And
forasmuch
as all have toil in lying, what crieth the
Mat.
Mat.
Augustine - Exposition on the Psalms - v6
What is, war?
They made for me what I was to fight against all the day.
For from thence, from such hearts as these, ariseth all that the Christian fighteth against.
Be it sedition, be it schism, be it heresy, be it turbulent opposition, it springeth not save from these imaginings which were concealed, and while they spake good words with their lips, all the day long did they make war.
Ye hear words of peace, yet making war departeth not from their thoughts.
For the words, all the day long, signify without intermission,
throughout the whole time.
6. They have sharpened their tongues like serpents. Ifver. 3.
still thou seekest to make out the man, behold a comparison.
In the serpent above all beasts is there cunning and craft
to hurt; for therefore does it creep1. It hath not even feet,1 ser],it. so that its footsteps when it cometh may be heard. In its progress it draweth itself, as it were, gently along, yet not straightly. Thus then do they creep and crawl to hurt, having poison hidden even under a gentle touch. And so it followeth, the poison of asps is under their lips. Behold,
it is under their lips, that we may perceive one thing under
their lips, another in their lips. And these too he openly maketh manifest in another place, where he saith, Who Ps. 28,3. speak peace with their neighbours, but evil is in their hearts.
7. Preserve me, O Lord, from the hand of the sinner, ver. 4.
unrighteous men deliver me. Here they wear their real colours, they are known ; here we have no need to understand, but to act : we have need to pray, not to ask who they are. But how thou shouldest pray against such men, he explaineth in what followeth. For many pray unskilfully against wicked men. Who have imagined, saith he, to trip up my steps. Thus far it may be understood carnally. Every one has enemies, who seek to cheat him in trade, to rob him of money, where they are engaged together in business ; every one has some neighbour his
from
And envy them.
Psalm enemy, who deviseth how to bring mischief upon his - family, to injure in some way his property : and surely he deviseth this by deceit, by fraud, by devilish devices he endeavoureth to accomplish this: no one can doubt it.
ver. 5.
Yet not for these reasons are they to be guarded against, but lest they lay in wait for thee and draw thee to them selves, that is, separate thee from the Body of Christ, and make thee of their body. For as Christ is the Head of the good, so is the devil their head. Who have imagined, he saith, to trip up my steps. What is, to trip up my steps ? Not as though thou shouldest be deceived in the business thou hast with him, or he cheat thee in a case which thou hast with him in the law courts. He hath tripped up thy steps, if he have hindered thee in the way of God; so that what thou didst direct aright may stumble, or fall from the way, or fall in the way, or draw back from the way, or stop on the way, or go back to the place from whence it had come. Whatsoever hath done this to thee, hath tripped thee up, hath deceived thee. Against such snares as these pray thou, lest thou lose thy heavenly inheritance, lest thou lose Christ thy Joint-heir, for thou art destined to live for ever with Him, Who hath made thee an heir. For thou art made an heir, not by one whom thou art to succeed after his death, but One together with Whom thou art to live for ever.
8. The proud have hidden a trap for me. He hath briefly described the whole body of the devil, when he saith, the proud. Hence is it that for the most part they call themselves righteous when they are unrighteous. Hence is it that nothing is so grievous to them as to confess their sins. They are men who, being falsely righteous, must needs envy the truly righteous. For none envieth another in that which he wisheth not either to be or to seem. One envieth thee because thou art rich; either he wishes to be rich, in that he envieth thee, or else he wishes to be thought rich : another envieth thee because thou art famous or of high birth ; either he longeth to be so himself, or else he desires to be thought so. And so for all things which seem or are thought to be good in this world, what each one wishes to have, wherein he wishes to excel, what he desireth
They should rather imitate them.
to be reported to have, therein doth he envy thee.
who are falsely righteous, wish to seem righteous
are not so; and when they see one truly righteous, they must needs envy him, and make it the object of their dealings with him, to make him love that wherein he glorieth. Hence come all allurings and trippings up of others. This the devil first wished, when falling himself he envied man who stood; and because he himself had lost the kingdom of heaven, he was and is unwilling that man should attain
thither, and this is his object now, to prevent man attaining thither, whence himself was cast down. Since then he is proud himself, and, because proud, therefore also envious, his whole body is a body of those of like character.
But let us pray against him, who cannot be amended, and against those who can, so as to say to the unrighteous man, Why enviest thou the righteous, O unrighteous man ? Is
225
But they Ver. when they -- -- --
it because thou wishest to appear righteous ? Do better at once, so shalt thou more easily be, what thou wishest to seem. Be righteous: so shalt thou love him whom thou didst envy ; for so, what thou now grievest that he is, thou shalt thyself be also, and thou shalt love thyself in him and him in thyself. For if thou enviedst a rich man, it would
not therefore be in thy power to be rich : if thou enviedst some honourable and high-born senator, it would not be in thy power to be high-born and illustrious: if thou enviedst one that was handsome, never wouldest thou thereby make thyself handsome: if thou enviedst one that was brave and strong, thou wouldest not thereby give thyself strength : but
if thou enviest the righteous, the matter is in thy will, be
what thou art grieved that another is. For thou wilt not
have to buy what thou art not thyself, but another is ; it is
to be had for nothing, it is to be had at once. Peace on Luke 2,
14'
they have sought to trip up my steps. And what have they
done ? And have stretched out cords as traps. What cords ?
The word is well known in holy Scripture, and elsewhere
we find what cords signify. The Lord made a scourge ofJohn 2,
small cords, and with it drove out from the temple those who were ill employed there, and thereby signified to us
VOL. VI. Q
earth to men ofgood will.
9. But those proud ones hare hidden a trap for me;
226 Envying them, they tempt them to like sins.
Psalm how we were to understand cords; for each one is holden ? rov~S"with M'e cor^li ? f n's sins, saith another Scripture. And
Esaias saith openly, Woe to them that draw sin like a long rope. And why is it called a cord? Because every sinner who persevereth in his sins, addeth sin to sin ; and when he ought by accusing his sins to amend, by defending he doubkth what by confession he might have removed, and often seeketh to fortify himself by other sins, on account of the sins he hath already committed. He hath committed adul tery; and, lest he be slain himself, he prepareth to commit murder; he addeth sin to sin. Again; if he happen to have committed murder, now he who feared one crime, feareth
two: and so when he seeth that he feareth now more things than before he feared, he deviseth not how he may lessen what he hath done, but how he may add what he hath not yet done : he seeketh, it may be, some other evil deed. Now he hath three. What will a man devise next? Who will end the cord of sins ? Most rightly is it called a cord, for however it be twisted it is increased, and they are not straight threads, but twisted, that are added. Wickedness is intertwined, and groweth in length, and seeketh not to cut off what it has woven amiss, but to add, to protract, to lengthen, so that in the end it may have wherewith it may
Mat. 22, be bound hand and foot, and be cast into outer darkness. But these their sins they spread for the righteous, when they persuade them to do the evils which they themselves do. Therefore he said, they spread cords and traps ; that is, by their sins they desired to overthrow me. And where did they this ? Beside the paths hare they laid a stumbling- block for me: not in the paths, but, beside the paths. Thy paths are the commandments of God. They have laid stumbling-blocks beside the paths ; do not thou withdraw out of the paths, and thou wilt not rush upon stumbling-blocks.
