Expositions on the Book of Psalms 44
44.1 Psalm XLIV PL 36, 493
1. This Psalm is addressed “to the sons of Korah,” as its title shows. Now Korah is equivalent to the word baldness; and we find in the Gospel that our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified in “the place of a skull.” It is clear then that this Psalm is sung to the “sons of His ‘Passion.’” Now we have on this point a most certain and most evident testimony from the Apostle Paul; because that at the time when the Church was suffering under the persecutions of the Gentiles, he quoted from hence a verse, to insert by way of consolation, and encouragement to patience. For that which he inserted in his Epistle, is said here: “For Thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.” Let us then hear in this Psalm the voice of the Martyrs; and see how good is the cause which the voice of the Martyrs pleads, saying, For Thy sake, etc.…
[vers. 1.] Hunc psalmum sicut vobiscum cum exsultatione cantavimus, ita nobiscum cum attentione consideretis peto. Cantatur enim de sanctis nuptiis, de sponso et sponsa, de rege et plebe, de Salvatore et de his qui salvandi sunt. Qui cum veste nuptiali venit ad nuptias, gloriam quaerens sponsi, non suam, non solum libenter audit, quod solet esse etiam hominum spectacula quaerentium, non facta exhibentium; sed etiam mandat cordi, quod non ibi vacet, sed germinet, erumpat, crescat, perficiatur, assumatur. Oportet enim nos esse, quibus hoc cantetur, filios Core, quod habet titulus Psalmi. Erant enim isti quidam homines: verumtamen omnis inscriptio Litterarum divinarum aliquid innuit intelligentibus, et non tantum auditorem, verum etiam cognitorem desiderat. Interrogamus enim vim hebraici verbi, quid sit Core: et, sicut se interpretationes habent omnium verborum in Scriptura positorum, renuntiatur nobis, filios Core interpretari filios Calvi. Quod nomen non ad irrisionem accipiatis, ne inveniamur in sensu puerili, quales pueros legimus in libro Regnorum, insultantes Elisaeo sancto prophetae, et clamantes post ipsum: Ascende calve, ascende calve. Tales enim pueros stulte garrulos, et in suam perniciem maledicentes, exeuntes de silva bestiae comederunt . Hoc scriptum est, et ubi sit scriptum commemoravimus: qui meminerunt, recognoscant; qui non meminerunt, legant; qui non legerunt, credant. Quod ergo illud factum figuravit in futurum, non nos debet apprehendere. Significati sunt enim in illis pueris stulti homines, habentes ignorantiae sensum; quales nos non vult esse Apostolus, ubi dicit: Nolite pueri esse mentibus (I Cor. XIV, 20). Et quia Dominus invitaverat nos ad imitationem puerorum, quando ante se parvulum posuit, et ait, Nisi quis fuerit ut puer iste, non intrabit in regnum coelorum ; ibi quoque Apostolus cautus, ubi revocat a mente puerili, vocat rursus ad imitationem puerilem: Nolite, inquit, pueri effici mentibus, sed malitia parvuli estote, ut mentibus perfecti sitis . Quem delectat imitari puerum, non delectet imperitia, sed innocentia. Illi vero ex imperitia insultabant sancto Dei calvo, et clamabant post eum: Calve, calve. Factum est ut a bestiis consumerentur: et figuraverunt homines in eadem mente puerili stulte irridentes quemdam calvum; quia in Calvariae loco crucifixus est. Possessi sunt ergo tales velut a bestiis, hoc est a daemonibus, a diabolo et angelis ejus, qui operatur in filiis diffidentiae. Tales pueri erant, qui ante sacratum lignum stantes caput agitabant, et dicebant: Si filius Dei est, descendat de cruce . Hujus nos filii sumus, quia filii sponsi sumus: et nobis inscriptus est psalmus iste, cujus titulus dicitur, Filiis Core, pro his quae commutabuntur.
44.2 PL 36, 494
2. The title then is not simply “To the sons of Korah,” but, “For understanding, to the sons of Korah.” This is the case also with that Psalm, the first verse of which the Lord Himself uttered on the Cross: “My God, My God, look upon Me; why hast Thou forsaken Me?” For “transferring us in a figure” to what He was saying, and to His own Body (for we are also “His Body,” and He is our “Head”), He uttered from the Cross not His own cry, but ours. For God never “forsook” Him: nor did He Himself ever depart from the Father; but it was in behalf of us that He spake this: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?” For there follows, “Far from My health are the words of My offences:” and it shows in whose person He said this; for sin could not be found in Him.…
Quid ego exponam quid sit, pro his quae commutabuntur? Quid ego dicam? Hoc omnis mutatus agnoscit. Qui audit haec, Pro his quae commutabuntur, videat quid erat, et quid nunc sit. Et primo ipsum mundum videat commutatum; nuper adorantem idola, modo adorantem Deum; nuper servientem iis quae fecit, modo ei a quo factus est. Pro his quae commutabuntur, videte quando dictum sit. Modo jam residui Pagani mutata expavescunt: et qui nolunt mutari, vident refertas ecclesias, templa deserta; hac celebritatem, ibi solitudinem. Mirantur mutata, legant praedicta: aurem accommodent promissori, credant exhibitori. Sed et unusquisque nostrum, fratres, ex vetere homine in novum mutatur; ex infideli fidelis fit, ex raptore largitor, castus ex adultero, beneficus ex malefico. Ergo cantetur nobis, Pro his quae commutabuntur: et sic incipiat describi, per quem commutata sunt.
44.3 PL 36, 494
3. “O God, we have heard with our ears; our fathers have told us the work that Thou didst in their days, and in the days of old” (ver. 1). Wondering wherefore, in these days, He has seemingly forsaken those whom it was His will to exercise in sufferings, they recall the past events which they have heard of from their fathers; as if they said, It is not of these things that we suffer, that our fathers told us! For in that other Psalm also, He said this, “Our fathers trusted in Thee; they trusted, and Thou didst deliver them. But I am a worm and no man; a reproach of men, and the outcast of the people.” They trusted, and Thou didst deliver them; have I then hoped, and hast Thou forsaken me? And have I believed upon Thee in vain? And is it in vain that my name has been written in Thy Book, and Thy name has been inscribed on me? What our fathers told us was this:
“Thy hand destroyed the nations; and Thou plantedst them: Thou didst weaken the peoples, and cast them out” (ver. 2). That is to say: “Thou didst drive out ‘the peoples’ from their own land, that Thou mightest bring ‘them’ in, and plant them; and mightest by Thy mercy stablish their kingdom.” These are the things that we heard from our fathers. But perhaps it was because they were brave, were men of battle, were invincible, were well-disciplined, and warlike, that they could do these things. Far from it. This is not what our fathers told us; this is not what is contained in Scripture. But what does it say, but what follows?
“For they gat not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance” (ver. 3). Thy “right hand” is Thy Power: Thine “arm” is Thy Son Himself. And “the light of Thy countenance.” What means this, but that Thou wert present with them, in miracles of such a sort that Thy presence was perceived. For when God’s presence with us appears by any miracle, do we see His face with our own eyes? No. It is by the effect of the miracle He intimates to man His presence. In fact, what do all persons say, who express wonder at facts of this description? “I saw God present.” “But Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance; because Thou pleasedst in them:” i.e. didst so deal with them, that Thou wert well-pleasing in them: that whoso considered how they were being dealt with, might say, that “God is with them of a truth;” and it is God that moves them.
