This I say, brethren, that ye may profit from what ye have heard, and ruminate within yourselves: permit not
yourselves
to forget, not only by thinking over again upon these subjects, and discoursing upon them, but also by so living.
Augustine - Exposition on the Psalms - v4
What will He give when will He give how much will He give, Who giveth not here, Who here teacheth, Who maketh sorrow in learning?
Thy labour here, and rest promised thee.
Thou takest thought that thou hast toil here: but take thought what sort of rest He promiseth.
Canst thou conceive it?
If thou couldest, thou
wouldest see that thy toil here nothing toward an equivalent.
Hear one who had seen in part, who said, Now know in
which for the present, and temporal, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, after an in credible measure, and to an incredible measure. What the, worketh for us afar more exceeding and eternal weight ofglory? For when doth work? while we look not at the
Cor. '
Bom.
Cor.
13 12' part. What saith this Apostle? For our light affliction,
Cor.
it
it
is
is,
2'1 '2
4,
4, ?
is it is
is
is
? :
?
?
I
isis? is I;
;
?
it
?
O
?
is
'
:
:
God gives rest at the price of toil. 375 things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen : Ver.
- 20'
for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. Be not slothful in thy toil for a short space : and thou shalt rejoice without ceasing. God will give thee eternal life : consider with how much toil it should be purchased.
24. Attend, brethren ; it is for sale. What I have is for sale, saith God unto thee, buy it. What hath He for sale ? I have rest for sale; buy it by thy toil. Attend, that we may be in Christ's name brave Christians : the remainder of the Psalm is but a little, let us not be weary. For how can he be strong in doing, who faileth in hearing? The Lord will help us to expound unto you the remainder. Attend
then: God hath, as it were, proclaimed the kingdom of heaven for sale. Thou sayest unto Him, What is its value? The price is toil : if He were to say, its price is gold, it would not suffice to say this only, but thou wouldest seek to know how much gold ; for there is a mass of gold, and half an ounce, and a pound, and the like. He said price, that thou mightest not be at pains to enquire, how long thou shouldest find it. The price of the commodity is toil: how much
toil is it ? Now seek how much thou shouldest toil for it.
Thou art not as yet told how great that toil is doomed to be,
or how much toil is required of thee : God saith this unto
thee, I shew thee how great that rest will be ; do thou judge
with what measure of toil it should be bought. Let God therefore say how great that rest is destined to be : Blessed Ps. 84,4. are they that dwell in thy house: they will be for ever praising thee. This is eternal rest : this rest will be without
end ; this joy will be without end, this pleasure will be without end, this incorruptibility will be without end ; thou shalt have eternal life ; a rest which is without end. What toil is that rest worth which hath no end? If thou wish- est to make a true judgment, surely eternal rest is rightly purchased by eternal toil. This is true : but do not fear : God is merciful. For if thou hadst eternal toil, thou wouldest never reach eternal rest. Always toiling, when wouldest thou reach that which worthily indeed would be the price of eternal toil, because the rest is eter nal ? Make the price an equivalent : surely eternal rest
is worthy of comparison with eternal toil ! But if thou
376 God's reward incomparably exceeds our toils.
Psalm didst always toil, thou wouldest never reach eternal rest. - That thou mayest therefore at some time gain what thou buyest, thou must not toil for ever: not that it is not of so much value, but that what is bought may be possessed. It is indeed worthy of being bought by perpetual toil ; but it
is necessary that it be bought by temporary toil. Certainly it ought to be so much, that is, eternal labour for eternal rest. What is the value of a million of years in toil? A million of years have an end : what I will give thee, saith God, shall not have an end. What then is the mercy of God? He saith not, toil for a million of years: he saith not, toil even for a thousand years: not, toil for five hundred years: toil while thou dost live, for a few years ; thence shall thy rest commence, and be without end. HeIar what followeth: Lord, in the multitude of sorrows that
comforts have refreshed my soul. Thou toilest not only a few years, but in those very years, consolation is not wanting, daily joys are not wanting. But rejoice not in the world : rejoice in Christ, rejoice in His word, rejoice in His law. What I am speaking of, what ye are listening to, belongeth to these very joys. How great then are those consolations amid so great toils ? True, there is what the Apostle saith,
2 Cor. For our light affliction, which is but for a time, after an
*' 17'
incredible measure and to an incredible measure, worketh for us an eternal weight of glory. See how small a price do we give ; as it were, a single grain of pulse to receive eternal treasures ; a single mite of toil, for a rest which is beyond
our conception, according to what is said, it worketh for us,after an incredible measure and to an incredible measure, an eternal weight of glory. Thou rejoicest for a season: trust not therein ; thou art sorrowful for a season : do not despair. Let not prosperity corrupt thee, nor adversity break thee down : lest perchance thou mayest say in thy mind, it cannot be that God, Who chasteneth even the righteous that He may save them, that He may teach them,
ProT. can admit unto Himself the wicked. For if the righteous 11,3 ' scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear? I Pet. 4, Hast Tltou any thing to do with the stool of iniquity ? that
is, Dost Thou share the seat of the wicked? Thou Who makest sorrow in learning ; Who hast chosen thus to try these Thy children, and to teach them thus, to give them
had in heart, Thy my
What it is that we learn by trials and dangers. 377
such lessons, as to leave them still in fear, lest they should Ver. love something else, and forget Thee their true good
God is good : but if He were to cease, and not to mingle bitternesses with our temporal bliss, we should forget
Him.
25. But where the anguish of trouble raiseth waves in the
soul, then that faith, which was sleeping there, is aroused.
For it was calm, when Christ was asleep on the sea : while
He was sleeping, a storm arose, and they began to be in danger. Both tranquillity then and peace will be in the Christian's heart : but as long as our faith is on the watch :
but if our faith sleepeth, we are in danger. For Christ sleeping signifietl), that some forget their faith, and are in , danger. But as when that ship was tossing on the waves,
Christ was aroused by the tossed crew, who cried, Lord, we Matt. 8,
perish ! He arose, and commanded the winds, commanded 26
the waves, and it became calm ; thus when evil lusts, evil persuasions, disturb thee, they are waves, they will be calmed.
Thou dost now despair, and believest that thou dost not belong unto the Lord : let thy faith awake : awake Christ in
thy heart ; when faith riseth, thou recognisest where thou
art : and if perchance the waves of lust tempt thee, thou beholdest what God hath promised ; and the sweetness of
His promises will make thee a despiser of the sweetnesses of
the world ; and if perchance many threats of the powerful wicked oppress thee, and drive thee from righteousness,
thou listenest to the threat of God, Go into everlasting Mat. 25,
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, and thou dost not41- leave thy righteousness : in fear therefore of eternal fire thou despisest temporal pain : and for the promises of God, thou scornest temporal happiness. He promised rest : 'suffer trouble. He threateneth etemal fire ; despise temporal pains : and while Christ doth watch, let thy heart be calmed, that thou also mayest reach the harbour. For He would not fail to prepare a harbour, Who provided a vessel. Hast Thou any thing to do with the stool of iniquity, Tfwu Who makest sorrow in learning ? He trieth us with the wicked, and by their persecution He teacheth us. By means of the malice
of the wicked the good is scourged, through the slave the son is chastened : thus is learning taught by sorrow. What
\
378 It is good to learn to have Godfor our refuge.
Psalm God alloweth them power to do, that do wicked men, whom XCIV- He spareth for a season, do.
