if,
it,
To seek earthly happiness is folly.
it,
To seek earthly happiness is folly.
Augustine - Exposition on the Psalms - v6
With my hands in the night before Him.
As yet we are in the night, and we watch by the lamp of prophecy.
Something is promised us, which
2 Pet. l, as yet we wait for: but what saith the Apostle Peter? We
I9,
have a more sure word of prophecy, to which ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light shining in a dark place, till the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
Pa. 5, 3. That is the day ; there is our reward. In the morning Thou shall hear my voice : in the morning I will stand by Thee,
Christ proclaimed by the humility of the Apostles. 307
and gaze on Thee. Work then, though it be in the night, Ver. with thine hands, that is, by good works seek God, before 4~7' the day come which shall gladden thee, lest the day come which shall sadden thee. For see how safely thou workest,
who art not left by Him Whom thou seekest; with my hands, saith he, / sought the Lord in the night before Him.
That thy Father Which seeth in secret may reward thee MaK- 6r openly; therefore, before Him. Have within thee mercy, charity, lest thou do ought as with the desire of pleasing
men: with my hands, with my works: in the shade, in this
life : where He seeth, not where 1 strive to please men. And
what followeth ? And I
have not been deceived. Man is made like unto vanity; his days pass away like a shadow: and yet Thou hast made Thyself known unto him, and valuest him.
12. Lord, bow Thy heavens, and come down : touch thever. 5. mountains, and they shall smoke. Flash Thy lightning, ver- 6. and Thou shall scatter them; send forth Thine arrows, and
Thou shall confound them. Send forth Thy Hand from w. 7. above, and deliver me, and draw me out of many waters.
The Body of Christ, the humble David, full of grace, relying on God, fighting in this world, calleth for the help
of God. Bow Thy heavens, and come down. What are heavens bowed down? Apostles humbled. For those f'j1*' heavens declare the glory of God; and of these heavens declaring the glory of God it is presently said, There is neither speech nor language, but their voices are heard among them : their sound is gone out into all the earth,
and their words unto the end of the world. When then
these heavens sent forth their voices through all lands,
and did wonderful things, while the Lord flashed and thundered from them by miracles and commandments, the
were thought to have come down from heaven to
men. For certain of the Gentiles, thinking this, desired
even to sacrifice to them. Then they, seeing that an honour not their due was being paid to them, and being alarmed and protesting, and correcting those who made so
great a mistake, to shew them how their minds were troubled
at rent their garments, and said, Why do ye this we also Act* 14, are men of like passions with you. And they began after
these words to commend to them the excellence of our
x
gods
2
it,
*
308 Unbelievers overcome by the miracles.
Psai. m Lord Jesus Christ, humbling themselves, that God might ,c*"v" be commended ; because the heavens were bowed, that God might come down. Bow then Thy heavens, and come down. It is done. Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke : the proud mountains, the earthly up-liftings, the swelling grandenrs : touch, saith he, touch those mountains, give of Thy Grace to those mountains : and they shall
smoke, for they shall confess their sins. The smoke of sinners confessing shall draw forth also the tears of the proud when humbled. Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. So long as they are not touched, they seem to
Pa. 48, themselves great : they are now about to say, Great art P 83' Thou, O Lord: the mountains also are about to say, Thou
18.
Pa. 2,2.
only art the Most Highest over all the earth.
13. But there are some that conspire, that gather them
selves together against the Lord, and against His Christ. They have come together, they have conspired. Flash forth Thy lightnings, and Thou shall scatter them. Abound with Thy miracles, and their conspiracy shall be broken. Flash
forth Thy lightnings, and Thou shalt scatter them. Now, frightened by Thy miracles, they shall not dare ought against Thee, and at Thy miracles they shall be alarmed and hesitate. Who is He, Who can do such great things? Who is He, Who is thus exalted, Whose Name so mightily prevaileth ? When they say, Who is He ? they are about to believe, Thou hast flashed with Thy miracles, and scat tered their evil conspiracy. Send forth Thine arrows, and
Ps. 120, Thou shalt confound them. Let the sharp arrows of the
4'
Mighty One, even Thy commandments, Thy words, strike their heart. Send forth Thine arrows, and Thou shalt confound them. Let the unsound be wounded, that, being well wounded, they may be made sound ; aod let them say, being set now in the Church, in the Body of Christ, let
Cant. 2, them say with the Church, I am wounded with Love. Send LXX. f0*^* Thine arrows, and Thou shalt confound them.
14. Send forth Thine Hand from on high. What after ward ? What in the end ? How conquereth the Body of
1 Theas. Christ? By heavenly aid. For the Lord Himself shall come *' 16, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God shall He descend from heaven, Himself the Saviour of the
The Law not annulled, but fulfilled, by Grace. 309
body, the Hand of God. Send forth Thy Hand from above, Ver. and deliver me, and snatch me out of many waters. What --B' -- . is, out of many waters ? From many peoples. What peoples? Aliens, unbelievers, whether assailing us from without, or laying snares within. Take me out of many
waters, in which Thou didst discipline me, in which Thou
didst roll me, to free me from my filth. This is the water Numb. of contradiction. Deliver me, and snatch me from many20' 13' waters.
15. Let us hear now about these many waters, from which God shall deliver the Body of His Christ, from which God shall deliver the humility of David. What is, out of many waters? What hast thou said, lest waters should be under stood in any other sense? Hear what I have said. From the hand of strange children. Hear, brethren, among whom
we are, among whom we live, from whom we long to be delivered. Whose mouth hath spoken vanity. All of you >><<. 8. to-day, if ye had not gathered yourselves together to these
divine shows1 of the word of God, and were not at this hourts pecta. engaged in them, how great vanities would ye be hearing ! cu'a whose mouth hath spoken vanity: when, in short, would
they, speaking vanity, hear you speaking vanity ? Whose
mouth hath spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right
hand of iniquity.
16. What doest thou among them with thy pastoral scrip
with five stones in it r Say it to me in another form : that
same law which thou hast signified by five stones, signify
in some other way also. / will sing a new song unto Thee, ver. 9. OGod. Anewsongisofgrace; anewsongisofthe new
man ; a new song is of the New Testament. But lest thou shouldest think that grace departeth from the law, whereas rather by grace the law is fulfilled, upon a psaltery of ten
sing unto Thee. Upon a psaltery
upon the law of ten commandments : therein may IIsing to
Thee; therein may I rejoice to Thee; therein may
Thee a new song; for, Love is the fulfilling of the law. Rom. 13,
But they who have not love may carry the psaltery, sing10' they cannot. I therefore, saith he, in the midst of the waters
of contradiction will sing to Thee a new song, and never shall the waters of contradiction cause, by their din, my
strings will I
of
ten strings,
sing to
310 God only can save His people from their enemies.
Psalm psaltery to be silent. On a psaltery of ten strings will / sing unto lliee.
