saved:,2 for many men that give heed to earth are darkened, and filled with earth. For there hath entered into their eyes dust, and it hath blinded them, and they have become dust which the wind sweepeth from the face of the earth.'3 "They that have been darkened have been filled of the earth of unrighteous houses." For by giving heed to earth they have been darkened, concerning whom there is said in another 1 Ecclus. xxvii. ix. 3 Rom. i * Ps. lxxiii. 22.
9 Disposut. 12 Rom. ix. 27.
Psalm LXXIV.]
Psalm, " Let their eyes be blinded, that they see not, and their back ever bow Thou down." ■ With earth, then, " they that have been darkened have been filled, with the earth of unrighteous houses: " because they have unrighteous hearts...21. " Let not the humble man be turned away confounded " (ver. 21). For them pride hath confounded. " The needy and helpless man shall praise Thy name." Ye see, brethren, how sweet ought to be poverty: ye see that poor and helpless men belong to God, but " poor in spirit, for of them is the Kingdom of Heaven." 2 Who are the poor in spirit? The humble, men trembling at the words of God, confessing their sins, neither on their own merits, nor on their own righteousness relying. Who are the poor in spirit? They who when they do anything of good, praise God, when anything of evil, accuse themselves. " Upon whom shall rest My Spirit," saith the Prophet, " but upon the humble man, and peaceful, and trembling at My words?" s Now therefore Asaph hath understood, now to the earth he adhereth not, now the earthly promises out of the Old Testament he requireth not...
22. " Arise, O Lord, judge Thou my cause " 4 (ver. 22)...Because I am not able to show my God, as if I were following an empty thing, they revile me. And not only Heathen, or Jew, or heretic; but sometimes even a Catholic brother doth make a grimace when the promises of God are being preached, when a future resurrection is being foretold.5 And still even he, though already washed with the water of eternal Salvation, bearing the Sacrament of Christ, perchance saith, "and what man hath yet risen again?" And, " I have not heard my father speaking out of the grave, since I buried him! " " God hath given to His servants a law for time, to which 6 let them betake themselves: for what man Cometh back from beneath?" And what shall I do with such men? Shall I show them what they see not? I am not able: for not for the sake of them ought God to become visible...I see not, he saith: what am I to believe? Thy soul is seen then, I suppose? Fool, thy body is seen: thy soul who doth see? Since therefore thy body alone is seen, why art thou not buried? He marvelleth that I have said, If body alone is seen, why art thou not buried? And he answereth (for he knoweth as much as this), Because I am alive. How know I that thou art alive, of whom I see not the soul? How know I? Thou wilt answer, Because I speak, because I walk, because I work. Fool, by the 6 Quod {tempus?). Oxf. mss. quam {legem).
operations of the body I know thee to be living, by the works of creation canst thou not know the Creator? And perchance he that saith, when I shall be dead, afterwards I shall be nothing; hath both learned letters, and hath learned this doctrine from Epicurus, who was a sort of doting philosopher, or rather lover of folly not of wisdom, whom even the philosophers themselves have named the hog: who said that the " chief good " was pleasure of body; this philosopher they ^ have named the hog, wallowing in carnal mire. From him perchance this lettered man hath learned to say, I shall not be, after I have died. Dried be the rivers of Etham! Perish those doctrines of the Gentiles, flourish the plantations of Jerusalem! Let them see what they can, in heart believe what they cannot see! Certainly all those things which throughout the world now are seen, when God was working Salvation in the midst of the earth, when those things were being spoken of, they were not then as yet: and behold at that time they were foretold, now they are shown as fulfilled, and still the fool saith in his heart, " there is no God." 8 Woe to the perverse hearts: for so will there come to pass the things which remain, as there have come to pass the things which at that time were not, and were being foretold as to come to pass. Hath God indeed performed 9 to us all the things which He promised, and concerning the Day of Judgment alone hath He deceived us? Christ was not on the earth; He promised, He hath performed: no virgin had conceived; He promised, He hath performed: the precious Blood had not been shed whereby there should be effaced the handwriting of our death; He promised, He hath performed: not yet had flesh risen again unto life eternal; He promised, He hath performed: not yet had the Gentiles believed; He promised, He hath performed: not yet heretics armed with the name of Christ, against Christ were warring; He foretold, He hath performed: not yet the idols of the Gentiles from the earth had been effaced; He foretold, He hath performed: when all these things He hath foretold and performed, concerning the Day of Judgment alone hath He lied? It will come by all means as these things came; for even these things before they came to pass were future, and as future were first foretold, and afterwards they came to pass. It will come, my brethren. Let no one say, it will not come: or, it will come, but far off is that which will come. But to thyself it is near at hand to go hence...If thou shalt have done that which the devil doth suggest, and shalt have despised that which God hath commanded; 7 Oxf.^ mss. "philosopher." [Hor. Ep. iv. 16; and Cic. De OJficiist iii. 33. — C.]