26. Ver. 21. For what followeth ? They will be captious against the soul of the righteous. Why will they be captious? Because they can find no true ground of accusation. For how were they captious against our Lord ? They made up
Mat. 26, false accusations, because they could not find true ones.
69'
And will condemn the innocent blood. Why all this taketh place, he will shew in the sequel.
27. Ver. 22. And the Lord is become my refuge, he saith. Thou wouldest not seek such a refuge, if thou wert not in danger: but thou hast therefore been in danger, that thou mightest seek for it: for He teacheth us by sorrow. He causeth me tribulation from the malice of the wicked: pricked with that tribulation, I begin to seek a refuge which I had ceased to seek for in that worldly prosperity. For who, that is always prosperous, and rejoiceth in present hopes, findeth it easy to remember God ? Let the hope of this life give
way, and the hope of God advance ; that thou mayest say, And the Lord is become my refuge: may I sorrow for this end that the Lord may become my refuge ! And my God
the help of my hope. For as yet the Lord is our hope, since as long as we are here, we are in hope, and not in possession. But lest we fail in hope, there is near us a provision to encourage us, and to mitigate those very evils which we suffer. For it is not said in vain, God is faithful, who will
1 Cor.
10' 13- not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able: but will
ver. 3.
with the temptation alio make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it : who will so put us into that furnace of tribulation, that the vessel may be hardened, but not broken. And the Lord is become my refuge: and my God the help of my hope. Why then did He seem to thee to be as it were un just, in that He spareth the evil ? Sue then how the Psalm is now set right, and be thou set right together with the Psalm : for, for this reason the Psalm contained thy words,
What words ? Lord, how long shall the ungodly, how long shall the ungodly trinmph ? The Psalm just now used thy words : use therefore thyself the Psalm's words in thy turn. What are these words of the Psalm ? And the Lord is become my refuge : and my God the help of my hope.
The tricked punished, though made means ofgood. 379
28. Ver. 23. And the Lord shall recompense them according Ver.
23'
to their works, and after their own malice ; the Lord our
God shall destroy them. The words, after their own malice,
are not said without meaning. I am benefitted - through
them : and yet it is said to be their malice, and not their benefits. For assuredly He trieth us, scourgeth us, by means of the wicked. To prepare us for what doth He scourge us ? Confessedly for the kingdom of heaven. For Heb. 12, He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth ; for what son is '
he whom the father chasteneth not? and when God doth this, He is teaching us in order to an eternal heritage : and this learning He often giveth us by means of wicked men, through whom He trieth and perfecteth our love, which He doth will to be extended even to our enemies. For the love of a Christian is not perfect, unless it fulfil the precept of Christ, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. Hence is
Matt. 6,
the devil himself conquered ; hence the crown of victory is gained. Behold how great blessings doth God bestow upon
us through the ungodly : and yet He recompenseth them,
not according to what He giveth us through them, but after their own malice. For see what blessings He hath heaped upon us, even by means of the enormous iniquity of Judas
the betrayer. For Judas betrayed unto the cross the Son of God, by Whose suffering all nations are redeemed unto salvation : and yet for the salvation of nations no reward
was given unto Judas, but for his own malice a due punish
ment hath been dealt unto him. For if the betrayal of Christ, and not the intention of the betrayer, is to be considered, Judas did what God the Father did, of Whom
it is written, that He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. Judas did that, which our Lord Christ ^? m-
Himself did, of Whom it is written, Who hath given Him- Ephes. self for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet 6' 2- smelling savour: and again, Even as Christ loved the'^. 25.
8,
Church, and gave Himself for it. And yet we offer thanks givings unto God the Father, in that He spared not His only Son, but delivered Him for us ; we offer thanksgivings unto the Sou Himself, Who delivered
up Himself for us, and in that very act fulfilled His Father's will: and we
-
'great a blessing upon us; and we rightly say, God hath recompensed him after his iniquity . ' and in his malice hath He destroyed him. For he delivered not Christ np for us, but for the silver for which he sold Him ; although the betrayal of Christ be our recovery ; and his fall be our redemption. Thus also they who persecuted the Martyrs, by persecuting them on earth, sent them into heaven : knowingly they caused them the loss of the present life, while unconsciously they were bestowing upon them the gain of a future life : but, nevertheless, unto all who per severed in their wicked hatred of the righteous, will God
380 Evil report our arms on the left hand.
Psai. m execrate Judas, through whose deed God hath conferred so XC1V .
after their own iniquities, and in their own malice w ill He destroy them. For as the goodness of the righteous is hurtful unto the wicked, so is the iniquity of the wicked beneficial unto the righteous. For our Lord
recompense
John 9, saith, / am come into this world, that they which see not
might see ; and that they which see might be made blind ; and the Apostle, To the one we are the savour of death unto death ; and to the other, the savour of life unto life. But the malice of the wicked is the left hand aras of the righteous ; as the same Apostle saith, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, that is, by honour and dishonour ; and he then severally recounteth the other points, shewing what were their right hand arms, viz. the glory of God, good report, truth by which it was known of them that they lived, that they were not brought to death, that they rejoiced, that they enriched many, that they possessed all things ; and that their left hand arms were, that they were held in dis
honour, of evil report, that they were thought deceivers, that
were unknown, slain, imprisoned, made sorrowful, seemed to be in want, and to have nothing. And what wonder is it^if the soldiers of Christ overpower the devil at
Luke 2, once by left and right hand weapons ? But as peace cometh
3S>-
2 Cor. 2, 16-
lb. 6, 7' 8-
i4'
unto men of good will, even when they are unto others a savour of death unto death ; so doth destruction come unto men of ill-will, even wheu they are the left hand weapons of the righteous towards their salvation. He will therefore
they
recompense
them not according to the profit we derive from
Bear with the ungodly in faith and charity. 381
them ; but after their own iniquity, by loving which they Ver. hate their own souls ; and not according to the blessings ------ which through them He doth dispense unto us, doth He honour them, He Who maketh a good use even of the wicked ; but after their own malice shall the Lord our God destroy them.
29. Let therefore the righteous bear with the ungodly ;
let the temporal suffering of the righteous bear with the temporal impunity of the wicked; for the just shall live Bom. 1, by faith. For there is no righteousness of man in this
life except to live by faith, which worketh by love. ButGa1-6i if he liveth by faith, let him believe both that he will himself inherit rest after his present toil, and that they
will suffer eternal torments after their present exultation.
And if faith worketh by love, let him love his enemies
also, and, as far as in him lies, have the will to profit
them ; for thus he will prevent their injuring him when
they have the will. And whenever perchance they have received power to hurt and tyrannise ; let him lift his heart
above, where no man hurteth him, well taught and chastened
in the law of God, that he may have patience given him in
the days of adversity, until the pit be digged up for the ungodly. For if his delight is in the law of God, and in i7Ps,1,2- he will exercise himself day and night, whose conversation Phil. 3, is in heaven; he shineth over the earth from the firmament
above ; whence this Psalm hath received its title from the
fourth day of the week, when the heavenly bodies were made; so that we may do all things without murmuring, Ptil. 2,
~~
holding the word of life in a nation crooked and perverse.
