Other Writings, Part 16

To the end, a psalm of David himself.

1. This title does not require a fresh consideration: for the meaning of, to the end, has already been sufficiently handled. Let us then look to the text itself of the Psalm, which to me appears to be sung against the heretics, who, by rehearsing and exaggerating the sins of many in the Church, as if either all or the majority among themselves were righteous, strive to turn and snatch us away from the breasts of the one True Mother Church: affirming that Christ is with them, and warning us as if with piety and earnestness, that by passing over to them we may go over to Christ, whom they falsely declare they have. Now it is known that in prophecy Christ, among the many names in which notice of Him is conveyed in allegory, is also called a mountain. We must accordingly answer these people, and say, I trust in the Lord: how say ye to my soul, Remove into the mountains as a sparrow? [Psalm 10:1]. I keep to one mountain wherein I trust, how say ye that I should pass over to you, as if there were many Christs? Or if through pride you say that you are mountains, I had indeed need to be a sparrow winged with the powers and commandments of God: but these very things hinder my flying to these mountains, and placing my trust in proud men. I have a house where I may rest, in that I trust in the Lord. For even the sparrow has found her a house, and, The Lord has become a refuge to the poor. Let us say then with all confidence, lest while we seek Christ among heretics we lose Him, In the Lord I trust: how say ye to my soul, Remove into the mountains as a sparrow?

2. For, lo, sinners have bent the bow, they have prepared their arrows in the quiver, that they may in the obscure moon shoot at the upright in heart [Psalm 10:2]. These be the terrors of those who threaten us as touching sinners, that we may pass over to them as the righteous. Lo, they say, the sinners have bent the bow: the Scriptures, I suppose, by carnal interpretation of which they emit envenomed sentences from them. They have prepared their arrows in the quiver: the same words, that is, which they will shoot out on the authority of Scripture, they have prepared in the secret place of the heart. That they may in the obscure moon shoot at the upright in heart: that when they see, from the Church's light being obscured by the multitude of the unlearned and the carnal, that they cannot be convicted, they may corrupt good manners by evil communications. [1 Corinthians 15:33] But against all these terrors we must say, In the Lord I trust.

3. Now I remember that I promised to consider in this Psalm with what suitableness the moon signifies the Church. There are two probable opinions concerning the moon: but of these which is the true, I suppose it either impossible or very difficult for a man to decide. For when we ask whence the moon has her light, some say that it is her own, but that of her globe half is bright, and half dark: and when she revolves in her own orbit, that part wherein she is bright gradually turns towards the earth, so as that it may be seen by us; and that therefore at first her appearance is as if she were horned....According to this opinion the moon in allegory signifies the Church, because in its spiritual part the Church is bright, but in its carnal part is dark: and sometimes the spiritual part is seen by good works, but sometimes it lies hid in the conscience, and is known to God alone, since in the body alone is it seen by men....But according to the other opinion also the moon is understood to be the Church, because she has no light of her own, but is lighted by the only-begotten Son of God, who in many places of holy Scripture is allegorically called the Sun. Whom certain heretics being ignorant of, and not able to discern Him, endeavour to turn away the minds of the simple to this corporeal and visible sun, which is the common light of the flesh of men and flies, and some they do pervert, who as long as they cannot behold with the mind the inner light of truth, will not be content with the simple Catholic faith; which is the only safety to babes, and by which milk alone they can arrive in assured strength at the firm support of more solid food. Whichever then of these two opinions be the true, the moon in allegory is fitly understood as the Church. Or if in such difficulties as these, troublesome rather than edifying, there be either no satisfaction or no leisure to exercise the mind, or if the mind itself be not capable of it, it is sufficient to regard the moon with ordinary eyes, and not to seek out obscure causes, but with all men to perceive her increasings and fulnesses and wanings; and if she wanes to the end that she may be renewed, even to this rude multitude she sets forth the image of the Church, in which the resurrection of the dead is believed.

4. Next we must enquire, what in this Psalm is meant by the obscure moon, in which sinners have prepared to shoot at the upright in heart? For not in one way only may the moon be said to be obscure: for when her monthly course is finished, and when her brightness is interrupted by a cloud, and when she is eclipsed at the full, the moon may be called obscure. It may then be understood first of the persecutors of the Martyrs, for that they wished in the obscure moon to shoot at the upright in heart; whether it be yet in the time of the Church's youth, because she had not yet shone forth in greatness on the earth, and conquered the darkness of heathen superstitions; or by the tongues of blasphemers and such as defame the Christian name, when the earth was as it were beclouded, the moon, that is, the Church, could not be clearly seen; or when by the slaughter of the Martyrs themselves and so great effusion of blood, as by that eclipse and obscuration, wherein the moon seems to exhibit a bloody face, the weak were deterred from the Christian name; in which terror sinners shot out words crafty and sacrilegious to pervert even the upright in heart. And secondly, it can be understood of these sinners, whom the Church contains, because at that time, taking the opportunity of this moon's obscurity, they committed many crimes, which are now tauntingly objected to us by the heretics, whereas their founders are said to have been guilty of them. But howsoever that be which was done in the obscure moon, now that the Catholic name is spread and celebrated throughout the whole world, what concern of mine is it to be disturbed by things unknown? For in the Lord I trust; nor do I listen to them that say to my soul, Remove into the mountains as a sparrow. For, lo, sinners have bent the bow, that they may in the obscure moon shoot at the upright in heart. Or if the moon seem even now obscure to them, because they would make it uncertain which is the Catholic Church, and they strive to convict her by the sins of those many carnal men whom she contains; what concern is this to him, who says in truth, In the Lord I trust? By which word every one shows that he is himself wheat, and endures the chaff with patience unto the time of winnowing.

5. In the Lord, therefore, I trust. Let them fear who trust in man, and cannot deny that they are of man's party, by whose grey hairs they swear; and when in conversation it is demanded of them, of what communion they are, unless they say that they are of his party, they cannot be recognised....Or perhaps you will say that it is written, You shall know them by their works? [Matthew 7:16] I see indeed marvellous works the daily violences of the Circumcelliones, with the bishops and presbyters for their leaders, flying about in every direction, and calling their terrible clubs Israels; which men now living daily see and feel. But for the times of Macarius, respecting which they raise an invidious cry, most men have not seen them, and no one sees them now: and any Catholic who saw them could say, if he wished to be a servant of God, In the Lord I trust....

6. Let the Catholic soul then say, In the Lord I trust; how say ye to my soul, Remove into the mountains as a sparrow? For, lo, the sinners have bent the bow, they have prepared their arrows in the quiver, that they may in the obscure moon shoot at the upright in heart: and from them let her turn her speech to the Lord and say, For they have destroyed what You have perfected [Psalm 10:3]. And this let her say not against these only, but against all heretics. For they have all, as far as in them lies, destroyed the praise which God has perfected out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, when they disturb the little ones with vain and scrupulous questions, and suffer them not to be nourished with the milk of faith. As if then it were said to this soul, why do they say to you, Remove into the mountains as a sparrow; why do they frighten you with sinners, who have bent the bow, to shoot in the obscure moon at the upright in heart? She answers, Therefore it is they frighten me, because they have destroyed what You have perfected. Where but in their conventicles, where they nourish not with milk, but kill with poison the babes and ignorant of the interior light. But what has the Just done? If Macarius, if Cæcilianus, offend you, what has Christ done to you, who said, My peace I give unto you, My peace I leave with you; [John 14:27] which you with your abominable dissensions have violated? What has Christ done to you? Who with such exceeding patience endured His betrayer, as to give to him, as to the other Apostles, the first Eucharist consecrated with His own hands, and blessed with His own mouth. What has Christ done to you? Who sent this same betrayer, whom He called a devil, [John 6:70] who before betraying the Lord could not show good faith even to the Lord's purse, [John 12:6] with the other disciples to preach the kingdom of heaven; [Matthew 10:5-7] that He might show that the gifts of God come to those that with faith receive them, though he, through whom they receive them, be such as Judas was.

7. The Lord is in His holy temple [Psalm 10:4], yea in such wise as the Apostle says, For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. [1 Corinthians 3:17] Now if any man shall violate the temple of God, him shall God destroy. He violates the temple of God, who violates unity: for he holds not the head, from which the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies according to the working after the measure of every part makes increase of the body to the edifying of itself in love. The Lord is in this His holy temple; which consists of His many members, fulfilling each his own separate duties, by love built up into one building. Which temple he violates, who for the sake of his own pre-eminence separates himself from the Catholic society. The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord, His seat is in heaven. If you take heaven to be the just man, as you take the earth to be the sinner, to whom it was said, Earth you are, and unto earth shall you go; [Genesis 3:19] the words, The Lord is in His holy temple you will understand to be repeated, while it is said, The Lord, His seat is in heaven.

8. His eyes look upon the poor. His to Whom the poor man has been left, and Who has been made a refuge to the poor. And therefore all the seditions and tumults within these nets, [Matthew 13:47] until they be drawn to shore, concerning which heretics upbraid us to their own ruin and our correction, are caused by those men, who will not be Christ's poor. But do they turn away God's eyes from such as would be so? For His eyes look upon the poor. Is it to be feared lest, in the crowd of the rich, He may not be able to see the few poor, whom He brings up in safe keeping in the bosom of the Catholic Church? His eyelids question the sons of men. Here by that rule I would wish to take the sons of men visitest him?" and Psalm 9:20, § 19, on the words, "Let the heathen know that they are men." of those that from old men have been regenerated by faith. For these, by certain obscure passages of Scripture, as it were the closed eyes of God, are exercised that they may seek: and again, by certain clear passages, as it were the open eyes of God, are enlightened that they may rejoice. And this frequent closing and opening in the holy Books are as it were the eyelids of God; which question, that is, which try the sons of men; who are neither wearied with the obscurity of the matter, but exercised; nor puffed up by knowledge, but confirmed.

9. The Lord questions the righteous and ungodly [Psalm 10:5]. Why then do we fear lest the ungodly should be any hurt to us, if so be they do with insincere heart share the sacraments with us, seeing that He questions the righteous and the ungodly. But whoever loves iniquity, hates his own soul: that is, not him who believes God, and puts not his hope in man, but only his own soul does the lover of iniquity hurt.

10. He shall rain snares upon the sinners [Psalm 10:6]. If by clouds are understood prophets generally, whether good or bad, who are also called false prophets: false prophets are so ordered by the Lord God, that by them He may rain snares upon sinners. [Matthew 24:24] For no one, but the sinner, falls into a following of them, whether by way of preparation for the last punishment, if he shall choose to persevere in sin; or to dissuade from pride, if in time he shall come to seek God with a more sincere intent. But if by clouds are understood good and true prophets only; by these too it is clear that God rains snares upon sinners, although by them He waters also the godly unto fruitfulness. To some, says the Apostle, we are the savour of life unto life; to some the savour of death unto death. [2 Corinthians 2:16] For not prophets only, but all who with the word of God water souls, may be called clouds. Who when they are understood amiss, God rains snares upon sinners; but when they are understood aright, He makes the hearts of the godly and believing fruitful. As, for instance, the passage, and they two shall be in one flesh, [Ephesians 5:31] if one interpret it with an eye to lust, He rains a snare upon the sinner. But if you understand it, as he who says, But I speak concerning Christ and the Church, [Ephesians 5:32] He rains a shower on the fertile soil. Now both are effected by the same cloud, that is, holy Scripture. Again the Lord says, Not that which goes into your mouth defiles you, but that which comes out. [Matthew 15:11] The sinner hears this, and makes ready his palate for gluttony: the righteous hears it, and is guarded against the superstitious distinction in meats. Here then also out of the same cloud of Scripture, according to the several desert of each, upon the sinner the rain of snares, upon the righteous the rain of fruitfulness, is poured.

11. Fire and brimstone and the blast of the tempest is the portion of their cup. This is their punishment and end, by whom the name of God is blasphemed; that first they should be wasted by the fire of their own lusts, then by the ill savour of their evil deeds cast off from the company of the blessed, at last carried away and overwhelmed suffer penalties unspeakable. For this is the portion of their cup: as of the righteous, Your cup inebriating how excellent is it! For they shall be inebriated with the richness of Your house. Now I suppose a cup is mentioned for this reason, that we should not suppose that anything is done by God's providence, even in the very punishments of sinners, beyond moderation and measure. And therefore as if he were giving a reason why this should be, he added, For the Lord is righteous, and has loved righteousnesses [Psalm 10:7]. The plural not without meaning, but only because he speaks of men, is as that righteousnesses be understood to be used for righteous men. For in many righteous men there seem, so to say, to be righteousnesses, whereas there is one only righteousness of God whereof they all participate. Like as when one face looks upon many mirrors, what in it is one only, is by those many mirrors reflected manifoldly. Wherefore he recurs to the singular, saying, His face has seen equity. Perhaps, His face has seen equity, is as if it were said, Equity has been seen in His face, that is, in knowledge of Him. For God's face is the power by which He is made known to them that are worthy. Or at least, His face has seen equity, because He does not allow Himself to be known by the evil, but by the good; and this is equity.

12. But if any one would understand the moon of the synagogue, let him refer the Psalm to the Lord's passion, and of the Jews say, For they have destroyed what You have perfected; and of the Lord Himself, But what has the Just done? whom they accused as the destroyer of the Law: whose precepts, by their corrupt living, and by despising them, and by setting up their own, they had destroyed, so that the Lord Himself may speak as Man, as He is wont, saying, In the Lord I trust; how say ye to my soul, Remove into the mountains as a sparrow? by reason, that is, of the fear of those who desire to apprehend and crucify Him. Since the interpretation is not unreasonable of sinners wishing to shoot at the upright in heart, that is, those who believed in Christ, in the obscure moon, that is, the Synagogue filled with sinners. To this too the words, The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord, His seat is in heaven, are suitable; that is, the Word in Man, or the very Son of Man who is in heaven. [John 3:13] His eyes look upon the poor; either on to Him whom He assumed as God, or for whom He suffered as Man. His eyelids question the sons of men. The closing and opening of the eyes, which is probably meant by the word eyelids, we may take to be His death and resurrection, whereby He tried the sons of men His disciples, terrified at His passion, and gladdened by the resurrection. The Lord questions the righteous and ungodly, even now from out of Heaven governing the Church. But whoever loves iniquity, hates his own soul. Why it is so, what follows teaches us. For He shall rain snares upon the sinners: which is to be taken according to the exposition above given, and so on with all the rest to the end of the Psalm.

To the end, for the eighth, a psalm of David.

1. It has been said on the sixth Psalm, that the eighth may be taken as the day of judgment. For the eighth may also be taken for the eternal age; for that after the time present, which is a cycle of seven days, it shall be given to the Saints.

2. Save me, O Lord, for the holy has failed; that is, is not found: as we speak when we say, Grain fails, or, Money fails. For the truths have been minished from among the sons of men [Psalm 11:1]. The truth is one, whereby holy souls are enlightened: but forasmuch as there are many souls, there may be said in them to be many truths: as in mirrors there are seen many reflections from one face.

3. He has talked vanity each man to his neighbour [Psalm 11:2]. By neighbour we must understand every man: for that there is no one with whom we should work evil; and the love of our neighbour works no evil. [Romans 13:10] Deceitful lips, with a heart and a heart they have spoken evil things. The repetition, with a heart and a heart, signifies a double heart.

4. May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips [Psalm 11:3]. He says all, that no one may suppose himself excepted: as the Apostle says, Upon every soul of man that does evil, of the Jew first, and of the Greek. [Romans 2:9] The tongue speaking great things: the proud tongue.

5. Who have said, We will magnify our tongue, our lips are our own, who is Lord over us? [Psalm 11:4]. Proud hypocrites are meant, putting confidence in their speech to deceive men, and not submitting themselves to God.

6. Because of the wretchedness of the needy and the sighing of the poor, now I will arise, says the Lord [Psalm 11:5]. For so the Lord Himself in the Gospel pitied His people, because they had no ruler, when they could well obey. Whence too it is said in the Gospel, The harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few. [Matthew 9:37] But this must be taken as spoken in the person of God the Father, who, because of the needy and the poor, that is, who in need and poverty were lacking spiritual good things, vouchsafed to send His own Son. From thence begins His sermon on the mount to Matthew, where He says, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [Matthew 5:3] I will place in salvation. He does not say what He would place: but, in salvation, must be understood as, in Christ; according to that, For my eyes have seen Your salvation. [Luke 2:30] And hence He is understood to have placed in Him what appertains to the taking away the wretchedness of the needy, and the comforting the sighing of the poor. I will deal confidently in Him: according to that in the Gospel, For He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. [Matthew 7:29]

7. The words of the Lord are pure words [Psalm 11:6]. This is in the person of the Prophet himself, The words of the Lord are pure words. He says pure, without the alloy of pretence. For many preach the truth impurely; [Philippians 1:16] for they sell it for the bribe of the advantages of this life. Of such the Apostle says, that they declared Christ not purely. Silver tried by the fire for the earth. These words of the Lord by means of tribulations approved to sinners. Purified seven times: by the fear of God, by godliness, by knowledge, by might, by counsel, by understanding, by wisdom. [Isaiah 11:2] For seven steps also of beatitude there are, which the Lord goes over, according to Matthew, in the same sermon which He spoke on the Mount, Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed the meek, blessed they that mourn, blessed they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, blessed the merciful, blessed the pure in heart, blessed the peacemakers. [Matthew 5:3-9] Of which seven sentences, it may be observed how all that long sermon was spoken. For the eighth where it is said, Blessed are they which suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, [Matthew 5:10] denotes the fire itself, whereby the silver is proved seven times. And at the termination of this sermon it is said, For He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. [Matthew 7:29] Which refers to that which is said in this Psalm, I deal confidently in Him.

8. You, O Lord, shall preserve us, and keep us from this generation to eternity [Psalm 11:7]: here as needy and poor, there as wealthy and rich.

9. The ungodly walk in a circle round about [Psalm 11:8]: that is, in the desire of things temporal, which revolves as a wheel in a repeated circle of seven days; and therefore they do not arrive at the eighth, that is, at eternity, for which this Psalm is entitled. So too it is said by Solomon, For the wise king is the winnower of the ungodly, and he brings on them the wheel of the wicked.— After Your height You have multiplied the sons of men. For there is in temporal things too a multiplication, which turns away from the unity of God. Hence the corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthy tabernacle presses down the mind that muses upon many things. [Wisdom 9:15] But the righteous are multiplied after the height of God, when they shall go from strength to strength.

Unto the end, a psalm of David.

1. For Christ is the end of the law to every one that believes. [Romans 10:4] How long, O Lord, will You forget me unto the end? [Psalm 12:1] that is, put me off as to spiritually understanding Christ, who is the Wisdom of God, and the true end of all the aim of the soul. How long will You turn away Your face from me? As God does not forget, so neither does He turn His face away: but Scripture speaks after our manner. Now God is said to turn away His face, when He does not give to the soul, which as yet has not the pure eye of the mind, the knowledge of Himself.

2. How long shall I place counsel in my soul? [Psalm 12:2]. There is no need of counsel but in adversity. Therefore How long shall I place counsel in my soul? is as if it were said, How long shall I be in adversity? Or at least it is an answer, so that the meaning is this, So long, O Lord, will You forget me to the end, and so long turn away Your face from me, until I shall place counsel in my own soul: so that except a man place counsel in his own soul to work mercy perfectly, God will not direct him to the end, nor give him that full knowledge of Himself, which is face to face. Sorrow in my heart through the day? How long shall I have, is understood. And through the day signifies continuance, so that day is taken for time: from which as each one longs to be free, he has sorrow in his heart, making entreaty to rise to things eternal, and not endure man's day.

3. How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? either the devil, or carnal habit.

4. Look on me, and hear me, O Lord my God [Psalm 12:3]. Look on me, refers to what was said, How long dost Thou turn away Your face from me. Hear, refers to what was said, How long will You forget me to the end? Lighten my eyes, that I sleep not in death. The eyes of the heart must be understood, that they be not closed by the pleasurable eclipse of sin.

5. Lest at any time mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him [Psalm 12:4]. The devil's mockery is to be feared. They that trouble me will exult, if I be moved; the devil and his angels; who exulted not over that righteous man, Job, when they troubled him; because he was not moved, that is, did not draw back from the steadfastness of his faith. [Job 2:3]

6. But I have hoped in Your mercy [Psalm 12:5]. Because this very thing, that a man be not moved, and that he abide fixed in the Lord, he should not attribute to self: lest when he glories that he has not been moved, he be moved by this very pride. My heart shall exult in Your salvation; in Christ, in the Wisdom of God. I will sing to the Lord who has given me good things; spiritual good things, not belonging to man's day. And I will chant to the name of the Lord most high [Psalm 12:6]; that is, I give thanks with joy, and in most due order employ my body, which is the song of the spiritual soul. But if any distinction is to be marked here, I will sing with the heart, I will chant with my works; to the Lord, that which He alone sees, but to the name of the Lord, that which is known among men, which is serviceable not for Him, but for us.

To the end, a psalm of David himself.

1. What to the end means, must not be too often repeated. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes; [Romans 10:4] as the Apostle says. We believe in Him, when we begin to enter on the good road: we shall see Him, when we shall get to the end. And therefore is He the end.

2. The fool has said in his heart, There is no God [Psalm 13:1]. For not even have certain sacrilegious and abominable philosophers, who entertain perverse and false notions of God, dared to say, There is no God. Therefore it is, has said in his heart; for that no one dares to say it, even if he has dared to think it. They are corrupt, and become abominable in their affections: that is, while they love this world and love not God; these are the affections which corrupt the soul, and so blind it, that the fool can even say, in his heart, There is no God. For as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind. [Romans 1:28] There is none that does goodness, no not up to one. Up to one, can be understood either with that one, so that no man be understood: or besides one, that the Lord Christ may be excepted. As we say, This field is up to the sea; we do not of course reckon the sea together with the field. And this is the better interpretation, so that none be understood to have done goodness up to Christ; for that no man can do goodness, except He shall have shown it. And that is true; for until a man know the one God, he cannot do goodness.

3. The Lord from heaven looked out upon the sons of men, to see if there be one understanding, or seeking after God [Psalm 13:2]. It may be interpreted, upon the Jews; as he may have given them the more honourable name of the sons of men, by reason of their worship of the One God, in comparison with the Gentiles; of whom I suppose it was said above, The fool has said in his heart, There is no God, etc. Now the Lord looks out, that He may see, by His holy souls: which is the meaning of, from heaven. For by Himself nothing is hid from Him.

4. All have gone out of the way, they have together become useless: that is, the Jews have become as the Gentiles, who were spoken of above. There is none that does good, no not up to one [Psalm 13:3], must be interpreted as above. Their throat is an open sepulchre. Either the voracity of the ever open palate is signified: or allegorically those who slay, and as it were devour those they have slain, into whom they instil the disorder of their own conversation. Like to which with the contrary meaning is that which was said to Peter, Kill and eat; [Acts 10:13] that he should convert the Gentiles to his own faith and good conversation. With their tongues they have dealt craftily. Flattery is the companion of the greedy and of all bad men. The poison of asps is under their lips. By poison, he means deceit; and of asps, because they will not hear the precepts of the law, as asps will not hear the voice of the charmer; which is said more clearly in another Psalm. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: this is, the poison of asps. Their feet are swift to shed blood. He here shows forth the habit of ill doing. Destruction and unhappiness are in their ways. For all the ways of evil men are full of toil and misery. Hence the Lord cries out, Come unto Me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. For My yoke is easy and My burden light. [Matthew 11:28-30] And the way of peace have they not known: that way, namely, which the Lord, as I said, mentions, in the easy yoke and light burden. There is no fear of God before their eyes. These do not say, There is no God; but yet they do not fear God.

5. Shall not all, who work iniquity, know? [Psalm 13:4]. He threatens the judgment. Who devour My people as the food of bread: that is, daily. For the food of bread is daily food. Now they devour the people, who serve their own ends out of them, not referring their ministry to the glory of God, and the salvation of those over whom they are.

6. They have not called upon the Lord. For he does not really call upon Him, who longs for such things as are displeasing to Him. There they trembled for fear, where no fear was [Psalm 13:5]: that is, for the loss of things temporal. For they said, If we let Him thus alone, all men will believe in Him; and the Romans will come, and take away both our place and nation. [John 11:48] They feared to lose an earthly kingdom, where no fear was; and they lost the kingdom of heaven, which they ought to have feared. And this must be understood of all temporal goods, the loss of which when men fear, they come not to things eternal.

7. For God is in the just generation. It refers to what went before, so that the sense is, shall not all they that work iniquity know that the Lord is in the just generation; that is, He is not in them who love the world. For it is unjust to leave the Maker of the worlds, and serve the creature more than the Creator. [Romans 1:25] You have shamed the counsel of the poor, for the Lord is his hope [Psalm 13:6]: that is, you have despised the humble coming of the Son of God, because ye saw not in Him the pomp of the world: that they, whom he was calling, should put their hope in God alone, not in the things that pass away.

8. Who will give salvation to Israel out of Sion? [Psalm 13:7]. Who but He whose humiliation you have despised? Is understood. For He will come in glory to the judgment of the quick and the dead, and the kingdom of the just: that, forasmuch as in that humble coming blindness has happened in part unto Israel, that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter in, [Romans 11:25] in that other should happen what follows, and so all Israel should be saved. For the Apostle too takes that testimony of Isaiah, where it is said, There shall come out of Sion He who shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: [Isaiah 59:20] for the Jews, as it is here, Who shall give salvation to Israel out of Sion? When the Lord shall turn away the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. It is a repetition, as is usual: for I suppose, Israel shall be glad, is the same as, Jacob shall rejoice.

A psalm of David himself.

1. Touching this title there is no question. O Lord who shall sojourn in Your tabernacle? [Psalm 14:1]. Although tabernacle be sometimes used even for an everlasting habitation: yet when tabernacle is taken in its proper meaning, it is a thing of war. Hence soldiers are called tent-fellows, as having their tents together. This sense is assisted by the words, Who shall sojourn? For we war with the devil for a time, and then we need a tabernacle wherein we may refresh ourselves. Which specially points out the faith of the temporal Dispensation, which was wrought for us in time through the Incarnation of the Lord. And who shall rest in Your holy mountain? Here perhaps he signifies at once the eternal habitation itself, [2 Corinthians 5:1-2] that we should understand by mountain the supereminence of the love of Christ in life eternal.

2. He who walks without stain, and works righteousness [Psalm 14:2]. Here he has laid down the proposition; in what follows he sets it forth in detail.

3. Who speaks the truth in his heart. For some have truth on their lips, and not in their heart. As if one should deceitfully point out a road, knowing that there were robbers there, and should say, If you go this way, you will be safe from robbers; and it should turn out that in fact there were no robbers found there: he has spoken the truth, but not in his heart. For he supposed it to be otherwise, and spoke the truth in ignorance. Therefore it is not enough to speak the truth, unless it be so also in heart. Who has practised no deceit in his tongue [Psalm 14:3]. Deceit is practised with the tongue, when one thing is professed with the mouth, another concealed in the breast. Nor done evil to his neighbour. It is well known that by neighbour, every man should be understood. And has not entertained slander against his neighbour, that is, has not readily or rashly given credence to an accuser.

4. The malicious one has been brought to nought in his sight [Psalm 14:4]. This is perfection, that the malicious one have no force against a man; and that this be in his sight; that is, that he know most surely that the malicious is not, save when the mind turns itself away from the eternal and immutable form of her own Creator to the form of the creature, which was made out of nothing. But those that fear the Lord, He glorifies: the Lord Himself, that is. Now the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. As then the things above belong to the perfect, so what he is now going to say belongs to beginners.

5. Who swears unto his neighbour, and deceives him not. Who has not given his money upon usury, and has not taken rewards against the innocent [Psalm 14:5]. These are no great things: but he who is not able to do even this, much less able is he to speak the truth in his heart, and to practise no deceit in his tongue, but as the truth is in the heart, so to profess and have it in his mouth, yea, yea; nay, nay; [Matthew 5:37] and to do no evil to his neighbour, that is, to any man; and to entertain no slander against his neighbour: all which are the virtues of the perfect, in whose sight the malicious one has been brought to nought. Yet he concludes even these lesser things thus, Whoever does these things shall not be moved for ever: that is, he shall attain unto those greater things, wherein is great and unshaken stability. For even the very tenses are, perhaps not without cause, so varied, as that in the conclusion above the past tense should be used, but in this the future. For there it was said, The malicious one has been brought to nought in his sight: but here, shall not be moved forever.

The inscription of the title, of David himself.

1. Our King in this Psalm speaks in the character of the human nature He assumed, of whom the royal title at the time of His passion was eminently set forth.

2. Now He says as follows; Preserve me, O Lord, for in You have I hoped [Psalm 15:1]: I have said to the Lord, You are my God, for You require not my goods [Psalm 15:2]: for with my goods Thou dost not look to be made blessed.

3. To the saints who are on His earth [Psalm 15:3]: to the saints who have placed their hope in the land of the living, the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, whose spiritual conversation is, by the anchor of hope, fixed in that country, which is rightly called God's earth; although as yet in this earth too they be conversant in the flesh. He has wonderfully fulfilled all My wishes in them. To those saints then He has wonderfully fulfilled all My wishes in their advancement, whereby they have perceived, how both the humanity of My divinity has profited them that I might die, and the divinity of the humanity that I might rise again.

4. Their infirmities have been multiplied [Psalm 15:4]: their infirmities have been multiplied not for their destruction, but that they might long for the Physician. Afterwards they made haste. Accordingly after infirmities multiplied they made haste, that they might be healed. I will not gather together their assemblies by blood. For their assemblies shall not be carnal, nor will I gather them together as one propitiated by the blood of cattle. [Isaiah 1:11-12] Nor will I be mindful of their names within My lips. But by a spiritual change what they have been shall be forgotten; nor by Me shall they be any more called either sinners, or enemies, or men; but righteous, and My brethren, and sons of God through My peace.

5. The Lord is the portion of Mine inheritance, and of My cup [Psalm 15:5]. For together with Me they shall possess the inheritance, the Lord Himself. Let others choose for themselves portions, earthly and temporal, to enjoy: the portion of the Saints is the Lord eternal. Let others drink of deadly pleasures, the portion of My cup is the Lord. In that I say, Mine, I include the Church: for where the Head is, there is the body also. For into the inheritance will I gather together their assemblies, and by the inebriation of the cup I will forget their old names. You are He who will restore to Me My inheritance: that to these too, whom I free, may be known the glory wherein I was with You before the world was made. [John 17:5] For You will not restore to Me that which I never lost, but You will restore to these, who have lost it, the knowledge of that glory: in whom because I am, You will restore to Me.

6. The lines have fallen to me in glorious places [Psalm 15:6]. The boundaries of my possession have fallen in Your glory as it were by lot, like as God is the possession of the Priests and Levites. [Numbers 18:20] For Mine inheritance is glorious to Me. For Mine inheritance is glorious, not to all, but to them that see; in whom because I am, it is to Me.

7. I will bless the Lord, who has given Me understanding [Psalm 15:7]: whereby this inheritance may be seen and possessed. Yea moreover too even unto night my reins have chastened Me. Yea besides understanding, even unto death, My inferior part, the assumption of flesh, has instructed Me, that I might experience the darkness of mortality, which that understanding has not.

8. I foresaw the Lord in My sight always [Psalm 15:8]. But coming into things that pass away, I removed not My eye from Him who abides ever, foreseeing this, that to Him I should return after passing through the things temporal. For He is on My right hand, that I should not be moved. For He favours Me, that I should abide fixedly in Him.

9. Wherefore My heart was glad, and My tongue exulted [Psalm 15:9]. Wherefore both in My thoughts is gladness, and in my words exultation. Moreover too My flesh shall rest in hope. Moreover too My flesh shall not fail unto destruction, but shall sleep in hope of the resurrection.

10. For You will not leave My soul in hell [Psalm 15:10]. For You will neither give My soul for a possession to those parts below. Neither will You grant Your Holy One to see corruption. Neither will You suffer that sanctified body, whereby others are to be also sanctified, to see corruption. You have made known to Me the paths of life [Psalm 15:11]. You have made known through Me the paths of humiliation, that men might return to life, from whence they fell through pride; in whom because I am, You have made known to Me. You will fill Me with joy with Your countenance. You will fill them with joy, that they should seek nothing further, when they shall see You face to face; in whom because I am, You will fill Me. Pleasure is at Your right hand even to the end. Pleasure is in Your favour and mercy in this life's journey, leading on even to the end of the glory of Your countenance.

A prayer of David himself.

1. This prayer must be assigned to the Person of the Lord, with the addition of the Church, which is His body.

2. Hear My righteousness, O God, consider My supplication [Psalm 16:1]. Hearken unto My prayer, not in deceitful lips: not going forth to You in deceitful lips. Let My judgment from Your countenance go forth [Psalm 16:2]. From the enlightening of the knowledge of You, let Me judge truth. Or at least, let My judgment go forth, not in deceitful lips, from Your countenance, that is, that I may not in judging utter anything else than I understand in You. Let My eyes see equity: the eyes, of course, of the heart.

3. You have proved and visited Mine heart in the night-season [Psalm 16:3]. For this Mine heart has been proved by the visitation of tribulation. You have examined Me by fire, and iniquity has not been found in Me. Now not night only, in that it is wont to disturb, but fire also, in that it burns, is this tribulation to be called; whereby when I was examined I was found righteous.

4. That My mouth may not speak the works of men [Psalm 16:4]. That nothing may proceed out of My mouth, but what relates to Your glory and praise; not to the works of men, which they do beside Your will. Because of the words of Your lips. Because of the words of Your peace, or of Your prophets. I have kept hard ways. I have kept the toilsome ways of human mortality and suffering.

5. To perfect My steps in Your paths [Psalm 16:5]. That the love of the Church might be perfected in the strait ways, whereby she arrives at Your rest. That My footsteps be not moved. That the signs of My way, which, like footsteps, have been imprinted on the Sacraments and Apostolical writings, be not moved, that they may mark them who would follow Me. Or at least, that I may still abide fixedly in eternity, after that I have accomplished the hard ways, and have finished My steps in the straits of Your paths.

6. I have cried out, for You have heard Me, O God [Psalm 16:6]. With a free and strong effort have I directed My prayers unto You: for that I might have this power, You have heard Me when praying more weakly. Incline Your ear to Me, and hear My words. Let not Your hearing forsake My humiliation.

7. Make Your mercies marvellous [Psalm 16:7]. Let not Your mercies be disesteemed, lest they be loved too little.

8. Who savest them that hope in You from such as resist Your right hand: from such as resist the favour, whereby You favour Me. Keep Me, O Lord, as the apple of Your eye [Psalm 16:8]: which seems very little and minute: yet by it is the sight of the eye directed, whereby the light is distinguished from the darkness; as by Christ's humanity, the divinity of the Judgment distinguishing between the righteous and sinners. In the covering of Your wings protect Me. In the defense of Your love and mercy protect Me. From the face of the ungodly who have troubled Me [Psalm 16:9].

9. Mine enemies have compassed about My soul; they have shut up their own fat [Psalm 16:10]. They have been covered with their own gross joy, after that their desire has been satiated with wickedness. Their mouth has spoken pride. And therefore their mouth spoke pride, in saying, Hail, King of the Jews, [Matthew 27:29] and other like words.

10. Casting Me forth they have now compassed Me about [Psalm 16:11]. Casting Me forth outside the city, they have now compassed Me about on the Cross. Their eyes they have determined to turn down on the earth. The bent of their heart they have determined to turn down on these earthly things: deeming Him, who was slain, to endure a mighty evil, and themselves, that slew Him, none.

11. As a lion ready for prey, have they taken Me [Psalm 16:12]. They have taken Me, like that adversary who walks about, seeking whom he may devour. [1 Peter 5:8] And as a lion's cub dwelling in secret places. And as his cub, the people to whom it was said, You are of your father the devil: [John 8:44] meditating on the snares, whereby they might circumvent and destroy the just One.

12. Arise, O Lord, prevent them, and cast them down [Psalm 16:13]. Arise, O Lord, Thou whom they suppose to be asleep, and regardless of men's iniquities; be they blinded before by their own malice, that vengeance may prevent their deed; and so cast them down.

13. Deliver My soul from the ungodly. Deliver My soul, by restoring Me after the death, which the ungodly have inflicted on Me. Your weapon: from the enemies of Your hand [Psalm 16:14]. For My soul is Your weapon, which Your hand, that is, Your eternal Power, has taken to subdue thereby the kingdoms of iniquity, and divide the righteous from the ungodly. This weapon then deliver from the enemies of Your hand, that is, of Your Power, that is, from Mine enemies. Destroy them, O Lord, from off the earth, scatter them in their life. O Lord, destroy them from off the earth, which they inhabit, scatter them throughout the world in this life, which only they think their life, who despair of life eternal. And by Your hidden things their belly has been filled. Now not only this visible punishment shall overtake them, but also their memory has been filled with sins, which as darkness are hidden from the light of Your truth, that they should forget God. They have been filled with swine's flesh. They have been filled with uncleanness, treading under foot the pearls of God's words. And they have left the rest to their babes: crying out, This sin be upon us and upon our children. [Matthew 27:25]

14. But I shall appear in Your righteousness in Your sight [Psalm 16:15]. But I, Who have not appeared to them that, with their filthy and darkened heart, cannot see the light of wisdom, I shall appear in Your righteousness in Your sight.

I shall be satiated, when Your glory shall be manifested. And when they have been satiated with their uncleanness, that they could not know Me, I shall be satiated, when Your glory shall be manifested, in them that know Me. In that verse indeed where it is said, filled with swine's flesh, some copies have, filled with children: for from the ambiguity of the Greek a double interpretation has resulted. Now by children we understand works; and as by good children, good works, so by evil, evil.

To the end, for the servant of the Lord, David himself.

1. That is, for the strong of hand, Christ in His Manhood. The words of this song which he spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him out of the hands of his enemies, and of the hand of Saul; and he said, On the day when the Lord delivered him out of the hands of his enemies and of the hand of Saul: namely, the king of the Jews, whom they had demanded for themselves. [1 Samuel 8:5] For as David is said to be by interpretation, strong of hand; so Saul is said to be demanding. Now it is well known, how that People demanded for themselves a king, and received him for their king, not according to the will of God, but according to their own will.

2. Christ, then, and the Church, that is, whole Christ, the Head and the Body, says here, I will love You, O Lord, My strength [Psalm 17:1]. I will love You, O Lord, by whom I am strong.

3. O Lord, My stay, and My refuge, and My deliverer [Psalm 17:2]. O Lord, who hast stayed Me, because I sought refuge with You: and I sought refuge, because You have delivered Me. My God is My helper; and I will hope in Him. My God, who hast first afforded me the help of Your call, that I might be able to hope in You. My defender, and the horn of My salvation, and My redeemer. My defender, because I have not leant upon Myself, lifting up as it were the horn of pride against You; but have found You a horn indeed, that is, the sure height of salvation: and that I might find it, You redeemed Me.

4. With praise will I call upon the Lord, and I shall be safe from Mine enemies [Psalm 17:3]. Seeking not My own but the Lord's glory, I will call upon Him, and there shall be no means whereby the errors of ungodliness can hurt Me.

5. The pains of death, that is, of the flesh, have compassed Me about. And the overflowings of ungodliness have troubled Me [Psalm 17:4]. Ungodly troubles stirred up for a time, like torrents of rain which will soon subside, have come on to trouble Me.

6. The pains of hell compassed Me about [Psalm 17:5]. Among those that compassed Me about to destroy Me, were pains of envy, which work death, and lead on to the hell of sin. The snares of death prevented Me. They prevented Me, so that they wished to hurt Me first, which shall afterwards be recompensed unto them. Now they seize unto destruction such men as they have evilly persuaded by the boast of righteousness: in the name but not in the reality of which they glory against the Gentiles.

7. And in Mine oppression I called upon the Lord, and cried unto My God. And He heard My voice from His holy temple [Psalm 17:6]. He heard from My heart, wherein He dwells, My voice. And My cry in His sight entered into His ears; and My cry, which I utter, not in the ears of men, but inwardly before Him Himself, entered into His ears.

8. And the earth was moved and trembled [Psalm 17:7]. When the Son of Man was thus glorified, sinners were moved and trembled. And the foundations of the mountains were troubled. And the hopes of the proud, which were in this life, were troubled. And were moved, for God was angry with them. That is, that the hope of temporal goods might have now no more establishment in the hearts of men.

9. There went up smoke in His wrath [Psalm 17:8]. The tearful supplication of penitents went up, when they came to know God's threatenings against the ungodly. And fire burns from His face. And the ardour of love after repentance burns by the knowledge of Him. Coals were kindled from Him. They, who were already dead, abandoned by the fire of good desire and the light of righteousness, and who remained in coldness and darkness, re-enkindled and enlightened, have come to life again.

10. And He bowed the heaven, and came down [Psalm 17:9]. And He humbled the just One, that He might descend to men's infirmity. And darkness under His feet. And the ungodly, who savour of things earthly, in the darkness of their own malice, knew not Him: for the earth under His feet is as it were His footstool.

11. And He mounted above the cherubim, and did fly [Psalm 17:10]. And He was exalted above the fullness of knowledge, that no man should come to Him but by love: for love is the fulfilling of the law. [Romans 13:10] And full soon He showed to His lovers that He is incomprehensible, lest they should suppose that He is comprehended by corporeal imaginations. He flew above the wings of the winds. But that swiftness, whereby He showed Himself to be incomprehensible, is above the powers of souls, whereon as upon wings they raise themselves from earthly fears into the air of liberty.

12. And has made darkness His hiding place [Psalm 17:11]. And has settled the obscurity of the Sacraments, and the hidden hope in the heart of believers, where He may lie hidden, and not abandon them. In this darkness too, wherein we yet walk by faith, and not by sight, [2 Corinthians 5:7] as long as we hope for what we see not, and with patience wait for it. [Romans 8:25] Round about Him is His tabernacle. Yet they that believe Him turn to Him and encircle Him; for that He is in the midst of them, since He is equally the friend of all, in whom as in a tabernacle He at this time dwells. Dark water in clouds of air. Nor let any one on this account, if he understand the Scripture, imagine that he is already in that light, which will be when we shall have come out of faith into sight: for in the prophets and in all the preachers of the word of God there is obscure teaching.

13. In respect of the brightness in His sight [Psalm 17:12]: in comparison with the brightness, which is in the sight of His manifestation. His clouds have passed over. The preachers of His word are not now bounded by the confines of Judæa, but have passed over to the Gentiles. Hail and coals of fire. Reproofs are figured, whereby, as by hail, the hard hearts are bruised: but if a cultivated and genial soil, that is, a godly mind, receive them, the hail's hardness dissolves into water, that is, the terror of the lightning-charged, and as it were frozen, reproof dissolves into satisfying doctrine; and hearts kindled by the fire of love revive. All these things in His clouds have passed over to the Gentiles.

14. And the Lord has thundered from heaven [Psalm 17:13]. And in confidence of the Gospel the Lord has sounded forth from the heart of the just One. And the Highest gave His voice; that we might entertain it, and in the depth of human things, might hear things heavenly.

15. And He sent out His arrows, and scattered them [Psalm 17:14]. And He sent out Evangelists traversing straight paths on the wings of strength, not in their own power, but His by whom they were sent. And He scattered them, to whom they were sent, that to some of them they should be the savour of life unto life, to others the savour of death unto death. [2 Corinthians 2:16] And He multiplied lightnings, and troubled them. And He multiplied miracles, and troubled them.

16. And the fountains of water were seen. And the fountains of water springing up into everlasting life, [John 4:14] which were made in the preachers, were seen. And the foundations of the round world were revealed [Psalm 17:15]. And the Prophets, who were not understood, and upon whom was to be built the world of believers in the Lord, were revealed. At Your chiding, O Lord: crying out, The kingdom of God has come near unto you. [Luke 10:9] At the blasting of the breath of Your displeasure; saying, Unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish. [Luke 13:5]

17. He has sent down from on high, and has fetched Me [Psalm 17:16]: by calling out of the Gentiles for an inheritance a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle. [Ephesians 5:27] He has taken Me out of the multitude of waters. He has taken Me out of the multitude of peoples.

18. He has delivered Me from My strongest enemies [Psalm 17:17]. He has delivered Me from Mine enemies, who prevailed to the afflicting and overturning of this temporal life of Mine. And from them which hate Me; for they are too strong for Me: as long as I am under them knowing not God.

19. They have prevented Me in the day of My affliction [Psalm 17:18]. They have first injured Me, in the time when I am bearing a mortal and toilsome body. And the Lord has become My stay. And since the stay of earthly pleasure was disturbed and torn up by the bitterness of misery, the Lord has become My stay.

20. And has brought Me forth into a broad place [Psalm 17:19]. And since I was enduring the straits of the flesh, He brought Me forth into the spiritual breadth of faith. He has delivered Me, because He desired Me. Before that I desired Him, He delivered Me from My most powerful enemies (who were envious of Me when I once desired Him), and from them that hated Me, because I do desire Him.

21. And the Lord shall reward Me according to My righteousness [Psalm 17:20]. And the Lord shall reward Me according to the righteousness of My good will, who first showed mercy, before that I had the good will. And according to the cleanness of My hands He will recompense Me. And according to the cleanness of My deeds He will recompense Me, who has given Me to do well by bringing Me forth into the broad place of faith.

22. Because I have kept the ways of the Lord [Psalm 17:21]. That the breadth of good works, that are by faith, and the long-suffering of perseverance should follow after.

23. Nor have I walked impiously apart from My God. For all His judgments are in My sight [Psalm 17:22]. For with persevering contemplation I weigh all His judgments, that is, the rewards of the righteous, and the punishments of the ungodly, and the scourges of such as are to be chastened, and the trials of such as are to be proved. And I have not cast out His righteousness from Me: as they do that faint under their burden of them, and return to their own vomit.

24. And I shall be undefiled with Him, and I shall keep Myself from Mine iniquity [Psalm 17:23].

25. And the Lord shall reward Me according to My righteousness [Psalm 17:24]. Accordingly not only for the breadth of faith, which works by love; but also for the length of perseverance, will the Lord reward Me according to My righteousness. And according to the cleanness of My hands in the sight of His eyes. Not as men see, but in the sight of His eyes. For the things that are seen are temporal; but the things that are not seen are eternal: [2 Corinthians 4:18] whereto the height of hope appertains.

26. With the holy You shall be holy [Psalm 17:25]. There is a hidden depth also, wherein You are known to be holy with the holy, for that You make holy. And with the harmless You shall be harmless. For Thou harmest no man, but each one is bound by the bands of his own sins. [Proverbs 5:22]

27. And with the chosen You shall be chosen. [Psalm 17:26]. And by him whom You choose, You are chosen. And with the froward You shall be froward. And with the froward Thou seemest froward: for they say, The way of the Lord is not right: [Ezekiel 18:25] and their way is not right.

28. For You will make whole the humble people [Psalm 17:27]. Now this seems froward to the froward, that You will make whole those who confess their sins. And You will humble the eyes of the proud. But them that are ignorant of God's righteousness, and seek to establish their own, [Romans 10:3] You will humble.

29. For you will light My candle, O Lord [Psalm 17:28]. For our light is not from ourselves; but You will light my candle, O Lord. O my God, You will enlighten my darkness. For we through our sins are darkness; but You, O my God, will enlighten my darkness.

30. For by You shall I be delivered from temptation [Psalm 17:29]. For not by myself, but by You, shall I be delivered from temptation. And in my God shall I leap over the wall. And not in myself, but in my God shall I leap over the wall, which sin has raised between men and the heavenly Jerusalem.

31. My God, His way is undefiled [Psalm 17:30]. My God comes not unto men, except they shall have purified the way of faith, whereby He may come to them; for that His way is undefiled. The words of the Lord have been proved by fire. The words of the Lord are tried by the fire of tribulation. He is the Protector of them that hope in Him. And all that hope not in themselves, but in Him, are not consumed by that same tribulation. For hope follows faith.

32. For who is God, but the Lord? [Psalm 17:31] whom we serve. And who God, but our God? And who is God, but the Lord? Whom after good service we sons shall possess as the hoped-for inheritance.

33. God, who has girded me with strength [Psalm 17:32]. God, who has girded me that I might be strong, lest the loosely flowing folds of desire hinder my deeds and steps. And has made my way undefiled. And has made the way of love, whereby I may come to Him, undefiled, as the way of faith is undefiled, whereby He comes to me.

