Homily 1 on Psalm 50

HOMILY ON THE INSCRIPTION OF THE FIFTIETH PSALM, AND ON THE REPENTANCE OF DAVID, AND ON THAT WHICH CONCERNED URIAS.

1. Painters in their art imitate nature, and by blending colors, they depict images of the bodies they love and create men, animals, trees, wars, battles, flowing torrents of blood, spears, breastplates, shields, kings and private citizens, a royal throne, a king seated and a barbarian lying underneath, a sharpened point, rivers flowing, varied fields, and in short, they imitate all things visible through their art and provide a spectacle to those who behold them. ^A Just so, the prophets are also, in a way, painters of virtue and vice. For they also write with words the sinner, the just man, the penitent, the one standing, the one falling, the one rising again, the one wavering. And just as painters create wars and slaughter, so too these men show sin at one time attacking, at another time being cast down; and the demons again, now fighting, now being fought; and the devil, at one time plotting, at another time being conquered. Since, then, such is their art, let us learn it with accuracy. For when we see the tables of painters, we go away gaining nothing. For what profit is it to me to see an image of a king or a consul? I can neither become a king, nor do I wish to. What profit then is this spectacle to me, for which I have no desire, and even if I did desire it, I am punished? What profit is it to see a man growing rich? If I am poor, I envy; if I am rich, I am begrudged. Suffering again the same things, I lament. Leave those images alone, and behold this spectacle. ^B If I see a consul, what is that to me? If I see a sinner having fallen and then rising again, the spectacle becomes a subject of instruction for me. If I see a just man standing, the spectacle leads me by the hand toward philosophy. From the spectacle I learn of the battle, and I am trained for the victory. If I see a just man being tripped up, I become wiser again from the spectacle. These things have all been said by me not simply nor in vain, but because the image of the Psalm read today leads us to this subject of instruction. For what does the prophet say? *Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy; and according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgression* (Ps. L, 1). This is the image. For I call the Psalm an image. For I see various persons in the Psalm: sin attacking and being slaughtered, repentance standing by and acting as an ally to God, philanthropy shining from above, providing philosophy, and having many fountains of tears from confession. These are the persons of the image. But before I begin the Psalm, it is necessary to interpret its inscription for you more accurately. For just as images have inscriptions, ^C so also do the Psalms. For just as images standing on high have below them wooden tablets indicating who the king is, and whose [son he is], and what war he brought to a successful conclusion; so, on the Psalm, the inscription is placed above, [telling] what the subject is, and what the instruction, and what the root, and for whose sake the Psalm was said. Grant me your close attention to this discourse. For the narrative before us is not about ordinary things. *A Psalm for David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, when he went in to Bethsabee the wife of Urias* (Ps. L, 1). This is the inscription. Let us learn, therefore, who Nathan is, and who Bethsabee is. Who, then, is the wife of Urias? And when did the prophet go in to her? And for whose sake did he write this Psalm? For not all the Psalms were said for David. For while all are by him, not all were said for him. For he did not relate his own sufferings only, but he also dramatized the misfortunes of others. For instance, *By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept* (Ps. CXXXVI, 1): it is clear that the Psalm was not said for him; for he did not go away to Babylon, nor did he see the land of the barbarians, nor did he sit down in a foreign land and weep; but he is relating the sufferings of the Jews. Again, when he says, *They pierced my hands and my feet, they numbered all my bones* (Ps. XXI, 17, 18): he is not explaining his own suffering, but was proclaiming the cross, the sacrifice of the world, that [which occurred] for the salvation of our nature. For it is an image having varied instruction. At one time, therefore, he relates his own, at another the affairs of others. Since, therefore, this Psalm also relates the affairs of others, for this reason it has been inscribed, *When Nathan the prophet went in unto him.* So the inscription does not permit us to grow drowsy, nor to divert the mind elsewhere; but it stands there commanding and teaching such things, and it teaches also other thoughts which the inscription tells us.

2. But pay attention with accuracy, both you who are just and you who are sinners. For the Psalm is useful to each party: to the just man, that he might not be slothful; to the sinner, that he might not despair of his own salvation. For both are difficult to grasp. ^D For the just man, having become slothful, is cast down, and the sinner, having despaired, does not rise again. In order, therefore, that the former may not remain in a fall, and the latter may not fall into a fall, this Psalmody of this melodist is given as life-saving to each party. For there is mentioned an act of sin of the prophet, great and grievous. But let no one of us condemn him. For the philanthropy of God, providing for the common race of men, changed the accomplishments of the saints, and the sins...