8 Ps. xiv. 1. 9 Exhibuit.
35° [Psalm LXXV.
there will come the Judgment Day, and thou wilt find that true which God hath threatened, and that false which the devil hath promised..." Remember Thy reproaches, those which are from the imprudent man all the day long." For still Christ is reviled: nor will there be wanting all the day long, that is, even unto the end of time, the vessels of wrath. Still is it being said, "Vain things the Christians do preach: " still is it being said, " A fond thing is the resurrection of the dead." " Remember Thy reproaches." But what reproaches, save those "which are from the imprudent man all the day long?" Doth a prudent man say this? Nay, for a prudent man is said to be one farseeing. If a prudent man is one far-seeing, by faith he seeth afar: for with eyes scarce that before the feet is seen.
23. " Forget not the voice of them that implore Thee" (ver. 23). While they groan for and expect now that which Thou hast promised from the New Testament, and walk by that same Faith, " do Thou not forget the voice of them imploring Thee." But those still say, " Where is Thy God? Let the pride of them that hate Thee come up alway to Thee." Do not forget even their pride. Nor doth He forget: no doubt He doth either punish or amend.
PSALM LXXV.'
PSALM LXXV.'
1...The Title of this Psalm thus speaketh: "At the end,2 corrupt not." What is, " corrupt not?" That which Thou hast promised, perform. But when? "At the end." To this then let the mind's eye be directed, " unto the end." Let all the things which have occurred in the way be passed over, in order that we may attain to the end. Let proud men exult because of present felicity, let them swell with honours, glitter in gold, overflow with domestics, be encircled with the services of clients: these things pass away, they pass away like a shadow. When that end shall have come, when all who now hope in the Lord are to rejoice, then to them shall come sorrow without end. When the meek shall have received that which the proud deride, then the vapouring of the proud shall be turned into mourning. Then shall there be that voice which we know in the Book of Wisdom: for they shall say at that time when they see the glory of the Saints, who, when they were in humiliation, endured them; who, when they were exalted, consented not — at that time then they shall say, " These are they whom sometime we have had in derision."3 Where they also say, "What hath pride profited us, and the boasting of riches hath bestowed upon us what? " > Lat. LXXIV. 8 In finem* Sermon to the Commonalty. * Wud. v. 3.
All things have passed away like a shadow. Because on things corruptible they relied, their hope shall be corrupted: but our own hope at that time shall be substance. For in order that the promise of God may remain whole and sure and certain towards us, we have said out of a heart4 of faith, "at the end corrupt not." Fear not, therefore, lest any mighty man should corrupt the promises of God. He doth not corrupt, because He is truthful; He hath no one more mighty by whom His promise may be corrupted 1 let us be then sure concerning the promises of God; and let us sing now from the place where the Psalm beginneth.
