Expositions on the Book of Psalms (continued)
PsaLm LVI] ON THE PSALMS. 223 this thing shall not be done." And the Lord, to him to whom a little before He had said, " Blessed thou art, and upon this Rock I will build my Church," saith, "Go back behind, Satan, an offence thou art to Me." Why therefore "Satan" is he, that a little before was "blessed," and a " Rock"? " For thou savourest not the things which are of God," He saith, and chastely. There is not a chaste heart, if God for reward it worshippeth. How so? Reward of the worship of God shall not we have? We shall have evidently, but it is God Himself whom we worship. Himself for us a reward shall be, because "' we shall see Him as He is.' 4 Observe that a reward5 thou shalt obtain... . I will tell you, brethren: in these human alliances consider a chaste heart, of what sort it is towards God: certainly human alliances are of such sort, that a man doth not love his wife, that loveth her because of her portion: a woman her husband doth not chastely love, that for these reasons loveth him, because something he hath given, or because much he hath given. Both a rich man is a husband, and one that hath become a poor man is a husband. How many men proscribed, by chaste wives have been the more beloved! Proved have been many chaste marriages by the misfortunes of husbands: that the wives might not be supposed to love any other object more than their husband, not only have they not forsaken, but the more have they obeyed. If therefore a husband of flesh freely is loved, if chastely he is loved; and a wife of flesh freely is loved, if chastely she is loved ; in what manner must God be loved, the true and truth-speaking Husband of the soul, making fruitful unto the offspring of everlasting life, and not suffering us to be barren? Him, therefore, so let us love, as that any other thing besides Himself be not loved: and there takes place in us that which we have spoken of, that which we have sung, because even here the voice is ours: "In whatsoever day I shall have called upon Thee, behold, I have known that my God art Thou." This is to call upon God, freely to call upon Him. Furthermore, of certain men hath been said what? "Upon the Lord they have not called." © The Lord they seemed as it were to call unto themselves; and they besought Him about inheritances, about increasing money, about lengthening this life, about the rest of temporal things: and concerning them the Scripture saith what? "Upon the Lord they have not called." Therefore there followeth what? "There they have feared with fear, where there was no fear.'' What is, "where there was no fear'? Lest money should be stolen from them, lest anything in their house should be made less; lastly, lest they should have less of years in this life, than they hoped for themselves: but there have they trembled with fear, where there was no fear. . . . "In God I will praise the word, in the Lord I will praise the discourse" (ver. 10): "in God I have hoped, I will not fear what man doeth unto me" "' but those things which are of man.'"! A little before he savoured the things which are of God: because "not flesh and blood hath revealed to thee, but My Father which is in the Heavens.'' When in God he was praising his discourse, not Satan but Peter, from fetra: but when of himself and out of human infirmity, carnal love of man, which would be for an impediment to his own salvation, and that of the rest, Satan he is called. Why? Because to go before the Lord he willed, and earthly counsel to give to the heavenly Leader. " Far be it, O Lord, this thing shall not be done." Thou sayest, '' Far be it," and thou sayest, ""O Lord:" surely if Lord He is, in power He doeth: if Master He is, He knoweth what He doeth, He knoweth what He teacheth. But thou willest to lead thy Leader, teach thy Master, command thy Lord, choose for God: much thou goest before, go back behind. Did not this too profit these enemies? 'Turned be Mine enemies backward ;"' but let them not remain backward. For this reason let them be turned backward, lest they go before ; but so that they follow, not so that they remain.
15. "In whatsoever day I shall have called upon Thee, behold I have known that my God art Thou" (ver. 9). A great knowledge. He saith not, "I have known that God Thou art:" but, "that my God art Thou." For thine He is, when thee He succoureth: thine He is, when thou to Him art not an alien. Whence is said, " Blessed the people of whom is the Lord the God of the same."? Wherefore "of whom is''? For of whom is He not? Of all things indeed God He is: but of those men the God peculiarly He is said to be, that love Him, that hold Him, that possess Him, that worship Him, as though belonging to His own House: the great family of Him are they, redeemed by the great blood of the Only Son. How great a thing hath God given to us, that His own we should be, and He should be ours! But in truth foreigners afar have been put from holy men, sons alien they are. See what of them is said in another Psalm: "'O Lord, deliver me," he saith, '' from the hand of alien sons, of whom the mouth hath spoken vanity, and the right hand of them is a right hand of iniquity."3 ...
16. Let us therefore love God, brethren, purely
4 x John iii. 2. 5 Al. " what reward." 6 Ps. xiv. 4.
I Matt. xvi. 23. 2 Ps, cxliy. 15. 3 Ps, cxliv. 11.
THE 'WORKS, OF yST: AUGUSTIN, [PsaLm LVI.