^A even into remedies, so that the wounds of one might become remedies for others. And when a righteous man falls through sin, I no longer despair of my own salvation; when I see that he has been cast down from the heights, I understand that his fall becomes a premise for resurrection. Therefore, not only the good deeds of the righteous are recorded by the grace of the Spirit, but also their sins. For He did not only record their previous deeds, but those which happened later. I desire, therefore, to show how this noble man was wounded, fell, arose, struggled, was defeated, conquered, and obtained the crown. For I do not wish to show him lying in his fall, but also recalled from his fall, that you may reap fruit from both sides: so that when you have sinned, you may not despair, but run quickly to the resurrection, and not say, "Woe is me, I have perished; I committed adultery, I fornicated, I committed murder." For you have a harbor of salvation that repels sin. For when you see such a man affected by wounds and lacerated, run immediately to repentance and conceive confidence, pouring forth springs of tears, that through his repentance you may more perfectly understand your own salvation. For example, many have often fallen—both men and women—into a grievous and incurable disease. Tears were poured forth, remedies were expended, the medical art failed, beauty was exhausted, the health of the body was despaired of. Then the wife walks about and says: "Whither shall I betake myself? What shall I do? I have consumed my money, I have summoned doctors, the remedies have been exhausted: the disease remains, and the wound is not healed." It often happens to one of those who have gone to visit the sick person to say: "I too fell into the same disease, and this man or that woman applied a remedy to me, and relieved me from the pain." Then she asks: "Show me this woman." "Go," he says, "to this street." So now also, after he committed adultery and murder, and received a grave wound, I am showing you in what manner he was cured and what medicine he applied. And I do not say: "Go to this street, ask this man or that." There is no need for labor, no need for hardship; it is not even necessary to set foot outside the threshold, but while standing here to receive the remedy. Only do this: attend your mind to the things I say. For it is worthwhile to introduce the discourse, and to relate the time when he sinned, and the place, and the person, and the repentance, and the correction, and the remedy, so that having learned all things with accuracy, you may then depart. ^B

Quies virtutis collactanea.

[No heading in text]