Sequitur enim: Pro his quae commutabuntur, filiis Core, in intellectum, Canticum pro dilecto. Nam dilectus ille visus est a persecutoribus suis, sed non in intellectum. Si enim cognovissent, nunquam Dominum gloriae crucifixissent . Ad hunc intellectum oculos alios quaerebat ipse, cum diceret: Qui me videt, videt et Patrem . Sonet eum jam Psalmus: gaudeamus in nuptiis, et nos crimus cum iis qui fiunt nuptiae qui invitantur ad nuptias; et ipsi invitati sponsa est. Etenim sponsa Ecclesia est, sponsus Christus. Solent dici ab scholasticis carmina quaedam uxores ducentibus et nubentibus, quae vocantur epithalamia; quidquid ibi cantatur, ad honorem cantatur sponsi et sponsae: an forte et in nuptiis istis, quo invitati sumus, thalamus non est? Et unde dicit alius psalmus: In sole posuit tabernaculum suum, et ipse tanquam sponsus procedens de thalamo suo ? Conjunctio nuptialis, Verbum et caro: hujus conjunctionis thalamus, virginis uterus. Etenim caro ipsa Verbo est conjuncta: unde etiam dicitur, Jam non duo, sed una caro . Assumpta est Ecclesia ex genere humano, ut caput esset Ecclesiae ipsa caro Verbo conjuncta, et caeteri credentes membra essent illius capitis. Nam vis videre quis venerit ad nuptias? In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum . Gaudeat sponsa amata a Deo. Quando amata? Dum adhuc foeda. Omnes enim peccaverunt, ait Apostolus, et egent gloria Dei . Et iterum: Etenim Christus pro impiis mortuus est . Amata est foeda, ne remaneret foeda. Non enim vere foeda amata est, quia non foeditas amata est: nam si hoc amaret, hoc servaret: evertit foeditatem, formavit pulchritudinem. Ad qualem venit, et qualem fecit? Veniat jam ipse in verbis propheticis; ecce ipse sponsus procedat nobis: amemus illum; aut si invenerimus in eo aliquid foedi, non amemus. Ecce ipse invenit multa foeda, et amavit nos: si aliquid foedi invenerimus in eo, non amemus. Quia et hoc ipsum quod carnem indutus est, ut de illo etiam diceretur. Vidimus eum, et non habebat speciem neque decorem ; si consideres misericordiam qua factus est, et ibi pulcher est. Sed Judaeorum personam gerebat propheta, cum diceret: Vidimus eum, et non habebat speciem neque decorem. Quare? Quia non in intellectum. Intelligentibus autem, et Verbum caro factum est , magna pulchritudo est. Mihi autem absit gloriari, dixit unus amicorum sponsi, nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi . Parum est ut non inde erubescas, nisi etiam et glorieris. Quare ergo non habuit speciem neque decorem? Quia Christus crucifixus, Judaeis quidem scandalum, Gentibus stultitia. Quare autem et in cruce habuit decorem? Quia quod stultum est Dei, sapientius est quam homines; et quod infirmum est Dei, fortius est quam homines . Nobis ergo jam credentibus, ubique sponsus pulcher occurrat. Pulcher Deus, Verbum apud Deum: pulcher in utero virginis, ubi non amisit divinitatem, et sumpsit humanitatem: pulcher natus infans Verbum; quia et cum esset infans, cum sugeret, cum manibus portaretur, coeli locuti sunt, Angeli laudes dixerunt, Magos stella direxit, adoratus est in praesepi, cibaria mansuetorum . Pulcher ergo in coelo, pulcher in terra; pulcher in utero, pulcher in manibus parentum; pulcher in miraculis, pulcher in flagellis; pulcher invitans ad vitam, pulcher non curans mortem; pulcher deponens animam, pulcher recipiens; pulcher in ligno, pulcher in sepulcro, pulcher in coelo. In intellectum audite Canticum, neque oculos vestros a splendore pulchritudinis illius avertat carnis infirmitas. Summa et vera pulchritudo justitia est: ibi illum non videbis pulchrum, ubi deprehendis injustum: si ubique justus, ubique decorus. Veniat ergo nobis inspiciendus oculis mentis, descriptus a quodam laudatore suo propheta: ecce incipit.
44.4 PL 36, 496
4. “What? Was He then other than now He is?” Away with the supposition. For what follows?
“Thou art Thyself my King and my God.” (ver. 4). “Thou art Thyself;” for Thou art not changed. I see that the times are changed; but the Creator of times is unchanged. “Thou art Thyself my King and my God.” Thou art wont to guide me: to govern me, to save me. “Thou who commandest salvation unto Jacob.” What is, “Thou who commandest”? Even though in Thine own proper Substance and Nature, in which Thou art whatsoever Thou art, Thou wast hid from them; and though Thou didst not converse with the fathers in that which Thou art in Thyself, so that they could see Thee “face to face,” yet by any created being whatsoever “Thou commandest salvation unto Israel.” For that sight of Thee “face to face” is reserved for those set free in the Resurrection. And the very “fathers” of the New Testament too, although they saw Thy mysteries revealed, although they preached the secret things so revealed to them, nevertheless said that they themselves saw but “in a glass, darkly,” but that “seeing face to face” is reserved to a future time, when what the Apostle himself speaks of shall have come. “When Christ our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” It is against that time then that vision “face to face” is reserved for you, of which John also speaks: “Beloved, we are now the sons of God: and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” Although then at that time our fathers saw Thee not as Thou art, “face to face,” although that vision is reserved against the resurrection, yet, even though they were Angels who presented themselves, it is Thou, “Who commandest salvation unto Jacob.” Thou art not only present by Thine own Self; but by whatsoever created being Thou didst appear, it is Thou that dost “command” by them, that which Thou doest by Thine own Self in order to the salvation of Thy servants: but that which they do whom Thou “commandest” it, is done to procure the salvation of Thy servants. Since then Thou art Thyself “my King and my God, and Thou commandest salvation unto Jacob,” wherefore are we suffering these things?
[vers. 2.] Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum. Quis dicit, Pater, an Propheta? Intellexerunt enim quidam Patris personam dicentis, Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum, commendantis nobis nativitatem quamdam ineffabilem. Ne forte putares aliquid assumptum, unde Filium generaret Deus; quemadmodum homo sibi assumit aliquid unde generet filios, conjugium scilicet, sine quo prolem procreare homo non potest: ne igitur putares aliquo conjugio indiguisse Deum, unde Filium generaret, Eructavit, inquit, cor meum verbum bonum. Hodie cor tuum, o homo, generat consilium, nec quaerit uxorem: per consilium natum ex corde tuo aedificas aliquid; et illa fabrica, antequam stet in opere, stat in consilio; et inest jam quod facturus es, in eo per quod facturus es: et laudas fabricam nondum existentem, nondum in specie aedificii, sed in prolatione consilii; nec laudat alius consilium tuum, nisi aut indicaveris, aut viderit quod fecisti. Ergo si per Verbum omnia, et Verbum de Deo; inspice fabricam factam per Verbum, et ex isto aedificio mirare consilium. Quale Verbum est per quod factum est coelum et terra, et omnis ornatus coeli, omnis fecunditas terrae, diffusio maris, distentio aeris, fulgor siderum, claritas solis et lunae? Videntur haec: transcende et haec; cogita Angelos, Principatus, Sedes, Dominationes, Potestates: omnia per ipsum facta sunt. Unde ergo ista bona facta sunt? Quia eructatum est per quod fierent, Verbum bonum. Ergo Verbum bonum: et ipsi Verbo dictum est, Magister bone. Et ipsum Verbum respondit, Quid me interrogas de bono? Nemo bonus, nisi unus Deus . Dictum est, Magister bone; et dicit, Quid me interrogas de bono? Addidit etiam, Nemo bonus, nisi unus Deus. Quomodo ergo et ipse bonus, nisi quia Deus? Non solum autem Deus, sed cum Patre unus Deus. Non enim dicendo, Nemo bonus, nisi unus Deus, discrevit se, sed univit. Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum. Dixerit hoc Deus Pater de Verbo suo bono atque benefico bono nostro, per quod solum bonum utcumque boni esse possumus.
