Expositions on the Book of Psalms 106
106.1 Psalm CVI PL 36, 1419
1. This Psalm also hath the title Allelujah prefixed to it: and this twice. But some say, that one Allelujah belongeth to the end of the former Psalm, the other to the beginning of this. And they assert, that all the Psalms bearing this title have Allelujah at the end, but not all at the beginning; so that they will not allow any Psalm which hath not Allelujah at the end, to have it at the beginning; supposing that what seemeth to belong to the commencement, really belongeth to the end of the former Psalm. But until they persuade us by some sure proofs that this is true, we will follow the general custom, which, whenever it findeth Allelujah, attributes it to the same Psalm, at the head of which it is found. For there are very few copies (and I have found this in none of the Greek copies, which I have been able to inspect) which have Allelujah at the end of the CLth Psalm; after which there is no other which belongeth to the same canon. But not even this could outweigh custom, although all the copies had it so. For it might be that, with some reference to the praise of God, the whole book of Psalms, which is said to consist of five books (for they say that the books severally end where it is written Amen, Amen), might be closed with this last Allelujah, after all that hath been sung; nor, on account of the end of the CLth Psalm, do I see that it is necessary that all the Psalms entitled Allelujah, should have Allelujah at the end. But when there is a double Allelujah at the head of a Psalm, why as our Lord sometimes once, sometimes twice over, saith Amen, in the same way Allelujah may not sometimes be used once, sometimes twice, I know not: especially, since as in this CVth, both the Allelujahs are placed after the mark by which the number of the Psalm is described, whereas the one, if it belonged to the end of the former Psalm, ought to have been placed before the number; and the Allelujah which belonged to the Psalm of this number, should have been written after the number. But perhaps even in this an ignorant habit hath prevailed, and some reason may be assigned of which we are as yet uninformed, so that the judgment of truth ought rather to be our guide than the prejudice of custom. In the mean time, before we are fully instructed in this matter, whenever we find Allelujah written, whether once or twice, after the number of the Psalm, according to the most usual custom of the Church, we will ascribe it to that Psalm to which the same number is prefixed; confessing that we both believe the mysteries of all the titles in the Psalms, and of the order of the same Psalms, to be important, and that we have not yet been able, as we wish, to penetrate them.
Psalmus iste miserationes Dei commendat nobis, probatas in nobis, et ideo expertis est dulcior. Et mirum si potuerit suavis esse cuilibet, nisi illi qui id quod in isto psalmo audit, in se didicit. Non tamen uni alicui vel duobus, sed populo Dei conscriptus est, et ad se agnoscendum tanquam in speculo propositus. Cujus titulus non nunc tractandus est: est enim, «Alleluia,» et bis «Alleluia.» Quod nobis cantare certo tempore solemniter moris est, secundum Ecclesiae antiquam traditionem: neque enim et hoc sine sacramento certis diebus cantamus. Alleluia certis quidem diebus cantamus, sed omni die cogitamus. Si enim hoc verbo significatur laus Dei, etsi non in ore carnis, certe in ore cordis, «Semper laus ejus in ore meo» . Quod autem non semel, sed bis habet «Alleluia» titulus iste, non hujus psalmi proprium est, sed et alius superior sic habet. Et quantum apparet ex ejus textu, cantatus est ille de populo Israel; cantatur autem iste de universa Ecclesia Dei diffusa toto orbe terrarum. Forte non immerito bis habet «Alleluia:» propter quod clamamus et «Abba, Pater.» Cum aliud nihil sit «Abba,» quam «Pater:» non tamen frustra dixit Apostolus, «In quo clamamus, Abba, Pater» : nisi quia unus quidem paries veniens ad lapidem angularem, clamat, «Abba;» alius ex alio latere clamat, «Pater;» in illo utique lapide angulari, qui est pax nostra, qui fecit utraque unum . Videamus ergo hic quid admoneamur, et unde gratulemur, et unde gemamus, et unde auxilium postulemus; unde deseramur, unde nobis subveniatur; quid simus per nos, quid per misericordiam Dei; quomodo nostra superbia conteratur, ut illius gratia glorificetur. Unicuique hominum quod dicturus sum, si fieri potest, occurrat in se. Loquor autem hominibus qui ambulant viam Dei, et constituti sunt in aliquo provectu spirituali: unde si qui forte propter hoc minus me intelligunt, inveniant ubi sint, et proficiendo ad intellectum festinent. Non autem arbitror deserturum Deum conatum nostrum, ut ad omnes perveniat quod loquimur, sive expertos, sive inexpertos, ut experti approbent, inexperti desiderent, et omnibus suavis sit disputatio mea: quae primum Domino suavis erit, si veridica erit; veridica autem erit, si non mihi a me, sed ab illo erit. Sic coepit Psalmus.
106.2 PL 36, 1420
2. But I find these two Psalms, the CVth and CVIth so connected, that in one of them, the first, the people of God is praised in the person of the elect, of whom there is no complaint, whom I imagine to have been there in those with whom God was well pleased; but in the following Psalm those are mentioned among the same people who have provoked God; though the mercy of God was not wanting even to these.…This Psalm therefore beginneth like the former; “Confess ye unto the Lord.” But in that Psalm these words follow: “And call upon His Name:” whereas here, it is as follows, “For He is gracious, and His mercy endureth for ever” (ver. 1). Wherefore in this passage a confession of sins may be understood; for after a few verses we read, “We have sinned with our fathers, we have done amiss, and dealt wickedly;” but in the words, “For He is gracious, and His mercy endureth for ever,” there is chiefly the praise of God, and in His praise confession. Although when any one confesses his sins, he ought to do so with praise of God; nor is a confession of sins a pious one, unless it be without despair, and with calling upon the mercy of God. It therefore doth contain His praise, whether in words, when it calleth Him gracious and merciful, or in the feeling only, when he believeth this.…If that mercy be here understood, in respect of which no man can be happy without God; we may render it better, “for ever:” but if it be that mercy which is shown to the wretched, that they may either be consoled in misery, or even freed from it; it is better construed, “to the end of the world,” in which there will never be wanting wretched persons to whom that mercy may be shown. Unless indeed any man ventured to say, that some mercy of God will not be wanting even to those who shall be condemned with the devil and his angels; not a mercy by which they may be freed from that condemnation, but that it may be in some degree softened for them: and that thus the mercy of God may be styled eternal, as exercised over their eternal misery.…
[«vers. 1.] Confitemini Domino, quoniam suavis est, quoniam in saeculum misericordia ejus.» Hoc confitemini, quoniam suavis est: si gustastis, confitemini. Non potest autem confiteri qui gustare noluit: unde enim dicturus est suave esse quod nescit? Vos autem si gustastis quam suavis est Dominus , «Confitemini Domino, quoniam suavis est:» si gustastis aviditate, confessione eructate. «In saeculum» enim «misericordia ejus,» id est, in aeternum. Hic enim ita positum est, «in saeculum,» quia et in nonnullis Scripturae locis, «in saeculum,» id est, quod Graece εἰς αἰῶνα dicitur, in aetornum intelligitur. Neque enim misericordia ejus ad tempus est, et non in aeternum; cum ideo sit super homines haec ejus misericordia, ut vivant cum Angelis in aeternum.
