Expositions on the Book of Psalms (continued)
PsatmM XXXVI] ON THE PSALMS. 89 man, made also beasts; He who made both, saveth both; but the saving of beasts is temporal. But there are who as a great thing ask this of God, which He hath given to beasts. "Thy Mercy, O God, is multiplied," so that not only unto men, but unto beasts also is given the same saving which is given to men, a carnal and temporal saving.
ing themselves in drunkenness receive indeed wine without measure, but lose their senses, he saw what to say; for when shall have been received that ineffable joy, then shall be lost in a manner the human soul, it shall become Divine, and be satiated with the fulness of God's House. Wherefore also in another Psalm it is said, " Thy cup inebriating, how excellent is it!'3 With this cup were the Martyrs satiated when going to their passion, they knew not theirown. What so inebriated as not to know a wife weeping, not children, not parents? 'They knew them not, they thought not that they were before their eyes. Wonder not: they were inebriated. Wherewith were they so? Lo, they had received a cup wherewith they were satiated. Wherefore he also gives thanks to God, saying, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards me? I will take the cup of Salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord.''4 Therefore, Brethren of men," let us be " children, and let us trust under the shadow of His wings, and be satiated with the fulness of His House. As I could, I have spoken ; and as far as I can, Isee; and how far I see, I cannot speak.s " And of the torrent of Thy Pleasure shalt Thou give them to drink." A torrent we call water coming with a flood. There will be a flood of God's Mercy to overflow and inebriate those who now put their trust under the shadow of His wings. What is that Pleasure? As it were a torrent inebriating the thirsty. Let him then who thirsts now, lay up hope: whoso thirsts now, let him have hope; when inebriated, he shall have possession: before he have possession, let him thirst in hope. " Blessed are they which do hunger aud thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." ©
11. Have not men then somewhat reserved with God, which beasts deserve not, and whereunto beasts arrive not? They have evidently. And where is that which they have. "The children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings." Attend, my Beloved, to this most pleasant sentence; 'Thou savest man and beast." First, he spake of "man and beast," then of "the children of men;" as though "men" were one, "the children of men" other. Sometimes in Scripture children of men is said generally of all men, sometimes in some proper manner, with some proper signification, so that not all men are understood ; chiefly when there is a distinction. For not without reason is it here put; "O Lord, Thou savest man and beast: but the children of men;" as though setting aside the first, he keepeth separate the children of men. Separate from whom? Not only from beasts, but also from men, who seek from God the saving of beasts, and desire this as a great thing. Who then are the children of men? Those who put their trust under the snadow of His wings. For those men together with beasts rejoice in possession, but the children of men rejoice in hope: those follow after present goods with beasts, these hope for future goods with Angels. ...
12. "They shall be satiated ' with the fulness of Thy House" (ver. 8). He promiseth us some great thing. He would speak it, and He speaketh it not. Can He not, or do not we receive it? I dare, my Brethren, to say, even of holy tongues and hearts, by which Truth is declared to us, that it can neither be spoken, which they declared, nor even thought of. For it is a great thing, and ineffable ; and even they saw through a glass darkly, as saith the Apostle, "For now we see through a glass darkly ; but then face to face.''? Lo, they who saw through a glass darkly, thus burst forth. What then shall we be, when we shall see face to face? That with which they travailed in heart, and could not with their tongue bring forth, that men might receive it. he should say, '"' They shall be satiated with the fulness of Thy House"? He sought a word whereby to express from human things what he would say ; and because he saw that men drown-
13. With what fountain then wilt thou be overflowed, and whence runneth such a torrent of His Pleasure? "For with Thee," saith he, "is the fountain of Life." What is the fountain of Life, but Christ? He came to thee in the flesh, that He might bedew thy thirsty lips: He will satisfy thee trusting, who bedewed thee thirsting. ' For with Thee is the fountain of Life ; in Thy Light shall we see light" (ver. 9). Here a fountain is one thing, light another: there not so. For that which is the Fountain, the same is also Light: and whatever thou wilt thou callest It, for It is not what thou callest It: for thou canst not find a fit name: for It remaineth not in one name. If thou shouldest say, that It is Light only, it would be said to thee, Then without cause am I told to hunger
For what necessity was there that'
3 Ps. xxiii. 5, LXX. 4 Ps, cxvi. 12, 13- ; S$ [To spiritualize inebriation seems a difficult task; but as in heraldry we introduce the boar and the serpent for other qualities than their filth and their venom, so here the suggestion is explained by a reference to Acts ii. 13-18 and Eph. v. 18, 19. —C.]
1 [I cannot but change the word "drunken" here for one more decent and equally faithful. But note '' sober inebriety," p. 75, supra.—C.]
