeed make them: and when they had been made, he gave them from the beginning: but after man transgressed, not even then did he cast him out, but those things which he had given to him when he had not yet sinned, he left even...
after the transgression, and did not hinder them from being used after that sin. Nor did he make only one heaven, but also another, showing from the beginning that he does not leave us to the earth, but will transfer us thither. For if he were not going to transfer us there, why was the heaven brought into existence? For this element is not useful for him; for he needs nothing; but wishing to transfer those from the earth thither, he prepared the dwellings.
B 2. Wherefore the Prophet, knowing these things, upon each verse adds, *For his mercy endureth for ever*, being struck with his lovingkindness. *To him that stretched out the earth above the waters.* See again also here his lovingkindness. For since we became mortal, and were set in many needs, even so he did not abandon us, but even here he gave us a dwelling place suitable for the intervening time, and filled the earth with so many tokens of his lovingkindness that they cannot even be expressed in words. The prophet, therefore, having fallen into the abyss of these benefits, and having seen the vast and immense sea, leapt up and cried with a loud voice, saying: *O how thy works have been magnified, O Lord! In wisdom hast thou made them all* (Ps. 103:24).
Moreover, if one should look at the sun and the moon, and the order of the seasons, he will again see his entire lovingkindness. For these elements contribute not a little to the orderliness of life and to life itself, nourishing us, ripening fruits (without which it was not possible to live), showing us the seasons, marking the hours, distinguishing the courses of day and night, guiding travelers by land and sea, and providing ten thousand other needs. C You see how *his mercy endureth for ever*, and how the Prophet adds this at each of the verses? Another interpreter says, *To the authority of the day*, meaning, He made it to rule the day. Another, *To authority in the night*.
*To him who smote Egypt with their firstborn: and who brought out Israel from the midst of them. With a strong hand, and with a high arm.* He continually turns over the miracle which happened in Egypt, because of their great ingratitude, and because they were always hearing of these things and forgetting them. And the mercy is no small sign; for this delivered them from captivity and slavery, and became an occasion for the knowledge of God to those who came after. And he hints at another thing here. What is this? That even after that plague, it was of his power that they were delivered from slavery, having shaken them with fear and having drowned them in the sea. He says these things, lest any of the more simple-minded should think that when he ordered them to take the gold and silver vessels, he ordered it out of weakness. D For he also did this, wishing to be terrible to his enemies from every side, and to show that he is able to do all things both by power and with authority, and to deceive them, and to lead them astray. For the things which he did openly, he did not do because he was unable to deceive them; and the things which he did by deceiving them, he did not do because he was unable to do them openly, but in either part he was showing his own strength. For that this also struck great fear into the foreigners, hear what the diviners of the Azotians say afterwards: *This is the hard God, who smote Egypt, and when he had mocked them, then he brought them out* (1 Kings 6:6). Do you see them also trembling at him for this reason, because of the theft, because of the deceit, because of his having abused them?
*To him who divided the Red Sea into divisions.* Another says, *Into sections*. Another, *Into parts*. For some say that there was not one way, but that the water was cleft according to each tribe, so that there were many crossings. But all these things, even if they displayed great power and showed him to be terrible and great, nevertheless also contained much lovingkindness, not only for those who enjoyed them, but, if they had been willing to pay attention, also for their adversaries. For he did not simply drown them, but after such a great miracle they were daring enough to venture onto the waters; and it was necessary for them, even if they were more senseless than all others, to consider both what was past, and what was present and before their eyes, to be struck by his power, to worship, and to cease from their untimely contentiousness. But those who saw all creation being transformed according to his will and warring against them, did not even so cease from their madness, but even while seeing that paradoxical miracle, they dared to undertake that strange and new way of traveling. Wherefore the sea became a tomb for them; for what happened was not a work of nature, but of a divinely sent plague; for this reason, in a short moment of time it brought about contrary results; and it was not cut into one part, but according to the number of all the tribes.
And at each of the signs he remembers mercy, because this was especially the object of God's concern, since the miracles were happening through the elements, that the things transpiring might not be thought to be of some natural order, but of the power from above performing wonders. Which also was happening in the case of the sea, and was becoming manifest, not from its happening then, but from its having happened no more after that; but things which happen by nature are constant and frequent, and are naturally disposed to be performed in their due time. *And who led Israel through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever.*
3. Do you see how justly he says at each verse, *For his mercy endureth for ever*? For all these things showed his continuous care. Even if what happened had an end, yet the memories of them provided for those who came after a great occasion for the knowledge of God. For being passed on by memory to descendants, it led them toward great philosophy. Otherwise, not only were those things performed, and the care of God ended, nor did the things of his lovingkindness stop at the Egyptian matters, but each time and the whole of time has tokens of his ineffable lovingkindness extended through it. On account of which he himself also, being struck with wonder, continually adds, *That his mercy endureth for ever*.
A And rightly did he add, *And brought out Israel from among them*: for this too is a work of God’s power. For it was not enough to make the sea recede and provide for them an easy crossing—as this very thing would have rather astonished them, terrified them, and prevented them from daring to cross, causing much fear, since it was beyond expectation—but it was a work of God's power, after the sea had receded, to give them courage and persuade them to enter that new and strange path. For since, in each section, the waters were lifted up into a high and lofty peak, it required a noble and great spirit not to fear the crossing, nor to suspect that the seas, lifted up to such a height on both sides, would rush upon them and drown the entire army. B *And swept Pharaoh and his host into the Red Sea*. Wishing to signify the ease of that drowning, he used this expression. But do you consider how, along with power and wrath, he demonstrated also patience, in that he did not destroy them first, although they were so shameless and contentious, until they themselves willingly and voluntarily cast themselves down? Not without reason is the army also punished; but since they were partakers of the sins and the pursuit, they are also partakers of the penalty and the punishment.
He exalts the providence of God toward the Israelites from the departure out of Egypt to the taking possession of the land of Canaan. *Who led his people through the desert*: for his mercy endureth for ever. This is no less a work than leading them through the sea. For even if dry land lay beneath, which could support the camp, there were nevertheless many other things that caused them distress. For all things were sufficient to consume them and deliver them to a most cruel death—famine, squalor, thirst, the sun’s rays beating down more fiercely than they ought, the multitude of wild beasts, and the lack of all necessities. You know, moreover, how many things a man needs. Yet, stripped of all those things, and having neither shelter, nor food, nor sufficient clothing, nor footwear, nor anything else of that kind, they walked through all that wilderness just as if they were leading dances in the midst of cities. C But do you consider for me how many miracles occurred in the desert which he passes by, and of how many years of administration! Only two miracles he mentions, which were done regarding those kings. For while it was possible to speak of that new table, of the wonderful shelter, of the lamp that never failed to appear, of the endurance of their garments, of the shoes that did not wear out, of the fountains that gushed from the rocks, and of other new and wonderful things by which he made the journey easy for them, he mentions only two, how he destroyed the kings of the barbarians, and how he raised a trophy and granted them the victory, leaving the rest for the auditor to accurately gather—and therefore he says: *the strong. Sihon king of the Amorites. And Og king of Bashan*. And to each of these he adds, *For his mercy endureth for ever*, showing that even if one enemy succeeded another, yet none overcame them. Because of what? Because they were constantly enjoying his kindness.
D For this is what he signifies by saying continually, *For his mercy endureth for ever*. *And gave their land for an inheritance. An inheritance to Israel his servant*. The benefit is twofold: to overcome the enemies, and to obtain their goods. For this was a work of great power, not only to cast out those who dwelt there, but also to be able to occupy and hold a foreign region.
*The force of humility.* Then, showing this again more openly—that they were not masters of these things by their own merits, but by God’s goodness—he added: *Who in our humiliation remembered us, O Lord*: signifying that it was not by virtuous deeds, not by prosperity, but in our humiliation that this well-being was fashioned. And what he says is of this sort: Our calamity and wretchedness was sufficient to move him. For from the beginning, when he delivered them from Egypt, he did not say, "Seeing I have seen their change for the better," but, *Seeing I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt* (Exod. iii, 7). *And redeemed us from our enemies*. Lest he enumerate little by little the wars, the irruptions, the victories, the trophies, when he might again have pursued the series of good deeds in one word, and passed over what was done to the Jews individually, he comes to his general providence, saying: *Who giveth food to all flesh*. Therefore it is not of the earth, nor of the water, nor of the air, nor of the sun, nor of any other thing that the production of fruits comes, but the whole is his. But see here also not only his power, but his ineffable kindness. For that which Christ says, *He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust* (Matth. v, 45), this is what he hints at here in saying, *Who giveth food to all flesh*! That is, not to the righteous only, nor to those who conduct themselves rightly, but to sinners, and to the impious, and to all human nature—which also most especially proclaims his dominion. Have you seen that the Psalm is composed in this way, to lead us to the knowledge of God? And therefore in the beginning he started from general things, and in them he ended: mentioning above, indeed, the sun and the moon, the lightnings and the rains, which do not happen only in a part of the world; but in the end he finishes with the common nourishment of all. Then, after he confirmed the general providence from these things, he added: *Confess to the God of heaven, for his mercy endureth for ever*. For from these, that too is clear—that he himself is Lord of all things below and above, and that his care and providence is diffused everywhere. Let us therefore offer him thanksgiving for all things, for the common, for the private, for his goodness, for his kindness, for his power, for his care; and let us do this constantly, just as the Psalmist commands, saying: *Confess to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever*. For this is the sacrifice, this is the offering, this itself renders him most propitious to us, and causes us to enjoy his benevolence; which may it be given to us all to attain, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
405 S. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE.
ON PSALM CXXXVI
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.1. Great is the longing of men for the city, great is the desire for their return. For as long as they had the goods in their hands, they remained disdainful and insolent; but since they were cast out of them, then at last they were set in longing. For because of this He also cast them out, so that He might lead them to a greater longing. And God is wont to do this in many places. For when, while enjoying His goods, we do not perceive it, He sets us in the emptiness of them, so that having been chastened by the deprivation, we may again seek the enjoyment. A And for what reason did they sit by the rivers? Since they were captives, and taken from an enemy country, they were lodging outside the walls and cities. Upon the willows in the midst thereof we hanged our instruments. Another says, "Harps." Another, "Lyres." And for what cause did they take the instruments with them as they went into captivity, when they did not intend to use them? This also was ordered by God, so that even in a strange land they might have reminders of their former state, and be more stung as they beheld the symbols of that religion. B Because there they that carried us away captive required of us the words of a song; and they that wasted us: Sing us one of the songs of Zion. No small gain did they derive even from this, that the barbarians were pressing them, and desiring to hear the songs of those people. And look from this source too how much correction they received from the captivity. For they who had danced away, and had leaped away from their native worship, and had trampled upon the laws in every way, use such strictness in a strange land, that even when the barbarians were pressing, and threatening, and surrounding them on all sides, and desiring to hear, they did not even then grant them their desire, but preferred the law, and kept it with strictness. And the phrase "they that carried us away," another has expressed as, "they who were vaunting themselves over us," meaning nearly this: they who before were trampling upon us and rising up in opposition, have in such time become so gentle and moderate and mild, as to desire to hear our songs. But yet these men did not yield. Do you see how affliction produces strong persons? How it makes them contrite? How it crushes the mind? For they were weeping, and keeping the law; and those who, when the prophets were weeping, were laughing and acting in comedy and mocking, these now, with no one reminding them, turned themselves to tears, and were lamenting. From this the enemies also gained great things. For they saw them not being pressed by the captivity, nor lamenting their slavery, nor their sojourn in a strange land, but the falling away from their own worship. For this reason he adds: "When we remembered Zion." For they were not just weeping simply, but they were making this a task. For this reason, also, beginning, he said, "We sat down, and we wept," clearly C because for this reason we sat together, so as to stir up lamentations and wailings. For what reason was it not permitted to sing in a strange land? Because it was not right for profane ears to hear those ineffable things. "How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?" That is, it is not permitted for us to sing. For if we have fallen from our homeland, yet we remain keeping the law, and guarding its strictness. So that even if you possess the bodies, you will not be masters of the resolve. Do you see a soul becoming philosophical from affliction, and higher than the dire events? "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget me. Let my tongue cleave to my throat." D Look from this source also at the great change. For they who every day heard that they would fall from the city, and did not care, now imprecate upon themselves, if they should forget it. And what is, "Let my right hand forget me"? My strength, he says, my power, let it forget me, and may I become speechless from the magnitude of the evils, if I do not remember thee; if I do not set Jerusalem before me as in the beginning of my joy. What is, "If I do not set Jerusalem before me"? I will not, he says, remember thee simply among other things, but also in hymns, and in songs. And "to set before" is to strike up as a prelude; they are speaking a word of those who greatly long, or rather who are in love, and are burning with desire for her. Let us all hear these things, and be instructed. For just as these men, having fallen, then seek her; so also many of us will suffer this on that day, falling from the Jerusalem above. But these, having fallen, had hopes of returning, but for us, having fallen, there is no way to return again. "For their worm shall not die," he says, "and their fire shall not be quenched" (Mark 9:43). And therefore it is necessary for us to attend more strictly to the things concerning us, and so to manage the present life, that we may not become captives nor strangers, nor foreigners from that metropolis. "Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who say, Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation thereof." Another: "To the children of Edom." This word also is one of those burning with desire for the city. And what they are saying is this: Demand justice from those who did not want to stand until the capture, nor were satisfied with the demolition, but were standing over it and saying: "Raze it until the foundation is in it." For they desired that not even the very bases of the city should remain, but that even its foundations should be torn up.
2. These were Arabs, who were joining in the attack with the Jews [sic] at that time together with the Babylonians, of whom the prophet also is constantly mindful, and speaks strongly against them, because even having a just kinship toward them, they became more bitter than the enemies. "O daughter of Babylon, thou poor one." Another: "The desolated." Another: "She who shall be plundered." Here he shows the power of God, not in the...
EXPOSITION ON PSALM CXXXVII
and showing the power of God extended over the whole earth. *Blessed is he who shall return to thee the retribution of thine, which thou didst return to us.* Another translation: *Which thou didst do for us.* B 9. *Blessed is he who shall take hold and dash thy little ones against the rock.*
A custom of the prophets. Although these words are full of wrath and carry with them vehement pain and punishment, they are nevertheless the words of the agitation of mind of the captives, who demand some great penalty and some horrendous and wondrous punishment. For prophets often speak many things not so much as if they were their own, but rather recounting the affections of others and bringing them into the midst. For if you seek the thought of the one who says,*If I have returned evil to those who return evil to me* (Ps. VII, 4), and one who surpasses the measure that was given to him by the law: yet when he narrates the perturbations of the souls of others, he describes anger and pain; this is what he has done now, bringing into the midst the desire of the Jews, whose anger proceeded even to the age of infancy. The New Testament is not like this, but we are commanded to feed our enemies, to give them food, and to pray for those who affect us with calamities. And we do this on account of the law that has been established for us. What, then, is this? *Unless your justice,* he says, *abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven* (Matt. V, 20). Let us therefore apply great zeal, and observe it all abundantly, that we may live henceforward on earth as if we were in heaven, and lead choirs with the angels. For thus we shall also obtain future goods, which may it be granted to us all to attain, by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.
ON PSALM CXXXVII
I shall pass over these things and come to that which follows. What does this mean, *And in the sight of the angels I will praise thee?* C Which, indeed, another interpreter said: *Freely, O God, I will sing to thee.* Another says, *In the sight of gods I will sing to thee.* If, therefore, he speaks of the angels who are in the heavens, what is said is of this kind: I will endeavor to sing with the angels, and to contend with them, and to lead the dance with the supernal powers. For even if I differ in nature, I will nevertheless contend with the alacrity of my mind, that I may be able to stand with them. But if we accept what was said from the interpretation of others, he seems to me to speak of the priests, that which is said of gods. For Scripture is wont to call the priest both an angel and a god: now indeed saying, *Thou shalt not speak evil of the gods, and the prince of thy people thou shalt not curse* (Exod. XXII, 28): and now, *The lips of the priests shall guard judgment, and from his mouth they shall seek justice, for he is the angel of the Lord Almighty* (Malach. II, 7). If therefore it is permitted to accept this in such a way, one ought to understand it thus: With the priests, they themselves beginning and leading the way, I will follow with the order that is right, and I will sing to thee: *For thou hast heard all the words of my mouth.* Have you seen the great thanksgiving? Have you seen the utmost attention? Not like certain D soft and dissolute persons, who are vehement before they receive, but who grow languid after they have received: but this man both presses on before he receives, and after he has received, he persists in continuously giving thanks. Hence, it is shown that he poured out pure and excellent prayers, from the fact that he was heard by God. For this most of all causes us to be heard, when our prayers are pleasing to Him.
—That we be heard by God is in our own power.
Whence it is also in our power to be heard. For when we seek what it is right for God to grant, when we do so with a ready mind, when we render ourselves worthy to receive, He hears the one who calls, and fulfills what is asked. 2. *I will worship towards thy holy temple.* This also is no small virtue, to be able to ascend to the temple, and while ascending to worship with a pure conscience. For it is not the bending of knees, nor entering in, that is sought, but to be inside with a sharp mind and an intent spirit, not by the body alone, but also by the mind: just as it is no small dignity to worship the God of all things as it behooves. For if this is considered an honor among kings, much more is it so in the case of the God of all. *And I will confess to thy name for thy mercy and thy truth.* What is this? I will give thee thanks, he says, because I have perceived thy great care for me. For I have not obtained the recovery of my country and the sight of the temple through my own righteous deeds, but through thy mercy and kindness. For these things I will worship thee, for these I will confess to thee, because when I was worthy of punishment and torture, and of living perpetually in a foreign land, thou didst quickly lead me back. *For thou hast magnified thy holy name above all.* What he says is of this kind: I will not give thanks only for benefits, but also for thy glory itself, which is ineffable, and for thy infinite magnificence, and thine inenarrable nature. For thou hast magnified, he says, *thy holy name above all:* that is, through the benefits, through the elements, through the things that are in the heavens, through the things upon the earth, through the punishments, through the things that are done against enemies, through the things done for friends. For there is no part of creation, both supernal and infernal, that does not emit a voice clearer than any trumpet, proclaiming the magnificence of thy name. Whether, therefore, you speak of angels, or archangels, or demons, or insensible elements, or stones, or seeds, or the sun, or the moon, or the earth, or the seas, or fish, or birds, or lakes, or fountains, or rivers: through all things thy name is shown to be great. Another, however, for *Thou hast magnified thy holy name above all*, says: *For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy names.* Another: *Thy utterance.* 3. *In what day soever I shall invoke thee, quickly hear me.* Another: *In what day soever I have invoked thee, thou hast heard me.* This also God promised, saying: *In what day soever thou shalt call upon me, I will hear thee, and I will say, Behold, while thou art yet speaking, I am present* (Isai. LVIII, 9). He himself, therefore, asks for this. For such are the souls that are affected by some pain: they wish to see themselves liberated from evils as quickly as possible. *Thou shalt multiply me in my soul with thy virtue.* Another: *Thou hast established virtues in my soul.* For what stands first,
A in place of *Hear me*, is *Thou heardest me*, another said. What then is the meaning of what has been said? High things are called *meteora* (lofty) from being raised up, and the swellings of the sea are its waves and elevations, from being raised up. Therefore, *Thou shalt multiply me* (polyoreseis) means *Thou shalt lift me up, thou shalt exalt me*. He has set this elsewhere also, saying: *According to thy height thou hast lifted up (epolyoresas) the sons of men*; that is, thou hast lifted, thou hast exalted. Thus, he also said, *Thou shalt multiply me* (polyoreseis me), to signify that *Thou shalt fill me with much gladness, and thou shalt make my soul lofty*, and, what is greatest of all, thou wilt not allow this elevation of mine and this gladness to become frail, but powerful and strong, firm and immovable. For this is what *Thou shalt multiply me in my soul with thy virtue* means. B 2. And what he says is this: With virtue thou shalt lift me up, with strength thou shalt exalt me, and thou shalt help me. Wherefore also another interpreter, manifesting the same thing, said, *Thou hast established virtues in my soul*. He said well, *in my soul*, which is most especially proper to God, even in afflictions to restore souls, just as also occurred in the case of the apostles. For being scourged they went back rejoicing; thus their soul was lifted up. This is most especially the work of God’s power; this most especially shows his strength, that in the midst of terrible things the soul should not be brought low. *Let all the kings of the earth confess to thee, O Lord, because they heard all the words of thy mouth.* See the thankfulness. For he is not content to thank him alone, but takes all those who hold power into participation of the thanksgiving, even them who possess diadems. For even if their authority and power is great, he says, yet all owe thanks to thee, even for those things which have happened to others. Wherefore also demonstrating this he added, *They heard all the words of thy mouth*. If then they would give thanks, they shall reap and gain great things from thence. For thy gifts are so set forth in the midst for all, that those who wish may share and enjoy them. And so, no kingdom can benefit them as much as hearing thy words. This is to them safety, this is strength, this is adornment, C this is comeliness, this is kingdom, this is the brightness and power of rule. *And let them sing in the ways of the Lord.* Another: *Let them celebrate the ways of the Lord.* If then, *In thy ways*, that is what was said, *In thy laws, in thy commandments*. But if, *Thy ways*, these thy accomplishments, he says: let them speak, let them hymn, let them proclaim—for this is what *celebrate* means. *Because great is the glory of the Lord*; that is, manifest to all, clear to all, evident to all, prepared for the benefits of all, having everyone bound to grace. D *Because the Lord is high, and looks upon lowly things.* High in nature, he says, high in essence. But here for now it is said more condescendingly for the healing of the Jewish [people], and more figuratively. The following part also corrects this, and leads even the humble hearer to a great conception. And what is this, *and he knows high things from afar*? For here the discourse is about foreknowledge, which is most especially proper to God’s power; wherefore also in the prophets he often talks, and from this he argues against those held fast by the error of idols. Another: *And he discerns the exalted from afar*. Another: *And the lofty*. For since he said, *The Lord is high, and looks upon lowly things*, he added, that *he knows high things from afar*, signifying that he does not know high things simply, but even from a long interval, that is, before they come to pass, before they are finished, before they come into action. *If I walk in the midst of affliction, thou shalt quicken me.* He did not say, *Thou shalt drive away the affliction*, but, *Staying in the very midst of terrible things thou shalt quicken me*; that is, thou wilt be able to save me having fallen into those dangers; which is indeed wonderful and paradoxical, that, with sorrows and those plotting surrounding me, he should place the one surrounded by them in safety. *And thou hast stretched out thy hands over the anger of my enemies.* Another: *Against the breathing of my enemies thou shalt stretch out (thy hands)*. You see that the power is greatest on both sides? For he says, with me being in the midst of terrible things, thou shalt be able to save, and them, being mad and raging and breathing fire, thou shalt be able to humble and suppress. *And thy right hand saved me.* Another: *And thy right hand shall save me*, that is, thy strength, thy power. For God is resourceful, and inventive, and capable of leading even from desperate situations to salvation. *The Lord shall recompense for me.* Another: *He shall complete*. Another: *He shall execute*, that is, he shall avenge himself upon the enemies. And he did not say, *He shall avenge*, but, *He shall recompense*, signifying that even if I am liable, he himself shall cast down and lay aside; for he is philanthropic. It is possible for this to be said also about those things done by Christ for us. For he himself recompensed for us. *O Lord, thy mercy is forever. Do not overlook the works of thy hands.* He sets these two grounds for obtaining philanthropy: one, that he is merciful, and good, and continuously merciful, so that his philanthropy is never interrupted or ceases, nor gives way; the other, that he is Creator and Maker. But just as we claim to be saved from these, so let us also show something worthy of the mercy. *For I will have mercy*, he says, *on whom I have mercy*. For mercy does not come simply, but it also has some discernment. For if it came simply, no one would have been punished. Wherefore let us do things worthy not only because we are being shown mercy, but also because we were made by God. For one fashioned by God, and having obtained such a Maker and King, ought to display a manner of life worthy of his care and of such providence. If we do these things, we shall attain the good things to come, which may it be granted to us all to attain, by the grace and philanthropy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
EXPOSITION ON PSALM CXXXVIII
A [†1] Lord, thou hast proved me, and known me. What do you say? Does God know only after He has proved, and not before He has proved? Far from it! For how could He who knows all things before they come into existence not know? But that expression, “Thou hast proved me,” signifies, “Thou hast known me perfectly.” For just as the Apostle, when he says that He searches the hearts (Rom. viii. 27), does not say this to signify ignorance, but perfect knowledge; so too here, when he says, “Thou hast proved me,” he signifies most evident knowledge, that is, “Thou hast known me perfectly.”
2. Thou hast known my sitting and my rising up. By “sitting and rising up” he signifies every activity of life; for our entire life consists in these things: deeds, operations, entrances, and exits. Then, since he had said in the beginning, “Thou hast proved me,” (lest someone rather inconsiderate might think that He knows from trial or from the experience of things), because he had said, “Thou hast known my sitting and my rising up,” see how he corrects this by what he subjoins, saying:
3. Thou hast understood my thoughts from afar. For by this he signifies that He does not know through trial, nor has He need to prove, but knows all things by His own faculty of foreknowledge. For He who knows the thoughts that are placed within the mind has no need to prove them by deeds. And yet, he does not only know them while they are being pondered in the mind, but also before they begin to be pondered; and not only before they begin, but even long before that time. Wishing to signify this, he subjoined, “Thou hast understood my thoughts from afar.” If, therefore, God even knows the thoughts, why does He introduce that proof which is made through deeds? Not that He might learn this Himself, but that He might render those who endure them proved. For He had known Job before the experience, and therefore He testified to this, saying: “A man just, true, pious” (Job ii. 3). But He introduced the experience that He might both render him stronger, and refute the wickedness of the devil, and by his example render others better. And why do you wonder if He has done this in the case of Job, since He does the same even in the case of sinners? For He openly knew that the Ninevites were not worthy to perish, but that by repentance they would become better; yet He introduces the B trial even through events; and everywhere He provides many most evident proofs of His care and providence, not being content with His own knowledge. [†2] For this reason, the Only-Begotten also said: “If I do not the works of my Father, do not believe me; but if I do, even if you do not believe me, believe the works” (John x. 37-38). For many, being dull of understanding and having almost no sense, say many things of this sort—namely, that He chose this one, He loved that one, He hated the other, and because of this one turned out evil and the other good. From these events themselves He persuades them, correcting the opinion of each one of these, and bringing forward into the midst the proof through works. He declares, indeed, even before the things come to pass, who is endowed with virtue, so that they may understand His faculty of foreknowledge; but He adds also the proof which is made through works, lest someone rather inconsiderate should say that He is such because of foreknowledge. Furthermore, see how Paul signifies this, saying: “For when they were not yet born, nor had done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might remain, not of works, but of Him that calleth, it was said to him: The elder shall serve the younger” (Rom. ix. 11-12). For one must not await the outcome of deeds, but even before them He Himself knows who is to be evil and who is not to be such.
My path and my cord thou hast investigated, 4. and all my ways thou hast foreseen. Just as he calls the deeds of life “sitting and rising up” from common usage—for we also often say, “This man knows how he sits and how he rises,” testifying to his perfect knowledge—so here also he calls his entire life his “path and cord.” And therefore he subjoins: “And all my ways thou hast foreseen.” Furthermore, that word, “investigated,” is not that of one who seeks, nor of one who searches, but of one who knows perfectly. Showing this, he subjoined, “Thou hast foreseen”: that is, before they happened, thou knewest all deeds, both good and bad. “Because there is no deceit in my tongue.” Another says, “Contradiction.” This is the greatest indication of virtue, this is the sum of good things, this is what Christ most requires, saying: “Unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. xviii. 3), signifying simplicity, innocence, and removal from all deceit and simulation. Wherefore He chose the unlearned and the simple, and said: “I confess to thee, O Father, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones” (Matt. xi. 25). But see: He did not say, “Because I received and ejected deceit”; but, “Because it never was, nor did this disease ever take hold of my tongue, nor was there ever any entrance for this vice to me.”