44.5 PL 36, 496
5. But perhaps it is only what is past that has been described to us: but nothing of the kind is to be hoped for by us for the future. Nay indeed, it is still to be hoped for. “Through Thee will we winnow away our enemies” (ver. 5). Our fathers then have declared to us a work that Thou didst “in their days, and in the days of old,” that Thy hand destroyed the Gentiles: that Thou “didst cast out the peoples; and didst plant them.” Such was the past; but what is to be hereafter? “Through Thee we shall winnow away our enemies.” A time will come, when all the enemies of Christians will be winnowed away like chaff, be blown like dust, and be cast off from the earth.…Thus much of the future. “I will not trust in my bow,” even as our fathers did not in “their sword. Neither shall my sword help me” (ver. 6).
Sequitur, Dico ego opera mea regi. Adhuc Pater loquitur? Si adhuc Pater loquitur, quaeramus et hoc quomodo secundum fidem veram et catholicam intelligamus, Dico ego opera mea regi. Si enim Pater dicit opera sua Filio suo regi nostro; quae opera Pater dicturus est Filio, cum omnia opera Patris per Filium facta sint? An forte, Dico ego opera mea regi, ipsum Dico, generationem Filii significat? Vereor ne hoc aliquando a tardioribus non possit intelligi: verumtamen dicam; sequatur qui potest, ne non dicto non sequatur et qui potest. Legimus in alio psalmo dictum: Semel locutus est Deus . Toties locutus est per Prophetas, toties per Apostolos, hodieque loquitur per sanctos suos, et ait: Semel locutus est Deus. Unde semel locutus est, nisi propter Verbum unum? Sicut autem Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum, intelleximus ibi generationem Filii; veluti repetitio mihi videtur facta in consequenti sententia, ut illud quod dictum erat, Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum, repeteretur in eo quod ait, Dico. Quid est enim, Dico? Verbum profero. Et unde profert Deus verbum, nisi ex corde suo, ex intimo suo? Tu non dicis nisi quod ex corde tuo profers; verbum tuum quod sonat et transit, aliunde non profertur: et miraris quia ita dicit Deus? Sed dicere Dei aeternum est. Tu dicis aliquid modo, quia tacebas paulo ante: vel ecce nunc nondum verbum profers; cum autem proferre coeperis, rumpis silentium quodammodo, et generas verbum quod antea non erat. Non sic Deus genuit Verbum: dicere Dei sine initio est, et sine fine; et tamen unum Verbum dicit. Dicat alterum, si quod dixit transierit. Cum vero et a quo dicitur manet, et quod dicitur manet; et semel dicitur et non finitur; et ipsum semel sine initio dicitur, nec bis dicitur, quia non transit quod semel dicitur. Hoc est ergo, Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum, quod est, Dico ego opera mea regi. Quare ergo, Opera mea dico? Quia in ipso Verbo omnia opera Dei. Quidquid enim facturus erat Deus in creatura, jam in Verbo erat; nec esset in rebus, nisi esset in Verbo: quomodo et in te non esset in fabrica, nisi esset in consilio. Sicut in Evangelio dicitur: Quod factum est in ipso vita erat . Erat ergo quod factum est, sed in Verbo erat: et omnia opera Dei ibi erant, et opera nondum erant: sed Verbum erat, et Verbum hoc Deus erat, et apud Deum erat, et Filius Dei erat, et cum Patre unus Deus erat. Dico ego opera mea regi. Audiat dicentem, qui Verbum intelligit; et videat cum Patre sempiternum Verbum, in quo sunt etiam quae futura sunt, in quo non abierunt et quae transierunt. Haec opera Dei in Verbo, tanquam in Verbo, tanquam in Unigenito, tanquam in Dei Verbo.
44.6 PL 36, 497
6. “For Thou hast saved us from our enemies” (ver. 7). This too is spoken of the future under the figure of the past. But this is the reason that it is spoken of as if it were past, that it is as certain as if it were past. Give heed, wherefore many things are expressed by the Prophets as if they were past; whereas it is things future, not past facts that are the subject of prophecy. For the future Passion of our Lord Himself was foretold: and yet it says, “They pierced My hands and My feet. They told all My bones;” not, “They shall pierce,” and “shall tell.” “They looked and stared upon Me;” not “They shall look and stare upon Me.” “They parted My garments among them.” It does not say, “They shall part” them. All these things are expressed as if they were past, although they were yet to come: because to God things to come also are as certain as if they were past.…It is for this reason, in consequence of their certainty, that those things which are yet future, are spoken of as if past. This it is then that we hope. For it is, “Thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.”
Quid ergo sequitur? Lingua mea calamus scribae, velociter scribentis. Quid simile, fratres mei, quid habet simile lingua Dei cum calamo scribae? Quid habet simile petra cum Christo ? quid habet simile agnus cum Salvatore ? quid habet leo cum Unigeniti fortitudine ? Dicta sunt haec tamen: et nisi dicerentur, non aliquo modo per haec visibilia ad invisibilem informaremur. Sic ergo humilem similitudinem calami hujus, nec comparemus illi excellentiae, nec tamen respuamus. Quaero enim quare linguam suam calamum dixit esse scribae velociter scribentis? At vero quantumvis velociter scribat scriba, non comparatur illi velocitati, de qua dicit alius psalmus: Usque in velocitatem currit verbum ejus . Sed mihi videtur, quantum audet humana intelligentia, et hoc posse accipi ex persona Patris dictum, Lingua mea calamus scribae. Quia quod lingua dicitur, sonat et transit; quod scribitur, manet: cum ergo dicat Deus Verbum, et Verbum quod dicitur non sonet et transeat, sed et dicatur et maneat; scriptis hoc maluit Deus comparare, quam sonis. Quod autem addidit, velociter scribentis, impulit mentem ad intelligentiam: sed non pigra remaneat, respiciendo antiquarios, aut respiciendo qualeslibet veloces notarios; si autem hoc attenderit, remanebit ibi. Ipsum velociter, cogitet velociter; et videat quare dictum sit, velociter. Velociter Dei tale est, ut velocius nihil sit. In Scripturis enim scribitur littera post litteram, syllaba post syllabam, verbum post verbum; nec ad secundum transitur, nisi primo perscripto. Ibi autem nihil velocius, ubi non multa sunt verba, nec tamen aliquid praetermissum est, cum in uno sint omnia.
