759 SPURIA. even those ignorant of the laws of nature: for we have sacrificed our sons and our daughters to demons. 16. "And look upon thy servants and upon thy works, and direct their children." Do you see again how he resumed the prayer? What does he pray for? That God may look upon us and upon our works. But He will look upon us, and will have us as His own servants, when we have been obedient to the law (for this is proper to servants); then He will deign to look upon us and our works, as being good. He will direct both us and our carnal children, and even our spiritual ones—inasmuch as they have learned good things from the good—seeing that they are worthy of the direction of God. 17. "And let the splendor of the Lord our God be upon us, and the works of our hands direct thou upon us." If we are deemed worthy of the splendor of God, namely, the illustration of the Holy Spirit, of which the saints, being partakers, also had their own splendor (for it says: "In the splendors of thy saints; from the womb before the morning star I have begotten thee" [Ps. CIX, 3]), our works, that is, our actions, are directed by God upon us—that is, for our benefit—being thus arranged according to the law from Him, so that what was said to the apostles may be said to us: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. V, 16). "And the work of our hands direct thou." For the Psalmist indicates almsgiving: for it is the excellent work of our B hands; and for this reason, out of the many works which he mentioned in the preceding verses, he chose that one, in order to attribute to almsgiving its proper dignity, which, if we engage in, we reap no small gain, namely, the mercy of God and His indulgence: for "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matt. V, 7).
A praise of a song of David; without inscription among the Hebrews. Psalm XC.
The other interpreters of the psalms have manuscripts without an inscription. But for this reason the inscription ought not to be rejected; rather, it is fitting to adhere to it. For it belongs to the Seventy interpreters, who through mutual consent declared the thing provided for them by the Spirit, led by which they necessarily inscribed the present psalm as a praise of a song of David. For one must examine this melody of his very diligently, inasmuch as it embraces great and wonderful things. 1. "He who dwells in the help of the Most High, shall abide in the protection of the God of heaven." The help of the Most High are His laws, which were given as a support for us against invisible enemies. Therefore, he who institutes his life according to his goal dwells in this. This person "shall abide in the protection of the God of heaven"; in the future, that is: for he shall be a companion to God, and shall abide in the same dwelling with the Maker of heaven; or he shall be protected by God Himself, not by some work of creation. 2. "He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector and my refuge, my God, and I will hope in him." Deservedly, indeed; for he who conducts himself according to the precepts of God, he acts confidently as one hoping in Him, and will obtain Him as a protector when he stands against spiritual enemies; but if he is weak, it does not happen because the protection of God is overcome, but because he himself has made himself weaker through his own sloth. "He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my refuge." You do not err if you say this, trusting from your previous life. 3. "For he shall deliver me from the snare of the hunters, and from a word of tumult." The snare of the hunters, and even a word of tumult, is every plan that leads to evils, and that corrupts the souls of the deceived with pleasures, and instructs them in this way. God delivers us from this plan when we flee to Him: for then we can no longer be ensnared by pleasures, knowing that all worldly things, when compared with God, are of no value. 4. "He shall overshadow thee with his shoulders, and under his wings shalt thou hope." Why does the prophet, having spoken first in his own person, now seem to address another, except because those things which are now being said are directed to the people of the Gentiles, whom he instructs as to how they might be able to overcome the demons usurping tyranny? And what companionship does God promise them? First, he says, from the law and the prophets: these indeed are the shoulders of God, because in them, as if on shoulders, He deposited His own knowledge; in them 780 He overshadows him who approaches Him, not allowing him to be scorched by the diabolical heat. For this reason, the apostle Paul mentions the shadow of the law (Heb. X, 1). The C feathers are the Gospels: for he who has instituted his life according to them is carried aloft from earth to heaven, as if winged. From these, therefore, one must hope, or rather, it is fitting to be instructed in such