Expositions on the Book of Psalms (continued)
134 THE WORKS' OF ST. AUGUSTIN. [Psatm XLII.
still say, "' Where is thy God?" I seek my God in every corporeal nature, terrestrial or celestial, and find Him not: I seek His Substance in my own soul, and I find it not, yet still I have thought on these things, and wishing to "see the invisible things of my God, being understood by the things made," ! I have poured forth my soul above myself, and there remains no longer any being for me to attain to, save my God. For it is "there " is the "house of my God." His dwelling-place is above my soul ; from thence He beholds me; from thence He created me; from thence He directs me and provides for me; from thence he appeals to? me, and calls me, and directs me; leads me in the way, and to the end of my way3...
of the last things." . . . For he tells us of his 'progress, and of his guidance thither ; as if we had been saying, " You are admiring the tabernacle here on earth; how came you to the sanctuary of the house of God?" he says, "In the voice of joy and praise ; the sound of keeping holiday." Here, when men keep festival simply for their own indulgence, it is their custom to place musical instruments, or to station a chorus of singers,° before their houses, or any kind of music that serves and allures to wantonness. And when these are heard, what do we passers by say? ' What is going on here?" And we are told in answer, that it is some festi-. val. "It is a birthday that is being celebrated" (say they), " there is a marriage here ;" that those songs may not appear out of place, but the luxurious indulgence"? may be excused by the festive occasion. In the " house of God" there is a never-ending festival: for there it is not an occasion celebrated once, and then to pass away... The angelic choir makes an eternal "holiday: " the presence of God's face, joy that never fails. This is a " holiday" of sucha kind, as neither to be opened by any dawn, nor terminated by any evening. From that everlasting perpetual festivity, a certain sweet and melodious strain strikes on the ears of the heart, provided only the world do not drown the sounds. As he walks in this tabernacle, and contemplates God's wonderful works for the redemption of the faithful, the sound of that festivity charms his ears, and bears the "hart" away to "the water-brooks."
8. Forwhen I was " pouring out my soul above myself," in order to reach my God, why did I do so? "For I will go into the place of Thy Tabernacle." For Isbould be in error were I to seek for my God without " the place of His tabernacle." ' For I will go into the place of Thy wonderful tabernacle, even unto the house of God."
"T willgo," he says, "into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even unto the house of God!" For there are already many things that I admire in "the tabernacle." See how great wonders I admire in the tabernacle! For God's tabernacle on earth is the faithful; I admire in them the obedience of even their bodily members : that in them "Sin does not reign so that they should obey its lusts ; neither do they yield their members instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but unto the living God in good works." 4 I admire the sight of the bodily members warring in the service of the soul that serves God. . . . And wonderful though the tabernacle be, yet when I come to "the house of God," I am even struck dumb with astonishment. Of that "house" he speaks in another Psalm, after he had put a certain abstruse and difficult question to himself (viz., why is it that it generally goes well with the wicked on earth, and ill with the good ?), saying, "I thought to know this; it is too painful for me, until I go into the sanctuary of God, and understand of the last things." 5 For it is there, in the sanctuary of God, in the house of God, is the fountain of "understanding." There he "understood of the last things ;"" and solved the question concerning the prosperity of the unrighteous, and the sufferings of the righteous. How does he solve it? Why, that the wicked, when reprieved here, are reserved for punishments without end ; and the good when they suffer here, are being tried in order that they may in the end obtain the inheritance. And it was in the sanctuary of God that he understood this, and " understood g. But seeing, brethren, so long as ''we are at home in this body, we are absent from the Lord ;"9 and "the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth on many things ;"' '° even though we have some way or other dispersed the clouds, by walking as "longing" leads us on, and for a brief while have come within reach of that sound, so that by an effort we may catch something from that '' house of God," yet through the burden, so to speak, of our infirmity, we sink back to our usual level, and relapse to our ordinary state."* And just as there we found
6 Symphoniacos. 7 Luxuria. Mostmss. letztia, " the mirth." 8 Non entm aliquid bi celebratur et transit, 9 2 Cor. v. 6. 10 Wisd. ix. 15. 11 Compare Wordsworth's Lacursion, rected," p. 120: —
'"Despondency Cor-
"'Tis a thing impossible to frame Conceptions equal to the soul's desires, And the most difficult of tasks to keep Heights which the soul is competent to gain, Man is of dust, ethereal hopes are his, Which, when they should sustain themselves aloft, Want due consistence; like a pillar of smoke That with majestic energy from earth
Rises, but having reach'd the thinner air Melts and dissolves, and is no longer seen." Compare also p. 122: —
"Alas! the endowment of immortal power
Is match'd unequally with custom, time, And domineering faculties of sense In all . . . in most with superadded foes," etc.