From thy coffer wilt thou give anything? He hath Himself put in that which thou art to give. What wilt thou give, which from Him thou hast not received? " For what hast thou which thou hast not received?""? From the heart wilt thou give? He too hath given faith, hope, and charity : this thou must bring forth: this thou must sacrifice. But evidently all the other things the enemy is able to take away against thy will; this to take away he is not able, unless thou be willing. These things a man will lose even against his will: and wishing to have gold, will lose gold ; and wishing to have house, will lose house: faith no one will lose, except him that shall have despised her.
(ver. 11). Now this is the very sense which above ' hath been repeated.
17. "In me, O God, are Thy vows, which I will render of praise to Thee" (ver. 12). '"'Vow ye, and render to the Lord your God."? What vow, what render? Perchance those animals which were offered at the altars aforetime? No such thing offer thou: in thyself is what thou mayest vow and render. From the heart's coffer bring forth the incense of praise ; from the store of a good conscience bring forth the sacrifice of faith. Whatsoever thing thou bringest forth, kindle with love. In thyself be the vows, which thou mayest render of praise to God. Of what praise? For what hath He granted thee? " For Thou hast rescued my soul from death" (ver.
18. ' Because Thou hast rescued my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from slipping: that I may be pleasing before God in the light of the living" (ver. 13). With reason he is not pleasing to alien sons, that are put afar off from holy men, because they have not the light of the living, whence they may see that which to God is pleasing. " Light of the living," is light of the immortal, light of holy men. He that is not in darkness, is pleasing in the light of the living. A man is observed, and the things which belong to him; no one knoweth of what sort he is: God seeth of what sort he is. Sometimes even the devil himself he escapeth ; except he tempt, he findeth not: just as concerning that man of whom just now I have made mention: 13). This is that very life which he telleth out to Him: "O God, my life I have told out to Thee." 3 For I was what? Dead. Through myself I was dead: through Thee I am what? Alive. Therefore "in me, O God, are Thy vows, which I will render of praise to Thee.'"'? Behold I love my God: no one doth tear Him from me: that which to Him I may give, no one doth' tear from me, because in the heart it is shut up. With reason is said with that former confidence, "What should man do unto me?" 4 Let man rage, let him be permitted to rage, be permitted to accomplish that which he attempteth : what is he to take away? Gold, silver, cattle, men servants, maid servants, estates, houses, let him take away all things: doth he by any means take away the vows, which are in me, which I may render of praise to God? The tempter was permitted to tempt a holy man, Job ; 5 inone moment he took away all things: whatever of possessions he had had, he carried off: took away inheritance, slew heirs ; and this not little by little, but in a crowd, at one blow, at one swoop, so that all things were on a sudden announced: when all was taken away, alone there remained Job, but in him were vows of praise, which-he might render to God, in him evidently there were: the coffer of his holy breast the thieving devil had not rifled, full he was of that wherefrom he might sacrifice. Hear what he had, hear what he brought forth: 'The Lord hath given, the Lord hath taken away; as hath pleased the Lord, so hath been done: be the name of the Lord blessed."® Orriches interior, whither thief doth not draw near! God Himself had given that whereof He was receiving ; He had Himself enriched him with that whereof to Him he was offering that which He loved. Praise from thee God requireth, thy confession God requireth. But from thy field wilt thou give anything? He hath Himself rained in order that thou mayest have.
. . . "Doth Job by any means worship God for nought?"'® For this was true light, this the light of the living, that gva#s he should worship God. God saw in the heart of His servant His gratuitous worship. For that heart was pleasing in the sight of the Lord in the light of the living: the devil's sight he escaped, because in darkness he was. God admitted the tempter, not in order that He might Himself know that which He did know, but in order that to us to be known and imitated He might set it forth. Admitted was the tempter; he took away everything, there remained the man bereft of possessions, bereft of family, bereft of children, full of God. A wife certainly was left.2 Merciful do ye deem the devil, that he left him a wife? He knew through whom he had deceived Adam. . . . With wound smitten from head even unto feet, whole nevertheless within, he made answer to the woman tempting, out of the light of the living, out of the light of his heart: "thou hast spoken as though one of the unwise women,"'?° that is, as though one that hath not the light of the living. For the light of the living is wisdom, and the darkness of unwise men is folly. Thou hast spoken as though one of the unwise women : my flesh thou seest, the light of my heart thou seest not. For she then might more have loved her husband, if the inte-
I Ps. lvi. 4, p. 220, supra. 3 Ps. lvi. 8, p. 222, supra. S Job i. 12.
2 Ps. Ixxvi. 11. 4 Ps. lvi. 11. 6 Job i. ar.
7 x Cor. iv. 7. 8 Job i. 9. 10 Job ii. ro. J
9 Job ii. 9.