Expositions on the Book of Psalms 148
148.1 Psalm CXLVIII PL 36, 1937
1. The subject of our meditation in this present life should be the praises of God; for the everlasting exaltation of our life hereafter will be the praise of God, and none can become fit for the life hereafter, who hath not practised himself for it now. So then now we praise God, but we pray to Him too. Our praise is marked by joy, our prayer by groans.…On account of these two seasons, one, that which now is in the temptations and tribulations of this life, the other, that which is to be hereafter in everlasting rest and exultation; we have established also the celebration of two seasons, that before Easter and that after Easter. That which is before Easter signifieth tribulation, in which we now are; that which we are now keeping after Easter, signifieth the bliss in which we shall hereafter be. The celebration then which we keep before Easter is what we do now: by that which we keep after Easter we signify what as yet we have not. Therefore we employ that time in fastings and prayer, this present time we spend in praises, and relax our fast. This is the Halleluia which we sing, which, as you know, meaneth (in Latin), Praise ye the Lord. Therefore that period is before the Lord’s Resurrection, this, after His Resurrection: by which time is signified the future hope which as yet we have not: for what we represent after the Lord’s Resurrection, we shall have after our own. For in our Head both are figured, both are set forth. The Baptism of the Lord setteth forth to us this present life of trial, for in it we must toil, be harassed, and, at last, die; but the Resurrection and Glorification of the Lord setteth forth to us the life which we are to have hereafter, when He shall come to recompense due rewards, evil to the evil, good to the good. And now indeed all the evil men sing with us, Halleluia; but, if they persevere in their wickedness, they may utter with their lips the song of our life hereafter; but the life itself, which will then be in the reality which now is typified, they cannot obtain, because they would not practise it before it came, and lay hold on what was to come.
[«vers.» 1.] Meditatio praesentis vitae nostrae in laude Dei esse debet: quia exsultatio sempiterna futurae nostrae vitae, laus Dei erit; et nemo potest idoneus fieri futurae vitae, qui non se ad illam modo exercuerit. Modo ergo laudamus Deum: sed et rogamus Deum. Laus nostra laetitiam habet, oratio gemitum. Promissum est enim nobis aliquid quod nondum habemus; et quia verax est qui promisit, in spe gaudemus: quia tamen nondum habemus, in desiderio gemimus. Bonum est nobis perseverare in desiderio donec veniat quod promissum est, et transeat gemitus, succedat sola laudatio. Propter haec duo tempora unum quod nunc est in tentationibus et tribulationibus hujus vitae, alterum quod tunc erit in securitate et exsultatione perpetua, instituta est nobis etiam celebratio duorum temporum, ante Pascha, et post Pascha. Illud quod est ante Pascha, significat tribulationem in qua modo sumus: quod vero nunc agimus post Pascha, significat beatitudinem in qua postea erimus. Ante Pascha ergo quod celebramus, hoc et agimus: post Pascha autem quod celebramus, significamus quod nondum tenemus. Propterea illud tempus in jejuniis et orationibus exercemus; hoc vero tempus relaxatis jejuniis in laudibus agimus. Hoc est enim, «Alleluia,» quod cantamus; quod latine interpretatur, ut nostis, Laudate Dominum. Ideo illud tempus ante resurrectionem, hoc tempus post resurrectionem Domini est. Quo tempore significatur vita futura, quam nondum tenemus; quia quod significamus post resurrectionem Domini, tenebimus post resurrectionem nostram. In capite enim nostro nobis utrumque figuratum est, utrumque demonstratum est. Passio Domini ostendit nobis vitam praesentis necessitatis, quia oportet laborare, et tribulari, et ad extremum mori: resurrectio vero et clarificatio Domini ostendit nobis vitam quam accepturi sumus, eum venerit retribuere digna dignis, mala malis, bona bonis. Et quidem modo mali omnes cantare nobiscum possunt, «Alleluia:» si autem in malitia sua perseveraverint, canticum vitae nostrae futurae labiis dicere poterunt; ipsam vero vitam, quae tunc erit in ea veritate quae nunc significatur, obtinere non possunt; quia noluerunt meditari, antequam veniret, et tenere quod venturum erat.
148.2 PL 36, 1938
2. “Halleluia.” “Praise the Lord,” thou sayest to thy neighbour, he to thee: when all are exhorting each other, all are doing what they exhort others to do. But praise with your whole selves: that is, let not your tongue and voice alone praise God, but your conscience also, your life, your deeds. For now, when we are gathered together in the Church, we praise: when we go forth each to his own business, we seem to cease to praise God. Let a man not cease to live well, and then he ever praiseth God.…It is impossible for a man’s acts to be evil, whose thoughts are good. For acts issue from thought: nor can a man do anything or move his limbs to do aught, unless the bidding of his thought precede: just as in all things which ye see done throughout the provinces, whatsoever the Emperor biddeth goeth forth from the inner part of his palace throughout the whole Roman Empire. How great commotion is caused at one bidding by the Emperor as he sits in his palace! He but moveth his lips, when he speaketh: the whole province is moved, when what he speaketh is being executed. So in each single man too, the Emperor is within, his seat is in the heart. If he be good and biddeth good things, good things are done: if he be bad and biddeth evil things, evil things are done. When Christ sitteth there, what can He bid, but what is good? When the devil is the occupant, what can he bid, but evil? But God hath willed that it should be in thy choice for whom thou wilt prepare room, for God, or for the devil: when thou hast prepared it, he who is occupant will also rule. Therefore, brethren, attend not only to the sound; when ye praise God, praise with your whole selves: let your voice, your life, your deeds, all sing.