For as the night doth not extinguish the stars in heaven ;
so iniquity overcometh not the minds of the faithful, when
fixed in the firmament of God's Scriptures. And this very
fact, that our earthly possessions are sometimes given into
the power of the wicked, not only pertaineth unto our learning, so that God may become our refuge, and the help
of our hope ; bnt also profiteth towards the very pit of the ungodly, of whom it is said in another Psalm, He will be Pfc I0' bent down and fall, when he shall have mastery of the poor.
30. Possibly the length of this discourse hath been tedious to you : although this doth not appear amid the eagerness
382 Eagerness of hearers. A song of praise.
Psalm of your attention. But though it be so, forgive me : first,
-'because I did so by command; the Lord our God having J7?
see on
Ps. 89. ordered me through those Brethren, in whom He dwelleth.
lafj. 8. Por God doth not command, save from His own throne. Secondly, as you have been so eager toward us, so, we confess, have we been toward you. May our God therefore console us for this toil, so that it may result in your advancement unto salvation, not in a testimony to accuse
you.
This I say, brethren, that ye may profit from what ye have heard, and ruminate within yourselves: permit not yourselves to forget, not only by thinking over again upon these subjects, and discoursing upon them, but also by so living. For a good life which is led after God's commands, is like a pen, because it is heard writing in our hearts. If it were written on wax, it would easily be blotted out : write it in your hearts, in your character, and it shall never be blotted out.
PSALM XCV. ?
1. Ver. 1. I could wish, brethren, thai we were rather listening to our father: but even this is a good thing, to obey our father. Since therefore he who deigneth to pray for us, hath ordered us, I will speak unto you, beloved, what from the present Psalm Jesus Christ our common Lord shall deign to give us. Now the title of the Psalm is David's Song of praise. The Song of praise signlfieth both cheer fulness, in that it is a song; and devotion, for it is praise. For what ought a man to praise more than that which pleaseth him so, that it is impossible that it can displease him ? In the praising of God therefore we praise with security. There he who praiseth is safe, where he feareth not lest he be ashamed for the object of his praise. Let us therefore both praise and sing ; that is, let us praise with cheerfulness and joy. But what we are about to praise, this Psalm in the following verses sheweth us.
? A Discourse delivered at the bid- and consequently either before or shortly ding of Aurelius Bp. of Carthage, or after St. Augustine was consecrated perhaps of Valerius Bp. of Hippo, Bishop.
How men are near to God, or far from Him. 383
2. O come, let us sing unto the Lord. He calleth us to Ver. a great banquet of joy, not one of this world, but in the ------ Lord. For if there were not in this life a wicked joy which
is to be distinguished from a righteous joy, it would be enough to say, Come, let us rejoice; but he has briefly dis tinguished it. What is it to rejoice aright ? To rejoice in
the Lord. Thou shouldest piously joy in the Lord, if thou
dost wish safely to trample upon the world. But what is
the word, Come ? Whence doth He call them to come, with
whom he wisheth to rejoice in the Lord ; except that, while
they are afar, they may by coming draw nearer, by drawing
nearer they may approach, and by approaching rejoice ?
But whence are they afar? Can a man be locally distant
from Him who is every where? Dost thou wish to be far
from Him ? Where wilt thou go, that thou mayest be far
from Him ? For a certain sinner indeed, but yet penitent with the hope of salvation and sorrowing for his sins, and fearing the anger of God, and wishing to appeIase Him,
go then Ps. 139,
'
Ier shall this in another Psalm, Whith
speaketh
from Thy SpirI from
it? or whither shall
climb up into heaven, Thou art there.
presence? If
What remaineth then ? For if he climb up into heaven, and there find God : whither shall he go, that he may fly far from God ? See what he saith, If I go down to hell, Thou art there also? If therefore by climbing into heaven, he there findeth God ; if by going down into hell, he escapeth Him not; whither shall he go, whither shall he fly, from that angry God, unless unto Himself appeased? And yet, though no man could possibly fly from Him who is every
where ; unless some were far from God, it would not be written, This people do honour Me with their lips, but their ls. 29, heart isfarfrom Me. It is not therefore by place, but by 13' being unlike Him, that a man is afar from God. What is to
be unlike Him ? it meaneth, a bad life, bad habits; for if by
good habits we approach God, by bad habits we recede from
God. One then and the same man standing bodily in the same
spot, by loving God doth approach Him, and by loving iniquity doth recede from Him : he no where moveth his feet, 1 see on and yet he can both approach and recede. For our affections 1 ^injg6. are our feet in this journey, according as each man hath? -12 &0
go then Thy
384 Likeness to God is nearness to Hint.
Psalm affection, according as each hath love, so doth he either approach or recede from God. Do we not usually say, when we find any things unlike, This is far from that ? When we are comparing any two men, two horses, two garments, and some one saith, This garment is like, it is such as that; or, This man is such as that man ; what doth he say who con tradicts it? It is no such thing: it is far from it. What meaneth, It is far from it? It is unlike it. They stand close together: and yet this man is far from that. But two un godly men, alike in life and habits, if one be in the east, the other in the west, are near each other. In the same way two righteous men, one in the east, the other in the west, are with one another, since they are in God. On the other hand, one righteous, and one ungodly man, even though they be bound with one chain, yet are widely separated from one another. If therefore by unlikeness we recede from God, by likeness we approach unto God. What likeness ? That after which we were created, which by sinning we had corrupted in ourselves, which we have received again through the remission of sins, which is renewed in us in the mind within, that it may be engraved a second time as if on coin, that is, the image of our God upon our soul, and that we may return to His treasures. For what was the reason, brethren, that our Saviour chose to discover to His tempters, from a piece of money, what God demandeth ? For when they resolved, by way of seeking a pretext of false accusation, to question the Master of Truth respecting the tribute paid to Caesar, and by consulting Him to tempt Him as to whether it were lawful to pay tribute unto Caesar; what answered He? Why tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites? He asked them to shew Him the tribute money, and they brought unto Him a penny; and He saith unto them, Whose image and superscription hath it? They say unto Him, Caesar's. Then saith He unto them,
Mat. 22, Render therefore unto Ccesar the things that are Casar's, ' and unto God the things that are God's. As if He should say: IfCaesar seeketh on a coin his own image, doth not God seek in man His Image ? Our Lord Jesus Christ,
inviting us to the resemblance of this image, commandeth
us also to love our enemies ; and giveth us an example from Matt. 6, God Himself : As your Father, He saith, which is in heaven ;
A 'joyful noise' due to our joy in God. 385
Who maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, Ver. and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Be ye ---2-
perfect, even as your Father. When He saith,'
Be ye therefore perfect, as He is, He calleth us to resemble
Him. If therefore He invite us to resemble Him, it is clear
that by being unlike we had receded from God, and had become far from Him through unlikeness, and are made
near unto Him by means of our resemblance to Him, that
what is written may be realized in us; Come near unto Him, Ps. 34,6. and be lightened. To some therefore, dwelling afar, and
living evilly, this Psalm saith, 0 come, let us rejoice unto
the Lord! Whither do ye go? whither retire? whither depart ? whither do ye fly, by rejoicing in the world ? O
come, let us rejoice unto the Lord ! Whither do ye go to rejoice, when ye turn away ? O come, let us rejoice unto
Him by Whom we were created ! 0 come, let us rejoice unto
the Lord!
