Expositions on the Book of Psalms (continued)
THE WORKS. OF "ST: AUGUSTIN. [PsaLm L.
"My Lord, and my God." Yet the Lord was showing that form, and that flesh, which they had seen upon the Cross, which had been laid in the sepulchre. He stayed with them forty days. . . . But what was said to Thomas handling? "Because thou hast seen, thou hast believed; blessed are they that see not, and believe." ! We are foretold. That world called from the rising of the sun unto the going down seeth not, and believeth. Hidden then is the God of gods, both to those among whom He walked, and to those by whom He was crucified, and to those before whose eyes He rose, and to us who believe on Him in heaven sitting, whom we have not seen on earth walking. But even if we were to see, should we not see that which the Jews saw and crucified? It is more, that not seeing we believe Christ to be God, than that they seeing deemed Him only to be man. They in a word by thinking evil slew, we by believing well are made alive.
upon the head, not still to be crucified, slain, buried: for all these things God being hidden hath willed to suffer. 'He shall come manifest, and shall not be silent."
7. But that He shall come to judgment, the following words teach. "Fire shall go before Him."3 Do we fear? Be we changed, and we shall not fear. Let chaff fear the fire: what doth it to gold? What thou mayest do is now in thy power, so thou mayest not experience, for want of being corrected, that which is to come even against thy will. For if we might so bring it about, brethren, that the day of judgment should not come ; I think that even then it were not for us to live ill. If the fire of the day of judgment were not to come, and over sinners there impended only separation from the face of God, in whatever affluence of delights they might be, not seeing Him by whom they were created, and separated from that sweetness of His ineffable + countenance, in whatever eternity and impunity, of sin, they ought to bemoan themselves. But what shall I say, or to whom shall I say? This is a punishment to lovers, not to despisers. They that have begun to feel in any degree the sweetness of wisdom and truth, know what I say, how great a punishment it is to be only separated from the face of God: but they that have not tasted that sweetness, if not yet they yearn for the face of God, let them fear even fire; let punishments terrify those, whom rewards win not. Of no value to thee is what God promiseth, trernble at what He threateneth. The sweetness of His presence shall come ; thou art not changed, thou art not awakened, thou sighest not, thou longest not: thou embracest thy sins and the delights of thy flesh, thou art heaping stubble to thyself, the fire will come.
6. What then, brethren? This God of gods, both then hidden, and now hidden, shall He ever be hidden? Evidently not: hear what followeth: 'God shall come manifest" (ver. 3). He that came hidden, shall come manifest. Hidden He came to be judged, manifest He shall come to judge: hidden He came that He might stand before a judge, manifest He shall come that He may be judge even of judgés: "He shall come manifest, and shall not be silent." But why? Is He now silent? And whence are all the words that we say? whence those precepts ? whence those warnings ? whence that trumpet of terror? He is not silent, and is silent: is not silent from warning, is silent from avenging: is not silent from precept, is silent from judgment. For He suffereth sinners daily doing evil things, not caring for God, not in their conscience, not in heaven, not in earth: all these things escape Him not, and universally He doth admonish all; and whenever He chastiseth any on earth, it is admonition, not yet condemnation. He is silent then from judgment, He is hidden in heaven, as yet He intercedeth for us: He is long-suffering to sinners, not putting forth His wrath, but awaiting penitence. He saith in another place: " I have held my peace, shall I always hold my peace? "'2 When then He shall not hold His peace, "God shall come manifest." What God? " Our God." And the God Himself, who is our God: for he is not God, who is not our God. For the gods of the nations are devils: the God of Christians is very God. Himself shall come, but "manifest," not still to be mocked, not still to be buffeted and scourged: He shall come, but
" Fire shall burn in His presence." This fire will not be like thy hearth-fire, into which nevertheless, if thou art compelled to thrust thy hand, thou wilt do whatsoever he would have thee who doth threaten this alternative. If he say to thee, "write against the life5 of thy father, write against the lives of thy children, for if thou do not, I thrust thy hand into thy fire: " thou wilt do it in order that thy hand be not burned, in order that thy member be not burned for a time, though it is not to be ever in pain. Thine enemy threateneth then but so light an evil, and thou doest evil; God threateneth eternal evil, and doest thou not good? To do evil not even menaces should compel thee: from doing good not even menaces should deter thee. But by the menaces of God, by menaces of everlasting fire, thou art dissuaded from evil, invited to good. Wherefore doth it grieve thee, except because thou believest not? Let each one then
