Expositions on the Book of Psalms 101
101.1 Psalm CI PL 36, 1293
1. In this Psalm, we ought to seek in the whole body of it what we find in the first verse: “Mercy and judgment will I sing unto Thee, O Lord” (ver. 1). Let no man flatter himself that he will never be punished through God’s mercy; for there is judgment also; and let no man who hath been changed for the better dread the Lord’s judgment, seeing that mercy goeth before it. For when men judge, sometimes overcome by mercy, they act against justice; and mercy, but not justice, seemeth to be in them: while sometimes, when they wish to enforce a rigid judgment, they lose mercy. But God neither loseth the severity of judgment in the bounty of mercy, nor in judging with severity loseth the bounty of mercy. Suppose we distinguish these two, mercy and judgment, by time; for possibly, they are not placed in this order without a meaning, so that he said not “judgment and mercy,” but “mercy and judgment:” so that if we distinguish them by succession in time, perhaps we find that the present is the season for mercy, the future for judgment. How is it that the season of mercy cometh first? Consider first how it is with God, that thou also mayest imitate the Father, in so far as He shall permit thee.…“He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Behold mercy. When thou seest the just and the unjust behold the same sun, enjoy the same light, drink from the same founts, satisfied with the same rain, blessed with the same fruits of the earth, inhale this air in the same way, possess equally the world’s goods; think not that God is unjust, who giveth these things equally to the just and the unjust. It is the season of mercy, not as yet of judgment. For unless God spared at first through mercy, He would not find those whom He could crown through judgment. There is therefore a season for mercy, when the long-suffering of God calleth sinners to repentance.
[«vers.» 1.] Ecce unus pauper orat, et non orat in silentio. Licet ergo audire eum, et videre quisnam sit: ne forte ille sit, de quo dicit Apostolus, «Qui propter vos pauper factus est, cum dives esset, ut illius paupertate vos ditaremini» . Si ergo ipse est, quomodo pauper? Nam quomodo dives, quis non videt? Unde enim homines sunt divites? Puto auro, argento, familia, terra: sed «omnia per ipsum facta sunt.» Quid ergo illo ditius, per quem factae sunt divitiae, etiam illae quae non sunt verae divitiae? Per illum enim et illae divitiae, ingenium, memoria, mores, vita, ipsius corporis sanitas, sensus, conformatioque membrorum: etenim cum haec salva sunt, et pauperes divites sunt. Per illum et illae majores divitiae, fides, pietas, justitia, charitas, castitas, mores boni: nemo enim et has habet, nisi per eum qui justificat impium . Ecce quam dives. Quis enim dives, qui habet quod vult alio faciente, an qui facit quod vult et alio habente? Puto quia ditior ille qui fecit quod habes; quia quod ille habet, tu non habes. Ecce quam dives. In hoc tam divite unde agnituri sumus haec verba: «Cinerem sicut panem manducavi, et potum meum cum fletu miscebam?» Hucne illae tantae divitiae pervenerunt? Multum illud excelsum, multum hoc abjectum. Quid faciemus? quemadmodum ista ima illis summis contemperabimus? Nimis ab invicem longe sunt. Nondum agnosco istum pauperem; alius est fortasse: sed adhuc quaeramus. Unde enim nobis non videtur ipse, mirum si interrogas et non expavescis divitias: «In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum: hoc erat in principio apud Deum. Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil.» Qui ista dixit, cum diceret, dives erat; quanto magis ille de quo dicebat, «In principio erat Verbum:» et non qualecumque Verbum, sed «Verbum Deus;» et non ubicumque, sed «apud Deum;» et non vacans, sed «omnia per ipsum facta sunt?» Cinerem sicut panem manducavit, et potum suum cum fletu commiscuit? Metuendum est ne tantis divitiis nostra paupertas faciat injuriam. Quaere adhuc tamen ne ipse sit pauper iste; quoniam «Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis» . Respice et illam vocem: «Ego servus tuus et filius ancillae tuae» . Attende ancillam illam castam, et virginem, et matrem: ibi enim accepit paupertatem nostram, ubi servi forma indutus est, semetipsum exinaniens; ne divitias ejus expavesceres, et ad eum accedere cum tua mendicitate non auderes. Ibi accepit, inquam, formam servi, ibi nostra indutus est paupertate; ibi se pauperavit, ibi nos ditavit. Jam ergo propinquamus de illo haec intelligere: verumtamen adhuc non est temere pronuntiandum. Partus virginis est lapis sine manibus de monte praecisus , ubi nullus hominum operatus est, nulla transfusa concupiscentia, sed sola fides accensa, et Verbi caro concepta. Deinde processit ex utero; locuti sunt coeli, Angeli pastoribus nuntiaverunt , stella ad adorandum regem magos traxit , Simeon impletus Spiritu infantem Deum in matris manibus agnovit. Accessit aetas, non divinitati, sed carni. Horrent, miranturque sapientiam pueri duodennis, imperiti senes . Aut etiamsi periti senes, quid illorum peritia ad Verbum Dei? quid illorum peritia ad Sapientiam Dei? Nonne et periti, nisi illo subveniente, utique perituri? Crescit adhuc aetate corporis: venit ad fluvium baptizandus; baptizator Deum agnoscit, indignum se solvendae calceamenti corrigiae confitetur . Jam inde caeci illuminantur, surdis aperitur auditus, loquuntur muti, mundantur leprosi, stringuntur paralytici, convalescunt languidi, resurgunt mortui .