44.7 PL 36, 498
7. “In God will we boast all the day long” (ver. 8). Observe how he intermingles words expressive of a future time, that you may perceive that what was spoken of before as in past time was foretold of future times. “In God will we boast all day long; and in Thy name will we confess for ever.” What is, “We shall boast”? What, “We shall confess”? That Thou hast “saved us from our enemies;” that Thou art to give us an everlasting kingdom: that in us are to be fulfilled the words, “Blessed are they that dwell in Thine house: they will be always praising Thee.”
[vers. 3.] Ecce jam Verbum illud sic prolatum, aeternum, ab aeterno coaeternum, veniet sponsus. Speciosus forma prae filiis hominum. Prae filiis hominum: quare non et prae Angelis? Quid voluit dicere, Prae filiis hominum, nisi quia homo? Ne hominem Christum quemlibet hominem putares, ait, Prae filiis hominum speciosus forma. Etiam homo prae filiis hominum; etiam inter filios hominum, prae filiis hominum; etiam ex filiis hominum, prae filiis hominum. Diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis. Lex per Moysen data est; Gratia et veritas per Jesum Christum facta est . Diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis. Merito mihi subventum est, quia condelector legi Dei secundum interiorem hominem. Sed alia lex in membris meis repugnat legi mentis meae, et captivum me ducit in lege peccati, quae est in membris meis. Miser ego homo, quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus? Gratia Dei per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum . Diffusa est ergo gratia in labiis tuis. Venit nobis cum verbo gratiae, cum osculo gratiae. Quid ista gratia dulcius? Quo pertinet gratia ista? Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates, et quorum tecta sunt peccata . Si severus judex veniret, nec afferret istam gratiam diffusam in labiis suis, quis de salute aliquid speraret? Quis non sibi hoc timeret quod peccatori debebatur? Ille veniens cum gratia, non exegit quod debebatur, solvit quod non debebat. Num enim non peccator debebat mortem? Aut vero tibi peccatori debebatur, nisi supplicium? Debita tua dimisit, et indebita sua exsolvit. Magna gratia. Quare gratia? Quia gratis. Propterea tibi gratias agere licet, referre non licet; non enim potes. Quaerebat ille quid retribueret, et dixit: Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi? Et invenit quasi aliquid: Calicem salutaris accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo . Hoc illi rependis, quia calicem salutaris accipis, et nomen Domini invocas? Quis tibi dedit ipsum calicem salutarem? Remansit in actione gratiarum, nam in relatione defecit. Inveni quid Deo des, quod ab illo non acceperis; et retuleris gratiam. Sed cave ne dum quaeris quid illi retribuas, quod ab illo non acceperis, invenias, sed peccatum tuum. Hoc plane ab illo non accepisti, sed nec ei dare debes. Hoc dederunt Judaei, retribuerunt mala pro bonis; acceperunt ab eo pluviam, et fructum non dederunt, sed spinas dolorum. Ergo bonum quidquid volueris in te dare Deo, non te invenis accepisse nisi a Deo. Ipsa est gratia Dei diffusa in labiis. Fecit te, gratis te fecit. Non enim erat cui praestaret antequam faceret. Perieras, quaesivit te; et inventum revocavit te. Praeterita non imputavit, futura promisit. Vere diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis.
44.8 PL 36, 499
8. Since then we have the certainty that these things are to be hereafter, and since we have heard from our fathers that those we spoke of were in time past, what is our state at present? “But now Thou hast cast us off, and put us to shame” (ver. 9). Thou hast “put us to shame” not before our own consciences, but in the sight of men. For there was a time when Christians were persecuted; when in every place they were outcasts, when in every place it used to be said, “He is a Christian!” as if it conveyed an insult and reproach. Where then is He, “our God, our King,” who “commands salvation unto Jacob”? Where is He who did all those works, which “our fathers have told us”? Where is He who is hereafter to do all those things which He revealed unto us by His Spirit? Is He changed? No. These things are done in order to “understanding, for the sons of Korah.” For we ought to “understand” something of the reason, why He has willed we should suffer all these things in the mean time. What “all things”? “But now Thou hast cast us off and put us to shame: and goest not forth, O God, in our powers.” We go forth to meet our enemies, and Thou goest not forth with us. We see them: they are very strong, and we are without strength. Where is that might of Thine? Where Thy “right hand,” and Thy power? Where the sea dried up, and the Egyptian pursuers overwhelmed with the waves? Where Amalek’s resistance subdued by the sign of the Cross? “And Thou, O God, goest not forth in our powers.”
Propterea, inquit, benedixit te Deus in aeternum. Laboratur, ut hoc possit intelligi adhuc a Deo Patre dici, Propterea benedixit te Deus in aeternum. Accommodatius videtur hoc accipi ex persona Prophetae. Et mutationes personarum repentinae, et omnino ex improviso, inveniuntur in sanctis Scripturarum libris; et si quis advertat, plenae sunt paginae divinae. Domine, libera animam meam a labiis iniquis et a lingua dolosa; et statim, Quid detur tibi, aut quid adjiciatur tibi adversus linguam subdolam? Alia illic persona erat, alia hic: ibi petentis, hic subvenientis. Sagittae potentis acutae, cum carbonibus vastatoriis. Alia persona est, Quid detur tibi, aut quid adjiciatur tibi; et in consequentibus fit alia, Heu me! quia incolatus meus longinquus factus est . In paucis versibus tam crebra mutatio personarum intellectum admonet: non exprimit locum ubi mutatur; non dicitur, Hoc dixit homo, hoc dixit Deus; sed ex ipsis verbis fit nobis intelligere quid ad hominem pertineat, quid ad Deum. Homo autem dicebat, Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum, dico ego opera mea regi. Homo dicebat, ille dicebat qui scripsit Psalmum; sed ex persona Dei dicebat: incipit dicere et ex sua, Propterea benedixit te Deus in aeternum. Dixerat enim Deus, Diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis, ei quem fecerat speciosum prae filiis hominum, etiam hominem quem Deum ante omnia protulerat, aeternus coaeternum. Impletus est ergo Propheta gaudio quodam ineffabili, et attendens quid Deus Pater de Filio suo homini revelaverit, qui potuit dicere ista et ex persona Dei, Propterea, inquit, benedixit te Deus in aeternum. Quare? Propter gratiam. Illa enim gratia quo pertinet? Ad regnum coelorum. Primum enim Testamentum terram promiserat: et aliud praemium fuit vel promissio sub Lege positorum, aliud sub Gratia: terra Chananaeorum Judaeis sub Lege positis, regnum coelorum Christianis sub Gratia positis. Itaque quod pertinebat ad eos qui sub Lege positi erant, regnum, terra illa transiit: regnum coelorum quod pertinet sub Gratia positis, non transit. Propterea hic, benedixit te Deus, non ad tempus, sed in aeternum.
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9. “Thou hast turned us away backward in presence of our enemies” (ver. 10), so that they are, as it were, before; we, behind; they are counted as conquerors, we as conquered. “And they which hate us spoiled for themselves.” What did they “spoil” but ourselves?
