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.