5. Behold, O Lord, thou hast known all the newest and the ancient. Not only the thoughts, he says, dost thou know, nor the actions, nor my ways, but all things that have been and are to be. “Thou hast formed me and hast placed thy hand upon me.” From the faculty of foreknowledge he passed to the power of creating, and again from the power of creating to the faculty of foreknowledge. For He not only made us when we were not, but He also holds authority over those already made. C God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all in these days hath spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things. Then, subjoining, he also mentions the creation: “By whom also he made the worlds” (Heb. i. 1-2). And when he had discoursed concerning His substance, and had said, “Who being the brightness of his glory and the figure of his substance” (ibid. v. 3), he shows also His faculty of foreknowledge, saying: “And upholding all things by the word of his power.” And writing to the Colossians, he said these same things again: “For in him were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him and in him” D
A, he is before all. This pertains to his creation. Then, declaring his providence, he adds: “And all things consist in him.” The same John, indicating both these things again, said: “All things were made by him, and without him was made nothing.” By this he meant to show the creation. Then the providence: “The life was, and the life was the light of men.” This the prophet also implies here when he says: “Thou hast fashioned me.” This is of the creation. He also stated that which is of providence: “And thou hast laid thy hand upon me.” What is “thou hast laid”? Thou holdest together, thou sustainest, thou supportest. This is what Paul also declares when he says: “For in him we live, and move, and are.” For we do not depend on his power only in coming to be, but also in existing and remaining. B “Thy knowledge is become wonderful from me, it is become great, I cannot reach to it.” Another says: “It surpasses me.” Instead of “it is become great,” another says: “It has been exalted.” What he says is this: “Both I enjoy thy providence, and knowing that thou knowest all things, and that thou madest me from nothing, yet I am unable to have an accurate and clear knowledge of thee in all things; but it is become wonderful,” that is, it surpassed me, it was exalted above me, it became stronger than to be grasped by my reason; so it is wonderful, so it is great. What then, if it is wonderful and great, can it be grasped? By no means. For this reason he added: “I cannot reach to it,” so that you may not say this. And when he speaks of “knowledge,” he does not mean that I am ignorant of God, but that I do not know a perfect and clear knowledge concerning him. This is what Paul says: That he exists we know, but what he is in his essence we do not know; for he that comes to God must believe that he exists. And he did not say “what he is in his essence”; for this is known to no one. That he is loving toward mankind we know, that he is good, that he is kind; but how much, we do not know. But this man, having passed over these things, proposes another thing that seems to be easier, and he says that he is ignorant of this as well. For I do not say, he says, “what he is in his essence,” nor “how great his goodness is”—for it is acknowledged that these are incomprehensible—but not even how he is everywhere can I say, but even this is above our comprehension. C Therefore, having said, “Thy knowledge is become wonderful from me,” he added: “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? and whither shall I flee from thy face? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I descend into hell, thou art present. If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea.” Another says: “If I remain.” “For even there,” (another says: “For there”) “thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” By “spirit” and “face” he means God himself. That is to say: “Whither shall I go from thee? Thou fillest all things, art present to all, not in part, but entirely with all at once.” And having said the things above, the things below, the breadth, length, depth, height, he declares that he is present everywhere. And he did not say: “Wherever I shall go, you will follow me and hold me,” but: “Wherever I shall go, there art thou”; that is: “There I find thee forestalling me.” D Therefore he says: “Thy knowledge is become wonderful from me.” And if thou dost not know it accurately, he says, how dost thou know that it is wonderful? Because it surpasses my reason, because it conquers my mind. Since even the solar ray we are not able to perceive clearly, and yet through this we marvel at it most; thus it is even with the knowledge of God; we are not altogether ignorant of it; for we know that he exists, and that he is loving toward mankind, and that he is good, and that he is kind, and gentle, and that he is everywhere; but what he exists as in his essence, or how great the things mentioned are, or how he is everywhere, this we are ignorant of. Having therefore said the things from which “Thy knowledge is become wonderful,” and having proclaimed his foreknowledge, his creative power, his providential care, his incomprehensibility, and the ineffable nature of his essence, he relates another of his powers, and one that is full of much difficulty if it should be searched out by human reason. For this too is incomprehensible. What then is this? That, “For even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” That is to say: that it is possible for men who have fallen into calamities not to be permitted to be seized by the calamities, while being in the very midst of the calamities. 3. Interpreting this, therefore, he added: “And I said: Perhaps darkness shall cover me, and night shall be light in my delight. Because darkness shall not be obscured from thee, and night shall be light as the day: as its darkness, so its light.” Having said the things above which I have enumerated, and with them not only that he is present everywhere, but that he also leads the way and secures and fortifies, he adds further, and in this showing the paradox, that he not only fortifies and secures, but that he is even above the nature of the things themselves. For having said that his right hand shall hold me, and that he shall lead me, he added: “And I said: Perhaps darkness shall cover me.” Another says: “If I say, perhaps darkness will overshadow me.” Another: “It will conceal me.” Darkness here signifies affliction. A What he says is this: “I was surrounded by calamities, and I said within myself that calamities would overcome me.” For this is “darkness shall cover me.” Another says: “Darkness will conceal me.” “And night shall be light in my delight.” Another: “A bright night around me.” And what is this? I, he says, indeed said these things, reasoning from the nature of the things; but suddenly the calamities were changed into good things; or rather, not that the calamities were changed into good things, but that while the calamities remained, I enjoyed much of his goodness. For he did not say that the night disappeared, but that the night was bright; that is, the night remaining night—and it is clear that the calamities and disasters (for these he signifies by the name of night)—did not have the power to overwhelm me, but there was light in the night, that is, a help in my vicinity. For contrary things happen and appear in the midst of contrary things when God wills it. Or have you not seen an ardent furnace, and for it...
not to be extinguished, and for it (the dew) not to be dried, and for the hail and the flame to exist together? Whence then, tell me, has this come to pass? And how has it come to pass? I wish to know. B Or rather, I do not even wish to know the way—nor is it possible—but I believe the One who has brought it to pass, and I worship Him who made it. For most of His works are hidden and arcane. Did you not see that when it was day, the Egyptians were groping as in darkness, and while darkness occupied everything, the Israelites saw? And when they were again in the beginning of darkness, light shone for them in the midst? For the Lord of the nature of things is He who made nature, not so that He produces things that are not, but so that He causes those things abiding in nature to appear otherwise. "For darkness will not be darkened from thee." Another: "With thee." "And night as day shall be illuminated." Another: "But night also shall appear as day." "As are its darkness, so is its light." Another: "Its darkness and its light are alike." He rightly said, "From thee," that is, "With thee," signifying that if You will, darkness will not be darkness, but will show the things of light. And therefore He added, "Night as day shall be illuminated," rendering more clearly what precedes, and this indicates: what things are of the day, the night will show, no differently than those things which are its own. When God wills, the operation of the elements is turned into contraries, C just as easily as to the things properly attributed to them in the beginning. If you will it, so will the night be, and it will have light attributed to it just as it has darkness. Wherefore, also signifying this, He added: "As its darkness, so its light." These things are indeed properly spoken concerning the elements, but metaphorically also concerning things. From which it is shown that God is able to bring such rest and refreshment to those who fall into afflictions, as those have who enjoy favorable circumstances, inasmuch as He takes care of the affliction. For this is the incredible and greater-than-opinion thing, which also happened in the case of Joseph. For he would not have been so happy in his success, nor would he have attained so much honor living in his father's house, as he did having been sold and educated in a barbarian house. D For by the very plotters the diadem was being woven for him, and the purple was being prepared, and from the occasion of disgrace, the cause of honor and royalty proceeded for him. Have you seen how we have interpreted, "Night as day will be illuminated"? Moreover, regarding, "As its darkness, so its light," it is necessary to say the same thing: as the former is, so also shall this be, not only in appearance, but with your Lord changing the natures of things. 13. "For you possessed my reins, Lord; you took me from my mother's womb." And what kind of connection is this with the things that have been said? A great one indeed, and one that adheres strongly. For since He spoke of such great power of His, He shows next that He uses this power for the utility and benefit of men—for the possessor of a thing takes care of the possessed. Lest indeed any foolish person should say, "And what is this to me, if He is great, and powerful, and endowed with the faculty of foreknowing? Show if we might gain any profit from Him," he added, "You possessed my reins," by the part saying the whole man. This is not a small thing toward the part of the praise of providence, to be God’s possession. For He who possesses, takes care and provides. Wherefore, also signifying this, he adds next what follows, "You took me from my mother's womb." This is: continually You have fortified me, provided for me, taken care of me, and rendered me safe from an early age, from the very swaddling clothes, and as I said, you taught me by the things themselves. 14. "I will confess to you, for you are terrifically magnified; your works are wonderful, and my soul knows it exceedingly." What is this? He says: You fashioned me, but I do not know how you fashioned me; You provide, but I cannot at the same time comprehend the whole providence by reason. You are everywhere, but I do not know even this in what manner. You know the future, and the past, and the hidden things of the mind of men; but I cannot comprehend even this by reason. For You change the natures of things, and You make those abiding to show the contrary, and so again You bring forth contraries, just as though they were proper and attributed to its nature. But inspired by the Spirit, he cried out with a loud voice, saying: "I will confess to you, for you are terrifically magnified," that is, you appeared wonderful, and you are wonderful. "Your works are wonderful, and my soul knows it exceedingly." And what do I say of You, he says, when the things that are done by You have great miracle? Then leaving off pursuing all things, content with his own knowledge, he says: "And my soul knows it exceedingly." It does not know only, but it knows greatly and intensely. But if it knows, how did he say before, "Your knowledge has become wonderful to me, it is strengthened, I shall not be able toward it"? Most greatly; for that indeed was certainly said concerning Himself, but this indeed concerning the works. But if this also is said concerning Himself, we shall say that: He knows Him to be wonderful, great, exalted; but what the substance is (for I shall say the same things again), and in what manner His majesty and magnificence exists, and who the mode of those things which are said is, he is ignorant; but that very ignorance is an argument of knowledge, even if it be wonderful what has been said. For we do not know how great the sea is; and yet on account of this very sea we most know it, because we do not know its measure. But if anyone were to say that he knows its quantity, he is the one who is most ignorant of it. There is, therefore, a profession of knowledge which argues ignorance; and there is an ignorance which bears us witness of knowledge. 15. "My bone was not hidden from you, which you made in secret; and my substance in the lower parts of the earth." He speaks again of His knowledge, and shows Him to know all these things. Therefore he says either that He knows all secrets, or he signifies something else, namely, formulation and creation: When I was being fashioned, indeed, You did not ignore me, but You knew all things, when nature was weaving these things little by little, even though it was working in the secret, and as if in the lowest parts of the earth; yet all things, he says, are naked and open to You. But another interpreter said thus: "My bones were not covered from you, in which I was made in secret." Another: "None of my bones was hidden from you, which you made in secret."
A And another: "My power was not hidden from you, nor my bones, because I was made in secret; I was fashioned in the lowest parts of the earth." All speak to the same effect, namely, that you know me precisely while I am being fashioned, part by part, and you know each one of my members, as well as their growth. Just as Christ also says: "Even the hairs of your head are all numbered" (Luke 12:7). At the same time, the discourse shows us both providence and knowledge. "Your eyes saw my imperfection." Or he says the same thing again: that you knew me even while I was unformed; for another said thus: B "My unformed state your eyes beheld"; or it refers to their actions, namely, that your eyes saw what was not yet done. "And in your book all shall be written; days shall be formed, and there is no one among them." What is said is obscure, but it must be hunted out from the sequence and from the other interpreter. For what he says is of such a nature, agreeing with the former. What was the former? "My unformed state your eyes beheld"; that is, while I had not yet taken shape, while I was still being fashioned, while I was still being woven, even so you saw me as clearly as one who is shaped, as one who is formed, as one who is perfected, and who stands in need of no more days for completion.
And that you may learn that this is the meaning, hear the interpretation of the other: "My unformed state your eyes beheld, with everything written in your book, days being formed, when there was no lack." Together with them, he says, you saw me; just like them you saw me, those who are being fashioned in their days, days in which no day was lacking. He says these things not as if there were a book above, nor as if things were being written, but signifying accurate knowledge through the book, just as when he says: "The Lord heard, and he wrote it in a book" (Mal. 3:16). And again: "The books were opened" (Dan. 7:10).
C "But your friends, O God, are greatly honored by me." Another: "Your companions became precious." It is no small virtue, this, to hold the friends of God in much honor. "You took thought for me," he says, "you brought me forth when I was not, you sustain me, and I offer this as a return: honoring your friends." "Their beginnings were greatly strengthened." That is, they themselves were strengthened. Another says: "How very numerous are their heads!" Which is even clearer; for he adds: "I will count them, and they shall be multiplied beyond the sand." I indeed honor them, but you make them many, and more than the sand; not only many, but also strong. For that is what "they were strengthened" means. He speaks of a twofold prosperity: both the increase in number and the increase in strength. "I have risen, and I am still with you." Another: "I will awake, and I shall be with you forever."
D 5. This is no small sign of virtue, to remain in prosperity while maintaining virtue. Many, at any rate, having enjoyed success, have forgotten. But not I, he says, but even when I have risen—that is, having been delivered from evils—I will always be with you. "If you kill the wicked, O God." He does not say this, that "If you kill, then I will be with you"; for that has been promised even without this; but he asks for this to happen, not to destroy the essence of men, but that he might change them from sin to righteousness. For he did not say, "If you kill men," but, "the wicked." Another, instead of "the wicked," said "transgressors," speaking of the enemies who worship idols. "Men of blood, depart from me." He calls murderous men "men of blood," those who rejoice in slaughter. And this way also is no small one for the increase of virtue: to flee and recoil from the company of such people. Then also the reason: "For you are contentious in your reasonings." Another: "Who spoke against you in a reasoning." Another: "For they provoked you in evil counsel." See that he is not seeking his own, but is recoiling for the sake of the insult against God, and is fleeing company with those others. For this too became the cause of destruction for the Jews: mingling with the wicked. For this reason they also received the law, and were walled off from them by the law, and were commanded to flee intermarriage with them; and when they had gone out of Egypt at that time, they were formed by themselves in the desert for forty years. For this reason the law was called a hedge, as being placed around them on all sides, and restraining company with the wicked; for their character was easily deceived, easily captured, and easily overturned. "They shall take your cities for vanities." Another: "Your rivals were lifted up in vain." Another: "Your enemies." For this reason he flees and recoils, because they were lifted up against the glory of God, because they were acting lawlessly, because they were speaking blasphemous words. "Did I not hate those who hate you, O Lord, and pine away over your enemies? I hated them with a perfect hatred; they became enemies to me."
So also God promised to be an enemy to those who are enemies, and to oppose those who oppose them. For these are the greatest signs of friendship. He himself, therefore, makes a return to God through both. For above he said, "But your friends, O God, are greatly honored by me"; but here, "I have hated those who hate you"; and there with intensity, and here with intensity. For he says not only "I hated," but also, "I pined away." "Test me, O God, and know my heart. Examine me, and know my paths, and see if the way of lawlessness is in me, and guide me in the way everlasting." And yet at the beginning he was saying: "You have tested me, and known me. You have known my sitting and my rising. You understood my reasonings from afar; you investigated my path and my line. And you saw before all my ways. You have known all things, the last and the first." How then here again, as if not yet tested, does he say, "Test me"? You see that he has used human expressions, not that we might remain in their lowliness, but that by gathering the God-befitting meaning through all of them, we might ascend to high thoughts. For to be tested and examined by him is not that he might know his heart who knew all things even before creation, but that we might know—we, who from the outcome of things [alt-version omitted]
COMMENTARY ON PSALM CXXXIX
A "Prove me." "And see if there be any way of iniquity in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." What is the way everlasting, if not the spiritual one, that which leads to heaven, and whose end does not exist? For all other things are transient and momentary, and are brought to a close by the present life. Therefore, having passed over all these, he seeks that which is immortal, that which is without end, that which does not reach a destination where it ceases. But how shall one be led to it? If he enjoys God’s help, and contributes his own share, pursuing virtue, devoted to philosophy, and having become superior to matters pertaining to this life. For the things that pertain to that life are not fleeting or momentary. For virtue is such that it possesses fruits that are perpetually blossoming and never fading, and goods that are immortal, entirely free from an end or from destruction; may it be granted to us all to attain to them, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CXXXIX
"Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man; and rescue me from the man of iniquity."
A I. Where now are those who say, "Why are there wild beasts? Why are there scorpions? Why are there vipers?" For behold, an animal has been found which displays greater wickedness, not by nature, but by deliberate choice of the will—namely, man. Therefore the Prophet also, having passed over all those things, asks to be delivered from him. What then, tell me, I pray, B since he is of such a kind, was it not right that humans should be born? But it is of extreme folly to say this; for there is nothing that harms a man except sin alone: but when that is removed, all things are easy, unobstructed, and calm; just as, if it is present, all things are crags, storms, and shipwrecks. Let no one condemn us if we say that a wicked man is more C wicked than a wild beast. For although that [the beast] does not possess natural gentleness, it can yet be easily deceived, and is seen to be what it is; but man, who plots wickedness and puts on many masks, is far more difficult to observe and guard against than a wild beast, as one who often carries the skin of a sheep before him, but conceals a wolf within; and therefore many, while they are off their guard, fall into the snares of such men. Since, therefore, such beasts cannot be easily detected, the Prophet turns to prayers, and implores God’s D help, that he may be delivered from such snares. For the devil often steals into such men, and in this way strikes. There are, therefore, many things that stretch out snares on every side. For a wicked man does this, and a cruel demon wages war, and an intolerable temptation offers annoyance. Wherefore we are taught, when praying, to say, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (Matt. 6:13). The battles are varied, and the ranks are manifold, and it is necessary to be prepared for all things. For just as one who is about to approach the sea, and the onrush of violent waters, the force of wild winds, the gathering of clouds, and crags and sea-rocks, the irruption of beasts, the incursion of pirates, hunger, thirst, a station not sufficiently safe for ships, the arrogance of sailors, a lack of provisions, and whatever things are of this kind, ought to consider and foresee, and to draw up a battle-line against all these; so also he who comes into the Euripus of this present life, against the affections of the body, against the diseases of the soul, against the snares of men, against the incursions of enemies, against the frauds of pretended friends, against poverty and torments, against contumelies, and against the phalanxes of demons and the fury of the devil, it is right that he should prepare himself, if indeed he is to arrive at the royal city, and is to put into port laden with merchandise.
The devil is absolutely evil; he who is evil harms himself alone. And here indeed he calls the man "evil"; but when he speaks about the devil, he says "the evil one" absolutely. For what reason? Because he himself is the father of wickedness, and therefore he is called "the evil one" by excellence, and for his proper name the adjective is sufficient because of his marked vice, which indeed is not innate by nature, but has been added to him. But if you also wish to know whence the name "wickedness" (ponēria) is derived, you will also receive great fruit from this. For wickedness is called *ponēria* in Greek, because it brings *ponon*, that is, labor and distress, to its possessor. Wherefore a certain wise man, signifying this, says: "If you are evil, you alone will draw to yourself evils: but if you are good, for yourself and for your neighbors" (Prov. 9:12). And how, will someone say, does the evil man draw to himself evils alone? And yet he affects many with reproaches and contumelies. But he harms no one, who is not soft, slothful, and inert. And if you wish, having dismissed the wicked man, let us bring the wicked demon himself into the midst. Tell me, however, has he not poured out all his wickedness? Did he harm Job? Did he not make him more illustrious, while procuring a more grievous fall for himself? What indeed of Cain? Did he not draw to himself evils alone? "No," one says, "but also Abel." How, and by what reasoning? Because he was quickly transmitted to a port troubled by no waves. But this is the greatest type of benefit, that he should have departed having acted rightly, that he should have traded well in the common debt of nature. For that which was common to others, and happened by necessity, came to him with an ample reward. This was not harm to endure, but to impose a brighter crown upon one’s head. What indeed did the brothers harm Joseph? Did they not themselves alone draw to themselves evils? "But he was a slave," says one. What then? I truly say he was also in bonds. But this is not what is asked: whether he was a slave and in bonds, but whether he received any harm from this. For we find the opposite, namely, that he gained very much, as one who had obtained great confidence before God, and through those things which seemed to be contrary, received the present prosperity.
The wicked are not to be feared, but pitied. Wicked men are not to be insulted. The association of the wicked is to be avoided. Let us not, therefore, fear the wicked, but let us pity them; for then indeed they were naturally to be feared, when they had not yet been tempered by the way that leads to philosophy.
But now, no longer so, since the heavens have finally been opened to us, and men have become angels. For even a beast, rushing with great impetus upon the point of a spear, seems indeed to ward off the spearman, but it pierces itself with a more grievous wound; and he who kicks against the goads similarly bloodies his own feet. B 2. Such is virtue, like goads and a sharpened sword; but all the wicked are worse and more irrational than the beasts. When, therefore, they attack the good, they pierce themselves more grievously, often harming them indeed in money or body, but themselves suffering injury in their soul, which is the true harm. For if the loss of money were to harm us in regard to our own virtue, Paul would not have commanded us to be wronged, and not to do wrong. If to be wronged were an evil, the Lawgiver of the good would not have commanded evils. Nevertheless, even with matters being thus, one ought not to leap upon the wicked, nor close in upon them, but to flee and avoid their company; yet when they attack, to receive them with courage. For this reason we are commanded to pray, "lest we enter into temptation." Wherefore also this man, having said, "Deliver me, O Lord, from an evil man," adds, "from an unjust man rescue me," again placing the general name of malice. For he does not speak here simply of the man who is unjust in money matters, but of him who is such in all things. And he asks to be rescued, so as neither to stumble into [them], nor to become like him. And he does not ask simply, but by contributing what is from himself. For this reason at the end of the previous Psalm, having fled them and the company of them, here he asks for the inclination of help from God. There, indeed, he brought what was from himself, saying, "Ye men of blood, depart from me, for ye are contentious in thoughts"; here, however, he beseeches God to rescue him from their malice. For it is no small or light thing for security, and freedom, and pleasure of every kind, to be rescued from such assemblies, and to dwell as far as possible from the company of the wicked; nay, this is the greatest prosperity. Then, describing their malice, he adds and says: "Who have devised iniquity in their heart; all the day they set in array wars." Seest thou how the beasts are hard to guard against, devising evils in their mind, and C concealing the plots in secret places? For "they devised," he says, "in their heart"; that is, they did not bring them forth for the time being, but were turning them over within, travailing with iniquity, and, what is more grievous, not being snatched or overturned, but making the matter a study. For this is what it means: "They devised," with diligence, with all zeal. "All the day they set in array wars." By this he signifies the whole life. And he hints here not at wars of those in battle arrays and through arms, but those through plots, which men wage in the marketplaces and in houses, not putting on a breastplate, nor shielding themselves with a buckler, but instead of every weapon using malice, and whetting words sharper than arrows. And the greatest part of their malice is not that they are merely deceitful, nor that they are treacherous, nor that they are ready for wars and fights, but that they have no respite from this grievous array throughout their whole life. And yet, if they wished to wage war, they had another just cause. For it was necessary to stand against sins, and to be arrayed against the devil, and to fight against the diseases of the soul, and to whet the swords against the demons. But they do not even show themselves in that array, but shoot arrows against each other. "They sharpened their tongue like a serpent; poison of asps is under their lips always." Seest thou the ignobility of the malice? It makes beasts out of men, asps and vipers, and brings the rational tongue down to that bestiality. And what he complained of above, this he accuses again here. What is this, indeed? "Poison of asps is under their lips always," he says, that is, continuously. Just as he said above, "All the day they set in array wars," so also here, "They sharpened their tongue like a serpent; poison of asps is under their lips always." For the Diapsalma signifies this everywhere. And in Hebrew *Selah* is said for the diapsalma, which is, "always." And yet even for a short time malice is burdensome, but when they pursue it continuously, and do not even take their fill, what pardon could they have? What defense? "Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the sinner; from unjust men rescue me. Who have devised to trip up my footsteps. The proud have hidden a trap for me; and with cords they have stretched out a trap for my feet; near the way they have set scandals for me." Nothing is more unjust than those who pursue malice, who before others harm their own souls. For when they themselves become the causes of scandal, when they cause the glory of God to be reviled by the senseless, when they do not render what is owed, D but having received both soul and body from the philanthropic God, are ungrateful regarding the rewards, and partaking of a world so great and of such good, repay the Benefactor with the opposite, what could be more unjust than these? What more ungrateful? And what is greater and adds to the excess of malice is that they attempt to maltreat others as well. For, he says, "They have devised to trip up my footsteps." But if the thought did not go forth into deed, this became a work of the philanthropy of God. For He Himself cut short their wicked plans. 3. And see how the malice was premeditated, and the plot [undertaken] with diligence. For they both hid, and stretched out, and [set them] near the path, so as to capture and overcome [me] by length, and by concealment, and by stretching them near. For they became architects of malice, stretching out snares from every side, setting one task, to pull down. Dost thou wish to learn how the devil also sets such cords? Look again at the matter happening in the case of Job. For what was broader than those? Or what longer? Or what nearer, inasmuch as not in...
A friends, nor in a woman, but in his own very body he set the snare? 7. *I said to the Lord, You are my God; give ear, Lord, to the voice of my supplication.* 8. *Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation.* Another: *The power of my salvation.* After he spoke of the war and the machinations, and showed that the evils were intolerable, he finally took refuge in the impregnable aid, calling from heaven upon the Helper who is able to loose these things.
This is a demonstration of a noble soul, this is a sign of a mind cultivating wisdom, when such things surround it on all sides, not to flee to human help, nor to human reasonings, but to look toward heaven, and to call upon God who is everywhere present, and not to be downcast or filled with turmoil. And see how worthily he constructs the argument in his own behalf. For he did not say, "For this or that achievement," or, "Because I have practiced righteousness," but what? *You are my God*, putting forth the greatest claim for help by fleeing to the Master, the Creator, and the King. *Give ear, Lord, to the voice of my supplication, Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation.* He said, *Strength of my salvation*, showing that He is also the strength for punishment and retribution. But, he says, you afforded me the strength of salvation. For you have the power both to harm and to destroy, but you have always used your power for my salvation. And see the affection of the speaker. For by the repetition, and by adding *of my salvation*, he shows his great affection. *You have overshadowed my head in the day of war.* Do you see a grateful mind? He calls to mind his former benefits, namely that He had placed him in safety. For this is what *You have overshadowed* means. And see how he shows how easy that is for God. For he did not say, "Before this," but, "In that same day," he says, "when the evils were pressing upon me, when the battle line was drawn up, when I was in the greatest dangers, then you placed me in safety." For God does not need preparation or exhortation, as one who knows what is present, what is future, and what is past, who can do all things, and is always present and ready to bring aid. Then, showing an outstanding victory and the height of security, he did not say, "You kept me," but what? *You have overshadowed*: that is to say, you brought it about that I would not suffer even the least annoyance, nor even heat; but you placed me in such security, and together with security in such pleasure and peace of mind, that no heat caused me annoyance, but I lived in the shade pleasantly, that is, free and removed from evils and calamities. Therefore he added, *You have overshadowed*, by this means also signifying how prompt and ready God’s aid is, namely by the name of shadow, as if to say, It is sufficient if you are only present, and all things will be loosed.
9. *Do not hand me over, Lord, from my desire to the sinner.* Another: *Do not give, Lord, the desires of the unjust.* The meaning is as follows: Do not grant him his desire against me, that is, what he desires against me, do not allow him to fulfill it. He did not say, however, what he desires, but, *From my desire*, wishing to signify such a thing: do not grant him even a little of what he desires. For such are the wicked: with much desire they work machinations against their neighbor, just as the devil also, of whom he says: *He wanders about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour* (1 Peter 5:8). Thus he B eagerly assailed Job; thus he was consulting about attacking Peter also; and therefore He said: *How often has Satan sought to sift you like wheat* (Luke 22:31)? Do you see what great desire he had? There are also men who, driven by envy and by the fact that they rejoice in evils, imitate his wickedness. Whom the Scripture rightly calls miserable, saying, *Woe to those who rejoice in evils, who delight in the perversion of the wicked* (Prov. 2:14); and that deservedly: for this is the mark of a base and corrupted mind. For if one ought to grieve, to groan, and to weep for those who are perishing, what pardon will they obtain, or what defense will they use, who are so far from pitying them that they even rejoice? Have you not seen Christ himself, when He was about to punish, weeping over the perishing Jerusalem? Do you not see Paul also groaning and weeping over the ruin of others? But there are some so depraved that they consider the misfortunes of others to be a consolation for their own evils. *They plotted against me, do not leave me, lest they be exalted forever.* For this is what the Diapsalma means. Another: *Do not depart, lest they be exalted.*
Meditation on vices is the worst; vice is a punishment to itself. This is the mark of a criminal and corrupt mind, when both counsel and leisure and meditation are needed for vice. For it does not suffice that things happen due to being caught off guard; for those things which are done rashly and inconsiderately are not enough to destroy us, but counsel, time, and deliberation are needed for you to engage in vice. And you apply diligence to practice vice, when you consult on doing evil and recruit accomplices? But see the humility of this man. For he did not say, *Do not leave me*, because I am worthy, do not leave me because of a life spent in virtue: but what? *Lest they be exalted*; that is, lest they become more arrogant, and lest they be raised to greater insolence on account of my being abandoned.
10. *The head of their circuit, the labor of their lips will cover them.* Another: *The exasperation of those who surround me, the labor of their lips shall cover them.* By circuit here he means the assembly, the sitting together, the wicked workshop, the criminal counsels. The meaning is as follows: Those very criminal counsels, and the head and sum of the wicked and depraved mind, shall itself overwhelm and destroy them. *The labor of their lips.* Here he calls wickedness labor. For the matter is of this kind: wickedness brings destruction upon him who possesses it, and causes him to be overwhelmed. This happened in the case of David. For they were expecting that he would fall into the gravest evils: but he came out of them brighter. *Indeed*, he says, *but I do not seek this*; how does his own C will and his own meditation lead them on to evil? For it does not suffice that things are done on account of being seized by passion; it is not enough for our destruction that things are done by precipitance and lack of consideration, but you need counsel and time and reflection for wickedness.
d. What defense will you have, making a meditation D of wickedness, and setting a counsel for the working of evils, and taking people as partners? But see the humility of this man in this matter. For he did not say, "Do not abandon me, for I am worthy," do not abandon me because of my virtuous life. But what? *Lest I be exalted*, that is, so that I might not become more arrogant, and be led into greater conceit on account of my being abandoned. *The head of their circuit, the labor of their lips will cover them.* Another: *The bitterness of those surrounding me, the labor of their lips will cover them.* By circuit in this place he means the assembly, the council, the wicked workshop, the depraved counsels. What he says is of this kind: Such are the wicked counsels, and the head and sum of wickedness and a depraved mind; it will itself overwhelm and destroy them. *The labor of their lips*—he calls wickedness labor here. And indeed, such wickedness becomes [a burden] to the one who possesses it; and it is a work done under the foundation. This happened in the case of David. Myriad dangers sought to surround him, but he was all the brighter. "Yes," he says, "but I do not seek this; but how does their own...