106.3 PL 36, 1420
3. “Who can express the mighty acts of the Lord?” (ver. 2). Full of the consideration of the Divine works, while he entreateth His mercy, “Who,” he saith, “can express the mighty acts of the Lord, or make all His praises heard?” We must supply what was said above, to make the sense complete here, thus, “Who shall make all His praises heard?” that is, who is sufficient to make all His praises heard? “Shall make” them “heard,” he saith; that is, cause that they be heard; showing, that the mighty acts of the Lord and His praises are so to be spoken of, that they may be preached to those who hear them. But who can make “all,” heard? Is it that as the next words are, “Blessed are they that alway keep judgment, and do righteousness in every time” (ver. 3); he perhaps meant those praises of His, which are understood as His works in His commandments? “For it is God,” saith the Apostle, “who worketh in you,” …since He worketh in these things in a manner that cannot be spoken. “Who will do all His praises heard?” that is, who, when he hath heard them, doth all His praises? which are the works of His commandments. As far as they are done, although all which are heard are not performed, He is to be praised, who “worketh in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” For this reason, while he might have said, all His commandments, or, all the works of His commandments; he preferred saying, “His praises.”…
[«vers. 2-9.] Dicant qui redempti sunt a Domino.» Redemptus quidem videtur et populus Israel de terra Aegypti, de manu servitutis, ex laboribus infructuosis, ex operibus luteis: videamus tamen utrum ipsi sint qui haec dicunt, qui ab Aegypto liberati sunt a Domino. Non ita est. Sed qui sunt isti? «Quos redemit de manu inimicorum.» Adhuc potest quisque et illos accipere redemptos de manu inimicorum, hoc est, Aegyptiorum. Proprie exprimantur qui sint propter quos haec vult psalmus iste cantari. «De regionibus congregavit eos.» Possunt esse adhuc regiones Aegypti, multae enim etiam unius provinciae regiones sunt. Aperte dicat: «Ab oriente et occasu, ab aquilone et mari.» Istos ergo jam redemptos intelligimus in toto orbe terrarum. Populus hic Dei de magna et lata Aegypto liberatus, tanquam per mare Rubrum ducitur, ut in Baptismo finiat inimicos. Sacramento enim tanquam rubri maris, Baptismo scilicet Christi sanguine consecrato, insequentes Aegyptii, peccata delentur; et te evadente, nullus qui te premebat, remanet inimicus. Isti ergo dicant haec; et audiamus jam, fratres, (quoniam ducitur iste populus Dei) quid hic agatur in congregatione omnium gentium redempta per Christum: non quasi simul contingant haec quae cantantur, in omnibus, sed in singulis quibusque credentibus; in populo autem illo aliter. Totus enim populus, tota illa gens ex semine Abrahae secundum carnem, tota multitudo domus Israel semel educta est ex Aegypto, semel per Rubrum mare ducta, semel ad terram promissionis perducta; simul enim omnes erant in quibus haec contingebant: «Haec autem omnia in figura contingebant in illis; scripta sunt autem ad correptionem nostram, in quos finis saeculorum obvenit» . Nos vero non simul omnes, sed paulatim singillatimque credentes congregamur in unam quamdam civitatem, et in unum populum Dei; sed in unoquoque nostrum etiam singulo contingunt haec quae scripta sunt, contingunt in populo. Etenim populus de singulis, non singuli de populo: numquid enim unus homo ex populis? Sed populus ex singulis hominibus constat. Quidquid ergo, cum loquor, agnoveris in te, quisquis expertus es, noli cogitando quasi remanere in te, et putare quod in solo te contingit; sed crede ista contingere aut in omnibus, aut prope in omnibus qui veniunt ad hunc populum, et de manu inimicorum pretioso sanguine redimuntur.
106.4 PL 36, 1421
4. But unless there were some difference between judgment and righteousness, we should not read in another Psalm, “Until righteousness turn again unto judgment.” The Scripture, indeed, loveth to place these two words together; as, “Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His seat;” and this, “He shall make thy righteousness as clear as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day;” where there is apparently a repetition of the same sentiment. And perhaps on account of the resemblance of signification one may be put for the other, either judgment for righteousness, or righteousness for judgment: yet, if they be spoken of in their proper sense, I doubt not that there is some difference; viz. that he is said to keep judgment who judgeth rightly, but he to do righteousness who acts righteously. And I think that the verse, “Until righteousness turn again unto judgment,” may not absurdly be understood in this sense: that here also those are called blessed, who keep judgment in faith, and do righteousness in deed.…
Repetiturus est enim assidue quod cantavimus modo: «Confiteantur Domino miserationes ejus, et mirabilia ejus filiis hominum.» Istos versus, quantum advertere potui, quod potestis et vos, quater repetit; in quo numero, quantum Domino adjuvante scrutari valuimus, significat nobis quatuor quasdam tentationes, ex quibus nos liberat cui confitentur suae miserationes. Fac enim hominem primo nihil quaerentem, secundum vitam veterem seductoria securitate viventem, nihil putantem aliud esse post hanc vitam quandoque finiendam; negligentem quemdam et socordem, obrutum cor habentem illecebris mundi, et mortiferis delectationibus consopitum: ut excitetur iste ad quaerendam gratiam Dei, ut fiat sollicitus, et tanquam de somno evigilet, nonne manus Dei excitat eum? Sed tamen a quo sit excitatus, ignorat. Incipit autem esse jam Dei, cum cognoverit veritatis fidem. Sed antequam cognoscat, dolet errorem suum. Invenit enim se in errore, vult cognoscere veritatem, pulsat ubi potest, tentat quod potest, vagatur qua potest, famem etiam patitur ipsius veritatis. Prima ergo tentatio est erroris et famis. Ubi in hac tentatione fatigatus exclamaverit ad Deum, perducitur ad viam fidei, unde incipiat pergere ad civitatem quietis. Perducitur ergo ad Christum, qui dixit: «Ego sum via» .
106.5 PL 36, 1421
5. Next, since God justifieth, that is, maketh men righteous, by healing them from their iniquities, a prayer followeth: “Remember me, O Lord, according to the favour that Thou bearest unto Thy people” (ver. 4): that is, that we may be among those with whom Thou art well pleased; since God is not well pleased with them all. “O visit me with Thy salvation.” This is the Saviour Himself, in whom sins are forgiven, and souls healed, that they may be able to keep judgment, and do righteousness; and since they who here speak know such men to be blessed, they pray for this themselves.…“Visit us,” then, “with Thy salvation,” that is, with Thy Christ. “To see the felicity of Thy chosen, and to rejoice in the gladness of Thy people” (ver. 5): that is, visit us for this reason with Thy salvation, that we may see the felicity of Thy chosen, and rejoice in the gladness of Thy people. For “felicity” some copies read “sweetness;” as in the former passage, “For He is gracious;” where others read, “for He is sweet.” And it is the same word in the Greek, as is elsewhere read, “The Lord shall show sweetness:” which some have translated “felicity,” others “bounty.” But what meaneth, “Visit us to see the felicity of Thy chosen:” that is, that happiness which Thou givest to Thine elect: except that we may not remain blind, as those unto whom it is said, “But now ye say we see: therefore your sin remaineth.” For the Lord giveth sight to the blind, not by their own merits, but in the felicity He giveth to His chosen, which is the meaning of “the felicity of Thy chosen:” as, the help of my countenance, is not of myself, but is my God. And we speak of our daily bread, as ours, but we add, Give unto us.…“That Thou mayest be praised with Thine inheritance.” I wonder this verse hath been so interpreted in many copies, since the Greek phrase is one and the same in these three verses.…But since this seemeth a doubtful expression, if that sense be true according to which interpreters have preferred, “That Thou mayest be praised,” the two preceding verses also must be so understood, because, as I have said, there is one Greek expression in these three verses; so that the whole should be thus understood, “Visit us with Thy salvation, that Thou mayest see the felicity of Thy chosen;” that is, visit us for this purpose, that Thou mayest cause us to be there, and mayest see us there; that “Thou mayest rejoice in the gladness of Thy people,” that is, that Thou mayest be said to rejoice, since they rejoice in Thee; that “Thou mayest be praised with Thine inheritance,” that is, mayest be praised with it, since it may not be praised save for Thy sake.…
Cum ergo ibi fuerit, jam sciens quid observare debeat, nonnunquam multum sibi tribuendo, et quasi de suis viribus praesumendo, incipit confligere velle contra peccata, et propter superbiam superari. Invenit ergo se ligatum difficultatibus cupiditatum, et non posse viam propter compedes ambulare: inclusum se sentit difficultate vitiorum; et tanquam muro impossibilitatis erecto, portisque clausis, qua evadat ut recte vivat, non invenit. Jam scit quomodo vivere debeat: prius enim in errore erat, et famem veritatis patiebatur; accepit autem jam cibum veritatis, et positus est in via: audit, Vive bene, secundum quod nosti; antea enim non noveras quemadmodum viveres, modo accepisti et nosti. Conatur, non potest; ligatum se sentit, exclamat ad Dominum. Secunda ergo tentatio est difficultatis in bene operando, sicut illa prima erroris et famis. Exclamat et in hac ad Dominum: liberat Dominus de necessitatibus, rumpit vincula difficultatis, constituit in operatione aequitatis. Incipit ei jam facile esse quod difficile fuerat, abstinere a malis, non adulterare, non furtum facere, non homicidium, non sacrilegium, non alienum concupiscere: facta est facultas quae fuerat antea difficultas. Potuit hoc Dominus sine difficultate praestare; sed si hoc sine difficultate haberemus, largitorem hujus boni non agnosceremus. Si enim primitus, cum vellet, posset, et non sentiret adversus se obnitentes cupiditates, nec vinculis suis gravata anima collideretur; suis viribus tribueret quod se posse sentiret, et non confiterentur Domino miserationes ejus.