101.2 PL 36, 1294
2. Hear the Apostle distinguishing each season, and do thou also distinguish it.…“Thinkest thou,” he saith, “O man, that judgest them that do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?” And as if we were to reply, Why do I commit such sins daily, and no evil occurreth unto me? he goeth on to show to him the season of mercy: “Despisest thou the riches of His goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering?” And he did indeed despise them; but the Apostle hath made him anxious. “Not knowing,” he saith, “that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” Behold the season of mercy. But that he might not think this would last for ever, how did he in the next verse raise his fears? Now hear the season of judgment; thou hast heard the season of mercy, on which account, “mercy and judgment will I sing unto Thee, O Lord:” “But thou,” saith the Apostle, “after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds.” Lo, “mercy and judgment.” But he hath threatened concerning judgment: is therefore the judgment of God to be feared only, and not to be loved? To be feared by the wicked on account of punishment, to be loved by the good on account of the crown. Because then the Apostle hath alarmed the wicked in the testimony which I have quoted, hear where he giveth hope concerning judgment to the good. He puts forth himself, and shows in himself too the season of mercy. For unless he found a period of mercy, in what condition would judgment find him? A blasphemer, a persecutor, an injurer of others. For he thus speaketh, and praiseth the season of mercy, in which season we are now living: “I who was before,” he saith, “a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy.” But perhaps he only hath obtained mercy? Hear how he cheereth us: “That in me,” he saith, “first, Christ Jesus might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.” What meaneth, “that He might show forth all long-suffering”? That every sinner and wicked man might see that Paul received pardon, and might not despair of himself? Lo, he hath instanced himself, and thereby cheered others also.…But did Paul alone deserve this? For I had asserted, that as he raised our fears by the former testimony, so did he encourage us by the latter. When he said, “The Lord, the righteous Judge, shall render to me at that day:” he addeth, “and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing” and His kingdom. Since therefore, brethren, we have a season of mercy, let us not on that account flatter, or indulge ourselves, saying, God spareth ever.…
Jam quidem in Verbi illius per quod facta sunt omnia comparatione, divitiarum agnosco paupertatem; sed quam longe adhuc a cinere et fletu cum potu? Adhuc timeo dicere, Ipse est; et tamen volo. Sunt hic enim quae me cogant velle, et rursus quaedam quae me cogant timere. Ipse est, et non est ipse. Jam in forma servi est, jam mortalem fragilemque carnem portat, jam moriturus advenit, et tamen nondum intelligitur in hac egestate. «Cinerem sicut panem manducavi, et potum meum cum fletu miscebam.» Addat ergo paupertatem paupertati, et transfiguret in se corpus humilitatis nostrae : sit caput nostrum, simus membra ejus, sint duo in carne una. Jam enim ut primitus pauper esset, formam servi accipiens , dimisit Patrem: quod autem de virgine natus est, dimittat et matrem, et adhaereat uxori suae, et sint duo in carne una . Ita enim erunt duo et in voce una, et in illa una voce jam non mirabimur nostram vocem: «Cinerem sicut panem manducavi, et potum meum cum fletu miscebam.» Dignatus est enim habere nos membra. Sunt et poenitentes in membris ejus. Non enim exclusi, et separati sunt ab Ecclesia ejus: nec omnino sibi adjungeret conjugem, nisi illa voce, «Agite poenitentiam, appropinquavit enim regnum coelorum» . Jam ergo audiamus quid oret caput et corpus, sponsus et sponsa, Christus et Ecclesia, utrumque unus: sed Verbum et caro non utrumque unum; Pater et Verbum utrumque unum; Christus et Ecclesia utrumque unus, unus quidam vir perfectus in forma plenitudinis suae: «Donec occurramus omnes in unitatem fidei, in agnitionem Filii Dei, in virum perfectum, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi» . Sed donec occurramus, agitur hic paupertas nostra, agitur hic adhuc labor et gemitus. Gratias misericordiae ipsius. Unde illi labor, unde gemitus Verbo, per quod facta sunt omnia? Si dignatus est habere mortem nostram, non nobis dabit vitam suam? In magnam spem erexit, cum magna spe gemimus. Gemitus habet tristitiam; sed est gemitus qui habet et gaudium. Ego puto Saram sterilem laetam gemuisse, cum pareret: et nos a timore tuo concepimus et parturivimus spiritum salutis . Audiamus ergo Christum pauperem in nobis et nobiscum, et propter nos. Titulus enim ipse indicat pauperem. Postremo putate me suspicatum quisnam sit iste pauper; orationem audiamus, et personam agnoscamus: necubi erres, quando audieris aliquid quod coaptari capiti illius non possit; ideo praelocutus sum, ut quod tale audieris, ex infirmitate corporis advertas sonare, et vocem membrorum agnoscas in capite. «Oratio inopis,» hoc habet titulus, «cum angeretur, et in conspectu Domini effudit precem suam.» Ipse ille pauper est, qui alibi dicit: «A finibus terrae ad te clamavi, cum angeretur cor meum» . Iste ipse pauper est, quia idem ipse Christus est; qui se apud prophetam, et sponsum dixit, et sponsam: «Sicut sponso alligavit mihi mitram; et sicut sponsam induit me ornamento» . Se dixit sponsum, se dixit sponsam; unde hoc, nisi quia sponsum propter caput, sponsam propter corpus? Vox ergo una, quia caro una. Audiamus, et potius in his vocibus nos quoque agnoscamus; et si nos extra esse viderimus, ibi esse laboremus.
