Expositions on the Book of Psalms (continued)
80 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN. [Psatm XXXV.
ble way ! Darkness alone who feareth not? A slippery way alone who avoids not? In a dark and slippery way how shalt thou go? where set foot? 'These two ills are the great punishments of men: darkness, ignorance; a slippery way, luxury. 'And let the Angel of the Lord persecute them;" that they be not able to stand. For any one in a dark and slippery way, when he seeth that if he move his foot he will fall, and there is no light before his feet, haply resolveth to wait until light come; but here is the Angel of the Lord persecuting them. These things he predicted would come upon them, not as though he wished them to happen. Although the Prophet in the Spirit of God so speaketh these things, even as God doth the same, with sure judgment, with a judgment good, righteous, holy, tranquil ; not moved with wrath, not with bitter jealousy, not with desire of wreaking enmities, but of punishing wickedness with righteousness ; nevertheless, it is a prophecy.
4. And what follows? "Let them be confounded and put to shame, that seek after my soul" (ver. 4): for to this end they seek after it, to destroy it. For I would that they would seek it for good ! for in another Psalm he blameth this in men, that there was none who would seek after his soul: "Refuge failed me: there was none that would seek after my soul.''* Who is this that saith, 'There was none that would seek after my soul'??? Is it haply He, of whom so long before it was predicted, "They pierced My Hands and My Feet, they numbered all My Bones, they stared and looked upon Me, they have parted My Garments among them, and cast lots for My Vesture"?3 Now all these things were done before their eyes, and there was none who would seek after His Soul. ...
5... . Many have been confounded to their health: many, put to shame, have passed over from the persecution of Christ to the society of His members with devoted piety; and _ this would not have been, had they not been confounded and put toshame. 'Therefore he wished well to them. . . . Let them not go before, but follow ; let them not give counsel, but take it. For Peter would go before the Lord, when the Lord spake of His future Passion: he would to Him as it were give counsel for His health. The sick man to the Saviour give counsel for His health! And what said he to the Lord, affirming that His future Passion? " Be it far from Thee, Lord. Be gracious to Thyself. This shall not be to Thee." He would go before that the Lord might follow; and what said He? "Get thee behind Me, Satan."4 By going before thou art Satan, by following thou wilt be a disciple. The same then is said to these also, " Let them be turned back and brought to confusion that think evil against me." For when they have begun to follow after, now they will not think evil against me, but desire my good.
7. But wherefore these so great evils? By what desert? Hear by what desert. ' For without cause have they hid for me the corruption of their trap" (ver. 7). For Him that is our Head, observe, the Jews did this: they hid the corruption of their trap. For whom hid they their trap? For Him who saw the hearts of those that hid. But yet was He among them like one ignorant, as though He were deceived, whereas they were in that deceived, that they thought Him to be deceived. For therefore was He as though deceived, living among them, because we among such as they were so to live, as to be without doubt deceived. He saw His betrayer, and chose him the more to a necessary work. By his evil He wrought a great good: and yet among the twelve was he chosen, lest even the small number of twelve should be without one evil. This was an example of patience to us, because it was necessary that we should live among the evil: it was necessary that we should endure the evil, either knowing them or knowing them not: an example of patience He gave thee lest thou shouldest fail, when thou hast begun to live among the evil. And because that School of Christ in the twelve failed not, how much more ought we to be firm, when in the great Church is fulfilled what was predicted of the mixture of the evil. ...
6. What of others? For all are not so conquered as to be converted and believe: many continue in obstinacy, many preserve in heart the spirit of going before, and if they exert it not, yet they labour with it, and finding opportunity bring it forth. Of such, what followeth? "Let them be as dust before the wind" (ver. 5). 'Not so are the ungodly, not so; but as the dust which the wind driveth away from the face of the earth." 5 The wind is temptation; the dust are the ungodly. When temptation cometh, the dust is raised, it neither standeth nor resisteth. "Let them be as dust before the wind, and let the Angel of the Lord trouble them." "Let their way be darkness and slipping"'(ver. 6). A horri-
8. But yet what is to be done? "Without a cause have they hid for me the corruption of their trap."" What meaneth, "' Without a cause''? I have done them no evil, I have hurt them not at all. "Vainly have they reviled my soul." What is, "Vainly"? Speaking falsely, proving nothing. "Let a trap come upon them which they know not of" (ver. 8). A magnificent retribution, nothing more just! They have hidden a trap that I might know not: let a trap come
1 Ps..cxlii, 4. 2 "Who is," etc. Most mss. read, '' That is, who asks, Who is that who is crucified? There is no one that saith, It is haply He," etc.
