15. Again, if we have understood the sackcloth, how understand we the fasting? Wished Christ to eat, when He sought fruit on the tree,3 and if He had found, would He have eaten? Wished Christ to drink, when He said to the woman of Samaria, "Give Me to drink "?•» when He said on the Cross, " I thirst "?5 For what hungered, for what thirsted Christ, but our good works? Because in them that crucified and persecuted Him He had found no good works, He fasted; for they rewarded barrenness to His soul. For what a fast was His, who found barely one thief, whom on the Cross He might taste! For the Apostles had fled, and had hidden themselves in the multitude. And even Peter, who even to the death of his Lord had promised to persevere, had now thrice denied Him, had now wept, and still lay hid in the multitude, still feared lest He should be known. Lastly, having seen Him dead, all of them despaired of their own safety; and despairing He found them, after His resur- rection, and when He spake with them, found them grieving and mourning, no longer hoping anything...In great fasting had the Lord 1 [" All, without one exception, were dead in sins." See {City of God, book xx. cap. 6) vol ii. p. 425, supra. Mary is not excepted by any of the Fathers; and the Latin Fathers, the last of whom is St. Bernard, unanimously ascribe to Christ the only immacu- late conception. — C.l remained, had He not refreshed them that He might feed on them. For He refreshed them, He comforted them, He confirmed them, and into His Own Body converted them. In this manner then was our Lord also in fasting.
16. "And My prayer shall return into Mine Own Bosom." In the bosom of this verse is plainly a great depth, and may the Lord grant that it be fathomable by us. For in the " bosom " a secret is understood. And we ourselves, Breth- ren, are here well admonished to pray within our own bosom, where God seeth, where God heareth, where no human eye penetrateth, where none seeth but He who succoureth; where Susanna prayed, and her voice, though it was not heard by men, yet by God was heard.6...We read also that in the mount Jesus prayed alone,7 we read that He passed the night in prayer,8 even at the time of His Passion.9 What then? " And My prayer shall return into Mine Own Bosom." I know not what better to un- derstand concerning the Lord: take meanwhile what now occurs; '° perhaps something better will occur hereafter, either to me or to some better: " My prayer shall return into Mine Own Bosom: " this I understand to be said, because in His Own Bosom He had the Father. " For God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." " In Himself He had Him to whom He prayed. He was not far from Him, for Himself had said, " I am in the Father, and the Father in Me." " But because prayer rather belongeth to very Man (for according as Christ is the Word, He prayeth not, but heareth prayer; and seeketh not to be succoured for Himself, but with the Father succoureth all): what is, " My prayer shall return into Mine Own Bosom," but in Me My Manhood invoketh in Me My Godhead.
17. "As a Neighbour, as our Brother, so I pleased Him: as one mourning and sorrowful, so I humbled myself" (ver. 14). Now looketh He back to His Own Body: let us now look to this. When we rejoice in prayer, when our mind is calmed, not by the world's prosperity, but by the light of Truth: (who perceiveth this light, knoweth what I say, and he seeth and acknowledgeth what is said, " As a Neighbour, as our Brother, so I pleased Him "): even then our soul pleaseth God, not placed afar off, for, " In Him," saith one, " we live and move and have our being," *< but as a Brother, as a Neigh- bour, as a Friend. But if it be not such that it can so rejoice, so shine, so approach, so cleave unto Him, and seeth itself far off thence, then let it do what followeth, "As one mourning and 8 Luke vi. 12. 9 Matt. xxvi. 36: Mark xiv. 35; Luke xxii. 41.
10 [A significant hint of the improvised character of many of the saint's expositions. — C] 84 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Psalm XXXV.
