Expositions on the Book of Psalms
PSALMS. 601
Psatm CXXV] ON THE cend and raise our minds unto the Lord our God in loving charity and piety, not to fix our gaze upon men who are prosperous in this world, with a happiness that is false and unstable, and altogether seductive ; where they cherish nothing save pride, and their heart freezeth up against God, and is made hard against the shower of His grace, so that it beareth not fruit. . . . 2. "They that put their trust in the Lord shall be even as the mount Sion: they shall not be removed for ever"? (ver. 1).
selves, or they make peace, or generate peace ; but, they receive peace. The Lord is the source, whence they receive peace. So therefore lift up thine eyes to the mountains for the sake of peace, that thy help may come from the Lord, who hath made heaven and earth. Again, the Holy Spirit mentioning these mountains saith this: " Thou dost light them wonderfully from Thy everlasting mountains." 4 He said not, the mountains light them: but, Thou lightest them from Thy everlasting mountains: through those mountains whom Thou hast willed to be everlasting, preaching the Gospel, Thou lighting them, not the mountains. Such then are the " mountains that stand around Jerusalem."
3. Who are these? 'They shall stand fast for ever, who dwell in Jerusalem" (ver. 2). If we understand this earthly Jerusalem, all who dwelt therein have been excluded by wars and by the destruction of the city: thou now seekest a Jew in the city of Jerusalem, and findest him not. Why then will "they that dwell in Jerusalem not be moved for ever," save because there is another Jerusalem, of which ye are wont to hear much? She is our mother, for whom we sigh and groan in this pilgrimage, that we may return unto her. ... They then who dwell therein " shall never be moved." But they who dwelt in that earthly Jerusalem, have been moved ; first in heart, afterwards by exile. When they were moved in heart and fell, then they crucified the King of the heavenly Jerusalem herself; they were already spiritually without, and shut out of doors their very King. For they cast Him out without their city, and crucified Him without.'. He too cast them out of His city, that is, of the everlasting Jerusalem, the Mother of us all, who is in Heaven.
5. And that ye may know what sort of mountains these be that stand around Jerusalem ; where Scripture hath mentioned good mountains, very rarely, and hardly, and perhaps never, doth it fail instantly to mention the Lord also, or allude to Him at the same moment, that our hopes rest not in the mountains. . . . Lest thou again shouldest tarry in the mountains, he at once addeth, '"' Even so the Lord standeth round about His people:"' that thy hope might not lie in the mountains, but in Him who lighteth the mountains.5 For when He dwelleth in the mountains, that is, in the Saints, He Himself is round about His people ; and He hath Himself walled His people with a spiritual fortification, that it may not be moved for evermore. But when Scripture speaketh of evil mountains, it addeth not the Lord unto them. Such mountains, we have already told you often, signify certain mighty, but evil, souls. For ye are not to suppose, brethren, that heresies could be produced through any little souls. None save great men have been the authors of heresies ; but in proportion as they were mighty, so were they evil, mountains. For they were not such mountains as would receive peace, that the hills might receive righteousness ; but they received dissension from their father the devil. 'There were therefore mountains: beware thou fly not to such mountains. For men will come, and say unto thee, There is a great hero, there is a great man! How great was that Donatus! How great is Maximian ! and a certain Photinus, what a great man he was! And Arius too, how illustrious he was! All these I have mentioned are mountains, but mountains that cause shipwreek.oi,-c.¢
4. What is this Jerusalem? He briefly describes it. '' The mountains stand around Jerusalem" (ver. 2). Is it anything great, that we are in a city surrounded by mountains? Is this the whole of our happiness, that we shall have a city which mountains surround? Do we not know what mountains are? or what are mountains save swellings of the earth? Different then from these are those mountains that we love, lofty mountains, preachers of truth, whether Angels, or Apostles, or Prophets. They stand around Jerusalem ; they surround her, and, as it were, form a wall for her. Of these lovely and delightful mountains Scripture constantly speaketh. . . . They are the mountains of whom we sing: "I lifted up mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence my help shall come:"? because in this life we have help from the holy Scriptures.3 And through the mountains that receive peace, the little hills received righteousness: for what saith he of the mountains themselves? He said not, they have peace from them-
6. But love such mountains, in whom the Lord is. Then do those very mountains love thee, if thou hast not placed hope in them.5 See, brethren, what the mountains of (God are. Thence they are so called in another passage : "Thy righteousness is like the mountains of
1 {or xix, 17, 18. 2 Ps. cxxi, 1, 2.
3 |Observe in our author Jass?m this implication that the laity as well as the clergy were filled with the knowledge and comfort of the Scriptures, — C.
4 Ps Ixxvi. 4. 5 [Evidence against saint-worship. — C.] 6 [So Jude 16.—C.] Vince. Lir. Common.