34. Who has made my feet perfect like harts' feet [Psalm 17:33]. Who has made my love perfect to surmount the thorny and dark entanglements of this world. And will set me up on high. And will fix my aim on the heavenly habitation, that I may be filled with all the fullness of God. [Ephesians 3:19]

35. Who teaches my hands for battle [Psalm 17:34]. Who teaches me to work for the overthrow of mine enemies, who strive to shut the kingdom of heaven against us. And You have made mine arms as a bow of steel. And You have made my earnest striving after good works unwearied.

36. And You have given me the defense of my salvation, and Your right hand has held me up [Psalm 17:35]. And the favour of Your grace has held me up. And Your discipline has directed me to the end. And Your correction, not suffering me to wander from the way, has directed me that whatsoever I do, I refer to that end, whereby I may cleave to You. And this Your discipline, it shall teach me. And that same correction of Yours shall teach me to attain to that, whereunto it has directed me.

37. You have enlarged my steps under me [Psalm 17:36]. Nor shall the straits of the flesh hinder me; for You have enlarged my love, working in gladness even with these mortal things and members which are under me. And my footsteps have not been weakened. And either my goings, or the marks which I have imprinted for the imitation of those that follow, have not been weakened.

38. I will follow up mine enemies, and seize them [Psalm 17:37]. I will follow up my carnal affections, and will not be seized by them, but will seize them, so that they may be consumed. And I will not turn, till they fail. And from this purpose I will not turn myself to rest, till they fail who make a tumult about me.

39. I will break them, and they shall not be able to stand [Psalm 17:38]: and they shall not hold out against me. They shall fall under my feet. When they are cast down, I will place before me the loves whereby I walk for evermore.

40. And You have girded me with strength to the war [Psalm 17:39]. And the loose desires of my flesh have You bound up with strength, that in such a fight I may not be encumbered. You have supplanted under me them that rose up against me. You have caused them to be deceived, who followed upon me, that they should be brought under me, who desired to be over me.

41. And you have given mine enemies the back to me [Psalm 17:40]. And you have turned mine enemies, and hast made them to be a back to me, that is, to follow me. And You have destroyed them that hate me. But such other of them as have persisted in hatred, You have destroyed.

42. They have cried out, and there was none to save them [Psalm 17:41]. For who can save them, whom You would not save? To the Lord, and He did not hear them. Nor did they cry out to any chance one, but to the Lord: and He did not judge them worthy of being heard, who depart not from their wickedness.

43. And I will beat them as small as dust before the face of the wind [Psalm 17:42]. And I will beat them small; for dry they are, receiving not the shower of God's mercy; that borne aloft and puffed up with pride they may be hurried along from firm and unshaken hope, and as it were from the earth's solidity and stability. As the clay of the streets I will destroy them. In their wanton and loose course along the broad ways of perdition, which many walk, will I destroy them.

44. You will deliver Me from the contradictions of the people [Psalm 17:43]. You will deliver Me from the contradictions of them who said, If we send Him away, all the world will go after Him.

45. You shall make Me the head of the Gentiles. A people whom I have not known have served Me. The people of the Gentiles, whom in bodily presence I have not visited, have served Me. At the hearing of the ear they have obeyed Me [Psalm 17:44]. They have not seen Me with the eye: but, receiving my preachers, at the hearing of the ear they have obeyed Me.

46. The strange children have lied unto Me. Children, not to be called Mine, but rather strange children, to whom it is rightly said, You are of your father the devil, [John 8:44] have lied unto Me. The strange children have waxen old [Psalm 17:45]. The strange children, to whom for their renovation I brought the new Testament, have remained in the old man. And they have halted from their own paths. And like those that are weak in one foot, for holding the old they have rejected the new Testament, they have become halt, even in their old Law, rather following their own traditions, than God's. For they brought frivolous charges of unwashen hands, [Matthew 15:2] because such were the paths, which themselves had made and worn by long use, in wandering from the ways of God's commands.

47. The Lord lives, and blessed be my God. But to be carnally minded is death: [Romans 8:6] for the Lord lives, and blessed be my God. And let the God of my salvation be exalted [Psalm 17:46]. And let me not think after an earthly fashion of the God of my salvation; nor look from Him for this earthly salvation, but that on high.

48. O God, who givest Me vengeance, and subduest the people under Me [Psalm 17:47]. O God, who avengest Me by subduing the people under Me. My Deliverer from My angry enemies: the Jews crying out, Crucify Him, Crucify Him. [John 19:6]

49. From them that rise up against Me You will exalt Me [Psalm 17:48]. From the Jews that rise up against Me in My passion, You will exalt Me in My resurrection. From the unjust man You will deliver Me. From their unjust rule You will deliver Me.

50. For this cause will I confess to You among the Gentiles, O Lord [Psalm 17:49]. For this cause shall the Gentiles confess to You through Me, O Lord. And I will sing unto Your Name. And You shall be more widely known by My good deeds.

51. Magnifying the salvation of His King [Psalm 17:50]. God, who magnifies, so as to make wonderful, the salvation, which His Son gives to believers. And showing mercy to His Christ: God, who shows mercy to His Christ: To David and to His seed for evermore: to the Deliverer Himself strong of hand, who has overcome this world; and to them whom, as believers in the Gospel, He has begotten for evermore. Whatever things are spoken in this Psalm which cannot apply to the Lord Himself personally, that is to the Head of the Church, must be referred to the Church. For whole Christ speaks here, in whom are all His members.

To the end, a psalm of David himself.

1. It is a well-known title; nor does the Lord Jesus Christ say what follows, but it is said of Him.

2. The heavens tell out the glory of God [Psalm 18:1]. The righteous Evangelists, in whom, as in the heavens, God dwells, set forth the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, or the glory wherewith the Son glorified the Father upon earth. And the firmament shows forth the works of His hands. And the firmament shows forth the deeds of the Lord's power, that now made heaven by the assurance of the Holy Ghost, which before was earth by fear.

3. Day unto day utters word [Psalm 18:2]. To the spiritual the Spirit gives out the fullness of the unchangeable Wisdom of God, the Word which in the beginning is God with God. [John 1:1] And night unto night announces knowledge. And to the fleshly, as to those afar off, the mortality of the flesh, by conveying faith, announces future knowledge.

4. There is no speech nor language, in which their voices are not heard [Psalm 18:3]. In which the voices of the Evangelists have not been heard, seeing that the Gospel was preached in every tongue.

5. Their sound is gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world [Psalm 18:4].

6. In the sun has He set His tabernacle. Now that He might war against the powers of temporal error, the Lord, being about to send not peace but a sword on earth, [Matthew 10:34] in time, or in manifestation, set so to say His military dwelling, that is, the dispensation of His incarnation. And He as a bridegroom coming forth out of His chamber [Psalm 18:5]. And He, coming forth out of the Virgin's womb, where God was united to man's nature as a bridegroom to a bride. Rejoiced as a giant to run His way. Rejoiced as One exceeding strong, and surpassing all other men in power incomparable, not to inhabit, but to run His way. For, He stood not in the way of sinners.

7. His going forth is from the highest heaven [Psalm 18:6]. From the Father is His going forth, not that in time, but from everlasting, whereby He was born of the Father. And His meeting is even to the height of heaven. And in the fullness of the Godhead He meets even to an equality with the Father. And there is none that may hide himself from His heat. But whereas, the Word was even made flesh, and dwelt in us, [John 1:14] assuming our mortality, He permitted no man to excuse himself from the shadow of death; for the heat of the Word penetrated even it.

8. The law of the Lord is undefiled, converting souls [Psalm 18:7]. The law of the Lord, therefore, is Himself who came to fulfil the law, not to destroy it; [Matthew 5:17] an undefiled law, Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth, [1 Peter 2:22] not oppressing souls with the yoke of bondage, but converting them to imitate Him in liberty. The testimony of the Lord is sure, giving wisdom to babes. The testimony of the Lord is sure; for, no man knows the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him, [Matthew 11:27] which things have been hidden from the wise and revealed to babes; [Luke 10:21] for, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. [James 4:6]

9. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart [Psalm 18:8]. All the statutes of the Lord are right in Him who taught not what He did not; that they who should imitate Him might rejoice in heart, in those things which they should do freely with love, not slavishly with fear. The commandment of the Lord is lucid, enlightening the eyes. The commandment of the Lord is lucid, with no veil of carnal observances, enlightening the sight of the inner man.

10. The fear of the Lord is chaste, enduring for ever [Psalm 18:9]. The fear of the Lord; not that distressing fear under the law, dreading exceedingly the withdrawal of temporal goods, by the love of which the soul commits fornication; but that chaste fear wherewith the Church, the more ardently she loves her Spouse, the more carefully does she take heed of offending Him, and therefore, perfect love casts not out this fear, [1 John 4:18] but it endures forever.

11. The judgments of the Lord are true, justified together. The judgments of Him, who judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son, [John 5:22] are justified in truth unchangeably. For neither in His threatenings nor His promises does God deceive any man, nor can any withdraw either from the ungodly His punishment, or from the godly His reward. To be desired more than gold, and much precious stone [Psalm 18:10]. Whether it be gold and stone itself much, or much precious, or much to be desired; still, the judgments of God are to be desired more than the pomp of this world; by desire of which it is brought to pass that the judgments of God are not desired, but feared, or despised, or not believed. But if any be himself gold and precious stone, that he may not be consumed by fire, but received into the treasury of God, more than himself does he desire the judgments of God, whose will he preferrs to his own. And sweeter than honey and the honey comb. And whether one be even now honey, who, disenthralled already from the chains of this life, is awaiting the day when he may come up to God's feast; or whether he be yet as the honey comb, wrapped about with this life as it were with wax, not mixed and become one with it, but filling it, needing some pressure of God's hand, not oppressing but expressing it, whereby from life temporal it may be strained out into life eternal: to such an one the judgments of God are sweeter than he himself is to himself, for that they are sweeter than honey and the honey comb.

12. For Your servant keeps them [Psalm 18:11]. For to him who keeps them not the day of the Lord is bitter. In keeping them there is great reward. Not in any external benefit, but in the thing itself, that God's judgments are kept, is there great reward; great because one rejoices therein.

13. Who understands sins? [Psalm 18:12.] But what sort of sweetness can there be in sins, where there is no understanding? For who can understand sins, which close the very eye, to which truth is pleasant, to which the judgments of God are desirable and sweet? Yea, as darkness closes the eye, so do sins the mind, and suffer it not to see either the light, or itself.

14. Cleanse me, O Lord, from my secret faults. From the lusts which lie hidden in me, cleanse me, O Lord. And from the faults of others preserve Your servant [Psalm 18:13]. Let me not be led astray by others. For he is not a prey to the faults of others, who is cleansed from his own. Preserve therefore from the lusts of others, not the proud man, and him who would be his own master, but, Your servant. If they get not the dominion over me, then shall I be undefiled. If neither my own secret sins, nor those of others, get the dominion over me, then shall I be undefiled. For there is no third source of sin, but one's own secret sin, by which the devil fell, and another's sin, by which man is seduced, so as by consenting to make it his own. And I shall be cleansed from the great offense. What but pride? For there is none greater than apostasy from God, which is the beginning of the pride of man. [Sirach 10:12] And he shall indeed be undefiled, who is free from this offense also; for this is the last to them who are returning to God, which was the first as they departed from Him.

15. And the words of my mouth shall be pleasing, and the meditation of my heart is always in Your sight [Psalm 18:14]. The meditation of my heart is not after the vain glory of pleasing men, for now there is pride no more, but in Your sight always, who regardest a pure conscience. O Lord, my Helper, and my Redeemer [Psalm 18:15]. O Lord, my Helper, in my approach to You; for You are my Redeemer, that I might set out unto You: lest any attributing to his own wisdom his conversion to You, or to his own strength his attaining to You, should be rather driven back by You, who resistest the proud; for he is not cleansed from the great offense, nor pleasing in Your sight, who redeemest us that we may be converted, and helpest us that we may attain unto You.

To the end, a psalm of David.

1. This is a well-known title; and it is not Christ who speaks; but the prophet speaks to Christ, under the form of wishing, foretelling things to come.

2. The Lord hear You in the day of trouble [Psalm 19:1]. The Lord hear You in the day in which Thou said, Father glorify Your Son. The name of the God of Jacob protect You. For to You belongs the younger people. Since the elder shall serve the younger.

3. Send You help from the Holy, and from Sion defend You [Psalm 19:2]. Making for You a sanctified Body, the Church, from watching safe, which waits when You shall come from the wedding.

4. Be mindful of all Your sacrifice [Psalm 19:3]. Make us mindful of all Your injuries and despiteful treatment, which You have borne for us. And be Your whole burnt offering made fat. And turn the cross, whereon You were wholly offered up to God, into the joy of the resurrection.

5. Diapsalma. The Lord render to You according to Your Heart [Psalm 19:4]. The Lord render to You, not according to their heart, who thought by persecution they could destroy You; but according to Your Heart, wherein Thou knew what profit Your passion would have. [John 12:32] And fulfil all Your counsel. And fulfil all Your counsel. not only that whereby Thou laid down Your life for Your friends, [John 15:13] that the corrupted grain might rise again to more abundance; [John 12:24] but that also whereby blindness in part has happened unto Israel, that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter in, and so all Israel might be saved. [Romans 11:25-26]

6. We will exult in Your salvation [Psalm 19:5]. We will exult in that death will in no wise hurt You; for so You will also show that it cannot hurt us either. And in the name of the Lord our God will we be magnified. And the confession of Your name shall not only not destroy us, but shall even magnify us.

7. The Lord fulfil all Your petitions. The Lord fulfil not only the petitions which You made on earth, but those also whereby Thou intercedest for us in heaven. Now have I known that the Lord has saved his Christ [Psalm 19:6]. Now has it been shown to me in prophecy, that the Lord will raise up His Christ again. He will hear Him from His holy heaven. He will hear Him not from earth only, where He prayed to be glorified; [John 17:1] but from heaven also, where interceding for us at the Right Hand of the Father, [Hebrews 7:25] He has from thence shed abroad the Holy Spirit on them that believe in Him. In strength is the safety of His right hand. Our strength is in the safety of His favour, when even out of tribulation He gives help, that when we are weak, then we may be strong. [2 Corinthians 12:10] For vain is that safety of man, which comes not of His right hand but of His left: for thereby are they lifted up to great pride, whosoever in their sins have secured a temporal safety.

8. Some in chariots, and some in horses [Psalm 19:7]. Some are drawn away by the ever moving succession of temporal goods; and some are preferred to proud honours, and in them exult: But we will exult in the name of the Lord our God. But we, fixing our hope on things eternal, and not seeking our own glory, will exult in the name of the Lord our God.

9. They have been bound, and fallen [Psalm 19:8]. And therefore were they bound by the lust of temporal things, fearing to spare the Lord, lest they should lose their place by the Romans: [John 11:48] and rushing violently on the stone of offense and rock of stumbling, they fell from the heavenly hope: to whom the blindness in part of Israel has happened, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and wishing to establish their own. But we are risen, and stand upright. But we, that the Gentile people might enter in, out of the stones raised up as children to Abraham, [Matthew 3:9] who followed not after righteousness, have attained to it, and are risen; [Romans 9:30] and not by our own strength, but being justified by faith, we stand upright.

10. O Lord, save the King: that He, who in His Passion has shown us an example of conflict, should also offer up our sacrifices, the Priest raised from the dead, and established in heaven. And hear us in the day when we shall call on You [Psalm 19:9]. And as He now offers for us, hear us in the day when we shall call on You.

To the end, a psalm of David himself.

1. The title is a familiar one; the Psalm is of Christ.

2. O Lord, the King shall rejoice in Your strength [Psalm 20:1]. O Lord, in Your strength, whereby the Word was made flesh, the Man Christ Jesus shall rejoice. And shall exult exceedingly in Your salvation. And in that, whereby Thou quickenest all things, shall exult exceedingly.

3. You have given Him the desire of His soul [Psalm 20:2]. He desired to eat the Passover, [Luke 22:15] and to lay down His life when He would, and again when He would to take it; and You have given it to Him. [John 10:18] And hast not deprived Him of the good pleasure of His lips. My peace, says He, I leave with you: [John 14:27] and it was done.

4. For You have presented Him with the blessings of sweetness [Psalm 20:3]. Because He had first quaffed the blessing of Your sweetness, the gall of our sins did not hurt Him. Diapsalma. You have set a crown of precious stone on His Head. At the beginning of His discoursing precious stones were brought, and compassed Him about; His disciples, from whom the commencement of His preaching should be made.

5. He asked life; and You gave Him: He asked a resurrection, saying, Father, glorify Your Son; [John 17:1] and You gave it Him, Length of days for ever and ever [Psalm 20:4]. The prolonged ages of this world which the Church was to have, and after them an eternity, world without end.

6. His glory is great in Your salvation [Psalm 20:5]. Great indeed is His glory in the salvation, whereby You have raised Him up again. Glory and great honour shall Thou lay upon Him. But You shall yet add unto Him glory and great honour, when You shall place Him in heaven at Your right hand.

7. For You shall give Him blessing for ever and ever. This is the blessing which You shall give Him for ever and ever: You shall make Him glad in joy together with Your countenance [Psalm 20:6]. According to His manhood, You shall make Him glad together with Your countenance, which He lifted up to You.

8. For the King hopes in the Lord. For the King is not proud, but humble in heart, he hopes in the Lord. And in the mercy of the Most Highest He shall not be moved [Psalm 20:7]. And in the mercy of the Most Highest His obedience even unto the death of the Cross shall not disturb His humility.

9. Let Your hand be found by all Your enemies. Be Your power, O King, when You come to judgment, found by all Your enemies; who in Your humiliation discerned it not. Let Your right hand find out all that hate You [Psalm 20:8]. Let the glory, wherein Thou reign at the right hand of the Father, find out for punishment in the day of judgment all that hate You; for that now they have not found it.

10. You shall make them like a fiery oven: You shall make them on fire within, by the consciousness of their ungodliness: In the time of Your countenance: in the time of Your manifestation. The Lord shall trouble them in His wrath, and the fire shall devour them [Psalm 20:9]. And then, being troubled by the vengeance of the Lord, after the accusation of their conscience, they shall be given up to eternal fire, to be devoured.

11. Their fruit shall You destroy out of the earth. Their fruit, because it is earthly, shall You destroy out of the earth. And their seed from the sons of men [Psalm 20:10]. And their works; or, whomsoever they have seduced, You shall not reckon among the sons of men, whom You have called into the everlasting inheritance.

12. Because they turned evils against You. Now this punishment shall be recompensed to them, because the evils which they supposed to hang over them by Your reign, they turned against You to Your death. They imagined a device, which they were not able to establish [Psalm 20:11]. They imagined a device, saying, It is expedient that one die for all: [John 11:50] which they were not able to establish, not knowing what they said.

13. For You shall set them low. For You shall rank them among those from whom in degradation and contempt You will turn away. In Your leavings You shall make ready their countenance [Psalm 20:12]. And in these things that Thou leavest, that is, in the desires of an earthly kingdom, You shall make ready their shamelessness for Your passion.

14. Be Thou exalted, O Lord, in Your strength [Psalm 20:13]. Be Thou, Lord, whom in humiliation they did not discern, exalted in Your strength, which they thought weakness. We will sing and praise Your power. In heart and in deed we will celebrate and make known Your marvels.

To the end, for the taking up of the morning, a psalm of David.

1. To the end, for His own resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself speaks. [John 20:1-17] For in the morning on the first day of the week was His resurrection, whereby He was taken up, into eternal life, Over whom death shall have no more dominion. [Romans 6:9] Now what follows is spoken in the person of The Crucified. For from the head of this Psalm are the words, which He cried out, while hanging on the Cross, sustaining also the person of the old man, whose mortality He bare. For our old man was nailed together with Him to the Cross. [Romans 6:6]

2. O God, my God, look upon me, why have You forsaken me far from my salvation? [Psalm 21:1]. Far removed from my salvation: for salvation is far from sinners. The words of my sins. For these are not the words of righteousness, but of my sins. For it is the old man nailed to the Cross that speaks, ignorant even of the reason why God has forsaken him: or else it may be thus, The words of my sins are far from my salvation.

3. My God, I will cry unto You in the daytime, and You will not hear [Psalm 21:2]. My God, I will cry unto You in the prosperous circumstances of this life, that they be not changed; and You will not hear, because I shall cry unto You in the words of my sins. And in the night-season, and not to my folly. And so in the adversities of this life will I cry to You for prosperity; and in like manner You will not hear. And this You do not to my folly, but rather that I may have wisdom to know what You would have me cry for, not with the words of sins out of longing for life temporal, but with the words of turning to You for life eternal.

4. But You dwell in the holy place, O Thou praise of Israel [Psalm 21:3]. But You dwell in the holy place, and therefore will not hear the unclean words of sins. The praise of him that sees You; not of him who has sought his own praise in tasting of the forbidden fruit, that on the opening of his bodily eyes he should endeavour to hide himself from Your sight.

5. Our Fathers hoped in You. All the righteous, namely, who sought not their own praise, but Yours. They hoped in You, and You delivered them [Psalm 21:4].

6. They cried unto You, and were saved. They cried unto You, not in the words of sins, from which salvation is far; and therefore were they saved. They hoped in You, and were not confounded [Psalm 21:5]. They hoped in You, and their hope did not deceive them. For they placed it not in themselves.

7. But I am a worm, and no man [Psalm 21:6]. But I, speaking now not in the person of Adam, but I in My own person, Jesus Christ, was born without human generation in the flesh, that I might be as man beyond men; that so at least human pride might deign to imitate My humility. The scorn of men, and outcast of the people. In which humility I was made the scorn of men, so as that it should be said, as a reproachful railing, Be His disciple: [John 9:28] and that the people despise Me.

8. All that saw Me laughed Me to scorn [Psalm 21:7]. All that saw Me derided Me. And spoke with the lips, and shook the head. [Matthew 27:39] And they spoke, not with the heart, but with the lips.

9. For they shook their head in derision, saying, He trusted in the Lord, let Him deliver Him: [Matthew 27:43] let Him save Him, since He desires Him [Psalm 21:8]. These were their words; but they were spoken with the lips.

10. Since You are He who drew Me out of the womb [Psalm 21:9]. Since You are He who drew Me, not only out of that Virgin womb (for this is the law of all men's birth, that they be drawn out of the womb), but also out of the womb of the Jewish nation; by the darkness whereof he is covered, and not yet born into the light of Christ, whosoever places his salvation in the carnal observance of the Sabbath, and of circumcision, and the like. My hope from My mother's breasts. My hope, O God, not from the time when I began to be fed by the milk of the Virgin's breasts; for it was even before; but from the breasts of the Synagogue, as I have said, out of the womb, You have drawn Me, that I should not suck in the customs of the flesh.

11. I have been strengthened in You from the womb [Psalm 21:10]. It is the womb of the Synagogue, which did not carry Me, but threw Me out: but I fell not, for Thou heldest me. From My mother's womb You are My God. From My mother's womb: My mother's womb did not cause that, as a babe, I should be forgetful of You.

12. You are My God, depart not from Me; for trouble is hard at hand [Psalm 21:11]. You are, therefore, My God, depart not from Me; for trouble is near unto Me; for it is in My body. For there is none to help. For who helps, if Thou helpest not?

13. Many calves came about Me. The multitude of the wanton populace came about Me. Fat bulls closed Me in [Psalm 21:12]. And their leaders, glad at My oppression, closed Me in.

14. They opened their mouth upon Me [Psalm 21:13]. They opened their mouth upon Me, not out of Your Scripture, but of their own lusts. As a ravening and roaring lion. As a lion, whose ravening is, that I was taken and led; and whose roaring, Crucify, Crucify. [John 19:6]

15. I was poured out like water, and all My bones were scattered [Psalm 21:14]. I was poured out like water, when My persecutors fell: and through fear, the stays of My body, that is, the Church, My disciples were scattered from Me. [Matthew 26:56] My heart became as melting wax, in the midst of my belly. My wisdom, which was written of Me in the sacred books, was, as if hard and shut up, not understood: but after that the fire of My Passion was applied, it was, as if melted, manifested, and entertained in the memory of My Church.

16. My strength dried up as a potsherd [Psalm 21:15]. My strength dried up by My Passion; not as hay, but a potsherd, which is made stronger by fire. And My tongue cleaved to My jaws. And they, through whom I was soon to speak, kept My precepts in their hearts. And You brought Me down to the dust of death. And to the ungodly appointed to death, whom the wind casts forth as dust from the face of the earth, You brought Me down.

17. For many dogs came about Me [Psalm 21:16]. For many came about Me barking, not for truth, but for custom. The council of the malignant came about Me. The council of the malignant besieged Me. They pierced My hands and feet. They pierced with nails My hands and feet.

18. They numbered distinctly all My bones [Psalm 21:17]. They numbered distinctly all My bones, while extended on the wood of the Cross. Yea, these same regarded, and beheld Me. Yea, these same, that is, unchanged, regarded and beheld Me.

19. They divided My garments for themselves, and cast the lot upon My vesture [Psalm 21:18].

20. But You, O Lord, withhold not Your help far from Me [Psalm 21:19]. But You, O Lord, raise Me up again, not as the rest of men, at the end of the world, but immediately. Look to My defense. Look, that they in no wise hurt Me.

21. Deliver My soul from the sword. Deliver My soul from the tongue of dissension. And My only One from the hand of the dog [Psalm 21:20]. And from the power of the people, barking after their custom, deliver My Church.

22. Save Me from the lion's mouth: save Me from the mouth of the kingdom of this world: and my humility from the horns of the unicorns [Psalm 21:21]. And from the loftiness of the proud, exalting themselves to special pre-eminence, and enduring no partakers, save My humility.

23. I will declare Your name to My brethren [Psalm 21:22]. I will declare Your name to the humble, and to My Brethren that love one another as they have been beloved by Me. [John 17:6, 21] In the midst of the Church will I sing of You. In the midst of the Church will I with rejoicing preach You.

24. You that fear the Lord, praise Him. You that fear the Lord, seek not your own praise, but praise Him. All you seed of Jacob, magnify Him [Psalm 21:23]. All you seed of him whom the elder shall serve, magnify Him.

25. Let all the seed of Israel fear Him. Let all who have been born to a new life, and restored to the vision of God fear Him. Since He has not despised, nor disregarded the prayer of the poor man [Psalm 21:24]. Since He has not despised the prayer, not of him who, crying unto God in the words of sins was loath to overpass a vain life, but the prayer of the poor man, not swollen up with transitory pomps. Nor has He turned away His face from Me. As from him who said, I will cry unto You, but You will not hear. And when I cried unto Him He heard Me.

26. With You is My praise [Psalm 21:25]. For I seek not My own praise, [John 8:50] for You are My praise, who dwellest in the holy place; and, praise of Israel, You hear The Holy One now beseeching You. In the great Church I will confess You. In the Church of the whole world I will confess You. I will offer My vows in the sight of them that fear Him. I will offer the sacraments of My Body and Blood in the sight of them that fear Him.

27. The poor shall eat, and be filled [Psalm 21:26]. The humble and the despisers of the world shall eat, and imitate Me. For so they will neither desire this world's abundance, nor fear its want. And they shall praise the Lord, who seek Him. For the praise of the Lord is the pouring out of that fullness. Their hearts shall live for ever and ever. For that food is the food of the heart.

28. All the borders of the earth shall remember themselves, and be turned to the Lord [Psalm 21:27]. They shall remember themselves: for, by the Gentiles, born in death and bent on outward things, God had been forgotten; and then shall all the borders of the earth be turned to the Lord. And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship in His sight. And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship in their own consciences.

29. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He shall rule over the nations [Psalm 21:28]. For the kingdom is the Lord's, not proud men's: and He shall rule over the nations.

30. All the rich of the earth have eaten, and worshipped [Psalm 21:29]. The rich of the earth too have eaten the Body of their Lord's humiliation, and though they have not, as the poor, been filled even to imitation, yet they have worshipped. In His sight shall fall all that descend to earth. For He alone sees how all they fall, who abandoning a heavenly conversation, make choice, on earth, to appear happy to men, who see not their fall.

31. And My Soul shall live to Him. And My Soul, which in the contempt of this world seems to men as it were to die, shall live, not to itself, but to Him. And My seed shall serve Him [Psalm 21:30]. And My deeds, or they who through Me believe in Him, shall serve Him.

32. The generation to come shall be declared to the Lord [Psalm 21:31]. The generation of the New Testament shall be declared to the honour of the Lord. And the heavens shall declare His righteousness. And the Evangelists shall declare His righteousness. To a people that shall be born, whom the Lord has made. To a people that shall be born to the Lord through faith.

A psalm of David himself.

1. The Church speaks to Christ: The Lord feeds me, and I shall lack nothing [Psalm 22:1]. The Lord Jesus Christ is my Shepherd, and I shall lack nothing.

2. In a place of pasture there has He placed me [Psalm 22:2]. In a place of fresh pasture, leading me to faith, there has He placed me to be nourished. By the water of refreshing has He brought me up. By the water of baptism, whereby they are refreshed who have lost health and strength, has He brought me up.

3. He has converted my soul: He has led me forth in the paths of righteousness, for His Name's sake [Psalm 22:3]. He has brought me forth in the narrow ways, wherein few walk, of His righteousness; not for my merit's sake, but for His Name's sake.

4. Yea, though I walk in the midst of the shadow of death [Psalm 22:4]. Yea, though I walk in the midst of this life, which is the shadow of death. I will fear no evil, for You are with me. I will fear no evil, for You dwell in my heart by faith: and You are now with me, that after the shadow of death I too may be with You. Your rod and Your staff, they have comforted me. Your discipline, like a rod for a flock of sheep, and like a staff for children of some size, and growing out of the natural into spiritual life, they have not been grievous to me; rather have they comforted me: because You are mindful of me.

5. You have prepared a table in my sight, against them that trouble me [Psalm 22:5]. Now after the rod, whereby, while a little one, and living the natural life, I was brought up among the flock in the pastures; after that rod, I say, when I began to be under the staff, You have prepared a table in my sight, that I should no more be fed as a babe with milk, [1 Corinthians 3:2] but being older should take meat, strengthened against them that trouble me. You have fattened my head with oil. You have gladdened my mind with spiritual joy. And Your inebriating cup, how excellent is it! And Your cup yielding forgetfulness of former vain delights, how excellent is it!

6. And Your mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: that is, as long as I live in this mortal life, not Yours, but mine. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord for length of days [Psalm 22:6]. Now Your mercy shall follow me not here only, but also that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

A psalm of David himself, on the first day of the week.

1. A Psalm of David himself, touching the glorifying and resurrection of the Lord, which took place early in the morning on the first day of the week, which is now called the Lord's Day.

2. The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof, the compass of the world, and all they that dwell therein [Psalm 23:1]; when the Lord, being glorified, is announced for the believing of all nations; and the whole compass of the world becomes His Church. He has founded it above the seas. He has most firmly established it above all the waves of this world, that they should be subdued by it, and should not hurt it. And has prepared it above the rivers [Psalm 23:2]. The rivers flow into the sea, and men of lust lapse into the world: these also the Church, which, when worldly lusts have been conquered by the grace of God, has been prepared by love for the reception of immortality, subdues.

3. Who shall ascend into the mount of the Lord? Who shall ascend to the height of the righteousness of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place? [Psalm 23:3]. Or who shall abide in that place, whither He shall ascend, founded above the seas, and prepared above the rivers?

4. The innocent of hand, and the pure in heart [Psalm 23:4]. Who then shall ascend there, and abide there, but the guiltless in deed, and pure in thought? Who has not received his soul in vain. Who has not reckoned his soul among things that pass away, but feeling it to be immortal, has longed for an eternity steadfast and unchangeable. And has not sworn in deceit to his neighbour. And therefore without deceit, as things eternal are simple and undeceiving, has so behaved himself to his neighbour.

5. This man shall receive blessing from the Lord, and mercy from the God of his salvation [Psalm 23:5].

6. This is the generation of them that seek the Lord [Psalm 23:6]. For thus are they born that seek Him. Of them that seek the face of the God of Jacob. Diapsalma. Now they seek the face of God, who gave the pre-eminence to the younger born. [Romans 9:12]

7. Take away your gates, you princes [Psalm 23:7]. All you, that seek rule among men, remove, that they hinder not, the entrances which you have made, of desire and fear. And be lifted up, you everlasting gates. And be lifted up, you entrances of eternal life, of renunciation of the world, and conversion to God. And the King of glory shall come in. And the King, in whom we may glory without pride, shall come in: who having overcome the gates of death, and having opened for Himself the heavenly places, fulfilled that which He said, Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. [John 16:33]

8. Who is this King of glory? Mortal nature is awe-struck in wonder, and asks, Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty. He whom you deemed weak and overwhelmed. The Lord mighty in battle [Psalm 23:8]. Handle the scars, and you will find them made whole, and human weakness restored to immortality. The glorifying of the Lord, which was owing to earth, where It warred with death, has been paid.

9. Take away your gates, you princes. Let us go hence straightway into heaven. Again, let the Prophet's trumpet cry aloud, Take away too, you princes of the air, the gates, which you have in the minds of men who 'worship the host of heaven.' [2 Kings 17:16] And be lifted up, you everlasting gates. And be lifted up, you doors of everlasting righteousness, of love, and chastity, through which the soul loves the One True God, and goes not a-whoring with the many that are called gods. And the King of glory shall come in [Psalm 23:9]. And the King of glory shall come in, that He may at the right hand of the Father intercede for us.

10. Who is this King of glory? What! Do you too, prince of the power of this air, [Ephesians 2:2] marvel and ask, Who is this King of glory? The Lord of powers, He is the King of glory [Psalm 23:10]. Yea, His Body now quickened, He who was tempted marches above you; He who was tempted by the angel, the deceiver, goes above all angels. Let none of you put himself before us and stop our way, that he may be worshipped as a god by us: neither principality, nor angel, nor power, separates us from the love of Christ. [Romans 8:39] It is good to trust in the Lord, rather than to trust in a prince; that he who glories, should glory in the Lord. [1 Corinthians 1:31] These indeed are powers in the administration of this world, but the Lord of powers, He is the King of glory.

To the end, a psalm of David himself.

1. Christ speaks, but in the person of the Church: for what is said has reference rather to the Christian People turned unto God.

2. Unto You, O Lord, have I lift up my soul [Psalm 24:1]: with spiritual longing have I lift up the soul, that was trodden down on the earth with carnal longings. O my God, in You I trust, I shall not be ashamed [Psalm 24:2]. O my God, from trusting in myself I was brought even to this weakness of the flesh; and I who on abandoning God wished to be as God, fearing death from the smallest insect, was in derision ashamed for my pride; now, therefore, in You I trust, I shall not be ashamed.

3. And let not my enemies mock me. And let them not mock me, who by ensnaring me with serpent-like and secret suggestions, and prompting me with Well done, well done, have brought me down to this. For all that wait upon You shall not be confounded [Psalm 24:3].

4. Let them be confounded who do vain things unrighteously. Let them be confounded who act unrighteously for the acquiring things that pass away. Make Your ways, O Lord, known to me, and teach me Your paths [Psalm 24:4]: not those which are broad, and lead the many to destruction; [Matthew 7:13] but Your paths, narrow, and known to few, teach Thou me.

5. In Your truth guide me: avoiding error. And teach me: for by myself I know nothing, but falsehood. For You are the God of my salvation; and for You have I waited all the day [Psalm 24:5]. For dismissed by You from Paradise, and having taken my journey into a far country, [Luke 15:13] I cannot by myself return, unless Thou meetest the wanderer: for my return has throughout the whole tract of this world's time waited for Your mercy.

6. Remember Your compassions, O Lord [Psalm 24:6]. Remember the works of Your mercy, O Lord; for men deem of You as though You had forgotten. And that Your mercies are from eternity. And remember this, that Your mercies are from eternity. For Thou never wast without them, who hast subjected even sinful man to vanity indeed, but in hope; [Romans 8:20] and not deprived him of so many and great consolations of Your creation.

7. Remember not the offenses of my youth and of my ignorance [Psalm 24:7]. The offenses of my presumptuous boldness and of my ignorance reserve not for vengeance, but let them be as if forgotten by You. According to Your mercy, be mindful of me, O God. Be mindful indeed of me, not according to the anger of which I am worthy, but according to Your mercy which is worthy of You. For Your goodness, O Lord. Not for my deservings, but for Your goodness, O Lord.

8. Gracious and upright is the Lord [Psalm 24:8]. The Lord is gracious, since even sinners and the ungodly He so pitied, as to forgive all that is past; but the Lord is upright too, who after the mercy of vocation and pardon, which is of grace without merit, will require merits meet for the last judgment. Wherefore He will establish a law for them that fail in the way. For He has first bestowed mercy to bring them into the way.

9. He will guide the meek in judgment. He will guide the meek, and will not confound in the judgment those that follow His will, and do not, in withstanding It, prefer their own. The gentle He will teach His ways [Psalm 24:9]. He will teach His ways, not to those that desire to run before, as if they were better able to rule themselves; but to those who do not exalt the neck, nor lift the heel, when the easy yoke and the light burden is laid upon them. [Matthew 11:30]

10. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth [Psalm 24:10]. And what ways will He teach them, but mercy wherein He is placable, and truth wherein He is incorrupt? Whereof He has exhibited the one in forgiving sins, the other in judging deserts. And therefore all the ways of the Lord are the two advents of the Son of God, the one in mercy, the other in judgment. He then attains unto Him holding on His ways, who seeing himself freed by no deserts of his own, lays pride aside, and henceforward bewares of the severity of His trial, having experienced the clemency of His help. To them that seek His testament and His testimonies. For they understand the Lord as merciful at His first advent, and as the Judge at His second, who in meekness and gentleness seek His testament, when with His Own Blood He redeemed us to a new life; and in the Prophets and Evangelists, His testimonies.

11. For Your Name's sake, O Lord, You will be favourable to my sin; for it is manifold [Psalm 24:11]. You have not only forgiven my sins, which I committed before I believed; but also to my sin, which is manifold, since even in the way there is no lack of stumbling, You will be made favourable by the sacrifice of a troubled spirit.

12. Who is the man that fears the Lord? from which fear he begins to come to wisdom. He shall establish a law for him in the way, which he has chosen [Psalm 24:12]. He shall establish a law for him in the way, which in his freedom he has taken, that he may not sin now with impunity.

13. His soul shall dwell in good, and his seed shall, by inheritance, possess the earth [Psalm 24:13]. And his work shall possess the stable inheritance of a renewed body.

14. The Lord is the stay of them that fear Him [Psalm 24:14]. Fear seems to belong to the weak, but the Lord is the stay of them that fear Him. And the Name of the Lord, which has been glorified throughout the whole world, is a stay to them that fear Him. And His testament, that it may be manifested unto them. And He makes His testament to be manifested unto them, for the Gentiles and the bounds of the earth are Christ's inheritance.

15. My eyes are ever unto the Lord; for He shall pluck my feet out of the snare [Psalm 24:15]. Nor would I fear the dangers of earth, while I look not upon the earth: for He upon whom I look, will pluck my feet out of the snare.

16. Look upon me, and have mercy upon me; for I am single and poor [Psalm 24:16]. For I am a single people, keeping the lowliness of Your single Church, which no schisms or heresies possess.

17. The tribulations of my heart have been multiplied [Psalm 24:17]. The tribulations of my heart have been multiplied by the abounding of iniquity and the waxing cold of love. [Matthew 24:12] O bring Thou me out of my necessities. Since I must needs bear this, that by enduring unto the end I may be saved, bring Thou me out of my necessities.

18. See my humility and my travail [Psalm 24:18]. See my humility, whereby I never, in the boast of righteousness, break off from unity; and my travail, wherein I bear with the unruly ones that are mingled with me. And forgive all my sins. And, propitiated by these sacrifices, forgive all my sins, not those only of youth and my ignorance before I believed, but those also which, living now by faith, I commit through infirmity, or the darkness of this life.

19. Consider mine enemies, how they are multiplied [Psalm 24:19]. For not only without, but even within, in the Church's very communion, they are not wanting. And with an unrighteous hate they hate me. And they hate me who love them.

20. Keep my soul, and deliver me. Keep my soul, that I turn not aside to imitate them; and draw me out from the confusion wherein they are mingled with me. Let me not be confounded, for I have put my trust in You [Psalm 24:20]. Let me not be confounded, if haply they rise up against me: for not in myself, but in You have I put my trust.

21. The innocent and the upright have cleaved to me, for I have waited for You, O Lord [Psalm 24:21]. The innocent and the upright, not in bodily presence only, as the evil, are mingled with me, but in the agreement of the heart in the same innocence and uprightness cleave to me: for I have not fallen away to imitate the evil; but I have waited for You, expecting the winnowing of Your last harvest.

22. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles [Psalm 24:22]. Redeem Your people, O God, whom You have prepared to see You, out of his troubles, not those only which he bears without, but those also which he bears within.

Of David himself.

1. It may be attributed to David himself, not the Mediator, the Man Christ Jesus, but the whole Church now perfectly established in Christ.

2. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence [Psalm 25:1]. Judge me, O Lord, for, after the mercy which You first showed me, I have some desert of my innocence, the way whereof I have kept. And trusting in the Lord I shall not be moved. And yet not even so trusting in myself, but in the Lord, I shall abide in Him.

3. Prove me, O Lord, and try me [Psalm 25:2]. Lest, however, any of my secret sins should be hid from me, prove me, O Lord, and try me, making me known, not to You from whom nothing is hid, but to myself, and to men. Burn my reins and my heart. Apply a remedial purgation, as it were fire, to my pleasures and thoughts. For Your mercy is before my eyes [Psalm 25:3]. For, that I be not consumed by that fire, not my merits, but Your mercy, whereby You have brought me on to such a life, is before my eyes. And I have been pleasing in Your truth. And since my own falsehood has been displeasing to me, but Your truth pleasing, I have myself been pleasing also with it and in it.

4. I have not sat with the council of vanity [Psalm 25:4]. I have not chosen to give my heart to them who endeavour to provide, what is impossible, how they may be blessed in the enjoyment of things transitory. And I will not enter in with them that work wickedly. And since this is the very cause of all wickedness, therefore I will not have my conscience hid, with them that work wickedly.

5. I have hated the congregation of evil doers. But to arrive at this council of vanity, congregations of evil doers are formed, which I have hated. And I will not sit with the ungodly [Psalm 25:5]. And, therefore, with such a council, with the ungodly, I will not sit, that is, I will not place my consent. And I will not sit with the ungodly.

6. I will wash mine hands amid the innocent [Psalm 25:6]. I will make clean my works among the innocent: among the innocent will I wash mine hands, with which I shall embrace Your glorious gifts. And I will compass Your altar, O Lord.

7. That I may hear the voice of Your praise. That I may learn how to praise You. And that I may declare all Your wondrous works [Psalm 25:7]. And after I have learned, I may set forth all Your wondrous works.

8. O Lord, I have loved the beauty of Your house: of Your Church. And the place of the habitation of Your glory [Psalm 25:8]: where You dwell, and art glorified.

9. Destroy not my soul with the ungodly [Psalm 25:9]. Destroy not then, together with them that hate You, my soul, which has loved the beauty of Your house. And my life with the men of blood. And with them that hate their neighbour. For Your house is beautified with the two commandments.

10. In whose hands is wickedness. Destroy me not then with the ungodly and the men of blood, whose works are wicked. Their right hand is full of gifts [Psalm 25:10]. And that which was given them to obtain eternal salvation, they have converted into the receiving this world's gifts, supposing that godliness is a trade. [1 Timothy 6:5]

11. But I have walked in mine innocence: deliver me, and have mercy on me [Psalm 25:11]. Let so great a price of my Lord's Blood avail for my complete deliverance: and in the dangers of this life let not Your mercy leave me.

12. My foot has stood in uprightness. My Love has not withdrawn from Your righteousness. In the Churches I will bless You, O Lord [Psalm 25:12]. I will not hide Your blessing, O Lord, from those whom You have called; for next to the love of You I join the love of my neighbour.

Of David himself, before he was anointed.

1. Christ's young soldier speaks, on his coming to the faith. The Lord is my light, and my salvation: whom shall I fear? [Psalm 26:1]. The Lord will give me both knowledge of Himself, and salvation: who shall take me from Him? The Lord is the Protector of my life: of whom shall I be afraid? The Lord will repel all the assaults and snares of mine enemy: of no man shall I be afraid.

2. Whilst the guilty approach unto me to eat up my flesh [Psalm 26:2]. Whilst the guilty come near to recognise and insult me, that they may exalt themselves above me in my change for the better; that with their reviling tooth they may consume not me, but rather my fleshly desires. Mine enemies who trouble me. Not they only who trouble me, blaming me with a friendly intent, and wishing to recall me from my purpose, but mine enemies also. They became weak, and fell. Whilst then they do this with the desire of defending their own opinion, they became weak to believe better things, and began to hate the word of salvation, whereby I do what displeases them.

3. If camps stand together against me, my heart will not fear. But if the multitude of gain-sayers conspire to stand together against me, my heart will not fear, so as to go over to their side. If war rise up against me, in this will I trust [Psalm 26:3]. If the persecution of this world arise against me, in this petition, which I am pondering, will I place my hope.

4. One have I asked of the Lord, this will I require. For one petition have I asked the Lord, this will I require. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life [Psalm 26:4]. That as long as I am in this life, no adversities may exclude me from the number of them who hold the unity and the truth of the Lord's faith throughout the world. That I may contemplate the delight of the Lord. With this end, namely, that persevering in the faith, the delightsome vision may appear to me, which I may contemplate face to face. And I shall be protected, His temple. And death being swallowed up in victory, I shall be clothed with immortality, being made His temple.

5. For He has hidden me in His tabernacle in the day of my evils [Psalm 26:5]. For He has hidden me in the dispensation of His Incarnate Word in the time of temptations, to which my mortal life is exposed. He has protected me in the secret place of His tabernacle. He has protected me, with the heart believing unto righteousness.

6. On a rock has He exalted me. And that what I believed might be made manifest for salvation, He has made my confession to be conspicuous in His own strength. And now, lo! He has exalted mine head above mine enemies [Psalm 26:6]. What does He reserve for me at the last, when even now the body is dead because of sin, lo! I feel that my mind serves the law of God, and is not led captive under the rebellious law of sin? I have gone about, and have sacrificed in His tabernacle the sacrifice of rejoicing. I have considered the circuit of the world, believing on Christ; and in that for us God was humbled in time, I have praised Him with rejoicing: for with such sacrifice He is well pleased. I will sing and give praises to the Lord. In heart and in deed I will be glad in the Lord.

7. Hear my voice, O Lord, wherewith I have cried unto You [Psalm 26:7]. Hear, Lord, my interior voice, which with a strong intention I have addressed to Your ears. Have mercy upon me, and hear me. Have mercy upon me, and hear me therein.

8. My heart has said to You, I have sought Your countenance [Psalm 26:8]. For I have not exhibited myself to men; but in secret, where Thou alone hear, my heart has said to You; I have not sought from You anything without You as a reward, but Your countenance. Your countenance, O Lord, will I seek. In thus search will I perseveringly persist: for not anything that is common, but Your countenance, O Lord, will I seek, that I may love You freely, since nothing more precious do I find.

9. Turn not away Your face from me [Psalm 26:9]: that I may find what I seek. Turn not aside in anger from Your servant: lest, while seeking You, I fall in with somewhat else. For what is more grievous than this punishment to one who loves and seeks the truth of Your countenance? Be Thou my Helper. How shall I find it, if Thou help me not? Leave me not, neither despise me, O God my Saviour. Scorn not that a mortal dares to seek the Eternal; for Thou, God, dost heal the wound of my sin.

10. For my father and my mother have left me (ver. 10). For the kingdom of this world and the city of this world, of which I was born in time and mortality, have left me seeking You, and despising what they promised, since they could not give what I seek. But the Lord took me up. But the Lord, who can give me Himself, took me up.

11. Appoint me a law, O Lord, in Your way [Psalm 26:11]. For me then who am setting out toward You, and commenting so great a profession, of arriving at wisdom, from fear, appoint, O Lord, a law in Your way, lest in my wandering Your rule abandon me. And direct me in the right path because of mine enemies. And direct me in the right way of its straits. For it is not enough to begin, since enemies cease not until the end is attained.

12. Deliver me not up unto the souls of them that trouble me [Psalm 26:12]. Suffer not them that trouble me to be satiated with my evils. For unrighteous witnesses have risen up against me. For there have risen up against me they that speak falsely of me, to remove and call me back from You, as if I seek glory of men. And iniquity has lied unto itself. Therefore iniquity has been pleased with its own lie. For me it has not moved, to whom because of this there has been promised a greater reward in heaven.