? er. 10.
17. Who giveth saltation to kings, when the mountains now are smoking. Who redeemeth David His servant. Ye know who David is ; be yourselves David. Whence redeemeth He David His servant ? Whence redeemeth
He Christ? Whence redeemeth He the Body of Christ? From the sword of ill intent deliver me. From the sword is not sufficient, he addeth, of ill intent. Without doubt there is a sword of good intent. What is the sword of good
Mat. 10, intent ? That whereof the Lord saith, / came not to send
34
peace on earth, but a sword. For He was about to separate believers from unbelievers, sons from parents, and to sever all other ties, while the sword cut off what was diseased, but healed the members of Christ. Of good intent then is the sword twice sharpened, powerful with both edges, the Old and New Testaments, with the narration of the past and the promise of the future. That then is the sword of good intent: but the other is 'of ill intent, wherewith they
talk vanity, for that is of good intent, wherewith God
speaketh verity. Therefore from the sword of ill intent
Ps. 57, deliver me. For truly the sons of men have teeth which are
4'
spears and arrows, and their tongue is a sharp sword. From this sword of ill intent deliver me. What he hath now called a sword, the same he called above many waters. Take me out of many waters. The same which I called many waters, 1 uow call a sword of ill intent. Finally, when he had said, out ofmany waters, he went on to say, from the hand of strange children, whose mouth hath spoken
vanity. And that thou mightest know that the same are spoken of, when here too he had said, Deliver me from the sword of ill intent, he went on to say, And take me out of the hand of strange children, whose mouth hath spoken vanity: just as before. And that which followeth, their right hand is a right hand of iniquity, the same he had set down before also, when he called them many waters. For lest thou shouldest think that the many waters were good waters, he explained them by the sword of ill intent. Now then let him explain what he meant by, whose mouth hath spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand
The prosperity of the wicked, empty. 311
of iniquity. What vanity hath their mouth spoken? and Vex. how is their right hand a right hand of iniquity ?
18. Whose sons are like young vines firmly planted in ver. 12. their youth. He wisheth to recount their happiness. Ob
serve, ye sons of light, sons of peace : observe, ye sons of
the Church, members of Christ; observe whom he calleth strangers, whom he calleth
strange children, whom he calleth waters ofcontradiction, whom he calleth a sword of
ill intent. Observe, I beseech you, for among them ye are
in peril, among their tongues ye fight against the desires
of your flesh, among their tongues, set in the hand of the
devil wherewith he fighteth, ye have to wrestle, not against Eph. 6,
flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, 12* against the rulers of this world, of this darkness, that is,
of the wicked. Observe, that ye may discern yourselves, that
ye may not think that to be true felicity, which men either weak, or of ill intent, desire for themselves. Behold, bre thren, surely he hath called them strange children, surely
he halh called them many waters, surely he hath called
them a sword of ill intent. Behold the vanity which they speak, and beware lest ye speak the same; beware lest in speaking the same, ye imitate them. Whose mouth hath spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity. What vanity hath their mouth spoken, and how
is their right hand a right hand of iniquity? Whose sons ver. 12. are as young vines firmly planted in their youth, their13, 14' daughters are fitted and adorned after the similitude of
a temple: their garners are full, bursting out from one store to another: their sheep are fruitful, multiplying in their streets: their oxen are fat : their hedge is not broken down, nor their road, nor is there crying in their streets. Is not this then happiness ? I ask the sons of the kingdom of heaven, I ask the offspring of everlasting resurrection,
I ask the body of Christ, the members of Christ, the temple of God. Is not this then happiness, to have sons safe, daughters beautiful, garners full, cattle abundant, no downfall, I say not of a wall, but not even of a hedge, no tumult and clamour in the streets, but quiet, peace, abundance, plenty of all things in their houses and in their cities? Is not this then happiness ? or ought the righteous to shun
31 2 Everlasting happiness the only true happiness.
Psalm it? or findest thou not the house of the righteous too "l1T" abounding with all these things, full of this happiness? Did not Abraham's house abound with gold, silver, children,
Gen. 31, servants, cattle? Did not the holy patriarch Jacob, when he fled from the face of his brother Esau into Macedonia, after enriching himself as a servant, return, and give thanks to the Lord his God, because with his rod he had crossed the river, returned with such abundance of flocks and children ? What say we ? is not this happiness ? Be it so, still it is on the left hand. What is, on the left hand? Temporal, mortal, bodily. I desire not that thou shun
but that thou think not to be on the right hand. For they were not therefore wicked, therefore vain, because they had this abundance, but because what ought to have been on the left hand they set on the right. Therefore too their right hand is a right hand iniquity; therefore their mouth hath spoken vanity, because they set that on their right hand which ought to have been on the left. For what ought they to have set on the right hand God, eternity,
Ps. 102, the years of God which fail not, whereof said, and Thy years shall not fail. There should be the right hand, there should be our longing. Let us use the left for the time, let
Ps. 62, us long for the right for eternity. If riches increase, set not
J0"
your heart upon them. For when riches increase, ye set your heart upon them, ye will make what left, to be right. Amend yourselves, acknowledge Wisdom embracing you, to
Cant. Whom said, His left hand shall be under my head, and His right hand shall embrace me. Behold the holy song of love, behold the song of songs, of the heavenly marriage of
Christ and His Church. What saith the bride of the Bridegroom His left hand shall be under my head, and His right hand shall embrace me. The left under the head, and the right above the head. For when one embraceth from above, his arm above the head, but his left hand under the head. His left hand, saith he, under my head. For He will not desert me in times of need: but yet His left hand will be under my head, will not be put above my head, but will be beneath my head, that His right hand may embrace me, promising eternal life. For so His left hand under my head, His right hand be above my head, and
if
it of
is
it
is
?
(,
2,
it is
is
is ?
if,
it,
To seek earthly happiness is folly. 313
that is fulfilled which was written to Timothy, having the Ver. promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to - 15- come. Having the promise, he saith, of the present and of
the future life. What in the present ? His left hand under
my head. What in the future? His right hand shall embrace me. Do ye seek what is needful for the present
time? Seek ye first the kingdom of God, that is, the right Matt. 6, hand, and all these things shall be added unto you. Ye33- shall have here, saith He, both riches and glory, and in the
world to come everlasting life: both with the left hand I will support you while weak, and with the right I will crown you when perfected. Or did perhaps the Apostles, when they left their all, or distributed what they had to the poor, remain without riches in this world? Where then is that
promise of the left hand, he shall receive sevenfold in this Mat. 19, world? He promised to multiply them. And, in truth, what29'
can be wanting to the man of God r If any one perchance
be an unbeliever, he hath but one house, or at all events
a few ; the w hole world of riches are the faithful man's. j,rov,ijt Behold His left hand full under his head: he shall receive6- sevenfold in this world. Behold His right hand embracing
him : and in the world to come life everlasting. Rightly is
it said in another place too of Wisdom herself, in her right Prov. 3, hand is length of days, and in her left hand riches and^6' honour.