EXPOSITION ON PSALM CXL.
A ...and, having taken counsel of their own, they were entrapped and perished. Show me, and explain how this very thing came to pass. On the brothers of Joseph. For, desiring to make him a slave and to destroy him, they themselves were brought into extreme danger. And yet, so far as it depended upon them, he was thrust into both slavery and death. And Absalom, when he had invaded the tyranny and sought to destroy his father, was himself captured by it. "Coals of fire shall fall upon them; casting them into the fire." What he says is of this sort: Sufficient indeed is the vice itself to destroy those who encompass it; but along with this, they shall also undergo the wrath sent from God. Coals of fire, and fire, he calls here the punishment sent from above. And often this has happened through fire itself, as in the case of Dathan, and Core, and Abiron, and those who surrounded the Babylonian furnace. In miseries, and they shall not subsist. Another: They shall fall into pits, that they may not rise again. Another: Hastily, and they shall not rise. According to one interpreter, the saying is of this sort: So destroy them, that they may no longer rise. But according to the other, "With much speed"—for this is what "hastily" means. B "A talkative man shall not be established upon the earth." Having spoken concerning the wrath of God, he shows again that vice itself, by its own nature, is sufficient to destroy those who possess it. And this is not a small species of wickedness: to be rash, and not to control the tongue. For by a talkative man he means here a wanton person, a babbler, a railer, one who barks continuously, who is no better than a dog. Say, and what is this man's fruit? "He shall not be established," he says, "upon the earth." Another: He shall not be hunted; that is, he shall be overturned, he shall be brought down, he shall perish. This is the fruit of the railer: such a person is an enemy to all, unpleasant to all, burdensome and wearisome to all. Just as, therefore, he who is meek, and patient, and gentle, and knows how to be silent, is secure and established and pleasing to all; so such a man as this leads a slippery and very dangerous life, drawing a myriad of enemies from every side, and before others disturbing his own soul, not allowing it to be in peace, but even when no one is troubling him, raising a myriad of wars and tumults of his own. C "Evil shall hunt the unjust man unto destruction." Thus also another wise man says: "Transgressions hunt a man." Behold again how vice is sufficient for the destruction of its possessor. But for what reason did he use the term "hunting"? That you might see the inevitability of it, that, even if you do not fall into it immediately while doing injustice, you may not be confident. For such is the chase: it does not always succeed, nor does it succeed immediately; but yet, even if wild beasts and those being hunted are not caught, not even so are they in safety, even if they are not yet within the nets. Therefore, let not a soul be confident while doing unjust things, even if it is not yet caught; for at some time or other it shall be caught. If you wish to be in safety, cease doing these things, and you shall enjoy great security. And why did he say, "unto destruction"? Because many have been hunted even unto salvation; such as those of the Apostles, such as those of the holy men. But not the wicked, D when they are hunted by vice; but unto ruin and destruction. And why does the punishment not follow immediately upon the vice? Because of the philantropy of the Master. For if He wished to bring each of those who sin under punishment at once, the greater part of the human race would have been snatched away. "I have known that the Lord will do the judgment of the poor, and the cause of the needy. Surely the righteous shall give thanks to thy name: and the upright shall dwell with thy face." Another: "With thy face." And in place of "shall dwell," another says "shall remain," and another, "they shall sit." But in place of "I have known," [he means] I know. Since he said that it "will hunt," and that they "shall perish," and he does not show the punishment coming immediately—lest any of the more simple-minded should become more negligent because of this, he added "I know," showing that this will by all means come to pass. For the matters of those who are wronged will not remain unavenged. And he does not call the poor here simply the needy, but those who are very humble, those who are contrite. He says these things both to console those who are wronged and to instruct those who do wrong, so that neither may the former despair through delay, nor the latter become more negligent because of the postponement. For the postponement leads to repentance; but he who persists, He punishes more severely; and very justly. For what reason? Because, having enjoyed such goodness, they did not become better. For consider how great is the philanthropy of God, when He suffers those who are devoted to Him to suffer evil, and does not interfere, wishing by thy repentance to make thee better. "Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name." What is it that he says? Whatever may happen, he says, they will give thanks; even if they see the humble being insulted, and the wicked being exalted, they will not demand an account of the things taking place. For this is most typical of the righteous, to give thanks always and in all things. "And the upright shall dwell with thy face": that is, Having enjoyed the help which comes from thee, having the consideration which is concerning thee, always being with thee, they shall never depart; whatever happens, they will never be resentful, they will never censure the things that come to pass. For this is [the mark] of an unsubverted soul, this is [the mark] of a firm resolve, not to demand an account of the Master. Wherefore also Paul said: "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" (Rom. 9. 20). Therefore, let us too keep this gratitude at all times, giving thanks to God for all things: because to Him is the glory, and the thanksgiving, and the adoration, now and always, and unto the endless ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CXL.
"O Lord, I have cried unto thee, hear me: attend to the voice of my supplication." 1. Everyone, so to speak, knows the words of this psalm, and they spend their whole life chanting them; but they are ignorant of the meaning of the things said.
But if anyone sees pure and clear water, he would not be able to refrain from approaching it, touching it, and drinking; and if one enters a meadow, he would not sustain the thought of leaving without having first gathered a few flowers. But you, who from earliest youth to extreme old age have been practicing this psalm, possess nothing other than the words, sitting on a hidden treasure, carrying a sealed purse; and you have never been piqued by curiosity to learn what it is that is said—you have not searched, you have not inquired. And yet, one cannot even say regarding this, that since the psalm is clear, it has invited everyone to sleep and has not allowed one to seek what is at hand. For it is obscure, and it is sufficient to wake even one who is not sleeping very soundly, or indeed even one fast asleep. For what is that: A *Do not incline my heart to words of malice*? Or what is: *The just in mercy shall chasten me, and rebuke me*? And what follows later: *For still, and my prayer is in their good pleasures. 6. Their judges have been swallowed up by the rock*? Nevertheless, though there are so many obscurities, many pass over them lightly as if it were some sort of song. But that we may not dwell too long on grievances and make the discourse tedious, come, let us approach to examine the things that have been said. But attend diligently: for I do not think it was decreed by the fathers without reason that this psalm should be chanted every day, nor because of the one word that says: *The lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice*. For this same thing is said also in other psalms, as in the one that says: *Evening and morning and at noon I will declare and announce* (Ps. LIV, 18). And again: *Yours is the day, and yours is the night* (Ps. LXXIII, 16). And again: *In the evening weeping will lodge, and in the morning, gladness* (Ps. XXIX, 6), and many psalms can be found that would befit the evening time. Therefore, the fathers did not decree this psalm for that reason, but they established it to be said as some salutary medicine and an expiation for sins, so that whatever filth or stains we have received throughout the day—whether we are in the marketplace, at home, or wherever else we may be—when we arrive at evening, we might wipe them away through this spiritual song. For it is a medicine that destroys all these things. Such also is the morning psalm; for nothing prevents us from mentioning it briefly. For it kindles a desire for God, and it excites the soul, and after it has greatly inflamed it and filled it with much joy and love, it thus permits it to approach. B Let us see, then, where it begins, and what it teaches us: *O God, my God, from the light I wake to you. My soul has thirsted for you* (Ps. LXII, 1). See how it shows the word of an inflamed soul? But where the love of God is, all evils depart: where the memory of God is, there is oblivion of sins, and the destruction of evils. In this way, in the holy [place] to see your power, and your glory. What is "In this way"? With this desire, he says, with this love, so that I may see your glory, which can be seen everywhere. But let us not, having left what is at hand, introduce another passage by the way, and, having sent the audience away to those things spoken of there, let us approach what is set before us. C What is a cry in the Holy Scripture? The cry of the heart. What, then, does he say here? *O Lord, I have cried to you, hear me.* What, I ask, are you saying? Because you have cried, you wish to be heard, and you bring forward a just cause why you should be heard? Are those, then, who are endowed with a great and vehement voice and [a strong] tone needed? But this would be irrational. For what has he sinned who is of a small and thin voice, and of a slow and stuttering tongue? Was not Moses like this, and yet he was heard more than all? Did not the Jews cry out more than all, but God did not lean toward their prayers? For to be endowed with a great or a thin voice is a matter of natural advantages or disadvantages. These things, however, do not make us either heard or unheard, as they are not worthy even of being praised or blamed. For many natural advantages are present even to the wicked. Was not Absalon beautiful and handsome, and his bodily form extended even to the hairs of his head? But what? Was not Elisha bald, so that he was even mocked by children? But neither did appearance help the one, nor did deformity harm the other. And why do I speak of him who is of a thin and small voice, and of a slower and more impeded tongue, when even while silent Moses was heard, and Anna while not speaking? Addressing the Jews, God said: *If you multiply prayer, I will not hear you* (Isai. I, 15). D Why, then, does he say here, *I have cried to you, hear me*? He calls an internal cry here, which an inflamed heart and a contrite soul has brought forth; with this, when Moses cried out, he was heard. For just as he who cries out exhausts his strength, so also he who cries out with his heart turns his whole mind [inward], and he does not allow it to vacillate, nor to stray to anything else while chanting. Yet he does not only seek such a cry, but also that one should pray himself. For there are many who stand indeed, but do not cry to God; rather, their lips cry to God and they carry around the name of God, but their mind perceives nothing of the things that are said. And he who conducts himself in this way does not cry, even if he shouts as loudly as possible; he who conducts himself in this way does not pray to God, even if he seems to be praying as much as possible. But not so Moses, but he cried out and was heard; and therefore it is said to him by God: *Why do you cry to me?* (Exod. XIV, 15). And not only by crying, but also by remaining silent he obtained what he wished, as one who had shown himself worthy to be heard by God. But if you wish to see even sinners praying intensely and vehemently, and crying out with a great voice, and obtaining [their requests], see the harlot who cries with silence (Luc. VII, 38): see the publican who was justified by prayer alone (Luc. XVIII, 13-14). He also uses such a cry here, and therefore he says, *O Lord, I have cried to you, hear me*, and for this reason he is worthy to be heard.
Prayer worthy of being heard by God.
— Behold also another virtue of prayer. For he does not deem it worthy to be heard solely because one prays zealously, but also because one offers such a prayer that it is worthy of those sleepless eyes. And what is this? When one does not pray against enemies, when one does not pray for wealth and greed, when one does not pray for power and glory, nor for any of these transitory things, but for those incorruptible and immortal ones. *For seek*, he says, *the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.* (Matt. VI, 33). *I have cried unto you.* You see how he wishes us also to call upon Him with zeal, with readiness? For the devil lies in wait most at that time. Because since he knows that prayer is the greatest weapon, and even if we are sinners and disgraced, yet if we pray with precision and according to the laws of God we accomplish great things; then he makes haste to cast us into sloth, and to stir up thoughts, so that he may cause us to depart from prayer without having reaped any fruit.One must not pray against enemies.
— Therefore, knowing these things, we ought to fortify our own zeal against him, and never pray against enemies, but imitate the apostles. For they, having suffered countless terrible things, and then having been cast into prisons, and having endured the danger of ultimate peril, took refuge in prayer and said: *Look upon their threats* (Act. IV, 29). And what after this? Did they say, "Strike them down," or "Kill them," as many often say when they pray for curses? By no means. But what? *And grant to your servants to speak your word with boldness.* (Ibid.). How and in what manner? By killing those who plot against them? By making them vanish and delivering them to total destruction? By no means. But how? *In that you stretch forth your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders be done by the name of your holy child Jesus.* (Ibid. v. 30). You have seen a prayer full of philosophy, and after such dreadful things, requesting no punishment for the enemies? Thus, then, they acted while still living and breathing; but Stephen, when he was about to be parted from the present life, not only did not ask for any evil for them, but even labored, through his prayer, to snatch those who were stoning and killing him from the wrath incurred by this sin, and he says, *Lord, lay not this sin to their charge* (Act. VII, 59). With what manner of pardon, then, or with what apology could they be worthy, who pray against their enemies? And how could such a prayer be heard, when it is offered in opposition to the laws of God? Let us say no such thing. For indeed, we ought not only not to pray against enemies, but even to remove the wrath against them; therefore he says: *I desire that men should pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without wrath and disputing* (1 Tim. II, 8). That is to say, even if you have an enemy, extinguish your wrath, and thus approach the Master, and do not only say nothing against him with your mouth, but also rid your mind of the thought. If such is the prayer, you will call upon God with good zeal, and even before you finish the prayer, you will be heard. This he himself also requests, saying: *Attend to the voice of my supplication in my crying unto you.* For it is the promise of God Himself which says, *While you are yet speaking, I will say, Behold, I am here.* (Isai. LVIII, 9). *Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight.* Another, *Let my prayer be set* (a), as incense before you. Another, *Let it be prepared*. *The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.* Another, *An evening gift.* Another, *An evening offering.*The two altars of Jerusalem.
— What does the prophet wish to teach us by discussing the evening sacrifice? There were of old two altars, one made of bronze, another of gold. And the one was almost public, set before the sacrifices of the entire multitude, but the other was deposited in the inner sanctuary and within the veil. And rather, so that what is said may become clearer to us, we shall attempt to lead the discourse back to the beginning. There was a temple among the Jews of old, forty cubits in length, and its breadth was twenty. Of this length, having removed ten cubits, he enclosed the interior by means of a veil, and that which was cut off was called the Holy of Holies, and what was outside, the Holy only. And all things were ablaze with gold.3. Some said that that upper beam was also made of hammered gold. Where the high priest alone entered once a year, there also the ark lay, and the Cherubim; there also stood the golden altar, where the incense was offered, prepared for nothing else but for the incense alone. And this was done once a year. In the outer temple, then, was the bronze altar, and every evening a lamb was brought and burned. This was called the evening sacrifice; for there was also a morning one, and twice a day the altar in the temple had to be burned, besides other sacrifices brought by the people. For this was a command and law for the priests, that from their own resources, when no one offered, they should slaughter and burn one morning and one evening lamb; and the one was called the morning sacrifice, the other the evening. And this had been ordained by God to take place, signifying by what was done that He must be worshipped continually, both at the beginning and at the end of the day. This sacrifice, then, was always acceptable, and the victim such as it was; but the one for sins was at times acceptable, and at other times not acceptable, with this or that happening according to the disposition of those offering, whether toward virtue or vice; but that which was not offered for the sins of others, but was a law of ministry and a mode of worship, was absolutely acceptable. He deems it worthy, then, that his prayer should be made just like that victim, which was soiled by no stain of the one offering it, like that incense which is pure and holy. And because he deems it worthy, he also trains us to make our prayers pure and fragrant. For such is righteousness; just as, then, sin is foul-smelling. Therefore, even revealing the foulness of it, this same one said: *For my iniquities have gone over my head, like a heavy burden they have weighed upon me. My wounds have stunk and are corrupt.* (Ps. XXXVII, 5-6). Just as, then, the incense is also in itself good.
(a) These and the following interpretations are according to those which we know not.
A For if someone possessing a golden vessel would never dream of using it for a base service on account of the value of the material, how much more so, when we have mouths much more precious than gold and pearls, is it not right that we should pollute them with base and shameful words, and with curses and insults? You offer the incense not on a bronze altar, nor a golden one, but on that which is more precious, namely, in a spiritual temple. For that altar consists of inanimate matter; but in you God dwells, and you are a member and a body of Christ. 3. *Set, O Lord, a watch before my mouth.* (Ps. CXL, 3). When he had besought the Lord that his prayer might be heard, and that it might become acceptable, look at what he mentions first as a request, and what kind of supplication. For he did not say, "Give me riches, give me honors, which are among men, give me victory against enemies, give me children"—none of these things—but leaving all these to lie on the earth, he asks for those things which are worthy to be given by God. What then? Does he say one ought not ask for sensible things? One ought, indeed, but with moderation, just as Jacob says: *If the Lord will give me bread to eat, and a garment to put on* (Gen. XXVIII, 20); or as Christ commanded us to pray, saying: *Give us this day our supersubstantial bread* (Matt. VI, 11); but above all things, for spiritual things. The same one also does this, saying: *Set, O Lord, a watch against my mouth.*
B Just as, therefore, incense is by itself good and fragrant, but then sends forth a most sweet odor when it has approached the fire, so also prayer is indeed good in itself, but it is better and more fragrant when it is offered with an ardent and fervent soul, when the soul becomes a censer and kindles a vehement fire. For incense or suffits were not placed down unless the grate had been kindled first, or unless coals were burning. Do this yourself also in your mind; kindle it first with zeal and alacrity of spirit, and then place the prayer upon it. He prays, therefore, that his prayer may become as incense, but the lifting up of his hands as the evening sacrifice. For both are acceptable. But how will this come to be? If both are clean, if both are subject to no blame or fault, both the tongue and the hands: these having been purged from avarice and rapine, that one freed from evil words. For just as the censer must have nothing unclean, but only fire and incense, so also the tongue must utter no word that is sprinkled with any stain or blemish, but holiness and praise; so also the hands must be a censer. Let your mouth, therefore, be a censer; but see that you do not fill it with dung. For such are they who speak base and unclean words. But why did he not say "morning," but "evening"? To me, it seems to have been said indiscriminately. For if he had said "morning," some inquisitive person would have asked, "Why did he not say 'evening'?" But if anyone wishes to hear less curiously, it must be said that the morning indeed awaits the evening; and when the evening has been completed, the sacrifice is finished, and the worship of the day is no longer imperfect, but is complete, and has reached its end.
C But what is the meaning of the lifting up of hands in prayer? Since they serve many wicked deeds, such as blows, murders, rapine, avarice, and the desire for another's goods, for this very reason we command them to be stretched out, so that the ministry of prayer may be for them a bond of iniquity and a liberation from wickedness; so that when you are about to snatch by rapine, or to invade the goods of another, or to beat another, recalling to memory that you are to send them forth to God to defend you, and through them to offer that spiritual sacrifice, you may not visit them with ignominy and shame, and may not take away their confidence through the ministry of evil operation. Purge them, therefore, with alms, with clemency, by succoring those who are in need, and so expand them to God for prayer. For if you do not permit them to be lifted up unwashed for prayer, much more is it not right that you defile them with sins. If you fear that which is less, much more stand in awe of that which is greater. For to pray with unwashed hands is not so absurd; but to offer them defiled with innumerable stains of sin, this brings the greatest wrath.
D ...keeping them inaccessible to wickedness, thus let us offer our prayer.
The custody of the tongue and mouth; the alternation of silence and speech
. Have you seen the prudence? Have you seen the wisdom, and from where he begins his request? From that which is the greatest of those things which are done rightly and from virtue, and which is the cause of all evils, if it be neglected; just as it is of good things, if care and zeal are placed in it. For the facility of the tongue brings forth innumerable evils; just as, on the other hand, it brings forth good things through caution and security. As, therefore, neither a house, nor a city, nor walls, nor gates, nor doors are of any use unless there are those who guard them, and know when it is right to close them, and when to open them, so also there is no use for the mouth and tongue unless there is reason, to which it is permitted to close and open them knowingly, accurately, and circumspectly, and which knows what things are to be brought forth, and what things are to be retained. *Not so many died by the sword, as by the tongue* (Eccli. XXVIII, 22). And again, Christ: *Not that which enters into the mouth defiles the man, but that which comes out of the mouth* (Matt. XV, 11). And again another: *Make for your mouth a door and a bolt* (Eccli. XXVIII, 28). But since he knows this is a very difficult matter, he adds both prayers, and calls upon God to bring aid. Indeed, even he himself signifies this very thing, when he says: *Who shall set a seal upon my lips?* (Eccli. XXII, 33). For it is necessary to contribute our own part as well, and for this reason he placed this as a precept, saying: *Make a door and a bolt.* Help from God must also be invoked, so that our zeal may result in action. Therefore, let us constantly guard our mouth, applying reason to it as a key, not so that it may be perpetually closed, but so that it may be opened at the appropriate time. For sometimes silence is more useful than speaking, just as speaking is also more useful than silence. And for this reason that wisest man was saying: *A time to keep silence, and a time to speak.* For if...it were necessary for the mouth to be constantly open, doors would not have been made; but if it were necessary for it to be constantly closed, there would be no need of a guard. For what would one guard, if it were closed? But there is a door and a guard for this reason, that we may perform each thing at the appropriate time. Another says: *Make a weight and a balance for your tongue*, demanding greater care, so that we may not only bring forth words that are necessary, but may weigh them—and, as one might say, investigate them—with the proper care. For if we do this with gold and with matter that perishes, it is much more necessary to do so with words, so that nothing is lacking or redundant. Wherefore someone also says: *Do not restrain a word in the time of salvation* (Eccl. 4. 28). You have seen the time of exit? But another, speaking of a time of silence, says: *If you have a word, answer your neighbor; if not, let your hand be upon your mouth* (Eccl. 5. 14). And again, *He who abounds in speech shall be hated* (Ibid. 20. 8). And, *Better is a man who hides his folly than a man who hides his wisdom* (Ibid. v. 33). Have you heard a word? Let it die within you. Be confident, it will not burst you (Ibid. 19. 10). And again, *A fool will be in labor from the face of a word, as a woman in childbirth from the face of a babe* (Ibid. v. 11). Then also concerning measure: *Speak, young man, if there is need for you, barely twice; if you are questioned, summarize many things in few* (Ibid. 32. 10, 11). For there is need of much oversight of the thoughts, so that you may use the power of the tongue with much security. Wherefore he also said again: *There is a reproof that is not fair*, and there is one who is silent and is found wise (Ibid. 19. 28, 5). For it is not only necessary to keep silent and to speak at the right time, but also with much grace. Wherefore Paul also said: *Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one* (Coloss. 4. 6).
A Maximize this member, for it is through it that we converse with God, through it that we offer up praises. This is the member through which we receive the fearful sacrifice. The faithful know what is being said. And therefore it must be kept clean from accusation, and abuse, and obscene speech, and slander; and if any unchaste thought presses upon you, you must stifle it within and not allow it to go forth into words; and if B any despondency compels you to complain, you must dry up even this, the root, and have a secure door and an accurate guard; and not allow evil plans to be conceived, and if they are conceived, stifle them within and dry up the root.
5. Job had this guard, and therefore he brought forth no discordant word, but for the most part he kept silent: but when it was necessary for him to speak to his wife, he spoke words full of wisdom. For then, and only then, must one speak, when what is said is more useful than silence. Wherefore Christ also used to say: *Every idle word that men may speak, they shall give account of it* (Matth. 12. 36). And Paul: *Let no obscene speech proceed out of your mouth* (Ephes. 4. 29). How, then, would this door be secure, and the guard accurate? Hear another saying: *Let all your narrative be in the law of the Most High* (Eccl. 9. 23). For if you are taught to speak nothing redundant, but are constantly fencing in both your mind and your mouth with the narrative of the divine Scriptures, the guard will be safer than adamant. For indeed there are many ways of destruction through the mouth, as when someone uses obscene language, when he uses scurrilous humor, when he is vain-glorious, when he boasts magnificently, like the Pharisee, who, because he had no door upon his mouth, all that was within was poured out in a few words; and therefore, like a house without doors, not having been able to keep the treasure that was laid up within, he suddenly became poor. Consider for me also another perishing likewise through magnificence of speech. For he said, he says, *I will set my throne above the stars of heaven* (Isai. 14. 13). And the Jews, because they rejoiced in the misfortunes of their neighbor, now indeed they hear: *Because you have said, Well done, Israel has become like the rest of the nations*; now they are reproached for complaining, and for saying: *Everyone who does evil is good before the Lord, and in them he has delighted* (Malach. 2. 17). And we deem those who are strangers blessed, and those who commit iniquity are being rebuilt. Are these not written in the book? Others because of murmuring, as Paul says: *Neither let us murmur, as some of them murmured, and perished by the destroyer* (1 Cor. 10. 10). And when did they murmur? When they were saying: *You brought us out to kill us in the desert, because there were no graves in Egypt* (Exod. 14. 11). Others because of playing, as he says: *They ate and drank, and rose up to play* (Exod. 32. 6). Others because of insults. For *everyone who says to his brother, Fool, shall be liable to judgment* (Matth. 5. 22). And many more than these perished because of other things, not having guarded their own mouths. If you wish also to hear of some perishing from untimely silence, I will show you. For *if you do not define it to the people*, he says, *that one will die in his sin, but his blood will I require from your hand* (Ezech. 3. 20). Others, from speaking indiscriminately to some, and pouring out what was entrusted to them. *For do not give*, he says, *what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine* (Matth. 7. 6). Others because of laughter; and therefore he says: *Woe to you who laugh, for you shall weep* (Luc. 6. 25). You have seen how a mouth destroys? See also how a mouth saves C from those D things.
You have seen the Pharisee perishing through his own mouth? See the publican saved through his. You have seen the glorious and boastful barbarian paying the penalty? See the righteous man speaking with moderation and saying, *I am earth and ashes* (Gen. 18. 27). You have seen him who rejoices and insults, being reproved and punished? See him who shows mercy, being saved. *For give,* he says, *a sign upon the foreheads of those who mourn and are afflicted with sorrow* (Ezech. 9. 4). Therefore Paul also used to say, *Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep* (Rom. 12. 15). If you can do nothing else, he says, you will contribute no small thing to him who is suffering pain, if you weep in his stead along with him. You have seen him who laughed, being handed over to weeping? See him who mourns, having attained consolation. *For blessed are those who mourn,* he says, *for they shall receive consolation* (Matth. 5. 5). You have seen those who give thanks, being saved? *Blessed are you, O Lord, and praiseworthy is your name, for you are righteous in all things which you have done for us* (Dan. 3. 26. 27). And shortly after, *All things whatsoever you have brought upon us, you have done in true judgment* (Ibid. v. 28). They used to say, *Everyone who does evil is good before the Lord* (Malach. 2. 17): these, on the contrary, *Pure is your eye, to not look upon evil* (Hab. 1. 13). They used to call others blessed, the ones who commit sins: he, those to whom God offers help. *Blessed,* he says, *is the people whose Lord is their God* (Ps. 143. 15). And again, *Do not emulate those who malign: nor envy those who do iniquity* (Ps. 36. 1). You have seen how the saints, and those who exhort others, remain unmoved in temptations? Hear therefore Jacob saying, *If the Lord gives me bread to eat, and a garment to put on* (Gen. 28. 20). And Abraham, *I will not take from you from a thread even to a shoelace* (Gen. 14. 23). Moreover, when an outrage was about to be inflicted on his wife and he was pressed by famine, he spoke nothing grave or absurd. And when his son said, *Father, behold the wood and the fire, where is the sheep?* (Gen. 22. 7), see with what gentleness and wisdom he answers, and says: *God will provide for himself a sheep, O son* (Ibid. v. 8); not turned away by nature nor by compassion to the words of the son, which he addressed to him alone, when it was natural for love to be kindled more vehemently. For lest anyone say that he did not weep because he revered others, removed from them and alone, he manifested the highest philosophy.
B See those who are saved through weeping and fasting, calling to mind the Ninevites (Jon. 3). You have seen those who pay the penalty because of curses? See those who receive a reward because of blessing. *He who blesses you, is blessed; and he who curses you, is cursed* (Num. 24. 9). *Bless those who persecute you: pray for those who insult you, that you may be like your Father who is in heaven* (Matth. 5. 44, 45). You see that one ought not to have the mouth closed, nor open to all things, but to know the time of each? Since the prophet knew these things, he said, *Set, O Lord, a guard for my mouth, and a door of circumstance for my lips.* And what was the guard, if not the thought which urges terribly, having in its possession the fire which will burn those who have used their mouths rashly? Employ that doorkeeper and guard, brandishing the threats of conscience, and he will never open this gate untimely, but in a timely manner, and for the sake of profit, and countless goods. Therefore someone said: *Always remember your last things, and you will not sin forever* (Eccli. 7. 40). You have seen how he also presents this thought here? I, however, have made it even more terrible, not only in death, but even after death, when I said that he has it in his possession. If this be so, no evil will be produced in the mind.