^A conversing with shadows and springs, but standing before their very eyes, says: "Who is this uncircumcised one who has defied the ranks of the living God?" And they say to him: "Whence comes this arrogance in you?" But he: "It is not arrogance, but faith; I possess not pride, but piety; I do not arm myself with a breastplate, but I am clothed with faith; I do not look to the magnitude of that man, but to the emptiness of his mind; I do not see that the ship is great, but that it has no helmsman. I do not fear him (for he is an enemy of God), even if he were ten thousand times powerful. For because of the help from above, this uncircumcised one is the weakest of all." With what weapons do you have confidence, O David? Not with carnal, but with spiritual ones. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual" (2 Cor. 10:4). And how, seeing that you are small and weak? But the Master is great. The weapon is cheap; but He who sent it is mighty. He made the sea dry land, He clave the rock, He changed the elements; much more does He overcome a single man. ^B 4. He came then to the men, and says to them: "What shall be given to the man who takes away his head?" He speaks about rewards, not that he might receive a reward, but that he might lead them to faith. What then, the brothers? Again envy, again jealousy. "Why did you abandon those few sheep? We know your pride and the wickedness of your heart." Envy is a thing full of passions, a fire that is not quenched! For just as a worm eats away at the work, so also does envy slowly consume the one who envies, while it makes the one envied more brilliant. So it happened also in the case of Joseph and his brothers. For those who envied were reduced from freedom to slavery; but the one who was envied became king. Again, therefore, the brothers: "We know thy pride and the wickedness of thy heart, that because of seeing the war you have come down." Why did they envy? Why were they jealous? They heard a report, they could not bear the prosperity of the signs. But what [of] this wise man? He withdrew from them, cutting away the ulcer, and went to the other part of the army, and says: "What shall be to the man who takes away his head?" And they brought him to the king. He saw then the king sitting, cowering, fearing, trembling, and he says to him: "Why has the face of my lord fallen, and in prosperity you confess servitude? Who is this? Shall I not go, and remove his head?" What then the king? "And how can you, since you are a small lad, and this man is a warrior from his youth?" Do not look at the things seen, but at the things understood; do not look at how he is small in appearance, but at how he is great in spirit. What then, that it might happen? The king is faithless; David is therefore compelled to tell him his achievements. ^C "I," he says, "was a small child by the flock of my father; and when a lion or a bear came, and took sheep from the flock, I went out after them, and I tore them from their mouth, and I killed the lion and the bear; and this man shall be as one of these beasts, because he has defied the ranks of the living God." And Saul said to David: "Go, the Lord be with you." And he gave him weapons, and David was not able to carry them. Why? God does not allow this, that he might win unarmed, so that the weapons might not share the victory of the achievements, so that the king might not say that my weapons conquered. He throws down the weapons, and clothes himself in faith; he goes out naked, and armored with piety; he goes out a shepherd, and not a soldier; he lets fly a stone, not trusting in the nature of the body, but by the power of faith he carried off the victory; he ran, he took his sword, he cut off his head. And ^D that which is written was fulfilled: "In the works of his hands the sinner was caught" (Ps. 9:17). Again envy, again jealousy. Constantly I dig up the source, so that he might find the eye. This man then, such and so great a man, of whom God says: "I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man according to my heart" (Ps. 88:21; Acts 13:22). O sublime eulogy! O proof of virtue! His Master says: "I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man according to my heart." This man, therefore, who overcame the beasts, who killed Goliath, who throttled the lion, who mastered the bear, who was gray-haired in his youth, small in body and high in spirit, who in the royal robe showed the rigor of monks; for not from pearls, but from tears, he was wetting his bed every night (Ps. 6:7). For those men now even sleep during the day, but that man was anxious even at night. Why at night? Because in the day, being king, he was overwhelmed by ten thousand matters; but at night, living as in a harbor, then alone he conversed with God alone, and shed fountains of tears, and washed his bed. This man, therefore, such and so great a man, who had drawn to himself the grace of the Spirit, who in the age of youth was gray-headed, who had reached the arches of the heavens, and had obtained the gift and grace from above, who had destroyed wars, who had displayed ten thousand achievements against the devil, after temperance, after gentleness, after modesty, when he had obtained the kingdom, when he had conquered ten thousand enemies, when he had subjected nations, when there was peace on all sides, he became more relaxed, so that you might learn of how many good things tribulation is the cause, and of how many evils relaxation is. And when? In the middle of the day. After lunch, having risen from his couch, he was walking, and he saw a woman naked, bathing, beautiful and very shapely (2 Kings 11:2). But beauty is not a crime; for beauty is a gift of God. He saw a woman bathing on a roof, a soldier’s wife, beautiful, fair. He saw, he was winged at the eye, he received the arrow. 5. Let those who are curious hear, those who are curious about and studying the beauties of others. Let those who are mad about the theaters hear, those who say: "We watch, but we are not harmed." David was harmed, and are you not harmed? That man was conquered, and do I have confidence in you? The one who had the grace of the Spirit, received an arrow; and do you remain unwounded in the spectacle of absurd things? And yet that man did not see a harlot, but a temperate and grave woman; and not in a theater, but in a home; but you [are] in a theater, where even the place punishes the soul; where you do not only look, but also listen to shameful words, and see harlot-like attire, and diabolical songs; and your mind is struck from all sides: by sight, from what you saw; by hearing, from what you hear; by smell, from what you smell. So many traps, so many pits, and do I have confidence that you are not becoming prey to beasts? Are you not stone? Are you not iron? You are a man, subject to the common weakness of nature. You hold fire, and it does not burn? And how does that make sense? Place a lamp in the grass, and can you tell me that the grass is not burnt? What the grass is, this also is our nature. He saw her bathing naked, he was caught by her beauty, he received the arrow, he received the wound, he sent for her; and as soon as she came to him, he worked the lawlessness, he fulfilled the desire. He commands her to depart to her own house. But in saying these things, I bring into the middle the wounded man, so that you who stand around might all see how he is healed. For a doctor performing surgery has all those standing around, so that they might see how by his art he overcomes the disease; much more, when a prophet is being operated upon, is it necessary for all to run together, so that [original-script column: see facsimile]

^A the sin might be veiled over, and then eventually it went away to him, Nathan the prophet. The desire was completed, the iniquity fulfilled, and the injured one was taken away. The prophet rebukes the prophet. Why so? And yet, since David was a prophet, why did he not heal himself? *For as physicians, when they are sick, have need of other physicians, since the disease corrupts their art: so also in this case, the prophet was one, and this [Nathan] was a prophet also.* But that one was healthy, while this one was sick—not, indeed, lying in a bed, but living in sin. They say therefore to him: “Behold, Nathan the prophet is outside.” He ^B answers: “Let him enter.”

