Blessed are they whose
business
is to praise God !
Augustine - Exposition on the Psalms - v6
Hear the Apostle Peter.
lPet4,// is time that judgment begin at the house of God. 17. 18. Exh0rting the martyrs and witnesses of God to endure with perfect patience all the threats of the raging world, he saith to them, It is time that judgment begin at the
ver. 20.
house of God : and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God? and if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear ? Announcing His word unto Jacob, His righteousnesses and judgment to Israel.
28. He hath not done so to the whole race. Let none deceive you : it is not announced to any nation, this judgment of God; namely, how the righteous and the
unrighteous suffer, how all suffer for their deserts, how the righteous themselves are freed by the grace of God, not in their own merits. This is not announced to the whole race, but only to Jacob, only to Israel. What then do we, if He hath not announced it to the whole race, but only to Jacob, only to Israel? Where will we be? In Jacob. He hath not manifested His judgments to them. To whom ? To all nations. How then are the snows called, when the crystal is melted? How are the nations called, now Paul is
justified? How, save to be in Jacob? The wild olive is cut off from its stock, to be grafted into the olive : now they belong to the olive, no longer ought they to be called nations', but one nation in Christ, the nation of Jacob, the nation of Israel. Wherefore the nation of Jacob, and the nation of Israel ? Because Jacob is the son of Isaac,
'gentes.
to all, but to the true Israel.
415
Isaac of Abraham. But to Abraham what was said? Ver. In thy seed shall all nations be blessed. This was also said w-20' ^
Gen. 22 Jacob. Wherefore we belong to Jacob, 18.
to Isaac and to
because we belong to Isaac, and to Abraham. For the seed
of Abraham, as not I or any common man, but the Apostle himself, explaineth it, is Christ : he himself saith, He saith Gal. 3, not, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to thy seed, 16 which is Christ. If we be one seed, we are one Jacob, one Israel, yea all nations are one man in Christ. That then belongeth to all nations, which He hath revealed to Jacob,
to Israel : and they only are to be reckoned among the other nations, who, refusing to believe in Christ, refuse to leave
the wild olive, and be grafted into the olive. They will remain among the wild trees, barren branches and bitter.
Let Jacob rejoice. What is Jacob ? The supplanter : because Jacob supplanted his brother. For blindness in Rom.
part is happened unto Israel, that the fulness of the Gentiles 1 > J' might come in. Of Jacob is made Israel. What is Israel ?
Now let us all listen, all who are Israel, whether ye who are
here among the members of Christ, or those who are without yet not without, and throughout all nations every where without, every where within ; let Israel himself hear,
who of Jacob was made Israel. What is Israel ?
God. ' Where shall he see God ? In peace. What peace? The peace of Jerusalem ; for, saith he, He hath set peace for thy borders. There shall we praise : there shall we all be one, in One, unto One : for then, though many, we shall not be scattered.
'
PSALM CXLVIII.
EXPOSITION.
Sermon to the People.
1. The subject of our meditation in this present life should be the praises of God; for the everlasting exalt ation of our life hereafter will be the praise of God, and none can become fit for the life hereafter, who hath not
' Seeing
Lat. CxlVIII.
416 Lent, a type of this life : Easter, of that to come.
Psalm practised himself for it now. So then now we praise God,
oxlvin.
we pray to llim too Our praise is marked by joy, our prayer by groans. For somewhat is promised to us, which as yet we have not: and so, because He Who hath promised is true, we rejoice in hope ; but, because as yet we have not, we groan in longing. It is good for us to persevere in longing, till what is promised come, and so groaning pass away, praise alone succeed. On account of these two seasons, one, that which now is in the temptations and tribulations of this life, the other, that which is to be hereafter in everlasting rest and exultation ; we have esta blished also the celebration of two seasons, that before Easter and that after Easter. That which is before Easter
tribulation, in which we now are; that which we are now keeping after Easter, signifieth the bliss in which we shall hereafter be. The celebration then which we keep before Easter is what we do now : by that which we keep after Easter we signify what as yet we have not. Therefore we employ that time in fastings and prayer, this present time we spend in praises, and relax our fast. This is the Halle- luia which we sing, which, as you know, meaneth in Latin, Praise ye the Lord. Therefore that period is before the Lord's Resurrection, this, after His Resurrection : by which time is signified the future hope which as yet we have not: for what we represent after the Lord's Resurrection, we shall have after our own. For in our Head both are figured, both are set forth. The Baptism of the Lord setteth forth to us this present life of trial, for in it we must toil, be harassed, and, at last, die ; but the Resurrection and Glori fication of the Lord setteth forth to us the life which we are to have hereafter, when He shall come to recompense due rewards, evil to the evil, good to the good. And now indeed all the evil men sing with us, Halleluia; but, if they persevere in their wickedness, they may utter with their lips the song of our life hereafter; but the life itself, which will then be in the reality which now is typified, they
cannot obtain, because they would not practise it before it came, and lay hold on what was to come.
2. Now then, brethren, we exhort you that ye praise God ; this is what we all say to one another, when we say,
siguifieth
We must praise God with our lives as well as lips. 4 1 7
Halleluia. ' Praise the Lord,' thou sayest to thy neighbour, Ver. he to thee : when all are exhorting each other, all are doing -- what they exhort others to do. But praise with your whole
selves : that is, let not your tongue and voice alone praise
God, but your conscience
now, when we are gathered together in the Church, praise : when we go forth each to his own business, we seem to cease to praise God. Let a man not cease to live well, and then he ever praiseth God. Then dost thou cease to praise God, when thou turnest aside from righte ousness and from all that pleaseth Him. For, if thou never turn aside from a good life, though thy tongue be silent, yet thy life crieth out, and the ears of God are open to thy heart. For just as our ears are open to our voices, so God's ears are open to our thoughts. But it is impossible for a man's acts to be evil, whose thoughts are good. For acts issue from thought: nor can a man do any thing or move his limbs to do aught, unless the bidding of his thought precede : just as in all things which ye see done throughout the provinces, whatsoever the Emperor biddeth goeth forth from the inner part of his palace throughout the whole Roman Empire. How great commotion is caused at one bidding by the Emperor as he sits in his palace ! He but moveth his lips, when he speaketh : the whole province is moved, when what he speaketh is being executed. So in each single man too, the Emperor is within, his seat is
in the heart. If he be good and biddeth good things, good things are done : if he be bad and biddeth evil things, evil things are done. When Christ sitteth there, what can He bid, but what is good ? When the devil is the occupant, what can he bid, but evil? But God hath willed that it should be in thy choice for whom thou wilt prepare room^ for God, or for the devil: when thou hast prepared he who occupant will also rule. Therefore, brethren, attend not only to the sound; when ye praise God, praise with your whole selves: let your voice, your life, your deeds, all sing. And there be still groaning, tribulation, tempt ation, hope that they will all pass away, and then the day will come when ye will praise without failure. This present Psalm clear, and we may run over quickly. For
VOL. VI.
also, your life, your deeds. For we
e e
is
if
it
it
is
it,
418 All things, animate and inanimate,
Psalm arrayeth all creation to praise God, and as it were ex- cxi. vin. frorteth iL t0 praiSe, as though it had found it holding its
peace.
