Expositions on the Book of Psalms
PsaLm XXL] ON THE PSALMS. 57
Lord, lest they should lose their place by " the Romans :''? and rushing violently on the stone of offence and rock of stumbling, they fell from the heavenly hope: to whom the blindness in part of Israel hath happened, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and wishing to establish their own.? " But we are risen, and stand upright." But we, that the Gentile people might enter in, out of the stones raised up as children to Abraham,3 who followed not after righteousness, have attained to it, and are risen ;4 and not by our own strength, but being justified by faith, we stand upright.
Thy Son ;"*? and Thou gavest it Him, " Length of days for ever and ever" (ver. 4). The prolonged ages of this world which the Church was to have, and after them an eternity, world without end.
6. "His glory is great in Thy salvation" (ver. 5). Great indeed is His glory in the salvation, whereby Thou hast raised Him up again. "Glory and great honour shalt Thou lay upon Him." But Thou shalt yet add unto Him glory and great honour, when Thou shalt place Him in heaven at Thy right hand.
7. "For Thou shalt give Him blessing for ever and ever." This is the blessing which Thou shalt give Him for ever and ever: "Thou shalt make Him glad in joy together with Thy countenance' (ver. 6). According to His manhood, Thou shalt make Him glad together with Thy countenance, which He lifted up to Thee.
10. "O Lord, save the King:" that He, who in His Passion hath shown us an example of conflict, should also offer up our sacrifices, the Priest raised from the dead, and established in heaven. "And hear us in the day when we shall call on Thee" (ver. g). And as He now offereth for us, "hear us in the day when we shall call on Thee."
8. " For the King hopeth in the Lord." For the King is not proud, but humble in heart, he hopeth in the Lord. "And in the mercy of the Most Highest He shall not be moved" (ver. 7). And in the mercy of the Most Highest His obedience even unto the death of the Cross shall not disturb His humility.
PSALM XXI5
TO THE END, A PSALM OF DAVID HIMSELF.
1. The title is a familiar one; the Psalm is of Christ.® g. "Let Thy hand be found by all Thine enemies." Be Thy power, O King, when Thou comest to judgment, found by all Thine enemies ; who in Thy humiliation discerned it not. ' Let Thy right hand find out all that hate Thee"
2. "O Lord, the King shall rejoice in Thy strength" (ver. 1). O Lord, in Thy strength, whereby the Word was made flesh, the Man Christ Jesus shall rejoice. 'And shall exult exceedingly in Thy salvation." And in that, whereby Thou quickenest all things, shall exult exceedingly.
(ver. 8). Let the glory, wherein Thou reignest at the right hand of the Father, find out for punishment in the day of judgment all that hate Thee ; for that now they have not found it.
3. "Thou hast given Him the desire of His soul" (ver. 2). He desired to eat the Passover," and to lay down His life when He would, and again when He would to take it; and Thou hast given it to Him.' "And hast not deprived Him of the good pleasure of His lips." ' My peace," saith He, "I leave with you:"9 and it was done.
10. " Thou shalt make them like a fiery oven:'' Thou shalt make them on fire within, by the consciousness of their ungodliness: " In the time of Thy countenance :" in the time of
| Thy manifestation.
"The Lord shall trouble them in His wrath, and the fire shall devour them" (ver. 9). And then, being troubled by the vengeance of the Lord, after the accusation of their conscience, they shall be given up to eternal fire, to be devoured.
4. "For Thou hast presented Him with the blessings of sweetness" (ver. 3). Because He had first quaffed the blessing of Thy sweetness, the gall of our sins did not hurt Him. " Dzapsalma. Thou hast set a crown of precious stone on His Head." '° At the beginning of His discoursing precious stones were brought, and compassed Him about ;"! His disciples, from whom the commencement of His preaching should be made.
