HOMILY 20
HOMILY 20
ON PSALM 90 (91)
n OU WHO DWELL in the shelter [adiutorio] of the Most High.' Now, it is the name, Ezra, that is translated
'adiutorium' and means 'help.' In fact, the prophet Esdra is called Boeth6s, helper.1 He is the one who led back the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity, back into the land of promise. He, therefore, who dwells in Ezra, who dwells in Jesus (in accordance with tropology), who, as the Apostle says,2 built His house without human hands-that house that the Lord had also built for the midwives in Egypt3-'shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven.'4
'Say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God.'"
I am hemmed in by enemies, You, therefore, are my refuge.
'''In whom I will trust." For he will rescue you from the snare of the hunters.'s Note carefully that the psalmist did not say 'I trust,' but 'I will trust: As long as we continue in a life of sin, we certainly are not trusting; if we put an end to sin, then our hope is confident. 'For he will rescue you from the snare of the hunters.' There are many hunters in this world that go about setting traps for our soul. Nemrod6 the giant was a 'mighty hunter before the Lord.'7 Esau, too, was a hunter, for he was a sinner. In all of Holy Writ,
1 Cf. Letter 45.6, PL 22.482 (198); 53.8, PL 22.548 (279).
2 Cf. 2 Cor. 5.1.
3 Cf. Exod. 1.21.
4 Cf. Ps. 90 (91).1; d. Commentarioli in ps. 90.1.
5 Cf. Ps. 90 (91).3.
6 Jerome, 'Nembroth.'
7 Gen. 10.8, 9.
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never do we find a hunter that is a faithful servant;8 we do find faithful fishermen.
'For he will rescue you from the snare of the hunters.' 'We were rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare; broken was the snare, and we were freed.'9 What snare is this that has been broken? 'The Lord,' says the Apostle, 'will speedily crush Satan under our feet';10 'that you may recover yourselves from the snare of the devil.'ll You see, then, that the devil is the hunter, eager to lure our souls unto perdition.
The devil is master of many snares, deceptions of all kinds.
Avarice is one of his pitfalls, detraction is his noose, fornication is his bait. 'And from the destroying word.'12 As long as we are in the state of grace, our soul is at peace; but once we begin to play with sin, then our soul is in trouble and is like a boat tossed about by the waves.
'With his pinions he will cover you.' We find this same thought in Deuteronomy:13 As an eagle, the Lord spreads
His wings over us, His nestlings. There the Lord is compared to the eagle guarding its young. The simile, therefore, is appropriate that God protects us as a Father, and as a hen guarding her chicks lest they be snatched away by a hawk; nevertheless, a different interpretation is also permissible.
'With his pinions he will cover you': He will be lifted up on the cross; He will stretch forth His hands to shelter us. 'And under his wings you shall take refuge.' You will look upon His crucified Hands, the prophet says, and if the serpent bite you, you will be healed. Even though you are wandering about in the desert of this world, if a scorpion should sting you, if a viper, if an asp, if any other venomous creature, be assured that you will recover; the serpent has been lifted up in the desert.14
8 Cf. Commentary on Michea 5.6, PL 25.1209 (494).
9 Ps. 123.7; cf. Letter 22.3, PL 22.396 (90).
10 Cf. Rom 16.20.
11 Cf. 2 Tim. 2.26.
12 Cf. Ps. 90 (91).3.
13 Cf. Deut. 32.11.
14 Cf. Num. 21.8, 9.
SAINT JEROME
'His truth will surround you with a shield:15 Our shield is spherical; that is to say, it protects us on all sides. It is not only a shield, it is also a bulwark. '0 Lord, you crown us with the shield of your good will.'16 Does anyone really crown with a shield? Notice that it says: '0 Lord, you crown us with the shield of your good will: What does that mean?