101.3 PL 36, 1296
3. “I will sing to the harp, and will have understanding, in the spotless way. When Thou shalt come unto me” (ver. 2). Except in the spotless way, thou canst neither sing to the harp, nor understand. If thou dost wish to understand, sing in the spotless way, that is, work with cheerfulness before thy God. What is the spotless way? Hear what followeth: “I walked in innocence, in the midst of my house.” This spotless way beginneth from innocence, and it endeth also in innocence. Why seek many words? Be innocent: and thou hast perfected righteousness.…But who is innocent? He who while he hurteth not another, injureth not himself. For he who hurteth himself, is not innocent. Some one saith: Lo, I have not robbed any one, I have not oppressed any one: I will live happily on my own substance, the fruits of my virtuous toil; I wish to have fine banquets, I wish to spend as much as pleaseth me, to drink with those whom I like as much as I please; whom have I robbed, whom have I oppressed, who hath complained of me? He seemeth innocent. But if he corrupt himself, if he overthrow the temple of God within himself, why hope that he will act with mercy toward others, and spare the wretched? Can that man be merciful to others, who unto himself is cruel? The whole of righteousness, therefore, is reduced to the one word, innocence. But the lover of iniquity, hateth his own soul. When he loved iniquity, he fancied he was injuring others. But consider whether he was injuring others: “He who loveth iniquity,” he saith, “hateth his own soul.” He therefore who wishes to injure another, first injureth himself; nor doth he walk, since there is no room. For all wickedness suffereth from narrowness: innocence alone is broad enough to walk in. “I walked in the innocence of my heart, in the midst of my house.” By the middle of his house, he either signifieth the Church herself; for Christ walketh in her: or his own heart; for our inner house is our heart: as he hath explained in the above words, “in the innocence of my heart.” What is the innocence of the heart? The middle of his house? Whoever hath a bad house in this, is driven out of doors. For whoever is oppressed within his heart by a bad conscience, just as any man in consequence of the overflow of a waterspout or of smoke goeth out of his house, suffereth not himself to dwell therein; so he who hath not a quiet heart, cannot happily dwell in his heart. Such men go out of themselves in the bent of their mind, and delight themselves with things without, that affect the body; they seek repose in trifles, in spectacles, in luxuries, in all evils. Wherefore do they wish themselves well without? Because it is not well with them within, so that they may rejoice in a good conscience.…
[«vers.» 2, 3.] «Exaudi, Domine, orationem meam, et clamor meus ad te perveniat.» Hoc est, «Exaudi, Domine, orationem meam;» quod est, «clamor meus ad te perveniat:» in geminatione affectus petentis est. «Ne avertas faciem tuam a me.» Quando Deus a Filio? quando Pater a Christo? Sed propter membrorum paupertatem, «Ne avertas faciem tuam a me. In quacumque die tribulor, inclina aurem tuam ad me.» Tribulor enim deorsum; tu autem es sursum: si me extollo, longe fis; si me humilio, inclinas aurem tuam ad me. Sed quid est, «In quacumque die tribulor?» Nunc enim non tribulatur? aut ista diceret, nisi tribularetur? Sufficeret ergo, Inclina aurem tuam ad me, quoniam tribulor. «In quacumque die tribulor, inclina aurem tuam ad me:» tanquam unitas corporis; si patitur unum membrum, compatiuntur omnia membra . Tribularis tu hodie, ego tribulor; tribulatur alius crastino, ego tribulor; post istam generationem alii posteri, qui succedunt posteris, tribulantur, ego tribulor; usque in finem saeculi, quicumque in meo corpore tribulantur, ego tribulor. «In quacumque» ergo «die tribulor, inclina aurem tuam ad me. In quacumque die invocavero te, cito exaudi me.» Hoc idem est. Jam nunc invoco; sed, «In quacumque die invocavero te, cito exaudi me.» Oravit Petrus, oravit Paulus, oraverunt caeteri Apostoli; oraverunt fideles temporibus illis, oraverunt fideles consequentibus temporibus, oraverunt fideles martyrum temporibus, orant fideles nostris temporibus, orabunt fideles posterorum temporibus: «In quacumque die invocavero te, cito exaudi me. Cito exaudi:» jam enim hoc rogo quod dare vis. Non terrena quasi terrenus, sed ex prima captivitate jam redemptus, regnum coelorum desidero; «Cito exaudi me:» non enim nisi tali desiderio dixisti, «Adhuc te loquente dicam, Ecce adsum» . «In quacumque die invocavero te, cito exaudi me.» Unde invocas? de qua tribulatione? de qua egestate? O pauper ante januam divitis Dei, quo desiderio mendicas? qua inopia requiris? qua egestate pulsas, ut aperiatur tibi? Dic, audiamus ipsam egestatem; in illa et nos ipsos inveniamus, et tecum rogemus. Audi, et agnosce, si potes.
101.4 PL 36, 1296
4. “I set no wicked thing before my eyes” (ver. 3).…I did love no wicked thing. And he explaineth this same wicked thing: “I hated them that do unfaithfulness.” Attend, my brethren. If ye walk with Christ in the midst of His house, that is, if either in your heart ye have a good repose, or in the Church herself proceed on a good journey in the way of godliness; ye ought not to hate those unfaithful only who are without, but whomsoever also ye may have found within. Who are the unfaithful? They who hate the law of God; who hear, and do it not, are called unfaithful. Hate the doers of unfaithfulness, repel them from thee. But thou shouldest hate the unfaithful, not men: one man who is unfaithful, hath, ye see, two names, man, and unfaithful: God made him man, he made himself unfaithful; love in him what God made, persecute in him what he made himself. For when thou shalt have persecuted his unfaithfulness, thou killest the work of man, and freest the work of God. “I hated the doers of unfaithfulness.”