Yet will I not that thou shouldest say, ' God should prevent them from laying stumbling-blocks beside my paths, and then they would not lay them. ' Nay, rather, God per mitted them to lay stumbling-blocks beside thy paths, that thou shouldest not leave the paths. Beside the paths have they laid stumbling-blocks for me.
10. And what remaineth ? what remedy amid such ills,
22.
'
Christians should appeal from them to God. 227
'---
in such temptations, such dangers?
77/o? / art my God. Loud is the voice of prayer, it exciteth confidence. Is He not the God of the others ? Of Whom is not He God, Who is the true God ? Yet is He specially theirs, who enjoy Him, who serve Him, who willingly submit to Him. For the wicked too, though unwillingly, are subject to Him. The one call upon God, to be crowned by Him ; the other
being under Him, flee from Him, to be condemned by Him. And whither shall the wicked, who will not have the Lord for his God, whither shall he flee from the God of all ? Good is it then for him that he turn to the God of all, and make Him his God, by turning to Him, and being set among such sinners, seducers, Ito God, Whom
why he did not say, 'Hear with Thine ears my prayer;' but, as though expressing more plainly the affection of his heart, the voice of my prayer, the life of my prayer, the soul of my prayer, not that which soundeth in my words, but that which giveth life to my words. For all other noises without life may be called sounds, but not words. Words belong to those that have souls, to the living. But how many pray to God, yet have neither perception of God, nor right thoughts concerning God ! These may have the sound of prayer, the voice they cannot, for there is no life in them. This was the voice of the prayer of one who was alive, forasmuch as
he understood that God was his God, saw by Whom he was freed, perceived from whom he was freed.
11. Commending this to the ears of God, let him say, Lord, Lord. Thou Lord-Lord, that is, most truly Lord, not like unto the lords-men, not like the lords who buy with money-bags, but the Lord Who buyeth with His Blood. Lord, Lord, Thou strength of my health, that is, Who givest strength to my health. What is the meaning of
strength of my health? He complained of the stumbling- blocks and snares of sinners, of wicked men, vessels of the devil, that barked around him and laid snares around him, of the proud that envy the righteous, among the like of whom
Q2
hypocrites, proud, say by turning to Him he hath made his God,
have said unto the Lord, Thou art my God; hear with Thine ears the voice of my prayer. It is a simple sentence indeed, and easy to understand, yet it is pleasant perhaps to consider
I said unto the Lord, Ver.
2-28 And pray for perseverance ;
Psalm he has to pass his life, while here we live in this our pil- Cxl. grimage. But that such offences should abound the Lord
Mat. 24, foretold, and said, 'Iniquity shall abound; and because
,2-
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold? But He forthwith added a comfort, He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. This he observed and feared, and, distressed at the abundance of iniquities, turned himself to hope; for, he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. He braced himself to endure, and saw that the way was long; and, because to endure is great and difficult, he prayed Him to perfect his endurance, by Whom the command was given him to endure. Verily I shall be saved, if I endure unto the end : but endurance, so as to win salvation, pertaineth unto strength ; Thou art the strength of my salvation ; Thou makest me to endure, that I may attain salvation. Lord, Lord, Thou strength of my salvation. And whence cometh my hope that Thou art the strength of my salvation ? Thou hast overshadowed my head in the day of battle. Lo, now as yet I fight. I fight without against those who falsely pretend to be good, 1 fight
see another law in my 23' *? " members, warring against the law of my mind, and bring
Rom. 7, within against mine own lusts ; for, /
ing me into captivity to the lawIof sin which is in my
ver. 8.
members. O wretched man that
me from the body of this death ? I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Toiling then in this warfare, he looked back to the grace of God ; and because already he had begun to be heated and parched, he found, as it were, a shade, whereunder to live. Thou hast overshadowed my head in the day of battle: that is, in the heat, lest I be heated, lest I be parched,
12. Deliver me not over, O Lord, by my own longing to the sinner. Behold to what end Thy overshadowing shall avail for me, that I suffer not heat from myself. And what could that sinner do to me, rage as he would? For wicked men raged against the martyrs, dragged them away, bound them with chains, shut them up in prisons, slew them with the sword, exposed them to wild beasts, consumed them with fire : all this they did ; yet did not God deliver them over to the sinners, because they were not delivered over by their
am! who shall deliver
lest our desires make us yield. 2-29
own longing. This then pray with all thy might, that God Ver.
-- 9'
delivered thee not over by thine own longing to the sinner. For thou by thine own longing givest place to the devil. For lo, the devil hath set before thee gain, invited thee to dishonesty ; thou canst not have the gain, unless thou commit the dishonesty : the gain is the bait, dishonesty the snare : do thou so look on the bait, that thou see the snare also ; for thou canst not obtain the gain, unless thou commit the dishonesty ; and if thou commit the dishonesty, thou wilt be caught. I say not, thou wilt be caught, because thou wilt be found out. Sometimes thou wilt not be found out, at least by man ; but canst thou escape God ? Thou wilt be caught, and drawn out, and slain. For every one that doeth such things, slayeth himself. There then is the bait, there is also the snare ; bridle thy longing, and thou wilt not be caught by the hook ; but if thy longing for the bait conquer thee, it putteth thy neck into the snare, and the fowler of souls will take thee. Deliver me not by mine own longing to the sinner. Hence is thine head overshadowed in the day of battle. For longing causeth heat, but the overshadowing of the Lord tempers longing, that we may be able to bridle that whereby we were being hurried away, that we be not so
heated as to be drawn to the snare. They have thought against me; leave me not, lest perchance they be exalted. ThoIu hast in another place, They that oppress me will exult
if
P<<. 13,4.
be moved. Such are they, because such is the devil also himself. When he has led a man astray, he rejoiceth, he trinmpheth over him ; he himself is exalted, because the other is humbled. And why is he humbled ? Because he was evilly exalted : and he too who trinmpheth over him shall hereafter be humbled. Such are all who rejoice in iniquity ; they seem to themselves for the while to boast, to be proud, to lift up the neck. Let not their exaltation delight thee : they have the bait in their jaws and the hook too. There is that wherein they delight, there that whereby they are caught. Leave Thou me not, lest perchance they be exalted; that is, let them not trinmph over me, let them not rejoice over me.
13. The head of their going about, the toil of their own lips shall cover them. Me, he saith, the shadow of Thy
\ei. 9.