13. I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living [Psalm 26:13]. And since my Lord has first suffered these things, if I too despise the tongues of the dying (for the mouth that lies slays the soul [Wisdom 1:11]), I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living, where there is no place for falsity.

14. Wait on the Lord, quit yourself like a man: and let your heart be strong, yea wait on the Lord [Psalm 26:14]. But when shall this be? It is arduous for a mortal, it is slow to a lover: but listen to the voice, that deceives not, of him that says, Wait on the Lord. Endure the burning of the reins manfully, and the burning of the heart stoutly. Think not that what you do not as yet receive is denied you. That you faint not in despair, see how it is said, Wait on the Lord.

Of David himself.

1. It is the Voice of the Mediator Himself, strong of hand in the conflict of the Passion. Now what He seems to wish for against His enemies, is not the wish of malevolence, but the declaration of their punishment; as in the Gospel, [Matthew 11:20-24] with the cities, in which though He had performed miracles, yet they had not believed on Him, He does not wish in any evil will what He says, but predicts what is impending over them.

2. Unto You, O Lord, have I cried; My God, be not silent from me [Psalm 27:1]. Unto You, O Lord, have I cried; My God, separate not the unity of Your Word from that which as Man I am. Lest at any time Thou be silent from me: and I shall be like them that go down into the pit. For from this, that the Eternity of Your Word ceases not to unite Itself to Me, it comes that I am not such a man as the rest of men, who are born into the deep misery of this world: where, as if You are silent, Your Word is not recognised. Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, whist I pray unto You, while I hold up my hands to Your holy temple [Psalm 27:2]. Whilst I am crucified for their salvation, who on believing become Your holy temple.

3. Draw not My Soul away with sinners, and destroy me not with them that work iniquity, with them that speak peace with their neighbours [Psalm 27:3]. With them that say unto Me, We know that You are a Master come from God. [John 3:2] But evil in their hearts. But they speak evil in their hearts.

4. Give unto them according to their works [Psalm 27:4]. Give unto them according to their works, for this is just. And according to the malice of their affections. For aiming at evil, they cannot discover good. According to the works of their hands give Thou unto them. Although what they have done may avail for salvation to others, yet give Thou unto them according to the works of their wills. Pay them their recompense. Because, for the truth which they heard, they wished to recompense deceit; let their own deceit deceive them.

5. For they have not had understanding in the works of the Lord [Psalm 27:5]. And whence is it clear that this has befallen them? From this forsooth, for they have not had understanding in the works of the Lord. This very thing, in truth, has been, even now, their recompense, that in Him whom they tempted with malicious intent as a Man, they should not recognise God, with what design the Father sent Him in the Flesh. And the works of His hands. Nor be moved by those visible works, which are laid out before their very eyes. You shall destroy them, and not build them up. Let them do Me no hurt, nay, nor again in their endeavour to raise engines against My Church, let them anything avail.

6. Blessed be the Lord, for He has heard the voice of My prayer [Psalm 27:6].

7. The Lord My Helper and My Protector [Psalm 27:7]. The Lord helping Me in so great sufferings, and protecting Me with immortality in My resurrection. In Him has My Heart trusted, and I have been helped. And My Flesh has flourished again: that is, and My Flesh has risen again. And of my will I will confess unto Him. Wherefore, the fear of death being now destroyed, not by the necessity of fear under the Law, but with a free will with the Law, shall they who believe in Me, confess unto Him; and because I am in them, I will confess.

8. The Lord is the strength of His people [Psalm 27:8]. Not that people ignorant of the righteousness of God, and willing to establish their own. [Romans 10:3] For they thought not themselves strong in themselves: for the Lord is the strength of His people, struggling in this life's difficulties with the devil. And the protector of the salvation of His Christ. That, having saved them by His Christ after the strength of war, He may protect them at the last with the immortality of peace.

9. Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance [Psalm 27:9]. I intercede therefore, after My Flesh has flourished again, because You have said, Desire of Me, and I will give You the heathen for Your inheritance; Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance: for all Mine are Yours. [John 17:10] And rule them, and set them up even forever. And rule them in this temporal life, and raise them from hence into life eternal.

A psalm of David himself, of the consummation of the tabernacle.

1. A Psalm of the Mediator Himself, strong of hand, of the perfection of the Church in this world, where she wars in time against the devil.

2. The Prophet speaks, Bring unto the Lord, O you Sons of God, bring unto the Lord the young of rams [Psalm 28:1]. Bring unto the Lord yourselves, whom the Apostles, the leaders of the flocks, have begotten by the Gospel. [1 Corinthians 4:15] Bring unto the Lord glory and honour [Psalm 28:2]. By your works let the Lord be glorified and honoured. Bring unto the Lord glory to His name. Let Him be made known gloriously throughout the world. Worship the Lord in His holy court. Worship the Lord in your heart enlarged and sanctified. For you are His regal holy habitation.

3. The Voice of the Lord is upon the waters [Psalm 28:3]. The Voice of Christ is upon the peoples. The God of majesty has thundered. The God of majesty, from the cloud of the flesh, has awfully preached repentance. The Lord is upon many waters. The Lord Jesus Himself, after that He sent forth His Voice upon the peoples, and struck them with awe, converted them to Himself, and dwelt in them.

4. The Voice of the Lord is in power [Psalm 28:4]. The Voice of the Lord now in them themselves, making them powerful. The Voice of the Lord is in great might. The Voice of the Lord working great things in them.

5. The Voice of the Lord breaking the cedars [Psalm 28:5]. The Voice of the Lord humbling the proud in brokenness of heart. The Lord shall break the cedars of Libanus. The Lord by repentance shall break them that are lifted on high by the splendour of earthly nobility, when to confound them He shall have chosen the base things of this world, [1 Corinthians 1:28] in the which to display His Divinity.

6. And shall bruise them as the calf of Libanus [Psalm 28:6]. And when their proud exaltation has been cut off, He will lay them low after the imitation of His Own humility, who like a calf was led to slaughter [Isaiah 53:7] by the nobility of this world. For the kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers agreed together against the Lord, and against His Christ. And the Beloved is as the young of the unicorns. For even He the Beloved, and the Only One of the Father, emptied Himself of His glory; and was made man, [Philippians 2:7] like a child of the Jews, that were ignorant of God's righteousness, [Romans 10:3] and proudly boasting of their own righteousness as peculiarly theirs.

7. The Voice of the Lord cutting short the flame of fire [Psalm 28:7]. The Voice of the Lord, without any harm to Himself, passing through all the excited ardour of them that persecute Him, or dividing the furious rage of His persecutors, so that some should say, Is not this haply the very Christ; others, Nay; but He deceives the people: [John 7:41, 12] and so cutting short their mad tumult, as to pass some over into His love, and leave others in their malice.

8. The Voice of the Lord moving the wilderness [Psalm 28:8]. The Voice of the Lord moving to the faith the Gentiles once without hope, and without God in the world; [Ephesians 2:12] where no prophet, no preacher of God's word, as it were, no man had dwelt. And the Lord will move the desert of Cades. And then the Lord will cause the holy word of His Scriptures to be fully known, which was abandoned by the Jews who understood it not.

9. The Voice of the Lord perfecting the stags [Psalm 28:9]. For the Voice of the Lord has first perfected them that overcame and repelled the envenomed tongues. And will reveal the woods. And then will He reveal to them the darknesses of the Divine books, and the shadowy depths of the mysteries, where they feed with freedom. And in His temple does every man speak of His glory. And in His Church all born again to an eternal hope praise God, each for His own gift, which He has received from the Holy Spirit.

10. The Lord inhabites the deluge [Psalm 28:10]. The Lord therefore first inhabites the deluge of this world in His Saints, kept safely in the Church, as in the ark. And the Lord shall sit a King forever. And afterward He will sit reigning in them forever.

11. The Lord will give strength to His people [Psalm 28:11]. For the Lord will give strength to His people fighting against the storms and whirlwinds of this world, for peace in this world He has not promised them. [John 16:33] The Lord will bless His people in peace. And the same Lord will bless His people, affording them peace in Himself; for, says He, My peace I give unto you, My peace I leave with you. [John 14:27]

To the end, the psalm of the canticle of the dedication of the house, of David himself.

1. To the end, a Psalm of the joy of the Resurrection, and the change, the renewing of the body to an immortal state, and not only of the Lord, but also of the whole Church. For in the former Psalm the tabernacle was finished, wherein we dwell in the time of war: but now the house is dedicated, which will abide in peace everlasting.

2. It is then whole Christ who speaks. I will exalt You, O Lord, for You have taken Me up [Psalm 29:1]. I will praise Your high Majesty, O Lord, for You have taken Me up. You have not made Mine enemies to rejoice over Me. And those, who have so often endeavoured to oppress Me with various persecutions throughout the world, You have not made to rejoice over Me.

3. O Lord, My God, I have cried unto You, and You have healed Me [Psalm 29:2]. O Lord, My God, I have cried unto You, and I no longer bear about a body enfeebled and sick by mortality.

4. O Lord, You have brought back My Soul from hell, and You have saved Me from them that go down into the pit [Psalm 29:3]. You have saved Me from the condition of profound darkness, and the lowest slough of corruptible flesh.

5. Sing to the Lord, O you saints of His. The prophet seeing these future things, rejoices, and says, Sing to the Lord, O you saints of His. And make confession of the remembrance of His holiness [Psalm 29:4]. And make confession to Him, that He has not forgotten the sanctification, wherewith He has sanctified you, although all this intermediate period belong to your desires.

6. For in His indignation is wrath [Psalm 29:5]. For He has avenged against you the first sin, for which you have paid by death. And life in His will. And life eternal, whereunto you could not return by any strength of your own, has He given, because He so would. In the evening weeping will tarry. Evening began, when the light of wisdom withdrew from sinful man, when he was condemned to death: from this evening weeping will tarry, as long as God's people are, amid labours and temptations, awaiting the day of the Lord. And exultation in the morning. Even to the morning, when there will be the exultation of the resurrection, which has shone forth by anticipation in the morning resurrection of the Lord.

7. But I said in my abundance, I shall not be moved for ever [Psalm 29:6]. But I, that people which was speaking from the first, said in mine abundance, suffering now no more any want, I shall not be moved forever.

8. O Lord, in Your will You have afforded strength unto my beauty [Psalm 29:7]. But that this my abundance, O Lord, is not of myself, but that in Your will You have afforded strength unto my beauty, I have learned from this, You turned away Your Face from me, and I became troubled; for You have sometimes turned away Your Face from the sinner, and I became troubled, when the illumination of Your knowledge withdrew from me.

9. Unto You, O Lord, will I cry, and unto my God will I pray [Psalm 29:8]. And bringing to mind that time of my trouble and misery, and as it were established therein, I hear the voice of Your First-Begotten, my Head, about to die for me, and saying Unto You, O Lord, will I cry, and unto My God will I pray.

10. What profit is there in the shedding of My blood, while I go down to corruption? Shall dust confess unto You? For if I shall not rise immediately, and My body shall become corrupt, shall dust confess unto You? that is, the crowd of the ungodly, whom I shall justify by My resurrection? Or declare Your truth? Or for the salvation of the rest declare Your truth?

11. The Lord has heard, and had mercy on Me, the Lord has become My helper. Nor did He suffer His holy One to see corruption [Psalm 29:10].

12. You have turned My mourning into joy to Me [Psalm 29:11]. Whom I, the Church, having received, the First-Begotten from the dead, [Revelation 1:5] now in the dedication of Your house, say, You have turned my mourning into joy to me. You have put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness. You have torn off the veil of my sins, the sadness of my mortality; and hast girded me with the first robe, with immortal gladness.

13. That my glory should sing unto You, and I should not be pricked [Psalm 29:12]. That now, not my humiliation, but my glory should not lament, but should sing unto You, for that now out of humiliation You have exalted me; and that I should not be pricked with the consciousness of sin, with the fear of death, with the fear of judgment. O Lord, my God, I will confess unto You forever. And this is my glory, O Lord, my God, that I should confess unto You for ever, that I have nothing of myself, but that all my good is of You, who art God, All in all.

To the end, a psalm of David himself, an ecstasy.

1. To the end a Psalm of David Himself, the Mediator strong of hand in persecutions. For the word ecstasy, which is added to the title, signifies a transport of the mind, which is produced either by a panic, or by some revelation. But in this Psalm the panic of the people of God troubled by the persecution of all the heathen, and by the failing of faith throughout the world, is principally seen. But first the Mediator Himself speaks: then the People redeemed by His Blood gives thanks: at last in trouble it speaks at length, which is what belongs to the ecstasy; but the Person of the Prophet himself is twice interposed, near the end, and at the end.

2. In You, O Lord, have I trusted, let Me not be put to confusion for ever [Psalm 30:1]. In You, O Lord, have I trusted, let Me never be confounded, while they shall insult Me as one like other men. In Your righteousness rescue Me, and deliver Me. And in Your righteousness rescue Me from the pit of death, and deliver Me out of their company.

3. Bend down Your ear unto Me [Psalm 30:2]. Hear Me in My humiliation, near at hand unto Me. Make haste to deliver Me. Defer not to the end of the world, as with all who believe in Me, My separation from sinners. Be unto Me a God who protects Me. Be unto Me God, and Protector. And a house of refuge, that You may save Me. And as a house, wherein taking refuge I may be saved.

4. For You are My strength, and My refuge [Psalm 30:3]. For You are unto Me My strength to bear My persecutors, and My refuge to escape them. And for Your Name's sake You shall be My guide, and shall nourish Me. And that by Me You may be known to all the Gentiles. I will in all things follow Your will; and, by assembling, by degrees, Saints unto Me, You shall fulfil My body, and My perfect stature.

5. You shall bring Me out of this trap, which they have hidden for Me [Psalm 30:4]. You shall bring Me out of these snares, which they have hidden for Me. For You are My Protector.

6. Into Your hands I commend My Spirit [Psalm 30:5]. To Your power I commend My Spirit, soon to receive It back. You have redeemed Me, O Lord God of truth. Let the people too, redeemed by the Passion of their Lord, and joyful in the glorifying of their Head, say, You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

7. You hate them that hold to vanity uselessly [Psalm 30:6]. You hate them that hold to the false happiness of the world. But I have trusted in the Lord.

8. I will be glad, and rejoice in Your mercy: which does not deceive me. For You have regarded My humiliation: wherein You have subjected me to vanity in hope. [Romans 8:20] You have saved my soul from necessities [Psalm 30:7]. You have saved my soul from the necessities of fear, that with a free love it may serve You.

9. And hast not shut me up into the hands of the enemy [Psalm 30:8]. And hast not shut me up, that I should have no opening for recovering unto liberty, and be given over for ever into the power of the devil, ensnaring me with the desire of this life, and terrifying me with death. You have set my feet in a large room. The resurrection of my Lord being known, and my own being promised me, my love, having been brought out of the straits of fear, walks abroad in continuance, into the expanse of liberty.

10. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am troubled [Psalm 30:9]. But what is this unlooked-for cruelty of the persecutors, striking such dread into me? Have mercy on me, O Lord. For I am now no more alarmed for death, but for torments and tortures. My eye has been disordered by anger. I had my eye upon You, that You should not abandon me: You are angry, and hast disordered it. My soul, and my belly. By the same anger my soul has been disturbed, and my memory, whereby I retained what my God has suffered for me, and what He has promised me.

11. For my life has failed in pain [Psalm 30:10]. For my life is to confess You, but it failed in pain, when the enemy had said, Let them be tortured until they deny Him. And my years in groanings. The time that I pass in this world is not taken away from me by death, but abides, and is spent in groanings. My strength has been weakened by want. I want the health of this body, and racking pains come on me: I want the dissolution of the body, and death forbears to come: and in this want my confidence has been weakened. And my bones have been disturbed. And my steadfastness has been disturbed.

12. I have been made a reproach above all mine enemies [Psalm 30:11]. All the wicked are my enemies; and nevertheless they for their wickednesses are tortured only till they confess: I then have overpassed their reproach, I, whose confession death does not follow, but racking pains follow upon it. And to my neighbours too much. This has seemed too much to them, who were already drawing near to know You, and to hold the faith that I hold. And a fear to mine acquaintance. And into my very acquaintance I struck fear by the example of my dreadful tribulation. They that did see me, fled without from me. Because they did not understand my inward and invisible hope, they fled from me into things outward and visible.

13. I have been forgotten, as one dead from the heart [Psalm 30:12]. And they have forgotten me, as if I were dead from their hearts. I have become as a lost vessel. I have seemed to myself to be lost to all the Lord's service, living in this world, and gaining none, when all were afraid to join themselves unto me.

14. For I have heard the rebuking of many dwelling by in a circuit [Psalm 30:13]. For I have heard many rebuking me, in the pilgrimage of this world near me, following the circuit of time, and refusing to return with me to the eternal country. Whilst they were assembling themselves together against me, they conspired that they might take my soul. That my soul, which should by death easily escape from their power, might consent unto them, they imagined a device, whereby they would not suffer me even to die.

15. But I have hoped in You, O Lord; I have said, You are my God [Psalm 30:14]. For You have not changed, that You should not save, Who dost correct.

16. In Your hands are my lots [Psalm 30:15]. In Your power are my lots. For I see no desert for which out of the universal ungodliness of the human race You have elected me particularly to salvation. And though there be with You some just and secret order in my election, yet I, from whom this is hid, have attained by lot unto my Lord's vesture. [John 19:24] Deliver me from the hands of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.

17. Make Your Face to shine upon Your servant [Psalm 30:16]. Make it known to men, who do not think that I belong unto You, that Your Face is bent upon me, and that I serve You. Save me in Your mercy.

18. O Lord, let me not be confounded, for I have called upon You [Psalm 30:17]. O Lord, let me not be put to shame by those who insult me, for that I have called upon You. Let the ungodly be ashamed, and be brought down to hell. Let them rather who call upon stones be ashamed, and made to dwell with darkness.

19. Let the deceitful lips be made dumb [Psalm 30:18]. In making known to the peoples Your mysteries wrought in me, strike with dumb amazement the lips of them that invent falsehood of me. Which speak iniquity against the Righteous, in pride and contempt. Which speak iniquity against Christ, in their pride and contempt of Him as a crucified man.

20. How great is the multitude of Your sweetness, O Lord [Psalm 30:19]. Here the Prophet exclaims, having sight of all this, and admiring how manifoldly plenteous is Your sweetness, O Lord. Which You have hid for them that fear You. Even those, whom Thou correctest, You love much: but lest they should go on negligently from relaxed security, Thou hidest from them the sweetness of Your love, for whom it is profitable to fear You. You have perfected it for them that hope in You. But You have perfected this sweetness for them that hope in You. For Thou dost not withdraw from them what they look for perseveringly even unto the end. In sight of the sons of men. For it does not escape the notice of the sons of men, who now live no more after Adam, but after the Son of Man. You will hide them in the hidden place of Your Countenance: which seat You shall preserve for everlasting in the hidden place of the knowledge of You for them that hope in You. From the troubling of men. So that now they suffer no more trouble from men.

21. You will protect them in Your tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues [Psalm 30:20]. But here meanwhile while evil tongues murmur against them, saying, Who has come thence? You will protect them in the tabernacle, that of faith in those things, which the Lord wrought and endured for us in time.

22. Blessed be the Lord; for He has made His mercy marvellous, in the city of compassing [Psalm 30:21]. Blessed be the Lord, for after the correction of the sharpest persecutions He has made His mercy marvellous to all throughout the world, in the circuit of human society.

23. I said in my ecstasy [Psalm 30:22]. Whence that people again speaking says, I said in my fear, when the heathen were raging horribly against me. I have been cast forth from the sight of Your eyes. For if You had regard to me, You would not suffer me to endure these things. Therefore You heard, O Lord, the voice of my prayer, when I cried unto You. Therefore putting a limit to correction, and showing that I have part in Your care, You heard, O Lord, the voice of my prayer, when I raised it high out of tribulation.

24. Love the Lord, all you His saints [Psalm 30:23]. The Prophet again exhorts, having sight of these things, and says, Love the Lord, all you His saints; for the Lord will require truth. Since if the righteous shall scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner and the ungodly appear? [1 Peter 4:18] And He will repay them that do exceeding proudly. And He will repay them who even when conquered are not converted, because they are very proud.

25. Quit you like men, and let your heart be strengthened [Psalm 30:24]: working good without fainting, that you may reap in due season. All you who trust in the Lord: that is, you who duly fear and worship Him, trust ye in the Lord.

To David himself; for understanding.

1. To David himself; for understanding; by which it is understood that not by the merits of works, but by the grace of God, man is delivered, confessing his sins.

2. Blessed are they whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sins are covered [Psalm 31:1]: and whose sins are buried in oblivion. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord has not imputed sin, nor is there guile in his mouth [Psalm 31:2]: nor has he in his mouth boastings of righteousness, when his conscience is full of sins.

3. Because I kept silence, my bones waxed old: because I made not with my mouth confession unto salvation, [Romans 10:10] all firmness in me has grown old in infirmity. Through my roaring all the day long [Psalm 31:3]: when I was ungodly and a blasphemer, crying against God, as though defending and excusing my sins.

4. Because day and night Your Hand was heavy upon me: because, through the continual punishment of Your scourges, I was turned in misery, while a thorn was fixed through me [Psalm 31:4]: I was made miserable by knowing my misery, being pricked with an evil conscience.

5. I acknowledged my sin, and my unrighteousness have I not hid: that is, my unrighteousness have I not concealed. I said, I will confess against myself my unrighteousness to the Lord: I said, I will confess, not against God (as in my ungodly crying, when I kept silence), but against myself, my unrighteousness to the Lord. And You forgave the iniquity of my heart [Psalm 31:5]; hearing the word of confession in the heart, before it was uttered with the voice.

6. For this shall every one that is holy pray unto You in an acceptable time: for this wickedness of heart shall every one that is righteous pray unto You. For not by their own merits will they be holy, but by that acceptable time, that is, at His coming, who redeemed us from sin. Nevertheless in the flood of great waters they shall not come near him [Psalm 31:6]: nevertheless, let none think, when the end has come suddenly, as in the days of Noah, [Matthew 24:37-41] that there remains a place of confession, whereby he may draw near unto God.

7. You are my refuge from the pressures, which have compassed me about: You are my refuge from the pressure of my sins, which has compassed my heart. O Thou, my Rejoicing, deliver me from them that compass me about [Psalm 31:7]: in You is my joy: deliver me from the sorrow which my sins bring upon me.

8. Diapsalma. The answer of God: I will give you understanding, and will set you in the way in which you shall go; I will give you understanding after confession, that you depart not from the way in which you should go; lest you wish to be in your own power. I will fix Mine Eyes upon you [Psalm 31:8]; so will make sure upon you My Love.

9. Be not ye like horse or mule, which have no understanding: and therefore would govern themselves. But says the Prophet, Hold in their jaws with bit and bridle. Do Thou then, O God, unto them that will not come near You [Psalm 31:9], what man does to horse and mule, that by scourges Thou make them to bear Your rule.

10. Many are the scourges of the sinner: much is he scourged, who, confessing not his sins to God, would be his own ruler. But he that trusts in the Lord, mercy compasses him about [Psalm 31:10]; but he that trusts in the Lord, and submits himself to His rule, mercy shall compass him about.

11. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, you righteous: be glad, and rejoice, you righteous, not in yourselves, but in the Lord. And glory, all you that are right in heart [Psalm 31:11]: and glory in Him, all you who understand that it is right to be subject unto Him, that so ye may be placed above all things beside.

1. Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous: rejoice, O you righteous, not in yourselves, for that is not safe; but in the Lord. For praise is comely to the upright [Psalm 32:1]: these praise the Lord, who submit themselves unto the Lord; for else they are distorted and perverse.

2. Praise the Lord with harp: praise the Lord, presenting unto Him your bodies a living sacrifice. [Romans 12:1] Sing unto Him with the psaltery for ten strings [Psalm 32:2]: let your members be servants to the love of God, and of your neighbour, in which are kept both the three and the seven commandments.

3. Sing unto Him a new song: sing unto Him a song of the grace of faith. Sing skilfully unto Him with jubilation [Psalm 32:3]: sing skillfully unto Him with rejoicing.

4. For the Word of the Lord is right: for the Word of the Lord is right, to make you that which of yourselves ye cannot be. And all His works are done in faith [Psalm 32:4]: lest any think that by the merit of works he has arrived at faith, when in faith are done all the works which God Himself loves.

5. He loves Mercy and Judgment: for He loves Mercy, which now He shows first; and Judgment, wherewith He exacts that which He has first shown. The earth is full of the Mercy of the Lord [Psalm 32:5]: throughout the whole world are sins forgiven unto men by the Mercy of the Lord.

6. By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made firm: for not by themselves, but by the Word of the Lord were the righteous made strong. And all the strength of them by the Breath of His Mouth [Psalm 32:6]. And all their faith by His Holy Spirit.

7. He gathers the waters of the sea together as into a bottle: He gathered the people of the world together, to confession of mortified sin, lest through pride they flow too freely. He lays up the deep in storehouses [Psalm 32:7]: and keeps in them His secrets for riches.

8. Let all the earth fear the Lord: let every sinner fear, that so he may cease to sin. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him [Psalm 32:8]: not of the terrors of men, or of any creature, but of Him let them stand in awe.

9. For He spoke, and they were made: for no other one made those things which are to fear; but He spoke, and they were made. He commanded, and they were created [Psalm 32:9]: He commanded by His Word, and they were created.

10. The Lord brings the counsel of the heathen to nought; of them that seek not His Kingdom, but kingdoms of their own. He makes the devices of the people of none effect: of them that covet earthly happiness. And reproves the counsels of princes [Psalm 32:10]: of them that seek to rule over such peoples.

11. But the counsel of the Lord stands for ever; but the counsel of the Lord, whereby He makes none blessed but him that submits unto Himself, stands forever. The thoughts of His Heart to all generations [Psalm 32:11]: the thoughts of His Wisdom are not mutable, but endure to all generations.

12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: one nation is blessed, belonging to the heavenly city, which has not chosen save the Lord for their God: And the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance [Psalm 32:12]: and which not of itself, but by the gift of God, has been chosen, that He by possessing it may not suffer it to be uncared for and miserable.

13. The Lord looks from Heaven; He beholds all the sons of men [Psalm 32:13]. From the souls of the righteous, the Lord looks mercifully upon all who would rise to newness of life.

14. From His prepared habitation: from His habitation of assumed Humanity, which He prepared for Himself. He looks upon all the inhabitants of the earth [Psalm 32:14]: He looks mercifully upon all who live in the flesh, that He may be over them in ruling them.

15. He fashions their hearts singly: He gives spiritually to their hearts their proper gifts, so that neither the whole body may be eye, nor the whole hearing; [1 Corinthians 12:17] but that one in this manner, another in that manner, may be incorporated with Christ. He understands all their works [Psalm 32:15]. Before Him are all their works understood.

16. A king shall not be saved by much strength: he shall not be saved who rules his own flesh, if he presume much upon his own strength. Neither shall a giant be saved by much strength [Psalm 32:16]: nor shall he be saved whoever wars against the habit of his own lust, or against the devil and his angels, if he trust much to his own might.

17. A horse is a deceitful thing for safety: he is deceived, who thinks either that through men he gains salvation received among men, or that by the impetuosity of his own courage he is defended from destruction. In the abundance of his strength shall he not be saved [Psalm 32:17].

18. Behold, the Eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear Him: because if you seek salvation, behold, the love of the Lord is upon them that fear Him. Upon them that hope in His mercy [Psalm 32:18]: that hope not in their own strength, but in His mercy.

19. To deliver their souls from death, and to keep them alive in famine [Psalm 32:19]. To give them the nourishment of the Word, and of Everlasting Truth, which they lost while presuming on their own strength, and therefore have not even their own strength, from lack of righteousness.

20. My soul shall be patient for the Lord: that hereafter it may be filled with dainties incorruptible, meanwhile, while here it remains, my soul shall be patient for the Lord. For He is our Helper and Defender [Psalm 32:20]: our Helper He is, while we endeavour after Him; and our Defender, while we resist the adversary.

21. For our heart shall rejoice in Him: for not in ourselves, wherein without Him there is great need; but in Himself shall our heart rejoice. And we have trusted in His holy Name [Psalm 32:21]; and therefore have we trusted that we shall come to God, because unto us absent has He sent, through faith, His own Name.

22. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in You [Psalm 32:22]: let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us; for hope confounds not, because we have hoped in You.

A psalm of David, when he changed his countenance before Abimelech, and he sent him away, and he departed.

1. Because there was there a sacrifice after the order of Aaron, and afterwards He of His Own Body and Blood appointed a sacrifice after the order of Melchizedek; He changed then His Countenance in the Priesthood, and sent away the kingdom of the Jews, and came to the Gentiles. What then is, He affected? He was full of affection. For what is so full of affection as the Mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, seeing our infirmity, that He might deliver us from everlasting death, underwent temporal death with such great injury and contumely? And He drummed: because a drum is not made, except when a skin is extended on wood; and David drummed, to signify that Christ should be crucified. But, He drummed upon the doors of the city: what are the doors of the city, but our hearts which we had closed against Christ, who by the drum of His Cross has opened the hearts of mortal men? And was carried in His Own Hands: how carried in His Own Hands? Because when He commended His Own Body and Blood, He took into His Hands that which the faithful know; and in a manner carried Himself, when He said, This is My Body. [Matthew 26:26] And He fell down at the doors of the gate; that is, He humbled Himself. For this it is, to fall down even at the very beginning of our faith. For the door of the gate is the beginning of faith; whence begins the Church, and arrives at last even unto sight: that as it believes those things which it sees not, it may deserve to enjoy them, when it shall have begun to see face to face. So is the title of the Psalm; briefly we have heard it; let us now hear the very words of Him that affects, and drums upon the doors of the city.

2. I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall be ever in my mouth [Psalm 33:1]. So speaks Christ, so also let a Christian speak; for a Christian is in the Body of Christ; and therefore was Christ made Man, that that Christian might be enabled to be an Angel, who says, I will bless the Lord at all times. When shall I bless the Lord? When He blesses you? When the goods of this world abound? When you have great abundance of grain, oil, and wine, of gold and silver, of servants and cattle; when this mortal health remains unwounded and sound; when all that are born to you grow up, nothing is withdrawn by immature death, happiness wholly reigns in your house, and all things overflow around you; then shall you bless the Lord? No; but at all times. Therefore both then, and when according to the time, or according to the scourges of our Lord God, these things are troubled, are taken away, are seldom born to you, and born pass away. For these things come to pass, and thence follows penury, need, labour, pain, and temptation. But you, who hast sung, I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall be ever in my mouth, both when He gives them, bless; and when He takes them away, bless. For it is He that gives, it is He that takes away: but Himself from him that blesses Him He takes not away.

3. But who is it that blesses the Lord at all times, except the humble in heart. For very humility taught our Lord in His Own Body and Blood: because when He commends His Own Body and Blood, He commends His Humility, in that which is written in this history, in that seeming madness of David, which we have passed by, And his spittle ran down over his beard. [1 Samuel 21:13] When the Apostle was read, You heard the same spittle, but running down over the beard. One says perhaps, What spittle have we heard? Was it not read but now, where the Apostle says, The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom? But now it was read, But we preach, says he, Christ crucified (for then He drummed), unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God. Because the Foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the Weakness of God is stronger than men. [1 Corinthians 1:22-25] For spittle signifies foolishness; spittle signifies weakness. But if the Foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the Weakness of God is stronger than men; let not the spittle as it were offend you, but observe that it runs down over the beard: for as by the spittle, weakness; so by the beard, strength is signified. He covered then His Strength by the body of His Weakness, and that which without was weak, appeared as it were in spittle; but within His Divine Strength was covered as a beard. Therefore humility is commended unto us. Be humble if you would bless the Lord at all times, and that His praise should be ever in your mouth....

4. But wherefore does man bless the Lord at all times? Because he is humble. What is it to be humble? To take not praise unto himself. Who would himself be praised, is proud: who is not proud, is humble. Would you not then be proud? That you may be humble, say what is here written; In the Lord shall my soul be praised: the humble shall hear thereof and be glad [Psalm 33:2]. Those then who will not be praised in the Lord, are not humble, but fierce, rough, lifted up, proud. Gentle cattle would the Lord have; be the Lord's jumentum; that is, be humble. He sits upon you, He rules you: fear not lest you stumble, and fall headlong: that indeed is your infirmity; but consider Who sits upon you. You are an ass's colt, but you carry Christ. For even He on an ass's colt came into the city; and that beast was gentle....Be not ye as the horse or as the mule, which have no understanding. For horse and mule sometimes lift up their neck, and by their own fierceness throw off their rider. They are tamed with the bit, with bridle, with stripes, until they learn to submit, and to carry their master. But you, before your jaws are bruised with the bridle, be humble, and carry your Lord: wish not praise for yourself, but praised be He who sits upon you, and say thou, In the Lord shall my soul be praised; the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad....

5. Now follows, O magnify the Lord with me [Psalm 33:3]. Who is this that exhorts us, that we should magnify the Lord with him? Whoever, Brethren, is in the body of Christ, ought for this to labour, that the Lord may be magnified with him. For he loves the Lord, whoever he is. And how does he love Him? So as not to envy his fellow-lover....Let them blush who so love God as to envy others. Abandoned men love a charioteer, and whoever loves a charioteer or hunter, wishes the whole people to love with him, and exhorts, saying, Love with me this pantomime, love with me this or that shame. He calls among the people that shame may be loved with him; and does not a Christian call in the Church, that the Truth of God may be loved with him? Stir up then love in yourselves, Brethren; and call to every one of yours, and say, O magnify the Lord with me. Let there be in you that fervour. Wherefore are these things recited and explained? If you love God, bring quickly to the love of God all who are joined unto you, and all who are in your house; if the Body of Christ is loved by you, that is, if the unity of the Church, bring them quickly to enjoy, and say, O magnify the Lord with me.

6. And let us exalt His Name together. What is, let us exalt His Name together? That is, in one. For many copies so have it, O magnify the Lord with me; and let us exalt His Name in one. Whether it be said, together, or in one, it is the same thing. Therefore bring quickly whom you can, by exhorting, by transporting, by beseeching, by disputing, by rendering a reason, with meekness, with gentleness. Bring them quickly unto love; that if they magnify the Lord, they may magnify Him in one....

7. I sought the Lord, and He heard me [Psalm 33:4]. Where heard the Lord? Within. Where gives He? Within. There you pray, there you are heard, there you are blessed. You have prayed, you are heard, you are blessed; and he knows not who stands by you: it is all carried on in secret, as the Lord says in the Gospel, Enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret, shall reward you openly. [Matthew 6:6] When therefore you enter into your chamber, you enter into your heart. Blessed are they who rejoice when they enter into their heart, and find therein nought of evil....

8. I sought the Lord, and He heard me. Who then are not heard, seek not the Lord. Attend, Holy Brethren; he said not, I sought gold from the Lord, and He heard me; I sought from the Lord long life, and He heard me; I sought from the Lord this or that, and He heard me. It is one thing to seek anything from the Lord, another to seek the Lord Himself. I sought (says he) the Lord, and He heard me. But you, when you pray, saying, Kill that my enemy, seekest not the Lord, but, as it were, makest yourself a judge over your enemy, and makest your God an executioner. How do you know that he is not better than you, whose death you seek? In that very thing haply he is, that he seeks not yours. Therefore seek not from the Lord anything without, but seek the Lord Himself, and He will hear you, and while you are still speaking, He will say, Lo, here I am. [Isaiah 65:24]...

9. I have said who was the exhorter, namely, that lover who would not alone embrace what he loves, and says, Approach unto Him, and be ye lightened [Psalm 33:5]. For he says what he himself proved. For some spiritual person in the Body of Christ, or even our Lord Jesus Christ Himself according to the flesh, the Head exhorting His Own Members, says; what? Approach unto Him, and be ye lightened. Or rather some spiritual Christian invites us to approach to our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. But let us approach to Him and be lightened; not as the Jews approached to Him, that they might be darkened; for they approached to Him that they might crucify Him: let us approach to Him that we may receive His Body and Blood. They by Him crucified were darkened; we by eating and drinking The Crucified are lightened. Approach unto Him, and be ye lightened. Lo, this is said to the Gentiles. Christ was crucified amid the Jews raging and seeing; the Gentiles were absent; lo, they have approached who were in darkness, and they who saw not are lightened. Whereby approach the Gentiles? By following with faith, by longing with the heart, by running with charity. Your feet are your charity. Have two feet, be not lame. What are your two feet? The two commandments of love, of your God, and of your Neighbour. With these feet run to God, approach Him, for He has both exhorted you to run, and has Himself shed His Own Light, as he has magnificently and divinely continued. And your faces shall not be ashamed. Approach (says he) unto Him, and be lightened; and your faces shall not be ashamed. No face shall be ashamed but of the proud. Why? Because he would be lifted up, and when he has suffered insult, or ignominy, or mischance in this world, or any affliction, he is ashamed. But fear not thou, approach unto Him, and you shall not be ashamed....

10. As the Prophet testifies, The poor man cried, and the Lord heard him [Psalm 33:6]. He teaches you how you may be heard. Therefore are you not heard, because you are rich. Lest haply thou say, you cried and wast not heard, hear wherefore; The poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. As poor cry thou, and the Lord hears. And how shall I cry as poor? By not, if you have anything, presuming therefrom upon your own strength: by understanding that you are needy; by understanding that so long are you poor, as you have not Him who makes you rich. But how did the Lord hear him? And saved him out of all his troubles. And how saves He men out of all their troubles? The Angel of the Lord shall send round about them that fear Him, and shall deliver them [Psalm 33:7]. So it is written, brethren, not as some bad copies have it, The Lord shall send His Angel round about them that fear Him, and He shall deliver them: but thus, The Angel of the Lord shall send round about them that fear Him, and shall deliver them. Whom called He here the Angel of the Lord, who shall send round about them that fear Him, and shall deliver them? Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself is called in Prophecy, the Angel of the great Counsel, the Messenger of the great Counsel; so the Prophets called Him. Even He then, the Angel of the great Counsel, that is, the Messenger, shall send unto them that fear the Lord, and shall deliver them. Fear not then lest you be hid: wheresoever you have feared the Lord, there does that Angel know you, who shall send to succour you, and shall deliver you.

11. Now will He speak openly of the same Sacrament, whereby He was carried in His Own Hands. O taste and see that the Lord is good [Psalm 33:8]. Does not the Psalm now open itself, and show you that seeming insanity and constant madness, the same insanity and sober inebriety of that David, who in a figure showed I know not what, when in the person of king Achis they said to him, How is it? When the Lord said, Except a man eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, he shall have no life in him? [John 6:53] And they in whom reigned Achis, that is, error and ignorance, said; what said they? How can this man give us his flesh to eat? [John 6:52] If you are ignorant, Taste and see that the Lord is good: but if you understand not, you are king Achis: David shall change His Countenance and shall depart from you, and shall quit you, and shall depart.

12. Blessed is the man that trusts in Him. Why needs this to be explained at length? Whoever trusts not in the Lord, is miserable. Who is there that trusts not in the Lord? He that trusts in himself....

13. O fear the Lord, all you His saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him [Psalm 33:9]. For many therefore will not fear God the Lord, lest they suffer hunger. It is said to them, Defraud not; and they say, Whence can I feed myself? No art can be without imposture; no business can be without fraud. But fraud God punishes: fear God. But if I should fear God, I shall not have whence to live. O fear the Lord, all you His saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him. He promises plenty to him that trembles, and doubts, lest haply if he should fear God, he should lose things superfluous. The Lord fed you despising Him, and will He desert you fearing Him? Attend, and say not, Such an one is rich, and I am poor. I fear the Lord, he by not fearing how much has he gained, and I by fearing am bare! See what follows; The rich do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing [Psalm 33:10]. If you receive it according to the letter, He seems to deceive you, for you see that many rich men that are wicked die in their riches, and are not made poor while they live; you see them grow old, and come even to the end of life amid great abundance and riches. You see their funeral pomp celebrated with great profusion, the man himself brought rich even to the sepulchre, having expired in beds of ivory, his family weeping around; and you say in your mind, if haply you know some both sins and crimes done by him: I know what things that man has done; lo, he has grown old, he has died in his bed, his friends follow him to the grave, his funeral is celebrated with all this pomp; I know what he has done; the Scripture has deceived me, and has spoken falsely, where I hear and sing; The rich do lack and suffer hunger. When was this man in need? When did he suffer hunger? But they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Daily I rise up to Church, daily I bend the knee, daily I seek the Lord, and have nothing good: this man sought not the Lord, and he has died in the midst of all these good things! Thus thinking, the snare of offense chokes him; for he seeks mortal food on the earth, and seeks not a true reward in heaven, and so he puts his head into the devil's noose, his jaws are tied close, and the devil holds him fast unto evil doing, that so he may imitate the evil men, whom he sees to die in such plenty.

14. Therefore understand it not so....When you are filled with spiritual riches, can you be poor? And was he therefore rich, because he had a bed of ivory; and are you poor who hast the chamber of your heart filled with such jewelry of virtues, justice, truth, charity, faith, endurance? Unfold your riches, if you have them, and compare them with the riches of the rich. But such an one has found in the market mules of great value, and has bought them. If you could find faith to be sold, how much would you give for that, which God wills that you should have gratis, and you are ungrateful? Those rich then lack, they lack, and what is heavier, they lack bread....For He has said, I am the Living Bread which came down from Heaven. [John 6:51] And again, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. But they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing: but what manner of good, I have already said.

15. Come, you children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord [Psalm 33:11]. You think, brethren, that I say this: think that David says it; think that an Apostle says it; nay think that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself says it; Come, you children, hearken unto Me. Let us hearken unto Him together: hearken ye unto Him through us. For He would teach us; He the Humble, He that drums, He that affects, would teach us....

16. What man is he that desires life, and loves to see good days? [Psalm 33:12]. He asks a question. Does not every one among you answer, I? Is there any man among you that loves not life, that is, that desires not life, and loves not to see good days? Do ye not daily thus murmur, and thus speak; How long shall we suffer these things? Daily are they worse and worse: in our fathers' time were days more joyful, were days better. O if you could ask those same, your fathers, in like manner would they murmur to you of their own days. Our fathers were happy, miserable are we, evil days have we: such an one ruled over us, we thought that after his death might some refreshing be given to us; worse things have come: O God, show unto us good days! What man is he that desires life, and loves to see good days? Let him not seek here good days. A good thing he seeks, but not in its right place does he seek it. As, if you should seek some righteous man in a country, wherein he lived not, it would be said to you, A good man you seek, a great man you seek, seek him still, but not here; in vain you seek him here, you will never find him. Good days you seek, together let us seek them, seek not here....Read the Scriptures....

17. Let not a Christian then murmur, let him see whose steps he follows: but if he loves good days, let him hearken unto Him teaching and saying, Come, you children, hearken unto Me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What would you? Life and good days. Hear, and do. Keep your tongue from evil [Psalm 33:13]. This do. I will not, says a miserable man, I will not keep my tongue from evil, and yet I desire life and good days. If a workman of yours should say to you, I indeed lay waste this vineyard, yet I require of you my reward; you brought me to the vineyard to lop and prune it, I cut away all the useful wood, I will cut short also the very trunks of the vines, that you have thereon nothing to gather, and when I have done this, you shall repay to me my labour. Would you not call him mad? Would you not drive him from your house or ever he put his hand to the knife? Such are those men who would both do evil, and swear falsely, and speak blasphemy against God, and murmur, and defraud, and be drunken, and dispute, and commit adultery, and use charms, and consult diviners, and withal see good days. To such it is said, you can not doing ill seek a good reward. If you are unjust, shall God also be unjust? What shall I do, then? What do you desire? Life I desire, good days I desire. Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips that they speak no guile, that is, defraud not any, lie not to any.

18. But what is, Depart from evil? [Psalm 33:14]. It is little that thou injure none, murder none, steal not, commit not adultery, do no wrong, speak no false witness; Depart from evil. When you have departed, you say, Now I am safe, I have done all, I shall have life, I shall see good days. Not only says he, Depart from evil, but also, and do good. It is nothing that thou spoil not: clothe the naked. If you have not spoiled, you have declined from evil; but you will not do good, unless you receive the stranger into your house. So then depart from evil, as to do good. Seek peace, and ensue it. He has not said, You shall have peace here; seek it, and ensue it. Whither shall I ensue it? Whither it has gone before. For the Lord is our peace, has risen again, and has ascended into Heaven. Seek peace, and ensue it; because when thou also hast risen, this mortal shall be changed, and you shall embrace peace there where no man shall trouble you. For there is perfect peace, where you will not hunger....

19. The Eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous: fear not then; labour; the eyes of the Lord are upon you. And His Ears are open unto their prayers [Psalm 33:15]. What would you more? If an householder in a great house should not hearken to a servant murmuring, he would complain, and say, What hardship do we here suffer, and none hears us. Can you say this of God, What hardships I suffer, and none hears me? If He heard me, haply, do you say, He would take away my tribulation: I cry unto Him, and yet have tribulation. Only do thou hold fast His ways, and when you are in tribulation, He hears you. But He is a Physician, and still have you something of putrefaction; you cry out, but still He cuts, and takes not away His Hand, until He has cut as much as pleases Him. For that Physician is cruel who hears a man, and spares his wound and putrefaction. How do mothers rub their children in the baths for their health. Do not the little ones cry out in their hands? Are they then cruel because they spare not, nor hearken unto their tears? Are they not full of affection? And yet the children cry out, and are not spared. So our God also is full of charity, but therefore seems He not to hear, that He may spare and heal us for everlasting.

20. Haply say the wicked, I securely do evil, because the Eyes of the Lord are not upon me: God attends to the righteous, me He sees not, and whatever I do, I do securely. Immediately added the Holy Spirit, seeing the thoughts of men, and said, But the Face of the Lord is against them that do evil; to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth [Psalm 33:16].

21. The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their troubles [Psalm 33:17]. Righteous were the Three Children; out of the furnace cried they unto the Lord, and in His praises their flames cooled. The flame could not approach nor hurt the innocent and righteous Children praising God, and He delivered them out of the fire. [Daniel 3:28] Some one says, Lo, truly righteous were those who were heard, as it is written, The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their troubles: but I have cried, and He delivers me not; either I am not righteous, or I do not the things which He commands me, or haply He sees me not. Fear not: only do what He commands; and if He deliver you not bodily, He will deliver you spiritually. For He who took out of the fire the Three Children, did He take out of the fire the Maccabees? [2 Maccabbees 7:3] Did not the first sing hymns in the flames, these last in the flames expire? The God of the Three Children, was not He the God also of the Maccabees? The one He delivered, the other He delivered not. Nay, He delivered both: but the Three Children He so delivered, that even the carnal were confounded; but the Maccabees therefore He delivered not so, that those who persecuted them should go into greater torments, while they thought that they had overcome God's Martyrs. He delivered Peter, when the Angel came unto him being in prison, and said, Arise, and go forth, [Acts 12:7] and suddenly his chains were loosed, and he followed the Angel, and He delivered him. Had Peter lost righteousness when He delivered him not from the cross? Did He not deliver him then? Even then He delivered him. Did his long life make him unrighteous? Haply He heard him more at last than at first, when truly He delivered him out of all his troubles. For when He first delivered him, how many things did he suffer afterwards! For there He sent him at last, where he could have suffered no evil.

22. The Lord is near unto them that have broken their heart; and saves such as be lowly in spirit [Psalm 33:18]. God is High: let a Christian be lowly. If he would that the Most High God draw near unto him, let him be lowly. A great mystery, Brethren. God is above all: you raise yourself, and touchest not Him: you humble yourself, and He descends unto you. Many are the troubles of the righteous [Psalm 33:19]: does He say, Therefore let Christians be righteous, therefore let them hear My Word, that they may suffer no tribulation? He promises not this; but says, Many are the troubles of the righteous. Rather, if they be unrighteous they have fewer troubles, if righteous they have many. But after few tribulations, or none, these shall come to tribulation everlasting, whence they shall never be delivered: but the righteous after many tribulations shall come to peace everlasting, where they shall never suffer any evil. Many are the tribulations of the righteous: but the Lord delivers him out of all.