Nunc ergo, fratres, exhortamur vos ut laudetis Deum; et hoc est quod nobis omnes dicimus, quando dicimus, «Alleluia.» Laudate Dominum, dicis tu alteri, dicit ipse tibi: cum se omnes exhortantur, omnes faciunt quod hortantur. Sed laudate de totis vobis; id est, ut non sola lingua et vox vestra laudet Deum, sed et conscientia vestra, vita vestra, facta vestra. Etenim laudamus modo in ecclesia quando congregamur; cum quisque discedit ad propria, quasi cessat laudare Deum. Non cesset bene vivere, et semper laudat Deum. Tunc desinis laudare Deum, quando a justitia, et ab eo quod illi placet, declinas. Nam si a vita bona nunquam declines; lingua tua tacet, vita tua clamat; et aures Dei ad cor tuum. Quomodo enim aures nostrae ad voces nostras, sic aures Dei ad cogitationes nostras. Non potest autem fieri ut habeat mala facta, qui habet bonas cogitationes. Facta enim de cogitatione procedunt; nec quisquam potest aliquid facere, aut ad aliquid faciendum membra movere, nisi primo praecesserit jussio cogitationis: quomodo de interiori palatio, quidquid jusserit Imperator, per imperium Romanum emanat, quidquid videtis agi per provincias. Quantus motus fit ad unam jussionem Imperatoris intus sedentis? Movet solum ille labia, cum loquitur; et movetur omnis provincia, cum fit quod loquitur. Sic et in unoquoque hominum intus est imperator, in corde sedet: si bonus bona jubet, bona fiunt; si malus mala jubet, mala fiunt. Cum ibi sedet Christus, quid potest jubere, nisi bona? Cum possidet diabolus, quid potest jubere, nisi mala? In tuo autem arbitrio Deus esse voluit, cui pares locum, Deo, an diabolo: cum paraveris, qui possidebit, ipse imperabit. Ergo, fratres, non tantum ad sonum attendite: cum laudatis Deum, toti laudate; cantet vox, cantet vita, cantent facta. Etsi est adhuc gemitus, tribulatio, tentatio; sperate transitura omnia, et illum venturum diem quo sine defectu laudabimus. Ecce iste psalmus, quoniam manifestus est, currendus est nobis. Distribuit enim universam creaturam laudantem Deum, et tanquam hortatur ut laudet, quasi invenerit tacentem.
148.3 PL 36, 1939
3. “Praise ye the Lord from heaven” (ver. 1). As though he had found things in heaven holding their peace in the praise of the Lord, he exhorteth them to arise and praise. Never have things in heaven held their peace in the praises of their Creator, never have things on earth ceased to praise God. But it is manifest that there are certain things which have breath to praise God in that disposition wherein God pleaseth them. For no one praiseth aught, save what pleaseth him. And there are other things which have not breath of life and understanding to praise God, but yet, because they also are good, and duly arranged in their proper order, and form part of the beauty of the universe, which God created, though they themselves with voice and heart praise not God, yet when they are considered by those who have understanding, God is praised in them; and, as God is praised in them, they themselves too in a manner praise God.…
«Laudate Dominum de coelis.» Quasi invenerit tacentes in coelis laudem Domini, exhortatur ut surgant et laudent Nunquam coelestia laudes Conditoris sui tacuerunt, nunquam terrestria Deum laudare cessarunt. Sed plane sunt quaedam quae habent spiritum laudandi Deum in eo affectu quo eis placet Deus. Nemo enim laudat, nisi quod ei placet. Sunt autem alia quae spiritum vitae et intellectum ad laudandum Deum non habent, sed quia et ipsa bona sunt, et in ordine suo integre disposita, et ad pulchritudinem universitatis referuntur, quam condidit Deus; ipsa quidem per se voce sua et corde suo non laudant Deum; sed cum ab intelligentibus considerantur, per ipsa laudadatur Deus; et cum per ipsa laudatur Deus, quodam modo et ipsa laudant Deum. Verbi gratia, laudant Deum in coelo omnia quae habent spiritum vitae, et intellectum purum ad eum contemplandum et sine fastidio et defectu diligendum. Laudant autem Deum in terra per intellectum discernendi bonum et malum, per intellectum cognoscendi creaturam et Creatorem, homines qui ista cogitant, quibus tribuit Dominus mentem discernendi ista, delectandi atque laudandi. Homines possunt: pecora numquid habent hujusmodi intellectum? Si haberent hujusmodi intellectum pecora, non nobis diceret Deus: «Nolite esse sicut equus et mulus, quibus non est intellectus» . Quando hortatur nos ut non simus sicut pecora, sine intellectu, ostendit nobis quia homini tribuit intellectum ad laudandum Deum. Arbores numquid vel vitam ipsam habent, qua sentiant sicut pecora? Nam pecora, etsi sensum interiorem rationalem et mentem intelligentem atque discernentem non habent, quam homo habet, ut laudent Deum: habent tamen vitam manifestam, sicut omnes novimus, appetendi cibum, utilia sumendi, noxia respuendi; sensus corporalia discernendi; visum ad colores, auditum ad voces, olfactum ad odores, gustatum ad sapores, motus vel ad voluptates; vel a molestiis. Intelligimus haec, et videmus ante oculos nostros. Non habent rationem intelligendi; sed habent spiritum corporis animati, et vitam manifestam: arbores autem nec ipsam habent; et tamen omnia laudant Deum. Quare laudant Deum? Quia cum ista videmus, et consideramus Creatorem qui ea fecit, de illis nascitur in nobis laus Dei; et cum ipsorum consideratione laudatur Deus, omnia laudant Deum. Coepit ergo iste de coelo: laudant omnia, et dicit, «Laudate.» Quare, cum laudent, dicit, «Laudate?» Quia delectatus est in eo quod laudant, et placuit ei quasi adjungere hortationem suam. Quomodo si venias ad homines bonum aliquod operantes cum gaudio, sive in vinea, sive in messe, sive in aliqua agricultura; placet tibi quod faciunt, et dicis, Facite, agite: non ut tunc incipiant facere, quando dicis; sed quia placet tibi quod facientes inveneris, adjungis gratulationem et exhortationem tuam. Dicendo enim, Facite, et exhortando facientes, voto quasi facis cum illis. In hac ergo exhortatione plenus Spiritu Propheta dicit haec.