230 Sin ever seeketh, never findeth, its end.
Psalm wings shall cover : for, Thou hast covered me in the day ------- of battle. Them what shall cover ? The head of their going about ; that is, pride. What is, their going about ? How they go about and stand not, how they go in the circle
of error, where is journeying without end. He who goeth in a straight line, beginneth from some point, endeth at some point: he who goeth in a circle, never endeth. That is the toil of the wicked, which is set forth yet more plainly
I1*. 12,9. in another Psalm, The wicked walk in a circle. But the head of their going about is pride, for pride is the beginning of every sin. But whence is pride the toil of their own lips? Every proud man is false, and every false man is a liar. Men toil in speaking falsehood ; for truth they could speak with entire facility. For he toileth, who maketh what he saith: he who wisheth to speak the truth, toileth not, for truth herself speaketh without toil. Of this man then he said to God, ' Me Thine overshadowing shall protect ; them their own lie shall cover ;' and their own lie is the toil of their own lips.
Ps. 7,15. Behold, he hath travailed with unrighteousness, he hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity. For in every evil work is toil, and every evil work devised hath a lie for its leader. For there is no truth, save in a good work.
And forasmuch as all have toil in lying, what crieth the
Mat. 11, Truth ? Come unto Me, all ye that toil and are laden, and I will refresh you. That is the voice that crieth to them Pd. 4, 2. that toil in another Psalm, Ye sons of men, how long will ye be heavy of heart ; why love ye vanity, and seek a lie?
Hear too in another place the toil of lying plainly set forth, Jer. 9,5. They have taught their tongues to speak lies, they have
ver. 10.
wearied themselves to commit iniquity.
14. Coals offire shall fall upon them upon earth, and
Thou shall cast them down. What is, upon earth ? Here, even in this life, here coals offire shall fall upon them, and Thou shall cast them down. What are, coals offire ? We know these coals. Are they different from those of which we are about to speak ? For these I see avail for punishment, those that I am about to speak of, for salvation. For we have spoken of certain coals, when man was seeking aid
Ps. 120, against a treacherous tongue. What shall be given thee, or what shall be added to thee, against the treacherous
The effects of example. 231
tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty One, with devouring Ver. coals, that is, the word of God transfixing the heart, de- -- stroking the old nature, implanting love, and the patterns
of meu who had died and come to life again, were black,
and became shining. For coals are darkness, so their colour indicateth. But when the flame of love has reached
them, and they have come to life again from the dead, let
them hear from the Apostle, Ye were sometime darkness, Eph. 5, but now are ye light in the Lord. These, brethren, are the
coals we look on, when we are pierced by the arrow of God,
and wish to change our life, but are hindered by the evil tongues of men, such as he was just now complaining of,
which endeavour to lead us astray from the way of truth,
and to lead us in preference into their own errors, and say
to us that even if we promise, we shall not fulfil. Then we. observe these coals: he that was yesterday a drunkard,
to-day is sober; he that was yesterday an adulterer, to-day
is chaste ; he that yesterday seized others' goods, to-day
gives freely of his own. All these are coals offire. The examples of the coals are added to the wound of the arrows,
(for I need not fear to say ' the wound,' when the Spouse
herself saith, / am wounded with love,) and then the hay Cant. 2, is consumed, and so they are called devouring coals. The lXX. hay is devoured, but the gold is purified, and the man
exchanges death for life, and begins to be himself too a burning coal; such a coal as was the Apostle, who before
was a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious, a coal
black and extinguished ; but when he had obtained mercy,
he was set on fire from heaven, the voice of Christ set him
on fire, all the blackness in him perished, he began to be
fervent in spirit, to set others on fire with that wherewith
he was set on fire himself. Are we to understand such
coals offire as this here too, who fall upon those evil men,
and cast them down ? Evidently we are not forbidden to understand it in this way. I see that here shines forth to
us a sentiment not improbable and free from blame. I understand those coals to fall upon these men, that they
may be cast down. For on some they come, to set them
on fire; on others, to cast them down. For that coal himself
said, To the one we are the savour of death unto death, <</<</2 Cor. 2,
? 23-2 We should desire, not to teach others,
Psai. m to the other the savour of death unto death. For they see c -- the righteous blazing with the Spirit, bright with light, and envying them, they fall; this is how coals of fire shall fall upon them upon earth, and they shall be cast down. What upon earth While they are as yet in this life, excluding the punishment which reserved for the wicked, these coals
cast them down, before the everlasting fire cometh. Coals offire shall fall upon them upon earth, and shall cast them down. In miseries they shall not stand. Misery cometh to them, and they bear not; but the righteous standeth,
Rom. as he stood, who saith, We glory in tribulations also,
3- &c'
knott ing that tribulation uorketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of Christ shed abroad in our hearts the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. But when upon them any pressure, any misery hath fallen, they stand not, they fall. For when such men meet with these kind of pressures, they are unable to bear them, they fall into evil acts of iniquity, because they are delivered over by their own longing to the sinner.
15. man full of words shall not be guided upon earth. man full words loveth lies. For what pleasure hath he, save in speaking He careth not what he speaketh, so long as he speaks. cannot be that he will be guided.
What then ought the servant of God to do, who kindled with these coals, and himself made coal of salvation, what should he do He should wish rather to hear than to
Jami'sl, speak; as written, Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak. And may be so, let him desire this, not to
be obliged to speak and talk and teach. For behold
to you, beloved, we speak now to you, brethren, to teach you somewhat: how much better were that we all knew, and none taught another so should there not be one speaking, another hearing, but all hearing Him alone, to
Pn. 51,8. Whom said, To my hearing T/iou shall give exultation and joy. Whence was that John too rejoiced, not so much because he was preacher and speaker, but
John because he was hearer. For he saith, The friend the bridegroom standeth and heareth him, and rejoiceth greatly because the bridegroom's voice. Therefore, beloved
say
of
is
by
' 1'
3,
A
A
5,
a
it
is? of ? if
of
1
a
is it
a
?
it
is
it
? It
it
a
is
is,
but to be taught by God. 233
brethren, I can quickly tell you wherein each one may Ver. prove himself, not by never speaking, but by requiring a 10, -- case where it is his duty to speak ; let him be glad to be
silent, in will, let him speak to teach, when he must. For
when must thou needs speak and teach ? When thou meetest with one ignorant, when thou meetest with one unlearned. If it delight thee always to teach, thou wishest always to have some ignorant one to teach. But if thou wishest well to others, and wishest all to be learned, thou wishest not always to have those whom thou mayest teach, and so the practice or proof of thy teaching will not be in will, but in necessity. Let thy joy be in hearing God, thy duty in thine own speaking, so shalt thou not be a man full of words, lest thou be not guided. Why art thou willing to speak, unwill ing to hear? Thou ever goest without, thou declinest to
reiurn within. For He that teacheth thee is within ; when
thou teachest, thou, as it were, goest forth to those who are without. For from within we hear the truth, and we speak it
to those who are without, outside our heart. For we are said indeed to have in our heart those of whom we are thinking, but
we are said so only because we seem to have a sort of image of
them stamped upon us. For, were they altogether within, surely they would know what is in our hearts, and so would
have no need for us to speak to them. But if this delight
thee, that thou art busy without, take heed lest thou be puffed up without, and be unable to return by the narrow
way, and so thy God be unable to say to thee, Enter thou
into the joy of thy Lord; but say, because that which thou21, lovedst was without, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him it,. 30. into outer darkness. For in shewing that it is an evil thing
to be cast without, he sheweth also that it is a good thing to enter within. For to the good servant what said He? Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord: but to the wicked servant, Cast him into outer darkness. Let us not then love most what is outward, but what is inward. At what is inward let us rejoice; in what is outward let us act of necessity, not of free will. A man full of words shall not be guided upon the earth.
