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NPNF1-08. St. Augustine: Exposition on the Bookof Psalms

i

Author(s): Augustine, St.Schaff, Philip (1819-1893) (Editor)

Publisher: Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library

Description: With over twenty volumes, the Nicene and Post-NiceneFathers is a momentous achievement. Originally gatheredby Philip Schaff, the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers is acollection of writings by classical and medieval Christiantheologians.The purpose of such a collection is to make theirwritings readily available. The entire work is divided into twoseries. The first series focuses on two classical Christiantheologians--St. Augustine and St. John Chrysostom. St.Augustine is one of the most influential and important Chris-tian thinkers of all time. In addition to reprinting his mostpopular two works--the Confessions and the City ofGod--these volumes also contain other noteworthy and im-portant works of St. Augustine, such as On the Holy Trinity,Christian Doctrine, and others. St. John Chrysostom was aneloquent speaker and well-loved Christian clergyman. St.John took a more literal interpretation of Scripture, and muchof his work focused on practical aspects of Christianity, par-ticularly what is now called social justice. He advocated forthe poor, and challenged abuses of authority. This volumehas Augustine's exposition of the entire book of Psalms.TheNicene and Post-Nicene Fathers is comprehensive in scope,and provide keen translations of instructive and illuminatingtexts from some of the greatest theologians of the Christianchurch. These spiritually enlightening texts have aidedChristians for over a thousand years, and remain instructiveand fruitful even today!Tim PerrineCCEL Staff Writer

Subjects: ChristianityEarly Christian Literature. Fathers of the Church, etc.

Contents

ii

1Title Page.

2Expositions on the Book of Psalms.

2Title Page.

3Editors Preface.

6Advertisement.

9Psalm I

13Psalm II

17Psalm III

25Psalm IV

31Psalm V

40Psalm VI

49Psalm VII

64Psalm VIII

73Psalm IX

83Psalm X

90Psalm XI

98Psalm XII

101Psalm XIII

103Psalm XIV

106Psalm XV

108Psalm XVI

110Psalm XVII

113Psalm XVIII

121Psalm XIX

125Psalm XX

127Psalm XXI

129Psalm XXII

134Psalm XXIII

135Psalm XXIV

137Psalm XXV

140Psalm XXVI

142Psalm XXVIIiii

145Psalm XXVIII

147Psalm XXIX

149Psalm XXX

151Psalm XXXI

155Psalm XXXII

157Psalm XXXIII

160Psalm XXXIV

172Psalm XXXV

186Psalm XXXVI

195Psalm XXXVII

195Part 1

202Part 2

209Part 3

219Psalm XXXVIII

236Psalm XXXIX

250Psalm XL

267Psalm XLI

275Psalm XLII

286Psalm XLIII

292Psalm XLIV

302Psalm XLV

321Psalm XLVI

331Psalm XLVII

339Psalm XLVIII

348Psalm XLIX

348Part 1

358Part 2

365Psalm L

388Psalm LI

403Psalm LII

413Psalm LIII

419Psalm LIViv

426Psalm LV

444Psalm LVI

456Psalm LVII

465Psalm LVIII

478Psalm LIX

478Part 1

488Part 2

493Psalm LX

502Psalm LXI

507Psalm LXII

522Psalm LXIII

531Psalm LXIV

540Psalm LXV

552Psalm LXVI

565Psalm LXVII

574Psalm LXVIII

602Psalm LXIX

625Psalm LXX

633Psalm LXXI

654Psalm LXXII

668Psalm LXXIII

684Psalm LXXIV

699Psalm LXXV

708Psalm LXXVI

719Psalm LXXVII

730Psalm LXXVIII

757Psalm LXXIX

769Psalm LXXX

777Psalm LXXXI

787Psalm LXXXII

791Psalm LXXXIII

797Psalm LXXXIVv

807Psalm LXXXV

816Psalm LXXXVI

835Psalm LXXXVII

843Psalm LXXXVIII

854Psalm LXXXIX

876Psalm XC

886Psalm XCI

898Psalm XCII

905Psalm XCIII

910Psalm XCIV

925Psalm XCV

931Psalm XCVI

940Psalm XCVII

951Psalm XCVIII

956Psalm XCIX

965Psalm C

972Psalm CI

979Psalm CII

995Psalm CIII

1007Psalm CIV

1026Psalm CV

1036Psalm CVI

1049Psalm CVII

1056Psalm CVIII

1058Psalm CIX

1067Psalm CX

1074Psalm CXI

1078Psalm CXII

1082Psalm CXIII

1085Psalm CXIV

1089Psalm CXV

1094Psalm CXVIvi

1099Psalm CXVII

1100Psalm CXVIII

1106Psalm CXIX

1106Aleph.

1109Beth.

1111Gimel.

1114Daleth.

1116He.

1120Vav.

1124Zain.

1127Cheth.

1129Teth.

1132Jod.

1136Caph.

1139Lamed.

1142Mem.

1146Nun.

1149Samech.

1153Ain.

1156Pe.

1159Tadze.

1161Koph.

1164Resch.

1166Schin.

1169Tau.

1171Psalm CXX

1175Psalm CXXI

1180Psalm CXXII

1186Psalm CXXIII

1191Psalm CXXIV

1195Psalm CXXV

1201Psalm CXXVIvii

1206Psalm CXXVII

1212Psalm CXXVIII

1216Psalm CXXIX

1220Psalm CXXX

1224Psalm CXXXI

1227Psalm CXXXII

1239Psalm CXXXIII

1243Psalm CXXXIV

1244Psalm CXXXV

1250Psalm CXXXVI

1256Psalm CXXXVII

1261Psalm CXXXVIII

1267Psalm CXXXIX

1277Psalm CXL

1284Psalm CXLI

1292Psalm CXLII

1298Psalm CXLIII

1304Psalm CXLIV

1309Psalm CXLV

1318Psalm CXLVI

1325Psalm CXLVII

1341Psalm CXLVIII

1348Psalm CXLIX

1355Psalm CL

1360Index of Subjects

1375Indexes

1376Index of Scripture References

1393Index of Scripture Commentary

1394Greek Words and Phrases

1399Index of Pages of the Print Edition

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i

A SELECT LIBRARY

OF THE

NICENE ANDPOST-NICENE FATHERS

OF

THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

EDITED BYPHILIP SCHAFF, D.D., LL.D.,

PROFESSOR IN THE UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEW YORK.IN CONNECTION WITH A NUMBER OF PATRISTIC SCHOLARS OF EUROPE

AND AMERICA.

VOLUME VIII

ST. AUGUSTIN:

EXPOSITIONS ON THE BOOK OF PSALMS

TRANSLATED, WITH NOTES AND INDICES

T&T CLARKEDINBURGH

__________________________________________________WM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING COMPANY

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

Title Page.

1

Title Page.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf108/Page_i.html

iii

EXPOSITIONS ON THE BOOK OF PSALMS.

BY

SAINT AUGUSTIN,

BISHOP OF HIPPO.

EDITED, WITH BRIEF ANNOTATIONS, AND CONDENSED FROM THE SIX VOLUMES

OF THE OXFORD TRANSLATION,

BY

A. CLEVELAND COXE, D.D.,

EDITOR OF THE ANTE-NICENE FATHERS, ETC.

Expositions on the Book of Psalms.Title Page.

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Expositions on the Book of Psalms.

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Editors Preface.The delightful task of editing these Enarrations, which was what I undertook, became,

indeed, a very painful one when the general editor informed me that the whole work mustbe comprised in a single volume of the series. This allowed but one hundred pages to eachone of the six volumes of the Oxford translation. But I felt that my learned friend was right(1) in deciding that St. Augustins treatment of the Psalms must not be wanting to the series,and (2) that the exposition is so diffuse and digressive, that it readily admits of abridgement,if these exceptional features supply the material for retrenchments. In working out the result,I have done what I could. I have preserved the African Psalter entire, with as much of thecomment as was possible; even so overrunning, at the publishers cost, the six hundred pageswhich were all subscribers might expect. The only means of avoiding this was to omit entirelythe CXIXth Psalm, an expedient to which I could not consent.