Non defuerunt qui omnia etiam superiora verba ex Prophetae persona accipi mallent: et hoc quod dictum est, Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum, ex Propheta voluerint intelligi, veluti dicente hymnum. Ut et illud quod adjunctum est, Dico ego opera mea regi, significare voluerit summum hominis opus non esse, nisi Deum laudare. Illius est specie sua placere tibi, ad te pertinet eum in gratiarum actione laudare. Opera tua si non fuerint laus Dei, incipis teipsum amare; et pertinebis ad illos de quibus dicit Apostolus: Erunt enim homines seipsos amantes . Displice tibi, placeat tibi qui te fecit; quia in eo tibi displices quod in te ipse fecisti. Opus ergo tuum sit laus Dei, eructet cor tuum verbum bonum. Dic ergo opera tua regi: quia ut diceres, rex fecit, et ipse donavit quod offerres. Redde illi de suo, ne velis accepta parte patrimonii tui ire longius et prodige perdere in meretrices, et porcos pascere. Hoc recordamini ex Evangelio. Sed etiam de nobis dictum est: Mortuus erat, et revixit; perierat, et inventus est .
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10. “Thou has given us like sheep appointed for meat, and hast scattered us among the nations” (ver. 11). We have been “devoured” by “the nations.” Those persons are meant, who, through their sufferings, have by process of assimilation, becomes part of the “body” of the Gentile world. For the Church mourns over them, as over members of her body, that have been devoured.
Lingua mea calamus scribae, velociter scribentis. Non defuerunt qui sic intelligerent Prophetam ea dixisse quae scriberet, et ideo linguam suam calamo scribae comparasse. Velociter autem scribentis voluisse dicere, ut significaret ea se scribere, quae velociter ventura erant, ut velociter scribere, velocia scribere intelligatur, id est scribere non tardatura. Non enim tardavit Deus exhibere Christum. Quam cito evolutum sentitur, quod peractum agnoscitur! Recordare generationes ante te, invenies Adam tanquam hesterno die factum. Ita gesta legimus omnia ab ipso principio: ergo velociter facta sunt. Velociter erit et dies judicii; praeveni velocitatem ipsius: velociter veniet, velocius tu mutare. Aderit facies judicis, sed vide quid dicit Propheta: Praeveniamus faciem ejus in confessione . Diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis, propterea benedixit te Deus in aeternum.
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11. “Thou hast sold Thy people for no price” (ver. 12). For we see whom Thou hast made over; what Thou hast received, we have not seen. “And there was no multitude in their jubilees.” For when the Christians were flying before the pursuit of enemies, who were idolaters, were there then held any congregations and “jubilees” to the honour of God? Were those Hymns chanted in concert from the Churches of God, that are wont to be sung in concert in time of peace, and to be sounded in a sweet accord of the brotherhood in the ears of God?
[vers. 4.] Accingere gladium tuum circa femur, potentissime. Gladium tuum, quid, nisi verbum tuum? Illo gladio stravit inimicos, illo gladio divisit filium a patre, filiam a matre, nurum a socru. Legimus haec in Evangelio: Non veni pacem mittere, sed gladium. Et erunt in una domo quinque divisi adversum se, duo adversus tres, et tres adversus duos erunt divisi: id est, filius adversus patrem, filia adversus matrem, nurus adversus socrum suam . Divisio haec quo gladio facta est, nisi quem Christus attulit? Et revera, fratres, etiam quotidianis exemplis videmus haec. Placet juveni alicui Deo servire, displicet patri; divisi sunt adversus se: ille promittit terrenam haereditatem, ille amat coelestem; aliud iste pollicetur, aliud ille eligit. Non sibi putet pater factam injuriam; Deus solus illi praefertur: et tamen litigat cum filio volente servire Deo. Sed fortior est ille gladius spiritualis separans, quam copulans natura carnalis. Fit hoc et de filia adversus matrem, multo magis et de nuru adversus socrum. Nam aliquando in una domo nurus et socrus inveniuntur haeretica et catholica. Et ubi fortiter recipitur iste gladius, rebaptizationem non timemus. Potuit dividi filia adversus matrem suam, et non potest nurus adversus socrum suam.
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12. “Thou madest us a reproach to our neighbours; a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us” (ver. 13). “Thou madest us a similitude among the heathen” (ver. 14). What is meant by a “similitude”? It is when men in imprecating a curse make a “similitude” of his name whom they detest. “So mayest thou die;” “So mayest thou be punished!” What a number of such reproaches were then uttered! “So mayest thou be crucified!” Even in the present day there are not wanting enemies of Christ (those very Jews themselves), against whom whensoever we defend Christ, they say unto us, “So mayest thou die as He did.” For they would not have inflicted that kind of death had they not an intense horror of dying by such a death: or had they been able to comprehend what mystery was contained in it. When the ointment is applied to the eyes of the blind man, he does not see the eye-salve in the physician’s hand. For the very Cross was made for the benefit even of the persecutors themselves. Hereby they were healed afterwards; and they believed in Him whom they themselves had slain. “Thou madest us a similitude among the heathen; a shaking of the head among the peoples,” a “shaking of the head” by way of insult. “They spake with their lips, they shook the head.” This they did to the Lord: this to all His Saints also, whom they were able to pursue, to lay hold of, to mock, to betray, to afflict, and to slay.
Factum est hoc generaliter etiam in genere humano, divisus est filius adversus patrem. Fuimus enim aliquando filii diaboli. Adhuc infidelibus dictum est: Vos a patre diabolo estis . Et omnis infidelitas nostra, unde, nisi a patre diabolo? Non ille creando pater, sed nos illum imitando filii. Jam modo videtis filium adversus patrem divisum. Venit gladius ille; renuntiat diabolo: invenit alium patrem, invenit aliam matrem. Ille ad imitationem se praebens, generabat in exitium: parentes duo quos invenimus, in vitam aeternam generant. Divisus est filius adversus patrem. Divisa est filia adversus matrem suam: plebs illa quae de Judaeis credidit, divisa est adversus Synagogam. Divisa est et nurus adversus socrum suam: plebs de Gentibus veniens, nurus dicitur; quia sponsus Christus filius Synagogae. Unde enim natus est Filius Dei secundum carnem? Ex illa Synagoga. Ille qui dimisit patrem et matrem, et adhaesit uxori suae, ut essent duo in carne una : non conjectura nostra, sed attestante Apostolo, et dicente: Sacramentum hoc magnum est, ego autem dico in Christo et in Ecclesia . Dimisit enim patrem quodammodo: non omnino dimisit veluti ad separationem, sed ad susceptionem humanae carnis. Quomodo dimisit? Quia cum esset in forma Dei, non rapinam arbitratus est esse aequalis Deo, sed semetipsum exinanivit, formam servi accipiens . Quomodo dimisit et matrem? Gentem Judaeorum, Synagogam illam haerentem veteribus sacramentis. Ad ipsam figuram pertinet quod ait, Quae est mihi mater, aut qui fratres ? Ille enim intus ducebat, illi foris stabant. Videte si non modo ita sunt Judaei. Docet Christus in Ecclesia, illi foris stant. Socrus ergo quid est? Mater sponsi. Mater sponsi Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Synagoga est. Proinde nurus ejus Ecclesia, quae veniens de Gentibus non consensit in circumcisionem carnalem, divisa est adversus socrum suam. Accingere gladium tuum. De potentia hujus gladii loquebamur, cum ista diceremus.