16. Evil shall hunt the unrighteous man to destruction. Evils come, and he standeth not; therefore said he, they
Mat. 25,
Evils destroy the wicked, not the good.
Psalm shall hunt him to destruction. For many good men, many _5! ? f^_ righteous men evils have befallen, evils have, as it were, found them. For therefore hath he said, shall hunt them,
Mat. 10,
because every one wisheth to hide himself from evil, but when he is found by evil he is, as it were, made into a prey. But is it only the evil who fly from evils when they are sought by evils? Is it not said to the good also, When they persecute you in this city,flee ye into another ? There fore when the evil pursued the good, that is, our martyrs, when they seized them, they hunted them, but not to destruction. For the flesh was pressed down, the spirit was crowned ; the spirit was cast out from the body, yet
was nought done to the flesh which might hinder it for the future. Let the flesh be burned, scourged, mangled ; is it therefore withdrawn from its Creator, because it is given into the hands of its persecutor? Will not He Who created it from nothing, re-make it better than it was ? So then whenever the righteous are taken, the wicked have hunted them, but not to destruction. But they who shall not be guided, and are full of words, evils shall hunt them to destruction. Wherefore ? Because in miseries they shall not stand.
/ know that the Lord will maintain the right
the needy. This needy one is not full of words ; for he that is
17.
of
ver. 12.
full of words, wisheth to abound, knoweth not to hunger. Matt. 7, But they are needy to whom it is said, Knock, and it shall be opened unto you; seek, and ye shall find; ask, and it shall be given unto you. He is needy of whom it is said,
Matt. 5, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteous ness, for they shall be filled. They groan among the stum bling-blocks of the wicked, they pray to their Head, to be delivered from the wicked man, and set free from the unrighteous man. These then are they whose cause the
Lord will not neglect ; although now they suffer hardships,
their glory shall appear, when their Head appeareth. For to Col. 3,3. such while placed here it is said, Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. So then we are poor, our
John6,lifeishid; letuscrytoHimthatisourBread. ForHeis the living Bread, Which came down from heaven ; and He Who in the way refresheth us, in our wants will fill us.
The Bliss of the righteous, in God. 235
must we hunger till we be filled. / know that the Lord will --: maintain the right of the needy. Sure was he that the Lord would maintain the right of the needy and the cause of the poor. He shall shew the unrighteous how He loveth His righteous ones ; He shall shew the rich how He loveth His poor ones. By the rich, He meant the proud ; by the poor, the humble : by the rich, them who through abundance
seek not ; by the poor, those who through longing sigh. The Lord will maintain their cause.
18. But the just shall confess to Thy Name. Both when 'er. 13. Thou shalt plead their cause, and when Thou shalt maintain
their right, they shall confess to Thy Name; nought shall
they attribute to their own merits, all they shall attribute
to nought save to Thy mercy : But the just shall confess to
Thy Name. And because they shall confess to Thy Name,
so that how righteous soever they have been, they claim nothing to themselves as their own, attribute nothing to themselves as their own ; what shall be done, that they may
direct their heart ? For when they turn to themselves, they
twist their heart ; when they turn to the Lord, they direct their
heart. And where will be pleasure, where rest, where joy,
where bliss? Will it be in themselves? No; but in that
they are light. Now are ye light in the Lord, said he. Eph. s,8. Therefore see what followeth, see wherewith he concludeth.
For now we are refreshed, that we niay endure: because needs Vee.
The upright shall dwell with Thy Countenance. For ill was it with them in their own countenance; well will it be with them with Thy Countenance. For when they loved
their own countenance, in the sweat of their countenance Gen. 3, . 19
did they eat bread. Let them return : then, their sweat being wiped away, their toils finished, their groaning done,
Thy Countenance shall come to them with abundance to satisfy them. Nought more shall they seek, for nought
better have they ; no more shall they abandon Thee, nor
be abandoned by Thee. For after His Resurrection, what
was said of the Lord? Thou shalt fill me with joy withPs. 16.
Thy Countenance. Without His Countenance He would
not give us joy. For this do we cleanse our countenance,
that we may rejoice in His Countenance. For now are Uohn3, we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we
12 13 --
1
The beatific Vision.
Psalm shall be ; but we know that, when He shall appear, we Cxl' shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is ; for the upright shall dwell with Thy Countenance. Think we, with the Countenance of the Father, and not with that of the Son ? or with the Countenance of the Son, and not of
the Father? or is the Countenance of Father and Son and Holy Ghost in some sense one ? Let us see whether the Son Himself do not promise us His own Countenance, to gladden us therewith. The Lord God hath just inspired us to have the following passage of the Gospel read, that it might bear witness to this Psalm. The Lord Himself saith,
John 14, He that heareth these commandments of Mine and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me : and he that loveth Me, shall
Lat. cin.
PSALM CXLI. Sermon to the People.
I will love him, and will shew him Myself. What sort of reward is this He hath promised, beloved? Did not they already see Him, to whom He promised to shew Himself? Was He not before them ?
be loved of My Father, and
Was not the Face of His flesh close before their eyes? What is it that He willed to shew to them who already saw Him ? Forasmuch as they saw Him in such form as the Jews crucified Him in, yet was He God, hidden under that flesh, because men could see the Man, but the God they could
Matt. 5, not, although in Man; because too, blessed are the pure in heartyfor they shall see God; He gave the Form of Man both to good and evil, the Form of God He preserved for the pure and good, that we may rejoice in Him, and it may be well with us for ever with His Countenance.
1. Ye have heard, brethren, our instruction and our request from the mouth of the Apostle, when his Epistle was being read just now. For he saith, Continue in prayer,
Col. 4,
2, 3- 4' and watch therein ; withal praying also for us, that God
would open unto us a door of utteranceI, to speak His
mystery, that I may make it manifest as speak. ought to
Deign to consider these words mine also. For there are in Holy Scripture deep mysteries, which are for this cause
Love, the end of the Law. 237 hidden, lest they should be held cheap; for this cause ^'r. n.
:--
2. For what will ye hear or learn, brethren, more important
or more healthful, than, Thou shall love the Lord thy God Mat. 22, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 1 ' etc' mind; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Think
not that these two commandments are little ; On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. What
soever then healthfully is either conceived in the mind, or uttered by the mouth, or is carved from any page of holy
Writ, hath no end save love. For even evil-livers are
enticed to one another by the fellowship of an evil con
science, and are said to love one another, to be unwilling
to leave one another, to be won by intercourse among themselves, to long for one another when apart, to rejoice
when they meet. This love is of hell. It hath lime, to
drag down to the abyss; not wings, to lift aloft to heaven.