You will guard us, and You will make us victorious, and after the victory, You will give us a crown. 'His truth will surround you with a shield.' Since the psalmist had said that the Lord will rescue us 'from the destroying word,' we may comprehend this word of destruction to be the teaching of heretics, of philosophers, of Jews; this word seemingly sharp is not truth, but a lie. Moreover, because it is a lie, it is turbid; it is full of turbulence because it is false and troubles our soul. So the Lord who is Truth and says: 'I am the truth,'17 surrounds us with His truth like a shield to protect us against the stinging darts of the devil. Christ who is Truth, holds up His shield that the shield of truth may vanquish falsehood and deceit. 'You shall not fear the terror of the night.' The devil always lurks in darkness, 'shooting from ambush,' Scripture says, 'at the innocent man.'18 Notice it is the guileless and the innocent that are his secret target.
'You shall not fear the terror of the night.' That means: even though you are in the terror of the dark night, nevertheless, you will not be afraid because you are armed with the shield of truth.19
'Nor the arrow that flies by day.' It seems like a contradiction here to say 'nor the arrow that flies by day.' The flying arrow of the devil, if you ask me, is the disputation of heretics and philosophers,20 for they promise the light of knowledge and claim that they have the light of day. They cannot de15 Cf. Ps. 90 (91).4.
16 Cf. Ps. 5.13.
17 John 14.6.
18 Ps. 63.5.
19 Cf. Letter 3.5. PL 22.334 (12).
20 Cf. Against the Peiagians 2.20, PL 23.583 (766).
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ceive us, however, except by promising light. The real light they promise, however, is the fire of flaming arrows. So it says: 'Nor the arrow that flies by day: 'Not the pestilence that roams in darkness: To be sure, the arrow seems to fly in daylight, but it is the pestilence that roams in darkness.
'Nor the attack of the noonday demon:21 This is better expressed by the Greek a1ro uvp.1rTwp.aTos. Symptosis implies a chance occurrence when something strange happens unexpectedly; or symptoma may denote a disaster in which many perish at the same time. Grasp, then, what it means. Even though many have been seduced, nevertheless, you who are in the state of grace may escape seduction. I shall give you an example so that even the more simple among you may understand what I mean. If you should go to the city, a monk all by yourself, and while you are strolling about you hear a shout in the circus and someone says to you: 'Come and see, it is the circus: and you hold back remonstrating, '1 have no permission, I cannot go'; if he should call your attention to the thousands of men there and say to you: 'Two hundred thousand men are there, are they all going· to be lost, and you alone be saved?'22 You have to be aware that symptoma is the devil's own doing. What I am trying to say is that you have to know that many do perish and are lost.
'Of the noonday demon: There are, indeed, many who claim that at midday demons possess a special power, and this is a common saying. Be that as it may, I shall maintain candidly that the devil has power over us at any time that we commit sin. If we sin in the morning, the devil enters into us; in the evening, at night, at whatever time we commit sin, the devil is there in us. On the other hand, if at noon we are not committing sin, he does not enter into us. You see, then, that this common expression is rather silly. What, then, does
'of the noonday demon' mean? Listen to this: Abraham entertained angels at noon, and Joseph invited his brothers
21 Cf. Ps. 90 (91).6.
22 Cf. Letter 125.17, PL 22.1082 (944).
SAINT JEROME
to lunch at noon. Both Abraham and Joseph were faithful servants; therefore, they dined with their guest in the clear light of the sun at its brightest; hence, their feasting is at midday.23 So if I am filled with the knowledge of Holy Writ, even though it is the third hour, nevertheless, I am feasting you in the noonday. The Spouse in the Canticle of Canticles asks moreover: 'Where do you pasture your flock, where do you give them rest at midday?'24 You see that it is not in the third hour that the Spouse dines or reclines, but at midday.
Where do you dine, where do you rest, where shall I find you, where do you enjoy delights, where can I find you, 0 my
Spouse? Do you want to find Me? At noon, in perfect knowledge, in good works, in the bright light. Because we have the noonday, that is why the devil disguises himself as an angel of light25 and pretends that he has the light, that he has the noonday. When heretics promise any pseudo mysteries, when they promise the kingdom of heaven, when they promise continence, fasts, sanctity, the renunciation of the world, they promise the noonday. But since their midday is not the light of Christ, it is not the noonday, but the noonday demon.
