Expositions on the Book of Psalms (continued)
Psatm CXLVIL] ON THE PSALMS. 665
And, when "the way of sinners" has been "rooted out," what remaineth for us? 'Come, ye blessed of My father, enjoy the Kingdom ;"'' "The Lord shall reign for ever' (ver. 10). "O Sion, thy God" shall reign for ever; surely thy God will not reign without thee. "For generation and generation.'"" He hath said it twice, because he could not say it for ever. And think not that eternity is bounded by finite words. The word eternity consists of four syllables ; in itself it is without end. It could not be commended to thee, save thus, '"' for generation and generation.' Too little hath he said: if he spoke it all day long, it 'were too narrow: if he spoke it all his life, must he not at length hold his peace? Love
God. When thou eatest and drinkest, sing a Psalm : not by intermingling sweet sounds suited to the ear, but by eating and drinking moderately, frugally, temperately: for thus saith the Apostle, ""whether ye eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God."3 .. . If by immoderate voracity thou exceedest the due bounds of nature, and gluttest thyself in excess of wine, however great praises of God thy tongue sound, yet thy life blasphemeth Him. After food and drink thou liest down to sleep: in thy bed neither commit any pollution, nor go beyond the license given by the law of God: let thy marriage bed be kept chaste with thy wife: and if thou desire to beget children, yet let there not be unbridled sensuality of lust: in thy bed give honour to thy wife,+ for ye are both members of Christ, both made by Him, both renewed by His Blood: so doing thou praisest God, nor will thy praise be altogether silent. What, when sleep has come over thee? Let not an evil conscience rouse thee from rest: so doth the innocence of thy sleep praise God... . 3. "Let praises be pleasant to our God." How? If He be praised by our good lives. Hear that then praise will be pleasant to Him. In another place it is said, " Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner.''5 If then in the mouth of a sinner praise is not seemly, neither is it pleasant, for that only is pleasant which is seemly. . . . For praise may be pleasant to a man, when he heareth one praising with neat and clever sentiments, and with a sweet voice ; but "let praise be pleasant to our God,' whose ears are open not to the mouth, but to the heart ; not to the tongue, but to the life of him that praiseth.
eternity : without end shalt thou reign, if Christ be thine End, with whom thou shalt reign for ever and ever. Amen.
PSALM CXLVII.?
1. It is said to us, " Praise the Lord" (ver. 1). This is said to all nations, not to us alone. And these words, sounded forth through separate places by the Readers, each Church heareth separately ; but the one same Voice of God proclaimeth unto all, that we praise Him. And as though we asked wherefore we ought to praise the Lord, behold what reason he hath brought forward: ' Praise the Lord," he saith, "for a Psalm is good." Is this all the reward of them that praise? . . . The " Psalm " is praise of God. This then he saith, '" Praise the Lord, for it is good to praise the Lord." Let us not thus pass over the praise of the Lord. It is spoken, and hath passed: it is done, and we are silent: we have praised, and then rested ; we have sung, and then rested. We go forth to some business which awaits us, and when other employments have found us, shall the praise of God cease in us? Not. so: thy tongue praiseth but for a while, let. thy life ever praise. Thus then "a Psalm is good."
4. Who is "our God," that praise should be pleasant to Him? He maketh Himself sweet to us, He commendeth Himself to us; thanks to His condescension. ... "But God commendeth His love to us"... "in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."°... Let us see whether it be the commendation which the Apostle speaketh of, that Christ died for the sinners and ungodly: "the Lord who buildeth up Jerusalem, and gathereth the dispersions of Israel" (ver. 2). For the people of Jerusalem are the people of Israel. It is Jerusalem "eternal in the heavens," whereof the Angels are citizens also... . All the citizens then of that city, through "seeing God," rejoice in that great and wide and heavenly city ;
2. For a " Psalm" is a song, not any kind of song, but a song to a psaltery. A psaltery is a kind of instrument of music, like the lyre and the harp, and such kinds of instruments, which were invented for music. He therefore who singeth Psalms, not only singeth with his voice, but with a certain instrument besides, which is called a psaltery, he accompanieth his voice with his hands. Wilt thou then sing a Psalm? Let not thy voice alone sound the praises of God; but let thy works also be in harmony with thy voice. ... To please then the ear, sing with thy voice; but with thy heart be not silent, with thy life be not still. Thou devisest no fraud in thy heart: thou singest a Psalm to they gaze upon God Himself. But we are wanderers from that city, driven out by sin, that we should not remain there; weighed down by mortality, that we should not return thither. God looked back on our wandering, and He
I Matt. xxv. 34. 4
4 Pet. iii. 7. 3 x Cor. x. 31. 6 Rom, v. 8. 5 Ecclus. xv. 9.
2 Lat. CKLVI. Sermon to the people of Carthage.