But what is true love, that it may be separated and distin guished from others which are called love ? That which
is called the true love of Christians is defined by Paul, and
so marked off by its definitions, as to be entirely distinguished
from the rest. The end, saith he, of the commandments isiTim.
throughout the whole time.
6. They have sharpened their tongues like serpents. Ifver. 3.
still thou seekest to make out the man, behold a comparison.
In the serpent above all beasts is there cunning and craft
to hurt; for therefore does it creep1. It hath not even feet,1 ser],it. so that its footsteps when it cometh may be heard. In its progress it draweth itself, as it were, gently along, yet not straightly. Thus then do they creep and crawl to hurt, having poison hidden even under a gentle touch. And so it followeth, the poison of asps is under their lips. Behold,
it is under their lips, that we may perceive one thing under
their lips, another in their lips. And these too he openly maketh manifest in another place, where he saith, Who Ps. 28,3. speak peace with their neighbours, but evil is in their hearts.
7. Preserve me, O Lord, from the hand of the sinner, ver. 4.
unrighteous men deliver me. Here they wear their real colours, they are known ; here we have no need to understand, but to act : we have need to pray, not to ask who they are. But how thou shouldest pray against such men, he explaineth in what followeth. For many pray unskilfully against wicked men. Who have imagined, saith he, to trip up my steps. Thus far it may be understood carnally. Every one has enemies, who seek to cheat him in trade, to rob him of money, where they are engaged together in business ; every one has some neighbour his
from
And envy them.
Psalm enemy, who deviseth how to bring mischief upon his - family, to injure in some way his property : and surely he deviseth this by deceit, by fraud, by devilish devices he endeavoureth to accomplish this: no one can doubt it.
ver. 5.
Yet not for these reasons are they to be guarded against, but lest they lay in wait for thee and draw thee to them selves, that is, separate thee from the Body of Christ, and make thee of their body. For as Christ is the Head of the good, so is the devil their head. Who have imagined, he saith, to trip up my steps. What is, to trip up my steps ? Not as though thou shouldest be deceived in the business thou hast with him, or he cheat thee in a case which thou hast with him in the law courts. He hath tripped up thy steps, if he have hindered thee in the way of God; so that what thou didst direct aright may stumble, or fall from the way, or fall in the way, or draw back from the way, or stop on the way, or go back to the place from whence it had come. Whatsoever hath done this to thee, hath tripped thee up, hath deceived thee. Against such snares as these pray thou, lest thou lose thy heavenly inheritance, lest thou lose Christ thy Joint-heir, for thou art destined to live for ever with Him, Who hath made thee an heir. For thou art made an heir, not by one whom thou art to succeed after his death, but One together with Whom thou art to live for ever.
8. The proud have hidden a trap for me. He hath briefly described the whole body of the devil, when he saith, the proud. Hence is it that for the most part they call themselves righteous when they are unrighteous. Hence is it that nothing is so grievous to them as to confess their sins. They are men who, being falsely righteous, must needs envy the truly righteous. For none envieth another in that which he wisheth not either to be or to seem. One envieth thee because thou art rich; either he wishes to be rich, in that he envieth thee, or else he wishes to be thought rich : another envieth thee because thou art famous or of high birth ; either he longeth to be so himself, or else he desires to be thought so. And so for all things which seem or are thought to be good in this world, what each one wishes to have, wherein he wishes to excel, what he desireth
They should rather imitate them.
to be reported to have, therein doth he envy thee.
who are falsely righteous, wish to seem righteous
are not so; and when they see one truly righteous, they must needs envy him, and make it the object of their dealings with him, to make him love that wherein he glorieth. Hence come all allurings and trippings up of others. This the devil first wished, when falling himself he envied man who stood; and because he himself had lost the kingdom of heaven, he was and is unwilling that man should attain
thither, and this is his object now, to prevent man attaining thither, whence himself was cast down. Since then he is proud himself, and, because proud, therefore also envious, his whole body is a body of those of like character.
But let us pray against him, who cannot be amended, and against those who can, so as to say to the unrighteous man, Why enviest thou the righteous, O unrighteous man ? Is
225
But they Ver. when they -- -- --
it because thou wishest to appear righteous ? Do better at once, so shalt thou more easily be, what thou wishest to seem. Be righteous: so shalt thou love him whom thou didst envy ; for so, what thou now grievest that he is, thou shalt thyself be also, and thou shalt love thyself in him and him in thyself. For if thou enviedst a rich man, it would
not therefore be in thy power to be rich : if thou enviedst some honourable and high-born senator, it would not be in thy power to be high-born and illustrious: if thou enviedst one that was handsome, never wouldest thou thereby make thyself handsome: if thou enviedst one that was brave and strong, thou wouldest not thereby give thyself strength : but
if thou enviest the righteous, the matter is in thy will, be
what thou art grieved that another is. For thou wilt not
have to buy what thou art not thyself, but another is ; it is
to be had for nothing, it is to be had at once. Peace on Luke 2,
14'
they have sought to trip up my steps. And what have they
done ? And have stretched out cords as traps. What cords ?
The word is well known in holy Scripture, and elsewhere
we find what cords signify. The Lord made a scourge ofJohn 2,
small cords, and with it drove out from the temple those who were ill employed there, and thereby signified to us
VOL. VI. Q
earth to men ofgood will.
9. But those proud ones hare hidden a trap for me;
226 Envying them, they tempt them to like sins.
Psalm how we were to understand cords; for each one is holden ? rov~S"with M'e cor^li ? f n's sins, saith another Scripture. And
Esaias saith openly, Woe to them that draw sin like a long rope. And why is it called a cord? Because every sinner who persevereth in his sins, addeth sin to sin ; and when he ought by accusing his sins to amend, by defending he doubkth what by confession he might have removed, and often seeketh to fortify himself by other sins, on account of the sins he hath already committed. He hath committed adul tery; and, lest he be slain himself, he prepareth to commit murder; he addeth sin to sin. Again; if he happen to have committed murder, now he who feared one crime, feareth
two: and so when he seeth that he feareth now more things than before he feared, he deviseth not how he may lessen what he hath done, but how he may add what he hath not yet done : he seeketh, it may be, some other evil deed. Now he hath three. What will a man devise next? Who will end the cord of sins ? Most rightly is it called a cord, for however it be twisted it is increased, and they are not straight threads, but twisted, that are added. Wickedness is intertwined, and groweth in length, and seeketh not to cut off what it has woven amiss, but to add, to protract, to lengthen, so that in the end it may have wherewith it may
Mat. 22, be bound hand and foot, and be cast into outer darkness. But these their sins they spread for the righteous, when they persuade them to do the evils which they themselves do. Therefore he said, they spread cords and traps ; that is, by their sins they desired to overthrow me. And where did they this ? Beside the paths hare they laid a stumbling- block for me: not in the paths, but, beside the paths. Thy paths are the commandments of God. They have laid stumbling-blocks beside the paths ; do not thou withdraw out of the paths, and thou wilt not rush upon stumbling-blocks.
