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...