But the ' -joy in the
fruition
is at once death itself, when one gains
1Tim.
1Tim.
Augustine - Exposition on the Psalms - v1
second Man is from heaven, heavenly.
But from this stock
/ will sing to Thy His
Satan ' turned behind. '' The enemy destroyed. 75
he came by whom it was said, He Who cometh after me is Ver. a. preferred before me. And the Apostle forgets those things J? hn 1, that are behind, and reaches forth unto those things that are Phil. 3,
'
'
The enemy, therefore, was turned behind, after that
he could not deceive the heavenly Man being tempted ; and
he turned himself to earthy men, where he can have dominion. Wherefore no man goeth before him, and causeth
him to be behind, but he who laying aside the image of the l Cor.
before.
earthy man shall have borne the image of the heavenly.
But now, should we prefer understanding the words, mine
enemy, generally, either for a sinner, or an heathen, it will
not be unreasonable. Nor will the words, In turning mine
enemy behind, be a punishment ; but a benefit, yea such a benefit, as that nothing can be compared to it. For what
more blessed than to lay aside pride, and to have no wish to
go before Christ, as if one were whole, and needed not the Mat. 9, physician, but to wish rather to go behind after Christ, Who, ^ie 5 when calling a disciple to perfection, saith, Follow Me. 81.
But still, in turning my enemy behind, is more suitably un- 17". ' derstood as spoken of the devil. For in truth the devil is I*at. 19, turned behind, even in the persecution of the righteous, and
he, much more to their advantage, is a persecutor, than if he
went before as a leader and a prince. We must sing then to
the Name of the Most High in turning the enemy behind :
since we ought to choose rather to fly from him as a persecutor, than to follow him as a leader. For we have whither we may fly and hide ourselves in the hidden things
of the Son ; seeing that the Lord hath been made a refuge Ps. 90,i.
for us.
5. They will be weakened, and perish from Thy face.
Who will be weakened and perish, but the unrighteous and ungodly ? They will be weakened, while they shall avail nothing; and they shall perish, because the ungodly will not be ; from the face of God, that is, froIm the knowledge of
live not, but Christ Gal. 2, God, as he perished who said, But now on
liveth in me. But why will the ungodly be weakened, and perish from Thy face ? Because, he saith, Thou hast made my judgment, and my cause: that is, the judgment in which I seemed to be judged, Thou hast made mine ; and the
cause in which men condemned me just and innocent, Thou
76 Righteous judgment acknowledged. Heathen rebuked.
Psalm hast made mine. For such things served1 Him for our deliverance : as sailors too call the wind theirs, which they
verunt take advantage of for prosperous sailing.
6. Thou saiest on the throne Who judgest equity.
Whether the Son say this to the Father, Who said also, Johnl9, Thou couldest have no power against Me, except it were given thee from above, referring this very thing, that the Judge of men was judged for men's advantage, to the
Father's equity and His own hidden things : or whether man say to God, Thou satest on the throne Who judgest equity, giving the name of God's throne to his soul, so that his body may peradventure be the earth, which is called God's
u. 66,i. foolstool : for God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
or whether the soul of the Church, perfect now EPh. o, and without spot and wrinkle, worthy, that is, of the hidden Song of things of the Son, in that The King hath brought her into BoLlf4. jjfe chamber, say to her spouse, Thou satest upon the throne
Who judgest equity, in that Thou hast risen from the dead, and ascended up into heaven, and sittest at the right hand of the Father : whichsoever, I say, of those opinions, whereunto this verse may be referred, is preferred, it transgresses not the rule of faith.
7. Thou hast rebuked the heathen, and the ungodly hath perished. We take this to be more suitably said to the Lord Jesus Christ, than said by Him. For Who else hath rebuked the heathen, and the ungodly perished, save He, Who after that He ascended up into heaven, sent the Holy Ghost, that, filled by Him, the Apostles should preach the word of God with boldness, and freely reprove men's sins? At which rebuke the ungodly perished; because the ungodly was
justified and was made godly. Thou hast effaced their name for the world*, and for the world's world. The name of the ungodly hath been effaced. For they are not called ungodly who believe in the true God. Now their name is effaced for the world, that is as long as the course of the temporal world endures. And for the world's world. What is the world's world, but that whose image and shadow, as it
5 19'' Himself:
were, this world possesses ?
A Or ' unto the age," sfficulum. ' The meaning of age,' as in our expression
For the change of seasons suc-
' world without end,' is the primary one in Latin.
' World without end explained. Swords of the enemy. 77
ceeding one another, whilst the moon is on the wane, and Ver. 5. again on the increase, whilst the sun each year returns to
his quarter, whilst spring, or summer, or autumn, or winter
passes away only to return, is in some sort an imitation of eternity. But this world's world is that which abides in immutable eternity. As a verse in the mind, and a verse in
the voice: the former is understood, the latter heard; and the former fashions the latter : and hence the former works in art and abides, the latter sounds in the air and passes away. So the fashion of this changeable world is defined by that world unchangeable which is called the world's world. And hence the one abides in the art, that is, in the Wisdom and Power of God : but the other is made to pass in the govern ance of creation. If after all it be not a repetition, so that after it was saidybr the world, lest it should be understood of this world that passeth away, it were a. dded for the world's world. For in the Greek copies it is thus, si? tov a)Slva, xal sis tov alivct toO aiaivoc. Which the Latins have for the most part rendered, not, for the world, andfor the world's world'; but, for ever, andfor the world's world', that in the words
for the world's world, the words for ever, should be ex plained. The name then of the ungodly Thou hast effaced for ever, for from henceforth the ungodly shall never be. And if their name be not prolonged unto this world, much
less unto the world's world.
8. The swords ofthe enemy have failed at the end. Not
enemies in the plural, but this enemy in the singular. Now
what enemy's swords have failed but the devil's ? Now
these are understood to be divers erroneous opinions, whereby
as with swords he destroys souls. In overcoming these swords, andin bringing them to failure, that sword is employed,
of which it is said in the seventh Psalm, Ifye be not con. Ps. 7,12. verted, He will brandish His sword. And peradventure this
is the end, against which the swords of the enemy fail ; since up to it they are of some avail. Now it worketh secretly, but in the last judgment it will be brandished openly. By it the cities are destroyed. For so it follows, The swords of the enemy have failed at the end: and Thou hast destroyed the cities. Cities indeed wherein the devil rules, where crafty
* In sx'culunl et in sieeulum mbcuH ' In sternum, et in sicculum ssecoli.