2. " We will confess to Thee, O Lord, we will confess to Thee, and will invoke Thy name " (ver. 1 ). Do not invoke, before thou confess: confess, and invoke. For Him whom thou art invoking, unto thyself thou callest. For what is it to invoke, but unto thyself to call? If He is invoked by thee, that is, if He is called to thee, unto whom doth He draw near? To a proud man He draweth not near. High indeed He is, one lifted up attaineth not unto Him. In order that we may reach all exalted objects, we raise ourselves, and if we are not able to reach them, we look for some appliances or ladders, in order that being exalted we may reach exalted objects: contrariwise God is both high, and by the lowly He is reached. It is written, " Nigh is the Lord to them that have bruised the heart." 5 The bruising of the heart is Godliness, humility. He that bruiseth himself is angry with himself. Let him make himself angry in order that he may make Him merciful; let him make himself judge, in order that he may make Him Advocate. Therefore God doth come when invoked. Unto whom doth He come? To the proud man He cometh not...Take heed therefore what ye do: for if He knoweth, He is not unobservant.6 It is better therefore that He be unobservant than known. For what is that same being unobservant, but not knowing? What is, not to know? Not to animadvert. For even as the act of one avenging animadversion is wont to be spoken of. Here one praying that He be unobservant: "Turn away Thy face from my sins."7 What then wilt thou do if He shall have turned away His face from thee? A grievous thing it is, and to be feared, lest He forsake thee. Again, if He turn not away His face, He animadverteth. God knoweth this thing, God can do this thing, namely, both turn away face from one sinning, and not turn away from one confessing...Confess therefore and invoke. For by confessing thou purgest the Temple, into which He may * 4 mss. "mouth." * Ps xxxiv. 18.
6 Non ignoscit, " doth not forgive " (take no notice). 1 P». li. o.
Psalm LXXV.]
come, when invoked. Confess and invoke. May He turn away face from thy sins, not turn away from thee: turn away face from that which thou hast wrought," not turn away from that which He hath Himself wrought.2 For thee, as man, He hath Himself wrought, thy sins thou hast thyself wrought...3. But that there is a strengthening of the sense in repetition, by many passages of the Scriptures we are taught. Thence is that which the Lord saith, " Verily, Verily." 3 Thence in certain Psalms is, " So be it, So be it." 4 To signify the thing, one " So be it " would have been sufficient: to signify confirmation, there hath been added another" So "be it."...Countless passages of such sort there are throughout all the Scriptures. With these it is sufficient that we have commended to your notice a way of speaking which ye may observe in all like cases: now to the substance attend: " We will confess to Thee," he saith, " and we will invoke." I have said why before invocation confession doth precede: because whom thou dost invoke, him thou dost invite. But he willeth not to come when invoked, if thou shalt have been lifted up: lifted up if thou shalt have been, thou wilt not be able to confess. And thou deniest not any things to God that He knoweth not. Therefore thy confession doth not teach Him, but it purgeth thee.
4...Hear ye now the words of Christ. For these seemed not as it were to be His words,5 " We will confess to Thee, O God, we will confess to Thee, and will invoke Thy name." Now beginneth the discourse in the person of the Head. But whether Head speaketh or whether members speak, Christ speaketh: He speaketh in the person of the Head, He speaketh in the person of the Body. But what hath been said? There shall be two in one flesh.6 "This is a great Sacrament: " " I," he saith, " speak in Christ and in the Church."? And He Himself in the Gospel, " Therefore no longer two, but one flesh." 8 For in order that ye may know these in a manner to be two persons, and again one by the bond of marriage, as one He speaketh in Isaiah, and saith, " As upon a Bridegroom he hath bound upon me a mitre, and as a Bride he hath clothed me with an ornament." "> A Bridegroom He hath called Himself in the Head, a Bride in the Body. He is speaking therefore as One, let us hear Him, and in Him let us also speak. Let us be the members of Him, in order that this voice may possibly be ours also. " I will tell forth," he saith, " all Thy marvellous things." Christ is preaching Him- 1 Fecisti. * Fecit.
* Ps. lxxii. 19, Ixxxix. 53.
* Oxf. MSS. " members."
3 John i. 51.
6 Gen. ii. 34. 9 Isa. lxi. 10.
self, He is preaching Himself even in His members now existing, in order that He may guide unto Him others, and they may draw near that were not, and may be united with those members of Him, through which members of Him the Gospel hath been preached; and there may be made one Body under one Head, in one Spirit, in one Life.