1 Rom. i. 20. 2 Excttat. 3 Ducit ... perducit. 4 Rom. vi. 12, 13. 5 Ps, Ixxiii. 16, 17.
Psatm XLIL.] ON THE PSALMS. 135 cause for rejoicing, so here there will not be wanting an occasion for sorrow. For that hart that made "tears" its "bread day and night," borne along by "longing to the water-brooks"' things, which he now knows, having come after a sort to the "understanding" of them," he has been looking behind him again in anxiety, lest the enemy be stealing upon him: he cannot yet say, "I am made whole every whit." For having but " the first-fruits of the Spirit, we groan within ourselves ; waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body." When that " health " (that salvation) is perfected in us, then shall we be living in the house of God for ever, and praising for ever Him to whom it was said, " Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house, they will be praising Thee world without end." 9 This is not so yet, because the salvation which is promised, is not as yet in being; but it is "in hope" that I confess unto God, and say, " My God is the saving health of my countenance." For it is "in hope" that "we are saved; but hope that is seen, is not hope." .. . 11. ' My soul is disquieted on account of myself" '° (ver.6). Is it disquieted on account of God? It is on my own account it is disquieted. By the Unchangeable it was revived; it is by the changeable it is disquieted. I know that the righteousness of God remaineth; whether my own will remain stedfast, I know not. For I am alarmed by the Apostle's saying, " Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall?' Therefore since "there is no soundness in me for myself," there is no hope either for me of myself. " My soul is disquieted on account of myself." . . . " Therefore I remember Thee, O Lord, from the land of Jordan, and from the little hill of Hermon." From whence did I remember thee? From the "little hill," and from the "land of Jordan."' Perhaps from Baptism, where the remission of sins is given. For no one runs to the remission of sins, except he who is dissatisfied with himself; no one runs to the remission of sins, but he who confesses himself a sinner; no one confesses himself a sinner, except by humbling himself before God. 'Therefore it is from " the land of Jordan I have remembered thee, and from the hill;" observe, not "of the great hill," that thou mayest make of the "little hill " a great one: for '" whoso exalteth himself shall be abased, and whoso humbleth himself shall be exalted." If you would also ask the meanings of the names, Jordan means " their descent." Descend then, that thou mayest be "lifted up:" be not lifted up, lest thou be cast down. "And the little hill of Hermon." Hermon means "anathematizing."' Anathematize thyself, by being displeased with thyself; for if thou art pleased with thyself, God will be displeased with thee. Because then God gives us all good things, because He Himself is good, not because we are worthy of it ; because He is merciful, not because
(that is, to the spiritual delights of God), "pouring forth his soul above himself," that he may attain to what is "above" his own soul, walking towards "the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even unto the house of God,' and led on by the sweetness of that inward spiritual * sound to feel contempt for all outward things, and be borne on to things spiritual, is but a mortal man still; is still groaning here, still bearing about the frailty of flesh, still in peril in the midst of the " offences''? of this world. He therefore glances back to himself,3 as if he were coming from that world; and says to himself, now placed in the midst of these sorrows, comparing these with the things, to see which he had entered in there, and after seeing which he had come forth from thence ;
"Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why dost thou disquiet me?" (ver. 5). Lo, we have just now been gladdened by certain inward delights : with the mind's eye we have been able to behold, though but with a momentary glance, something not susceptible of change: why dost thou still " disquiet me, why art thou" still "cast down'? For thou dost not doubt of thy God. For now thou art not without somewhat to say to thyself, in answer to those who say, '' Where is thy God?" I have now had the perception of something that is unchangeable; why dost thou disquiet me still?