106.6 PL 36, 1422
6. But let us hear what they next confess: “we have sinned with our fathers: we have done amiss, and dealt wickedly” (ver. 6). What meaneth “with our fathers”?…“Our fathers,” he saith, “regarded not Thy wonders in Egypt” (ver. 7); and many other things also, he doth relate of their sins. Or is, “we have sinned with our fathers,” to be understood as meaning, we have sinned like our fathers, that is, by imitating their sins? If it be so, it should be supported by some example of this mode of expression: which did not occur to me when I sought on this occasion an instance of any one saying that he had sinned, or done anything, with another, whom he had imitated by a similar act after a long interval of time. What meaneth then, “Our fathers understood not Thy wonders;” save this, they did not know what Thou didst wish to convince them of by these miracles? What indeed, save life eternal, and a good, not temporal, but immutable, which is waited for only through endurance? For this reason they impatiently murmured, and provoked, and they asked to be blessed with present and fugitive blessings, “Neither were they mindful of the greatness of Thy mercy.” He reproveth both their understanding and memory. Understanding there was need of, that they might meditate unto what eternal blessings God was calling them through these temporal ones; and of memory, that at least they might not forget the temporal wonders which had been wrought, and might faithfully believe, that by the same power which they had already experienced, God would free them from the persecutions of their enemies; whereas they forgot the aid which He had given them in Egypt, by means of such wonders, to crush their enemies. “And they provoked, as they went up to the sea, even to the Red Sea.” We ought especially to notice how the Scripture doth censure the not understanding that which ought to have been understood, and the not remembering that which ought to have been remembered; which men are unwilling to have ascribed to their own fault, for no other reason than that they may pray less, and be less humble unto God, in whose sight they should confess what they are, and might by praying for His aid, become what they are not. For it is better to accuse even the sins of ignorance and negligence, that they may be done away with, than to excuse them, so that they remain; and it is better to clear them off by calling upon God, than to clench them by provoking Him.
He addeth, that God acted not according to their unbelief. “Nevertheless,” he saith, “He saved them for His Name’s sake: that He might make His power to be known” (ver. 8): not on account of any deservings of their own.
Post has duas tentationes, primam erroris atque inopiae veritatis, secundam difficultatis bene operandi, tertia tentatio excipit hominem: ei loquor qui jam transiit has duas. Nam istae duae, fateor, multis notae sunt. Quis enim nescit se ab ignorantia venisse ad veritatem, ab errore ad viam, a fame sapientiae ad verbum fidei? Deinde multi luctantur cum difficultatibus vitiorum suorum, et adhuc consuetudine colligati gemunt tanquam in clausura et compedibus. Agnoscunt et istam tentationem, quamvis jam dicant, si forte dicunt: «Infelix ego homo, quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus» ? Nam vide arctissima vincula: «Caro,» inquit, «concupiscit adversus spiritum, et spiritus adversus carnem; ut non ea quae vultis, illa faciatis» . Proinde qui jam est adjutus spiritu, ut quemadmodum noluit esse adulter, sic non sit; quomodo noluit esse fur, sic non sit; et caetera illa omnia, quae volunt homines vincere, et saepe inflexi superantur, ut exclament ad Deum, ut de necessitatibus eorum eruat eos, et inde liberati confiteantur Domino miserationes ejus: quisquis ergo talis est, et vicit illas difficultates, et probabiliter jam conversatur inter homines, sine ulla querela malorum morum, excipitur tentatione tertia taedii cujusdam in mora hujus vitae, ita ut aliquando eum nec legere nec orare delectet. Tertia tentatio priori contraria: prius enim periclitabatur fame, postea fastidio. Unde et hoc, nisi de quodam languore animae? Jam non te illicit adulterium, nec tamen delectat Dei verbum. Jam post periculum imperitiae et concupiscentiae, de quibus duobus te evasisse laetaris, vide ne taedium fastidiumque te necet. Non est et ista levis tentatio: agnosce te in illa, et exclama ad Dominum, ut de necessitatibus tuis etiam hic liberet te; et de hac tentatione liberatus cum fueris, confiteantur illi miserationes ejus.
106.7 PL 36, 1422
7. “He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up” (ver. 9). We do not read that any voice was sent forth from Heaven to rebuke the sea; but he hath called the Divine Power by which this was effected, a rebuke: unless indeed any one may choose to say, that the sea was secretly rebuked, so that the waters might hear, and yet men could not. The power by which God acteth is very abstruse and mysterious, a power which He causeth that even things devoid of sense instantly obey at His will. “So He led them through the deeps, as through a wilderness.” He calleth a multitude of waters the deeps. For some wishing to give the sense of this whole verse, have translated, “So He led them forth amid many waters.” What then doth “through the deeps, as through a wilderness,” mean, except that that had become as a wilderness from its dryness, where before had been the watery deeps?
Liberatus autem ab errore, liberatus a difficultate bene operandi, liberatus a taedio fastidioque verbi Dei, fortassis dignus eris cui populus committatur; constituaris in gubernaculis navis, recturus Ecclesiam. Ibi quarta tentatio. Tempestates maris quatientes Ecclesiam, turbant gubernatorem. Denique tres illas tentationes experiri potest omnis pius fidelis in populo Dei; quarta ista nostra est. Quanto enim plus honoramur, tanto plus periclitamur. Metuendum est ne avertat aliquem vestrum a veritate periculum erroris; metuendum est ne vincat unumquemque cupiditas sua, et eligat eam sequi, quam ex ejus difficultatibus exclamare ad Dominum; metuendum est ne unicuique vestrum minus sapiat verbum Dei, et fastidio moriatur: tentatio vero gubernandi, tentatio periculorum in regenda Ecclesia nos potissimum tangit. Sed quomodo et vos alieni eritis, si tota navis periclitabitur? Quod ideo dixi, ne in hac quarta tentatione, tanquam nostra propria (ubi opus est ut ab orationibus non desistatis, nam vos primo naufragatis), minus solliciti sitis, et pro nobis minus oretis. Quid enim, fratres, quia ad eadem gubernacula non sedetis, non in eadem navi navigatis?
106.8 PL 36, 1423
8. “And He saved them from the hating ones” (ver. 10). Some translators, in order to avoid an expression unusual in Latin, have rendered the word, by a circumlocution, “And He saved them from the hand of those that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.” What price was given in this redemption? Is it a prophecy, since this deed was a figure of Baptism, wherein we are redeemed from the hand of the devil at a great price, which price is the Blood of Christ? whence this is more consistently figured forth, not by any sea indiscriminately, but by the Red Sea; since blood hath a red colour.