— An account must be rendered for an idle word. — Along with this, set also another before him, who says: *You shall render an account for every idle word in the day of judgment* (Matth. 12. 36). Consider that death also entered through it. For if the woman had not spoken with the serpent in the manner she spoke, if she had not admitted his words, she would not have accepted the injury, she would not have given it to her husband, he would not have eaten. I say these things, not laying the blame on the mouth and the tongue—far be it—but on their inconvenient use, which arises from the negligence of reason. There is also another way of ruin, which proceeds from the mouth, when there are shameful and unclean kisses, when they are deceitful and fraudulent. To these also set a guard. Such was the kiss of Judas, full of deceit: but not such was the kiss of Paul, with which he ordered them to kiss one another, saying: *Greet one another with a holy kiss* (Rom. 16. 16). C It is not the kind David proffers to Jonathan, but holy and honest, and full of sincere love (1 Reg. 20. 41); of which kind also was that of those who fell upon Paul’s neck and kissed him in an embrace. And therefore he says: *Set, O Lord, a guard for my mouth, and a door* (Ps. 140. 3) — adding "of circumstance," in order to contain and fortify the whole. Now truly there is also another kind of ruin by the tongue, namely saying, "Why is this so? To what end was this done?" Therefore Paul, reproving those who speak these things inconsiderately: *But indeed, O man, who are you who answer back to God?* (Rom. 9. 20). It is right, however, not to guard the mouth only, but the mind also, before the mouth. Therefore someone was even saying: *Who will give scourgings to my thought, and the discipline of wisdom to my heart, that they might not spare my ignorances?* (Eccli. 23. 2). Therefore Christ also removes the very evil thoughts inside, saying: *He who has looked at a woman to lust for her, has already committed adultery with her* (Matth. 5. 28). You see how he does not allow them to take root, nor even begin a desire, nor anger? For *He who is angry,* he says, *with his brother, will be liable to the hell of fire* (Ibid. v. 22). It contributes no small thing, also, to security, not to speak much: and therefore it says, *In much speaking you will not escape sin; but being sparing of lips, you will be sensible* (Prov. 10. 19). Do not turn aside your heart to words of malice, to provide excuses for excuses in sins. Another, *Do not*
A turn aside your heart to words of malice. Not that God turns it aside—far be it!—but what he says is this: Do not allow it to be inclined, do not allow it to be overturned toward evil thoughts. For from there is the fountain of virtue and of vice: from the heart.
What, then, are the "words of malice"? Many and various. For those who weave plots, those who slander God, those who turn away from virtue, those who pursue vice, those who gladly listen to words concerning corrupted doctrines and a neglected life, and such like—these proceed from great wickedness; and just as there are thoughts and words of wickedness, so also there are those of life. Therefore the disciples said to Christ: *You have words of eternal life, and to whom shall we go?* (John 6. 68). Those are called B words of life which provide life; and those are called words of salvation which procure salvation. Therefore, a certain wise man says: *Do not withhold a word in the time of salvation* (Eccl. 4. 28). Words of malice are also those that make those who speak them "wicked."
7. For just as there are pestilential and disease-bearing airs, so also there are such words. For what those work in the body, these work in the soul that receives them. Therefore, he prays as well through the things he added, saying: Do not allow C my heart to receive such words, do not allow it to be inclined there. Do you see how he demonstrates free will, and that nature does not have wickedness in itself, but by sloth it is inclined and receives it?
*Of providing excuses for excuses in sins.* This is most especially the way of destruction, when the soul itself that has sinned dissolves fear and devises certain excuses for sloth; or also when, someone having committed adultery, another wishing to dissolve his contrition says, "Why are you the cause? It is desire that is the cause." It is a bad thing, certainly, to sin, but it makes it worse to deny it after sinning. This is the devil's strongest weapon. This also happened in the case of the first-formed. For it was necessary for Adam to confess his transgressions, but he transfers the cause to another, and she, in turn, to the devil. It was necessary to say, "We have sinned, we have acted lawlessly," but they not only do not confess, but they also D construct a defense. For the devil, knowing that the confession of sin is the solution for sin, persuades the soul to be shameless.
But you, beloved, when you have sinned, say that you have sinned; nothing is more righteous than this defense. Thus you make God propitious; thus you also make yourself slower to fall into the same things. But when you are about to seek excuses that do not exist, and to relieve the soul of fear, you will make it more eager to be entangled again in the same things, and you will provoke God all the more. For no one who sins lacks a shameless excuse. For the murderer has his temper to blame, the thief his poverty, the adulterer his desire, and another his power; but these are irrational excuses, having no reasonable defense. For it is not those things that cause sins, but the minds of those who are sinning. And that these are [the cause], I will make clear from those who are nearby. For when another man appears, also living in poverty, and having desire, and being subject to the necessities of nature, and yet not sinning, what defense will these have? Therefore a certain wise man well said: *Who will set scourges over my thought, so that they may not spare my ignorances?* (Eccl. 23. 2). See David, not making excuses when he sinned, but saying: *I have sinned against the Lord* (2 Reg. 12. 13). And yet he could have said, "Why was the woman uncovered? Why was she bathing before my eyes?" But he knew that this was an irrational excuse; and because of this, he came to a clear defense, by saying, "I have sinned." But not so Saul; rather, being accused regarding the necromancer, he said, *I am straitened, and the aliens are warring against me* (1 Reg. 28. 15). Because of this, he was even more indignant. For it was necessary to say, "I have sinned," and, "I have acted lawlessly," but he did not say this, but went about seeking irrational excuses. *With men who work iniquity.* He added this to show that it is the property of those men, in particular, to make excuses, to be shameless. Because of this, David also constantly posits this in place of virtue: to flee such gatherings, or rather, he even begins the whole book from this, saying: *Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, and has not stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the seat of pestilential men* (Ps. 1. 1). And for this very reason you always find him, in his sins, to be grateful. When, then, he numbered the people, he said: *I have sinned, and I, the shepherd, have done wickedly* (2 Reg. 24. 17). He did not say, "What is it that I numbered?" but condemns himself, and therefore he obtains forgiveness. For nothing makes God so propitious as confessing one's own sins. This would happen by avoiding those gatherings that dissolve the fear of sins and cast one into sloth. Therefore both Paul and Jeremiah make much speech about this, both commanding [us] to flee the company of the wicked and of those who are so slothful. And Job also in the order of virtue puts this down, saying: *If I have walked with mockers* (Job 31. 5). But this one shows himself not even sitting
with those who are so slothful; he says: *If any man does not obey our word by this letter, mark him and do not associate with him, and do not mingle with their elect* (2 Thess. 3. 14). Another: *Neither shall I eat of their sweet things.* Another: *I shall not be gathered together in their enjoyments.* He cites the apostolic command here, that one must flee the enjoyments and banquets of these people, where sin increases the most, where there is greater license and freedom.
A small path of correction is to flee such banquets and such gatherings, and to respect neither friendship nor yield to the belly, dissolving the strength and constancy of the soul.
For as many, having respected friendship, have been swept away into the waves of drunkenness, and have been thus captured and ignited by the fire of pleasure while following after banquets and theaters that carry much lawlessness. He shows that he himself has done this, so as not to be a participant in such a table. *The just man will correct me in mercy, and reprove me: but the oil of the sinner shall not soften my head* (Ps. 140. 5). Another: *Let the just man have mercy on me, and reprove me.* This also, with the former, is no small form of virtue, not to flee the criticisms and reproofs that come from the just. And what he says is this: Of those who speak for the sake of favor to one's detriment, I would never be a partaker; but I would choose those who are earnest, who correct, who uncover sin, who reprove. For this is most of all a matter of mercy and humanity: to heal wounds. *But the oil of the sinner shall not soften my head.* Have you seen a soul instructed in virtue, which willingly bears the rebukes of the just, but rejects those of the wicked, even if they are made for the sake of favor? Why? Because the latter often brought destruction even while showing mercy: but the former, by sharply persecuting and reproving, have corrected; and with the rebuke of these, mercy is joined, whereas with the mercy of those, there is death. And for this reason, someone said: *The wounds of friends are more faithful than the voluntary kisses of enemies* (Prov. 27. 6). And consider how he signifies the apostolic word here: *Reprove, rebuke, exhort* (2 Tim. 4. 2). For such is the rebuke of the saints. Thus also do physicians: they do not only cut, but they also bind up. Wherefore Christ also, making it so that the rebuke would be welcome and acceptable, does not allow the rebuke to be published from the beginning, saying: *Go, and reprove him between you and him alone* (Matt. 18. 15). Thus did Paul also behave, showing rebuke accompanied by mercy, now saying: *O senseless Galatians* (Gal. 3. 1); and now: *My little children, whom I am in labor with again* (Gal. 4. 19). For it is necessary for him who reproves to consider much, so that his rebuke may be acceptable and welcome: and there is need of great wisdom for him who applies such a medicine; and there is need of greater wisdom for the one who reproves than for the one who cuts the body. How? Because there is one thing that cuts and another that feels the pain; but here, it is the same thing that is being cut and is being afflicted with pain. *But the oil of the sinner shall not soften my head.* What is this? He says that he is not seeking the benefit of the hearer, but his own, so that he may appear suave, pleasant, and a friend: this man, however, considers the other's benefit before his own favor. Hence they differ greatly from each other in this way. But if the wicked are to be avoided even when they are showing mercy, when are they to be received? Never. Wherefore, even if he offers money, even if he promises enjoyments and honors, repel and flee him; but follow the just man, even if he mocks you with words, and even if he reproves and persecutes you: for he is the one who loves you. *For still my prayer is in their benevolences.* Another: *For still my prayer is within their vices.* Another: *For still my prayer is in their wickednesses.* One must not rely on prayer alone, but one must also work. He asked for these things, but he provides the others by himself: and from here he shows that they must not rely only on prayer, being idle and asleep, but that they must also contribute their own part. What does he provide here from himself? Not sheep, oxen, and money, but the moderation of his character, and—a thing to be wondered at—his flight from their wickedness. Not only, he says, shall I flee their pernicious favor, and not choose their rebuke, but I shall also stand against their desires: I am so far from choosing their mercy that I even pray against their desires. For this is what *in their benevolences* means.6. *Their judges have been absorbed near the rock.* Another: *They shall be snatched away by the hand of the rock.* He shows here how the sin is easy to assault, and how the vice is precipitous. The princes themselves, he says, who were laying everything waste, have perished. But he did not say, *They have perished,* but, *Have been absorbed,* signifying that they have perished in such a way that no trace of them remains, which he also says concerning the wicked: *I passed by, and behold he was not, and I sought him, and his place was not found* (Ps. 36. 36). What is *near*? Close. But what he says is this: Just as some rock which has been cast into the sea does not appear; so also their felicities, once they have been submerged, do not appear any longer, since they have perished utterly. So he says either that their name and glory has been utterly deleted, or he signifies that it is powerful, robust, and strong. For that is what *they shall be snatched away by the hand of the rock* signifies. *They shall hear my words, for they have become sweet.* Another: *For they have been guarded by an escort.* Another: *For they have become beautiful.* This is: They shall know through the experience of events the sweetness of my exhortation and counsel. And how? The rebuke of the just produces this fruit, and their discipline brings great pleasure. [A temporal labor, but an eternal joy.] 7. *As for the thickness of the earth, it has been erupted upon the earth: our bones have been scattered.*
near the mouth of Hades.” Another, “Just as a farmer when he cleaves the earth: so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Hades.” Another, “As one who cultivates and digs in the earth, our bones have been scattered near Hades.” Having said that His words have much pleasure, he also speaks of the ancient calamities. That although we have suffered the extremes, and like earth cleft and plowed, or dug up, so we have all been dispersed, and have perished, and have come to the very gates of death; yet even so disposed, we would rather choose the discipline and correction from the righteous, than the mercy from sinners. For indeed, whatever might happen, we hang upon the hope in Thee, and we could never be turned away from looking to Thee. Wherefore he also added, saying: A *For unto Thee, O Lord, O Lord, are mine eyes. In Thee have I hoped, do not take away my soul.* Even if, he says, myriads of terrible things come upon me, even if wars, even if battles, even if deaths, even if the gates of Hades, we do not withdraw from the sacred anchor, but we hold to the hope in Thy assistance, and having cast aside weapons and battle-lines, we expect our deliverance from thence, from Thy inclination. *In Thee have I hoped, do not take away my soul.* Another, “Do not empty.” That is, do not leave me to depart without effect. *Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me, and from the scandals of those who work iniquity.* He does not simply mention snares here, but those that are stealthy, those that are hidden, which are also difficult to guard against and difficult to endure, wherefore they most especially need the inclination B from above. For this reason he concludes his speech with prayer, having opened with this, and ending here; showing that these things are his own part, the hope in God, looking always to God, fleeing their gatherings, hating their wicked desires; and these things are God's part, the assistance, the alliance, the making him superior to the most difficult things. For thus virtue is woven, both by our own diligence being introduced, and by the help of God acting as an ally. 4. *Sinners shall fall into His net; I am alone, until I pass by.* Into whose net shall they fall? God’s own. This means, they shall be caught, they shall be laid hold of. For the things of the righteous are up to the point of correction and of rousing their philosophy; but the things of sinners, as they are incurably ailing, are up to the point of punishment and retribution. *I am alone, until I pass by.* Another, “I am together, until I pass by.” Another, “Together.” This is, joined, compacted, not dispersed; or according to the Seventy, released from the wicked, pure from their company, and as it were living alone; which is also the greatest kind of virtue. And he says that he does not do this for one or two or three days, but for his whole life. This is security, this is a wall, this is the increase of virtue, to flee the wicked, and to be compacted and gathered to himself for his whole life, and to live apart from those who corrupt. For solitude does not consist in being alone, but in a philosophical mind. Thus even those living in the midst of cities, and tumults, and markets, could be alone, whenever they flee the corrupted gatherings, and give themselves over to the assemblies of the righteous. This is a secure path. Therefore, he who is beginning to correct others as well, let him be mingled with those who are about to receive the treatment, and let him make them better; but he who is weaker, let him flee the wicked, so as not to receive harm from them. And thus he will both live the present life with security, and will attain the future blessings; of which may we all be granted to attain, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
CONCERNING PSALM CXLI
*With my voice I cried unto the Lord, with my voice I made my supplication unto the Lord.* 1. You see how he does this everywhere, and opens with this beginning, and here for the second time says “with my voice” and “with my voice”? He does this not simply, but so as to teach us these two things through the doubling: both the intensity of the zeal, and the composed state of the mind; and in addition to these, that the voice is his own. For not everyone, C either cries with a voice, or to God, or with their own. But all these things must come together. He who cries against enemies does not utter the voice of a man, but of a beast and a serpent. He who is sluggish, and does not listen to what he says, does not cry to God, but speaks simply and in vain. He who does not rouse his mind, even if he shouts loudly, he too does not cry. For a voice, as I have often said before, does not indicate the pitch of the breath, but the composed mind. But this one not so; but he gathers these three, and shows that he cries with his voice, and to God, and with his own voice. For this reason he says a second time, *with my voice and with my voice.* *I will pour out my petition before Him, my affliction I will declare before Him.* Have you seen a soul delivered from worldly things? For it did not take refuge with men, nor did it seek the alliances from them, but looked to the unconquerable help, and the inclination from above. Then, wishing to manifest the composure of his mind, and the warmth that he had D stored within, through this word, *I will pour out*, he says, with much abundance. From hence we learn, that afflictions contribute not a little to philosophy; for this is the fruit of affliction; let no one therefore flee from it. For it has these two benefits: one, that it makes us more diligent and attentive; the other, that it becomes for us no small right to be heard. For this very reason he himself did not say, “my righteousness,” nor “my good deeds,” but “my affliction,” as this being for him no small advocacy. For this reason also Isaiah says, *Comfort, comfort my people, says God, O priests; speak to the heart of Jerusalem, that she has received from the hand of the Lord double her sins.* And Paul: *Deliver such a one to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved* (1 Cor. 5.5). And
writing to the Corinthians, he said: *For this cause many among you are infirm and sickly, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastised by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world* (1 Cor. 11.30–32). Furthermore, Abraham said to the rich man: *Thou receivedst good things in thy lifetime, and Lazarus likewise evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented* (Luke 16.25). A And David, too, when Semei cursed him, said: *Let him alone, that he may curse, for the Lord hath commanded him, that he might see my humility* (2 Kings 16.11–12). And we find everywhere in the Scriptures that those who bear afflictions with a grateful and patient spirit not only wash away many sins, but also obtain no small confidence before God and freedom of speech.
4. In failing of my spirit from me, and thou hast known my paths.
When those who are at first weak and of a lowly spirit fall, and many even speak evil words, then he is most a philosopher, having affliction as the mistress of his study. BThe effect of affliction.
When therefore you see anyone despairing from affliction or speaking some bitter word, do not consider affliction to be the cause, but the weak spirit of him who speaks. For the nature of affliction is wont to effect the opposite: attention, contrition of spirit, an intent mind, and an increase of piety. Quocirca dicebat Paulus: *Affliction worketh patience, and patience trial* (Rom. 5.3). But if the Jews, being afflicted, murmured, the words of murmuring were not of the affliction, but of their own madness; for when the saints are afflicted, they turn out brighter, and more devoted to the study of wisdom. For which reason he himself also said: C *It is good for me, O Lord, that thou hast humbled me, that I may learn thy justifications* (Ps. 118.71). And Paul: *And for the greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted, there was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me. For which thing I thrice besought the Lord, and he said to me: My grace is sufficient for thee; for power is made perfect in infirmity. And therefore I am pleased in my infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ. For when I am weak, then am I powerful* (2 Cor. 12.7–10). Do you see how he is more excited in affliction, and takes refuge with God, and clings to Him much more vehemently in the very depth of evils (for this is what *In failing of my spirit from me* means), and then becomes more diligent and better? D That phrase, *And thou hast known my paths*, another interpreter said, *Thou knowest*. *In this way, wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me.* *There was none that would know me.* Here he shows the great calamity, and the magnified evils, and the ambushes of the enemies, how they approached first, wishing to overthrow him; and what is most grievous of all, not only were there no companions or helpers, but they did not even recognize him.Solitude, supreme dereliction: it is for the few to be present in calamities, and to bring aid, and especially when calamities threaten dangers.
But this not only did not harm him, but even helped him greatly, so as to make him familiar with God. And you too, O beloved, when you see evils grow, do not fall, nor cast away your spirit, but be more energetic and vigilant. For God permits them to arise so that He may shake off your sloth, so that He may arouse you from your slumber. For then all things superfluous are excised, then all things that pertain to this present life expire, then one becomes more diligent in prayer, then one is more eager for almsgiving and for the despising of the belly, and each vice of the soul is easily overcome, put to flight by affliction. For He did not entangle us in labors and sicknesses from the beginning in order to punish us, even if He pronounced it so that he might hold it as a place of punishment, but in order that He might chastise us and render us better. For if, when both pain is imminent and life is laborious, vice becomes so strong, if none of these things existed, to what point would it have proceeded? And what do you marvel at, if such is the case in the soul, when affliction is a good thing even for the bodies, and it is very harmful for the flesh to be overflowed beyond measure with delights? And otherwise, while ambushes are placed on all sides, this makes men cautious and circumspect: and if we attend, we receive no damage. And therefore someone says: *Acknowledge that thou art passing in the midst of snares, and that thou walkest upon the pinnacles of cities* (Ecclus. 9.13, in the Greek), and here: *In the way wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me.* But if anyone also takes these anagogically, he will see the devil doing this very thing, and not from afar, but near by hiding his snares.The devil also spreads snares in the exercise of virtue.
Wherefore we have need of great vigilance. For he hides the snare—for instance, in almsgiving, vain glory; in fasting, arrogance—not in other things, but in the very ways in which we walk, which is far more grievous. *Flight hath failed me.* See again another accession of evils. For he shows that not only were there snares in the ways, nor was there anyone to bring help and recognize him; but not even that which remains for evasion, so that he may consult his own safety by flight, was prompt and ready for him. Thus he had been intercepted in the midst of evils, nor could the calamity be avoided: and yet not even then did he despair. *And there is no one that hath regard to my soul:* that is, Who may defend, who may bring aid. What then here? When he was involved in such need, and was pressed by such a difficulty of affairs, did he despair of salvation? By no means; but he took refuge immediately to God, and says: 6. *I cried to thee, O Lord; I said, Thou art my hope, my portion in the land of the living.* You have seen the caution of the soul and the vigilance. Evils did not overwhelm him in the least, but rather raised and lifted him up: and when he was in the greatest need and difficulty of all things, he recognized the invincible hand, and the omnipotent powers, and in matters that are hindered, an easy way of escape. *I said, Thou art my hope.* All human things, he says, have been rejected, and the tempest is so superior to any help that it cannot be avoided by any artwe are not benumbed. *Thou art my portion in the land of the living.* That is to say: my lot, my treasure, my wealth, Thou art all things. *In the land of the living.* Here he calls his own homeland the land of the living. For He knows that many times he calls captivity to Babylon also death. Then, since being in a strange land he performed no customary worship, but there all things related to his holiness were fulfilled, for this reason he says, *Thou art my portion in the land of the living.* Thou hast always stood by me, he says, and Thou hast brought me near unto Thee in the land of the living, and there has been great communion for me with Thee. *Attend to my prayer, for I have been humbled exceedingly.* You see how that which he said above, he puts here instead of a defense—I mean the being humbled, the pay-ing of the penalty for sins with excess. And the word "exceed-ingly" is not of the indictment of what happened, but of the grief and weakness of the one suffering. For if you look toward the worthiness of the sins, the humi-liation is not excessive; but if toward the weakness of the one enduring it, it is excessive even to excess. For God no-where demands a punishment worthy of the trespasses. If it seems unbearable to those who are suffering, it is not by the nature of what is happening, but by the weakness of those who are enduring it. *Deliver me from those who pursue me, for they have been strengthened above me.* Behold also another cause again, the unjust conspiracy of those who insult him, and that he is in great weakness: *Lead my soul out of prison, that I may confess to Thy name.* To "confess" here is instead of "to give thanks." And what he says is this: Free me from these evils. For he hints at the excess of his calamities as a prison.
B. *That I may confess to Thy name.* This, too, is not a small thing: for those who have come into prosperity not to fall into forgetfulness of the benefit. For many of mankind are more earnest in tribulations, but in ease more indolent; others again are indolent in ease, and in tribulations despairing of themselves, becoming more sluggish. But this one, in each of the varying circumstances of the times, remains maintaining the same piety; for neither did tribulation make him collapse, but rather it drew him to prayer and to petition; nor did ease make him sluggish, but even then he is prepared for thanksgiving. *The righteous wait for me, until Thou recompense me.* Another [version says]: *The righteous shall be crowned when Thou bestowest benefits upon me.* What is this? Even the righteous, he says, will benefit from this. For they too shall be gladdened, they shall rejoice, they shall exult, seeing my deliverance from evils. For such are the souls of the saints; they both suffer with those who are faring badly, and they do not envy those who are faring well, but they even rejoice, and rejoice with, and delight in those who are benefited. Which also Paul commanded, saying, *To rejoice with them that rejoice, and to weep with them that weep.* This is no small virtue. For many even delight in those who are fallen, and envy those who are rising, begetting both passions from much cruelty and inhumanity. But not so the righteous; rather, C being delivered from both this wickedness and that, and being merciful and kind, they acquire these virtues. As therefore those people suffer both from cruelty, so these from kindness—both by suffering with [others] they grieve, and by rejoicing with [others] they fare well. But why did he say, *Until Thou recompense me*? The one [version] says: *When Thou bestowest benefits upon me.* And the others: *When Thou shalt recompense and reward me.* And yet above he spoke of tribulation and humiliation, not of achievements, and [not] the boldness that comes from works. But instead of what does he seek a recompense? Instead of the days of his humiliation. For even this is no small achievement: to bear tribulation with thanksgiving. Therefore he also calls the reward that comes afterward a recompense. Therefore, let not us either be distraught in tribulations, but let us pray not to enter into temptation; and what comes upon us, let us accept. For we put aside both the sins that exist, and if we have any righteousness, that too we work to be more brilliant. And Job shows this, having shone more brilliantly then. This is a good thing also in bodies; this is not only in men, but also in irrational creatures; not only in irrational creatures, but also in plants. Because of this, even the vine-dressers do not allow the vines to grow luxuriant beyond measure, nor other trees, but they prohibit the growth toward the front, with the pruning-knife turning all its power into the root, so that it may not, having been consumed in the leaves, produce fruit that is perishing. Which also happens in the case of men. For the effort being consumed on superfluous things, the soul becomes more feeble toward producing the fruit of piety ripe and flourishing. This one might see also regarding waters. For that which is standing and stagnant is harmful; but that which is moved and drawn out and diverted, is not only wholesome, but also pleasant to see and to touch and to drink. Often also tribulation has conquered nature. For this that is downward-tending and flowing, being squeezed, is shot forth towards the upward movement. Which indeed also happens in the case of men. For those who easily bear tribulations are made higher, even if they are very earth-bound, and very earthly, and lowly; they gain great things from it. Knowing these things, then, let us bear with thanksgiving the evils brought upon us, that those [future things] may also become easier for us, and we may attain the good things to come; of which may it be that we all be deemed worthy, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power unto the ages of the ages. Amen.
CONCERNING PSALM CXLII
1. *Lord, hear my prayer.* 1. It is true that prayer is also petition by words, but there is also the [promise]. For this reason also a certain wise...
man exhorts, saying, *Do not repeat a word in your prayer* (Ecclus. 7:15). He does not, however, exhort us not to repeat the same things when we ask and entreat God; let that be far from us, for we are commanded to persevere in prayer; but rather that we should not delay when we have promised something to God, and that we should be quick to fulfill it. And therefore he says elsewhere, *Do not delay to pay your vow* (Eccles. 5:4). For the future is uncertain, and matters happening against one’s expectation might prevent it. For if death comes and interrupts, you will receive no pardon. He calls petition and supplication "prayer" here; and therefore he added, to signify this very thing, *Give ear to my supplication in your truth.* Another [translator] says, *In your faith.* Another, *In your firmness* A. That is: "Grant my petition and cause it to attain its result, confirming it with your truth; use your power to fulfill the things I ask."
But let us see what kind of petition this is. Among men, when anyone offers a supplication, those who receive it consider this: if it is just and lawful, it is heard.
But among men, indeed, supplication is made for honors, dignities, and money, and often even so that injury may be prevented; but others ask for things that are beyond the power of judges to grant. We, however, supplicate for the forgiveness of sins, and we come to supplication then, when the internal judge—I mean our conscience—has not forgiven us, which urges and torments us. For it is not in its power to grant forgiveness. B And just as no one dares to approach an Emperor about a torn garment or for ten obols stolen, so you also, and indeed far more, must take care not to approach God for vile and worthless things—as, for example, if someone has done you an injury regarding money, or if someone has insulted you—but [rather] in those things in which the devil injures you; there, especially, is need of help from above.
But do you not have someone to take care of you and offer your supplication? When the King proceeds, address him, and seek a suitable time. When, therefore, does the King proceed? Always and perpetually. When is the time suitable? When you wish, when you have prepared yourself to be worthy. The Jews were indeed commanded to stand in the valley when they appeared before God, to wear white garments, and to have no congress with a wife (Exod. 19:12, 14-15); do you, however, cleanse your soul instead of garments, and approach with moderation, gentleness, and complete quiet, and go to the King if you truly wish to obtain what you ask for. Pilgrimage does not require great expense; take virtue as your provisions for the journey. And where does this King dwell? *Near those who are of a contrite heart.* Walk in that path. *The Lord is near to all who call upon him in truth* (Ps. 144:18). There you will find him, there you will address him. He is near those who break bread for the hungry and dispense alms. If you come by this path, you will find him ready, granting your petition. For while you are still speaking, I will say, *Behold, I am here* (Isa. 58:9); and there will be no need for an intercessor, but through yourself you will obtain what you ask.
*Exaudi me in tua justitia.* What are you doing, O man? You are about to say further down, *Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living shall be justified in your sight* (v. 2); and here do you ask to be heard as it is just? What is it, therefore, that is said?
He calls mercy "justice" here, and in many places of Scripture it can be seen that justice is taken for mercy, and rightly so. For among men, indeed, justice is deprived of mercy; but not so with God, for mercy is also intermixed with justice, and to such a degree that even justice itself is called mercy. Consider, therefore, how great was the mercy in the flood, C and how great, in turn, the justice. For even if those who were sinning then paid penalties, they did not pay what they had deserved. For do not look to the mass of waters for me, nor to the multitude of days during which the shipwreck of the flood lasted, nor to the orb of the earth which was then an abyss. For what does this matter to those who perished? These things can indeed strike heavy fear; but they bring no punishment to those who are dead. For how would those be punished who do not sense what is happening? For whom the destruction was but a brief moment of time, and they suffered a death brief and very light, and easier than fire, and sword, and the noose, and tortures, and far less painful? Why, therefore, did they have the appearance of punishment rather than the experience of what was happening? Those who had committed such things throughout their whole life, up to extreme old age, paid penalties in the briefest moment of time, if indeed the debt of nature is to be called punishment.