11. "Their fruit shalt Thou destroy out of the earth." Their fruit, because it is earthly, shalt Thou destroy out of the earth. 'And their seed from the sons of men" (ver. 10). And their works ; or, whomsoever they have seduced, Thou shalt not reckon among the sons of men, whom Thou hast called into the everlasting inheritance.
5. ' He asked life; and Thou gavest Him:" He asked a resurrection, saying, "' Father, glorify
12. '' Because they turned evils against Thee." Now this punishment shall be recompensed to them, because the evils which they supposed to hang over them by Thy reign, they turned against Thee to Thy death. "They imagined a
I yes xi. 48. 2 Rom. xi. 25; Rom. x, 3. 3 Matt. iii. 9. 4 Rom. ix. 30. 5 Lat. XX. 6 [Prophetic of His ascension. —C.] 7 Luke xxii. 15. 8 John x. 18. 9 John xiv. 27. To [Rey. xix. 12, Our author agrees with the Septuagint and the Vulgate here, as to "precious stone." Jerome gives coronam obrizam. Gr, oBpvgov.—C. 11 Matt. v. 1. [Compare Mal. iii. 17.—C.]
12 John xvii. 1.
58 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN. [PsaALM XXII.
the adversities of this life will I cry to Thee for prosperity ; and in like manner Thou wilt not hear. And this Thou doest not to my folly, but rather that I may have wisdom to know what Thou wouldest have me cry for, not with the words of sins out of longing for life temporal, but with the words of turning to Thee for life eternal.
device, which they were not able to establish"
(ver. 11). They imagined a device, saying, " It is expedient that one die for all:"?! which they were not able to establish, not knowing what they said.
13. "For Thou shalt set them low." For Thou shalt rank them among those from whom in degradation and contempt Thou wilt turn away. "In Thy leavings? Thou shalt make ready their countenance'? (ver. 12). And in these things that Thou leavest, that is, in the desires of an earthly kingdom, Thou shalt make ready their shamelessness for Thy passion.
4. "But Thou dwellest in the holy place, O Thou praise of Israel" (ver. 3). But Thou dwellest in the holy place, and therefore wilt not hear the unclean words of sins. The " praise" of him that seeth Thee; not of him who hath sought his own praise in tasting of the forbidden fruit, that on the opening of his bodily eyes he should endeavour to hide himself from Thy sight.
14. "Be Thou exalted, O Lord, in Thy strength' (ver. 13). Be Thou, Lord, whom in humiliation they did not discern, exalted in Thy strength, which they thought weakness. '"' We will sing and praise Thy power." In heart and in deed we will celebrate and make known Thy
5. "Our Fathers hoped in Thee." All the righteous, namely, who sought not their own praise, but Thine. "They hoped in Thee, and Thou deliveredst them" (ver. 4). ; 6. "They cried unto Thee, and were saved." They cried unto Thee, not in the words of sins, from which salvation is far; and therefore were they saved. 'They hoped in Thee, and were not confounded" (ver. 5). 'They hoped in Thee," and their hope did not deceive them. For they placed it not in themselves.
marvels.
PSALM XXII.3
TO THE END, FOR THE TAKING UP OF THE MORN
ING, A PSALM OF DAVID.4
1. "To the end," for His own resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself speaketh.5 For in the morning on the first day of the week was His resurrection, whereby He was taken up, into eternal life, "Over whom death shall have no more dominion.''® Now what follows is spoken in the person of The Crucified. For from the head of this Psalm are the words, which He cried out, whilst hanging on the Cross, sustaining also the person of the old man, whose mortality He bare. For our old man was nailed together with Him to the Cross."
7. "But I am a worm, and no man" (ver. 6). But I, speaking now not in the person of Adam, but I in My own person, Jesus Christ, was born without human generation in the flesh, that I might be as man beyond men; that so at least human pride might deign to imitate My humility. "The scorn of men, and outcast of the people." In which humility I was made the scorn of men, so as that it should be said, as a reproachful railing, "' Be thou His disciple: "''° and that the people despise Me.