3. Ijit us male a joyful noise unto God, our salvation. Jubile- What is to make a joyful noise? Not to be able to expressTM113' one's joy in words, and yet to testify by the voice what hath
been conceived within, and refuseth to be compassed within words : this is to make a joyful noise. Consider, beloved,
those who make a joyful noise in any ordinary songs, as in a sort of competition of worldly joy ; and ye see them while reciting the written lines bursting forth with a joy, that the tongue sufficeth not to express the measure of; how they shout, indicating by that utterance the feeling of the mind, which cannot in words express what is conceived in the heart. If they then in earthly joy make a joyful noise; might we not do so from heavenly joy, which truly we cannot express in words ?
4. Ver. 2. Let us prevent His face by confession. Con fession hath a double meaning in Scripture. There is a confession of him who praiseth, there is that of him who
therefore
The confession of praise pertaineth to the honour of Him Who is praised : the confession of groaning to the repentance of him who confesseth. For men confess when they praise God : they confess, when they accuse them selves; and the tongue hath no more worthy use. Truly, I believe these to be the very vows, of which he speaketh in
vol. iv. c c
groaneth.
386 Confession prepares us to meet our Judge. I distin-
Psaim another Psalm: / will pay Thee my vows, which
Fs 66 f/nished with my lips. Nothing is more elevated than that 13. 14. ' distinguishing, nothing is so necessary both to understand
and to do. How then dost thou distinguish the vows which thou payest unto God? By praising Him, by accusing thyself; because it is His mercy, to forgive us our sins. For if He chose to deal with us after our deserts, He would find cause only to condemn. O come, he said therefore, that we may at last go back from our sins, and that He may not cast up with us our accounts for the past; but that as it were a new account may be commenced, all the bonds of our debts having been burnt. How great then is His praise; how great His mercy. This let us confess, that is, by praising Him. For if confession were always the act of a penitent, it would not be spoken of in the Gospel of our
I. uleio, Lord IHimself: In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and
to Thee, 0 Father, Lord heaven and confess of
said,
earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Because
Christ confessed, was He in any way a penitent? He could repent of nothing, Who had not done one action wrongly : but He confessed, by His praises of His Father. There fore, since this also is a passage of exultation, we ought perhaps to understand that confession which consists in the praise of God : whence also it is slyled, The song ofpraise, that we may not here understand the confession of penitents, but of those who praise God. And why is it that he at once
admonisheth us of some confession, when he saith, Let us prevent His face by confession ? What meaneth this ? He
will come : Let us prevent His'face by confession, before hand : before He arrive, let us by confession condemn what we have done, that He may find that which He may crown, not what He must condemn. But doth not this very act of confessing thy sins pertain to the praise of God ? Yea truly it most fully doth pertain to God's praise. And why?
Because the more desperate was the state of the sufferer, so much greater is the honour of the physician. The more therefore thou despairedst of thyself on account of thy iniquities, do thou confess thy sins ; for so much greater is the praise of Him Who forgiveth, as is the fulness of the
Use of repetitions. Reasons for Praise. 387 penitent's confession more abundant. Let us not therefore Ver.
imagine that we have receded from the song of praise, in understanding here that confession by which we acknow ledge our transgressions : this is even a part of the song of praise ; for when we confess our sins, we praise the glory of
--
God. Let us prevent His/ace in confession.
5. And make a joyful noise unto Him with Psalms. We Jubile-
have already said what it is io make a joyful noise : the word is repeated, that it may be confirmed by the act: the very repetition is an exhortation. For we have not forgotten, so as to wish to be again admonished, what was said above, that we should make a joyful noise : but usually in passages of strong feeling a well-known word is repeated, not to make it more familiar, but that the very repetition may strengthen the impression made : for it is repeated that we may under stand the feeling of the speaker. Hence our Lord's words,
Verily, verily, I say unto you : one verily sulficed : why, John l,
Verily, verily, unless because the repetition strengthens? Let us, he saith then, make a joyful noise unto Him with Psalms. And what shall we say in Psalms ? what shall we say, or rather feel, in that burst of joy ? what are the topics which belong to this song of praise? Hear now: (ver. 3. ) For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. Let us therefore make a joyful noise unto Him. For the Lord will not cast off His people ; let us make a joyful noise unto Him. (Ver. 4. ) For in His hands are all the corners of the earth : and the heights of the hills are His
also: for all these reasons let us make a joyful noise unto Him. (Ver. 5. ) For the sea is His, and He made it : and His hand prepared the dry land: let us make a joyful noise unto Him. Now time sufficeth not for a proportionate
of what all this meaneth : yet if it be utterly neglected, we shall remain debtors. Hear then some brief remarks, as the time alloweth, gleaning as much as I shall be able : since even a few seeds, where the soil is fruitful, bear the richest crop.
6-. Ver. 3. First, he mentions this, as a reason for our song to praise. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. There are therefore gods above whom is our great God, to Whom we make a joyful noise, in Whom we
cc2
exposition
383 God above all gods; not only devil-gods,
Psai-m heartily rejoice, to Whom we utter a song of praise. There iE^--: art: : but not unto us. For the Apostle saith : For though
''
6. 6.
there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, {as there be gods many and lords many,) but to us there is but one God the Father, of Whom are all things, and we-by Him ; and one Lord Jesns Christ, by Whom are all tilings, and we in Him. If therefore not unto us, unto whom ?
Pi. 96 6. Hear from another Psalm, As for all the gods of the heathen, they are but devils; but it is the Lord who made the heavens. The Holy Spirit could not in terms more magnificent and lofty commend unto thee through the Prophet thy God and Lord. It was not enough to say that God is terrible above all devils: why is it high praise enough to say, that He is above all devils? For all the gods of the heathen are but devils. But where is thy Lord ? But it is 4he Lord Who made the
1 Cor. 3'
heavens. Thy God created that, where devils cannot dwell : for the devils were cast down from heaven. The heavens are preferred to the devils, thy Lord even to the heavens : because thy Lord made also the heavens. How much higher therefore than the heathen gods, that are devils, is He, Who is higher than the heavens, whence fell the angels, to become devils ? And yet all nations were under these devils : temples were built to devils, altars reared to devils, priests established to devils, sacrifices offered to devils, men brought in for prophets that were possessed with devils ! All these honours the heathen offered to devils : all, in their true use, are only due to the one great God. The heathen erected a temple to devils ; God hath a temple: the heathen established priests for devils; God hath a priest; the heathen offered sacrifice to devils ; God hath a sacrifice. For those devils who wished to appear gods, would not exact such honours in order to deceive, unless because they know that they are due unto the true God; for what a false deity arrogates to himself, is usually due to the True God. We therefore acknowledge a true temple of God. For the temple of God is holy, saith St. Paul, which are ye. If therefore we are the temple of God, our soul is the altar of God. What is the sacrifice of God ? Perhaps we are at the present moment offering sacrifice on the altar of God, when we praise God; for the
Ps. 6o, Psalm teacheth us, in these words : 77/e sacrifice ofpraise
but those whom His grace has made gods. 389
shall glorify Me : and there is the way, where I will shew Ver. the salvation of God. But if thou seekest for a Priest, there :-- is One above the heavens ; He intercedeth for thee, Who on R0m. a, earth died for thee. Therefore, The Lord our God is a3*-
great God: and a great King above all gods. Understand here men by the word gods : for the Lord is not King over
deVils. And hence we have
standeth in the congregation of princes : He is a Judge
among gods.
wouldest see that thy toil here nothing toward an equivalent.