[«vers. 4.] Quia defecerunt sicut fumus dies mei.» O dies! si dies: ubi enim dies auditur, lux intelligitur. «Sed defecerunt sicut fumus dies mei. Dies mei,» tempora mea: unde «sicut fumus,» nisi propter elationem superbiae? Tales dies dignus fuit accipere superbus Adam, unde carnem Christus accepit. Ergo in Adam Christus, et Adam in Christo. Liberavit profecto et a diebus fumi, qui dignatus est habere vocem dierum fumi. «Quia defecerunt sicut fumus dies mei.» Videte fumum superbiae similem, ascendentem, tumescentem, vanescentem: merito ergo deficientem, non utique permanentem. «Quia defecerunt sicut fumus dies mei; et ossa mea sicut in frixorio confrixa sunt.» Et ipsa ossa mea, et ipsa fortitudo mea, non sine tribulatione, non sine ustione. Ossa corporis Christi, fortitudo corporis Christi, ubi major quam in sanctis Apostolis? Et tamen vide ossa frigi: «Quis scandalizatur, et non ego uror» ? Fortes sunt, fideles, boni intellectores et praedicatores verbi, viventes ut loquuntur, loquentes ut audiunt: fortes plane sunt, sed omnes qui scandala patiuntur, frixorium ipsorum sunt. Est enim ibi charitas, et magis in ossibus. Interiora sunt ossa omnibus carnibus, et portant omnes carnes. Verum si quisquam patiatur aliquod scandalum, et in anima periclitetur; tantum os frigitur, quantum amat. Desit amor, nemo frigitur: adsit charitas, et si membrum compatitur, patiente uno membro; quomodo friguntur qui portant universa membra? «Ossa mea sicut in frixorio confrixa sunt.»
101.5 PL 36, 1297
5. “The wicked heart hath not cleaved unto me.”…The heart of a man, who wisheth not anything contrary to any that God wisheth, is called straight.…If therefore the righteous heart followeth God, the crooked heart resisteth God. Suppose something untoward happeneth to him, he crieth out, “God, what have I done unto Thee? What sin have I committed?” He wisheth himself to appear just, God unjust. What is so crooked as this? It is not enough that thou art crooked thyself: thou must think thy rule crooked also. Reform thyself, and thou findest Him straight, in departing from whom thou hast made thyself crooked. He doth justly, thou unjustly; and for this reason thou art perverse, since thou callest man just, and God unjust. What man dost thou call just? Thyself. For when thou sayest, “What have I done unto Thee?” thou thinkest thyself just. But let God answer thee: “Thou speakest truth: thou hast done nothing to Me: thou hast done all things unto thyself; for if thou hadst done anything for Me, thou wouldest have done good. For whatever is done well, is done unto Me; because it is done according to My commandment; but whatever of evil is done, is done unto thee, not unto Me; for the wicked man doth nothing except for his own sake, since it is not what I command.” When ye see such men, brethren, reprove them, convince and correct them: and if ye cannot reprove or correct them, consent not to them.
[«vers. 5.] Percussum est sicut fenum, et aruit cor meum.» Respice ad Adam, unde genus humanum. Unde enim nisi ab illo propagata miseria est? Unde enim nisi ab illo haereditaria ista paupertas? Dicat ergo cum spe jam in corpore Christi positus, ille aliquando in suo corpore desperatus, «Percussum est sicut fenum, et aruit cor meum.» Merito, quia omnis caro fenum . Sed tamen unde tibi hoc contigit? «Quoniam oblitus sum manducare panem meum.» Dederat enim Deus panem praecepti. Nam panis animae quid, nisi verbum Dei? Suggerente serpente, praevaricante muliere, tetigit vetitum , oblitus est praeceptum: merito percussum est sicut fenum, et aruit cor ejus, quoniam oblitus est manducare panem suum. Oblitus manducare panem, bibit venenum; percussum est cor ejus, et aruit sicut fenum. Ipse est ille percussus in Isaia, de quo dicitur, et cui dicitur: «Non in aeternum tempus irascar vobis: spiritus enim a me procedit, et omnem flatum ego feci. Propter peccatum modicum quid contristavi illum, et percussi illum, et averti faciem meam ab illo.» Merito hic, «Ne avertas faciem tuam a me:» hoc est, a percusso, de quo dixisti, «Percussi illum;» de quo dixisti, «Vias ejus vidi, et sanavi eum . Percussum est sicut fenum, et aruit cor meum, quoniam oblitus sum manducare panem meum.» Modo manduca quem oblitus eras. Sed venit et ipse panis, in cujus corpore tibi licet recordari vocem oblivionis tuae, et clamare ex paupertate, ut sumas divitias. Modo manduca; in ejus enim corpore es, qui ait: «Ego sum panis vivus, qui de coelo descendi» . Oblitus eras manducare panem tuum; sed jam illo crucifixo, commemorabuntur et convertentur ad Dominum universi fines terrae . Post oblivionem veniat commemoratio, manducetur panis de coelo, ut vivatur; non manna, sicut illi manducaverunt et mortui sunt : panis de quo dicitur, «Beati qui esurium et sitiunt» «justitiam» .
101.6 PL 36, 1298
6. “When the wicked man departed from me, I knew him not” (ver. 4). I approved him not, I praised him not, he pleased me not. For we find the word “to know” occasionally used in Scripture, in the sense of “to be pleased.” For what is hidden from God, brethren? Doth He know the just, and doth He not know the unjust? What dost thou think of, that He doth not know? I say not, what thinkest thou; but what wilt thou ever think, that He will not have seen beforehand? God knoweth all things, then; and yet in the end, that is in judgment after mercy, He saith of some persons: “I will profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity.” Was there any one He did not know? But what meaneth, “I never knew you”? I acknowledge you not in My rule. For I know the rule of My righteousness: ye agree not with it, ye have turned aside from it, ye are crooked. Therefore He said here also: “When the wicked man departed from Me, I knew him not.”…Therefore, “when the wicked man departed from me,” that is, when the wicked man was unlike me, and was unwilling to imitate my paths, was unwilling in his wickedness to live as I had proposed myself for his imitation; “I knew him not.” What meaneth, “I knew him not”? Not that I was ignorant of him, but that I did not approve him.