78 Commonwealth of evil over throum. Christ abideth.
Psalm and deceitful counsels hold, as it were, the place of a court, -- on which supremacy attend as officers and ministers the services of all the members, the eyes for curiosity, the ears
for lasciviousness, or for whatsoever else is gladly listened to that bears on evil, the hands for rapine or any other violence or pollution soever, and all the other members after this manner serving the tyrannical supremacy, that is, perverse counsels. Of this city the commonalty, as it were, are all soft affections and disturbing emotions of the mind, stirring up daily seditions in a man. So then where a king, where a court, where ministers, where commonalty are found, there
is a city. Nor again would such things be in bad cities, unless they were first in individual men, who are, as it were, the elements and seeds of cities. These cities He destroys, when on the prince being shut out thence, of whom it was
John 12, said, The prince of this world has been cast out, these kingdoms are wasted by the word of truth, evil counsels are laid to sleep, vile affections tamed, the ministries of the members and senses taken captive, and transferred to the service of righteousness and good works: that as the Apostle
Rom. 6, says, sin should no more reign in our mortal body, and so forth. Then is the soul at peace, and the man is disposed to receive rest and blessedness. Their memorial has perished with up roar: with the uproar, that of the ungodly. But said, with uproar, either because when ungodliness overturned, there uproar made for none passeth to the highest place,
Ps.
where there the deepest silence, but he who with much uproar shall first have warred with his own vices: or with uproar, said, that the memory of the ungodly should perish in the perishing even of the very uproar, in which ungodliness riots.
And the Lord abideth for ever. Wherefore then have the heathen raged, and the people imagined vain things against the Lord, and against His Anointed for the Lord abideth for ever. He hath prepared His seat in judgment, and He shall judge the world in equity. He prepared His seat, when He was judged. For by that patience Man pur chased heaven, and God in Man profited believers. And this the Son's hidden judgment. But seeing He also
to come openly and in the sight of all to judge the quick
is
is is
is
it is
:
is
2, l.
9.
is
:
is,
Judgment. Seasonable Refuge. Knowledge of God's Name. 79
and the dead, He hath prepared His seat in the hidden Ver. judgment: and He shall also openly judge the world m-! ? --
equity: that is, He shall distribute gifts proportioned to 33. desert, setting the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on
His left. He shall judge the people with justice. This is
the same as was said above, He shall judge the world in equity. Not as men judge who see not the heart, by whom
very often worse men are acquitted than are condemned:
but in equity and with justice shall the Lord judge, con- Rom. 2, science bearing iritness, and thoughts accusing, or else l6,
excusing.
10. And the Lord hath become a refuge to the poor.
Whatsoever be the persecutions of that enemy, who hath been turned behind, what harm shall he do to them whose refuge the Lord hath become ? But this will be, if in this world, in which that one has an office of power, they shall choose to be poor, by loving nothing which either here leaves a man while he lives and loves, or is left by him when he
dies. For to such a poor man hath the Lord become a refuge, an Helper in due season, in tribulation. Lo He maketh poor, for He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. HeU. W, For what an Helper in due season is, he explained by ' adding in tribulation. For the soul is not turned to God,
save when it is turned away from this world : nor is it more seasonably turned away from this world, except toils and pains be mingled with its trifling and hurtful and destructive pleasures.
11. Ver. 10. And let them who know Thy Name, hope in Thee, when they shall have ceased hoping in wealth, and in the other enticements of this world. For the soul indeed that seeketh where to fix her hope, when she is torn away from this world, the knowledge of God's Name seasonably receives. For the mere Name of God hath now been published every where : but the knowledge of the name when He known Whose name is. For the name not a name for its own sake, but for that which signifies. Now
has been said, The Lord His Name. Wherefore whoso er. 33, willingly submits himself to God as His servant, hath known
this name. And let them who know Thy Name hope in
'
it
is
is
it
it
is
is,
80 Hope in the Unchangeable. God dwells in those who wIatch.
Psalm Thee. Again, the Lord saith to Moses,
/
am That
am; - IX- and Thou shall say to the children of Israel, I AM, hath 14," ' sent me. Let them then who know Thy Name, hope in
Ex. 3, l4'
amThatlam; andofWhomitwassaid,/AMhath sent me. For Thou hast not forsaken them that seek Thee, O Lord. Whoso seek Him, seek no more things transient
Tltee ; that they may not hope in those things which flow by in time's quick revolution, having nothing but ' will be' and ' has been. ' For what in them is future, when it arrives, straightway becomes the past; it is awaited with eagerness, it is lost with pain. But in the nature of God nothing. will be, as if it were not yet ; or hath been, as if it were no longer: but there is only that which is, and this is eternity. Let them cease then to hope in and love things temporal, and let them applyIthemselves to hope eternal, who know His name Who said,
Matt. 6, and perishable ; For no man can serve two masters.
m.
fully on and Yrtiich beareth the likeness of the Church that now is ; Ps. 51, . i8. (Lat. as Jerusalem beareth the likeness of the Church that is to
50, 20. ) come, th^ ;S, the city of Saints already enjoying life angelical; for Jerusalem is by interpretation the vision of peace. Now watching goes before vision, as this Church goes before that one which is promised, the city immortal and eternal. But in time it goes before, not in dignity :
because more honourable is that whither we are striving to arrive, than what we practise, that we may attain to arrive ; now we practise watching, that we may arrive at vision. But again this same Church which now is, unless the Lord inhabit her, the most earnest watching might run into any sort of
l Cor. 3 error. And to this Church it was said, For the temple of
Ood is holy, which temple ye are : again, That Christ may 17. ' dwell in the inner man in your hearts by faith. It is en
joined us then, that we sing to the Lord Who dwelleth in Sion, that with one accord we praise the Lord, the Inhabitant of the Church. Shewforth His wonders among the heathen. It has both been done, and will not cease to be done.
lg. Ver. 11. Sing to the Lord, WIio dwelleth in Sion, is said to them, whom the Lord forsakes not as they seek See more Him. He dwelleth in Sion, which is interpreted watching,
17?
God forgets not His own. All the Church exalted in Christ. 81
13. Ver. 12. For requiring their blood He hath remem- VEr. bered. As if they, who were sent to preach the Gospel, -- -- -- . should make answer to that injunction which has been
mentioned, Shewforth His wonders among the heathen, and should say, 0 Lord, who hath believed our report? and1s. 53-1. again, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long ; the Ps. 44, Psalmist suitably goes on to say, That Christians not with 22
out great reward of eternity will die in persecution, for requiring their blood He hath remembered. But why did
he choose to say, their blood ? Was as one of imperfect knowledge and less faith should ask, How will they shew them
forth, seeing that the infidelity of the heathen will rage against them and he should be answered, For requiring their blood He hath remembered, that is, the last judgment will come, in which both the glory of the slain and the punishment of the slayers shall be made manifest But let no one suppose He hath remembered to be so used, as though forgetfnlness^an attach to God but since the judg ment will be after a long interval, used in accordance with the feeling of weak men, who think God hath forgotten, because He doth not act so speedily as they wish. To such said what follows also, He hath not forgotten the cry ofthe poor that is, He hath not, as you suppose, forgotten. As they should on hearing, He hath remembered,
say, Then He had forgotten No, He hath notforgotten, says the
Psalmist, the cry of the poor.
14. But ask, what that cry of the poor, which God
forgetteth not Is that cry, the words whereof are these, (ver. 13. ) Pity me, Lord, see my humiliation at the hands ofmy enemies Why then did he not say, Pity us, Lord, see our humiliation at the hands of our enemies, as many
poor were crying but as one, Pity me, Lord Is
because One intercedeth for the Saints, Who first for ouncor. s, sakes became poor, though He was rich and He Who
saith, Who exaltest me from the gates death, (ver. 14. ) that
may declare all Thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion For man exalted in Him, not that Man only Which He beareth, Which the Head of the Church but whichsoever one of us also among the other members, and
exalted from all depraved desires which are the gates of
G
;
it is ;
is I ?
if
:
is
is
is is if
is
;
;
of ;
it, if
it is
O
if O it
?