Yet will I not that thou shouldest say, ' God should prevent them from laying stumbling-blocks beside my paths, and then they would not lay them. ' Nay, rather, God per mitted them to lay stumbling-blocks beside thy paths, that thou shouldest not leave the paths. Beside the paths have they laid stumbling-blocks for me.
10. And what remaineth ? what remedy amid such ills,
22.
'
Christians should appeal from them to God. 227
'---
in such temptations, such dangers?
77/o? / art my God. Loud is the voice of prayer, it exciteth confidence. Is He not the God of the others ? Of Whom is not He God, Who is the true God ? Yet is He specially theirs, who enjoy Him, who serve Him, who willingly submit to Him. For the wicked too, though unwillingly, are subject to Him. The one call upon God, to be crowned by Him ; the other
being under Him, flee from Him, to be condemned by Him. And whither shall the wicked, who will not have the Lord for his God, whither shall he flee from the God of all ? Good is it then for him that he turn to the God of all, and make Him his God, by turning to Him, and being set among such sinners, seducers, Ito God, Whom
why he did not say, 'Hear with Thine ears my prayer;' but, as though expressing more plainly the affection of his heart, the voice of my prayer, the life of my prayer, the soul of my prayer, not that which soundeth in my words, but that which giveth life to my words. For all other noises without life may be called sounds, but not words. Words belong to those that have souls, to the living. But how many pray to God, yet have neither perception of God, nor right thoughts concerning God ! These may have the sound of prayer, the voice they cannot, for there is no life in them. This was the voice of the prayer of one who was alive, forasmuch as
he understood that God was his God, saw by Whom he was freed, perceived from whom he was freed.
11. Commending this to the ears of God, let him say, Lord, Lord. Thou Lord-Lord, that is, most truly Lord, not like unto the lords-men, not like the lords who buy with money-bags, but the Lord Who buyeth with His Blood. Lord, Lord, Thou strength of my health, that is, Who givest strength to my health. What is the meaning of
strength of my health? He complained of the stumbling- blocks and snares of sinners, of wicked men, vessels of the devil, that barked around him and laid snares around him, of the proud that envy the righteous, among the like of whom
Q2
hypocrites, proud, say by turning to Him he hath made his God,
have said unto the Lord, Thou art my God; hear with Thine ears the voice of my prayer. It is a simple sentence indeed, and easy to understand, yet it is pleasant perhaps to consider
I said unto the Lord, Ver.
2-28 And pray for perseverance ;
Psalm he has to pass his life, while here we live in this our pil- Cxl. grimage. But that such offences should abound the Lord
Mat. 24, foretold, and said, 'Iniquity shall abound; and because
,2-
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold? But He forthwith added a comfort, He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. This he observed and feared, and, distressed at the abundance of iniquities, turned himself to hope; for, he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. He braced himself to endure, and saw that the way was long; and, because to endure is great and difficult, he prayed Him to perfect his endurance, by Whom the command was given him to endure. Verily I shall be saved, if I endure unto the end : but endurance, so as to win salvation, pertaineth unto strength ; Thou art the strength of my salvation ; Thou makest me to endure, that I may attain salvation. Lord, Lord, Thou strength of my salvation. And whence cometh my hope that Thou art the strength of my salvation ? Thou hast overshadowed my head in the day of battle. Lo, now as yet I fight. I fight without against those who falsely pretend to be good, 1 fight
see another law in my 23' *? " members, warring against the law of my mind, and bring
Rom. 7, within against mine own lusts ; for, /
ing me into captivity to the lawIof sin which is in my
ver. 8.
members. O wretched man that
me from the body of this death ? I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Toiling then in this warfare, he looked back to the grace of God ; and because already he had begun to be heated and parched, he found, as it were, a shade, whereunder to live. Thou hast overshadowed my head in the day of battle: that is, in the heat, lest I be heated, lest I be parched,
12. Deliver me not over, O Lord, by my own longing to the sinner. Behold to what end Thy overshadowing shall avail for me, that I suffer not heat from myself. And what could that sinner do to me, rage as he would? For wicked men raged against the martyrs, dragged them away, bound them with chains, shut them up in prisons, slew them with the sword, exposed them to wild beasts, consumed them with fire : all this they did ; yet did not God deliver them over to the sinners, because they were not delivered over by their
am! who shall deliver
lest our desires make us yield. 2-29
own longing. This then pray with all thy might, that God Ver.
-- 9'
delivered thee not over by thine own longing to the sinner. For thou by thine own longing givest place to the devil. For lo, the devil hath set before thee gain, invited thee to dishonesty ; thou canst not have the gain, unless thou commit the dishonesty : the gain is the bait, dishonesty the snare : do thou so look on the bait, that thou see the snare also ; for thou canst not obtain the gain, unless thou commit the dishonesty ; and if thou commit the dishonesty, thou wilt be caught. I say not, thou wilt be caught, because thou wilt be found out. Sometimes thou wilt not be found out, at least by man ; but canst thou escape God ? Thou wilt be caught, and drawn out, and slain. For every one that doeth such things, slayeth himself. There then is the bait, there is also the snare ; bridle thy longing, and thou wilt not be caught by the hook ; but if thy longing for the bait conquer thee, it putteth thy neck into the snare, and the fowler of souls will take thee. Deliver me not by mine own longing to the sinner. Hence is thine head overshadowed in the day of battle. For longing causeth heat, but the overshadowing of the Lord tempers longing, that we may be able to bridle that whereby we were being hurried away, that we be not so
heated as to be drawn to the snare. They have thought against me; leave me not, lest perchance they be exalted. ThoIu hast in another place, They that oppress me will exult
if
P<<. 13,4.
be moved. Such are they, because such is the devil also himself. When he has led a man astray, he rejoiceth, he trinmpheth over him ; he himself is exalted, because the other is humbled. And why is he humbled ? Because he was evilly exalted : and he too who trinmpheth over him shall hereafter be humbled. Such are all who rejoice in iniquity ; they seem to themselves for the while to boast, to be proud, to lift up the neck. Let not their exaltation delight thee : they have the bait in their jaws and the hook too. There is that wherein they delight, there that whereby they are caught. Leave Thou me not, lest perchance they be exalted; that is, let them not trinmph over me, let them not rejoice over me.
13. The head of their going about, the toil of their own lips shall cover them. Me, he saith, the shadow of Thy
\ei. 9.
230 Sin ever seeketh, never findeth, its end.
Psalm wings shall cover : for, Thou hast covered me in the day ------- of battle. Them what shall cover ? The head of their going about ; that is, pride. What is, their going about ? How they go about and stand not, how they go in the circle
of error, where is journeying without end. He who goeth in a straight line, beginneth from some point, endeth at some point: he who goeth in a circle, never endeth. That is the toil of the wicked, which is set forth yet more plainly
I1*. 12,9. in another Psalm, The wicked walk in a circle. But the head of their going about is pride, for pride is the beginning of every sin. But whence is pride the toil of their own lips? Every proud man is false, and every false man is a liar. Men toil in speaking falsehood ; for truth they could speak with entire facility. For he toileth, who maketh what he saith: he who wisheth to speak the truth, toileth not, for truth herself speaketh without toil. Of this man then he said to God, ' Me Thine overshadowing shall protect ; them their own lie shall cover ;' and their own lie is the toil of their own lips.