Post has quatuor tentationes, quatuor exclamationes, quatuor liberationes, quatuor miserationum dominicarum confessiones, generaliter in hoc psalmo consequenter ipsa commendatur Ecclesia; ut evidentissime noveritis, de qua Psalmus ab exordio loquebatur. Commendatur autem ita ut nobis in omnibus Dei gratia praedicetur, qui «superbis resistit, humilibus autem dat gratiam» : quia ideo ille venit, «ut qui non vident, videant, et qui vident, caeci fiant» ; quia «omnis vallis implebitur, et omnis mons et collis humiliabitur» . Quo commendato, dicitur aliquid, quod etiam de haereticis intelligatur, quibus tanquam civilibus bellis quatitur Ecclesia; et concluditur Psalmus, quem jam exposui, brevius fortasse quam putabatis. Nam usque adeo me istum totum psalmum aliquantum prolixum exposuisse arbitror, ut jam officium a me non exspectetis disputatoris, sed pene lectoris, si tenetis quae dixi. Puto enim, sunt ante oculos vestros constituta; sed ut melius commendentur, breviter replicentur. Prima tentatio erroris et famis verbi; secunda difficultatis vincendarum concupiscentiarum; tertia taedii atque fastidii; quarta tempestatis et periculorum in gubernandis Ecclesiis: et in his omnibus exclamationes, et liberationes, et miserationum Dei confessiones. Ad extremum ipsius Ecclesiae fit commendatio, quae et salva facta est per gratiam Dei nostri, non per meritum suum: et commemoratur inimicorum afflictio propter superbiam; quibus exstinctis, erecta est Ecclesia: et propter insidias quasdam deminutionis ab haereticis, et detrimentorum quodammodo domesticorum, et ex his circa Ecclesiam divina beneficia; et Psalmi conclusio. Legamus jam magis quam disseramus.
106.9 PL 36, 1423
9. “As for those that troubled them, the waters overwhelmed them: there was not one of them left” (ver. 11); not of all the Egyptians, but of those who pursued the departing Israelites, desirous either of taking or of killing them.
«Dicant qui redempti sunt a Domino, quos redemit de manu inimicorum; de regionibus congregavit eos, ab oriente et occasu, et aquilone et mari.» Christiani ergo ipsi dicant, de toto orbe convocati. «Erraverunt in solitudine, in siccitate, viam civitatis habitationis non invenerunt.» Errorem miserabilem audivimus: quid de inopia? «Esurientes et sitientes, anima eorum in ipsis defecit.» Sed quare defecit? cui bono? Non enim crudelis est Deus; sed se commendat, quod expedit nobis, ut nobis deficientibus rogetur, et ut subveniens ametur. Et ideo post hunc errorem et famem et sitim, «Et clamaverunt ad Dominum, cum tribularentur; et de necessitatibus eorum eripuit eos.» Et quid illis praestitit, quia errabant? «Et deduxit eos in viam rectam.» Viam civitatis habitationis non inveniebant, fame et siti aestuabant, et deficiebant, «Et deduscit eos in viam rectam, ut irent in civitatem habitationis.» Quomodo subvenerit fami et siti, nondum dicit, sed et hoc exspectate. «Confiteantur Domino miserationes ejus, et mirabilia ejus filiis hominum.» Dicite experti inexpertis, jam in via positi, jam ad civitatem inveniendam directi, jam denique a fame et siti liberati: «Quoniam satiavit animam inanem, et animam esurientem implevit bonis.»
106.10 PL 36, 1424
10. “Then believed they in His words” (ver. 12). The expression seemeth barely Latin, for he saith not “believed His word,” or “on His words,” but “in His words;” yet it is very frequent in Scripture. “And praised praise unto Him;” such an expression as when we say, “This servitude he served,” “such a life he lived.” He is here alluding to that well-known hymn, commencing, “I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and the rider hath He thrown into the sea.”
[«vers.» 10-17.] Vive ergo bene; jam in via positus es, jam audisti quid agere debeas, quid sperare. Quid aliud excipit, quoniam conaris et superaris? «Sedentes in tenebris et in umbra mortis, compeditos in mendicitate et ferro.» Unde hoc, nisi quia tibi tribuebas, quia gratiam Dei non agnoscebas, quia consilium Domini circa te reprobabas? Nam vide quid adjungat: «Quoniam inamaricaverunt eloquia Domini;» per superbiam, justitiam Domini nescientes, et suam volentes constituere . «Et consilium Altissimi exacerbaverunt. Et humiliatum est in laboribus cor eorum.» Et nunc pugna contra concupiscentiam. Deo desistente ab adjutorio, laborare potes, vincere non potes. Et cum fueris pressus consuetudine tua prava, humiliabitur cor tuum in laboribus; ut jam corde humiliato discas clamare: «Infelix ego homo, quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus? Humiliatum est» ergo «in laboribus cor eorum; infirmati sunt, nec fuit qui adjuvaret eos.» Quid ergo restat, nisi quare factum est? «Si enim data esset lex quae posset vivificare, omnino ex Lege esset justitia: sed conclusit Scriptura omnia sub peccato, ut promissio ex fide Jesu Christi daretur credentibus» . «Lex autem subintravit, ut abundaret delictum» . Accepisti verbum, accepisti praeceptum, nec desinis facere quod male faciebas; et accepto praecepto, auges peccata per praevaricationem. Superbe, si te ignorabas, vel disce te humiliatus: clamabis, a necessitate liberaberis; liberatus miserationes Domini confiteberis. «Et clamaverunt ad Dominum, cum tribularentur, et de necessitatibus eorum salvos fecit eos.» Liberati sunt de secunda tentatione, restat taedii atque fastidii. Sed primo quid istis praestitit liberatis, videte. «Et eduxit eos de tenebris et umbra mortis, et vincula eorum disrupit. Confiteantur Domino miserationes ejus, et mirabilia ejus filiis hominum.» Quare? quas difficultates vicit? «Quia contrivit portas aereas, et vectes ferreos confregit. Suscepit eos de via iniquitatis eorum: propter injustitias enim suas humiliati sunt.» Quia sibi tribuebant, non Deo: quia suam justitiam constituebant, ignorantes Dei justitiam, humiliati sunt. Invenerunt se non posse sine ejus adjutorio, qui de suis solis viribus praesumebant.
106.11 PL 36, 1424
11. “They acted hastily: they forgot His works” (ver. 13): other copies read more intelligibly, “They hastened, they forgot His works, and would not abide His counsel.” For they ought to have thought, that so great works of God towards themselves were not without a purpose, but that they invited them to some endless happiness, which was to be waited for with patience; but they hastened to make themselves happy with temporal things, which give no man true happiness, because they do not quench insatiable longing: for “whosoever,” saith our Lord, “shall drink of this water, shall thirst again.”
[«vers.» 18-22.] Sed quod aliud genus restat? «Omnem escam abominata est anima eorum.» Jam fastidium patiuntur, fastidio languent, fastidio periclitantur: nisi forte putas occidi eos fame potuisse, et non posse fastidio. Vide quid sequatur, cum dixisset, «Omnem escam abominata est anima eorum;» ne quasi eos putares de satietate securos, non magis videres de fastidio morituros: «Et appropinquaverunt,» inquit, «usque ad portas mortis.» Quid ergo restat? Ut quod te delectat verbum Dei, non tibi tribuas, neque hinc aliqua infleris arrogantia, et avidus cibi, in eos qui fastidio periclitantur superbe insilias. Intellige etiam tibi praestitum esse hoc, non a te tibi esse. Quid enim habes quod non accepisti ? Hoc ergo intelligens, et hoc vitio atque languore periclitans, fac quod sequitur: «Et exclamaverunt ad Dominum, cum tribularentur, et de necessitatibus eorum liberavit eos.» Et quia languor erat non delectari: «Misit verbum suum, et sanavit eos.» Vide quid mali habeat fastidium; vide unde liberat ille, ad quem clamat fastidiens. «Misit verbum suum, et sanavit eos: et eripuit eos.» Unde? Non de errore, non de fame, non de difficultate vincendi peccata, sed «de corruptela eorum.» Quaedam corruptela mentis est, fastidire quod dulce est. Ergo et de hoc beneficio, sicut de caeteris superioribus, «Confiteantur Domino miserationes ejus, et mirabilia ejus filiis hominum. Et sacrificent sacrificium laudis.» Jam enim ut laudetur, suavis est Dominus. «Et enuntient opera ejus in exsultatione:» non cum taedio, non cum moerore, non cum anxietate, non cum fastidio, sed «in exsultatione.»