[«vers. 6.] A voce gemitus mei adhaeserunt ossa mea carni meae.» A voce quam intelligo, a voce quam novi: «A voce gemitus mei,» non a voce gemitus illorum quibus compatior. Multi enim gemunt, gemo et ego; et hoc gemo, quia male gemunt. Amisit nummum, gemit; amisit fidem, non gemit: ego appendo nummum et fidem, et invenio majorem gemitum de male gemente, aut non gemente. Facit fraudem, et gaudet. Quo lucro? quo damno? Acquisivit pecuniam, perdidit justitiam. Gemit hinc qui gemere novit; qui capiti propinquat, qui recte haeret corpori Christi, gemit inde. Carnales autem non inde gemunt, et gemendos se faciunt, quia non inde gemunt: nec eos possumus, vel non gementes, vel male gementes contemnere. Volumus enim eos corrigere, volumus emendare, volumus reparare: et quando non possumus, gemimus; et cum gemimus, non ab ipsis separamur. «A voce» enim «gemitus mei adhaeserunt ossa mea carni meae:» adhaeserunt fortes invalidis, adhaeserunt firmi infirmis. Unde adhaeserunt? A voce gemitus sui, non a voce gemitus illorum. Qua lege adhaeserunt, nisi qua dictum est: «Debemus enim nos firmi infirmitatem infirmorum portare» ? «Adhaeserunt ossa mea carni meae.»
101.7 PL 36, 1298
7. “Whoso privily slandered his neighbour, him I persecuted” (ver. 5). Behold the righteous persecutor, not of the man, but of the sin. “With the proud eye, and the insatiable heart, I did not feed.” What meaneth, “I did not feed with”? I did not eat in common with such. Attend, beloved; since ye are about to hear something wonderful. If he did not feed with this man, he did not eat with him; for to feed is to eat; how is it then that we find our Lord Himself eating with the proud? It was not only with those publicans and sinners, for they were humble: for they acknowledged their weakness, and asked for the physician. We find that He ate with the proud Pharisees themselves. A certain proud man had invited Him: it was the same who was displeased because a sinning woman, one of ill repute in the city, approached the feet of our Lord.…That Pharisee was proud: the Lord ate with him; what is it therefore that he saith? “With such an one I did not eat.” How doth He enjoin unto us what He hath not done Himself? He exhorteth us to imitate Himself: we see that He ate with the proud; how doth He forbid us to eat with the proud? We indeed, brethren, for the sake of reproof, abstain from communion with our brethren, and do not eat with them, that they may be reformed? We rather eat with strangers, with Pagans, than with those who hold with us, if we have seen that they live wickedly, that they may be ashamed, and amend; as the Apostle saith, “And if any man obey not our word by this Epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.” For the sake of healing others we usually do this; but nevertheless we often eat with many strangers and ungodly men.
[«vers. 7, 8.] Similis factus sum pelicano» «qui habitat in solitudine; factus sum sicut nycticorax in parietinis. Vigilavi, et factus sum sicut passer singularis in tecto.» Ecce tres aves, et tria loca; quid sibi velint, donet Dominus ut dicamus, et ut audiatis utiliter quod dicitur salubriter. Quid sibi volunt tres aves, et tria loca? Quae tres aves? Pelicanus, nycticorax, et passer: et tria loca, solitudo, parietinae, et tectum. Pelicanus in solitudine, nycticorax in parietinis, passer in tecto. Primo quid sit pelicanus, dicendum est. In ea quippe regione nascitur, ut nobis ignota haec avis sit. Nascitur in solitudinibus, maxime Nili fluminis, in Aegypto. Quaelibet sit avis haec, quod de illa Psalmus dicere voluit, hoc intueamur. «Habitat,» inquit, «in solitudine.» Quid quaeris formam ejus, membra ejus, vocem ejus, mores ejus? Quantum tibi Psalmus dicit, avis est habitans in solitudine. Nycticorax, avis et amans noctem. Parietinae dicuntur, quas vulgo dicimus ruinas, ubi parietes stant sine tecto, sine habitantibus: ibi habitat nycticorax. Jam vero passer et tectum quid sit, nostis. Invenio ergo aliquem de corpore Christi, praedicatorem verbi, compatientem infirmis, quaerentem lucra Christi, reminiscentem Domini sui venturi, ne dicat: «Serve nequam et piger, dares pecuniam meam nummulariis» . Ex hujus dispensatoris officio videamus haec tria. Venerit inter aliquos ubi christiani non sunt; pelicanus est in solitudine: venerit ad eos qui fuerunt et ceciderunt, nycticorax est in parietinis; non enim deserit et tenebras eorum qui habitant in nocte, et ipsos lucrari vult: venerit ad eos qui christiani sunt quidem habitantes in domo, non quasi qui non crediderint, aut quod crediderant dimiserint, sed in eo quod credunt tepide ambulantes; clamat ad eos passer, non in solitudine, quia christiani sunt; nec in parietinis, quia non ceciderunt; sed tamen in tecto sunt; sub tecto potius, quia sub carne sunt. Ille super carnem clamat passer, praecepta Dei non tacet, nec fit carnalis, ut subjiciatur tecto. «Qui» enim «in tecto est, non descendat tollere aliquid de domo» ; et, «Quod in aure auditis, praedicate super tecta» . Istae tres aves et tria loca; et unus homo potest habere personam trium avium, et tres homines possunt habere personam trium avium; et tria genera locorum, tria genera sunt hominum; tamen solitudo, parietinae, et tectum, nonnisi tria genera hominum sunt.
