Expositions on the Book of Psalms
Psatm XLIX.] ON THE PSALMS. 171 will I avoid, and the "iniquity of my heel" shall never compass me. What is avoiding such sins? Let us not trust in our own virtue, let us not glory in the abundance of our own riches, but let us glory in Him who hath promised to us, being humble, exaltation, and hath threatened condemnation to men exalted; and then iniquity of our heel shall never compass us.
he would not have to be proud, lest they should glory in the abundance of their riches. Lastly, what they possessed he would not have to grow old in their hands: but that something should be made of it to be for the price of the redemption of their souls. For he saith, '' Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded : nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy."° And as if they had said, " What shall we then make of our riches?" he continueth, "Let them be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate," 7 and they will not lose that. How know we? Hear what followeth. ''Let them lay up for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on the true life.""® So shall they give the price of the redemption of their soul. And our Lord counselleth this: " Make for yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where thief approacheth not, neither moth corrupteth." 9 God would not have thee lose thy wealth, but He hath given thee counsel to change the place thereof. Let your love understand. Suppose thy friend were just now to enter thy house, and find thou hadst placed thy store of grain in a damp place, and he knew the natural proneness of grain to decay, which thou perchance knewest not, he would give thee counsel of this sort, saying, " Brother, thou art losing what with great toil thou hast gathered, thou hast placed it in a damp place, in a few days this grain will decay." "And what am I to do, brother?" 'Raise it into a higher place." 'Thou wouldest hearken to thy friend suggesting that thou shouldest raise grain from a lower to a higher chamber, and dost thou not hearken to Christ charging thee to lift thy treasure from earth to heaven, where not what thou keepest in store may be paid to thee, but that thou mayest keep in store-earth, mayest receive heaven, mayest keep in store things mortal, mayest receive things everlasting, that while thou lendest Christ to receive at thy hands but a small loan upon earth, He may repay thee a great recompense in Heaven? Nevertheless, they whom "the iniquity of their heel shall compass," because they trust in their virtue, and in the abundance of their riches do glory, and rely on human friends who are able to help them in nothing, "shall not give to God their propitiation, and the price of the redemption of their souls."
8. There are some who rely on their friends, others rely on their virtue, others on their riches. This is the presumption of mankind which relieth not on God. He hath spoken of virtue, he hath spoken of riches, he speaketh of friends.
" Brother redeemeth not,! shall man redeem?"
(ver. 7). Dost thou expect that man shall redeem thee from the wrath to come? If brother redeem thee not, shall man redeem thee? Who is the brother, who if He hath not redeemed thee, no man will redeem? It is He whe said after His resurrection, "Go, tell My brethren." 2 Our Brother He hath willed to be: and when we say to God, " Our Father," this is manifested in us. For he that saith to God, "Our Father;"' saith to Christ, " Brother." 3 Therefore let him that hath God for his Father and Christ for his Brother, not fear in the evil day. "For the iniquity of his heel shall not compass him ;" for he relieth not on his virtue, nor glorieth in the abundance of his riches, nor vaunteth himself cf his powerful friends. Let him rely on Him who died for him, that he might not die eternally: who for his sake was humbled, in order that he might be exalted ; who sought him ungodly, in order that He might be sought by him faithful. Therefore if He redeem not, shall man redeem? Shall any man redeem, if the Son of man redeem not? If Christ redeem not, shall Adam redeem? " Brother redeemeth not, shall man redeem?" 4 g. " He shall not give to God his propitiation, and the price of the redemption of his soul"
(ver. 8). He trusteth in his virtue, and in the abundance of his riches doth glory, who 'shall not give to God his propitiation :"' that is, satisfaction whereby he may prevail with God for his sins: "nor the price of the redemption of his soul," who relieth on his virtue, and on his friends, and on his riches. But who are they that give the price of the redemption of their souls? They to whom the Lord saith, "' Make to yourselves friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness, that they may receive you into everlasting habitations."5 They give the price of the redemption of their soul who cease not to do almsdeeds. So those whom the Apostle chargeth by Timothy ro. And what hath he said of such a man? "Yea, he hath laboured for ever, and shall live till the end" (ver.9). His labour shall be without end, his life shall have an end. Wherefore saith he, '"' He shall live till the end"? Because
1 Oxf. mss. '' hath not redeemed," and so through the paragraph. 2 Matt. xxviii. ro. 3 See on St. John, Hom. xxi. § 3. 4 [The Latin versions do not divide into verses such as our author seems to have made. — C.]
6 y Tim. vi. 17. 7 x Tim. vi. 18. 8 ; Tim. vi. 19. 9 Luke xii. 33.