CONCERNING THE SHREWDNESS OF NATHAN IN REBUKING KING DAVID. CHRIST GIVES US HIS FLESH AS FOOD, HIS BLOOD AS DRINK

The prophet enters. ^C He perceives him sitting with great splendor and royal state, and he says: “I have a suit, O king: listen to me.” O the singular wisdom of the physician! He entered taking up iron [a knife], in order to cut the ulcer; yet he does not show it to the sick man, lest he be deprived of the cure; he hides it, not under a garment, but under the covering of a fashioned narrative. For immediately upon entering, he did not say, “O flagitious one, O profane one, O adulterer, O murderer!”—he does not apply an open criticism, nor does he use freedom of speech without a mask; rather, he carries the covered iron, and says: “I have a suit, O king, listen to me.” What then the king? “State the suit.” Then he: “A certain man was rich, who had flocks and many herds; and a certain man was poor.” Two men, Uriah and David. Learn the masks covering the truth. The poor man had nothing except one ewe—namely, the wife [who was] violated—which was eating from his bread, and drinking from his cup, and sleeping in his bosom. Do you see how poverty is a cause of love? For among the rich there is great pride; among those of lesser means, however, the wife performs the office of minister and handmaid, and gives birth to a child, and she herself is both mother and nurse. Among the wealthy, things are otherwise: for after the wife has borne a child, she sends it away to be nurtured, and pride interrupts the love toward children. The mother gives birth, yet does not become the nurse. For it is considered shameful for the nurse to become the one who is the mother. But not so Christ. For He begat us, and became our foster-father; for which reason, in place of food, He fed us with His own flesh, and in place of drink, He gave us His blood to drink. This ewe, therefore, was sleeping in his bosom; the tragedy was amplified by the narrative of love. A certain "stranger" came to that rich man. Who is the "stranger"? Lust. Therefore, in order to demonstrate his chastity, by a certain art he called lust a "stranger." For he had never violated another’s marriage, nor had he looked upon a woman with wicked eyes; but wounded by this woman, he lost his chastity, and through a small bit of sloth, he fell from honesty. A stranger came, that is, petulant and feral lust. He came—I say—to that rich man, and he did not take from his own herds and flocks, but he sent and took that ewe which was sleeping in the bosom of the poor man, and was eating from his table. What then? The king was inflamed with anger. For he thought he was deciding another’s suit. The king was inflamed with anger, and he pronounced a just verdict quite clearly. For it was not a propensity of mind that would bear a stain of justice. “By the sword,” he says, “he shall die: and he shall restore the ewe fourfold” (Exod. 22:1). He commanded more than the law had ordered. For the law bids the thief restore fourfold what he has stolen; but he himself exceeded the terms of the law; for he commands that he himself be put to death, and that the damage done be restored fourfold. He uttered the sentence, and he completed the judgment in all its parts. Then the prophet throws off the mask and says: “You are, O king, who has admitted this.” O the incision, not with a sword, but with a short rebuke ^D that cuts away the sense of pain! For when it was necessary, he played the fable: when there was need for rebuke, he gave it at once and desisted, he who had caused the pain. “You are, O king.” What then? “I have sinned against the Lord.” Do you see in the confession the nobility of his soul? For if he had said to him: “O wretched and miserable,” he would not have been willing to be rebuked. What then does the king say? “I have sinned against the Lord.”

And the Lord has taken away your sin. ^A Swift is the repentance, but swifter is the forgiveness. Say you first your iniquities, he says, that you may be justified. You have sinned through deeds, and be sorry through words.