106.12 PL 36, 1425
12. Lastly, “And they lusted a lust in the wilderness, and they tempted God in the dry land” (ver. 14). The “dry land,” or land without water, and “desert,” are the same: so also are, “they lusted a lust,” and, “they tempted God.” The form of speech is the same as above, “they praised a praise.”
[«vers.» 23-31.] Quarta illa restat, in qua omnes periclitamur. Omnes enim in navi sumus: alii operantur, alii portantur; simul tamen omnes et in tempestate periclitantur, et in portu salvantur. Post haec enim omnia sequitur, «Qui descendunt mare in navibus, facientes operationem in aquis multis:» id est, in populis multis. Aquas enim saepe pro populis poni, testis est Apocalypsis Joannis, ubi interrogans Joannes quid illae aquae essent, responsum est ei, «Populi sunt» . Qui ergo faciunt operationem in aquis multis, «ipsi viderunt opera Domini, et mirabilia ejus in profundo.» Quid enim profundius cordibus humanis? Inde plerumque venti erumpunt, tempestates seditionum, et dissensionum navem perturbant. Et quid agitur in his? Volens Deus ut ad eum clamarent et hi qui gubernant, et hi qui portantur, «Dixit, et stetit spiritus procellae.» Quid est, «stetit?» Permansit, perduravit: adhuc turbat, diu jactat, saevit, et non transit. «Dixit» enim, «et stetit spiritus procellae.» Et quid egit iste spiritus procellae? «Et exaltati sunt fluctus ejus. Ascendunt usque ad coelos,» audiendo: «descendunt usque in abyssos,» timendo. «Ascendunt usque in coelos, descendunt usque in abyssos:» foris pugnae, intus timores. «Anima eorum in malis tabescebat. Turbati sunt, et moti sunt, sicut ebrius.» Qui sedent ad gubernacula, et qui fideliter navem amant, sentiunt quod dico: «Turbati sunt, et moti sunt sicut ebrius.» Certe quando loquuntur, quando legunt, quando tractant, sapientes apparent: vae a tempestate! «Et omnis,» inquit, «sapientia eorum absorpta est.» Aliquando deficiunt omnia humana consilia: quacumque se quisque converterit, fluctus fremunt, tempestas saevit, brachia deficiunt; quo prora impingatur, cui fluctui latus nudetur, quo navis impulsa dimittatur, a quibus saxis ne pereat refrenetur, omnino a rectoribus non videtur. Et quid restat, nisi quod sequitur? «Et exclamaverunt ad Dominum, cum tribularentur, et de necessitatibus eorum eduxit eos. Et imperavit procellae, et stetit in auram.» Non stetit in tempestatem, sed «in auram. Et siluerunt fluctus ejus.» Audite de hac re vocem cujusdam gubernatoris periclitati, humiliati, liberati: «Nolo», inquit, «vos ignorare, fratres, de pressura nostra, quae facta est in Asia, quia supra vires gravati sumus, et supra modum,» (video omnem sapientiam ejus absorptam) «ita ut taederet nos,» inquit, «etiam vivere.» Et quid? ille ita deficientes desereret? aut non propterea illi defecerunt, ut ille apud eos gloriam reperiret? Denique quid sequitur? «Sed ipsi in nobismetipsis responsum mortis habuimus, ut non fidentes in nobis simus, sed in Deo qui suscitat mortuos» . «Et imperavit procellae, et stetit in auram.» Jam illi de se apud se responsum mortis habuerant, quorum omnis sapientia absorpta erat. «Et siluerunt fluctus ejus. Et jucundati sunt, quoniam siluerunt: et deduxit eos in portum voluntatis eorum. Confiteantur Domino miserationes ejus.» Ubique omnino, ubique «confiteantur Domino,» non merita nostra, non vires nostrae, non sapientia nostra, sed «miserationes ejus.» Ille ametur in omni nostra liberatione, qui est invocatus in omni nostra tribulatione. «Confiteantur Domino miserationes ejus, et mirabilia ejus filiis hominum.»
106.13 PL 36, 1426
13. “And He gave them their desire, and sent fulness withal into their souls” (ver. 15). But He did not thus render them happy: for it was not that fulness of which it is said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” In this passage he doth not speak of the rational soul, but of the soul as giving animal life to the body; to the substance of which belong meat and drink, according to what is said in the Gospel, “Is not the soul more than meat, and the body than raiment?” as if it belonged to the soul to eat, to the body to be clothed.
[«vers.» 32-38.] Et videte unde dicat, unde omnia ista praelocutus sit, unde omnia haec enumeraverit, ubi agantur haec. «Et exaltent eum in Ecclesia populi, et in cathedra seniorum laudent eum. Et exaltent eum,» hoc est, «laudent eum:» et laudent eum,» hoc est, «exaltent eum.» Exaltent, laudent populi et seniores, negotiatores et gubernatores. Quid enim fecit in hac Ecclesia? quid constituit? unde illam eruit? quid ei praestitit? Quemadmodum superbis restitit, humilibus gratiam dedit : superbis, scilicet primo populo Judaeorum, arroganti et extollenti se de genere Abrahae, et quod illi genti sint credita eloquia Dei . Non eis haec valebant ad sanitatem, sed ad exaltationem cordis, ad tumorem potius quam ad magnitudinem. Quid ergo fecit Deus, superbis resistens, humilibus dans gratiam; ramos naturales propter superbiam amputans, oleastrum propter humilitatem inserens ? quid fecit Deus? Audite haec duo: Deus primo quemadmodum superbis resistat, deinde quemadmodum humilibus det gratiam. «Posuit flumina in desertum.» Currebant ibi aquae, currebant prophetiae: quaere modo apud Judaeos prophetam, non invenis. «Posuit» enim «flumina in desertum, et exitus aquarum in sitim. Posuit flumina in desertum.» Dicant, «Jam non est propheta, et nos non cognoscet adhuc» . «Posuit flumina in desertum, et exitus aquarum in sitim, terram fructiferam in sanitas.» Quaeris ibi fidem Christi, non invenis; quaeris prophetam, non invenis; quaeris sacerdotem, non invenis, quaeris sacrificium, non invenis; quaeris templum, non invenis. Quare hoc? Quia, «Posuit flumina in desertum, et exitus aquarum in sitim; terram fructiferam in salinas.» Unde, quo merito? «A malitia inhabitantium in ea.» Ecce quomodo superbis resistit: audi quomodo humilibus det gratiam. «Posuit desertum in stagna aquarum, et terram sine aqua in exitus aquarum. Et habitare fecit illic esurientes.» Quoniam illi dictum est: «Tu es sacerdos in aeternum secundum ordinem Melchisedec» . Quaeris enim sacrificium apud Judaeos; non habes secundum ordinem Aaron, quia posuit flumina in desertum: quaeris secundum ordinem Melchisedec; apud illos non invenis, sed per totum orbem celebratur in Ecclesia. «A solis ortu usque ad occasum laudatur nomen Domini» . Et dicit Deus illis quorum flumina posuit in desertum: «Non est mihi voluntas in vobis, dicit Dominus, nec accipiam sacrificium de manibus vestris, quoniam ab ortu solis usque ad occasum, sacrificium mundum offertur nomini meo» . Ubi erant omnia immunda sacrificia, quando desertum erant, quando squalebant, quando salinae erant omnes gentes; ibi nunc fontes, ibi nunc flumina, ibi nunc stagna aquarum, et exitus aquarum. Ergo superbis restitit, humilibus autem dedit gratiam. «Et habitare fecit illic esurientes:» quia, «Edent pauperes, et saturabuntur» . «Et constituerunt civitatem habitationis:» interim habitationis in spe; quoniam, «Qui me audit,» inquit, «habitabit in spe» . «Et constituerunt civitatem habitationis. Et seminaverunt agros, et plantaverunt vineas, et fecerunt fructum frumenti:» ad quem gaudet operarius ille qui dicit, «Non quia quaero datum, sed requiro fructum» . «Et benedixit eos, et multiplicati sunt nimis, et jumenta eorum non sunt deminuta.» Hoc stat. «Firmum» enim «fundamentum Dei stat, quia novit Dominus qui sunt ejus» . Jumenta et pecora dicuntur, in Ecclesia simpliciter ambulantia, sed utilia; non multum docta, sed fide plena. Ergo et spirituales et carnales «benedixit eos, et multiplicati sunt nimis, et jumenta eorum non sunt deminuta.»