5. And he saith what? "When I shall have received," he saith, " the time,10 I will judge justices" (ver. 2). When shall He judge justices? When He shall have received the time. Not yet is the precise time. Thanks to His mercy: He first preacheth justices, and then He judgeth justices. For if He willed to judge before He willed to preach, who would be found that should be delivered: who would meet Him that should be absolved? Now therefore is the time of preaching: " I will tell," he saith, " all Thy marvellous works." Hear Him telling, hear Him preaching: for if thou shalt have despised Him, " when I shall have received the time," He saith, " I will judge justices." I forgive, He saith, now sins to one confessing, I will not spare hereafter one despising...He hath received a time as Son of Man; He doth govern times as Son of God. Hear how as Son of Man He hath received the time of judging. He saith in the Gospel, " He hath given to Him power to execute judgment, because Son of Man He is." " According to His nature as Son of God, He hath never received power of judging, because He never lacked the power of judging: according to His nature as Son of Man He hath received a time, as of being born, and of suffering, as of dying, and of rising again, and of ascending, so of coming and of judging. In Him His Body also saith these words, for not without them He will judge. For He saith in the Gospel, " Ye shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.",2 Therefore whole Christ saith, that is, Head and Body in the Saints, " when I shall have received the time, I will judge justices."
6. But now what? " The earth hath flowed down" (ver. 3). If the earth hath flowed down, whence hath it flowed down except by sins? Therefore also they are called delinquencies. To delinquish is as it were by a kind of liquidity '3 to slip down from the stability of firmness in virtue and righteousness. For it is through desire of lower things that every man sinneth: as he is strengthened by the love of higher things, so he falleth down and as it were melteth away by desire of lower things. This flux of things by the sins of man the merciful forgiver observing, being a merciful forgiver of 13 Matt. xix. 38.
13 De Hquido quodam. At. de loco quodam. [Qu. deliquesced C.J [Psalm LXXV.
sins, not yet an exactor of punishments, He observeth and saith: The earth herself indeed hath flowed down by them that dwell in her. That Which followeth is an exposition, not an addition. As though thou wert saying, in what manner hath the earth flowed down? Have the foundations been withdrawn, and hath anything therein been swallowed up in a sort of gulf? What I mean by earth is all they that dwell therein. I have found, he saith, the earth sinful. And I have done what? "I have strengthened the pillars thereof." What are the pillars which He hath strengthened? Pillars He hath called the Apostles. So the Apostle Paul concerning his fellow-Apostles saith, " who seemed to be pillars." ' And what would those pillars have been, except by Him they had been strengthened? For on occasion of a sort of earthquake even these very pillars rocked: at the Passion of the Lord all the Apostles despaired. Therefore those pillars which rocked at the Passion of the Lord, by the Resurrection were strengthened. The Beginning of the building hath cried out through the pillars thereof, and in all those pillars the Architect Himself hath cried out. For the Apostle Paul was one pillar of them when he said, " Would ye receive a proof of Him that speaketh in me — Christ?"2 Therefore, " I," he saith, " have strengthened the pillars thereof: " I have risen again, I have shown that death is not to be feared, I have shown to them that fear, that not even the body itself doth perish in the dying. There terrified them wounds, there strengthened them scars. The Lord Jesus could have risen again without any scar: for what great matter were it for that power, to restore the frame of.the body to such perfect soundness, as that no trace at all of past wound should appear? He had power whence He might make it whole even without scar: but He willed to have that whereby He might strengthen the rocking pillars.
7. We have heard now, brethren, that which day by day is not kept secret: let us hear now what He hath cried through these pillars...He crieth what? "I have said to unjust men, Do not unjustly" (ver. 4)...But already they have done, and they are guilty: already there hath flowed down the earth, and all they that dwell therein. Pricked to the heart were they that crucified Christ,3 they acknowledged their sin, they learned something of the Apostle, that they might not despair of the pardon of the Preacher.4 For as Physician He had come, and therefore had not come to the whole. " For there is no need," He saith, " to the whole of a physician, but to them that are sick. I have * Prttdicatoris. Some MSS. Ptccattres, " that sinners might not despair of pardon."
not come to call righteous men, but sinners to repentance."' Therefore, "I have said to unjust men, Do not unjustly." They heard not. For of old to us it was spoken: we heard not, we fell, were made mortal, were begotten mortal: the earth flowed down. Let them hear the Physician even now in order that they may rise, Him that came to the sick man, Him whom they would not hear when whole in order that they might not fall, let them hear when lying down in order that they may rise..." I have said to unjust men, Do not unjustly; and to the delinquent, Do not exalt your horn." There shall be exalted in you the horn of Christ, if your horn be not exalted. Your horn is of iniquity, the horn of Christ is of majesty.