ver. l. 3. Praise ye the Lord from heaven. As though he had
found things in heaven holding their peace in the praise of the Lord, he exhorteth them to arise and praise. Never have things in heaven held their peace in the praises of their Creator, never have things on earth ceased to praise God. But it is manifest that there are certain things which have breath to praise God in that disposition wherein God pleaseth them. For no one praiseth ought, save what pleaseth him. And there are other things which have not breath of life and understanding to praise God, but yet, because they also are good, and duly arranged in their proper order, and form part of the beauty of the universe, which God created, though they themselves with voice and heart praise not God, yet when they are considered by those who have understanding, God is praised in them; and, as God is praised in them, they themselves too in a manner praise God. For instance, in heaven all things praise God, which have the breath of life, and a pure intelligence to con template and love Him without disgust or weariness. But on earth men praise God by their understanding whereby they discern good and evil, by their understanding whereby they know the creature and the Creator, because they can think of these things, because God has given them a mind to discern them, to love, and to praise. This man can do ; but surely beasts have not this sort of understanding: if
re. 32, they had, God would not say to us, Be ye not like unto horse and mule, which have no understanding. When He exhorteth us not to be like beasts, which have no understanding, He sheweth us that to man He hath assigned an understanding whereby to praise God. And the trees surely have not so much as the life whereby they may have senses, like the beasts. For though the beasts have not the inner sense of reason, and an understanding, and a discerning mind, which man has, to praise God withal, yet they have an outward and visible life, as we all know, whereby they seek food, take what is for their good, reject what is harmful; they have senses whereby to discern
rational and irrational, praise God. 419 corporeal things, sight to distinguish colour, hearing to Ver.
l"
distinguish sounds, smell to distinguish odours, taste to distinguish flavours; they naturally move towards what pleases, away from what annoys them. This we understand and see before our eyes. They have not reason to under stand with, but they have the breath of a living body, and a visible life : the trees have not even this ; yet all of them praise God. Wherefore do they praise God ? Because when we see them, and think upon the Creator Who made them, they cause to arise within us praise to God; and, since through consideration of them God is praised, all things praise God. He begins then with heaven : all things praise, and yet he says, Praise ye. Wherefore doth he say, Praise ye, when they are praising? Because he delighteth in their praising, and therefore it
pleaseth him to add, as it were, his own encouragement. Just as, when you come to men who are doing any good work with pleasure in their vineyard or in their harvest field, or in some other matter of husbandry, you are pleased at what they are doing, and say, 'work on,' 'go on:' not that they may begin to work, when thou sayest this, but, because you are pleased at finding them working, you add your approbation and encouragement. For by saying, ' work on,' and encouraging those who are working, you, so to speak, work with them in wish. In this sort of encourage ment then the Psalmist, filled with the Holy Ghost, saith
this.
4. And it is a Psalm of Haggai and Zachariah : so the title Title in
runneth. These two Prophets prophesied at the time when LXX- the people was kept captive in Babylon, and foretold the coming end of the captivity, that the city of Jerusalem which had been destroyed in war, should be restored. They
set forth to us then in amystery the life to come, wherein we shall praise God, when the captivity of this present life is at an end, when shall be restored that mighty city Jerusalem, in wandering from whence we sigh, prisoners as yet under the burden and weight of this mortal body : wherefore as yet we groan in our pilgrimage, but we shall exult when we reach our country. But he, who groaneth not as a pilgrim, shall not rejoice as a citizen, because there
Ee2
420 We practise now what we shall perform hereafter.
Psalm is no longing in him. Those holy Prophets then gave great cxlvm. comfort to the people, who were then captives according to the flesh, that is, who were placed in Babylon under
strange sovereigns. For they shewed in prophecy, that a time should come when they should be freed from their captivity, and Jerusalem should be restored. But all these things were done in a figure, they contain their own truth ; they were figured in what happened of old, they are set forth really present among us. Now then what saith the
2 Cor. 5, Apostle ? While tee are present in the body, we are absent from the Lord. As yet we are not in our country: when shall we be ? When we shall trinmph for victory over our iCor. 15, enemy the devil; when death, the last enemy, shall be
gfc'. 54"
destroyed ; then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is thy strife ? where, O death, is thy sting ? When then shall there be no more strife of death, which now there is, and maketh us groan at the failure and changeableness of things, at the frailness of man's flesh ? Daily temptations strive with us, daily delights : even though we consent not, yet we suffer annoyance, and strive : and great is the peril, lest he who striveth be conquered : and even if by not
consenting we conquer, yet we suffer annoyance in resisting delights. The enemy ceaseth not, dieth not, save in the resurrection of the dead. But let us hope, let us trust : Haggai and Zacharias lift us up, they sing our coming liberation. If they sang to that people, and it hath been fulfilled, shall what is sung to the Christian people not be fulfilled? Be not troubled: only take heed how ye act in this pilgrimage of life. Let not love of Babylon please you, lest ye forget your city Jerusalem. Though your body is yet detained in Babylon, let your heart be sent forward to
Jerusalem. Let then the whole creation praise the Lord: for there we shall do what here we practise beforehand.
5. Praise ye the Lord from heaven : praise Him in the high places. First he saith, from heaven, then from earth ; for it is God that is praised, Who made heaven and earth. All in heaven is calm and peaceful ; there is ever joy, no
death, no sickness, no vexation;
praise God; but we are still below: yet, when we think
there the blessed ever
All creation praises its Creator. 421
how God is praised there, let us have our heart there, Ver. and let us not hear to no purpose, ' Lift up your hearts. ' a 5- Let us lift up our heart above, that it become not corrupted
on earth : for we take pleasure in what the Angels do there.
We do it now in hope: hereafter we shall in
when we have come thither. Praise Him then in the high
places.
6. Praise Him, all ye angels of His, praise Him, all Hisver. 23-
powers. Praise Him, sun and moon ; praise Him, all ye stars and light. Praise Him, ye heaven of heavens, and waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the Name of the Lord. When can he unfold all in his enu meration ? Yet he hath in a manner touched upon them all summarily, and included all things in heaven praising their Creator.
7. And as though it were said to him, ' Why do they praise
Him ? what hath He conferred on them, that they should
praise Him ? ' he goeth on, for He spake, and they were made;
He commanded, and they were created. No wonder if the
works praise the Worker, no wonder if the things that are
made praise the Maker, no wonder if creation praise its Creator. In this Christ also is mentioned, though we seem
not to have heard His Name. Who is Christ? In the John l,
reality,
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 77ie Same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. By what were they made ? By the Word? How doth he shew in this Psalm, that all things were made by the Word? He spake, and they were made ; He commanded, and they were created. No one speaketh, no one commandeth, save by word.
' 2'
8. He hath established them for the age, and for age ver. 6. upon age. All things in heaven, all things above, all powers
and angels, a certain city on high, good, holy, blessed;
from whence because we are wanderers, we are wretched ; whither because we are to return, we are blessed in hope; whither when we shall have returned, we shall be blessed indeed ; He hath established them for the age, and for age
upon age : He hath given them a law which shall not pass away. What sort of command, think ye, have things ia
422 Christ's Death a sure pledge
Psalm heaven and the holy angels received ? What sort of com- c^? 1' mand hath God given them ? What, but that they praise Him ?