106.14 PL 36, 1427
14. “And they angered Moses in the tents, and Aaron the saint of the Lord” (ver. 16). What angering, or, as some have more literally rendered it, what provocation, he speaketh of, the following words sufficiently show.
[«vers. 39-42.] Et pauci facti sunt, et vexati sunt.» Unde hoc, de transverso? Imo de interno. Ut enim pauci fierent, «ex nobis exierunt, sed non erant ex nobis.» Ideo autem tanquam de his dicit, de quibus antea loquebantur, ut cum intellectu discernantur; quia tanquam de hisdem loquitur, propter communia Sacramenta. Ad populum enim Dei pertinent, etsi non per virtutem, certe per speciem pietatis; de illis enim audivimus Apostolum: «In novissimis temporibus instabunt tempora saeva; erunt enim homines seipsos amantes» . Primum malum, «seipsos amantes;» utique sibi placentes. Utinam sibi displicerent, et Deo placerent; utinam in difficultatibus exclamarent, et a necessitatibus liberarentur. Sed multum de se praesumentes, «pauci facti sunt.» Manifestum est, fratres; omnes qui se dividunt ab unitate, pauci fiunt. Multi enim sunt, sed in unitate, dum non separantur ab unitate: cum enim coeperit ad eos non pertinere multitudo unitatis, in haeresi et in schismate pauci sunt. «Et pauci facti sunt, et vexati sunt a tribulatione malorum et dolore. Effusus est contemptus super principes.» Reprobati enim sunt ab Ecclesia Dei: et magis, quia principes esse voluerunt, ideo contempti sunt, et facti sunt sal infatuatum projectum foras; ideo conculcatur ab hominibus . «Effusus est contemptus super principes. Et seduxit eos in invio, et non in via.» Illi superius in via, illi ad civitatem directi, denique deducti, non seducti: isti autem in invio seducti. Quid est, «seduxit eos? Tradidit illos Deus in concupiscentias cordis eorum» . Hoc est enim, «seduxit,» donavit illos sibi. Nam si proprie quaeras, ipsi se seducunt. «Qui enim putat se esse aliquid, cum nihil sit, seipsum seducit» . Quid est ergo, «seduxit eos?» Dimisit eos. «In invio, et non in via:» quomodo enim in via homines qui partem tenent, et totum relinquunt? quomodo in via? Quae est ergo via, aut ubi agnoscitur via? «Deus,» inquit, «misereatur nostri, et benedicat nos; illuminet vultum suum super nos, ut agnoscamus in terra viam tuam.» In qua terra? «In omnibus gentibus salutare tuum» . Utique tales ut minuantur, ut pauci fiant, hinc exeunt; a multitudine unitatis omnes exierunt, sicut paulo ante commemoravi dictum de illis: «Ex nobis exierunt, sed non fuerunt ex nobis; si enim ex nobis fuissent, permansissent utique nobiscum» . Sed si forte nostri sunt in occulta praescientia Dei, necesse est ut redeant. Quam multi non nostri adhuc quasi intus, et quam multi nostri adhuc quasi foris? «Novit Dominus qui sunt ejus.» Et illi non nostri qui intus sunt, quando occasiones invenerint, exeunt; et illi nostri qui foris sunt, quando occasiones invenerint, redeunt. Illud ergo accipite quod novit Deus, secundum hoc «seduxit eos in invio, et non in via.» Et quid de illis fecit? Quod dicere coeperam, quod attente audiatis. Potuit illos pati intus semper, sed nos de illis non proficeremus: cum autem separati sunt, et per quaestiones malignas inquietant nos, propositum est nobis ex illis et inquisitionis studium, et timoris exemplum. Unusquisque tremit, cum alterum videt exisse, tanquam ex illius exitu dicatur illi: «Quapropter qui se putat stare, videat ne cadat» . Prosunt ergo quia exeunt: nam si intus essent, et tam mali essent, nihil de illis prodesset. Quid de illis dictum est in quodam psalmo? «Congregatio taurorum,» id est cervicatorum et superborum; «congregatio taurorum inter vaccas populorum. Vaccas» dicit seductiles animas, quae facile consentiunt seductoribus tauris. Sed quare hoc? «Ut excludantur hi qui probati sunt argento» . Quid est, «ut excludantur?» Ut appareant, ut emineant illi qui sunt probati in eloquio Dei. Cum enim respondetur haereticis ex necessitate, aedificantur Catholici ex utilitate. Hanc sententiam plane Paulus expressit: «Oportet enim,» inquit, «haereses esse, ut probati manifesti fiant in vobis» . Oportet et tauros seducentes esse, «ut qui probati sunt argento,» manifesti sint, hoc est, «excludantur.» Quid est, «argento probati? Eloquia Domini, eloquia casta; argentum igne examinatum terrae, purgatum septuplum» . Quicumque sunt probati in hoc argento, id est in eloquio Domini, non possunt plene exserere hoc argentum, nisi quaestionibus inquietati haereticorum. Et hic attendite quia non praetermissum est: ecce «effusus est contemptus super principes,» super illos tauros. Quare contempti sunt? Aliud annuntiantes. Quid sunt contempti? Anathematizati. «Quisquis» enim «vobis annuntiaverit praeterquam quod accepistis, anathema sit.» Quid tam contemptum quam sal infatuatus, qui foras projectus conculcatur? Et videte si non principes sunt; ipsum Paulum audite: «Licet si nos, aut angelus de coelo evangelizaverit vobis praeterquam quod accepistis, anathema sit» . Principes sunt, docti sunt, magni sunt, lapides pretiosi sunt. Quid adhuc dicturus es; numquid angeli sunt? Et tamen, «etsi angelus de coelo vobis annuntiaverit praeterquam quod accepistis, anathema sit:» quia et ipse diabolus angelus de coelo lapsus est. «Effusus est» ergo «contemptus super principes. Et adjuvit pauperem a mendicitate.» Quid est hoc, fratres, Contempti sunt principes, et adjutus est pauper? Abjecti sunt superbi, et instructus est humilis. Hoc fecit, et hoc faciendo «adjuvit pauperem a mendicitate.» Mendicus est ille, nihil sibi tribuens, totum de misericordia Dei exspectans; ante januam Dominicam quotidie clamat, pulsans ut aperiatur ei, nudus et tremens ut vestiatur, oculos in terram dejiciens, et pectus tundens. Istum mendicum, hunc pauperem, hunc humilem adjuvit Deus plurimum, etiam de ipsa separatione haereticorum; quia pauci tacti sunt, et vexati sunt, et seducti in invio et non in via. Denique quid postea ex illis deminutis, seductis, paucis factis, vexatis, in adjuto paupere quid fit? «Et posuit sicut oves familias.» Quasi unum pauperem et unum mendicum intelligebas, de quo dixit, «Et adjuvit pauperem a mendicitate:» pauper iste multae familiae sunt, pauper iste multae plebes sunt; multae Ecclesiae una Ecclesia, una plebs, una familia, una ovis est. «Et posuit sicut oves familias.» Magna mysteria ista, magna sacramenta, quam profunda, plena mysteriorum; quam dulciter inventa, quia diu latentia. Ergo, «Videbunt recti, et jucundabuntur; et omnis iniquitas oppilabit os suum.» Iniquitas illa garriens contra unitatem, et cogens manifestari veritatem, convicta «oppitabit os suum.»
