Expositions on the Book of Psalms
THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[PsaLtm XCVI.
always err in their hearts; for they have not known My ways" (ver. 10). The forty years have the same meaning as the word "always." For that number forty indicates the fulness of ages, as if the ages were perfected in this number. Hence our Lord fasted forty days, forty days He was tempted in the desert,' and forty days He was with His disciples after His resurrection? On the first forty days He showed us temptation, on the latter forty days consolation: since beyond doubt when we are tempted we are consoled. For His body, that is, the Church, must needs suffer temptations in this world: but that Comforter, who said, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,''3 is not wanting. For this was I with them forty years, to show such a race of men, which alway provoketh Me, even unto the end of the world: because by those forty years He meant to signify the whole of this world's duration.
however, brethren, that he deferred, not that he defrauded us. Therefore let us keep him as a debtor bound, and release him not until he hath paid. Attend therefore, beloved: as far as the Lord alloweth, let us say somewhat of this Psalm, which indeed you already know; for the fresh mention of truth is sweet. Possibly when its title was pronounced, some heard it with wonder. For the Psalm is inscribed: " When the house was being built after the Captivity.'' This title having been prefixed, ye were perhaps expecting in the text of the Psalm to hear what stones were hewn from the mountains, what masses were drawn to the spot, what foundations were laid, what beams were placed on high, what columns raised. Its song is of nothing of this kind. . . . It is nosuch house that is in building ; for behold where it is built, not in one spot, not in any particular region. For thus he beginneth : —
13. . .. We began with exulting joy: but this Psalm hath ended with great fear: " Unto whom I sware in My wrath, that they should not enter into My rest' (ver.11). Itisa great thing for God to speak: how much greater for Him to swear? Thou shouldest fear a man when he sweareth, lest he do somewhat on account of his oath against his will: how much more shouldest thou fear God, when He sweareth, seeing He can swear nought rashly? swearing for a confirmation. And by whom doth God swear? By Himself: for He hath no greater by whom to swear.4 By Himself He confirmeth His promises: by Himself He confirmeth His threats. Let no man say in his heart, His promise is true; His threat is false: as His promise is true, so is His threat sure. Thou oughtest to be equally assured of rest, of happiness, of eternity, of immortality, if thou hast executed His commandments; as of destruction, of the burning of eternal fire, of damnation with the devil, if thou hast despised His commandments. . .
2. "O sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord, all the earth"? (ver. 1). If all the earth singeth a new song, it is thus building while it singeth: the very act of singing is building: but only, if it singeth not the old song. The lust of the flesh singeth the old song: the love of God singeth the new. . . . Hear why it is a new song: the Lord saith, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another."® The whole earth then singeth a new song: there the house of God is built. All the earth is the house of God. If all the earth is the house of God,? he who clingeth not to all the earth, is a ruin, not a house; that old ruin whose shadow that ahcient temple represented.
He chose the act of!
For there what was old was destroyed, that what was new might be built up. . . . The Apostle bindeth us together into this very structure, and fasteneth us when bound together in that unity, saying, " Forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.''!° Where there is this unity of Spirit, there is one stone ; but one stone formed out of many. How one formed out of many? By forbearing one another in love. Therefore the house of the Lord our God is in building ; it is this that is being wrought, for this are these words, for this these readings, for this the preaching of the Gospel over the whole world; as yet it is in building. This house hath increased greatly, and filled many nations: nevertheless, it hath not yet prevailed through all nations: by its increase it hath held many, and will prevail over all: and it is gainsaid by those who boast of their being of its household, and who say, it hath already lost ground. It still increaseth, still all those nations which have not yet believed are destined to believe ; that no man may say,
PSALM XCVI.5
1. My lord and brother Severus ® still defers the pleasure we shall feel in his discourse, which he oweth us; for he acknowledgeth, that he is held a debtor. For all the Churches through which he hath passed, by his tongue the Lord hath gladdened: much more therefore ought that Church to be rejoiced, out of which the Lord hath propagated his preaching among the rest. But what shall we do, but obey his will? I said,
1 Matt. iv. 1-11. 2 Acts i. 3. 3 Matt. xxviii. 20. 4 Heb. vi. 13. 5 Lat. XCV. Delivered perhaps in the year 405, when the Donatists prevailed through the violence of the Circumcelliones, Bishop of Milevis, mentioned in the discourse of a preceding day on Ps, cxxxii. — Ben,
7 x Chron, xvi, 23, etc. 8 me XV. 12. 9 Donatists. to ph. iv. 2, 3.