23. The Lord keeps all their bones: not one of them shall be broken [Psalm 33:20]: this also, Brethren, let us not receive carnally. Bones are the firm supports of the faithful. For as in flesh our bones give firmness, so in the heart of a Christian it is faith that gives firmness. The patience then which is in faith, is as the bones of the inner man: this is that which cannot be broken. The Lord keeps all their bones: not one of them shall be broken. If of our Lord God Jesus Christ he had said this, The Lord keeps all the bones of His Son; not one of them shall be broken; as is prefigured of Him also in another place, when the lamb was spoken of that should be slain, and it was said of it, Neither shall you break a bone thereof: [Exodus 12:46] then was it fulfilled in the Lord, because when He hung upon the Cross, He expired before they came to the Cross, and found His Body lifeless already, and would not break His legs, that it might be fulfilled which was written. [John 19:33] But He gave this promise to other Christians also, The Lord keeps all their bones; not one of them shall be broken. Therefore, Brethren, if we see any Saint suffer tribulation, and haply either by a Physician so cut, or by some persecutor so mangled, that his bones be broken; let us not say, This man was not righteous, for this has the Lord promised to His righteous, of whom He said, The Lord keeps all their bones; not one of them shall be broken. Would you see that He spoke of other bones, those which we called the firm supports of faith, that is, patience and endurance in all tribulations? For these are the bones which are not broken. Hear, and see ye in the very Passion of our Lord, what I say. The Lord was in the middle Crucified; near Him were two thieves: the one mocked, the other believed: the one was condemned, the other justified: the one had his punishment both in this world, and that which shall be, but unto the other said the Lord, Verily I say unto you, Today shall you be with Me in Paradise; [Luke 23:43] and yet those who came broke not the bones of the Lord, but of the thieves they broke: as much were broken the bones of the thief who blasphemed, as of the thief who believed. Where then is that which is spoken, The Lord keeps all their bones; not one of them shall be broken? Lo, unto whom He said, Today shall you be with Me in Paradise, could He keep all his bones? The Lord answers you: Yea, I kept them: for the firm support of his faith could not be broken by those blows whereby his legs were broken.

24. The death of sinners is the worst [Psalm 33:21]. Attend, Brethren, for the sake of those things which I said. Truly Great is the Lord, and His Mercy, truly Great is He who gave to us to eat His Body, wherein He suffered such great things, and His Blood to drink. How regards He them that think evil and say, Such an one died ill, by beasts was he devoured: he was not a righteous man, therefore he perished ill; for else would he not have perished. Is he then righteous who dies in his own house and in his own bed? This then (do you say) it is whereat I wonder; because I know the sins and the crimes of this same man, and yet he died well; in his own house, within his own doors, with no injury of travel, with none even in mature age. Hearken, The death of sinners is worst. What seems to you a good death, is worst if you could see within. You see him outwardly lying on his bed, do you see him inwardly carried to hell? Hearken, Brethren, and learn from the Gospel what is the worst death of sinners. Were there not two in that age, a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day; another a poor man who lay at his door full of sores, and the dogs came and licked his sores, and he desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table? Now it came to pass that the poor man died (righteous was that poor man), and was carried by Angels into Abraham's bosom. He who saw his body lying at the rich man's door, and no man to bury it, what haply said he? So die he who is my enemy; and whoever persecutes me, so may I see him. His body is accursed with spitting, his wounds stink; and yet in Abraham's bosom he rests. [Luke 16:19-22] If we are Christians, let us believe: if we believe not, Brethren, let none feign himself a Christian. Faith brings us to the end. As the Lord spoke these things, so are they. Does indeed an astrologer speak unto you, and it is true, and does Christ speak, and it is false? But by what sort of death died the rich man? What sort of death must it not be in purple and fine linen, how sumptuous, how pompous! What funeral ceremonies were there! In what spices was that body buried! And yet when he was in hell, being in torments, from the finger of that despised poor man he desired one drop of water to be poured upon his burning tongue, and obtained it not. Learn then what means, The death of sinners is worst; and ask not beds covered with costly garments, and to have the flesh wrapped in many rich things, friends exhibiting a show of lamentation, a household beating their breasts, a crowd of attendants going before and following when the body is carried out, marble and gilded memorials. For if you ask those things, they answer you what is false, that of many not light sinners, but altogether wicked, the death is best, who have deserved to be so lamented, so embalmed, so covered, so carried out, so entombed. But ask the Gospel, and it will show to your faith the soul of the rich man burning in torments, which was nothing profited by all those honours and obsequies, which to his dead body the vanity of the living did afford.

25. But because there are many kinds of sinners, and not to be a sinner is difficult, or perhaps in this life impossible, he added immediately, of what kind of sinners the death is worst. And they that hate the righteous one (says he) shall perish. What righteous one, but Him that justifies the ungodly? [Romans 4:5] Whom, but our Lord Jesus Christ, who is also the propitiation for our sins? [1 John 2:2] Who then hate Him, have the worst death; because they die in their sins, who are not through Him reconciled to our God. For the Lord redeems the souls of His servants. But according to the soul is death to be understood either the worst or best, not according to bodily either dishonour, or honours which men see. And none of them which trust in Him shall perish [Psalm 33:22]; this is the manner of human righteousness, that mortal life, however advanced, because without sin it cannot be, in this perishes not, while it trusts in Him, in whom is remission of sins. Amen.

1. ...The title of it causes us no delay, for it is both brief, and to be understood not difficult, especially to those nursed in the Church of God. For so it is, To David himself. The Psalm then is to David himself: now David is interpreted, Strong in hand, or Desirable. The Psalm then is to the Strong in hand, and Desirable, to Him who for us has overcome death, who unto us has promised life: for in this is He Strong in hand, that He has overcome death for us; in this is He Desirable, that He has promised unto us life eternal. For what stronger than that Hand which touched the bier, and he that was dead rose up? [Luke 7:14] What stronger than that Hand which overcame the world, not armed with steel, but pierced with wood? Or what more desirable than He, whom not having seen, the Martyrs wished even to die, that they might be worthy to come unto Him? Therefore is the Psalm unto Him: to Him let our heart, to Him our tongue sing worthily: if yet Himself shall deign to give somewhat to sing....

2. Judge Thou, O Lord (says he), them that hurt me, and fight Thou against them that fight against me [Psalm 34:1]. If God be for us, who can be against us? [Romans 8:31] And whereby does God this for us? Take hold (says he) of arms and shield, and rise up to my help [Psalm 34:2]. A great spectacle is it, to see God armed for you. And what is His Shield, what are His Arms? Lord, in another place says the man who here also speaks, as with the shield of Your good-will have You compassed us. But His Arms, wherewith He may not only us defend, but also strike His enemies, if we have well profited, shall we ourselves be. For as we from Him have this, that we be armed, so is He armed from us. But He is armed from those whom He has made, we are armed with those things which we have received from Him who made us. These our arms the Apostle in a certain place calls, The shield of Faith, the helmet of Salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. [Ephesians 6:16-17] He has armed us with such arms as you have heard, arms admirable, and unconquered, insuperable and shining; spiritual truly and invisible, because we have to fight also against invisible enemies. If you see your enemy, let your arms be seen. We are armed with faith in those things which we see not, and we overthrow enemies whom we see not....

3. Pour forth the weapon, and stop the way against them that persecute me [Psalm 34:3]. Who are they that persecute you? Haply your neighbour, or he whom you have offended, or to whom you have done wrong, or who would take away what is yours, or against whom you preach the truth, or whose sin you rebuke, or whom living ill by your well living you offend. There are indeed even these enemies to us, and they persecute us: but other enemies we are taught to know, those against whom we fight invisibly, of whom the Apostle warns us, saying, We wrestle not against flesh and blood, [Ephesians 6:12] that is, against men; not against those whom you see, but against those whom you see not; against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the world, of this darkness....The whole world lies in wickedness; therefore the Apostle explained of what world they were rulers, he said, of this darkness. The rulers of this world, I say, are the rulers of this darkness....

4. And what follows? Let them be confounded and put to shame, that seek after my soul [Psalm 34:4]: for to this end they seek after it, to destroy it. For I would that they would seek it for good! For in another Psalm he blames this in men, that there was none who would seek after his soul: Refuge failed me: there was none that would seek after my soul. Who is this that says, There was none that would seek after my soul? Is it haply He, of whom so long before it was predicted, They pierced My Hands and My Feet, they numbered all My Bones, they stared and looked upon Me, they have parted My Garments among them, and cast lots for My Vesture? Now all these things were done before their eyes, and there was none who would seek after His Soul....

5. ...Many have been confounded to their health: many, put to shame, have passed over from the persecution of Christ to the society of His members with devoted piety; and this would not have been, had they not been confounded and put to shame. Therefore he wished well to them....Let them not go before, but follow; let them not give counsel, but take it. For Peter would go before the Lord, when the Lord spoke of His future Passion: he would to Him as it were give counsel for His health. The sick man to the Saviour give counsel for His health! And what said he to the Lord, affirming that His future Passion? Be it far from You, Lord. Be gracious to Yourself. This shall not be to You. He would go before that the Lord might follow; and what said He? Get behind Me, Satan. [Matthew 16:22-23] By going before you are Satan, by following you will be a disciple. The same then is said to these also, Let them be turned back and brought to confusion that think evil against me. For when they have begun to follow after, now they will not think evil against me, but desire my good.

6. What of others? For all are not so conquered as to be converted and believe: many continue in obstinacy, many preserve in heart the spirit of going before, and if they exert it not, yet they labour with it, and finding opportunity bring it forth. Of such, what follows? Let them be as dust before the wind [Psalm 34:5]. Not so are the ungodly, not so; but as the dust which the wind drives away from the face of the earth. The wind is temptation; the dust are the ungodly. When temptation comes, the dust is raised, it neither stands nor resists. Let them be as dust before the wind, and let the Angel of the Lord trouble them. Let their way be darkness and slipping [Psalm 34:6]. A horrible way! Darkness alone who fears not? A slippery way alone who avoids not? In a dark and slippery way how shall you go? Where set foot? These two ills are the great punishments of men: darkness, ignorance; a slippery way, luxury. And let the Angel of the Lord persecute them; that they be not able to stand. For any one in a dark and slippery way, when he sees that if he move his foot he will fall, and there is no light before his feet, haply resolves to wait until light come; but here is the Angel of the Lord persecuting them. These things he predicted would come upon them, not as though he wished them to happen. Although the Prophet in the Spirit of God so speaks these things, even as God does the same, with sure judgment, with a judgment good, righteous, holy, tranquil; not moved with wrath, not with bitter jealousy, not with desire of wreaking enmities, but of punishing wickedness with righteousness; nevertheless, it is a prophecy.

7. But wherefore these so great evils? By what desert? Hear by what desert. For without cause have they hid for me the corruption of their trap [Psalm 34:7]. For Him that is our Head, observe, the Jews did this: they hid the corruption of their trap. For whom hid they their trap? For Him who saw the hearts of those that hid. But yet was He among them like one ignorant, as though He were deceived, whereas they were in that deceived, that they thought Him to be deceived. For therefore was He as though deceived, living among them, because we among such as they were so to live, as to be without doubt deceived. He saw His betrayer, and chose him the more to a necessary work. By his evil He wrought a great good: and yet among the twelve was he chosen, lest even the small number of twelve should be without one evil. This was an example of patience to us, because it was necessary that we should live among the evil: it was necessary that we should endure the evil, either knowing them or knowing them not: an example of patience He gave you lest you should fail, when you have begun to live among the evil. And because that School of Christ in the twelve failed not, how much more ought we to be firm, when in the great Church is fulfilled what was predicted of the mixture of the evil....

8. But yet what is to be done? Without a cause have they hid for me the corruption of their trap. What means, Without a cause? I have done them no evil, I have hurt them not at all. Vainly have they reviled my soul. What is, Vainly? Speaking falsely, proving nothing. Let a trap come upon them which they know not of [Psalm 34:8]. A magnificent retribution, nothing more just! They have hidden a trap that I might know not: let a trap come upon them which they know not of. For I know of their trap. But what trap is coming upon them? That which they know not of. Let us hear, lest haply he speak of that. Let a trap come upon them, which they know not of. Perhaps that is one which they hid for him, that another which shall come upon themselves. Not so: but what? The wicked shall be holden with the cords of his own sins. [Proverbs 5:22] Thereby are they deceived, whereby they would deceive. Thence shall come mischief to them, whence they endeavoured mischief. For it follows, And let the net which they have hidden catch themselves, and let them fall into their own trap. As if any one should prepare a cup of poison for another, and forgetting should drink it up himself: or as if one should dig a pit, that his enemy might fall thereinto in the darkness and himself forgetting what he had dug, should first walk that way, and fall into it....

9. This then for the wicked that would hurt me: what for me? But my soul shall rejoice in the Lord [Psalm 34:9]; as in Him from whom it has heard, I am your salvation; as not seeking other riches from without; as not seeking to abound in pleasures and good things of earth; but loving freely the true Spouse, not from Him wishing to receive anything that may delight, but Him alone proposing to itself, by whom it may be delighted. For what better than God will be given unto me? God loves me: God loves you. See He has proposed to you, Ask what you will. [Matthew 7:7] If the emperor should say to you, Ask what you will, what commands, what dignities, would you burst forth with! What great things would you propose to yourself, both to receive and to bestow! When God says unto you, Ask what you will, what will you ask? Empty your mind, exert your avarice, stretch forward as far as possible, and enlarge your desire: it is not any one, but Almighty God that said, Ask what you will. If of possessions you are a lover, you will desire the whole earth, that all who are born may be your husbandmen, or your slaves. And what when you have possessed the whole earth? You will ask the sea, in which yet you can not live. In this greediness the fishes will have the better of you. But perhaps you will possess the islands. Pass over these also; ask the air although you can not fly; stretch your desire even unto the heavens, call your own the sun, the moon, and the stars, because He who made all said, Ask what you will: yet nothing will you find more precious, nothing will you find better, than Himself who made all things. Him seek, who made all things, and in Him and from Him shall you have all things which He made. All things are precious, because all are beautiful; but what more beautiful than He? Strong are they; but what stronger than He? And nothing would He give you rather than Himself. If anything better you have found, ask it. If you ask anything else, you will do wrong to Him, and harm to yourself, by preferring to Him that which He made, when He would give to you Himself who made....

But my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in His salvation. The salvation of God is Christ: For my eyes have seen Your salvation. [Luke 2:30]

10. All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like You [Psalm 34:10]. Who can speak anything worthily of these words? I think them only to be pronounced, not to be expounded. Why do you seek this or that? What is like your Lord? Him have you before you. The unrighteous have declared unto me delights, but not after Your law, O Lord! Persecutors have been who have said, Worship Saturn, worship Mercury. I worship not idols (says he): Lord, who is like You? They have eyes, and see not; ears have they, but they hear not. Lord, who is like You, who hast made the eye to see, the ear to hear? But I (says he) worship not idols, for them a workman made. Worship a tree or mountain; did a workman make them also? Here too, Lord, who is like You? Earthly things are shown unto me; You are Creator of the earth. And from these haply they turn to the higher creation, and say to me, Worship the Moon, worship this Sun, who with his light, as a great lamp in the Heavens, makes the day. Here also I plainly say, Lord, who is like You? The Moon and the Stars You have made, the Sun to rule the day have You kindled, the Heavens have You framed together. There are many invisible things better. But haply here also it is said to me, Worship Angels, adore Angels. And here also will I say, Lord, who is like You? Even the Angels You have created. The Angels are nothing, but by seeing You. It is better with them to possess You, than by worshipping them to fall from You.

11. O Body of Christ, Holy Church, let all your bones say, Lord, who is like you? And if the flesh under persecution has fallen away, let the bones say, Lord, who is like You? For of the righteous it is said, The Lord keeps all their bones; not one of them shall be broken. Of how many righteous have the bones under persecution been broken? Finally, The just shall live by faith, and Christ justifies the ungodly. [Romans 4:5] But how justifies He any except believing and confessing? For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. [Romans 10:10] Therefore also that thief, although from His theft led to the judge, and from the judge to the cross, yet on the very cross was justified: with his heart he believed, with his mouth he confessed. For neither to a man unrighteous and not already justified, would the Lord have said, Today shall you be with Me in Paradise, [Luke 23:43] and yet his bones were broken. For when they came to take down the bodies, by reason of the approaching Sabbath, the Lord was found already dead, and His Bones were not broken. [John 19:33] But of those that yet lived, that they might be taken down, the legs were broken, that so from this pain having died, they might be buried. Were then of the one thief, who persisted in his ungodliness on the cross, the bones broken, and not also of the other who with his heart believed, and with his mouth made confession unto salvation? Where then is that which was said, The Lord keeps all his bones; not one of them shall be broken; except that in the Body of the Lord the name of bones is given to all the righteous, the firm in heart, the strong, yielding to no persecutions, no temptations, so as to consent unto evil?...

12. Which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him; yea, the poor and needy from him that spoils him....Who that deliverest, but He who is Strong in hand? Even that David shall deliver the poor from him that is too strong for him. For the devil was too strong for you, and held you, because he conquered you, when you consented unto him. But what has the Strong in hand done? No man enters into a strong man's house, to spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man. [Matthew 12:29] By His own Power, most Holy, most Magnificent, has He bound the devil by pouring forth the weapon to stop the way against him, that He may deliver the poor and needy, to whom there was no helper. For who is your helper but the Lord to whom you say, O Lord, My Strength, and My Redeemer. If you will presume of your own strength, thereby will you fall, whereof you have presumed: if of another's, he would lord it over you, not succour you. He then alone is to be sought Who has redeemed them, and made them free, and has given His Blood to purchase them, and of His servants has made them His Brethren....

13. Let then our Head say, False witnesses did rise up, they laid to My charge things that I knew not [Psalm 34:11]. But let us say to our Head, Lord, what knew Thou not? Did Thou indeed know not anything? Did You not know the hearts of them that charged You? Did You not foresee their deceits? Did You not give Yourself into their hands knowingly? Had You not come that You might suffer by them? What then knew Thou not? He knew not sin, and thereby He knew not sin, not by not judging, but by not committing. There are phrases of this kind also in daily use, as when you say of any one, He knows not to stand, that is, he does not stand; and, He knows not to do good, because he does not good; and, He knows not to do ill, because he does not ill....What knew not Christ so much, as to blaspheme? Thereof was He called in question by His persecutors, and because He spoke truth, He was judged to have spoken blasphemy. [Matthew 26:65] But by whom? By them of whom it follows, They rewarded Me evil for good, and barrenness to My Soul [Psalm 34:12]. I gave unto them fruitfulness, they rewarded Me barrenness; I gave life, they death; I honour, they dishonour; I medicine, they wounds; and in all these which they rewarded Me, was truly barrenness. This barrenness in the tree He cursed, when seeking fruit He found none. [Matthew 21:19] Leaves there were, and fruit there was not: words there were, and deeds there were not. See of words abundance, and of deeds barrenness. Thou that preachest a man should not steal, stealest: thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, commit test adultery. [Romans 2:21-22] Such were they who charged Christ with things that He knew not.

14. But I, when they troubled me, clothed myself with sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer shall return into my own bosom [Psalm 34:13]...Brethren, if for some little space with pious curiosity we lift the veil, and search with the intent eye of the heart the inner part of this Scripture, we find that even this the Lord did. Sackcloth, haply He calls His mortal flesh. Wherefore Sackcloth? For the likeness of sinful flesh. For the Apostle says, God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, that through sin He might condemn sin in the flesh: [Romans 8:3] that is, He clothed His Own Son with sackcloth, that through sackcloth He might condemn the goats. Not that there was sin, I say not in the Word of God, but not even in that Holy Soul and Mind of a Man, which the Word and Wisdom of God had so joined to Himself as to be One Person. Nay, nor even in His very Body was any sin, but the likeness of sinful flesh there was in the Lord; because death is not but by sin, [Romans 5:12] and surely that Body was mortal. For had It not been mortal, It had not died; had It not died, It had not risen again; had It not risen again, It had not showed us an example of eternal life. So then death, which is caused by sin, is called sin; as we say the Greek tongue, the Latin tongue, meaning not the very member of flesh, but that which is done by the member of flesh. For the tongue in our members is one among others, as the eyes, nose, ears, and the rest: but the Greek tongue is Greek words, not that the tongue is words, but that words are by the tongue....So then the sin of the Lord is that which was caused by sin; because He assumed flesh, of the same lump which had deserved death by sin. For to speak more briefly, Mary who was of Adam died for sin, Adam died for sin, and the Flesh of the Lord which was of Mary died to put away sin. With this sackcloth the Lord clothed Himself, and therefore was He not known, because He lay hid under sackcloth. When they, says He, troubled Me, I clothed Myself with sackcloth: that is, they raged, I lay hid. For had He not willed to lie hidden neither could He have died, since in one moment of time one drop only of His Power, if indeed it is to be called a drop, He put forth, when they wished to seize Him, and at His one question, Whom do you seek? they all went back and fell to the ground. [John 18:4, 6] Such power could He not have humbled in passion, if He had not lain hid under sackcloth.

15. Again, if we have understood the sackcloth, how understand we the fasting? Wished Christ to eat, when He sought fruit on the tree, [Mark 11:13] and if He had found, would He have eaten? Wished Christ to drink, when He said to the woman of Samaria, Give Me to drink? [John 4:7] when He said on the Cross, I thirst? For what hungered, for what thirsted Christ, but our good works? Because in them that crucified and persecuted Him He had found no good works, He fasted; for they rewarded barrenness to His soul. For what a fast was His, who found barely one thief, whom on the Cross He might taste! For the Apostles had fled, and had hidden themselves in the multitude. And even Peter, who even to the death of his Lord had promised to persevere, had now thrice denied Him, had now wept, and still lay hid in the multitude, still feared lest He should be known. Lastly, having seen Him dead, all of them despaired of their own safety and despairing He found them, after His resurrection, and when He spoke with them, found them grieving and mourning, no longer hoping anything....In great fasting had the Lord remained, had He not refreshed them that He might feed on them. For He refreshed them, He comforted them, He confirmed them, and into His Own Body converted them. In this manner then was our Lord also in fasting.

16. And My prayer shall return into Mine Own Bosom. In the bosom of this verse is plainly a great depth, and may the Lord grant that it be fathomable by us. For in the bosom a secret is understood. And we ourselves, Brethren, are here well admonished to pray within our own bosom, where God sees, where God hears, where no human eye penetrates, where none sees but He who succours; where Susanna prayed, and her voice, though it was not heard by men, yet by God was heard.. ..We read also that in the mount Jesus prayed alone, [Matthew 14:23] we read that He passed the night in prayer, [Luke 6:12] even at the time of His Passion. What then? And My prayer shall return into Mine Own Bosom. I know not what better to understand concerning the Lord: take meanwhile what now occurs; perhaps something better will occur hereafter, either to me or to some better: My prayer shall return into Mine Own Bosom: this I understand to be said, because in His Own Bosom He had the Father. For God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. [2 Corinthians 5:19] In Himself He had Him to whom He prayed. He was not far from Him, for Himself had said, I am in the Father, and the Father in Me. [John 14:10] But because prayer rather belongs to very Man (for according as Christ is the Word, He prays not, but hears prayer; and seeks not to be succoured for Himself, but with the Father succours all): what is, My prayer shall return into Mine Own Bosom, but in Me My Manhood invokes in Me My Godhead.

17. As a Neighbour, as our Brother, so I pleased Him: as one mourning and sorrowful, so I humbled myself [Psalm 34:14]. Now looks He back to His Own Body: let us now look to this. When we rejoice in prayer, when our mind is calmed, not by the world's prosperity, but by the light of Truth: (who perceives this light, knows what I say, and he sees and acknowledges what is said, As a Neighbour, as our Brother, so I pleased Him): even then our soul pleases God, not placed afar off, for, In Him, says one, we live and move and have our being, [Acts 17:28] but as a Brother, as a Neighbour, as a Friend. But if it be not such that it can so rejoice, so shine, so approach, so cleave unto Him, and sees itself far off thence, then let it do what follows, As one mourning and sorrowful, so I humbled Myself. As our Brother, so I pleased Him, said He, drawing near; As one mourning and sorrowful, so I humbled Myself, said He, removed and set afar off....Did not Peter draw near, when he said, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God? And yet the same man became afar off by saying, Be it far from You, Lord; this shall not be unto You. Lastly, what said He, his Neighbour, as it were, to him drawing near? Blessed are you, Simon, Barjona. To him afar off, as it were, and unlike, what said He? Get behind Me, Satan. [Matthew 16:16-23] To him drawing near, Flesh and blood, says He, has not revealed it unto you, but My Father, which is in Heaven. His Light is shed over you, in His Light you shine. But when having become afar off, he spoke against the Lord's Passion, which should be for our Salvation, Thou savourest not, said He, the things that be of God, but those that be of men. One rightly placing together both of these says in a certain Psalm, I said in my ecstasy, I am cast off from before Your Eyes. In my ecstasy, would he not have said, had he not drawn near; for ecstasy is the transporting of the mind. He poured over himself his own soul, and drew near unto God; and through some cloud and weight of the flesh being again cast down to earth, and recollecting where he had been, and seeing where he was, he said, I am cast off from before Your Eyes. This then, As a Neighbour, as our Brother, so I pleased Him, may He grant to be done in us; but when that is not, let even this be done, As one mourning and sorrowful, so I humbled myself.

18. And against Me they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together [Psalm 34:15], against Me only: they rejoicing, I sorrowful. But we heard just now in the Gospel, Blessed are they that mourn. [Matthew 5:5] If they are blessed that mourn, miserable are they that laugh. Against Me they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: scourges were gathered together against Me, and they knew not. Because they laid to My charge things that I knew not, they also knew not Whom they charged.

19. They tempted Me, and mocked Me with mocking [Psalm 34:16]. That is, they derided Me, they insulted Me; this of the Head, this of the Body. Consider, Brethren, the glory of the Church which now is; remember its past dishonours, remember how once were Christians everywhere put to flight, and wherever found, mocked, beaten, slain, exposed to beasts, burned, men rejoicing against them. As it was to the Head, so it is also to the Body. For as it was to the Lord on the Cross, so has it been to His Body in all that persecution which was made but now: nor even now cease the persecutions of the same. Wherever men find a Christian, they are wont to insult, to persecute, to deride him, to call him dull, senseless, of no spirit, of no knowledge. Do they what they will, Christ is in Heaven: do they what they will, He has honoured His punishment, already has He fixed His Cross in the foreheads of all; the ungodly is permitted to insult, to rage he is not permitted; but yet from that which the tongue utters, is understood what he bears in his heart: They gnashed upon Me with their teeth.

20. Lord, when will You look on? Rescue My Soul from their deceits, My Darling from the lions [Psalm 34:17]. For to us the time is slow; and in our person is this said, When will You look on? that is, when shall we see vengeance upon those who insult us? When shall the Judge, overcome by weariness, hear the widow? [Luke 18:3] But our Judge, not from weariness, but from love, delays our salvation; from reason, not from need; not that He could not even now succour us, but that the number of us all may be filled up even to the end. And yet out of our desire, what do we say? Lord, when will You look on? Rescue My Soul from their deceits, My Darling from the lions: that is, My Church from raging powers.

21. Lastly, would you know what is that Darling? Read the words following: I will confess unto You, O Lord, in the great Congregation; in a weighty people will I praise You [Psalm 34:18]. Truly says He, I will confess unto You: for confession is made in all the multitude, but not in all is God praised: the whole multitude hears our confession, but not in all the multitude is the praise of God. For in all the whole multitude, that is, in the Church which is spread abroad in the whole world, is chaff, and wheat: the chaff flies, the wheat remains; therefore, in a weighty people will I praise You. In a weighty people, which the wind of temptation carries not away, in such is God praised. For in the chaff He is ever blasphemed....

22. Let not them that are Mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over Me: for they rejoice over Me because of My chaff. Who hate Me without a cause; that is, whom I never hurt; winking with their eyes [Psalm 34:19]: that is, pretending hypocrites, For they spoke indeed peace to Me [Psalm 34:20]. What is, winking with their eyes? Declaring by their looks, what they carry not in their heart. And who are these winking with their eyes? For they spoke indeed peace to Me; and with wrath devised craftily. Yea they opened their mouth wide against Me [Psalm 34:21]. First winking with their eyes, those lions sought to ravish and devour; first fawning they spoke peace, and then with wrath devised craftily. What peace spoke they? Master, we know that Thou acceptest not man's person, and teachest the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not? They spoke indeed peace unto Me. What then? Did You not know them, and they deceived You, winking with their eyes? Truly He knew them; therefore said He, Why do you tempt Me, you hypocrites? [Matthew 22:16-18] Afterward, they opened their mouth wide against Me, crying, Crucify Him, Crucify Him! [Luke 23:21] and said, Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen it. This, when they insulted Him, Aha, Aha, Prophesy unto us, Thou Christ. [Matthew 26:68] As their peace was pretended when they tempted Him concerning the money, so now insulting was their praise. They said, Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen it [Psalm 34:21]: that is, Your deeds, Your miracles. This Man is the Christ. If He be the Christ, let Him come down from the Cross, and we will believe Him. He saved others, Himself He cannot save. Our eyes have seen it. This is all whereof He boasted Himself, when He called Himself the Son of God. [John 19:7] But the Lord was hanging patient upon the Cross: His power had He not lost, but He showed His patience. For what great thing was it for Him to come down from the Cross, who could afterward rise again from the sepulchre? But He seems to have yielded to His insulters; and this, beloved, that having risen again He should show Himself to His own, and not to them, and this is a great mystery; for His resurrection signified the New Life, but the New Life is known to His friends, not to His enemies.

23. This You have seen, O Lord; keep not silence [Psalm 34:22]. What is, keep not silence? Judge Thou. For of judgment is it said in a certain place, I have kept silence; shall I keep silence for ever? And of the delaying of judgment it is said to the sinner, These things have you done, and I kept silence; You thought that I was altogether such an one as yourself. How keeps He silence, who speaks by the Prophets, who speaks with His own mouth in the Gospel, who speaks by the Evangelists, who speaks by us, when we speak the truth? What then? He keeps silence from judgment, not from precept, not from doctrine. But this His judgment the Prophet in a manner invokes, and predicts: You have seen, O Lord: keep not silence; that is, You will not keep silence, needs must that You will judge. O Lord, be not far from Me. Until Your judgment come, be not far from Me, as You have promised, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

24. Arise, Lord, and attend to My judgment [Psalm 34:23]. To what judgment? That You are in tribulation; that You are tormented with labours and pains? Do not even many wicked men suffer the same? To what judgment? Therefore are You righteous, because Thou sufferest these things? No: but what? To My judgment. What follows? Attend to My judgment; even to My cause, My God, and My Lord. Not to My punishment, but to My cause: not to that which the robber has in common with Me, but to that whereof is said, Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake. [Matthew 5:10] For this cause is distinguished. For punishment is equal to good and bad. Therefore Martyrs, not the punishment, but the cause makes, for if punishment made Martyrs, all the mines would be full of Martyrs, every chain would drag Martyrs, all that are executed with the sword would be crowned. Therefore let the cause be distinguished; let none say, because I suffer, I am righteous. Because He who first suffered, suffered for righteousness' sake, therefore He added a great exception, Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake. For many having a good cause do persecution, and many having a bad cause suffer persecution. For if persecution could not be done rightly, it had not been said in a certain Psalm, Whoever privily slanders his neighbour, him did I persecute.. ..Let none then say, I suffer persecution: let him not sift the punishment, but prove the cause: lest if he prove not the cause, he be numbered with the ungodly. Therefore how watchfully, how excellently has This Man recommended Himself, O Lord, attend to My judgment, not to My punishments; even to My cause, My God, and My Lord.

25. Judge me, O Lord, according to My righteousness [Psalm 34:24]; that is, attend to My cause. Not according to My punishment, but according to My righteousness, O Lord, My God, that is, according to this judge Thou Me. And let them not rejoice over Me; that is, Mine enemies.

26. Let them not say in their heart, Aha, aha, so would we have it [Psalm 34:25]; that is, We have done what we could, we have slain him, we have taken him away. Let them not say: show them that they have done nothing. Let them not say, We have swallowed him up. Whence say those Martyrs, If the Lord had not been on our side, then they had swallowed us up quick. What is, had swallowed us up? Had passed into their own body. For that you swallow up, which you pass into your own body. The world would swallow you up; swallow thou the world, pass it into your own body: kill and eat. As it was said to Peter, Kill and eat; [Acts 10:13] do thou kill in them what they are, make them what you are. But if they on the other hand persuade you to ungodliness, you are swallowed up by them. Not when they persecute you are you swallowed up by them, but when they persuade you to be what they are. Let them not say, We have swallowed him up. Do thou swallow up the body of Pagans. Why the body of Pagans? It would swallow you up. Do thou to it, what it would to you. Therefore perhaps that calf, being ground to powder, was cast into the water and given to the children of Israel to drink, [Exodus 32:20] that so the body of ungodliness might be swallowed up by Israel. Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour [Psalm 34:26]; so that we may swallow up them ashamed and brought to confusion. Who speak evil against me: let them be ashamed, let them be brought to confusion.

27. What do you say now, the Head with the Members? Let them shout for joy and be glad that favour My righteous cause: who cleave to My Body. Yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant [Psalm 34:27]. And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness, and of Your praise all the day long [Psalm 34:28]. And whose tongue endures to speak the praise of God all the day long? See now I have made a discourse something longer; you are wearied. Who endures to praise God all the day long? I will suggest a remedy, whereby you may praise God all the day long if you will. Whatever you do, do well, and you have praised God. When you sing an hymn, you praise God, but what does your tongue, unless your heart also praise Him? Have you ceased from singing hymns, and departed, that you may refresh yourself? Be not drunken, and you have praised God. Do you go away to sleep? Rise not to do evil, and you have praised God. Do you transact business? Do no wrong, and you have praised God. Do you till your field? Raise not strife, and you have praised God. In the innocency of your works prepare yourself to praise God all the day long.

1. ...The ungodly has said in himself that he will sin: there is no fear of God before his eyes [Psalm 35:1]. Not of one man, but of a race of ungodly men he speaks, who fight against their own selves, by not understanding, that so they may live well; not because they cannot, but because they will not. For it is one thing, when one endeavours to understand some thing, and through infirmity of flesh cannot; as says the Scripture in a certain place, For the corruptible body presses down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weighs down the mind that muses upon many things; but another when the human heart acts mischievously against itself, so that what it could understand, if it had but good will thereto, it understands not, not because it is difficult, but because the will is contrary. But so it is when men love their own sins, and hate God's Commandments. For the Word of God is your adversary, if you be a friend to your ungodliness; but if you are an adversary to your ungodliness, the Word of God is your friend, as well as the adversary of your ungodliness....

2. For he has wrought deceitfully in His sight [Psalm 35:2]. In whose sight? In His, whose fear was not before the eyes of him that did work deceitfully. To find out his iniquity, and hate it. He wrought so as not to find it. For there are men who as it were endeavour to seek out their iniquity, and fear to find it; because if they should find it, it is said to them, Depart from it: this you did before you knew; you did iniquity being in ignorance; God gives pardon: now you have discovered it, forsake it, that to your ignorance pardon may easily be given; and that with a clear face you may say to God, Remember not the sins of my youth, and of my ignorance. Thus he seeks it, thus he fears lest he find it; for he seeks it deceitfully. When says a man, I knew not that it was sin? When he has seen that it is sin, and ceases to do the sin, which he did only because he was ignorant: such an one in truth would know his sin, to find it out, and hate it. But now many work deceitfully to find out their iniquity: they work not from their heart to find it out and hate it. But because in the very search after iniquity, there is deceit, in the finding it there will be defense of it. For when one has found his iniquity, lo now it is manifest to him that it is iniquity. Do it not, you say. And he who wrought deceitfully to find it out, now he has found, hates it not; for what says he? How many do this! Who is there that does it not? And will God destroy them all? Or at least he says this: if God would not these things to be done, would men live who commit the same? Do you see that you worked deceitfully to find out your iniquity? For if not deceitfully but sincerely you had wrought, you would now have found it out, and hated it; now you have found it out, and you defend it; therefore you worked deceitfully, when you sought it.

3. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he would not understand, that he might do good [Psalm 35:3]. You see that he attributes that to the will: for there are men who would understand and cannot, and there are men who would not understand, and therefore understand not. He would not understand, that he might do good.

4. He has meditated iniquity on his bed. What said He, On his bed? [Psalm 35:4]. The ungodly has said in himself, that he will sin: what above he said, in himself, that here he said, On his bed. Our bed is our heart: there we suffer the tossing of an evil conscience; and there we rest when our conscience is good. Whoever loves the bed of his heart, let him do some good therein. There is our bed, where the Lord Jesus Christ commands us to pray. Enter into your chamber, and shut your door. [Matthew 6:6] What is, Shut your door? Expect not from God such things as are without, but such as are within; and your Father which sees in secret, shall reward you openly. Who is he that shuts not the door? He who asks much from God such things, and in such wise directs all his prayers, that he may receive the goods that are of this world. Your door is open, the multitude sees when you pray. What is it to shut your door? To ask that of God, which God alone knows how He gives. What is that for which you pray, when you have shut the door? What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, or has entered into the heart of man. And haply it has not entered into your very bed, that is, into your heart. But God knows what He will give: but when shall it be? When the Lord shall be revealed, when the Judge shall appear....

5. He has set himself in every way that is not good. What is, he has set himself? He has sinned perseveringly. Whence also of a certain pious and good man it is said, He has not stood in the way of sinners. As this has not stood, so that has set himself. But wickedness has he not hated. There is the end, there the fruit: if a man cannot but have wickedness, let him at least hate it. For when you hate it, it scarcely occurs to you to do any wickedness. For sin is in our mortal body, but what says the Apostle? Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. [Romans 6:12] When begins it not to be therein? When that shall be fulfilled in us which he says, When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality. [1 Corinthians 15:54] Before this come to pass, there is a delighting in sin in the body, but greater is the delighting and the pleasure in the Word of Wisdom, in the Commandment of God. Overcome sin and the lust thereof. Sin and iniquity do thou hate, that you may join yourself to God, who hates it as well as thou. Now being joined in mind unto the Law of God, in mind you serve the Law of God. And if in the flesh thou therefore servest obeyest it. He is not here speaking of actual wilful sin, but of motions toward sin to which the man does not consent. [Concupiscence, art. Angl. XXXIX. Articles.—C.] the law of sin, [Romans 7:25] because there are in you certain carnal delightings, then will there be none when you shall no longer fight. It is one thing not to fight, and to be in true and lasting peace; another to fight and overcome; another to fight and to be overcome; another not to fight at all, but to be carried away....

6. Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and Your truth reaches even unto the clouds [Psalm 35:5]. I know not what Mercy of Him he means, which is in the heavens. For the Mercy of the Lord is also in the earth. You have it written, The earth is full of the Mercy of the Lord. Of what Mercy then speaks He, when He says, Your Mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens? The gifts of God are partly temporal and earthly, partly eternal and heavenly. Whoever for this worships God, that he may receive those temporal and earthly goods, which are open to all, is still as it were like the brutes: he enjoys indeed the Mercy of God, but not that which is excepted, which shall not be given, save only to the righteous, to the holy, to the good. What are the gifts which abound to all? He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. [Matthew 5:45] Who has not this Mercy of God, first that he has being, that he is distinguished from the brutes, that he is a rational animal, so as to understand God; secondly, that he enjoys this light, this air, rain, fruits, diversity of seasons, and all the earthly comforts, health of body, the affection of friends, the safety of his family? All these are good, and they are God's gifts....

7. But this man rightly understood what mercy he should pray for from God. Your Mercy, O Lord, is in the Heavens; and Your Truth reaches even to the clouds. That is, the Mercy which You give to Your Saints, is Heavenly, not earthly; is Eternal, not temporal. And how could You declare it to men? Because Your Truth reaches even unto the clouds. For who could know the Heavenly Mercy of God, unless God should declare it unto men? How did He declare it? By sending His truth even unto the clouds. What are the clouds? The Preachers of the Word of God....Truth reached even to the clouds: therefore unto us could be declared the Mercy of God, which is in Heaven and not in earth. And truly, Brethren, the clouds are the Preachers of the Word of Truth. When God threatens through His Preachers, He thunders through the clouds. When God works miracles through His Preachers, He lightens through the clouds, He terrifies through the clouds, and waters by the rain. Those Preachers, then, by whom is preached the Gospel of God, are the clouds of God. Let us then hope for Mercy, but for that which is in the Heavens.

8. Your Righteousness is like the mountains of God: Your Judgments are a great deep [Psalm 35:6]. Who are the mountains of God? Those who are called clouds, the same are also the mountains of God. The great Preachers are the mountains of God. And as when the sun rises, he first clothes the mountains with light, and thence the light descends to the lowest parts of the earth: so our Lord Jesus Christ, when He came, first irradiated the height of the Apostles, first enlightened the mountains, and so His Light descended to the valley of the world. And therefore says He in a certain Psalm, I lifted up my eyes unto the mountains, from whence comes my help. But think not that the mountains themselves will give you help: for they receive what they may give, give not of their own. And if you remain in the mountains, your hope will not be strong: but in Him who enlightens the mountains, ought to be your hope and presumption. Your help indeed will come to you through the mountains, because the Scriptures are administered to you through the mountains, through the great Preachers of the Truth: but fix not your hope in them. Hear what He says next following: I lifted up my eyes unto the mountains, from whence comes my help. What then? Do the mountains give you help? No; hear what follows, My help comes from the Lord, which made Heaven and earth. Through the mountains comes help, but not from the mountains. From whom then? From the Lord, which made Heaven and earth....

9. Your Judgments are like the great abyss. The abyss he calls the depth of sin, whither every one comes by despising God; as in a certain place it is said, God gave them over to their own hearts' lusts, to do the things which are not convenient. [Romans 1:28]...Because then they were proud and ungrateful, they were held worthy to be delivered up to the lusts of their own hearts, and became a great abyss, so that they not only sinned, but also worked craftily, lest they should understand their iniquity, and hate it. That is the depth of wickedness, to be unwilling to find it out and to hate it. But how one comes to that depth, see; Your Judgments are the great abyss. As the mountains are by the Righteousness of God, who through His Grace become great: so also through His Judgments come they unto the depth, who sink lowest. By this then let the mountains delight you, by this turn away from the abyss, and turn yourself unto that, of which it is said, My help comes from the Lord. But whereby? I have lifted up my eyes unto the mountains. What means this? I will speak plainly. In the Church of God you find an abyss, you find also mountains; you find there but few good, because the mountains are few, the abyss broad; that is, you find many living ill after the wrath of God, because they have so worked that they are delivered up to the lusts of their own heart; so now they defend their sins and confess them not; but say, Why? What have I done? Such an one did this, and such an one did that. Now will they even defend what the Divine Word reproves. This is the abyss. Therefore in a certain place [Proverbs 18:3] says the Scripture (hear this abyss), The sinner when he comes unto the depth of sin despises. See, Your Judgments are like the great abyss. But yet not are you a mountain; not yet are you in the abyss; fly from the abyss, tend towards the mountains; but yet remain not on the mountains. For your help comes from the Lord, which made Heaven and earth.

10. Because he said, Your Mercy is in the Heavens, that it may be known to be also on earth, he said, O Lord, You save man and beast, as Your Mercy is multiplied, O God [Psalm 35:7]. Great is Your Mercy, and manifold is Your Mercy, O God; and that showest Thou both to man and beast. For from whom is the saving of men? From God. Is not the saving of beasts also from God? For He who made man, made also beasts; He who made both, saves both; but the saving of beasts is temporal. But there are who as a great thing ask this of God, which He has given to beasts. Your Mercy, O God, is multiplied, so that not only unto men, but unto beasts also is given the same saving which is given to men, a carnal and temporal saving.

11. Have not men then somewhat reserved with God, which beasts deserve not, and whereunto beasts arrive not? They have evidently. And where is that which they have. The children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. Attend, my Beloved, to this most pleasant sentence; You save man and beast. First, he spoke of man and beast, then of the children of men; as though men were one, the children of men other. Sometimes in Scripture children of men is said generally of all men, sometimes in some proper manner, with some proper signification, so that not all men are understood; chiefly when there is a distinction. For not without reason is it here put; O Lord, You save man and beast: but the children of men; as though setting aside the first, he keeps separate the children of men. Separate from whom? Not only from beasts, but also from men, who seek from God the saving of beasts, and desire this as a great thing. Who then are the children of men? Those who put their trust under the shadow of His wings. For those men together with beasts rejoice in possession, but the children of men rejoice in hope: those follow after present goods with beasts, these hope for future goods with Angels....

12. They shall be satiated with the fullness of Your House [Psalm 35:8]. He promises us some great thing. He would speak it, and He speaks it not. Can He not, or do not we receive it? I dare, my Brethren, to say, even of holy tongues and hearts, by which Truth is declared to us, that it can neither be spoken, which they declared, nor even thought of. For it is a great thing, and ineffable; and even they saw through a glass darkly, as says the Apostle, For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face. [1 Corinthians 13:12] Lo, they who saw through a glass darkly, thus burst forth. What then shall we be, when we shall see face to face? That with which they travailed in heart, and could not with their tongue bring forth, that men might receive it. For what necessity was there that he should say, They shall be satiated with the fullness of Your House? He sought a word whereby to express from human things what he would say; and because he saw that men drowning themselves in drunkenness receive indeed wine without measure, but lose their senses, he saw what to say; for when shall have been received that ineffable joy, then shall be lost in a manner the human soul, it shall become Divine, and be satiated with the fullness of God's House. Wherefore also in another Psalm it is said, Your cup inebriating, how excellent is it! With this cup were the Martyrs satiated when going to their passion, they knew not their own. What so inebriated as not to know a wife weeping, not children, not parents? They knew them not, they thought not that they were before their eyes. Wonder not: they were inebriated. Wherewith were they so? Lo, they had received a cup wherewith they were satiated. Wherefore he also gives thanks to God, saying, What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards me? I will take the cup of Salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord. Therefore, Brethren of men, let us be children and let us trust under the shadow of His wings and be satiated with the fullness of His House. As I could, I have spoken; and as far as I can I see; and how far I see, I cannot speak. And of the torrent of Your Pleasure shall Thou give them to drink. A torrent we call water coming with a flood. There will be a flood of God's Mercy to overflow and inebriate those who now put their trust under the shadow of His wings. What is that Pleasure? As it were a torrent inebriating the thirsty. Let him then who thirsts now, lay up hope: whoever thirsts now, let him have hope; when inebriated, he shall have possession: before he have possession, let him thirst in hope. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. [Matthew 5:6]

13. With what fountain then will you be overflowed, and whence runs such a torrent of His Pleasure? For with You, says he, is the fountain of Life. What is the fountain of Life, but Christ? He came to you in the flesh, that He might bedew your thirsty lips: He will satisfy you trusting, who bedewed you thirsting. For with You is the fountain of Life; in Your Light shall we see light [Psalm 35:9]. Here a fountain is one thing, light another: there not so. For that which is the Fountain, the same is also Light: and whatever you will you call It, for It is not what you call It: for you can not find a fit name: for It remains not in one name. If you should say, that It is Light only, it would be said to you, Then without cause am I told to hunger and thirst, for who is there that eats light? It is said to me plainly, directly, Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. [Matthew 5:6, 8] If It is Light, my eyes must I prepare. Prepare also lips; for That which is Light is also a Fountain: a Fountain, because It satisfies the thirsty: Light, because It enlightens the blind. Here sometimes, light is in one place, a fountain in another. For sometimes fountains run even in darkness; and sometimes in the desert you suffer the sun, findest no fountain: here then can these two be separated: there you shall not be wearied, for there is a Fountain; there you shall not be darkened, for there is Light.

14. Show forth Your Mercy unto them that know You; Your Righteousness to them that are of a right heart [Psalm 35:10]. As I have said, Those are of a right heart who follow in this life the Will of God. The will of God is sometimes that you should be whole, sometimes that you should be sick. If when you are whole God's Will is sweet, and when you are sick God's Will is bitter; you are not of a right heart. Why? Because you will not make right your will according to God's Will, but will bend God's Will to yours. That is right, but you are crooked: your will must be made right to That, not That made crooked to you; and you will have a right heart. It is well with you in this world; be God blessed, who comforts you: it goes hardly with you in this world; be God blessed, because He chastens and proves you; and so will you be of a right heart, saying, I will bless the Lord at all times: His Praise shall be ever in my mouth.

