That length is one that hath no end, eternal life, that is
promised
us in long days.
Augustine - Exposition on the Psalms - v4
That he might teach thee how to answer the tempter, so that
if thou wast reduced to anj straits and the tempter sug gested, if thou wast a Christian and belongedst to Christ, would He desert thee now ? would He not have sent thee
Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Was it a great thing for our Lord Jesus Christ to make bread out of stones, when He satisfied so many thousands with five loaves ? He made
tempter said,
enough for so many thousands, Who also every day out of a few seeds raises up on earth immense harvests. These are the miracles of our Lord: but from their constant operation they are disregarded. What then, my brethren, was it im
possible
We may not expect God to grant our will. 305
help ? Possibly the Physician has still the knife in His Ver.
--
when he complained of the messenger of Satan, who was a thora in hisI flesh, by whom he says he was buffetted. For 2 Cor.
this thing besought the Lord thrice, that it might departTM' ' from me. And He said unto me, Big grace is sufficient for
thee : for My strength is made perfect in weakness. As if a man said to his physician, who had given him a blister, This plaister is troublesome to me : I pray you take it away. And the physician replies, No; you must let it remain for some time; you cannot otherwise recover. The physician did not listen to his patient with a view to consult his pleasure, but his health. Be therefore strong, my brethren: and when ye are tempted by some want, beneath the scourge and the instruction of God, while He is both preparing and keeping for you an eternal inheritance, let not the devil sug gest to you, If thou wert righteous, would He not send thee bread by means of the rIaven, as He did to Elias ? Where is that thou hast read,
hand, and therefore leaves thee: yet He does not forsake thee: just as He listened not to the prayers of Paul, because He did listen to him. For Paul says, that he was not heard
never saw the righteous forsaken, p? . nor his seed begging their bread/? Do thou answer the2? -
37,
devil, The Scripture speaks truth,
never saw the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread ; for I have a bread of mine own that thou knowest not of. What bread ?
Listen to our Lord ; Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Dost thou think the word of God bread? If the Word of God, through whichI all things were made, was not bread,
when pressed with hunger.
7. What, if he tempt thee in these words: If thou wast a
Christian, thou wouldest do miracles, as many Christians have done ? Thou, deceived by a wicked suggestion, wouldest tempt the Lord thy God, so as to say to Him, IfI am a Christian, and am before Thine eyes, and Thou dost account me at all in the number of Thine own, let me also do some thing like the many works which Thy Saints have done ? Thou hast tempted God, as if thou wert not a Christian,
VOL. IV. x
He would not say,
am the bread which came down
heaven. Thou hast therefore learnt to answer the tempter,41,
from
j0h?
c,
306 Worldly minds incline to ' tempt God?
Psalm unless thou didst this. Many who desired such things have
^len- For lnat Simon the sorcerer desired such gifts of Acts 8, the Apostles, when he wished to buy the Holy Spirit for
Xn! 18'
money. He loved the power of working miracles, but loved
not the imitation of humility. Thus, when some disciple,
or some one from the crowd, wished to follow the Lord, from witnessing the miracles which He did : the Lord saw that \ he was proud, and sought not the path of humility, but the
Matt. 8, puffing up of power, and said, The foxes have holes, the
^
birds of the air have nests; but the Sun of Man hath not where to lay His head. The foxes have holes in thee: the birds of the air have nests in thee. The foxes mean deceit: the birds of the air pride: for as the birds seek the regions above, so do the proud: and as foxes have treacherous holes, so have also all plotters against others. What then was our Lord's answer ? Piide and deceit may dwell in thee: Christ hath not where to dwell in thee: where to lay His head, because the laying of His head is the humility of Christ : unless He laid down His head, thou wouldest not be jus tified. Even His disciples, when they desired such things,
and were already wishing for a seat in His kingdom, before they gained the path of humility, when He was asked by the mother of His disciples, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on Thy right hand, the other on Thy left, were seeking power : but through the suffering of humility we
'
|
cf. Matt. come to the power of the kingdom. Our Lord saith, Are ye
20, 21.
ao[e f0 drink 0f the cup that I shall drink of? Why do ye think of the loftiness of the kingdom, and yet imitate not My humility ? What then, if he tempt thee thus, " work miracles ? " that thou mayest not tempt God, what shouldest thou answer ? What our Lord answered. The devil said to Him, Cast Thyself down ; for it is written, He shall give His Angels charge concerning Thee ; and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. If Thou shalt cast Thyself down, Angels shall receive Thee. And it might indeed, my brethren, happen, if our Lord had cast Himself down, the attending Angels would receive our Lord's flesh ; but what
Deut. 6, does He say to him ? TV is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Thou thinkest Me a man. For the
Ministry of Angels to our Lord as Man. 307
devil came to Him with this view, that he might try whether Ver. He were the Son of God. He saw His Flesh ; but His----- might appeared in His works: the Angels had borne witness.
He saw that He was mortal, so that he might tempt Him,
that by Christ's temptation the Christian might be taught. What then is written ? Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Let us not then tempt the Lord, so as to say, If we belong to Thee, let us work a miracle.
8. Let us return to the words of the Psalm. He hath given His Angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee in all Thy ways. They shall bear Thee in their hands, lest at any time Thou hurt Thy foot against a stone. Christ was raised up in the hands of Angels, when He was taken up into heaven : not that, if Angels had not sustained Him, He
would have fallen : but because they were attending on their
King. Say not, Those who sustained Him are better than
He Who was sustained. Are then cattle better than men, because they sustain the weakness of men ? And we ought
not to speak thus either ; for if the cattle withdraw their support, their riders fall. But how ought we to speak of it ?
For it is said even of God, Heaven is My throne. Because Is. 66,i. then heaven supports Him, and God sits thereon, is therefore fg^ ' heaven the better ? Thus also in this Psalm we may under
stand it of the service of the Angels: it does not pertain to any infirmity in our Lord, but to the honour they pay, and to their service. But our Lord Jesus Christ arose from the
dead. Wherefore ? Hear the Apostle : He was delivered Rom. 4, for our offences, and rose again for our justification. Also 26'
the Gospel saith of the Holy Ghost: The Holy Ghost was John 7,
What39,
cost. But in the Law, in Exodus the book of Moses, from
the day when the lamb was slain and eaten, fifty days are numbered ; and the Law was given, written by the finger ofEx. 31, God on tables of stone. What the finger of God the Gospel explaineth to us for the finger of God the Holy Ghost. How do we prove this Our Lord, when answering
those who accused Him of casting out devils in the name of x
not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.
is the glorification of Jesus ? He arose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. Glorified by God by His ascent into heaven, He sent His Holy Spirit on the day of Pente
2?
