Expositions on the Book of Psalms
84 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN. [PsALM XXXV. ne aN oS Ne a ee i ee ee ee everywhere put to flight, and wherever found, mocked, beaten, slain, exposed to beasts, burned, men rejoicing against them, As it was to the Head, so it is also to the Body. For as it was to the Lord on the Cross, so has it been to His Body in all that persecution which was made but now: nor even now cease the persecutions of the same. Wherever men find a Christian, they are wont to insult, to persecute, to deride him, to call him dull, senseless, of no spirit, of no knowledge. Do they what they will, Christ is in Heaven: do they what they will, He hath honoured His punishment, already hath He fixed His Cross in the foreheads of all; the ungodly is permitted to insult, to rage he is not permitted ; but yet from that which the tongue uttereth, is understood what he beareth in his heart: "They gnashed upon Me with their teeth."
sorrowful, so I humbled Myself. As our Brother, so I pleased Him," said He, drawing near ; " As one mourning and sorrowful, so I humbled Myself," said He, removed and set afar off. . . . Did not Peter draw near, when he said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God''? And yet the same man became afar off by saying, "Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not be unto Thee." Lastly, what said He, his Neighbour, as it were, to him drawing near? " Blessed art thou, Simon, Barjona."" To him afar off, as it were, and unlike, what said He? "Get thee 'behind Me, Satan."* To him drawing near, " Flesh and blood," saith He, "* hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father, which is in Heaven." His Light is shed over thee, in His Light thou shinest. But when having become afar off, he spake against the Lord's Passion, which should be for our Salvation, ' Thou savour-
20. "Lord, when wilt Thou look on? Rescue My Soul from their deceits, My Darling from the lions" (ver. 17). For to us the time is slow ; and in our person is this said, " When wilt Thou look on?" that is, when shall we see vengeance upon those who insult us? When shall the Judge, overcome by weariness, hear the widow?7 © But our Judge, not from weariness, but from love, delayeth our salvation ; from reason, not from need ; not that He could not even now succour us, but that the number of us all may be filled up even to the end. And yet out of our desire, what do we say?
est not," said He, "the things that be of God, but those that be of men." One rightly placing together both of these saith in a certain Psalm, "'] said in my ecstasy, I am cast off from before Thine Eyes."2 In my ecstasy, would he not have said, had he not drawn near; for ecstasy is the transporting of the mind. He poured over himself his own soul, and drew near unto God; and through some cloud and weight of the flesh being again cast down to earth, and recollecting where he had been, and seeing where he was, he said, "I am cast off from before Thine Eyes." This then, "As a Neighbour, as our Brother, so I pleased Him," may He grant to be done in us; but when that is not, let even this be done, "As one mourning and sorrowful, so I humbled myself."
Lord, when wilt Thou look on? Rescue My Soul from their deceits, My Darling from the lions:" that is, My Church from raging powers.
21. Lastly, wouldest thou know what is that Darling? Read the words following: "I will confess unto Thee, O Lord, in the great Congregation; in a weighty ® people will I praise Thee" (ver. 18). Truly saith He, " I will confess unto Thee:" for confession is made in all the multitude, but not in all is God praised : the whole multitude heareth our confession,? but not in all the multitude is the praise of God.
18. And against Me they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together''3 (ver. 15), against Me only: they rejoicing, I sorrowful. But we heard just now in the Gospel, " Blessed are they that mourn." 4 If they are blessed that mourn, miserable are they that laugh. "Against Me they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: scourges were gathered together against Me, and they knew not." 5 Because they laid to My charge things that I knew not, they also knew not Whom they charged.
For in all the whole multitude, that is, in the Church which is spread abroad in the whole world, is chaff, and wheat: the chaff flieth, the wheat remaineth ; therefore, 'in a weighty people will I praise Thee." In a weighty people, which the wind of temptation carries not away, in such is God praised. For in the chaff He is ever blasphemed. .. . 22. "Let not them that are Mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over Me:" for they rejoice over Me because of My chaff. "Who hate Me without a cause ;" that is, whom I never hurt;
19. "They tempted Me, and mocked Me with mocking "° (ver. 16). That is, they derided Me, they insulted Me; this of the Head, this of the Body. Consider, Brethren, the glory of the Church which now is; remember its past dishonours, remember how once were Christians
I Matt. xvi. 16-23. 2 Ps. xxxii. 22. [See p. 70, supra.) 3 E. V. "But in mine adversity they rejoiced and gathered themselves together."
4 Matt. v. 5. 5 E. V. "Yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not."
7 Luke xviii. 3. 8 Latin, 'in populo grav," 9 [The recitation of the Creed, perhaps; but in the ancient Church the oo of sin, also, was public. Bingham, b. xviii. cap. 3. —C.
