Expositions on the Book of Psalms
Psatm CXXXVIL] ON THE PSALMS. 631 fed there by these pleasures of transitory things, as though watered by " the waters of Babylon." Thou seekest fruit of them, and nowhere findest it. ... Therefore by deferring to apply the Scriptures to them, " we hang up our instruments of music upon the willows." For we hold them not worthy to carry our instruments. We do not therefore insert our instruments into them and bind them to them, but defer to use them, and so hang them up. For the willows are the unfruitful trees of Babylon, fed by temporal pleasures, as by the " waters of Babylon."
g. "Let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I remember not thee" (ver. 6). That is, let me be dumb, he saith, if I remember not thee. For what word, what sound doth he utter, who uttereth not songs of Sion? That is our tongue, the song of Jerusalem. The song of the love of this world is a strange tongue, a barbarous tongue, which we have learnt in our captivity. Dumb then will he be to God, who forgetteth Jerusalem. And it is not enough to remember : for her enemies too remember her, desiring to overthrow her. "What is that city?' say they ; " who are the Christians ? what sort of men are the Christians? would they were not Christians." Now the captive band hath conquered its capturers ; still they murmur, and rage, and desire to slay the holy city that dwells as a stranger among them. Not enough then is it to remember: take heed how thou rememberest. For some things we remember in hate, some in love. And so, when he had said, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem," etc., he added at once, "if I prefer not Jerusalem in the height of my joy." For there is the height of joy where we enjoy God, where we are safe of united brotherhood, and the union of citizenship. There no tempter shall assail us, no one be able so much as to urge us on to any allurement: there nought will delight us but good: there all want will die, there perfect bliss will dawn on us.
6. "For there they that led us captive demanded of us words of songs, and they that led us away, an hymn" (ver. 3). They demanded of us words of songs and an hymn, who led us captive. .. . We are tempted by the delights of earthly things, and we struggle daily with the suggestions of unlawful pleasures ; scarce do we breathe freely even in prayer: we understand that we are captives. But who led us captive? what men? what race? what king? If we are redeemed, we once were captives. Who hath redeemed us? Christ. From whom hath He redeemed us? From the devil. The devil then and his angels led us captive: and they would not lead us, unless we consented... . 7. "Those" then " who have led us captive," the devil and his angels, when have they spoken unto us: "Sing us one of the songs of Sion''? What answer we? Babylon beareth thee, Babylon containeth thee, Babylon nourisheth thee, Babylon speaks by thy mouth, thou knowest not to take in save what glitters for the present, thou knowest not how to meditate on things of eternity, thou takest not in what thou askest. " How shall we sing the Lord's song ina strange land?" (ver. 4). 'Truly, brethren, so it is. Begin to wish to preach the truth in such measure as ye know it, and see how needful it is for you to endure such mockers, persecutors of the truth, full of falsehood. Reply to them, when they ask of you what they cannot take in, and say in full confidence of your holy song, " How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land !"'
10. Then he turneth to God in prayer against the enemies of that city. 'Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom" (ver. 7). Edom is the same who is also called Esau: for ye heard just now the words of the Apostle read, " Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."! ... Esau then signifieth all the carnal, Jacob all the spiritual. . . . All carnal persons are enemies to spiritual persons, for all such, desiring present things, persecute those whom they see to long for things eternal. Against these the Psalmist, looking back to Jerusalem, and beseeching God that he may be delivered from captivity, saith — what? "Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom." Deliver us from carnal men, from those who imitate Esau, who are elder brethren, yet enemies. 'They were first-born, but the lastborn have won the pre-eminence, for the lust of the flesh hath cast down the former, the contempt of lust hath lifted up the latter. The other live, and envy, and persecute. "In the day of Jerusalem." The day of Jerusalem, wherein it was tried, wherein it was held captive, or the day of Jerusalem's happiness, wherein it is freed, wherein it reaches its goal, wherein it is made partaker of eternity? "Remember," saith he, ''O Lord," forget not those "' who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof."" Remember then, it
8. But take heed how thou dwellest among them, O people of God, O body of Christ, O high-born band of wanderers (for thy home is not here, but elsewhere), lest when thou lovest them, strivest for their friendship, and fearest to displease such men, Babylon begin to delight thee and thou forget Jerusalem. In fear then of this, see what the Psalmist subjoins, see what follows. "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem " (ver. 5), amid the speeches of those who hold me captive, amid the speeches of treacherous men, amid the speeches cf men who ask with ill intent, asking, yet unwilling to learn. . . . What then? "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget me."
1 Rom, ix. 13.