7. I say these things, that sinners and those who have fallen into sins may hear, and not despair of their own salvation. “I have sinned,” he says, “to the Lord.” And the Lord has taken away your sin. You indeed said, “The sword shall fall upon him,” but I say, “You shall not die.” Do you see how God solved the sentence of the prophet? Say you your iniquities first, that you may be justified. But let us return to the beginning. “A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went in to him.” Here is demonstrated his gratitude and ^B forgiveness. See, therefore, you have learned how he was healed, and what medicine he received. But when God justifies, who condemns? For he did not say, “I forgive,” but, “The Lord has taken away your sin.” He cut the ulcer, he corrected the wound. “You shall not die,” he says. Having said these things, he went away. I wish, however, to show hereafter also his gratitude, and the correction of his mind, what forgiveness of the sin he received, what release from the offense he found. For when Uriah came from the alliance, and reported the victory of the war to the king, the king, wishing to conceal from the man the wrong done, because he had committed adultery with his wife, took such pains to hide the sin that he even wove murder ^C into the adultery; and after these things he became a philosopher from repentance. He who formerly hid his sin came to repentance; and after the forgiveness which happened by the inspiration of God, after the coming of the prophet and his saying, “The Lord has taken away your sin, you shall not die,” he not only does not hide the passion, but even after these things he made it clearly known to all generations, and wrote a psalm, so that those who come after might learn how much tragedy the passion possesses. For since repentance had come, it brought boldness. “I was saved,” he says; “why should others not be saved also through my narrative?” God forgave me. For this reason I write these things, that they may learn both the ulcer and the medicine. ^D I do not fear the shame, because I desire the salvation of my own self. So also Paul does; he brands the sins that were remitted to him, and says: “I give thanks to Christ who strengthened me, for he counted me faithful,” him who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man, he now counted faithful. For this reason I brand myself, so that if any one is a hopeless blasphemer, he may see that he has hope of salvation. And you, O David, since you committed adultery and committed murder, and received forgiveness from God, for this reason do you brand yourself? Yes, he says, so that if any one is an adulterer and a murderer, he may learn how he is able to obtain salvation. For this reason he puts aside the sin, and has received repentance. Is this then the only thing being sought, that he made it clear to all, and was corrected? Or something else as well? Yes, also another: and how, I say. Just as you heard that repentance has much forgiveness, and brings us great and much boldness; so it is necessary for you to learn that even he who is clothed with many sins possesses much shame, and not only is satisfied with repentance, but fears and trembles to fall into the same things anymore. I wish, therefore, to show that the psalm not only makes the sinner known to you, but also the one repenting. And I will tell you this, so that no one may be confident in himself after repentance, but rather may more accurately plant his own salvation in the harbor. I wish, therefore, to show him that he was healed, and became better than himself, and more powerful and stronger. How then did he fall again after this desire into another malady? Again a war, again a sin, again a battle,

The Testing of the King

8. These things I exhort for the sake of those who commit fornication. Have you fallen in love with a harlot? Have you committed fornication? Do you wish to repent? Do not add sin to sin, and do not say to me: “How am I able not to commit fornication?” I tell you how you are able. Does the desire inflame you? But you have a wife; and if you do not have one, take one, so that you may have pleasure with security. “But I am not able to hold sway.” But these things belong to sloth. For when I bring to you another not having a wife, and yet being temperate, what excuse do you have, or what pardon? That man in the open sea does not endure shipwreck, and you in the harbor endure the fall? You have a wife, and you commit fornication, or rather you commit adultery? “And how,” he says, “may I overcome the ulcer?” Enjoy your wife. “Shall I enjoy the wife?”

Paul’s Wisdom on Marriage

a wife, and she received you, that you might cultivate chastity. Do you desire to abstain from lust? Persuade your husband of this also, so that there may be a double crown, namely chastity and concord, so that there may not be chastity and fighting, peace and war. For when you are eager for continence, but he is burning with lust, Paul forbids it, lest anyone fornicate (1 Cor. 6:18); immediately he is perturbed, and as it were agitated by certain waves. “Do not deprive one another, unless by agreement.” For where there is peace, there all things are good; where there is peace, even chastity shines; where there is concord, continence is crowned; but where there is war, chastity is cut down. Do not therefore deprive one another, unless perhaps by agreement. Since Paul, the matchmaker of the world, surpasses any matchmaker. And for that reason he does not fear to say: ^A “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled” (Heb. 13:4). For the Lord Himself came to this marriage, and dignified it with His presence, and offered gifts. For He changed water into wine. Run, therefore, as much as you wish; but when you are exhausted, accept the remedy of sexual intercourse, lest Satan tempt you. “Let every man therefore have his own wife” (1 Cor. 7:2). For these three things exist: virginity, marriage, fornication; marriage holds the middle place, fornication the lowest, virginity the highest. Virginity has a crown, marriage a moderate praise, fornication punishment and torment. See, therefore, how you contain yourself, and whether you can bear the weakness of the body; and do not bring it into your mind to ascend above measure, lest you descend beyond measure. For just as he who is about to dive enters into the water in such a measure as he is able to emerge, and when he enters, he considers how much he ought to emerge, so also you: consider with yourself how much you can bear, lest otherwise you descend beyond measure. For all these things let us give thanks to Christ, because to Him are glory and power with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ages of ages. Amen.

