' He
rejected
the one, accepted the other, saying, / have not
a devil.
a devil.
Augustine - Exposition on the Psalms - v1
Let human weakness be panic- struck, divine mercy
faileth not in that fear. In fine, this panic-struck oneI begins with this. (Ver. 1. ) In Thee, O Lord, have hoped, let me not be confounded for ever. You see, that he both is panic-struck, and hopes : you see that this panic is not without hope. Even though there be some disturbance in the human heart, divine consolation withdraws not.
4. Here then Christ speaketh in the Prophet : I venture to
say, Christ speaketh. The Psalmist will say some things in
this Psalm, which may seem as if they could not apply to Christ, to that excellency of our Head, and especially to That John ),
Word Which was in the beginning God with God : nor perhaps will some things here seem to apply to Him in the Phil. 2, form of a servant, which form of a servant He took from the Virgin : and yet Christ speaketh, because Christ in Christ's members. And, that ye may know, that the Head and His
Body are called One Christ, He saith Himself, when He
was speaking of marriage, They shall be two in one flesh : Gen. 2,
If there were
absolutely
no in those panic
240 Head and Members together are One Christ.
Psai. m therefore they are no more two, but one Jlesh. But, parad ed jli venture, He may say this of any marriage. Hear the Apostle Serm. i. Paul ; And they shall be two, saith he, in one Jlesh. This is
I
Eph. 5, Church. There is produced then as it were out of two, one
? Jagk 01 go
a great mystery; but
speak concerning Christ, and the
certain person, of the Head and the Body, of the Bridegroom and the Bride. For the wonderful and excellent unity of this person, the prophet Isaiah also sets forth ; for speaking
Is. 6l, in him too, Christ saith in prophecy, He hath bound a mitre
10"
on Me, as on a Bridegroom the chaplet, and adorned Me with ornaments as a Bride. He called Himself the Bride groom, and the Bride : why called He Himself the Bride groom, and the Bride, unless because they shall be two in one flesh ? If two in one flesh, why not too in one voice ? Christ may therefore speak, because the Church speaks in Christ, and Christ in the Church ; and the Body in the Head, and the Head in the Body. Hear the Apostle ex-
1 Cor. pressing this very thing more clearly, For as the body is 12, 12. one, and hath many members, and all the members of the
body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. Speaking of the members of Christ, that is, of the faithful, he doth not say, so also are the members of Christ ; but to all that he hath expressed he gave the name of Christ. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is
Christ many members, one Body. Therefore we all together with our Head, Christ, without our Head nothing worth. Why? Because with our Head we are the vine: without our Head, which God forbid,
destined to no work of the husbandman, but to the fire only.
John 15, So He Himself in the Gospel, / am the Vine, ye are the
5. 1?
branches, My Father is the husbandman, and without Me, saith He, ye can do nothing. O Lord, if without Thee nothing, in Thee all. For whatsoever He worketh by us, we seem to work. He can do much and all without us, we without Him nothing.
5. Therefore in whatever ecstasy he speaketh, whether in panic or transport of the mind, what is said is suitable. Let us speak in the Body of Christ, let us all speak as one, for that all are oneness; let us say, In Thee, O Lord, have 1 trusted,
lopped branches,
are
Wholesome confusion, and everlasting. God's Righteousness. 24 1
let me not be confounded for ever. That confusion do I Ver.
dread, saith He, which is for ever. For there is a certain -- confusion for a time which is useful, the disturbance of a mind looking back on its sins, amazed at the looking back,
in its amazement ashamed, in its shame reforming. Whence
- --
too the Apostle saith, For what glory had ye then in those Rom. 6 things whereof ye are now ashamed ? Therefore he saith 21 ? that they, now faithful, are ashamed, not of present gifts, but
of past sins. Let not the Christian dread this confusion :
yea rather, if he have not this, he will have everlasting con
fusion. What is everlasting confusion ? When that shall happen, which is said, And their iniquities shall take them Wisdom over on the contrary part. And as their iniquities take4'20' them over on the contrary part, all the bad flock shall go to
the left hand, as goats separated from the sheep ; and they
shall hear, Go ye into the fire everlasting, which hath been Matt.
pIreparedfor the devil and his angels. They ask why? For 25,4*?
was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat. They
then, when they gave no meat to Christ as He hungered, when they gave no drink to the thirsty, when they clothed not the naked; took not in the stranger, visited not the sick -- then they despised. When these things shall begin to be enumerated to them, they will be confounded, and this con fusion will be for ever. And in fear of this, he who is afraid, or whose mind is transported Itoward God, maketh this
despised
trusted, let me not be con
founded for ever.
6. And in Thy Righteousness rescue me, and deliver me.
For if Thou lookest to my righteousness, Thou condemnest
me. In Thy Righteousness rescue me. For there is a righteousness of God, which becomes ours too, when it is
given to us. Now it is therefore called God's Righteousness,
that man may not deem that he hath righteousness of him
self. For thus the Apostle Paul saith, To him that believeth Rom. 4, on Him Who justifieth the ungodly, (what is, Who justifieth
the ungodly? Who of ungodly maketh a man righteous:) his faith is counted for righteousness. But the Jews, because
they thought that they could by thelr own strength fulfil righteousness, stumbled at the stumbling-stone and rock ofIb. 9,33. offence, and did not acknowledge the grace of Christ. For
request, In Thee, 0 Lord, have
B
242 Man, unable to free himselffrom sin, needs help.
Psalm they received a law, whereby they could be made guilty,
Exp^ii Serm. i.
Bom. ' '
Dut could not be freed from guilt. In fine, what saith the
For I
zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. What is, what
bear them record that have a Apostle of them ? they
he says, the Jews have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge? Hear what. no* according to knowledge is. For they being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and wishing to establish their own, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. If then for this reason they have not a zeal of God according to knowledge, because they are ignorant of God's righteousness, and wish to establish their own, as if they were made righteous of themselves : for this reason have they not come to know the grace of God, because they would not be saved freely. Who is he that is saved freely? In whom the Saviour findeth not what to crown, but what to condemn ; findeth not deserts of good things, but findeth deserts of punishment. If He deal as it were strictly according to the rule of the law laid down, the sinner must be condemned. If He were to act by this rule, whom would He deliver? He found all men sinners : He Alone came without sin, Who found us sinners.