'"' manifest,' not still to be smitten with a reed
3 Ps. xcvii. 3. 4 Oxf. mss. "' ineffable sweetness of His." 5 Head.
1 John xx. 29. 2 Isa. xiii, 14.
Psat L.] ON THE PSALMS. 181 and fifty-three fishes? doth not alone express just such a number of saints, but Scripture doth express the whole number of saints and righteous men by so greata number for a particular reason ; to wit, in order that in those hundred and fifty-three all may be understood that pertain to the resurrection to eternal life. For the Law hath ten commandments: '° but the Spirit of Grace, through which alone the Law is fulfilled,' is called sevenfold. The number then must be examined, what mean ten and seven: ten in commandments, seven in the grace of the Holy Spirit: by which grace the commandments are fulfilled. 'Ten then and seven contain all that pertain to the resurrection, to the right hand, to the kingdom of heaven, to life eternal, that is, they that fulfil the Law by the Grace of the Spirit, not as it were by their own work or their own merit. But ten and seven, if thou countest from one unto seventeen, by adding all the numbers by steps, so that to one thou mayest add two, add three, add four, that they may become ten, by adding five that they may become fifteen, by adding six that they may become twenty-one, by adding seven that they may become twenty-eight, by adding eight that they may become thirty-six, by adding nine that they may become forty-five, by adding ten that they may become fifty-five, by adding eleven that they may become sixty-six, by adding twelve that they may become seventy-eight, by adding thirteen that they may become ninety-one, by adding fourteen that they may become one hundred and five, by adding fifteen that they may become one hundred and twenty, by adding sixteen that they may become one hundred and thirty-six, by adding seventeen, make up one hundred and fifty-three, thou wilt find a vast number of all saints to belong to this number of a few fishes. In like manner then as in five virgins, countless virgins ; as in five brethren of him that was tormented in hell, thousands of the people of the Jews; as in the number of one hundred and fifty-three fishes, thousands of thousands of saints: so in twelve thrones, not twelve men, but great is the number of the perfect.'?
examine his heart, and see what faith doth? hold there. If we believe a judgment to come, brethren, let us live well. Now is time of mercy, then will be time of judgment. No one will say, "Call me back to my former years."' Even then men will repent, but will repent in vain: now let there be repentance, while there is fruit of repentance ; now let there be applied to the roots of the tree a basket of dung," sorrow of heart, and tears; lest He come and pluck up by the roots. For when He shall have plucked up, then the fire is to be looked for. Now, even if the branches have been broken, they can again be grafted in:3 then, "every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire.' 4 " Fire shall burn in His presence."
8. "And a mighty tempest round about Him " (ver. 3). "A mighty tempest," in order to winnow so greata floor. In this tempest shall be that winnowing whereby from the saints shall be put away everything impure, from the faithful every unreality ; from godly men and them that fear the Word of God, every scorner and every proud man. For now a sort of mixture doth lie there, from the rising of the sun unto the going down. Let us see then how He will do that is to come, what He will do with that tempest which "shall be a mighty tempest round about Him." Doubtless this tempest is to make a sort of separation. It is that separation which they waited not for, who brake the nets, before they came to land.5 But in this separation there is made a sort of distinction between good men and bad men. There be some that now follow Christ with lightened shoulders without the load of the world's cares, who have not heard in vain, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me ;''° to which sort is said, "Ye shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."'7 Some then shall be judging with the Lord: but others to be judged, but to be placed on the right hand. For that there will be certain judging with the Lord, we have most evident testimony, which I have but now quoted: "Ye shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." ...
10. But I see what is next required of us; in like manner as in the case of the five virgins, a reason was given why many should belong to five, and why to those five many Jews, and why to a hundred and fifty-three many perfect — to show why and how to the twelve thrones not twelve men, but many .belong. What mean the twelve thrones, which signify all men every Eee g. But what the Lord did after His resurrection, signified what is to be to us after our resurrection, in that number of the kingdom of heaven, where shall be no badman. . . . Lastly, those seven thousand of whom reply was made to Elias, "I have left me seven thousand men that have not bowed knees before Baal,' ® far exceed that number of fishes. Therefore the hundred
9 John xxi. rz. 10 Deut. iv. 13. Il Tsa. xi. 2, FE : 12 [That there is ground for all this regard to numbers, anciful though it seems, has been demonstrated. See Dan. vili. 13; also note 1, p. 514, vol. ii. A. N. F. Compare margin of our English Version on the text of Daniel; Heb. Padmonz, 'the Wonderful Numberer," See Dr. Mahan's " Palmoni," Ed, New York, 1863. —C.]
3 Rom. xi. 19. 6 Matt. xix. 21.
1 Al. "he doth." 4 Matt. iii. 10, 7 Matt. xix, 28,
' 2 Luke xiii. 8. 5 Luke v. 6. 8 x Kings xix. 18.