To the primitive believers came the Psalter, like an aftermath, wet with the dews of anew birth as from the womb of the morning. The Spirit had descended upon it anew, asshowers upon the mown grass; and it had sprung up afresh, sweeter than before, for thepasture of flocks. The Church received it as full of Christ, as the inheritance of a nobler andtruer Israel, for which His coming had illuminated it with a genuine interpretation, paintingeven its darker and clouded surfaces with the bow of promise, now made the symbol of aneverlasting covenant and of all promises fulfilled in Him. Hence the local and temporarymeanings of the Psalms were regarded as insignificant. Their Sinaitic comminations andtheir conformities to the Law were but prophecies which the Jews had voluntarily appropri-ated by rejecting the Son of David. They were types of what had been fulfilled in their rejectedMessiah. The Church received the Psalter from the temple and the synagogue,1 and adoptedit into liturgic use, with hymns and spiritual songs, all magnifying the crucified and glor-ified Christ. With the fulfillment of prophecy by the destruction of the Temple and the dis-persion of the Jews, everything pertaining to the law was sloughed from its ripened stalk;and the Psalter blossomed with the consummate flowers and fruitage which were its deeperintent, and which had waited so long to be disclosed. The true David had come, and littlethought of the typical David was to be entertained: the true Israel was to be seen everywhere,and the dead images of legal rites and symbols were to be interpreted only by the Gospel.To bring out its hidden meanings, the reading and chanting of the Psalter received the ac-centuation of antiphons and doxologies, and constantly elevated the worshippers into thenewness of the spirit out of the oldness of the letter. Thus the whole book breathed asweetness unknown to the Hebrews, but for which kings and prophets had patiently waited.The name of Jesus disclosed itself in every reference to salvation, and perfumed these sacred

1 See Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. vii. p. 530 et seq.

Editors Preface.

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odes with a flavour that could come only from the Root and the Offspring of David. Suchwas the Psalter to the primitive faithful: the walk of Emmaus had opened their eyes to beholdthe Lord. To the true interpretation of the Psalms St. Paul had supplied the key, and fromthe beginning of the Churchs institutions we find evidences of the enthusiasm with whichthe Psalter was appropriated in all of the richness of its evangelic import. The earliest Fathersare full of what the genius of Augustin has embodied in his Enarrations, which nobody mustconfound with works of scientific exegesis. The authors one idea was widely different fromthat of modern critics. His accommodations of Scripture, as they would now be called,are part of the system which the Church had received, of which Christ was the Alpha andthe Omega, and in which the foreshadowing David was nowhere.2 He who comes to thisvolume with any other conception of its uses will be sadly disappointed. In the critical studyof the Psalms, with all of the modern helps, such as Delitzsch and others have so richlysupplied, let us not fail to exercise ourselves day and night; but if, as Christians, we wish tocatch the living Spirit that animates the wheels or mechanical structure of the Psalms, letus learn from Augustin that indeed in every sense a greater than David, a greater than So-lomon, is here. The fanciful ingenuity with which our author interweaves the New Testamentwith the Psalms will at first provoke a smile. His ideas seem often overstrained and unnat-ural. But let us reflect that he is animating the Church of Christ with the true spirit ofprophecy, which is the testimony of Jesus; that his object is to hang Gospel associationsupon every stem and twig that come from the root of Jesse, and to wean even the HebrewChristians from their instinctive references to the Law. Let us adopt these joint conceptionsof the work, and we shall find in it a glorious illustration of the Apostles assurance, Ye arenot come unto the mount that burned with fire, but unto Mount Sion, and unto the cityof the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.

In every way the divine and the student will find this work, even as here presented, anoble introduction to patristic studies. Let us observe also what it proves. It gives us the oldAfrican psalter in all its rude and uncouth conceptions of the Septuagint, and teaches ushow much we owe to the erudition and labours of St. Jerome. First of all, the dignity of theHoly Scriptures, and their importance to all Christians, are assumed. Its historical valuesare very great: it shows the absolute freedom of the early Church from the corruptions ofmedivalism. The Pentecostal unity of Christendom, the Catholic and Apostolic system asdefined in the constitutions of Nica and Constantinople, the autonomy of nationalChurches, the independence of the African Church (illustrated by the personal history ofAugustin, who rejected communion with the Bishop of Rome when he stretched his claimsbeyond seas), and the dogmatic primacy of the patriarchate of Carthage in Latin Christendomas the mother of its theology, are assumed in every reflection upon the Donatists, and in

2 Compare 2 Chron. vi. 42, Isa. lv. 3, and Acts xiii. 34.

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Editors Preface.

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the tone and voice of the great preacher himself, to whom the Western Churches owe allthat survives their schism and corruptions, even to our own day. But the ethical and doctrinalteacher will find the charm of these pages, (1) in their correspondence with the evangelicalprecepts of the Sermon on the Mount, and their freedom from the tainted distinctions anddilutions of modern casuists; (2) in their perpetual enforcement of the Pauline ideas of jus-tification, harmonized successfully with those of St. James; (3) in the faithful exhibition ofthe doctrines of grace; (4) and in the loyalty to Jesus Christ of every word; abasing humanmerit, and presenting Him as the end of the law for righteousness, with an uncompromisingtenacity, and a persevering reiteration of this fundamental verity which seems to foreseethe gross departure of Western Churches from their original purity, and to lay an anchorto windward for their restoration to orthodoxy.

The readers of this volume will need little reference to the innumerable commentarieswhich have been devoted to the Psalter; but I must mention the exceptional work of the lateerudite J. Mason Neale, D.D., because it throws light on the liturgical history of the Psalter

vii

in the Western Churches. The learned commentary of the late Bishop of Lincoln, Dr.Wordsworth, will be found to combine in a remarkable degree, with critical exposition, theAugustinian spirit of devout evangelical associations and elevations.

The editor of this volume blesses God for much spiritual help and comfort afforded bythe review of these songs of our pilgrimage, with which his task has enriched the latestyears of that period of our mortality beyond which all is but labour and sorrow.

A. C. C.

May 10, 1888.

NOTE.

It remains to note that I have had the Benedictine edition in the types of Louvain andof Migne constantly at hand, and have referred to them not only in all cases of doubt, butfor general refreshment of mind; the epigrammatic beauty and consonance of AugustinsLatin being untranslatable. From the Oxford translations I have rarely departed, and in allimportant instances have noted the wherefore in the margin. It was not the design of thisseries to give the reader any other than the masterly work of the scholars to whom we oweits appearance. Other instances have been such inconsiderable adaptations as are demandedin the suture of parts dislocated by abridgment. My brief annotations are always bracketedand marked by an initial of my name.

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Advertisement.It seems necessary to give the following outline of the history of this Oxford translation.

It was undertaken as part of the great series of original translations which appeared underthe patronage of William, Archbishop of Canterbury, from its commencement, a.d. 1836,until his Graces departure in peace, a.d. 1848. It proposed to include all the Fathers ofthe Holy Catholic Church before the division of the East and West, and this expositionwas dedicated as a memorial of Archbishop Howley in the following words:

To the memory of the most reverend father in God, William, Lord Archbishop of Canter-bury, Primate of all England, formerly Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Oxford,this Library of ancient bishops, fathers, doctors, martyrs, confessors, of Christs Holy CatholicChurch, undertaken amid his encouragement, and carried on for twelve years under hissanction, until his departure hence in peace, is gratefully and reverently inscribed.

The preface to the first volume was by the saintly Charles Marriott of Oriel College,with whom I enjoyed some acquaintance. It is well worth preserving here,3 and is as follows:

In any commentary on a portion of the Old Testament by a writer unacquainted withHebrew, exact criticism, and freedom from mistake, must not be expected. But the Psalmshave been so in the mouth and in the heart of Gods people in all languages, that it has beennecessary often to find an explanation suitable to imperfect translations. And no doubt itis intended that we should use such explanations for the purpose of edification, when weare unable to be more accurate, though in proving doctrine it is necessary always to rememberand allow for any want of acquaintance with the original, or uncertainty with respect to itsactual meaning. However, the main scope and bearing of the text is rarely affected by suchpoints as vary in different translations, and the analogy of the faith is sufficient to preventa Catholic4 mind from adopting any error in consequence of a text seeming to bear a het-erodox meaning. Perhaps the errors of translation in the existing versions may have led theFathers to adopt rules of interpretation ranging too far from the simple and literal; buthaving such translations, they could hardly use them otherwise. Meanwhile St. Augustinwill be found to excel in the intense apprehension of those great truths which pervade thewhole of Sacred Writ, and in the vivid and powerful exposition of what bears upon them.It is hardly possible to read his practical and forcible applications of Holy Scripture, withoutfeeling those truths by the faith of which we ought to live brought home to the heart in awonderful manner. His was a mind that strove earnestly to solve the great problems of humanlife, and after exhausting the resources, and discovering the emptiness, of erroneous systems,

3 Dated Oxford, Feast of St. Augustin of Canterbury, 1847.

4 i.e. Nicene.C.

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found truth and rest at last in Catholic Christianity, in the religion of the Bible as expoundedby St. Ambrose. And though we must look to his Confessions for the full view of all hiscravings after real good, and their ultimate satisfaction, yet throughout his works we havethe benefit of the earnestness with which he sought to feed on the sincere milk of the word.