15. Let not the foot of pride come against me [Psalm 35:11]. But now he said, The children of men shall put their trust under the shadow of Your wings: they shall be satiated with the fullness of Your House. When one has begun to be plentifully overflowed with that Fountain, let him take heed lest he grow proud. For the same was not wanting to Adam, the first man: but the foot of pride came against him, and the hand of the sinner removed him, that is, the proud hand of the devil. As he who seduced him, said of himself, I will sit in the sides of the north; [Isaiah 14:13] so he persuaded him, by saying, Taste, and you shall be as gods. [Genesis 3:5] By pride then have we so fallen as to arrive at this mortality. And because pride had wounded us, humility makes us whole. God came humbly, that from such great wound of pride He might heal man. He came, for The Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us. [John 1:34] He was taken by the Jews; He was reviled of them. You heard when the Gospel was read, what they said, and to Whom they said, You have a devil: and He said not, You have a devil, for you are still in your sins, and the devil possesses your hearts. He said not this, which if He had said, He had said truly: but it was not meet that He should say it, lest He should seem not to preach Truth, but to retort evil speaking. He let go what He heard as though He heard it not. For a Physician was He, and to cure the madman had He come. As a Physician cares not what he may hear from the madman; but how the madman may recover and become sane; nor even if he receive a blow from the madman, cares he; but while he to him gives new wounds, he cures his old fever: so also the Lord came to the sick man, to the madman came He, that whatever He might hear, whatever He might suffer, He should despise; by this very thing teaching us humility, that being taught by humility, we might be healed from pride: from which he here prays to be delivered, saying, Let not the foot of pride come against me; neither let the hand of the sinner remove me. For if the foot of pride come, the hand of the sinner removes. What is the hand of the sinner? The working of him that advises ill. Have you become proud? Quickly he corrupts you who advises ill. Humbly fix yourself in God, and care not much what is said to you. Hence is that which is elsewhere spoken, From my secret sins cleanse Thou me; and from others' sins also keep Your servant. What is, From my secret sins? Let not the foot of pride come against me. What is, From other men's sins also keep Your servant? Let not the hand of the wicked remove me. Keep that which is within, and you shall not fear from without.

16. But wherefore so greatly do you fear this? Because it is said, Thereby have fallen all that work iniquity [Psalm 35:12]; so that they have come into that abyss of which it is said, Your judgments are like the great abyss: so that they have come even to that deep wherein sinners who despise have fallen. Have fallen. Whereby did they first fall? By the foot of pride. Hear the foot of pride. When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God. Therefore came against them the foot of pride, whereby they came into the depth. God gave them over to their own hearts' lusts, to do those things which are not convenient. [Romans 1:21-24] The root of sin, and the head of sin feared he who said, Let not the foot of pride come against me. Wherefore said he, the foot? Because by walking proudly man deserted God, and departed from Him. His foot, called he his affection. Let not the foot of pride come against me: let not the hand of the wicked remove me: that is, let not the works of the wicked remove me from You, that I should wish to imitate them. But wherefore said he this against pride, Thereby have fallen all that work iniquity? Because those who now are ungodly, have fallen by pride. Therefore when the Lord would caution His Church, He said, It shall watch your head, and you shall watch his heel. [Genesis 3:15] The serpent watches when the foot of pride may come against you, when you may fall, that he may cast you down. But watch thou his head: the beginning of all sin is pride. [Sirach 10:13] Thereby have fallen all that work iniquity: they are driven out, and are not able to stand. He first, who in the Truth stood not, then, through him, they whom God sent out of Paradise. Whence he, the humble, who said that he was not worthy to unloose His shoe's latchet, is not driven out, but stands and hears Him, and rejoices greatly because of the Bridegroom's voice; not because of his own, lest the foot of pride come against him, and he be driven out, and be not able to stand....

On the first part of the psalm.

1. With terror do they hear of the coming of the last day, who will not be secure by living well: and who fain would live ill, long. But it was for useful purposes that God willed that day to remain unknown; that the heart may be ever ready to expect that of which it knows it is to come, but knows not when it is to come. Seeing, however, that our Lord Jesus Christ was sent to us to be our Master, He said, that of the day not even the Son of Man knew, [Mark 13:32] because it was not part of His office as our Master that through Him it should become known to us. For indeed the Father knows nothing that the Son knows not; since that is the Very Knowledge of the Father Itself, which is His Wisdom; now His Son, His Word, is His Wisdom. But because it was not for our good to know that, which however was known to Him who came indeed to teach us, though not to teach us that which it was not good for us to know, He not only, as a Master, taught us something, but also, as a Master, left something untaught. For, as a Master, He knew how both to teach us what was good for us, and not to teach us what was injurious. Now thus, according to a certain form of speech, the Son is said not to know what He does not teach: that is, in the same way that we are daily in the habit of speaking, He is said not to know what He causes us not to know.. ..

2. This it is that disturbs you who are a Christian; that you see men of bad lives prospering, and surrounded with abundance of things like these; you see them sound in health, distinguished with proud honours; you see their family unvisited by misfortune; the happiness of their relatives, the obsequious attendance of their dependants, their most commanding influence, their life uninterrupted by any sad event; you see their characters most profligate, their external resources most affluent; and your heart says that there is no Divine judgment; that all things are carried to and fro by accidents, and blown about in disorderly and irregular motions. For if God, you say, regarded human affairs, would his iniquity flourish, and my innocence suffer? Every sickness of the soul has in Scripture its proper remedy. Let him then whose sickness is of that kind that he says in his heart things like these, let him drink this Psalm by way of potion....

3. Be not envious because of evil-doers, neither be envious against the workers of iniquity [Psalm 36:1]. For they shall soon wither like the grass, and shall fade like the herbs of the meadow [Psalm 36:2]. That which to you seems long, is soon in the sight of God. Conform you yourself to God; and it will be soon to you. That which he here calls grass, that we understand by the herbs of the meadow. They are some worthless things, occupying the surface only of the ground, they have no depth of root. In the winter then they are green; but when the summer sun shall begin to scorch, they will wither away. For now it is the season of winter. Your glory does not as yet appear. But if your love has but a deep root, like that of many trees during winter, the frost passes away, the summer (that is, the Day of Judgment) will come; then will the greenness of the grass wither away. Then will the glory of the trees appear. For you (says the Apostle) are dead, [Colossians 3:3] even as trees seem to be in winter, as it were dead, as it were withered. What is our hope then, if we are dead? The root is within; where our root is, there is our life also, for there our love is fixed. And your life is hid with Christ in God. [Colossians 3:3] When shall he wither who is thus rooted? But when will our spring be? When our summer? When will the honour of foliage clothe us around, and the fullness of fruit make us rich? When shall this come to pass? Hear what follows: When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory. And what then shall we do now? Be not envious because of the evil-doers, neither be envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon wither like the grass, and fade like the herb of the meadow.

4. What should you do then? Trust in the Lord [Psalm 36:3]. For they too trust, but not in the Lord. Their hope is perishable. Their hope is short-lived, frail, fleeting, transitory, baseless. Trust thou in the Lord. Behold, you say, I do trust; what am I to do?

And do good. Do not do that evil which you behold in those men, who are prosperous in wickedness. Do good, and dwell in the land. Lest haply you should be doing good without dwelling in the land. For it is the Church that is the Lord's land. It is her whom He, the Father, the tiller of it, waters and cultivates. For there are many that, as it were, do good works, but yet, in that they do not dwell in the land, they do not belong to the husbandman. Therefore do thou your good, not outside of the land, but do thou dwell in the land. And what shall I have?

And you shall be fed in its riches. What are the riches of that land? Her riches are her Lord! Her riches are her God! He it is to whom it is said, The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup. In a late discourse we suggested to you, dearly beloved, that God is our possession, and that we are at the same time God's possession. Hear how that He is Himself the riches of that land.

Delight yourself in the Lord [Psalm 36:4]. As if you had put the question, and had said Show me the riches of that land, in which you bid me dwell, he says, Delight yourself in the Lord.

5. And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Understand in their proper signification, the desires of your heart. Distinguish the desires of your heart from the desires of your flesh; distinguish as much as you can. It is not without a meaning that it is said in a certain Psalm, God is (the strength) of mine heart. For there it says in what follows: And God is my portion forever. For instance: One labours under bodily blindness. He asks that he may receive his sight. Let him ask it; for God does that too, and gives those blessings also. But these things are asked for even by the wicked. This is a desire of the flesh. One is sick, and prays to be made sound. From the point of death he is restored to health. That too is a desire of the flesh, as are all of such a kind. What is the desire of the heart? As the desire of the flesh is to wish to have one's eyesight restored, to enable him, that is, to see that light, which can be seen by such eyes; so the desire of the heart relates to a different sort of light. For, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Delight you yourself in the Lord; and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

6. Behold (you say), I do long after it, I do ask for it, I do desire it. Shall I then accomplish it? No. Who shall then? Reveal your way unto the Lord: trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass [Psalm 36:5]. Mention to Him what you suffer, mention to Him what thou dost desire. For what is it that you suffer? The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. [Galatians 5:17] What is it then that you desire? Wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? [Romans 7:24] And because it is He Himself that will bring it to pass, when you shall have revealed your ways unto Him; hear what follows: The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. What is it then that He is to bring to pass, since it is said, Reveal your way unto Him, and He will bring it to pass? What will He bring to pass?

And He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light [Psalm 36:6]. For now, your righteousness is hid. Now it is a thing of faith; not yet of sight. You believe something that you may do it. You do not yet see that in which you believe. But when you shall begin to see that, which you believed before, your righteousness will be brought forth to the light, because it is your faith that was your righteousness. For the just lives by faith.

7. And He shall bring forth your judgment as the noon-day. That is to say, as the clear light. It was too little to say, as the light. For we call it light already, even when it but dawns: we call it light even while the sun is rising. But never is the light brighter than at mid-day. Therefore He will not only bring forth your righteousness as the light, but your judgment shall be as the noon-day. For now do you make your judgment to follow Christ. This is your purpose: this is your choice: this is your judgment....

8. What should I do then? Hear what you should do. Submit to the Lord, and entreat Him [Psalm 36:7]. Let this be your life, to obey His commandments. For this is to submit to Him; and to entreat Him until He gives you what He has promised. Let good works continue; let prayer continue. For men ought always to pray, and not to faint. [Luke 18:1] Wherein do you show that you are submitted to Him? In doing what He has commanded. But haply thou dost not receive your wages as yet, because as yet you are not able. For He is already able to give them; but you are not already able to receive them. Exercise yourself in works. Labour in the vineyard; at the close of the day crave your wages. Faithful is He who brought you into the vineyard. Submit to the Lord, and entreat Him.

9. See! I do so; I do 'submit to the Lord, and I do entreat.' But what do you think? That neighbour of mine is a wicked man, living a bad life, and prosperous! His thefts, adulteries, robberies, are known to me. Lifted up above every one, proud, and raised on high by wickedness, he deigns not to notice me. In these circumstances, how shall I hold out with patience? This is a sickness; drink, by way of remedy. Fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way. He prospers, but it is in his way: you suffer, but it is in God's way! His portion is prosperity on his way, misery on arriving at its end: yours, toil on the road, happiness in its termination. The Lord knows the way of the righteous; and the way of the ungodly shall perish. Thou walkest those ways which the Lord knows, and if you dost suffer toil in them, they do not deceive you. The way of the ungodly is but a transitory happiness; at the end of the way the happiness is at an end also. Why? Because that way is the broad road; its termination leads to the pit of hell. Now, your way is narrow; and few there be that enter in through it: [Matthew 7:13-14] but into how ample a field it comes at the last, you ought to consider. Fret not yourself at him who prospers in his way; because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath [Psalm 36:8]. Wherefore are you angry? Wherefore is it that, through that passion and indignation, you blaspheme, or almost blaspheme? Against the man who brings wicked devices to pass, cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Do you not know whither that wrath tempts you on? You are on the point of saying unto God, that He is unjust. It tends to that. Look! Why is that man prosperous, and this man in adversity? Consider what thought it begets: stifle the wicked notion. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: so that now returning to your senses, you may say, My eye is disturbed because of wrath. What eye is that, but the eye of faith? To the eye of your faith I appeal. Thou believed in Christ: why did you believe? What did He promise you? If it was the happiness of this world that Christ promised you, then murmur against Christ; yes! Murmur against Him, when you see the wicked flourishing. What of happiness did He promise? What, save in the Resurrection of the Dead? But what in this life? That which was His portion. His portion, I say! Do you, servant and disciple, disdain what your Lord, what your Master bore?...

For evil-doers shall be cut off [Psalm 36:9]. But I see their prosperity. Believe Him who says, they shall be cut off; Him who sees better than thou, since His eye anger cannot cloud. For evil-doers shall be cut off. But those that wait upon the Lord, — not upon any one that can deceive them; but verily on Him who is the Truth itself —But those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the land. What land, but that Jerusalem, with the love of which whosoever is inflamed, shall come to peace at the last.

10. But how long is the sinner to flourish? How long shall I have to endure? You are impatient; that which seems long to you, will soon come to pass. It is infirmity makes that seem long, which is really short, as is found in the case of the longings of sick men. Nothing seems so long as the mixing of the potion for him when thirsty. For all that his attendants are making all speed, lest haply the patient be angry; When will it be done? (he cries). When will it be drest? When will it be served? Those who are waiting upon you are making haste, but your infirmity fancies that long which is being done with expedition. Behold, therefore, our Physician complying with the infirmity of the patient, saying, How long shall I have to endure? How long will it be?

Yet a little while, and the sinner shall not be [Psalm 36:10]. Is it certainly among sinners, and because of the sinner, that you murmur. A little while, and he shall not be. Lest haply because I said, They that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the land, you should think that waiting to be of very long duration. Wait a little while, you shall receive without end what you wait for. A little while, a moderate space. Review the years from Adam's time up to this day; run through the Scriptures. It is almost yesterday that he fell from Paradise! So many ages have been measured out, and unrolled. Where now are the past ages? Even so, however, shall the few which remain, pass away also. Had you been living throughout all that time, since Adam was banished from Paradise up to this present day, you would certainly see that the life, which had thus flown away, had not been of long duration. But how long is the duration of each individual's life? Add any number of years you please: prolong old age to its longest duration: what is it? Is it not but a morning breeze? Be it so, however, that the Day of Judgment is far off, when the reward of the righteous and of the unrighteous is to come: your last day at all events cannot be far off. Make yourself ready against this! For such as you shall have departed from this life, shall you be restored to the other. At the close of that short life, you will not yet be, where the Saints shall be, to whom it shall be said, Come, you blessed of My Father: inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. [Matthew 25:34] You will not yet be there? Who does not know that? But you may already be there, where that beggar, once covered with sores, was seen at a distance, at rest, by that proud and unfruitful rich man in the midst of his torments. Surely hid in that rest you wait in security for the Day of Judgment, when you are to receive again a body, to be changed so as to be made equal to an Angel. How long then is that for which we are impatient, and are saying, When will it come? Will it tarry long? This our sons will say hereafter, and our sons' sons will say too; and, though each one of these in succession will say this same thing, that little while that is yet to be, passes away, as all that is already past has passed away already! O thou sick one! Yet a little while, and the sinner shall not be. Yea, you shall diligently consider his place, and you shall not find him....

11. But the meek shall inherit the land [Psalm 36:11]. That land is the one of which we have often spoken, the holy Jerusalem, which is to be released from these her pilgrimages, and to live for ever with God, and on God. Therefore, They shall inherit the land. What shall be their delight? And they shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Let the ungodly man delight himself here in the multitude of his gold, in the multitude of his silver, in the multitude of his slaves, in the multitude, lastly, of his baths, his roses, his intoxicating wines, his most sumptuous and luxurious banquets. Is this the power you envy? Is this the glory that delights you? Would not his fate be worthy to be deplored, even if he were to be so for ever? What shall be your delights? And they shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Peace shall be your gold. Peace shall be your silver. Peace shall be your lands. Peace shall be your life, your God Peace. Peace shall be to you whatsoever you desire....

On the Second Part of the Psalm.

1. Then follow these words: The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes upon him with his teeth [Psalm 36:12]: But the Lord shall laugh at him [Psalm 36:13]. At whom? Surely at the sinner, gnashing upon the other with his teeth. But wherefore shall the Lord laugh at him? For He foresees that his day is coming. He seems indeed full of wrath, while, ignorant of the morrow that is in store for him, he is threatening the just. But the Lord beholds and foresees his day. What day? That in which He will render to every man according to his works. For he is treasuring up unto himself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the just judgment of God. [Romans 2:6, 5] But it is the Lord that foresees it; you do not foresee it. It has been revealed to you by Him who foresees it. You did not know of the day of the unrighteous, in which he is to suffer punishment. But He who knows it has revealed it to you. It is a main part of knowledge to join yourself to Him who has knowledge. He has the eyes of knowledge: have thou the eyes of a believing mind. That which God sees, be thou willing to believe. For the day of the unjust, which God foresees, will come. What day is that? The day for all vengeance! For it is necessary that vengeance should be taken upon the ungodly, that vengeance be taken upon the unjust, whether he turn, or whether he turn not. For if he shall turn from his ways, that very thing, that his injustice has come to an end, is the infliction of vengeance....

2. The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright heart [Psalm 36:14]. Their weapon shall enter into their own heart [Psalm 36:15]. It is an easy thing for his weapon, that is, his sword, to reach your body, even as the sword of the persecutors reached the body of the Martyrs, but when the body had been smitten, the heart remained unhurt; but his heart who drew out the sword against the body of the just did not clearly remain unhurt. This is attested by this very Psalm. It says, Their weapon, that is, Their sword shall, not go into their body, but, their weapon shall go into their own heart. They would fain have slain him in the body. Let them die the death of the soul. For those whose bodies they sought to kill, the Lord has freed from anxiety, saying, Fear not them who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. [Matthew 10:28]...

3. And their bows shall be broken. What is meant by, And their bows shall be broken? Their plots shall be frustrated. For above He had said, The wicked have drawn out the sword and bent their bows. By the drawing out of the sword he would have understood open hostility; but by the bending of the bow, secret conspiracies. See! His sword destroys himself, and his laying of snares is frustrated. What is meant by frustrated? That it does no mischief to the righteous. How then, for instance (you ask), did it do no mischief to the man, whom it thus stripped of his goods, whom it reduced to straitened circumstances by taking away his possessions? He has still cause to sing, A little that a righteous man has, is better than great riches of the ungodly [Psalm 36:16].

4. ...For the arms of the wicked shall be broken [Psalm 36:17]. Now by their arms is meant their power. What will he do in hell? Will it be what the rich man had to do, he who was wont to fare sumptuously in the upper world, and in hell was tormented? Therefore their arms shall be broken; but the Lord upholds the righteous. How does He uphold them? What says He unto them? Even what is said in another Psalm, Wait on the Lord, be of good courage; and let your heart be strengthened. Wait, I say, on the Lord. What is meant by this, Wait on the Lord? Thou sufferest but for a time; you shall rest for ever: your trouble is short; your happiness is to be everlasting. It is but for a little while you are to sorrow; your joy shall have no end. But in the midst of trouble does your foot begin to slip? The example even of Christ's sufferings is set before you. Consider what He endured for you, in whom no cause was found why He should endure it? How great soever be your sufferings, you will not come to those insults, those scourgings, to that robe of shame, to that crown of thorns, and last of all to that Cross, which He endured; because that is now removed from the number of human punishments. For though under the ancients criminals were crucified, in the present day no one is crucified. It was honoured, and it came to an end. It came to an end as a punishment; it is continued in glory. It has removed from the place of execution to the foreheads of Emperors. He who has invested His very sufferings with such honour, what does He reserve for His faithful servants?...

5. But observe whether that was fulfilled in his case which the Psalm now speaks of. The Lord strengthens the righteous.— Not only so (says that same Paul, while suffering many evils), but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience experience; and experience hope; but hope makes not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. [Romans 5:3-5] Justly is it said by him, now righteous, now strengthened. As therefore those who persecuted him did no harm to him, when now strengthened, so neither did he himself do any harm to those whom he persecuted. But the Lord, he says, strengthens the righteous....

6. Therefore the Lord does strengthen the righteous. In what way does He strengthen them? The Lord knows the ways of the spotless ones [Psalm 36:18]. When they suffer ills, they are believed to be walking ill ways by those who are ignorant, by those who have not knowledge to discern the ways of the spotless ones. He who knows those ways, knows by what way to lead His own, them that are gentle, in the right way. Whence in another Psalm he said, The meek shall He guide in judgment; them that are gentle will He teach His way. How, think you, was that beggar, who lay covered with sores before the rich man's door, [Luke 16:20] spurned by the passers by! How did they, probably, close their nostrils and spit at him! The Lord, however, knew how to reserve Paradise for him. How did they, on the other hand, desire for themselves the life of him who was clad in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day! [Luke 16:19] But the Lord, who foresaw that man's day coming, knew the torments, the torments without end, that were in store for him. Therefore The Lord knows the ways of the upright.

7. And their inheritance shall be for ever [Psalm 36:18]. This we hold by faith. Does the Lord too know it by faith? The Lord knows those things with as clear a manifestation, as we cannot speak of even when we shall be made equal to the Angels. For the things that shall be manifest to us, shall not be equally manifest to us as they are now to Him, who is incapable of change. Yet even of us ourselves what is said? Beloved, now are we the sons of God: and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. [1 John 3:2] There is therefore surely some blissful vision reserved for us; and if it can be now in some measure conceived, darkly and through a glass, [1 Corinthians 13:12] yet cannot we in any way express in language the ravishing beauty of that bliss, which God reserves for them that fear Him, which He consummates in those that hope in Him. It is for that destination that our hearts are being disciplined in all the troubles and trials of this life. Wonder not that it is in trouble that you are disciplined for it. It is for something glorious that you are being disciplined. Whence comes that speech of the now strengthened righteous man: The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us? [Romans 8:18] What is that promised glory to be, but to be made equal to the Angels and to see God? How great a benefit does he bestow on the blind man, who makes his eyes sound so as to be able to see the light of this life....What reward then shall we give unto that Physician who restores soundness to our inward eyes, to enable them to see a certain eternal Light, which is Himself?...

8. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time [Psalm 36:19]. In the day of trouble, in the day of distress, they shall not be ashamed, as he is ashamed whose hope deceives him. Who is the man that is ashamed? He who says, I have not found that which I was in hopes of. Nor undeservedly either; for you hoped it from yourself or from man, your friend. But cursed is he that puts his trust in man. [Jeremiah 17:5] You are ashamed, because your hope has deceived you; your hope that was set on a lie. For every man is a liar. But if you dost place your hopes on your God, you are not made ashamed. For He in whom you have put your trust, cannot be deceived. Whence also the man whom we mentioned just above, the now strengthened righteous man, when fallen on an evil time, on the day of tribulation, what says he to show that he was not ashamed? We glory in tribulation; knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience experience, and experience hope; but hope makes not ashamed. Whence is it that hope makes not ashamed? Because it is placed on God. Therefore follows immediately, Because the love of God is spread in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is given unto us. [Romans 5:3-5] The Holy Spirit has been given to us already: how should He deceive us, of whom we possess such an earnest already? They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied....

9. For the wicked shall perish. But the enemies of the Lord, when they shall begin to glory, and to be lifted up, immediately shall consume away utterly, even as the smoke [Psalm 36:20]. Recognise from the comparison itself the thing which he intimates. Smoke, breaking forth from the place where fire has been, rises up on high, and by the very act of rising up, it swells into a large volume: but the larger that volume is, the more unsubstantial does it become; for from that very largeness of volume, which has no foundation or consistency, but is merely loose, shifting and evanescent, it passes into air, and dissolves; so that you perceive its very largeness to have been fatal to it. For the higher it ascends, the farther it is extended, the wider the circumference which it spreads itself over, the thinner, and the more rare and wasting and evanescent does it become. But the enemies of the Lord, when they shall begin to glory, and to be lifted up, immediately shall consume away utterly even as the smoke. Of such as these was it said, As Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the Truth; men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. [2 Timothy 3:8] But how is it that they resist the Truth, except by the vain inflation of their swelling pride, while they raise themselves up on high, as if great and righteous persons, though on the point of passing away into empty air? But what says he of them? As if speaking of smoke, he says, They shall proceed no farther, for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, even as theirs also was....

10. The wicked borrows, and pays not again [Psalm 36:20]. He receives, and will not repay. What is it he will not repay? Thanksgiving. For what is it that God would have of you, what does He require of you, except that He may do you good? And how great are the benefits which the sinner has received, and which he will not repay! He has received the gift of being; he has received the gift of being a man; and of a being highly distinguished above the brutes; he has received the form of a body, and the distinction of the senses in the body, eyes for seeing, ears for hearing, the nostrils for smelling, the palate for tasting, the hands for touching, and the feet for walking; and even the very health and soundness of the body. But up to this point we have these things in common even with the brute; he has received yet more than this; a mind capable of understanding, capable of Truth, capable of distinguishing right from wrong; capable of seeking after, of longing for, its Creator, of praising Him, and fixing itself upon Him. All this the wicked man has received as well as others; but by not living well, he fails to repay that which he owes. Thus it is, the wicked borrows, and pays not again: he will not requite Him from whom he has received; he will not return thanks; nay, he will even render evil for good, blasphemies, murmuring against God, indignation. Thus it is that he borrows, and pays not again; but the righteous shows mercy, and lends [Psalm 36:21]. The one therefore has nothing; the other has. See, on the one side, destitution: see, on the other, wealth. The one receives and pays not again: the other shows mercy, and lends: and he has more than enough. What if he is poor? Even so he is rich; do you but look at his riches with the eyes of Religion. For you look at the empty chest; but dost not look at the conscience, that is full of God....

11. For such as shall bless Him shall inherit the land [Psalm 36:23], that is, they shall possess that righteous One: the only One who both is truly righteous, and makes righteous: who both was poor in this world, and brought great riches to it, wherewith to make those rich whom He found poor. For it is He who has enriched the hearts of the poor with the Holy Spirit; and having emptied out their souls by confession of sins, has filled them with the richness of righteousness: He who was able to enrich the fisherman, who, by forsaking his nets, spurned what he possessed already, but sought to draw up what he possessed not. For God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. [1 Corinthians 1:27] And it was not by an orator that He gained to Himself the fisherman; but by the fisherman that He gained to Himself the orator; by the fisherman that He gained the Senator; by the fisherman that He gained the Emperor. For such as shall bless Him shall inherit the land; they shall be fellow-heirs with Him, in that land of the living, of which it is said in another Psalm, You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living.. ..

12. Observe what follows: The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delights in His way [Psalm 36:23]. That man may himself delight in the Lord's way, his steps are ordered by the Lord Himself. For if the Lord did not order the steps of man, so crooked are they naturally, that they would always be going through crooked paths, and by pursuing crooked ways, would be unable to return again. He however came, and called us, and redeemed us, and shed His blood; He has given this ransom; He has done this good, and suffered these evils. Consider Him in what He has done, He is God! Consider Him in what He has suffered, He is Man! Who is that God-Man? Had not you, O man, forsaken God, God would not have been made Man for you! For that was too little for you to requite, or for Him to bestow, that He had made you man; unless He Himself should become Man for you also. For it is He Himself that has ordered our steps; that we should delight in His way....

13. Now if man were to be through the whole of his life in toil, and in sufferings, in pain, in tortures, in prison, in scourgings, in hunger, and in thirst, every day and every hour through the whole length of life, to the period of old age, yet the whole life of man is but a few days. That labour being over, there is to come the Eternal Kingdom; there is to come happiness without end; there is to come equality with the Angels; there is to come Christ's inheritance, and Christ, our joint Heir, [Romans 8:17] is to come. How great is the labour, for which you receive so great a recompense? The Veterans who serve in the wars, and move in the midst of wounds for so many years, enter upon the military service from their youth, and quit it in old age: and to obtain a few days of repose in their old age, when age itself begins to weigh down those whom the wars do not break down, how great hardships do they endure; what marches, what frosts, what burning suns; what privations, what wounds, and what dangers! And while suffering all these things, they fix their thoughts on nothing but those few days of repose in old age, at which they know not whether they will ever arrive. Thus it is, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in His way. This is the point with which I commenced. If you delight in the way of Christ, and art truly a Christian (for he is a Christian indeed who does not despise the way of Christ, but delights in following Christ's way through His sufferings), do not thou go by any other way than that by which He Himself has also gone. It appears painful, but it is the very way of safety; another perhaps is delightful, but it is full of robbers. And he delights in His way.

14. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds his hand [Psalm 36:24]. See what it is to delight in Christ's way. Should it happen that he suffers some tribulation; some forfeiture of honour, some affliction, some loss, some contumely, or all those other accidents incident to mankind frequently in this life, he sets the Lord before him, what kind of trials He endured! And, though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds his hand, because He has suffered before him. For what should you fear, O man, whose steps are ordered so, that you should delight in the way of the Lord? What should you fear? Pain? Christ was scourged. Should thou fear contumelies? He was reproached with, You have a devil, who was Himself casting out the devils. Haply you fear faction, and the conspiracy of the wicked. Conspiracy was made against Him. You can not make clear the purity of your conscience in some accusation, and sufferest wrong and violence, because false witnesses are listened to against you. False witness was borne against Him first, not only before His death, but also after His resurrection....

On the Third Part of the Psalm.

1. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread [Psalm 36:25].

If it is spoken but in the person of one single individual, how long is the whole life of one man? And what is there wonderful in the circumstance, that a single man, fixed in some one part of the earth, should not, throughout the whole space of his life, being so short as man's life is, have ever seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread, although he may have advanced from youth to age. It is not anything worthy of marvel; for it might have happened, that before his lifetime there should have been some righteous man seeking bread; it might have happened, that there had been some one in some other part of the earth not where he himself was. Hear too another thing, which makes an impression upon us. Any single one among you (look you) who has now grown old, may perhaps, when, looking back upon the past course of his life, he turns over in his thoughts the persons whom he has known, not find any instance of a righteous man begging bread, or of his seed begging bread, suggest itself to him; but nevertheless he turns to the inspired Scriptures, and finds that righteous Abraham was straitened, and suffered hunger in his own country, and left that land for another; he finds too that the son of the very same man, Isaac, removed to other countries in search of bread, for the same cause of hunger. And how will it be true to say, I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread? And if he finds this true in the duration of his own life, he finds it is otherwise in the inspired writings, which are more trustworthy than human life is.

2. What are we to do then? Let us be seconded by your pious attention, so that we may discern the purpose of God in these verses of the Psalm, what it is He would have us understand by them. For there is a fear, lest any unstable person, not capable of understanding the Scriptures spiritually, should appeal to human instances, and should observe the virtuous servants of God to be sometimes in some necessity, and in want, so as to be compelled to beg bread: should particularly call to mind the Apostle Paul, who says, In hunger and thirst; in cold and nakedness; [2 Corinthians 11:27] and should stumble thereat, saying to himself, Is that certainly true which I have been singing? Is that certainly true, which I have been sounding forth in so devout a voice, standing in church? 'I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.' Lest he should say in his heart, Scripture deceives us; and all his limbs should be paralyzed to good works: and when those limbs within him, those limbs of the inner man, shall have been paralyzed (which is the more fearful paralysis), he should henceforth leave off from good works, and say to himself, Wherefore do I do good works? Wherefore do I break my bread to the hungry, and clothe the naked, and take home to mine house him who has no shelter, [Isaiah 58:7] putting faith in that which is written? 'I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread;' whereas I see so many persons who live virtuously, yet for the most part suffering from hunger. But if perhaps I am in error in thinking the man who is living well, and the man who is living ill, to be both of them living well, and if God knows him to be otherwise; that is, knows him, whom I think just, to be unjust, what am I to make of Abraham's case, who is commended by Scripture itself as a righteous person? What am I to make of the Apostle Paul, who says, 'Be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.' [1 Corinthians 11:1] What? That I should myself be in evils such as he endured, 'In hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness'? [2 Corinthians 11:27]

3. Whilst therefore he thus thinks, and while his limbs are paralyzed to the power of good works, can we, my brethren, as it were, lift up the sick of the palsy; and, as it were, lay open the roof of this Scripture, and let him down before the Lord. [Luke 5:19] For you observe that it is obscure. If obscure therefore, it is covered. And I behold a certain patient paralytic in mind, and I see this roof, and am convinced that Christ is concealed beneath the roof. Let me, as far as I am able, do that which was praised in those who opened the roof, and let down the sick of the palsy before Christ; that He might say unto him, Son, be of good cheer, your sins be forgiven you. [Luke 5:20] For it was so that He made the inner man whole of his palsy, by loosing his sins, by binding fast his faith....

4. But who is the righteous man, who has never been seen forsaken, nor his seed begging bread? If you understand what is meant by bread, you understand who is meant by him. For the bread is the Word of God, which never departs from the righteous man's mouth....See now if holy meditation does 'keep you' in the rumination of this bread, then have you never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

5. He is always merciful, and lends [Psalm 36:26]. Fœneratur is used in Latin indeed, both for him who lends, and for him who borrows. But in this passage the meaning is more plain, if we express it by fœnerat. What matters it to us, what the grammarians please to rule? It would be better for us to be guilty of a barbarism, so that you understand, than that in our propriety of speech you be left unprovided. Therefore, that righteous man is all day merciful, and (fœnerat) lends. Let not the lenders of money on usury, however, rejoice. For we find it is a particular kind of lender that is spoken of, as it was a particular kind of bread; that we may, in all passages, remove the roof, and find our way to Christ. I would not have you be lenders of money on usury; and I would not have you be such for this reason, because God would not have you....Whence does it appear that God would not have it so? It is said in another place, He that puts not out his money to usury. And how detestable, odious, and execrable a thing it is, I believe that even usurers themselves know. Again, on the other hand, I myself, nay rather our God Himself bids you be an usurer, and says to you, Lend unto God. If you lend to man, have you hope? And shall you not have hope, if you lend to God? If you have lent your money on usury to man, that is, if you have given the loan of your money to one, from whom you expect to receive something more than you have given, not in money only, but anything, whether it be wheat, or wine, or oil, or whatever else you please, if you expect to receive more than you have given, you are an usurer, and in this particular are not deserving of praise, but of censure. What then, you say, am I to do, that I may 'lend' profitably? Consider what the usurer does. He undoubtedly desires to give a less sum, and to receive a larger; do thou this also; give thou a little, receive much. See how your principal grows, and increases! Give things temporal, receive things eternal: give earth, receive heaven! And perhaps you would say, To whom shall I give them? The self-same Lord, who bade you not lend on usury, comes forward as the Person to whom you should lend on usury! Hear from Scripture in what way you may lend unto the Lord. He that has pity on the poor, lends unto the Lord. [Proverbs 10:17] For the Lord wants not anything of you. But you have one who needs somewhat of you: you extend it to him; he receives it. For the poor has nothing to return to you, and yet he would himself fain requite you, and finds nothing wherewith to do it: all that remains in his power is the good-will that desires to pray for you. Now when the poor man prays for you, he, as it were, says unto God, Lord, I have borrowed this; be Thou surety for me. Then, though you have no bond on the poor man to compel his repayment, yet you have on a sponsible security. See, God from His own Scriptures says unto you; Give it, and fear not; I repay it. It is to Me you give it. In what way do those who make themselves sureties for others, express themselves? What is it that they say? I repay it: I take it upon myself. It is to me you are giving it. Do we then suppose that God also says this, I take it on Myself. It is unto me you give it? Assuredly, if Christ be God, of which there is no doubt, He has Himself said, I was an hungred, and you gave Me meat. [Matthew 25:35] And when they said to Him, When saw we You hungry? [Matthew 25:37] that He might show Himself to be the Surety for the poor, that He answers for all His members, that He is the Head, they the members, and that when the members receive, the Head receives also; He says, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these that belong to Me, you have done it unto Me. [Matthew 25:40] Come, thou covetous usurer, consider what you have given; consider what you are to receive. Had you given a small sum of money, and he to whom you had given it were to give you for that small sum a great villa, worth incomparably more money than you had given, how great thanks would you render, with how great joy would you be transported! Hear what possession He to whom you have been lending bestows. Come, you blessed of My Father, receive [Matthew 25:34] — What? The same that they have given? God forbid! What you gave were earthly things, which, if you had not given them, would have become corrupted on earth. For what could you have made of them, if you had not given them? That which on earth would have been lost, has been preserved in heaven. Therefore what we are to receive is that which has been preserved. It is your desert that has been preserved, your desert has been made your treasure. For consider what it is that you are to receive. Receive — the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. On the other hand, what shall be their sentence, who would not lend? Go into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. [Matthew 25:41] And what is the kingdom which we receive called? Consider what follows: And these shall go into everlasting burning; but the righteous into life eternal. [Matthew 25:46] Make interest for this; purchase this. Give your money on usury to earn this. You have Christ throned in heaven, begging on earth. We have discovered in what way the righteous lends. He is always merciful, and lends.

6. And his seed is blessed. Here too let not any carnal notion suggest itself. We see many of the sons of the righteous dying of hunger; in what sense then will his seed be blessed? His seed is that which remains of him afterwards; that wherewith he sows here, and will hereafter reap. For the Apostle says, Let us not be weary in well-doing; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. As we have therefore time, he says, let us do good unto all men. [Galatians 6:9-10] This is that seed of yours which shall be blessed. You commit it to the earth, and gather ever so much more; and do you lose it in committing it to Christ? See it expressly termed seed by the Apostle, when he was speaking of alms. For this he says; He which sows sparingly, shall reap also sparingly; and he which sows in blessings, shall also reap in blessings. [2 Corinthians 9:6]...

7. Observe therefore what follows, and be not slothful. Depart from evil, and do good [Psalm 36:27]. Do not think it to be enough for you to do, if you dost not strip the man who is already clothed. For in not stripping the man who is already clothed, you have indeed departed from evil: but do not be barren, and wither. So choose not to strip the man who is clothed already, as to clothe the naked. For this is to depart from evil, and to do good. And you will say, What advantage am I to derive from it? He to whom you lend has already assured you of what He will give you. He will give you everlasting life. Give to Him, and fear not! Hear too what follows: Depart from evil, and do good, and dwell for evermore. And think not when you give that no one sees you, or that God forsakes you, when haply after you have given to the poor, and some loss, or some sorrow for the property you have lost, should follow, and you should say to yourself, What has it profited me to have done good works? I believe God does not love the men who do good. Whence comes that buzz, that subdued murmur among you, except that those expressions are very common? Each one of you at this present moment recognises these expressions, either in his own lips, or on those of his friend. May God destroy them; may He root out the thorns from His field; may He plant the good seed, and the tree bearing fruit! For wherefore are you afflicted, O man, that you have given some things away to the poor, and hast lost certain other things? Do you see not that it is what you have not given, that you have lost? Wherefore do you not attend to the voice of your God? Where is your faith? Wherefore is it so fast asleep? Wake it up in your heart. Consider what the Lord Himself said to you, while exhorting you to good works of this kind: Provide yourselves bags which wax not old; a treasure in the heavens that fails not, where no thief approaches. [Luke 12:33] Call this to mind therefore when you are lamenting over a loss. Wherefore do you lament, thou fool of little mind, or rather of unsound mind? Wherefore did you lose it, except that thou did not lend it to Me? Wherefore did you lose it? Who has carried it off? You will answer, A thief. Was it not this, that I forewarned you of? That you should not lay it up where the thief could approach? If then he who has lost anything, grieves, let him grieve for this, that he did not lay it up there, whence it could not be lost.

8. For the Lord loves judgment, and forsakes not His Saints [Psalm 36:28]. When the Saints suffer affliction, think not that God does not judge, or does not judge righteously. Will He, who warns you to judge righteously, Himself judge unrighteously? He loves judgment, and forsakes not His Saints. But (think) how the life of the Saints is hid with Him, in such a manner, that who now suffer trouble on earth, like trees in the winter-time, having no fruit and leaves, when He, like a newly-risen sun, shall have appeared, that which before was living in their root, will show itself forth in fruits. He does then love judgment, and does not forsake His Saints....

9. But the unrighteous shall be punished; the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. Just as the seed of the other shall be blessed, so shall the seed of the wicked be cut off. For the seed of the wicked is the works of the wicked. For again, on the other hand, we find the son of the wicked man flourish in the world, and sometimes become righteous, and flourish in Christ. Be careful therefore how you take it; that you may remove the covering, and make your way to Christ. [Luke 5:19] Do not take the text in a carnal sense; for you will be deceived. But the seed of the wicked— all the works of the wicked— will be cut off: they shall have no fruit. For they are effective indeed for a short time; afterwards they shall seek for them, and shall not find the reward of that which they have wrought. For it is the expression of those who lose what they have wrought, that text which says, What has pride profited us, or what good has riches with our vaunting brought us? All those things are passed away like a shadow. [Wisdom 5:8-9] The seed of the wicked, then, shall be cut off.

10. The righteous shall inherit the land [Psalm 36:29]. Here again let not covetousness steal on you, nor promise you some great estate; hope not to find there, what you are commanded to despise in this world. That land in the text, is a certain land of the living, the kingdom of the Saints. Whence it is said: You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living. For if your life too is the same life as that there spoken of, think what sort of land you are about to inherit. That is the land of the living; this the land of those who are about to die: to receive again, when dead, those whom it nourished when living. Such then as is that land, such shall the life itself be also: if the life be for ever, the land also is to be yours forever. And how is the land to be yours for ever?

And they shall dwell therein (it says) forever. It must therefore be another land, where they are to dwell therein forever. For of this land (of this earth) it is said, Heaven and earth shall pass away. [Matthew 24:35]

11. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom [Psalm 36:30]. See here is that bread. Observe with what satisfaction this righteous man feeds upon it; how he turns wisdom over and over in his mouth. And his tongue talks of judgment.

The law of his God is in his heart [Psalm 36:31]. Lest haply you should think him to have that on his lips, which he has not in his heart, lest you should reckon him among those of whom it is said, This people honour Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. [Isaiah 29:13] And of what use is this to him?

And none of his steps shall slide. The word of God in the heart frees from the snare; the word of God in the heart delivers from the evil way; the word of God in the heart delivers from the slippery place. He is with you, Whose word departs not from you. Now what evil does he suffer, whom God keeps? Thou settest a watchman in your vineyard, and feelest secure from thieves; and that watchman may sleep, and may himself fall, and may admit a thief. But He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The law of his God is in his heart, and none of his steps shall slide. Let him therefore live free from fear; let him live free from fear even in the midst of the wicked; free from fear even in the midst of the ungodly. For what evil can the ungodly or unrighteous man do to the righteous? Lo! see what follows.

The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him [Psalm 36:32]. For he says, what it was foretold in the book of Wisdom that he should say, He is grievous unto us, even to behold; for his life is not like other men's. [Wisdom 2:15] Therefore he seeks to slay him. What? Does the Lord, who keeps him, who dwells with him, who departs not from his lips, from his heart, does He forsake him? What then becomes of what was said before: And He forsakes not His Saints?

12. The wicked therefore watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him. But the Lord will not leave him in his hands [Psalm 36:33]. Wherefore then did He leave the Martyrs in the hands of the ungodly? Wherefore did they do unto them whatsoever they would? [Matthew 17:12] Some they slew with the sword; some they crucified; some they delivered to the beasts; some they burnt by fire; others they led about in chains, till wasted out by a long protracted decay. Assuredly the Lord forsakes not His Saints. He will not leave him in his hands. Lastly, wherefore did He leave His own Son in the hands of the ungodly? Here also, if you would have all the limbs of your inner man made strong, remove the covering of the roof, and find your way to the Lord. Hear what another Scripture, foreseeing our Lord's future suffering at the hands of the ungodly, says. What says it? The earth is given into the hands of the wicked. [Job 9:24] What is meant by earth being given into the hands of the ungodly? The delivering of the flesh into the hands of the persecutors. But God did not leave His righteous One there: from the flesh, which was taken captive, He leads forth the soul unconquered....

The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when there shall be judgment for him [Psalm 36:33]. Some copies have it, and when He shall judge him, there shall be judgment for him. For him, however, means when sentence is passed upon him. For we can express ourselves so as to say to a person, Judge for me, i.e. hear my cause. When therefore God shall begin to hear the cause of His righteous servant, since we must all be presented before the tribunal of Christ, and stand before it to receive every one the things he has done in this body, [2 Corinthians 5:10] whether good or evil, when therefore he shall have come to that Judgment, He will not condemn him; though he may seem to be condemned in this present life by man. Even though the Proconsul may have passed sentence on Cyprian, yet the earthly seat of judgment is one thing, the heavenly tribunal is another. From the inferior tribunal he receives sentence of death; from the superior one a crown, Nor will He condemn him when there shall be judgment for him.

13. Wait on the Lord [Psalm 36:34]. And while I am waiting upon Him, what am I to do?— and keep His ways. And if I keep them, what am I to receive? And He shall exalt you to inherit the land. What land? Once more let not any estate suggest itself to your mind: — the land of which it is said, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. [Matthew 25:34] What of those who have troubled us, in the midst of whom we have groaned, whose scandals we have patiently endured, for whom, while they were raging against us, we have prayed in vain? What will become of them? What follows? When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it....

I have seen the ungodly lifted up on high, and rising above the cedars of Libanus [Psalm 36:35]. And suppose him to be lifted up on high; suppose him to be towering above the rest; what follows?

I passed by, and, lo, he was not! I sought him, and his place could nowhere be found! [Psalm 36:36]. Why was he no more, and his place nowhere to be found? Because you have passed by. But if you are yet carnally-minded, and that earthly prosperity appears to you to be true happiness, you have not yet passed by him; you are either his fellow, or you are below him; go on, and pass him; and when you have made progress, and hast passed by him, you observe him by the eye of faith; you see his end, you say to yourself, Lo! He who so swelled before, is not! just as if it were some smoke that thou were passing near to. For this too was said above in this very Psalm, They shall consume and fade away as the smoke.. ..

14. Keep innocency [Psalm 36:37]; keep it even as you used to keep your purse, when thou were covetous; even as you used to hold fast that purse, that it might not be snatched from your grasp by the thief, even so keep innocency, lest that be snatched from your grasp by the devil. Be that your sure inheritance, of which the rich and the poor may both be sure. Keep innocency. What does it profit you to gain gold, and to lose innocence?

Keep innocency, and take heed unto the thing which is right. Keep thou your eyes right, that you may see the thing which is right; not perverted, wherewith you look upon the wicked; not distorted, so that God should appear to you distorted and wrong, in that He favours the wicked, and afflicts the faithful with persecutions. Do you not observe how distorted your vision is? Set right your eyes, and behold the thing that is right. What thing that is right? Take no heed of things present. And what will you see?

For there is a remainder for the man that makes peace. What is meant by there is a remainder? When you are dead, you shall not be dead. This is the meaning of there is a remainder. He will still have something remaining to him, even after this life, that is to say, that seed, which shall be blessed. Whence our Lord says, He that believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live; [John 11:25] — seeing there is a remainder for the man that makes peace.

15. But the transgressors shall be destroyed in the self-same thing [Psalm 36:38]. What is meant by, in the self-same thing? It means for ever: or all together in one and the same destruction.

The remainder of the wicked shall be cut off. Now there is (a remainder) for the man that makes peace: they therefore who are not peace-makers are ungodly. For, Blessed are the peace-makers: for they shall be called the children of God. [Matthew 5:9]

16. But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord, and He is their strength in the time of trouble [Psalm 36:39]. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the sinners [Psalm 36:40]. At present therefore let the righteous bear with the sinner; let the wheat bear with the tares; let the grain bear with the chaff: for the time of separation will come, and the good seed shall be set apart from that which is to be consumed with fire. [Matthew 13:30] The one will be consigned to the garner, the other to everlasting burning; for it was for this reason that the just and the unjust were at the first together; that the one should lay a stumbling-block, that the other should be proved; that afterwards the one should be condemned, the other receive a crown....

A psalm to David himself, on the remembrance of the Sabbath.

1. What does this recollection of the Sabbath mean? What is this Sabbath? For it is with groaning that he calls it to recollection. You have both heard already when the Psalm was read, and you will now hear it when we shall go over it, how great is his groaning, his mourning, his tears, his misery. But happy he who is wretched after this manner! Whence the Lord also in the Gospel [Matthew 5:4] called some who mourn blessed. How should he be blessed if he is a mourner? How blessed, if he is miserable? Nay rather, he would be miserable, if he were not a mourner. Such an one then let us understand here too, calling the Sabbath to remembrance (viz.), some mourner or other: and would that we were ourselves that some one or other! For there is here some person sorrowing, groaning, mourning, calling the Sabbath to remembrance. The Sabbath is rest. Doubtless he was in some disquietude, who with groaning was calling the Sabbath to remembrance....