sorrowful, so I humbled Myself. As our Brother, so I pleased Him," said He, drawing near; " As one mourning and sorrowful, so I humbled Myself," said He, removed and set afar off...Did not Peter draw near, when he said, " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God "? And yet the same man became afar off by saying, " Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not be unto Thee." Lastly, what said He, his Neigh- bour, as it were, to him drawing near? " Blessed art thou, Simon, Barjona." To him afar off, as it were, and unlike, what said He? " Get thee 'behind Me, Satan."1 To him drawing near, " Flesh and blood," saith He, " hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father, which is in Heaven." His Light is shed over thee, in His Light thou shinest. But when having become afar off, he spake against the Lord's Passion, which should be for our Salvation, " Thou savour- est not," said He, " the things that be of God, but those that be of men." One rightly placing together both of these saith in a certain Psalm, " I said in my ecstasy, I am cast off from before Thine Eyes." 2 In my ecstasy, would he not have said, had he not drawn near; for ecstasy is the transporting of the mind. He poured over himself his own soul, and drew near unto God; and through some cloud and weight of the flesh being again cast down to earth, and recollecting where he had been, and seeing where he was, he said, " I am cast off from before Thine Eyes." This then, " As a Neigh- bour, as our Brother, so I pleased Him," may He grant to be done in us; but when that is not, let even this be done, " As one mourning and sorrowful, so I humbled myself."
1 8. And against Me they rejoiced, and gath- ered themselves together "3 (ver. 15), against Me only: they rejoicing, I sorrowful. But we heard just now in the Gospel, " Blessed are they that mourn." * If they are blessed that mourn, miserable are they that laugh. " Against Me they rejoiced, and gathered themselves to- gether: scourges were gathered together against Me, and they knew not." 5 Because they laid to My charge things that I knew not, they also knew not Whom they charged.
19. "They tempted Me, and mocked Me with mocking"6 (ver. 16). That is, they derided Me, they insulted Me; this of the Head, this of the Body. Consider, Brethren, the glory of the Church which now is; remember its past dis- honours, remember how once were Christians ' E. V. " But in mine adversity they rejoiced and eathei themselves together." ' Matt. < mine adversity they rejoiced and gathered ncr. tl. v. 5. * E. V. " Yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not."
' IT, "They did tear Me and ceased not:" 16. "With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon Me with their teeth." The words here omitted are mentioned on Ps. lvii. — Ben.
everywhere put to flight, and wherever found, mocked, beaten, slain, exposed to beasts, burned, men rejoicing against them. As it was to the Head, so it is also to the Body. For as it was to the Lord on the Cross, so has it been to His Body in all that persecution which was made but now: nor even now cease the persecutions of the same. Wherever men find a Christian, they are wont to insult, to persecute, to deride him, to call him dull, senseless, of no spirit, of no knowledge. Do they what they will, Christ is in Heaven: do they what they will, He hath honoured His punishment, already hath He fixed His Cross in the foreheads of all; the un- godly is permitted to insult, to rage he is not permitted; but yet from that which the tongue uttereth, is understood what he beareth in his heart: " They gnashed upon Me with their teeth."
20. " Lord, when wilt Thou look on? Res- cue My Soul from their deceits, My Darling from the lions " (ver. 17). For to us the time is slow; and in our person is this said, " When wilt Thou look on?" that is, when shall we see vengeance upon those who insult us? When shall the Judge, overcome by weariness, hear the widow? 7 But our Judge, not from weari- ness, but from love, delayeth our salvation; from reason, not from need; not that He could not even now succour us, but that the number of us all may be filled up even to the end. And yet out of our desire, what do we say? " Lord, when wilt Thou look on? Rescue My Soul from their deceits, My Darling from the lions: " that is, My Church from raging powers.
21. Lastly, wouldest thou know what is that Darling? Read the words following: " I will confess unto Thee, O Lord, in the great Congre- gation; in a weighty 8 people will I praise Thee " (ver. 18). Truly saith He, " I will con- fess unto Thee: " for confession is made in all the multitude, but not in all is God praised: the whole multitude heareth our confession,9 but not in all the multitude is the praise of God. For in all the whole multitude, that is, in the Church which is spread abroad in the whole world, is chaff, and wheat: the chaff flieth, the wheat remaineth; therefore, " in a weighty peo- ple will I praise Thee." In a weighty people, which the wind of temptation carries not away, in such is God praised. For in the chaff He is ever blasphemed...22. " Let not them that are Mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over Me: " for they rejoice over Me because of My chaff. " Who hate Me without a cause; " that is, whom I never hurt; 7 Luke xviii. 3, a Latin, " in populo gravi," 9 [The recitation of the Creed, perhaps; but in the ancient Church the confession of sin, also, was public. Bingham, b. xviii.
cap. 3. — C] Psalm XXXV.]