His mystical and allegorical interpretation, in spite of occasional mistakes, which belongrather to the translation than to himself, will be found in general of great value. It is to aconsiderable extent systematic, and the same interpretation of the same symbols is repeatedthroughout the work, and is indeed often common to him with other Fathers. The feettaken for the affections, clouds for the Apostles, and many other instances, are of veryfrequent occurrence. And it is evident that a few such general interpretations must be agreat help to those who wish to make an allegorical use of those portions of Holy Scripturewhich are adapted for it. Nor are they adhered to with such strictness as to deprive thereader of the benefit of other explanations, where it appears that some other metaphor orallegory was intended. Both St. Augustin and St. Gregory acknowledge, and at times impresson their readers, that metaphorical language is used in Holy Scripture with various meaningsunder the same symbol.

The discourses on the Psalms are not carried throughout on the same plan, but still aretolerably complete as a commentary, since the longer expositions furnish the means of fillingout the shorter notices, in thought at least, to the attentive reader of the whole. They werenot delivered continuously, nor all at the same place. Occasionally the author is led by thecircumstances of the time into long discussions of a controversial character, especially withrespect to the Donatists, against whose narrow and exclusive views he urges strongly theprophecies relating to the universality of the Church. Occasionally a Psalm is first reviewedbriefly, so as to give a general clew to its interpretation, and then enlarged upon in severaldiscourses.

For the present translation, as far as the first thirty Psalms, the editors are indebted toa friend who conceals his name; for the remainder of the volume, with part of the next whichis to appear, to the Rev. J. E. Tweed, M.A., chaplain of Christ Church, Oxford.

C. M.

Oxford, 1847.

x

After the first two volumes edited by Mr. Tweed of Christ Church, the third volume(carrying the work down to the end of Psalm lxxv.) appeared with this announcement signedby Mr. Marriott: The whole of it, as well as a few Psalms at the end of the former and thebeginning of the following volume, is translated by T. Scratton, Esq., M.A., of Christ Church,Oxford. The fifth volume appeared in April, 1853, with the name of the Rev. H. M. Wilkins,M.A., of Merton College, as translator. In December, 1857, came forth the last volume, withthe following advertisement from the pen of Dr. Pusey:

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The first hundred pages of this volume were printed, when it pleased God to withdrawfrom all further toil our friend, the Rev. C. Marriott, upon whose editorial labours the Libraryof the Fathers had for some years wholly depended. Full of activity in the cause of truth andreligious knowledge, full of practical benevolence, expanding himself, his strength, his pa-ternal inheritance, in works of piety and charity, in one night his labour was closed, and hewas removed from active duty to wait in stillness for his Lords last call. His friends mayperhaps rather thankfully wonder that God allowed one, threatened in many ways withsevere disease, to labour for Him so long and so variously, than think it strange that Hesuddenly, and for them prematurely, allowed him thus far to enter into his rest. To thosewho knew him best, it has been a marvel how, with heath so frail, he was enabled in suchvarious ways, and for so many years, to do active good in his generation. Early called, andever obeying the call, he has been allowed both active duty and an early rest.

This volume, long delayed, has been completed by the Rev. H. Walford, Vice-Principalof St. Edmunds Hall. The principal of St. Edmund Hall, Dr. Barrow, has, with great kindness,allowed himself to be referred to in obscure passages.

St. Augustins Commentary on the Psalms, then, is now, by the blessing of God, com-pleted for the first time in an English garb. Although, as a commentary, it from time to timefails us, because it explains minutely and verbally a translation of Holy Scripture differentfrom and inferior to our own, yet, on this very ground, it is the more valuable when thetranslations agree. For St. Augustin was so impressed with the sense of the depth of HolyScripture, that when it seems to him, on the surface, plainest, then he is the more assuredof its hidden depth.5 True to this belief, St. Augustin pressed out word by word of HolyScripture, and that, always in dependence on the inward teaching of God the Holy Ghostwho wrote it, until he had extracted some fullness of meaning from it. More also, perhaps,than any other work of St. Augustin, this commentary abounds in those condensed statementsof doctrinal and practical truth which are so instructive, because at once so comprehensiveand so accurate.

May He under whose gracious influence this great work was written, be with its readersalso, and make it now, as heretofore, a treasure to this portion of His Church.

E. B. P.

Advent, 1857.

5 Here Dr. Pusey quotes the saints preface to Ps. cxix. See p. 560.C.

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1

ST. AUGUSTIN ON THE PSALMS.

Psalm I.1. Blessed is the man that hath not gone away in the counsel of the ungodly (ver. 1).

This is to be understood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Man.6 Blessed is the man thathath not gone away in the counsel of the ungodly, as the man of earth did,7 who consentedto his wife deceived by the serpent, to the transgressing the commandment of God. Norstood in the way of sinners. For He came indeed in the way of sinners, by being born assinners are; but He stood not therein, for that the enticements of the world held Him not.And hath not sat in the seat of pestilence. He willed not an earthly kingdom, with pride,which is well taken for the seat of pestilence; for that there is hardly any one who is freefrom the love of rule, and craves not human glory. For a pestilence is disease widely spread,and involving all or nearly all. Yet the seat of pestilence may be more appropriately under-stood of hurtful doctrine; whose word spreadeth as a canker.8 The order too of the wordsmust be considered: went away, stood, sat. For he went away, when he drew back fromGod. He stood, when he took pleasure in sin. He sat, when, confirmed in his pride, hecould not go back, unless set free by Him, who neither hath gone away in the counsel ofthe ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of pestilence.

2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law will he meditate by day andby night (ver. 2). The law is not made for a righteous man,9 says the Apostle. But it is onething to be in the law, another under the law. Whoso is in the law, acteth according to thelaw; whoso is under the law, is acted upon according to the law: the one therefore is free,the other a slave. Again, the law, which is written and imposed upon the servant, is onething; the law, which is mentally discerned by him who needeth not its letter, is anotherthing. He will meditate by day and by night, is to be understood either as without ceasing;or by day in joy, by night in tribulations. For it is said, Abraham saw my day, and wasglad:10 and of tribulation it is said, my reins also have instructed me, even unto the night.11

6 Homine Dominico. This term as applied to our Lord, St. Augustin disallows in his Retractat. i. 19. [He would

not have objected to the expression of our translator, the Lord Man, as above. It is the adjective Dominicus to

which he objects, because it is ambiguous, quasi Man of the Lord.C.]

7 1 Cor. xv. 47.

8 2 Tim. ii. 17.

9 1 Tim. i. 9.

10 John viii. 5, 6.

11 Ps. xvi. 7.

Psalm I

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3. And he shall be like a tree planted hard by the running streams of waters (ver. 3);that is either Very Wisdom,12 which vouchsafed to assume mans nature for our salvation;that as man He might be the tree planted hard by the running streams of waters; for inthis sense can that too be taken which is said in another Psalm, the river of God is full ofwater.13 Or by the Holy Ghost, of whom it is said, He shall baptize you in the HolyGhost;14 and again, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink;15 and again, Ifthou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that asketh water of thee, thou wouldest haveasked of Him, and He would have given thee living water, of which whoso drinketh shallnever thirst, but it shall be made in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.16

Or, by the running streams of waters may be by the sins of the people, because first thewaters are called peoples in the Apocalypse;17 and again, by running stream is not un-reasonably understood fall, which hath relation to sin. That tree then, that is, our Lord,from the running streams of water, that is, from the sinful peoples drawing them by theway into the roots of His discipline, will bring forth fruit, that is, will establish Churches;in His season, that is, after He hath been glorified by His Resurrection and Ascension intoheaven. For then, by the sending of the Holy Ghost to the Apostles, and by the confirmingof their faith in Him, and their mission to the world, He made the Churches to bring forthfruit. His leaf also shall not fall, that is, His Word shall not be in vain. For, all flesh is

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grass, and the glory of man as the flower of grass; the grass withereth, and the flower falleth,but the word of the Lord abideth for ever.18 And whatsoever He doeth shall prosper thatis, whatsoever that tree shall bear; which all must be taken of fruit and leaves, that is, deedsand words.