101.8 PL 36, 1299
8. The pious heart hath its banquets, the proud heart hath its banquets: for it was on account of the food of the proud heart, that he said, “with an insatiable heart.” How is the proud heart fed? If a man is proud, he is envious: otherwise it cannot be. Pride is the mother of enviousness: it cannot but generate it, and ever coexist with it. Every proud man is, therefore, envious: if envious, he feedeth on the misfortunes of others. Whence the Apostle saith, “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed of one another.” Ye see them, then, eating: eat not with these: fly such banquets: for they cannot satisfy themselves with rejoicing in others’ evils, because their hearts are insatiable. Beware thou art not caught in their feasts by the devil’s noose.…Just as birds feed at the trap, or fishes at the hook, they were taken, when they fed. The ungodly therefore have their own feasts, the godly also have theirs. Hear the feasts of the godly: “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” If therefore the godly eateth the meat of righteousness, and the ungodly of pride; it is no wonder if he is insatiable in heart. He eateth the meat of iniquity: do not eat the meat of iniquity, and the proud in eye, and the insatiable in heart, eateth not with thee.
Sed quid de his plurimum? Ipsum Dominum videamus, ne forte ipse sit, et melius ipse agnoscatur, et pelicanus in solitudine, et nycticorax in parietinis, et passer singularis in tecto. Dicat nobis pauper iste, caput nostrum: pauper voluntate, loquatur pauperibus in necessitate. Quod enim dicitur, vel etiam legitur de hac ave, id est pelicano, non taceamus; non aliquid affirmantes temere, sed tamen non tacentes quod qui scripserunt, et legi et dici voluerunt. Vos sic audite, ut si verum est, congruat; si falsum est, non teneat. Dicuntur hae aves tanquam colaphis rostrorum occidere parvulos suos, eosdemque in nido occisos a se lugere per triduum: postremo dicunt matrem seipsam graviter vulnerare et sanguinem suum super filios fundere, quo illi superfusi reviviscunt. Fortasse hoc verum, fortasse falsum sit: tamen si verum est, quemadmodum illi congruat, qui nos vivificavit sanguine suo, videte. Congruit illi quod matris caro vivificat sanguine suo filios suos; satis congruit. Nam et ipse gallinam se dicit super pullos suos: «Jerusalem, Jerusalem, quoties volui congregare filios tuos, tanquam gallina pullos suos sub alas suas, et noluisti» ? Habet enim paternam auctoritatem, maternum affectum: sicut et Paulus et pater est et mater est; non per seipsum, sed per Evangelium: pater ubi dicit, «Etsi habeatis multos paedagogos in Christo, sed non multos patres; in Christo enim Jesu per Evangelium ego vos genui» ; mater autem ubi ait, «Filioli mei, quos iterum parturio, donec Christus formetur in vobis» . Habet ergo haec avis, si vere ita est, magnam similitudinem carnis Christi, cujus sanguine vivificati sumus. Sed quomodo congruat Christo, quod ipsa occidit filios suos? An et illi non congruit: «Ego occidam, et ego vivificabo; ego percutiam, et ego sanabo» ? An vero Saulus persecutor moreretur, nisi de coelo percuteretur ; aut praedicator excitaretur, nisi illius sanguine vivificaretur? Sed hoc viderint qui scripserunt; non in incerto intellectum nostrum constituere nos debemus. Hanc avem potius in solitudine agnoscamus; hoc enim inde Psalmus voluit ponere, «Pelicanus in solitudine.» Puto ego hic intelligi Christum natum de virgine. Solus enim sic, ideo solitudo: in solitudine natus, quia solus ita natus. Post nativitatem ventum est ad passionem: a quibus crucifigebatur? numquid ab stantibus? numquid a lugentibus? Ergo tanquam in nocte ignorantiae ipsorum, et tanquam in parietinis ruinae ipsorum. Ecce nycticorax et in parietinis, amat et noctem. Nam nisi amaret, unde diceret, «Pater, ignosce illis, quia nesciunt quid faciunt» ? Deinde natus in solitudine, quia solus ita natus; passus in tenebris Judaeorum tanquam in nocte, in praevaricatione tanquam in ruinis: quid postea? «Vigilavi.» Ergo dormieras in parietinis, et dixeras: «Ego dormivi.» Quid est, «Ego dormivi?» Quia volui, dormivi; noctem amando dormivi: sed ibi sequitur, «Et exsurrexi» . Ergo hic, «Vigilavi.» Sed posteaquam vigilavit, quid egit? Ascendit in coelum, factus est «sicut passer» volando, id est ascendendo: «singularis in tecto,» id est in coelo. Ergo pelicanus nascendo, nycticorax moriendo, passer resurgendo: ibi in solitudine, velut solus; hic in parietinis, velut ab eis occisus, qui stare non potuerunt in aedificio; hic vero jam vigilans et volans singularis in tecto, ibi interpellat pro nobis . Caput enim nostrum passer est, corpus illius turtur. «Etenim passer invenit sibi domum.» Quam domum? In coelo est, interpellat pro nobis. «Et turtur nidum sibi,» Ecclesia Dei nidum de lignis crucis ipsius; «ubi ponat pullos suos» , parvulos suos. «Vigilavi, et factus sum sicut passer singularis in tecto.»
101.9 PL 36, 1300
9. And whence wast thou fed? And what pleased thee, when he did not eat with thee? “Mine eyes,” he saith, “were upon such as are faithful in the land, that they might sit with me” (ver. 6). That is, that with Me they might be seated. In what sense are they “to sit”? “Ye shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” The faithful of the earth judge, for to them it is said, “Know ye not, that we shall judge angels?” “Whoso walketh in a spotless way, he ministered unto me.” To “Me,” he saith, not to himself. For many minister the Gospel, but unto themselves; because they seek their own things, not the things of Jesus Christ.…
[«vers. 9.] Tota die exprobrabant mihi inimici mei, et qui laudabant me, adversus me jurabant.» Ore laudabant, corde insidias praeparabant. Audi laudem ipsorum. «Magister, scimus quia viam Dei in veritate doces, et personam non accipis: licet tributum dare Caesari» ? Quem laudas, supplantas. Quare nisi quia «qui laudabant me, adversus me jurabant?» Unde autem hoc opprobrium, nisi quia veni facere membra mea peccatores, ut agendo poenitentiam sint in corpore meo? Inde totum opprobrium, inde persecutio: «Quare magister vester cum peccatoribus et publicanis manducat? Non est opus sanis medicus, sed aegrotantibus» . Utinam vos aegrotare nossetis, ut medicum quaereretis; non occideretis, et per superbam dementiam falsa sanitate periretis.