;
is
is,
'
308 Christ's mystical feet not hurt, on the stone of the Law.
Psu. m Beelzebub, saith, If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God;
andIanother Evangelist, in relating the same saying, saith,
with the finger God cast out devils. What therefore MatAi, If of
Luke 11 's 'n onc stated clearly, is darkly expressed in another. Thou 20- didst not know what was the fmger of God, but another
Evangelist explains it by terming it the Spirit of God. The Law then written by the fmger of God was given on the fiftieth day after the slaughter of the lamb, and the Holy Ghost descended on the fiftieth day after the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. The lamb was slain, the Passover was celebrated, the fifty days were completed, and the Law was given. But that Law was to cause fear, not love : but that fear might be changed into love, He Who was truly righteous was slain : of Whom that lamb whom the Jews were slaving was the type. He arose from the dead : and from the day of our Lord's Passover, as from that of the slaying of the Paschal lamb, fifty days are counted ; and the
Acts 2, Holy Ghost descended, now in the fulness of love, not in the punishment of fear. Why have I said this ? For this then our Lord arose, and was glorified, that He might send His Holy Spirit. And I said long ago that this was so, because His head is in heaven, His feet on earth. If His head is in heaven, His feet on earth ; what means our Lord's feet on earth ? Our Lord's saints on earth. Who are our Lord's feet ? The Apostles sent throughout the whole world. Who are our Lord's feet ? All the Evan gelists, in whom our Lord travellelh over all nations. It was to be feared lest the Evangelists should he hurt against a stone: for when He was set in Heaven as the head, the feet which were toiling upon the ground might be hurt against a stone. What stone ? The Law given on the tables of stone. That they might not therefore be impeached before the Law, not having received grace, and be held accursed in the Law: for this liability to the Law is that very stumbling against the stone: those whom the Law held con demned, the Lord absolved, that they might no more hurt
their feet against the Law. That the feet of this Head might not incur guilt of the Law, the Holy Ghost was sent to inspire love, and to release from fear. Fear did not fulfil the Law, love fulfilled it. Men feared, but they fulfilled
The Law fulfilled through the gift of Love. 309
not: they loved, and they fulfilled. How did they fear, and Ver.
:--
Peter thrice denied Him, for he had not yet received the Mat. 26, Holy Ghost: afterwards, when he had received the Holy69 Spirit, he began to preach with confidence. He who at the
words of the maid-servant thrice denied, after he had re
yet not fulfil? how did they love, and fulfil? Men used to fear, and to plunder others' goods : they loved, and they gave away their own. We need not therefore wonder that our Lord was raised up to heaven by the hands ofAngels, that His foot might not dash against a stone : lest those who on earth toiled in his body, while they were travelling over the whole world might become guilty of the Law, He took from them fear, and filled them with love. Through fear
ceived the Holy Ghost, confessed, amid the stripes of the rulers, Him Whom he had denied. This is no wonder: for Acts 6, the Lord dissolved that threefold fear by threefold love. 29' 4 For when He arose from the dead He said to Peter, Peter,
lavest thou Me? He said not, Fearest thou Me? For if
he still feared, he would be hurting his feet against the
stone. Lovest I thou Me? He saith. Peter replies, Thou
I
9. The rest is clear, my brethren, for it has often been treated of. (Ver. 13. ) Thou 1 shall go upon the asp and the l on this basilisk ; the lion and the dragon shall thou tread under thy JgTM? n
love Thee. Once was enough. Perhaps it
knowest that
might satisfy me, who see not the heart ; how much more would it suffice / the Lord, Who saw how with his whole
love Thee. It is not enough for our Lord,
soul Peter said,
to answer once: He asketh a second time, and Peter answer-
eth : He asketh a third time ; and now Peter, wearied, as if
our Lord doubted of his love, Lord, he saith, Thou huowest John2l,
1'-
all things: Thou knowest that
so dealt with him, as if He said, thrice thou hast denied Me through fear: thrice confess Me through love. With that love and that charity He filled His disciples. Why ? Because He hath set His house of defence very high: because when glo rified He sent the Holy Ghost, He released the faithful from the guilt of the Law, that His feet might not dash against a stone.
Ye know who the serpent and how the Church PM0,1. treadeth upon him, as she not conquered, because she
feet.
love Thee. But our Lord16
is
is
is,
310 Satan the lion infierceness, the dragon in sleight.
Psalm on her guard against his cunning. And after what manner II. - he is a lion and a dragon, I believe you know also, beloved.
The lion openly rages, the dragon lies secretly in covert: the devil hath each of these forces and powers. When the Martyrs were being slain, it was the raging lion: when heretics are plotting, it is the dragon creeping beneath us. Thou hast conquered the lion ; conquer also the dragon :
1al. ' let the lion hath not' crushed thee, let not the dragon deceive Hon"16 thee. Let us prove that it was the lion, when he openly did
Peter exhorting the Martyrs saith, Know ye not that your adversary the devil goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour? The lion openly raging sought whom he might devour : how does the dragon plot against us ? By means of heretics. In fear of these, Paul, lest the Church should by them be corrupted from her virginity of faith, which she beareth in her heart, saith, /
TvKt ra? e- 6, 8.
2 Cor.
' ' ' have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you
as a chaste virgin to Christ; but
as the serpent beguiled Eve through his sublilty, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ. A few women in the Church have bodily virginity: but the virginity of the heart all the faithful have. In the very matter of faith he feared that the heart's virginity would be corrupted by the devil : and those who have lost are uselessly virgins in their bodies. What does a woman who
corrupt in heart preserve in her body Thus Catholic married woman before virgin heretic. For the first not indeed virgin in her body, but the second has become married in her heart; and married not unto God as her husband, but unto the dragon. But what shall the Church do? Thou shalt go upon the asp and the basilisk. The basilisk the king of serpents, as the devil the king wicked spirits. The lion and the dragon thou shalt tread under thy feet.
10. These are the words of God to the Church.
Because he hath set his love in me, therefore will deliver him. Not only therefore the Head, which now sits in hearen, because He hath set His house of defence very high, to which no evil shall happen, neither shall any plague come
nigh His dwelling; but we also, who are toiling on earth,
Ifear, lest
by any means,
(Ver. 14. )
is I
a
it,
is
a
of
is
is
a
is
?
Faith to be roused in trouble. Length of days. 311
and are still living in temptations, whose steps ave feared Ver. for, lest they fall into snares, may hear the voice of the Lord lo' 16' our God consoling us, and saying to us, Because he hath
set his love upon me, therefore will I
11. (Ver. 15. ) He shall call upon me, and
deliver him: 1 will set him up, because he hath known my name. I will hear
I
art in trouble, as if the Lord were not with thee. Let faith
be with thee, and God is with thee in thy trouble. There
are waves on the sea, and thou art tossed in thy bark, because
Christ sleepeth. Christ slept in the ship, while the men Matt. 8,
him: yea,
am with him in trouble. Fear not when thou
were perishing. If thy faith sleep in thy heart, Christ is as24,26- it were sleeping in thy ship : because Christ dwelleth in
thee through faith, when thou beginnest to be tossed, awake Christ sleeping: rouse up thy faith, and thou shalt be assured that He deserts thee not. But thou thinkest thou
art forsaken, because He rescueth thee not when thou thyself
dost wish. He delivered the Three Children from the fire ? Dan. 3, Did He, Who did this, desert the Maccabees? God forbid ! ^Maco. He delivered both of these: the first bodily, that the faithless 7. might be confounded ; the last spiritually, that the faithful
am with him in trouble:
not that length of days is spoken of in the same sense as days are said to be long in summer, short in winter. Hath he such days to give us ?