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13. “My shame is continually before me; and the confusion of my face has covered me” (ver. 15). “For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth” (ver. 16): that is to say, from the voice of them that insult over me, and who make it a charge against me that I worship Thee, that I confess Thee! and who make it a charge against me that I bear that name by which all charges against me shall be blotted out. “For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth,” that is, of him that speaketh against me. “By reason of the enemy and the persecutor.” And what is the “understanding” conveyed here? Those things which are told us of the time past, will not be done in our case: those which are hoped for, as to be hereafter, are not as yet manifest. Those which are past, as the leading out of Thy people with great glory from Egypt; its deliverance from its persecutors; the guiding of it through the nations, the placing of it in the kingdom, whence the nations had been expelled. What are those to be hereafter? The leading of the people out of this Egypt of the world, when Christ, our “leader” shall appear in His glory: the placing of the Saints at His right hand; of the wicked at His left; the condemnation of the wicked with the devil to eternal punishment; the receiving of a kingdom from Christ with the Saints to last for ever. These are the things that are yet to be: the former are what are past. In the interval, what is to be our lot? Tribulations! “Why so?” That it may be seen with respect to the soul that worships God, to what extent it worships God; that it may be seen whether it worships Him “freely” from whom it received salvation “freely.”…What hast thou given unto God? Thou wert wicked, and thou wert redeemed! What hast thou given unto God? What is there that thou hast not “received” from Him “freely”? With reason is it named “grace,” because it is bestowed (gratis, i.e.) freely. What is required of thee then is this, “that thou too shouldest worship “Him freely;” not because He gives thee things temporal, but because He holds out to thee things eternal.…
Accingere gladium tuum, sermonem tuum: circa femur, potentissime, circa femur habens gladium. Quid est, circa femur? quid significat de femore? Carnem. Unde illud est: Non deficiet princeps de Juda, et dux de femoribus ejus . Nonne et ipse Abraham, cui promissum erat semen in quo benedicerentur omnes gentes, quando misit servum suum ad quaerendam et ducendam uxorem filio suo, unde veniret illud semen sanctum in quo benedicerentur omnes gentes; fide tenens in illa veluti humilitate seminis esse magnitudinem nominis, id est Filium Dei venturum ex filiis hominum per semen Abrahae, fecit ipsum servum suum, quem mittebat, ita sibi jurare? Pone, inquit, manum tuam sub femore meo, et sic jura . Quasi diceret, Pone manum tuam ad altare, aut ad Evangelium, aut ad Prophetam, aut ad aliquid sanctum. Sub femore meo, inquit, pone manum: habens fiduciam, nec reverens turpitudinem, sed intelligens veritatem. Propterea, Accingere gladium tuum circa femur, potentissime. Potentissime etiam circa femur: quia quod infirmum est Dei, fortius est hominibus . Potentissime.
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14. “All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten Thee” (ver. 17). What is meant by, “have not forgotten Thee”? “Neither have we behaved ourselves frowardly in Thy covenant.”
“Our heart has not turned back; and Thou hast turned aside our goings out of Thy way” (ver. 18). See here is “understanding,” in that “our heart has not gone back;” that we have not “forgotten Thee, have not behaved frowardly in Thy covenant;” placed as we are in great tribulations, and persecutions of the Gentiles. “Thou hast turned aside our goings out of Thy way.” Our “goings” were in the pleasures of the world; our “goings” were in the midst of temporal prosperities. Thou hast taken “our goings out of Thy way;” and hast shown us how “strait and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life.” What is meant by, “hast turned aside our goings out of Thy way”? It is as if He said, “Ye are placed in the midst of tribulation; ye are suffering many things; ye have already lost many things that ye loved in this life: but I have not abandoned you on the way, the narrow way that I am teaching you. Ye were seeking “broad ways.” What do I tell you? This is the way we go to everlasting life; by the way ye wish to walk, ye are going to death. How “broad and wide is the road that leads to destruction: and” how “many there be that find it! How strait and narrow the way that leadeth unto life, and” how “few there be” that walk therein! Who are the few? They who patiently endure tribulations, patiently endure temptations; who in all these troubles do not “fall away:” who do not rejoice in the word “for a season” only; and in the time of tribulation fade away, as on the sun’s arising; but who have the “root” of “love,” according to what we have lately heard read in the Gospel.…
[vers. 5.] Specie tua et pulchritudine tua. Justitiam accipe, qua semper es speciosus et pulcher. Et intende, et prospere procede, et regna. Nonne videmus? Certe jam factum est. Attendite orbem terraram; intendit, prospere processit, et regnat; subditae sunt omnes gentes. Quid erat illud videre in spiritu? Quod nunc est experiri in veritate. Quando dicebantur haec, nondum ita regnabat Christus, nondum intenderat, nondum processerat: praedicabantur; exhibita sunt, jam ea tenemus: in multis redditorem habemus Deum, in paucis debitorem. Intende, et prospere procede, et regna.
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15. “For Thou hast brought us low in the place of infirmity” (ver. 18): therefore Thou wilt exalt us in the place of strength. “And the shadow of death has covered us” (ver. 19). For this mortality of ours is but the “shadow” of death. The true death is condemnation with the devil.
Propter veritatem, et mansuetudinem, et justitiam. Reddita est veritas, quando veritas de terra orta est, et justitia de coelo prospexit . Praesentatus est Christus exspectationi generis humani, ut in semine Abrahae benedicerentur omnes gentes. Praedicatum est Evangelium; veritas est. Quid mansuetudo? Passi sunt martyres, et inde multum processit, et promovit per omnes gentes regnum Dei: quia patiebantur martyres, nec deficiebant, nec resistebant; dicentes omnia, nihil occultantes; parati ad omnia, nihil recusantes. Magna mansuetudo! Corpus Christi hoc fecit, in capite suo didicit. Ille prior sicut ovis ad occisionem ductus est, et sicut agnus coram tondente se non aperuit os suum : usque adeo mansuetus, ut pendens in cruce diceret, Pater, ignosce illis, quia nesciunt quid faciunt . Quid propter justitiam? Veniet etiam, ut judicet, et retribuat unicuique secundum opera sua . Dixit veritatem, pertulit iniquitatem, allaturus est aequitatem. Et deducet te mirabiliter dextera tua. Nos dextera ipsius, ipse dextera sua. Ille enim Deus, nos homines. Dextera sua deductus est, id est potentia sua. Etenim potentiam quam Pater habet, habet et ipse, et immortalitatem Patris habet et ipse; divinitatem Patris habet, aeternitatem Patris habet, virtutem Patris habet. Deducet eum mirabiliter dextera ejus, faciens divina, patiens humana, malitias hominum sternens bonitate sua. Adhuc deducitur et ubi nondum est, et dextera ejus deducit eum. Hoc enim eum ducit, quod ipse donavit sanctis suis. Deducet te mirabiliter dextera tua.