101.10 PL 36, 1300
10. “The proud man hath not dwelt in the midst of my house” (ver. 7). Understand this of the heart. The proud did not dwell in my heart: no such dwelt in my heart: for he hurried away from me. None but the meek and peaceful dwelt in my heart; the proud dwelt not there, for the unrighteous one dwelleth not in the heart of the righteous. Let the righteous be distant from thee, I know not how many miles and stations: ye dwell together, if ye have one heart. “The proud doer hath not dwelt in the midst of my house: he that speaketh unjust things hath not directed in the sight of my eyes.” This is the spotless way, where we understand when the Lord cometh unto us.
[«vers. 10.] Mihi» autem unde «tota die exprobrabant inimici mei?» unde «qui laudabant me, adversus me jurabant? Quoniam cinerem sicut panem manducavi, et potum meum cum fletu miscebam.» Quia haec genera hominum habere in suis membris sananda voluit et liberanda, inde opprobrium. Hodieque Paganorum opprobrium quale in nos est? quid putatis, fratres, quid eos putatis dicere nobis? Vos corrumpitis disciplinam, moresque generis humani pervertitis. Quid inveheris? dic quamobrem; quid fecimus? Dando, inquit, hominibus poenitentiae locum, promittendo impunitatem omnium delictorum: ideo homines mala faciunt, securi quod eis, cum conversi fuerint, omnia dimittuntur. Hinc ergo opprobrium, «Quoniam cinerem sicut panem manducavi, et potum meum cum fletu miscebam.» O qui insultas, invito te ad istum panem. Non enim audes te dicere non esse peccatorem. Discute conscientiam tuam, ascende tribunal mentis tuae, noli tibi parcere, examina te, loquatur tibi medulla cordis; vide utrum audeas innocentiam profiteri. Hic plane si se respexerit, conturbabitur; si se non palpaverit, confitebitur. Et quid agis miser, si non erit portus impunitatis? Si sola fuit peccandi licentia, et nulla peccatorum est indulgentia, ubi eris? quo ibis? Certe et pro te factum est, ut pauper iste cinerem sicut panem manducaret, et potum suum cum fletu misceret. Non te jam delectat tale convivium? Sed tamen, inquit, augent homines peccata spe veniae. Imo augerent peccata desperatione veniae. Nonne attendis quam licentiosa crudelitate vivant gladiatores? Unde hoc, nisi jam tanquam ad ferrum et victimam destinati, explere volunt libidinem, antequam fundant sanguinem? Nonne et tu hoc tibi diceres: Jam peccator sum, jam iniquus, jam damnandus, nulla veniae spes est; cur jam non faciam quidquid libet, etsi non licet? Cur non impleam, quantum possum, quaecumque desideria, si post haec non restant nisi sola tormenta? Nonne hoc tibi diceres, et desperatione ipsa pejor fieres? Potius ergo te corrigit qui indulgentiam promittit, et dicit: «Redite praevaricatores ad cor» . «Nolo mortem impii; quantum» «ut revertatur, et vivat» . Hoc procul dubio portu proposito, deponis vela iniquitatis, convertis proram, velificas ad justitiam, et sperans vitam, non negligis medicinam. Nec in hoc tibi displiceat Deus, tanquam per istam indulgentiae promissionem securos fecerit peccatores. Etenim ne desperatione homines pejus viverent, promisit indulgentiae portum, rursus, ne spe veniae pejus viverent, fecit diem mortis incertum: providentissime utrumque constituens, et revertentes quo recipiantur, et differentes unde terreantur. Manduca cinerem velut panem, et fletum tuum cum potu misce; per hoc convivium venies ad mensam Dei. Noli desperare; promissa est indulgentia tibi. Deo gratias, inquit, quia promissa est; teneo promissum Dei. Ergo jam bene vive. Cras, inquit, bene vivam. Indulgentiam tibi Deus promisit; crastinum diem tibi nemo promisit. Si male vixisti, bene vive jam hodie. «Stulte, hac nocte auferetur a te anima tua.» Non dico, «Quae praeparasti, cujus erunt» ? sed, Secundum quod vixisti, ubi eris? Corrige ergo te, ut possis in corpore Christi habere vocem istam, quam, nisi fallor, libenter agnoscis: «Quoniam cinerem sicut panem manducavi, et potum meum cum fletu miscebam.»