4. The ungodly are not so, they are not so, but are like the dust which the wind castethforth from the face of the earth (ver. 4). The earth is here to be taken as that stedfastnessin God, with a view to which it is said, The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, yea, Ihave a goodly heritage.19 With a view to this it is said, Wait on the Lord and keep Hisways, and He shall exalt thee to inherit the earth.20 With a view to this it is said, Blessedare the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.21 A comparison too is derived hence, for as

12 Prov. viii.

13 Ps. lxv. 9.

14 Matt. iii. 11.

15 John vii. 37.

16 John iv. 10, 14.

17 Rev. xvii. 15.

18 Isa. xl. 68.

19 Ps. xvi. 5, 6.

20 Ps. xxxvii. 34.

21 Matt. v. 5.

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this visible earth supports and contains the outer man, so that earth invisible the inner man.From the face of which earth the wind casteth forth the ungodly, that is, pride, in thatit puffeth him up. On his guard against which he, who was inebriated by the richness of thehouse of the Lord, and drunken of the torrent stream of its pleasures, saith, Let not the footof pride come against me. 22 From this earth pride cast forth him who said, I will placemy seat in the north, and I will be like the Most High.23 From the face of the earth it castforth him also who, after that he had consented and tasted of the forbidden tree that hemight be as God, hid himself from the Face of God.24 That his earth has reference to theinner man, and that man25 is cast forth thence by pride, may be particularly seen in thatwhich is written, Why is earth and ashes proud? Because, in his life, he cast forth hisbowels.26 For, whence he hath been cast forth, he is not unreasonably said to have castforth himself.

5. Therefore the ungodly rise not in the judgment (ver. 5): therefore, namely, becauseas dust they are cast forth from the face of the earth. And well did he say that this shouldbe taken away from them, which in their pride they court, namely, that they may judge; sothat this same idea is more clearly expressed in the following sentence, nor sinners in thecounsel of the righteous. For it is usual for what goes before,27 to be thus repeated moreclearly. So that by sinners should be understood the ungodly; what is before in thejudgment, should be here in the counsel of the righteous. Or if indeed the ungodly areone thing, and sinners another, so that although every ungodly man is a sinner, yet everysinner is not ungodly; The ungodly rise not in the judgment, that is, they shall rise indeed,but not that they should be judged, for they are already appointed to most certain punish-ment. But sinners do not rise in counsel of the just, that is, that they may judge, butperadventure that they may be judged; so as of these it were said, The fire shall try everymans work of what sort it is. If any mans work abide, he shall receive a reward. If any manswork shall be burned, he shall then suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as byfire.

6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous (ver. 6). As it is said, medicine knowshealth, but knows not disease, and yet disease is recognised by the art of medicine. In likemanner can it be said that the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of theungodly He knoweth not. Not that the Lord is ignorant of anything, and yet He says to sin-

22 Ps. xxxvi. 11.

23 Isa. xiv. 13, 14.

24 Gen. iii. 8.

25 Oxford mss. the inner man.

26 Ecclus. x. 9.

27 Oxford mss. what is darkly said.

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ners, I never knew you.28 But the way of the ungodly shall perish; is the same as if itwere said, the way of the ungodly the Lord knoweth not. But it is expressed more plainlythat this should be not to be known of the Lord, namely, to perish; and this to be knownof the Lord, namely, to abide; so as that to be should appertain to the knowledge of God,but to His not knowing not to be. For the Lord saith, I Am that I Am, and, I Am hathsent me.29

28 Matt. vii. 23.

29 Exod. iii. 14. [Irenus, p. 419, vol. i. A.N.F.; also Tertull. p. 682, vol. iii. A.N.F.; same series elsewhere.C.]

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Psalm II.1. Why do the heathen rage, and the people meditate vain things? (ver. 1). The kings

of the earth have stood up, and the rulers taken counsel together, against the Lord, andagainst His Christ (ver. 2). It is said, why? as if it were said, in vain. For what they wished,namely, Christs destruction, they accomplished not; for this is spoken of our Lords perse-cutors, of whom also mention is made in the Acts of the Apostles.30

2. Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke from us (ver. 3). Althoughit admits of another acceptation, yet is it more fitly understood as in the person of thosewho are said to meditate vain things. So that let us break their bonds asunder, and castaway their yoke from us, may be, let us do our endeavour, that the Christian religion donot bind us, nor be imposed upon us.

3. He that dwelleth in the heavens shall laugh them to scorn, and the Lord shall havethem in derision (ver. 4). The sentence is repeated; for He who dwelleth in the heavens,

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is afterwards put, the Lord; and for shall laugh them to scorn, is afterwards put, shallhave them in derision. Nothing of this however must be taken in a carnal sort, as if Godeither laugheth with cheek, or derideth with nostril; but it is to be understood of that powerwhich He giveth to His saints, that they seeing things to come, namely, that the Name andrule of Christ is to pervade posterity and possess all nations, should understand that thosemen meditate a vain thing. For this power whereby these things are foreknown is Godslaughter and derision. He that dwelleth in the heavens shall laugh them to scorn. Ifby heavens we understand holy souls, by these God, as foreknowing what is to come, willlaugh them to scorn, and have them in derision.

4. Then He shall speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure(ver. 5). For showing more clearly how He will speak unto them, he added, He will vexthem; so that in His wrath, is, in His sore displeasure. But by the wrath and sore dis-pleasure of the Lord God must not be understood any mental perturbation; but the mightwhereby He most justly avengeth, by the subjection of all creation to His service. For thatis to be observed and remembered which is written in the Wisdom of Solomon, But Thou,Lord of power, judgest with tranquillity, and with great favour orderest us.31 The wrathof God then is an emotion which is produced in the soul which knoweth the law of God,when it sees this same law transgressed by the sinner. For by this emotion of righteous soulsmany things are avenged. Although the wrath of God can be well understood of thatdarkening of the mind, which overtakes those who transgress the law of God.

30 Acts iv. 26.

31 Wisd. xii. 18.

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5. Yet am I set by Him as King upon Sion, His holy hill, preaching His decree (ver.6). This is clearly spoken in the Person of the very Lord our Saviour Christ. But if Sion sig-nify, as some interpret, beholding, we must not understand it of anything rather than of theChurch, where daily is the desire raised of beholding the bright glory of God, according tothat of the Apostle, but we with open face beholding the glory of the Lord.32 Thereforethe meaning of this is, Yet I am set by Him as King over His holy Church; which for itseminence and stability He calleth a mountain. Yet I am set by Him as King. I, that is,whose bands they were meditating to break asunder, and whose yoke to cast away.Preaching His decree. Who doth not see the meaning of this, seeing it is daily practised?

6. The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art My Son, to-day have I begotten Thee (ver.7). Although that day may also seem to be prophetically spoken of, on which Jesus Christwas born according to the flesh; and in eternity there is nothing past as if it had ceased tobe, nor future as if it were not yet, but present only, since whatever is eternal, always is; yetas today intimates presentiality, a divine interpretation is given to that expression, To-day have I begotten Thee, whereby the uncorrupt and Catholic faith proclaims the eternalgeneration of the power and Wisdom of God, who is the Only-begotten Son.

7. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance (ver. 8). This hasat once a temporal sense with reference to the Manhood which He took on Himself, whooffered up Himself as a Sacrifice in the stead of all sacrifices, who also maketh intercessionfor us; so that the words, ask of Me, may be referred to all this temporal dispensation,which has been instituted for mankind, namely, that the nations should be joined to theName of Christ, and so be redeemed from death, and possessed by God. I shall give Theethe nations for Thine inheritance, which so possess them for their salvation, and to bearunto Thee spiritual fruit. And the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. Thesame repeated, The uttermost parts of the earth, is put for the nations; but more clearly,that we might understand all the nations. And Thy possession stands for Thine inherit-ance.

8. Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, with inflexible justice, and Thou shaltbreak them like a potters vessel (ver. 9); that is, Thou shalt break in them earthly lusts,and the filthy doings of the old man, and whatsoever hath been derived and inured fromthe sinful clay. And now understand, ye kings (ver. 10). And now; that is, being nowrenewed, your covering of clay worn out, that is, the carnal vessels of error which belong toyour past life, now understand, ye who now are kings; that is, able now to govern allthat is servile and brutish in you, able now too to fight, not as they who beat the air, butchastening your bodies, and bringing them into subjection.33 Be instructed, all ye who

32 2 Cor. iii. 18.

33 1 Cor. ix. 26, 27.

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judge the earth. This again is a repetition; Be instructed is instead of understand; andye who judge the earth instead of ye kings. For He signifies the spiritual by those whojudge the earth. For whatsoever we judge, is below us; and whatsoever is below the spiritualman, is with good reason called the earth; because it is defiled with earthly corruption.

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9. Serve the Lord with fear; lest what is said, Ye kings and judges of the earth, turninto pride: And rejoice with trembling (ver. 11). Very excellently is rejoice added, lestserve the Lord with fear should seem to tend to misery. But again, lest this same rejoicingshould run on to unrestrained inconsiderateness, there is added with trembling, that itmight avail for a warning, and for the careful guarding of holiness. It can also be taken thus,And now ye kings understand; that is, And now that I am set as King, be ye not sad, kingsof the earth, as if your excellency were taken from you, but rather understand and be in-structed. For it is expedient for you, that ye should be under Him, by whom understandingand instruction are given you. And this is expedient for you, that ye lord it not with rashness,but that ye serve the Lord of all with fear, and rejoice in bliss most sure and most pure,with all caution and carefulness, lest ye fall therefrom into pride.