148.4 PL 36, 1940
4. “Praise ye the Lord from heaven: praise Him in the high places.” First he saith, “from heaven,” then from earth; for it is God that is praised, who made heaven and earth. All in heaven is calm and peaceful; there is ever joy, no death, no sickness, no vexation; there the blessed ever praise God; but we are still below: yet, when we think how God is praised there, let us have our heart there, and let us not hear to no purpose, “Lift up your hearts.” Let us lift up our heart above, that it become not corrupted on earth: for we take pleasure in what the Angels do there. We do it now in hope: hereafter we shall in reality, when we have come thither. “Praise Him” then “in the high places.”
Et Psalmus est «Aggaei et Zachariae:» sic habet titulum. Isti duo prophetae, eo tempore quo captivus populus tenebatur in Babylonia, prophetabant jam futurum finem captivitatis, ut restauraretur civitas Jerusalem , quae bello ceciderat. Significaverunt ergo nobis in mysterio vitam futuram, ubi laudabimus Deum post captivitatem vitae praesentis; ubi erit innovatio civitatis illius magnae Jerusalem unde peregrini suspiramus, captivati adhuc sub onere et sarcina corporis mortalis; unde adhuc gemimus in peregrinatione, exsultabimus autem in patria. Qui autem non gemit peregrinus, non gaudebit civis; quia desiderium non est in illo. Prophetae ergo isti sancti magnam consolationem praebuerunt tunc captivato populo secundum carnem, id est, constituto in Babylonia sub regibus alienigenis. Ostendebant enim per prophetiam, futurum tempus liberationis a captivitate, instaurationis Jerusalem. Sed illa omnia in figura gesta sunt ; habent veritatem suam: figurata sunt in antiquis, praesentia ostenduntur in nobis. Modo ergo quid dicit Apostolus? «Quamdiu sumus in corpore, peregrinamur a Domino» . Nondum sumus in patria: quando erimus in patria? Quando triumphabimus devicto inimico diabolo, quando «mors novissima inimica destruetur: tunc fiet sermo qui scriptus est, Absorpta est mors in victoriam. Ubi est, mors, contentio tua? ubi est, mors, aculeus tuus» ? Quando ergo nulla erit mortis contentio, quae modo est, et facit nos gemere ex defectu et mutabilitate rerum, ex fragilitate carnis humanae? Contendunt nobiscum quotidie tentationes, contendunt quotidie delectationes: etsi non consentiamus, tamen molestiam patimur, et contendimus, et magnum periculum est ne qui contendit vincatur; si autem non consentiendo vincamus, molestiam tamen patimur resistendo delectationibus. Non cessat, et non moritur hostis, nisi in resurrectione mortuorum. Sed praesumamus, fidamus, erigunt nos Aggaeus et Zacharias; cantant futuram liberationem nostram. Si illi populo cantaverunt, et impletum est; christiano populo quod cantatur, non implebitur? Securi estote: tantummodo in ista peregrinatione vitae quomodo agatis, videte. Non vobis placeat amor Babyloniae, ne obliviscamini civitatem Jerusalem. Etsi corpus vestrum adhuc in Babylonia tenetur, cor vestrum ad Jerusalem praemittatur. Laudet ergo tota creatura Dominum; quia hoc ibi facturi sumus, quod hic praemeditamur.
5. «Laudate Dominum de coelis; laudate eum in excelsis.» Primo de coelis dicit, postea de terra: laudatur enim Deus qui fecit coelum et terram. Coelestia tranquilla sunt, pacata sunt; ibi semper gaudium, nulla mors, nulla aegritudo, nulla molestia; semper laudant Deum beati: nos autem adhuc jusum sumus, sed cum cogitamus quomodo ibi laudetur Deus, cor ibi habeamus, et non sine causa audiamus, Sursum corda. Levemus cor sursum, ne putrescat in terra; quoniam placet nobis quod ibi agunt Angeli. Modo nos spe; postea re, cum illuc venerimus. «Laudate» ergo «eum in excelsis.»
148.5 PL 36, 1937
5. “Praise Him, all ye angels of His, praise Him, all His powers” (ver. 2). “Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all ye stars and light” (ver. 3). “Praise Him, ye heaven of heavens, and waters that are above the heavens” (ver. 4). “Let them praise the Name of the Lord” (ver. 5). When can he unfold all in his enumeration? Yet he hath in a manner touched upon them all summarily, and included all things in heaven praising their Creator. And as though it were said to him, “Why do they praise Him? what hath He conferred on them, that they should praise Him?” he goeth on, “for He spake, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created.” No wonder if the works praise the Worker, no wonder if the things that are made praise the Maker, no wonder if creation praise its Creator. In this Christ also is mentioned, though we seem not to have heard His Name.…By what were they made? By the Word? How doth he show in this Psalm, that all things were made by the Word? “He spake, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created.” No one speaketh, no one commandeth, save by word.