Do you wish to see [his mercy] elsewhere? For he did not inflict it immediately, but once and twice and many times he forewarned of it. For he spoke to them through the ark; and they did not cease even then, although there was no need for any warning to be made to wickedness. But nature did not teach them either, but [they behaved] like swine, or rather more obscene than any swine, when they corrupted one another and had torn up the laws of nature from their very roots, and had yielded to no persuasion nor to any counsel, and had gained no benefit from the proximity of a just man; they paid penalties in a brief moment of time, or rather, they were snatched from destruction and freed from punishment. For to do such things is much more grievous than to be snuffed out in a brief moment of time. Is this, therefore, tell me, punishment—to free those who were corrupted by vices and were living in a wicked and nefarious manner together, and were bringing disgrace upon one another and being disgraced, from such an end? D Therefore, shall we not call the physician who cuts away putrid limbs someone who punishes the body, but rather accept him as kind and humane; but shall we not admire the wisdom and mercy of God much more, who punishes his own in that manner? One must indeed admire him and glorify him perpetually: but on this account let us never cease to be amazed at his providence, nor let us stop praising him for these things, because he made the cutting short, and curtailed the law, and
applied an painless healing. Let not this therefore disturb you, that they were all suddenly overwhelmed. For what does this differ from [dying] little by little? What does it profit the one who has departed to be alone, or what harm is it to him to be with all? "Give ear to me in thy righteousness," that is, in thy loving-kindness. Because he means this, he added: "And enter not into judgment with thy servant." This Job also asks, being just, and true, and God-fearing, and abstaining from every evil deed: "Would that there were one discerning and arguing between us both," saying; and when God appeared, "I will lay my hand upon my mouth": even though God was challenging him and saying: "Nay, but gird up thy loins like a man" (Job 38. 3; 40. 2). And he reproaches the Jews with this, saying: "What wrong did your fathers find in me, that your rulers have acted wickedly toward me?" (Jer. 2. 5). He does this not wishing to render the sentence more severe, but to bring them to a realization and confession of their own sins, and then to grant the forgiveness, so that they might thus see the magnitude of the benefit. Therefore he says, "Speak thou thy transgressions first; not that thou mayest be condemned, but that thou mayest be justified" (Is. 43. 26). For this reason He does not even speak them himself, but prepares him to do so. For if He wished to punish, He Himself would have accused; but now, since He wishes to show mercy, He yields to the one who has sinned, so that he may receive a crown for his good judgment, and through confession draw forth mercy. What could be equal to this loving-kindness? Nothing. Say it, he says, and I seek nothing more; confess, and it suffices for me; say it, and I have all.
"Enter not into judgment with thy servant." This has been attained by many because God is about to judge. For the sensible ones know this even before this; but the senseless know it from the prophets saying continually, "The Lord has a judgment against his people, and he will enter into judgment with Israel" (Mich. 6. 2); and again, "Hear, ye ravines and foundations of the earth" (Ibid. 1. 1?); and, "Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth." From the fact then that he is continually said to judge, it was attained even among the senseless. For some of the Jews said: "Why is it that we have fasted, and thou didst not look?" and, "Every one that does evil is good before the Lord"; and, "They who do evil are built up, and we count strangers blessed" (Mal. 3. 15); and, "The way of the Lord is not right" (Ezech. 33. 17). And the blessed Job, when he fell into that temptation, did not speak from such an opinion as the Jews, nor such things—God forbid—but nevertheless he said: "Would that there were a mediator, and one who might discern and argue between us both." "Let him remove his rod from me, and let not his fear terrify me" (Job 9. 33, 34). And therefore he says to him, "I will ask thee, and you answer me" (Job 42. 4). Then when he was struck with fear, and said, "Why do I yet judge while being instructed and rebuked by the Lord?"—and he says this. And again, "By the hearing of the ear I heard of thee before, but now my eyes have seen thee; therefore I have despised myself, and have wasted away; and I have considered myself earth and ashes" (Job 42. 5, 6). "I will lay my hand upon my mouth" he says to him, "Nay, but gird up thy loins like a man," as if he were reminding him of his own words and saying: "Since you wished to be judged with me, behold I am present to be judged." You see the ineffable loving-kindness of God, you see the goodness that has no limit? For this reason also the three children said: "We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wrong" (Dan. 3. 29). For since many of the senseless attribute their own sins to God, the devil having contrived this, God, pulling up this custom by the root, speaks continually of entering into judgment with them.
3. Such a thing, then, the first-formed also sinned; therefore he said: "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me, and I did eat" (Gen. 3. 12). And the Jews also committed many such sins. "For in thy sight no man living shall be justified." What then do I mean, myself and this person and that, he says? "There is no man upon the earth who, when judged against the things promised by thee, can be justified": so abundantly are the victories with thee. "For the enemy has persecuted my soul." This can be understood as having been said also for Saul, being an enemy, and even then pursuing him; and it is possible also according to anagoge to call the enemy the devil: for he does not cease persecuting those who belong to God. How then might we be delivered from being persecuted? If we should find a place where he cannot enter. And what, he says, is this place? And what other is it but heaven? How then is it possible to ascend into heaven? Hear Paul saying and showing that even entangled in flesh we are able to dwell there: "Set your mind on the things that are above," he says, "where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God" (Col. 3. 1). And again: "But our citizenship exists in heaven" (Phil. 3. 20). "He hath humbled my life to the earth." The word "humiliation" signifies many things. For there is also a humiliation of virtue, as when he says: "A broken and humbled heart God will not despise" (Ps. 50. 19). There is also a humiliation from calamities; there is also one from sins. Here, however, he speaks of that from calamities. Therefore he also added this, showing it: "He hath humbled my life to the earth." There is also a humiliation from pride, as when he says, "He who exalts himself shall be humbled" (Luc. 18. 14). There is also another humiliation, that which comes from insatiable greed. For what is more abject and humble than those who bury themselves in wealth and power and glories? For those of this kind are doubly humble: because they are dragged along the ground, and because they count these things great, just as small children count marbles and balls and such playthings as great. But this is not a sign that those things are great, but that the mind of those who admire them is imperfect and humble. But that is a defect of age and nature; this, however, is a crime of choice. For being a man…
… A For if one is in darkness, it is possible for him to do something by lighting a lamp, yet wishing to show the intensity of the evils, by adding the name of the dead, he has increased the tragedy. Such are those who live in sins. For they are so as if dead in darkness; although they may carry numberless lamps, although they may look toward the sun, although they may appear cheerful and happy from their garments and other outward displays, they are in no better, or rather, in a worse condition than those who are dead and acting in darkness; inasmuch as the former is a natural state, but this is a fault of the will. And there is the darkness that is to come, of which he says: "Bind him, and cast him into the outer darkness" (Matt. XXII, 13). There is also the darkness of vice. "Sitting," he says, "in darkness and the shadow of death" (Luke I, 79). And Paul says: "We are not sons of darkness" (I Thess. V, 5). And again: "They became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (Rom. I, 21).
For this reason, just as those who dwell in darkness do not know the nature of things, so also those who live in sins are blinded, and do not discern the things that appear, but run toward shadows as if toward the truth, pursuing wealth and luxuries and powers, and they do not know friends or enemies; trusting those who are enemies as if they were friends, and fighting with friends as if they were enemies. Do you not see the poor crying out and wailing every day, and yet heard by no one? Why do they not hear? Because the devil has "put them in dark places, as those that have been long dead" (Ps. CXLIII, 3). For what is darkness and the condition of death to others, this is inhumanity to them. Sitting in darkness means not seeing the evils that are approaching them. This also happens to those who do not see the calamities that are situated right next to them, and they are thrown into pits and trenches and precipices. Those who sit in darkness are allowed to dare shameful things with full impunity. And those who live wickedly do this, as if they were sitting in darkness, and as if there were no man who could see what is happening, they commit everything with impunity, doing evil deeds in the middle of cities as if in a wilderness.
4. And those who sit in darkness are in perpetual fear; so too are these. For no greedy or grasping person is free from fear, however much he may vaunt himself insolently and from the outside show a face of rejoicing. For such is the nature of a mind with a bad conscience. And they were previously deprived of all excuse, but now even more so, because although the sun of righteousness has shone forth, they still sit in darkness. And how, when the sun has shone, do they sit in darkness? Because of the weakness of their eyes. For when they have buried themselves in caves, sewers, and pits of vice, because of the weakness of their eyes they cannot gaze upon the rays. B "And my spirit was anxious within me; my heart within me was troubled." Another says, "And my soul was turned around within me." Once again, he shows the ultimate affliction through the turmoil of the soul. But what is "within me"? That I could not even tell others, and receive consolation from them. Such are the souls of the wicked; they are never not troubled, not only while there are present evils, but also while evils are expected. There is never any tranquility for them, no security of mind, but they are troubled more than any sea: neither night nor day grants them a respite so that the storm might settle, but they are vexed on all sides; and even if there is no one to cause them annoyance, having an internal and domestic war, they enjoy neither the things they have already received, being torn and lacerated by the anxiety of those not yet arrived, worried about all matters, scrutinizing the possessions of everyone, considering how they will persuade one person, alarm another, entice one with flattering words, or compel another, and watch another, turning over in their own minds calumnies, purchases, sales, testaments, guarantees, usury, interest, and the dregs and filth of these evils—and when everything abounds for them, then they are most troubled. Look at that rich man who is most troubled when his land was most fertile, and he is in doubt and perplexed in mind, and says: "What shall I do? I will pull down my barns, and build greater" (Luke XII, 18). To the poor man, however, nothing of the sort happens.
5. "I remembered the days of old; I meditated on all your works." This is no small consolation, to know the past and the present. For since, to speak once, God administers both what is now and what was before by the same laws, the memory of the past is a great consolation for the present. And for this reason, in another Psalm he says: "Will the Lord reject for ever, or will he cut off his mercy to the end?" (Ps. LXXVII, 8–9). And another says: "Look at the ancient generations, and see who has hoped in the Lord, and been forsaken" (Ecclus. II, 11)? And Paul says: "All these things happened to them in a figure; written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." When we recall these things to mind, we gain profit. And the Apostle shows this, saying: "Call to mind the former days, in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great fight of afflictions" (Hebr. X, 32). And on the contrary: "What fruit therefore had you then in those things, of which you are now ashamed?" (Rom. VI, 21). And another wise man: "Remember your last end, and you shall never sin" (Ecclus. VII, 40). For even if this is future, it takes its beginning from the past, namely the common death. And this is what Paul also does with past and future C things, and when it is necessary to console, and when to correct: "I would not have you ignorant, brethren," he says, "that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all did eat the same spiritual meat; and with most of them God was not well pleased" (I Cor. X, 1–5).
And again from the things to come: "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (II Thess. I, 9). And again: "And the wrath came upon them to the end" (I Thess. II, 16). "For the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire" (I Cor. III, 13). And again: "For these things the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience" (Eph. V, 6). But when there is a need to correct, he uses these; yet when there is a need A to console, he consoles from both. From the past, saying thus: "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God" (II Cor. I, 3-4); and from the things to come: "For the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. VIII, 18).
Therefore he also says here, "I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all thy works." He did not say simply, "I remembered," but, "I meditated"; that is, I made it my work and took much meditation to unroll within myself the things that had happened to the ancients. For great consolation and philosophy come to us from the history of the Scriptures. Therefore also Paul said, "Through patience and comfort of the scriptures we have hope" (Rom. XV, 4). And again: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction" (II Tim. III, 16).
5. Being already comforted by this, even while he was in such great affliction and perturbation, by unrolling the past within himself and recalling the various ways God has governed affairs, he says, "And I meditated on all thy works. I meditated on the works of thy hands." He shows through this that by doing these things, he was reaping great consolation and was becoming more familiar with God. Therefore he added as well, indicating this, "I stretched forth my hands unto thee." He did not say, "I extended," but, "I stretched forth" (diapetasas), showing the great disposition of his heart, which was almost striving to leap out of the body and run to Him. Having thus become inspired by the memory of the mighty acts, and having reflected upon all His loving-kindness, and the instruction from calamities, and the freedom from being delivered, I fled to thee again. "My soul is as a dry land unto thee." Another says, "As a soul thirsting for thee always"—for this is what "Selah" means. He says: In troubles and in prosperity and in every variation of times I was displaying the same zeal. And what is, "As a dry land unto thee"? Just as earth thirsting for rain desires it, so do I desire to be continuously near thee. B Indeed, the weight of the afflictions especially intensified this desire; for which reason God let them grow, displaying His great providence. For He not only created all things, but also provides for them once they were created, as well as for men, and for all other things. This, then, Paul knew, also saying: "For in him we live, and move, and exist" (Acts XVII, 28). And again: "In him all things consist" (Col. I, 17). And David: "All wait upon thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are all filled with good; when thou hidest thy face, they are troubled" (Ps. CIII, 27–29). And again: "Who looketh on the earth, and maketh it tremble" (Ps. CIII, 32). And Isaiah: "Who holdeth the circle of the earth" (Isa. XL, 22). And concerning virtue: "Except the Lord," he says, "build the house, they labor in vain that build it" (Ps. CXXVI, 1). And again: "Who maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children" (Ps. CXII, 9). For this reason he also shakes the earth and makes the mountains smoke, touching them, showing his sovereignty. He darkens the sun, and it fails, again proclaiming through this His creation (Isa. LVIII).
Now see also the miracle in the Scriptures—the sun retrograding, and the moon standing still with it (Jos. X, 13), and many other miracles. For when the knowledge of Him was not yet extended, these things happened; but now there is no need for this teaching, as the facts themselves cry out and show the Lord. Have you seen darkness in Egypt, and changes of the elements? But if some say that the eclipse occurred naturally, and not because God commanded it—why, if it happened at the appointed time, did it happen when it did, especially at the time of the cross? It was not consistent, nor did it happen according to the course of nature, since it was the fourteenth day of the moon, and it was full; and eclipses do not happen that way. But they would not have any other explanation. C So it is clear that just as all other things happen by the command of the Creator, so too do all eclipses. "Hear me speedily, O Lord; my spirit faileth." What do you say? Are you urging the physician toward the healing? By no means; but this is also a custom for souls that are afflicted, just as it is for those humans who are suffering, to call upon the physicians even if the time does not demand it, and to bring in the release quickly. For this reason the same man, adding the cause, said: "My spirit faileth." Yet God is able to raise even from the dead, much more so before the end. But as I just said, the weakness of nature is proven by this. For he knew that everything was easy for Him, but he does not bear the weight of the evils. "Hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit." Another says, "Turn not thy face from me." And whence does the turning away happen? God Himself says through Isaiah: "Is my hand not powerful? But your sins separate between me and you" (Isa. LIX, 1–2). When, then, we do something wicked, He turns away. "For thy eye," he says, "is pure, so as not to see evil; and thou art not able to look upon labors" (Hab. I, 15). For this reason He turns away even the desperate. Wherefore he says: "Upon whom shall I look, but upon the meek and quiet man, and him that trembleth at my words?" Let us therefore pursue this virtue, so that we may know D
its face, lest we fall into the barathrum of vice, where dense darkness prevails. Those who have fallen are also able to ascend again. Therefore, it is necessary that those who have fallen do not remain lying upon the ground. A Since the nature of sin is a lake, we must always look to God and depend upon Him. B Now, the lake, in which there are savage beasts and which is full of darkness, is the nature of sin. Let us therefore lower the ropes of the Scriptures and bind our will; and if we should fall, let us quickly rise again. How, then, shall we begin to tread the path? If, when we have fallen, we do not grow contemptuous nor despair, but sing these prophetic songs to ourselves: "Shall he who falls not rise again?" (Jer. 8:4). And again: "Today if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the provocation" (Ps. 94:8-9); and by these thoughts let us draw ourselves up, bound as we are.
8. "Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning, for in thee have I hoped." Another says: "Cause me to hear thy mercy from the morning," that is, quickly. For it is necessary that he be heard before the ordeal, so that he may be raised up by hope and expectation. This is what he says: "Raise me up as thou hast promised," then he adds a just cause for obtaining it: "For in thee have I hoped." For God requires nothing so much as that we should always look to Him and depend perpetually upon Him. "Make known to me the way in which I should walk; for I have lifted up my soul to thee." What are you saying? While nature has a law implanted by God from the beginning, and the Mosaic laws renew it, what do you mean, saying again: "Make known to me, Lord, the way in which I should walk?" Therefore, this can be said: Since my conscience has been overwhelmed by vice, I ask that it be renewed. Or here he calls "way" many things which are unknown to men, as Paul also shows, saying: "For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought" (Rom. 8:26). If Paul is ignorant of this after such great knowledge, why do you wonder if this man also says it? See, moreover, that he does not seek anything sensible here, but the way that leads to God, and he himself provides the beginnings from within himself. For he did not say absolutely: "Make known to me, Lord, the way that leads to thee." But what? "For I have lifted up my soul to thee": this is, I depend on thee, I look to thee, I regard thee alone. C For to such men God offers the greatest knowledge of Himself. Wherefore He said concerning the Jews, when asked why He spoke to them in parables: "Seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear" (Matt. 13:13). The word "lifted up," moreover, signifies, "I have translated and transferred my soul to thee."
9. "Deliver me from mine enemies, O Lord, to thee have I fled." See how the one who asks brings forward reasons on every side. "Do not turn away," he says, "thy face from me; for in thee have I hoped. Make known to me thy way, for I have lifted up my soul to thee. Deliver me from mine enemies, for to thee have I fled." 10. "Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God." He did not say absolutely, "Teach me thy will," but, "Teach me to do thy will"; this is, lead me to the deeds themselves. For there is need of supernal help and heavenly doctrine, so that we may walk the way that leads to virtue: not by us living in idleness, but by our contributing what is our own. "For thou art my God." Do you see his spiritual petitions? For it is not a matter of money, power, and glory, but that he might do the will of God; which is indeed the treasure of all goods, and wealth that never fails, and the beginning, and the root of happiness, and the middle, and the end. "Thy good Spirit shall lead me into the right land." Do you see how we speak, how we are taught to complete the way, namely, through the Holy Spirit? And therefore Paul said: "But to us, God has revealed [them] through His Spirit" (1 Cor. 2:10). "Into the right land." If you look at the wording indeed, he says his own fatherland; but if accepted anagogically, it is the way that leads to virtue. Another, however, says: "By a level land." For there is nothing lighter and more level than virtue, which is free from crowd and tumult.
11. "For thy name's sake, O Lord, thou shalt quicken me." Do you see him again fleeing to God, and not placing his confidence in his own life? Equity and justice for clemency and mercy. Prayer without work is useless. "In thy equity thou shalt bring my soul out of tribulation." Another says: "In thy mercy." Do you see how true it is, what I was saying above, that he often calls justice clemency? "Thou shall bring my soul out of tribulation." For "Pray," he says, "that you do not enter into temptation" (Mark 14:38). 12. "And in thy mercy thou shalt destroy all my enemies." I do not say, he says, because I am worthy, but because of thy clemency, deliver me from those who wage war against me, deliver me from those who lie in wait for me, so that I may breathe a little from affliction. "And thou shalt destroy all who afflict my soul, for I am thy servant." See here again the reason added. For we cannot absolutely obtain our requests, but it behooves us to prepare ourselves so that we are worthy to obtain the requests, and to contribute what is our own, and thus approach. For the nature of prayer alone does not suffice: for the Jews also prayed, and they heard: "Though you multiply prayers, I will not hear you" (Isa. 1:15). And why do you wonder if the Jews were not heard, when even Jeremiah, praying for them, is rebuked, and once and twice hears: "Do not pray for this people, for I will not hear you" (Jer. 7:16)? And why do you wonder if Jeremiah is not heard? Even if Noah, he says, even if Job, even if Daniel were standing, they would not deliver their sons and daughters (Ezek. 14:14-16). Knowing these things, therefore, let us not only pray, but with our prayers let us also compare ourselves so that we are worthy to receive, that we may obtain both the present and future goods; which may it be granted to us all to obtain, by the grace and clemency of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, for ever and ever. Amen.
ON PSALM CXLIII
1. Blessed be the Lord my God, who teaches my hands for battle, my fingers for war.
1. What are you saying? Is God a teacher of warfare, of fighting, and of battle array? Most certainly; nor would anyone be mistaken in attributing the victory in these matters to Him. For this is what “who teaches my hands” means: He is the one who causes me to overcome my enemies, to prevail, to set up a trophy. For when he struck down Goliath, He was the cause of the victory; and when he accomplished many wars and erected trophies, and captured certain enemy cities together with their inhabitants, He was the one who caused him to prevail. Therefore, singing, he said: “The Lord is strong and mighty, the Lord is mighty in war” (Ps. 82. 3) A. And in the time of Moses, too, He did many such things.
Yet there is also another war, more grievous than this, where we have the greatest need of help from above, when we are arrayed against the opposing powers. That we have a war against these, hear Paul saying: “For our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness of this age” (Eph. 6. 12). It is more grievous because the hosts are of a different nature, and that one invisible, and because the struggle is not about small matters, but about salvation and destruction. Here, one cannot see those who are being slaughtered, nor foresee the time, nor the difficulty, nor the place, nor anything else of that sort. For even in the marketplace, and at home, whether playing or relaxing, these hosts attack; so that one must be fortified and awake at all times. For this war knows no truce, nor does it have heralds, nor ambassadors, nor anything else of that kind, but the battle is unproclaimed; therefore, one must indeed be fortified on all sides and strongly nourished. The food for this war, and the weapons of such soldiers, is the hearing of the divine Scriptures. He who does not enjoy this wastes away from hunger. “For I will give them,” He says, “not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord” (Amos 8. 11).
Therefore, here too, just as in sensible wars, there is a need for help from above. “For a king is not saved by much power,” he says, “and a giant will not be saved in the multitude of his strength. A horse is a false thing for safety, and in the multitude of his power he will not be saved” (Ps. 32. 16, 17). Thus, indeed, many defeated their enemies, with prayers preceding them, which cast down the enemy hosts. “My mercy and my refuge, my helper and my deliverer.” Does he again ask to be saved from philanthropy? Or rather, he hints at something else here. For by this he shows and says that I would not even be worthy of mercy unless He himself inclined. “He himself is my mercy,” he says; I did not possess it by my works. For even if it is mercy, it does not come upon all without discrimination; for “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Rom. 9. 15). It is necessary, therefore, if we are to be shown mercy, to provide the starting points from within ourselves for such philanthropy. B Have you seen a contrite soul? Have you seen a grateful mind, and how he attributes everything to the philanthropic God? “My helper, and my deliverer, my protector, and I have hoped in Him.” Constantly he turns the hope which is in Him, teaching everyone not to be drowned by dire calamities, but even in the midst of misfortunes to be expectant there, and not to despair or be slack. For He himself is my helper and my deliverer. So that even if He does not help or deliver at the very first outbreak of calamities, one ought to be confident. For if He is the helper, He will deliver everyone from dire straits. For hope is especially present when, though visible things plunge one into despair, this hope prepares one to be confident regarding the future.
“Who brings my people into subjection under me.” He spoke well thus. For even here there is a need for help from above, so that subjects may yield, and not cause sedition, nor rise up. It is not, therefore, in the subjection of enemies and foes only, but also in that of one’s own people, that we have great need of help from above. For this also is a great thing, to manage one’s own people well, and it is no less than overcoming enemies. Many, indeed, have often set up trophies in wars, but in peace have been cut to pieces, not knowing how to hold the reins of those they ruled. It is not, therefore, in the power of the kingdom that the subjection of the camps consists, but in the help of God. And just as victories over enemies come from this, so also do the subjections of one’s own.
“O Lord, what is man, that Thou hast been made known to him? or son of man, that Thou considerest him?” Another says: "What is man, that Thou shouldst know him?" Another: "That You make Yourself known to him?" It is necessary, therefore, that he who is to know God be something great—or rather, he who is to be known by Him; and not only this one, but also that one to whom God is about to make Himself known. Therefore, the Seventy said most excellently, “Thou hast been made known to him,” showing that we did not find Him, but He was found. C For He did not say: What is man who has known You, but, What is man, that Thou hast been made known to him?
2. Therefore, Paul also constantly turns this up and down, saying: “Then I shall know even as I have been known” (1 Cor. 13. 12). And Christ Himself: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15. 16). And elsewhere Paul again: “If anyone loves God, this one is known by Him” (1 Cor. 8. 5). For this reason, he also constantly calls himself called up and down, showing that he did not run to Him, but was called first. Thus also he says elsewhere: “I press on, if I may lay hold, for which I was also laid hold of” (Phil. 3. 12). He did not say, I laid hold, but, “I was laid hold of.” How, then, does he say here, “What is man?” And yet another says: “Man is great, and a merciful man is precious” (Prov. 20. 6). And another: “In the image of God He made him” (Gen. 1. 27). For he received the stewardship of the entire creation. But there are some, of whom the... D
heretical children are so maddened, that they overstep their own measures and suffer from the ultimate ignorance, professing to know things that are above themselves; for there is ignorance *in* knowledge, and knowledge *in* ignorance; and, if you wish, let us test this on sensible things. Tell me, I pray, if someone were to say he could measure the sea and know how many gallons it contains, is he not the one who most of all is ignorant of what the sea is? But the one who says he does not know, yet asserts that its number is infinite, is the one who best knows what the sea is. What follows, then, regarding God? A If someone says, “I have seen God,” and “I have apprehended Him with my eyes,” is he not the one who most of all does not know God? For he calls that which is invisible visible, and, by the addition of knowledge, he even strips away that which can be [truly] held. But if someone were to say that He is not under the gaze, and that no one can see Him, is he not the one who knows best? And what if one were to say that He is incomprehensible, but another says He is comprehensible; is not the one [who says He is incomprehensible] the one who is ignorant, while the other is the one who knows? Do you not see that Paul also follows this path, saying, *We know in part and we prophesy in part* (1 Cor. 13. 9)? Consider how many and how great the things are that have been done, so that we might learn, not what the substance of God is, but *that* God is. This, therefore, is what Paul says: *For it is necessary for the one approaching God to believe that He is* (Heb. 11. 6). All creation proclaims this: *“For from the greatness,”* he says, *“and the beauty of created things, the Creator is known by proportion”* (Wis. 13. 5), as well as the very constitution of man, the honors given by Him, the punishments, the benefits, the plans for governing [the world] which were predicted through the prophets, and the various miracles. After these, the Only-Begotten Himself came and fulfilled that marvelous and awesome economy. And yet there are some who have not yet learned what is manifest, and you say that you can, by your own reasoning, comprehend what His substance is? “Do you then ignore God?” he says. *Far from it;* but I know indeed that He is, and I know that He is kind, good, and merciful, provident, and caring for all things, and whatever else the Scriptures have said; B but what the substance of God is, I do not know. Even Adam thought he could find more, being persuaded by the devil, and he lost even what he had. This is what also happens to these men, while they are led by human reasonings and do not listen to the Lord giving wisdom, *and from His face are knowledge and understanding* (Prov. 2. 6). They do not listen to Paul saying, *God has revealed them to us through the Spirit* (1 Cor. 2. 10), and *destroying reasonings and every height that sets itself against the knowledge of God* (2 Cor. 10. 5). And another wise man says, *The reasonings of mortals are timid and their inventions are unstable* (Wis. 9. 14).
Yet, I do not even say this to express that infinite magnitude; or rather, not even when I say *that*, am I speaking in a manner worthy of God; but I know not how I should speak, for not even if we call Him “great” do we speak properly. But since we cannot speak otherwise, I have used such words as were permitted. For when I call Him the Highest, I do not circumscribe Him in a place, but I show the height and majesty of His nature, which is diffused everywhere and pervades all things. And for this reason it says, *What is man, that You have made Yourself known to him?* For He made him humble, and bestowed great things upon him, lest he be exalted, since the vileness of nature brings a great necessity to behave with moderation. *Or the son of man, that You account him?* Have you seen how great the majesty of God’s nature is? C *Man has been made like to vanity* (Ps. 143. 4). Another interpreter, however, said *to vapor*. Vanity, however, signifies nothing else than that he is frail, temporary, and of short life. In this place, it deals with the body. And for that reason Abraham said, *“But I am earth and ashes”* (Gen. 18. 27); and Isaiah, *“All flesh is grass, and all its glory as the flower of grass”* (Is. 40. 6). What is, *“Has been made like to vanity”*? To nothing, he says: for of human affairs, nothing is firm or stable, but all things pass away and run on. *His days pass away like a shadow;* that is, not even when they are present do they have any force, but they fly away quickly.
3. And consider this in the affairs of these men themselves, in those who are thought to be in offices, who are carried in chariots, who exercise magistracies, who cast into prison and scourge. For how do those men differ from a shadow, not only at the time of death, but even before death? For whenever they lay down their magistracies, all those things utterly perish and fly away: but true things are those [that exist] after we depart from here; then the true account will be rendered, and true will be the punishments and the good things likewise; and the Judge is He who can be deceived the least. The things that happen here are like children playing. For he who judges today is judged tomorrow, and frequent and numerous are the changes of things, and the crossings-over are unequal.
*“O Lord, incline Your heavens and descend. Touch the mountains and they shall smoke”* (Ps. 143. 5). Another says, *“When You inclined Your heavens and descended and touched the mountains, they smoked.”* And what is this sequence of words? Great, indeed, and which coheres strongly with what came before. For since he spoke about human vileness and showed how man is by nature nothing, here he again restrains and represses the arrogance of the puffed-up through the things he subjoined, saying essentially this: It was necessary indeed for them to perceive from themselves the vileness of nature, and not to be pleased with themselves or to assume a lofty spirit; but since they do not, show through Your deeds to what great humility their affairs have been returned.