Rom. 3, So saith the Apostle : For all have sinned, and are in need of the glory of God. What means, are in need of the glory of God? That He should Himself deliver, and not thou. Because thou canst not deliver thyself, thou needest a de liverer. Wherein dost thou vaunt thyself ? Wherein dost thou rely on the Law and on righteousness ? Seest thou not what is inwardly struggling in thee, of thee, against thee ? Hearest thou not one fighting, and confessing, and longing for help in the fight ? Hearest thou not the Lord's combatant asking of the disposer of the contest help in his fight? For God doth not so look on at thy struggles, as the exhibitor of the games looks on, if so be thou fightest in the amphitheatre. He can give thee a prize if victorious ; he cannot help thee in danger. Not so doth God look on. Look there, mark
Rom. 7. him that saith, FoIr 1 delight in the law of God after the ~ ' inward man; but see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and leading me captive in the
lIaw of sin, which is in my members.
am ! who shall deliver me
O wretched man that
this death ?
from
the
body of
Trust in Hisfree grace. God's bending His Ear to man. 243
The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Why Ver.
grace ? Because it is given gratuitously. Why is it given -- gratuitously? Because thy merits have not gone before, but
the kindnesses of God have prevented thee. Glory then be to
Him Who delivereth us. For all have sinned, and are in Rom. 3, need of the glory of God. In Thee, then, O Lord, have I23' trusted, not in myself: let me not be confounded for ever, because I trust in Him, Who confoundeth not. In Righteousness rescue me, and deliver me. Since Thou hast
not found in me my own righteousness, rescue me in Thine : that is, let that rescue me which justifieth me, which maketh me of ungodly godly, of unrighteous righteous, of blind seeing, of falling rising, of weeping rejoicing. This delivereth me : not I myself. In Thy Righteousness rescue me, and deliver me.
7. Ver. 2. Bend down Thine ear unto me. God did this, when He sent Christ Himself unto us. He sent Him to us, Who bending His Head wrote with His Finger on the earth, when the adulterous woman was brought before Him6. to be punished. But He had before bent Himself to the earth, that God to man, to whom was said, Earth thou Gen art, and unto earth thou shall go. For God doth not bend 19. His Ear to us as in bodily space, nor He bounded by these circumscribed bodily members. Nay, let not human fancies form any such notions as these. God Truth. Truth neither square, nor round, nor long. It every where present, the eye of the heart be open to It. Never theless God bendeth His Ear to us, letting down mercy upon
us. What greater mercy, than that He should give us His Only One, not to live with us, but to die for us Bend doum Tltine Ear unto me.
8. Make haste to deliver me. For he heard in this, when he saith, Make haste. For for this purpose this word was used, that thou mayest understand how that all this age, which seems to us while passing long, but moment. That not long, which hath an end. The period from Adam to this day passed, and much more in truth halh been passed already, than remains to be passed. If Adam were still living, and should die to-day what would profit him to have been so long, to have lived so long? Why then
'"--
Thy
r2
;
it is
is
is
is
it is
is
is
a is it ? is
if
is, if
3
244 Man cannot even seek refuge, save as enabled.
Psalm this haste ? Because time flies by, and what is slow tc 2? jl|thee, is in God's sight short. This haste he had already Serm. t. understood in ecstasy. Make haste to deliver me. Be unto
me a God Who prolecteth me, and a house of refuge, that Thou mayest save me. Be Thou unto me a house of refuge, a God Who protecteth, a house of refuge. For sometimes 1 am in peril, and Iwould fly: whither do Ifly? to what place fly safely ? to what hill ? to what cave ? to what guarded shelter ? What castle can I hold ? with what walls be encompassed? Whithersoever I go, I accompany my self. For, O man, whatsoever thou wilt, thou canst fly, except thy conscience. Enter into thy house, rest on thy bed, enter the inner chambers ; thou canst have no place within, whither thou mayest fly from thy conscience, if thy
sins torment thee. But because he hath said, Make haste to deliver me, and rescue me in Thy Righteousness, that
Thou mayest remit my sins, and build up Thy Righteous ness in me : Thou shalt be to me a house of refuge, to Thee do I fly. For whither shall I fly from Thee ? God is angry with thee, whither wilt thou fly ? Hear what, in fear of the
Ps. 139, anger of God, he saith in another Psalm, Whither shall
go
'" 8"
Ifly from from
if
servant, to escape a human master, Thou fliest to places where Thy master is not : to escape God, fly to the Lord. For there is no place, whither thou mayest fly from God. All things are present and naked to the eyes of the Almighty. Be Thou then to me, saith he, a house of refuge. For if I shall not be made whole, how shall I fly
I Thy Spirit ? or, whither shall
climb up into heaven, Tliouart there:
I
hell, Thou art present. Whithersoever I go, there I find Thee. And if Thou art angry, I find Thee an Avenger ; if Thou art propitious, an Helper. Nothing then remains for me, but to fly unto Thee, not from Thee. If Thou art a
If
go
down into
? Make me whole, and I fly to Thee. For if Thou dost not make me whole, I cannot walk : how shall I be able to fly ? Whither should he go, whither fly, if he be unable to walk, half dead in the way, maimed and wounded by robbers ? Whom the priest going by passed over, the Levite going by passed over, the Samaritan going by pitied, that the Lord Himself, Who
hath pitied the race of man. For Samarite
by interpreta
I Thy presence?
is
is,
Christ our Keeper. Hefeeds now with milk. Satan's trap. 245
tion keeper. And who keepeth us, if He deserteth us? Ver. With good reason, when the Jews said railing at Him, Say il tee not truly that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil ? 48. 49.
' He rejected the one, accepted the other, saying, / have not
a devil. He did not say, I am not a Samaritan : wishing it to be understood that He is our Keeper. In pity then He drew nigh, He took care of him, brought him to an inn, fulfilled His mercy towards him : now he is able to walk, he is able even to fly. Whither should he fly but to God, where he hath made for himself a house of refuge?