5 Luke xvi. 9.
172 THE WORKS' .OF ST) AUGUSTIN. [PsaLM XLIX.
dwelled with wisdom and worshipped God with piety, is he not dead? Therefore I will enjoy myself while I live; for if they that are wise in other respects, could do anything, they would not have died." Just as the Jews saw Christ hanging on the Cross and despised Him, saying, "Tf this Man were the Son of God, He would come down from the Cross:" 4 not seeing what death is. If they had seen what death is; if they had seen, I say.5 He died for a time, that He might live again for ever: they lived for a time, that they might die forever. But because they saw Him dying, they saw not death, that is to say, they understood not what was very death. What say they even in Wisdom? " Let us condemn Him with a most shameful death, for by His own sayings He shall be respected ;"'°© for if he is indeed the Son of God, He will deliver Him from the hands of His adversaries: He will not suffer His Son to die, if He is truly His Son. But when they saw themselves insulting Him upon. the Cross, and Him not descending from the Cross, they said, He was indeed but a Man. Thus was it spoken: and surely He could have come down from the Cross, He that could rise again from the tomb: but He taught us to bear with those who insult us ; He taught us to be patient of the tongues of men, to drink now the cup of bitterness, and afterwards to receive everlasting salvation. . . . 12. "The imprudent and unwise shall perish together." Who is "the imprudent"? He that looketh not out for himself for the future. Who is "the unwise"? He that perceiveth not in what evil case he is. But do thou perceive in what evil case thou art now, and look out that thou be in a good case for the future. By perceiving in what evil case thou art, thou wilt not be unwise: by looking out for thyself for the future, thou wilt not be imprudent. Who is he that looketh out for himself? That servant to whom his master gave what he should expend, and afterwards said to him, "' Thou canst not be my steward, give an account of thy stewardship ;"? and who answered, " What shall I do? I cannot dig, to beg Iam ashamed ;''? had, nevertheless, by even his master's goods made to himself friends, who might receive him when he was put out of his stewardship. Now he cheated his master in order that he might get to himself friends to receive him: fear not thou lest thou be cheating, the Lord Himself exhorteth thee to do so: He saith Himself to thee, '' Make to thyself friends of the mammon of unrighteousness.''8 Perhaps what thou hast got, thou hast gotten of such men think life to be nought but daily enjoyments. So when many poor and needy men of our times, unstable, and not looking to what God doth promise them for their labours, see rich men in daily feastings, in the splendour and glitter of gold and of silver, they say what? "These are the only people ;' they really live!" This is a saying, be it said no longer: we both warn you, and it remains to warn you, that it be said by fewer persons than it would be said, if we had not warned you. For we do not presume to say that we so say these words, as that it be not said, but that it be said by fewer persons: for it will be said even unto the end of the world. It is too little that he saith, "he liveth ;" he addeth and saith, he thundereth, thinkest thou that he alone liveth? Let him live! his life will be ended: because he giveth not the price of the redemption of his soul, his life will end, his labour will not end. "He laboured for ever, and shall live till the end."
How shall he live till the end? As he lived that was 'clothed with purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day,"'? who, being proud and puffed up, spurned the man full of sores lying before his gate, whose sores the dogs licked, and who longed for the crumbs which fell from his table. What did those riches profit him? Both changed places: the one was borne from the rich man's gate into Abraham's bosom, the other from his rich feasts was cast into the fire; the one was in peace, the other burned ; the one was sated, the other thirsted ; the one had laboured till the end, but he lived for ever ; the other had lived till the end, but he laboured for ever. And what did it profit the rich man, who asked, while lying in torments in hell, that a drop of water should be poured upon his tongue from the finger of Lazarus, saying, '" For I am burning here in this flame,''3 and it was not granted to him? One longed for the drop from the finger, as the other had for the crumbs from the rich man's table ; but the labour of the one is ended, and the life of the other is ended : the labour of this is for ever, the life of that is for ever. We who labour perchance here on the earth, have not our life here: and shall not be so placed hereafter, for our life shall be Christ for ever: while they who "will" have their life here, shall labour for ever and live till the end.
rr. "For he shall not see death, though he shall have seen wise men dying" (ver. 10). The man who laboured for ever and shall live till the end, 'shall not see death, though he shall have seen wise men dying." What is this? He shall not comprehend what death is, whenever he shall have seen wise men dying. For he saith to himself, 'this fellow, for all he was wise and
4 Matt. xxvil. 40, 42. 5 Ad. ''if they had seen themselves." 6 Wisd. ii. 20. [The Jews, even zx thezr own book of Wisdom, show what they did to ''the Just One." The whole passage is so remarkable, that we need not wonder at the esteem in which this book was held by the Fathers. St. James (v. 6) seems to refer to this passage. — C, l Sold sunt iste. 2 Luke xvi. 19. 3 Luke xvi. 24.
7 Luke xvi. 1, 2, etc. 8 Luke xvi. 9.