Blessed are they whose business is to praise God ! They plough not, they sow not, they grind not, they cook not;
for these are works of necessity, and there is no necessity there. They steal not, they plunder not, they commit no adultery ; for these are works of iniquity, and there is no iniquity there. They break not bread for the hungry, they clothe not the naked, they take not in the stranger, they visit not the sick, they set not at one the contentious, they bury not the dead ; for these are works of mercy, and there there is no misery, for mercy to be shewn to. O blessed they! Think we that we too shall be like this?
Ah ! let us sigh, let us groan in sighing. And what are we, that we should be there ? mortal, outcast, abject, earth and ashes ! But He, Who hath promised, is almighty. If we regard ourselves, what are we ? if we regard Him, He is God. He is almighty. Cannot He make of a man an angel, who made man out of nothing? Or doth God count man of little value, for whom He willed that His only-begotten Son should die ? Let us observe the proof of His love. These are the pledges which we have received of the promise of
God : we have already the Death of Christ, we have already the Blood of Christ. Who is it that did die ? The Only- begotten. For whom did He die ? Would that it were for the good, would that it were for the righteous. But what ?
Rom. 5, Christ, saith the Apostle, died for the ungodly. He Who '' gave to the ungodly His Death, what reserveth He for the righteous but His Life ? Let then frail man lift himself up, let him not despair, let him not dash himself down, let him not turn away, let him not say, ' I shall not be one. ' He Who hath promised is God ; and He came to promise ; He appeared unto men, He came to take upon Him our death,
to promise us His Life. He came to the region where we were strangers, here to receive all that aboundeth here, disgrace, scourges, buflettings, spitting in the face, insults, a crown of thorns, the hanging on the tree, the cross, death. These things abound in our region, these He came to barter for. What gave He here, what received He? He gave exhortation, He gave teaching, He gave remission
of our everlasting life.
423
of sins : He received insults, death, the cross. He brought Ver. to us, from the region where He was, good things; He 6'7' endured, in the region where we were, evil things. Yet
hath He provided to us that we shall be in the place from
John 17,
I will that where
/ am, there they may be with Me also. So great is the24'
whence He came, and saith, Father,
love that hath gone before. For where we were, He hath been with us; where He is, we shall be with Him. What
thee, O mortal ? That thou shalt live for ever. Dost not thou believe ? Believe it, believe it.
hath God promised
For greater is what He hath done already, than what He
What hath He done? He hath died for
hath promised.
thee. What hath He promised ? That thou shalt live with Him. More incredible is that the Immortal should
die, than that the mortal should live for ever. Already we have what the more incredible. If God died for man, shall not man live with God Shall not the mortal live for ever, for whom He, Who liveth for ever, died But how did God die and by what means did He die and
He might die for thee. Nought could die, save flesh nought could
can God die He took of thee that, whereby
He put on Him that wherein He might die for thee He will put on thee that wherein thou shalt live with Him. Where did He clothe himself with
death In the womb of His Virgin Mother. Where will He clothe thee with life In His equality with the Father.
Word made flesh, that He might become the Head of the14' Church. For the Word Himself not part of the Church but, that He might become the Head of the Church, He took upon Him flesh. Somewhat of us already above, that which He took here, where He died, where He was crucified. Already sort of first-fruits of thee are gone
before, and doubtest thou that thou wilt follow
9. Let him then turn himself to things on earth too, since
die, save mortal body
He chose for Himself here chaste
Bridegroom might be wedded to the Bride. He was the John
the praises of things in heaven. Praise ye the Lord from the earth. For wherewith began ver.
he before Praise ye the Lord from heaven and he went
he hath already spoken
through things in heaven
now hear of things on earth.
chamber, where the
:
?
a
?
is ?
:
7.
l.
a
;
:
is ?
:
a is
?
it,
:
?
?
? ?
424 How the works of nature praise God.
Psalm Dragons and all abysses. Abysses are depths of water: all cxlvm. tlie seaS, and ty)is atmosphere of clouds, pertain to the abyss. Where there are clouds, where there are storms, where there is rain, lightning, thunder, hail, snow, and all that God willeth should be done above the earth, by this moist and all this he hath mentioned under the name of earth, because it is very changeable and mortal ; unless ye think that it raineth from above the stars. All
these things happen here, close to the earth. Sometimes even men are on the tops of mountains, and see the clouds beneath them, and often it raineth : and all commotions which arise from the disturbance of the atmosphere, those who watch carefully see that they happen here, in this lower part of the universe. Therefore the devil was condemned to these regions of darkness, that is, to this air, as to a prison, when he fell with his Angels from the force of the
Eph. 2, Angels above ; for the Apostle saith this of him, According to the prince of the power of this air, w ho now worketh in the children of disobedience. And another Apostle saith,
2Pet. 2, For if God spared not the Angels that sinned, but cast *' them down to the prisons of lower darkness, and delivered
them to be kept for punishment at the judgment ; caIling this region the 'lower, because it is the lower part of creation. For think not what the devil received, but what he lost. Thou seest then what kind all these things are, changeable, troublous, fearful, corruptible: yet they have their place, they have their rank, they too in their degree fill up the beauty of the universe, and so they praise the Lord. He turns then to them, as though He would exhort them too, or us, that by considering them we may praise the Lord :
(for thus is it that they praise God, when the consideration of them begetteth praise of God;) he beginneth to say, Praise the Lord from earth, ye dragons and all abysses. Dragons live about the water, come out from caverns, fly through the air ; the air is set in motion by them : dragons are a huge kind of living creatures, greater there are not upon the earth. Therefore with them he beginneth, Dragons and all abysses. There are caves of hidden waters, whence springs and streams come forth : some come forth to flow over the earth, some flow secretly beneath ; and all this kind, all this
misty atmosphere,
1 infer-
The folly of cavillers at God's dealings. 425
damp nature of waters, together with the sea and this lower Ver. air, are called abyss, or abysses, where dragons live and ------ praise God. What? Think we that the dragons form
choirs, and praise God ? Far from it. But do ye, when ye
consider the dragons, regard the Maker of the dragon, the Creator of the dragon : then, when ye admire the dragons, and say, 'Great is the Lord Who made these,' then the dragons praise God by your voices. Dragons and all
abysses.
