HOMILY 38
HOMILY 38
ON PSALM III (112)
GD APPY THE MAN who fears the Lord.' I have told you frequently that all interpretations in the name of the just man point to Christ. If saints are types prefiguring the Savior, the truly holy man, for example
Isaia, is a type of the Lord and Savior, and so, too, are Joseph, David, Solomon, and the rest of the saints. Now the happy man who is being described in this psalm is a just man in truth, but this just man is a type of the true just Man. 'Happy the man who fears the Lord.' So much for the distinction we have made in the psalm. Let us now say of the just man:
'Happy the man who fears the Lord.'
Psalm III is arranged alphabetically in the same manner as Psalm 110. The first versicle begins with the Hebrew letter
ALEPH: 'Happy the man who fears the Lord'; the second with BETH: 'who greatly delights in his commands'; the third with GIMEL: 'His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth'; and so on to the twenty-second and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, THAU. With the help of your prayers, let us direct our attention to individual versicles.
'Happy the man who fears the Lord.' These are the opening words of the psalm; not yet does the psalmist say, Happy the man who loves the Lord. Fear is the mark of beginners; love, indeed, of proficients since 'perfect love casts out fear.'l
The psalm, therefore, is speaking of the neophyte, of the soul setting out on the road to sanctity. Let us note the sequence of the psalm. 'Happy the man who fears the Lord.'
1 John 4.18; d. Letter 82.3, PL 22.737 (514); 133.6, PL 22.1154 (1034).
SAINT JEROME
What does the man do who fears the Lord? Does he heed the word of God? Is he learned in the law? No, that is not what the psalmist says. What does he say? 'Who greatly delights in his commands.' The man who fears the Lord, the happy man, cheerfully obeys the commands of the Lord; He loves His commands with a deep and strong love. Grasp what that means. The psalmist did not merely say, he complies with the Lord's commands, for many obey out of fear and do not gain their reward.2 The man who fears hell, and for that reason does not commit fornication, does not receive as great a reward as he who serves the Lord faithfully through love, but the man whose will is in the law of God wills what God wills; he ardently desires to accomplish the will of God. In the same way that one thirsts in the midday heat, this loyal servant thirsts and longs to obey the commands of the Lord. He bears great love always in fulfilling the Lord's will. He does not merely do His bidding, he wills it, not just in passing but with all the ardor of his heart.
The third versicle is: 'His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth:a I who have obeyed God from my own choice am worthy to become the father of saints. We shall be brief in our remarks in order to keep our sermon within bounds.
'The upright generation shall be blessed: May the Lord grant that you, too, who are listening to me, be an upright generation.
'Wealth and riches shall be in his house.' Wealth and riches. Do we imagine that we have here a reference to the wealth and riches of the world? Is that why one fulfills the will of God and obeys His commands, to obtain the riches of this world? Surely, one does not serve God with devotion unless he despises the wealth of the world. 'Wealth and riches shall be in his house.' The Apostle has clearly indicated the wealth of those who believe: 'Are you not my
2 Cf. Homily 1 on Ps. 1, p. 3.
3 This is actually the second verse of Ps. III (1l2).
HOMILY 38
crown of glory?'4 'And riches.' These are the riches to which the same Apostle refers when he says: 'because you have been enriched in all knowledge.'5 'His generosity shall endure forever.'6 The prophet did not say, His generosity endures for a generation, and then comes to an end; no, but that His bounty shall continue without end.
'He dawns through the darkness, a light for the upright.'
Once upon a time we were in darkness; we were sitting in darkness and in the shadow· of death, but as Isaia attests, light has shone upon US;7 'He is gracious and merciful and just: Mark the two attributes: merciful and just. If you are a sinner, do not despair of pardon; the Lord is merciful. If you are proud and presume upon the mercy of God, be careful; He is also just. 'He is gracious and merciful and just.'
Notice the wisdom of the psalmist: justice is. single, mercy twofold. 'He is gracious and merciful and just:
'Well for the man who is gracious and lends: Because the Lord is gracious and kind, and the just man imitates his
Lord, he, too, should be kind and merciful. 'Well for the man who is gracious and lends: Is anyone under the impression that the psalmist is referring to gold and silver and money? The just have had so little of the goods of this world that instead they received food from others. Does it follow, then, that if I have nothing to give away, I am no longer just?
If I do not give alms, am I excluded from the number of the just? Not at all, for how many holy people have engaged in almsgiving and have fallen from sanctity! The perfect have not given alms; they have had none to give.s To have no part in almsgiving is a reproach to the man of possessions; but the man who possesses nothing from which to give alms is free. He gave as much as ever he would desire to give because he gave by vow. Yet the saints do have a source of 4 Cf. 1 Thess. 2.19.
5 Cf. 1 Cor. 1.5.
6 Cf. Letter 75.4, PL 22.688 (454).
7 Cf. Isa. 9.1.
8 Cf. Lite Of Hilarion 18.
SAINT JEROME
almsgiving. Peter says: 'Silver and gold I have none, but what I have, that I give thee. In the name of the Lord Jesus, arise and walk.'9 Which is greater, to give a man money or to make the weak strong and the cripple straight?
'Well for the man who is gracious and lends.' What kind of alms are these? What is it that the just man lends? The answer is revealed in the next versicle: 'Who conducts his words with justice';lO not he manages his gold and silver, or his money with justice, but he conducts his words with justice. This is compassionate kindness, for the saintly man teaches holiness to others who are not holy. 'Who conducts his words with justice: Now we see what kind of money is graciously lent. The real meaning of, 'he conducts his words with justice,' is found in the Gospel where we are warned not to throw our pearls before swineY In other words, one should know what to give and to whom to give; one should be able to discriminate. So it is that the faithful servant says:
'Within my heart I treasure your promise, that I may not sin against YOU.'12 I did not give Your words to those to whom it was pleasing to give them; I did not cast Your holy one to the dogs; I did not give Your pearls to swine. Great, therefore, is the responsibility of him who expounds the word of the Lord.
There is much for discussion in this psalm, but since time prohibits, let us bless the Almighty Lord; and he who has such coin, may he give to those who have not; and may those who are without receive it in all joy. May the Lord grant to me, also, the grace to possess these riches that I may give them to those who have not, and to those who have that they may the more abound; and may the blessedness of the just man be mine both in speaking and in heeding. 'Happy is he who speaks to attentive ears.'13 What good is there for 9 Cf. Acts 3.6; d. Letter 22.32, PL 22.418 (117).
10 Cf. Ps. III (112).5.
11 Matt. 7.6; d. Letter 84.3, PL 22.746 (525).
12 Ps. ll8.1l.
13 Cf. Sirach (Ecc1us.) 25.9.
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me to speak if another does not accept my words? What benefit for me to pour forth wine if immediately that wine is spilled and wasted? You recall that in the Gospel14 water is put into jars, and it turns into wine and is preserved lest it be wasted. Let us, therefore, attend diligently to the words of God to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
14 Cf. John 2.7-10.