8. " Be not therefore lifted up: speak not iniquity against God " (ver. 5)...What saith He in another Psalm? " These things thou h?st done," having enumerated certain sins. " These things thou hast done," He saith, " and was silent."6 What is, "I was silent"? He is never silent with commandment, but meanwhile He is silent with punishment: He is keeping still from vengeance, He doth not pronounce sentence against the condemned. But this man saith thus, I have done such and such things, and God hath not taken vengeance; behold I am whole, nought of ill hath befallen me. " These things thou hast done, and I was silent: thou hast suspected iniquity, that I shall be like unto thee." What is, " that I shall be like unto thee "? Because thou art unjust, even Me thou hast deemed unjust; as though an approver of thy misdeeds, and no adversary, no avenger thereof. And what afterwards saith He to thee? " I will convict thee, and will set thee before thine own face "? 6 What is this? Because now by sinning behind thy back thou settest thyself, seest not thyself, examinest not thyself; I will set thee before thyself, and will bring upon thee punishment from thyself. So also here, " Speak not iniquity against God." Attend. Many men speak this iniquity; but dare not openly, lest as blasphemers they be abhorred by godly men: in their heart they gnaw upon these things, within they feed upon such impious food; it delighteth them to speak against God, and if they break not out with tongue, in heart they are not silent. Whence in another Psalm is said, " The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." ' The fool hath said, but he hath feared men: he would not say it where men might hear; and he said it in that place where He might Himself hear concerning whom he said it. Therefore here also in this Psalm (dearly beloved attend), whereas that which He said, " Do not speak iniquity against Matt. ix. 12, 13.
« PS. 1. 31.
' Ps.: Psalm LXXV.]
God," this He saw many men do in heart, He hath also added, " for neither from East, nor from West, nor from the deserts of the mountains (ver. 6), for God is Judge" (ver. 7). Of thine iniquities God is Judge. If God He is, everywhere He is present. Whither wilt thou take thyself away from the eyes of God, so that in some quarter thou mayest speak that which He may not hear? If from the East God judgeth, withdraw into the West, and say what thou wilt against God: if from the West, go into the East, and there speak: if from the deserts of the mountains He judgeth, go into the midst of the peoples, where thou mayest murmur to thyself. From no place judgeth He that everywhere is secret, everywhere open; whom it is allowed no one to know as He is, and whom no one is permitted not to know. Take heed what thou doest. Thou art speaking iniquity against God. " The Spirit of the Lord hath filled the round world" (another Scripture saith this), " and that which containeth all things hath knowledge of the voice: wherefore he that speak -eth unjust things cannot be hid." ' Do not therefore think God to be in places: He is with thee such an one as thou shalt have been. What if such an one as thou shalt have been? Good, is, thou shalt have been good; and evil to thee He will seem, if evil thou shalt have been; but a Helper, if good thou shalt have been; an Avenger, if evil thou shalt have been. There thou hast a Judge in thy secret place. Willing to do something of evil, from the public thou retirest into thy house, where no enemy may see; from those places of thine house which, are open and before the eyes of men, thou removest thyself into a chamber; thou fearest even in thy chamber some witness from some other quarter, thou retirest into thy heart, there thou meditatest: He is more inward than thy heart.
Whithersoever therefore thou shalt have fled, there He is. From thyself whither wilt thou flee? Wilt thou not follow thyself whithersoever thou shalt flee? But since there is One more inward even than thyself, there is no place whither thou mayest flee from God angry, but to God reconciled. There is no place at all whither thou mayest flee. Wilt thou flee from Him? Flee to Him...What then shall we do now? "Let us come before His face," b> i£o,ao\oyrjcra, come before in confession: He shall come gentle whom thou hadst made angry. " Neither from the deserts of the mountains, for God is Judge: " not from the East, not from the West, not from the deserts of the mountains. Wherefore? " For God is Judge." If in any place He were, He would not be God: but because God is Judge, not man, do not expect