9. Ver. 3. For Thou art my strength and my refuge; and for Thy Name's sake Thou shall be my guide, and shalt nourish me. Not for my merit's sake, but for Thy Name's sake, that Thou mayest be glorified, not because I am worthy. Thou shall be my guide, that I go not astray from Thee ; and Thou shalt nourish me, that I may be strong to eat the food, wherewith Thou feedest angels. For
here hath He nourished us with milk, Who hath promised us heavenly food ; and hath exercised a mother's pity. For
as a mother, when suckling, conveys through the flesh the same food which the infant is not able to take, and infuses milk ; (for the little one receives the same as he would receive at table, but what is conveyed through the flesh is suited to the little one ;) so the Lord, that He might make His wisdom milk to us, came to us clothed with Flesh. Hence the Body of Christ speaketh, Tliou shalt nourish me.
10. Thou shall bring me out of this trap, which they have hidden for me. Now is suffering intimated, Thou shalt bring me out of this trap which they have hidden for me. Nor is it that suffering only, wherewith our Lord Jesus Christ suffered ; the devil hath spread his trap even unto the end. And woe to that man that falleth into it; now every one doth fall, who tIrusteth not in God, who saith not, In
Thee, O Lord, have
confounded for
trusted, let me not be
ever, and in Thy righteousness rescue me, and deliver me.
The trap of the enemy hath been spread, and prepared. He hath baited the trap with error and terror ; error to entice with, terror to crush and hurry away. Shut thou the door of desire against error, shut the door of fear against terror, and thou shalt be led out of the trap. Of this kind of fight
246 The Body of Christ tempted variously at different times.
Psalm thy Captain Himself, Who for thy sake vouchsafed even to Exf. ii. De tempted, hath given thee an example in Himself. And Srnm. 1. He was first tempted with enticements ; for the door of
desire was tempted in Him, when the devil tempted Him, Matt. 4, saying, Command these stones, that they be made bread. Luke 4 Worship me, and Iwill give Thee these kingdoms. Cast 3. &c.
Ps. 118, s 1
was shaken that might fall, and the Lord held me up. But when these
Thyself down, for it hath been written, He hath given His an gels charge over Thee, and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. All this enticement tempts desire. But when he found the door of desire shut in Him, Who was tempted for us, he be took himself to tempting the door of fear, and prepared suffering for Him. In a word, the Evangelist speaketh thus,
Luke 4, And the temptation being ended, the devil departed from Him for a season. What is, for a season ? As if he would return, and tempt the gate of fear, because he found the gate of desire closed. The whole Body then of Christ is tempted even unto the end. My Brethren, when some evil or other was enjoined against the Christians, this Body was attacked together, the whole was attackIed: hence it was /aid in the Psalm, As a heap of sand
things were over, which attacked the whole Body that it
it might fall, temptation began in its separate parts. The 1 so o. xf. Body of Christ is tempted part by part1: one Church does not suffer persecution, another does. It suffers not the rage
of the Emperor, but the rage of an evil people. How great devastations from the populace ! How great evils have been heaped upon the Church by bad Christians, by those,
Luke 5, who, having been taken in that net, have so multiplied, as to
7.
weigh down the ships in that fishing of the Lord before the Passion ! There is no want then of the weighing down of temptation. Let no one say to himself, " It is not a time of temptation. " Whoso saith this to himself,
promiseth himself peace : whoso promiseth himself peace, is assaulted
off his guard. Let the whole Body of Christ then say, (ver. 4. ) Thou wilt bring me out of this trap, which they have hidden for me : because our Head even hath been brought out of the trap, which they hid for Him, to Whom it was just now said in the Gospel, that they would say,
Our Lord, using words from the Psalms, shewed them His. 247
This is the heir; come, let us kill Him, and the inheritance Ver. will be ours. And on being questioned, What will the a' 6. Lord of the vineyard do to the wicked husbandmen ? they 9. " pronounced sentence against themselves : He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard to
other husbandmen. What, and have ye never read, 7%eMat. 2i, Stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the42' Head of the corner? For what is here, the builders rejected;
is expressed in the Gospel, they cast out of the vineyard, and slew. He too then hath been delivered. Our Head is above, is free. Let us cleave to Him by love, that we may be hereafter the better united to Him by immortality ; and let us say all, Thou wilt take me out ofthat trap which they have hidden for me; for Thou art my Protector.
'
11. Let us listen to the words ofIthe Lord, which He
spake on the Cross, IntosThy hands
At least when we meet in the Gospel with His words from
this Psalm, let us not doubt that He Himself hath spoken
here. We Ihave this in the Gospel: He said, (ver. 5. ) //j*oL"ke23, Thy hands
and gave up the ghost. It was not without a cause that He30, would have the words of this Psalm to be His own words,
but only that He might warn you that He hath spoken in
this Psalm. Seek Him here: consider how He wished to be sought for in that Psalm, For the taking up of the morning : Ps. 22,
commend My spirit: and He bowed His head,
J0hni9
They pierced My Hands and My Feet ; they numbered \f ? j distinctly all My bones ; yea, they regarded and beheld Me ; tit. p. they divided My garments for themselves, and cast the lot
upon My vesture ; that He might warn thee that this was fulfilled in Himself, He placed in His mouth the heading of
this very Psalm, O God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken ib. 1. Me ? And yet He transferred in a figure the voice of His Body unto Himself; for the Father never at any time forsook
His Only Son. Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of
truth. Doing what Thou hast promised, not failing in Thy promise, O God of truth.
12. Ver. 6. Thou hatest them that hold to vanity uselessly. Who holds to vanity ? He that by fear of death dieth. For by fear of death he lieth, and dieth before he dies, who therefore lied that he might live. Thou wouldest lie that thou
commend My spirit.
248 Vanities in which men trust. Man's hard necessities.
Psalm mayest not die: thou both liest, and diest; and whereas XXXI. .