PSALMS. 471
PsaLM XCVI.] ON THE will that tongue believe? will the barbarians believe? what is the meaning of the Holy Spirit having appeared in the fiery tongues,' except that there is no tongue so hard that it cannot be softened by that fire? For we know that many barbarous nations have already believed in Christ : Christ already possesseth regions where the Roman empire hath never yet reached ; what is as yet closed to those who fight with the sword, is not closed to Him who fighteth with wood. For "the Lord hath reigned from the wood."? Who is it who fighteth with wood? Christ. With His cross He hath vanquished kings, and fixed upon their forehead, when vanquished, that very cross; and they glory in it, for in it is their salvation. This is the work which is being wrought, thus the house increaseth, thus it is building: and that ye may know, hear the following verses of the Psalm: see them labouring upon, and constructing the ae "O sing unto the Lord all the earth."
you make a door, whoever enters, is out of doors; so in that part which hath refused to sing the new song together with the house, but hath chosen to build a wall, and that a whited one, and not solid, what availeth it that it hath a door?" If thou enterest, thou art found to be without. For because they themselves did not enter by the door, their door also doth not admit them within. For the Lord saith, "1 am the door: by Me they enter in."°... "Declare His honour unto the heathen." What is, unto the heathen? Perhaps by nations but a few are meant: and that part which hath raised the whited wall hath still somewhat to say: why are not Getulia, Numidia, Mauritania, Byzacium, nations? Provinces are nations. Let the word of God take the word from hypocrisy, from the whited wall, building up the house over the whole world. It is not enough to say, " Declare His honour unto the heathen ; " that thou mayest not think any nations excepted, he addeth, " and His wonders unto all people."
"Sing unto the Lord, bless His Name: be telling g good tidings of His salvation from day to day" (ver. 2). How doth the building increase? "Be telling," he saith, " good tidings of His salvation from day to day." Let it be preached from day to day; from day to day, he saith, let it be built; let My house, saith God, increase. And as if it were said by the workmen, Where dost Thou command it to be built ? Where dost Thou will Thy house to increase? Choose for us some level, spacious spot, if Thou wish an ample house built Thee. Where dost Thou bid us be telling good tidings from day to day? He showeth the place: " Declare His honour unto the heathen:" His honour, not yours. O ye builders, " Declare His honour unto the heathen.'' Should ye choose to declare your own honour, ye shall fall: if His, ye shall be built up, while ye are building. Therefore they who choose to declare their own honour, have refused to dwell in that house; and therefore they sing not a new song with all the earth.3 For they do not share it with the whole round world; and hence they are not building in the house, but have erected a whited wall. How sternly doth God threaten the whited wall?+ 'There are innumerable testimonies of the Prophets, whence He curseth the whited wall. What is the whited wall, save hypocrisy, that is, pretence? Without it is bright, within it is dirt.
4. "For the Lord is great, and cannot worthily be praised"' (ver. 4). What Lord, except Jesus Christ, "is great, and cannot worthily be praised'? Ye know surely that He appeared as a Man: ye know surely that He was conceived in a woman's womb, ye know that He was born from the womb, that He was suckled, that He was carried in arms, circumcised, that a victim was offered for Him, that He grew; lastly, ye know that He was buffeted, spit upon, crowned with thorns, was crucified, died, was pierced with a spear; ye know that He suffered all these things: "He is great, and cannot worthily be praised.' Despise not what is little, understand what is great. He became little, because ye were such: let Him be acknowledged great, and in Him ye shall be great. . . . For what can a small tongue say towards the praise of the Great One? By saying, Beyond praise," he hath spoken, and hath given to imagination what it may conceive: as if saying, What I cannot utter, do thou reflect on; and when thou shalt have reflected, it will not be enough. What no man's thought uttereth, doth any man's tongue utter? "The Lord is great, and cannot worthily be praised." Let Him be praised, and preached: His honour declared, and His house built.
5. . For the spot where he wished to build the house, is itself woody, where it was said yesterday, "we found it in the wood." * For he was seeking that very house, when he said, " in the wood." And why is that spot woody? Men used to worship images: it is not wonderful that they fed hogs. For that son who left his father,. . . A certain person, speaking of this whited wall, said thus: "as, if in a wall which standeth alone, and is not connected with any other walls,
T Acts ii. 3 2 Ps. xcvi. 11. Quoted as from re Psalm by Justin Martyr, Afpol. i, 41. In Dial. cum Tryph. he accuses the Jews of expunging the words amo tod Evaov. Hi Leet A.N. F. vol. i. p. 176, note 4, and vol. iii. p. 166, nee 7, —C.]
ohn x. 9. 7 Laudabilis nimis. 3 s. cxxxii. 6. Hence it appears that Ps. cxxxii. had been expounded the day before.