148.6 PL 36, 1941
6. “He hath established them for the age, and for age upon age” (ver. 6). All things in heaven, all things above, all powers and angels, a certain city on high, good, holy, blessed; from whence because we are wanderers, we are wretched; whither because we are to return, we are blessed in hope; whither when we shall have returned, we shall be blessed indeed; “He hath given them a law which shall not pass away.” What sort of command, think ye, have things in heaven and the holy angels received? What sort of command hath God given them? What, but that they praise Him? Blessed are they whose business is to praise God! They plough not, they sow not, they grind not, they cook not; for these are works of necessity, and there is no necessity there. They steal not, they plunder not, they commit no adultery; for these are works of iniquity, and there is no iniquity there. They break not bread for the hungry, they clothe not the naked, they take not in the stranger, they visit not the sick, they set not at one the contentious, they bury not the dead; for these are works of mercy, and there there is no misery, for mercy to be shown to. O blessed they! Think we that we too shall be like this? Ah! let us sigh, let us groan in sighing. And what are we, that we should be there? mortal, outcast, abject, earth and ashes! But He, who hath promised, is almighty.…
[«vers. 2-5.] Laudate eum omnes Angeli ejus, laudate eum omnes virtutes ejus. Laudate eum sol et luna, laudate eum omnes stellae et lumen. Laudate eum coeli coelorum, et aquae quae super coelos sunt, laudent nomen Domini.» Quando explicat omnia numerando? Sed tamen summatim et quasi omnia perstrinxit, et conclusit omnia coelestia laudantia Creatorem suum.
148.7 PL 36, 1941
7. Let him then turn himself to things on earth too, since he hath already spoken the praises of things in heaven. “Praise ye the Lord from the earth” (ver. 7). For wherewith began he before? “Praise ye the Lord from heaven:” and he went through things in heaven: now hear of things on earth. “Dragons and all abysses.” “Abysses” are depths of water: all the seas, and this atmosphere of clouds, pertain to the “abyss.” Where there are clouds, where there are storms, where there is rain, lightning, thunder, hail, snow, and all that God willeth should be done above the earth, by this moist and misty atmosphere, all this he hath mentioned under the name of earth, because it is very changeable and mortal; unless ye think that it raineth from above the stars. All these things happen here, close to the earth. Sometimes even men are on the tops of mountains, and see the clouds beneath them, and often it raineth: and all commotions which arise from the disturbance of the atmosphere, those who watch carefully see that they happen here, in this lower part of the universe.…Thou seest then what kind all these things are, changeable, troublous, fearful, corruptible: yet they have their place, they have their rank, they too in their degree fill up the beauty of the universe, and so they praise the Lord. He turns then to them, as though He would exhort them too, or us, that by considering them we may praise the Lord. “Dragons” live about the water, come out from caverns, fly through the air; the air is set in motion by them: “dragons” are a huge kind of living creatures, greater there are not upon the earth. Therefore with them he beginneth, “Dragons and all abysses.” There are caves of hidden waters, whence springs and streams come forth: some come forth to flow over the earth, some flow secretly beneath; and all this kind, all this damp nature of waters, together with the sea and this lower air, are called abyss, or “abysses,” where dragons live and praise God. What? Think we that the dragons form choirs, and praise God? Far from it. But do ye, when ye consider the dragons, regard the Maker of the dragon, the Creator of the dragon: then, when ye admire the dragons, and say, “Great is the Lord who made these,” then the dragons praise God by your voices.
Et quasi diceretur ei, Quare illum laudant? quid illi debent, quid illis contulit, ut laudent eum? sequitur: «Quoniam ipse dixit, et facta sunt; ipse mandavit, et creata sunt.» Non mirum si opera laudant operatorem, non mirum est si facta laudant factorem, non mirum si creatura laudat Creatorem. Ibi et Christus nominatus est, et quasi non audivimus nomen ipsius. Quis est Christus? «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» . Per quid facta sunt? Per Verbum. Quomodo hic ostendit quia per Verbum facta sunt? «Ipse dixit, et facta sunt; ipse mandavit, et creata sunt.» Nemo dicit, nemo mandat, nisi verbo.