Ps. 7,15. Behold, he hath travailed with unrighteousness, he hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity. For in every evil work is toil, and every evil work devised hath a lie for its leader. For there is no truth, save in a good work.
And forasmuch as all have toil in lying, what crieth the
Mat. 11, Truth ? Come unto Me, all ye that toil and are laden, and I will refresh you. That is the voice that crieth to them Pd. 4, 2. that toil in another Psalm, Ye sons of men, how long will ye be heavy of heart ; why love ye vanity, and seek a lie?
Hear too in another place the toil of lying plainly set forth, Jer. 9,5. They have taught their tongues to speak lies, they have
ver. 10.
wearied themselves to commit iniquity.
14. Coals offire shall fall upon them upon earth, and
Thou shall cast them down. What is, upon earth ? Here, even in this life, here coals offire shall fall upon them, and Thou shall cast them down. What are, coals offire ? We know these coals. Are they different from those of which we are about to speak ? For these I see avail for punishment, those that I am about to speak of, for salvation. For we have spoken of certain coals, when man was seeking aid
Ps. 120, against a treacherous tongue. What shall be given thee, or what shall be added to thee, against the treacherous
The effects of example. 231
tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty One, with devouring Ver. coals, that is, the word of God transfixing the heart, de- -- stroking the old nature, implanting love, and the patterns
of meu who had died and come to life again, were black,
and became shining. For coals are darkness, so their colour indicateth. But when the flame of love has reached
them, and they have come to life again from the dead, let
them hear from the Apostle, Ye were sometime darkness, Eph. 5, but now are ye light in the Lord. These, brethren, are the
coals we look on, when we are pierced by the arrow of God,
and wish to change our life, but are hindered by the evil tongues of men, such as he was just now complaining of,
which endeavour to lead us astray from the way of truth,
and to lead us in preference into their own errors, and say
to us that even if we promise, we shall not fulfil. Then we. observe these coals: he that was yesterday a drunkard,
to-day is sober; he that was yesterday an adulterer, to-day
is chaste ; he that yesterday seized others' goods, to-day
gives freely of his own. All these are coals offire. The examples of the coals are added to the wound of the arrows,
(for I need not fear to say ' the wound,' when the Spouse
herself saith, / am wounded with love,) and then the hay Cant. 2, is consumed, and so they are called devouring coals. The lXX. hay is devoured, but the gold is purified, and the man
exchanges death for life, and begins to be himself too a burning coal; such a coal as was the Apostle, who before
was a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious, a coal
black and extinguished ; but when he had obtained mercy,
he was set on fire from heaven, the voice of Christ set him
on fire, all the blackness in him perished, he began to be
fervent in spirit, to set others on fire with that wherewith
he was set on fire himself. Are we to understand such
coals offire as this here too, who fall upon those evil men,
and cast them down ? Evidently we are not forbidden to understand it in this way. I see that here shines forth to
us a sentiment not improbable and free from blame. I understand those coals to fall upon these men, that they
may be cast down. For on some they come, to set them
on fire; on others, to cast them down. For that coal himself
said, To the one we are the savour of death unto death, <</<</2 Cor. 2,
? 23-2 We should desire, not to teach others,
Psai. m to the other the savour of death unto death. For they see c -- the righteous blazing with the Spirit, bright with light, and envying them, they fall; this is how coals of fire shall fall upon them upon earth, and they shall be cast down. What upon earth While they are as yet in this life, excluding the punishment which reserved for the wicked, these coals
cast them down, before the everlasting fire cometh. Coals offire shall fall upon them upon earth, and shall cast them down. In miseries they shall not stand. Misery cometh to them, and they bear not; but the righteous standeth,
Rom. as he stood, who saith, We glory in tribulations also,
3- &c'
knott ing that tribulation uorketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of Christ shed abroad in our hearts the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. But when upon them any pressure, any misery hath fallen, they stand not, they fall. For when such men meet with these kind of pressures, they are unable to bear them, they fall into evil acts of iniquity, because they are delivered over by their own longing to the sinner.
15. man full of words shall not be guided upon earth. man full words loveth lies. For what pleasure hath he, save in speaking He careth not what he speaketh, so long as he speaks. cannot be that he will be guided.
What then ought the servant of God to do, who kindled with these coals, and himself made coal of salvation, what should he do He should wish rather to hear than to
Jami'sl, speak; as written, Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak. And may be so, let him desire this, not to
be obliged to speak and talk and teach. For behold
to you, beloved, we speak now to you, brethren, to teach you somewhat: how much better were that we all knew, and none taught another so should there not be one speaking, another hearing, but all hearing Him alone, to
Pn. 51,8. Whom said, To my hearing T/iou shall give exultation and joy. Whence was that John too rejoiced, not so much because he was preacher and speaker, but
John because he was hearer. For he saith, The friend the bridegroom standeth and heareth him, and rejoiceth greatly because the bridegroom's voice. Therefore, beloved
say
of
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' 1'
3,
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5,
a
it
is? of ? if
of
1
a
is it
a
?
it
is
it
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it
a
is
is,
but to be taught by God. 233
brethren, I can quickly tell you wherein each one may Ver. prove himself, not by never speaking, but by requiring a 10, -- case where it is his duty to speak ; let him be glad to be
silent, in will, let him speak to teach, when he must. For
when must thou needs speak and teach ? When thou meetest with one ignorant, when thou meetest with one unlearned. If it delight thee always to teach, thou wishest always to have some ignorant one to teach. But if thou wishest well to others, and wishest all to be learned, thou wishest not always to have those whom thou mayest teach, and so the practice or proof of thy teaching will not be in will, but in necessity. Let thy joy be in hearing God, thy duty in thine own speaking, so shalt thou not be a man full of words, lest thou be not guided. Why art thou willing to speak, unwill ing to hear? Thou ever goest without, thou declinest to
reiurn within. For He that teacheth thee is within ; when
thou teachest, thou, as it were, goest forth to those who are without. For from within we hear the truth, and we speak it
to those who are without, outside our heart. For we are said indeed to have in our heart those of whom we are thinking, but
we are said so only because we seem to have a sort of image of
them stamped upon us. For, were they altogether within, surely they would know what is in our hearts, and so would
have no need for us to speak to them. But if this delight
thee, that thou art busy without, take heed lest thou be puffed up without, and be unable to return by the narrow
way, and so thy God be unable to say to thee, Enter thou
into the joy of thy Lord; but say, because that which thou21, lovedst was without, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him it,. 30. into outer darkness. For in shewing that it is an evil thing
to be cast without, he sheweth also that it is a good thing to enter within. For to the good servant what said He? Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord: but to the wicked servant, Cast him into outer darkness. Let us not then love most what is outward, but what is inward. At what is inward let us rejoice; in what is outward let us act of necessity, not of free will. A man full of words shall not be guided upon the earth.
