occurred to me that the expression "house of prayer" may have come to mean something like a small
SERMON 2231 237 prowling in the dark (Ps 91:5-6). And when the beasts of the forest pass by, seeking their prey from God,3 he will not hand us over as prey to any such wretched thing, seeing that he did hand over for our sakes his only Son.
Turning to the Lord ...
NOTES
1. A much more satisfactory sermon than the last. See next note for the possibility that, while being preached in Hippo Regius, it was delivered not in the main basilica, but in some suburban church or chapel.
2. See Mk 11:17; Is 56:7. Presumably Augustine was alluding to this text; but the thought has occurred to me that the expression "house of prayer" may have come to mean something like a small neighborhood chapel, and that the bishop may have been visiting one of these this year for the Easter vigil. The expression 1 ' ed in Lesotho for such places, away from the main mission church; and also to translate "synagogue" in the New Testament.
3. See Ps 104:20-21; he interprets the beasts of the forest, who are also lions' whelps, to mean the demons.