19. Whence then speak they vainly ? wherefore hath
their mouth spoken vanity? Because their right hand is a
right hand of iniquity. I blame them not because their sons
were as young vines firmly planted in their youth, nor because their daughters were adorned after the similitude of
the temple, nor because they had every thing else in abundance, and because earthly peace was theirs. But why
do I blame them ? They have called the people blessed who ver. 15, have these things. O men that speak vanity ! They have called the people blessed who have these things. They have
lost the true right hand, wicked and perverse, they have
put on the benefits of God inversely. O wicked ones, O speakers of vanity, O strange children ! They have called
the people blessed who have these things. What was on the left hand, they have set on the right. They have called the
3N God teacheth man how to praise.
Psalm people blessed who have these things. What dost thou, c",ir' David ? What dost thou, Body of Christ f What do ye, members of Christ ? What do ye, not strange children, but children of God ? Since the speakers of vanity, the strange
children, have called the people blessed who have these things, what say ye ? Blessed is the people whose Lord is their God. Have then the left hand, but on the left ; long for the right, that ye may be set on the right. They had the left on the
Mat. 25, left, before whom He hungered, and they gave Him to eat; He was thirsty, and they gave Him drink; He was a stranger, and they took Him in ; He was naked, and they clothed Him. All this they took from the left, and transferred to the works of the right, that they might be set
on the right. So then the speakers of vanity, the strange children, called the people blessed who have these things : say ye with us, Blessed is the people, whose Lord is their
God.
Lat. PSALM CXLV. CxlIV.
Sermon to the People.
1. We have longed to praise the Lord with you; and since He has deigned to grant us this, in order that the praise which we give Him may be in due order, that it may not by any excess offend Him Whom it praiseth, it is better for us to seek the path of praise in the Scripture of God, that we turn not aside from the way, either to the right hand or to the left. For I venture to say to you, beloved, God hath praised Himself, that He might be properly praised by man : and because He hath deigned to praise Himself, therefore hath man found how to praise Him.
Prov. 27, For it cannot be said to God, as it is to man, let not thine
2'
own mouth praise thee. For for man to praise himself is arrogance; for God to praise Himself is mercy. It is good for us to love whom we praise : by praising one that is good, we are ourselves made better. So, since He knoweth that this is for our good, in order that we might love Him, by praising Himself, He maketh Himself lovely ; and herein He endeavoureth to benefit us, in that He maketh Himself lovely. He exhorteth then our heart to praise Him, and He hath filled His servants with His Spirit, that they might
Christ the Son of David and Lord of David. 315
ver. Him, what doeth He but praise Himself ? So then this
praise Him. And since His Spirit in His servants praiseth
Psalm beginneth thus :
2. / will exalt Thee, my God. my King ; and 1 trill bless ver. I.
77iy Name for the age, and age upon age. Ye see that the praise of God is here begun, and this praise is carried on even to the end of the Psalm. Finally, the title is, Praise, to David himself. Praise to Christ Himself. And since He is called David, Who came to us of the seed of David, yet He was our King, ruling us, and bringing us into His kingdom, therefore Praise to David himself is understood to mean, Praise to Christ Himself. Christ according to the flesh is David, because He is the Son of David: but according to His Divine Nature He is the Creator of David, and Lord of David. Finally, the Apostle too, when he would pay honour to the former people of God, out of whom both the Apostles themselves, beloved, and many of the first
Churches came, doing in many thousands of men, what just now in the Gospel one rich man heard, and went away sorrowful, that is, selling all that they had, and distributing to the poor, and seeking perfection in the Lord ; -- when he would praise, I say, that former people, he thus saith,
Whose are the fathers, and of whom as pertaining to the Rom. 9, flesh Christ came, Who is over all, God blessed for ever. 5'
So because Christ is of them, as pertaining to the flesh, therefore is He David : but because He is over all, God blessed for ever, therefore, / will exalt Thee, saith he, my
I will bless Thy Name
for age upon age. Perhaps for the age meaneth here, for
God, my King ; and
for
the age, and
age upon age, for ever. Now then begin to praise, if thou intendest to praise for ever. He who will not praise in this transitory age, will be silent when age upon age has come.
Accordingly in the following verses he hath said nearly this. 3. But lest any one should in any otherwise also under
stand what he saith, / will praise Thy Name for the age, and should seek another age, wherein to praise, he saith,
bless Thee. Praise then and bless the Lord thy God every day, that when single days have passed, and there has come one day without end, thou mayest go
Every day will I
from praise to praise, as from strength to strength. Every Ps. 84,7.
2-
316 We must praise God in evil as well as good.
Psalm day, he saith, / will bless Thee : no day shall pass by, lT' wherein 1 bless Thee not. And it is no wonder, if in thy
day of joy thou bless the Lord. What if perchance some day of sorrow hath dawned on thee, as is natural in the circumstances of our mortal nature, as there is abundance of offences, as temptations are multiplied ; what, if something sad befall thee, a man ; wilt thou cease to praise God ? wilt thou cease to bless thy Creator? If thou cease, thou hast
lied in saying, every day will I
bless Thee, O Lord. But if thou cease not, although it seem to thee to be ill with thee in the day of thy sorrow, yet in thy God it shall be well
with thee. For there are cases where it is well with thee, even when it is ill with thee. For if in any evil it is ill with thee, without doubt in any good it is well with thee. And
Lokel8, what so good as thy God, of Whom it is said, None is good
19"
save One, that is, God. For how safe it is to praise thus, and how safe for it to be well with thee thus, thou mayest learn from the very nature of good. For if thou rejoicest at a good which accrueth to thee one day, perchance another day this good whereat thou rejoicest passeth away. ' It has been well with me, I have spent a good day;' because perhaps gain has come to thee, or thou hast received an invitation, or sat long at a feast. Thou rejoicest, because thou hast sat long at a feast: another day grieveth thee, because thou hast not had to blush. However, at whatever good of this sort thou rejoicest, at all events it is fleeting.