hope in God, as he is commanded to live in an evangelical manner, so that one does not hope in God and mammon, but in God only (Luc. XVI, 13): for thus we shall by no means be able to be injured either by sensible or by spiritual enemies. D "His truth shall encompass thee with a shield": it is not of a liar; but the truth of God is Christ, as we have often said: his shield is the cross, by which, being circummuned, we confidently approach all wars, and put to flight all enemies: as the things which follow indicate. "Thou shalt not be afraid of a terror at night, 6. of an arrow flying by day." The nocturnal terror is the pleasures of the flesh: for it especially rushes in in the darkness: the arrow flying by day is avarice: for this time is opportune for them for flying, namely, for prayer. However, you must understand both in the incursion of demons: for these are accustomed to terrify us at night, with the darkness cooperating for terrors; but by day they fly; for they are aerial; nor do they rest, but like arrows they invade the incautious and those stripped of arms. "From the affair walking in darkness, from the ruin and the demon of noonday." Do you see that the superior things also were said about demons? Because whose differences are many (for many species of deceit roam about), he says, "From the affair walking in darkness," that is, from whatever acts and makes a journey in the darkness. For when he had said this generally, he mentions the opposing powers, which rejoice in darkness, and because of their wickedness have no commerce with the day: for which reason they are to be led into the outer darkness: indeed, they are also accustomed to pursue during the meridian time of the day: for at that time most men are wont to rest. But since they are thieves and robbers, they flee the countenances of men, having feared the dignity of our image: for which reason they spend most of their time around monuments and muddy and deserted places. And therefore they attempt to attack and invade us around noonday. 7. "A thousand shall fall from thy side, and ten thousand from thy right hand, but it shall not approach thee." The apostle Paul taught us the weapons of justice, the right and the left: "glory and dishonor, evil report and good report," and the rest (II Cor. VI, 7–8). In these, the opposing powers, overcome, fall: but there are fewer on the left, more on the right. For which reason, "From thy side," by which this prophet here understands the left side, by which way it was distinguished from the right, he says that thousands of enemies are to fall; from the right, ten thousand. But do not wonder at the beginning, for the falls of the demons are the afflictions of the saints: namely, of the martyrs, and of those who have emulated the contests of the martyrs. The afflictions and tortures are constituted on the left: from here he enumerates those who have fallen from the right, as their honors, who were Christ’s worshippers, have been taken away. Thus he says the slaughter and destruction of the enemies is accomplished without labor; so that they dared not even approach us, to engage with us in a standing fight. 8. "But yet thou shalt consider with thine eyes, and shalt see the retribution of sinners." Although, he says, they fight from afar and invisibly, as being invisible, nevertheless you shall see with your own eyes the trophies erected against them, and the retribution given to them by those whom they had deceived. For those who previously were fashioning idols, now destroy idols; who previously were building temples, now burn them; who previously were making gods of the works of their own hands, now with their own hands cast them down. But hear how these things are accomplished; for the prophet, responding, assumed the person of the human race: 9. "Because thou, O Lord, art my hope." The words are consonant both with a grateful mind and with the truth. For through hope in God we conquer the principalities, the powers and the world-rulers of the darkness (Ephes. VI, 12), and our carnal, incorporeal [adversaries]. The Most High you have madeyour refuge. 10. There shall no evil approach you, and no scourge shall draw near to your tabernacle. The prophet introduces a fine personification; for having approved that the man who was victorious attributed the cause of the victory to God, he also deemed it fit to anoint him with these present words. For he does not merely say that evils will not prevail against him, but that they will not even approach him at all, for fear of the indwelling and protecting God; whom he had made his own refuge, or dwelling-place, as other interpreters have delivered it. So great a good is it to take refuge in God. Wherefore Jeremiah also used to say: Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord shall be his hope (Jer. 17. 