That length is one that hath no end, eternal life, that is promised us in long days. And truly, since this sufficeth, with reason he saith, will I satisfy him. What is long in time, if it hath an end, satisfieth us not : for that reason it should not be even called long. And if we are covetous, we ought to be covetous of eternal life : long for such a life, as hath no end. Lo, a line in which our covetousness may be extended. Dost thou wish money without limit? Long for eternal life without limit. Dost thou wish that thy possession may have no end ? Seek for eternal life. With length of days will I
/
deliver him, and bring him to honour.
I will
might imitate them.
12. (Ver. 16. ) With length of days will I satisfy
him. What is length of days ? Eternal life. Brethren, imagine
satisfy him.
/ will shew him my salvation. Nor is this,
13.
brethren, to be briefly passed over. / will shew him my
my
312 Joy of seeing Christ, ' the Salvation of God. '
Psai. m salvation: He means, I will shew him Christ Himself. Why?
Was He not seen on earth? What great thing hath He to shew us? But He did not appear such as we shall see Him. He appeared in that shape in which those who saw Him crucified Him: behold, those who saw Him, crucified Him: wc have not seen Him, yet we have believed. They had eyes, have not we? yea, we too have the eyes of the heart: but, as yet we see through faith, not by sight. When will it be sight? When shall we, as the Apostle saith, see Him
1 Cor. face to face? which God promiseth us as the high reward 13' 12' of all our toils. Whatever thou toilest in, thou toilest for this purpose, that thou mayest see Him. Some great thing it is we are to see, since all our reward is seeing; and our
Lord Jesus Christ is that very great sight. He Who appeared
humble, will Himself appear great, and will rejoice us, as He John l, is even now seen of His Angels. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
'
XrL
God. Listen to the Lord Himself, Who gave this promise, JohnU, saying in the Gospel, He that loveth Me shall be loved of
I will love him. And as if it were asked of Him, And what wilt Thou give to him who loveth Thee ? He answereth, / will manifest Myself to him. Let us long for,
My Father, and
and let us love Him : let us burn with love toward Him, if we are His betrothed. Our husband is absent, let us wait for Him : He Whom we are longing for will come. He hath given such a pledge, let not the spouse fear lest she be forsaken by her Husband. He doth not forfeit His pledge. What pledge hath He given ? He hath poured out His blood. What pledge hath He given ? He hath sent the Holy Ghost. Will the Husband forfeit such pledges ? If He loved us not, He would not give such pledges. He loveth us now. O that we could love Him as He doth ?
John 16, " No man hath greater love, that that he lay down his life for his friends :" and how can we lay down our lives for Him ? What doth it profit Him, since He hath set His house of defence very high, nor doth any scourge come nigh His dwelling? But what saith John ? Even as Christ laid down His life for us, we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Each man who layeth down bis life for his
lJohn
'
brother, layeth it down for Him: just as in feeding his
The Christian's treasure in Heaven. 313
brother, he is feeding Christ. Inasmuch as ye have done it Ver. unto one ofthe least ofthese, ye have done it unto Me. Let^-1-"---
Mat. 26, us love and imitate Him: let us run after his ointments, as is40.
,. .
said in the Song of Solomon: Because of the savour of thyc. 1,3. good ointments, we will run after thee. For He came, and
gave forth a savour that filled the world. Whence, was that
fragrance ? From heaven. Follow then towards heaven, if thou do not answer falsely when it is said, Lift up your hearts, lift
up your thoughts, your love, your hope: that it may not rot
upon the earth. Thou darest not put wheat on the damp
earth, lest it rot; because thou hast toiled and reaped, thou
hast' threshed and winnowed it. Dost thou seek a spot for
thy wheat, and seekest thou not a place for thy heart ? seekest
thou not a place for thy treasure ? Do whatever thou canst
on earth ; spend, thou shalt not lose, but store up. And who keepeth thy treasure ? Christ, Who also keepeth thee.
He knoweth how to keep thee; knoweth He not how to
keep thy treasure ? But why doth He wish that thou change the place of thy treasure, except that thou mayest
change the place of thy heart ? For no man concerneth himself except about his treasure. How many are there
here who are now my listeners, and yet their heart is no
where but in their money bags ? Ye are on earth, because
what ye love is on earth : let that be sent to heaven, and
there will be thy heart. For wherever thy treasure is, there Matt. 6, will be thy heart also.
PSALM XCII.
A Sermon to the people, preached on Saturday.
:Lat. xcj.
1 . Listen to the Psalm : may the Lord grant to us to open the mysteries herein contained : whiles that, for remedy of weariness, they are diversely and variously explained. For God teacheth us no other hymn but that of faith, hope, and charity : that our faith may be firm in Himself, as long as we do not see Him, believing in Him Whom we do not see, that we may rejoice when we see Him, and the appearance of His light may succeed to our faith, when it will no longer
be said to us, Believe what thou seest not ; but, rejoice that
314 Hope in God a groundfor thankfulness.
Psalm thou scest. Let our hope also be immutable, and fixed in XCII 1 Him, let it not totter and fluctuate, let it not be tossed about;
as God Himself, in Whom it is fixed, cannot be tossed. For now it is called hope: but then it will not be hope, but reality. For as long as that which is hoped is not seen, is it
Rom. 8, cailed hope, in the Apostle's words, But hope that is seen is not hope : for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope
for? But ifwe hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Patience then only is needful, until what is promised shall come. But no one is patient in a good estate. When patience is required of a man, he is in
adversity : when it is said, Be patient, endure, sustain : it is trouble, under which God wills thee to be courageous, en during, of long suffering, patient. But does He Who has promised deceive in ought ? The physician draws his knife to cut the wound, and says to him whom he is about to cut, Be patient, sustain, endure: in pain he demands patience, but after it he promises health. And he who endures pain
under the physician's knife, unless he sets before his mind the health which he has not yet, fails under the pain which he suffers. There are therefore many evils in this world, within, and without : they never cease : stumbling-blocks abound : no one feels them, except he who treads the path of God. He is told in all the pages of divine Scripture to
endure the present, hope for the future, love Whom he seeth not, that he may embrace Him when he seeth Him. For charity, which is joined in the third place to faith and hope, is above faith and hope : because faith is of things which are not seen; but it will be sight, when they shall be seen: and hope is of what is not possessed : which, when the thing itself reaches us, will not be any longer hope, because we shall
not hope for but charity knoweth not but to increase more and more. For we love Whom we see not, how shall we love when we see Him Let then our longing increase. We are not Christians, except on account of future life let no one hope for present blessings, let no one promise himself the happiness of the world, because he
Christian but let him use the happiness he hath, as he may, in what manner he may, when he may, as far as he may. When present, let hinT give thanks for the consolation
possess
it is
:
:
it,
is aa
if ?
it :
The Jewish and the Christian Sabbath. 315
of God : when it is wanting, let him give thanks to the ---- Divine justice. Let him always be grateful, never ungrate-
ful : let him be grateful to his Father, Who soothes and caresses him: and grateful to his Father when He chasteneth
him with the scourge, and teacheth him: for He ever loveth, whether He caress or threaten : and let him say what ye
Tliou Most Highest.