But if thou rejoicest in the Lord thy God, thou shalt hear Ps. 37,4. Scripture saying, Delight thee in the Lord. The more firmly shalt thou rejoice, the more sure He is in Whom thou shalt rejoice. For if thou rejoicest in money, thou fearest
the thief; but if thou rejoicest in God, what fearest thou ? Lest any take God from thee ? None will take God from thee, if thou send Him not from thee. For God is not like the light which shineth in the heavens. We cannot approach to it whensoever we please, for it shineth not in every place. And through our weakness perhaps it cometh to pass, that in winter we delight to be in this light ; but now in summer time ye see that we rather seek a spot where we shall not stand in the light. But when thou abidest in thy God, and delightest in the light of His truth, thou seekest not a spot
Job, a pattern of true praise. 317
where thou mayest approach Him: but thy conscience Vir. approacheth, thy conscience retreateth from Him. That ----- which is said, Approach to Him, and be enlightened, is said Pa. 34,fi. to the soul, not to any carriage; it is said to the affections,
not to the feet. And when thou abidest in Him, thou shalt suffer no heat. For His Spirit shall breathe on thee, and under His wings thou shall hope.
4. Thou seest then that thou hast whereof to delight every day. For thy God will not leave thee, even though any thing befall thee. For how sad was that which befell the holy man Job : how sudden, how manifold ills ! how was all in which he was thought to rejoice, not all in which he did rejoice, withdrawn when the devil assailed him ! how did even his sons die ! All that he was careful in preserving, perished ; all they for whom he was preserving it, perished ;
yet He perished not, Who gave both the one and the other.
And even his sons, though they perished in this world, shall
be recognised and received back in the world to come. Yet
had that man somewhat else wherein to rejoice ; and in him
was that true which we have just recited, Every day will I
bless Thee : because then the day wherein all perished shone
upon him sadly, did therefore the inward light in his heart
fail ? Nay, he stood in that light, and said, The Lord gave, Jobi,2i. and the Lord hath taken away ; as the Lord hath pleased,
so hath it been done; blessed be the Name of the Lord. He then praised every day, who even in the day of sorrow
It is a short lesson, that thou ever praise God,
and with true, not false heart say, / will bless the Lord at P>>M,\. all times, His praise shall be ever in my mouth. It is a
short lesson : it is in fact to know that He giveth in mercy,
when He giveth; that He taketh away in mercy, when He
taketh away : not to believe that thou art abandoned
His mercy, Who either comforteth thee by giving lest thou
fail, or punisheth thee when thou art uplifted, lest thou
perish. Whether then in His gifts, or in His scourges, do
thou praise. The praise of the scourger is the healing of
the wound. Every day, saith he, / will bless Thee. My brethren, bless God : what ever happen, bless God. For
it is He Who causeth that nothing happen which ye cannot
bear. Therefore thou oughtest to be in fear when it is well
praised.
by
318 Death even should not end our praises.
Psalm with thee, and not so to prepare thyself as though thou shouldest never be tried. For if thou art never tried, thou art never proved. Is it not better to be tried and proved, than to be not tried and rejected ? And I will praise Thy Name for the age, and for age upon age.
ver. 3.
5. Great is the Lord, and very much to be praised. How much was he about to say ? what terms was he about to seek? How vast a conception hath he included in the one word, very much? Imagine what thou wilt, for how can that be imagined, which cannot be contained ? He is very much to be praised, and of His Greatness there is no end; therefore said he very much, because, of His Greatness there is no end: lest perchance thou begin to wish to praise, and think that thou canst reach the end of His praises, Whose Greatness can have no end. Think not then that He, Whose Greatness has no end, can ever be enough praised by thee. Is it not then better that as He has no end, so neither should thy praise have end? His Greatness is without end ; let thy praise also be without end. Of His Greatness what is said ? of His Greatness there is no end. Of thy praise what? / will praise Thy Name for the age, and age upon age. Therefore, as of His Greatness there is no end, so of thy praise there shall be no end. For, not even when thou art dead in this flesh, shalt thou cease
Ps. 1 15, to praise the Lord. It is said indeed, the dead shall not praise
Thee, O Lord; but it is they, of whom it is said,/roiw the 17, 28. dead, as from one that is not, confession perisheth ; not they John n, of whom He saith, he that believeth in Me, though he were
? 5'
Mat. 22,
32.
Ece'us
dead, yet shall he live. For the God Abraham,
and of Isaac, and ofJacob, is not the God of the dead, but of the living. For if thou shalt never be ought but His, thou shalt never be silent from His praise. Will it be possible for thee to fear, lest while thou livest here, thou may est be His, and when thou art dead, not be His? Hear the Apostle
* of
.
Rom. 14, promising thee safely: Whether we live, we live unto the
8-
Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's. And whence is that thou art His, even when dead Because He redeemed
thee with the price of His blood, even by His death. How can He lose His servant, even when dead, Whose death
it,
?
The ' visible things' of God prove the goodness of all. 319
is thy price ? Therefore when he hath said, Whether we VtR, live or die, we are the Lord's, that He might set forth the price Ro^' u too, he added, forfor this cause Christ died and rose again',9.
that He migh t be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
6. However, since of His Greatness there is no end, and
whom we cannot contain, we ought to praise : (for if we can
contain Him, there is an end of His Greatness; but if there be
no end of His Greatness, some part of Him indeed we can contain, but God entirely we caunot contain ;) let us, as failing
in His Greatness, that we may be refreshed by His Goodness,
look to His works, and by His works praise the Worker; by
what He hath made, the Maker ; by His creation, the Creator.
Let us look at what He hath done here, what is well known
to us, what is open to our eyes. For how great things
besides has His boundless Goodness and illimitable Great
ness made, which we do not know ! When we lift the gaze
of our eyes even to the heaven, and then recall it from
sun, moon, and stars to the earth, and there is all this space
where our sight can wander; beyond the heavens who can extend the eyesight of his mind, not to say of his flesh ?
So far then as His works are known to us, let us praise Him through His works. For the invisible things of Him from Rom. J, the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood 20'
by the things which are made. Generation and generation ver. 4. shall praise Thy works. Every generation shall praise Thy works. For perhaps every generation is meant by gene ration and generation. He did not mean to continue saying, generation and generation, till he had defined the number of all generations, but the repetition of the speaker
led the mind of the thinker to infinity. Behold that generation which now is in the flesh, destined to pass from hence as it came, praiseth the works of God ; and that for which it maketh way to succeed, will assuredly praise the works of God; and after that will be another, and unto the end of the world how many generations ! This he meant when he said, generation and generation shall praise Thy works. Did he perchance mean to imply two generations by that repetition ? For we are in this generation sons of God, we shall be in another generation sons of the Resurrection. Scripture hath called us sons of the Resurrection ; the
3-20 In the works we should praise the Maker.