148.8 PL 36, 1941
8. “Fire, hail, snow, ice, wind of storms, which do His word” (ver. 8). Wherefore added he here, “which do His word”? Many foolish men, unable to contemplate and discern creation, in its several places and rank, performing its movements at the nod and commandment of God think that God doth indeed rule all things above, but things below He despiseth, casteth aside, abandoneth, so that He neither careth for them, nor guideth, nor ruleth them; but that they are ruled by chance, how they can, as they can: and they are influenced by what they say sometimes to one another: e.g. “If it were God that gave rain, would He rain into the sea? What sort of providence,” they say, “is this? Getulia is thirsty, and it rains into the sea.” They think that they handle the matter cleverly. One should say to them, “Getulia does at all events thirst, thou dost not even thirst.” For good were it for thee to say to God, “My soul hath thirsted for Thee.” For he that thus argueth is already satisfied; he thinketh himself learned, he is not willing to learn, therefore he thirsteth not. For if he thirsted, he would be willing to learn, and he would find that everything happeneth upon earth by God’s Providence, and he would wonder at the arrangement of even the limbs of a flea. Attend, beloved. Who hath arranged the limbs of a flea and a gnat, that they should have their proper order, life, motion? Consider one little creature, even the very smallest, whatever thou wilt. If thou considerest the order of its limbs, and the animation of life whereby it moveth; how doth it shun death, love life, seek pleasures, avoid pain, exert divers senses, vigorously use movements suitable to itself! Who gave its sting to the gnat, for it to suck blood with? How narrow is the pipe whereby it sucketh! Who arranged all this? who made all this? Thou art amazed at the smallest things; praise Him that is great. Hold then this, my brethren, let none shake you from your faith or from sound doctrine. He who made the Angel in heaven, the Same also made the worm upon earth: the Angel in heaven to dwell in heaven, the worm upon earth to abide on earth. He made not the Angel to creep in the mud, nor the worm to move in heaven. He hath assigned dwellers to their different abodes; incorruption He assigned to incorruptible abodes, corruptible things to corruptible abodes. Observe the whole, praise the whole. He then who ordered the limbs of the worm, doth He not govern the clouds? And wherefore raineth He into the sea? As though there are not in the sea things which are nourished by rain; as though He made not fishes therein, as though He made not living creatures therein. Observe how the fishes run to sweet water. And wherefore, saith he, doth He give rain to the fishes, and sometimes giveth not rain to me? That thou mayest consider that thou art in a desert region, and in a pilgrimage of life; that so this present life may grow bitter to thee, that thou mayest long for the life to come: or else that thou mayest be scourged, punished, amended. And how well doth He assign their properties to regions. Behold, since we have spoken of Getulia, He raineth here nearly every year, and giveth corn every year; here the corn cannot be kept, it soon rotteth, because it is given every year; there, because it is given seldom, both much is given, and it can be kept for long. But dost thou perchance think that God there deserteth man, or that they do not there after their own manner of rejoicing both praise and glorify God? Take a Getulian from his country, and set him amid our pleasant trees; he will wish to flee away, and return to his bare Getulia. To all places then, regions, seasons, God hath assigned and arranged what fits them. Who could unfold it? Yet they who have eyes see many things therein: when seen, they please; pleasing, they are praised; not they really, but He who made them; thus shall all things praise God.
[«vers. 6.] Statuit ea in saeculum et in saeculum saeculi.» Omnia coelestia, omnia superiora, virtutes omnes atque Angelos, civitatem quamdam supernam, bonam, sanctam, beatam: unde quoniam peregrinamur, miseri adhuc sumus; et quo redituri, in spe beati; et quo cum redierimus, in re beati. «Statuit ea in saeculum et in saeculum saeculi: praeceptum posunt, et non praeteribit.» Quale praeceptum putatis habere coelestia et Angelos sanctos? quale praeceptum dedit illis Deus? Quale, nisi ut laudent illum? Beati quorum hoc est negotium, laudare Deum. Non arant, non seminant, non molunt, no coquunt: opera enim sunt ista necessitatis; ibi necessitas non est. Non furantur, non depraedantur, non adulterantur: opera enim sunt ista iniquitatis; ibi iniquitas non est. Non frangunt panem esurienti, non vestiunt nudum, non suscipiunt peregrinum, non visitant aegrotum, non concordant litigiosum, non sepeliunt mortuum: opera enim sung ista misericordiae; ibi nulla miseria est in qua fiat misericordia. O beati! Putamus, erimus et nos sic? Eia, suspiremus, de suspirio gemamus. Et quid sumus, ut ibi simus? Mortales, projecti, abjecti, terra et cinis. Sed qui promisit omnipotens est. Si ad nos attendamus, quid sumus? si ad illum, Deus est, omnipotens est. Non est facturus angelum ex homine, qui fecit hominem ex nihilo? aut vero pro minimo habet Deus hominem, propter quem mori voluit Unicum suum? Attendamus ad indicium dilectionis. Promissionis Dei tales arrhas accepimus; tenemus mortem Christi, tenemus sanguinem Christi. Quis mortuus est? Unicus. Pro quibus mortuus est? Utinam pro bonis, utinam pro justis. Sed quid? «Etenim Christus,» ait Apostolus, «pro impiis mortuus est» . Qui donavit impiis mortem suam, quid servat justis, nisi vitam suam? Erigat ergo se humana fragilitas, non desperet, non se collidat, non se avertat, non dicat, Non ero. Qui promisit, Deus est: et venit, ut promitteret; apparuit hominibus, venit suscipere mortem nostram, promittere vitam suam. Venit ad regionem peregrinationis nostrae, accipere hic quod hic abundat, opprobria, flagella, colaphos, sputa in faciem, contumelias, spineam coronam, suspensionem in ligno, crucem, mortem. Haec abundant in regione nostra; ad talia commercia venit. Quid hic dedit, quid accepit? Dedit exhortationem, dedit doctrinam, dedit remissionem peccatorum; accepit contumelias, mortem, crucem. Attulit nobis de illa regione bona, et in regione nostrapertulit mala. Promisit tamen nobis quod ibi futuri simus unde venit; et ait: «Pater, volo ut ubi ego sum, et ipsi sint mecum» . Tanta praecessit dilectio! Quia ubi nos eramus, fuit nobiscum; ubi ipse est, erimus cum illo. Quid tibi promisit Deus, o homo mortalis? Quia victurus es in aeternum. Non credis? Crede, crede. Plus est jam quod fecit, quam quod promisit. Quid fecit? Mortuus est pro te. Quid promisit? Ut vivas cum illo. Incredibilius est quod mortuus est aeternus, quam ut in aeternum vivat mortalis. Jam quod incredibilius est tenemus. Si propter hominem mortuus est Deus, non est victurus homo cum Deo? non est victurus mortalis in aeternum, propter quem mortuus est qui vivit in aeternum? Sed quomodo mortuus est Deus, et unde mortuus est Deus? et potest mori Deus? Accepit ex te, unde moreretur pro te. Non posset mori, nisi caro; non posset mori, nisi mortale corpus: induit se ubi pro te moreretur, induet te ubi cum illo vivas. Ubi se induit morte? In virginitate matris. Ubi te induet vita? In aequalitate Patris. Elegit sibi hic thalamum castum, ubi conjungeretur sponsus sponsae. Verbum caro factum est , ut fieret caput Ecclesiae. Verbum enim ipsum non est pars Ecclesiae; sed ut esset caput Ecclesiae, carnem assumpsit. Quiddam nostrum jam sursum est, quod hic accepit, ubi mortuus est, ubi crucifixus est: jam quaedam primitiae tuae praecesserunt, et dubitas quia secuturus es!