Hear one who had seen in part, who said, Now know in
which for the present, and temporal, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, after an in credible measure, and to an incredible measure. What the, worketh for us afar more exceeding and eternal weight ofglory? For when doth work? while we look not at the
Cor. '
Bom.
Cor.
13 12' part. What saith this Apostle? For our light affliction,
Cor.
it
it
is
is,
2'1 '2
4,
4, ?
is it is
is
is
? :
?
?
I
isis? is I;
;
?
it
?
O
?
is
'
:
:
God gives rest at the price of toil. 375 things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen : Ver.
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for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. Be not slothful in thy toil for a short space : and thou shalt rejoice without ceasing. God will give thee eternal life : consider with how much toil it should be purchased.
24. Attend, brethren ; it is for sale. What I have is for sale, saith God unto thee, buy it. What hath He for sale ? I have rest for sale; buy it by thy toil. Attend, that we may be in Christ's name brave Christians : the remainder of the Psalm is but a little, let us not be weary. For how can he be strong in doing, who faileth in hearing? The Lord will help us to expound unto you the remainder. Attend
then: God hath, as it were, proclaimed the kingdom of heaven for sale. Thou sayest unto Him, What is its value? The price is toil : if He were to say, its price is gold, it would not suffice to say this only, but thou wouldest seek to know how much gold ; for there is a mass of gold, and half an ounce, and a pound, and the like. He said price, that thou mightest not be at pains to enquire, how long thou shouldest find it. The price of the commodity is toil: how much
toil is it ? Now seek how much thou shouldest toil for it.
Thou art not as yet told how great that toil is doomed to be,
or how much toil is required of thee : God saith this unto
thee, I shew thee how great that rest will be ; do thou judge
with what measure of toil it should be bought. Let God therefore say how great that rest is destined to be : Blessed Ps. 84,4. are they that dwell in thy house: they will be for ever praising thee. This is eternal rest : this rest will be without
end ; this joy will be without end, this pleasure will be without end, this incorruptibility will be without end ; thou shalt have eternal life ; a rest which is without end. What toil is that rest worth which hath no end? If thou wish- est to make a true judgment, surely eternal rest is rightly purchased by eternal toil. This is true : but do not fear : God is merciful. For if thou hadst eternal toil, thou wouldest never reach eternal rest. Always toiling, when wouldest thou reach that which worthily indeed would be the price of eternal toil, because the rest is eter nal ? Make the price an equivalent : surely eternal rest
is worthy of comparison with eternal toil ! But if thou
376 God's reward incomparably exceeds our toils.
Psalm didst always toil, thou wouldest never reach eternal rest. - That thou mayest therefore at some time gain what thou buyest, thou must not toil for ever: not that it is not of so much value, but that what is bought may be possessed. It is indeed worthy of being bought by perpetual toil ; but it
is necessary that it be bought by temporary toil. Certainly it ought to be so much, that is, eternal labour for eternal rest. What is the value of a million of years in toil? A million of years have an end : what I will give thee, saith God, shall not have an end. What then is the mercy of God? He saith not, toil for a million of years: he saith not, toil even for a thousand years: not, toil for five hundred years: toil while thou dost live, for a few years ; thence shall thy rest commence, and be without end. HeIar what followeth: Lord, in the multitude of sorrows that
comforts have refreshed my soul. Thou toilest not only a few years, but in those very years, consolation is not wanting, daily joys are not wanting. But rejoice not in the world : rejoice in Christ, rejoice in His word, rejoice in His law. What I am speaking of, what ye are listening to, belongeth to these very joys. How great then are those consolations amid so great toils ? True, there is what the Apostle saith,
2 Cor. For our light affliction, which is but for a time, after an
*' 17'
incredible measure and to an incredible measure, worketh for us an eternal weight of glory. See how small a price do we give ; as it were, a single grain of pulse to receive eternal treasures ; a single mite of toil, for a rest which is beyond
our conception, according to what is said, it worketh for us,after an incredible measure and to an incredible measure, an eternal weight of glory. Thou rejoicest for a season: trust not therein ; thou art sorrowful for a season : do not despair. Let not prosperity corrupt thee, nor adversity break thee down : lest perchance thou mayest say in thy mind, it cannot be that God, Who chasteneth even the righteous that He may save them, that He may teach them,
ProT. can admit unto Himself the wicked. For if the righteous 11,3 ' scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear? I Pet. 4, Hast Tltou any thing to do with the stool of iniquity ? that
is, Dost Thou share the seat of the wicked? Thou Who makest sorrow in learning ; Who hast chosen thus to try these Thy children, and to teach them thus, to give them
had in heart, Thy my
What it is that we learn by trials and dangers. 377
such lessons, as to leave them still in fear, lest they should Ver. love something else, and forget Thee their true good
God is good : but if He were to cease, and not to mingle bitternesses with our temporal bliss, we should forget
Him.
25. But where the anguish of trouble raiseth waves in the
soul, then that faith, which was sleeping there, is aroused.
For it was calm, when Christ was asleep on the sea : while
He was sleeping, a storm arose, and they began to be in danger. Both tranquillity then and peace will be in the Christian's heart : but as long as our faith is on the watch :
but if our faith sleepeth, we are in danger. For Christ sleeping signifietl), that some forget their faith, and are in , danger. But as when that ship was tossing on the waves,
Christ was aroused by the tossed crew, who cried, Lord, we Matt. 8,
perish ! He arose, and commanded the winds, commanded 26
the waves, and it became calm ; thus when evil lusts, evil persuasions, disturb thee, they are waves, they will be calmed.
Thou dost now despair, and believest that thou dost not belong unto the Lord : let thy faith awake : awake Christ in
thy heart ; when faith riseth, thou recognisest where thou
art : and if perchance the waves of lust tempt thee, thou beholdest what God hath promised ; and the sweetness of
His promises will make thee a despiser of the sweetnesses of
the world ; and if perchance many threats of the powerful wicked oppress thee, and drive thee from righteousness,
thou listenest to the threat of God, Go into everlasting Mat. 25,
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, and thou dost not41- leave thy righteousness : in fear therefore of eternal fire thou despisest temporal pain : and for the promises of God, thou scornest temporal happiness. He promised rest : 'suffer trouble. He threateneth etemal fire ; despise temporal pains : and while Christ doth watch, let thy heart be calmed, that thou also mayest reach the harbour. For He would not fail to prepare a harbour, Who provided a vessel. Hast Thou any thing to do with the stool of iniquity, Tfwu Who makest sorrow in learning ? He trieth us with the wicked, and by their persecution He teacheth us. By means of the malice
of the wicked the good is scourged, through the slave the son is chastened : thus is learning taught by sorrow. What
\
378 It is good to learn to have Godfor our refuge.
Psalm God alloweth them power to do, that do wicked men, whom XCIV- He spareth for a season, do.
26. Ver. 21. For what followeth ? They will be captious against the soul of the righteous. Why will they be captious? Because they can find no true ground of accusation. For how were they captious against our Lord ? They made up
Mat. 26, false accusations, because they could not find true ones.