Pealm Resurrection itself it hath called Regeneration. In the c*-v\ regeneration, it saith, when the Son of Man shall be seated
in His Majesty. So also in another place: For they shall 35*36?
2 Pet. l, as yet we wait for: but what saith the Apostle Peter? We
I9,
have a more sure word of prophecy, to which ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light shining in a dark place, till the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
Pa. 5, 3. That is the day ; there is our reward. In the morning Thou shall hear my voice : in the morning I will stand by Thee,
Christ proclaimed by the humility of the Apostles. 307
and gaze on Thee. Work then, though it be in the night, Ver. with thine hands, that is, by good works seek God, before 4~7' the day come which shall gladden thee, lest the day come which shall sadden thee. For see how safely thou workest,
who art not left by Him Whom thou seekest; with my hands, saith he, / sought the Lord in the night before Him.
That thy Father Which seeth in secret may reward thee MaK- 6r openly; therefore, before Him. Have within thee mercy, charity, lest thou do ought as with the desire of pleasing
men: with my hands, with my works: in the shade, in this
life : where He seeth, not where 1 strive to please men. And
what followeth ? And I
have not been deceived. Man is made like unto vanity; his days pass away like a shadow: and yet Thou hast made Thyself known unto him, and valuest him.
12. Lord, bow Thy heavens, and come down : touch thever. 5. mountains, and they shall smoke. Flash Thy lightning, ver- 6. and Thou shall scatter them; send forth Thine arrows, and
Thou shall confound them. Send forth Thy Hand from w. 7. above, and deliver me, and draw me out of many waters.
The Body of Christ, the humble David, full of grace, relying on God, fighting in this world, calleth for the help
of God. Bow Thy heavens, and come down. What are heavens bowed down? Apostles humbled. For those f'j1*' heavens declare the glory of God; and of these heavens declaring the glory of God it is presently said, There is neither speech nor language, but their voices are heard among them : their sound is gone out into all the earth,
and their words unto the end of the world. When then
these heavens sent forth their voices through all lands,
and did wonderful things, while the Lord flashed and thundered from them by miracles and commandments, the
were thought to have come down from heaven to
men. For certain of the Gentiles, thinking this, desired
even to sacrifice to them. Then they, seeing that an honour not their due was being paid to them, and being alarmed and protesting, and correcting those who made so
great a mistake, to shew them how their minds were troubled
at rent their garments, and said, Why do ye this we also Act* 14, are men of like passions with you. And they began after
these words to commend to them the excellence of our
x
gods
2
it,
*
308 Unbelievers overcome by the miracles.
Psai. m Lord Jesus Christ, humbling themselves, that God might ,c*"v" be commended ; because the heavens were bowed, that God might come down. Bow then Thy heavens, and come down. It is done. Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke : the proud mountains, the earthly up-liftings, the swelling grandenrs : touch, saith he, touch those mountains, give of Thy Grace to those mountains : and they shall
smoke, for they shall confess their sins. The smoke of sinners confessing shall draw forth also the tears of the proud when humbled. Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. So long as they are not touched, they seem to
Pa. 48, themselves great : they are now about to say, Great art P 83' Thou, O Lord: the mountains also are about to say, Thou
18.
Pa. 2,2.
only art the Most Highest over all the earth.
13. But there are some that conspire, that gather them
selves together against the Lord, and against His Christ. They have come together, they have conspired. Flash forth Thy lightnings, and Thou shall scatter them. Abound with Thy miracles, and their conspiracy shall be broken. Flash
forth Thy lightnings, and Thou shalt scatter them. Now, frightened by Thy miracles, they shall not dare ought against Thee, and at Thy miracles they shall be alarmed and hesitate. Who is He, Who can do such great things? Who is He, Who is thus exalted, Whose Name so mightily prevaileth ? When they say, Who is He ? they are about to believe, Thou hast flashed with Thy miracles, and scat tered their evil conspiracy. Send forth Thine arrows, and
Ps. 120, Thou shalt confound them. Let the sharp arrows of the
4'
Mighty One, even Thy commandments, Thy words, strike their heart. Send forth Thine arrows, and Thou shalt confound them. Let the unsound be wounded, that, being well wounded, they may be made sound ; aod let them say, being set now in the Church, in the Body of Christ, let
Cant. 2, them say with the Church, I am wounded with Love. Send LXX. f0*^* Thine arrows, and Thou shalt confound them.
14. Send forth Thine Hand from on high. What after ward ? What in the end ? How conquereth the Body of
1 Theas. Christ? By heavenly aid. For the Lord Himself shall come *' 16, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God shall He descend from heaven, Himself the Saviour of the
The Law not annulled, but fulfilled, by Grace. 309
body, the Hand of God. Send forth Thy Hand from above, Ver. and deliver me, and snatch me out of many waters. What --B' -- . is, out of many waters ? From many peoples. What peoples? Aliens, unbelievers, whether assailing us from without, or laying snares within. Take me out of many
waters, in which Thou didst discipline me, in which Thou
didst roll me, to free me from my filth. This is the water Numb. of contradiction. Deliver me, and snatch me from many20' 13' waters.
15. Let us hear now about these many waters, from which God shall deliver the Body of His Christ, from which God shall deliver the humility of David. What is, out of many waters? What hast thou said, lest waters should be under stood in any other sense? Hear what I have said. From the hand of strange children. Hear, brethren, among whom
we are, among whom we live, from whom we long to be delivered. Whose mouth hath spoken vanity. All of you >><<. 8. to-day, if ye had not gathered yourselves together to these
divine shows1 of the word of God, and were not at this hourts pecta. engaged in them, how great vanities would ye be hearing ! cu'a whose mouth hath spoken vanity: when, in short, would
they, speaking vanity, hear you speaking vanity ? Whose
mouth hath spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right
hand of iniquity.
16. What doest thou among them with thy pastoral scrip
with five stones in it r Say it to me in another form : that
same law which thou hast signified by five stones, signify
in some other way also. / will sing a new song unto Thee, ver. 9. OGod. Anewsongisofgrace; anewsongisofthe new
man ; a new song is of the New Testament. But lest thou shouldest think that grace departeth from the law, whereas rather by grace the law is fulfilled, upon a psaltery of ten
sing unto Thee. Upon a psaltery
upon the law of ten commandments : therein may IIsing to
Thee; therein may I rejoice to Thee; therein may
Thee a new song; for, Love is the fulfilling of the law. Rom. 13,
But they who have not love may carry the psaltery, sing10' they cannot. I therefore, saith he, in the midst of the waters
of contradiction will sing to Thee a new song, and never shall the waters of contradiction cause, by their din, my
strings will I
of
ten strings,
sing to
310 God only can save His people from their enemies.
Psalm psaltery to be silent. On a psaltery of ten strings will / sing unto lliee.