10. Lay hold of discipline,34 lest at any time the Lord be angry, and ye perish from therighteous way (ver. 12). This is the same as, understand, and, be instructed. For to un-derstand and be instructed, this is to lay hold of discipline. Still in that it is said, lay holdof, it is plainly enough intimated that there is some protection and defence against all thingswhich might do hurt unless with so great carefulness it be laid hold of. Lest at any time theLord be angry, is expressed with a doubt, not as regards the vision of the prophet to whomit is certain, but as regards those who are warned; for they, to whom it is not openly revealed,are wont to think with doubt of the anger of God. This then they ought to say to themselves,let us lay hold of discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and we perish from therighteous way. Now, how the Lord be angry is to be taken, has been said above. And yeperish from the righteous way. This is a great punishment, and dreaded by those who havehad any perception of the sweetness of righteousness; for he who perisheth from the wayof righteousness, in much misery will wander through the ways of unrighteousness.

11. When His anger shall be shortly kindled, blessed are all they who put their trust inHim; that is, when the vengeance shall come which is prepared for the ungodly and forsinners, not only will it not light on those who put their trust in the Lord, but it will evenavail for the foundation and exaltation of a kingdom for them. For he said not, When Hisanger shall be shortly kindled, safe are all they who put their trust in Him, as though theyshould have this only thereby, to be exempt from punishment; but he said, blessed; in

34 [This reading is corrected by St. Jerome in his Hebraic Psalter, and our Authorized Version Kiss the Son

is sustained by the best authorities. See a forcible elucidation in Bishop Wordsworths Commentary on Psalms.

Ps. ii.C.]

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which there is the sum and accumulation of all good things. Now the meaning of shortlyI suppose to be this, that it will be something sudden, whilst sinners will deem it far off andlong to come.

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Psalm III.35

A psalm of David, when he fled from the face of Abessalon his son.

1. The words, I slept, and took rest; and rose, for the Lord will take me up, lead us tobelieve that this Psalm is to be understood as in the Person of Christ; for they sound moreapplicable to the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord, than to that history in which Davidsflight is described from the face of his rebellious son. And, since it is written of Christsdisciples, The sons of the bridegroom fast not as long as the bridegroom is with them; 36

it is no wonder if by his undutiful37 son be here meant that undutiful38 disciple who betrayedHim. From whose face although it may be understood historically that He fled, when onhis departure He withdrew with the rest to the mountain; yet in a spiritual sense, when theSon of God, that is the Power and Wisdom of God, abandoned the mind of Judas; when theDevil wholly occupied him; as it is written, The Devil entered into his heart,39 may it bewell understood that Christ fled from his face; not that Christ gave place to the Devil, butthat on Christs departure the Devil took possession. Which departure, I suppose, is calleda flight in this Psalm, because of its quickness; which is indicated also by the word of ourLord, saying, That thou doest, do quickly.40 So even in common conversation we say ofanything that does not come to mind, it has fled from me; and of a man of much learningwe say, nothing flies from him. Wherefore truth fled from the mind of Judas, when it ceasedto enlighten him. But Absalom, as some interpret, in the Latin tongue signifies, Patris pax,a fathers peace. And it may seem strange, whether in the history of the kings, when Absalomcarried on war against his father; or in the history of the New Testament, when Judas wasthe betrayer of our Lord; how fathers peace can be understood. But both in the formerplace they who read carefully, see that David in that war was at peace with his son, who evenwith sore grief lamented his death, saying, O Absalom, my son, would God I had died for

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thee!41 And in the history of the New Testament by that so great and so wonderful forbear-ance of our Lord; in that He bore so long with him as if good, when He was not ignorant ofhis thoughts; in that He admitted him to the Supper in which He committed and deliveredto His disciples the figure of His Body and Blood; finally, in that He received the kiss of

35 [On the place of this Psalm in the Ordo Psalmorum, see the important principle laid down by Bishop

Wordsworth, in his Introduction to the Psalms, p. v.C.]

36 Matt. ix. 15.

37 Impius.

38 Impius.

39 John xiii. 27.

40 John xiii. 27.

41 2 Sam. xviii. 33.

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peace at the very time of His betrayal; it is easily understood how Christ showed peace toHis betrayer, although he was laid waste by the intestine war of so abominable a device. Andtherefore is Absalom called fathers peace, because his father had the peace, which he hadnot.

2. O Lord, how are they multiplied that trouble me! (ver. 1). So multiplied indeedwere they, that one even from the number of His disciples was not wanting, who was addedto the number of His persecutors. Many rise up against me; many say unto my soul, Thereis no salvation for him in his God (ver. 2). It is clear that if they had had any idea that Hewould rise again, assuredly they would not have slain Him. To this end are those speeches,Let Him come down from the cross, if He be the Son of God; and again, He saved others,Himself He cannot save.42 Therefore, neither would Judas have betrayed Him, if he hadnot been of the number of those who despised Christ, saying, There is no salvation for Himin His God.

3. But Thou, O Lord, art my taker.43 It is said to God in the nature of man, for thetaking of man is, the Word made Flesh. My glory. Even He calls God his glory, whom theWord of God so took, that God became one with Him. Let the proud learn, who unwillinglyhear, when it is said to them, For what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thoudidst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?44 And the lifter upof my head (ver. 3). I think that this should be here taken of the human mind, which is notunreasonably called the head of the soul;45 which so inhered in, and in a sort coalesced with,the supereminent excellency of the Word taking man, that it was not laid aside by so greathumiliation of the Passion.

4. With my voice have I cried unto the Lord (ver. 4); that is, not with the voice of thebody, which is drawn out with the sound of the reverberation of the air; but with the voiceof the heart, which to men speaks not, but with God sounds as a cry. By this voice Susannawas heard;46 and with this voice the Lord Himself commanded that prayer should be madein closets,47 that is, in the recesses of the heart noiselessly. Nor would one easily say thatprayer is not made with this voice, if no sound of words is uttered from the body; since evenwhen in silence we pray within the heart, if thoughts interpose alien from the mind of onepraying, it cannot yet be said, With my voice have I cried unto the Lord. Nor is this rightlysaid, save when the soul alone, taking to itself nothing of the flesh, and nothing of the aims

42 Matt. xxvii. 42.

43 Susceptor.

44 1 Cor. iv. 7.

45 [1 Thess. v. 23. See Tertull. vol. iii. p. 450, A.N.F.; also Irenus, vol. i. p. 386, ibid.C.]

46 Sus. 44.

47 Matt. vi. 6.

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of the flesh, in prayer, speaks to God, where He only hears. But even this is called a cry byreason of the strength of its intention. And He heard me out of His holy mountain. Wehave the Lord Himself called a mountain by the Prophet, as it is written, The stone thatwas cut out without hands grew to the size of a mountain.48 But this cannot be taken ofHis Person, unless peradventure He would speak thus, out of myself, as of His holy mountainHe heard me, when He dwelt in me, that is, in this very mountain. But it is more plain andunembarrassed, if we understand that God out of His justice heard. For it was just that Heshould raise again from the dead the Innocent who was slain, and to whom evil had beenrecompensed for good, and that He should render to the persecutor a meet reward, whorepaid Him evil for good. For we read, Thy justice is as the mountains of God.49

5. I slept, and took rest50 (ver. 5). It may be not unsuitably remarked, that it is expresslysaid, I, to signify that of His own Will He underwent death, according to that, Thereforedoth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No mantaketh it from Me; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.51 Therefore,saith He, you have not taken Me as though against My will, and slain Me; but I slept, andtook rest; and rose, for the Lord will take me up. Scripture contains numberless instancesof sleep being put for death; as the Apostle says, I would not have you to be ignorant,brethren, concerning them which are asleep.52 Nor need we make any question why it isadded, took rest, seeing that it has already been said, I slept. Repetitions of this kind areusual in Scripture, as we have pointed out many in the second Psalm. But some copies have,I slept, and was cast into a deep sleep.53 And different copies express it differently, accord-ing to the possible renderings of the Greek words, . Unless

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perhaps sleeping54 may be taken of one dying, but sleep55 of one dead: so that sleeping maybe the transition into sleep, as awakening is the transition into wakefulness. Let us not deemthese repetitions in the sacred writings empty ornaments of speech. I slept, and took rest,is therefore well understood as I gave Myself up to My Passion, and death ensued. AndI rose, for the Lord will take Me up.56 This is the more to be remarked, how that in onesentence the Psalmist has used a verb of past and future time. For he has said, both I rose,

48 Dan. ii. 34, 35.

49 Ps. xxxvi. 6. [See Tertullian, p. 364, A.N.F. vol. iii.C.]

50 Ego dormivi, et somnum cepi. In the Hebrew, also, I is emphatic.

51 John x. 17, 18.

52 1 Thess. iv. 13.