6 E. V. "' They did tear Me and ceased not:" 16, " With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon Me with their teeth," The words here omitted are mentioned on Ps. lvii, — Bex.
Psatm XXXV_] ON THE PSALMS. 85
"winking with their eyes" (ver. 19): that is, pretending hypocrites, " For they spake indeed peace to Me" (ver. 20). What is, " winking with their eyes"? Declaring by their looks, what they carry not in their heart. And who are these "winking with their eyes"? "For they spake indeed peace to Me; and with wrath devised craftily."' '' Yea they opened their mouth wide against Me" (ver. 21). First winking with their eyes, those lions sought to ravish and devour ; first fawning they spake peace, and then with wrath devised craftily. What peace spake they? "Master, we know that Thou acceptest not man's person, and teachest the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cesar, or not?" They spake indeed peace unto Me. What then? Didst not Thou know them, and deceived they Thee, winking with their eyes? Truly He knew them; therefore said He, " Why tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites? ''* Afterward, "they opened their mouth wide against Me," crying, "Crucify Him, Crucify Him !? and said, Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen it." This, when they insulted Him, "Aha, Aha, Prophesy unto us, Thou Christ."3 As their peace was pretended when they tempted Him concerning the money, so now insulting was their praise. 'They said, Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen it" (ver. 21): that is, Thy deeds, Thy miracles. This Man is the Christ. "If He be the Christ, let Him come down from the Cross, and we will believe Him. He saved others, Himself He cannot save."4 "Our eyes have seen it." This is all whereof He boasted Himself, when "' He called Himself the Son of God.''5 But the Lord was hanging patient upon the Cross: His power had He not lost, but He showed His patience. For what great thing was it for Him to come down from the Cross, who could afterward rise again from the sepulchre? But He seems to have yielded to His insulters ; and this, beloved, that having risen again He should show Himself to His own, and not to them, and this is a great mystery; for His resurrection signified the New Life, but the New Life is known to His friends, not to His enemies.
who speaketh by the Evangelists, who speaketh by us, when we speak the truth? What then? He keepeth silence from judgment, not from precept, not from doctrine. But this His judgment the Prophet in a manner invoketh, and predicteth : "Thou hast seen, O Lord: keep not silence ; " that is, Thou wilt not keep silence, needs must that Thou wilt judge. "O Lord, be not far from Me." Until Thy judgment come, be not far from Me, as Thou hast promised, " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
24. "Arise, Lord, and attend to My judgment" (ver. 23). To what judgment? That Thou art in tribulation ; that Thou art tormented with labours and pains? Do not even many wicked men suffer the same? To what judgment? Therefore art Thou righteous, because Thou sufferest these things? No: but what? "To My judgment." What followeth? " Attend to My judgment; even to My cause, My God, and My Lord." Not to My punishment, but to My cause: not to that which the robber hath in common with Me, but to that whereof is said, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake."* For this cause is distinguished. For punishment is equal to good and bad. Therefore Martyrs, not the punishment, but the cause maketh, for if punishment made Martyrs, all the mines would be full of Martyrs, every chain would drag Martyrs, all that are executed with the sword would be crowned. Therefore let the cause be distinguished ; let none say, because I suffer, I am righteous, Because He who first suffered, suffered for righteousness' sake, therefore He added a great exception, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake." For many having a good cause do persecution, and many having a bad cause suffer persecution. For if persecution could not be done rightly, it had not been said in a certain Psalm, "' Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him did I persecute."9 . . . Let none then say, I suffer persecution: let him not sift the punishment, but prove the cause: lest if he prove not the cause, he be numbered with the ungodly. Therefore how watchfully, how excellently hath This Man recommended Himself, "O Lord, attend to My judgment," not to My punishments; "even to My cause, My God, and My Lord."
23. "This Thou hast seen, O Lord ; keep not silence" (ver. 22). What is, "keep not silence"? Judge Thou. For of judgment is it said in a certain place,° "I have kept silence ; shall I keep silence for ever?" And of the delaying of judgment it is said to the sinner, "These things hast thou done, and I kept silence ;" "Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself."7 How keepeth He silence, who speaketh by the Prophets, who speaketh with His own mouth in the Gospel,
25. "Judge me, O Lord, according to My righteousness" (ver. 24); that is, attend to My cause. Not according to My punishment, but "according to My righteousness, O Lord, My God," that is, according to this judge Thou Me. "And let them not rejoice over Me;" that is, Mine enemies.
3 Matt. xxvi. 68, 5 John xix. 7. 7 Ps..1. 21, t Matt. xxii. 16-18. 2 Luke xxiii. at. 4 Matt. xxvii. 42; Luke xxiii. 35. © Isa. xlii. 14, Sept.
8 Matt. v. 10, 9 Ps. ci. 5.