Expositions on the Book of Psalms
PsaLM XLV.] ON THE PSALMS. 15!
the time that He postpones thy punishment, do not thou-postpone it.
for that reason he anointed it. Take notice what it is whereby Christ is preached. What is the meaning of that anointing of a stone, especially in the case of the Patriarchs who worshipped but One God? It was however done as a figurative act: and he departed. For he did not anoint the stone, and come to worship there constantly, and to perform sacrifice there. It was the expression of a mystery ; not the commencement of sacrilege. And notice the meaning of "the stone." "The Stone which the builders refused, this is become the head of the corner.""4 Notice here a great mystery. The "Stone" is Christ. Peter calls Him "a living Stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God.''5 And the stone is set at "the head," because 'Christ is the Head of the man.''® And "the stone" was anointed, because "Christ" was so called from His being anointed. And in the revelation of Christ, the ladder from earth to heaven is seen, or from heaven to earth, and the Angels ascending and descending. What this means, we shall see more clearly, when we have quoted the testimony from the Lord Himself in the Gospel. You know that Jacob is the same as Israel. For when he wrestled with the Angel, and " prevailed," and had been blest by Him over whom he prevailed, his named was changed, so that he was called "Tsrael;" just as the people of Israel " prevailed''7 against Christ, so as to crucify Him, and nevertheless was (in those who believed in Christ) blest by Him over whom it prevailed. But many believed not; hence the halting of Jacob. Here we have at once, blessing and halting. Blessing on those who became believers ; for we know that afterward many of that people did believe: Halting on the other hand in those who believed not. And because the greater part believed not, and but few believed, therefore that a halting might be produced, He touched " the breadth 8 of his thigh." 9 What is meant by the breadth of the thigh? The great multitude of his descendants.'? .. . 19. "God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee." We have been speaking of God, who was "anointed ;"" i.e.°. of: Christ. .The name. of Christ could not be more clearly expressed than by His being called " God the Anointed." In the same way in which He was " beautiful before the children of men," so is He here " anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows." Who then are His "fellows"? The children of men; for that He Himself (as the Son of Man) became partaker of their mortality in order to make them partakers of His Immortality.
17. "Therefore, God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee." It was for this reason that He anointed thee, that thou mightest love righteousness, and hate iniquity. And observe in what way he expresses himself. ' Thereforé, God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee:"' i.e. "God hath anointed Thee, O God." "God" is "anointed" by God. For in the Latin it is thought to be the same case of the noun repeated: in the Greek however there is a most evident distinction; one being the name of the Person addressed; and one His who makes the address, saying, " God hath anointed Thee." 'QO God, Thy God hath anointed Thee," just as if He were saying, "Therefore hath Thy God, O God, anointed Thee." Take it in that sense, understand it in that sense ; that such is the sense is most evident in the Greek. Who then is the God that is "anointed" by God? Let the Jews tell us; these Scriptures are common to us and them. It was God, who was anointed by God: you hear of an "Anointed" one; understand it to mean "Christ." For the name of "Christ" comes from " chrism;" this name by which He is called 'Christ'? expresses " unction:" nor were kings and prophets anointed in any kingdom, in any other place, save in that kingdom where Christ was prophesied of, where He was anointed, and from whence the Name of Christ was to come. It is found nowhere else at all: in no one nation or kingdom. God, then, was anointed by God; with what oil was He anointed, but a spiritual one? For the visible oil is in the sign, the invisible oil is in the mystery ;* the spiritual oil is within. "God" then was "anointed" for us, and sent unto us; and God Himself was man, in order that He might be "anointed:" but He was man in such a way as to be God still. He was God in such a way as not to disdain to be man. " Very man and very God ;"' in nothing deceitful, in nothing false, as being everywhere true, everywhere "the Truth" itself. God then is man; and it was for this cause that "God" was "anointed," because God was Man, and became " Christ."
18. This was figured in Jacob's placing a stone at his head, and so sleeping. The patriarch Jacob had placed a stone at his head: sleeping with that stone at his head, he saw heaven opened, and a ladder from heaven to earth, and Angels ascending and descending ;3 after this vision he awaked, anointed the stone, and departed. In that "stone" he understood Christ ;
I AJ, " The visible oil is for a sign of the oil invisible, for it is in a sacrament." [The use of oil in confirmation, designed to teach this, operated to conceal it rather; the material chrism absorbing the spiritual idea. —
4 Ps. cxviii. 22. 5 x Pet. ii. 4. 6 x Cor. xi. 3. 7 Luke xxiii. 23. 8 Lat.tudinem ; but Vulgate, xervum, 10 Multitudo generis. 9 Gen. xxxii. 25.