53 Dormivi, et soporatus sum.

54 Dormitio.

55 Somnus.

56 [Justin Martyr understands this of Christ and His resurrection. A.N.F. vol. i. p. 175.C.]

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which is the past, and will take Me up, which is the future; seeing that assuredly the risingagain could not be without that taking up. But in prophecy the future is well joined to thepast, whereby both are signified. Since things which are prophesied of as yet to come inreference to time are future; but in reference to the knowledge of those who prophesy theyare already to be viewed as done. Verbs of the present tense are also mixed in, which shallbe treated of in their proper place when they occur.

6. I will not fear the thousands of people that surround me (ver. 6). It is written in theGospels how great a multitude stood around Him as He was suffering, and on the cross.Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God (ver. 7). It is not said to God, Arise, as if asleep orlying down, but it is usual in holy Scripture to attribute to God what He doeth in us; notindeed universally, but where it can be done suitably; as when He is said to speak, when byHis gift Prophets speak, and Apostles, or whatsoever messengers of the truth. Hence thattext, Would you have proof of Christ, who speaketh in me?57 For he doth not say, ofChrist, by whose enlightening or order I speak; but he attributes at once the speaking itselfto Him, by whose gift he spake.

7. Since Thou hast smitten all who oppose me without a cause. It is not to be pointedas if it were one sentence, Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God; since Thou hast smitten allwho oppose me without a cause. For He did not therefore save Him, because He smoteHis enemies; but rather He being saved, He smote them. Therefore it belongs to what follows,so that the sense is this; Since Thou hast smitten all who oppose me without a cause, Thouhast broken the teeth of the sinners; that is, thereby hast Thou broken the teeth of the sin-ners, since Thou hast smitten all who oppose me. It is forsooth the punishment of the op-posers, whereby their teeth have been broken, that is, the words of sinners rending withtheir cursing the Son of God, brought to nought, as it were to dust; so that we may understandteeth thus, as words of cursing. Of58 which teeth the Apostle speaks, If ye bite one another,take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.59 The teeth of sinners can also be takenas the chiefs of sinners; by whose authority each one is cut off from the fellowship of godlylivers, and as it were incorporated with evil livers. To these teeth are opposed the Churchsteeth, by whose authority believers are cut off from the error of the Gentiles and diversopinions, and are translated into that fellowship which is the body of Christ. With theseteeth Peter was told to eat the animals when they had been killed, that is, by killing in theGentiles what they were, and changing them into what he was himself. Of these teeth tooof the Church it is said, Thy teeth are as a flock of shorn sheep, coming up from the bath,whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.60 These are

57 2 Cor. xiii. 3.

58 Oxford mss. De.

59 Gal. v. 15.

60 Sol. Song iv. 2, vi. 6.

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they who prescribe rightly, and as they prescribe, live; who do what is written, Let yourworks shine before men, that they may bless your Father which is in heaven.61 For movedby their authority, they believe God who speaketh and worketh through these men; andseparated from the world, to which they were once conformed, they pass over into themembers of the Church. And rightly therefore are they, through whom such things aredone, called teeth like to shorn sheep; for they have laid aside the burdens of earthly cares,and coming up from the bath, from the washing away of the filth of the world by the Sacra-ment of Baptism, every one beareth twins. For they fulfil the two commandments, of whichit is said, On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets;62 loving Godwith all their heart, and with all their soul, and with all their mind, and their neighbour asthemselves. There is not one barren among them, for much fruit they render unto God.According to this sense then it is to be thus understood, Thou hast broken the teeth of thesinners, that is, Thou hast brought the chiefs of the sinners to nought, by smiting all whooppose Me without a cause. For the chiefs according to the Gospel history persecuted Him,whilst the lower people honoured Him.

8. Salvation is of the Lord; and upon Thy people be Thy blessing (ver. 8). In one sen-tence the Psalmist has enjoined men what to believe, and has prayed for believers. For whenit is said, Salvation is of the Lord, the words are addressed to men. Nor does it follow,And upon Thy people be Thy blessing, in such wise as that the whole is spoken to men,

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but there is a change into prayer addressed to God Himself, for the very people to whom itwas said, Salvation is of the Lord. What else then doth he say but this? Let no man presumeon himself, seeing that it is of the Lord to save from the death of sin; for, Wretched manthat I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God through JesusChrist our Lord.63 But do Thou, O Lord, bless Thy people, who look for salvation fromThee.

9. This Psalm can be taken as in the Person of Christ another way; which is that wholeChrist should speak.64 I mean by whole, with His body, of which He is the Head, accordingto the Apostle, who says, Ye are the body of Christ, and the members.65 He therefore isthe Head of this body; wherefore in another place he saith, But doing the truth in love, wemay increase in Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, from whom the whole body isjoined together and compacted.66 In the Prophet then at once, the Church, and her Head

61 Matt. v. 16.

62 Matt. xxii. 40.

63 Rom. vii. 24, 25.

64 [On this principle, which rules throughout this commentary, see the authors remark on Ps. xcvi., infra.C.]

65 1 Cor. xii. 27.

66 Eph. iv. 15, 16.

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(the Church founded amidst the storms of persecution throughout the whole world, whichwe know already to have come to pass), speaks, O Lord, how are they multiplied that troubleme! many rise up against me; wishing to exterminate the Christian name. Many say untomy soul, There is no salvation for him in his God. For they would not otherwise hope thatthey could destroy the Church, branching out so very far and wide, unless they believed thatGod had no care thereof. But Thou, O Lord, art my taker; in Christ of course. For intothat flesh67 the Church too hath been taken by the Word, who was made flesh, and dweltin us;68 for that In heavenly places hath He made us to sit together with Him.69 Whenthe Head goes before, the other members will follow; for, Who shall separate us from thelove of Christ?70 Justly then does the Church say, Thou art my taker. My glory; for shedoth not attribute her excellency to herself, seeing that she knoweth by whose grace andmercy she is what she is. And the lifter up of my head, of Him, namely, who, the First-born from the dead,71 ascended up into heaven. With my voice have I cried unto the Lord,and He heard me out of His holy mountain. This is the prayer of all the Saints, the odourof sweetness, which ascends up in the sight of the Lord. For now the Church is heard outof this mountain, which is also her head; or, out of that justice of God, by which both Hiselect are set free, and their persecutors punished. Let the people of God also say, I slept,and took rest; and rose, for the Lord will take me up; that they may be joined, and cleaveto their Head.72 For to this people is it said, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from thedead, and Christ shall lay hold on thee.73 Since they are taken out of sinners, of whom itis said generally, But they that sleep, sleep in the night.74 Let them say moreover, I willnot fear the thousands of people that surround me; of the heathen verily that compass meabout to extinguish everywhere, if they could, the Christian name. But how should they befeared, when by the blood of the martyrs in Christ, as by oil, the ardour of love is inflamed?Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God. The body can address this to its own Head. For at Hisrising the body was saved; who ascended up on high, led captivity captive, gave gifts untomen.75 For this is said by the Prophet, in the secret purpose of God,76 until that ripe har-

67 Homine.

68 John i. 14.

69 Eph. ii. 6.

70 Rom. viii. 35.

71 Col. i. 18.

72 [An Easter antiphon in the Western liturgies. Wordsworth, apud loc. Commentary on Psalms, p. 5.C.]

73 Eph. v. 14.

74 1 Thess. v. 7.

75 Eph. iv. 8; Ps. lxviii. 18.

76 Prdestinatione.

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vest77 which is spoken of in the Gospel, whose salvation is in His Resurrection, whovouchsafed to die for us, shed out our Lord to the earth. Since Thou hast smitten all whooppose me without a cause, Thou hast broken the teeth of the sinners. Now while theChurch hath rule, the enemies of the Christian name are smitten with confusion; and,whether their curses or their chiefs, brought to nought. Believe then, O man, that salvationis of the Lord: and, Thou, O Lord, may Thy blessing be upon Thy people.