?
I ?
;
;
O it
?
82 Gates of Sion, holy aims, of death, low desires.
Psalm death, for that through them is the road to death.
But the ' -joy in the fruition is at once death itself, when one gains
1Tim. 6, what he hath in abandoned wilfulness coveted: for coveting
is the root of all evil: and therefore is the gate of death, for
iTira. 5, the widow that liveth in pleasures is dead. At which
6
pleasures we arrive through desires as it were through the gates of death. But all highest purposes are the gates of the daughter of Sion, through which we come to the vision of peace in the Holy Church. In these gates therefore all the
Matt. Upraises of God are well shewn forth, that what is holy may not be given to dogs, nor pearls cast before swine : who would rather frowardly bark, than earnestly inquire ; or who would neither bark nor inquire, but wallow in the mire of their own lusts. But when God's praises are shewn forth in good
Matt. 7, earnestness ; to them that seek it is given, and to them that inquire it is made manifest, and to them that knock it is opened. Or haply are the gates of death the bodily senses and eyes, which were opened when the man tasted of the
Gen. 3, forbidden tree, from which they are exalted, to whom it is 2 Cor. 4 sa1d ^at they should seek not the things that are seen, but
18.
the things that are not seen ; for the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal: and are the gates of the daughter of Sion the sacraments and beginnings of faith, which are opened to them that knock,
iCor. 2, that they may arrive at the hidden things of the Son ? For eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it ascended in the heart ofman, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him. Thus far is the cry of the poor, which the Lord hath not forgotten.
15. Then follows,
with blessedness shall I be holden by Thy salvation, which is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Power and Wisdom of God. Therefore says the Church, which is here in affliction and is saved by hope, as long as the hidden judgment of the Son is,
/ will exult
for
Thy salvation : that is,
/ will exult Thy salvation : for now for
in hope she says,
she is worn down either by the roar of violence around her, or by the errors of the heathen. (Ver. 15. ) The heathen are
fixed in the corruption, which they made. Consider ye how punishment is reserved for the sinner, out of his own works ; and how they that have wished to persecute the Church, have
The wicked ensnare themselves in false delights.
83
been fixed in that corruption, which they thought to in- Ver. flict. For they were desiring to kill the body, whilst they _il_ themselves were dying in soul. In that snare which they
hid, has their foot been taken. The hidden snare is crafty devising. The foot of the soul is well understood to be its
love : which, when depraved, is called coveting or lust ; but when upright, love or charity. For by love it is moved as it were to the place, whither it tendeth. But the soul's place is not in any space which bodily form occupies : but in the delight, at which she rejoices to have attained through love. But a pernicious delight follows coveting, a profitable one
charity. Whence coveting is also called a root. The root iTim. 6, moreover is taken for, so to say, the foot of the tree. Charity 10.
too is called a root, where the Lord speaks of the seed,
which in the stony places withers under the scorching sun, because it had not deep root. Whereby He points out Mat. 13, those, that rejoice in receiving the word of truth, but give5' ' way in persecution, which can be withstood by love only.
And the Apostle says, That being rooted and grounded in Eph. 3,
love, ye may be able to take in. The foot then of sinners, that is, their love, is taken in the snare, which they hide : for when delight shall have followed on to deceitful dealing, when God shall have delivered them over to the lust of their heart; that delight at once binds them, that they dare not tear away their love thence and apply it to profitable objects ; for when they shall make the attempt, they will be pained
in heart, as if desiring to free their foot from a fetter : and giving way under this pain they refuse to withdraw from
"
In the snare then which they have hid, that is, in deceitful counsel, their foot hath been taken, that is their love, which through deceit attains to that vain joy
whereby pain is purchased.
16. Ver. 16. The Lord is known executing judgments.
These are God's judgments. Not from that tranquillity of His blessedness, nor from the secret places of wisdom, wherein blessed souls are received, is the sword, or fire, or wild beast, or any such thing brought forth, whereby sinners may be tormented: but how are they tormented, and how
pernicious delights.
does the Lord do judgment ?
In the works, he says, of
his own hands hath the sinner been caught. g2
84 Prayerforjudgment. Antichrist set over the wicked.
17. Here is interposed, The song of the diapsalma : as it
Psalms
--:--" were the hidden joy, as far as we can imagine, of the
separation which is now made, not in place, but in the affections of the heart, between sinners and the righteous, as of the corn from the chaff, as yet on the floor. And then follows, (ver. 17. ) Let the sinners be turned into hell: that is, let them be given into their own hands, when they are spared, and let them be ensnared in deadly delight. All
Bom. l , the nations that forget God. Because when they did not
28'
think good to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind.
18. Ver. 18. For there shall not be forgetfulness of tho poor man to the end: who now seems to be in forgetfulness, when sinners are thought to flourish in this world's happiness,
and the righteous to be in travail : but the patience, saith He, of the poor shall not perish for ever. Wherefore there is need of patience now to bear with the evil, who are already separated in will, till they be also separated at the last
judgment.
19. Ver. 19. Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail. The
future judgment is prayed for: but before it come, Let the heathen, saith he, be judged in Thy sight : that is, in secret ; which is called in God's sight, with the knowledge of a few holy and righteous ones. (Ver. 20. ) Place a lawgiver over them, 0 Lord. He seems to me to point out Antichrist : of
a Thes? . whom the Apostle says, When the man of sin shall be
"'""
revealed. Let the heathen know that they are men. That they who will be set free by the Son of God, and belong to the Son of Man, and be sons of men, that new men, may serve man, that is, the old man the sinner,ybr that they are men.
20. And because believed that he
great pitch of empty glory, and he will be permitted to do so great things, both against all men and against the Saints of God, that then some weak ones shall indeed think that God cares not for human affairs, the Psalmist
diapsalma, adds as were the voice of men groaning and asking why judgment deferred. (Psalm X. ver. l. b) Why,
The two Psalms are combined
in the Vulgate, but the verses begin Hebrteos. '
again for this, as, 'Ps. x. secundum
to arrive at so
interposing
t,
is it
it is
a
a
is is,
Relief delayed, longed for. Present impurity, great wrath. 85
0 Lord, saith he, hast Thou withdrawn afar off? Then he who thus inquired, as if all on a sudden he understood, or as if he asked, though he knew, that he might teach, adds, Thou despisest in due seasons, in tribulations : that is, Thou
despisest seasonably, and causest tribulations to inflame men's minds with longing for Thy coming. For that fountain of life is sweeter to them, that have much thirst. Therefore he hints the reason of the delay, saying, (ver. 2. ) Whilst the ungodly vaunteth himself, the poor man is inflamed. Won drous it is and true with what earnestness of good hope the little ones are inflamed unto an upright living by comparison with sinners. In which mystery it comes to pass, that even
heresies are permitted to exist ; not that heretics themselves wish this, but because Divine Providence worketh this result from their sins, Which both maketh and ordaineth the light ; but ordereth only the darkness, that by comparison therewith the light may be more pleasant, as by comparison with
heretics the discovery of truth is more sweet. For so, by this comparison, the approved, who are known to God, are made manifest among men.