"Hope in God." Just as if his soul was silently replying to him, "' Why do I disquiet thee, but because I am not yet there, where that delight is, to which I was, as it were, rapt for a moment ? 4 Am I already 'drinking' from this 'fountain' with nothing to fear?"'. . . Still " Hope in God," is his answer to the soul that disquiets him, and would fain account for her disquiet from the evils with which this world abounds. In the mean while dwell in hope: for "hope that is seen is not hope; but if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.''5
10. " Hope in God." Why "hope''? "For I will confess unto Him." What wilt thou "confess"? 'My God is the saving health of my countenance." ® My "health" (my_ salvation) cannot be from myself; this it is that I will say, that I will "confess." It is my God that is "the saving health of my countenance." For to account for his fears, in the midst of those eget
I [ntelligtbil's, answering to the Greek vontov. 2 Matt. xviii. 7. 3... Luter scandala Respexit ergo ad se.
4 Per transitum. 5 Rom. viii. 24, 25. 6 E. V. ''I shall yet give Him thanks for the help of His countenance."
8 Rom. viii. 23. 7 Utcungue intellecta cognoscit. a0 tty Cor. x 12. 9 Ps, Ixxxiv. 4. ' within."
136 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN, [PsaLmM XLII.
we have in anything deserved it; it is from "the land of Jordan, and from Hermon," that I remember thee. And because he so remembers with humility, he shall earn his exaltation to fruition,' for he is not " exalted" in himself, who "glories in the Lord."
death. "Deep? calls on deep," then, is, "man calls to man." Thus is it wisdom is learnt, and thus faith, when " man calls to man." 'The holy preachers of God's word call on the " deep:" are they not themselves "a deep" also? .. . 13. "Deep calleth to deep with the voice of Thy water-spouts." 1, who tremble all over, when my soul was disquieted on account of myself, feared greatly on account of Thy "judgments." . . . Are those judgments slight ones? They are great ones, severe, hard to bear; but would they were all. "Deep calls to deep with the voice of Thy water-spouts," in that Thou threatenest, Thou sayest, that there is another condemnation in store even after those sufferings. "Deep calls on deep with the voice of Thy water-spouts." "Whither then shall I go from Thy presence? And whither shall I flee from Thy Spirit ?"' seeing that deep calls to deep, and after those sufferings severer ones are to be dreaded.
12. "Deep calleth unto deep with the voice of thy water-spouts""? (ver. 7). I may perhaps finish the Psalm, aided as I am by your attention, whose fervour I perceive. As for your fatigue in hearing, I am not greatly solicitous, since you see me also, who speak, toiling in the heat of these exertions.3 Assuredly it is from your seeing me labouring, that you labour with me: for I am labouring not for myself, but for you. "Deep calleth unto deep with the voice of thy water-spouts." It was God whom he addressed, who '"'remembered him from the land of Jordan and Hermon." It was in wonder and admiration he spake this: " Abyss calleth unto abyss with the voice of Thy water-spouts." What abyss is this that calls, and to what other abyss? Justly, because the " understanding' 4 spoken of is an "abyss." For an "abyss" is a depth that cannot be reached or comprehended ; and it is principally applied to a great body of water. For there is a "depth," a " profound," the bottom of which cannot be reached by sounding.