2. This Psalm entitled, Psalm to be sung on the
Sabbath day. Lo, this day the Sabbath, which the Jews at this period observe by kind of bodily rest, languid and luxurious. They abstain from labours, and give themselves up to trifles and though God ordained the Sabbath, they
in actions which God forbids. Our rest from evil works, theirs from good; for better to plough than to dance. They abstain from good, but not from trifling, works. God proclaims to us Sabbath. What sort of Sabbath First consider, where is. in the heart, within us; for many are idle- with their limbs, while they are disturbed in conscience. Every bad man cannot have Sabbath for his conscience never at rest, he must needs live in turmoil; but he who has good conscience, tranquil; and that very tranquillity the Sabbath of the heart. For listeneth to the promises of the Lord and toils in the present time,
expands in the hope of the future, and every cloud of
sorrow calmed as the Apostle saith, Rejoicing in hope. R? m.
have heard in the Psalm : (ver.
thanks unto the Lord; and to sing praises unto Thy Name,
// a to good thing
give
spend
That very joy in the tranquillity of our hope, our Sabbath. This the subject of praise and of song in this Psalm, how Christian man in the Sabbath of his own heart, that is,
in the quiet, tranquillity, and serenity of his conscience, un disturbed hence he tells us here, whence men are wont to be disturbed, and he teaches thee to keep Sabbath in thine own heart.
3. The first thing is, that thou thyself, thou hast made any advancement, praise God for that wherein thou hast advanced, because His gift, and not thy deserving. Hence begin the Sabbath, by not attributing these gifts to thyself, as thou hadst not received what thou hast re ceived: nor excusing thyself for the evil that thou doest,
12-
it is
:
if
a
it
is
;
a is
it a
is
is
is
it if is ;
;
is
a it
'
Itit is
if is is a
it
is
1. ) is
:
?
is
a
316 Godforces not to evil, nor does Satan.
>'salm because it is thy own. For perverse and agitated men, who . Xcl1' do not keep Sabbath, ascribe their evil deeds to God, their good one s to themselves. If he hath done ought of good,
he saith, I did it : if of evil, he seeketh whom he may accuse, that he may not confess to God. And what is this? He seeketh whom ho may accuse? If he is not very wicked, he hath Satan at hand to accuse : he saith, Satan did it, he persuaded me : as if Satan had the power of compelling him. He hath indeed cunning in persuading. But if Satan
were speaking, and God were silent, thou wouldest have an occasion for self-excuse : but thy ears are between God admonishing, and the serpent suggesting. Why are they turned in one direction, and turned away from the other? Satan ceaseth not to persuade evil : but neither doth God cease to admonish us to good d. But Satan doth not compel thee against thy will : it is in thy power to consent, or not to consent. If thou hast done any thing wrong by Satan's
persuasion, dismiss Satan, accuse thyself, that by thy self- accusation thou mayest deserve the mercy of God. Dost thou wish to accuse one who hath no pardon? Accuse thyself, and thou receivest indulgence. Besides, many do not accuse Satan, but their fate. My fate led me, saith one: when you ask him, why did you do it? why did you sin ? he replies, by my evil fate. Lest he should say, I did it ; he points to God as the source of his sin : with his tongue he blasphemes. He saith not this indeed openly as yet, but listen, and see that he saith this. You ask of him, what is fate : and he replies, evil stars. You ask, who made, who
the stars ; he can only answer, God. It follows, then, that whether he doth so directly or indirectly, still he accuseth God, and when God punisheth sins, he maketh God the author of his own sins. It cannot be that God punishes what He hath wrought : He punisheth what thou doest, that He may set free what He hath wrought. But sometimes, setting aside every thing else, they attack God directly: and when they sin, they say, God willed this; if God had not willed should not have sinned. Does He
One Ms. adds, " Thy Creator Sive per transennam sire per can not heard, what good things He grants, nam longam, sire per proximum.
and the rebel destroyer heard. "
appointed
is
is ?
d
it, I
God is to be acknowledged Author of our good works. 817
warn thee for this, that not only He may not be listened to, V<<r. to keep thee from sin, but even be accused because thou ---- (lost sin? What then doth this Psalm teach us? It is a good
tiling to con/ess1 unto the Lord. What is to confess unto the i confi- Lord ? In both cases: both in thy sins, because thou hastterl- done them; and in thy good works, confess unto the Lord, because He hath done them. Then shalt thou sing unto
the Name of God, the Mont Highest : seeking the glory of God, not thine own ; His Name, not thine. For if thou seekcst the Name of God, He also seekcth thy name; but if thou hast neglected the Name of God, He also doth blot out thine. But how did I say, He seeketh thy name ? As He said to His disciples when they came, after He sent them to preach the Gospel. After they had wrought many
miracles, and had cast out devils in the Name of Christ, they said on their return, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us in Thy Name. They said, indeed, in Thy Name; but He saw in them that they were rejoicing in their glori fication, and were puffing up themselves with pride, because they had power given them to drive out devils. He saw that they were seeking their own glory, and said to them,
seeking and indeed keeping in store their names in Himself,
In this rejoice not; but rather rejoice, because your names LnkelO, are written in heaven. Behold, where thou hast a name, if 17-- 20- thou neglect not the Name of God. Sing, therefore, on the
psaltery, unto the Name of God, that thy name may be stablished before God. But what is a psaltery, my brethren? It is a kind of instrument, which has strings. Our work is our song : whoever does good works, playeth with a psaltery unto God : whoever confesses with the mouth, singeth unto God. Sing therefore with thy mouth : play unto him with thy works. For what purpose ?
4. Ver. 2. To tell of Thy mercy early in the morning, and of Thy truth in the night season. What is the meaning of this; that the mercy of God is to be told us in the morning, and in the night the truth of God? The morning is, when it is well with us ; the night, the sadness of tribu lation. What then did he say in brief? When thou art prosperous, rejoice in God, for it is His mercy. Now,
perhaps
thou wouldest say, If I rejoice in God, when I
318 Songs in the day ofjoy and the night ofsorrow.
Psalm am prosperous, because it is His mercy ; what am I to do XCI1- when I am in sorrow, in tribulation ? It is His mercy, when 1 am prosperous; is it then His cruelty, when I am in adversity ? If I praise His mercy when it is well with me,
am I then to exclaim against His cruelty when it is ill ? No. But when it is well, praise His mercy: when ill, praise His truth: because He scourgeth sins, He is not
Daniel was in the night-season, when he was pray ing: for he was in the captivity of Jerusalem, he was in the power of enemies. Then the Saints suffered many evils:
then he himself was cast into the den of lions ; then the Dan.
if thou wast reduced to anj straits and the tempter sug gested, if thou wast a Christian and belongedst to Christ, would He desert thee now ? would He not have sent thee
Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Was it a great thing for our Lord Jesus Christ to make bread out of stones, when He satisfied so many thousands with five loaves ? He made
tempter said,
enough for so many thousands, Who also every day out of a few seeds raises up on earth immense harvests. These are the miracles of our Lord: but from their constant operation they are disregarded. What then, my brethren, was it im
possible
We may not expect God to grant our will. 305
help ? Possibly the Physician has still the knife in His Ver.