16. Evil shall hunt the unrighteous man to destruction. Evils come, and he standeth not; therefore said he, they
Mat. 25,
Evils destroy the wicked, not the good.
Psalm shall hunt him to destruction. For many good men, many _5! ? f^_ righteous men evils have befallen, evils have, as it were, found them. For therefore hath he said, shall hunt them,
Mat. 10,
because every one wisheth to hide himself from evil, but when he is found by evil he is, as it were, made into a prey. But is it only the evil who fly from evils when they are sought by evils? Is it not said to the good also, When they persecute you in this city,flee ye into another ? There fore when the evil pursued the good, that is, our martyrs, when they seized them, they hunted them, but not to destruction. For the flesh was pressed down, the spirit was crowned ; the spirit was cast out from the body, yet
was nought done to the flesh which might hinder it for the future. Let the flesh be burned, scourged, mangled ; is it therefore withdrawn from its Creator, because it is given into the hands of its persecutor? Will not He Who created it from nothing, re-make it better than it was ? So then whenever the righteous are taken, the wicked have hunted them, but not to destruction. But they who shall not be guided, and are full of words, evils shall hunt them to destruction. Wherefore ? Because in miseries they shall not stand.
/ know that the Lord will maintain the right
the needy. This needy one is not full of words ; for he that is
17.
of
ver. 12.
full of words, wisheth to abound, knoweth not to hunger. Matt. 7, But they are needy to whom it is said, Knock, and it shall be opened unto you; seek, and ye shall find; ask, and it shall be given unto you. He is needy of whom it is said,
Matt. 5, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteous ness, for they shall be filled. They groan among the stum bling-blocks of the wicked, they pray to their Head, to be delivered from the wicked man, and set free from the unrighteous man. These then are they whose cause the
Lord will not neglect ; although now they suffer hardships,
their glory shall appear, when their Head appeareth. For to Col. 3,3. such while placed here it is said, Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. So then we are poor, our
John6,lifeishid; letuscrytoHimthatisourBread. ForHeis the living Bread, Which came down from heaven ; and He Who in the way refresheth us, in our wants will fill us.
The Bliss of the righteous, in God. 235
must we hunger till we be filled. / know that the Lord will --: maintain the right of the needy. Sure was he that the Lord would maintain the right of the needy and the cause of the poor. He shall shew the unrighteous how He loveth His righteous ones ; He shall shew the rich how He loveth His poor ones. By the rich, He meant the proud ; by the poor, the humble : by the rich, them who through abundance
seek not ; by the poor, those who through longing sigh. The Lord will maintain their cause.
18. But the just shall confess to Thy Name. Both when 'er. 13. Thou shalt plead their cause, and when Thou shalt maintain
their right, they shall confess to Thy Name; nought shall
they attribute to their own merits, all they shall attribute
to nought save to Thy mercy : But the just shall confess to
Thy Name. And because they shall confess to Thy Name,
so that how righteous soever they have been, they claim nothing to themselves as their own, attribute nothing to themselves as their own ; what shall be done, that they may
direct their heart ? For when they turn to themselves, they
twist their heart ; when they turn to the Lord, they direct their
heart. And where will be pleasure, where rest, where joy,
where bliss? Will it be in themselves? No; but in that
they are light. Now are ye light in the Lord, said he. Eph. s,8. Therefore see what followeth, see wherewith he concludeth.
For now we are refreshed, that we niay endure: because needs Vee.
The upright shall dwell with Thy Countenance. For ill was it with them in their own countenance; well will it be with them with Thy Countenance. For when they loved
their own countenance, in the sweat of their countenance Gen. 3, . 19
did they eat bread. Let them return : then, their sweat being wiped away, their toils finished, their groaning done,
Thy Countenance shall come to them with abundance to satisfy them. Nought more shall they seek, for nought
better have they ; no more shall they abandon Thee, nor
be abandoned by Thee. For after His Resurrection, what
was said of the Lord? Thou shalt fill me with joy withPs. 16.
Thy Countenance. Without His Countenance He would
not give us joy. For this do we cleanse our countenance,
that we may rejoice in His Countenance. For now are Uohn3, we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we
12 13 --
1
The beatific Vision.
Psalm shall be ; but we know that, when He shall appear, we Cxl' shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is ; for the upright shall dwell with Thy Countenance. Think we, with the Countenance of the Father, and not with that of the Son ? or with the Countenance of the Son, and not of
the Father? or is the Countenance of Father and Son and Holy Ghost in some sense one ? Let us see whether the Son Himself do not promise us His own Countenance, to gladden us therewith. The Lord God hath just inspired us to have the following passage of the Gospel read, that it might bear witness to this Psalm. The Lord Himself saith,
John 14, He that heareth these commandments of Mine and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me : and he that loveth Me, shall
Lat. cin.
PSALM CXLI. Sermon to the People.
I will love him, and will shew him Myself. What sort of reward is this He hath promised, beloved? Did not they already see Him, to whom He promised to shew Himself? Was He not before them ?
be loved of My Father, and
Was not the Face of His flesh close before their eyes? What is it that He willed to shew to them who already saw Him ? Forasmuch as they saw Him in such form as the Jews crucified Him in, yet was He God, hidden under that flesh, because men could see the Man, but the God they could
Matt. 5, not, although in Man; because too, blessed are the pure in heartyfor they shall see God; He gave the Form of Man both to good and evil, the Form of God He preserved for the pure and good, that we may rejoice in Him, and it may be well with us for ever with His Countenance.
1. Ye have heard, brethren, our instruction and our request from the mouth of the Apostle, when his Epistle was being read just now. For he saith, Continue in prayer,
Col. 4,
2, 3- 4' and watch therein ; withal praying also for us, that God
would open unto us a door of utteranceI, to speak His
mystery, that I may make it manifest as speak. ought to
Deign to consider these words mine also. For there are in Holy Scripture deep mysteries, which are for this cause
Love, the end of the Law. 237 hidden, lest they should be held cheap; for this cause ^'r. n.
:--
2. For what will ye hear or learn, brethren, more important
or more healthful, than, Thou shall love the Lord thy God Mat. 22, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 1 ' etc' mind; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Think
not that these two commandments are little ; On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. What
soever then healthfully is either conceived in the mind, or uttered by the mouth, or is carved from any page of holy
Writ, hath no end save love. For even evil-livers are
enticed to one another by the fellowship of an evil con
science, and are said to love one another, to be unwilling
to leave one another, to be won by intercourse among themselves, to long for one another when apart, to rejoice
when they meet. This love is of hell. It hath lime, to
drag down to the abyss; not wings, to lift aloft to heaven.
But what is true love, that it may be separated and distin guished from others which are called love ? That which
is called the true love of Christians is defined by Paul, and
so marked off by its definitions, as to be entirely distinguished
from the rest. The end, saith he, of the commandments isiTim.