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16. “If we have forgotten the Name of our God.” Here is the “understanding” of the “sons of Korah.” “And stretched out our hands to a strange God” (ver. 20). “Shall not God search this out? For He knoweth the secrets of the heart” (ver. 21). He “knows,” and yet He “searches them out”? If He knows the secrets of the heart, what do the words, “Shall not God search it out,” do there? He “knows” it in Himself; He “searches it out” for our sakes. For it is for this reason God sometimes “searches a thing out;” and speaks of that becoming known to Himself, which He is Himself making known to thee. He is speaking of His own work, not of His knowledge. We commonly say, “A gladsome day,” when it is fine. Yet is it the day itself that experiences delight? No: we speak of the day as gladsome, because it fills us with delight. And we speak of a “sullen sky.” Not that there is any such feeling in the clouds, but because men are affected with sullenness at the sight of such an appearance of the skies, it is called sullen for this reason, that it makes us sullen. So also God is said to “know” when He causes us to know. God says to Abraham, “Now I know that thou fearest God.” Did He then not know it before then? But Abraham did not know himself till then: for it was in that very trial he came to know himself.…And God is said to “know” that which He had caused him to know. Did Peter know himself, when he said to the Physician, “I will be with Thee even unto death?” The Physician had felt his pulse, and knew what was going on within His patient’s soul: the patient knew it not. The crisis of trial came; and the Physician approved the correctness of His opinion: the sick man gave up his presumption. Thus God at once “knows” it and “searches it out.” “He knows it already. Why does He ‘search it out’?” For thy sake: that thou mayest come to know thine own self, and mayest return thanks to Him that made thee. “Shall not God search it out?”
[vers. 6.] Sagittae tuae acutae, potentissimae: verba cor transfigentia, amorem excitantia. Unde dicitur in Canticis canticorum: Quia vulnerata charitate ego sum . Dicit enim vulneratam se esse charitate, id est, amare se dicit, aestuare se dicit, suspirare sponso, unde accepit sagittam verbi. Sagittae tuae acutae, potentissimae: et transfigentes, et efficientes: acutae, potentissimae. Populi sub te cadent. Qui ceciderunt? Qui percussi sunt, et ceciderunt. Populos videmus subditos Christo, cadentes non videmus. Exponit ubi cadunt: in corde. Ibi se erigebant adversus Christum, ibi cadunt ante Christum. Blasphemabat Saulus Christum, erectus erat: supplicat Christo, cecidit, prostratus est: occisus est inimicus Christi, ut vivat discipulus Christi. De coelo emissa sagitta, corde percussus est Saulus, nondum Paulus, adhuc Saulus, adhuc erectus, nondum prostratus: accepit sagittam, cecidit in corde. Non enim quod prostratus est in facie, ibi cecidit in corde; sed ubi ait: Domine, quid me jubes facere ? Modo ibas ad Christianos alligandos et perducendos ad poenam; et modo dicis Christo: Quid me jubes facere? O sagittam acutam, potentissimam, qua accepta cecidit Saulus ut esset Paulus! Ut ille, ita et populi: gentes attendite, videte subditas Christo. Ergo, Populi sub te cadent, in corde inimicorum regis: hoc est, in corde inimicorum tuorum. Ipsum enim appellat regem, ipsum novit regem. Populi sub te cadent, in corde inimicorum regis. Inimici erant: acceperunt sagittas tuas, ceciderunt ante te. Ex inimicis amici facti sunt: inimici mortui sunt, amici vivunt. Hoc est, Pro his quae commutabuntur. Quaerimus intelligere verba singula, versus singulos: ita tamen quaerimus, ut de Christo dici nemo dubitet. Populi sub te cadent, in corde inimicorum regis.
44.17 PL 36, 503
17. “For, for Thy sake we are killed all the day long: we are counted as sheep for the slaughter” (ver. 22). For you may see a man being put to death; you do not know why he is being put to death. God knoweth this. The thing in itself is hid. But some one will say to me, “See, he is detained in prison for the name of Christ, he is a confessor for the name of Christ.” Why do not heretics also confess the name of Christ, and yet they do not die for His sake? Nay more; let me say it, in the Catholic Church itself, do you think there either are, or have been wanting persons such as would suffer for the sake of glory among men? Were there no such persons, the Apostle would not say, “Though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” He knew therefore that there might be some persons, who did this not from “charity,” but out of vainglory. It is therefore hid from us; God alone sees this; we cannot see it. He alone can judge of this, who “knoweth the secrets of the heart.” “For,” for Thy sake “are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.” I have already mentioned that from hence the Apostle Paul had borrowed a text for the encouragement of the Martyrs: that they might not “faint in the tribulations” undergone by them for the name of Christ.
[vers. 7.] Sedes tua, Deus, in saecula saeculorum. Quia benedixit te Deus in aeternum, propter gratiam diffusam in labiis tuis. Erat autem sedes regni judaici temporalis, pertinens ad eos qui sub Lege erant, non ad eos qui sub Gratia erant: venit ille ut liberaret eos qui sub Lege erant, et sub Gratia constitueret. Sedes ejus in saecula saeculorum. Quare? Quia sedes illa prima regni temporalis fuit. Unde nunc sedes in saecula saeculorum? Quia Dei. Sedes tua, Deus, in saecula saeculorum. O aeternitatis divinitas! Non enim posset Deus sedem habere temporalem. Sedes tua, Deus, in saecula saeculorum. Virga directionis, virga regni tui. Directionis virga est, quae dirigit homines. Curvi erant, distorti erant: sibi regnare cupiebant, se amabant, facta sua mala diligebant; non voluntatem suam Deo subdebant, sed voluntatem Dei ad suas concupiscentias flectere volebant. Irascitur enim peccator et iniquus plerumque Deo, quia non pluit; et non vult sibi Deum irasci, quia fluit. Et ad hoc propemodum sedent quotidie homines, ut disputent contra Deum: Hoc facere debuit, hoc non bene fecit. Tu videlicet vides quid facias, ille nescit? Distortus tu es, ille rectus est. Distortum ad rectum quando conjungis? Collineari non potest. Tanquam si in pavimento aequali ponas lignum curvum; non adjungitur, non cohaeret, non coaptatur pavimento: pavimentum ubique aequale est; sed illud curvum est, non coaptatur aequali. Ergo Dei voluntas aequalis est, tua curva est: propterea tibi curva videtur illa, quia tu illi coaptari non potes: dirige ad illam te, ne illam velis curvare ad te; quia non potes, frustra conaris: illa semper directa est. Vis illi haerere? Corrigere. Erit virga ipsius qui te regit, virga directionis. Inde et rex a regendo dicitur. Non autem regit qui non corrigit. Ad hoc est rex noster rectorum rex. Quomodo et sacerdos a sanctificando nos, ita et rex a regendo nos. Sed quid ait alio loco? Cum sancto sanctus eris, et cum viro innocente innocens eris, et cum electo electus eris, et cum perverso perversus eris : non quia perversus Deus, sed quia perversi perversum eum putant. Placet tibi bonum, bonus est Deus: displicet tibi, quasi pravus est Deus. Curvus est ad te Deus, tua curvatura facit hoc: nam illius rectitudo semper manet. Audi in alio psalmo: Quam bonus Deus Israel rectis corde !
44.18 PL 36, 504
18. “Awake; why sleepest Thou, O Lord?” (ver. 23). Who is addressed, and who is the speaker? Would not he be more correctly said to sleep and slumber, who speaks such words as these? He replies to you, I know what I am saying: I know that “He that keepeth Israel doth not sleep:” but yet the Martyrs cry, “Awake; why sleepest Thou, O Lord?” O Lord Jesus, Thou wast slain; Thou didst “sleep” in Thy Passion; to us Thou hast now “awaked” from sleep. For “we” know that Thou hast now “awaked” again. To what purpose hast Thou awaked and risen again? The Gentiles that persecute us, think Thee to be dead; do not believe Thee to have risen again. “Arise Thou” then to them also! “Why sleepest Thou,” though not to us, yet to them? For if they already believed Thee to have risen again, could they persecute us who believe in Thee? But why do they persecute? “Destroy, slay so and so, whoever have believed in Thee, such an one, who died an ill death!” As yet to them “Thou sleepest;” arise to them, that they may perceive that Thou hast “awaked” again; and may be at rest. Lastly, it has come to pass, while the Martyrs die, and say these things; while they sleep, and “awaken” Christ, truly dead in their sleepings, Christ has, in a certain sense, risen again in the Gentiles; i.e. it becomes believed, that He has risen again; so by degrees they themselves, becoming converted to Christ by believing, collected a numerous body: such as the persecutors dreaded; and the persecutions have come to an end. Why? Because Christ, who before was asleep to them, as not believing, hath risen in the Gentiles. “Arise, and cast us not off for ever!”