7). For how is he not blessed, to whom evils do not approach at all, and no scourge shall draw near to his tabernacle, that is, to his body? For thus did Paul also speak of it: For we who are in this tabernacle, we groan, being burdened; not that we want to be unclothed, but clothed upon, that the mortal may be swallowed up by life (2 Cor. 5. 4). And why shall the scourge not draw near? Because to be scourged is proper to sinners; but he who has taken refuge in God will not be among sinners, and reasonably he is not scourged. 11. For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. 12. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. A son of God, then, is he who is found taking refuge in God; for so great is the dignity of the words now spoken, concerning which the Adversary interpreted these things of Christ, when he sought to cast Him down from above (Matt. 4. 6). You see that He himself also says that God does not give charge to one angel only, but to many concerning him who has taken refuge in Him, so that they might keep all his ways, and bear him up upon their hands, meaning, that they might support him. Not only, therefore, do they guard, but they also lead by the hand those who are pious, that they might not strike their feet; and He decreed that the one below should be served by the powers above, in honor of the image which the one below wears. But you should also conceive of God-bearing angels, those who possess the knowledge of God and who in all our ways, that is, in our occupations, guard us and lead us by the hand, that we may not strike against the stone of stumbling and the rock of scandal. For that God has appointed for us angels who teach His knowledge and make it known, hear Malachi saying: The lips of a priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law from his mouth, because he is an angel of the Lord Almighty (Mal. 2. 7). 13. You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample on the lion and the dragon. He alludes to the wicked powers by the aforementioned thoughts, in which the poison of malice resides as in reptiles. Whence also the Lord said: Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy (Luke 10. 19). He, therefore, who treads upon anger, treads upon a lion; for the animal is irascible. Wherefore Solomon also says: The threat of a king is like the fury of a lion (Prov. 20. 2). Likewise, he who treads upon pleasures and the other malice, treads upon the asp and the basilisk and the dragon. For the pleasures of the flesh, and all wickedness in life, are necessarily compared to reptiles crawling upon the ground. Perchance, he who treads upon envy properly treads upon the basilisk, as it reigns in malice; at the same time, the basilisk is also said to have poison in its eye, just as envious people are also said to have. 14. Because he hoped in Me, I will deliver him: I will shield him, because he knew My name. Since the Psalmist spoke great things, and things almost unbelievable, such that such wicked and powerful forces—so that they are compared to a lion and a dragon and an asp and a basilisk, which are the most savage of all beasts—are being trampled by us, having said this, behold, he presented God confirming what was said, and showing the hope in Him to be an invulnerable weapon, by which we are delivered from enemies, if we have reached the point of being under Him; and we are shielded, so that we are no longer plotted against by them; only if we recognize the name of God, that is, if we gratefully worship Him in deed and word, with tongue and mind, thoughts and actions. For he knows the King not who has received Him by hearing alone, but who approaches Him, in the way a good king ought to be approached. He shall cry out to Me, and I will hear him. 762 What is more blessed than this, to have God ready as a help, prepared to array Himself against enemies? I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him and glorify him. Therefore, tribulation is no longer tribulation, but joy and glory because of the One who dwells with and shares in it, and the purpose of those who afflict is turned into the opposite. Just as it was for Nebuchadnezzar, when he threw the children into the furnace of fire as if to destroy them; but they were not only raised up from the threatened destruction, but were worshipped by the tyrant who threatened them. With length of days I will satisfy him: obviously the enjoyment of the future age; for the life of men here, however long it may be, is most slight in comparison to that one. And I will show him My salvation. You will say salvation, that even the salvation by which those who have believed in God are saved in that judgment; but you will say most especially Christ, who is the salvation of the Father; for in Him He saved our race. He promised, then, to show Him to us; for the hope of the pious is to see Him face to face, just as Paul also set forth to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 13. 12).