2. "O God, my God, look upon me, why hast Thou forsaken * me far from my salvation ?"' (ver. 1). Far removed from my salvation: for "' salvation is far from sinners."9 "The words of my sins." For these are not the words of righteousness, but of my sins. For it is the old man nailed to the Cross that speaks, ignorant even of the reason why God hath forsaken him : or else it may be thus, The words of my sins are far from my salvation.
8. "All that saw Me laughed Me to scorn" (ver. 7). All that saw Me derided Me. "And spake with the lips, and shook the head." 7? And they spoke, not with the heart, but with the lips.
9. For they shook their head in derision, saying, "' He trusted in the Lord, let Him deliver
3. " My God, I will cry unto Thee in the daytime, and Thou wilt not hear" (ver. 2). My God, I will cry unto Thee in the prosperous circumstances of this life, that they be not changed ; and Thou wilt not hear, because I shall cry unto Thee in the words of my sins. 'And in the night-season, and not to my folly." And so in
Him: " ?? "let Him save Him, since He desireth Him" (ver. 8). These were their words; but they were spoken "with the lips."
10. "Since Thou art He who drew Me out of the womb" (ver. 9). Since Thou art He who drew Me, not only out of that Virgin womb
(for this is the law of all men's birth, that they be drawn out of the womb), but also out of the womb of the Jewish nation; by the darkness whereof he is covered, and not yet born into the light of Christ, whosoever places his salvation in the carnal observance of the Sabbath, and of circumcision, and the like. 'My hope from My
1 John xi. 50. 2 [ln religuits tuts. 3 Lat. XXI. 4 [This was read on the anniversary of our Lord's passion, as appears from the (omitted) Second Exposition. —C.]
So Vulgate, — C.]
ohn xx. 1-17. Rom. vi. 9. 7 Rom. vi. 6. 8 Vid. Ps. xxxvii. § 6 and xliii. § 2, and Exarr. i. Ps. lviii. § 2, | Ep. 149. [Ofp. S. August. ed. Migne, tom. iv. pp. 399, 483, QI, etc. — CU, 9 Ps. cxix. 155.
10 John ix. 28, 11 Matt. xxvii. 39. 12 Matt. xxvii. 43.
PsaALM XXII] ON THE PSALMS. 59 mother's breasts." 'My hope," O God, not from the time when I began to be fed by the milk of the Virgin's breasts ; for it was even before ; but from the breasts of the Synagogue, as I have said, out of the womb, Thou hast drawn Me, that I should not suck in the customs of the flesh.
of the malignant besieged Me.4 "They pierced My hands and feet." They pierced with nails My hands and feet.
18. "They numbered distinctly all My bones" (ver. 17). They numbered distinctly all My bones, while extended on the wood of the Cross. "Yea, these same regarded, and beheld Me." Yea, these same, that is, unchanged, regarded" and beheld Me.
11. "I have been strengthened in Thee from the womb" (ver. 10). It is the womb of the Synagogue, which did not carry Me, but threw Me out: but I fell not, for Thou heldest me. " From My mother's womb Thou art My God." From My mother's womb: My mother's womb did not cause that, as a babe, I should be forgetful of Thee.
19. "They divided My garments for themselves, and cast the lot upon My vesture''s
20. "But Thou, O Lord, withhold not Thy help far from Me" (ver. 19). But Thou, O Lord, raise Me up again, not as the rest of men, at the end of the world, but immediately. "Look to My defence." ' Look," that they in no wise hurt Me.
12. "Thou art My God," "depart not from Me ; for trouble is hard at hand" (ver. 11). Thou art, therefore, My God, depart not from Me; for trouble is nigh unto Me; for it is in My body. "For there is none to help." For who helpeth, if Thou helpest not?
21. "Deliver My soul from the sword." " Deliver My soul" from the tongue of dissension. 'And My only One from the hand of the dog"' (ver. 20). And from the power of the people, barking after their custom, deliver My Church.