? er. 10.
17. Who giveth saltation to kings, when the mountains now are smoking. Who redeemeth David His servant. Ye know who David is ; be yourselves David. Whence redeemeth He David His servant ? Whence redeemeth
He Christ? Whence redeemeth He the Body of Christ? From the sword of ill intent deliver me. From the sword is not sufficient, he addeth, of ill intent. Without doubt there is a sword of good intent. What is the sword of good
Mat. 10, intent ? That whereof the Lord saith, / came not to send
34
peace on earth, but a sword. For He was about to separate believers from unbelievers, sons from parents, and to sever all other ties, while the sword cut off what was diseased, but healed the members of Christ. Of good intent then is the sword twice sharpened, powerful with both edges, the Old and New Testaments, with the narration of the past and the promise of the future. That then is the sword of good intent: but the other is 'of ill intent, wherewith they
talk vanity, for that is of good intent, wherewith God
speaketh verity. Therefore from the sword of ill intent
Ps. 57, deliver me. For truly the sons of men have teeth which are
4'
spears and arrows, and their tongue is a sharp sword. From this sword of ill intent deliver me. What he hath now called a sword, the same he called above many waters. Take me out of many waters. The same which I called many waters, 1 uow call a sword of ill intent. Finally, when he had said, out ofmany waters, he went on to say, from the hand of strange children, whose mouth hath spoken
vanity. And that thou mightest know that the same are spoken of, when here too he had said, Deliver me from the sword of ill intent, he went on to say, And take me out of the hand of strange children, whose mouth hath spoken vanity: just as before. And that which followeth, their right hand is a right hand of iniquity, the same he had set down before also, when he called them many waters. For lest thou shouldest think that the many waters were good waters, he explained them by the sword of ill intent. Now then let him explain what he meant by, whose mouth hath spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand
The prosperity of the wicked, empty. 311
of iniquity. What vanity hath their mouth spoken? and Vex. how is their right hand a right hand of iniquity ?
18. Whose sons are like young vines firmly planted in ver. 12. their youth. He wisheth to recount their happiness. Ob
serve, ye sons of light, sons of peace : observe, ye sons of
the Church, members of Christ; observe whom he calleth strangers, whom he calleth
strange children, whom he calleth waters ofcontradiction, whom he calleth a sword of
ill intent. Observe, I beseech you, for among them ye are
in peril, among their tongues ye fight against the desires
of your flesh, among their tongues, set in the hand of the
devil wherewith he fighteth, ye have to wrestle, not against Eph. 6,
flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, 12* against the rulers of this world, of this darkness, that is,
of the wicked. Observe, that ye may discern yourselves, that
ye may not think that to be true felicity, which men either weak, or of ill intent, desire for themselves. Behold, bre thren, surely he hath called them strange children, surely
he halh called them many waters, surely he hath called
them a sword of ill intent. Behold the vanity which they speak, and beware lest ye speak the same; beware lest in speaking the same, ye imitate them. Whose mouth hath spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity. What vanity hath their mouth spoken, and how
is their right hand a right hand of iniquity? Whose sons ver. 12. are as young vines firmly planted in their youth, their13, 14' daughters are fitted and adorned after the similitude of
a temple: their garners are full, bursting out from one store to another: their sheep are fruitful, multiplying in their streets: their oxen are fat : their hedge is not broken down, nor their road, nor is there crying in their streets. Is not this then happiness ? I ask the sons of the kingdom of heaven, I ask the offspring of everlasting resurrection,
I ask the body of Christ, the members of Christ, the temple of God. Is not this then happiness, to have sons safe, daughters beautiful, garners full, cattle abundant, no downfall, I say not of a wall, but not even of a hedge, no tumult and clamour in the streets, but quiet, peace, abundance, plenty of all things in their houses and in their cities? Is not this then happiness ? or ought the righteous to shun
31 2 Everlasting happiness the only true happiness.
Psalm it? or findest thou not the house of the righteous too "l1T" abounding with all these things, full of this happiness? Did not Abraham's house abound with gold, silver, children,
Gen. 31, servants, cattle? Did not the holy patriarch Jacob, when he fled from the face of his brother Esau into Macedonia, after enriching himself as a servant, return, and give thanks to the Lord his God, because with his rod he had crossed the river, returned with such abundance of flocks and children ? What say we ? is not this happiness ? Be it so, still it is on the left hand. What is, on the left hand? Temporal, mortal, bodily. I desire not that thou shun
but that thou think not to be on the right hand. For they were not therefore wicked, therefore vain, because they had this abundance, but because what ought to have been on the left hand they set on the right. Therefore too their right hand is a right hand iniquity; therefore their mouth hath spoken vanity, because they set that on their right hand which ought to have been on the left. For what ought they to have set on the right hand God, eternity,
Ps. 102, the years of God which fail not, whereof said, and Thy years shall not fail. There should be the right hand, there should be our longing. Let us use the left for the time, let
Ps. 62, us long for the right for eternity. If riches increase, set not
J0"
your heart upon them. For when riches increase, ye set your heart upon them, ye will make what left, to be right. Amend yourselves, acknowledge Wisdom embracing you, to
Cant. Whom said, His left hand shall be under my head, and His right hand shall embrace me. Behold the holy song of love, behold the song of songs, of the heavenly marriage of
Christ and His Church. What saith the bride of the Bridegroom His left hand shall be under my head, and His right hand shall embrace me. The left under the head, and the right above the head. For when one embraceth from above, his arm above the head, but his left hand under the head. His left hand, saith he, under my head. For He will not desert me in times of need: but yet His left hand will be under my head, will not be put above my head, but will be beneath my head, that His right hand may embrace me, promising eternal life. For so His left hand under my head, His right hand be above my head, and
if
it of
is
it
is
?
(,
2,
it is
is
is ?
if,
it,
To seek earthly happiness is folly. 313
that is fulfilled which was written to Timothy, having the Ver. promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to - 15- come. Having the promise, he saith, of the present and of
the future life. What in the present ? His left hand under
my head. What in the future? His right hand shall embrace me. Do ye seek what is needful for the present
time? Seek ye first the kingdom of God, that is, the right Matt. 6, hand, and all these things shall be added unto you. Ye33- shall have here, saith He, both riches and glory, and in the
world to come everlasting life: both with the left hand I will support you while weak, and with the right I will crown you when perfected. Or did perhaps the Apostles, when they left their all, or distributed what they had to the poor, remain without riches in this world? Where then is that
promise of the left hand, he shall receive sevenfold in this Mat. 19, world? He promised to multiply them. And, in truth, what29'
can be wanting to the man of God r If any one perchance
be an unbeliever, he hath but one house, or at all events
a few ; the w hole world of riches are the faithful man's. j,rov,ijt Behold His left hand full under his head: he shall receive6- sevenfold in this world. Behold His right hand embracing
him : and in the world to come life everlasting. Rightly is
it said in another place too of Wisdom herself, in her right Prov. 3, hand is length of days, and in her left hand riches and^6' honour.