14. "All Thy overhangings '° and Thy waves are come upon me." The "waves" in what I already feel, the "overhangings" in that Thou denouncest. All my sufferings are Thy waves ; all Thy denouncements of judgments are Thy "overhangings." In the "waves" that deep "calleth ;" in the "overhangings" is the other "deep? winch: it callé® to. in this" that' suffer are all Thy waves; in the severer punishment that Thou threatenest, all Thy " overhangings"? are come unto me. For He who threatens does not let His judgments fall upon us, but keeps them suspended over us.'' But inasmuch as Thou sittest at liberty, I have thus spoken unto my soul. " Hope in God: for I will confess unto Him. My God is the saving health of my countenance." The more numerous my sufferings, the sweeter will be Thy mercy.
Furthermore, it is said in a certain passage.5 "Thy judgments are a mighty abyss," Scripture meaning to suggest that the judgments of God are incomprehensible. What then is the "abyss" that calls, and to what other '" abyss" does it call? If by "abyss"? we understand a great depth, is not man's heart, do you not suppose, "an abyss"? For what is there more profound than that "abyss"? Men may speak, may be seen by the operations of their members, may be heard speaking in conversation: but whose thought is penetrated, whose heart seen into? What he is inwardly engaged on, what he is inwardly capable of,° what he is inwardly doing or what purposing, what he is inwardly wishing to happen, or not to happen, who shall comprehend? I think an " abyss" may not unreasgnably be understood of man, of whom it is said elsewhere, "Man shall come to a deep heart, and God shall be exalted."7 If man then is an "abyss," in what way doth "abyss'"' call on "abyss"? Does man "callon" man as God is called upon? No, but "calls on" is equivalent to "calls to him." For it was said of a certain person, he calls on death ; 8 that is, lives in such a way as to be inviting death; for there is no man at all who puts up a prayer, and calls expressly on death: but men by evil-living invite
15. Therefore follows: "The Lord will commend His loving-kindness in the day-time ; and in the night-time will He declare it" '? (ver: 8). In tribulation no man has leisure to hear: attend, when it is well with you; hear, when it is well with you; learn, when you are in tranquillity, the discipline of wisdom, and _ store up the word of God as you do food. For in tribulation every one must be profited by what he heard in the time of security. For in prosperity God " commends to thee His mercy," in case thou serve Him faithfully, for He frees thee from tribulation ; but it is "in the night" only that He " declares" His mercy to thee, which He "commended" to thee by day. When tribulation shall actually come, He will not leave thee destitute of His help; He will show thee
9 Abyssum invocat. 10 Suspenstones; Vulgate, excelsa; E. V. '' billows." Il Non premit sed suspendit. Perhaps his idea is rather, '' suspends us over the abyss."
I Exaltatus perfrut merebitur. 2 Cataractarum. 3 Ita in his laboribus sudare. 4 In the title of the Psalm. S. XXxXvi, 6, 7+ 6 "* Quid intus gevaz, quid possit." 7 Ps, Ixiv. 6, 7. 8 Wisd. i. 16,
12 E, V, "In the night-time His song shall be with me."
Psatm XLII] ON THE PSALMS. 137 that which He commended to thee in the daytime is true. For it is written in a certain passage, "The mercy of the Lord is seasonable* in the time of affliction, as clouds of rain in the time of drought." "The Lord hath commended His loving-kindness in the day-time, and in the night will He declare it." He does not show that He is thine Helper, unless tribulation come, from whence thou must be rescued by Him who promised it to thee "in the daytime.' Therefore we are warned to be like " the ant." For just as worldly prosperity is signified by "the day," adversity by the night, so again in another way worldly prosperity is expressed by "the summer," adversity by the winter. And what is it that the ant does? She lays up in summer what will be useful to her in winter. Whilst therefore it is summer, whilst it is well with you, whilst you are in tranquillity, hear the word of the Lord. For how can it be that in the midst of these tempests of the world, you should pass through the whole of that sea, without suffering? Howcould it happen? To what mortal's lot has it fallen? If even it has been the lot of any, that very calm is more to be dreaded. 'The Lord hath commended His lovying-kindness in the day-time, and in the nighttime will He declare it." . . . '' There is with me prayer unto the God of my life." This I make my basiness here ; I who am the " hart thirsting and longing for the water-brooks," calling to mind the sweetness of that strain, by which I was led on through the tabernacle even to the house of God; whilst this " corruptible body presseth down the soul,"? there is yet with me
God, "Thou art my lifter up; why hast Thou forgotten me?"