10. Each one too of us may say, when a multitude of vices and lusts leads the resistingmind in the law of sin, O Lord, how are they multiplied that trouble me! many rise upagainst me. And, since despair of recovery generally creeps in through the accumulationof vices, as though these same vices were mocking the soul, or even as though the Devil andhis angels through their poisonous suggestions were at work to make us despair, it is saidwith great truth, Many say unto my soul, There is no salvation for him in his God. ButThou, O Lord, art my taker. For this is our hope, that He hath vouchsafed to take the natureof man in Christ. My glory; according to that rule, that no one should ascribe ought tohimself. And the lifter up of my head; either of Him, who is the Head of us all, or of thespirit of each several one of us, which is the head of the soul and body. For the head of thewoman is the man, and the head of the man is Christ.78 But the mind is lifted up, when itcan be said already, With the mind I serve the law of God;79 that the rest of man may be

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reduced to peaceable submission, when in the resurrection of the flesh death is swallowedup in victory.80 With my voice I have cried unto the Lord; with that most inward andintensive voice. And He heard me out of His holy mountain;81 Him, through whom Hehath succoured us, through whose mediation He heareth us. I slept, and took rest; androse, for the Lord will take me up. Who of the faithful is not able to say this, when he callsto mind the death of his sins, and the gift of regeneration? I will not fear the thousands ofpeople that surround me. Besides those which the Church universally hath borne andbeareth, each one also hath temptations, by which, when compassed about, he may speakthese words, Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: that is, make me to arise. Since Thouhast smitten all who oppose me without a cause: it is well in Gods determinate82 purposesaid of the Devil and his angels; who rage not only against the whole body of Christ, butalso against each one in particular. Thou hast broken the teeth of the sinners. Each man

77 Matt. ix. 37.

78 1 Cor. xi. 3.

79 Rom. vii. 25.

80 1 Cor. xv. 54.

81 [Here, for the first time, comes in the word Selah, the Sursum Corda of the Hebrews. Bishop Wordsworth

notes the three upliftings which here precede.C.]

82 Prdestinatione.

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hath those that revile him, he hath too the prime authors of vice, who strive to cut him offfrom the body of Christ. But salvation is of the Lord. Pride is to be guarded against, andwe must say, My soul cleaved after Thee.83 And upon Thy people be Thy blessing:that is, upon each one of us.

83 Ps. lxiii. 8. , Sept.

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Psalm IV.To the end, a psalm song to84 David.

1. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.85 For thisend signifies perfection, not consumption. Now it may be a question, whether every Songbe a Psalm, or rather every Psalm a Song; whether there are some Songs which cannot becalled Psalms, and some Psalms which cannot be called Songs. But the Scripture must beattended to, if haply Song do not denote a joyful theme. But those are called Psalms whichare sung to the Psaltery; which the history as a high mystery declares the Prophet David tohave used. 86 Of which matter this is not the place to discourse; for it requires prolongedinquiry, and much discussion. Now meanwhile we must look either for the words of theLord Man87 after the Resurrection, or of man in the Church believing and hoping on Him.

2. When I called, the God of my righteousness heard me (ver. 1). When I called, Godheard me, the Psalmist says, of whom is my righteousness. In tribulation Thou hast enlargedme. Thou hast led me from the straits of sadness into the broad ways of joy. For, tribulationand straitness is on every soul of man that doeth evil.88 But he who says, We rejoice intribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; up to that where he says, Becausethe love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us;89

he hath no straits of heart, they be heaped on him outwardly by them that persecute him.Now the change of person, for that from the third person, where he says, He heard, hepasses at once to the second, where he says, Thou hast enlarged me; if it be not done forthe sake of variety and grace, it is strange why the Psalmist should first wish to declare tomen that he had been heard, and afterwards address Him who heard him. Unless perchance,when he had declared how he was heard, in this very enlargement of heart he preferred tospeak with God; that he might even in this way show what it is to be enlarged in heart, thatis, to have God already shed abroad in the heart, with whom he might hold converse interi-orly. Which is rightly understood as spoken in the person of him who, believing on Christ,has been enlightened; but in that of the very Lord Man, whom the Wisdom of God took, Ido not see how this can be suitable. For He was never deserted by It. But as His very prayeragainst trouble is a sign rather of our infirmity, so also of that sudden enlargement of heart

84 , , Sept.

85 Rom. x. 4.

86 1 Chron. xiii. 8 and xvi. 5.

87 [Here again, and in all cases (verba Dominici hominis), this phrase must be regarded as retracted. Ubicunque

hoc dixi, dixisse me nollem, says the great bishop, ed. Migne, vol. i. p. 617. But, as here rendered, it is correct.C.]

88 Rom. ii. 9.

89 Rom. v. 3, 5.

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the same Lord may speak for His faithful ones, whom He has personated also when He said,I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink,90 andso forth. Wherefore here also He can say, Thou hast enlarged me, for one of the least ofHis, holding converse with God, whose love he has shed abroad in his heart by the HolyGhost, which is given unto us.91 Have mercy upon me and hear my prayer. Why doeshe again ask, when already he declared that he had been heard and enlarged? It is for oursakes, of whom it is said, But if we hope for that we see not, we wait in patience;92 or is it,that in him who has believed that which is begun may be perfected?

3. O ye sons of men, how long heavy in heart (ver. 2). Let your93 error, says he, havelasted at least up to the coming of the Son of God; why then any longer are ye heavy in heart?

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When will ye make an end of crafty wiles, if now when the truth is present ye make it not?Why do ye love vanity, and seek a lie? Why would ye be blessed by the lowest things?Truth alone, from which all things are true, maketh blessed. For, vanity is of deceivers, andall is vanity.94 What profit hath a man of all his labour, wherewith he laboureth under thesun? Why then are ye held back by the love of things temporal? Why follow ye after thelast things, as though the first, which is vanity and a lie? For you would have them abidewith you, which all pass away, as doth a shadow.

4. And know ye that the Lord hath magnified his Holy One (ver. 3). Whom but Him,whom He raised up from below, and placed in heaven at His right hand? Therefore dothhe chide mankind, that they would turn at length from the love of this world to Him. Butif the addition of the conjunction (for he says, and know ye) is to any a difficulty, he mayeasily observe in Scripture that this manner of speech is usual in that language, in which theProphets spoke. For you often find this beginning, And the Lord said unto him, Andthe word of the Lord came to him. Which joining by a conjunction, when no sentence hasgone before, to which the following one may be annexed, peradventure admirably conveysto us, that the utterance of the truth in words is connected with that vision which goes onin the heart. Although in this place it may be said, that the former sentence, Why do yelove vanity, and seek a lie? is as if it were written, Do not love vanity, and seek a lie. Andbeing thus read, it follows in the most direct construction, and know ye that the Lord hathmagnified His Holy One. But the interposition of the Diapsalma forbids our joining thissentence with the preceding one. For whether this be a Hebrew word, as some would haveit, which means, so be it; or a Greek word, which marks a pause in the psalmody (so as that

90 Matt. xxv. 42.

91 Rom. v. 5.

92 Rom. viii. 25.

93 Oxford mss. If your.

94 Eccles. i. 2.

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Psalma should be what is sung in psalmody, but Diapsalma an interval of silence in thepsalmody; that as the coupling of voices in singing is called Sympsalma, so their separationDiapsalma, where a certain pause of interrupted continuity is marked): whether I say it bethe former, or the latter, or something else, this at least is probable, that the sense cannotrightly be continued and joined, where the Diapsalma intervenes.95

5. The Lord will hear me, when I cry unto Him. I believe that we are here warned,that with great earnestness of heart, that is, with an inward and incorporeal cry, we shouldimplore help of God. For as we must give thanks for enlightenment in this life, so must wepray for rest after this life. Wherefore in the person, either of the faithful preacher of theGospel, or of our Lord Himself, it may be taken, as if it were written, the Lord will hear you,when you cry unto Him.

6. Be ye angry, and sin not (ver. 4). For the thought occurred, Who is worthy to beheard? or how shall the sinner not cry in vain unto the Lord? Therefore, Be ye angry, saithhe, and sin not. Which may be taken two ways: either, even if ye be angry, do not sin; thatis, even if there arise an emotion in the soul, which now by reason of the punishment of sinis not in our power, at least let not the reason and the mind, which is after God regeneratedwithin, that with the mind we should serve the law of God, although with the flesh we asyet serve the law of sin,96 consent thereunto; or, repent ye, that is, be ye angry with yourselvesfor your past sins, and henceforth cease to sin. What you say in your hearts: there is un-derstood, say ye: so that the complete sentence is, What ye say in your hearts, that sayye; that is, be ye not the people of whom it is said, with their lips they honour Me, buttheir heart is far from Me.97 In your chambers be ye pricked. This is what has been expressedalready in heart. For this is the chamber, of which our Lord warns us, that we should praywithin, with closed doors.98 But, be ye pricked, refers either to the pain of repentance,that the soul in punishment should prick itself, that it be not condemned and tormented inGods judgment; or, to arousing, that we should awake to behold the light of Christ, as ifpricks were made use of. But some say that not, be ye pricked, but, be ye opened, is thebetter reading; because in the Greek Psalter it is , which refers to that enlargementof the heart, in order that the shedding abroad of love by the Holy Ghost may be received.