106.15 PL 36, 1429
15. “The earth opened,” he saith, “and swallowed up Dathan, and covered over the congregation of Abiram” (ver. 17): “swallowed up” answereth to “covered over.” Both Dathan and Abiram were equally concerned in a most sacrilegious schism.
[«vers.» 43.] «Quis sapiens? et custodiet haec, et intelliget miserationes Domini.» Videte quo fine clausit: «Quis sapiens? et custodiet haec.» Et quid custoditurus est sapiens? Id est, si pauper sit, custodit; si non sit dives, id est, non sit superbus, non sit inflatus, custodit haec. Quare enim custodit haec, Quia «intelliget miserationes Domini:» non merita sua, non vires suas, non potentiam suam; sed «miserationes Domini,» qui errantem et egentem in viam deduxit et pavit; qui pugnantem adversus difficultatem peccatorum, et colligatum vinculis consuetudinis solvit et liberavit; qui fastidientem verbum Dei, et taedio quodam pene morientem, missa medicina verbi sui recreavit; qui periclitantem inter naufraga et procellosa discrimina, mari placato ad portum perduxit: qui eum denique constituit in eo populo, ubi humilibus dat gratiam, non in illo ubi superbis resistit; et fecit eum suum, ut intus manens multiplicaretur, non ut foras exiens minueretur. Hoc vident recti, et jucundantur. «Omnis» ergo «iniquitas oppilabit os suum,» et qui est «sapiens, custodiet haec.» Unde custodiet? Per humilitatem, intelligendo miserationes Domini; quia ubique dictum est, «Confiteantur Domino miserationes ejus, et mirabilia ejus filiis hominum.»
106.16 PL 36, 1419
16. “And the fire was kindled in their company; the flame burnt up the sinners” (ver. 18). This word is not in Scripture usually applied to those, who, although they live righteously, and in a praiseworthy manner, are not without sin. Rather, as there is a difference between those who scorn and scorners, between men who murmur and murmurers, between men who are writing and writers, and so forth; so Scripture is wont to signify by sinners such as are very wicked, and laden with heavy loads of sins.
106.17 PL 36, 1419
17. “And they made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the graven image” (ver. 19). “Thus they changed their glory, in the similitude of a calf that eateth hay” (ver. 20). He saith not “into” the likeness, but “in” the likeness. It is such a form of speech as where he said “and they believed in His words.” With great effect in truth he saith not, they changed the glory of God when they did this; as the Apostle also saith, “They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man:” but “their glory.” For God was their glory, if they would abide His counsel, and hasten not.…
106.18 PL 36, 1419
18. “They forgat God who saved them” (ver. 21). How did He save them? “Who did so great things in Egypt: Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and fearful things in the Red Sea” (ver. 22). The things that are wondrous, are also fearful; for there is no wonder without a certain fear: although these might be called fearful, because they beat down their adversaries, and showed them what they ought to fear.
106.19 PL 36, 1419
19. “So He said, He would have destroyed them” (ver. 23). Since they forgot Him who saved them, the Worker of wondrous works, and made and worshipped a graven image, by this atrocious and incredible impiety they deserved death. “Had not Moses His chosen stood before Him in the breaking.” He doth not say, that he stood in the breaking, as if to break the wrath of God, but in the way of the breaking, meaning the stroke which was to strike them: that is, had he not put himself in the way for them, saying, “Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin;—and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book.” Where it is proved how greatly the intercession of the saints in behalf of others prevaileth with God. For Moses, fearless in the justice of God, which could not blot him out, implored mercy, that He would not blot out those whom He justly might. Thus he “stood before Him in the breaking, to turn away His wrathful indignation, lest He should destroy them.”
106.20 PL 36, 1419
20. “Yea, they thought scorn of that pleasant land” (ver. 24). But had they seen it? How then could they scorn that which they had not seen, except as the following words explain, “and believed not in His words.” Indeed, unless that land which was styled the land that flowed with milk and honey, signified something great, through which, as by a visible token, He was leading those who understood His wondrous works to invisible grace and the kingdom of heaven, they could not be blamed for scorning that land, whose temporal kingdom we also ought to esteem as nothing, that we may love that Jerusalem which is free, the mother of us all, which is in heaven, and truly to be desired. But rather unbelief is here reproved, since they gave no credence to the words of God, who was leading them to great things through small things, and hastening to bless themselves with temporal things, which they carnally savoured of, they “abided not His counsel,” as is said above.
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21. “But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord” (ver. 25); who strongly forbade them to murmur.
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22. “Then lift He up His hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness” (ver. 26); “to cast out their seed among the nations: and to scatter them in the lands” (ver. 27).
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23. “They were initiated also unto Baalpeor;” that is, were consecrated to the Gentile idol; “and ate the offerings of the dead” (ver. 28). “Thus they provoked Him to anger with their own inventions; and destruction was multiplied among them” (ver. 29). As if He had deferred the lifting up of His hand which was to cast them down in the desert, and to cast out their seed among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands; as the Apostle saith: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” “‘Destruction,’ therefore, ‘was multiplied among them,’ when they were heavily punished for their heavy sins.”
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24. “Then stood up Phineas, and appeased Him, and the shaking ceased” (ver. 30). He hath related the whole briefly, because he is not here teaching the ignorant, but reminding those who know the history. The word “shaking” here is the same as “breaking” before. For it is one word in the Greek. Lastly, so great was their wickedness, in being consecrated to the idol, and eating the sacrifices of the dead (that is, because the Gentiles sacrificed to dead men as to God), that God would not be otherwise appeased than as Phineas the Priest appeased Him, when he slew a man and a woman together whom he found in adultery. If he had done this from hatred towards them, and not from love, while zeal for the house of God devoured him, it would not have been counted unto him for righteousness.…Christ our Lord indeed, when the New Testament was revealed, chose a milder discipline; but the threat of hell is more severe, and this we do not read of in those threatenings held out by God in His temporal government.
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25. “And that was counted unto him for righteousness among all posterities for evermore” (ver. 31). God counted this unto His Priest for righteousness, not only as long as posterity shall exist, but “for evermore;” for He who knoweth the heart, knoweth how to weigh with how much love for the people that deed was done.
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26. “And they angered Him at the waters of strife: so that Moses was vexed for their sakes” (ver. 32); “because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake doubtfully with his lips” (ver. 33). What is spake doubtfully? As if God, who had done so great wonders before, could not cause water to flow from a rock. For he touched the rock with his rod with doubt, and thus distinguished this miracle from the rest, in which he had not doubted. He thus offended, thus deserved to hear that he should die, without entering into the land of promise. For being disturbed by the murmurs of an unbelieving people, he held not fast that confidence which he ought to have held. Nevertheless, God giveth unto him, as unto His chosen, a good testimony even after his death, so that we may see that this wavering of faith was punished with this penalty only, that he was not allowed to enter that land, whither he was leading the people.…
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27. But they of whose iniquities this Psalm speaketh, when they had entered into that temporal land of promise, “destroyed not the heathen, which the Lord commanded them” (ver. 34); “but were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works” (ver. 35). “Insomuch that they worshipped their idols, which became to them an offence” (ver. 36). Their not destroying them, but mingling with them, became to them an offence.