Exp. n. thou shunnest one death, which thou canst put off, but canst
Serm. *. not put away, thou fallest into two, so as that thou diest first in soul, and afterwards in body. Whence is this, but from holding to vanity? Because the passing day is sweet to
js_ 40 6-- 8-
thee, because the flying seasons, of which thou retainest nothing and art moreover thyself retained, are sweet to thee. Thou hatest them that hold to vanity uselessly. But I, who
do not hold to vanity, have trusted in the Lord. Thou trustest in money, thou holdest by vanity: thou trustest in honour and in some eminence of human power, thou holdest to vanity : thou trustest in some powerful friend, thou hold est to vanity. When thou trustest in all these things, either thou diest and leavest them here ; or in thy lifetime they all perish, and thou failest in thy trust. Of this vanity Isaiah maketh mention, when he saith, All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof is as the flower ofgrass: the grass wither- eth, and the flower thereoffalleth; but the word of the Lord abidethfor ever. But I am not as they who trust in vanity, and do hold to vanity; but have trusted in the Lord, Who is
not vanity. / will be glad, and in
13. Ver. 7. rejoice Thy mercy,
not in mine own righteousness. For Thou hast regarded my humiliation, Thou hast saved my soul from necessities, and hast not shut me up into the hands of the enemy. What are the necessities, from which we wish our soul to be saved? Who can number them ? Who duly amplify them ? Who fitly set them forth, to be shunned and avoided ? First it is a hard necessity in the human race, not to know another's heart, to think ill frequently of a faithful friend, to think well frequently of a faithless friend. O hard necessity ! And what canst thou do to look into hearts? what eye apply, O weak and lamentable mortality ? What canst thou do to see to-day thy brother's heart? Thou hast nothing thou canst do. There is another greater necessity,
thou seest not even thine. own, how it will be to-morrow. What shall I now say of the necessities of mortality itself? Death is inevitable, and no man wishes it. No man wishes what is inevitable. No man wishes that, which will be, whether he will or no. Hard necessity, not to wish that
Death a hardship. Hard conflict with evil. 249 which cannot be shunned! For if it were possible, we should Ver. a.
-
be unwilling doubtless to die; and should wish to be made
as Angels, but by some transformation, not by death: as the Apostle saith, We have a building of God, a house not made 2 Cor. 5, with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, ifso be that we be found clothed and not naked.
For we who are in this habitation do groan, being burdened: wherein we would not be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality may be swallowed up of life. We wish to attain
unto the kingdom of God, but we do not wish it through
death: and yet necessity saith unto thee, This way shalt
thou come. Dost thou hesitate, O man, to come this way,
when God hath come this way to thee? What again are the necessities in conquering most inveterate lusts, and evil
habits the growth of years ? To conquer habit, you know,
is a hard battle. Thou seest how evil are thy deeds, how
detestable, how unhappy; and yet thou doest the same:
thou didst so yesterday, thou wilt do so to-day. If they are
thus displeasing to thee, whilst I am speaking, how do they displease thee, when thou thinkest on them ? And yet thou
wilt do the same. By what art thou hurried along? who
drags thee captive ? Is it that law in thy members warring againIst the law of thy mind? Cry out then, Wretched man Rom. 7, that
am, who shall deliver me the body this death? from of
Tlie grace of God through Jesus Christ our LordI: and so that
is fulfilled in thee, which we just now said, But
have trusted
I will be glad, and rejoice in Tliy mercy ;
in the Lord :
Thou hast regarded my humiliation, Thou hast saved my soul from necessities. For how hath thy soul been saved from necessities, but because thy humiliation hath been re garded ? Unless thou wert first humbled, He would not hear thee, Who should deliver thee from neceIssities. He was
humbled, who being ignorant of God's Righteousness, and Rom. 1 0,
wishing to establish their own, have not submitted themselves3"
to the Righteousness of God.
14. Ver. 8. And Thou hast not shut me up into the hands
of the enemy. Not thy neighbour, not thy partner, not him
am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? They were not
humbled, who said, Wretched man that
for
II.
as we ought to pray for. We have another enemy, the devil, the old serpent. We all at death, if we die well, are delivered out of his hands. For whoever die ill, in their iniquities, are shut up into his hands, that they should be condemned with him at the end. The Lord our God then delivereth us from the hand of our enemy ; for he wishes to catch us by our lusts. Now our lusts, when they are strong, and when we serve them, are called necessities. But when God delivereth our soul from our necessities, what shall there be which the enemy can lay hold of in us, that we should be shut up into his hands ?
15. Thou hast set myfeet in a large room. But yet, the way is narrow: it is narrow to the toiling, broad to the loving. The same way which is narrow, is made broad. In a large room, saith he, Thou hast set my feet, that my feet straitened for room should not knock against each other, and by such knocking throw me down. What then doth he mean by saying, Thou hast set my feet in a large room ? Thou hast plainly made righteousness easy to me, which once was difficult to me : this Thou hast set my feet in a large room.
16. Ver. 9. Have mercy on me, Lord, for am troubled; mine eye hath been disordered anger, my soul, and my belly. For my life hath failed in pain, and my years in groanings. Let this suffice you, dearly beloved: with the help of the Lord, we will perhaps fulfil our engage ment, that this Psalm ended, we may proceed on our way*.
PSALM XXXI.
SERMON II.
Let our attention turn again to the rest of the Psalm,
and let us recognise ourselves in the words of the Prophet. For we look into ourselves in the time of tribulation, we
We may see from this that the strange place, not in the Church of
250 Our Ghostly Enemy. The narrow way large to love.
Psalm with whom thou hast been on service, and injured him, or it
XXXI ?
Srrm. " may be *n thine own city hast done wrong to : for these are such
first and the two following discourses on Ps. 30. (31. ) were delivered in a
Hippo. Ben.
>>
if
1.
O by
I
is,
The one Body of Christ not all in one state. 251
shall rejoice in the time of retribution. I set forth to you, Ver. dearly beloved, when I was expounding the first part of this ----- Psalm, that it is Christ Who speaketh; and I did not omit
to say how that Christ is to be taken. Wholly, with the
Head and the Body. I established this also by testimonies of Scripture, as it appeared to me, adequate enough and clear; so that it could not in any wise be doubted that Christ is Head and Body, Bridegroom and Bride, the Son of God and the Church, the Son of God made Son of Man for our sakes, that He might make the sons of men sons of God ; and so there might be two in one flesh in a great mystery, who are recognised in the Prophets as two in one voice. The thanksgiving of the Psalmist himself hath been expressed above in the words, Thou hast regarded my humiliation, Thou hast saved my soul from necessities, and hast not shut me up into the hands qf the enemy; Thou hast set my feet in a large room.
faileth not in that fear. In fine, this panic-struck oneI begins with this. (Ver. 1. ) In Thee, O Lord, have hoped, let me not be confounded for ever. You see, that he both is panic-struck, and hopes : you see that this panic is not without hope. Even though there be some disturbance in the human heart, divine consolation withdraws not.