7. Offer the sacrifice of righteousness, and hope in the Lord (ver. 5). He says the samein another Psalm, the sacrifice for God is a troubled spirit.99 Wherefore that this is the

95 [See p. 18, supra. Also A.N.F. vol. v. p. 201. St. Augustin seems to have been acquainted with Hippoly-

tus.C.]

96 Rom. vii. 25.

97 Isa. xxix. 13.

98 Matt. vi. 6.

99 Ps. li. 17.

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sacrifice of righteousness which is offered through repentance it is not unreasonably hereunderstood. For what more righteous, than that each one should be angry with his ownsins, rather than those of others, and that in self-punishment he should sacrifice himselfunto God? Or are righteous works after repentance the sacrifice of righteousness? For theinterposition of Diapsalma100 not unreasonably perhaps intimates even a transition from

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the old life to the new life: that on the old man being destroyed or weakened by repentance,the sacrifice of righteousness, according to the regeneration of the new man, may be offeredto God; when the soul now cleansed offers and places itself on the altar of faith, to be encom-passed by heavenly fire, that is, by the Holy Ghost. So that this may be the meaning, Offerthe sacrifice of righteousness, and hope in the Lord; that is, live uprightly, and hope for thegift of the Holy Ghost, that the truth, in which you have believed, may shine upon you.

8. But yet, hope in the Lord, is as yet expressed without101 explanation. Now what ishoped for, but good things? But since each one would obtain from God that good, whichhe loves; and they are not easy to be found who love interior goods, that is, which belongto the inward man, which alone should be loved, but the rest are to be used for necessity,not to be enjoyed for pleasure; excellently did he subjoin, when he had said, hope in theLord (ver. 6), Many say, Who showeth us good things? This is the speech, and this thedaily inquiry of all the foolish and unrighteous; whether of those who long for the peaceand quiet of a worldly life, and from the frowardness of mankind find it not; who even intheir blindness dare to find fault with the order of events, when involved in their own de-servings they deem the times worse than these which are past: or, of those who doubt anddespair of that future life, which is promised us; who are often saying, Who knows if itstrue? or, who ever came from below, to tell us this? Very exquisitely then, and briefly, heshows (to those, that is, who have interior sight), what good things are to be sought; answeringtheir question, who say, Who showeth us good things? The light of Thy countenance,saith he, is stamped on us, O Lord. This light is the whole and true good of man, whichis seen not with the eye, but with the mind. But he says, stamped on us, as a penny isstamped with the kings image. For man was made after the image and likeness of God,102

which he defaced by sin: therefore it is his true and eternal good, if by a new birth he bestamped. And I believe this to be the bearing of that which some understand skilfully; Imean, what the Lord said on seeing Csars tribute money, Render to Csar the thingsthat are Csars; and to God the things that are Gods.103 As if He had said, In like manneras Csar exacts from you the impression of his image, so also does God: that as the tribute

100 [After verse 4.C.]

101 Claus.

102 Gen. i. 26.

103 Matt. xxii. 21.

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money is rendered to him, so should the soul to God, illumined and stamped with the lightof His countenance. (Ver. 7.) Thou hast put gladness into my heart. Gladness then is notto be sought without by them, who, being still heavy in heart, love vanity, and seek a lie;but within, where the light of Gods countenance is stamped. For Christ dwelleth in the innerman,104 as the Apostle says; for to Him doth it appertain to see truth, since He hath said, Iam the truth.105 And again, when He spake in the Apostle, saying, Would you receive aproof of Christ, who speaketh in me?106 He spake not of course from without to him, butin his very heart, that is, in that chamber where we are to pray.

9. But men (who doubtless are many) who follow after things temporal, know not tosay aught else, than, Who showeth us good things? when the true and certain good withintheir very selves they cannot see. Of these accordingly is most justly said, what he adds next:From the time of His corn, of wine, and oil, they have been multiplied. For the additionof His, is not superfluous. For the corn is Gods: inasmuch as He is the living bread whichcame down from heaven.107 The wine too is Gods: for, they shall be inebriated, he says,with the fatness of thine house.108 The oil too is Gods: of which it is said, Thou hastfattened my head with oil.109 But those many, who say, Who showeth us good things?and who see not that the kingdom of heaven is within them: these, from the time of Hiscorn, of wine, and oil, are multiplied. For multiplication does not always betoken plentiful-ness, and not, generally, scantiness: when the soul, given up to temporal pleasures, burnsever with desire, and cannot be satisfied; and, distracted with manifold and anxious thought,is not permitted to see the simple good. Such is the soul of which it is said, For the corrupt-ible body presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind thatmuseth on many things.110 A soul like this, by the departure and succession of temporalgoods, that is, from the time of His corn, wine, and oil, filled with numberless idle fancies,is so multiplied, that it cannot do that which is commanded, Think on the Lord in goodness,and in simplicity of heart seek Him.111 For this multiplicity is strongly opposed to thatsimplicity. And therefore leaving these, who are many, multiplied, that is, by the desire ofthings temporal, and who say, Who showeth us good things? which are to be sought notwith the eyes without, but with simplicity of heart within, the faithful man rejoices and says,

104 Eph. iii. 16, 17.

105 John xiv. 6.

106 2 Cor. xiii. 3.

107 John vi. 51.

108 Ps. xxxvi. 8.

109 Ps. xxiii. 5.

110 Wisd. ix. 15.

111 Wisd. i. 1.

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In peace, together, I will sleep, and take rest (ver. 8). For such men justly hope for all

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manner of estrangement of mind from things mortal, and forgetfulness of this worldsmiseries; which is beautifully and prophetically signified under the name of sleep and rest,where the most perfect peace cannot be interrupted by any tumult. But this is not had nowin this life, but is to be hoped for after this life. This even the words themselves, which arein the future tense, show us. For it is not said, either, I have slept, and taken rest; or, I dosleep, and take rest; but, I will sleep, and take rest. Then shall this corruptible put on in-corruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality; then shall death be swallowed up invictory.112 Hence it is said, But if we hope for that we see not, we wait in patience.113

10. Wherefore, consistently with this, he adds the last words, and says, Since Thou, OLord, in singleness hast made me dwell in hope. Here he does not say, wilt make; but, hastmade. In whom then this hope now is, there will be assuredly that which is hoped for. Andwell does he say, in singleness. For this may refer in opposition to those many, who beingmultiplied from the time of His corn, of wine, and oil, say, Who showeth us good things?For this multiplicity perishes, and singleness is observed among the saints: of whom it issaid in the Acts of the Apostles, and of the multitude of them that believed, there was onesoul, and one heart.114 In singleness, then, and simplicity, removed, that is, from the mul-titude and crowd of things, that are born and die, we ought to be lovers of eternity, andunity, if we desire to cleave to the one God and our Lord.

112 1 Cor. xv. 54.

113 Rom. viii. 25.

114 Acts iv. 32.

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Psalm IV

http://www.ccel.org/study/Bible:Ps.4.8http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf108/Page_11.htmlhttp://www.ccel.org/study/Bible:1Cor.15.54http://www.ccel.org/study/Bible:Rom.8.25http://www.ccel.org/study/Bible:Acts.4.32

Psalm V.1. The title of the Psalm is, For her who receiveth the inheritance. The Church then

is signified, who receiveth for her inheritance eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ;that she may possess God Himself, in cleaving to whom she may be blessed, according tothat, Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth.115 What earth, but that ofwhich it is said, Thou art my hope, my portion in the land of the living?116 And againmore clearly, The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup.117 And converselythe word Church is said to be Gods inheritance according to that, Ask of Me, and I shallgive thee the heathen for thine inheritance.118 Therefore is God said to be our inheritance,because He feedeth and sustaineth119 us: and we are said to be Gods inheritance, becauseHe ordereth and ruleth us. Wherefore it is the voice of the Church in this Psalm called toher inheritance, that she too may herself become the inheritance of the Lord.

2. Hear my words, O Lord (ver. 1). Being called she calleth upon the Lord; that thesame Lord being her helper, she may pass through the wickedness of this world, and attainunto Him. Understand my cry. The Psalmist well shows what this cry is; how from within,from the chamber of the heart, without the bodys utterance,120 it reaches unto God: for thebodily voice is heard, but the spiritual is understood. Although this too may be Gods hearing,not with carnal ear, but in the omnipresence of His Majesty.

3. Attend Thou to the voice of my supplication; that is, to that voice, which he makethrequest that God would understand: of which what the nature is, he hath already intimated,when he said, Understand my cry. Attend Thou to the voice of my supplication, my King,and my God (ver. 2). Although both the Son is God, and the Father God, and the Fatherand the Son together One God; and if asked of the Holy Ghost, we must give no other answerthan that He is God; and when the Father, and the Son, and the Holy G