11. [«vers. 11.] A facie irae tuae» «et indignationis tuae, quoniam levasti, elisisti me.» Ipsa est illa ira tua, Domine, in Adam; ira cum qua omnes nati sumus, cui nascendo cohaesimus; ira de propagine iniquitatis, ira de massa peccati: secundum quam dicit Apostolus, «Fuimus et nos aliquando natura filii irae, sicut et caeteri;» et unde dicit Dominus, «Ira Dei manet super eum, quia non credidit in unigenitum Filium Dei» . Non enim ait, Ira Dei veniet super eum; sed, «manet super eum:» quia non tollitur in qua natus est. Quare ergo, et quid sibi vult vox ista, «Quoniam levasti, elisisti me:» Non enim ait, Quoniam levasti, et elisisti me; sed, «Quoniam levasti, elisisti me.» Ideo elisisti, quia levasti. Unde hoc? Homo in honore positus, factus est ad imaginem Dei: levatus in hunc honorem, erectus a pulvere, erectus a terra, accepit animam rationalem, praepositus est rationis ipsius vivacitate omnibus bestiis, pecoribus, volatilibus, piscibus . Quid enim horum habet intelligentiae rationem? Quia nullum horum factum est ad imaginem Dei. Quomodo nullum horum habet hunc honorem, sic nullum horum habet hanc miseriam. Quod enim pecus plangit de peccato? quae avis timet gehennam ignis aeterni? Quia nulla ei participatio beatae vitae, nulli stimuli miseriarum. Homo autem, quia factus est qui sit in beata vita, si bene vixerit; ideo erit in misera vita, quia male vixit. Ergo, «Quia levasti, elisisti me:» ideo sequitur me poena, quia dedisti mihi liberum arbitrium. Si enim mihi non dedisses liberum arbitrium, et per hanc rationem pecoribus me non faceres meliorem, non me sequeretur damnatio justa peccantem. Ergo per arbitrium liberum levasti me, et per justitiae judicium elisisti me.
101.11 PL 36, 1312
11. “In the morning I destroyed all the ungodly that were in the land. That I may root out all wicked doers from the city of the Lord” (ver. 8). This is obscure. There are then wicked doers in the city of the Lord, and they at present, seemingly, spared. Why so? Because it is the season of mercy: but that of judgment will come; for the Psalm thus began, “Of mercy and judgment will I sing unto Thee, O Lord.”…
Ergo fuit generatio sub Adam, transiit. Nati sunt inde quidam futuri participes aeternitatis Dei etiam illo tempore: inde enim Abel, inde Seth, inde Enoch. Transiit illa generatio, venit diluvium, remansit una domus. Et illa generatio dedit aliquos, ipsum Noe, et tres filios ejus, et tres nurus ejus: in tota enim domo ista octonaria solus unus peccator inventus est. Accessit numerus superiori generationi. Deinde de tribus filiis Noe, tanquam de tribus mensuris farinae, impletus est orbis. Electus est Abraham, Isaac, et Jacob; sancti viri, patriarchae, placuerunt Deo . Dedit et illa generatio sequentes etiam generantes, dederunt Prophetas, dederunt praecones Dei. Venit etiam postea et ipse Dominus noster Jesus Christus, misit fermentum in tres mensuras farinae, quousque fermentaretur totum . Temporibus in terra carnis illius fuerunt Apostoli, fuerunt sancti; post illos alii sancti: et nunc in nomine Christi quicumque sunt sancti, et post nos quicumque erunt, et usque in finem saeculi quicumque sancti. De tot generationibus colliges omnes sanctas proles omnium generationum, et facies inde unam generationem: «In» ista «generatione generationum anni tui,» id est, aeternitas illa in illa generatione erit, quae de omnibus generationibus colligitur, et in unam redigitur; ipsa particeps erit aeternitatis tuae. Caeterae generationes implendis temporibus generantur, ex quibus illa in aeternum regeneratur; mutata vivificabitur, erit idonea portare te, vires accipiens a te. «In generatione generationum anni tui.»
101.12 PL 36, 1302
12. He at present spareth, He will then judge. But when will He judge? When night shall have passed away. For this reason He hath said: “In the morning.” When the day shall at last have arrived, night having passed by. Why doth He spare them until the dawn? Because it was night. What meaneth, it was night? Because it was the season for mercy: He was merciful, while the hearts of men were hidden. Thou seest some one living ill; thou endurest him: for thou knowest not of what sort he will prove to be; since it is night; whether he who to-day liveth ill, to-morrow may live well; and whether he who to-day liveth well, to-morrow may be wicked. For it is night, and God endureth all men, since He is of long-suffering: He endureth them, that sinners may be converted unto Him. But they who shall not have reformed themselves in that season of mercy, shall be slain. And wherefore? That they may be scattered abroad from the city of the Lord, from the fellowship of Jerusalem, from the fellowship of the Saints, from the fellowship of the Church. But when shall they be slain? “At dawn.” What meaneth, “at dawn”? When night shall have passed away. Wherefore now doth he spare? Because it is the season of mercy. Why doth He not always spare? Because, “Mercy and judgment will I sing unto Thee, O Lord.” Brethren, let no man flatter himself: all the doers of iniquity shall be slain; Christ shall slay them at the dawn, and shall destroy them from His city. But now while it is the time of mercy, let them hear Him. Everywhere He crieth out by the Law, by the Prophets, by the Psalms, by the Epistles, by the Gospels: see that He is not silent; that He spareth; that He granteth mercy; but beware, for the judgment will come.
[«vers. 12.] Dies mei sicut umbra declinaverunt.» Potuerunt enim esse dies tui non declinantes, si tu a die vero non declinasses: declinasti, et accepisti dies declinantes. Quid mirum si dies tui facti sunt similes tui? Ipsi sunt enim dies declinantes, quia deviasti, qui sunt dies fumi, quia tumuisti. Supra enim dixerat, «Defecerunt sicut fumus dies mei;» et nunc dicit, «Dies mei sicut umbra declinaverunt.» In hac umbra agnoscendus est dies, in hac umbra videnda est lux; ne postea sera et infructuosa poenitentia dicatur: «Quid nobis profuit superbia? et divitiarum jactantia quid contulit nobis? Transierunt omnia tanquam umbra» . Modo dic, Transibunt omnia tanquam umbra, et tu non transeas tanquam umbra. «Dies mei sicut umbra declinaverunt; et ego velut fenum arui.» Quia et supra dixerat, «Percussum est sicut fenum, et aruit cor meum.» Sed revirescet fenum irrigatum sanguine Salvatoris. «Ego sicut fenum arui:» ego homo, post illam praevaricationem; hoc ego justo judicio tuo: tu autem quid?