21. They are taken in their thoughts, which they think: that is, their evil thoughts become chains to them. But how become they chains ? (ver. 3. ) For the sinner is praised, saith he, in the desires of his soul. The tongues of flatterers bind souls in sin. For there is pleasure in doing those things, in which not only is no reprover feared, but even an approver heard. And he that does unrighteous deeds is blessed. Hence
are they taken in their thoughts, which they think.
22. Ver. 4. The sinner hath angered the Lord. Let no one congratulate the man, that prospers in his way, to whose
sins no avenger is nigh, and an approver is by. This is the greater anger of the Lord. For the sinner hath angered the Lord, that he should suffer these things, that should not suffer the scourging of correction. The sinner hath angered the Lord: according to the multitude of His anger He will not search out. Great His anger, when He searcheth not out, when He as were forgetteth and marketh not sin,
and by fraud and wickedness man attains to riches and honours which will especially be the case in that Antichrist,
:
it
it
is
is,
86 Antichrist, losing sight of God, seeks fame by evil arts. Psalm who will seem to men blessed to that degree, that he will even
x.
be thought God. But how great this anger of God is, we are taught by what follows.
23. God is not in his sight, (ver. 5. ) his ways are polluted in all time. He that knows what in the soul gives joy and gladness, knows how great an ill it is to be abandoned by the light of truth : since a great ill do men reckon the blindness
of their bodily eyes, whereby this light is withdrawn. How great then the punishment he endures, who through the pros perous issue of his sins is brought to that pass, that God is not in his sight, and that his ways are polluted in all time, that is, his thoughts and counsels are unclean ? Thy judg ments are taken away from his face. For the mind conscious
of evil, whilst it seems to itself to suffer no punishment, believes that God doth not judge, and so are God's judgments taken away from its face ; while this very thing is great con demnation. And he shall have dominion over all his enemies. For so is it delivered, that he will overcome all kings, and alone obtain the kingdom ; since too according
2Thess. to the Apostle, who preaches concerning him, He shall sit
''
in the temple of God, exalting himself above all that is wor shipped and that is called God.
24. And seeing that being delivered over to the lust of l ultima', his own heart, and predestinated to extreme1 condemnation, he is to come, by wicked arts, to that vain and empty height
and rule ; tIherefore it follows, (ver. 6. ) For he hath said in
cannot be silent concerning it. For a mind abandoned and void of good arts, and estranged from the light of righteous ness, by bad arts devises a passage for itself to a fame so lasting, as is celebrated even in posterity. And they that cannot be known for good, desire that men should speak of
shall not move generation to generation from
his heart,
without evil : that is, my fame and my name will not pass from this generation to the generation of posterity, unless by evil arts I acquire so lofty a principality, that posterity
them even for ill, provided that their name spread far and
wide. And this I think is here meant, / shall not move from generation to generation without evil. There is too another interpretation, if a mind vain and full of error
Magical arts for heaven. Evil toil. Ill-gotten riches. 87
supposes that it cannot come from the mortal generation to Ver.
the generation of eternity, but by bad arts : which indeed
was also reported of Simon, when he thought that he would
gain heaven by wicked arts, and pass from the human generation to the generation divine by magic. Where then
is the wonder, if that man of sin too, who is to fill up all the wickedness and ungodliness, which all false prophets have begun, and to do such great signs; that, if it were possible, Mat. 24,
/ not move from generation to generation without evil ?
Acts 8 9.
shall24'
he should deceive the very elect, shall say in his heart,
Ver. 7. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness and deceit. For it is a great curse, to seek heaven by such abo minable arts, and to get together such earnings for acquiring the eternal seat. But of this cursing his mouth is full. For
this desire shall not take effect, but within his mouth only will avail to destroy him, who dared promise himself such things with bitterness and deceit, that with anger and insidiousness, whereby he to bring over the multitude to his side. Under his tongue is toil and grief. Nothing more toilsome than unrighteousness and ungodliness
upon which toil follows grief; for that the toil not only without fruit, but even unto destruction. Which toil and grief refers
to that which he hath said in his heart, shall not be moved from generation to generation without evil. And therefore, under his tongue, not on his tongue, because he will devise
these things in silence, and to men will speak other things, that he may appear good and just, and son of God.
26. Ver. 8. He lieth in ambush with the rich. What rich, but those whom he will load with this world's gifts And he therefore said to lie in ambush with them, because he will display their false happiness to deceive men who, when with perverted will they desire to be such as they, and seek not the good things eternal, will fall into his snares.
That in the dark he may kill the innocent. In the dark', in 00 suppose, said, where not easily understood what should be sought, or what avoided. Now to kill the inno
cent, of an innocent to make one guilty.
27. His eyes look against the poor, for he chiefly to
persecute the righteous, of whom said, Blessed are the Matt. ;5,
poor in spirit, for theirs the kingdom
heaven,
(ver. 9. )
is
it is
is
it
is
is
is a
is aI of
is
is,
is
I' "
? is
;
:
88 Violence and craft of Antichrist ; success his ruin.
Psalm He lieth in wait in a secret place, as a lion in his den. By "a lion in a den, he means one, in whom both violence and deceit will work. For the first persecution of the Church was
violent, when by proscriptions, by torments, by murders, the Christians were compelled to sacrifice : another persecution is crafty, which is now conducted by heretics of any kind and false brethren : there remains a third, which is to come by Antichrist, than which there is nothing more perilous ; for it will be at once violent and crafty. Violence he will exert in
empire, craft in miracles. To the violence, the word lion re fers ; to craft, the words in his den. And these are again re peated with a change of order. He lieth in wait, he says, that he may catch the poor ; this hath reference to craft: but what follows, To catch the poor whilst he draweth him,is put to the score of violence. For draweth means, he bringeth him to himself by violence, by whatever tortures he can.
28. Again, the two which follow are the same. Ver. 10. In his snare he will humble him, is craft He shall decline and Jail, whilst he shall have domination over the poor, is violence. For a snare naturally points to lying in wait: but domination most openly conveys the idea of terror. And well does he say, He will humble him in his
snare. For when he shall begin to do those signs, the more wonderful they shall appear to men, the more those Saints that shall be then will be despised, and, as itwere,setat nought: he, whom they shall resist by righteousness and innocence, shall seem to overcome by the marvels that he does. But he shall decline andfall, whilst he shall have domination over the poor; that is, whilst he shall inflict whatsoever punishments he will upon the servants of God that resist him.
29. But how shall he decline, and fall ? (ver. 11. ) For he hath saidin his heart, God hath forgotten ; He turneth away Hisface, that He see not unto the end. This is declining, and the most wretched fall, while the mind of a man prospers as it were in its iniquities, and thinks that it is spared ; when it is being blinded, and kept for an extreme and timely
vengeance: of which the Psalmist now speaks : (ver. 12. ) Arise, O Lord God, let Thine hand be exalted : that is, let Thy Ts. 9, 19. power be made manifest. Now he had said above, Arise, O
Vain thoughts of men that God will not avenge. 89
Lord, let not man prevail, let the heathen be judged in Thy Ver. sight : that is, in secret, where God alone seeth. This comes ---- to pass, when the ungodly have arrived at what seems great happiness to men : over whom is placed a lawgiver, such as
they had deserved to have of whom it is said, Place a law- Ps. 9,20.