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9. It was in thought of this that the spirit of the Prophet added the words, “which do His word.” Think not then that these things are moved by chance, which in every motion of theirs obey God. Whither God willeth, thither the fire spreads, thither the cloud hurries, whether it carry in it rain, or snow, or hail. And wherefore doth the lightning sometimes strike the mountain, yet strikes not the robber?…Perhaps He yet seeketh the robber’s conversion, and therefore is the mountain which feareth not smitten, that the man who feareth may be changed. Thou also sometimes, when maintaining discipline, smitest the ground to terrify a child. Sometimes too He smiteth a man, whom He will. But thou sayest to me, Behold, He smiteth the more innocent, and passeth over the more guilty. Wonder not; death, whencesoever it come, is good to the good man. And whence dost thou know what punishment is reserved in secret for that more guilty man, if he be unwilling to be converted? Would not they rather be scorched by lightning, to whom it shall be said in the end, “Depart into everlasting fire”? The needful thing is, that thou be guileless. Why so? Is it an evil thing to die by shipwreck, and a good thing to die by fever? Whether he die in this way or in that, ask what sort of man he is who dieth; ask whither he will go after death, not how he is to depart from life.…Whatever then happeneth here contrary to our wish, thou wilt know that it happeneth not, save by the will of God, by His providence, by His ordering, by His nod, by His laws: and if we understand not why anything is done, let us grant to His providence that it is not done without reason: so shall we not be blasphemers. For when we begin to argue concerning the works of God, “why is this?” “why is that?” and, “He ought not to have done this,” “He did this ill;” where is the praise of God? Thou hast lost thy Halleluia. Regard all things in such wise as to please God and praise the Creator. For if thou wert to happen to enter the workshop of a smith, thou wouldest not dare to find fault with his bellows, his anvils, his hammers. But take an ignorant man, who knows not for what purpose each thing is, and he findeth fault with all. But if he have not the skill of the workman, and have but the reasoning power of a man, what saith he to himself? Not without reason are the bellows placed here: the workman knoweth wherefore, though I know not. In the shop he dareth not to find fault with the smith, yet in the universe he dareth to find fault with God. Therefore just as “fire, hail, snow, ice, wind of storms, which do His word,” so all things in nature, which seem to foolish persons to be made at random, simply “do His word,” because they are not made save by His command.
[«vers.» 7.] Ergo convertat se et ad terrena, quia jam dixit laudes coelestium. «Laudate Dominum de terra.» Superius enim unde coepit? «Laudate Dominum de coelis;» et enarravit coelestia: modo audi terrestria. «Dracones et omnes abyssi.» Abyssi, profunditates aquarum sunt: maria omnia, nubilosus iste aer ad abyssum pertinet. Ubi nubes, ubi venti, ubi tempestates, ubi pluviae, coruscationes, tonitrua, grandines, nix, et quidquid vult Deus fieri super terras de isto humido et caliginoso aere, totum hoc terrae nomine appellavit, quia nimis mutabile est atque mortale: nisi forte putatis quia sursum pluit stellis. Omnia ista hic fiunt prope ad terram. Et aliquando sunt homines in cacuminibus montium, et nubes sub se vident, et fiunt plerumque pluviae: et apparent bene intentis omnia ista, quae perturbato aere concitantur, hic fieri in ista mundi parte infima. Propterea ad ista caliginosa, id est ad hunc aerem, tanquam ad carcerem, damnatus est diabolus, de apparatu superiorum Angelorum lapsus cum angelis suis: nam Apostolus hoc de illo dicit, «Secundum principem potestatis aeris hujus, qui nunc operatur in filiis diffidentiae» . Et alius apostolus dicit, «Si enim Deus angelis peccantibus non pepercit, sed carceribus caliginis inferni retrudens, tradidit in judicio puniendos servari» : infernum hoc appellans, quod inferior pars mundi sit. Noli enim cogitare quid accepit diabolus, sed quid perdidit. Omnia ergo ista videtis qualia sunt, mutabilia, turbata, terribilia, corruptibilia: tamen habent locum suum, habent ordinem suum, implent et ipsa universi pulchritudinem pro modo suo, et ideo laudant Dominum. Conversus ergo ad illa, tanquam exhortans et ipsa; imo exhortans nos, ut eorum consideratione laudemus Dominum (sic enim laudant Deum, cum considerata pariunt laudem Dei), coepit dicere, «Laudate Dominum de terra, dracones et omnes abyssi.» Dracones circa aquam versantur, de speluncis procedunt, feruntur in aera; concitatur propter eos aer: magna quaedam sunt animantia dracones, majora non sunt super terram. Propterea inde coepit dicere, «Dracones et omnes abyssi.» Sunt autem speluncae aquarum latentium, unde fontes, unde flumina procedunt; et alia procedunt, ut fluant super terram, alia occulte subter eunt: et totum hoc, atque omnis ista humida natura aquarum, simul cum mari et isto infimo aere, abyssus vel abyssi vocantur, ubi vivunt dracones et laudant Deum. Quid? putamus quia choros faciunt dracones, et laudant Deum? Absit. Sed vos considerantes dracones, attendite artificem draconum, creatorem draconum; et cum miramini dracones, et dicitis, Magnus Deus qui haec fecit, dracones laudant Deum de vocibus vestris: «Dracones et omnes abyssi.»