'Though nyo thousand fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand:26 Every word of scripture is a symbol all its own. These rustic words that men of every age ponder over are packed full of mystical meaning. 'But we carry this treasure in vessels of c1ay';27 we have a divine treasury of meaning in the most ordinary words. 'Though two thousand fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand.' At whose side? At his side to whom the psalmist had said: 'His truth will surround you with a shield; you shall not fear the terror of the night.' Who is this man? The same one of whom it was said: he 'who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, shall
23 Cf. Jerome's translation of Origen, On Canticle at Canticles 1.7, PL 23.1183 (511-13).
24 Cf. Cant. 1.7; cf. Letter 108.l2, PL 22.887 (701); 122.1, PL 22.1039 (890).
25 2 Cor. 11.14.
26 Cf. Ps. 90 (91).7.
27 2 Cor. 4.7.
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abide under the protection of the God of heaven.' At the side of him, therefore, who dwells in the shelter of the Lord, a thousand fall, and ten thousand fall at his right hand. The right hand of the just man is specified; his left hand is not mentioned, but his left side is. See for yourselves that it says: ten thousand at your right hand.
What did you mean by saying, two thousand fall at the side? Naturally, when the right hand is designated and the left is not, the side is named in place of the left hand. It would not be right, certainly, for the just man to have a left hand: 'If someone strike thee on the right cheek,' counseis the Lord, 'turn to him the other also.'28 Notice that He did not say, 'the left also,' for it is not the left cheek that is offered, but another right cheek.29
I shall express this very plainly, therefore, by saying that the just man has two right cheeks. The man, Aod, for example, who is written of in the Book of Judges, is said to have two right hands because he was a just man and killed that fat stupid king. 30 'Though two thousand fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand.'
There are very many who lie in wait at our right hand, not so many who plot against our left; hence, a thousand fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand. Where there is greater combat, there is, of course, greater victory. Few lie in ambush at our side, but many at our right hand.
'For to his angels he has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways.' The devil has deliberately interpreted this passage as referring directly to the Lord, for when the devil tempted the Lord, he said: 'If thou art the Son of God, throw thyself down; for it is written of thee,
"He will give his angels charge concerning thee; to keep thee in all thy ways. And upon their hands they shall bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." '81 But the devil
28 Matt. 5.39.
29 Cf. Commentary on Matthew 5.39, PL 26.41 (31); on Ezechiel 41.23-26, PL 25.406 (506); on Ecclesiastes 10, PL 23.I146B (469).
30 Cf. Judges 3.15-20.
31 Matt. 4.6; cf. Commentary on Matthew 4.6, PL 26.32 (21).
SAINT JEROME
did not quote the sacred text in full; he said no more than:
'For he has given his angels charge concerning thee, and upon their hands they shall bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.' Craftily, he left out the middle verse:
'To keep thee in all thy ways' because he knew that it was aimed against him. The Lord could have replied to him: If the Lord guards Me in all My ways, He guards Me against you. But the devil was silent over what he knew was directed against himself and cited the words only that were of profit to him. Truly a devil, just like a devil he interprets as referring to the Savior that which has no reference to Him at all.
If the entire psalm applies to the Savior, just as you are interpreting it, 0 devil, then the words: 'I will protect him because he acknowledges my name'32 also apply to the Savior and mean, I, the Father, will protect My Son. 1 am interpreting the psalm, 0 devil, in the way that you choose to take it. Let us see if it makes sense. 'I will protect him because he acknowledges my name'; I, the Father, will protect
My Son. 'He shall call upon me, and 1 will answer him'; that is, on the day of His crucifixion. 'I will be with him in distress, 1 will deliver him and glorify him'; I shall cause
Him to rise from the dead. 'With length of days I will gratify him'; He shall live for all eternity. We may understand of the Son of God the words: 'With length of days I will gratify him,' but how do the words that follow: 'And will show him my salvation,' apply to the Savior? The salvation of God is the Son of God. If this is said of the Son, how canit make sense, for the salvation of God is the Son of God? So you see that your exegesis is very poor, 0 devil. But let us suppose that your interpretation is legitimate. You said: 'For he has given his angels charge concerning thee; and upon their hands they shall bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.'33 Do not stop there; continue with what
32 Cf. Ps. 90 (91).14.
33 Matt. 4.6.
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follows. Why are you silent? 'You shall tread upon the asp and the viper; you shall trample down the lion and the dragon': Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.