69'
And will condemn the innocent blood. Why all this taketh place, he will shew in the sequel.
27. Ver. 22. And the Lord is become my refuge, he saith. Thou wouldest not seek such a refuge, if thou wert not in danger: but thou hast therefore been in danger, that thou mightest seek for it: for He teacheth us by sorrow. He causeth me tribulation from the malice of the wicked: pricked with that tribulation, I begin to seek a refuge which I had ceased to seek for in that worldly prosperity. For who, that is always prosperous, and rejoiceth in present hopes, findeth it easy to remember God ? Let the hope of this life give
way, and the hope of God advance ; that thou mayest say, And the Lord is become my refuge: may I sorrow for this end that the Lord may become my refuge ! And my God
the help of my hope. For as yet the Lord is our hope, since as long as we are here, we are in hope, and not in possession. But lest we fail in hope, there is near us a provision to encourage us, and to mitigate those very evils which we suffer. For it is not said in vain, God is faithful, who will
1 Cor.
10' 13- not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able: but will
ver. 3.
with the temptation alio make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it : who will so put us into that furnace of tribulation, that the vessel may be hardened, but not broken. And the Lord is become my refuge: and my God the help of my hope. Why then did He seem to thee to be as it were un just, in that He spareth the evil ? Sue then how the Psalm is now set right, and be thou set right together with the Psalm : for, for this reason the Psalm contained thy words,
What words ? Lord, how long shall the ungodly, how long shall the ungodly trinmph ? The Psalm just now used thy words : use therefore thyself the Psalm's words in thy turn. What are these words of the Psalm ? And the Lord is become my refuge : and my God the help of my hope.
The tricked punished, though made means ofgood. 379
28. Ver. 23. And the Lord shall recompense them according Ver.
23'
to their works, and after their own malice ; the Lord our
God shall destroy them. The words, after their own malice,
are not said without meaning. I am benefitted - through
them : and yet it is said to be their malice, and not their benefits. For assuredly He trieth us, scourgeth us, by means of the wicked. To prepare us for what doth He scourge us ? Confessedly for the kingdom of heaven. For Heb. 12, He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth ; for what son is '
he whom the father chasteneth not? and when God doth this, He is teaching us in order to an eternal heritage : and this learning He often giveth us by means of wicked men, through whom He trieth and perfecteth our love, which He doth will to be extended even to our enemies. For the love of a Christian is not perfect, unless it fulfil the precept of Christ, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. Hence is
Matt. 6,
the devil himself conquered ; hence the crown of victory is gained. Behold how great blessings doth God bestow upon
us through the ungodly : and yet He recompenseth them,
not according to what He giveth us through them, but after their own malice. For see what blessings He hath heaped upon us, even by means of the enormous iniquity of Judas
the betrayer. For Judas betrayed unto the cross the Son of God, by Whose suffering all nations are redeemed unto salvation : and yet for the salvation of nations no reward
was given unto Judas, but for his own malice a due punish
ment hath been dealt unto him. For if the betrayal of Christ, and not the intention of the betrayer, is to be considered, Judas did what God the Father did, of Whom
it is written, that He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. Judas did that, which our Lord Christ ^? m-
Himself did, of Whom it is written, Who hath given Him- Ephes. self for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet 6' 2- smelling savour: and again, Even as Christ loved the'^. 25.
8,
Church, and gave Himself for it. And yet we offer thanks givings unto God the Father, in that He spared not His only Son, but delivered Him for us ; we offer thanksgivings unto the Sou Himself, Who delivered
up Himself for us, and in that very act fulfilled His Father's will: and we
-
'great a blessing upon us; and we rightly say, God hath recompensed him after his iniquity . ' and in his malice hath He destroyed him. For he delivered not Christ np for us, but for the silver for which he sold Him ; although the betrayal of Christ be our recovery ; and his fall be our redemption. Thus also they who persecuted the Martyrs, by persecuting them on earth, sent them into heaven : knowingly they caused them the loss of the present life, while unconsciously they were bestowing upon them the gain of a future life : but, nevertheless, unto all who per severed in their wicked hatred of the righteous, will God
380 Evil report our arms on the left hand.
Psai. m execrate Judas, through whose deed God hath conferred so XC1V .
after their own iniquities, and in their own malice w ill He destroy them. For as the goodness of the righteous is hurtful unto the wicked, so is the iniquity of the wicked beneficial unto the righteous. For our Lord
recompense
John 9, saith, / am come into this world, that they which see not
might see ; and that they which see might be made blind ; and the Apostle, To the one we are the savour of death unto death ; and to the other, the savour of life unto life. But the malice of the wicked is the left hand aras of the righteous ; as the same Apostle saith, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, that is, by honour and dishonour ; and he then severally recounteth the other points, shewing what were their right hand arms, viz. the glory of God, good report, truth by which it was known of them that they lived, that they were not brought to death, that they rejoiced, that they enriched many, that they possessed all things ; and that their left hand arms were, that they were held in dis
honour, of evil report, that they were thought deceivers, that
were unknown, slain, imprisoned, made sorrowful, seemed to be in want, and to have nothing. And what wonder is it^if the soldiers of Christ overpower the devil at
Luke 2, once by left and right hand weapons ? But as peace cometh
3S>-
2 Cor. 2, 16-
lb. 6, 7' 8-
i4'
unto men of good will, even when they are unto others a savour of death unto death ; so doth destruction come unto men of ill-will, even wheu they are the left hand weapons of the righteous towards their salvation. He will therefore
they
recompense
them not according to the profit we derive from
Bear with the ungodly in faith and charity. 381
them ; but after their own iniquity, by loving which they Ver. hate their own souls ; and not according to the blessings ------ which through them He doth dispense unto us, doth He honour them, He Who maketh a good use even of the wicked ; but after their own malice shall the Lord our God destroy them.
29. Let therefore the righteous bear with the ungodly ;
let the temporal suffering of the righteous bear with the temporal impunity of the wicked; for the just shall live Bom. 1, by faith. For there is no righteousness of man in this
life except to live by faith, which worketh by love. ButGa1-6i if he liveth by faith, let him believe both that he will himself inherit rest after his present toil, and that they
will suffer eternal torments after their present exultation.
And if faith worketh by love, let him love his enemies
also, and, as far as in him lies, have the will to profit
them ; for thus he will prevent their injuring him when
they have the will. And whenever perchance they have received power to hurt and tyrannise ; let him lift his heart
above, where no man hurteth him, well taught and chastened
in the law of God, that he may have patience given him in
the days of adversity, until the pit be digged up for the ungodly. For if his delight is in the law of God, and in i7Ps,1,2- he will exercise himself day and night, whose conversation Phil. 3, is in heaven; he shineth over the earth from the firmament
above ; whence this Psalm hath received its title from the
fourth day of the week, when the heavenly bodies were made; so that we may do all things without murmuring, Ptil. 2,
~~
holding the word of life in a nation crooked and perverse.
For as the night doth not extinguish the stars in heaven ;
so iniquity overcometh not the minds of the faithful, when
fixed in the firmament of God's Scriptures. And this very
fact, that our earthly possessions are sometimes given into
the power of the wicked, not only pertaineth unto our learning, so that God may become our refuge, and the help
of our hope ; bnt also profiteth towards the very pit of the ungodly, of whom it is said in another Psalm, He will be Pfc I0' bent down and fall, when he shall have mastery of the poor.