19. Whence then speak they vainly ? wherefore hath
their mouth spoken vanity? Because their right hand is a
right hand of iniquity. I blame them not because their sons
were as young vines firmly planted in their youth, nor because their daughters were adorned after the similitude of
the temple, nor because they had every thing else in abundance, and because earthly peace was theirs. But why
do I blame them ? They have called the people blessed who ver. 15, have these things. O men that speak vanity ! They have called the people blessed who have these things. They have
lost the true right hand, wicked and perverse, they have
put on the benefits of God inversely. O wicked ones, O speakers of vanity, O strange children ! They have called
the people blessed who have these things. What was on the left hand, they have set on the right. They have called the
3N God teacheth man how to praise.
Psalm people blessed who have these things. What dost thou, c",ir' David ? What dost thou, Body of Christ f What do ye, members of Christ ? What do ye, not strange children, but children of God ? Since the speakers of vanity, the strange
children, have called the people blessed who have these things, what say ye ? Blessed is the people whose Lord is their God. Have then the left hand, but on the left ; long for the right, that ye may be set on the right. They had the left on the
Mat. 25, left, before whom He hungered, and they gave Him to eat; He was thirsty, and they gave Him drink; He was a stranger, and they took Him in ; He was naked, and they clothed Him. All this they took from the left, and transferred to the works of the right, that they might be set
on the right. So then the speakers of vanity, the strange children, called the people blessed who have these things : say ye with us, Blessed is the people, whose Lord is their
God.
Lat. PSALM CXLV. CxlIV.
Sermon to the People.
1. We have longed to praise the Lord with you; and since He has deigned to grant us this, in order that the praise which we give Him may be in due order, that it may not by any excess offend Him Whom it praiseth, it is better for us to seek the path of praise in the Scripture of God, that we turn not aside from the way, either to the right hand or to the left. For I venture to say to you, beloved, God hath praised Himself, that He might be properly praised by man : and because He hath deigned to praise Himself, therefore hath man found how to praise Him.
Prov. 27, For it cannot be said to God, as it is to man, let not thine
2'
own mouth praise thee. For for man to praise himself is arrogance; for God to praise Himself is mercy. It is good for us to love whom we praise : by praising one that is good, we are ourselves made better. So, since He knoweth that this is for our good, in order that we might love Him, by praising Himself, He maketh Himself lovely ; and herein He endeavoureth to benefit us, in that He maketh Himself lovely. He exhorteth then our heart to praise Him, and He hath filled His servants with His Spirit, that they might
Christ the Son of David and Lord of David. 315
ver. Him, what doeth He but praise Himself ? So then this
praise Him. And since His Spirit in His servants praiseth
Psalm beginneth thus :
2. / will exalt Thee, my God. my King ; and 1 trill bless ver. I.
77iy Name for the age, and age upon age. Ye see that the praise of God is here begun, and this praise is carried on even to the end of the Psalm. Finally, the title is, Praise, to David himself. Praise to Christ Himself. And since He is called David, Who came to us of the seed of David, yet He was our King, ruling us, and bringing us into His kingdom, therefore Praise to David himself is understood to mean, Praise to Christ Himself. Christ according to the flesh is David, because He is the Son of David: but according to His Divine Nature He is the Creator of David, and Lord of David. Finally, the Apostle too, when he would pay honour to the former people of God, out of whom both the Apostles themselves, beloved, and many of the first
Churches came, doing in many thousands of men, what just now in the Gospel one rich man heard, and went away sorrowful, that is, selling all that they had, and distributing to the poor, and seeking perfection in the Lord ; -- when he would praise, I say, that former people, he thus saith,
Whose are the fathers, and of whom as pertaining to the Rom. 9, flesh Christ came, Who is over all, God blessed for ever. 5'
So because Christ is of them, as pertaining to the flesh, therefore is He David : but because He is over all, God blessed for ever, therefore, / will exalt Thee, saith he, my
I will bless Thy Name
for age upon age. Perhaps for the age meaneth here, for
God, my King ; and
for
the age, and
age upon age, for ever. Now then begin to praise, if thou intendest to praise for ever. He who will not praise in this transitory age, will be silent when age upon age has come.
Accordingly in the following verses he hath said nearly this. 3. But lest any one should in any otherwise also under
stand what he saith, / will praise Thy Name for the age, and should seek another age, wherein to praise, he saith,
bless Thee. Praise then and bless the Lord thy God every day, that when single days have passed, and there has come one day without end, thou mayest go
Every day will I
from praise to praise, as from strength to strength. Every Ps. 84,7.
2-
316 We must praise God in evil as well as good.
Psalm day, he saith, / will bless Thee : no day shall pass by, lT' wherein 1 bless Thee not. And it is no wonder, if in thy
day of joy thou bless the Lord. What if perchance some day of sorrow hath dawned on thee, as is natural in the circumstances of our mortal nature, as there is abundance of offences, as temptations are multiplied ; what, if something sad befall thee, a man ; wilt thou cease to praise God ? wilt thou cease to bless thy Creator? If thou cease, thou hast
lied in saying, every day will I
bless Thee, O Lord. But if thou cease not, although it seem to thee to be ill with thee in the day of thy sorrow, yet in thy God it shall be well
with thee. For there are cases where it is well with thee, even when it is ill with thee. For if in any evil it is ill with thee, without doubt in any good it is well with thee. And
Lokel8, what so good as thy God, of Whom it is said, None is good
19"
save One, that is, God. For how safe it is to praise thus, and how safe for it to be well with thee thus, thou mayest learn from the very nature of good. For if thou rejoicest at a good which accrueth to thee one day, perchance another day this good whereat thou rejoicest passeth away. ' It has been well with me, I have spent a good day;' because perhaps gain has come to thee, or thou hast received an invitation, or sat long at a feast. Thou rejoicest, because thou hast sat long at a feast: another day grieveth thee, because thou hast not had to blush. However, at whatever good of this sort thou rejoicest, at all events it is fleeting.