/ will sing to Thy His
Satan ' turned behind. '' The enemy destroyed. 75
he came by whom it was said, He Who cometh after me is Ver. a. preferred before me. And the Apostle forgets those things J? hn 1, that are behind, and reaches forth unto those things that are Phil. 3,
'
'
The enemy, therefore, was turned behind, after that
he could not deceive the heavenly Man being tempted ; and
he turned himself to earthy men, where he can have dominion. Wherefore no man goeth before him, and causeth
him to be behind, but he who laying aside the image of the l Cor.
before.
earthy man shall have borne the image of the heavenly.
But now, should we prefer understanding the words, mine
enemy, generally, either for a sinner, or an heathen, it will
not be unreasonable. Nor will the words, In turning mine
enemy behind, be a punishment ; but a benefit, yea such a benefit, as that nothing can be compared to it. For what
more blessed than to lay aside pride, and to have no wish to
go before Christ, as if one were whole, and needed not the Mat. 9, physician, but to wish rather to go behind after Christ, Who, ^ie 5 when calling a disciple to perfection, saith, Follow Me. 81.
But still, in turning my enemy behind, is more suitably un- 17". ' derstood as spoken of the devil. For in truth the devil is I*at. 19, turned behind, even in the persecution of the righteous, and
he, much more to their advantage, is a persecutor, than if he
went before as a leader and a prince. We must sing then to
the Name of the Most High in turning the enemy behind :
since we ought to choose rather to fly from him as a persecutor, than to follow him as a leader. For we have whither we may fly and hide ourselves in the hidden things
of the Son ; seeing that the Lord hath been made a refuge Ps. 90,i.
for us.
5. They will be weakened, and perish from Thy face.
Who will be weakened and perish, but the unrighteous and ungodly ? They will be weakened, while they shall avail nothing; and they shall perish, because the ungodly will not be ; from the face of God, that is, froIm the knowledge of
live not, but Christ Gal. 2, God, as he perished who said, But now on
liveth in me. But why will the ungodly be weakened, and perish from Thy face ? Because, he saith, Thou hast made my judgment, and my cause: that is, the judgment in which I seemed to be judged, Thou hast made mine ; and the
cause in which men condemned me just and innocent, Thou
76 Righteous judgment acknowledged. Heathen rebuked.
Psalm hast made mine. For such things served1 Him for our deliverance : as sailors too call the wind theirs, which they
verunt take advantage of for prosperous sailing.
6. Thou saiest on the throne Who judgest equity.
Whether the Son say this to the Father, Who said also, Johnl9, Thou couldest have no power against Me, except it were given thee from above, referring this very thing, that the Judge of men was judged for men's advantage, to the
Father's equity and His own hidden things : or whether man say to God, Thou satest on the throne Who judgest equity, giving the name of God's throne to his soul, so that his body may peradventure be the earth, which is called God's
u. 66,i. foolstool : for God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
or whether the soul of the Church, perfect now EPh. o, and without spot and wrinkle, worthy, that is, of the hidden Song of things of the Son, in that The King hath brought her into BoLlf4. jjfe chamber, say to her spouse, Thou satest upon the throne
Who judgest equity, in that Thou hast risen from the dead, and ascended up into heaven, and sittest at the right hand of the Father : whichsoever, I say, of those opinions, whereunto this verse may be referred, is preferred, it transgresses not the rule of faith.
7. Thou hast rebuked the heathen, and the ungodly hath perished. We take this to be more suitably said to the Lord Jesus Christ, than said by Him. For Who else hath rebuked the heathen, and the ungodly perished, save He, Who after that He ascended up into heaven, sent the Holy Ghost, that, filled by Him, the Apostles should preach the word of God with boldness, and freely reprove men's sins? At which rebuke the ungodly perished; because the ungodly was
justified and was made godly. Thou hast effaced their name for the world*, and for the world's world. The name of the ungodly hath been effaced. For they are not called ungodly who believe in the true God. Now their name is effaced for the world, that is as long as the course of the temporal world endures. And for the world's world. What is the world's world, but that whose image and shadow, as it
5 19'' Himself:
were, this world possesses ?
A Or ' unto the age," sfficulum. ' The meaning of age,' as in our expression
For the change of seasons suc-
' world without end,' is the primary one in Latin.
' World without end explained. Swords of the enemy. 77
ceeding one another, whilst the moon is on the wane, and Ver. 5. again on the increase, whilst the sun each year returns to
his quarter, whilst spring, or summer, or autumn, or winter
passes away only to return, is in some sort an imitation of eternity. But this world's world is that which abides in immutable eternity. As a verse in the mind, and a verse in
the voice: the former is understood, the latter heard; and the former fashions the latter : and hence the former works in art and abides, the latter sounds in the air and passes away. So the fashion of this changeable world is defined by that world unchangeable which is called the world's world. And hence the one abides in the art, that is, in the Wisdom and Power of God : but the other is made to pass in the govern ance of creation. If after all it be not a repetition, so that after it was saidybr the world, lest it should be understood of this world that passeth away, it were a. dded for the world's world. For in the Greek copies it is thus, si? tov a)Slva, xal sis tov alivct toO aiaivoc. Which the Latins have for the most part rendered, not, for the world, andfor the world's world'; but, for ever, andfor the world's world', that in the words
for the world's world, the words for ever, should be ex plained. The name then of the ungodly Thou hast effaced for ever, for from henceforth the ungodly shall never be. And if their name be not prolonged unto this world, much
less unto the world's world.
8. The swords ofthe enemy have failed at the end. Not
enemies in the plural, but this enemy in the singular. Now
what enemy's swords have failed but the devil's ? Now
these are understood to be divers erroneous opinions, whereby
as with swords he destroys souls. In overcoming these swords, andin bringing them to failure, that sword is employed,
of which it is said in the seventh Psalm, Ifye be not con. Ps. 7,12. verted, He will brandish His sword. And peradventure this
is the end, against which the swords of the enemy fail ; since up to it they are of some avail. Now it worketh secretly, but in the last judgment it will be brandished openly. By it the cities are destroyed. For so it follows, The swords of the enemy have failed at the end: and Thou hast destroyed the cities. Cities indeed wherein the devil rules, where crafty
* In sx'culunl et in sieeulum mbcuH ' In sternum, et in sicculum ssecoli.
78 Commonwealth of evil over throum. Christ abideth.
Psalm and deceitful counsels hold, as it were, the place of a court, -- on which supremacy attend as officers and ministers the services of all the members, the eyes for curiosity, the ears
for lasciviousness, or for whatsoever else is gladly listened to that bears on evil, the hands for rapine or any other violence or pollution soever, and all the other members after this manner serving the tyrannical supremacy, that is, perverse counsels. Of this city the commonalty, as it were, are all soft affections and disturbing emotions of the mind, stirring up daily seditions in a man. So then where a king, where a court, where ministers, where commonalty are found, there
is a city. Nor again would such things be in bad cities, unless they were first in individual men, who are, as it were, the elements and seeds of cities. These cities He destroys, when on the prince being shut out thence, of whom it was
John 12, said, The prince of this world has been cast out, these kingdoms are wasted by the word of truth, evil counsels are laid to sleep, vile affections tamed, the ministries of the members and senses taken captive, and transferred to the service of righteousness and good works: that as the Apostle
Rom. 6, says, sin should no more reign in our mortal body, and so forth. Then is the soul at peace, and the man is disposed to receive rest and blessedness. Their memorial has perished with up roar: with the uproar, that of the ungodly. But said, with uproar, either because when ungodliness overturned, there uproar made for none passeth to the highest place,
Ps.
where there the deepest silence, but he who with much uproar shall first have warred with his own vices: or with uproar, said, that the memory of the ungodly should perish in the perishing even of the very uproar, in which ungodliness riots.