A Psalm of an Ode of David for the day of the day before the Sabbath. XCI
1. The psalm is anonymous, yet not without an inscription; it has an inscription revealing the subject, but it hid the name of the one who provided the melody. And what is the cause, the inscription shows. Since this psalm happened to be assigned for the day of the Sabbath, as it was sung by all the choir-singers, it is reasonable that it is not inscribed as David’s, nor even Asaph’s, nor the sons of Korah’s, nor any other’s (for it was common); it being evident that the prophecy differed for David just as it did for the rest of the psalms. It is good to confess to the Lord, and to sing to Your name, O Most High. For how is it not good to confess to the Good One, who does good to those who confess, and does not punish at all? For knowing our affairs, He is nevertheless gladly taught them by those who confess, wishing to overlook the accusation against us by the enemies, and to justify us through confession. For a just man is his own accuser in the beginning of his speech (Prov. 18. 17). Nevertheless, it was necessary to confess first, and then he commanded to sing; since it is necessary to hymn God from a pure heart. And how else is one released from sins, if not by confession, being cleansed? And what, is it good to sing? That is, beneficial and fruitful. To announce Your mercy in the morning, and Your truth by night. He commands the meditation on God by day and by night; for by saying morning, he indicated the day. However, he assigned the meditation on truth to the night, producing in us fear and contrition at that time, so that, since for the most part, many men use the night for pleasures and counsels, by being reminded of God—His truth being fearful to those who sin—they might cease from every absurd act and unlawful thought; and if they should transgress somewhat, having come to the morning, that is, when the day has come, they should by no means despair, but having meditated on the mercy of God, they might look toward repentance, by which alone sinners can be shown mercy. Then how are we to sing, how are we to announce? On a ten-stringed psaltery, with an ode on a harp. He wants the mercy and the truth to be the meditation of the one who sings from both Testaments, the Evangelical and the Legal. For this reason he mentioned the psaltery and the harp; but also by saying ten-stringed psaltery here, he hinted at the Legal Testament; for there are ten commandments in the law. Since he assigned the ode to the harp, and the New [Testament] by all means, concerning which this very Psalmist said in another part of the prophecy: O God, I will sing a new song to You, on a ten-stringed psaltery I will play to You (Ps. 143. 9). He then hints at the Evangelical Testament. And for what sake does he use double instruments for melody? Because, You have made me glad, O Lord, in Your making, and I will exult in the works of Your hands. Double, he says, are the good things I have; for this reason I have busied myself with double instruments of doxology. For we are made glad in the making of God, in the beauty of the heaven, in the variety of the stars, in the good things from the earth, in the produce of the sea.
A 6. *How magnified are thy works, O Lord! Thy thoughts have been made very profound.* He does not say this because the works of God increase in greatness, but because we have made progress in the knowledge of them, and are able to grasp their magnitude as much as is permitted—or rather, are able to know that they are incomprehensible. Moreover, his "thoughts," that is, His counsels concerning us by which He dispenses and provides for our needs, have been made so profound that Paul says: *O the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways!* (Rom. 11:33). But just as the just, for this reason, celebrate God and admire Him beyond measure, so the sinners think foolishly concerning these things—or rather, they stumble into them through an ignorance born of folly. This is declared by what follows:
7. *An unwise man shall not know, and a fool shall not understand these things.* For it is the part of a fool not to yield to the wisdom of God, nor to know that He governs all things with justice, directs them with equity, and dispenses them profitably, even if we are ignorant for a time of the causes of the things that come to pass. Yet, he declares later how it happens that the unwise stumble.
8. *When the sinners shall spring up as the grass, and all the workers of iniquity shall appear, it is that they may perish forever and ever.* For the springing up of sinners has a temporary beauty. He calls it a "springing up," not because of its splendor, but so that you may learn that misfortunes follow it. It deceives the foolish and the unwise, and puts into their minds thoughts as if God were leaving the world without providence; nor do they consider that sinners, even if they do spring up, do so in such a way that, like grass, they wither as soon as they have flourished. Nevertheless, all who work impiety look up to their prosperity. They show that they trust in themselves; but such trust is found to be preparing for them eternal ruin, for to trust in evils is worse than to commit them.
9. *But thou, O Lord, art most high for ever.* We have often said that the present life is called "forever" (*sæculum*) by this prophet—in which he says that God is "most high," that is, incomprehensible; for this is signified by "height," always indeed, but now even more so. For in the future, if not entirely, yet to a great degree—if a comparison be made with present knowledge—we shall comprehend the judgments of God. Therefore Paul says: *For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. Now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I am known* (1 Cor. 13:9, 10, 12).