2. O Lord, rebuke me not in Your indignation; neither chasten me in Your hot displeasure [Psalm 37:1]. For it will be that some shall be chastened in God's hot displeasure, and rebuked in His indignation. And haply not all who are rebuked will be chastened; yet are there some that are to be saved in the chastening. So it is to be indeed, because it is called chastening, but yet it shall be so as by fire. But there are to be some who will be rebuked, and will not be corrected. For he will at all events rebuke those to whom He will say, I was an hungred, and you gave me no meat. [Matthew 25:42]... Neither chasten me in Your hot displeasure; so that You may cleanse me in this life, and make me such, that I may after that stand in no need of the cleansing fire, for those who are to be saved, yet so as by fire. [1 Corinthians 3:15] Why? Why, but because they build upon the foundation, wood, stubble, and hay. Now they should build on it, gold, silver, and precious stones; [1 Corinthians 3:12] and should have nothing to fear from either fire: not only that which is to consume the ungodly for ever, but also that which is to purge those who are to escape through the fire. For it is said, he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. And because it is said, he shall be saved, that fire is thought lightly of. For all that, though we should be saved by fire, yet will that fire be more grievous than anything that man can suffer in this life whatsoever.

3. Now on what ground does this person pray that he may not be rebuked in indignation, nor chastened in hot displeasure? (He speaks) as if he would say unto God, Since the things which I already suffer are many in number, I pray You let them suffice; and he begins to enumerate them, by way of satisfying God; offering what he suffers now, that he may not have to suffer worse evils hereafter.

4. For Your arrows stick fast in me, and Your hand presses me sore [Psalm 37:2]. There is no soundness in my flesh, from the face of Your anger [Psalm 37:3]. He has now begun telling these evils, which he is suffering here: and yet even this already was from the wrath of the Lord, because it was of the vengeance of the Lord. Of what vengeance? That which He took upon Adam. For think not that punishment was not inflicted upon him, or that God had said to no purpose, You shall surely die; [Genesis 2:17] or that we suffer anything in this life, except from that death which we earned by the original sin....Whence then do His arrows stick fast in him? The very punishment, the very vengeance, and haply the pains both of mind and of body, which it is necessary for us to suffer here, these he describes by these self-same arrows. For of these arrows holy Job also made mention, [Job 6:4] and said that the arrows of the Lord stuck fast in him, while he was labouring under those pains. We are used, however, to call God's words also arrows; but could he grieve that he should be struck by these? The words of God are arrows, as it were, that inflame love, not pain....We may then understand the arrows sticking fast, thus: Your words are fixed fast in my heart; and by those words themselves is it come to pass, that I called the Sabbath to remembrance: and that very remembrance of the Sabbath, and the non-possession of it at present, prevents me from rejoicing at present; and causes me to acknowledge that there is neither health in my very flesh, neither ought it to be so called when I compare this sort of soundness to that soundness which I am to possess in the everlasting rest; where this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, [1 Corinthians 15:53] and see that in comparison with that soundness this present kind is but sickness.

5. Neither is there any rest in my bones, from the face of my sin. It is commonly enquired, of what person this is the speech; and some understand it to be Christ's, on account of some things which are here said of the Passion of Christ; to which we shall shortly come; and which we ourselves shall acknowledge to be spoken of His Passion. But how could He who had no sin, say, There is no rest in my bones, from the face of my sin....For if we were to say that they are not the words of Christ, those words, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? will also not be the words of Christ. For there too you have, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? The words of mine offenses are far from my health. Just as here you have, from the face of my sins, so there also you have, the words of my offenses. And if Christ is, for all that, without sin, and without offenses, we begin to think those words in the Psalm also not to be His. And it is exceedingly harsh and inconsistent that that Psalm should not relate to Christ, where we have His Passion as clearly laid open as if it were being read to us out of the Gospel. For there we have, They parted My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture. Why should I mention that the first verse of that Psalm was pronounced by the Lord Himself while hanging on the Cross, with His own mouth, saying, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? What did He mean to be inferred from it, but that the whole of that Psalm relates to Him, seeing He Himself, the Head of His Body, pronounced it in His own Person? Now when it goes on to say, the words of mine offenses, it is beyond a doubt that they are the words of Christ. Whence then come the sins, but from the Body, which is the Church? Because both the Head and the Body of Christ are speaking. Why do they speak as if one person only? Because they two, as He has said, shall be one flesh. [Genesis 2:24] This (says the Apostle) is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the Church....For why should He not say, my sins, who said, I was an hungred, and you gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me not in. I was sick and in prison, and you visited Me not. [Matthew 25:42-43] Assuredly the Lord was not in prison. Why should He not say this, to whom when it was said, When saw we You a hungred, and thirsty, or in prison; and did not minister unto You? He replied, that He spoke thus in the person of His Body. Inasmuch as you did it not unto one of the least of Mine, you did it not unto Me. [Matthew 25:44-45] Why should He not say, from the face of my sins, who said to Saul, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me, [Acts 9:4] who, however, being in Heaven, now suffered from no persecutors? But just as, in that passage, the Head spoke for the Body, so here too the Head speaks the words of the Body; while you hear at the same time the accents of the Head Itself also. Yet do not either, when you hear the voice of the Body, separate the Head from it; nor the Body, when you hear the voice of the Head: because they are no more two, but one flesh. [Matthew 19:6]

6. There is no soundness in my flesh from the face of your anger. But perhaps God is unjustly angry with you, O Adam; unjustly angry with you, O son of man; because now brought to acknowledge that your punishment, now that you are a man that has been placed in Christ's Body, you have said, There is no soundness in my flesh from the face of Your anger. Declare the justice of God's anger: lest you should seem to be excusing yourself, and accusing Him. Go on to tell whence the anger of the Lord proceeds. There is no soundness in my flesh from the face of Your anger; neither is there any rest in my bones. He repeats what he said before, There is no soundness in my flesh; for, There is no rest in my bones, is equivalent to this. He does not however repeat from the face of Your anger; but states the cause of the anger of God. There is no rest in my bones from the face of my sins.

7. For mine iniquities have lifted up my head; and are like a heavy burden too heavy for me to bear [Psalm 37:4]. Here too he has placed the cause first, and the effect afterwards. What consequence followed, and from what cause, he has told us. Mine iniquities have lift up mine head. For no one is proud but the unrighteous man, whose head is lifted up. He is lifted up, whose head is lifted up on high against God. You heard when the lesson of the Book of Ecclesiasticus was read: The beginning of pride is when a man departs from God. He who was the first to refuse to listen to the Commandment, his head iniquity lifted up against God. And because his iniquities have lifted up his head, what has God done unto him? They are like a heavy burden, too heavy for me to bear! It is the part of levity to lift up the head, just as if he who lifts up his head had nothing to carry. Since therefore that which admits of being lifted up is light, it receives a weight by which it may be weighed down. For his mischief returns upon his own head, and his violent dealing comes down upon his own pate. They are like a heavy burden, too heavy for me to bear.

8. My wounds stink and are corrupt [Psalm 37:5]. Now he who has wounds is not perfectly sound. Add to this, that the wounds stink and are corrupt. Wherefore do they stink? Because they are corrupt: now in what way this is explained in reference to human life, who does not understand? Let a man but have his soul's sense of smelling sound, he perceives how foully sins stink. The contrary to which stink of sin, is that savour of which the Apostle says, We are the sweet savour of Christ unto God, in every place, unto them which be saved. [2 Corinthians 2:15] But whence is this, except from hope? Whence is this, but from our calling the Sabbath to remembrance? For it is a different thing that we mourn over in this life, from that which we anticipate in the other. That which we mourn over is stench, that which we reckon upon is fragrance. Were there not therefore such a perfume as that to invite us, we should never call the Sabbath to remembrance. But since, by the Spirit, we have such a perfume, as to say to our Betrothed, Because of the savour of Your good ointments we will run after You; [Song of Songs 1:3-4] we turn our senses away from our own unsavourinesses, and turning ourselves to Him, we gain some little breathing-time. But indeed, unless our evil deeds also did smell rank in our nostrils, we should never confess with those groans, My wounds stink and are corrupt. And wherefore? from the face of my foolishness. From the same cause that he said before, from the face of my sins; from that same cause he now says, from the face of my foolishness.

9. I am troubled, I am bowed down even unto the end [Psalm 37:6]. Wherefore was he bowed down? Because he had been lifted up. If you are humble, you shall be exalted; if you exalt yourself, you shall be bowed down; for God will be at no loss to find a weight wherewith to bow you down....Let him groan on these things; that he may receive the other; let him call the Sabbath to remembrance, that he may deserve to arrive at it. For that which the Jews used to celebrate was but a sign. Of what thing was it the sign? Of that which he calls to remembrance, who says, I am troubled, and am bowed down even unto the end. What is meant by even unto the end? Even to death.

I go mourning all the day long. All day long, that is, without intermission. By all the day long, he means, all my life long. But from what time has he known it? From the time that he began to call the Sabbath to remembrance. For so long as he calls to remembrance what he no longer possesses, would you not have him go mourning? All the day long have I gone mourning.

10. For my soul is filled with illusions, and there is no soundness in my flesh [Psalm 37:7]. Where there is the whole man, there there is soul and flesh both. The soul is filled with illusions; the flesh has no soundness. What does there remain that can give joy? Is it not meet that one should go mourning? All the day long have I gone mourning. Let mourning be our portion, until our soul be divested of its illusions; and our body be clothed with soundness. For true soundness is no other than immortality. How great however are the soul's illusions, were I even to attempt to express, when would the time suffice me? For whose soul is not subject to them? There is a brief particular that I will remind you of, to show how our soul is filled with illusions. The presence of those illusions sometimes scarcely permits us to pray. We know not how to think of material objects without images, and such as we do not wish, rush in upon the mind; and we wish to go from this one to that, and to quit that for another. And sometimes you wish to return to that which you were thinking of before, and to quit that which you are now thinking of; and a fresh one presents itself to you; you wish to call up again what you had forgotten; and it does not occur to you; and another comes instead which you would not have wished for. Where meanwhile was the one that you had forgotten? For why did it afterwards occur to you, when it had ceased to be sought after; whereas, while it was being sought for, innumerable others, which were not desired, presented themselves instead of it? I have stated a fact briefly; I have thrown out a kind of hint or suggestion to you, brethren, taking up which, you may yourselves suggest the rest to yourselves, and discover what it is to mourn over the illusions of our soul. He has received therefore the punishment of illusion; he has forfeited Truth. For just as illusion is the soul's punishment, so is Truth its reward. But when we were set in the midst of these illusions, the Truth Itself came to us, and found us overwhelmed by illusions, took upon Itself our flesh, or rather took flesh from us; that is, from the human race. He manifested himself to the eyes of the Flesh, that He might by faith heal those to whom He was going to reveal the Truth hereafter, that Truth might be manifested to the now healed eye. For He is Himself the Truth, [John 14:6] which He promised unto us at that time, when His Flesh was to be seen by the eye, that the foundation might be laid of that Faith, of which the Truth was to be the reward. For it was not Himself that Christ showed forth on earth; but it was His Flesh that He showed. For had He showed Himself, the Jews would have seen and known Him; but had they known Him, they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory. [1 Corinthians 2:10] But perhaps His disciples saw Him, when they said to Him, Show us the Father, and it suffices us; [John 14:8] and He, to show that it was not Himself that had been seen by them, added: Have I been so long with you, and have ye not known Me, Philip? He that sees Me, sees the Father also. [John 14:9] If then they saw Christ, wherefore did they yet seek for the Father? For if it were Christ whom they saw, they would have seen the Father also. They did not therefore yet see Christ, who desired that the Father should be shown unto them. To prove that they did not yet see Him, hear that, in another place, He promised it by way of reward, saying, He who loves Me, keeps My commandments; and whoever loves Me, shall be loved of My Father; and I will love Him and (as if it were said to Him, what will You give unto him, as You love him? He says), I will manifest Myself unto him. [John 14:21] If then He promises this by way of a reward unto them that love Him, it is manifest that the vision of the Truth, promised to us, is of such a nature, that, when we have seen it, we shall no longer say, My soul is filled with illusions.

11. I have become feeble, and am bowed down greatly [Psalm 37:8]. He who calls to mind the transcendent height of the Sabbath, sees how greatly he is himself bowed down. For he who cannot conceive what is that height of rest, sees not where he is at present. Therefore another Psalm has said, I said in my trance, I am cast out of the sight of Your eyes. For his mind being taken up there, he beheld something sublime; and was not yet entirely there, where what he beheld was; and a kind of flash, as it were, if one may so speak, of the Eternal Light having glanced upon him, when he perceived that he was not yet arrived at this, which he was able after a sort to understand, he saw where he himself was, and how he was cramped and bowed down by human infirmities. And he says, I said in my trance, I am cast out of the sight of Your eyes. Such is that certain something which I saw in my trance, that thence I perceive how far off I am, who am not already there. He was already there who said that he was caught up into the third Heaven, and there heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. But he was recalled to us, in order that, as requiring to be made perfect, he might first mourn his infirmity, and afterwards be clothed with might. Yet encouraged for the ministration of his office by having seen somewhat of those things, he goes on saying, I heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. [2 Corinthians 12:4] Now then what use is it for you to ask, either of me or of any one, the things which it is not lawful for man to utter. If it was not lawful for him to utter them, to whom is it lawful to hear them? Let us however lament and groan in Confession; let us own where we are; let us call the Sabbath to remembrance, and wait with patience for what He has promised, who has, in His own Person also, showed forth an example of patience to us. I have become feeble, and bowed down greatly.

12. I have roared with the groaning of my heart. You observe the servants of God generally interceding with groaning; and the reason of it is asked, and there is nothing apparent, but the groaning of some servant of God, if indeed it does find its way at all to the ears of a person placed near him. For there is a secret groaning, which is not heard by man: yet if the thought of some strong desire has taken so strong hold of the heart, that the wound of the inner man finds expression in some uttered exclamation, the reason of it is asked; and a man says to himself, Perhaps this is the cause of his groaning; and, Perhaps this or that has befallen him. Who can determine, but He in whose Eyes and Ears he groaned? Therefore he says, I roared with the groaning of mine heart; because if men ever hear a man's groanings, they for the most part hear but the groaning of the flesh; they do not hear him who groans with the groaning of his heart. Some one has carried off his goods; he roars, but not with the groaning of his heart: another because he has buried his son, another his wife; another because his vineyard has been injured by a hailstorm; another because his cask has turned sour; another because some one has stolen his beast; another because he has suffered some loss; another because he fears some man who is his enemy: all these roar with the groaning of the flesh. The servant of God, however, because he roars from the recollection of the Sabbath, where the Kingdom of God is, which flesh and blood shall not possess, says, I have roared with the groaning of my heart.

13. And who observed and noticed the cause of his groaning? All my desire is before You [Psalm 37:9]. For it is not before men who cannot see the heart, but it is before You that all my desire is open! Let your desire be before Him; and the Father, who sees in secret, shall reward you. [Matthew 6:6] For it is your heart's desire that is your prayer; and if your desire continues uninterrupted, your prayer continues also. For not without a meaning did the Apostle say, Pray without ceasing. [1 Thessalonians 5:17] Are we to be without ceasing bending the knee, prostrating the body, or lifting up our hands, that he says, Pray without ceasing? Or if it is in this sense that we say that we pray, this, I believe, we cannot do without ceasing. There is another inward kind of prayer without ceasing, which is the desire of the heart. Whatever else you are doing, if you do but long for that Sabbath, you do not cease to pray. If you would never cease to pray, never cease to long after it. The continuance of your longing is the continuance of your prayer. You will be ceasing to speak, if you cease to long for it. Who are those who have ceased to speak? They of whom it is said, Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. [Matthew 24:12] The freezing of charity is the silence of the heart; the burning of charity is the cry of the heart. If love continues still you are still lifting up your voice; if you are always lifting up your voice, you are always longing after something; if always longing for something absent, you are calling the Sabbath rest to remembrance. And it is important you should understand too before whom the roaring of your heart is open. Now then consider what sort of desires those should be, that are before the eyes of God. Should it be the desire for the death of our enemy? A thing which men flatter themselves they lawfully wish for? For sometimes we pray for what we ought not. Let us consider what they flatter themselves they pray for lawfully! For they pray that some person may die, and his inheritance come to them. But let those too, who pray for the death of their enemies, hear the Lord saying, Pray for your enemies. [Matthew 5:44] Let them not pray for this, that their enemies may die; but rather pray for this, that they may be reclaimed; then will their enemies be dead; for from the time that they are reclaimed, henceforth they will be enemies no longer. And all my desire is before You. What if we suppose that our desire is before Him, and that yet that very groaning is not before Him? How can that be, since our desire itself finds its expression in groaning? Therefore follows, And my groaning is not hid from You.

From You indeed it is not hid; but from many men it is hid. The servant of God sometimes seems to be saying in humility, And my groaning is not hid from You. Sometimes also he seems to smile. Is then that longing dead in his heart? If however there is the desire within, there is the groaning also. It does not always find its way to the ears of man; but it never ceases to sound in the ears of God.

14. My heart is troubled [Psalm 37:10]. Wherefore is it troubled? And my courage has failed me. Generally something comes upon us on a sudden; the heart is troubled; the earth quakes; thunder is sent from Heaven; a formidable attack is made upon us, or a horrible sound heard. Perhaps a lion is seen on the road; the heart is troubled. Perhaps robbers lie in wait for us; the heart is troubled: we are filled with a panic fear; from every quarter something excites anxiety. Wherefore? Because my courage has failed me. For what would be feared, did that courage still remain unmoved? Whatever bad tidings were brought, whatever threatened us, whatever sound was heard, whatever were to fall, whatever appeared horrible, would inspire no terror. But whence that trouble? My courage fails me. Wherefore has my courage failed me? The light of my eyes also is gone from me. Thus Adam also could not see the light of his eyes. For the light of his eyes was God Himself, whom when he had offended, he fled to the shade, and hid himself among the trees of Paradise. [Genesis 3:8] He shrunk in alarm from the face of God: and sought the shelter of the trees; thenceforth among the trees he had no more the light of his eyes, at which he had been wont to rejoice....

15. My lovers; why should I henceforth speak of my enemies? My lovers and my neighbours drew near, and stood over against me [Psalm 37:11]. Understand this that he says, Stood over against me. For if they stood over against me, they fell against themselves. My lovers and my neighbours drew near and stood over against me. Let us now recognise the words of the Head speaking; now let our Head in His Passion begin to dawn upon us. Yet again when the Head begins to speak, do not sever the Body from it. If the Head would not separate itself from the words of the Body, should the Body dare to separate itself from the sufferings of the Head? Do thou suffer in Christ's suffering: for Christ, as it were, sinned in your infirmity. For just now He spoke of your sins, as if speaking in His own Person, and called them His own....To those who wished to be near His exaltation, yet thought not of His humility, He answered and said to them, Can ye drink of the cup that I shall drink of? [Matthew 20:22] Those sufferings of the Lord then are our sufferings also: and were each individual to serve God well, to keep faith truly, to render to each their dues, and to conduct himself honestly among men, I should like to see if he does not suffer even that which Christ here details in the account of His Passion. My lovers and my neighbours drew near, and stood over against me.

16. And my neighbours stood afar off. Who were the neighbours that drew near, and who were those who stood afar off? The Jews were neighbours because near kinsmen, they drew near even when they crucified Him: the Apostles also were His neighbours; and they also stood afar off, that they might not have to suffer with Him. This may also be understood thus: My friends, that is, those who feigned themselves My friends: for they feigned themselves His friends, when they said, We know that Thou teachest the way of God in truth; [Matthew 22:16] when they wished to try Him, whether tribute ought to be paid to Cæsar; when He convinced them out of their own mouth, they wished to seem to be His friends. But He needed not that any should testify of man, for He Himself knew what was in man; [John 2:25] so that when they spoke unto Him words of friendship, He answered them, Why do you tempt Me, you hypocrites? [Matthew 22:18] My friends and my neighbours then drew near and stood over against me, and my neighbours stood afar off. You understand what I said. I called those neighbours who drew near, and at the same time stood afar off. For they drew near in the body, but stood afar off in their heart. Who were in the body so near to Him as those who lifted Him on the Cross? Who in heart so as those who blasphemed Him? Hear this sort of distance described by the Prophet Isaiah; observe this nearness and distance at one and the same time. This people honours Me with their lips: behold, with their body they draw near; but their heart is far from Me. [Isaiah 29:13] The same persons are at the same time near and afar off also: with their lips they are near, in heart afar off. However, because the Apostles also stood afar off, through fear, we understand it more simply and properly of them; so that we mean by it, that some drew near, and others stood afar off; since even Peter, who had followed more boldly than the rest, was still so far off, that being questioned and alarmed, he thrice denied the Lord, with whom he had promised to be ready to die. Who afterwards that, from being afar off, he might be made to draw near, heard after the resurrection the question, Lovest thou Me? and said, I love You; [John 21:15] and by so saying was brought near, even as by denying Him, he had become far off; till with the threefold confession of love, he had put away from him his threefold denial. And my neighbours stood afar off.

17. They also that sought after my soul were preparing violence against me [Psalm 37:12]. It is now plain who sought after His soul; viz. those who had not His soul, in that they were not in His Body. They who were seeking after His soul, were far removed from His soul; but they were seeking it to destroy it. For His soul may be sought after in a right way also. For in another passage He finds fault with some persons, saying, There is no man to care for My soul. He finds fault with some for not seeking after His soul; and again, with others for seeking after it. Who is he that seeks after His soul in the right way? He who imitates His sufferings. Who are they that sought after His soul in the wrong way? Even those who prepared violence against Him, and crucified Him.

18. He goes on: Those who sought after My faults had spoken vanity. What is, sought after My faults? They sought after many things, and found them not. Perhaps He may have meant this: They sought for criminal charges against me. For they sought for somewhat to say against Him, and they found not. [Matthew 26:60] For they were seeking to find evil things to say of the Good; crimes of the Innocent; When would they find such things in Him, who had no sin? But because they had to seek for sins in Him who had no sin, it remained for them to invent that which they could not find. Therefore, those who sought after My faults have spoken vanity, i.e., untruth, and imagined deceit all the day long; that is, they meditated treachery without intermission. You know how atrocious false-witness was borne against the Lord, before He suffered. You know how atrocious false-witness was borne against Him, even after His resurrection. For those soldiers who watched His sepulchre of whom Isaiah spoke, I will appoint the wicked for His burial (for they were wicked men, and would not speak the truth, and being bribed they disseminated a lie), consider what vanity they spoke. They also were examined, and they said, While we slept, His disciples came and stole Him away. [Matthew 28:13] This it is, to speak vanity. For if they were sleeping, how could they know what had been done?

19. He says then, But I as a deaf man heard not [Psalm 37:13]. He who replied not to what He heard, did, as it were, not hear them. But I as a deaf man heard not. And I was as a dumb man that opens not his mouth. And he repeats the same things again.

And I became as a man that hears not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs [Psalm 37:14]. As if He had nothing to say unto them, as if He had nothing wherewith to reproach them. Had He not already reproached them for many things? Had He not said many things, and also said, Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, [Matthew 23:13] and many things besides? Yet when He suffered, He said none of these things; not that He had not what to say, but He waited for them to fulfil all things, and that all the prophecies might be fulfilled of Him, of whom it had been said, And as a sheep before her shearer is dumb, so opens He not His mouth. [Isaiah 53:7] It behooved Him to be silent in His Passion, though not hereafter to be silent in Judgment. For He had come to be judged, then, who was hereafter coming to judge; and who was for this reason to come with great power to judge, that He had been judged in great humility.

20. For in You, O Lord, do I hope; You will hear, O Lord, my God [Psalm 37:15]. As if it were said to Him, Why did you not open your mouth? Why did You not say, 'Refrain'? Why did You not rebuke the unrighteous, while hanging on the Cross? He goes on and says, For in You, O Lord, do I hope; Thou, O Lord my God, will hear. He warns you what to do, should tribulation haply befall. For you seek to defend yourself, and perhaps your defense is not listened to by any one. Then are you confounded, as if you had lost your cause; because you have none to defend or to bear testimony in your favour. Keep but your innocence within, where no one can pervert your cause. False-witness has prevailed against you before men. Will it then prevail before God, where your cause has to be pleaded? When God shall be Judge, there shall be no other witness than your own conscience. In the presence of a just judge, and of your own conscience, fear nothing but your own cause. If you have not a bad cause, you will have no accuser to dread; no false-witness to confute, nor witness to the truth to look for. Do but bring into court a good conscience, that you may say, For in You, O Lord, do I hope; Thou, O Lord my God, will hear.

21. For I said, Let not mine enemies ever rejoice over me. And when my feet slip, they magnify themselves against me [Psalm 37:16]. Again He returns to the infirmity of His Body: and again the Head takes heed of Its feet. The Head is not in such a manner in Heaven, as to forsake what It has on earth; He evidently sees and observes us. For sometimes, as is the way of this life, our feet are turned aside, and they slip by falling into some sin; there the tongues of the enemy rise up with the bitterest malignity. From this then we discern what they really had in view, even while they kept silence. Then they speak with an unsparing harshness; rejoicing to have discovered what they ought to have grieved for. And I said, Lest at any time my adversaries should rejoice over me. I said this indeed; and yet it was perhaps for my correction that You have caused them to magnify themselves against me, when my feet slipped; that is to say, when I stumbled, they were elated, and said many things. For pity, not insult, was due from them to the weak; even as the Apostle speaks: Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; and he combines the reason why: considering yourself also, lest you also be tempted. [Galatians 6:1] Not such as these were the persons of whom He speaks: And when my feet slipped, they rejoiced greatly against me; but they were such as those of whom He says elsewhere: They that hate me will rejoice if I fall.

22. For I am prepared for the scourges [Psalm 37:17]. Quite a magnificent expression; as if He were saying, It was even for this that I was born; that I might suffer. For He was not to be born, but from Adam, to whom the scourge is due. But sinners are in this life sometimes not scourged at all, or are scourged less than their deserts: because the wickedness of their heart is given over as already desperate. Those, however, for whom eternal life is prepared, must needs be scourged in this life: for that sentence is true: My son, faint not under the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary when you are rebuked of Him. [Proverbs 3:11] For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. [Hebrews 12:6] Let not mine enemies therefore insult over me; let them not magnify themselves; and if my Father scourges me, I am prepared for the scourge; because there is an inheritance in store for me. You will not submit to the scourge: the inheritance is not bestowed upon you. For every son must needs be scourged. So true it is that every son is scourged, that He spared not even Him who had no sin. For I am prepared for the scourges.

23. And my sorrow is continually before me. What sorrow is that? Perhaps, a sorrow for my scourge. And, in good truth, my brethren, in good truth, let me say unto you, men do mourn for their scourges, not for the causes on account of which they are scourged. Not such was the person here. Listen, my brethren: If any person suffers any loss, he is more ready to say, I did not deserve to suffer it, than to consider why he suffered it, mourning the loss of money, not mourning over that of righteousness. If you have sinned, mourn for the loss of your inward treasure. You have nothing in your house, but perhaps you are still more empty in heart; but if your heart is full of its Good, even your God, why do you not say, The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it pleased the Lord was it done. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. [Job 1:21] Whence then was it that He was grieving? Was it for the scourging wherewith He was scourged? God forbid. And my sorrow (says He) is continually before me. And as if we were to say, What sorrow? Whence comes that sorrow? he says: For I declare mine iniquity; and I will have a care for my sin [Psalm 37:18]. See here the reason for the sorrow! It is not a sorrow occasioned by the scourge; not one for the remedy, not for the wound. For the scourge is a remedy against sins. Hear, brethren; We are Christians, and yet if any one's son dies, he mourns for him but does not mourn for him if he sins. It is then, when he sees him sinning, that he ought to make mourning for him, to lament over him. It is then he should restrain him, and give him a rule to live by; should impose a discipline upon him: or if he has done so, and the other has not taken heed, then was the time when he ought to have been mourned over; then he was more fatally dead while living in luxury, than when, by death, he brought his luxury to its close: at that time, when he was doing such things in your house, he was not only dead, but he stank also. [John 11:39] These things were worthy to be lamented, the others were such as might well be endured; those, I say, were tolerable, these worthy to be mourned over. They were to be mourned over in the same way that you have heard this person mourn over them: For I declare mine iniquity. I will have a care for my sin. Be not free from anxiety when you have confessed your sin, as if always able to confess your sin, and to commit it again. Do thou declare your iniquity in such a manner, as to have a care for your sin. What is meant by having a care of your sin? To have a care of your wound. If you were to say, I will have a care of my wound, what would be meant by it, but I will do my endeavour to have it healed. For this is to have a care for one's sin, to be ever struggling, ever endeavouring, ever exerting one's self, earnestly and zealously, to heal one's wound. Behold! You are from day to day mourning over your sins; but perhaps your tears indeed flow, but your hands are unemployed. Do alms, redeem your sins, let the poor rejoice of your bounty, that you also may rejoice of the Grace of God. He is in want; so are you in want also: he is in want at your hands; so are you also in want at God's hand. Do you despise one who needs your aid; and shall God not despise you when you need His? Do thou therefore supply the needs of him who is in want of your aid; that God may supply your needs within. This is the meaning of, I will have a care for my sin. I will do all that ought to be done, to blot out and to heal my sin. And I will have a care for my sin.

24. But mine enemies live [Psalm 37:19]. They are well off: they rejoice in worldly prosperity, while I am suffering, and roaring with the groaning of my heart. In what way do His enemies live, in that He has said of them already, that they have spoken vanity? Hear in another Psalm also: Whose sons are as young plants; firmly rooted. But above He had said, Whose mouth speaks vanity. Their daughters polished after the similitude of a temple: their garners full bursting forth more and more; their cattle fat, their sheep fruitful, multiplying in their streets; no hedge falling into ruin; no cry in their streets. Mine enemies then live. This is their life; this life they praise; this they set their hearts upon: this they hold fast to their own ruin. For what follows? They pronounce the people that is in such a case blessed. But what do you say, who hast a care for your sin? What do you say, who confessest your iniquity? He says, Blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.

But mine enemies live, and are strengthened against me, and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. What is hate me wrongfully? They hate me, who wish their good, whereas were they simply requiting evil for evil, they would not be righteous; were they not to requite with good the good done to them, they would be ungrateful: they, however, who hate wrongfully, actually return evil for good. Such were the Jews; Christ came unto them with good things; they requited Him evil for good. Beware, brethren, of this evil; it soon steals upon us. Let no one of you think himself to be far removed from the danger, because we said, Such were the Jews. Should a brother, wishing your good, rebuke you, and you hate him, you are like them. And observe, how easily, how soon it is produced; and avoid an evil so great, a sin so easily committed.

25. They also that render evil for good, were speaking evil of me, because I have pursued the thing that is just [Psalm 37:20]. Therefore was it that I was requited evil for good. What is meant by pursued after the thing that is just? Not forsaken it. That you might not always understand persecutio in a bad sense, He means by persecutus pursued after, thoroughly followed. Because I have followed the thing that is just. Hear also our Head crying with a lamentable voice in His Passion: And they cast Me forth, Your Darling, even as a dead man in abomination. Was it not enough that He was dead? Wherefore in abomination also? Because He was crucified. For this death of the Cross was a great abomination in their eyes, as they did not perceive that it was spoken in prophecy, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree. [Deuteronomy 21:23] For He did not Himself bring death; but He found it here, propagated from the curse of the first man; and this same death of ours, which had originated in sin, He had taken upon Himself, and hung on the Tree. Lest therefore some persons should think (as some of the Heretics think), that our Lord Jesus Christ had only a false body of flesh; and that the death by which He made satisfaction on the Cross was not a real death, the Prophet notices this, and says, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree. He shows then that the Son of God died a true death, the death which was due to mortal flesh: lest if He were not accursed, you should think that He had not truly died. But since that death was not an illusion, but had descended from that original stock, which had been derived from the curse, when He said, You shall surely die: [Genesis 2:17] and since a true death assuredly extended even to Him, that a true life might extend itself to us, the curse of death also did extend to Him, that the blessing of life might extend even unto us. And they cast Me forth, Your Darling, even as a dead man in abomination.

26. Forsake me not, O Lord; O my God, depart not from me [Psalm 37:21]. Let us speak in Him, let us speak through Him (for He Himself intercedes for us), and let us say, Forsake me not, O Lord my God. And yet He had said, My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me? [Matthew 27:46] and He now says, O My God, depart not from Me. If He does not forsake the body, did He forsake the Head? Whose words then are these but the First Man's? To show then that He carried about Him a true body of flesh derived from him, He says, My God, My God why have You forsaken Me? God had not forsaken Him. If He does not forsake You, who believest in Him, could the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, One God, forsake Christ? But He had transferred to Himself the person of the First Man. We know by the words of an Apostle, that our old man is crucified with Him. [Romans 6:6] We should not, however, be divested of our old nature, had He not been crucified in weakness. For it was to this end that He came that we may be renewed in Him, because it is by aspiration after Him, and by following the example of His suffering, that we are renewed. Therefore that was the cry of infirmity; that cry, I mean, in which it was said, Why have You forsaken Me? Thence was it said in that passage above, the words of mine offenses. As if He were saying, These words are transferred to My Person from that of the sinner.

27. Depart not from me. Make haste to help me, Lord of my salvation [Psalm 37:22]. This is that very salvation, Brethren, concerning which, as the Apostle Peter says, Prophets have enquired diligently, [1 Peter 1:10] and though they have enquired diligently, yet have not found it. But they searched into it, and foretold of it; while we have come and have found what they sought for. And see, we ourselves too have not as yet received it; and after us shall others also be born, and shall find, what they also shall not receive, and shall pass away, that we may, all of us together, receive the penny of salvation in the end of the day, with the Prophets, the Patriarchs, and the Apostles. For you know that the hired servants, or labourers, were taken into the vineyard at different times; yet did they all receive their wages on an equal footing. [Matthew 20:9] Apostles, then, and Prophets, and Martyrs, and ourselves also, and those who will follow us to the end of the world, it is in the End itself that we are to receive everlasting salvation; that beholding the face of God, and contemplating His Glory, we may praise Him for ever, free from imperfection, free from any punishment of iniquity, free from every perversion of sin: praising Him; and no longer longing after Him, but now clinging to Him for whom we used to long to the very end, and in whom we did rejoice, in hope. For we shall be in that City, where God is our Bliss, God is our Light, God is our Bread, God is our Life; whatever good thing of ours there is, at being absent from which we now grieve, we shall find in Him. In Him will be that rest, which when we call to remembrance now, we cannot choose but grieve. For that is the Sabbath which we call to remembrance; in the recollection of which, so great things have been said already; and so great things ought to be said by us also, and ought never to cease being said by us, not with our lips indeed, but in our heart: for therefore do our lips cease to speak, that we may cry out with our hearts.

1. The title of this Psalm, which we have just chanted and proposed to discuss, is, On the end, for Idithun, a Psalm for David himself. Here then we must look for, and must attend to, the words of a certain person who is called Idithun; and if each one of ourselves may be Idithun, in that which he sings he recognises himself, and hears himself speak. For you may see who was called Idithun, according to the ancient descent of man; let us, however, understand what this name is translated, and seek to comprehend the Truth in the translation of the word. According therefore to what we have been able to discover by enquiry in those names which have been translated from the Hebrew tongue into the Latin, by those who study the sacred writings, Idithun being translated is over-leaping them. Who then is this person over-leaping them? Or who those whom he has over-leaped?...For there are some persons, yet clinging to the earth, yet bowed down to the ground, yet setting their hearts on what is below, yet placing their hopes in things that pass away, whom he who is called over-leaping them has over-leaped.

2. You know that some of the Psalms are entitled, Songs of Degrees; and in the Greek it is obvious enough what the word ‡ ναβαθμῶν means. For ‡ ναβαθμοὶ are degrees (or steps) of them that ascend, not of them that descend. The Latin, not being able to express it strictly, expresses it by the general term; and in that it called them steps, left it undetermined, whether they were steps of persons ascending or descending. But because there is no speech or language where their voices are not heard among them, the earlier language explains the one which comes after it: and what was ambiguous in one is made certain in another. Just then as there the singer is some one who is ascending, so here is it some one who is over-leaping....Let this Idithun come still to us, let him over-leap those whose delight is in things below, and take delight in these things, and let him rejoice in the Word of the Lord; in the delight of the law of the Most High....

3. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue [Psalm 38:1]....For it is not without reason that the tongue is set in a moist place, but because it is so prone to slip. Perceiving therefore how hard it was for a man to be under the necessity of speaking, and not to say something that he will wish unsaid, and filled with disgust at these sins, he seeks to avoid the like. To this difficulty is he exposed who is seeking to leap beyond....Although I have leaped beyond the pleasures of earth, although the fleeting passions for things temporal ensnare me not, though now I despise these things below, and am rising up to better things than these, yet in these very better things the satisfaction of knowledge in the sight of God is enough for me. Of what use is it for me to speak what is to be laid hold of, and to give a handle to cavillers? Therefore, I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue. I keep my mouth with a bridle. Wherefore is this? Is it on account of the religious, the thoughtful, the faithful, the holy ones? God forbid! These persons hear in such a manner, as to praise what they approve; but as for what they disapprove, perhaps, among much that they praise they rather excuse than cavil at it; on account of what persons then do you take heed to your ways, and place a guard on your lips that you may not sin with your tongue? Hear: it is, While the wicked stands over against me. It is not by me that he takes up his station, but against me. Why?...Even the Lord Himself says, I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. [John 16:12] And the Apostle, I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. [1 Corinthians 3:1] Yet not as to persons to be despaired of, but as to those who still required to be nourished. For he goes on to say, As babes in Christ, I have fed you with milk, and not with meat; for hitherto you were not able. Well, tell it unto us even now. Neither yet now are you able. [1 Corinthians 3:2] Be not therefore impatient to hear that which as yet you are not capable of; but grow that you may be able to bear it. It is thus we address the little one, who yet requires to be fed with kindly milk in the bosom of Mother Church, and to be rendered meet for the strong meat of the Lord's Table. But what can I say even of that kind to the sinner, who takes his stand against me, who either thinks or pretends himself capable of what he cannot bear; so that when I say anything unto him, and he has failed to comprehend it, he should not suppose that it was not he that had failed to comprehend, but I who had broken down. Therefore because of this sinner, who takes up his stand against me, I keep my mouth as it were with a bridle.

4. I became deaf, and was humbled, I held my peace from good [Psalm 38:2]. For this person, who is leaping beyond, suffers some difficulty in a certain stage to which he has already attained; and he desires to advance beyond, even from thence, to avoid this difficulty. I was afraid of committing a sin; so that I spoke not; that I imposed on myself the necessity of silence: for I had spoken thus, I will take heed to my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue. Whilst I was too much afraid of saying anything wrong, I kept silence from all that is good. For whence could I say good things, except that I heard them? It is Thou that shall make me to hear of joy and gladness. And the friend of the bridegroom stands and hears Him, and rejoices on account of the bridegroom's voice, [John 3:29] not his own. That he may speak true things, he hears what he is to say. For it is he that speaks a lie, that speaks of his own. [John 8:44]...When therefore I had put a bridle, as it were, on my lips; and constrained myself to silence, because I saw that everywhere speech was dangerous, then, says he, that came to pass upon me, which I did not wish, I became deaf, and was humbled; not humbled myself, but was humbled; and I held my peace even from good. Whilst afraid of saying any evil, I began to refrain from speaking what is good: and I condemned my determination; for I was holding my peace even from what is good.

And my sorrow was stirred up again [Psalm 38:2]. Inasmuch as I had found in silence a kind of respite from a certain sorrow, that had been inflicted upon me by those who cavilled at my words, and found fault with me: and that sorrow that was caused by the cavillers, had ceased indeed; but when I held my peace even from good, my sorrow was stirred up again. I began to be more grieved at having refrained from saying what I ought to have said, than I had before been grieved by having said what I ought not. And my sorrow was stirred up again.

5. And while I was musing, the fire burned [Psalm 38:3]....I reflected on the words of my Lord, Thou wicked and slothful servant, you ought to have put My money to the exchangers, and I at My coming should receive it again with usury. [Matthew 25:26-27] And that which follows may God avert from those who are His stewards! Bind him hand and foot, and let him be cast into outer darkness; [Matthew 25:30] the servant, who was not a waster of his master's goods, so as to destroy them, but was slothful in laying them out to improve them. What ought they to expect, who have wasted them in luxury, if they are condemned who through slothfulness have kept them? As I was musing, the fire burned. And as he was in this state of wavering suspense, between speaking and holding his peace, between those who are prepared to cavil and those who are anxious to be instructed,...in this state of suspense, he prays for a better place, a place different from this his present stewardship, in which man is in such difficulty and in such danger, and sighing after a certain end, when he was not to be subject to these things, when the Lord is to say to the faithful dispenser, Enter thou into the joy of your Lord, [Matthew 25:27] he says, Then spoke I with my tongue. In this fluctuation, in the midst of these dangers and these difficulties, because, that in consequence of the abundance of offenses the love of many is waxing cold, [Matthew 24:12] although the law of the Lord inspires delight, in this fluctuation then, (I say), then spoke I with my tongue. To whom? Not to the hearer whom I would fain instruct; but to Him who hears and takes heed also, by whom I would fain be instructed myself. I spoke with my tongue to Him, from whom I inwardly hear whatever I hear that is good or true.— What did You say?

Lord, make me to know mine end [Psalm 38:4]. For some things I have passed by already; and I have arrived at a certain point, and that to which I have arrived is better than that from which I have advanced to this; but yet there remains a point, which has to be left behind. For we are not to remain here, where there are trials, offenses, where we have to bear with persons who listen to us and cavil at us. Make me to know mine end; the end, from which I am still removed, not the course which is already before me.

6. The end he speaks of, is that which the Apostle fixed his eye upon, in his course; and made confession of his own infirmity, perceiving in himself a different state of things from that which he looked for elsewhere. For he says, Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended. [Philippians 3:12-13] And that you might not say, If the Apostle has not apprehended, have I apprehended? If the Apostle is not perfect, am I perfect?...

7. And the number of my days, what it is. I ask of the number of my days, what it is. I can speak of number without number, and understand number without number, in the same sense as years without years may be spoken of. For where there are years, there is a sort of number at all events, also. But yet, You are the same, and Your years shall not fail. Make me to know the number of my days; but to know what it is. What then? That number in which you are, think you that it is not? Assuredly, if I weigh the matter well, it has no being; if I linger behind, it has a sort of being; if I rise above it, it has none. If, shaking off the trammels of these things, I contemplate things above, if I compare things that pass away with those that endure, I see what has a true being, and what rather seems to be, than really is. Should I say that these days of mine are; and shall I rashly apply this word so full of meaning to this course of things passing away? To such a degree have I my own self almost ceased to be, failing as I am in my weakness, that He escaped from my memory, who said, I AM HE THAT IS. [Exodus 3:14] Hath then any number of days any existence? In truth it has, and it is number without end....Everything is swept on by a series of moments, fleeting by, one after the other; there is a torrent of existences ever flowing on and on; a torrent, of which He drank in the way, who has now lift up His Head. These days then have no true being; they are gone almost before they arrive; and when they have come, they cannot continue; they press upon one another, they follow the one the other, and cannot check themselves in their course. Of the past nothing is called back again; what is yet to be, is expected as something to pass away again: it is not as yet possessed, while as yet it is not arrived; it cannot be kept when once it has arrived. He asks then concerning the number of his days, which is; not that which is not: and (which confounds me by a still greater and more perplexing difficulty) at once is, and is not. We can neither say that is, which does not continue; nor that it is not, when it has come and is passing. It is that absolute IS, that true IS, that IS in the true sense of the word, that I long for; that IS; which is in that Jerusalem which is the Bride of my Lord; [Revelation 21:9] where there will not be death, there will not be failing; there will be a day that passes not away, but continues: which has neither a yesterday to precede it, nor a tomorrow pressing close upon it. [Revelation 21:25] This number of my days, which is, this (I say), make Thou me to know.

8. That I may know what is wanting to me. For while I am struggling here, this is wanting unto me: and so long as it is wanting unto me, I do not call myself perfect. So long as I have not received it, I say, not that I have already attained, either am already perfect; but I am pressing towards the prize of God's high calling. This let me receive as the prize of my running the race! There will be a certain resting-place, to terminate my course; and in that resting-place there will be a Country, and no pilgrimage, no dissension, no temptation. Make me then to know this number of my days, which is, that I may know what is wanting unto me; because I am not there yet; lest I should be made proud of what I already am, that I may be found in Him, not having my own righteousness. [Philippians 3:9]...

9. Behold, you have made my days old [Psalm 38:5]. For these days are waxing old. I long for new days that never shall wax old, that I may say, Old things have passed away; behold, things have become new. [2 Corinthians 5:17] Already new in hope; then in reality. For though, in hope and in faith, made new already, how much do we even now do after our old nature! For we are not so completely clothed upon with Christ, as not to bear about with us anything derived from Adam. Observe that Adam is waxing old within us, and Christ is being renewed in us. Though our outward man is perishing, yet is our inward man being renewed day by day. [2 Corinthians 4:16] Therefore, while we fix our thoughts on sin, on mortality, on time, that is hastening by, on sorrow, and toil, and labour, on stages of life following each other in succession, and continuing not, passing on insensibly from infancy even to old age; while, I say, we fix our eyes on these things, let us see here the old man, the day that is waxing old; the Song that is out of date; the Old Testament; when however we turn to the inner man, to those things that are to be renewed in place of these which are to be changed, let us find the new man, the new day, the new song, the New Testament; and that newness, let us so love, as to have no fears of its waxing old....This man, therefore, who is hasting forward to those things which are new, and reaching forward to those things which are before, says, Lord, make me to know mine end, and the number of my days, which really is, that I may know what is wanting unto me. See he still drags with him Adam; and even so he is hasting unto Christ. Behold, says he, you have made my days old. It is those days that are derived from Adam, those days, I say, that you have made old. They are waxing old day by day: and so waxing old, as to be at some day or other consumed also. And my substance is as nothing before You. Before You, O Lord, my substance is as nothing. Before You; who see this; and I too, when I see it, see it only when before You.

When before men I see it not. For what shall I say? What words shall I use to show, that which I now am is nothing in comparison of That which truly IS? But it is within that it is said; it is within that it is felt, so far as it is felt. Before You, O Lord, where Your eyes are; and not where the eyes of men are. And where Your eyes are, what is the state of things? That which I am is as nothing.

10. But, verily, every man living is altogether vanity. But, verily. For what was he saying above? Behold, I have already leaped beyond all mortal things, and despised things below, have trampled under foot the things of earth, have soared upwards to the delights of the law of the Lord, I have been afloat in the dispensation of the Lord, have yearned for that End which Itself is to know no end, have yearned for the number of my days that truly is, because the number of days like these has no real being. Behold, I am already such a one as this; I have already overleaped so much; I am longing for those things which abide. But verily, in the state in which I am here, so long as I am here, so long as I am in this world, so long as I bear mortal flesh, so long as the life of man on earth is a trial, so long as I sigh among causes of offense, as long as while I stand I am in fear lest I fall, [Job 3:25] as long as both my good and my ill hangs in uncertainty, every man living is altogether vanity....

11. Albeit man walks in the Image [Psalm 38:6]. In what Image, save that of Him who said, Let Us make man in Our Image, after Our Likeness. [Genesis 1:26] Albeit man walks in the Image. For the reason he says albeit, is, that this is some great thing. And this albeit is followed by nevertheless, that the albeit which you have already heard, should relate to what is beyond the sun; but this nevertheless, which is to follow, to what is under the sun, and that the one should relate to the Truth, the other to vanity. Albeit, then, that man walks in the Image, nevertheless he is disquieted in vain. Hear the cause of his disquieting, and see if it be not a vain one; that you may trample it under foot, that you may leap beyond it, and may dwell on high, where that vanity is not. What vanity is that? He heaps up riches, and knows not for whom he may be gathering them together. O infatuated vanity! Blessed is the man that makes the Lord his trust, and has not respected vanities, nor lying deceits. To you indeed, O covetous man, to you I seem to be out of my senses, these words appear to you to be old wives' tales. For you, a man of great judgment, and of great prudence, to be sure, are daily devising methods of acquiring money, by traffic, by agriculture, by eloquence perhaps, by making yourself learned in the law, by warfare, perhaps you even add that of usury. Like a shrewd man as you are, you leave nothing untried, whereby you may pile coin on coin; and may store it up more carefully in a place of secrecy. You plunder others; you guard against the plunderer; you are afraid lest you should yourself suffer the wrong, that you yourself do; and even what you do suffer, does not correct you....Examine your own heart, and that prudence of yours, which leads you to deride me, to think me out of my senses for saying these things: and tell me now, You are heaping up treasures; for whom are you gathering them together? I see what you would tell me; as if what you would say had not occurred to the person described here; you will say, I am keeping them for my children? This is the voice of parental affection; the excuse of injustice. I am keeping them (you say) for my children. So then you are keeping them for your children, are you? Did not Idithun then know this? Assuredly he did; but he reckoned it one of the things of the old days, that have waxed old, and therefore he despised it: because he was hastening on to the new days....