2 Gen. xxviii. 11-18. i 3 [With which he subjoins a reference to John i, 5r. —C.]
152 THE: WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN. [PsaLm XLV,
For all the souls that have been born through their preaching and evangelizing are "daughters of kings:'' and the Churches, as the daughters of Apostles, are daughters of kings. For He is " King of kings;" they themselves kings, of whom it was said, "Ye shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."4 They preached the " Word of Truth ;" and begat Churches not for themselves, but for Him. . . . Therefore as "raising up seed5 to their brother," to as many as they begat, they gave the name not of " Paulians"' or " Petrians,"' but of "Christians." Observe whether that sense is not wakefully kept ® in these verses. For when he said, "out of the ivory palaces, he spake of mansions royal, ample, honourable, peaceful, like the heart of the Saints ; he added, "' Whereby the kings' daughters have made Thee glad in Thine honour." 'They are indeed daughters of kings, daughters of thine Apostles, but still "in Thine honour:" for they raised up seed to their brother. Hence Paul, when he saw those whom he had raised up unto his Brother, running after his own name, exclaimed, "' Was Paul crucified for your?'"'7 . . . No; for he says, " Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?"
20. "Out of Thy garments is the smell of| glad. myrrh, amber, and cassia" (ver. 8). Out of Thy garments is perceived the smell of fragrant odours. By His garments are meant His Saints, His elect, His whole Church, which he shows forth, as His garment, so to speak; His robe "without spot and wrinkle," * which on account of its spots He has " washed"' in His blood; on account of its "wrinkles" extended on His Cross. Hence the sweet savour which is signified by certain perfumes there mentioned. Hear Paul, that "least of the Apostles" (that "hem of that garment," which the woman with the issue of blood touched, and was healed), hear him saying: "We are a sweet savour of Christ, in every place, both in them that are saved, and in them that perish."? He did not say, "We are a sweet savour in them that are saved, and a foul savour in them that are lost:" but, as far as relates to ourselves, 'we are a sweet savour both in them that are saved, and in them that perish." ... They who loved him were saved by the odour of "sweet savour; " they who envied him, perished by means of that "sweet savour." To them that perished then he was not a foul "savour," but a 'sweet savour." For it was for this very reason they the more envied him, the more excellent that grace was which reigned in him: for no man envies him who is unhappy. He then was glorious in the preaching of God's Word, and in regulating his life according to the rule of that "rod of direction ;" and he was loved by those who loved Christ in him, who followed after and pursued the odour of sweet savour; who loved the friend of the bridegroom: that is to say, by the Bride Herself, who says in the Song of Songs,3 "' We will run after the sweet savour of thy perfumes." But the others, the more they beheld him invested with the glory of the preaching of the Gospel, and of an irreproachable life, were so much the, more tortured with envy, and found that sweet savour prove death to them.
"The daughters of kings have made Thee glad in Thine honour." Keep, hold fast this "in Thine honour." This is meant by having "a wedding garment ;'' seeking His honour, His glory. Understand moreover by " kings' daughters" the cities, which were founded by kings, and have received the faith: and out of the ivory palaces
(palaces rich, the proud, the lifted up). ' Kings' daughters have made Thee glad in Thine honour ;"' in that they sought not the honour of their founders, but have sought Thine honour, Show me at Rome a temple of Romulus held in so great honour as I can show you the Monument of Peter. In Peter, who is honoured but He who died for us? For we are followers of Christ, not followers of Peter. And even if we were born from the brother of Him that is dead, yet are we named after the name of Him who is dead. We were begotten by the one, but begotten to the other. Behold, Rome, Carthage, and several other cities are the daughters of kings, and yet have they " made glad the King in His honour:" and all these make up one single Queen.
21. "Out of thy ivory palaces, whereby kings' daughters have made Thee glad."" Choose whichever you please, "ivory'' palaces, or " magnificent," or "royal" palaces, it is out of these that the kings' daughters have made Christ glad. Would you understand the spiritual sense of "ivory palaces"? Understand by them the magnificent houses, and tabernacles of God, the hearts of the Saints ; and by these self-same "kings"? those who rule their flesh ; who bring into subjection to themselves the rebellious commonalty of human affections, who chastise the body, and reduce it to bondage: for it is from these that the daughters of kings have made Him
22. What a nuptial song! Behold in the midst of songs full of rejoicing, comes forth the Bride herself. For the Bridegroom was coming. It was He who was being described: it was on Him all our attention was fixed.
4 Matt. xix. 28.
5S Oxf. mss. add, '' for the Brother's name's sake." 6 Vigilat. x Cora: ings 8 Memoriam Petri. [The first basilica of St. Peter, on the Vatican, is attributed to Constantine. —C.]
I Eph. v. 27. 2 2 Cor. ii. 14, 15. 3 Sol. Song i. 3, Lat. |
9 Deut. xxv. 26.