4. Here then Christ speaketh in the Prophet : I venture to
say, Christ speaketh. The Psalmist will say some things in
this Psalm, which may seem as if they could not apply to Christ, to that excellency of our Head, and especially to That John ),
Word Which was in the beginning God with God : nor perhaps will some things here seem to apply to Him in the Phil. 2, form of a servant, which form of a servant He took from the Virgin : and yet Christ speaketh, because Christ in Christ's members. And, that ye may know, that the Head and His
Body are called One Christ, He saith Himself, when He
was speaking of marriage, They shall be two in one flesh : Gen. 2,
If there were
absolutely
no in those panic
240 Head and Members together are One Christ.
Psai. m therefore they are no more two, but one Jlesh. But, parad ed jli venture, He may say this of any marriage. Hear the Apostle Serm. i. Paul ; And they shall be two, saith he, in one Jlesh. This is
I
Eph. 5, Church. There is produced then as it were out of two, one
? Jagk 01 go
a great mystery; but
speak concerning Christ, and the
certain person, of the Head and the Body, of the Bridegroom and the Bride. For the wonderful and excellent unity of this person, the prophet Isaiah also sets forth ; for speaking
Is. 6l, in him too, Christ saith in prophecy, He hath bound a mitre
10"
on Me, as on a Bridegroom the chaplet, and adorned Me with ornaments as a Bride. He called Himself the Bride groom, and the Bride : why called He Himself the Bride groom, and the Bride, unless because they shall be two in one flesh ? If two in one flesh, why not too in one voice ? Christ may therefore speak, because the Church speaks in Christ, and Christ in the Church ; and the Body in the Head, and the Head in the Body. Hear the Apostle ex-
1 Cor. pressing this very thing more clearly, For as the body is 12, 12. one, and hath many members, and all the members of the
body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. Speaking of the members of Christ, that is, of the faithful, he doth not say, so also are the members of Christ ; but to all that he hath expressed he gave the name of Christ. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is
Christ many members, one Body. Therefore we all together with our Head, Christ, without our Head nothing worth. Why? Because with our Head we are the vine: without our Head, which God forbid,
destined to no work of the husbandman, but to the fire only.
John 15, So He Himself in the Gospel, / am the Vine, ye are the
5. 1?
branches, My Father is the husbandman, and without Me, saith He, ye can do nothing. O Lord, if without Thee nothing, in Thee all. For whatsoever He worketh by us, we seem to work. He can do much and all without us, we without Him nothing.
5. Therefore in whatever ecstasy he speaketh, whether in panic or transport of the mind, what is said is suitable. Let us speak in the Body of Christ, let us all speak as one, for that all are oneness; let us say, In Thee, O Lord, have 1 trusted,
lopped branches,
are
Wholesome confusion, and everlasting. God's Righteousness. 24 1
let me not be confounded for ever. That confusion do I Ver.
dread, saith He, which is for ever. For there is a certain -- confusion for a time which is useful, the disturbance of a mind looking back on its sins, amazed at the looking back,
in its amazement ashamed, in its shame reforming. Whence
- --
too the Apostle saith, For what glory had ye then in those Rom. 6 things whereof ye are now ashamed ? Therefore he saith 21 ? that they, now faithful, are ashamed, not of present gifts, but
of past sins. Let not the Christian dread this confusion :
yea rather, if he have not this, he will have everlasting con
fusion. What is everlasting confusion ? When that shall happen, which is said, And their iniquities shall take them Wisdom over on the contrary part. And as their iniquities take4'20' them over on the contrary part, all the bad flock shall go to
the left hand, as goats separated from the sheep ; and they
shall hear, Go ye into the fire everlasting, which hath been Matt.
pIreparedfor the devil and his angels. They ask why? For 25,4*?
was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat. They
then, when they gave no meat to Christ as He hungered, when they gave no drink to the thirsty, when they clothed not the naked; took not in the stranger, visited not the sick -- then they despised. When these things shall begin to be enumerated to them, they will be confounded, and this con fusion will be for ever. And in fear of this, he who is afraid, or whose mind is transported Itoward God, maketh this
despised
trusted, let me not be con
founded for ever.
6. And in Thy Righteousness rescue me, and deliver me.
For if Thou lookest to my righteousness, Thou condemnest
me. In Thy Righteousness rescue me. For there is a righteousness of God, which becomes ours too, when it is
given to us. Now it is therefore called God's Righteousness,
that man may not deem that he hath righteousness of him
self. For thus the Apostle Paul saith, To him that believeth Rom. 4, on Him Who justifieth the ungodly, (what is, Who justifieth
the ungodly? Who of ungodly maketh a man righteous:) his faith is counted for righteousness. But the Jews, because
they thought that they could by thelr own strength fulfil righteousness, stumbled at the stumbling-stone and rock ofIb. 9,33. offence, and did not acknowledge the grace of Christ. For
request, In Thee, 0 Lord, have
B
242 Man, unable to free himselffrom sin, needs help.
Psalm they received a law, whereby they could be made guilty,
Exp^ii Serm. i.
Bom. ' '
Dut could not be freed from guilt. In fine, what saith the
For I
zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. What is, what
bear them record that have a Apostle of them ? they
he says, the Jews have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge? Hear what. no* according to knowledge is. For they being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and wishing to establish their own, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. If then for this reason they have not a zeal of God according to knowledge, because they are ignorant of God's righteousness, and wish to establish their own, as if they were made righteous of themselves : for this reason have they not come to know the grace of God, because they would not be saved freely. Who is he that is saved freely? In whom the Saviour findeth not what to crown, but what to condemn ; findeth not deserts of good things, but findeth deserts of punishment. If He deal as it were strictly according to the rule of the law laid down, the sinner must be condemned. If He were to act by this rule, whom would He deliver? He found all men sinners : He Alone came without sin, Who found us sinners.