10. Fire, hail, snow, ice, wind of storms, which do His^er. s.
word. Wherefore added he here, which do His word? Many foolish men, unable to contemplate and discern creation, in its several places and rank, performing its move ments at the nod and commandment of God, think that
God doth indeed rule all things above, but things below He despisefh, casteth aside, abandoneth, so that He neither careth for them, nor guideth, nor ruleth them ; but that they are ruled by chance, how they can, as they can : and they are influenced by what they say sometimes to one another, (but let them not say it to thee, that is, do not thou by listening consent when they say these things : for they are
and accursed in the sight of God:) for in stance ; ' If it were God that gave rain, would He rain into
the sea? What sort of Providence,' they say, 'is this? Getulia is thirsty, and it rains into the sea. ' They think that
they handle the matter cleverly: one should say to them,
' Getulia does at all events thirst, thou dost not even thirst. '
For good were it for thee to say to God, My soul is as a ps. 143, land without water to Thee: as is openly said in another6, place, My soul hath thirsted for Thee, in how many ways p>>. 63,l.
blasphemers,
for Thee my flesh also. And the Lord saith in the Gospel, Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteous- Matt. 5,
ness, for they shall be filled. For he that thus argueth is6' already satisfied ; he thinketh himself learned, he is not willing to learn, therefore he thirsteth not. For if he thirsted, he would be willing to learn, and he would find that every thing happeneth upon earth by God's Providence, and he would wonder at the arrangement of even the limbs of a flea. Attend, beloved. Who hath arranged the limbs of a flea and a gnat, that they should have their proper order,
426 God's creation harmonious,
Psalm life, motion ? Consider one little creature, even the very c*lVm- smallest, whatever thou wilt. If thou considerest the order of its limbs, and the animation of life whereby it moveth ; how doth it shun death, love life, seek pleasures, avoid pain, exert divers senses, vigorously use movements suitable to itself! Who gave its sting to the gnat, for it to suck
blood with ? How narrow is the pipe whereby it sucketh ! Who arranged all this? who made all this? Thou art amazed at the smallest things; praise Him that is great. Hold then this, my brethren, let none shake you from your faith or from sound doctrine. He Who made the Angel in heaven, the Same also made the worm upon earth : the Angel in heaven to dwell in heaven, the worm upon earth to abide on earth. He made not the Angel to creep in the mud, nor the worm to move in heaven. He hath assigned dwellers to their different abodes ; incorruption He assigned
to incorruptible abodes, corruptible things to corruptible abodes. Observe the whole, praise the whole. He then Who ordered the limbs of the worm, doth He not govern the clouds ? And wherefore raineth He into the sea ? As though there are not in the sea things which are nourished by rain ; as though He made not fishes therein, as though He made not living creatures therein. Observe how the fishes run to sweet water. And wherefore, saith he, doth
He give rain to the fishes, and sometimes giveth not rain to me ? That thou mayest consider that thou art in a desert region, and in a pilgrimage of life ; that so this present life may grow bitter to thee, that thou mayest long for the life to come : or else that thou mayest be scourged, punished, amended. And how well doth He assign their properties
to regions. Behold, since we have spoken of Getulia, He raineth here nearly every year, and giveth corn every year ; here the corn cannot be kept, it soon rotteth, because it is given every year; there, because it is given seldom, both much is given, and it can be kept for long. But dost thou perchance think that God there deserteth man, or that they do not there after their own manner of rejoicing both praise and glorify God ? Take a Getulian from his country, and set him amid our pleasant trees ; he will wish to flee awav, and return to his bare Getulia. To all places then, regions,
and obeys His Will. 427 seasons, God hath assigned and arranged what fits them. Ver.
And it were a long task to go through a more accurate --- enumeration of all these matters. Who could unfold it?
Yet they who have eyes see many things therein : when seen, they please ; pleasing, they are praised ; not they really, but He Who made them ; thus shall all things praise God.
-
11. It was in thought of this that the spirit of the Prophet,
after he had said, Fire, hail, snow, ice, wind of storm,
added, because all these seem to some foolish persons to be
all confusion, and, as it were, moved hither and thither by chance, the words, which do His word. Think not then
that these things are moved by chance, which in every motion of theirs obey God. Whither God willeth, thither
the fire spreads, thither the cloud hurries, whether it carry
in it rain, or snow, or hail. And wherefore doth the light
ning sometimes strike the mountain, yet strikes not the
robber ? I will say what I can, according to the capacity
of my mind, so much as God deigneth to give me : greater
men may know greater things, and understand more, and
may God give to you to be wiser than my words, only let it
be with moderation, without pride. I then, in my measure,
can give a reason why it strikes the mountain and strikes
not the robber; because perhaps He yet seeketh the robber's conversion, and therefore is the mountain which
feareth not smitten, that the man who feareth may be changed. Thou also sometimes, when maintaining discipline,
smitest the ground to terrify a child. Sometimes too He smiteth a man, whom He will. But thou sayest to me, Behold, He smiteth the more innocent, and passeth over
the more guilty. Wonder not; death, whencesoever it
come, is good to the good man. And whence dost thou
know what punishment is reserved in secret for that more
guilty man, if he be unwilling to be converted ? Would
not they rather be scorched by lightning, to whom it shall
be said in the end, Depart into everlasting fire ? The Mat. 25, needful thing is, that thou be guileless. Why so ? Is it an41,
evil thing to die by shipwreck, and a good thing to die by fever? Whether he die in this way or in that, ask what sort of man he is who dieth ; ask whither he will go after
428 God's Works good, though man cannot see how.
Psalm death, not how he is to depart from life. We shall depart cixviii. fron] nence 0y whatever may befall us. By what deaths
were the martyrs thought worthy to die ? Was it by fevers ? How is it that many wish to be set free by fever? Some perished by a single blow of the sword, some by fire, some by wild beasts. Wild beasts devoured the bodies of the martyrs, yet feared they not that their bodies would perish. For God will bring back from all quarters the bodies of
Mat. 10, the saints, God by Whom the very hairs of our head are J"' numbered. When He willed too, He delivered the Three 2 Mace. Children from the fire. Did He therefore desert the Macca-
'bees in the fire? The former He openly set free, the latter He secretly crowned. God then knoweth what He doeth. Do thou fear, and be good. For whatsoever way He will that thou depart hence, let Him find thee ready. For here thou art a sojourner, not a possessor of the house. For the house is let to thee, this house is let to thee, not given : loth though thou be, thou must depart from it: neither hast thou received it on such terms, as that thou hast any fixed time. What said thy Lord ? ' Whensoever I will, when soever I shall say, Depart, be thou ready. I drive thee from thy lodging, but I will give thee a home: thou art a sojourner on earth, thou shalt be possessor in heaven. '
12. Whatever then happeneth here contrary to our wish, thou wilt know that it happeneth not, save by the will of God, by His providence, by His ordering, by His nod, by His laws: and if we understand not why any thing is done, let us grant to His providence that it is not done without reason : so shall we not be blasphemers. For when we begin to argue concerning the works of God, ' why is this? ' ' why is that? ' and, ' He ought not to have done this,' ' He did this ill ;' where is the praise of God f Thou hast lost thy Halleluia. Regard all things in such wise as to please God and praise the Creator. For if thou wert to happen to enter the workshop of a smith, thou wouldest not dare to find fault with his bellows, his anvils, his hammers. But take an ignorant man, who knows not for what purpose each thing is, and he findeth fault with all. But if he have not the skill of the workman, and have but the reasoning power of a man, what saith he to himself?
All creation praises by our voice. 429
Not without reason are the bellows placed here: the Ver.