3 Donatists. 4 Ezek. | i 10. ; St. Optatus of Milevis on Don. Schism, b. iii. c. 10, p. 67 (quoted in substance),
THE WORKSAOF STTAUGUSTIN,
[Psatm XCVI.
ference there is between the heavens and devils : and what between the heavens and Him who made the heavens; behold how exalted is the Lord. He said not, But the Lord sitteth above the heavens; for perhaps some one else might be imagined to have made them, upon which He was enthroned: but, "It is the Lord that made the heavens." If He made the heavens, He made the Angels also: Himself made the Angels, Himself made the Apostles. The devils yielded to the Apostles : but the Apostles themselves were heavens, who bore the Lord... . O heavens, which He made, declare His honour unto the heathen! Let His house be built throughout the earth, let all the earth sing a new song.
and spent his all on harlots, living as a prodigal, used to feed hogs,! that is, to worship devils ; and by this very superstition of the heathen, all the earth became a wood. But he who buildeth a house, rooteth up the wood ; and for this reason it was said, "While the house was being built, after the captivity." 2 For men were held captive under the devil, and served devils ; but they were redeemed from captivity. They could sell, but they could not redeem themselves. The Redeemer came, and gave a price; He poured forth His Blood, and bought the whole world. Ye ask what He bought? Ye see what He hath given; find out then what He bought. The Blood of Christ was the price. What is equal to this? What, but the whole world? What, but all nations? They are very ungrateful for their price, or very proud, who say that the price is so small that it bought the Africans only ; or that they are so great, as that it was given for them alone. Let them not then exult, let them not be proud: He gave what He gave for the whole world. He knew what He bought, because He knew at what price He bought it. Thus because we are redeemed, the house is built after the captivity. And who are they who held us in captivity? Because they to whom it is said, " Declare His honour," are the clearers of the wood: that they may root out the wood, free the earth from captivity, and build, and raise up, by declaring the greatness of the Lord's house. Howis the wood of devils cleared away, unless He who is above them all be preached? All nations then had devils for their gods: those whom they called gods, were devils, as the Apostle more openly saith, " The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice unto devils, and not to God.'"'3 Since therefore they were in captivity, because they sacrificed to devils, and on that account the whole earth had remained woody; He is declared to be great, and above all worldly praise.
7. "Confession and beauty are before Him" (ver. 6). Dost thou love beauty? Wishest thou to be beautiful? Confess! He said not, beauty and confession, but confession and beauty. Thou wast foul; confess, that thou mayest be fair: thou wast a sinner; confess, that thou mayest be righteous. Thou couldest deform thyself: thou canst not make thyself beautiful. But of what sort is our Betrothed, who hath loved one deformed, that he might make her fair? How, saith some one, loved He one deformed? "I came not," said He, "to call the righteous, but sinners."4 Whom callest Thou? sinners, that they may remain sinners? No, saith He. And by what means will they cease to be sinners? "Confession and beauty are before Him." They honour Him by confession of their sins, they vomit the evils which they had greedily devoured ; they return not to their vomit, like the unclean dog ;5 and there will then be confession and beauty: we love beauty ; let us first choose confession, that beauty may follow. Again, there is one who loveth power and greatness: he wisheth to be great as the Angels are. There is a certain greatness in the Angels; and such power, that if the Angels exert it to the full, it cannot be withstood. And every man desireth the power of the Angels, but their righteousness every man loveth not. First love righteousness, and power shall follow thee. For what followeth here? " Holiness and greatness are in His sanctification." Thou wast before seeking for greatness: first love righteousness: when thou | art righteous, thou shalt also be great. For if thou preposterously dost wish first to be great, | thou fallest before thou canst rise: for thou dost not rise, thou art raised up. Thou risest better, if He raise thee who falleth not. For He who falleth not descendeth unto thee: thou hadst fallen: He descendeth, He hath stretched forth His hand unto thee ; thou canst not rise by thy own strength, embrace the hand of Him who
6... (Forswhen «he: had'vsaid,.) " Hes more to be feared than all gods:" he added, " As for all the gods of the heathen, they are devils." . . . Because "all the gods of the heathen are devils."' And is this all the praise of Him who cannot worthily be praised, that He is above all the gods of the heathen, which are devils? Wait, and hear what followeth: "It is the Lord that made the heavens." all gods only therefore, but above all the heavens which He made, is the Lord. If he were to say, "above all gods, for the gods of the heathen are devils," and if the praise of our Lord stopped here, he had said less than we are accustomed to think of Christ ; but when he said, '" But it is the Lord that made the heavens ; "' see what dif-
Not above.
| 4 Matt. ix. 13. 5 2 Pet. ii. 22.
1 Luke xv. 12-15. 2 Title of Psalm, 3 x Cor. x. 20,