30. Possibly the length of this discourse hath been tedious to you : although this doth not appear amid the eagerness
382 Eagerness of hearers. A song of praise.
Psalm of your attention. But though it be so, forgive me : first,
-'because I did so by command; the Lord our God having J7?
see on
Ps. 89. ordered me through those Brethren, in whom He dwelleth.
lafj. 8. Por God doth not command, save from His own throne. Secondly, as you have been so eager toward us, so, we confess, have we been toward you. May our God therefore console us for this toil, so that it may result in your advancement unto salvation, not in a testimony to accuse
you.
This I say, brethren, that ye may profit from what ye have heard, and ruminate within yourselves: permit not yourselves to forget, not only by thinking over again upon these subjects, and discoursing upon them, but also by so living. For a good life which is led after God's commands, is like a pen, because it is heard writing in our hearts. If it were written on wax, it would easily be blotted out : write it in your hearts, in your character, and it shall never be blotted out.
PSALM XCV. ?
1. Ver. 1. I could wish, brethren, thai we were rather listening to our father: but even this is a good thing, to obey our father. Since therefore he who deigneth to pray for us, hath ordered us, I will speak unto you, beloved, what from the present Psalm Jesus Christ our common Lord shall deign to give us. Now the title of the Psalm is David's Song of praise. The Song of praise signlfieth both cheer fulness, in that it is a song; and devotion, for it is praise. For what ought a man to praise more than that which pleaseth him so, that it is impossible that it can displease him ? In the praising of God therefore we praise with security. There he who praiseth is safe, where he feareth not lest he be ashamed for the object of his praise. Let us therefore both praise and sing ; that is, let us praise with cheerfulness and joy. But what we are about to praise, this Psalm in the following verses sheweth us.
? A Discourse delivered at the bid- and consequently either before or shortly ding of Aurelius Bp. of Carthage, or after St. Augustine was consecrated perhaps of Valerius Bp. of Hippo, Bishop.
How men are near to God, or far from Him. 383
2. O come, let us sing unto the Lord. He calleth us to Ver. a great banquet of joy, not one of this world, but in the ------ Lord. For if there were not in this life a wicked joy which
is to be distinguished from a righteous joy, it would be enough to say, Come, let us rejoice; but he has briefly dis tinguished it. What is it to rejoice aright ? To rejoice in
the Lord. Thou shouldest piously joy in the Lord, if thou
dost wish safely to trample upon the world. But what is
the word, Come ? Whence doth He call them to come, with
whom he wisheth to rejoice in the Lord ; except that, while
they are afar, they may by coming draw nearer, by drawing
nearer they may approach, and by approaching rejoice ?
But whence are they afar? Can a man be locally distant
from Him who is every where? Dost thou wish to be far
from Him ? Where wilt thou go, that thou mayest be far
from Him ? For a certain sinner indeed, but yet penitent with the hope of salvation and sorrowing for his sins, and fearing the anger of God, and wishing to appeIase Him,
go then Ps. 139,
'
Ier shall this in another Psalm, Whith
speaketh
from Thy SpirI from
it? or whither shall
climb up into heaven, Thou art there.
presence? If
What remaineth then ? For if he climb up into heaven, and there find God : whither shall he go, that he may fly far from God ? See what he saith, If I go down to hell, Thou art there also? If therefore by climbing into heaven, he there findeth God ; if by going down into hell, he escapeth Him not; whither shall he go, whither shall he fly, from that angry God, unless unto Himself appeased? And yet, though no man could possibly fly from Him who is every
where ; unless some were far from God, it would not be written, This people do honour Me with their lips, but their ls. 29, heart isfarfrom Me. It is not therefore by place, but by 13' being unlike Him, that a man is afar from God. What is to
be unlike Him ? it meaneth, a bad life, bad habits; for if by
good habits we approach God, by bad habits we recede from
God. One then and the same man standing bodily in the same
spot, by loving God doth approach Him, and by loving iniquity doth recede from Him : he no where moveth his feet, 1 see on and yet he can both approach and recede. For our affections 1 ^injg6. are our feet in this journey, according as each man hath? -12 &0
go then Thy
384 Likeness to God is nearness to Hint.
Psalm affection, according as each hath love, so doth he either approach or recede from God. Do we not usually say, when we find any things unlike, This is far from that ? When we are comparing any two men, two horses, two garments, and some one saith, This garment is like, it is such as that; or, This man is such as that man ; what doth he say who con tradicts it? It is no such thing: it is far from it. What meaneth, It is far from it? It is unlike it. They stand close together: and yet this man is far from that. But two un godly men, alike in life and habits, if one be in the east, the other in the west, are near each other. In the same way two righteous men, one in the east, the other in the west, are with one another, since they are in God. On the other hand, one righteous, and one ungodly man, even though they be bound with one chain, yet are widely separated from one another. If therefore by unlikeness we recede from God, by likeness we approach unto God. What likeness ? That after which we were created, which by sinning we had corrupted in ourselves, which we have received again through the remission of sins, which is renewed in us in the mind within, that it may be engraved a second time as if on coin, that is, the image of our God upon our soul, and that we may return to His treasures. For what was the reason, brethren, that our Saviour chose to discover to His tempters, from a piece of money, what God demandeth ? For when they resolved, by way of seeking a pretext of false accusation, to question the Master of Truth respecting the tribute paid to Caesar, and by consulting Him to tempt Him as to whether it were lawful to pay tribute unto Caesar; what answered He? Why tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites? He asked them to shew Him the tribute money, and they brought unto Him a penny; and He saith unto them, Whose image and superscription hath it? They say unto Him, Caesar's. Then saith He unto them,
Mat. 22, Render therefore unto Ccesar the things that are Casar's, ' and unto God the things that are God's. As if He should say: IfCaesar seeketh on a coin his own image, doth not God seek in man His Image ? Our Lord Jesus Christ,
inviting us to the resemblance of this image, commandeth
us also to love our enemies ; and giveth us an example from Matt. 6, God Himself : As your Father, He saith, which is in heaven ;
A 'joyful noise' due to our joy in God. 385
Who maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, Ver. and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Be ye ---2-
perfect, even as your Father. When He saith,'
Be ye therefore perfect, as He is, He calleth us to resemble
Him. If therefore He invite us to resemble Him, it is clear
that by being unlike we had receded from God, and had become far from Him through unlikeness, and are made
near unto Him by means of our resemblance to Him, that
what is written may be realized in us; Come near unto Him, Ps. 34,6. and be lightened. To some therefore, dwelling afar, and
living evilly, this Psalm saith, 0 come, let us rejoice unto
the Lord! Whither do ye go? whither retire? whither depart ? whither do ye fly, by rejoicing in the world ? O
come, let us rejoice unto the Lord ! Whither do ye go to rejoice, when ye turn away ? O come, let us rejoice unto
Him by Whom we were created ! 0 come, let us rejoice unto
the Lord!