10. *For behold thine enemies, O Lord, for behold thine enemies shall perish, and all they that work iniquity shall be dispersed.* We cannot now comprehend the judgments of God, he says, because His enemies, that is, sinners, shall perish in the world to come; and then all who work iniquity shall be dispersed—so that, while they are now gathered and standing, and have not yet met the ruin due to sinners, some deceive themselves as if they were not about to pay the penalty, though even in this life there is present no light vengeance, given that they are called enemies of God, and a great threat hangs over them, that they shall not only perish but also be dispersed. In vain, therefore, do they gather relationships and friendships in malice, ignorant that nothing of this can long stand, since God dissipates every gathering of the wicked.
11. *And my horn shall be exalted like that of the unicorn, and my old age in fat mercy.* Unicorns are the just, but especially Christ, who used the cross as a single horn against the opposing powers. He gave us a horn, faith in Him, by which we might stand against all; which horn has a height agreeing with the Lord’s horn, namely, the cross. For just as the cross was glorified through sufferings, so also the faith of the pious is affected with glory through tribulations and persecutions. Furthermore, our old age, that is, our final years, is exalted in fat mercy. For in the final times He who has mercy on us abundantly and liberally arrived, in order to call sinners and publicans into His kingdom.
12. *And mine eye hath looked down upon mine enemies; and mine ear shall hear of the wicked that rise up against me.* Since the discourse has often declared that demons are our enemies, our eye has looked down upon them, contemplating the ruin of idols, the burning of temples, the destruction of altars, by which they had caught us for death. Our ear has heard what Jesus threatened would happen to them; and thus we have looked upon them. And what are those things? Truly, the eternal fire ready for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41). Beautifully, however, he called them "rising up," showing that we differ from them as much as slaves from their masters. But if we are slothful, see us weak and asleep, and they rise up against us like servants against weak masters who are given to sleep.
13. *The just shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall be multiplied like the cedar of Libanus.* [The text here explains the nature of the palm: a small part is under the earth, the whole is above the earth, and its fruit, because of the difficulty of climbing and its height, cannot be plucked by wild beasts. And the palm has nothing common or despicable, but everything is useful: if you should refer these things one by one to the just, you will admire how genuine and unchangeable this image is. Moreover, palm branches are given to those contending and running as a symbol of victory: thus, in the world to come, we can be crowned in no other way than by righteousness. Wherefore Paul said: *As for the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord the just judge will render to me in that day* (2 Tim. 4:8). But why, you will say, *shall he be multiplied like the cedar in Libanus*? Because Libanus, on account of the fruitless nature of the cedar, is a symbol and figure of the Gentiles; yet even among the Gentiles the justice of God is multiplied. For many prophets indeed, and many patriarchs, and other God-bearing and just men came forth from Israel; but the martyrs, those presented from among the Gentiles, surpassed their number, in whom the justice of God grew into a multitude. But learn from what follows how it grew into a multitude. Or because the palm has a white flower, and keeps its fruit hidden as long as it is unripe; but when it wishes it to be eaten, then it brings it forth: so the just at first hide their virtues; but when they have come to perfection, they themselves reveal them.]
14. *They that are planted in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, shall flourish.* For "planted," the other interpreters have put "transplanted" (*transplantati*), so that it is manifest that it is not just any cedars, but those which have been transplanted from error, that are in the house of God: concerning which Paul speaks, writing to Timothy: *That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God* (1 Tim. 3:15). Or because Libanus, although it is a mountain given to idolatry, while it has cedars in it, they are vituperated by Scripture: but when they have been translated to the structure of the holy Temple, then it praises them. For Solomon took some from them for the structure of the temple of the Lord. *In the courts of the house of our God they shall flourish*; namely, in the particular Churches. For he called the Church of God taken generally the house of God: or also the house of God is the Law, into which the Gentiles, transplanted from the iniquity prevalent among them, have flourished in the courts of God, namely in the commandments, and have brought forth fruit.
15. *They shall still be multiplied in a fat old age.* Their prosperous affairs, he says, are not temporary. Let no one suspect this of the Gentiles after they have flourished; but in a flourishing old age they are multiplied and increased: for as time proceeds, the piety of the Gentiles is multiplied. And they shall be *well-suffering* (patient), 16. *that they may announce, that the Lord our God is righteous, and there is no iniquity in him.* See how...