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10. Then he mentioneth, that they may praise the Lord, “mountains and hills, fruitful trees and all cedars” (ver. 9): “beasts and all cattle, creeping things, and winged fowls” (ver. 10). Then he goeth to men; “kings of the earth and all people, princes and all judges of the earth” (ver. 11): “young men and maidens, old men and young, let them praise the Name of the Lord” (ver. 12). Ended is the praise from heaven, ended is the praise from earth. “For His Name only is exalted” (ver. 13). Let no man seek to exalt his own name. Wilt thou be exalted? Subject thyself to Him who cannot be humbled. “His confession is in earth and heaven” (ver. 14). What is “His confession”? Is it the confession wherewith He confesseth? No, but that whereby all things confess Him, all things cry aloud: the beauty of all things is in a manner their voice, whereby they praise God. The heaven crieth out to God, “Thou madest me, not I myself.” Earth crieth out, “Thou createdst me, not I myself.” How do they cry out? When thou regardest them, and findest this out, they cry out by thy voice, they cry out by thy regard. Regard the heavens, it is beautiful: observe the earth, it is beautiful: both together are very beautiful. He made them, He ruleth them, by His nod they are swayed, He ordereth their seasons, He reneweth their movements, by Himself He reneweth them. All these things then praise Him, whether in stillness or in motion, whether from earth below or from heaven above, whether in their old state or in their renewal. When thou seest all these things, and rejoicest, and art lifted up to the Maker, and gazest on “His invisible things understood by the things which are made,” “His confession is in earth and heaven:” that is, thou confesseth to Him from things on earth, thou confesseth to Him from things in heaven. And since He made all things, and nought is better than He, whatsoever He made is less than He, and whatsoever in these things pleaseth thee, is less than He. Let not then what He hath made so please thee, as to withdraw thee from Him who made: if thou lovest what He made, love much more Him who made. If the things which He hath made are beautiful, how much more beautiful is He who made them. “And He shall exalt the horn of His people.” Behold what Haggai and Zachariah prophesied. Now the “horn of His people” is humble in afflictions, in tribulations, in temptations, in beating of the breast; when will He “exalt the horn of His people”? When the Lord hath come, and our Sun is risen, not the sun which is seen with the eye, and “riseth upon the good and the evil,” but That whereof is said, To you that hear God, “the Sun of Righteousness shall rise, and healing in His wings;” and of whom the proud and wicked shall hereafter say, “The light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us.” This shall be our summer. Now during the winter weather the fruits appear not on the stock; thou observest, so to say, dead trees during the winter. He who cannot see truly, thinketh the vine dead; perhaps there is one near it which is really dead; both are alike during winter; the one is alive, the other is dead, but both the life and death are hidden: summer advanceth; then the life of the one shineth brightly, the death of the other is manifested: the splendour of leaves, the abundance of fruit, cometh forth, the vine is clothed in outward appearance from what it hath in its stock. Therefore, brethren, now we are the same as other men: just as they are born, eat, drink, are clothed, pass their life, so also do the saints. Sometimes the very truth deceiveth men, and they say, “Lo, he hath begun to be a Christian: hath he lost his headache?” or, “because he is a Christian, what gaineth he from me?” O dead vine, thou observest near thee a vine that is bare indeed in winter, yet not dead. Summer will come, the Lord will come, our Splendour, that was hidden in the stock, and then “He shall exalt the horn of His people,” after the captivity wherein we live in this mortal life.…
[«vers. 8.] Ignis, grando, nix, glacies, spiritus tempestatis, quae faciunt verbum ejus.» Quare hic addidit, «quae faciunt verbum ejus?» Multi stulti non valentes contemplari et discernere creaturam locis suis et ordine suo, sub nutu et jussu Dei agentem motus suos, visum est illis quia superiora omnia Deus gubernat, inferiora vero despicit, abjicit, deserit, ut nec curet ista, nec gubernet, nec regat: sed casibus regantur, quomodo possunt, qua possunt: et movent illos quae dicunt aliquando sibi (sed non dicant tibi, id est, ne audiendo consentias quando ista dicunt; blasphema enim sunt et exsecrabilia Deo), Si Deus plueret, numquid plueret in mare? Qualis, inquiunt, providentia? Getulia sitit, et mare compluitur. Acute sibi videntur tractare: quibus dicendum est hoc, Getulia vel sitit; tu, nec sitis. Bonum enim erat ut diceres Deo: «Anima mea velut terra sine aqua tibi» . Quod alio loco aperte dicitur: «Sitivit tibi anima mea, quam multipliciter tibi et caro mea» . Et Dominus in Evangelio: «Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam, quoniam ipsi saturabuntur» . Iste enim jam saturatus est, qui talia disputat; quasi sibi doctus videtur, nec vult discere, ideo non sitit. Nam si sitiret, vellet discere; et inveniret quia totum Dei providentia fit in terra; et miraretur disposita etiam membra pulicis. Attendat Charitas