13. " Many calves came about Me." The multitude of the wanton populace came about Me. "Fat bulls closed Me in" (ver. 12). And their leaders, glad at My oppression, " closed Me in."
22. "Save Me from the lion's mouth:"' save Me from the mouth of the kingdom of this world : "and my humility from the horns of the unicorns"'® (ver. 21). And from the loftiness of the proud, exalting themselves to special preeminence, and enduring no partakers, save My humility.
14. "They opened their mouth upon Me" (ver. 13). They opened their mouth upon Me, not out of Thy Scripture, but of their own lusts. "As a ravening and roaring lion." As a lion, whose ravening is, that I was taken and led ; and whose roaring, "Crucify, Crucify."' !
23. 'Iwill declare Thy name to My brethren''7 (ver. 22). Iwill declare Thy name to the humble, and to My Brethren that love one another as they have been beloved by Me.? "In the midst of the Church will I sing of Thee." In the midst of the Church will I with rejoicing preach Thee.
15. "I was poured out like water, and all My bones were scattered" (ver.14). "I was poured out like water," when My persecutors fell: and through fear, the stays of My body, that is, the Church, My disciples were scattered from Me.?
'"' My heart became as melting wax, in the midst of my belly." My wisdom, which was written of Me in the sacred books, was, as if hard and shut up, not understood: but after that the fire of My Passion was applied, it was, as if melted, manifested, and entertained in the memory of My Church.
24. "Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him." "Ye that fear the Lord," seek not your own praise, but "praise Him." "All ye seed of Jacob, magnify Him" (ver. 23). All ye seed of him whom the elder shall serve, magnify Him.
25. "Let all the seed of Israel fear Him." Let all who have been born to a new life, and restored to the vision of God "fear Him." "Since He hath not despised, nor disregarded the prayer of the poor man" (ver. 24). Since He hath not despised the prayer, not of him who, crying unto God in the words of sins was loath to overpass a vain life, but the prayer of the poor man, not swollen up with transitory pomps. "Nor hath He turned away His face
16. " My strength dried up as a potsherd'"'| (ver. 15). My strength dried up by My Passion ; not as hay, but a potsherd, which is made stronger by fire. "And My tongue cleaved to My jaws." And they, through whom I was soon to speak, kept My precepts in their hearts. " And Thou broughtest Me down to the dust of death." And to the ungodly appointed to death, whom the wind casteth forth as dust from the face of the earth,3 Thou broughtest Me down.
4 These seven words from the Oxford ms. } 5 [The garments he elsewhere makes the sacraments, his vesture the undivided unity of the Church. See his Second Exposition, here omitted. — C.]
17. "For many dogs came about Me" (ver. 16). For many came about Me barking, not for truth, but for custom. "The council of the malignant came about Me." The council
[The original Hebrew seems to me a foreshadowing of the Romans, as Peres (Dan. vy. 28) points to the Persians. — i 7 [Here he makes Part II. to begin; i.e., the triumph over death and the grave. — C.]
8 Or, "' to My Brethren that are humble, and," etc. 9 John xvii. 6, 21.
t John xix. 6, 2 Matt. xxvi. 56. 3 Ps, i. 4.
60 THE WORKS. OF ST..-AUGUSTIN. [PsaLM XXIII.
His righteousness." And the Evangelists shall declare His righteousness. "To a people that shall be born, whom the Lord hath made." To a people that shall be born to the Lord through faith.
As from him who said, I will cry from Me." unto Thee, but Thou wilt not hear. I cried unto Him He heard Me."
"And when
26. "With Thee is My praise" (vér. 25). For I seek not Mine own praise,' for Thou art My praise, who dwellest in the holy place ; and, praise of Israel, Thou hearest The Holy One now beseeching Thee. "In the great Church I will confess Thee." In the Church of the whole world "I will confess Thee." "I will offer My vows in the sight of them that fear Him." I will offer the sacraments of My Body and Blood in the sight of them that fear Him.