--
when he complained of the messenger of Satan, who was a thora in hisI flesh, by whom he says he was buffetted. For 2 Cor.
this thing besought the Lord thrice, that it might departTM' ' from me. And He said unto me, Big grace is sufficient for
thee : for My strength is made perfect in weakness. As if a man said to his physician, who had given him a blister, This plaister is troublesome to me : I pray you take it away. And the physician replies, No; you must let it remain for some time; you cannot otherwise recover. The physician did not listen to his patient with a view to consult his pleasure, but his health. Be therefore strong, my brethren: and when ye are tempted by some want, beneath the scourge and the instruction of God, while He is both preparing and keeping for you an eternal inheritance, let not the devil sug gest to you, If thou wert righteous, would He not send thee bread by means of the rIaven, as He did to Elias ? Where is that thou hast read,
hand, and therefore leaves thee: yet He does not forsake thee: just as He listened not to the prayers of Paul, because He did listen to him. For Paul says, that he was not heard
never saw the righteous forsaken, p? . nor his seed begging their bread/? Do thou answer the2? -
37,
devil, The Scripture speaks truth,
never saw the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread ; for I have a bread of mine own that thou knowest not of. What bread ?
Listen to our Lord ; Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Dost thou think the word of God bread? If the Word of God, through whichI all things were made, was not bread,
when pressed with hunger.
7. What, if he tempt thee in these words: If thou wast a
Christian, thou wouldest do miracles, as many Christians have done ? Thou, deceived by a wicked suggestion, wouldest tempt the Lord thy God, so as to say to Him, IfI am a Christian, and am before Thine eyes, and Thou dost account me at all in the number of Thine own, let me also do some thing like the many works which Thy Saints have done ? Thou hast tempted God, as if thou wert not a Christian,
VOL. IV. x
He would not say,
am the bread which came down
heaven. Thou hast therefore learnt to answer the tempter,41,
from
j0h?
c,
306 Worldly minds incline to ' tempt God?
Psalm unless thou didst this. Many who desired such things have
^len- For lnat Simon the sorcerer desired such gifts of Acts 8, the Apostles, when he wished to buy the Holy Spirit for
Xn! 18'
money. He loved the power of working miracles, but loved
not the imitation of humility. Thus, when some disciple,
or some one from the crowd, wished to follow the Lord, from witnessing the miracles which He did : the Lord saw that \ he was proud, and sought not the path of humility, but the
Matt. 8, puffing up of power, and said, The foxes have holes, the
^
birds of the air have nests; but the Sun of Man hath not where to lay His head. The foxes have holes in thee: the birds of the air have nests in thee. The foxes mean deceit: the birds of the air pride: for as the birds seek the regions above, so do the proud: and as foxes have treacherous holes, so have also all plotters against others. What then was our Lord's answer ? Piide and deceit may dwell in thee: Christ hath not where to dwell in thee: where to lay His head, because the laying of His head is the humility of Christ : unless He laid down His head, thou wouldest not be jus tified. Even His disciples, when they desired such things,
and were already wishing for a seat in His kingdom, before they gained the path of humility, when He was asked by the mother of His disciples, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on Thy right hand, the other on Thy left, were seeking power : but through the suffering of humility we
'
|
cf. Matt. come to the power of the kingdom. Our Lord saith, Are ye
20, 21.
ao[e f0 drink 0f the cup that I shall drink of? Why do ye think of the loftiness of the kingdom, and yet imitate not My humility ? What then, if he tempt thee thus, " work miracles ? " that thou mayest not tempt God, what shouldest thou answer ? What our Lord answered. The devil said to Him, Cast Thyself down ; for it is written, He shall give His Angels charge concerning Thee ; and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. If Thou shalt cast Thyself down, Angels shall receive Thee. And it might indeed, my brethren, happen, if our Lord had cast Himself down, the attending Angels would receive our Lord's flesh ; but what
Deut. 6, does He say to him ? TV is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Thou thinkest Me a man. For the
Ministry of Angels to our Lord as Man. 307
devil came to Him with this view, that he might try whether Ver. He were the Son of God. He saw His Flesh ; but His----- might appeared in His works: the Angels had borne witness.
He saw that He was mortal, so that he might tempt Him,
that by Christ's temptation the Christian might be taught. What then is written ? Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Let us not then tempt the Lord, so as to say, If we belong to Thee, let us work a miracle.
8. Let us return to the words of the Psalm. He hath given His Angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee in all Thy ways. They shall bear Thee in their hands, lest at any time Thou hurt Thy foot against a stone. Christ was raised up in the hands of Angels, when He was taken up into heaven : not that, if Angels had not sustained Him, He
would have fallen : but because they were attending on their
King. Say not, Those who sustained Him are better than
He Who was sustained. Are then cattle better than men, because they sustain the weakness of men ? And we ought
not to speak thus either ; for if the cattle withdraw their support, their riders fall. But how ought we to speak of it ?
For it is said even of God, Heaven is My throne. Because Is. 66,i. then heaven supports Him, and God sits thereon, is therefore fg^ ' heaven the better ? Thus also in this Psalm we may under
stand it of the service of the Angels: it does not pertain to any infirmity in our Lord, but to the honour they pay, and to their service. But our Lord Jesus Christ arose from the
dead. Wherefore ? Hear the Apostle : He was delivered Rom. 4, for our offences, and rose again for our justification. Also 26'
the Gospel saith of the Holy Ghost: The Holy Ghost was John 7,
What39,
cost. But in the Law, in Exodus the book of Moses, from
the day when the lamb was slain and eaten, fifty days are numbered ; and the Law was given, written by the finger ofEx. 31, God on tables of stone. What the finger of God the Gospel explaineth to us for the finger of God the Holy Ghost. How do we prove this Our Lord, when answering
those who accused Him of casting out devils in the name of x
not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.
is the glorification of Jesus ? He arose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. Glorified by God by His ascent into heaven, He sent His Holy Spirit on the day of Pente
2?