12. For He, by whom all things were made, [Colossians 1:16] has built mansions for all of us: there He would have that which we have go before us; that we may not lose it on earth. When, however, you have kept them on earth, tell me for whom you are to gather them together? You have children: add one more to their number; and give something to Christ also. He is disquieted in vain.

13. And now [Psalm 38:7]. And now, says this Idithun — looking back on a certain vain show, and looking up to a certain Truth, standing midway where he has something beyond him, and something also behind him, having below him the place from which he took his spring, having above him that toward which he has stretched forth —And now, when I have over-leaped some things, when I have trampled many things under foot, when I am no longer captivated by things temporal; even now, I am not perfect, I have not yet apprehended. [Philippians 3:13] For it is by hope that we are saved; but hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man sees, why does he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. [Romans 8:24-25] Therefore he says: And now what wait I for? Is it not for the Lord? He is my expectation, who has given me all those things, that I might despise them. He will give unto me Himself also, even He who is above all, and by whom all things were made, [Colossians 1:16] and by whom I was made among all; even He, the Lord, is my Expectation! You see Idithun, brethren, you see in what way he waits for Him! Let no man therefore call himself perfect here; he deceives and imposes upon himself; he is beguiling himself, he cannot have perfection here, and what avails it that he should lose humility?...

And my substance is ever before You. Already advancing, already tending towards Him, and to some extent already beginning to be, still (he says) my substance is ever before You. Now that other substance is also before men. You have gold, silver, slaves, estates, trees, cattle, servants. These things are visible even to men. There is a certain substance that is ever before You.

14. Deliver me from all my transgressions [Psalm 38:8]. I have over-leaped a great deal of ground, a very great deal of ground already; but, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the Truth is not in us. [1 John 1:8] I have over-leaped a great deal: but still do I beat my breast, and say, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. [Matthew 6:12] Thou therefore art my expectation! my End. For Christ is the end of the Law unto righteousness, unto every man that believes. [Romans 10:4] From all mine offenses: not only from those, that I may not relapse into those which I have already over-leaped; but from all, without exception, of those on account of which I now beat my breast, and say, Forgive us our debts. Deliver me from all mine offenses: me being thus minded, and holding fast what the Apostle said, As many of us as be perfect, let us be thus minded. [Philippians 3:15] For at the time that he said that he was not already perfect, he then immediately goes on and says, As many of us as be perfect, let us be thus minded....Are you then, O Apostle, not perfect, and are we perfect? But has it escaped you, that he did just now call himself perfect? For he does not say, As many of you as are perfect, be ye thus minded; but As many of us as be perfect, let us be thus minded; after having said a little before, Not that I have already attained; either am already perfect. In no other way then can you be perfect in this life, than by knowing that you cannot be perfect in this life. This then will be your perfection, so to have over-leaped some things, as to have still some point to which you are hastening on: so as to have something remaining, to which you will have to leap on, when everything else has been passed by. It is such faith as this that is secure; for whoever thinks that he has already attained, is exalting himself, so as to be abased hereafter. [Luke 18:14]...

15. You have made me the reproach of the foolish. You have so willed it, that I should live among those, and preach the Truth among those, who love vanity; and I cannot but be a laughing-stock to them. For we have been made a spectacle unto this world, and unto angels, and unto men: [1 Corinthians 4:9] to angels who praise, to men who censure, us; or rather to angels, some of whom praise, some of whom are censuring us: and to men also, some of whom are praising, and some censuring us....Both the one and the other are arms to us: the one on the right hand, the other on the left: arms however they are both of them; both of these kinds of arms, both those on the right hand, and those on the left; both those who praise, and those who censure; both those who pay us honour, and those who heap dishonour upon us; with both these kinds I contend against the devil; with both of these I smite him; I defeat him with prosperity, if I be not corrupted by it; by adversity, if I am not broken in spirit by it.

16. I became dumb; and I opened not my mouth [Psalm 38:9]. But it was to guard against the foolish man, that I became dumb, and opened not my mouth. For to whom should I tell what is going on within me? For I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me; for He will speak peace unto His people. But There is no peace, says the Lord, to the wicked. [Isaiah 48:22] I was dumb, and opened not my mouth; because it is Thou that made me. Was this the reason that you opened not your mouth, because God made you? That is strange; for did not God make your mouth, that you should speak? He that planted the ear, does He not hear? He that formed the eye, does He not see? God has given you a mouth to speak with; and do you say, I was dumb, and opened not my mouth, because You made me? Or does the clause, Because You made me, belong to the verse that follows? Remove Your stroke away from me [Psalm 38:10]. Because it is Thou that hast made me, let it not be Your pleasure to destroy me utterly; scourge, so that I may be made better, not so that I faint; beat me, so that I may be beaten out to a greater length and breadth, not so that I may be ground to powder. By the heaviness of Your hand I fainted in corrections. That is, I fainted while You were correcting me. And what is meant by correcting me? Except what follows.

17. You with rebukes have chastened man for iniquity; You have made my life to consume away like a spider [Psalm 38:11]. There is much that is discerned by this Idithun; by every one who discerns as he does; who overleaps as he does. For he says, that he has fainted in God's corrections; and would fain have the stroke removed away from him, because it is He who made him. Let Him renew me, who also made me; let Him who created me, create me anew. But yet, Brethren, do we suppose that there was no cause for his fainting, so that he wishes to be renewed, to be created anew? It is for iniquity, says he, that You have chastened man. All this, my having fainted, my being weak, my crying out of the deep, all of this is because of iniquity; and in this You have not condemned, but hast chastened me. You have chastened man for sin. Hear this more plainly from another Psalm: It is good for me that You have afflicted me, that I might learn Your righteousness. I have been afflicted, and at the same time it is good for me; it is at once a punishment, and an act of favour. What has He in store for us after punishment is over, who inflicts punishment itself by way of favour? For He it is of whom it was said, I was brought low, and He made me whole: and, It is good for me that You have afflicted me, that I might learn Your righteousness. You chasten man for iniquity. And that which is written, You form my grief in teaching me, could only be said to God by one who was leaping beyond his fellows; You form my grief in teaching me; You make, that is to say, a lesson for me out of my sorrow. It is Thou that formest that very grief itself; Thou dost not leave it unformed, but form it; and that grief, that has been inflicted by You, when formed, will be a lesson unto me, that I may be set free by You. For the word finges is used in the sense of forming, as it were moulding, my grief; not in the sense of feigning it; in the same way that fingit is applied to the artist, in the same sense that figulus is derived from fingere. You therefore have chastened man for iniquity. I see myself in afflictions; I see myself under punishment; and I see no unrighteousness in You. If I therefore am under punishment, and if there is no unrighteousness with You, it remains that You must have been chastening man for iniquity.

18. And by what means have You chastened him? Tell us, O Idithun, the manner of your chastening; tell us in what way you have been chastened. And You have made my life consume like a spider. This is the chastening! What consumes away sooner than the spider? I speak of the creature itself; though what can be more liable to consume away than the spider's webs? Observe too how liable to decay is the creature itself. Do but set your finger lightly upon it, and it is a ruin: there is nothing at all more easily destroyed. To such a state have You brought my life, by chastening me because of iniquity. When chastening makes us weak, there is a kind of strength that would be a fault....It was by a kind of strength that man offended, so as to require to be corrected by weakness: for it was by a certain pride that he offended; so as to require to be chastened by humility. All proud persons call themselves strong men. Therefore have many come from the East and the West, and have attained to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of Heaven. [Matthew 8:11] Wherefore was it that they so attained? Because they would not be strong. What is meant by would not be strong? They were afraid to presume of their own merits. They did not go about to establish their own righteousness, that they might submit themselves to the righteousness of God. [Romans 10:3]...Behold! You are mortal; and you bear about you a body of flesh that is corrupting away: And you shall fall like one of the princes. You shall die like men, and shall fall like the devil. What good does the remedial discipline of mortality do you? The devil is proud, as not having a mortal body, as being an angel. But as for you, who have received a mortal body, and to whom even this does no good, so as to humble you by so great weakness, you shall fall like one of the princes. This then is the first grace of God's gift, to bring us to the confession of our infirmity, that whatever good we can do, whatever ability we have, we may be that in Him; that He that glories, may glory in the Lord. [1 Corinthians 1:31] When I am weak, says he, then am I strong. [2 Corinthians 12:10]

19. But surely every man living disquiets himself in vain. He returns to what he mentioned a little before. Although he be improving here, yet for all that, every man living disquiets himself in vain; forasmuch as he lives in a state of uncertainty. For who has any assurance even of his own goodness? He is disquieted in vain. Let him cast upon the Lord the burden of his care; let him cast upon Him whatever causes him anxiety. Let Him sustain you; let Him keep you. For on this earth what is there that is certain, except death? Consider the whole sum of all the good or the ill of this life, either those belonging to righteousness, or those belonging to unrighteousness; what is there that is certain here, except death? Have you been advancing in goodness? You know what you are today; what you will be tomorrow, you know not! Are you a sinner? You know what you are today; what you will be tomorrow, you know not! You hope for wealth; it is uncertain whether it will fall to your lot. You hope to have a wife; it is uncertain whether you will obtain one, or what sort of one you will obtain. You hope for sons: it is uncertain whether they will be born to you. Are they born? It is uncertain whether they will live: if they live, it is uncertain whether they will grow up in virtue, or whether they will fall away. Whichever way you turn, all is uncertain, death alone is certain. Are you poor? It is uncertain whether you will grow rich. Are you unlearned? It is uncertain whether you will become learned. Are you in feeble health, it is uncertain whether you will regain your strength. Are you born? It is certain that you will die: and in this certainty of death itself, the day of your death is uncertain. Amidst these uncertainties, where death alone is certain, while even of that the hour is uncertain, and while it alone is studiously guarded against, though at the same time it is in no way to be escaped, every man living disquiets himself in vain....

20. Hear my prayer, O Lord [Psalm 38:12]. Whereof shall I rejoice? Whereof should I groan? I rejoice on account of what is past, I groan longing for these which are not yet come. Hear my prayer, and give ear unto my cry. Hold not Your peace at my tears. For do I now no longer weep, because I have already passed by, have left behind so great things as these? Do I not weep much the more? For, He that increases knowledge, increases sorrow. [Ecclesiastes 1:18] The more I long for what is not here, do I not so much the more groan for it until it comes? Do I not so much the more weep until it comes?...

21. For I am a sojourner with You. But with whom am I a sojourner? When I was with the devil, I was a sojourner; but then I had a bad host and entertainer; now, however, I am with You; but I am a sojourner still. What is meant by a sojourner? I am a sojourner in the place from which I am to remove; not in the place where I am to dwell forever. The place where I am to abide for ever, should be rather called my home. In the place from which I am to remove I am a sojourner; but yet it is with my God that I am a sojourner, with whom I am hereafter to abide, when I have reached my home. But what home is that to which you are to remove from this estate of a sojourner? Recognise that home, of which the Apostle speaks, We have an habitation of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens. [2 Corinthians 5:1] If this house is eternal in the Heavens, when we have come to it, we shall not be sojourners any more. For how should you be a sojourner in an eternal home? But here, where the Master of the house is some day to say to you, Remove, while you yourself know not when He will say it, be thou in readiness. And by longing for your eternal home, you will be keeping yourself in readiness for it. And be not angry with Him, because He gives you notice to remove, when He Himself pleases. For He made no covenant with you, nor did He bind Himself by any engagement; nor did you enter upon the tenancy of this house on a certain stipulation for a definite term: you are to quit, when it is its Master's pleasure. For therefore is it that you now dwell there free of charge. For I am a sojourner with You, and a stranger. Therefore it is there is my country: it is there is my home. I am a sojourner with You, and a stranger. Here too is understood with You. For many are strangers with the devil: but they who have already believed and are faithful, are, it is true, strangers as yet, because they have not yet come to that country and to that home: but still they are strangers with God. For so long as we are in the body, we are strangers from the Lord, and we desire, whether we are strangers, or abiding here, we may be accepted with Him. [2 Corinthians 5:9] I am a sojourner with You; and a stranger, as all my fathers were. If then I am as all my fathers were, shall I say that I will not remove, when they have removed? Am I to lodge here on other terms, than those on which they lodged here also?...

22. Grant me some remission, that I may be refreshed before I go hence [Psalm 38:13]. Consider well, Idithun, consider what knots those are which you would have loosed unto you, that you might be refreshed before you go hence. For you have certain fever-heats from which you would fain be refreshed, and you say, that I may be refreshed, and grant me a remission. What should He remit, or loosen unto you, save that difficulty under which, and in consequence of which, you say, Forgive us our debts. Grant me a remission before I go hence, and be no more. Set me free from my sins, before I go hence, that I may not go hence with my sins. Remit them unto me, that I may be set at rest in my conscience, that it may be disburthened of its feverish anxiety, the anxiety with which I am sorry for my sin. Grant me a remission, that I may be refreshed (before everything else), before I go hence, and be no more. For if you grant me not a remission, that I may be refreshed, I shall go and be no more. Before I go there, where if I go, I shall thenceforth be no more. Grant me a remission, that I may be refreshed. A question has suggested itself, how he will be no more....What is meant then by shall be no more, unless Idithun is alluding to what is true being, and what is not true being. For he was beholding with the mind, with which he could do so, with the mind's eye, by which he was able to behold it, that end, which he had desired to have shown unto him, saying, Lord, make me to know mine end. He was beholding the number of his days, which truly is; and he observed that all that is below, in comparison of that true being, has no true being. For those things are permanent; these are subject to change; mortal, and frail, and the eternal suffering, though full of corruption, is for this very reason not to be ended, that it may ever be being ended without end. He alluded therefore to that realm of bliss, to the happy country, to the happy home, where the Saints are partakers of eternal Life, and of Truth unchangeable; and he feared to go where that is not, where there is no true being; longing to be there, where Being in the highest sense is! It is on account of this contrast then, while standing midway between them, he says, Grant me a remission, that I may be refreshed before I go hence and be no more. For if Thou grantest me not a remission of my sins, I shall go from You unto all eternity! And from whom shall I go to all eternity? From Him who said, I Am HE that Am: from Him who said, Say unto the children of Israel, I Am has sent me unto you. [Exodus 3:14] He then who goes from Him, in the contrary direction, goes to non-existence....

1. Of all those things which our Lord Jesus Christ has foretold, we know part to have been already accomplished, part we hope will be accomplished hereafter. All of them, however, will be fulfilled, because He is the Truth who speaks them, and requires of us to be as faithful, as He Himself speaks them faithfully....

2. Let us say then what this Psalm says. I waited patiently for the Lord [Psalm 39:1]. I waited patiently for the promise of no mere mortal who can both deceive and be himself deceived: I waited for the consolation of no mere mortal, who may be consumed by sorrow of his own, before he gives me comfort. Should a brother mortal attempt to comfort me, when he himself is in sorrow likewise? Let us mourn in company; let us weep together, let us wait patiently together, let us join our prayers together also. Whom did I wait for but for the Lord? The Lord, who though He puts off the fulfilment of His promises, yet never recalls them? He will make it good; assuredly He will make it good, because He has made many of His promises good already: and of God's truth we ought to have no fears, even if as yet He had made none of them good. Lo! let us henceforth think thus, He has promised us everything; He has not as yet given us possession of anything; He is a sponsible Promiser; a faithful Paymaster: do you but show yourself a dutiful exactor of what is promised; and if you be weak, if you be one of the little ones, claim the promise of His mercy. Do you not see tender lambs striking their dams' teats with their heads, in order that they may get their fill of milk?...And He took heed unto me, and heard my cry. He took heed to it, and He heard it. See you have not waited in vain. His eyes are over you. His ears turned towards you. For, the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry. What then? Did He not see you, when you used to do evil and to blaspheme Him? What then becomes of what is said in that very Psalm, The face of the Lord is upon them that do evil? But for what end? that He may cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. Therefore, even when thou were wicked, He took heed of you; but He took no heed to you. So then to him who waited patiently for the Lord, it was not enough to say, He took heed of me, He says, He took heed to me; that is, He took heed by comforting me, that He might do me good. What was it that He took heed to? and He heard my cry.

3. And what has He accomplished for you? What has He done for you? He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings [Psalm 39:2]. He has given us great blessings already: and still He is our debtor; but let him who has this part of the debt repaid already, believe that the rest will be also, seeing that he ought to have believed even before he received anything. Our Lord has employed facts themselves to persuade us, that He is a faithful promiser, a liberal giver. What then has He already done? He has brought me out of a horrible pit. What horrible pit is that? It is the depth of iniquity, from the lusts of the flesh, for this is meant by the miry clay. Whence has He brought you out? Out of a certain deep, out of which you cried out in another Psalm, Out of the deep have I called unto You, O Lord. And those who are already crying out of the deep, are not absolutely in the lowest deep: the very act of crying is already lifting them up. There are some deeper in the deep, who do not even perceive themselves to be in the deep. Such are those who are proud despisers, not pious entreaters for pardon; not tearful criers for mercy: but such as Scripture thus describes. The sinner when he comes into the depth of evil despises. [Proverbs 18:3] For he is deeper in the deep, who is not satisfied with being a sinner, unless instead of confessing he even defends his sins. But he who has already cried out of the deep, has already lifted up his head in order that he might cry out of the deep, has been heard already, and has been brought out of the horrible pit, and out of the mire and clay. He already has faith, which he had not before; he has hope, which he was before without; he now walks in Christ, who before used to go astray in the devil. For on that account it is that he says, He has set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. Now that Rock was Christ. [1 Corinthians 10:4] Supposing that we are upon the rock, and that our goings are ordered, still it is necessary that we continue to walk; that we advance to something farther. For what did the Apostle Paul say when now upon the Rock, when his goings had now been established? Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended. [Philippians 3:12-13] What then has been done for you, if you have not apprehended? On what account do you return thanks, saying, But I have obtained mercy? [1 Timothy 1:13] Because his goings are now established, because he now walks on the Rock?...Therefore, when he was saying, I press forward toward the prize of my high calling, because his feet were now set on the Rock, and his goings were ordered, because he was now walking on the right way, he had something to return thanks for; something to ask for still; returning thanks for what he had received already, while he was claiming that which still remained due. For what things already received was he giving thanks? For the remission of sins, for the illumination of faith; for the strong support of hope, for the fire of charity. But in what respects had he still a claim of debt on the Lord? Henceforth, he says, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. There is therefore something due me still. What is it that is due? A crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day. He was at first a loving Father to bring him forth from the horrible pit; to forgive his sins, to rescue him from the mire and clay; hereafter he will be a righteous Judge, requiting to him walking rightly, what He promised; to him (I say), unto whom He had at the first granted that power to walk rightly. He then as a righteous Judge will repay; but whom will he repay? He that endures unto the end, the same shall be saved. [Matthew 10:22]

4. And He has put a new song in my mouth. What new song is this? Even a hymn unto our God [Psalm 39:3]. Perhaps you used to sing hymns to strange gods; old hymns, because they were uttered by the old man, not by the new man; let the new man be formed, and let him sing a new song; being himself made new, let him love those new things by which he is himself made new. For what is more Ancient than God, who is before all things, and is without end and without beginning? He becomes new to you, when you return to Him; because it was by departing from Him, that you had become old; and had said, I have waxed old because of all mine enemies. We therefore utter a hymn unto our God; and the hymn itself sets us free. For I will call upon the Lord to praise Him, and I will be safe from all mine enemies. For a hymn is a song of praise. Call on God to praise Him, not to find fault with Him....

5. If haply any one asks, what person is speaking in this Psalm? I would say briefly, It is Christ. But as you know, brethren, and as we must say frequently, Christ sometimes speaks in His own Person, in the Person of our Head. For He Himself is the Saviour of the Body. [Ephesians 5:23] He is our Head; the Son of God, who was born of the Virgin, suffered for us, rose again for our justification, sits at the right hand of God, to make intercession for us: [Romans 8:34] who is also to recompense to the evil and to the good, in the judgment, all the evil and the good that they have done. He deigned to be come our Head; to become the Head of the Body, by taking of us that flesh in which He should die for us; that flesh which He also raised up again for our sakes, that in that flesh He might place before us an instance of the resurrection; that we might learn to hope for that of which we heretofore despaired, and might henceforth have our feet upon the rock, and might walk in Christ. He then sometimes speaks in the name of our Head; sometimes also He speaks of us who are His members. For both when He said, I was an hungred, and you gave Me meat, [Matthew 25:35] He spoke on behalf of His members, not of Himself: and when He said, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? [Acts 9:4] the Head was crying on behalf of its members: and yet He did not say, Why do you persecute My members? but, Why do you persecute Me? If He suffers in us, then shall we also be crowned in Him. Such is the love of Christ. What is there can be compared to this? This is the thing on account of which He has put a hymn in our mouth, and this He speaks on behalf of His members.

6. The just shall see, and shall fear, and shall trust in the Lord. The just shall see. Who are the just? The faithful; because it is by faith that the just shall live. [Habakkuk 2:4] For there is in the Church this order, some go before, others follow; and those who go before make themselves an example to those who follow; and those who follow imitate those who go before. But do those then follow no one, who exhibit themselves as an ensample to them that come after? If they follow no one at all, they will fall into error. These persons then must themselves also follow some one, that is, Christ Himself....The just, therefore, shall see, and shall fear. They see a narrow way on the one hand; on the other side, a broad road: on this side they see few, on the other many. But you are a just man; count them not, but weigh them; bring a just balance, not a deceitful one: because you are called just. The just shall see, and fear, applies to you. Count not therefore the multitudes of men that are filling the broad ways, that are to fill the circus tomorrow; celebrating with shouts the City's Anniversary, while they defile the City itself by evil living. Look not at them; they are many in number; and who can count them? But there are a few travelling along the narrow road. Bring forth the balance, I say. Weigh them; see what a quantity of chaff you lift up on the one side, against a few grains of grain on the other. Let this be done by the just, the believers, who are to follow. And what shall they who precede do? Let them not be proud, let them not exalt themselves; let them not deceive those who follow them. How may they deceive those who follow them? By promising them salvation in themselves. What then ought those who follow to do? The just shall see, and fear: and shall trust in the Lord; not in those who go before them. But indeed they fix their eyes on those who go before them, and follow and imitate them; but they do so, because they consider from Whom they have received the grace to go before them; and because they trust in Him. Although therefore they make these their models, they place their trust in Him from whom the others have received the grace whereby they are such as they are. The just shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Just as in another Psalm, I lift up my eyes unto the hills, we understand by hills, all distinguished and great spiritual persons in the Church; great in solidity, not by swollen inflation. By these it is that all Scripture has been dispensed unto us; they are the Prophets, they are the Evangelists; they are sound Doctors: to these I lift up my eyes, from whence shall come my help. And lest you should think of mere human help, he goes on to say, My help comes from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. The just shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord....

7. Blessed is that man that makes the name of the Lord his trust, and has not respected vanities or lying madnesses [Psalm 39:4]. Behold the way by which you would fain have gone. Behold the multitude that fill the Broad way. It is not without reason that road leads to the amphitheatre. It is not without reason it leads to Death. The broad way leads unto death, [Matthew 7:13] its breadth delights for time: its end is straitness to all eternity. Aye; but the multitudes murmur; the multitudes are rejoicing together; the multitudes are hastening along; the multitudes are flocking together! Do not thou imitate them; do not turn aside after them: they are vanities, and lying madnesses. Let the Lord your God be your hope. Hope for nothing else from the Lord your God; but let the Lord your God Himself be your hope. For many persons hope to obtain from God's hands riches, and many perishable and transitory honours; and, in short, anything else they hope to obtain at God's hands, except only God Himself. But do thou seek after your God Himself: nay, indeed, despising all things else, make your way unto Him! Forget other things, remember Him. Leave other things behind, and press forward [Philippians 3:14] unto Him. Surely it is He Himself, who set you right, when turned away from the right path; who, now that you are set in the right path, guides you aright, who guides you to your destination. Let Him then be your hope, who both guides you, and guides you to your destination. Whither does worldly covetousness lead you? And to what point does it conduct you at the last? Thou at first desired a farm; then you would possess an estate; you would shut out your neighbours; having shut them out, you set your heart on the possessions of other neighbours; and extended your covetous desires till you had reached the shore: arriving at the shore, thou covet the islands: having made the earth your own, you would haply seize upon heaven. Leave thou all your loves. He who made heaven and earth is more beautiful than all.

8. Blessed is the man that makes the name of the Lord his hope, and who has not regarded vanities and lying madnesses. For whence is it that madness is called lying? Insanity is a lying thing, even as it is sanity that sees the Truth. For what you see as good things, you are deceived; you are not in your sound senses: a violent fever has driven you to frenzy: that which you are in love with is not a reality. Thou applaudest the charioteer; you cheer the charioteer; you are madly in love with the charioteer. It is vanity; it is a lying madness. It is 'not' (he cries). Nothing can be better; nothing more delightful. What can I do for one in a state of high fever? Pray ye for such persons, if you have any feelings of compassion in you. For the physician himself also in a desperate case generally turns to those in the house, who stand around weeping; who are hanging on his lips to hear his opinion of the patient who is sick and in danger. The physician stands in a state of doubt: he sees not any good to promise; he fears to pronounce evil, lest he should excite alarm. He devises a thoroughly modest sentence: The good God can do all things. Pray ye for him. Which then of these madmen shall I check? Which of them will listen to me? Which of them would not call us miserable? Because they suppose us to have lost great and various pleasures, of which they are madly fond, in that we are not as madly in love with them as they are: and they do not see that they are lying pleasures....And has not respected vanities, and lying madnesses. Such a one has won, he cries; he harnessed such and such a horse, he proclaims aloud. He would fain be a kind of diviner; he aspires to the honours of divination by abandoning the fountain of Divinity; and he frequently pronounces an opinion, and is frequently mistaken. Why is this? Even because they are lying madnesses. But why is it that what they say sometimes comes true? That they may lead astray the foolish ones; that by loving the semblance of truth there, they may fall into the snare of falsehood: let them be left behind, let them be given over, let them be cut off. If they were members of us, they must be mortified. Mortify, he says, your members which are upon the earth. [Colossians 3:5] Let our God be our hope. He who made all things, is better than all! He who made what is beautiful, is more beautiful than all that is such. He who made whatever is mighty, is Himself mightier. He who made whatever is great, is Himself greater. He will be unto you everything that you love. Learn in the creature to love the Creator; and in the work Him who made it. Let not that which has been made by Him detain your affections, so that you should lose Him by whom you yourself were made also. Blessed, then, is the man that makes the Name of the Lord his trust, and has not respected vanities and lying madnesses....

9. We will give him other sights in exchange for such sights as these. And what sights shall we present to the Christian, whom we would fain divert from those sights? I thank the Lord our God; He in the following verse of the Psalm has shown us what sights we ought to present and offer to spectators who would fain have sights to see? Let us now suppose him to be weaned from the circus, the theatre, the amphitheatre; let him be looking after, let him by all means be looking after, some sight to see; we do not leave him without a spectacle. What then shall we give in exchange for those? Hear what follows.

Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have made [Psalm 39:5]. He used to gaze at the wonderful works of man; let him now contemplate the wonderful works of God. Many are the wonderful works that God has made. Why are they become vile in his eyes? He praises the charioteer guiding four horses; running all of them without fault and without stumbling. Perhaps the Lord has not made such wonderful works in things spiritual. Let him control lust, let him control cowardice, let him control injustice, let him control imprudence, I mean, the passions which falling into excess produce those vices; let him control these and bring them into subjection, and let him hold the reins, and not allow himself to be carried away; let him guide them the way he himself would have them go; let him not be forced away whither he would not. He used to applaud the charioteer, he himself shall be applauded for his own charioteering; he used to call out that the charioteer should be invested with a dress of honour; he shall himself be clothed with immortality. These are the spectacles, these the sights that God exhibits to us. He cries out of heaven, My eyes are upon you. Strive, and 'I will?' assist you; triumph, and I will crown you.

And in Your thought there is none that is like You. Now then look at the actor! For the man has by dint of great pains learned to walk upon a rope; and hanging there he holds you hanging in suspense. Turn to Him who exhibits spectacles far more wonderful. This man has learned to walk upon the rope; but has he caused another to walk on the sea? Forget now your theatre; behold our Peter; not a walker on the rope, but, so to speak, a walker on the sea. And do thou also walk on other waters (though not on those on which Peter walked, to symbolize a certain truth), for this world is a sea. It has a deleterious bitterness; it has the waves of tribulations, the tempests of temptations; it has men in it who, like fish, delight in their own ruin, and prey upon each other; walk thou here, set thou your foot on this. You would see sights; be yourself a spectacle. That your spirit may not sink, look on Him who goes before you, and says, We have been made a spectacle unto this world, and unto angels, and unto men. [1 Corinthians 4:9] Tread thou on the waters; suffer not yourself to be drowned in the sea. You will not go there, you will not tread it under foot, unless it be His bidding, who was Himself the first to walk upon the sea. For it was thus that Peter spoke. If You are, bid me come unto You on the waters. [Matthew 14:28] And because He was, He heard him when praying; He granted his wish to him when expressing his desire; He raised him up when sinking. These are the wonderful works that the Lord has made. Look on them; let faith be the eye of him who would behold them. And do thou also likewise; for although the winds alarm you, though the waves rage against you, and though human frailty may have inspired you with some doubt of your salvation, you have it in your power to cry out, you may say Lord, I perish. [Matthew 14:30] He who bids you walk there, suffers you not to perish. For in that thou now walkest on the Rock, you fear not even on the sea! If you are without the Rock, you must sink in the sea; for the Rock on which you must walk is such an one as is not sunk in the sea,

10. Observe then the wonderful works of God. I have declared, and have spoken; they are multiplied beyond number. There is a number, there are some over and above the number. There is a fixed number that belongs to that heavenly Jerusalem. For the Lord knows them that are His; [2 Timothy 2:19] the Christians that fear Him, the Christians that believe, the Christians that keep the commandments, that walk in God's ways, that keep themselves from sins; that if they fall confess: they belong to the number. But are they the only ones? There are also some beyond the number. For even if they be but a few (a few in comparison of the numbers of the larger majority), with how great numbers are our Churches filled, crowded up to the very walls; to what a degree do they annoy each other by the pressure, and almost choke each other by their overflowing numbers. Again, out of these very same persons, when there is a public spectacle, there are numbers flocking to the amphitheatre; these are over and above the number. But it is for this reason that we say this, that they may be in the number. Not being present, they do not hear this from us; but when you have gone from hence, let them hear it from you. I have declared, he says, and have spoken. It is Christ who speaks. He has declared it, in His own Person, as our Head. He has Himself declared it by His members. He Himself has sent those who should declare it; He Himself has sent the Apostles. Their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words unto the ends of the world. How great the number of believers that are gathered together; how great the multitudes that flock together; many of them truly converted, many but in appearance: and those who are truly converted are the minority; those who are so but in appearance are the majority: because they are multiplied beyond the number.

11. ...These are the wonderful works of God; these are the thoughts of God, to which no man's thoughts are like; that the lover of sight-seeing may be weaned from curiosity: and with us may seek after those more excellent, those more profitable things, in which, when he shall have attained unto them, he will rejoice....

12. Sacrifice and offering You did not desire [Psalm 39:6], says the Psalm to God. For the men of old time, when as yet the true Sacrifice, which is known to the faithful, was foreshown in figures, used to celebrate rites that were figures of the reality that was to be hereafter; many of them understanding their meaning; but more of them in ignorance of it. For the Prophets and the holy Patriarchs understood what they were celebrating; but the rest of the stiff-necked people were so carnal, that what was done by them was but to symbolize the things that were to come afterwards; and it came to pass, when that first sacrifice was abolished; when the burnt-offerings of rams, of goats, and of calves, and of other victims, had been abolished, God did not desire them. Why did God not desire them? And why did He at the first desire them? Because all those things were, as it were, the words of a person making a promise; and the expressions conveying a promise, when the thing that they promise has come, are no longer uttered....Those sacrifices then, as being but expressions of a promise, have been abrogated. What is that which has been given as its fulfilment? That Body; which you know; which you do not all of you know; which, of you who do know it, I pray God all may not know it unto condemnation. Observe the time when it was said; for the person is Christ our Lord, speaking at one time for His members, at another in His own person. Sacrifice and offering, said He, You did not desire. What then? Are we left at this present time without a sacrifice? God forbid!

But a Body have You perfected for me. It was for this reason that You did not desire the others; that You might perfect this; before You perfected this, You desired the others. The fulfilment of the promise has done away with the words that express the promise. For if they still hold out a promise, that which was promised is not yet fulfilled. This was promised by certain signs; the signs that convey the promise are done away; because the Substance that was promised has come. We are in this Body. We are partakers of this Body. We know that which we ourselves receive; and you who know it not yet, will know it bye and bye; and when you come to know it, I pray ye may not receive it unto condemnation. For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation unto himself. [1 Corinthians 11:29] A Body has been perfected for us; let us be made perfect in the Body.

13. Burnt-offerings also for sin have You not required. Then said I, Lo, I come! [Psalm 39:7]. It is time that what was promised should come; because the signs, by means of which they were promised, have been put away. And indeed, Brethren, observe these put away; those fulfilled. Let the Jewish nation at this time show me their priest, if they can! Where are their sacrifices? They are brought to an end; they are put away now. Should we at that time have rejected them? We do reject them now; because, if you chose to celebrate them now, it were unseasonable; unfitting at the time; incongruous. You are still making promises; I have already received! There has remained to them a certain thing for them to celebrate; that they might not remain altogether without a sign....In such a case then are they; like Cain with his mark. The sacrifices, however, which used to be performed there, have been put away; and that which remained unto them for a sign like that of Cain, has by this time been fulfilled; and they know it not. They slay the Lamb; they eat the unleavened bread. Christ has been sacrificed for us, as our Passover. [1 Corinthians 5:7] Lo, in the sacrifice of Christ, I recognise the Lamb that was slain! What of the unleavened bread? Therefore, says he, let us keep the feast; not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of wickedness (he shows what is meant by old; it is stale flour; it is sour), but in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. [1 Corinthians 5:8] They have continued in the shade; they cannot abide the Sun of Glory. We are already in the light of day. We have the Body of Christ, we have the Blood of Christ. If we have a new life, let us sing a new song, even a hymn unto our God. Burnt offerings for sin You did not desire. Then said I, Lo, I come!

14. In the head of the Book it is written of me, that I should fulfil Your will: O my God, I am willing, and Your Law is within my heart [Psalm 39:8]. Behold! He turns His regards to His members. Behold! He has Himself fulfilled the will of the Father. But in what beginning of a Book is it written of Him? Perhaps in the beginning of this Book of Psalms. For why should we seek far for it, or examine into other books for it? Behold! It is written in the beginning of this Book of Psalms! His will is in the Law of the Lord; that is, 'O my God, I am willing,' and 'Your Law is within my heart;' that is the same as, And in His Law does he meditate day and night.

15. I have well declared Your righteousness in the great congregation [Psalm 39:9]. He now addresses His members. He is exhorting them to do what He has already done. He has declared; let us declare also. He has suffered; let us suffer with Him. He has been glorified; we shall be glorified with Him. [Romans 8:17] I have declared Your righteousness in the great congregation. How great an one is that? In all the world. How great is it? Even among all nations. Why among all nations? Because He is the Seed of Abraham, in whom all nations shall be blessed. [Genesis 22:18] Why among all nations? Because their sound has gone forth into all lands. Lo! I will not refrain my lips, O Lord, and that You know. My lips speak; I will not refrain them from speaking. My lips indeed sound audibly in the ears of men; but You know mine heart. I will not refrain my lips, O Lord; that You know. It is one thing that man hears; another that God knows. That the declaring of it should not be confined to the lips alone, and that it might not be said of us, Whatsoever things they say unto you, do; but do not after their works; [Matthew 23:3] or lest it should be said to the people, praising God with their lips, but not with their heart, This people honours Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; [Isaiah 29:31] do thou make audible confession with your lips; draw near with your heart also. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. [Romans 10:10] In case like which that thief was found, who, hanging on the Cross with the Lord, did on the Cross acknowledge the Lord. Others had refused to acknowledge Him while working miracles; this man acknowledged Him when hanging on the Cross. That thief had every other member pierced through; his hands were fastened by the nails; his feet were pierced also; his whole body was fastened to the tree; the body was not disengaged in its other members; the heart and the tongue were disengaged; with the heart he believed; with the tongue he made confession. Remember me, O Lord, he said, when You come into Your kingdom. He hoped for the coming of his salvation at a time far remote; he was content to receive it after a long delay; his hope rested on an object far remote. The day, however, was not postponed! The answer was, This day shall you be with Me in Paradise. Paradise has happy trees! This day have you been with Me on the Tree of the Cross. This day shall you be with Me on the Tree of Salvation....

16. I have not hid my righteousness within my heart [Psalm 39:10]. What is meant by my righteousness? My faith. For, the just shall live by faith. As suppose the persecutor under threat of punishment, as they were once allowed to do, puts you to the question, What are you? Pagan or Christian? A Christian. That is his righteousness. He believes; he lives by faith. He does not hide his righteousness within his heart. He has not said in his heart, I do indeed believe in Christ; but I will not tell what I believe to this persecutor, who is raging against me, and threatening me. My God knows that inwardly, within my heart, I do believe. He knows that I renounce Him not. Lo! You say that you have this inwardly within your heart! What have you upon your lips? I am not a Christian. Your lips bear witness against your heart. I have not hid my righteousness within my heart....

17. I have declared Your Truth and Your Salvation. I have declared Your Christ. This is the meaning of, I have declared Your Truth and Your Salvation. How is Your Truth Christ? I am the Truth. [John 14:6] How is Christ His Salvation? Simeon recognised the infant in His Mother's hands in the Temple, and said, For my eyes have seen Your Salvation. [Luke 2:30] The old man recognised the little child; the old man having himself become a little child in that infant, having been renewed by faith. For he had received an oracle from God; and it said this, The Lord had said to him, that he was not to depart out of this life, until he had seen the Salvation of God. This Salvation of God it is a good thing to have shown unto men; but let them cry, Show us Your mercy, O Lord, and grant us Your Salvation....

18. I have not concealed Your mercy and Your Truth from the great congregation. Let us be there; let us also be numbered among the members of this Body: let us not keep back the mercy of the Lord, and the Truth of the Lord. Would you hear what the mercy of the Lord is? Depart from your sins; He will forgive your sins. Would you hear what the truth of the Lord is? Hold fast righteousness. Your righteousness shall receive a crown. For mercy is announced to you now; Truth is to be shown unto you hereafter. For God is not merciful in such a way as not to be just, nor just in such a way as not to be merciful. Does that mercy seem to you an inconsiderable one? He will not impute unto you all your former sins: you have lived ill up to this present day; you are still living; this day live well; then you will not conceal this mercy. If this is meant by mercy, what is meant by truth?...

19. Remove not Thou Your mercies far from me, O Lord [Psalm 39:11]. He is turning his attention to the wounded members. Because I have not concealed Your mercy and Your Truth from the great congregation, from the Unity of the Universal Church, look Thou on Your afflicted members, look on those who are guilty of sins of omission, and on those who are guilty of sins of commission: and withhold not Thou Your mercies. Your mercy and Your Truth have continually preserved me. I should not dare to turn from my evil way, were I not assured of remission; I could not endure so as to persevere, if I were not assured of the fulfilment of Your promise....

Innumerable evils have compassed me about [Psalm 39:12]. Who can number sins? Who can count his own sins, and those of others? A burden under which he was groaning, who said, Cleanse Thou me from my secret faults; and from the faults of others, spare Thou Your servant, O Lord. Our own are too little; those of others are added to the burden. I fear for myself; I fear for a virtuous brother, I have to bear with a wicked brother; and under such burden what shall we be, if God's mercy were to fail? But You, Lord, remove not afar off. Be Thou near unto us! To whom is the Lord near? Even unto them that are of a broken heart. He is far from the proud: He is near to the humble. For though the Lord is high, yet has He respect unto the lowly. But let not those that are proud think themselves to be unobserved: for the things that are high, He beholds afar off. He beheld afar off the Pharisee, who boasted himself; He was near at hand to succour the Publican, who made confession. [Luke 18:9-14] The one extolled his own merits, and concealed his wounds; the other boasted not of his merits, but laid bare his wounds. He came to the Physician; he knew that he was sick, and that he required to be made whole; he dared not lift up his eyes to Heaven: he smote upon his breast. He spared not himself, that God might spare him; he acknowledged himself guilty, that God might ignore the charge against him. He punished himself, that God might free him from punishment....

20. Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I could not see. There is a something for us to see; what prevents us so that we see it not? Is it not iniquity? From beholding this light your eye is prevented perhaps by some humour penetrating into it; perhaps by smoke, or dust, or by something else that has been thrown into it: and you have not been able to raise your wounded eye to contemplate this light of day. What then? Will you be able to lift up your wounded heart unto God? Must it not be first healed, in order that you may see? Do you not show your pride, when you say, First let me see, and then I will believe? Who is there who says this? For who that would fain see, says, Let me see, and then I will believe? I am about to manifest the Light unto you; or rather the Light Itself would fain manifest Itself to you! To whom? It cannot manifest Itself to the blind. He does not see. Whence is it that he sees not? It is that the eye is clogged by the multitude of sins....

21. They are more than the hairs of my head. He subjects the number of the hairs of his head to calculation. Who is there can calculate the number of the hairs of his head? Much less can he tell the number of his sins, which exceed the number of the hairs of his head. They seem to be minute; but they are many in number. You have guarded against great ones; you do not now commit adultery, or murder; you do not plunder the property of others; you do not blaspheme; and do not bear false witness; those are the weightier kind of sins. You have guarded against great sins, what are you doing about your smaller ones? You have cast off the weight; beware lest the sand overwhelm you. And my heart has forsaken me. What wonder if your heart is forsaken by your God, when it is even forsaken by itself? What is meant by fails me, forsakes me? Is not capable of knowing itself. He means this: My heart has forsaken me. I would fain see God with mine heart, and cannot from the multitude of my sins: that is not enough; mine heart does not even know itself. For no one thoroughly knows himself: let no one presume upon his own state. Was Peter able to comprehend with his own heart the state of his own heart, who said, I will be with You even unto death? [Luke 22:33] There was a false presumption in the heart; there was lurking in that heart at the same time a real fear: and the heart was not able to comprehend the state of the heart. Its state was unknown to the sick heart itself: it was manifest to the physician. That which was foretold of him was fulfilled. God knew that in him which he knew not in himself: because his heart had forsaken him, his heart was unknown to his heart.

22. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me [Psalm 39:13]. As if he were saying, 'If You will, You can make me clean.' [Matthew 8:2] Be pleased to deliver me. O Lord, look upon me to help me. Look, that is, on the penitent members, members that lie in pain, members that are writhing under the instruments of the surgeon; but still in hope.

23. Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it [Psalm 39:14]. For in a certain passage he makes an accusation, and says, I looked upon my right hand, and beheld; and there was no man who sought after my soul; that is, there was no man to imitate Mine example. Christ in His Passion is the Speaker. I looked on my right hand, that is, not on the ungodly Jews, but on My own right hand, the Apostles, — and there was no man who sought after My soul. So thoroughly was there no man to seek after My soul, that he who had presumed on his own strength, denied My soul. But because a man's soul is sought after in two ways, either in order that you may enjoy his society; or that you may persecute him; therefore he here speaks of others, whom he would have confounded and ashamed, who are seeking after his soul. But lest you should understand it in the same way as when he complains of some who did not seek after his soul, He adds, to destroy it; that is, they seek after my soul in order to my death....

24. Let them be turned backward and put to shame that wish me evil. Turned backwards. Let us not take this in a bad sense. He wishes them well; and it is His voice, who said from the Cross, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. [Luke 23:34] Wherefore then does he say to them, that they should return backwards? Because they who before were proud, so that they fell, are now become humble, so that they may rise again. For when they are before, they are wishing to take precedence of their Lord; to be better than He; but if they go behind Him, they acknowledge Him to be better than they; they acknowledge that He ought to go before; that He should precede, they follow. Thence He thus rebukes Peter giving Him evil counsel. For the Lord, when about to suffer for our salvation, also foretold what was to happen concerning that Passion itself; and Peter says, Be it far from You, [Matthew 16:22] God forbid it! This shall not be! He would fain have gone before his Lord; would have given counsel to his Master! But the Lord, that He might make him not go before Him, but follow after Him, says, Get behind, Satan! It is for this reason He said Satan, because you are seeking to go before Him, whom you ought to follow; but if you are behind, if you follow Him, you will henceforth not be Satan. What then? Upon this Rock I will build My Church. [Matthew 16:18]...

25. Let them speedily bear away their own confusion, that say unto me, Well done! Well done! [Psalm 39:15]. They praise you without reason. A great man! A good man! A man of education and of learning; but why a Christian? They praise those things in you which you should wish not to be praised; they find fault with that at which you rejoice. But if perhaps you say, What is it you praise in me, O man? That I am a virtuous man? A just man? If you think this, Christ made me this; praise Him. But the other says, Be it far from you. Do yourself no wrong! You yourself made yourself such. Let them be confounded who say unto me, Well done! Well done! And what follows?

Let all those that seek You, O Lord, rejoice and be glad [Psalm 39:16]. Those who seek not me, but You; who say not to me, Well done! Well done! but see me glory in You, if I have anything whereof to glory; for he who glories, let him glory in the Lord. [1 Corinthians 1:31] Let all those who seek You, Lord, rejoice and be glad.

And say continually, the Lord be magnified. For even if the sinner becomes righteous, you should give the glory to Him who justifies the ungodly. [Romans 4:5] Whether therefore it be a sinner, let Him be praised who calls him to forgiveness; or one already walking in the way of righteousness, let Him be praised who calls him to receive the crown! Let the Name of the Lord be magnified continually by such as love Your salvation.

But I [Psalm 39:17]. I for whom they were seeking evil, I whose life they were seeking, that they might take it away. But turn you to another description of persons. But I to whom they said, Well done! Well done! I am poor and needy. There is nothing in me that may be praised as my own. Let Him rend my sackcloth in sunder, and cover me with His robe. For, Now I live, not I myself; but Christ lives in me. [Galatians 2:20] If it is Christ that lives in you, and all that you have is Christ's, and all that you are to have hereafter is Christ's also; what are you in yourself? I am poor and needy. Now I am not rich, because I am not proud. He was rich who said, Lord, I thank You that I am not as other men are; [Luke 18:11] but the publican was poor, who said, Lord, be merciful to me a sinner! The one was belching from his fullness; the other from want was crying piteously, I am poor and needy! And what would you do, O poor and needy man? Beg at God's door; Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. [Matthew 7:7] — As for me, I am poor and needy. Yet the Lord cares for me.— Cast your care upon the Lord, and He shall bring it to pass. What can you effect for yourself by taking care what can you provide for yourself? Let Him who made you care for you. He who cared for you before thou were, how shall He fail to have a care of you, now that you are what He would have you be? For now you are a believer, now you are walking in the way of righteousness. Shall not He have a care for you, who makes His sun rise on the good and on the evil, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust? [Matthew 5:45]...

You are my Help, and my Deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God [Psalm 39:17]. He is calling upon God, imploring Him, fearing lest he should fall away: Make no tarrying. What is meant by make no tarrying? We lately read concerning the days of tribulation: Unless those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. [Matthew 24:22] The members of Christ — the Body of Christ extended everywhere — are asking of God, as one single person, one single poor man, and beggar! For He too was poor, who though He was rich, yet became poor, that you through His poverty might be made rich. [2 Corinthians 8:9] It is He that makes rich those who are the true poor; and makes poor those who are falsely rich. He cries unto Him; From the end of the earth I cried unto You, when my heart was in heaviness. There will come days of tribulations, and of greater tribulations; they will come even as the Scripture speaks: and as days advance, so are tribulations increased also. Let no one promise himself what the Gospel does not promise....

To the people, on the Feast of the Martyrs.