ON THE PSALMS.
85 "winking with their eyes" (ver. 19): that is, pretending hypocrites, " For they spake indeed peace to Me" (ver. 20). What is, "winking with their eyes"? Declaring by their looks, what they carry not in their heart. And who are these " winking with their eyes "? " For they spake indeed peace to Me; and with wrath de- vised craftily." " Yea they opened their mouth wide against Me" (ver. 21). First winking with their eyes, those lions sought to ravish and devour; first fawning they spake peace, and then with wrath devised craftily. What peace spake they? " Master, we know that Thou ac- ceptest not man's person, and teachest the way of God In truth. Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?" They spake indeed peace unto Me. What then? Didst not Thou know them, and deceived they Thee, winking with their eyes? Truly He knew them; therefore said He, " Why tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites? " ' Afterward, " they opened their mouth wide against Me," crying, " Crucify Him, Crucify Him!2 and said, Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen it." This, when they insulted Him, "Aha, Aha, Prophesy unto us, Thou Christ." 3 As their peace was pretended when they tempted Him con- cerning the money, so now insulting was their praise. "They said, Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen it " (ver. 21): that is, Thy deeds, Thy miracles. This Man is the Christ. " If He be the Christ, let Him come down from the Cross, and we will believe Him. He saved others, Himself He cannot save." * " Our eyes have seen it." This is all whereof He boasted Him- self, when " He called Himself the Son of God." ' But the Lord was hanging patient upon the Cross: His power had He not lost, but He showed His patience. For what great thing was it for Him to come down from the Cross, who could afterward rise again from the sepulchre? But He seems to have yielded to His insulters; and this, beloved, that having risen again He should show Himself to His own, and not to them, and this is a great mystery; for His res- urrection signified the New Life, but the New Life is known to His friends, not to His enemies. 23. " This Thou hast seen, O Lord; keep not silence" (ver. 22). What is, "keep not si- lence "? Judge Thou. For of judgment is it said in a certain place,6 " I have kept silence; shall I keep silence for ever?" And of the delaying of judgment it is said to the sinner, "These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; " "Thou though test that I was altogether such an one as thyself."' How keepeth He silence, who speaketh by the Prophets, who speaketh with His own mouth in the Gospel, 1 Matt. xxii. 16-18. • Luke xxiii. at. ' Matt. xxvi. 68. 4 Matt, xxvii. 42; Luke xxiii. 35. S John xix. 7.
who speaketh by the Evangelists, who speak- eth by us, when we speak the truth? What then? He keepeth silence from judgment, not from precept, not from doctrine. But this His judgment the Prophet in a manner invoketh, and predicteth: " Thou hast seen, O Lord: keep not silence; " that is, Thou wilt not keep silence, needs must that Thou wilt judge. " O Lord, be not far from Me." Until Thy judgment come, be not far from Me, as Thou hast promised, " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
24. "Arise, Lord, and attend to My judg- ment" (ver. 23). To what judgment? That Thou art in tribulation; that Thou art tormented with labours and pains? Do not even many wicked men suffer the same? To what judg- ment? Therefore art Thou righteous, because Thou sufferest these things? No: but what? "To My judgment." What followeth? "At- tend to My judgment; even to My cause, My God, and My Lord." Not to My punishment, but to My cause: not to that which the robber hath in common with Me, but to that whereof is said, " Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake." 8 For this cause is distinguished. For punishment is equal to good and bad. Therefore Martyrs, not the punish- ment, but the cause maketh, for if punishment made Martyrs, all the mines would be full of Martyrs, every chain would drag Martyrs, all that are executed with the sword would be crowned. Therefore let the cause be distinguished; let none say, because I suffer, I am righteous. Because He who first suffered, suffered for righteousness' sake, therefore He added a great exception, " Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake." For many having a good cause do persecution, and many having a bad cause suffer persecution.