;
is
is,
'
308 Christ's mystical feet not hurt, on the stone of the Law.
Psu. m Beelzebub, saith, If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God;
andIanother Evangelist, in relating the same saying, saith,
with the finger God cast out devils. What therefore MatAi, If of
Luke 11 's 'n onc stated clearly, is darkly expressed in another. Thou 20- didst not know what was the fmger of God, but another
Evangelist explains it by terming it the Spirit of God. The Law then written by the fmger of God was given on the fiftieth day after the slaughter of the lamb, and the Holy Ghost descended on the fiftieth day after the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. The lamb was slain, the Passover was celebrated, the fifty days were completed, and the Law was given. But that Law was to cause fear, not love : but that fear might be changed into love, He Who was truly righteous was slain : of Whom that lamb whom the Jews were slaving was the type. He arose from the dead : and from the day of our Lord's Passover, as from that of the slaying of the Paschal lamb, fifty days are counted ; and the
Acts 2, Holy Ghost descended, now in the fulness of love, not in the punishment of fear. Why have I said this ? For this then our Lord arose, and was glorified, that He might send His Holy Spirit. And I said long ago that this was so, because His head is in heaven, His feet on earth. If His head is in heaven, His feet on earth ; what means our Lord's feet on earth ? Our Lord's saints on earth. Who are our Lord's feet ? The Apostles sent throughout the whole world. Who are our Lord's feet ? All the Evan gelists, in whom our Lord travellelh over all nations. It was to be feared lest the Evangelists should he hurt against a stone: for when He was set in Heaven as the head, the feet which were toiling upon the ground might be hurt against a stone. What stone ? The Law given on the tables of stone. That they might not therefore be impeached before the Law, not having received grace, and be held accursed in the Law: for this liability to the Law is that very stumbling against the stone: those whom the Law held con demned, the Lord absolved, that they might no more hurt
their feet against the Law. That the feet of this Head might not incur guilt of the Law, the Holy Ghost was sent to inspire love, and to release from fear. Fear did not fulfil the Law, love fulfilled it. Men feared, but they fulfilled
The Law fulfilled through the gift of Love. 309
not: they loved, and they fulfilled. How did they fear, and Ver.
:--
Peter thrice denied Him, for he had not yet received the Mat. 26, Holy Ghost: afterwards, when he had received the Holy69 Spirit, he began to preach with confidence. He who at the
words of the maid-servant thrice denied, after he had re
yet not fulfil? how did they love, and fulfil? Men used to fear, and to plunder others' goods : they loved, and they gave away their own. We need not therefore wonder that our Lord was raised up to heaven by the hands ofAngels, that His foot might not dash against a stone : lest those who on earth toiled in his body, while they were travelling over the whole world might become guilty of the Law, He took from them fear, and filled them with love. Through fear
ceived the Holy Ghost, confessed, amid the stripes of the rulers, Him Whom he had denied. This is no wonder: for Acts 6, the Lord dissolved that threefold fear by threefold love. 29' 4 For when He arose from the dead He said to Peter, Peter,
lavest thou Me? He said not, Fearest thou Me? For if
he still feared, he would be hurting his feet against the
stone. Lovest I thou Me? He saith. Peter replies, Thou
I
9. The rest is clear, my brethren, for it has often been treated of. (Ver. 13. ) Thou 1 shall go upon the asp and the l on this basilisk ; the lion and the dragon shall thou tread under thy JgTM? n
love Thee. Once was enough. Perhaps it
knowest that
might satisfy me, who see not the heart ; how much more would it suffice / the Lord, Who saw how with his whole
love Thee. It is not enough for our Lord,
soul Peter said,
to answer once: He asketh a second time, and Peter answer-
eth : He asketh a third time ; and now Peter, wearied, as if
our Lord doubted of his love, Lord, he saith, Thou huowest John2l,
1'-
all things: Thou knowest that
so dealt with him, as if He said, thrice thou hast denied Me through fear: thrice confess Me through love. With that love and that charity He filled His disciples. Why ? Because He hath set His house of defence very high: because when glo rified He sent the Holy Ghost, He released the faithful from the guilt of the Law, that His feet might not dash against a stone.
Ye know who the serpent and how the Church PM0,1. treadeth upon him, as she not conquered, because she
feet.
love Thee. But our Lord16
is
is
is,
310 Satan the lion infierceness, the dragon in sleight.
Psalm on her guard against his cunning. And after what manner II. - he is a lion and a dragon, I believe you know also, beloved.
The lion openly rages, the dragon lies secretly in covert: the devil hath each of these forces and powers. When the Martyrs were being slain, it was the raging lion: when heretics are plotting, it is the dragon creeping beneath us. Thou hast conquered the lion ; conquer also the dragon :
1al. ' let the lion hath not' crushed thee, let not the dragon deceive Hon"16 thee. Let us prove that it was the lion, when he openly did
Peter exhorting the Martyrs saith, Know ye not that your adversary the devil goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour? The lion openly raging sought whom he might devour : how does the dragon plot against us ? By means of heretics. In fear of these, Paul, lest the Church should by them be corrupted from her virginity of faith, which she beareth in her heart, saith, /
TvKt ra? e- 6, 8.
2 Cor.
' ' ' have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you
as a chaste virgin to Christ; but
as the serpent beguiled Eve through his sublilty, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ. A few women in the Church have bodily virginity: but the virginity of the heart all the faithful have. In the very matter of faith he feared that the heart's virginity would be corrupted by the devil : and those who have lost are uselessly virgins in their bodies. What does a woman who
corrupt in heart preserve in her body Thus Catholic married woman before virgin heretic. For the first not indeed virgin in her body, but the second has become married in her heart; and married not unto God as her husband, but unto the dragon. But what shall the Church do? Thou shalt go upon the asp and the basilisk. The basilisk the king of serpents, as the devil the king wicked spirits. The lion and the dragon thou shalt tread under thy feet.
10. These are the words of God to the Church.
Because he hath set his love in me, therefore will deliver him. Not only therefore the Head, which now sits in hearen, because He hath set His house of defence very high, to which no evil shall happen, neither shall any plague come
nigh His dwelling; but we also, who are toiling on earth,
Ifear, lest
by any means,
(Ver. 14. )
is I
a
it,
is
a
of
is
is
a
is
?
Faith to be roused in trouble. Length of days. 311
and are still living in temptations, whose steps ave feared Ver. for, lest they fall into snares, may hear the voice of the Lord lo' 16' our God consoling us, and saying to us, Because he hath
set his love upon me, therefore will I
11. (Ver. 15. ) He shall call upon me, and
deliver him: 1 will set him up, because he hath known my name. I will hear
I
art in trouble, as if the Lord were not with thee. Let faith
be with thee, and God is with thee in thy trouble. There
are waves on the sea, and thou art tossed in thy bark, because
Christ sleepeth. Christ slept in the ship, while the men Matt. 8,
him: yea,
am with him in trouble. Fear not when thou
were perishing. If thy faith sleep in thy heart, Christ is as24,26- it were sleeping in thy ship : because Christ dwelleth in
thee through faith, when thou beginnest to be tossed, awake Christ sleeping: rouse up thy faith, and thou shalt be assured that He deserts thee not. But thou thinkest thou
art forsaken, because He rescueth thee not when thou thyself
dost wish. He delivered the Three Children from the fire ? Dan. 3, Did He, Who did this, desert the Maccabees? God forbid ! ^Maco. He delivered both of these: the first bodily, that the faithless 7. might be confounded ; the last spiritually, that the faithful
am with him in trouble:
not that length of days is spoken of in the same sense as days are said to be long in summer, short in winter. Hath he such days to give us ?