17. " Why hast Thou rejected me?''4 " Rejected"' me, that is to say, from that height of the apprehension of the unchangeable Truth. "Why hast Thou rejected me?"" Why, when already longing for those things, have I been cast down to these, by the weight 5 and burden of my iniquity? This same voice in another passage said, "I said in my trance "'® (i.e., in my rapture, when he had seen some great thing or other), "I said in my trance, I am cast out of the sight of Thine eyes." For he compared these things in which he found himself, to those toward which he had been raised ; and saw himself cast out far "from the sight of God's eyes," as he speaks even here, "' Why hast Thou rejected me? Why go I mourning, while mine enemy troubleth me, while he breaketh my bones?"' Even he, my tempter, the devil ; while offences are everywhere on the increase, because of the abundance of which "the love of many is waxing cold." 7 When we see the strong members of the Church generally giving way to the causes of offence, does not Christ's body say, "The enemy breaketh my bones"? For it is the strong members that are "the bones ;"' and sometimes even those that are strong sink under their temptations. For whosoever of the body of Christ considers this, does he not exclaim, with the voice of Christ's Body, " Why hast Thou rejected me? Why go I mourning, while mine enemy troubleth me, while he breaketh my bones?"'
You may see not my flesh merely, but even my " bones.'"'? 'To see those who were thought to have some stability, giving way under temptations, so that the rest of the weak brethren despair when they see those who are strong succumbing ; how great, my brethren, are the dangers !
"' prayer unto the God of my life."' For in order to making supplication unto God, I have not to buy aught from places beyond the sea; or in order that He may hear me, have I to sail to bring from a distance frankincense and perfumes, or have I to bring " calf or ram from the flock." There is "with me prayer to the God of my life.' I have within a victim to sacrifice ; I have within an incense to place on the altar; I have within a sacrifice wherewith to propitiate my God. "The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit.' What sacrifice of a "troubled spirit " I have within, hear.
18. "They who trouble me cast me in the teeth." Again that voice! 'While they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?" (ver. 10). And it is principally in the temptations of the Church they say this, '' Where is thy God?" How much was this cast in the teeth of the Martyrs ! Those men so patient and courageous for the name of Christ, how often was it said to them, "Where is your God?" "Let Him deliver you, if He can." For men saw their torments outwardly; they did not inwardly behold their crowns! 'They who trouble me cast me in the teeth, while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?" And on this account, seeing " my soul is disquieted on account of myself,' what else should I say unto it than those words :
16. "TI willsay unto God, Thou art my lifter up. Why hast Thou forgotten me?" (ver.g). Forl am suffering here, even as if Thou hadst forgotten me. But Thou art trying me, and I know that Thou dost but put off, not take utterly from me, what Thou hast promised me. But yet, " Why hast Thou forgotten me?" So cried our Head also, as if speaking in our name. '" My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?''?3 I will say unto
" Why art thou cast down, O my soul; and why dost thou disquiet me?" (ver.11). And,as
4 Ut quid me repulist?. Neither in the Vulgate nor in our version.
Tt Ecclus. xxxv. 26. 'Qpatov édeos; Vulgate, Spectosa musericordia.
5 Gravedine. 6 In ecstast med. Ps. xxxi. 22. 7 Matt. xxiv. 12. E. V. " in my haste."
2 Wisd. ix. 15. ie 3 Matt. xxvii. 46; Ps. xxii, 1.