--
13. Then he mentioneth, that they may praise the Lord, ver. 9. mountains and hills, fruitful trees and all cedars: beasts10' and all cattle, creeping things, and winged fowls. Then
he goeth to men; kings of the earth and all people, princes ver. 11.
lPet4,// is time that judgment begin at the house of God. 17. 18. Exh0rting the martyrs and witnesses of God to endure with perfect patience all the threats of the raging world, he saith to them, It is time that judgment begin at the
ver. 20.
house of God : and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God? and if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear ? Announcing His word unto Jacob, His righteousnesses and judgment to Israel.
28. He hath not done so to the whole race. Let none deceive you : it is not announced to any nation, this judgment of God; namely, how the righteous and the
unrighteous suffer, how all suffer for their deserts, how the righteous themselves are freed by the grace of God, not in their own merits. This is not announced to the whole race, but only to Jacob, only to Israel. What then do we, if He hath not announced it to the whole race, but only to Jacob, only to Israel? Where will we be? In Jacob. He hath not manifested His judgments to them. To whom ? To all nations. How then are the snows called, when the crystal is melted? How are the nations called, now Paul is
justified? How, save to be in Jacob? The wild olive is cut off from its stock, to be grafted into the olive : now they belong to the olive, no longer ought they to be called nations', but one nation in Christ, the nation of Jacob, the nation of Israel. Wherefore the nation of Jacob, and the nation of Israel ? Because Jacob is the son of Isaac,
'gentes.
to all, but to the true Israel.
415
Isaac of Abraham. But to Abraham what was said? Ver. In thy seed shall all nations be blessed. This was also said w-20' ^
Gen. 22 Jacob. Wherefore we belong to Jacob, 18.
to Isaac and to
because we belong to Isaac, and to Abraham. For the seed
of Abraham, as not I or any common man, but the Apostle himself, explaineth it, is Christ : he himself saith, He saith Gal. 3, not, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to thy seed, 16 which is Christ. If we be one seed, we are one Jacob, one Israel, yea all nations are one man in Christ. That then belongeth to all nations, which He hath revealed to Jacob,
to Israel : and they only are to be reckoned among the other nations, who, refusing to believe in Christ, refuse to leave
the wild olive, and be grafted into the olive. They will remain among the wild trees, barren branches and bitter.
Let Jacob rejoice. What is Jacob ? The supplanter : because Jacob supplanted his brother. For blindness in Rom.
part is happened unto Israel, that the fulness of the Gentiles 1 > J' might come in. Of Jacob is made Israel. What is Israel ?
Now let us all listen, all who are Israel, whether ye who are
here among the members of Christ, or those who are without yet not without, and throughout all nations every where without, every where within ; let Israel himself hear,
who of Jacob was made Israel. What is Israel ?
God. ' Where shall he see God ? In peace. What peace? The peace of Jerusalem ; for, saith he, He hath set peace for thy borders. There shall we praise : there shall we all be one, in One, unto One : for then, though many, we shall not be scattered.
'
PSALM CXLVIII.
EXPOSITION.
Sermon to the People.
1. The subject of our meditation in this present life should be the praises of God; for the everlasting exalt ation of our life hereafter will be the praise of God, and none can become fit for the life hereafter, who hath not
' Seeing
Lat. CxlVIII.
416 Lent, a type of this life : Easter, of that to come.
Psalm practised himself for it now. So then now we praise God,
oxlvin.
we pray to llim too Our praise is marked by joy, our prayer by groans. For somewhat is promised to us, which as yet we have not: and so, because He Who hath promised is true, we rejoice in hope ; but, because as yet we have not, we groan in longing. It is good for us to persevere in longing, till what is promised come, and so groaning pass away, praise alone succeed. On account of these two seasons, one, that which now is in the temptations and tribulations of this life, the other, that which is to be hereafter in everlasting rest and exultation ; we have esta blished also the celebration of two seasons, that before Easter and that after Easter. That which is before Easter
tribulation, in which we now are; that which we are now keeping after Easter, signifieth the bliss in which we shall hereafter be. The celebration then which we keep before Easter is what we do now : by that which we keep after Easter we signify what as yet we have not. Therefore we employ that time in fastings and prayer, this present time we spend in praises, and relax our fast. This is the Halle- luia which we sing, which, as you know, meaneth in Latin, Praise ye the Lord. Therefore that period is before the Lord's Resurrection, this, after His Resurrection : by which time is signified the future hope which as yet we have not: for what we represent after the Lord's Resurrection, we shall have after our own. For in our Head both are figured, both are set forth. The Baptism of the Lord setteth forth to us this present life of trial, for in it we must toil, be harassed, and, at last, die ; but the Resurrection and Glori fication of the Lord setteth forth to us the life which we are to have hereafter, when He shall come to recompense due rewards, evil to the evil, good to the good. And now indeed all the evil men sing with us, Halleluia; but, if they persevere in their wickedness, they may utter with their lips the song of our life hereafter; but the life itself, which will then be in the reality which now is typified, they
cannot obtain, because they would not practise it before it came, and lay hold on what was to come.
2. Now then, brethren, we exhort you that ye praise God ; this is what we all say to one another, when we say,
siguifieth
We must praise God with our lives as well as lips. 4 1 7
Halleluia. ' Praise the Lord,' thou sayest to thy neighbour, Ver. he to thee : when all are exhorting each other, all are doing -- what they exhort others to do. But praise with your whole
selves : that is, let not your tongue and voice alone praise
God, but your conscience
now, when we are gathered together in the Church, praise : when we go forth each to his own business, we seem to cease to praise God. Let a man not cease to live well, and then he ever praiseth God. Then dost thou cease to praise God, when thou turnest aside from righte ousness and from all that pleaseth Him. For, if thou never turn aside from a good life, though thy tongue be silent, yet thy life crieth out, and the ears of God are open to thy heart. For just as our ears are open to our voices, so God's ears are open to our thoughts. But it is impossible for a man's acts to be evil, whose thoughts are good. For acts issue from thought: nor can a man do any thing or move his limbs to do aught, unless the bidding of his thought precede : just as in all things which ye see done throughout the provinces, whatsoever the Emperor biddeth goeth forth from the inner part of his palace throughout the whole Roman Empire. How great commotion is caused at one bidding by the Emperor as he sits in his palace ! He but moveth his lips, when he speaketh : the whole province is moved, when what he speaketh is being executed. So in each single man too, the Emperor is within, his seat is
in the heart. If he be good and biddeth good things, good things are done : if he be bad and biddeth evil things, evil things are done. When Christ sitteth there, what can He bid, but what is good ? When the devil is the occupant, what can he bid, but evil? But God hath willed that it should be in thy choice for whom thou wilt prepare room^ for God, or for the devil: when thou hast prepared he who occupant will also rule. Therefore, brethren, attend not only to the sound; when ye praise God, praise with your whole selves: let your voice, your life, your deeds, all sing. And there be still groaning, tribulation, tempt ation, hope that they will all pass away, and then the day will come when ye will praise without failure. This present Psalm clear, and we may run over quickly. For
VOL. VI.
also, your life, your deeds. For we
e e
is
if
it
it
is
it,
418 All things, animate and inanimate,
Psalm arrayeth all creation to praise God, and as it were ex- cxi. vin. frorteth iL t0 praiSe, as though it had found it holding its
peace.