1. The solemn day of the Martyrs has dawned; therefore to the glory of the Passion of Christ, the Captain of Martyrs, who spared not Himself, ordering His soldiers to the fight; but first fought, first conquered, that their fighting He might encourage by His example, and aid with His majesty, and crown with His promise: let us hear somewhat from this Psalm pertaining to His Passion. I commend unto you oftentimes, nor grieve I to repeat, what for you is useful to retain, that our Lord Jesus Christ speaks often of Himself, that is, in His own Person, which is our Head; often in the person of His Body, which are we and His Church; but so that the words sound as from the mouth of one, that we may understand the Head and the Body to consist together in the unity of integrity, and not be separated the one from the other; as in that marriage whereof it is said, They two shall be one flesh. If then we acknowledge two in one flesh, let us acknowledge two in one voice. First, that which responding to the reader we have sung, though it be from the middle of the Psalm, from that I will take the beginning of this Sermon.

Mine enemies speak evil of Me, When He shall die, then shall His Name perish [Psalm 40:5]. This is the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ: but see if herein are not understood the members also. This was spoken also when our Lord Himself walked in the flesh here on earth....When they saw the people go after Him, they said, When He shall die, then shall His Name perish; that is, when we have slain Him, then shall His Name be no more in the earth, nor shall He seduce any, being dead; but by that very slaying of Him shall men understand, that He was but a man whom they followed, that there was in Him no hope of salvation, and shall desert His Name, and it shall no more be. He died, and His Name perished not, but His Name was sown as seed: He died, but He was a grain, which dying, the grain immediately sprang up. [John 12:24] When glorified then was our Lord Jesus Christ, began they much more, and much more numerously to trust in Him; then began His members to hear what the Head had heard. Now then our Lord Jesus Christ being in heaven set down, and Himself in us labouring on earth, still spoke His enemies, When He shall die, then shall His Name perish. For hence stirred up the devil persecutions in the Church to destroy the Name of Christ. Unless haply ye think, brethren, that those Pagans, when they raged against Christians, said not this among themselves, to blot out the Name of Christ from the earth. That Christ might die again, not in the Head, but in His Body, were slain also the Martyrs. To the multiplying of the Church availed the Holy Blood poured forth, to help Its seminating came also the death of the Martyrs. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His Saints. More and more were the Christians multiplied, nor was it fulfilled which spoke the enemies, When He shall die, then shall His Name perish. Even now also is it spoken. Down sit the Pagans, and compute them the years, they hear their fanatics saying, A time shall come when Christians shall be none, and those idols must be worshipped as before they were worshipped: still say they, When He shall die, then shall His Name perish. Twice conquered, now the third time be wise! Christ died, His Name has not perished: the Martyrs died, multiplied more is the Church, grows through all nations the Name of Christ. He who foretold of His own Death, and of His Resurrection, He who foretold of His Martyrs' death, and of their crown, He Himself foretold of His Church things yet to come, if truth He spoke twice, has He the third time lied? Vain then is what ye believe against Him; better is it that you believe in Him, that you may understand upon the needy and poor One; that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might be rich. [2 Corinthians 8:9]...

2. Blessed is he that understands upon the needy and poor One: in the evil day shall the Lord deliver him [Psalm 40:1]. For the evil day will come: will thou, nill thou, come it will: the Day of Judgment will come upon you, an evil day if you understand not the needy and poor. For what now you will not believe, shall be made manifest in the end. But neither shall you escape, when it shall be made manifest, because you believe not, when it is kept secret. Invited are you, what you see not to believe, lest when thou see, thou be put to the blush. Understand then upon the needy and poor One, that is, Christ: understand in Him the hidden riches, whom poor you see, In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. [Colossians 2:3] For thereby in the evil day shall He deliver you, in that He is God: but in that He is man, and that which in Him is human has raised to life, and changed for the better, He has lifted (you) to heaven. But He who is God, who would have one person in man and with man, could neither decrease nor increase, neither die nor rise again. He died out of man's infirmity, but God dies not....But as we rightly say, Such a man died, though his soul dies not; so we rightly say, Christ died, though His Divinity dies not. Wherefore died? Because needy and poor. Let not His death offend you, and avert you from beholding His Divinity. Blessed is he that understands upon the needy and poor One. Consider also the poor, the needy, the hungry and thirsty, the naked, the sick, the prisoners; understand also upon such poor, for if upon such thou understand, you understand upon Him who said, I was an hungred, I was thirsty, I was a stranger, naked, sick, in prison; [Matthew 25:35-36] so in the evil day shall the Lord deliver you....

3. And deliver him not into the hand of his enemy [Psalm 40:2]. The enemy is the devil. Let none think of a man his enemy, when he hears these words. Haply one thought of his neighbour, of him who had a suit with him in court, of him who would take from him his own possession, of him who would force him to sell to him his house. Think not this; but that enemy think of, of whom said the Lord, an enemy has done this. [Matthew 13:28] For He it is who suggests that for things earthly he be worshipped, for overthrow the Christian Name this enemy cannot. For he has seen himself conquered by the fame and praises of Christ, he has seen, whereas he slew Christ's Martyrs, that they are crowned, he triumphed over. He has begun to be unable to persuade men that Christ is nought; and because by reviling Christ, he now with difficulty deceives, by lauding Christ, he endeavours to deceive. Before this what said he? Whom do you worship? A Jew, dead, crucified, a man of no moment, who could not even from himself drive away death. When after His Name he saw running the whole human race, saw that in the Name of the Crucified temples are thrown down, idols are broken, sacrifices abolished; and that all these things predicted in the Prophets are considered by men, by men with wonder astonished, and closing now their hearts against the reviling of Christ; he clothes himself with praise of Christ, and begins to deter from the faith in another manner. Great is the law of Christ, powerful is that law, divine, ineffable! But who fulfills it? In the name of our Saviour, tread upon the lion and the dragon. By reviling openly roared the lion; by lauding craftily lurks the dragon. Let them come to the faith, who doubted; and not say, Who fulfills it? If on their own strength they presume, they will not fulfil it. Presuming on the grace of God let them believe, presuming (on it) let them come; to be aided come, not to be judged. So live all the faithful in the Name of Christ, each one in his degree fulfilling the commands of Christ, whether married, or celibates and virgins, they live as much as God grants them to live; neither presume they in their own strength, but know that in Him they ought to glory....

4. The Lord help him [Psalm 40:3]. But when? Haply in heaven, haply in the life eternal, that so it remain to worship the devil for earthly needs, for the necessities of this life. Far be it! You have promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. [1 Timothy 4:8] He came unto you on earth, by Whom were made heaven and earth. Consider then what He says, The Lord help him, on his bed of pain. The bed of pain is the infirmity of the flesh; lest you should say, I cannot hold, and carry, and tie up my flesh; you are aided that you may. The Lord help you on your bed of pain. Your bed did carry you, you carried not your bed, but wast a paralytic inwardly; He comes who says to you, Take up your bed, and go your way into your house. [Mark 2:11] The Lord help him on his bed of pain. Then to the Lord Himself He turns, as though it were asked, Why then, since the Lord helps us, suffer we such great ills in this life, such great scandals, such great labours, such disquiet from the flesh and the world? He turns to God, and as though explaining to us the counsel of His healing, He says, You have turned all his bed in his infirmity. By the bed is understood anything earthly. Every soul that is infirm in this life seeks for itself somewhat whereon to rest, because intensity of labour, and of the soul extended toward God, it can hardly endure perpetually, somewhat it seeks on earth whereon to rest, and in a manner with a kind of pausing to recline, as are those things which innocent ones love....The innocent man rests in his house, his family, his wife, his children; in his poverty, his little farm, his orchard planted with his own hand, in some building fabricated with his own study; in these rest the innocent. But yet God willing us not to have love but of life eternal, even with these, though innocent delights, mixes bitterness, that even in these we may suffer tribulation, and so He turns all our bed in our infirmity. You have turned all his bed in his infirmity. Let him not then complain, when in these things which he has innocently, he suffers some tribulations. He is taught to love the better, by the bitterness of the worse; lest going a traveller to his country, he choose the inn instead of his own home.

5. But why this? Because He scourges every son whom He receives. [Hebrews 12:6] Why this? Because to men sinning was it said, In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread. [Genesis 3:19] Therefore because all these chastisements, in which all our bed is turned in our infirmity, man ought to acknowledge that he suffers for sin; let him turn himself, and say what follows: I said, Lord, be merciful unto me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You [Psalm 40:4]. O Lord, by tribulations do Thou exercise me; to be scourged You judge every son whom You will receive, who spared not even the Only-Begotten. He indeed without sin was scourged; but I say, I have sinned against You....

6. Mine enemies speak evil of Me, When He shall die, then shall His Name perish [Psalm 40:5]. Of this we have already spoken, and from this began.

7. And entered in to see [Psalm 40:6]. What Christ suffered, that suffers also the Church; what the Head suffered, that suffer also the Members. For the disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord. [Matthew 10:24]...

If to Christ's Members you belong, come within, cling to the Head. Endure the tares if you are wheat, endure the chaff if you are grain. [Matthew 13:30] Endure the bad fish within the net if you are a good fish. Wherefore before the time of winnowing do you fly away? Wherefore before the time of harvest, do you root up the grain also with yourself? Wherefore before you have come to the shore, have you broken the nets? They go abroad, and tell it.

8. All mine enemies whisper against Me unto the same thing [Psalm 40:7]. Against Me all unto the same thing. How much better with me unto the same thing, than against me unto the same thing. What is, Against me unto the same thing? With one counsel, with one conspiring. Christ then speaks unto you, You consent against Me, consent ye to Me: why against Me? Wherefore not with Me? That same thing if you had always had, you had not divided you into schisms. For, says the Apostle, I beseech you, brethren, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no division among you. [1 Corinthians 1:10] All mine enemies whisper against Me unto the same thing: against Me do they devise evil to Me. To themselves rather, for they have gathered iniquity to themselves; but therefore to Me, because by their intention they are to be weighed: for not because to do nothing was in their power, to do nothing was in their will. For the devil lusted to extinguish Christ, and Judas would slay Christ; yet Christ slain and rising again, we are made alive, but to the devil and to Judas is rendered the reward of their evil will, not of our salvation....The intention wherewith they spoke, not what they spoke, did He consider, who related that they spoke evil of Him, Against Me they devised evil to Me. And what evil to Christ, to the Martyrs what evil? All has God turned to good.

9. An ungodly word do they set forth against Me [Psalm 40:8]. What sort of ungodly word? Listen to the Head Itself. Come, let us kill Him, and the inheritance shall be ours. [Mark 12:7] Fools! How shall the inheritance be yours? Because ye killed Him? Lo! You even killed Him; yet shall not the inheritance be yours. Shall not He that sleeps add this also, that He rise again? When ye exulted that you had slain Him, He slept; for He says in another Psalm, I slept. They raged and would slay Me; I slept. If I had not willed, I had not even slept. I slept, because I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again. [John 10:18] I laid Me down and slept, and rose up again. Rage then the Jews; be the earth given into the hands of the wicked, [Job 9:24] be the flesh left to the hands of persecutors, let them on wood suspend it, with nails transfix it, with a spear pierce it. Shall He that sleeps, not add this, that He rise up again? Wherefore slept He? Because Adam is the figure of Him that was to come. [Romans 5:14] And Adam slept, when out of his side was made Eve. [Genesis 2:21] Adam in the figure of Christ, Eve in the figure of the Church; whence she was called the mother of all living. [Genesis 3:20] When was Eve created? While Adam slept. When out of Christ's side flowed the Sacraments of the Church? While He slept upon the Cross....

10. The man of My peace, in whom I trusted, which did eat of My bread, has enlarged his heel against Me [Psalm 40:9]: has raised up his foot against Me: would trample upon Me. Who is this man of His peace? Judas. And in him did Christ trust, that He said, in whom I trusted? Did He not know him from the beginning? Did He not before he was born know that he would be? Had He not said to all His disciples, I have chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? [John 6:70] How then trusted He in him, but that He is in His Members, and that because many faithful trusted in Judas, the Lord transferred this to Himself?...The man of My peace, in whom I trusted, which did eat of My bread. How showed He him in His Passion? By the words of His prophecy: by the sop He marked Him out, that it might appear said of him, Which did eat of My bread. [John 13:26] Again, when he came to betray Him, He granted him a kiss, [Matthew 26:49] that it might appear said of him, The man of My peace.

11. But You, O Lord, be merciful unto Me [Psalm 40:10]. This is the person of a servant, this is the person of the needy and poor: for, Blessed is he that understands upon the needy and poor One. See, as it was spoken, Be merciful unto Me, and raise Me up, and I will requite them, so is it done. For the Jews slew Christ, lest they should lose their place. [John 11:48] Christ slain, they lost their place. Rooted out of the kingdom were they, dispersed were they. He, raised up, requited them tribulation, He requited them unto admonition, not yet unto condemnation. For the city wherein the people raged, as a ramping and a roaring lion, crying out, Crucify Him, Crucify Him, [Luke 23:21] the Jews rooted out therefrom, has now Christians, by not one Jew is inhabited. There is planted the Church of Christ, whence were rooted out the thorns of the synagogue. For truly this fire blazed as the fire of thorns. But the Lord was as a green tree. This said Himself, when certain women mourned Christ as dying....For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in a dry? When can a green tree be consumed by the fire of thorns? For they blazed as fire among thorns. Fire consumes thorns, but whatsoever green tree it is applied to, is not easily kindled....Yet lest ye think that God the Father of Christ could raise up Christ, that is, the Flesh of His Son, and that Christ Himself, though He be the Word equal with the Father, could not raise up His own Flesh; hear out of the Gospel, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. [John 2:19] But, said the Evangelist (lest even after this we should doubt), He spoke of the temple of His Body. Raise Me up, and I will requite them.

12. By this I know that You favour Me, that Mine enemies shall not triumph over Me [Psalm 40:11] Because the Jews did triumph, when they saw Christ crucified; they thought that they had fulfilled their will to do Him hurt: the fruits of their cruelty they saw in effect, Christ hanging on the Cross: they shook their heads, saying, If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the Cross. [Matthew 27:39-40] He came not down, who could; His Potency He showed not, but patience taught. For if, on their saying these things, He had come down from the Cross, He would have seemed as it were to yield to them insulting, and not being able to endure reproach, would have been believed conquered: more firm remained He upon the Cross, than they insulting; fixed was He, they wavering. For therefore shook they their heads, because to the true Head they adhered not. He taught us plainly patience. For mightier is that which He did, who would not do what the Jews challenged. For much mightier is it to rise from the sepulchre, than to come down from the Cross. That Mine enemies shall not triumph over Me. They triumphed then at that time. Christ rose again, Christ was glorified. Now see they in His Name the human race converted: now let them insult, now shake the head: rather now let them fix the head, or if they shake the head, in wonder and admiration let them shake....

13. But as for Me, You uphold Me, because of my innocence [Psalm 40:12]. Truly innocence; integrity without sin, requiting without debt, scourging without desert. You uphold Me because of Mine innocence, and hast made Me strong in Your sight forever. You have made Me strong for ever, You made Me weak for a time: You have made Me strong in Your sight, You made Me weak in sight of men. What then? Praise to Him, glory to Him. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. For He is the God of Israel, our God, the God of Jacob, the God of the younger son, the God of the younger people. Let none say, Of the Jews said He this, I am not Israel; rather the Jews are not Israel. For the elder son, he is the elder people reprobated; the younger, the people beloved. The elder shall serve the younger: [Genesis 25:13] now is it fulfilled: now, brethren, the Jews serve us, they are as our satchellers, we studying, they carry our books. Hear wherein the Jews serve us, and not without reason....With them are the Law and the Prophets, in which Law, and in which Prophets, Christ is preached. When we have to do with Pagans, and show this coming to pass in the Church of Christ, which before was predicted of the Name of Christ, of the Head and Body of Christ, lest they think that we have forged these predictions, and from things which have happened, as though they were future, had made them up, we bring forth the books of the Jews. The Jews forsooth are our enemies, from an enemy's books convince we the adversary.. ..If any enemy clamour and say, You for yourselves have forged prophecies; be the books of the Jews brought forth, because the elder shall serve the younger. Therein let them read those predictions, which now we see fulfilled; and let us all say, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting, and all the people shall say, So be it, So be it.

1. We have undertaken the exposition of a Psalm corresponding to your own longings, on which we propose to speak to you. For the Psalm itself begins with a certain pious longing; and he who sings so, says, Like as the hart desires the water-brooks, so longs my soul after You, O God [Psalm 41:1]. Who is it then that says this? It is ourselves, if we be but willing! And why ask, who it is other than yourself, when it is in your power to be the thing which you are asking about? It is not however one individual, but it is One Body; but Christ's Body is the Church. [Colossians 1:24] Such longing indeed is not found in all who enter the Church: let all however who have tasted the sweetness of the Lord, and who own in Christ that for which they have a relish, think that they are not the only ones; but that there are such seeds scattered throughout the field of the Lord, this whole earth: and that there is a certain Christian unity, whose voice thus speaks, Like as the hart desires the water-brooks, so longs my soul after You, O God. And indeed it is not ill understood as the cry of those, who being as yet Catechumens, are hastening to the grace of the holy Font. On which account too this Psalm is ordinarily chanted on those occasions, that they may long for the Fountain of remission of sins, even as the hart for the water-brooks. Let this be allowed; and this meaning retain its place in the Church; a place both truthful and sanctioned by usage. Nevertheless, it appears to me, my brethren, that such a longing is not fully satisfied even in the faithful in Baptism: but that haply, if they know where they are sojourning, and whither they have to remove from hence, their longing is kindled in even greater intensity.

2. The title then of it is, On the end: a Psalm for understanding for the sons of Korah. We have met with the sons of Korah in other titles of Psalms: and remember to have discussed and stated already the meaning of this name. Yet we must even now take notice of this title in such a way, that what we have said already should be no prejudice against our saying it again: for all were not present in every place where we said it. Now Korah may have been, as indeed he was, a certain definite person; and have had sons, who might be called the sons of Korah; let us however search for the secret of which this is the sacrament, that this name may bring to light the mystery with which it is pregnant. For there is some great mystery in the matter that the name sons of Korah is given to Christians. Why sons of Korah? They are sons of the bridegroom, sons of Christ. Why then does Korah stand for Christ? Because Korah is equivalent to Calvaria....Therefore, the sons of the bridegroom, the sons of His Passion, the sons redeemed by His Blood, the sons of His Cross, who bear on their forehead that which His enemies erected on Calvary, are called the sons of Korah; to them is this Psalm sung as a Psalm for understanding. Let then our understanding be roused: and if the Psalm be sung to us, let us follow it with our understanding....Run to the brooks; long after the water-brooks. With God is the fountain of Life; a fountain that shall never be dried up: in His Light is a Light that shall never be darkened. Long thou for this light: for a certain fountain, a certain light, such as your bodily eyes know not; a light to see which the inward eye must be prepared; a fountain, to drink of which the inward thirst is to be kindled. Run to the fountain; long for the fountain; but do it not anyhow, be not satisfied with running like any ordinary animal; run thou like the hart. What is meant by like the hart? Let there be no sloth in your running; run with all your might: long for the fountain with all your might. For we find in the hart an emblem of swiftness.

3. But perhaps Scripture meant us to consider in the stag not this point only, but another also. Hear what else there is in the hart. It destroys serpents, and after the killing of serpents, it is inflamed with thirst yet more violent; having destroyed serpents, it runs to the water-brooks, with thirst more keen than before. The serpents are your vices, destroy the serpents of iniquity; then will you long yet more for the Fountain of Truth. Perhaps avarice whispers in your ear some dark counsel, hisses against the word of God, hisses against the commandment of God. And since it is said to you, Disregard this or that thing, if you prefer working iniquity to despising some temporal good, you choose to be bitten by a serpent, rather than destroy it. Whilst, therefore, you are yet indulgent to your vice, your covetousness or your appetite, when am I to find in you a longing such as this, that might make you run to the water-brooks?...

4. There is another point to be observed in the hart. It is reported of stags...that when they either wander in the herds, or when they are swimming to reach some other parts of the earth, that they support the burdens of their heads on each other, in such a manner as that one takes the lead, and others follow, resting their heads upon him, as again others who follow do upon them, and others in succession to the very end of the herd; but the one who took the lead in bearing the burden of their heads, when tired, returns to the rear, and rests himself after his fatigue by supporting his head just as did the others; by thus supporting what is burdensome, each in turn, they both accomplish their journey, and do not abandon each other. Are they not a kind of harts that the Apostle addresses, saying, Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the Law of Christ? [Galatians 6:2]...

5. My soul is thirsty for the living God [Psalm 41:2]. What I am saying, that as the hart pants after the water-brooks, so longs my soul after You, O God, means this, My soul is thirsty for the living God. For what is it thirsty? When shall I come and appear before God? This it is for which I am thirsty, to come and to appear before Him. I am thirsty in my pilgrimage, in my running; I shall be filled on my arrival. But When shall I come? And this, which is soon in the sight of God, is late to our longing. When shall I come and appear before God? This too proceeds from that longing, of which in another place comes that cry, One thing have I desired of the Lord; that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Wherefore so? That I may behold (he says) the beauty of the Lord. When shall I come and appear before the Lord?...

6. My tears have been my meat day and night, while they daily say unto me, Where is your God? [Psalm 41:3]. My tears (he says) have been not bitterness, but my bread. Those very tears were sweet unto me: being thirsty for that fountain, inasmuch as I was not as yet able to drink of it, I have eagerly made my tears my meat. For he said not, My tears became my drink, lest he should seem to have longed for them, as for the water-brooks: but, still retaining that thirst wherewith I burn, and by which I am hurried away towards the water-brooks, My tears became my meat, while I am not yet there. And assuredly he does but the more thirst for the water-brooks from making his tears his meat....And they daily say unto me, Where is your God? For if a Pagan should say this to me, I cannot retort it upon him, saying, Where is yours? inasmuch as he points with his finger to some stone, and says, Lo, there is my God! When I have laughed at the stone, and he who pointed to it has been put to the blush, he raises his eyes from the stone, looks up to heaven, and perhaps says, pointing his finger to the Sun, Behold there my God! Where, I pray, is your God? He has found something to point out to the eyes of the flesh; whereas I, on my part, not that I have not a God to show to him, cannot show him what he has no eyes to see. For he indeed could point out to my bodily eyes his God, the Sun; but what eyes has he to which I might point out the Creator of the Sun?...

7. I thought on these things, and poured out my soul above myself [Psalm 41:4]. When would my soul attain to that object of its search, which is above my soul, if my soul were not to pour itself out above itself? For were it to rest in itself, it would not see anything else beyond itself; and in seeing itself, would not, for all that, see God. Let then my insulting enemies now say, Where is your God? aye, let them say it! I, so long as I do not see, so long as my happiness is postponed, make my tears my bread day and night. Let them still say, Where is your God? I seek my God in every corporeal nature, terrestrial or celestial, and find Him not: I seek His Substance in my own soul, and I find it not, yet still I have thought on these things, and wishing to see the invisible things of my God, being understood by the things made, [Romans 1:20] I have poured forth my soul above myself, and there remains no longer any being for me to attain to, save my God. For it is there is the house of my God. His dwelling-place is above my soul; from thence He beholds me; from thence He created me; from thence He directs me and provides for me; from thence he appeals to me, and calls me, and directs me; leads me in the way, and to the end of my way.. ..

8. For when I was pouring out my soul above myself, in order to reach my God, why did I do so? For I will go into the place of Your Tabernacle. For I should be in error were I to seek for my God without the place of His tabernacle. For I will go into the place of Your wonderful tabernacle, even unto the house of God.

I will go, he says, into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even unto the house of God! For there are already many things that I admire in the tabernacle. See how great wonders I admire in the tabernacle! For God's tabernacle on earth is the faithful; I admire in them the obedience of even their bodily members: that in them Sin does not reign so that they should obey its lusts; neither do they yield their members instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but unto the living God in good works. [Romans 6:12-13] I admire the sight of the bodily members warring in the service of the soul that serves God....And wonderful though the tabernacle be, yet when I come to the house of God, I am even struck dumb with astonishment. Of that house he speaks in another Psalm, after he had put a certain abstruse and difficult question to himself (viz., why is it that it generally goes well with the wicked on earth, and ill with the good?), saying, I thought to know this; it is too painful for me, until I go into the sanctuary of God, and understand of the last things. For it is there, in the sanctuary of God, in the house of God, is the fountain of understanding. There he understood of the last things; and solved the question concerning the prosperity of the unrighteous, and the sufferings of the righteous. How does he solve it? Why, that the wicked, when reprieved here, are reserved for punishments without end; and the good when they suffer here, are being tried in order that they may in the end obtain the inheritance. And it was in the sanctuary of God that he understood this, and understood of the last things....For he tells us of his progress, and of his guidance there; as if we had been saying, You are admiring the tabernacle here on earth; how came you to the sanctuary of the house of God? he says, In the voice of joy and praise; the sound of keeping holiday. Here, when men keep festival simply for their own indulgence, it is their custom to place musical instruments, or to station a chorus of singers, before their houses, or any kind of music that serves and allures to wantonness. And when these are heard, what do we passers by say? What is going on here? And we are told in answer, that it is some festival. It is a birthday that is being celebrated (say they), there is a marriage here; that those songs may not appear out of place, but the luxurious indulgence may be excused by the festive occasion. In the house of God there is a never-ending festival: for there it is not an occasion celebrated once, and then to pass away. The angelic choir makes an eternal holiday: the presence of God's face, joy that never fails. This is a holiday of such a kind, as neither to be opened by any dawn, nor terminated by any evening. From that everlasting perpetual festivity, a certain sweet and melodious strain strikes on the ears of the heart, provided only the world do not drown the sounds. As he walks in this tabernacle, and contemplates God's wonderful works for the redemption of the faithful, the sound of that festivity charms his ears, and bears the hart away to the water-brooks.

9. But seeing, brethren, so long as we are at home in this body, we are absent from the Lord; [2 Corinthians 5:6] and the corruptible body presses down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weighs down the mind that muses on many things; [Wisdom 9:15] even though we have some way or other dispersed the clouds, by walking as longing leads us on, and for a brief while have come within reach of that sound, so that by an effort we may catch something from that house of God, yet through the burden, so to speak, of our infirmity, we sink back to our usual level, and relapse to our ordinary state. And just as there we found cause for rejoicing, so here there will not be wanting an occasion for sorrow. For that hart that made tears its bread day and night, borne along by longing to the water-brooks (that is, to the spiritual delights of God), pouring forth his soul above himself, that he may attain to what is above his own soul, walking towards the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even unto the house of God, and led on by the sweetness of that inward spiritual sound to feel contempt for all outward things, and be borne on to things spiritual, is but a mortal man still; is still groaning here, still bearing about the frailty of flesh, still in peril in the midst of the offenses [Matthew 18:7] of this world. He therefore glances back to himself, as if he were coming from that world; and says to himself, now placed in the midst of these sorrows, comparing these with the things, to see which he had entered in there, and after seeing which he had come forth from thence;

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why do you disquiet me? [Psalm 41:5]. Lo, we have just now been gladdened by certain inward delights: with the mind's eye we have been able to behold, though but with a momentary glance, something not susceptible of change: why do you still disquiet me, why are you still cast down? For you do not doubt of your God. For now you are not without somewhat to say to yourself, in answer to those who say, Where is your God? I have now had the perception of something that is unchangeable; why do you disquiet me still?

Hope in God. Just as if his soul was silently replying to him, Why do I disquiet you, but because I am not yet there, where that delight is, to which I was, as it were, rapt for a moment? Am I already 'drinking' from this 'fountain' with nothing to fear?...Still Hope in God, is his answer to the soul that disquiets him, and would fain account for her disquiet from the evils with which this world abounds. In the mean while dwell in hope: for hope that is seen is not hope; but if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. [Romans 8:24-25]

10. Hope in God. Why hope? For I will confess unto Him. What will you confess? My God is the saving health of my countenance. My health (my salvation) cannot be from myself; this it is that I will say, that I will confess. It is my God that is the saving health of my countenance. For to account for his fears, in the midst of those things, which he now knows, having come after a sort to the understanding of them, he has been looking behind him again in anxiety, lest the enemy be stealing upon him: he cannot yet say, I am made whole every whit. For having but the first-fruits of the Spirit, we groan within ourselves; waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body. [Romans 8:23] When that health (that salvation) is perfected in us, then shall we be living in the house of God for ever, and praising for ever Him to whom it was said, Blessed are they that dwell in Your house, they will be praising You world without end. This is not so yet, because the salvation which is promised, is not as yet in being; but it is in hope that I confess unto God, and say, My God is the saving health of my countenance. For it is in hope that we are saved; but hope that is seen, is not hope....

11. My soul is disquieted on account of myself [Psalm 41:6]. Is it disquieted on account of God? It is on my own account it is disquieted. By the Unchangeable it was revived; it is by the changeable it is disquieted. I know that the righteousness of God remains; whether my own will remain steadfast, I know not. For I am alarmed by the Apostle's saying, Let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. [1 Corinthians 10:12] Therefore since there is no soundness in me for myself, there is no hope either for me of myself. My soul is disquieted on account of myself....Therefore I remember You, O Lord, from the land of Jordan, and from the little hill of Hermon. From whence did I remember you? From the little hill, and from the land of Jordan. Perhaps from Baptism, where the remission of sins is given. For no one runs to the remission of sins, except he who is dissatisfied with himself; no one runs to the remission of sins, but he who confesses himself a sinner; no one confesses himself a sinner, except by humbling himself before God. Therefore it is from the land of Jordan I have remembered you, and from the hill; observe, not of the great hill, that you may make of the little hill a great one: for whoever exalts himself shall be abased, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. If you would also ask the meanings of the names, Jordan means their descent. Descend then, that you may be lifted up: be not lifted up, lest you be cast down. And the little hill of Hermon. Hermon means anathematizing. Anathematize yourself, by being displeased with yourself; for if you are pleased with yourself, God will be displeased with you. Because then God gives us all good things, because He Himself is good, not because we are worthy of it; because He is merciful, not because we have in anything deserved it; it is from the land of Jordan, and from Hermon, that I remember you. And because he so remembers with humility, he shall earn his exaltation to fruition, for he is not exalted in himself, who glories in the Lord.

12. Deep calls unto deep with the voice of your water-spouts [Psalm 41:7]. I may perhaps finish the Psalm, aided as I am by your attention, whose fervour I perceive. As for your fatigue in hearing, I am not greatly solicitous, since you see me also, who speak, toiling in the heat of these exertions. Assuredly it is from your seeing me labouring, that you labour with me: for I am labouring not for myself, but for you. Deep calls unto deep with the voice of your water-spouts. It was God whom he addressed, who remembered him from the land of Jordan and Hermon. It was in wonder and admiration he spoke this: Abyss calls unto abyss with the voice of Your water-spouts. What abyss is this that calls, and to what other abyss? Justly, because the understanding spoken of is an abyss. For an abyss is a depth that cannot be reached or comprehended; and it is principally applied to a great body of water. For there is a depth, a profound, the bottom of which cannot be reached by sounding. Furthermore, it is said in a certain passage, Your judgments are a mighty abyss, Scripture meaning to suggest that the judgments of God are incomprehensible. What then is the abyss that calls, and to what other abyss does it call? If by abyss we understand a great depth, is not man's heart, do you not suppose, an abyss? For what is there more profound than that abyss? Men may speak, may be seen by the operations of their members, may be heard speaking in conversation: but whose thought is penetrated, whose heart seen into? What he is inwardly engaged on, what he is inwardly capable of, what he is inwardly doing or what purposing, what he is inwardly wishing to happen, or not to happen, who shall comprehend? I think an abyss may not unreasonably be understood of man, of whom it is said elsewhere, Man shall come to a deep heart, and God shall be exalted. If man then is an abyss, in what way does abyss call on abyss? Does man call on man as God is called upon? No, but calls on is equivalent to calls to him. For it was said of a certain person, he calls on death; [Wisdom 1:16] that is, lives in such a way as to be inviting death; for there is no man at all who puts up a prayer, and calls expressly on death: but men by evil-living invite death. Deep calls on deep, then, is, man calls to man. Thus is it wisdom is learned, and thus faith, when man calls to man. The holy preachers of God's word call on the deep: are they not themselves a deep also?...

13. Deep calls to deep with the voice of Your water-spouts. I, who tremble all over, when my soul was disquieted on account of myself, feared greatly on account of Your judgments....Are those judgments slight ones? They are great ones, severe, hard to bear; but would they were all. Deep calls to deep with the voice of Your water-spouts, in that Thou threatenest, You say, that there is another condemnation in store even after those sufferings. Deep calls on deep with the voice of Your water-spouts. Whither then shall I go from Your presence? And whither shall I flee from Your Spirit? seeing that deep calls to deep, and after those sufferings severer ones are to be dreaded.

14. All Your overhangings and Your waves have come upon me. The waves in what I already feel, the overhangings in that You denouncest. All my sufferings are Your waves; all Your denouncements of judgments are Your overhangings. In the waves that deep calls; in the overhangings is the other deep which it calls to. In this that I suffer are all Your waves; in the severer punishment that Thou threatenest, all Your overhangings have come unto me. For He who threatens does not let His judgments fall upon us, but keeps them suspended over us. But inasmuch as You sit at liberty, I have thus spoken unto my soul. Hope in God: for I will confess unto Him. My God is the saving health of my countenance. The more numerous my sufferings, the sweeter will be Your mercy.

15. Therefore follows: The Lord will commend His loving-kindness in the day-time; and in the night-time will He declare it [Psalm 41:8]. In tribulation no man has leisure to hear: attend, when it is well with you; hear, when it is well with you; learn, when you are in tranquillity, the discipline of wisdom, and store up the word of God as you do food. For in tribulation every one must be profited by what he heard in the time of security. For in prosperity God commends to you His mercy, in case thou serve Him faithfully, for He frees you from tribulation; but it is in the night only that He declares His mercy to you, which He commended to you by day. When tribulation shall actually come, He will not leave you destitute of His help; He will show you that which He commended to you in the daytime is true. For it is written in a certain passage, The mercy of the Lord is seasonable in the time of affliction, as clouds of rain in the time of drought. The Lord has commended His loving-kindness in the day-time, and in the night will He declare it. He does not show that He is your Helper, unless tribulation come, from whence you must be rescued by Him who promised it to you in the day-time. Therefore we are warned to be like the ant. For just as worldly prosperity is signified by the day, adversity by the night, so again in another way worldly prosperity is expressed by the summer, adversity by the winter. And what is it that the ant does? She lays up in summer what will be useful to her in winter. Whilst therefore it is summer, while it is well with you, while you are in tranquillity, hear the word of the Lord. For how can it be that in the midst of these tempests of the world, you should pass through the whole of that sea, without suffering? How could it happen? To what mortal's lot has it fallen? If even it has been the lot of any, that very calm is more to be dreaded. The Lord has commended His loving-kindness in the day-time, and in the night-time will He declare it....There is with me prayer unto the God of my life. This I make my business here; I who am the hart thirsting and longing for the water-brooks, calling to mind the sweetness of that strain, by which I was led on through the tabernacle even to the house of God; while this corruptible body presses down the soul, [Wisdom 9:15] there is yet with me prayer unto the God of my life. For in order to making supplication unto God, I have not to buy anything from places beyond the sea; or in order that He may hear me, have I to sail to bring from a distance frankincense and perfumes, or have I to bring calf or ram from the flock. There is with me prayer to the God of my life. I have within a victim to sacrifice; I have within an incense to place on the altar; I have within a sacrifice wherewith to propitiate my God. The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit. What sacrifice of a troubled spirit I have within, hear.

16. I will say unto God, You are my lifter up. Why have You forgotten me? [Psalm 41:9]. For I am suffering here, even as if You had forgotten me. But You are trying me, and I know that Thou dost but put off, not take utterly from me, what You have promised me. But yet, Why have You forgotten me? So cried our Head also, as if speaking in our name. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? I will say unto God, You are my lifter up; why have You forgotten me?

17. Why have You rejected me? Rejected me, that is to say, from that height of the apprehension of the unchangeable Truth. Why have You rejected me? Why, when already longing for those things, have I been cast down to these, by the weight and burden of my iniquity? This same voice in another passage said, I said in my trance (i.e., in my rapture, when he had seen some great thing or other), I said in my trance, I am cast out of the sight of Your eyes. For he compared these things in which he found himself, to those toward which he had been raised; and saw himself cast out far from the sight of God's eyes, as he speaks even here, Why have You rejected me? Why go I mourning, while mine enemy troubles me, while he breaks my bones? Even he, my tempter, the devil; while offenses are everywhere on the increase, because of the abundance of which the love of many is waxing cold. [Matthew 24:12] When we see the strong members of the Church generally giving way to the causes of offense, does not Christ's body say, The enemy breaks my bones? For it is the strong members that are the bones; and sometimes even those that are strong sink under their temptations. For whosoever of the body of Christ considers this, does he not exclaim, with the voice of Christ's Body, Why have You rejected me? Why go I mourning, while mine enemy troubles me, while he breaks my bones?

You may see not my flesh merely, but even my bones. To see those who were thought to have some stability, giving way under temptations, so that the rest of the weak brethren despair when they see those who are strong succumbing; how great, my brethren, are the dangers!

18. They who trouble me cast me in the teeth. Again that voice! While they say daily unto me, Where is your God? [Psalm 41:10]. And it is principally in the temptations of the Church they say this, Where is your God? How much was this cast in the teeth of the Martyrs! Those men so patient and courageous for the name of Christ, how often was it said to them, Where is your God? Let Him deliver you, if He can. For men saw their torments outwardly; they did not inwardly behold their crowns! They who trouble me cast me in the teeth, while they say daily unto me, Where is your God? And on this account, seeing my soul is disquieted on account of myself, what else should I say unto it than those words:

Why are you cast down, O my soul; and why do you disquiet me? [Psalm 41:11]. And, as it seems to answer, Would you not have me disquiet you, placed as I am here in so great evils? Would you have me not disquiet you, panting as I am after what is good, thirsting and labouring as I am for it? What should I say, but,

Hope thou in God; for I will yet confess unto Him [Psalm 41:11]. He states the very words of that confession; he repeats the grounds on which he fortifies his hope. He is the health of my countenance, and my God.

1. This Psalm is a short one; it satisfies the mental cravings of the hearers, without imposing too severe a trial on the hunger of those fasting. Let our soul feed upon it; our soul, which he who sings in this Psalm, speaks of as cast down; cast down, I suppose, either in consequence of some fist, or rather in consequence of some hunger he was in. For fasting is a voluntary act; being an-hungered is an involuntary thing. That which is an-hungered, is the Church, is the Body of Christ: and that Man who is extended throughout the whole world, of which the Head is above, the limbs below: it is His voice which ought by this time to be perfectly known, and perfectly familiar, to us, in all the Psalms; now chanting joyously, now sorrowing; now rejoicing in hope, now sighing at its actual state, even as if it were our own. We need not then dwell long on pointing out to you, who is the speaker here: let each one of us be a member of Christ's Body; and he will be speaker here....

2. Judge me, O Lord, and separate my cause from the ungodly nation [Psalm 42:1]. I do not dread Your judgment, because I know Your mercy. Judge me, O God, he cries. Now, meanwhile, in this state of pilgrimage, Thou dost not yet separate my place, because I am to live together with the tares even to the time of the harvest: Thou dost not as yet separate my rain from theirs; my light from theirs: separate my cause. Let a difference be made between him who believes in You, and him who believes not in You. Our infirmity is the same; but our consciences not the same: our sufferings the same; but our longings not the same. The desire of the ungodly shall perish, but as to the desire of the righteous, we might well doubt, if He were not sure who promised. The object of our desires is He Himself, who promises: He will give us Himself, because He has already given Himself to us; He will give Himself in His immortality to us then immortal, even because He gave Himself in His mortality to us when mortal....

3. And since patience is needful in order to endure, until the harvest, a certain distinction without separation, if we may so speak (for they are together with us, and therefore not yet separated; the tares however being still tares, and the grain still grain, and therefore they are already distinct); since then a kind of strength is needful, which must be implored of Him who bids us to be strong, and without whose making us strong, we should not be what He bids us to be; of Him who said, He that endures unto the end shall be saved, [Matthew 24:31] lest the soul's powers should be impaired in consequence of her ascribing any strength to herself, he subjoins immediately,

For Thou, O God, art my strength: why have You cast me off, and why go I mourning, while the enemy harasses me? [Psalm 42:2]. I go mourning: the enemy is harassing me with daily temptations: inspiring either some unlawful love, or some ungrounded cause of fear; and the soul that fights against both of them, though not taken prisoner by them, yet being in danger from them, is contracted with sorrow, and says unto God, Why?

Let her then ask of Him, and hear Why? For she is in the Psalm enquiring the cause of her dejection; saying, Why have You cast me off? And why go I mourning? Let her hear from Isaiah; let the lesson which has just been read, suggest itself to her. The spirit shall go forth from me, and every breath have I made. For iniquity have I a little afflicted him; I hid my face from him, and he departed from me sorrowful in the ways of his heart. [Isaiah 57:16-17] Why then did you ask, Why have You cast me off, and why go I mourning? You have heard, it was for iniquity. Iniquity is the cause of your mourning; let Righteousness be the cause of your rejoicing! You would sin; and yet you would fain not suffer; so that it was too little for you to be yourself unrighteous, without also wishing Him to be unrighteous, in that you would fain not be punished by Him. Consider a speech of a better kind in another Psalm. It is good for me that You have humbled me, that I might learn Your righteousnesses. By being lifted up, I had learned my own iniquities; let me by being humbled, learn Your righteousnesses. Why go I mourning, while the enemy harasses me? You complain of the enemy. It is true he does harass you; but it was you who gave place [Ephesians 4:27] to him. And even now there is a course open to you; choose the course of prudence; admit your King, shut the tyrant out.

4. But in order that she may do this, hear what she says, what she supplicates, what she prays for. Pray thou for what you hear; pray for it when you hear it; let these words be the voice of us all: O send out Your Light and Your Truth. They have led me, and brought me on unto Your holy hill, and into Your Tabernacles [Psalm 42:3]. For that very Light and Truth are indeed two in name; the reality expressed is but One. For what else is the Light of God, except the Truth of God? Or what else is the Truth of God, except the Light of God? And the one Person of Christ is both of these. I am the Light of the world: he that believes in Me, shall not walk in darkness. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is Himself the Light: He is Himself the Truth. Let Him come then and rescue us, and separate at once our cause from the ungodly nation; let Him deliver us from the deceitful and unjust man, let him separate the wheat from the tares, for at the time of harvest He will Himself send His Angels, that they may gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, [Matthew 13:41] and cast them into flaming fire, while they gather together the grain into the garner. He will send out His Light, and His Truth; for that they have already brought us and led us to His holy hill, and into His Tabernacles. We possess the earnest; we hope for the prize. His holy Hill is His holy Church. It is that mountain which, according to Daniel's vision, [Daniel 2:35] grew from a very small stone, till it crushed the kingdoms of the earth; and grew to such a size, that it filled the face of the earth. This is the hill, from which he tells us that his prayer was heard, who says, I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill. Let no one of those that are without that mountain, hope to be heard unto eternal life. For many are heard in their prayers for many things. Let them not congratulate themselves on being heard; the devils were heard in their prayer, that they might be sent into the swine. Let us desire to be heard unto eternal life, by reason of our longing, through which we say, Send out Your Light and Your Truth. [Matthew 8:31-32] That is a Light which requires the eye of the heart. For Blessed (He says) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. [Matthew 5:8] We are now on His Hill, that is, in His Church, and in His Tabernacle. The tabernacle is for persons sojourning; the house, for those dwelling in one community. The tabernacle is also for those who are both from home, and also in a state of warfare. When you hear of a tabernacle, form a notion of a war; guard against an enemy. But what shall the house be? Blessed are they that dwell in Your house: they will be always praising You.

5. Now then that we have been led on even to the Tabernacle, and are placed on His holy Hill, what hope do we carry with us?

Then will I go in unto the Altar of God [Psalm 42:4]. For there is a certain invisible Altar on high, which the unrighteous man approaches not. To that Altar he alone draws near, who draws near to this one without cause to fear. There he shall find his Life, who in this one separates his cause. And I will go in unto the Altar of God. From His holy Hill, and from His Tabernacle, from His Holy Church, I will go in unto the Altar of God on High. What manner of Sacrifice is there? He himself who goes in is taken for a burnt-offering. I will go in unto the Altar of God. What is the meaning of what he says, The Altar of my God?

Unto God, who makes glad my youth. Youth signifies newness: just as if he said, Unto God, who makes glad my newness. It is He who makes glad my newness, who has filled my old estate with mourning. For now I go mourning in oldness, then shall I stand, exulting in newness!

Yea, upon the harp will I praise You, O God my God. What is the meaning of praising on the harp, and praising on the psaltery? For he does not always do so with the harp, nor always with the psaltery. These two instruments of the musicians have each a distinct meaning of their own, worthy of our consideration and notice. They are both borne in the hands, and played by the touch; and they stand for certain bodily works of ours. Both are good, if one knows how to play the psaltery, or to play the harp. But since the psaltery is that instrument which has the shell (i.e. that drum, that hollow piece of wood, by straining on which the chords resound) on the upper part of it, whereas the harp has that same concave sounding-board on the lower part, there is to be a distinction made between our works, when they are upon the harp, when on the psaltery: both however are acceptable to God, and grateful to His ear. When we do anything according to God's Commandments, obeying His commands and hearkening to Him, that we may fulfil His injunctions, when we are active and not passive, it is the psaltery that is playing. For so also do the Angels: for they have nothing to suffer. But when we suffer anything of tribulation, of trials, of offenses on this earth (as we suffer only from the inferior part of ourselves; i.e. from the fact that we are mortal, that we owe somewhat of tribulation to our original cause, and also from the fact of our suffering much from those who are not above); this is the harp. For there rises a sweet strain from that part of us which is below: we suffer, and we strike the psaltery, or shall I rather say we sing and we strike the harp....

6. And again, in order that he may draw the sound from that sounding-board below, he addresses his soul: he says, Why are you sorrowful, O my soul, and why do you disquiet me? [Psalm 42:5]. I am in tribulations, in weariness, in mourning, Why do you disquiet me, O my soul? Who is the speaker, to whom is he speaking? That it is the soul to which he is speaking, everybody knows: for it is obvious: the appeal is addressed to it directly: Why are you sorrowful, O my soul, and why do you disquiet me? The question is as to the speaker. It is not the flesh addressing the soul, surely, since the flesh cannot speak without the soul. For it is more appropriate for the soul to address the flesh, than for the flesh to address the soul....We perceive then that we have a certain part, in which is the image of God; viz. the mind and reason. It was that same mind that prayed for God's Light and God's Truth. It is the same mind by which we apprehend right and wrong: it is by the same that we discern truth from falsehood. It is this same that we call understanding; which understanding, indeed, is wanting to the brutes. And this understanding whoever neglects in himself, and holds it in less account than the other parts of his nature, and casts it off, just as if he had it not, is addressed in the Psalm, Be not as the horse and the mule, which have no understanding. It is our understanding then that is addressing our soul. The latter is withered away from tribulations, worn out in anguish, made sorrowful in temptations, fainting in toils. The mind, catching a glimpse of Truth above, would fain rouse her spirits, and she says, Why are you sorrowful, O my soul?...

7. These expressions, brethren, are safe ones: but yet be watchful in good works. Touch the psaltery, by obeying the Commandments; touch the harp, by patiently enduring your sufferings. You have heard from Isaiah, Break your bread to the hungry; [Isaiah 58:7] think not that fasting by itself is sufficient. Fasting chastens your own self: it does not refresh others. Your distress will profit you, if you afford comfort to others. See, you have denied yourself; to whom will you give that of which you have deprived yourself? Where will you bestow what you have denied yourself? How many poor may be filled by the breakfast we have this day given up? Fast in such a way that you may rejoice, that you have breakfasted, while another has been eating; fast on account of your prayers, that you may be heard in them. For He says in that passage, Whilst you are yet speaking I will say, Here I am, provided you will with cheerful mind break your bread to the hungry. For generally this is done by men reluctantly and with murmurs, to rid themselves of the wearisome importunity of the beggar, not to refresh the bowels of him that is needy. But it is a cheerful giver that God loves. [2 Corinthians 9:7] If you give your bread reluctantly, you have lost both the bread, and the merit of the action. Do it then from the heart: that He who sees in secret, [Matthew 6:6] may say, while you are yet speaking, Here I am. How speedily are the prayers of those received, who work righteousness! And this is man's righteousness in this life, fasting, alms, and prayer. Would you have your prayer fly upward to God? Make for it those two wings of alms and fasting. Such may God's Light and God's Truth find us, that He may find us without cause for fear, when He comes to free us from death, who has already come to undergo death for us. Amen.