PSALM XXIII.3
A PSALM OF DAVID HIMSELF.
1. The Church speaks to Christ: "The Lord feedeth me, and I shall lack nothing" (ver. 1). The Lord Jesus Christ is my Shepherd, "and I shall lack nothing."
2. "'In a place of pasture there hath He placed me" (ver. 2). In a place of fresh pasture, leading me to faith,t there hath He placed me to be nourished. "By the water of refreshing hath He brought me up." By the water of baptism, whereby they are refreshed who have lost health and strength, hath He brought me up.
27. "The poor shall eat, and be filled" (ver. 26). The humble and the despisers of the world shall eat, and imitate Me. For so they will neither desire this world's abundance, nor fear its want. "And they shall praise the Lord, who seek Him." For the praise of the Lord is the pouring out of that fulness. "Their hearts shall live for ever and ever." For that food is the food of the heart.
3. "He hath converted my soul: He hath led me forth in the paths of righteousness, for His Name's sake" (ver. 3). He hath brought me forth in the narrow ways, wherein few walk, of His righteousness ; not for my merit's sake, but for His Name's sake.
28. "All the borders of the earth shall remember themselves, and be turned to the Lord"
(ver. 27). They shall remember themselves : for, by the Gentiles, born in death and bent on outward things, God had been forgotten ; and then shall all the borders of the earth be turned to the Lord. "And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship in His sight.'' And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship in their own consciences.
4. "Yea, though I walk in the midst of the shadow of death" (ver.4). Yea, though I walk in the midst of this life, which is the shadow of death. "I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." I will fear no evil, for Thou dwellest in my heart by faith: and Thou art now with me, that after the shadow of death I too may be with Thee. "Thy rod and Thy staff, they have comforted me." Thy discipline, like a rod for a flock of sheep, and like a staff for children of some size, and growing out of the natural into spiritual life, they have not been grievous to me ; rather have they comforted me: because Thou art mindful of me.
29. " For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He shall rule over the nations" (ver. 28). For the kingdom is the Lord's, not proud men's: and He shall rule over the nations.
30. 'All the rich of the earth have eaten, and : worshipped''? (ver. 29). The rich of the earth too have eaten the Body of their Lord's humiliation, and though they have not, as the poor, been } filled even to imitation, yet they have worshipped. "In His sight shall fali all that descend to earth." For He alone seeth how all they fall, who abandoning a heavenly conversation, make choice, on earth, to appear happy to men, who see not their fall.
5. "Thou hast prepared a table in my sight, against them that trouble me" (ver. 5). Now after the rod, whereby, whilst a little one, and living the natural life, I was brought up among the flock in the pastures ; after that rod, I say, when I began to be under the staff, Thou hast prepared a table in my sight, that I should no more be fed as a babe with milk,° but being older should take meat, strengthened against them that trouble me. "Thou hast fattened my head with oil." Thou hast gladdened my mind with spiritual joy. 'And Thy inebriating cup, how excellent is it!" And Thy cup yielding forgetfulness of former vain delights, how excellent is it !
31. "And My Soul shall live to Him." And My Soul, which in the contempt of this world seems to men as it were to die, shall live, not to itself, but to Him. "And My seed shall serve Him" (ver. 30). And My deeds, or they who through Me believe on Him, shall serve Him.
32. "The generation to come shall be declared to the Lord" (ver. 31). The generation of the New Testament shall be declared to the honour of the Lord. "And the heavens shall declare
6. "And Thy mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: " that is, as long as I live in this mortal life, not Thine, but mine. "That I may
I John viii. 50.
3 Lat. XXII. 4 Pascue tncipientts. 5 [Note this very comprehensive comment on the real meaning of the valley. —C.]
2 [Here the African Psalter reads, "dvztes terre," the counterpart of fauperes in ver. 26. Would this had been followed in our English, which makes a ludicrous transition in this sublime prophecy. — C.]
6 x Cor. iii. 2.