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28. “Yea, they offered their sons and their daughters unto devils” (ver. 37); “and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they offered unto the idols of Canaan” (ver. 38). That history doth not relate that they offered their sons and daughters to devils and idols; but neither can that Psalm lie, nor the Prophets, who assert this in many passages of their rebukes. But the literature of the Gentiles is not silent respecting this custom of theirs. But what is it that followeth? “And the land was slain with bloods.” We might suppose that this was a mistake of the writer, and that he had written interfecta for infecta, were it not for the goodness of God, who hath willed His Scriptures to be written in many languages; were it not that we see it written as in the text in many Greek copies which we have inspected; “the land was slain with bloods.” What meaneth then, “the land was slain,” unless this be referred to the men who dwelt in the land, by a metaphorical expression.…For they themselves were slaying their own souls when they offered up their sons, and when they shed the blood of infants who were far from consent to this crime: whence it is said, “They shed innocent blood.” “The land” therefore “was slain with bloods, and defiled by their works” (ver. 39), since they themselves were slain in soul, and defiled by their works; “and they went a whoring after their own inventions.” By inventions are meant what the Greeks call ἐπιτηδεύματα: for this word doth occur in the Greek copies both in this and a former passage, where it is said, “They provoked Him to anger with their own inventions;” “inventions” in both instances signifying what they had initiated others in. Let no man therefore suppose inventions to mean what they had of themselves instituted, without any example before them to imitate. Whence other translators in the Latin tongue have preferred pursuits, affections, imitations, pleasures, to inventions: and the very same who here write inventions, have elsewhere written pursuits. I chose to mention this, lest the word inventions, applied to what they had not invented, but imitated from others, might raise a difficulty.
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29. “Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against His own people” (ver. 40). Our translators have been unwilling to use the word anger, for the Greek θυμὸς; though some have used it; while others translate by “indignation” or “mind.” Whichever of these terms be adopted, passion doth not affect God; but the power of punishing hath assumed this name metaphorically from custom.
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30. “Insomuch that He abhorred His own inheritance; and He gave them over into the hand of the heathen: and they that hated them were lords over them” (ver. 41): “and their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought low under their hands” (ver. 42). Since he hath called them the inheritance of God, it is clear that He abhorred them, and gave them over into their enemies’ hands, not in order to their perdition, but for their discipline. Lastly, he saith, “Many a time did He deliver them.” “But they provoked Him with their own counsels” (ver. 43). This is what he said above, “They did not abide His counsel.” Now a man’s counsel is pernicious to himself, when he seeketh those things which are his own only, not those which are God’s. In whose inheritance, which inheritance He Himself is to us, when He deigneth His presence for our enjoyment, being with the Saints, we shall suffer no straitening from the society, by our love of anything as our own possession. For that most glorious city, when it hath gained the promised inheritance, in which none shall die, none shall be born, will not contain citizens who shall individually rejoice in their own, for “God shall be all in all.” And whoever in this pilgrimage faithfully and earnestly doth long for this society, doth accustom himself to prefer common to private interests, by seeking not his own things, but Jesus Christ’s: lest, by being wise and vigilant in his own affairs, he provoke God with his own counsel; but, hoping for what he seeth not, let him not hasten to be blessed with things visible; and, patiently waiting for that everlasting happiness which he seeth not, follow His counsel in His promises, whose aid he prayeth for in his prayers. Thus he will also become humble in his confessions; so as not to be like those, of whom it is said, “They were brought down in their wickedness.”
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31. Nevertheless, God, full of mercy, forsook them not. “And He saw when they were in adversity, when He heard their complaint” (ver. 44). “And He thought upon His covenant, and repented, according to the multitude of His mercies” (ver. 45). He saith, “He repented,” because He changed that wherewith He seemed about to destroy them. With God indeed all things are arranged and fixed; and when He seemeth to act upon sudden motive, He doth nothing but what He foreknew that He should do from eternity; but in the temporal changes of creation, which He ruleth wonderfully, He, without any temporal change in Himself, is said to do by a sudden act of will what in the ordained causes of events He hath arranged in the unchangeableness of His most secret counsel, according to which He doth everything according to defined seasons, doing the present, and having already done the future. And who is capable of comprehending these things? Let us therefore hear the Scripture, speaking high things humbly, giving food for the nourishment of children, and proposing subjects for the research of the older: that everlasting covenant “which He made with Abraham,” not the old which is abolished, but the new which is hidden even in the old. “And pitied them,” etc. He did that which He had covenanted, but He had foreknown that He would yield this to them when they prayed in their adversity; since even their very prayer, when it was not uttered, but was still to be uttered, undoubtedly was known unto God.
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32. So “He gave them unto compassions, in the sight of all that had taken them captive” (ver. 46). That they might not be vessels of wrath, but vessels of mercy. The compassions unto which He gave them are named in the plural for this reason, I imagine, because each one hath a gift of his own from God, one in one way, another in another. Come then, whosoever readest this, and dost recognise the grace of God, by which we are redeemed unto eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, by reading in the apostolical writings, and by searching in the Prophets, and seest the Old Testament revealed in the New, the New veiled in the Old; remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, where, when He driveth him out of the hearts of the faithful, He saith, “Now is the prince of this world cast out:” and again of the Apostle, when he saith, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.” Meditate on these and such like things, examine also the Old Testament, and see what is sung in that Psalm, the title of which is, When the temple was being built after the captivity: for there it is said, “Sing unto the Lord a new song.” And, that thou mayest not think it doth refer to the Jewish people only, he saith, “Sing unto the Lord, all the whole earth: sing unto the Lord, and praise His Name: declare,” or rather, “give the good news of,” or, to transfer the very word used in the Greek, “evangelize day from day, His salvation.” Here the Gospel (Evangelium) is mentioned, in which is announced the Day that came from Day, our Lord Christ, the Light from Light, the Son from the Father. This also is the meaning of His salvation: for Christ is the Salvation of God, as we have shown above.…
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33. “Deliver us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations (other copies read, “from the heathen”); that we may give thanks unto Thy holy Name, and make our boast of Thy praise” (ver. 47). Then he hath briefly added this very praise, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and world without end” (ver. 48): by which we understand from everlasting to everlasting; because He shall be praised without end by those of whom it is said, “Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house: they will be alway praising Thee.” This is the perfection of the Body of Christ on the third day, when the devils had been cast out, and cures perfected, even unto the immortality of the body itself, the everlasting reign of those who perfectly praise Him, because they perfectly love Him; and perfectly love Him, because they behold Him face to face. For then shall be completed the prayer at the commencement of this Psalm: “Remember us, O Lord, according to the favour that Thou bearest unto Thy people,” etc. For from the Gentiles He doth not gather only the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but also those which do not belong to that fold; so that there is one flock, as is said, and one Shepherd. But when the Jews suppose that that prophecy belongeth to their visible kingdom, because they know not how to rejoice in the hope of good things unseen, they are about to rush into the snares of him, of whom the Lord saith, “I am come in My Father’s Name, and ye receive Me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.” Of whom the Apostle Paul saith: “that Man of Sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition,” etc. And a little after he saith, “Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming,” etc.…Through that Apostate, through him who exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, it seemeth to me, that the carnal people of Israel will suppose that prophecy to be fulfilled, where it is said, “Deliver us, O Lord, and gather us from among the heathen;” that under His guidance, before the eyes of their visible enemies, who had visibly taken them captive, they are to have visible glory. Thus they will believe a lie, because they have not received the love of truth, that they might love not carnal, but spiritual blessings.…For Christ had other sheep that were not of this fold: but the devil and his angels had taken captive all those sheep, both among the Israelites and the Gentiles. The power, therefore, of the devil having been cast out of them, in the sight of the evil spirits who had taken them captive, their cry in this prophecy is, that they may be saved and perfected for evermore: “Deliver us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen.” Not, as the Jews imagine it, fulfilled through Antichrist, but through our Lord Christ coming in the name of His Father, “Day from day, His salvation;” of whom it is here said, “O visit us in Thy salvation! And let all the people say,” the predestined people of the circumcision and of the uncircumcision, a holy race, an adopted people, “So be it! So be it!”