Expositions on the Book of Psalms
88 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN. [PsaLM XXXVI. eae enamel gl al Sg i I ES ae rence)
Through the mountains cometh help, but not from the mountains. From whom then? "From the Lord, which made Heaven and earth." ...
family? All these are good, and they are God's Sitges
7. But this man rightly understood what mercy he should pray for from God. "Thy Mercy, O Lord, is in the Heavens; and Thy Truth reacheth even to the clouds.'"' That is, the Mercy which Thou givest to Thy Saints, is Heavenly, not earthly ; is Eternal, not temporal. And how couldest Thou declare it unto men? Because "Thy Truth reacheth even unto the clouds." For who could know the Heavenly Mercy of God, unless God should declare it unto men? How did He declare it? By sending His truth even unto the clouds. What are the clouds? The Preachers of the Word of God.
9. "Thy Judgments are like the great abyss." The abyss he calleth the depth of sin, whither every one cometh by despising God; as in a certain place it is said, "God gave them over to their own hearts' lusts, to do the things which are not convenient."3 . . . Because then they were proud and ungrateful, they were held worthy to be delivered up to the lusts of their own hearts, and became a great abyss, so that they not only sinned, but also worked craftily, lest they should understand their iniquity, and hate it. That is the depth of wickedness, to be unwilling to find it out and to hate it. But how one cometh to that depth, see ; "Thy Judgments are the great abyss." As the mountains are by the Righteousness of God, who through His Grace become great : so also through His Judgments come they unto the depth, who sink lowest. By this then let the mountains delight thee, by this turn away from the abyss, and turn thyself unto that, of which it is said, "My help cometh from the Lord." But whereby? "I have lifted up mine eyes unto the mountains." What meaneth this? I will speak plainly.5 In the Church of God thou findest an abyss, thou findest also mountains ; thou findest there but few good, because the mountains are few, the abyss broad ; that is, thou findest many living ili after the wrath of God, because they have so worked that they are delivered up to the lusts of their own heart; so now they defend their sins and confess them not ; but say, Why? What have I done? Such an one did this, and such an one did that. Now will they even defend what the Divine Word reproves. Thisis the abyss. Therefore ina certain place ® saith the Scripture (hear this abyss), "The sinner when he cometh unto the depth of sin despiseth." See, "Thy Judgments are like the great abyss." But yet not art thou a mountain ; not yet art thou in the abyss ; fly from the abyss, tend towards the mountains; but yet remain not on the mountains. "For thy help cometh from the Lord, which made Heaven and earth."
. . . Truth reached even to the clouds: therefore unto us could be declared the Mercy of God, which is in Heaven and not in earth. And truly, Brethren, the clouds are the Preachers of the Word of Truth. When God threateneth through His Preachers, He thunders through the clouds. When God worketh miracles through His Preachers, He lightneth through the clouds, He terrifieth through the clouds, and watereth by the rain. Those Preachers, then, by whom is preached the Gospel of God, are the clouds of God. Let us then hope for Mercy, but for that which is in the Heavens.
8. "Thy Righteousness is like the mountains of God: Thy Judgments are a great deep"
(ver. 6). Who are the mountains of God? Those who are called clouds, the same are also the mountains of God. The great Preachers are the mountains of God. And as when the sun riseth, he first clothes the mountains with light, and thence the light descends to the lowest parts of the earth: so our Lord Jesus Christ, when He came, first irradiated the height of the Apostles, first enlightened the mountains, and so His Light descended to the valley of the world. And therefore saith He in a certain Psalm, "I lifted up mine,eyes unto the mountains, from whence cometh my help."* But think not that the mountains themselves will give thee help: for they receive what they may give, give not of their own. And if thou remain in the mountains, thy hope will not be strong: but in Him who enlighteneth the mountains, ought to be thy hope and presumption. Thy help indeed will come to thee through the mountains, because the Scriptures are administered to thee through the mountains, through the great Preachers of the Truth: but fix not thy hope in them. Hear what He saith next following: "TI lifted up mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence cometh my help." What then? Do the mountains give thee help? No; hear what follows, "My help cometh from the Lord, which made Heaven and earth.''2
10. Because he said, Thy Mercy is in the Heavens, that it may be known to be also on earth, he said, 'O Lord, Thou savest man and beast,? as Thy Mercy is multiplied, O God" (ver. 7). Great is Thy Mercy, and manifold is Thy Mercy, O God; and that showest Thou both to man and beast. For from whom is the saving of men? From God. Is not the saving of beasts also from God? For He who made
3 Rom. i. 28. 4 Al. "' The Righteousness of God is like the mountains." 5 Latine. Prov. xviii. 3. 7 [In Vulgate and Septuagint this is included in verse 6. The English Version agrees with the text as here connected. —C.]
2 Ps, cxxi. 1. 2 Ps, cxxi. 2.