ver. l. 3. Praise ye the Lord from heaven. As though he had
found things in heaven holding their peace in the praise of the Lord, he exhorteth them to arise and praise. Never have things in heaven held their peace in the praises of their Creator, never have things on earth ceased to praise God. But it is manifest that there are certain things which have breath to praise God in that disposition wherein God pleaseth them. For no one praiseth ought, save what pleaseth him. And there are other things which have not breath of life and understanding to praise God, but yet, because they also are good, and duly arranged in their proper order, and form part of the beauty of the universe, which God created, though they themselves with voice and heart praise not God, yet when they are considered by those who have understanding, God is praised in them; and, as God is praised in them, they themselves too in a manner praise God. For instance, in heaven all things praise God, which have the breath of life, and a pure intelligence to con template and love Him without disgust or weariness. But on earth men praise God by their understanding whereby they discern good and evil, by their understanding whereby they know the creature and the Creator, because they can think of these things, because God has given them a mind to discern them, to love, and to praise. This man can do ; but surely beasts have not this sort of understanding: if
re. 32, they had, God would not say to us, Be ye not like unto horse and mule, which have no understanding. When He exhorteth us not to be like beasts, which have no understanding, He sheweth us that to man He hath assigned an understanding whereby to praise God. And the trees surely have not so much as the life whereby they may have senses, like the beasts. For though the beasts have not the inner sense of reason, and an understanding, and a discerning mind, which man has, to praise God withal, yet they have an outward and visible life, as we all know, whereby they seek food, take what is for their good, reject what is harmful; they have senses whereby to discern
rational and irrational, praise God. 419 corporeal things, sight to distinguish colour, hearing to Ver.
l"
distinguish sounds, smell to distinguish odours, taste to distinguish flavours; they naturally move towards what pleases, away from what annoys them. This we understand and see before our eyes. They have not reason to under stand with, but they have the breath of a living body, and a visible life : the trees have not even this ; yet all of them praise God. Wherefore do they praise God ? Because when we see them, and think upon the Creator Who made them, they cause to arise within us praise to God; and, since through consideration of them God is praised, all things praise God. He begins then with heaven : all things praise, and yet he says, Praise ye. Wherefore doth he say, Praise ye, when they are praising? Because he delighteth in their praising, and therefore it
pleaseth him to add, as it were, his own encouragement. Just as, when you come to men who are doing any good work with pleasure in their vineyard or in their harvest field, or in some other matter of husbandry, you are pleased at what they are doing, and say, 'work on,' 'go on:' not that they may begin to work, when thou sayest this, but, because you are pleased at finding them working, you add your approbation and encouragement. For by saying, ' work on,' and encouraging those who are working, you, so to speak, work with them in wish. In this sort of encourage ment then the Psalmist, filled with the Holy Ghost, saith
this.
4. And it is a Psalm of Haggai and Zachariah : so the title Title in
runneth. These two Prophets prophesied at the time when LXX- the people was kept captive in Babylon, and foretold the coming end of the captivity, that the city of Jerusalem which had been destroyed in war, should be restored. They
set forth to us then in amystery the life to come, wherein we shall praise God, when the captivity of this present life is at an end, when shall be restored that mighty city Jerusalem, in wandering from whence we sigh, prisoners as yet under the burden and weight of this mortal body : wherefore as yet we groan in our pilgrimage, but we shall exult when we reach our country. But he, who groaneth not as a pilgrim, shall not rejoice as a citizen, because there
Ee2
420 We practise now what we shall perform hereafter.
Psalm is no longing in him. Those holy Prophets then gave great cxlvm. comfort to the people, who were then captives according to the flesh, that is, who were placed in Babylon under
strange sovereigns. For they shewed in prophecy, that a time should come when they should be freed from their captivity, and Jerusalem should be restored. But all these things were done in a figure, they contain their own truth ; they were figured in what happened of old, they are set forth really present among us. Now then what saith the
2 Cor. 5, Apostle ? While tee are present in the body, we are absent from the Lord. As yet we are not in our country: when shall we be ? When we shall trinmph for victory over our iCor. 15, enemy the devil; when death, the last enemy, shall be
gfc'. 54"
destroyed ; then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is thy strife ? where, O death, is thy sting ? When then shall there be no more strife of death, which now there is, and maketh us groan at the failure and changeableness of things, at the frailness of man's flesh ? Daily temptations strive with us, daily delights : even though we consent not, yet we suffer annoyance, and strive : and great is the peril, lest he who striveth be conquered : and even if by not
consenting we conquer, yet we suffer annoyance in resisting delights. The enemy ceaseth not, dieth not, save in the resurrection of the dead. But let us hope, let us trust : Haggai and Zacharias lift us up, they sing our coming liberation. If they sang to that people, and it hath been fulfilled, shall what is sung to the Christian people not be fulfilled? Be not troubled: only take heed how ye act in this pilgrimage of life. Let not love of Babylon please you, lest ye forget your city Jerusalem. Though your body is yet detained in Babylon, let your heart be sent forward to
Jerusalem. Let then the whole creation praise the Lord: for there we shall do what here we practise beforehand.
5. Praise ye the Lord from heaven : praise Him in the high places. First he saith, from heaven, then from earth ; for it is God that is praised, Who made heaven and earth. All in heaven is calm and peaceful ; there is ever joy, no
death, no sickness, no vexation;
praise God; but we are still below: yet, when we think
there the blessed ever
All creation praises its Creator. 421
how God is praised there, let us have our heart there, Ver. and let us not hear to no purpose, ' Lift up your hearts. ' a 5- Let us lift up our heart above, that it become not corrupted
on earth : for we take pleasure in what the Angels do there.
We do it now in hope: hereafter we shall in
when we have come thither. Praise Him then in the high
places.
6. Praise Him, all ye angels of His, praise Him, all Hisver. 23-
powers. Praise Him, sun and moon ; praise Him, all ye stars and light. Praise Him, ye heaven of heavens, and waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the Name of the Lord. When can he unfold all in his enu meration ? Yet he hath in a manner touched upon them all summarily, and included all things in heaven praising their Creator.
7. And as though it were said to him, ' Why do they praise
Him ? what hath He conferred on them, that they should
praise Him ? ' he goeth on, for He spake, and they were made;
He commanded, and they were created. No wonder if the
works praise the Worker, no wonder if the things that are
made praise the Maker, no wonder if creation praise its Creator. In this Christ also is mentioned, though we seem
not to have heard His Name. Who is Christ? In the John l,
reality,
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 77ie Same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. By what were they made ? By the Word? How doth he shew in this Psalm, that all things were made by the Word? He spake, and they were made ; He commanded, and they were created. No one speaketh, no one commandeth, save by word.
' 2'
8. He hath established them for the age, and for age ver. 6. upon age. All things in heaven, all things above, all powers
and angels, a certain city on high, good, holy, blessed;
from whence because we are wanderers, we are wretched ; whither because we are to return, we are blessed in hope; whither when we shall have returned, we shall be blessed indeed ; He hath established them for the age, and for age
upon age : He hath given them a law which shall not pass away. What sort of command, think ye, have things ia
422 Christ's Death a sure pledge
Psalm heaven and the holy angels received ? What sort of com- c^? 1' mand hath God given them ? What, but that they praise Him ?