Rom. 3, So saith the Apostle : For all have sinned, and are in need of the glory of God. What means, are in need of the glory of God? That He should Himself deliver, and not thou. Because thou canst not deliver thyself, thou needest a de liverer. Wherein dost thou vaunt thyself ? Wherein dost thou rely on the Law and on righteousness ? Seest thou not what is inwardly struggling in thee, of thee, against thee ? Hearest thou not one fighting, and confessing, and longing for help in the fight ? Hearest thou not the Lord's combatant asking of the disposer of the contest help in his fight? For God doth not so look on at thy struggles, as the exhibitor of the games looks on, if so be thou fightest in the amphitheatre. He can give thee a prize if victorious ; he cannot help thee in danger. Not so doth God look on. Look there, mark
Rom. 7. him that saith, FoIr 1 delight in the law of God after the ~ ' inward man; but see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and leading me captive in the
lIaw of sin, which is in my members.
am ! who shall deliver me
O wretched man that
this death ?
from
the
body of
Trust in Hisfree grace. God's bending His Ear to man. 243
The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Why Ver.
grace ? Because it is given gratuitously. Why is it given -- gratuitously? Because thy merits have not gone before, but
the kindnesses of God have prevented thee. Glory then be to
Him Who delivereth us. For all have sinned, and are in Rom. 3, need of the glory of God. In Thee, then, O Lord, have I23' trusted, not in myself: let me not be confounded for ever, because I trust in Him, Who confoundeth not. In Righteousness rescue me, and deliver me. Since Thou hast
not found in me my own righteousness, rescue me in Thine : that is, let that rescue me which justifieth me, which maketh me of ungodly godly, of unrighteous righteous, of blind seeing, of falling rising, of weeping rejoicing. This delivereth me : not I myself. In Thy Righteousness rescue me, and deliver me.
7. Ver. 2. Bend down Thine ear unto me. God did this, when He sent Christ Himself unto us. He sent Him to us, Who bending His Head wrote with His Finger on the earth, when the adulterous woman was brought before Him6. to be punished. But He had before bent Himself to the earth, that God to man, to whom was said, Earth thou Gen art, and unto earth thou shall go. For God doth not bend 19. His Ear to us as in bodily space, nor He bounded by these circumscribed bodily members. Nay, let not human fancies form any such notions as these. God Truth. Truth neither square, nor round, nor long. It every where present, the eye of the heart be open to It. Never theless God bendeth His Ear to us, letting down mercy upon
us. What greater mercy, than that He should give us His Only One, not to live with us, but to die for us Bend doum Tltine Ear unto me.
8. Make haste to deliver me. For he heard in this, when he saith, Make haste. For for this purpose this word was used, that thou mayest understand how that all this age, which seems to us while passing long, but moment. That not long, which hath an end. The period from Adam to this day passed, and much more in truth halh been passed already, than remains to be passed. If Adam were still living, and should die to-day what would profit him to have been so long, to have lived so long? Why then
'"--
Thy
r2
;
it is
is
is
is
it is
is
is
a is it ? is
if
is, if
3
244 Man cannot even seek refuge, save as enabled.
Psalm this haste ? Because time flies by, and what is slow tc 2? jl|thee, is in God's sight short. This haste he had already Serm. t. understood in ecstasy. Make haste to deliver me. Be unto
me a God Who prolecteth me, and a house of refuge, that Thou mayest save me. Be Thou unto me a house of refuge, a God Who protecteth, a house of refuge. For sometimes 1 am in peril, and Iwould fly: whither do Ifly? to what place fly safely ? to what hill ? to what cave ? to what guarded shelter ? What castle can I hold ? with what walls be encompassed? Whithersoever I go, I accompany my self. For, O man, whatsoever thou wilt, thou canst fly, except thy conscience. Enter into thy house, rest on thy bed, enter the inner chambers ; thou canst have no place within, whither thou mayest fly from thy conscience, if thy
sins torment thee. But because he hath said, Make haste to deliver me, and rescue me in Thy Righteousness, that
Thou mayest remit my sins, and build up Thy Righteous ness in me : Thou shalt be to me a house of refuge, to Thee do I fly. For whither shall I fly from Thee ? God is angry with thee, whither wilt thou fly ? Hear what, in fear of the
Ps. 139, anger of God, he saith in another Psalm, Whither shall
go
'" 8"
Ifly from from
if
servant, to escape a human master, Thou fliest to places where Thy master is not : to escape God, fly to the Lord. For there is no place, whither thou mayest fly from God. All things are present and naked to the eyes of the Almighty. Be Thou then to me, saith he, a house of refuge. For if I shall not be made whole, how shall I fly
I Thy Spirit ? or, whither shall
climb up into heaven, Tliouart there:
I
hell, Thou art present. Whithersoever I go, there I find Thee. And if Thou art angry, I find Thee an Avenger ; if Thou art propitious, an Helper. Nothing then remains for me, but to fly unto Thee, not from Thee. If Thou art a
If
go
down into
? Make me whole, and I fly to Thee. For if Thou dost not make me whole, I cannot walk : how shall I be able to fly ? Whither should he go, whither fly, if he be unable to walk, half dead in the way, maimed and wounded by robbers ? Whom the priest going by passed over, the Levite going by passed over, the Samaritan going by pitied, that the Lord Himself, Who
hath pitied the race of man. For Samarite
by interpreta
I Thy presence?
is
is,
Christ our Keeper. Hefeeds now with milk. Satan's trap. 245
tion keeper. And who keepeth us, if He deserteth us? Ver. With good reason, when the Jews said railing at Him, Say il tee not truly that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil ? 48. 49.
' He rejected the one, accepted the other, saying, / have not
a devil. He did not say, I am not a Samaritan : wishing it to be understood that He is our Keeper. In pity then He drew nigh, He took care of him, brought him to an inn, fulfilled His mercy towards him : now he is able to walk, he is able even to fly. Whither should he fly but to God, where he hath made for himself a house of refuge?