And the Lord abideth for ever. Wherefore then have the heathen raged, and the people imagined vain things against the Lord, and against His Anointed for the Lord abideth for ever. He hath prepared His seat in judgment, and He shall judge the world in equity. He prepared His seat, when He was judged. For by that patience Man pur chased heaven, and God in Man profited believers. And this the Son's hidden judgment. But seeing He also
to come openly and in the sight of all to judge the quick
is
is is
is
it is
:
is
2, l.
9.
is
:
is,
Judgment. Seasonable Refuge. Knowledge of God's Name. 79
and the dead, He hath prepared His seat in the hidden Ver. judgment: and He shall also openly judge the world m-! ? --
equity: that is, He shall distribute gifts proportioned to 33. desert, setting the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on
His left. He shall judge the people with justice. This is
the same as was said above, He shall judge the world in equity. Not as men judge who see not the heart, by whom
very often worse men are acquitted than are condemned:
but in equity and with justice shall the Lord judge, con- Rom. 2, science bearing iritness, and thoughts accusing, or else l6,
excusing.
10. And the Lord hath become a refuge to the poor.
Whatsoever be the persecutions of that enemy, who hath been turned behind, what harm shall he do to them whose refuge the Lord hath become ? But this will be, if in this world, in which that one has an office of power, they shall choose to be poor, by loving nothing which either here leaves a man while he lives and loves, or is left by him when he
dies. For to such a poor man hath the Lord become a refuge, an Helper in due season, in tribulation. Lo He maketh poor, for He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. HeU. W, For what an Helper in due season is, he explained by ' adding in tribulation. For the soul is not turned to God,
save when it is turned away from this world : nor is it more seasonably turned away from this world, except toils and pains be mingled with its trifling and hurtful and destructive pleasures.
11. Ver. 10. And let them who know Thy Name, hope in Thee, when they shall have ceased hoping in wealth, and in the other enticements of this world. For the soul indeed that seeketh where to fix her hope, when she is torn away from this world, the knowledge of God's Name seasonably receives. For the mere Name of God hath now been published every where : but the knowledge of the name when He known Whose name is. For the name not a name for its own sake, but for that which signifies. Now
has been said, The Lord His Name. Wherefore whoso er. 33, willingly submits himself to God as His servant, hath known
this name. And let them who know Thy Name hope in
'
it
is
is
it
it
is
is,
80 Hope in the Unchangeable. God dwells in those who wIatch.
Psalm Thee. Again, the Lord saith to Moses,
/
am That
am; - IX- and Thou shall say to the children of Israel, I AM, hath 14," ' sent me. Let them then who know Thy Name, hope in
Ex. 3, l4'
amThatlam; andofWhomitwassaid,/AMhath sent me. For Thou hast not forsaken them that seek Thee, O Lord. Whoso seek Him, seek no more things transient
Tltee ; that they may not hope in those things which flow by in time's quick revolution, having nothing but ' will be' and ' has been. ' For what in them is future, when it arrives, straightway becomes the past; it is awaited with eagerness, it is lost with pain. But in the nature of God nothing. will be, as if it were not yet ; or hath been, as if it were no longer: but there is only that which is, and this is eternity. Let them cease then to hope in and love things temporal, and let them applyIthemselves to hope eternal, who know His name Who said,
Matt. 6, and perishable ; For no man can serve two masters.
m.
fully on and Yrtiich beareth the likeness of the Church that now is ; Ps. 51, . i8. (Lat. as Jerusalem beareth the likeness of the Church that is to
50, 20. ) come, th^ ;S, the city of Saints already enjoying life angelical; for Jerusalem is by interpretation the vision of peace. Now watching goes before vision, as this Church goes before that one which is promised, the city immortal and eternal. But in time it goes before, not in dignity :
because more honourable is that whither we are striving to arrive, than what we practise, that we may attain to arrive ; now we practise watching, that we may arrive at vision. But again this same Church which now is, unless the Lord inhabit her, the most earnest watching might run into any sort of
l Cor. 3 error. And to this Church it was said, For the temple of
Ood is holy, which temple ye are : again, That Christ may 17. ' dwell in the inner man in your hearts by faith. It is en
joined us then, that we sing to the Lord Who dwelleth in Sion, that with one accord we praise the Lord, the Inhabitant of the Church. Shewforth His wonders among the heathen. It has both been done, and will not cease to be done.
lg. Ver. 11. Sing to the Lord, WIio dwelleth in Sion, is said to them, whom the Lord forsakes not as they seek See more Him. He dwelleth in Sion, which is interpreted watching,
17?
God forgets not His own. All the Church exalted in Christ. 81
13. Ver. 12. For requiring their blood He hath remem- VEr. bered. As if they, who were sent to preach the Gospel, -- -- -- . should make answer to that injunction which has been
mentioned, Shewforth His wonders among the heathen, and should say, 0 Lord, who hath believed our report? and1s. 53-1. again, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long ; the Ps. 44, Psalmist suitably goes on to say, That Christians not with 22
out great reward of eternity will die in persecution, for requiring their blood He hath remembered. But why did
he choose to say, their blood ? Was as one of imperfect knowledge and less faith should ask, How will they shew them
forth, seeing that the infidelity of the heathen will rage against them and he should be answered, For requiring their blood He hath remembered, that is, the last judgment will come, in which both the glory of the slain and the punishment of the slayers shall be made manifest But let no one suppose He hath remembered to be so used, as though forgetfnlness^an attach to God but since the judg ment will be after a long interval, used in accordance with the feeling of weak men, who think God hath forgotten, because He doth not act so speedily as they wish. To such said what follows also, He hath not forgotten the cry ofthe poor that is, He hath not, as you suppose, forgotten. As they should on hearing, He hath remembered,
say, Then He had forgotten No, He hath notforgotten, says the
Psalmist, the cry of the poor.
14. But ask, what that cry of the poor, which God
forgetteth not Is that cry, the words whereof are these, (ver. 13. ) Pity me, Lord, see my humiliation at the hands ofmy enemies Why then did he not say, Pity us, Lord, see our humiliation at the hands of our enemies, as many
poor were crying but as one, Pity me, Lord Is
because One intercedeth for the Saints, Who first for ouncor. s, sakes became poor, though He was rich and He Who
saith, Who exaltest me from the gates death, (ver. 14. ) that
may declare all Thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion For man exalted in Him, not that Man only Which He beareth, Which the Head of the Church but whichsoever one of us also among the other members, and
exalted from all depraved desires which are the gates of
G
;
it is ;
is I ?
if
:
is
is
is is if
is
;
;
of ;
it, if
it is
O
if O it
?