On the remaining parts of the fiftieth Psalm, and on repentance.

^B I wish to pay you the remains of yesterday’s table today; but when you hear of remains and a table, O beloved, beware of suspecting anything sensible. For we do not cut up meat into pieces, but we provide spiritual senses. We do not pour out pure wine, but we instill discourse into your minds. For at a sensible table, if meats are kept for one or two days, they rot and perish; but in the senses of the mind, if they remain for a whole year, they return their flower and sweetness of odor. The meats remained, and in time they were corrupted; the senses remained, and they never cease to return their fragrance. If anyone eats meats, he departs into corruption; if anyone eats senses, he is led to incorruption. If anyone eats meats, he belches up much stench; if anyone eats senses that have the odor of sweetness, he belches up much virtue, and affects his neighbor with pleasure. Therefore the prophet, ^C because he had eaten such foods, said: “My heart belched forth a good word” (Ps. 44:2). [b][Waves are again stirred up, but let the mind remain stable: bodies are shaken, but let the ear be tranquil. Look, therefore, and diligently attend your mind to those things which I shall say. All of you have seen the king and prophet struggling, falling, rising again, conquering, crowned, proclaimed. The remedy for wounds is the hope of salvation. — You have seen sin approaching, and having been slaughtered through repentance. For sin made an assault like a bear, and cast you down; but repentance entered, and recalled him from the fall. The remedy for wounds essentially was the hope of salvation. You have seen how the prophet entered, and rebuked the prophet. You have seen the king wisely bearing the rebuke, receiving the incision, and thus being freed from the sore. You have seen the Lord’s kindness shining forth, and recalling the dead to life. You have seen him saying: "I have sinned against the Lord"; and again the prophet: "The Lord also has taken away your sin." A more expeditious medicine and repulsion of the disease. Through works he had sinned, through words he confessed. God assented, the wound was taken from the middle, and health returned. ^D But the prophet did not think that this was sufficient for himself, but after the rebuke, after the correction and healing, after the utterance of words, after the treatment of the wounds, he wrote this Psalm for this argument, that his calamity might become a medicine for posterity, and his shipwreck might become a port for them, and that through those things which he himself had suffered, and had received health, others who might have fallen into the same disease might enjoy the same sort of medicine and cure. Who, therefore, is this Psalm, and what is its inscription? Let us hear, I pray, diligently. “Unto the end, a psalm of David.” [a][The inscription itself clearly hands down to us what the argument of this Psalm is; indeed, the very words of the Psalm sufficiently indicate the depth of the sentiment. This, however, is worth knowing: that this Psalm contains a prediction of future events as well. Whence also it is inscribed, "Unto the end." By which words it is indicated that this prophecy was to have an end. Nor indeed let anyone doubt whether the great David was gifted with prophetic grace at the time when he was engaged in repentance. For that this can be seen through other Psalms as well, in which he emits confession.] For as in others, so in this Psalm also he has clearly taught us this, that he was not at all deprived of the grace of the Spirit. "And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me" (Ps. 50:13). [For he did not petition that it be provided to him, but that it might not be taken away. Being illuminated by it, and looking forward, as [he saw] that the people who were subject to his rule would fall, and by what punishments they would be afflicted, and having been oppressed by captivity would migrate into Babylon, he wrote this Psalm, both to bring a medicine to his own wounds, and to compose a corresponding pharmaceutical remedy for his people.] "Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy: and according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity" (Ps. 50:3). [Both to the most divine David, and to the captive people, and to those among us who are badly affected, these words are appropriate. For huge wounds have need of corresponding pharmaceuticals. On account of which also the great David was a suppliant, that the whole mercy might be poured out upon him, and the entire fountain of mercies might obliterate the footprints of sin. But he rightly calls iniquity a delinquency: for it has a double transgression of the law.] "Blot out my iniquity." You heard the prophet saying: "The Lord also has taken away your sin": why, therefore, do you ask for more? I remain, he says, in the giving of thanks, I remain in the preaching of divine praise. My sin has been taken away, and I also desire the scar to be removed; the ulcer has been removed, but I also desire to receive back my beauty.