9. Ver. 3. For Thou art my strength and my refuge; and for Thy Name's sake Thou shall be my guide, and shalt nourish me. Not for my merit's sake, but for Thy Name's sake, that Thou mayest be glorified, not because I am worthy. Thou shall be my guide, that I go not astray from Thee ; and Thou shalt nourish me, that I may be strong to eat the food, wherewith Thou feedest angels. For
here hath He nourished us with milk, Who hath promised us heavenly food ; and hath exercised a mother's pity. For
as a mother, when suckling, conveys through the flesh the same food which the infant is not able to take, and infuses milk ; (for the little one receives the same as he would receive at table, but what is conveyed through the flesh is suited to the little one ;) so the Lord, that He might make His wisdom milk to us, came to us clothed with Flesh. Hence the Body of Christ speaketh, Tliou shalt nourish me.
10. Thou shall bring me out of this trap, which they have hidden for me. Now is suffering intimated, Thou shalt bring me out of this trap which they have hidden for me. Nor is it that suffering only, wherewith our Lord Jesus Christ suffered ; the devil hath spread his trap even unto the end. And woe to that man that falleth into it; now every one doth fall, who tIrusteth not in God, who saith not, In
Thee, O Lord, have
confounded for
trusted, let me not be
ever, and in Thy righteousness rescue me, and deliver me.
The trap of the enemy hath been spread, and prepared. He hath baited the trap with error and terror ; error to entice with, terror to crush and hurry away. Shut thou the door of desire against error, shut the door of fear against terror, and thou shalt be led out of the trap. Of this kind of fight
246 The Body of Christ tempted variously at different times.
Psalm thy Captain Himself, Who for thy sake vouchsafed even to Exf. ii. De tempted, hath given thee an example in Himself. And Srnm. 1. He was first tempted with enticements ; for the door of
desire was tempted in Him, when the devil tempted Him, Matt. 4, saying, Command these stones, that they be made bread. Luke 4 Worship me, and Iwill give Thee these kingdoms. Cast 3. &c.
Ps. 118, s 1
was shaken that might fall, and the Lord held me up. But when these
Thyself down, for it hath been written, He hath given His an gels charge over Thee, and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. All this enticement tempts desire. But when he found the door of desire shut in Him, Who was tempted for us, he be took himself to tempting the door of fear, and prepared suffering for Him. In a word, the Evangelist speaketh thus,
Luke 4, And the temptation being ended, the devil departed from Him for a season. What is, for a season ? As if he would return, and tempt the gate of fear, because he found the gate of desire closed. The whole Body then of Christ is tempted even unto the end. My Brethren, when some evil or other was enjoined against the Christians, this Body was attacked together, the whole was attackIed: hence it was /aid in the Psalm, As a heap of sand
things were over, which attacked the whole Body that it
it might fall, temptation began in its separate parts. The 1 so o. xf. Body of Christ is tempted part by part1: one Church does not suffer persecution, another does. It suffers not the rage
of the Emperor, but the rage of an evil people. How great devastations from the populace ! How great evils have been heaped upon the Church by bad Christians, by those,
Luke 5, who, having been taken in that net, have so multiplied, as to
7.
weigh down the ships in that fishing of the Lord before the Passion ! There is no want then of the weighing down of temptation. Let no one say to himself, " It is not a time of temptation. " Whoso saith this to himself,
promiseth himself peace : whoso promiseth himself peace, is assaulted
off his guard. Let the whole Body of Christ then say, (ver. 4. ) Thou wilt bring me out of this trap, which they have hidden for me : because our Head even hath been brought out of the trap, which they hid for Him, to Whom it was just now said in the Gospel, that they would say,
Our Lord, using words from the Psalms, shewed them His. 247
This is the heir; come, let us kill Him, and the inheritance Ver. will be ours. And on being questioned, What will the a' 6. Lord of the vineyard do to the wicked husbandmen ? they 9. " pronounced sentence against themselves : He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard to
other husbandmen. What, and have ye never read, 7%eMat. 2i, Stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the42' Head of the corner? For what is here, the builders rejected;
is expressed in the Gospel, they cast out of the vineyard, and slew. He too then hath been delivered. Our Head is above, is free. Let us cleave to Him by love, that we may be hereafter the better united to Him by immortality ; and let us say all, Thou wilt take me out ofthat trap which they have hidden for me; for Thou art my Protector.
'
11. Let us listen to the words ofIthe Lord, which He
spake on the Cross, IntosThy hands
At least when we meet in the Gospel with His words from
this Psalm, let us not doubt that He Himself hath spoken
here. We Ihave this in the Gospel: He said, (ver. 5. ) //j*oL"ke23, Thy hands
and gave up the ghost. It was not without a cause that He30, would have the words of this Psalm to be His own words,
but only that He might warn you that He hath spoken in
this Psalm. Seek Him here: consider how He wished to be sought for in that Psalm, For the taking up of the morning : Ps. 22,
commend My spirit: and He bowed His head,
J0hni9
They pierced My Hands and My Feet ; they numbered \f ? j distinctly all My bones ; yea, they regarded and beheld Me ; tit. p. they divided My garments for themselves, and cast the lot
upon My vesture ; that He might warn thee that this was fulfilled in Himself, He placed in His mouth the heading of
this very Psalm, O God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken ib. 1. Me ? And yet He transferred in a figure the voice of His Body unto Himself; for the Father never at any time forsook
His Only Son. Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of
truth. Doing what Thou hast promised, not failing in Thy promise, O God of truth.
12. Ver. 6. Thou hatest them that hold to vanity uselessly. Who holds to vanity ? He that by fear of death dieth. For by fear of death he lieth, and dieth before he dies, who therefore lied that he might live. Thou wouldest lie that thou
commend My spirit.
248 Vanities in which men trust. Man's hard necessities.
Psalm mayest not die: thou both liest, and diest; and whereas XXXI. .