For if persecution could not be done rightly, it had not been said in a certain Psalm, " Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him did I per- secute." 9...Let none then say, I suffer per- secution: let him not sift the punishment, but prove the cause: lest if he prove not the cause, he be numbered with the ungodly. Therefore how watchfully, how excellently hath This Man recommended Himself, " O Lord, attend to My judgment," not to My punishments; " even to My cause, My God, and My Lord."
25. "Judge me, O Lord, according to My righteousness " (ver. 24); that is, attend to My cause. Not according to My punishment, but " according to My righteousness, O Lord, My God," that is, according to this judge Thou Me. " And let them not rejoice over Me; " that is, Mine enemies.
• Matt. t. to.
9 Ps. ci. 5.
86 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Psalm XXXVI.
26. "Let them not say in their heart, Aha, aha, so would we have it" (ver. 25); that is, We have done what we could," we have slain him, we have taken him away. " Let them not say: " show them that they have done nothing. " Let them not say, We have swallowed him up." Whence say those Martyrs, " If the Lord had not been on our side, then they had swallowed us up quick."2 What is, "had swallowed us up"? Had passed into their own body. For that thou swallowest up, which thou passest into thy own body. The world would swallow thee up; swallow thou the world, pass it into thy own body: kill and eat. As it was said to Peter, " Kill and eat; " ' do thou kill in them what they are, make them what thou art. But if they on the other hand persuade thee to ungod- liness, thou art swallowed up by them. Not when they persecute thee art thou swallowed up by them, but when they persuade thee to be what they are. " Let them not say, We have swallowed him up." Do thou swallow up the body of Pagans. Why the body of Pagans? It would swallow thee up. Do thou to it, what it would to thee. Therefore perhaps that calf, being ground to powder, was cast into the water and given to the children of Israel to drink,4 that so the body of ungodliness might be swallowed up by Israel. " Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour" (ver. 26); so that we may swallow up them ashamed and brought to confusion. " Who speak evil against me: " let them be ashamed, let them be brought to confusion.
27. What sayest thou now, the Head with the Members? " Let them shout for joy and be glad that favour My righteous cause: " who cleave to My Body. Yea, let them say " con- tinually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of His servant " (ver. 27). "And my tongue shall speak of Thy righteousness, and of Thy praise all the day long" (ver. 28). And whose tongue endureth to speak the praise of God all the day long? See now I have made a discourse something longer; ye are wearied. Who endureth to praise God all the day long? I will suggest a remedy, whereby thou mayest praise God all the day long if thou wilt. Whatever thou dost, do well, and thou hast praised God. When thou singest an hymn, thou praisest God, but what doth thy tongue, unless thy heart also praise Him? Hast thou ceased from singing hymns, and departed, that thou mayest refresh thyself? Be not drunken, and thou hast praised God. Dost thou go away to sleep? Rise not to do evil, and thou hast praised God. Dost thou transact » Al. " We have done it, we have prevailed " (Jotuimut). ' Pi. cxxiv. 1-3. » Acu x. 13. < Exod. xxxii. ao.
business? Do no wrong, and thou hast praised God. Dost thou till thy field? Raise not strife, and thou hast praised God. In the innocency of thy works prepare thyself to praise God all the day long.
PSALM XXXVI.s PSALM XXXVI.s 1..."The ungodly hath said in himself that he will sin: there is no fear of God before his eyes " (ver. i). Not of one man, but of a race of ungodly men he speaketh, who fight against their own selves, by not understanding, that so they may live well; not because they cannot, but because they will not. For it is one thing, when one endeavours to understand some thing, and through infirmity of flesh cannot; as saith the Scripture 6 in a certain place, " For the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things; " but another when the human heart acts mischievously against itself, so that what it could understand, if it had but good will thereto, it understandeth not, not because it is difficult, but because the will is contrary. But so it is when men love their own sins, and hate God's Commandments. For the Word of God is thy adversary, if thou be a friend to thy ungodliness; but if thou art an adversary to thy ungodliness, the Word of God is thy friend, as well as the adversary of thy ungodliness...