That length is one that hath no end, eternal life, that is promised us in long days. And truly, since this sufficeth, with reason he saith, will I satisfy him. What is long in time, if it hath an end, satisfieth us not : for that reason it should not be even called long. And if we are covetous, we ought to be covetous of eternal life : long for such a life, as hath no end. Lo, a line in which our covetousness may be extended. Dost thou wish money without limit? Long for eternal life without limit. Dost thou wish that thy possession may have no end ? Seek for eternal life. With length of days will I
/
deliver him, and bring him to honour.
I will
might imitate them.
12. (Ver. 16. ) With length of days will I satisfy
him. What is length of days ? Eternal life. Brethren, imagine
satisfy him.
/ will shew him my salvation. Nor is this,
13.
brethren, to be briefly passed over. / will shew him my
my
312 Joy of seeing Christ, ' the Salvation of God. '
Psai. m salvation: He means, I will shew him Christ Himself. Why?
Was He not seen on earth? What great thing hath He to shew us? But He did not appear such as we shall see Him. He appeared in that shape in which those who saw Him crucified Him: behold, those who saw Him, crucified Him: wc have not seen Him, yet we have believed. They had eyes, have not we? yea, we too have the eyes of the heart: but, as yet we see through faith, not by sight. When will it be sight? When shall we, as the Apostle saith, see Him
1 Cor. face to face? which God promiseth us as the high reward 13' 12' of all our toils. Whatever thou toilest in, thou toilest for this purpose, that thou mayest see Him. Some great thing it is we are to see, since all our reward is seeing; and our
Lord Jesus Christ is that very great sight. He Who appeared
humble, will Himself appear great, and will rejoice us, as He John l, is even now seen of His Angels. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
'
XrL
God. Listen to the Lord Himself, Who gave this promise, JohnU, saying in the Gospel, He that loveth Me shall be loved of
I will love him. And as if it were asked of Him, And what wilt Thou give to him who loveth Thee ? He answereth, / will manifest Myself to him. Let us long for,
My Father, and
and let us love Him : let us burn with love toward Him, if we are His betrothed. Our husband is absent, let us wait for Him : He Whom we are longing for will come. He hath given such a pledge, let not the spouse fear lest she be forsaken by her Husband. He doth not forfeit His pledge. What pledge hath He given ? He hath poured out His blood. What pledge hath He given ? He hath sent the Holy Ghost. Will the Husband forfeit such pledges ? If He loved us not, He would not give such pledges. He loveth us now. O that we could love Him as He doth ?
John 16, " No man hath greater love, that that he lay down his life for his friends :" and how can we lay down our lives for Him ? What doth it profit Him, since He hath set His house of defence very high, nor doth any scourge come nigh His dwelling? But what saith John ? Even as Christ laid down His life for us, we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Each man who layeth down bis life for his
lJohn
'
brother, layeth it down for Him: just as in feeding his
The Christian's treasure in Heaven. 313
brother, he is feeding Christ. Inasmuch as ye have done it Ver. unto one ofthe least ofthese, ye have done it unto Me. Let^-1-"---
Mat. 26, us love and imitate Him: let us run after his ointments, as is40.
,. .
said in the Song of Solomon: Because of the savour of thyc. 1,3. good ointments, we will run after thee. For He came, and
gave forth a savour that filled the world. Whence, was that
fragrance ? From heaven. Follow then towards heaven, if thou do not answer falsely when it is said, Lift up your hearts, lift
up your thoughts, your love, your hope: that it may not rot
upon the earth. Thou darest not put wheat on the damp
earth, lest it rot; because thou hast toiled and reaped, thou
hast' threshed and winnowed it. Dost thou seek a spot for
thy wheat, and seekest thou not a place for thy heart ? seekest
thou not a place for thy treasure ? Do whatever thou canst
on earth ; spend, thou shalt not lose, but store up. And who keepeth thy treasure ? Christ, Who also keepeth thee.
He knoweth how to keep thee; knoweth He not how to
keep thy treasure ? But why doth He wish that thou change the place of thy treasure, except that thou mayest
change the place of thy heart ? For no man concerneth himself except about his treasure. How many are there
here who are now my listeners, and yet their heart is no
where but in their money bags ? Ye are on earth, because
what ye love is on earth : let that be sent to heaven, and
there will be thy heart. For wherever thy treasure is, there Matt. 6, will be thy heart also.
PSALM XCII.
A Sermon to the people, preached on Saturday.
:Lat. xcj.
1 . Listen to the Psalm : may the Lord grant to us to open the mysteries herein contained : whiles that, for remedy of weariness, they are diversely and variously explained. For God teacheth us no other hymn but that of faith, hope, and charity : that our faith may be firm in Himself, as long as we do not see Him, believing in Him Whom we do not see, that we may rejoice when we see Him, and the appearance of His light may succeed to our faith, when it will no longer
be said to us, Believe what thou seest not ; but, rejoice that
314 Hope in God a groundfor thankfulness.
Psalm thou scest. Let our hope also be immutable, and fixed in XCII 1 Him, let it not totter and fluctuate, let it not be tossed about;
as God Himself, in Whom it is fixed, cannot be tossed. For now it is called hope: but then it will not be hope, but reality. For as long as that which is hoped is not seen, is it
Rom. 8, cailed hope, in the Apostle's words, But hope that is seen is not hope : for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope
for? But ifwe hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Patience then only is needful, until what is promised shall come. But no one is patient in a good estate. When patience is required of a man, he is in
adversity : when it is said, Be patient, endure, sustain : it is trouble, under which God wills thee to be courageous, en during, of long suffering, patient. But does He Who has promised deceive in ought ? The physician draws his knife to cut the wound, and says to him whom he is about to cut, Be patient, sustain, endure: in pain he demands patience, but after it he promises health. And he who endures pain
under the physician's knife, unless he sets before his mind the health which he has not yet, fails under the pain which he suffers. There are therefore many evils in this world, within, and without : they never cease : stumbling-blocks abound : no one feels them, except he who treads the path of God. He is told in all the pages of divine Scripture to
endure the present, hope for the future, love Whom he seeth not, that he may embrace Him when he seeth Him. For charity, which is joined in the third place to faith and hope, is above faith and hope : because faith is of things which are not seen; but it will be sight, when they shall be seen: and hope is of what is not possessed : which, when the thing itself reaches us, will not be any longer hope, because we shall
not hope for but charity knoweth not but to increase more and more. For we love Whom we see not, how shall we love when we see Him Let then our longing increase. We are not Christians, except on account of future life let no one hope for present blessings, let no one promise himself the happiness of the world, because he
Christian but let him use the happiness he hath, as he may, in what manner he may, when he may, as far as he may. When present, let hinT give thanks for the consolation
possess
it is
:
:
it,
is aa
if ?
it :
The Jewish and the Christian Sabbath. 315
of God : when it is wanting, let him give thanks to the ---- Divine justice. Let him always be grateful, never ungrate-
ful : let him be grateful to his Father, Who soothes and caresses him: and grateful to his Father when He chasteneth
him with the scourge, and teacheth him: for He ever loveth, whether He caress or threaten : and let him say what ye
Tliou Most Highest.