*“O Lord, incline Your heavens and descend.”* He says this, not because God descends—for how would He descend, who is present everywhere?—but so that through such human expressions D He might strike the duller [minds] of the hearers, and discourse about things that are more human. Since...
the touch, even if it seems a great thing, is yet far inferior to the dignity of God. For God has no need of touch to make the mountains smoke—nay, not even of a nod, but only of His will and purpose. Having then spoken concerning the lowliness of man, he speaks also concerning the power of God, as it is possible for a man to speak; for even these things fall far short of that majesty. A *Flash forth lightning and scatter them; send forth your arrows and trouble them.* By lightning here and arrows, he does not mean this physical lightning, nor these [physical] arrows, but he calls punishments by these names, persuading the scorner and the one who has grown lax, from things already known, to tremble, fear, and submit. For if one cannot endure lightning, even though it is not sent for punishment, if He should wish to stir up His punishing power, who shall stand? And the arrows of God are famines, and pestilences, and thunderbolts, and manifold punishments. B *Send forth your hand from on high; deliver me, and rescue me out of many waters, from the hand of strange children.* For the power of God is prepared not only to punish, but also to save. By hand here, he means help and alliance; wherefore he did not say, *Extend*, but *Send forth*, indicating this: if he also says anywhere, *Extend*, it hints at the same thing again. And by waters he calls the disorderly, confused, incursion of the enemies, which is carried along with great force. That the discourse is not about water is clear from what follows: *From the hand*, he says, *of strange children.* It seems to me that he calls *strange children* here those who are estranged from the truth. For just as we account the faithful as our own and as brothers, so do we account the unbelievers as strangers; and by this especially we recognize the kinsman and the stranger. For he is a kinsman who subscribes to the same Father as I and partakes of the same table, rather than he who is a kinsman by birth; for this law of kinship is more precise, just as the estrangement from those who are of opposite [convictions] is plainer than that which is by birth. Do not, therefore, look at this, that we are under the same heaven and inhabit the same world; for I seek another communion, and one above the heaven. There is our citizenship and our life: *For our life*, he says, *is hidden with Christ in God* (Col. 3:3). For we do not dwell upon the earth, but have migrated to the city above. We have another true light, another fatherland, and other citizens and kinsmen. Wherefore Paul also said: *Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens of the saints* (Eph. 2:19). How then, he says, did Christ call the Samaritan a neighbor, even though there was a great distance [between them]? But not according to the law of nature. When, therefore, it is necessary to show kindness, let every man be near to you; but when the word of truth is to be exercised, recognize who is your own and who is a stranger. Even if you have a brother by the same father and mother, and he does not communicate with you according to the law of the truth, let him be to you more barbarous than a Scythian; and even if he be a Scythian or a Sauromatian, if he knows the precision of the doctrines and believes this which you yourself believe, he is more akin and nearer than he who released the same birth-pangs with you; and let us distinguish the barbarian and the one who is not such from this, not from the language, nor from the lineage, but from the judgment and the soul. C For this is most truly a human being, when he possesses the precision of doctrines and a philosophic life.
4. But let us see henceforth how the prophet describes these strangers, saying: *Rescue me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity.* Do you see whom he calls strangers? Those who live in wickedness, those who love iniquity, those who utter foolish things, those who say nothing useful. Recognize then the strangers from their mouth, from their works; just as Christ also says: *From their fruits you shall know them* (Matt. 7:16). For just as in military camps many watchwords and signs are given, so that if ever a battle should occur by night, or dust should arise to obscure the night, or any other confusion and disturbance should take place, someone may not see his own as an enemy, nor the opponent as his own; so also here the prophet gives you watchwords, through which you will be able to recognize the kinsman and the stranger, such as from what he utters, from what he does, saying: *Whose mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity.* For even now there is war and combat, and a most grievous night-battle, with demons attacking, with desires plotting, with reasonings rising up. There are among those initiated watchwords and symbols; and if we should wish, being in doubt whether someone is uninitiated or initiated, we learn by asking these things. D *Their right hand is a right hand of iniquity.* What then could be more grievous than this, when we turn to plotting that which was given for help? For we have right hands for this purpose, that we may defend both ourselves and others who are wronged, that we may destroy lawlessness, that we may become a harbor and a refuge for those who are oppressed. What excuse, therefore, could they have who do not use this weapon for the salvation of others, but for their own destruction? *O God, I will sing a new song to you.* What is this sequence again? Great, in fact, even here. Since he said, *Send forth your hand*, and, *Deliver me*, and, *Scatter them*, he promises also to repay the Author of his alliance with a reward, which brings no advantage to Him, but brings profit to the one offering the reward. What is this? *O God, I will sing a new song to you.* And if this is a small thing compared to the magnitude of the benefit, yet it is what he possessed. Since we also, from the poor and those who possess nothing, seek nothing else but praise and gratitude. But we [seek it] that we may become more radiant; but God [asks for it], not because He has need, but that He may make the singers themselves more radiant, and by this again may benefit them. *Upon a psaltery of ten strings I will sing to you*; that is, I will give you thanks. But at that time there were instruments through which they offered their songs; now, however, instead of instruments, it is possible to use the body. For it is possible to sing through the eyes, not only through the tongue, and through the hands, and through the feet, and through the hearing. For when each of these
EXPOSITION ON PSALM CXLIV
to make those who sing it more brilliant, and by that means to bestow a benefit upon them again. *In a psaltery of ten strings I will sing to thee*; that is, I will give thee thanks. But then truly there were instruments through which songs were emitted; now, however, instead of instruments, we can use the body. For we can sing not just with the tongue, but with the eyes, with the hands, with the feet, and with the ears. For when each of these does those things which bring glory and honor to God—namely, when the eye does not look licentiously, when the hands extend not to rapine but to almsgiving, when the ears are prepared to receive psalms and spiritual discourses, when the feet run to the church, when the heart constructs no guile but is full of love—the limbs of the body become a psaltery and a cithara, and they sing a new song, not by words alone, but by the deeds themselves. For it is not the multitude of soldiers nor satellites and bodyguards A that are accustomed to save, but the help of God. *Who redempit*, he says, *David his servant*. Speaking in common, he now speaks of himself, and he does not say, "Who hath redeemed," but, "Who redeems," showing His perpetual providence. After praying and suppliants requesting to be liberated from wicked men, he says thus: 11. *Rescue me from the malignant sword, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth hath spoken vanity, and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity.*
12. *Whose sons are as new plantations in their youth.* He describes here worldly prosperities and riches; and he places first that which is primary: having children who are flourishing and exulting in their youth, and of both sexes. He therefore added: *Their daughters are adorned, embellished as the likeness of a temple.* Here, along with youth, he shows much luxury, he describes their ribbons and womanly adornment, things which indeed arise from great prosperity. Then, what seems to be secondary, though perhaps it is now primary, he describes riches again, saying: *From this to that.* What is, *Eructantia ex hoc in illud* (pouring forth from this to that)? Narrow storehouses, he says, cannot contain the riches. *Their sheep are fruitful, abundant in their goings forth. 14. Their oxen are fat.* This also did not seem to be a small happiness. For among the ancients, riches were situated in these things—in herds, flocks, and seeds—before today’s sloth and softness were invented. *There is no ruin of the wall, nor passage.* This is: In cultivating fields, great care, diligence, and study are applied, since the fruits are luxuriant, the hedges stand, the vineyard is planted and fortified on all sides. *Nor crying in their streets.* Another says: *In their courtyards.* Another kind of prosperity, but not acquired with whatever wealth: namely, peace, tranquility, and security; no one who lays snares, no one who wages war, but neither any tumult, nor perturbation. 15. *They have called the people blessed that hath these things.* Blessed is the people whose God is the Lord. B Have you seen the virtue of the man? After he brought up all riches, and pursued them with words, and then brought forth the judgment of the common people concerning them, nothing human happens to him, nor does he judge them to be blessed who possess these things, but, passing all these by, he extends his blessedness to the true treasure. Others, he says, have called those blessed who have these things: but I judge the people blessed, *whose God is the Lord*: by this one thing showing all happiness, all plenteousness of good things, all wealth. For those things flow past and pass away, but this blessedness remains perpetually; while, instead of sheep, children, oxen, a fence, and a vineyard, the blessedness of God is destined to be riches, security, and an inexpugnable wall. When therefore you hear these things, let none of you be perturbed by them, but, passing by the shadows, apprehend the truth. For he said previously that man is like to vanity, and his days pass away as a shadow. If, therefore, you see some who abound in all these things living in wickedness, even if the whole world judges them blessed, you judge them to be unhappy and miserable; but those who have dedicated themselves to God, deem them happy and blessed. Let us all seek those riches that are always ours, and this blessedness, so that we may obtain both present and future good things, by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and empire, into the ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CXLIV
*I will exalt thee, my God, O King; and I will bless thy name for ever, and for ever and ever.*
1. This Psalm is worthy of being attended to with care. For it consists of those words which those who are initiated into our mysteries sing assiduously, saying: *The eyes of all hope in thee, and thou givest them their food in due season* (v. 15). For he who has been made a son, and enjoys the spiritual table, would C fittingly bring glory to his father. *A son*, he says, *honoreth his father, and a servant his master* (Mal. i, 6). You have been made a son, and you enjoy the spiritual table, eating the flesh and blood of Him who regenerated you: therefore render thanks for such a benefit, and bring glory and honor to Him who provided these things, and when reading the words, compose your mind to those things which are being said; and when you say, *I will exalt thee, my God, my King*, show great familiarity and conjunction, so that God may also say of you, as He did of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: *I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob* (Exod. iii, 6). For if you say, *My God* and *my King*, and do not say it with your voice alone, but also show this love, He Himself will also say these things of you: *My servant and my famulus*—which was also said concerning Moses. *And I will bless thy name for ever, and for ever and ever.* Have you seen how he shows the preludes of the future life? But he shows a blessing here, not one that is made through words, but one through the deeds themselves. So therefore D [[alt-version omitted]]
A it is of a devout soul to be released from the affairs of life and to be dedicated to hymns. For it would be shameful for the rational man, who is more precious than all visible things, to be inferior to creation in the matter of praise; and not only shameful, but also absurd. How is it not absurd, since it [creation] sends up a doxology to the Master every day and every hour? For the heavens, he says, declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands. Day to day pours forth a word, and night to night declares knowledge. The sun and the moon, and the varied choir of the stars, and the good order of all other things, declare their own Creator. He, therefore, who is more precious than all these things, if he does not do this, but even provides a life whereby blasphemy is rubbed against the God who fashioned him, of what forgiveness will such a man be worthy? Or what defense will he have, when he was brought into being so that he might please the philanthropic God and enjoy the kingdom of the future, yet he does not take much thought for this, but wraps himself in worldly dealings and cares? But not so this man, but through his whole life he offered praise to God—the praise through words and the praise through deeds. For we are debtors to him for many things: that he made us when we were not, that he fashioned us such as we are, that he sustains us now that we have come into being, and that every day he provides for us—both generally and individually, both secretly and openly, and for those who know and those who do not know. B For what could one say regarding the things seen, which he made for our sake? The service they provide, the fashioning of the body, the nobility of the soul, his daily governance, that which is through wonders, that which is through laws, that which is through punishments, his varied and incomprehensible providence, the sum of all good things—that he did not even spare his Only-Begotten for our sake, the blessings already given through baptism, through the mysteries, the blessings yet to be given, those ineffable good things, the kingdom, the resurrection, the lot full of all blessedness? For if anyone recounts each of these, he will fall into an ineffable sea of benefits, and will see how many things he is beholden for to the philanthropic God; and not for these things only, but also for the majesty of his glory, for his uncorrupted essence. For indeed, for this too, praise, and blessing, and continuous thanksgiving, and worship, and constant service are owed to him by us. Making this very thing known, the prophet says, *Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised; and of his greatness there is no end.* Since he said, “I will bless and I will praise,” he shows that he has no need of the praises from us, nor of the blessings, nor is anything added to his glory by the praise of those served by him. For his essence is uncorrupted and, being in need of nothing, requires nothing else. But those who praise him become brighter themselves. And not only for this, but also because of the excellence of his glory, praise is owed to him by us. Wherefore, making this known, he said, *Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised;* that is, needing nothing. What is, *Highly to be praised*? Deserving of benedictions, of encomiums, and of hymns; not simply, “praiseworthy,” but also, “highly.” Therefore he added this; and since he could not express how much he is to be praised, he added, C *And of his greatness there is no end*; which another interpreter translated as, "Finding." And what he says is of this sort: Since you have a great Master, be also you exalted, and be released from the affairs of life. Take a frame of mind superior to the humility of present things, not so that you might become deranged and arrogant, but so that you might be great-spirited and great-minded. For arrogance is one thing, and greatness of soul is another. For the arrogant man is he who boasts in little things and looks down upon his fellow slaves; but he who is noble in his mind, and who considers the phantasms of the present life to be nothing, is high-minded.
2. Where now are those who say they know God just as he knows himself? Let them hear the prophet saying, *Of his greatness there is no end*, and let them be ashamed of their own madness. *Generation and generation shall praise your works.* That which is his custom to do, he does here as well. For when he has marveled at his greatness and his glory, he comes also to the demonstration of his works. He does the same thing here, and says, D *Generation and generation shall praise your works*, showing his greatness from his works. That is to say, it did not happen in one time only and pass away, nor in two or three years, but it extends over this entire present age, so that each generation may contemplate his handiwork. For this is what *Generation and generation* means: the generation that is, he says, and the one that is to come, and the one after that, and the one after that again, and each of those that follow; and again, creation itself extends over this time in a similar way—for example, heaven, earth, sea, air, lakes, fountains, rivers, seeds, plants, herbs, and the benefit derived from these, the course of nature which is never interrupted, rains, vicissitudes dancing continuously, night, day, sun, moon, the stars, and all other things. Furthermore, those things apart from these, which also come to be in each generation, both individually and collectively, for correction and for the benefit of the common race of all men, such as the wonders that happened to the Jews continuously, the signs, the providence in times of plenty, in victories in wars, in all other things, such as in the presence of Christ, in the time of the apostles, in the time of persecutions—things far more numerous and greater than the ancient ones in magnitude, such as in our own generation. For there is no time, even apart from these common things, that does not bear a sign of his providence. *And they shall declare your power.* And through the benefits, he says, and through the punishments. For God does not cease in every way from governing the things concerning our nature through all time.
Thus, He does not just punish; for even if He occasionally applies the test, He does so due to the great insensibility of those being corrected, through fear. He delights in these things, and even when He carries them out, He brings them forth not only for the worthy, but also for the unworthy.
A 7. Since He varies our salvation, He now does these things, now those, but more often the latter. For He does not desire even those things, but rather these, since He does not wish to carry out the threat of Gehenna, so as not to have to inflict it. For He prepared Gehenna for the devil: "Go," He says, "into the fire which has been prepared for the devil" (Matt. 25:41), but the kingdom for men, showing that He does not want to thrust men into Gehenna. B "The Lord is compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and full of mercy. The Lord is sweet to all, and His mercies are over all His works." You see the prophet dwelling on these better things and using more expansive speech. For he knows well that the wealth of God consists mostly in these. For it would not have been possible to be saved, had His clemency not been great; it would not have been possible to remain, had we not experienced His great goodness. And therefore He said: "I am He who blots out your iniquities, and I stood for you in your sins." "The Lord is compassionate and merciful" (Isa. 43:25). See how He shows His ineffable clemency. C For He does not only have mercy on those who sin, but He also shows another kind of clemency that is not small—namely, gentleness and patience—so that they might come to repentance, and through His clemency, be saved also by their own zeal and effort, and have confidence from their own good deeds. For He is not only "merciful," but also "full of mercy," showing that such great mercy cannot be encompassed by measure, nor explained by any speech. {But yet} through the things that follow, He shows it as far as possible, when He added: "The Lord is sweet to all, and His mercies are over all His works."
What is "to all"? To the sinners, he says, and to those who live in wickedness. For not only the just, and those who conduct themselves rightly and virtuously, or those who are led by repentance; but all—through the things they suffer—proclaim His mercy and His goodness. And if someone asks me, To whom was He good? I will say: Not to Abel alone, but also to Cain; not to Noah alone and his children, but also to those whom the flood overwhelmed. For everything He does proceeds from mercy and clemency. And that you may know how He is good and clement to all, reflect on this from the following. D Of how great benignity was He, I pray, to hand over that fratricide, who had performed such a slaughter, who had defiled his right hand, and who had trampled upon the laws of God, to such a punishment—which is a warning rather than a punishment—so that both through the length of time he might be cleansed from the sin, and he might teach and chastise others through the things he suffered? Of how great benignity was He, I pray, toward those who were laboring under a most grave and incurable disease at the time of the flood, and had been corrected by neither threats, nor arguments, nor by any other means.
and to use the common debt of nature instead of a medicine, and to bring upon them the easiest death, which is through water? But the phrase, "over all," is to be seen not only in this case, but also in all things that are visible, in animals, and in irrational creatures. And if one were to look even at the angels and archangels, one will see great goodness and many mercies; for every work enjoys much philanthropy. The Psalmist, having observed this himself, added: 10. *Let all thy works praise thee, O Lord, and let thy saints bless thee*; that is, let them give thee thanks, let them send up hymns to thee, both those who are honored with speech and those which have no voice. For each of the voiceless things has been made in such a way as to send up praise through its own nature; even if they are voiceless, they do so through those who see and enjoy them. And the former do so through their own substance, but men also through their conduct and through their actions. Therefore he makes this clear by the following addition: *And let thy saints bless thee*. Here he calls those "saints" who fulfill the commands of God, those who have no access to sins and wickedness. *They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom*. What is, *They shall speak of the glory*? He says: the self-sufficiency, the philanthropy, the providential care, the fact that You do not stand in need of those who are governed, the fact that You display such providence toward them, the unapproachability of the light, the ineffable nature of Your essence, the incomprehensible. *And they shall speak of thy power*; that is, they shall sing of Your unconquerable, invincible strength. Not because You have need of these hymns and praises, but for the sake of those who speak them, and so that they might teach others as well and make them participants in the praise. Therefore he added: 12. *To make known to the sons of men thy power, and the glory of the majesty of thy kingdom*. By this he shows that he accepts these praises for the sake of teaching others his power. Great, therefore, is the power, great is the glory, great is the splendor, great and ineffable, not only surpassing all speech but also conquering all mind. But this great and ineffable thing has need of those who teach it because of the unreasonableness of the many. For the sun is a most brilliant star, and yet those who have diseased eyes do not see its light; so also the providence of God is brighter than any sun, but those who are distorted in their reasonings, and have blocked their ears, have need of much care so that their mind may be opened. 4. Therefore one must incessantly sound into their ears and introduce the teaching concerning these things. Then, since he said "glory of the kingdom" and "majesty" without having clarified them, he takes up the matter again and says, as far as is possible for him, what the "glory" is, adding: *Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages*. Not only of the present, he says, but also of those to come; for it is endless and infinite, and alone possesses eternity. *And thy dominion is in every generation and generation*. Behold its endlessness from this also. Everywhere in the world, everywhere in the ages, everywhere in the times, it is extended. *The Lord is faithful in all his words, and holy in all his works*. Having spoken of the endlessness, the stability, the firmness, and the immovability of the kingdom, he speaks also of the firmness of His words. For "faithful" means this: steady, true. And if He is faithful, then what has been said by Him will certainly be. Just as His kingdom is unfailing and has no end, so also are His words firm and stable. Therefore, neither is that kingdom ever interrupted, nor do these words ever fail. And if they do not fail, the deeds must necessarily follow. But if He also said something and it did not come to pass, this too is a proof of His truth: "For I shall speak concerning a nation and a kingdom, to tear down and to root out; and if they repent of their wickedness, I will also repent of the things which I spoke to do to them" (Jer. 18. 7-10). And likewise in the case of good things: "I will speak," he says, "of good things, and if they change, I also will change what was said concerning them." *And holy in all his works*. What is *Holy*? Blameless, straight, pure, clean, providing no opening to anyone. *The Lord sustains all those who are falling, and raises up all those who have been cast down*. Having spoken concerning the kingdom, that it is endless; concerning the words, that they are true; concerning the acts, that they are blameless; concerning the glory; concerning the majesty; he speaks again concerning the philanthropy, which itself is the greatest glory of His kingdom: that He does not merely hold up those who are standing, but that He also manages, so that those who are about to fall might not suffer this, and raises up those who are already lying prostrate; and what is wondrous is that He does this for all—not for this one or that one, but for all, even if they are slaves, even if they are poor, even if they are obscure, even if they were born of obscure parents. For He is the Lord of all, and He does not pass by even those who are down, nor does He disregard those who are tottering. He did this in universal nature; He does this also in each individual. And if some of those who are lying prostrate are not raised up, it is not because of Him who wishes to raise them, but because of those who do not wish to rise. For He even wished to raise Judas when he had fallen, and He worked everything toward this end, but that man did not wish it. David, however, when he had fallen, He raised up and made firm. Peter, who was about to fall, He sustained. And hear how: "Simon, Simon," He says, "behold Satan has asked to sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith may not fail" (Luke 22. 31-32). Then he says another kind of benefit: for His care is varied and manifold. *The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest their food in due season*. Did you see how he showed that He is good to all, and that His mercies are over all His works? What is said in the Gospels, "That he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and rains on the just and the unjust" (Matt. 5. 45), this he also hinted at here by saying: *And thou givest their food in due season*. For it is not rains and earth and air, but His command that causes fruits to be brought to completion from without. And the phrase, *In due season*, signifies that all things are defined by certain
EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXLV
A and are brought forth at different times and in different vicissitudes. For it displays his wisdom most of all that he does not allot sustenance all at once, or at the same time, but divides it throughout the whole year, so that the farmer may rest and the things that are produced may not perish. That expression, therefore, "in due season," either signifies what we said before, that things have been distributed into their own specific times, or that he gives food to those who are in need and labor with want. And you ask, how did he say, "The eyes of all hope in thee"? Yet there are many who say that the things which exist are there by chance, as do those who are impious. He speaks here of the nature of the thing itself, just as he does elsewhere when he says, "to the young of the ravens that call upon him" (Ps. cxlvi, 9), even though they are irrational animals. And again, "The lions' whelps roaring to snatch and seek their food from God" (Ps. ciii, 21). Yet these too are devoid of reason and do not seek it themselves; but here too he speaks of the nature of the thing. This is to be said not according to their own will, but according to the nature of the things that happen. B 16. "Thou openest thy hand, and fillest every animal with favor." By "hand" he means his operation and his sustaining power, teaching you through all things that the generations of fruits are not situated in the elements, but in the providence of God. Or even showing his readiness, he says that, "Thou openest thy hand." For since those who were there at the time, abandoning the primary cause, were worshipping the air and the sun, and were thinking these were the things that provided the fruits, he raises them up to the upper origin, and to their author and Lord, bringing these things frequently forward, showing that from his hand—that is, from his care and providence—all good things flow. 17. He says "fill" here because he fills every animal with his will, which is pleasing to it. For he does not give sustenance absolutely, but as it is useful to each, according to everyone's desire, to the extent that it is enough to satisfy him. And this is what he says: that to brutes, to men, and indeed to all, you give as it is pleasing to each and as it is agreeable to each; and you do not just give, but you also fill, so that nothing is lacking. Therefore he says, "Thou fillest every animal with favor." "In all his works." By "ways" he signifies here his economy, his providence, his curation, through which he fashions and constitutes all things. All his works, he says, are praises, full of miracles, which offer no ground to anyone for reproach, even if some act madly and are agitated by rage. His works, therefore, are by nature such as to shine and resplend and to announce the care, providence, clemency, justice, and holiness of him who made them. 18. "The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth." Behold another part of his providence which is the head of all good things. For after he said what was given in common even to the infidels—namely, food and rains—he also tells of the things given privately to the faithful. And what are these? That he is near them, that is, that he defends them, takes care of them, provides for them more fully, is well-disposed, benign, and propitious to them, and reveals good things to them more clearly. C Afflictions are useful. 19. "He will do the will of those who fear him, and he will hear their supplication, and save them." And yet someone might say, Paul wanted the angel of Satan to depart from him (2 Cor. xii, 8), which is to say, temptations, afflictions, and snares, and he did not do it. Nay, he did indeed do it; for after he learned that he was asking for things not conducive to his welfare, that he should once again desire, and desire vehemently, was God's own work. And therefore he said, "I am well-pleased in infirmities, in afflictions, in persecutions" (2 Cor. xii, 10), due to ignorance. After he learned that God willed this, he himself thereafter gladly acquiesces. For God's will is not one thing and the will of those who fear him another; and even if they themselves desire something as humans do, they are corrected afterwards. 20. "The Lord keeps all who love him, and he will destroy all sinners." This too is no small part of providence: to preserve, to fortify, to protect, to offer his own providence. But he calls those sinners who labor under an incurable disease, those who are unwilling to be corrected. But if he allows some of those who love him to fall into death, these too are parts of him who keeps them: which also happened to Abel. For even if their bodies perished, they emerged clearer in soul; moreover, they will receive bodies not subject to destruction. Therefore, after he said the species of his providence, as far as they could be stated by him—the common ones, the private ones, and those which belong to the saints, especially those who wavered, his care for those who lie prostrate, his providence, his patience, the correction of sinners, the custody of the saints—he concludes his prayer with praise again, and calls the whole inhabited world to the communion of praise: 21. "My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever." D You see how, out of good affection, he calls not only those who are benefited, but also those who are punished (for this too is of his providence), not only men, but also brutes, and the elements, and all inanimate things: for all things are full of his goodness. Let us not, therefore, cease to praise him incessantly with both words and deeds—who is so good, so benign, and clement, and extends his beneficence everywhere—so that we may attain both present and future benefits, by the grace and clemency of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and empire, for ever and ever. Amen.
IN PSALM CXLV
"In my life. I will sing to my God as long as I exist." ... tion. For this purges the mind not a little. By praise, moreover, he means—as I often say—what is exhibited in works; which Christ also says: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. v, 16). And again Paul: "Glorify God in your body and in your spirit" (1 Cor. vi, 20); and as he said in the preceding Psalm, "Every day..."
I will bless you," so he says here too, "I will sing to my God as long as I exist." Then, wishing again to take men as partners in his praise, he falls into the narrations of His loving-kindness, burning and warmed by this desire, running around the entire world, gathering everyone into his own chorus. For this indeed is the greatest glory to God, when He seeks many who are to enjoy His salvation. A *Put not your trust in princes, in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation* (Ps. 145. 2). Another version: *In one who has not the power to save.* Let those hear this exhortation and counsel who gape after human protections, which are fleeting and decayed. And what is, *In whom there is no salvation*? They are not masters, he says, even of their own salvation, nor are they able to stand for themselves. For if death comes, they will lie more silent than stones. For this is what he adds, saying: *His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth. In that day all his thoughts shall perish* (Ps. 145. 4). Another version: *His purposes.* But what he says is this: He who cannot defend himself, how shall he snatch away others? For there is nothing so unstable and weak as such a hope. And the very nature of things shows it. And for this reason Paul, discusing the hope in God, said, *But hope does not disappoint* (Rom. 5. 5). But human things are not like this, but are weaker than a shadow. Do not tell me that he is a ruler. For the ruler has nothing more than the ordinary man; he is subject to the same uncertainty. And if one must say something even more amazing, because he is a ruler, for this very reason one should not trust. For such powers are most precarious. And even if no disaster befalls him, he is quick to anger, and uses his power for ingratitude, as one not destined to be accountable to the one who received his promise; and even if he appears grateful, he will have easier downfalls than private citizens, in proportion as he is subject to greater and more numerous intrigues; and he is more easily captured, in proportion as he has more who are plotting against him. For what is the meaning of the bodyguards? What of the many advance guards? How then can one who is in a city governed by good laws, not even confident about his own body, but walking about as if in the midst of enemies, and so full of anxiety, be able to save others? If, when there is peace, he is more afraid than those in wars, how will he place others in safety and snatch them from dangers? But surely for many who could have lived by themselves in safety, this very thing has become a trap—to trust in such men; and when those men fell, they were brought down with them; and for others, the guards have become traitors. But yet the prophet, having passed over all these, since many have escaped, B sets forth that which is beyond dispute: that of death. For even if everything flows for you with a fair wind, and he is well-disposed, and grateful, he says, and intends to pay back, by ending his life in the midst of the promises, he has left you in empty hopes, because his life did not suffice for the completion of the promise. But when he does not even have a life sufficient for the promise, but his life is cut short before the end, you flee to a rotten alliance. Do you not know many who have suffered this, and when the ally fell, when the protector was stripped away, they were brought down all the more from that point? And why do I speak of the promise, that it is dissolved and destroyed, when even the master of it does not himself remain? *He shall return,* he says, *to his earth.* And if he has perished, how much more these things. Therefore he added, *In that day all his thoughts shall perish,* showing that not only will his promises not reach their end, but the one making the promise will himself be gone. What then does he do from this? Since he has led us away from human hopes, he then shows the safe harbor and the impregnable tower, and offers counsel. For this is the best way of exhortation: to lead away from the unstable, and to lead toward the strong; to tear down the vain things, and to set up the true; to expose those that deceive, and to show those that are beneficial. *Blessed is he whose helper is the God of Jacob, his hope is in the Lord his God.* Do you see the abundance of counsel and exhortation? When he says "blessed," he states all good things, and shows the security of the hope. Having then pronounced him blessed who hopes in Him, he next speaks of the power of the helper, showing that the one is man, the other God; the one perishing, the other remaining; and not only does He remain Himself, but His works do as well. Therefore he added thus: *Who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them* (Ps. 145. 6). C If His works are enduring, how much more is He Himself enduring and powerful; and that He is such, the things that were made by Him show His strength. What then, if He is indeed enduring and powerful, does He not want to? For many of the thoughtless say these things. But see how He refutes this suspicion as well. For having said, *Who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them,* he added: *Who keeps truth forever, who executes judgment for those who suffer wrong.* But what he says is this: This is His work, this is custom, this is especially proper to God, to not overlook those suffering wrong, to not pass by those who are being insulted, to stretch out a hand to those who are being plotted against; and this throughout—for all time. Therefore he said, *Forever*, signifying this; and not only this, but also that which follows: *Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord loosens the bound, the Lord makes wise the blind.* Another version: *Illuminates.* *The Lord raises up those who are bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord keeps the converts; he will receive the orphan and the widow, and he will destroy the way of sinners.* Do you see how through all things he shows His providence to be extended, and that this is His work, to loosen calamities, to correct hunger, to free from chains. But these things, in part, men can do also; but what follows is no longer so. For indeed He corrects the very deprivation of nature, raising up those who have fallen, he says, those in...