3. Ijit us male a joyful noise unto God, our salvation. Jubile- What is to make a joyful noise? Not to be able to expressTM113' one's joy in words, and yet to testify by the voice what hath
been conceived within, and refuseth to be compassed within words : this is to make a joyful noise. Consider, beloved,
those who make a joyful noise in any ordinary songs, as in a sort of competition of worldly joy ; and ye see them while reciting the written lines bursting forth with a joy, that the tongue sufficeth not to express the measure of; how they shout, indicating by that utterance the feeling of the mind, which cannot in words express what is conceived in the heart. If they then in earthly joy make a joyful noise; might we not do so from heavenly joy, which truly we cannot express in words ?
4. Ver. 2. Let us prevent His face by confession. Con fession hath a double meaning in Scripture. There is a confession of him who praiseth, there is that of him who
therefore
The confession of praise pertaineth to the honour of Him Who is praised : the confession of groaning to the repentance of him who confesseth. For men confess when they praise God : they confess, when they accuse them selves; and the tongue hath no more worthy use. Truly, I believe these to be the very vows, of which he speaketh in
vol. iv. c c
groaneth.
386 Confession prepares us to meet our Judge. I distin-
Psaim another Psalm: / will pay Thee my vows, which
Fs 66 f/nished with my lips. Nothing is more elevated than that 13. 14. ' distinguishing, nothing is so necessary both to understand
and to do. How then dost thou distinguish the vows which thou payest unto God? By praising Him, by accusing thyself; because it is His mercy, to forgive us our sins. For if He chose to deal with us after our deserts, He would find cause only to condemn. O come, he said therefore, that we may at last go back from our sins, and that He may not cast up with us our accounts for the past; but that as it were a new account may be commenced, all the bonds of our debts having been burnt. How great then is His praise; how great His mercy. This let us confess, that is, by praising Him. For if confession were always the act of a penitent, it would not be spoken of in the Gospel of our
I. uleio, Lord IHimself: In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and
to Thee, 0 Father, Lord heaven and confess of
said,
earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Because
Christ confessed, was He in any way a penitent? He could repent of nothing, Who had not done one action wrongly : but He confessed, by His praises of His Father. There fore, since this also is a passage of exultation, we ought perhaps to understand that confession which consists in the praise of God : whence also it is slyled, The song ofpraise, that we may not here understand the confession of penitents, but of those who praise God. And why is it that he at once
admonisheth us of some confession, when he saith, Let us prevent His face by confession ? What meaneth this ? He
will come : Let us prevent His'face by confession, before hand : before He arrive, let us by confession condemn what we have done, that He may find that which He may crown, not what He must condemn. But doth not this very act of confessing thy sins pertain to the praise of God ? Yea truly it most fully doth pertain to God's praise. And why?
Because the more desperate was the state of the sufferer, so much greater is the honour of the physician. The more therefore thou despairedst of thyself on account of thy iniquities, do thou confess thy sins ; for so much greater is the praise of Him Who forgiveth, as is the fulness of the
Use of repetitions. Reasons for Praise. 387 penitent's confession more abundant. Let us not therefore Ver.
imagine that we have receded from the song of praise, in understanding here that confession by which we acknow ledge our transgressions : this is even a part of the song of praise ; for when we confess our sins, we praise the glory of
--
God. Let us prevent His/ace in confession.
5. And make a joyful noise unto Him with Psalms. We Jubile-
have already said what it is io make a joyful noise : the word is repeated, that it may be confirmed by the act: the very repetition is an exhortation. For we have not forgotten, so as to wish to be again admonished, what was said above, that we should make a joyful noise : but usually in passages of strong feeling a well-known word is repeated, not to make it more familiar, but that the very repetition may strengthen the impression made : for it is repeated that we may under stand the feeling of the speaker. Hence our Lord's words,
Verily, verily, I say unto you : one verily sulficed : why, John l,
Verily, verily, unless because the repetition strengthens? Let us, he saith then, make a joyful noise unto Him with Psalms. And what shall we say in Psalms ? what shall we say, or rather feel, in that burst of joy ? what are the topics which belong to this song of praise? Hear now: (ver. 3. ) For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. Let us therefore make a joyful noise unto Him. For the Lord will not cast off His people ; let us make a joyful noise unto Him. (Ver. 4. ) For in His hands are all the corners of the earth : and the heights of the hills are His
also: for all these reasons let us make a joyful noise unto Him. (Ver. 5. ) For the sea is His, and He made it : and His hand prepared the dry land: let us make a joyful noise unto Him. Now time sufficeth not for a proportionate
of what all this meaneth : yet if it be utterly neglected, we shall remain debtors. Hear then some brief remarks, as the time alloweth, gleaning as much as I shall be able : since even a few seeds, where the soil is fruitful, bear the richest crop.
6-. Ver. 3. First, he mentions this, as a reason for our song to praise. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. There are therefore gods above whom is our great God, to Whom we make a joyful noise, in Whom we
cc2
exposition
383 God above all gods; not only devil-gods,
Psai-m heartily rejoice, to Whom we utter a song of praise. There iE^--: art: : but not unto us. For the Apostle saith : For though
''
6. 6.
there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, {as there be gods many and lords many,) but to us there is but one God the Father, of Whom are all things, and we-by Him ; and one Lord Jesns Christ, by Whom are all tilings, and we in Him. If therefore not unto us, unto whom ?
Pi. 96 6. Hear from another Psalm, As for all the gods of the heathen, they are but devils; but it is the Lord who made the heavens. The Holy Spirit could not in terms more magnificent and lofty commend unto thee through the Prophet thy God and Lord. It was not enough to say that God is terrible above all devils: why is it high praise enough to say, that He is above all devils? For all the gods of the heathen are but devils. But where is thy Lord ? But it is 4he Lord Who made the
1 Cor. 3'
heavens. Thy God created that, where devils cannot dwell : for the devils were cast down from heaven. The heavens are preferred to the devils, thy Lord even to the heavens : because thy Lord made also the heavens. How much higher therefore than the heathen gods, that are devils, is He, Who is higher than the heavens, whence fell the angels, to become devils ? And yet all nations were under these devils : temples were built to devils, altars reared to devils, priests established to devils, sacrifices offered to devils, men brought in for prophets that were possessed with devils ! All these honours the heathen offered to devils : all, in their true use, are only due to the one great God. The heathen erected a temple to devils ; God hath a temple: the heathen established priests for devils; God hath a priest; the heathen offered sacrifice to devils ; God hath a sacrifice. For those devils who wished to appear gods, would not exact such honours in order to deceive, unless because they know that they are due unto the true God; for what a false deity arrogates to himself, is usually due to the True God. We therefore acknowledge a true temple of God. For the temple of God is holy, saith St. Paul, which are ye. If therefore we are the temple of God, our soul is the altar of God. What is the sacrifice of God ? Perhaps we are at the present moment offering sacrifice on the altar of God, when we praise God; for the
Ps. 6o, Psalm teacheth us, in these words : 77/e sacrifice ofpraise
but those whom His grace has made gods. 389
shall glorify Me : and there is the way, where I will shew Ver. the salvation of God. But if thou seekest for a Priest, there :-- is One above the heavens ; He intercedeth for thee, Who on R0m. a, earth died for thee. Therefore, The Lord our God is a3*-
great God: and a great King above all gods. Understand here men by the word gods : for the Lord is not King over
deVils. And hence we have
standeth in the congregation of princes : He is a Judge
among gods.