3 Ps, xxii. 16-18, 4 Matt, xvi. 22, 23, 5 Ps, i, 4.
PsALM XXXV.] ON THE PSALMS. 81 upon them which they know not of. For I know of their trap. But what trap is coming upon them? 'That which they know not of. Let us hear, lest haply he speak of that. " Let a trap come upon them, which they know not of." Perhaps that is one which they hid for him, that another which shall come upon themselves. Not so: but what? 'The wicked shall be holden with the cords of his own sins.' 'Thereby are they deceived, whereby they would deceive. Thence shall come mischief to them, whence they endeavoured mischief. For it follows, "And let the net which they have hidden catch themselves, and let them fall into their own trap." As if any one should prepare a cup of poison for another, and forgetting should drink it up himself: or as if one should dig a pit, that his enemy might fall thereinto in the darkness ; and himself forgetting what he had dug, should} first walk that way, and fall into it... . g. This then for the wicked that would hurt me: what for me? "But my soul shall rejoice in the Lord" (ver. 9) ; as in Him from whom it hath heard, "I am thy salvation;" as not seeking other riches from without ; as not seeking to abound in pleasures and good things of earth; but loving freely the true Spouse, not from Him wishing to receive aught that may delight, but Him alone proposing to itself, by whom it may be delighted. For what better than God will be given unto me? God loveth me: God loveth thee. See He hath proposed to thee, Ask what thou wilt. If the emperor should say to thee, Ask what thou wilt, what commands,3 what dignities,* wouldest thou burst forth with! What great things wouldest thou propose to thyself, both to receive and to bestow! When God saith unto thee, Ask what thou wilt, what wilt thou ask? empty thy mind, exert thy avarice, stretch forward as far as possible, and enlarge thy desire: it is not any one, but Almighty God that said, Ask what thou wilt. If of possessions thou art a lover, thou wilt desire the whole earth, that all who are born may be thy husbandmen, or thy slaves. And what when thou hast possessed the whole earth? Thou wilt ask the sea, in which yet thou canst not live. In this greediness the fishes will have the better of thee. But perhaps thou wilt possess the islands. Pass over these also; ask the air, although thou canst not fly; stretch thy desire even unto the heavens, call thine own the sun, the moon, and the stars, because He who made all said, Ask what thou wilt: yet nothing wilt thou find more precious, nothing wilt thou find better, than Himself who made all things. Him seek, who made all things, and in Him and from Him shalt thou have all things which He made.
All things are precious, because all are beautiful ; but what more beautiful than He? Strong are they ; but what stronger than He? And nothing would He give thee rather than Himself. If aught better thou hast found, ask it. If thou ask aught else, thou wilt do wrong to Him, and harm to thyself, by preferring to Him that which He made, when He would give to thee Himself who made. ...
"But my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in His salvation." The salvation of God is Christ: " For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." 5
10. "All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto Thee" (ver. 10). Who can speak anything worthily of these words? I think them only to be pronounced, not to be expounded. Why seekest thou this or that? What is like unto thy Lord? Him hast thou before thee. "The unrighteous have declared unto me aelights, but not after Thy law, O Lord!"® Persecutors have been who have said, Worship Saturn, worship Mercury. I worship not idols (saith he): "Lord, who is like unto Thee? They have eyes, and see not ; ears have they, but they hear not." 7 " Lord, who is like unto Thee," who hast made the eye to see, the ear to hear? But I (saith he) worship not idols, for them a workman made. Worship a tree or mountain ; did a workman make them also? Here too, Lord, who is like unto Thee? Earthly things are shown unto me; Thou art Creator of the earth. And from these haply they turn to the higher creation, and say to me, Worship the Moon, worship this Sun, who with his light, as a great lamp in the Heavens, maketh the day. Here also I plainly say, "Lord, who is like unto Thee?"? The Moon and the Stars Thou hast made, the Sun to rule the day hast Thou kindled, the Heavens hast Thou framed together. There are many invisible things better. But haply here also it is said to me, Worship Angels, adore Angels. And here also will I say, "Lord, who is like unto Thee?" Even the Angels Thou hast created. The Angels are nothing, but by seeing Thee. It is better with them to possess Thee, than by worshipping them to fall from Thee.
11. O Body of Christ, Holy Church, let all thy bones say, " Lord, who is like unto thee?" And if the flesh under persecution hath fallen away, let the bones say, " Lord, who is like unto Thee?" For of the righteous it is said, '" The Lord keepeth all their bones ; not one of them shall be broken."*® Of how many righteous have the bones under persecution been broken? Finally, "The just shall live by faith,' 9 and "Christ justifieth the ungodly." '° But how justi-
8 Ps, xxxiv. 20. 6 Ps. cxix. 85. 7 Ps. cxv. 5,6. a to Rom, iv. 5. 5 Luke ii. 30. [P. 78, supra, —C.] 9 Rom. i. 17.
1 Prov. v. 22. 2 Matt. vii. 7. 3 Tribunatus, 4 Comitivas. [Part Second begins with ver. 11.—C.