ON PSALM CXLVI
...how he has shown his providence to be extended through all things, and that it is his role to liberate from calamities, to bring a remedy to famine, and to free from bonds. But these things men can do to some extent; what follows, however, is not the same. For that which is deficient in nature He corrects: He raises up the fallen, praises those who are bright in virtue, preserves those who lack advocacy, and comforts and restores those who bear widowhood and bereavement with difficulty. Then, since He said, *He loves the just* (Ps. CXLV, 8), He shows that He has helped many for the sake of misfortune alone. For those whom He nourishes, He nourishes because they are hungry—which is not a matter of virtue—and those who are bound He releases because of their bonds; but this also is not a matter of virtue, but of calamity. Furthermore, He illuminates the blind because of their blindness: and this is not a matter of virtuous deeds, but of calamity. The same is true for the afflicted, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. But if He helps those who are in calamities, much more does He help those who are studious of virtue. A Since, therefore, He both can and wills, and all things are perpetual before God, and He accepts virtue and shows mercy because of calamities, why do you not leave behind him who is perishing, him who is weak, him who is subject to destruction and death, and flee to Him who is strong and unassailable, who does not reproach calamities but brings a remedy to them, who can do all things that He wills? Consider, however, the end, how accurately He spoke. For He did not say, "He will destroy the sinners," but *their way* (Ps. CXLV, 9)—that is, their action. For He does not turn away from their nature, but He hates their vice. *The Lord shall reign for ever, thy God, O Sion, unto generation and generation* (Ps. CXLV, 10). That He reigns perpetually and remains for eternity is not at all to be doubted; but even if He does not give the retribution here, He reserves it for greater things. Therefore, let us not be disturbed in temptations if the release does not follow immediately; but let us permit the time of release to the Lord. And if we have done anything good, let us not immediately demand the remuneration, but let us again wait for His will; for when He delays, He rewards more richly and fully. B And in all things let us give thanks and proceed to praise Him. For thus we shall lead the present life most securely and obtain ineffable goods, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, with His unbegotten Father and the life-giving Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CXLVI
*Praise the Lord, for a good psalm.*
1. Above in the one hundred and forty-fourth psalm He said, *Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised* (Ps. CXLIV, 3), and discussed many things there concerning His glory; but here He shows that it is good also to praise Him, and that the psalm is a cause of countless goods. For it withdraws the mind from the earth, and raises and elevates the soul, making it light and sublime. And therefore Paul says, *Singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord* (Eph. V, 19). *May praise to our God be pleasant.* Another says, *Alleluia, for a song is good to God* (a). What is, *May praise to our God be pleasant*? It means, let it be acceptable. For it is not enough only to sing, that the praise may be pleasant to God, but there is need also of a life, and of prayer, and of the careful attention of the one singing. C But it seems to me that this psalm is one of return. He shows this by what he subjoins, saying: 2. *The Lord building up Jerusalem; He will gather the dispersions of Israel.* For even if Cyrus released them, not from his own intent but by God’s help, this whole thing proceeded. But another interpreter, for *building up*, said *He will build*; and for *dispersions*, *the outcasts* (b). For what reason? Because they were not all brought back at once, but after the return were gathered together little by little. It is proper to God to console the afflicted. 3. *Who heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.* Another, *Their breakings* (c). Since he did not have confidence from his own life, he brings in again calamity, and God’s custom. For it is His office, and this is His own, to console those who are cast down and afflicted; just as when Paul says, *Who vivifies the dead* and again, *Who calls things that are not as though they were* (Rom. IV, 17), stating His peculiar office; so here also, *Who heals the broken-hearted*, he says, showing that—even if we are unworthy—because we are His workmanship, He will not abandon the work of His hands, nor will He depart from His custom. D Thus also Paul: *But He who consoles the humble, has consoled us* (2 Cor. VII, 6). And again, *Who gives to those who are faint-hearted, patience* (Is. LVII, 15). Furthermore, this very prophet also elsewhere, *A contrite and humble heart God will not despise* (Ps. L, 19). When you wish to attain consolation, make yourself humble, break your mind. He said this, therefore, concerning His will, His goodness, and His clemency; that it is His office, specifically, to console those who are in calamities: but what follows is about His power. 4. *Who numbers the multitude of the stars*; that is, who knows. For since the discussion was about the dispersed multitude, and which at that time appeared nowhere, he rightly brought this example into the middle, showing by this that He is able to gather even the dispersed. For He is accustomed to raise and console the broken, and He knows the numberless multitude of the stars supremely. Therefore He will also most fully restore us, whom He has promised will be equal to them. *And calling all of them by names.* Another, *Calling all by names.* Another, *He will call them all by name* (d). I think this is said concerning the Israelites, and that the prophet says the same thing which Isaiah also later: *Fear not, Israel, I have called you from the ends of the earth, and I said, You are my son* (Is. XLI, 9). What is, *He will call them all by name*? No one, he says, of them will perish, but just as those who call by name, so also He Himself will restore all completely. 5.
the Lord, and great is his power. Therefore, as he has spoken of a great matter, to gather those dispersed throughout the entire world, and the many thousands of men, he subsequently discourses upon his power, disturbing the Jews exceedingly, while inducing them to believe. And of his wisdom there is no number. Do not ask, therefore, how and by what calculation: for his magnitude is infinite. Therefore he also said: *And of his understanding there is no number* (Ps. 144:5). But just as his magnitude is infinite, so also is his wisdom. And therefore, having said, *Great is the Lord our God*, he added: *And of his understanding there is no number*. And his knowledge also is marvelous; therefore he was also saying: *Thy knowledge is become wonderful from me; it is strengthened, I shall not be able to attain to it* (Ps. 138:6). And his judgments are again unsearchable; and therefore he was saying: *Thy judgments are a great abyss* (Ps. 35:7).
2. Since, therefore, he is great, powerful, and wise, do not inquire too curiously into how these things come to be. *The Lord lifteth up the meek, but bringeth the wicked down even to the ground* (Ps. 146:6). For so that some of the senseless might not say, "What is it to us, that he knows the stars with precision?", he speaks of such guardianship also occurring over men; and he did not say, "The Lord helping the meek," but what is much greater, *Lifteth up*, as though discoursing concerning a loving father. What is *lifteth up*? Recovering, bearing, carrying. Have you seen again his power perfected in both respects, in both raising up the humble and humbling those who are desperate? And he does not humble them simply, but with great excess; for this is what *even to the ground* means. *Sing ye to the Lord with praise.* Another, "Rehearse." Having spoken of his righteous deeds, he again calls them to a hymn, saying: *Sing ye to the Lord with praise*, that is, in thanksgiving, with much diligence. *Sing upon the harp to our God.* Another, "To the lyre. Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth." So that none of the senseless might say, "And what is the heavenly to me?", he immediately added the human need, showing by the sequel, for what cause he "covereth the heaven with clouds." "For your sake," he says, "that he may prepare rain for you. And rain for your sake, that it may produce grass." And look at the wisdom: he mentions the general goods which he gave to all, silencing them from the abundance. For if he employs such bounty upon the faithless, so as both to gather clouds, and to move the rain, and to stir the earth, how much more so upon you, who have been named his peculiar people.
*Who bringeth forth grass on the mountains.* Look at the abundance of his providence, when not only on the arable land, but also on the mountains he provides his table in plenty, the sustenance of the beasts of burden which were made for the service of men. Therefore he also adds: *Who giveth to beasts their food, and to the young of the ravens that call upon him.* He mentions another bounty again, when he provides food not only for the beasts that serve men, but also for other irrational creatures: *For to the young of the ravens*, he says, *that call upon him*. And if there is such providence among the irrational, and irrational ones that are wild and do not provide service to men; how much more so among men, and men who sing his praises, whom he also called a peculiar people and his portion? Then, because they were weak and destitute of arms, and stripped of everything, so that they might not be troubled even from this, see how he corrects this weakness of theirs also, saying: *He shall not take pleasure in the strength of the horse, nor shall he be well pleased in the legs of a man. The Lord is well pleased with them that fear him and in them that hope in his mercy.* Another, "In those who wait for his mercy." If you have these things, he says, the fear and the hope in him with precision, you will draw to yourselves his favor; and having drawn it, you will be more powerful than all those who possess horses and arms. One thing, therefore, is what is requested, that you should not be vexed or troubled, but wait for his mercy—for this is hope above all, not to despair or give up when you do not receive it immediately. And he rightly said, *His mercy*. For they did not have boldness from their works. But yet, he says, even if you are betrayed by your works, but hope in his mercy, you will attain his providence and his help; of which may it be granted that we all attain, by the grace and philanthropy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, for ever and ever. Amen.
ON PSALM CXLVII
1. *Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem, praise thy God, O Sion.*
1. Not to the city, but to those who dwell in it he directs his discourse: what he does throughout the whole book, he does here as well. He exhorted them constantly and advises that they should offer thanksgiving to God for his benefits, and that they should trust not in buildings, nor in the safety of walls, but in his providence. Having prepared this in advance, he adds and says: *For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates, he hath blessed thy children within thee*. What is *he hath strengthened the bars*? He established you in safety, he made you impregnable, he says. *He hath blessed thy children*, that is, he made them to increase into a multitude. This is one kind of benefit: another is the *within thee*. Therefore, what he says is this: He caused them to increase, not dispersed, nor scattered, but gathered together and being within thee. Then, also showing another kind of providence, he says: *Who maketh thy borders peace*. For it is possible both to be in safety, and to be many, and to be engaged in war; but here he shows them removed even from this treachery, by speaking thus, and showing that not only the city was delivered from those who plot against it, but also the very borders. Have you seen how many benefits he enumerates? And first and greatest of all,
that he should say, "thy God." For by this word he mentions all these things. He has made you a familiar, he has made you his heir, and though he is the common Lord of all, he is especially yours—which is indeed the first chapter of blessings. Secondly, he has established the city in safety. Thirdly, he has increased them. Fourthly, he has delivered not only the city, but the whole nation also from wars and tumults; and he has done this not merely at one, or a second, or a third time, but he has done it continuously: for he does not say, "Who placed," but, "Who places." And if wars have sometimes occurred, that did not happen because he abandoned them, but because they retreated [from him]; for this was his continuous work—to fortify, to establish in safety, and to provide that they should be free from all war and tumult.
B The fertility of the earth is to be ascribed to the providence of God. Then he speaks of another benefit alongside this one, namely the great annual fertility and the good harvest of fruits, again teaching them here to ascribe all things not to the nature of the earth or the air, but to his providence. What providence? That which he added by saying, "And satiates thee with the fat of wheat." See: he did not say simply, "Wheat," but "with the fat of wheat," showing great prosperity. For the fat of wheat signifies the flower of the fruit and that which is opulent. For such are the gifts of God, proven and flourishing. He says, therefore, that they are most liberally filled here with the best wheat. For by signifying this, he did not say, "Who gives," but, "Who satiates thee." As it is his custom to carry the discourse from private to common, and from common again to private, so he does here too. For after he said, "Praise thy God," lest any unwise person should think him to be the God of the Jews only, he shows how he is the common God of the whole earth, and that his providence is extended through the whole world, leading the discourse from private things to that which is common, and to general providence. And therefore, having said, "Who sends out his word to the earth," he added, "his speech runs swiftly." He said this, showing that he takes care not only of our region, but of the entire world. By "speech" here, he means his command, the operation by which he provides and looks after. Then, showing how easy and how ready it is, he indicated this not just by the word "speech," but also by the term "course"; and he did not think even this to be enough, but also added, "swiftly." Now, what he says is of this kind: Whatever he commands, it happens with the greatest swiftness. For he commands throughout the whole world. And what does he command? Those things which sustain our life, which look to the administration of the air, and the change and vicissitude of the seasons. And therefore he adds, saying, 5. "Who gives snow like wool: he scatters mist like ashes." A certain other interpreter calls this, "frozen dew." But the Hebrew calls it *Chephor Chaepher*. 6. "He sends his crystal like morsels. Before the face of his cold, who shall endure?" Another says, "Before the face of his heat, who shall stand?" 7. "He will send his word and will dissolve them: his spirit shall blow, and the waters shall flow." C Here he explains to me his invincible and infinite power, that he produces substances which are not, and those that are made he transmutes and transforms according to what he wills. Indeed, another prophet signified this, saying: "Who makes all things, and transforms them" (Amos 5. 8). For even if they are bound by the immovable terms of nature, yet when it pleases him, these terms are loosened. For all things give place and concede to him. Sometimes he changes those substances, at other times, while they remain, he changes them into another operation, and he lets that which is attributed to them rest, while he induces the contrary—which he did in the furnace. For it was fire, and did not burn: but those who had been thrown into it perceived a dew most pleasant. There was a sea when the Jews were crossing, and the waters did not overwhelm, but they crossed more solidly than on a rock. Under Dathan and Abiron it was earth, yet it did not bear their bodies, but overwhelmed them more easily than the sea. The rod of Aaron was dry wood, and it brought forth fruit more beautiful than that which had been planted in the earth. That of Balaam was an ass, the most sluggish animal of all, and it defended itself no less well against him who was beating it than a man endowed with reason. When Daniel was thrown into the lake, there were lions, and they showed the mildness of sheep, their nature not indeed being destroyed, but their operation changed. Many other miracles can be seen, even in the creatures. Therefore, lest you count it a small miracle because it happens every year and falls under our view, consider how great it is, that now snow is seen, now water, and in a short moment of time such changes occur. For lest any less wise person should think these things happen by the natural operation of the elements, and that they are absolutely the causes of these things, but should know who it is that commands: to his command he reduces the whole discourse concerning these things, and says: "He will send his word and dissolve them": that is, his command: for the force of the winds does not do this primarily, but God who made the winds. He has led the discourse to the elements, and to the changes which are in the elements, persuading the Jew, who is gross and endowed with scarcely any sense, to know from those things which happen every year the power of God, and that it is easy for him to administer his affairs as he wishes, and to change from contraries into contraries. For just as if there should be a tempest and intolerable ice, it is easy for him, by introducing D tranquility, to dissolve everything: so also those who had been led into captivity and had been vexed by wars, he brings back to peace and to their former prosperity. And he indicates not only this, but also something else, hidden. What is this? That these things which often cause pain are also useful and profitable, and have brought forth much benefit. "Lest he should pain more, again he changes into that which is more pleasant." What does he mean by this and the examples? For he did not just say, "He gives snow," but he added, "like wool," nor did he stop at "mist," but added, "like ashes"—nor did [Balaam's] ass...
[stop there]. It seems to me that by this he indicates the ease and the abundance of the One who works. *He who declares his word to Jacob.* Another [version says]: *Precise reckonings.* Another: *Ordinances.* *His statutes and his judgments to Israel. He has not done so for every nation.* Another: *Similar things.* *And his judgments he has not disclosed to them.* See how he again shifts the discourse from the general to the particular, and [mentions] the unique privileges of the Jews, wishing to rouse them to greater zeal. Having begun the psalm speaking of sensible things and those that benefit the body—such as safety, abundance, and peace—he now leads the discourse to higher things, unfolding the matter of legislation, which is the greatest kind of benefit: to lead away from wickedness, to guide toward virtue, [and] to enlighten the understanding. Hence Moses, turning this over and over, said above and below: *What [nation] is there so great, that has a God so near to them, as the Lord our God [is] in all things for which we might call upon him?* (Deut. 4.7) And David again: *Lending mercies [is] the Lord, and judgment for all who are wronged. He made his ways known to Moses, his desires to the sons of Israel.* And Jeremiah: *This is our God; none other shall be reckoned against him. He discovered all the way of knowledge, and gave it to Jacob his servant, and to Israel the beloved of him.* (Baruch 3.36-37)
But perhaps someone might say: "And having not disclosed [it] to the rest of mankind, how does he punish them?" That he does punish both those before the Law and those sinning everywhere in the inhabited world is clear from what Christ says: *The Queen of the South shall rise up, and shall condemn this generation.* (Matt. 12.42) And again: *Men of Nineveh shall rise up, and shall condemn this generation.* (Ibid. v. 41) For surely it was said in this way for that very reason, as even they were held to account, and some were praised while others were punished. If what was to be done were not clear to them, how were they going to condemn them? And how, again, did he say that *the blood shall be avenged from the blood of righteous Abel until the blood of Zachariah*? (Matt. 23.35) And how [did he say], *It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah*? (Matt. 11.24) For by saying "more tolerable," he indicates that they are not suffering a total release, but a lighter punishment for what they sinned. If those who were punished so severely are again paying the penalty, who of the rest shall escape? C We see also those who paid the penalty at the time of the flood, and many others, and Cain himself. And Paul also says, indicating this very thing: *The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all impiety and injustice of men who hold the truth in injustice; because that which is known of God is manifest in them. For God has manifested it to them.* (Rom. 1.18-19) *For his invisible things from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and divinity, so that they are without excuse.* (Rom. 1.20) Then, shifting the discourse to the life [we live], he does not here either leave them unaccountable, saying thus: *Who, knowing the ordinance of God, that they who do such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but also consent with those who do them.* (Rom. 1.32) *Do you reason this, O man, who judges those who do such things, and do them, that you shall escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, and tolerance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But according to your hardness, and impenitent heart, you treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and of revelation and of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his works: to them indeed who by patience in good work, seek glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life; but to those out of contention, who are disobedient to the truth, indeed, but obedient to injustice, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that works evil, of the Jew first, and of the Greek.* (Rom. 2.3-9)
The natural law [is] implanted in all. Conscience [is]... You see through all these things how all men who have ever been, even before the Law, pay the penalty, and all who have concerned themselves with virtue and have been released from impiety enjoy good things? How, then, will either this or that be [the case], if they did not know what was to be done? If they *did* know what was to be done, he says, how does [the text] say: *He has not done so for every nation, and his judgments he has not disclosed to them*? What, then, is what is said, and what does it wish to indicate? Hear. He gave the written law to none of the others; for all held the natural [law] sounding within them, [concerning] what is good, and what is not such. For when God was molding man, he placed this impartial judge in him: the vote of conscience in each person. But for the Jews he managed something unique, which was to disclose the laws even through writings. For this reason, he himself did not say that he did not act in every nation, but, *He has not done so.* That is to say, he did not send them tablets, he did not [send] writings, he did not [send] the lawgiver Moses, he did not [send] the other things on Mount Sinai; but the Jews alone enjoyed all these things in abundance; yet all human nature had the law from conscience [which was] sufficient. Which Paul also, indicating, said: *For when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things of the law; these, not having the law, are a law to themselves.* (Rom. 2.14) Hence also, the Jews are worthy of greater condemnation, because having received the written [law] along with the natural [one], they transgressed so much. Thus, the great benefit of God becomes for them a cause of greater condemnation.
negligence becomes an occasion for greater condemnation. Concerning the written words, what has been said is sufficient; but if anyone also desires to take the Psalm in an anagogical sense, we shall not refuse to walk this path as well, not destroying the history—may that never be—but adding these things to those, for the more studious, as far as it is possible. *Praise, Jerusalem, the Lord; praise thy God, O Sion.* Paul knows the heavenly Jerusalem, of which he says: *But that Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother* (Gal. 4:26); just as Sion also knows the Church, when he says: *For you are not come to the mountain that might be touched and that burned with fire and to a whirlwind and darkness and storm, but you are come to mount Sion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem* (Heb. 12:18, 22). Therefore, it is possible to say of it also, according to anagoge: *Praise, Jerusalem, the Lord; praise thy God, O Sion; A because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates, he hath blessed thy children in thee.* For He fortified it more strongly than Jerusalem, not with bars and gates, but by surrounding it with the Cross and by the declaration of His own power, through which He raised its borders on every side, when He said: *The gates of hell shall not prevail against it* (Matt. 16:18).
B In the beginning, all emperors and kings, and peoples and cities, and the phalanxes of demons, and the tyranny of the devil itself, and ten thousand other things, assailed the Church; yet all those things were broken and dissolved and perished; but she grew and was raised to such a height that she surpassed the very heavens. *He hath blessed thy children in thee.* Just as when He said in the beginning, *Increase and multiply, and fill the earth* (Gen. 1:28), the word spread throughout the whole earth; so also afterwards: *Go ye and teach all nations* (Matt. 28:19); and, *This gospel shall be preached in the whole world* (Matt. 26:13); and His command occupied the very ends of the earth in a brief moment of time. Wherefore He Himself also said: *Unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remaineth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit* (John 12:24). And again: *When I shall be lifted up, I will draw all things to myself* (Ibid. v. 32). And in the beginning, many were born from one, as the multitude was growing by the law of nature, and for this reason the matter proceeded more slowly; but at the time of the apostles, the multitude was not growing by the law of nature, but by grace; and therefore three thousand were added at once on one day, then five thousand, then ten thousand, then the whole earth, birthed through this beautiful regeneration, were increased and multiplied, and they showed by their deeds the blessing they had received: *For not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh* (John 1:13), but they were born of the grace of God.
C 3. *Who hath made thy borders peace.* This can be said very properly of the Church; for, what is more admirable, while she was being warred against, she enjoyed peace, and while everyone was setting snares for her, she took the greatest pleasure in total security. And therefore He said Himself: *Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you* (John 14:27). *And with the fat of wheat he filleth thee.* This can also be taken otherwise regarding the Church, as spiritual food, namely, that He gave us the bread of life. 4. *Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth: his word runneth swiftly.* What "word"? Tell me, I pray. That which, having been uttered through the apostles, flew faster than any wing over all things. Wherefore David also elsewhere, signifying this, says: *The Lord shall give the word to them that preach good tidings with great power* (Ps. 67:12). But if anyone doubts the words of the foolish, let him take proof from what happens according to the elements, and learn how snow descends suddenly and in a heap, and in a moment of time covers the whole earth, not invading its face over a long course of time, but filling it all suddenly. Therefore, since he was a prophet, and it was becoming that he should foretell things to come and signify them through anagoge, it was fitting that he should dwell on what was said concerning the elements. But what he says is of this kind: The whole earth is to be instructed by the word of God, and that with the greatest speed and in the briefest time. Then, lest anyone doubt, if the Jewish nation, one race on which so much study and diligence was lavished for so long a time, was not proven, how will those who inhabit the whole earth be able to be changed in a short time, and become good and moderate? To confirm what he said, he takes examples from the elements, namely the snow, the mist, the ice, which occur briefly in one moment of time. Do not therefore disbelieve, even if their mind is easily to be changed. But are there many who resist? Yet they too will yield and give place. For if no one can endure a little cold when it becomes more violent, but all yield to it and give place, much more will all things that oppose yield to His word and command. For He can change substances and produce things that are not, and raise them to such powers that these things become intolerable to all. 8. *Who declareth his word to Jacob, his justices and his judgments to Israel.* Here too you will not have erred if you call "Jacob" the spiritual one, and "Israel," whom Paul also knows, saying: *Peace upon them, and upon the Israel of God* (Gal. 6:16); to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
CONCERNING PSALM CXLVIII
*Praise ye the Lord from the heavens; praise ye him in the highest places. Praise ye him, all his angels.*
1. It is a custom for the saints, because of their great gratitude, when they are about to give thanks to God, D to call many to be partners in their praise, and to exhort them to perform this beautiful service with them. This is what the three children also did, when they were in the furnace (Dan. 3), inviting the whole creation to praise and sing hymns to God for the benefit they had already received. This very thing he does here too, calling both worlds, the upper and the lower, the sensible and that which is apprehended by intelligence alone. This is also done by the prophet, as when he says: *Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad, for God hath had mercy on his people…*
(Isai. 49:13). And indeed, this same prophet again asks, when he says: *In the going forth of Israel from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people, the mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like the lambs of the flock* (Ps. 113:1, 4). And elsewhere, Isaiah again says: *Let the clouds rain justice* (Isai. 45:8). For, as they are not sufficient of themselves to celebrate the praises of the Master, they go about taking all things as companions in their hymn-singing. This one A does very frequently, as when he says, *And let all the angels of God adore him* (Ps. 96:7), and again, *You mighty in strength, who do his word* (Ps. 102:20).
And from these he establishes another point. What is this? That none of the less rational should suppose there to be two creators. For since the creatures are different and separate from one another in their substances (the one is sensible, the other intelligible; the one is visible, the other invisible; the one is filled with bodies, the other is bodiless), lest, because of the difference in the works, anyone should introduce different creators, he sets up one choir, drawing up from all of them a single melody for Him, and insisting that the same God ought to be praised by the upper creation and by the lower, showing from this also that He is the Creator of both. And he begins from above, saying: *Praise him, all his angels: praise him, all his powers.* Another says, *All his hosts* (b), naming the Cherubim, the Seraphim, the Dominations, the Principalities, the Powers. This belongs to a soul greatly kindled, this to a burning love, to stir up all things to the praise of the Beloved; this belongs to a mind constantly enjoying the thought of God, struck with wonder, admiring His glory, and devoted to Him. *Praise him, O sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars and light.* Another says, *Stars of light*. *Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and let the water that is above the heavens praise the name of the Lord. For he commanded, and they were made: he ordered, and they were created. He hath established them for ever, and for ever and ever.* Another says, *He hath established them to remain eternally.* *He hath made a decree, and it shall not pass away.*
B The heavens of the heavens, he says, belong to the Lord; but the earth he hath given to the children of men. And the water that is above the heavens? You have heard Moses also saying that of the waters, He left some below, and others He caused to be suspended above the backs of the heavenly bodies, having fixed the firmament in the midst of the abyss, and having left the waters to remain above the backs. And how does this praise Him, someone might say, having no voice, no tongue, no soul, no reason, no mind, no vocal organ, no intellect? Because there are two modes of doxology: one is that which is through words, another is that which is through sight, and a third, along with these, is that which is through life and deeds. For even when men are not speaking, but are silent, glory is rendered to God; just as Christ also says: *Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven* (Matt. 5:16). And again, *Those that glorify me, I will glorify* (1 Reg. 2:30). There is also a doxology through the tongue, just as Moses glorified Him with Mary, saying: *Let us sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously glorified* (Exod. 15:1). There is also that which is through the creation itself, as this very one says: *The heavens show forth the glory of God; and the firmament declareth the work of his hands* (Ps. 18:1). Thus, here too the creation praises Him by its beauty, its position, its greatness, its nature, its use, its ministry, its duration, and by the utility that comes from them. C When he says, *Praise the Lord, ye angels, powers, heavens, moon, sun, stars, the water that is above the heavens,* he means this: that each of the things created is worthy of the wisdom of Him who made it, and is full of great miracle; which Moses briefly stated in the beginning: *And God saw all that he had made, and behold it was very good* (Gen. 1:31)—so good that it glorifies the One who made it and leads the spectator into the praises of the Artificer.