2. This Psalm entitled, Psalm to be sung on the
Sabbath day. Lo, this day the Sabbath, which the Jews at this period observe by kind of bodily rest, languid and luxurious. They abstain from labours, and give themselves up to trifles and though God ordained the Sabbath, they
in actions which God forbids. Our rest from evil works, theirs from good; for better to plough than to dance. They abstain from good, but not from trifling, works. God proclaims to us Sabbath. What sort of Sabbath First consider, where is. in the heart, within us; for many are idle- with their limbs, while they are disturbed in conscience. Every bad man cannot have Sabbath for his conscience never at rest, he must needs live in turmoil; but he who has good conscience, tranquil; and that very tranquillity the Sabbath of the heart. For listeneth to the promises of the Lord and toils in the present time,
expands in the hope of the future, and every cloud of
sorrow calmed as the Apostle saith, Rejoicing in hope. R? m.
have heard in the Psalm : (ver.
thanks unto the Lord; and to sing praises unto Thy Name,
// a to good thing
give
spend
That very joy in the tranquillity of our hope, our Sabbath. This the subject of praise and of song in this Psalm, how Christian man in the Sabbath of his own heart, that is,
in the quiet, tranquillity, and serenity of his conscience, un disturbed hence he tells us here, whence men are wont to be disturbed, and he teaches thee to keep Sabbath in thine own heart.
3. The first thing is, that thou thyself, thou hast made any advancement, praise God for that wherein thou hast advanced, because His gift, and not thy deserving. Hence begin the Sabbath, by not attributing these gifts to thyself, as thou hadst not received what thou hast re ceived: nor excusing thyself for the evil that thou doest,
12-
it is
:
if
a
it
is
;
a is
it a
is
is
is
it if is ;
;
is
a it
'
Itit is
if is is a
it
is
1. ) is
:
?
is
a
316 Godforces not to evil, nor does Satan.
>'salm because it is thy own. For perverse and agitated men, who . Xcl1' do not keep Sabbath, ascribe their evil deeds to God, their good one s to themselves. If he hath done ought of good,
he saith, I did it : if of evil, he seeketh whom he may accuse, that he may not confess to God. And what is this? He seeketh whom ho may accuse? If he is not very wicked, he hath Satan at hand to accuse : he saith, Satan did it, he persuaded me : as if Satan had the power of compelling him. He hath indeed cunning in persuading. But if Satan
were speaking, and God were silent, thou wouldest have an occasion for self-excuse : but thy ears are between God admonishing, and the serpent suggesting. Why are they turned in one direction, and turned away from the other? Satan ceaseth not to persuade evil : but neither doth God cease to admonish us to good d. But Satan doth not compel thee against thy will : it is in thy power to consent, or not to consent. If thou hast done any thing wrong by Satan's
persuasion, dismiss Satan, accuse thyself, that by thy self- accusation thou mayest deserve the mercy of God. Dost thou wish to accuse one who hath no pardon? Accuse thyself, and thou receivest indulgence. Besides, many do not accuse Satan, but their fate. My fate led me, saith one: when you ask him, why did you do it? why did you sin ? he replies, by my evil fate. Lest he should say, I did it ; he points to God as the source of his sin : with his tongue he blasphemes. He saith not this indeed openly as yet, but listen, and see that he saith this. You ask of him, what is fate : and he replies, evil stars. You ask, who made, who
the stars ; he can only answer, God. It follows, then, that whether he doth so directly or indirectly, still he accuseth God, and when God punisheth sins, he maketh God the author of his own sins. It cannot be that God punishes what He hath wrought : He punisheth what thou doest, that He may set free what He hath wrought. But sometimes, setting aside every thing else, they attack God directly: and when they sin, they say, God willed this; if God had not willed should not have sinned. Does He
One Ms. adds, " Thy Creator Sive per transennam sire per can not heard, what good things He grants, nam longam, sire per proximum.
and the rebel destroyer heard. "
appointed
is
is ?
d
it, I
God is to be acknowledged Author of our good works. 817
warn thee for this, that not only He may not be listened to, V<<r. to keep thee from sin, but even be accused because thou ---- (lost sin? What then doth this Psalm teach us? It is a good
tiling to con/ess1 unto the Lord. What is to confess unto the i confi- Lord ? In both cases: both in thy sins, because thou hastterl- done them; and in thy good works, confess unto the Lord, because He hath done them. Then shalt thou sing unto
the Name of God, the Mont Highest : seeking the glory of God, not thine own ; His Name, not thine. For if thou seekcst the Name of God, He also seekcth thy name; but if thou hast neglected the Name of God, He also doth blot out thine. But how did I say, He seeketh thy name ? As He said to His disciples when they came, after He sent them to preach the Gospel. After they had wrought many
miracles, and had cast out devils in the Name of Christ, they said on their return, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us in Thy Name. They said, indeed, in Thy Name; but He saw in them that they were rejoicing in their glori fication, and were puffing up themselves with pride, because they had power given them to drive out devils. He saw that they were seeking their own glory, and said to them,
seeking and indeed keeping in store their names in Himself,
In this rejoice not; but rather rejoice, because your names LnkelO, are written in heaven. Behold, where thou hast a name, if 17-- 20- thou neglect not the Name of God. Sing, therefore, on the
psaltery, unto the Name of God, that thy name may be stablished before God. But what is a psaltery, my brethren? It is a kind of instrument, which has strings. Our work is our song : whoever does good works, playeth with a psaltery unto God : whoever confesses with the mouth, singeth unto God. Sing therefore with thy mouth : play unto him with thy works. For what purpose ?
4. Ver. 2. To tell of Thy mercy early in the morning, and of Thy truth in the night season. What is the meaning of this; that the mercy of God is to be told us in the morning, and in the night the truth of God? The morning is, when it is well with us ; the night, the sadness of tribu lation. What then did he say in brief? When thou art prosperous, rejoice in God, for it is His mercy. Now,
perhaps
thou wouldest say, If I rejoice in God, when I
318 Songs in the day ofjoy and the night ofsorrow.
Psalm am prosperous, because it is His mercy ; what am I to do XCI1- when I am in sorrow, in tribulation ? It is His mercy, when 1 am prosperous; is it then His cruelty, when I am in adversity ? If I praise His mercy when it is well with me,
am I then to exclaim against His cruelty when it is ill ? No. But when it is well, praise His mercy: when ill, praise His truth: because He scourgeth sins, He is not
Daniel was in the night-season, when he was pray ing: for he was in the captivity of Jerusalem, he was in the power of enemies. Then the Saints suffered many evils:
then he himself was cast into the den of lions ; then the Dan.