?
I ?
;
;
O it
?
82 Gates of Sion, holy aims, of death, low desires.
Psalm death, for that through them is the road to death.
But the ' -joy in the fruition is at once death itself, when one gains
1Tim. 6, what he hath in abandoned wilfulness coveted: for coveting
is the root of all evil: and therefore is the gate of death, for
iTira. 5, the widow that liveth in pleasures is dead. At which
6
pleasures we arrive through desires as it were through the gates of death. But all highest purposes are the gates of the daughter of Sion, through which we come to the vision of peace in the Holy Church. In these gates therefore all the
Matt. Upraises of God are well shewn forth, that what is holy may not be given to dogs, nor pearls cast before swine : who would rather frowardly bark, than earnestly inquire ; or who would neither bark nor inquire, but wallow in the mire of their own lusts. But when God's praises are shewn forth in good
Matt. 7, earnestness ; to them that seek it is given, and to them that inquire it is made manifest, and to them that knock it is opened. Or haply are the gates of death the bodily senses and eyes, which were opened when the man tasted of the
Gen. 3, forbidden tree, from which they are exalted, to whom it is 2 Cor. 4 sa1d ^at they should seek not the things that are seen, but
18.
the things that are not seen ; for the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal: and are the gates of the daughter of Sion the sacraments and beginnings of faith, which are opened to them that knock,
iCor. 2, that they may arrive at the hidden things of the Son ? For eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it ascended in the heart ofman, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him. Thus far is the cry of the poor, which the Lord hath not forgotten.
15. Then follows,
with blessedness shall I be holden by Thy salvation, which is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Power and Wisdom of God. Therefore says the Church, which is here in affliction and is saved by hope, as long as the hidden judgment of the Son is,
/ will exult
for
Thy salvation : that is,
/ will exult Thy salvation : for now for
in hope she says,
she is worn down either by the roar of violence around her, or by the errors of the heathen. (Ver. 15. ) The heathen are
fixed in the corruption, which they made. Consider ye how punishment is reserved for the sinner, out of his own works ; and how they that have wished to persecute the Church, have
The wicked ensnare themselves in false delights.
83
been fixed in that corruption, which they thought to in- Ver. flict. For they were desiring to kill the body, whilst they _il_ themselves were dying in soul. In that snare which they
hid, has their foot been taken. The hidden snare is crafty devising. The foot of the soul is well understood to be its
love : which, when depraved, is called coveting or lust ; but when upright, love or charity. For by love it is moved as it were to the place, whither it tendeth. But the soul's place is not in any space which bodily form occupies : but in the delight, at which she rejoices to have attained through love. But a pernicious delight follows coveting, a profitable one
charity. Whence coveting is also called a root. The root iTim. 6, moreover is taken for, so to say, the foot of the tree. Charity 10.
too is called a root, where the Lord speaks of the seed,
which in the stony places withers under the scorching sun, because it had not deep root. Whereby He points out Mat. 13, those, that rejoice in receiving the word of truth, but give5' ' way in persecution, which can be withstood by love only.
And the Apostle says, That being rooted and grounded in Eph. 3,
love, ye may be able to take in. The foot then of sinners, that is, their love, is taken in the snare, which they hide : for when delight shall have followed on to deceitful dealing, when God shall have delivered them over to the lust of their heart; that delight at once binds them, that they dare not tear away their love thence and apply it to profitable objects ; for when they shall make the attempt, they will be pained
in heart, as if desiring to free their foot from a fetter : and giving way under this pain they refuse to withdraw from
"
In the snare then which they have hid, that is, in deceitful counsel, their foot hath been taken, that is their love, which through deceit attains to that vain joy
whereby pain is purchased.
16. Ver. 16. The Lord is known executing judgments.
These are God's judgments. Not from that tranquillity of His blessedness, nor from the secret places of wisdom, wherein blessed souls are received, is the sword, or fire, or wild beast, or any such thing brought forth, whereby sinners may be tormented: but how are they tormented, and how
pernicious delights.
does the Lord do judgment ?
In the works, he says, of
his own hands hath the sinner been caught. g2
84 Prayerforjudgment. Antichrist set over the wicked.
17. Here is interposed, The song of the diapsalma : as it
Psalms
--:--" were the hidden joy, as far as we can imagine, of the
separation which is now made, not in place, but in the affections of the heart, between sinners and the righteous, as of the corn from the chaff, as yet on the floor. And then follows, (ver. 17. ) Let the sinners be turned into hell: that is, let them be given into their own hands, when they are spared, and let them be ensnared in deadly delight. All
Bom. l , the nations that forget God. Because when they did not
28'
think good to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind.
18. Ver. 18. For there shall not be forgetfulness of tho poor man to the end: who now seems to be in forgetfulness, when sinners are thought to flourish in this world's happiness,
and the righteous to be in travail : but the patience, saith He, of the poor shall not perish for ever. Wherefore there is need of patience now to bear with the evil, who are already separated in will, till they be also separated at the last
judgment.
19. Ver. 19. Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail. The
future judgment is prayed for: but before it come, Let the heathen, saith he, be judged in Thy sight : that is, in secret ; which is called in God's sight, with the knowledge of a few holy and righteous ones. (Ver. 20. ) Place a lawgiver over them, 0 Lord. He seems to me to point out Antichrist : of
a Thes? . whom the Apostle says, When the man of sin shall be
"'""
revealed. Let the heathen know that they are men. That they who will be set free by the Son of God, and belong to the Son of Man, and be sons of men, that new men, may serve man, that is, the old man the sinner,ybr that they are men.
20. And because believed that he
great pitch of empty glory, and he will be permitted to do so great things, both against all men and against the Saints of God, that then some weak ones shall indeed think that God cares not for human affairs, the Psalmist
diapsalma, adds as were the voice of men groaning and asking why judgment deferred. (Psalm X. ver. l. b) Why,
The two Psalms are combined
in the Vulgate, but the verses begin Hebrteos. '
again for this, as, 'Ps. x. secundum
to arrive at so
interposing
t,
is it
it is
a
a
is is,
Relief delayed, longed for. Present impurity, great wrath. 85
0 Lord, saith he, hast Thou withdrawn afar off? Then he who thus inquired, as if all on a sudden he understood, or as if he asked, though he knew, that he might teach, adds, Thou despisest in due seasons, in tribulations : that is, Thou
despisest seasonably, and causest tribulations to inflame men's minds with longing for Thy coming. For that fountain of life is sweeter to them, that have much thirst. Therefore he hints the reason of the delay, saying, (ver. 2. ) Whilst the ungodly vaunteth himself, the poor man is inflamed. Won drous it is and true with what earnestness of good hope the little ones are inflamed unto an upright living by comparison with sinners. In which mystery it comes to pass, that even
heresies are permitted to exist ; not that heretics themselves wish this, but because Divine Providence worketh this result from their sins, Which both maketh and ordaineth the light ; but ordereth only the darkness, that by comparison therewith the light may be more pleasant, as by comparison with
heretics the discovery of truth is more sweet. For so, by this comparison, the approved, who are known to God, are made manifest among men.