2. This, therefore, he calls praise: the beauty of what has come into being producing hymn-singing to the One who made them. Which Paul also indicates, saying: *For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, his eternal power also and divinity* (Rom. 1:20). And the prophet also shall come. For what reason, after saying a few things about the celestial creatures, and after mentioning them to the sight of those who contemplate the powers, did he quickly leap away from there, and leading his discourse into the visible things, does he there prolong it, going through everything one by one, the things above and the things below? Because these things were clearer to those hearing at that time, being seen and lying before their eyes. For this reason Moses also, beginning the creation and discoursing nothing about the things above—neither small nor great—makes his beginning from the heaven and the earth, and proceeds from thereafter through the sun and moon, and herbs, and swimming creatures, and four-footed beasts, and ends his discourse at man. But by saying "heavens of heavens" here, he does not indicate a multitude, but calls the same thing "heaven of heaven." For in the Hebrew tongue, it is customary to call the heaven "heavens," just as others—leaving the beauty of them to be contemplated, and the D magnitude, and the utility—he himself sets forth another cause, saying that *He commanded, and they were made: he ordered, and they were created. He hath established them for ever, and for ever and ever. He hath made a decree, and it shall not pass away.* That indeed they are good and wondrous, the sight itself declares; but that it also has a Creator, and that these things are not automatic, nor uncreated, it is sufficient to discern this from the interpretation itself. But if anyone should doubt, let him learn from me that it has a Creator and Maker, and a Provider and Guardian. For he sets two things here, or rather three; but if anyone should examine it accurately, even four...
that He made what is, and made it from things that were not, and made it easily, and rules and governs those things that have been made. For by saying, "He said," He shows the facility; as Paul also indicates when he says: "Who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which do not exist as though they did" (Rom. 4:17): indicating to us the facility by the name of calling. But that He rules and holds together the things that have been made, the prophet himself shows again, adding: "He has established them for ever and into the age of the age. He has set a decree, and it shall not pass away." See how here, too, he has again shown the power and authority, not only that He has established them, but also that He has spoken the "Decree," indicating His operation through human expressions. For just as it is easy for you to speak and command, so it is for God to make those things which do not exist, and to govern and hold them together; or rather, it is not just so, but far easier. For the extreme facility with which He made all things cannot be explained in words. B And it is not only remarkable that He rules and holds them together, and that the boundaries of nature stand fixed and immovable, but that they do so for such an infinite time. Consider how great the span of ages is, and yet of the things that exist nothing at all is confused: the sea has not overwhelmed the earth, the sun has not burned up the things that are seen, the heaven has not been moved out of place, the boundaries of night and day have not been confused, nor the cycles of the seasons, nor anything else of this kind; but each of the things that exist, both above and below, has stood, keeping most diligently the boundaries imposed upon it from the beginning to the mark. Having therefore spoken of the heavenly creatures and of those that are in heaven, he descends to the earth. And what He did with the heavenly creatures—to begin indeed with the super-celestial and descend to the celestial—He does also here, leaping from the celestial to the earth. For since there are some who say that those things which are in the heavens are worthy of God's handiwork, but they find fault with the things on earth, since there are scorpions, lions, vipers, dragons, and the rest of the kinds of beasts in it, and unfruitful trees, answering them as it were, he approaches the argument in a different way. C See, moreover, what he does: leaving aside the things confessed to be good—the sheep, the oxen, whose use experience itself demonstrates, the donkeys, the camels, and whatever is suitable for us for the carrying of burdens—he turns the argument to those things which seem to be useless, bringing into the medium the dragons, the impassable part of the sea, and those things which seem to bring distress, such as fire, hail, snow, ice; then the unfruitful trees, the mountains: then again, having left the broad plains, which are suitable for agriculture and for the production of useful and mild fruits, he moves to the mountains, the hills, and the desert places, and makes mention of the serpents. In order that we might know these things more clearly, let us hear the words themselves. After he said, "He has set a decree, and it shall not pass away," he added: 7. "Praise the Lord from the earth, you dragons and all abysses: 8. fire, hail, snow, ice, spirit of storms, which do His word." Another: "Wind of the typhoon." 9. "Mountains and all hills, fruit-bearing trees, and all cedars: the winged ones." Why, then, does he treat the argument in this way? Showing from redundant abundance the providence of God. For if the things which seem to be useless, and hostile to the human race, are so good and so useful that they themselves also offer praise to God and affect Him with glory and honor because of their handiwork, think within yourself what the others are like. And if it seems good, let us pursue each of those things which have been said. "Dragons," he says, "and all abysses." By dragons here he means the sea-monsters: D just as also elsewhere, when he says, "This dragon, which You have fashioned to make sport of it" (Ps. 103:26). But in many places this animal can be seen to be so called. How then does he not praise Him who made it? Or how does it not praise Him? For when you see the magnitude and the composition of the body, which Scripture recounts most clearly in Job (Job 40), how could you not marvel at Him who produced such an animal? And not merely because of the magnitude, but also because an impassable part of the sea was attributed to it in which to live. And it is rightly to be wondered at that it does not pass its proper limits, although it is a wild and fierce animal, and by far the largest; but dwelling in its own places it contains itself, and not only does it not go out onto the land, nor into a habitable place, but not even into that part of the sea which is suitable for navigation; it does not consume the kinds of fish, but spends its life within its own region. Nor are these things alone to be wondered at, but the depth of the abyss as well. And what is the case with the animal can also be seen in the sea. For although it is intolerable with the blowing of winds and has such a plenty of waters, it does not erupt from its proper boundaries, it does not inundate the neighboring land, but it too is tied with immovable bonds, even though the nature of waters is otherwise unruly. But when it is of such magnitude, and is impelled by such great spirits: consider how great a miracle it is that it does not exceed its place through an unorganized mass, nor through magnitude, nor through intolerable violence, but in such great perturbation, it beautifully maintains order and measure. Having therefore pondered these things within yourself, you will be able from this source also to weave praise and a hymn to God, and to marvel at His power, wisdom, virtue, and authority. There are also other ineffable reasons for these things, which He who made them knows Himself. And for this reason someone said, "Do not say, 'Why this?' or 'To what end this?' For all things have been made for His use." "Fire, hail, snow, ice, spirit of storms, which do His word" (Eccl. 39:2). He adds here also something else to the things that have been said. For in the previous psalm he was marveling that in a brief moment of time the snow and ice permeate the whole earth, that it congeals, that it is changed, that it is converted into the contrary: here, however, that it exists, and that while it remains...
A it fulfills the rank of servants, even though they are irrational, and carries out His command with the greatest obedience. Indeed, it often achieved the command even against its nature, just as in the Babylonian furnace, where the fire was shown both burning and cooling, performing both tasks. Is this, then, one might ask, worthy of thanksgiving? Yes, and of much thanksgiving. For we must praise God in the same way, both when He punishes and when He releases from punishment. Both are of His providence, both are of His goodness. For men do one thing out of goodness, but another out of malice and anger; but God does both out of His love for mankind. Therefore, we must praise Him in the same way, both because He placed Adam in paradise, and because He cast him out; and we must give thanks not only for the kingdom, but also for Gehenna. For He both created it and threatened it, so that He might deliver us from wickedness. Thus, just as we admire the physician, not only when he feeds, but also when he restricts through hunger, not only when he brings one into the marketplace, but also when he shuts one up in a house, not only when he anoints, but also when he burns and cuts—for even if the actions are contrary, he looks to one end—so also we must praise God for all things, and by much more, inasmuch as He is God and the other is man; and because the actions of the latter often turn out for the contrary, while those of God occur with the fitting wisdom and providence. Nor does hail and fire alone punish, but it has also delivered from punishment, and stayed wars, and repelled invading enemies. Or do you not know how many wonders were worked by these elements in Egypt, and among the Jews, and in this our own generation? And such is the power of Him who commands, that the things which He once did through angels, those intellectual and great powers, these He often worked miraculously through the elements, so that when an angel also performs these things, no one of the more senseless might attribute them to him, but to Him who commanded. Did an angel stop a war? Hail did, too. Did an angel destroy the firstborn? A storm at sea destroyed the entire multitude. Therefore, give thanks for all things to the God who loves mankind. B *Mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars; beasts and all cattle, creeping things and winged birds.* See how He dwells more among the more useless things—in mountains and glens, and hills, and among beasts, creeping things, and fruitless trees. For the fruitful trees have their utility evident from themselves, just as the flat plains and the tame animals; but what utility, you ask, do the beasts, and the creeping things, and the mountains, and the fruitless trees provide? A great deal, and one that greatly sustains our life. For mountains and hills and fruitless trees are very useful to us for building, and if we did not enjoy these, nothing would prevent our race from perishing. Just as we require fertile lands for our sustenance, so we also require fruitless trees and stones for building houses, and for constructing countless other things from them.
4. But, you ask, what utility do snakes, and scorpions, and dragons, and lions introduce into life? And what is the profit of them? It is great and unspeakable, and no less than that of the tame ones. For those are useful for the needs of the body; but these fortify you with fear, and prepare you to be sober, and make you watchful, and remind you of the sin of your forefather in Paradise, and show you of what evils disobedience is the cause. For the beasts were not like this before that, fearful and to be avoided by man, but tame and tractable. Indeed, God led them to Adam, and he himself imposed names upon them. C The serpent converses with the woman, and Eve does not flee. But when the command was transgressed and God was disobeyed, the symbols of honor were mutilated. Therefore, when you see a lion, when you see a serpent, let these stories come to your mind, and they will provide you with no small subject for philosophy. And remember also Daniel, how, when he returned to the ancient image, the fearful beasts were contemptible to him; just as the viper was to Paul; and from this you will harvest no small zeal and care of the soul. D With these, one may also admire from another perspective God's stewardship over them and His arrangement. And what is this? That He appointed for them places separated from the cities, namely the deserts; and being so fearful, they do not dwell in the cities, nor do they run down those who live within them, but they cherish and love the desert, God having allotted this to them from above, and having them possess a suitable place and a lot for their dwelling. For when you are asleep, then those creatures repair to the desert. This is what the prophet shows elsewhere, saying: *You appointed darkness, and there was night; in it all the beasts of the forest shall prowl about* (Ps. 103:20). Do you see how even now the traces of the beginning remain for you, even if they are mutilated, yet still containing a riddle of the ancient honor? For just as slaves, they are thus relegated both in time and in place; and if you do not come upon them, they do not attack, but dwell in the deserts. But if you are discouraged and troubled about why beasts were created, you are being very senseless. For if you order your own affairs well, you will be harmed by nothing from them; but if you receive harm from beasts, consider that you have often received far crueler treatment from men. For a human being is even crueler than a beast. For the one has its beastliness manifest, but this one hides his...
malice under a mask of gentleness, and therefore it is often difficult to guard against. But if you are sober, neither a beast nor a human being will do you any harm, but will even benefit you greatly. And why do I say a beast and a human being, when the devil himself did not merely fail to harm Job, but actually became the occasion for a thousand crowns for him? Why do I say a beast and a human being, when you are in danger of suffering far worse things even from your own constituent elements, if you are negligent—for instance, from bile or phlegm, if you overlook the immoderate excess of these things? Thus, you need a sober and vigilant mind in all respects. But just as you will receive the greatest harm from this if you are negligent, so if you are attentive and vigilant, you will receive no small or negligible gain; for the whole matter lies in the discernment of your own will. For what snow, fire, and a spirit of storm are in the universe, that are phlegm, blood, and bile in the body; and it is necessary to arrange and administer these with the best of reason, in order to enjoy some benefit from them, rather than being harmed. And why do I speak of the body, when the soul also has certain things which, if you allow them to go to excess, become diseases, but if you chastise and moderate them, they become aids? For anger, if you use it as you ought, has become a saving remedy, but if [you use it] immoderately, it has become a cause of destruction. And desire, if you manage it with measure, makes you a father; for it is useful for the procreation of children; but if you allow it to break forth, it often casts you down into fornication and adultery. Therefore, do not blame the things themselves, but always your own will. For if you neglect this, you are harmed by yourself and destroyed by your own body; but if you take care of it, you will not suffer anything grave or unpleasant, not only at the hands of demons or the devil, but not even at the hands of beasts.
[heading: The Necessity of Magistrates]
11. “Kings of the earth, and all peoples.” Another [translator says], “And all tribes.” “Princes and all judges of the earth. 12. Young men and maidens.” Another, “The elect.” “Old men with the younger.” Another, “With the young men. Let them praise the name of the Lord.” Here again, one moves to another kind of providence, namely, that of the princes—a point which Paul also makes in the Epistle to the Romans, showing most wisely that it was a work of God’s providence to have divided the whole of [human existence] into those who hold magistracy and those who are subject to them. “For he is God’s minister to you for good,” he says (Rom. XIII, 4). If you were to remove this, everything would perish. For if, when there are currently princes and magistrates, and many among them are corrupt and depraved, there is nonetheless such great utility in the reality [of their existence] that even when they are evil, great benefit is derived from them, imagine for yourself if those who are entrusted with magistracies were to manage them correctly, how well it would go for the human race. But indeed, for it to be established that there are kings and judges was God’s work; but that wicked men are advanced to these positions and do not use them as they ought is the work of human wickedness. For [God], providing for the care and orderly administration of mankind and that many might not live in a beast-like manner, bestowed authority and kingship, like a certain art of steering a chariot or the science of governing a ship. If, therefore, you are a prince or hold a magistracy, give thanks to the benevolent God that you have been given the occasion for such great care and diligence; if you are a private citizen, give thanks again that you have someone to take care of you and not permit you to be circumvented and oppressed by the machinations of the wicked. Whether you have reached old age or are young, give thanks to God. For this Psalm proves most of all throughout that it is necessary to thank God for everything, whether you are a magistrate or a private citizen; and therefore, signifying this, he said, “And all peoples.” Whether you be, he says, an old man, or a young man, or a man, or a woman.
13. “Because his name alone is exalted.” Another, “Because he is supreme.” 14. “His confession is on earth and in heaven.” Another, “And his hymn. And he shall exalt the horn of his people. A hymn B to all his saints, to the children of Israel, a people drawing near to him.” What he says is of this kind: I have shown from all visible things his providence, glory, and majesty; but one must praise him not only for these things, but also without them; for even before these, and without these, altitude, glory, and thanksgiving from all belongs to him. And the expression, “His alone,” he said so that he might be distinguished from those who are not truly gods. Then, lifting the listener once again to a higher contemplation, he transfers him from the earth back to heaven. For just as at the beginning he descended from heaven to the earth, so from all visible things he leads man back up above the heaven, saying: “His confession is above heaven and earth.” This means: even if the heavenly powers, which do not fall under sight and are comprehended by the intellect alone, do not cease to give thanks and praise to God, nevertheless, such a great and illustrious God has deigned to name us his people; and not only to name us, but also to raise us up and exalt us. And therefore he added: “And he shall exalt the horn of his people,” drawing them again by this rationale to a greater worship of him, and showing that he is not in need of their worship and veneration (how could one to whom glory is attributed by nature, and to whom so many and such great creatures are subject, [be in need]?), but that out of goodness alone he has made them his own and intimate, and has rendered them glorious and famous throughout the whole world. Signifying this, he said: “A hymn to all his saints, to the children of Israel, a people drawing near to him.” For so that he might not render them more slothful and supine by calling them his people—placing their confidence in this name alone and neglecting the virtue of the soul—after he said, “A hymn to all,” he did not say simply, “to men,” but, “to his saints”; and again, after he said, “to the children of Israel,” he added, “to a people drawing near to him.” Another interpreter, for the word “Hymn,” said, “Praise.” What he says, therefore, is of this kind: If you are saints, if you draw near to him, you will attain great glory. For all things of his are lasting...
493 A of having glory. But it is necessary that our own works henceforth follow, and we too shall enjoy much of that splendor, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, for ever and ever. Amen.
ON PSALM CXLIX
1. *Sing unto the Lord a new song.* 1. If one considers the anagoge, the "new song" is spoken of as that of the New Testament. For all things then became new. A Testament: "I will make a new testament with you," he says. Creature: "If any man be in Christ," he says, "he is a new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17). Man: "Putting off," he says, "the old man, and putting on the new, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Col. 3:9, 10). For the sake therefore of the new life, and all other things, it is called a New Testament, and the prophet now urges us to sing the new song of this. But according to the history, it is that which they were about to sing over victories, over successes, over trophies; brilliant and notable. *Let his praise be in the church of the saints.* Do you see how, before the words, he asks for the thanksgiving through life and deeds, and leads these into the choir of those who praise? For it is not sufficient to give thanks by words alone, unless the virtue through action also accompanies it. *Let his praise be in the church of the saints.* And he teaches something else here as well. For he demonstrates that they should offer B praise together and with all harmony. For "church" is a name for a company and an assembly. *Let Israel rejoice in him that made him.* Before particular benefits, he places the universal one, as if to say, through the things he has added, while exhorting and saying: "Give thanks to God, that he brought you out of nothing, and breathed a soul into you." For this is no small part of the benefit. But here he shows something even more. For he does not merely signify the creation, but the intimacy, by saying it in this way; and he encourages them to give thanks, not because he made him, but because he [made him] also as his own people. Do you see how, by uniting and joining him to God, he wishes him not merely to give thanks, but to do so with pleasure, with gladness, and with a mind becoming fervent? For he hinted at all these things through the words "Let him rejoice." He seeks, therefore, the disposition of the one giving thanks, so that he may be inflamed with longing, so that he may be stirred by love, so that he may be entirely dedicated to the God who is praised; just as he said elsewhere when signifying the same thing: "As the deer pants for the fountains of water, so pants my soul after thee, O God" (Ps. 41:1–2). And again, "My soul has thirsted for the strong, living God" (Ibid. v. 3). And again, "My soul has thirsted for thee, how manifoldly my flesh to thee, in a desert, and trackless, and waterless land," which another interpreter called, "As in a thirsty land." C For wishing to describe the disposition of his own soul and his longing, he compares it to a thirsty land, to a panting deer. And he signifies the same longing again through words, saying: "When shall I come and appear before the face of God?" (Ps. 41:2). For such are the souls of the saints, just as the soul of Paul was also groaning at the delay of his departure from here. *And let the sons of Zion rejoice in their king.* Do you see that this, which I have already said, is hinted at here: the intimacy, that they are his special people? For this very reason he also added, "In their king," signifying this. For he was not king according to the principle of creation alone, but also according to that of intimacy. *Let them praise his name in the choir.* See again this harmony shining forth. For for this reason there are choirs, so that all may offer praises together and with one mind. This Paul also signifies by saying, "Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together" (Hebr. 10:25). And this prayer itself hints at this, offered from the common [voice] of all: "Our Father, who art in heaven," and, "Forgive us our debts," and, "Lead us not into temptation," and, "Deliver us from the evil one," using the plural name. Thus also in the old [times] they were taught to psalm and sing to God with harmony, being incited from all sides to love and concord: *In timbrel and psalter let them sing to him.*
2. *The psalter is moved from above.* Some, taking the reason for these instruments by way of anagoge, say that the timbrel seeks the mortification of our flesh, while the psalter [seeks] to look toward heaven. For D this instrument is moved from above, not from below, like the cithara. But I would say this: that in the old times they sang in this way through these instruments, because of the dullness of their minds, and because they had just been torn away from the idols. Just as, therefore, he permitted sacrifices, so he permitted these things, condescending to their weakness. He demands, therefore, here that one sing with pleasure; for this is what "Let them praise his name in the choir" means: that which is with harmony, that which is with a pure life. Then, again, stirring them to greater eagerness, he mentions also the favor of the one being praised toward them. For he adds: *For the Lord takes pleasure in his people.* What could be equal to this prosperity, when God is propitious? *And he will exalt the meek in salvation.* See again how he sets down both the things of God and the things of men. Just as, therefore, above, demanding thanksgiving from them, he also brought in the things of God, saying: "For the Lord takes pleasure in his people," so here again, while promising the things from God, he demands also those from men, saying: "And he will exalt the meek in salvation." For the exalting is God’s; the being meek is man’s. For the things from God do not come to pass, unless the things from men precede them. And see the magnitude of the gift. He did not say, "He will save," simply, but "He will exalt in salvation." That is: He will not only deliver them from evils, but will also make them conspicuous and manifest, providing them with glory along with the salvation. This, indeed, he clarifies again when he adds: *The saints shall rejoice in glory.* Just as he demands "meek" there, so here "saints." For everywhere God makes a display of all his things with miracles. Thus he delivered them from Egypt, thus he led them back from Babylon; not [only] in the deliverance from evils, but [also] in the miracle of the things done, making them more brilliant.
and he brought them back from Babylon, making them more illustrious not only in their liberation, but also in the very miracle of the events. B *Lætabuntur in cubilibus suis.* He shows great security when he subjoins this, great quiet, great happiness, great pleasure. He says these things so that they might know it was not by their own arms, nor by their own powers, but by the help of God that this whole thing was accomplished, and that this ought to be drawn to oneself through humility and gentleness.
6. *Exultationes Dei in gutture eorum, et gladii ancipites in manibus eorum; 7. ad faciendam vindictam in nationibus, increpationes in populis.* He shows here that the war is to be waged with a choral dance, and that they themselves, if they sing and praise, will be victorious. For he calls "exultations" hymns, psalms, and acts of thanksgiving. And therefore, another translates "exultations" as *Hymns*. *Ad faciendam vindictam in nationibus, increpationes in populis.* What is this? Since those who had conquered were constantly heaping reproaches upon them, he promises that he will refute them by the events themselves, showing that it was not the weakness of God, but their own sins that had given them the victory. And so, when they had paid penalty enough, the kind and merciful God merely nodded, and their affairs came to an admirable change. C See, moreover, the remarkable victory. For he subjoins and says: *Ad alligandos reges eorum in compedibus, et nobiles eorum in manicis ferreis.* Did you see the immense powers? For they not only drove out their enemies and repelled them, but they even returned having taken them captive, showing the power of God to all.
9. *Ut faciant in eis judicium conscriptum.* What is *judicium conscriptum*? Open, manifest, that which is acknowledged, that which cannot be consigned to oblivion. For the things of God are such that they extend through all time, both by the magnitude of the events and the excellence of the miracles. Such, then, he says, will be the victory, and such the trophy, that it will be manifest to all, as open as if it were written on a pillar, and it will never be erased. *Gloria hæc est omnibus sanctis ejus.* What, then, is this? To have conquered, or rather, not strictly to have conquered, but to have conquered in this way through the aid of God, through help from above. D See, moreover, how he again constantly makes mention of the saints, inciting them to the striving for a well-ordered life and virtue. But it seems to me that he calls not only the victory but also the praises, hymns, and canticles glory, teaching through all these things that those who praise God will receive a great accession of glory and will make themselves more illustrious, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and empire, forever and ever. Amen.
ON PSALM CL
*Laudate Deum in sanctis ejus.* Another: *In sancto suo.* Another: *In sanctificato suo.* Either he speaks here about the people, or about the holy life and holy men. See, moreover, how he has concluded the book again with an act of thanksgiving, teaching us that this ought to be the beginning and the end of the things which we both do and say. And therefore Paul says: *Omne quodcumque facitis in sermone et opere, semper gratias agite Deo et Patri per ipsum*. In this way, also, the preamble of our prayer takes its beginning from this. For to say, *Our Father*, is for those who give thanks on account of the gifts which they have received, and they show all those things through this name. For he who has said "Father" has confessed the adoption of sons; but he who has confessed adoption has proclaimed justice, sanctification, redemption, the remission of sins, and the supply of the Holy Spirit. For it is necessary that all these things have existed beforehand so that we might thus enjoy the adoption of sons, and be held worthy to call Him Father. But it seems to me that he also implies something else, saying: *In sanctis enim suis*, that is, through His saints. Give thanks, therefore, because He has introduced such a form of living into life, or even made men angels. D And therefore, when he had first said, *In sanctis*, he subjoined: *Laudate eum in firmamento virtutis ejus*: indicating what I have already stated. For this is a greater concern to God than that. For the heaven was made for man, not man for the heaven. Another, however, for *In firmamento*, said, *Indelebili*. Another: *In firmamento imperii ejus*. Furthermore, it seems to me that he signifies something else, as in the previous Psalm. For just as there he says, *Laudate eum angeli ejus*: so also here he says, *Laudate eum in firmamento ejus*: that is, Ye who are in His firmament. For He does not cease to constantly take up the heavenly powers as companions of his praise.
2. *Laudate eum in virtutibus ejus.* Another: *Per potentias ejus.* The Hebrew, however, says, *Begeburothau*. This, then, is what he says: Praise Him on account of His powers, on account of His might, on account of His miracles, on account of the virtue which He shows through all things, which are below, which are above, which are done commonly, and which privately, which individually, and which perpetually. *Laudate eum secundum multitudinem magnitudinis ejus.* And how can it be that one might utter a praise which corresponds to the multitude of His greatness? He does not say a praise that corresponds, but, "As much," he says, "as you can comprehend in your mind the multitude of His greatness, offer such and so much: as much as is granted to you, such as is right for one who is a man to offer to a great God and one who is beyond measure." For no one can offer what is worthy. Did you see the desire of the soul? Did you see the inflamed mind, which urges, invites, and strives so that it might both overcome its own weakness and from that point fly up to heaven itself, which is bound to God and addicted to Him with great desire? 4. *Laudate eum in sono tubæ.* Another: *Per sonum corneæ.* *Laudate eum in psalterio et cithara.* Another: *Per nablum et lyram.* 5. *Laudate eum in tympano et choro; laudate eum in chordis et organo.* Another: *Per chordas cithara*. 6. *Laudate eum in cymbalis bene sonantibus;
praise the Lord." Another [translation]: "Breathing, move all instruments," and orders the melody to be offered to God through all things, warming their intellect and rousing it. Just as, therefore, for the Jews it was ordered to praise God through all instruments, so to us it is commanded through all our members: through the eye, through the tongue, through the hearing, and through the hand. Which indeed Paul also signifies, saying, "Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, your reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1). For the eye praises, when it does not look upon things shameless; and the tongue, when it sings; and the hearing, when it does not receive wicked songs, nor accusations against a neighbor; and the mind, when it does not weave deceits, but overflows with love; and the feet, when they do not run into wickedness, but toward the administration of good works; and the hands, when they do not reach out for plunder and greed and blows, but for almsgiving and the protection of the wronged. Then man becomes a well-tuned lyre, offering a manifold and spiritual melody to God. And those instruments were permitted then for this reason: both on account of their weakness, and to temper them into love and harmony, and to rouse their intellect to perform with pleasure the things that provided profit, and to lead them to wish to apply great zeal through such entertainment. For God, acting with wisdom regarding their base and sluggish and lax nature, devised this strategy to awaken them, blending the sweetness of melody with the labor of attendance. A What is, *in the cymbal of significance*? He says this regarding the psalms. For they did not merely beat cymbals, nor merely play the lyre, but as was possible, they indicated the significance of the psalms through the cymbals, through the trumpets, and through the playing of the lyre; and they had zeal and labor in these, which brought them great profit. "Let every breath praise the Lord." Because he has called those from heaven, because he has roused the congregation, because he has moved all the instruments, he proceeds henceforth to all of nature, calling every age to the melody: elders, men, youths, adolescents, women, all who inhabit the world, and from this point already casting the seeds of the New Testament to those extended throughout everywhere on earth. Let us, therefore, praise God continuously, let us not cease giving thanks for all things, both through words and through deeds. For this is our sacrifice and offering, this is the most excellent service and resembling the angelic lives. And if we remain praising Him thus, we shall pass the present life without stumbling, and we shall enjoy the good things to come; may we all attain to these, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father together with the holy Spirit be glory, might, honor, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
TO TWO HOMILIES ON THAT, DO NOT FEAR WHEN A MAN HAS BECOME RICH
Regarding these two homilies, Savile has this in his Notes, Tom. 8, col. 721: "Copies of this oration and the one next following were described from the Library of New College, Oxford. We have corrected the former from two Manuscripts in the Royal Library of Paris, one Imperial at Vienna, and the codex published at Paris, 1554. For lest you be ignorant, reader, this of ours is the same as that published one (though the beginnings are different), with only a few small exceptions. In the latter oration, all is plain: in the former, not a few things are gaping and harsh. We have done what we could to note the passages which pleased less, for ingenious and industrious readers either to interpret or to correct. Both are genuine, and delivered, I believe, in Constantinople, and indeed the latter seems to have been delivered by our John after another had been spoken by some presbyter, perhaps his own." How great the variety of exemplars is in the first homily, you will soon see in the note placed at the bottom of the page; which variety, although not everywhere so great, is observed almost throughout this entire homily. I was considering at the beginning whether this homily might be of the number of those that Chrysostom had revised, changed, augmented, and published with different beginnings, and spoken two or more times to the people, as we have seen in volume two, two [such homilies]: the one concerning Judas the traitor, p. 586, the other concerning the Cross and the Thief, p. 414: however, upon weighing the matter more accurately, I discovered that so great a variety of exemplars originated from the rash audacity of the most trifling Greeks. You may see this especially in the final note, where from one Royal Codex we have produced inanities full of solecisms, and unworthy of any sensible man, not to say Chrysostom. That it was delivered in Constantinople, however, these words in number 2 persuade: "You know in this city unnumbered examples concerning the untimely loss of such wealth: and you have learned that while the possessor was alive, the possession perished: for the end of riches is a change into poverty. Weigh, therefore, how brief in time possession is. For the possessor lives after the loss of the possession. And would that the possession had perished, and had not dragged the possessor himself into destruction. You will not be wrong, therefore, if you call riches a domestic ingrate, a murderer and homicide: a creature that brings slaughter upon the benefactor in return for his reward. Where he seems to commemorate altogether the calamity and death of Eutropius, who once flourished in power and wealth, and of many others who in these times experienced the vicissitudes of fortune in Constantinople. Which I would have you note: he repeats here in almost the same words, what was said in the first homily on Eutropius, Tom. 3, p. 381 ff., and more things. Tillemont also makes another note, which proves that Chrysostom was then bishop when he preached these things: because he surely calls himself shepherd in number 4, and thus advises that the chief care of the shepherd is that he be concerned about such things.
From this it is also argued that this homily was delivered in Constantinople, because the following homily, which insists on the same argument, and was delivered in the same place for Psalm 48, is said to have been spoken in Constantinople, as is stated in the title. Moreover, this homily was delivered after another homily proceeded from Chrysostom, or was preached by another city bishop, as is said at the beginning. But it was delivered after some tumult had occurred in Constantinople, as is indicated at the beginning by these words: "Come, let us also wash our ears from the tumult, which we have now passed through, liberated from the storm, just as from certain rivers by the reading of the Scriptures." For we shall cleanse our ears from the tumult and certain disturbance that is also spoken of below. Perhaps someone might think that it treats here of his first exile, which happened in the year 403: but I would rather believe that Chrysostom speaks of the affairs of Eutropius, and likewise of Aurelian and Saturninus the optimate, who went into exile because of the works of Gainas and the tumult, and thus it was delivered about the year 400; although this is not entirely certain. We have edited the interpretation of the prior homily, because that which was in the Edition had been composed in paraphrase by Godefridus Tilmannus. The second interpretation is by Fronton du Duc.