Blessed are they whose business is to praise God ! They plough not, they sow not, they grind not, they cook not;
for these are works of necessity, and there is no necessity there. They steal not, they plunder not, they commit no adultery ; for these are works of iniquity, and there is no iniquity there. They break not bread for the hungry, they clothe not the naked, they take not in the stranger, they visit not the sick, they set not at one the contentious, they bury not the dead ; for these are works of mercy, and there there is no misery, for mercy to be shewn to. O blessed they! Think we that we too shall be like this?
Ah ! let us sigh, let us groan in sighing. And what are we, that we should be there ? mortal, outcast, abject, earth and ashes ! But He, Who hath promised, is almighty. If we regard ourselves, what are we ? if we regard Him, He is God. He is almighty. Cannot He make of a man an angel, who made man out of nothing? Or doth God count man of little value, for whom He willed that His only-begotten Son should die ? Let us observe the proof of His love. These are the pledges which we have received of the promise of
God : we have already the Death of Christ, we have already the Blood of Christ. Who is it that did die ? The Only- begotten. For whom did He die ? Would that it were for the good, would that it were for the righteous. But what ?
Rom. 5, Christ, saith the Apostle, died for the ungodly. He Who '' gave to the ungodly His Death, what reserveth He for the righteous but His Life ? Let then frail man lift himself up, let him not despair, let him not dash himself down, let him not turn away, let him not say, ' I shall not be one. ' He Who hath promised is God ; and He came to promise ; He appeared unto men, He came to take upon Him our death,
to promise us His Life. He came to the region where we were strangers, here to receive all that aboundeth here, disgrace, scourges, buflettings, spitting in the face, insults, a crown of thorns, the hanging on the tree, the cross, death. These things abound in our region, these He came to barter for. What gave He here, what received He? He gave exhortation, He gave teaching, He gave remission
of our everlasting life.
423
of sins : He received insults, death, the cross. He brought Ver. to us, from the region where He was, good things; He 6'7' endured, in the region where we were, evil things. Yet
hath He provided to us that we shall be in the place from
John 17,
I will that where
/ am, there they may be with Me also. So great is the24'
whence He came, and saith, Father,
love that hath gone before. For where we were, He hath been with us; where He is, we shall be with Him. What
thee, O mortal ? That thou shalt live for ever. Dost not thou believe ? Believe it, believe it.
hath God promised
For greater is what He hath done already, than what He
What hath He done? He hath died for
hath promised.
thee. What hath He promised ? That thou shalt live with Him. More incredible is that the Immortal should
die, than that the mortal should live for ever. Already we have what the more incredible. If God died for man, shall not man live with God Shall not the mortal live for ever, for whom He, Who liveth for ever, died But how did God die and by what means did He die and
He might die for thee. Nought could die, save flesh nought could
can God die He took of thee that, whereby
He put on Him that wherein He might die for thee He will put on thee that wherein thou shalt live with Him. Where did He clothe himself with
death In the womb of His Virgin Mother. Where will He clothe thee with life In His equality with the Father.
Word made flesh, that He might become the Head of the14' Church. For the Word Himself not part of the Church but, that He might become the Head of the Church, He took upon Him flesh. Somewhat of us already above, that which He took here, where He died, where He was crucified. Already sort of first-fruits of thee are gone
before, and doubtest thou that thou wilt follow
9. Let him then turn himself to things on earth too, since
die, save mortal body
He chose for Himself here chaste
Bridegroom might be wedded to the Bride. He was the John
the praises of things in heaven. Praise ye the Lord from the earth. For wherewith began ver.
he before Praise ye the Lord from heaven and he went
he hath already spoken
through things in heaven
now hear of things on earth.
chamber, where the
:
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a
?
is ?
:
7.
l.
a
;
:
is ?
:
a is
?
it,
:
?
?
? ?
424 How the works of nature praise God.
Psalm Dragons and all abysses. Abysses are depths of water: all cxlvm. tlie seaS, and ty)is atmosphere of clouds, pertain to the abyss. Where there are clouds, where there are storms, where there is rain, lightning, thunder, hail, snow, and all that God willeth should be done above the earth, by this moist and all this he hath mentioned under the name of earth, because it is very changeable and mortal ; unless ye think that it raineth from above the stars. All
these things happen here, close to the earth. Sometimes even men are on the tops of mountains, and see the clouds beneath them, and often it raineth : and all commotions which arise from the disturbance of the atmosphere, those who watch carefully see that they happen here, in this lower part of the universe. Therefore the devil was condemned to these regions of darkness, that is, to this air, as to a prison, when he fell with his Angels from the force of the
Eph. 2, Angels above ; for the Apostle saith this of him, According to the prince of the power of this air, w ho now worketh in the children of disobedience. And another Apostle saith,
2Pet. 2, For if God spared not the Angels that sinned, but cast *' them down to the prisons of lower darkness, and delivered
them to be kept for punishment at the judgment ; caIling this region the 'lower, because it is the lower part of creation. For think not what the devil received, but what he lost. Thou seest then what kind all these things are, changeable, troublous, fearful, corruptible: yet they have their place, they have their rank, they too in their degree fill up the beauty of the universe, and so they praise the Lord. He turns then to them, as though He would exhort them too, or us, that by considering them we may praise the Lord :
(for thus is it that they praise God, when the consideration of them begetteth praise of God;) he beginneth to say, Praise the Lord from earth, ye dragons and all abysses. Dragons live about the water, come out from caverns, fly through the air ; the air is set in motion by them : dragons are a huge kind of living creatures, greater there are not upon the earth. Therefore with them he beginneth, Dragons and all abysses. There are caves of hidden waters, whence springs and streams come forth : some come forth to flow over the earth, some flow secretly beneath ; and all this kind, all this
misty atmosphere,
1 infer-
The folly of cavillers at God's dealings. 425
damp nature of waters, together with the sea and this lower Ver. air, are called abyss, or abysses, where dragons live and ------ praise God. What? Think we that the dragons form
choirs, and praise God ? Far from it. But do ye, when ye
consider the dragons, regard the Maker of the dragon, the Creator of the dragon : then, when ye admire the dragons, and say, 'Great is the Lord Who made these,' then the dragons praise God by your voices. Dragons and all
abysses.