6 Matt. v. 6.
2 x Cor. xiii, 12, gO THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN. [PsaLM XXXVI. a aa ea a mS DIS RES el and to Whom they said, "Thou hast a devil :''7 and He said not, Ye have a devil, for ye are still in your sins, and the devil possesseth your hearts. He said not this, which if He had said, He had said truly: but it was not meet that He should say it, lest He should seem not to preach Truth, but to retort evil speaking. He let go what He heard as though He heard it not. For a Physician was He, and to cure the madman had He come. As a Physician careth not what he may hear from the madman; but how the madman may recover and become sane; nor even if he receive a blow from the madman, careth he; but while he to him giveth new wounds, he cureth his old fever: so also the Lord came to the 'sick man, to the madman came He, that whatever He might hear, whatever He might suffer, He should despise; by this very thing teaching us humility, that being taught by humility, we might be healed from pride: from which he here prayeth to be delivered, saying, " Let not the foot of pride come against me; neither let the hand of the sinner remove me." For if the foot of pride come, the hand of the sinner removeth. What is the hand of the sinner? The working of him that adviseth ill. Hast thou become proud? Quickly he corrupteth thee who adviseth ill. Humbly fix thyself in God, and care not much what is said to thee. Hence is that which is elsewhere spoken, " From my secret sins cleanse Thou me; and from others' sins also keep Thy servant." ® What is, "From my secret sins"? ' Let not the foot of pride come against me." What is, " From other men's sins also keep Thy servant"? "Let not the hand of the wicked remove me." Keep that which is within, and thou shalt not fear from without.
and thirst, for who is there that eateth light? It is said to me plainly, directly, " Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God."* If It is Light, my eyes must I prepare. Prepare also lips ; for That which is Light is also a Fountain: a Fountain, because It satisfieth the thirsty : Light, because It enlighteneth the blind. Here sometimes, light is in one place, a fountain in another. For sometimes fountains run even in darkness ; and sometimes in the desert thou sufferest the sun, findest no fountain: here then can these two be separated: there thou shalt not be wearied, for there is a Fountain; there thou shalt not be darkened, for there is Light.
14. "Show forth Thy Mercy unto them that know Thee; Thy Righteousness to them that are of a right heart" (ver. 10). As I have said, Those are of a right heart who follow in this life the Will of God. The will of God is sometimes that thou shouldest be whole, sometimes that thou shouldest be sick. If when thou art whole God's Will be sweet, and when thou art sick God's Will be bitter; thou art not of a right heart. Wherefore? Because thou wilt not make right thy will according to God's Will, but wilt bend God's Will to thine. That is right, but thou art crooked: thy will must be made right to That, not That made crooked to thee ; and thou wilt have a right heart. It is well with thee in this world; be God blessed, who comforteth thee: it goeth hardly with thee in this world ; be God blessed, because He ? chasteneth and proveth thee ; and so wilt thou be of a right heart, saying, "I will bless the Lord at all times: His Praise shall be ever in my mouth." 3
15. "Let not the foot of pride come against me" (ver. 11). But now he said, The children of men shall put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings: they shall be satiated with the fulness of Thy House. When one hath begun to be plentifully overflowed with that Fountain, let him take heed lest he grow proud. For the same was not wanting to Adam, the first man: but the foot of pride came against him, and the hand of the sinner removed him, that is, the proud hand of the devil. As he who seduced him, said of himself, "I will sit in the sides of the north ;"* so he persuaded him, by saying, "Taste, and ye shall be as gods."5 By pride then have we so fallen as to arrive at this mortality. And because pride had wounded us, humility maketh us whole. God came humbly, that from such great wound of pride He might heal man. He came, for "The Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us."® He was taken by the Jews; He was reviled of them. Ye heard when the Gospel was read, what they said,
16. But wherefore so greatly fearest thou this? Because it is said, " Thereby have fallen all that work iniquity"? (ver. 12); so that they have come into that abyss of which it is said, "Thy judgments are like the great abyss:'' so that they have come even to that deep wherein sinners who despise have fallen. ' Have fallen." Whereby did they first fall? By the foot of pride. Hear the foot of pride. "When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God." Therefore came against them the foot of pride, whereby they came into the depth. "God gave them over to their own hearts' lusts, to do those things which are not convenient." 9 The root of sin, and the head of sin feared he who said, "Let not the foot of pride come against me." Wherefore said he, "the foot''? Because by walking proudly man deserted God, and departed from Him. His foot, called he his
I Matt. v. 6, 8. 2 Al." Who." 3 Ps. xxxiv. 1. 4 Isa. xiv. 13. 5 Gen. iii. 5. 6 John i. 34.
7 John viii. 48. the Lessons. — C.
[This was then the Gospel for the day, or one of
Si Psi xuce 12, 15.
9 Rom. i. 21-24.