Exp. n. thou shunnest one death, which thou canst put off, but canst
Serm. *. not put away, thou fallest into two, so as that thou diest first in soul, and afterwards in body. Whence is this, but from holding to vanity? Because the passing day is sweet to
js_ 40 6-- 8-
thee, because the flying seasons, of which thou retainest nothing and art moreover thyself retained, are sweet to thee. Thou hatest them that hold to vanity uselessly. But I, who
do not hold to vanity, have trusted in the Lord. Thou trustest in money, thou holdest by vanity: thou trustest in honour and in some eminence of human power, thou holdest to vanity : thou trustest in some powerful friend, thou hold est to vanity. When thou trustest in all these things, either thou diest and leavest them here ; or in thy lifetime they all perish, and thou failest in thy trust. Of this vanity Isaiah maketh mention, when he saith, All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof is as the flower ofgrass: the grass wither- eth, and the flower thereoffalleth; but the word of the Lord abidethfor ever. But I am not as they who trust in vanity, and do hold to vanity; but have trusted in the Lord, Who is
not vanity. / will be glad, and in
13. Ver. 7. rejoice Thy mercy,
not in mine own righteousness. For Thou hast regarded my humiliation, Thou hast saved my soul from necessities, and hast not shut me up into the hands of the enemy. What are the necessities, from which we wish our soul to be saved? Who can number them ? Who duly amplify them ? Who fitly set them forth, to be shunned and avoided ? First it is a hard necessity in the human race, not to know another's heart, to think ill frequently of a faithful friend, to think well frequently of a faithless friend. O hard necessity ! And what canst thou do to look into hearts? what eye apply, O weak and lamentable mortality ? What canst thou do to see to-day thy brother's heart? Thou hast nothing thou canst do. There is another greater necessity,
thou seest not even thine. own, how it will be to-morrow. What shall I now say of the necessities of mortality itself? Death is inevitable, and no man wishes it. No man wishes what is inevitable. No man wishes that, which will be, whether he will or no. Hard necessity, not to wish that
Death a hardship. Hard conflict with evil. 249 which cannot be shunned! For if it were possible, we should Ver. a.
-
be unwilling doubtless to die; and should wish to be made
as Angels, but by some transformation, not by death: as the Apostle saith, We have a building of God, a house not made 2 Cor. 5, with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, ifso be that we be found clothed and not naked.
For we who are in this habitation do groan, being burdened: wherein we would not be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality may be swallowed up of life. We wish to attain
unto the kingdom of God, but we do not wish it through
death: and yet necessity saith unto thee, This way shalt
thou come. Dost thou hesitate, O man, to come this way,
when God hath come this way to thee? What again are the necessities in conquering most inveterate lusts, and evil
habits the growth of years ? To conquer habit, you know,
is a hard battle. Thou seest how evil are thy deeds, how
detestable, how unhappy; and yet thou doest the same:
thou didst so yesterday, thou wilt do so to-day. If they are
thus displeasing to thee, whilst I am speaking, how do they displease thee, when thou thinkest on them ? And yet thou
wilt do the same. By what art thou hurried along? who
drags thee captive ? Is it that law in thy members warring againIst the law of thy mind? Cry out then, Wretched man Rom. 7, that
am, who shall deliver me the body this death? from of
Tlie grace of God through Jesus Christ our LordI: and so that
is fulfilled in thee, which we just now said, But
have trusted
I will be glad, and rejoice in Tliy mercy ;
in the Lord :
Thou hast regarded my humiliation, Thou hast saved my soul from necessities. For how hath thy soul been saved from necessities, but because thy humiliation hath been re garded ? Unless thou wert first humbled, He would not hear thee, Who should deliver thee from neceIssities. He was
humbled, who being ignorant of God's Righteousness, and Rom. 1 0,
wishing to establish their own, have not submitted themselves3"
to the Righteousness of God.
14. Ver. 8. And Thou hast not shut me up into the hands
of the enemy. Not thy neighbour, not thy partner, not him
am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? They were not
humbled, who said, Wretched man that
for
II.
as we ought to pray for. We have another enemy, the devil, the old serpent. We all at death, if we die well, are delivered out of his hands. For whoever die ill, in their iniquities, are shut up into his hands, that they should be condemned with him at the end. The Lord our God then delivereth us from the hand of our enemy ; for he wishes to catch us by our lusts. Now our lusts, when they are strong, and when we serve them, are called necessities. But when God delivereth our soul from our necessities, what shall there be which the enemy can lay hold of in us, that we should be shut up into his hands ?
15. Thou hast set myfeet in a large room. But yet, the way is narrow: it is narrow to the toiling, broad to the loving. The same way which is narrow, is made broad. In a large room, saith he, Thou hast set my feet, that my feet straitened for room should not knock against each other, and by such knocking throw me down. What then doth he mean by saying, Thou hast set my feet in a large room ? Thou hast plainly made righteousness easy to me, which once was difficult to me : this Thou hast set my feet in a large room.
16. Ver. 9. Have mercy on me, Lord, for am troubled; mine eye hath been disordered anger, my soul, and my belly. For my life hath failed in pain, and my years in groanings. Let this suffice you, dearly beloved: with the help of the Lord, we will perhaps fulfil our engage ment, that this Psalm ended, we may proceed on our way*.
PSALM XXXI.
SERMON II.
Let our attention turn again to the rest of the Psalm,
and let us recognise ourselves in the words of the Prophet. For we look into ourselves in the time of tribulation, we
We may see from this that the strange place, not in the Church of
250 Our Ghostly Enemy. The narrow way large to love.
Psalm with whom thou hast been on service, and injured him, or it
XXXI ?
Srrm. " may be *n thine own city hast done wrong to : for these are such
first and the two following discourses on Ps. 30. (31. ) were delivered in a
Hippo. Ben.
>>
if
1.
O by
I
is,
The one Body of Christ not all in one state. 251
shall rejoice in the time of retribution. I set forth to you, Ver. dearly beloved, when I was expounding the first part of this ----- Psalm, that it is Christ Who speaketh; and I did not omit
to say how that Christ is to be taken. Wholly, with the
Head and the Body. I established this also by testimonies of Scripture, as it appeared to me, adequate enough and clear; so that it could not in any wise be doubted that Christ is Head and Body, Bridegroom and Bride, the Son of God and the Church, the Son of God made Son of Man for our sakes, that He might make the sons of men sons of God ; and so there might be two in one flesh in a great mystery, who are recognised in the Prophets as two in one voice. The thanksgiving of the Psalmist himself hath been expressed above in the words, Thou hast regarded my humiliation, Thou hast saved my soul from necessities, and hast not shut me up into the hands qf the enemy; Thou hast set my feet in a large room.