10. Fire, hail, snow, ice, wind of storms, which do His^er. s.
word. Wherefore added he here, which do His word? Many foolish men, unable to contemplate and discern creation, in its several places and rank, performing its move ments at the nod and commandment of God, think that
God doth indeed rule all things above, but things below He despisefh, casteth aside, abandoneth, so that He neither careth for them, nor guideth, nor ruleth them ; but that they are ruled by chance, how they can, as they can : and they are influenced by what they say sometimes to one another, (but let them not say it to thee, that is, do not thou by listening consent when they say these things : for they are
and accursed in the sight of God:) for in stance ; ' If it were God that gave rain, would He rain into
the sea? What sort of Providence,' they say, 'is this? Getulia is thirsty, and it rains into the sea. ' They think that
they handle the matter cleverly: one should say to them,
' Getulia does at all events thirst, thou dost not even thirst. '
For good were it for thee to say to God, My soul is as a ps. 143, land without water to Thee: as is openly said in another6, place, My soul hath thirsted for Thee, in how many ways p>>. 63,l.
blasphemers,
for Thee my flesh also. And the Lord saith in the Gospel, Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteous- Matt. 5,
ness, for they shall be filled. For he that thus argueth is6' already satisfied ; he thinketh himself learned, he is not willing to learn, therefore he thirsteth not. For if he thirsted, he would be willing to learn, and he would find that every thing happeneth upon earth by God's Providence, and he would wonder at the arrangement of even the limbs of a flea. Attend, beloved. Who hath arranged the limbs of a flea and a gnat, that they should have their proper order,
426 God's creation harmonious,
Psalm life, motion ? Consider one little creature, even the very c*lVm- smallest, whatever thou wilt. If thou considerest the order of its limbs, and the animation of life whereby it moveth ; how doth it shun death, love life, seek pleasures, avoid pain, exert divers senses, vigorously use movements suitable to itself! Who gave its sting to the gnat, for it to suck
blood with ? How narrow is the pipe whereby it sucketh ! Who arranged all this? who made all this? Thou art amazed at the smallest things; praise Him that is great. Hold then this, my brethren, let none shake you from your faith or from sound doctrine. He Who made the Angel in heaven, the Same also made the worm upon earth : the Angel in heaven to dwell in heaven, the worm upon earth to abide on earth. He made not the Angel to creep in the mud, nor the worm to move in heaven. He hath assigned dwellers to their different abodes ; incorruption He assigned
to incorruptible abodes, corruptible things to corruptible abodes. Observe the whole, praise the whole. He then Who ordered the limbs of the worm, doth He not govern the clouds ? And wherefore raineth He into the sea ? As though there are not in the sea things which are nourished by rain ; as though He made not fishes therein, as though He made not living creatures therein. Observe how the fishes run to sweet water. And wherefore, saith he, doth
He give rain to the fishes, and sometimes giveth not rain to me ? That thou mayest consider that thou art in a desert region, and in a pilgrimage of life ; that so this present life may grow bitter to thee, that thou mayest long for the life to come : or else that thou mayest be scourged, punished, amended. And how well doth He assign their properties
to regions. Behold, since we have spoken of Getulia, He raineth here nearly every year, and giveth corn every year ; here the corn cannot be kept, it soon rotteth, because it is given every year; there, because it is given seldom, both much is given, and it can be kept for long. But dost thou perchance think that God there deserteth man, or that they do not there after their own manner of rejoicing both praise and glorify God ? Take a Getulian from his country, and set him amid our pleasant trees ; he will wish to flee awav, and return to his bare Getulia. To all places then, regions,
and obeys His Will. 427 seasons, God hath assigned and arranged what fits them. Ver.
And it were a long task to go through a more accurate --- enumeration of all these matters. Who could unfold it?
Yet they who have eyes see many things therein : when seen, they please ; pleasing, they are praised ; not they really, but He Who made them ; thus shall all things praise God.
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11. It was in thought of this that the spirit of the Prophet,
after he had said, Fire, hail, snow, ice, wind of storm,
added, because all these seem to some foolish persons to be
all confusion, and, as it were, moved hither and thither by chance, the words, which do His word. Think not then
that these things are moved by chance, which in every motion of theirs obey God. Whither God willeth, thither
the fire spreads, thither the cloud hurries, whether it carry
in it rain, or snow, or hail. And wherefore doth the light
ning sometimes strike the mountain, yet strikes not the
robber ? I will say what I can, according to the capacity
of my mind, so much as God deigneth to give me : greater
men may know greater things, and understand more, and
may God give to you to be wiser than my words, only let it
be with moderation, without pride. I then, in my measure,
can give a reason why it strikes the mountain and strikes
not the robber; because perhaps He yet seeketh the robber's conversion, and therefore is the mountain which
feareth not smitten, that the man who feareth may be changed. Thou also sometimes, when maintaining discipline,
smitest the ground to terrify a child. Sometimes too He smiteth a man, whom He will. But thou sayest to me, Behold, He smiteth the more innocent, and passeth over
the more guilty. Wonder not; death, whencesoever it
come, is good to the good man. And whence dost thou
know what punishment is reserved in secret for that more
guilty man, if he be unwilling to be converted ? Would
not they rather be scorched by lightning, to whom it shall
be said in the end, Depart into everlasting fire ? The Mat. 25, needful thing is, that thou be guileless. Why so ? Is it an41,
evil thing to die by shipwreck, and a good thing to die by fever? Whether he die in this way or in that, ask what sort of man he is who dieth ; ask whither he will go after
428 God's Works good, though man cannot see how.
Psalm death, not how he is to depart from life. We shall depart cixviii. fron] nence 0y whatever may befall us. By what deaths
were the martyrs thought worthy to die ? Was it by fevers ? How is it that many wish to be set free by fever? Some perished by a single blow of the sword, some by fire, some by wild beasts. Wild beasts devoured the bodies of the martyrs, yet feared they not that their bodies would perish. For God will bring back from all quarters the bodies of
Mat. 10, the saints, God by Whom the very hairs of our head are J"' numbered. When He willed too, He delivered the Three 2 Mace. Children from the fire. Did He therefore desert the Macca-
'bees in the fire? The former He openly set free, the latter He secretly crowned. God then knoweth what He doeth. Do thou fear, and be good. For whatsoever way He will that thou depart hence, let Him find thee ready. For here thou art a sojourner, not a possessor of the house. For the house is let to thee, this house is let to thee, not given : loth though thou be, thou must depart from it: neither hast thou received it on such terms, as that thou hast any fixed time. What said thy Lord ? ' Whensoever I will, when soever I shall say, Depart, be thou ready. I drive thee from thy lodging, but I will give thee a home: thou art a sojourner on earth, thou shalt be possessor in heaven. '
12. Whatever then happeneth here contrary to our wish, thou wilt know that it happeneth not, save by the will of God, by His providence, by His ordering, by His nod, by His laws: and if we understand not why any thing is done, let us grant to His providence that it is not done without reason : so shall we not be blasphemers. For when we begin to argue concerning the works of God, ' why is this? ' ' why is that? ' and, ' He ought not to have done this,' ' He did this ill ;' where is the praise of God f Thou hast lost thy Halleluia. Regard all things in such wise as to please God and praise the Creator. For if thou wert to happen to enter the workshop of a smith, thou wouldest not dare to find fault with his bellows, his anvils, his hammers. But take an ignorant man, who knows not for what purpose each thing is, and he findeth fault with all. But if he have not the skill of the workman, and have but the reasoning power of a man, what saith he to himself?
All creation praises by our voice. 429
Not without reason are the bellows placed here: the Ver.
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13. Then he mentioneth, that they may praise the Lord, ver. 9. mountains and hills, fruitful trees and all cedars: beasts10' and all cattle, creeping things, and winged fowls. Then
he goeth to men; kings of the earth and all people, princes ver. 11.