But if thou rejoicest in the Lord thy God, thou shalt hear Ps. 37,4. Scripture saying, Delight thee in the Lord. The more firmly shalt thou rejoice, the more sure He is in Whom thou shalt rejoice. For if thou rejoicest in money, thou fearest
the thief; but if thou rejoicest in God, what fearest thou ? Lest any take God from thee ? None will take God from thee, if thou send Him not from thee. For God is not like the light which shineth in the heavens. We cannot approach to it whensoever we please, for it shineth not in every place. And through our weakness perhaps it cometh to pass, that in winter we delight to be in this light ; but now in summer time ye see that we rather seek a spot where we shall not stand in the light. But when thou abidest in thy God, and delightest in the light of His truth, thou seekest not a spot
Job, a pattern of true praise. 317
where thou mayest approach Him: but thy conscience Vir. approacheth, thy conscience retreateth from Him. That ----- which is said, Approach to Him, and be enlightened, is said Pa. 34,fi. to the soul, not to any carriage; it is said to the affections,
not to the feet. And when thou abidest in Him, thou shalt suffer no heat. For His Spirit shall breathe on thee, and under His wings thou shall hope.
4. Thou seest then that thou hast whereof to delight every day. For thy God will not leave thee, even though any thing befall thee. For how sad was that which befell the holy man Job : how sudden, how manifold ills ! how was all in which he was thought to rejoice, not all in which he did rejoice, withdrawn when the devil assailed him ! how did even his sons die ! All that he was careful in preserving, perished ; all they for whom he was preserving it, perished ;
yet He perished not, Who gave both the one and the other.
And even his sons, though they perished in this world, shall
be recognised and received back in the world to come. Yet
had that man somewhat else wherein to rejoice ; and in him
was that true which we have just recited, Every day will I
bless Thee : because then the day wherein all perished shone
upon him sadly, did therefore the inward light in his heart
fail ? Nay, he stood in that light, and said, The Lord gave, Jobi,2i. and the Lord hath taken away ; as the Lord hath pleased,
so hath it been done; blessed be the Name of the Lord. He then praised every day, who even in the day of sorrow
It is a short lesson, that thou ever praise God,
and with true, not false heart say, / will bless the Lord at P>>M,\. all times, His praise shall be ever in my mouth. It is a
short lesson : it is in fact to know that He giveth in mercy,
when He giveth; that He taketh away in mercy, when He
taketh away : not to believe that thou art abandoned
His mercy, Who either comforteth thee by giving lest thou
fail, or punisheth thee when thou art uplifted, lest thou
perish. Whether then in His gifts, or in His scourges, do
thou praise. The praise of the scourger is the healing of
the wound. Every day, saith he, / will bless Thee. My brethren, bless God : what ever happen, bless God. For
it is He Who causeth that nothing happen which ye cannot
bear. Therefore thou oughtest to be in fear when it is well
praised.
by
318 Death even should not end our praises.
Psalm with thee, and not so to prepare thyself as though thou shouldest never be tried. For if thou art never tried, thou art never proved. Is it not better to be tried and proved, than to be not tried and rejected ? And I will praise Thy Name for the age, and for age upon age.
ver. 3.
5. Great is the Lord, and very much to be praised. How much was he about to say ? what terms was he about to seek? How vast a conception hath he included in the one word, very much? Imagine what thou wilt, for how can that be imagined, which cannot be contained ? He is very much to be praised, and of His Greatness there is no end; therefore said he very much, because, of His Greatness there is no end: lest perchance thou begin to wish to praise, and think that thou canst reach the end of His praises, Whose Greatness can have no end. Think not then that He, Whose Greatness has no end, can ever be enough praised by thee. Is it not then better that as He has no end, so neither should thy praise have end? His Greatness is without end ; let thy praise also be without end. Of His Greatness what is said ? of His Greatness there is no end. Of thy praise what? / will praise Thy Name for the age, and age upon age. Therefore, as of His Greatness there is no end, so of thy praise there shall be no end. For, not even when thou art dead in this flesh, shalt thou cease
Ps. 1 15, to praise the Lord. It is said indeed, the dead shall not praise
Thee, O Lord; but it is they, of whom it is said,/roiw the 17, 28. dead, as from one that is not, confession perisheth ; not they John n, of whom He saith, he that believeth in Me, though he were
? 5'
Mat. 22,
32.
Ece'us
dead, yet shall he live. For the God Abraham,
and of Isaac, and ofJacob, is not the God of the dead, but of the living. For if thou shalt never be ought but His, thou shalt never be silent from His praise. Will it be possible for thee to fear, lest while thou livest here, thou may est be His, and when thou art dead, not be His? Hear the Apostle
* of
.
Rom. 14, promising thee safely: Whether we live, we live unto the
8-
Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's. And whence is that thou art His, even when dead Because He redeemed
thee with the price of His blood, even by His death. How can He lose His servant, even when dead, Whose death
it,
?
The ' visible things' of God prove the goodness of all. 319
is thy price ? Therefore when he hath said, Whether we VtR, live or die, we are the Lord's, that He might set forth the price Ro^' u too, he added, forfor this cause Christ died and rose again',9.
that He migh t be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
6. However, since of His Greatness there is no end, and
whom we cannot contain, we ought to praise : (for if we can
contain Him, there is an end of His Greatness; but if there be
no end of His Greatness, some part of Him indeed we can contain, but God entirely we caunot contain ;) let us, as failing
in His Greatness, that we may be refreshed by His Goodness,
look to His works, and by His works praise the Worker; by
what He hath made, the Maker ; by His creation, the Creator.
Let us look at what He hath done here, what is well known
to us, what is open to our eyes. For how great things
besides has His boundless Goodness and illimitable Great
ness made, which we do not know ! When we lift the gaze
of our eyes even to the heaven, and then recall it from
sun, moon, and stars to the earth, and there is all this space
where our sight can wander; beyond the heavens who can extend the eyesight of his mind, not to say of his flesh ?
So far then as His works are known to us, let us praise Him through His works. For the invisible things of Him from Rom. J, the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood 20'
by the things which are made. Generation and generation ver. 4. shall praise Thy works. Every generation shall praise Thy works. For perhaps every generation is meant by gene ration and generation. He did not mean to continue saying, generation and generation, till he had defined the number of all generations, but the repetition of the speaker
led the mind of the thinker to infinity. Behold that generation which now is in the flesh, destined to pass from hence as it came, praiseth the works of God ; and that for which it maketh way to succeed, will assuredly praise the works of God; and after that will be another, and unto the end of the world how many generations ! This he meant when he said, generation and generation shall praise Thy works. Did he perchance mean to imply two generations by that repetition ? For we are in this generation sons of God, we shall be in another generation sons of the Resurrection. Scripture hath called us sons of the Resurrection ; the
3-20 In the works we should praise the Maker.
Pealm Resurrection itself it hath called Regeneration. In the c*-v\ regeneration, it saith, when the Son of Man shall be seated
in His Majesty. So also in another place: For they shall 35*36?