2. " For he hath wrought deceitfully in His sight" (ver. 2). In whose sight? In His, whose fear was not before the eyes of him that did work deceitfully. " To find out his iniquity, and hate it." He wrought so as not to find it. For there are men who as it were endeavour to seek out their iniquity, and fear to find it; because if they should find it, it is said to them, Depart from it: this thou didst before thou knewest; thou didst iniquity being in ignorance; God giveth pardon: now thou hast discovered it, for- sake it, that to thy ignorance pardon may easily be given; and that with a clear face thou mayest say to God, " Remember not the sins of my youth, and of my ignorance."7 Thus he seek- eth it, thus he feareth lest he find it; for he seeketh it deceitfully. When saith a man, I knew not that it was sin? When he hath seen that it is sin, and ceaseth to do the sin, which he did only because he was ignorant: such an one in truth would know his sin, to find it out, and hate it. But now many " work deceitfully to find out their iniquity: " they work not from their heart to find it out and hate it. But be- cause in the very search after iniquity, there is » Lat. XXXV.
» Lat. XXXV.
6 Wisd. ix. 15. [Here cited as Scripture, but only deutero- canonical (as St. Jerome testifies), illustrating the Law and the Prophets, but not 01 authority in itself. — C. j ' Ps. xxv. 7.
Psalm XXXVI.]
ON THE PSALMS.
87 deceit, in the finding it there will be defence of it. For when one hath found his iniquity, lo now it is manifest to him that it is iniquity. Do it not, thou sayest. And he who wrought deceit- fully to find it out, now he hath found, hateth it not; for what saith he? How many do this! Who is there that doth it not? And will God destroy them all? Or at least he saith this: if God would not these things to be done, would men live who commit the same? Seest thou that thou didst work deceitfully to find out thy iniquity? For if not deceitfully but sincerely thou hadst wrought, thou wouldest now have found it out, and hated it; now thou hast found it out, and thou defendest it; therefore thou didst work deceitfully, when thou soughtest it.
3. " The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he would not understand, that he might do good" (ver. 3). Ye see that he attributeth that to the will: for there are men who would understand and cannot, and there are men who would not understand, and therefore understand not. " He would not understand, that he might do good."
4. " He hath meditated iniquity on his bed." What said He, " On his bed? " (ver. 4). " The ungodly hath said in himself, that he will sin: " what above he said, in himself, that here he said, "On his bed." Our bed is our heart: there we suffer the tossing of an evil conscience; and there we rest when our conscience is good. Whoso loveth the bed of his heart, let him do some good therein. There is our bed, where the Lord Jesus Christ commands us to pray. " Enter into thy chamber, and shut thy door." ' What is, "Shut thy door?" Expect not from God such things as are without, but such as are within; " and thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." Who is he that shut- teth not the door? He who asketh much from God such things, and in such wise directeth all his prayers, that he may receive the goods that are of this world. Thy door is open, the multi- tude seeth when thou prayest. What is it to shut thy door? To ask that of God, which God alone knoweth how He giveth. What is that for which thou prayest, when thou hast shut the door? What " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man." 2 And haply it hath not entered into thy very bed, that is, into thy heart. But God knoweth what He will give: but when shall it be? When the Lord shall be revealed, when the Judge shall appear...
5. "He hath set himself in every way that is not good." What is, "he hath set himself"? He hath sinned perseveringly. Whence also of a certain pious and good man it is said, " He 1 Malt. vi. 6.
2 Isa. lxiv. 4; 1 Cor. ii. 9.
hath not stood in the way of sinners." 3 As this " hath not stood," so that " hath set himself." " But wickedness hath he not hated." There is the end, there the fruit: if a man cannot but have wickedness, let him at least hate it. For when thou hatest it, it scarcely occurs to thee to do any wickedness. For sin is in our mortal body, but what saith the Apostle? " Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." 4 When beginneth it not to be therein? When that shall be ful- filled in us which he saith, " When this cor- ruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality." s Before this come to pass, there is a delighting in sin in the body, but greater is the delighting and the pleasure in the Word of Wisdom, in the Com- mandment of God. Overcome sin and the lust thereof. Sin and iniquity do thou hate, that thou mayest join thyself to God, who hateth it as well as thou. Now being joined in mind unto the Law of God, in mind thou servest the Law of God. And if in the flesh thou therefore serv- est 6 the law of sin,7 because there are in thee certain carnal delightings, then will there be none when thou shalt no longer fight. It is