vestra. Quis disposuit membra pulicis et culicis, ut habeant ordinem suum, habeant vitam suam, habeant motum suum? Unam bestiolam brevem, minutissimam considera, quam volueris. Si consideres ordinem membrorum ipsius, et animationem vitae qua movetur; ut pro se fugit mortem, amat vitam, appetit voluptates, devitat molestias, exserit sensus diversos, viget in motu congruo sibi! Quis dedit aculeum culici, quo sanguinem sugat? Quam tenuis fistula est qua sorbet! Quis disposuit ista? quis fecit ista? Expavescis in minimis; lauda magnum. Hoc itaque tenete, fratres mei; nemo vos de fide excutiat, et de sana doctrina. Qui fecit in coelo angelum, ipse fecit in terra vermiculum: sed angelum in coelo pro habitatione coelesti, vermiculum in terra pro habitatione terrestri. Numquid angelum fecit repere in coeno, et vermiculum in coelo? Distribuit sedibus habitatores; incorruptionem incorruptis sedibus dedit, corruptibilia corruptibilibus locis. Totum attende, totum lauda. Qui ergo disposuit membra vermiculi, non gubernat nubes? Et quare in mare pluit? Quasi non sint in mari, quae alantur pluvia; quasi non ibi fecit pisces, quasi non ibi fecit animalia. Attendite quomodo currunt pisces ad aquam dulcem. Et quare, inquit, pisci pluit, et mihi aliquando non pluit? Ut cogites te in regione esse deserti, et in peregrinatione vitae; et amarescat tibi vita praesens, ut futuram desideres; aut ut flagelleris, et corripiaris, et corrigaris. Quomodo autem distribuit propria regionum? Ecce, quia de Getulia locuti sumus, pluit hic prope omni anno, et omni anno dat frumentum: servari hic frumentum non potest, cito corrumpitur; quia omni anno datur: ibi, quia raro, et multum datur, et diu servatur. Sed forte putas quia ibi deserit Deus homines, aut non ibi secundum jucunditatem suam et laudant et glorificant Deum? Apprehende inde Getulum, pone inter istas arbores amoenas; fugere hinc vult, et redire ad nudam Getuliam. Omnibus ergo Deus locis, regionibus, temporibus, sua quaeque distribuit et ordinavit. Et longum est commemorare diligentiorem considerationem omnium rerum. Quis illam explicat? Tamen qui oculos habent, multa ibi vident: cum viderint, placent; cum placuerint, laudantur, non tanquam ipsa, sed ille qui fecit: ita omnia laudabunt Deum.
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11. “An hymn to all His Saints.” Know ye what an hymn is? It is a song with praise of God. If thou praisest God and singest not, thou utterest no hymn: if thou singest and praisest not God, thou utterest no hymn: if thou praisest aught else, which pertaineth not to the praise of God, although thou singest and praisest, thou utterest no hymn. An hymn then containeth these three things, song, and praise, and that of God. Praise then of God in song is called an hymn. What then meaneth, “An hymn to all His Saints”? Let His Saints receive an hymn: let His Saints utter an hymn: for this is what they are to receive in the end, an everlasting hymn.…
Haec considerans spiritus Prophetae, cum dixisset, «Ignis, grando, nix, glacies, spiritus tempestatis,» quae omnia turbata videntur quibusdam stultis, et quasi casibus agitari, addidit, «Quae faciunt verbum ejus.» Non tibi ergo videantur casibus moveri, quae verbo Dei in omni motu suo deserviunt. Quo vult Deus, illuc ignis, illuc fertur nubes, sive pluviam, sive nivem, sive grandinem portet. Et quare aliquando percutiunt montem fulmina, et non percutiunt latronem? Quodcumque possum dicere pro captu mentis meae, quantum Deus donare dignatur: majores majora noverint, et amplius intelligant; et det vobis Deus plus sapere quam dico, tamen cum temperantia, sine superbia: possum ergo pro modulo meo dicere quare percutiant montem, et non percutiant latronem: quia forte adhuc latronis conversionem quaerit; et ideo percutitur mons qui non timet, ut mutetur homo qui timet. Aliquando et tu, cum das disciplinam, terram feris, ut infans expavescat. Et aliquando ferit et quem vult hominem. Sed dicis mihi: Ecce ferit innocentiorem, et dimittit sceleratiorem. Noli mirari: undecumque mors pio bona est. Unde autem scis illi sceleratiori, si se mutare noluerit, quid poenarum in occulto servetur? Nonne mallent fulmine incendi, quibus in fine dicetur: «Ite in ignem aeternum» ? Opus est ut innocens sis. Quid enim? malum est mori naufragio, et bonum est mori febre? Sive inde, sive inde moriatur, quaere qualis sit qui moritur; quo post mortem iturus est, non unde de vita exiturus. Quacumque occasione, hinc exituri sumus, Quibus exitibus martyres exire meruerunt? numquid febribus, quomodo multi optant ut febre solvantur? Alii uno ictu gladii, alii ignibus, alii bestiis. Et devoraverunt bestiae corpora martyrum, et non timuerunt ne perirent corpora ipsorum. Undique enim Deus reducet corpora sanctorum suorum, cui capilli nostri numerati sunt . Et quando voluit, tres pueros ab igne liberavit : numquid ideo Machabaeos in igne deseruit ? Illos aperte liberavit, istos occulte coronavit. Novit igitur Deus quid agat. Tu time, et bonus esto. Undecumque voluerit ut excas hinc, paratum te inveniat. Inquilinus enim es , non possessor domus. Locata est enim tibi domus; domus ista tibi locata est, non donata; etsi nolis, migrabis: et non eam tali conditione, accepisti, ut quasi tempora certa tibi sint. Quid dixit Dominus tuus? Quando voluero, cum dixero, Migra; paratus esto. Expello te de hospitio, sed dabo domum: inquilinus es in terra, eris possessor in coelo.