21. They are taken in their thoughts, which they think: that is, their evil thoughts become chains to them. But how become they chains ? (ver. 3. ) For the sinner is praised, saith he, in the desires of his soul. The tongues of flatterers bind souls in sin. For there is pleasure in doing those things, in which not only is no reprover feared, but even an approver heard. And he that does unrighteous deeds is blessed. Hence
are they taken in their thoughts, which they think.
22. Ver. 4. The sinner hath angered the Lord. Let no one congratulate the man, that prospers in his way, to whose
sins no avenger is nigh, and an approver is by. This is the greater anger of the Lord. For the sinner hath angered the Lord, that he should suffer these things, that should not suffer the scourging of correction. The sinner hath angered the Lord: according to the multitude of His anger He will not search out. Great His anger, when He searcheth not out, when He as were forgetteth and marketh not sin,
and by fraud and wickedness man attains to riches and honours which will especially be the case in that Antichrist,
:
it
it
is
is,
86 Antichrist, losing sight of God, seeks fame by evil arts. Psalm who will seem to men blessed to that degree, that he will even
x.
be thought God. But how great this anger of God is, we are taught by what follows.
23. God is not in his sight, (ver. 5. ) his ways are polluted in all time. He that knows what in the soul gives joy and gladness, knows how great an ill it is to be abandoned by the light of truth : since a great ill do men reckon the blindness
of their bodily eyes, whereby this light is withdrawn. How great then the punishment he endures, who through the pros perous issue of his sins is brought to that pass, that God is not in his sight, and that his ways are polluted in all time, that is, his thoughts and counsels are unclean ? Thy judg ments are taken away from his face. For the mind conscious
of evil, whilst it seems to itself to suffer no punishment, believes that God doth not judge, and so are God's judgments taken away from its face ; while this very thing is great con demnation. And he shall have dominion over all his enemies. For so is it delivered, that he will overcome all kings, and alone obtain the kingdom ; since too according
2Thess. to the Apostle, who preaches concerning him, He shall sit
''
in the temple of God, exalting himself above all that is wor shipped and that is called God.
24. And seeing that being delivered over to the lust of l ultima', his own heart, and predestinated to extreme1 condemnation, he is to come, by wicked arts, to that vain and empty height
and rule ; tIherefore it follows, (ver. 6. ) For he hath said in
cannot be silent concerning it. For a mind abandoned and void of good arts, and estranged from the light of righteous ness, by bad arts devises a passage for itself to a fame so lasting, as is celebrated even in posterity. And they that cannot be known for good, desire that men should speak of
shall not move generation to generation from
his heart,
without evil : that is, my fame and my name will not pass from this generation to the generation of posterity, unless by evil arts I acquire so lofty a principality, that posterity
them even for ill, provided that their name spread far and
wide. And this I think is here meant, / shall not move from generation to generation without evil. There is too another interpretation, if a mind vain and full of error
Magical arts for heaven. Evil toil. Ill-gotten riches. 87
supposes that it cannot come from the mortal generation to Ver.
the generation of eternity, but by bad arts : which indeed
was also reported of Simon, when he thought that he would
gain heaven by wicked arts, and pass from the human generation to the generation divine by magic. Where then
is the wonder, if that man of sin too, who is to fill up all the wickedness and ungodliness, which all false prophets have begun, and to do such great signs; that, if it were possible, Mat. 24,
/ not move from generation to generation without evil ?
Acts 8 9.
shall24'
he should deceive the very elect, shall say in his heart,
Ver. 7. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness and deceit. For it is a great curse, to seek heaven by such abo minable arts, and to get together such earnings for acquiring the eternal seat. But of this cursing his mouth is full. For
this desire shall not take effect, but within his mouth only will avail to destroy him, who dared promise himself such things with bitterness and deceit, that with anger and insidiousness, whereby he to bring over the multitude to his side. Under his tongue is toil and grief. Nothing more toilsome than unrighteousness and ungodliness
upon which toil follows grief; for that the toil not only without fruit, but even unto destruction. Which toil and grief refers
to that which he hath said in his heart, shall not be moved from generation to generation without evil. And therefore, under his tongue, not on his tongue, because he will devise
these things in silence, and to men will speak other things, that he may appear good and just, and son of God.
26. Ver. 8. He lieth in ambush with the rich. What rich, but those whom he will load with this world's gifts And he therefore said to lie in ambush with them, because he will display their false happiness to deceive men who, when with perverted will they desire to be such as they, and seek not the good things eternal, will fall into his snares.
That in the dark he may kill the innocent. In the dark', in 00 suppose, said, where not easily understood what should be sought, or what avoided. Now to kill the inno
cent, of an innocent to make one guilty.
27. His eyes look against the poor, for he chiefly to
persecute the righteous, of whom said, Blessed are the Matt. ;5,
poor in spirit, for theirs the kingdom
heaven,
(ver. 9. )
is
it is
is
it
is
is
is a
is aI of
is
is,
is
I' "
? is
;
:
88 Violence and craft of Antichrist ; success his ruin.
Psalm He lieth in wait in a secret place, as a lion in his den. By "a lion in a den, he means one, in whom both violence and deceit will work. For the first persecution of the Church was
violent, when by proscriptions, by torments, by murders, the Christians were compelled to sacrifice : another persecution is crafty, which is now conducted by heretics of any kind and false brethren : there remains a third, which is to come by Antichrist, than which there is nothing more perilous ; for it will be at once violent and crafty. Violence he will exert in
empire, craft in miracles. To the violence, the word lion re fers ; to craft, the words in his den. And these are again re peated with a change of order. He lieth in wait, he says, that he may catch the poor ; this hath reference to craft: but what follows, To catch the poor whilst he draweth him,is put to the score of violence. For draweth means, he bringeth him to himself by violence, by whatever tortures he can.
28. Again, the two which follow are the same. Ver. 10. In his snare he will humble him, is craft He shall decline and Jail, whilst he shall have domination over the poor, is violence. For a snare naturally points to lying in wait: but domination most openly conveys the idea of terror. And well does he say, He will humble him in his
snare. For when he shall begin to do those signs, the more wonderful they shall appear to men, the more those Saints that shall be then will be despised, and, as itwere,setat nought: he, whom they shall resist by righteousness and innocence, shall seem to overcome by the marvels that he does. But he shall decline andfall, whilst he shall have domination over the poor; that is, whilst he shall inflict whatsoever punishments he will upon the servants of God that resist him.
29. But how shall he decline, and fall ? (ver. 11. ) For he hath saidin his heart, God hath forgotten ; He turneth away Hisface, that He see not unto the end. This is declining, and the most wretched fall, while the mind of a man prospers as it were in its iniquities, and thinks that it is spared ; when it is being blinded, and kept for an extreme and timely
vengeance: of which the Psalmist now speaks : (ver. 12. ) Arise, O Lord God, let Thine hand be exalted : that is, let Thy Ts. 9, 19. power be made manifest. Now he had said above, Arise, O
Vain thoughts of men that God will not avenge. 89
Lord, let not man prevail, let the heathen be judged in Thy Ver. sight : that is, in secret, where God alone seeth. This comes ---- to pass, when the ungodly have arrived at what seems great happiness to men : over whom is placed a lawgiver, such as
they had deserved to have of whom it is said, Place a law- Ps. 9,20.