[vers. 8.] Virga directionis, virga regni tui. Dilexisti justitiam, et odisti iniquitatem. Vide virgam directionis, Dilexisti justitiam, et odisti iniquitatem. Accede ad istam virgam, sit tibi rex Christus: regat te virga ista, ne frangat te. Virga enim ferrea est illa, inflexibilis. Et quid dictum est? Reges eos in virga ferrea, et tanquam vas figuli conteres eos . Alios regit, alios conterit: regit spirituales, conterit carnales. Ergo accede ad istam virgam. Quid in ea times? Haec est tota virga: Dilexisti justitiam, et odisti iniquitatem. Quid times? Sed forte iniquus eras: audis enim regem tuum, quia odit iniquitatem, et times. Est quod facias. Quid odit? Iniquitatem: numquid te? Sed in te est iniquitas? Odit illam Deus, oderis et tu: ut unam rem ambo oderitis. Eris enim Deo amicus, si odisti quod odit. Ita et amabis quod amat. Displiceat in teipso tibi iniquitas tua, et placeat tibi creatura ipsius. Homo enim es iniquus. Duo dixi nomina; duo nomina, homo et iniquus: in istis duobus nominibus unum est naturae, alterum culpae; unum tibi Deus fecit, alterum tu fecisti: ama quod Deus fecit, oderis quod tu fecisti, quia et ipse hoc odit. Vide quomodo jam illi incipias conjungi, cum odisti quod odit. Peccatum puniturus est, quia virga directionis est virga regni ipsius. Sed non puniat peccatum? Sed non potest. Puniendum est peccatum: si puniendum non esset, nec peccatum esset. Praeveni illum: non vis ut ipse pumat, tu puni. Ideo enim adhuc ipse parcit, differt, tenet manum, arcum intendit, hoc est minas. Clamaret tantum feriturum se, si vellet ferire? Differt ergo manum a peccatis tuis: tu noli differre. Converte te ad punienda peccata tua, quia impunita esse peccata non possunt. Puniendum ergo erit, aut a te, aut ab ipso: tu agnosce, ut ille ignoscat. Attende exemplum in illo psalmo poenitentiae: Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis . Numquid dixit, A me? Alio enim loco aperte dicit: Ne avertas faciem tuam a me . Ergo, Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis: nolo videas peccata mea. Quia videre Dei, animadvertere est. Ideo et judex quod punit, animadvertere dicitur, id est, animum illuc advertere; intendere utique ad puniendum, quia judex est. Sic est et judex Deus. Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis. Tu ab ipsis faciem noli avertere, si vis ut Deus ab ipsis avertat faciem suam. Vide quomodo hoc offert Deo in ipso psalmo: Facinus meum ego, inquit, agnosco, et peccatum meum ante me est semper . Hoc non vult esse ante Deum, quod vult esse ante se. Virga directionis, virga regni tui. Nemo sibi multum de misericordia Dei blandiatur; virga directionis est. Numquid dicimus, non esse misericordem Deum? Quid misericordius eo, qui parcit tantum peccatoribus, eo qui in omnibus conversis ad se non curat praeterita? Sic eum dilige misericordem, ut velis esse veracem: non enim misericordia potest illi auferre justitiam, neque justitia misericordiam. Interim quamdiu ille differt, tu noli differre: quoniam virga directionis, virga regni ipsius.
44.19 PL 36, 505
19. “Wherefore hidest Thou Thy face:” as if Thou wert not present; as if thou hadst forgotten us? “And forgettest our misery and trouble?” (ver. 24).
Dilexisti justitiam, et odisti iniquitatem: propterea unxit te, Deus, Deus tuus. Propterea unxit te, ut diligeres justitiam, et odires iniquitatem. Et vide quomodo ait: Propterea unxit te, Deus, Deus tuus. O tu Deus, unxit te Deus tuus. Deus ungitur a Deo. Etenim in latino putatur idem casus nominis repetitus: in graeco autem evidentissima distinctio est, quia unum nomen est quod compellatur, et alterum ab eo qui compellat, Unxit te, Deus. O tu Deus, unxit te Deus tuus: quomodo si diceret, Propterea unxit te, o tu Deus, Deus tuus. Sic accipite, sic intelligite, sic in graeco evidentissimum est. Ergo quis est Deus unctus a Deo? Dicant nobis Judaei. Scripturae istae communes sunt. Unctus est Deus a Deo: unctum audis, Christum intellige. Etenim Christus a chrismate: hoc nomen quod appellatur Christus, unctionis est. Nec in aliquo alibi ungebantur reges et sacerdotes, nisi in illo regno ubi Christus prophetabatur et ungebatur, et unde venturum erat Christi nomen: nusquam est alibi omnino, in nulla gente, in nullo regno. Unctus est ergo Deus a Deo: quo oleo, nisi spirituali? Oleum enim visibile in signo est, oleum invisibile in sacramento est, oleum spirituale intus est. Unctus est nobis Deus, et missus est nobis: et ipse Deus, ut ungeretur, homo erat: sed ita homo erat, ut Deus esset; ita Deus erat, ut homo esse non dedignaretur: verus homo, verus Deus; in nullo fallax, in nullo falsus; quia ubique verax, ubique veritas. Deus ergo homo, et ideo unctus Deus, quia homo Deus, et factus est Christus.
44.20 PL 36, 506
20. “For our soul is bowed down to the dust” (ver. 25). Where is it bowed down? “To the dust:” i.e. dust persecutes us. They persecute us, of whom Thou hast said, “The ungodly are not so; but are like the dust, which the wind driveth away from the face of the earth.” “Our belly hath cleaved to the earth.” He seems to me to have expressed the punishment of the extreme of humiliation, in which, when any one prostrates himself, “his belly cleaveth to the earth.” For whosoever is humbled so as to be on his knees, has yet a lower degree of humiliation to which he can come: but he who is so humbled, that his “belly cleaveth to the ground,” there is no farther humiliation for him. Should one wish to do still farther, it will, after that point, be not bowing him down, but crushing him. Perhaps then he may have meant this: We are “bowed down very low” in this dust; there is no farther point to which humiliation can go. Humiliation has now reached its highest point: let mercy then come also.…
Hoc figurabatur in eo quod Jacob lapidem sibi ad caput posuerat, et dormierat . Jacob patriarcha lapidem sibi ad caput posuerat; dormiens autem illo lapide ad caput posito, vidit apertis coelis scalam a coelo in terram, et Angelos ascendentes et descendentes: hoc viso evigilavit, unxit lapidem, et discessit. In illo lapide intellexit Christum, ideo unxit. Videte ex quo praedicatur Christus. Quid sibi vult illa unctio lapidis, praesertim apud Patriarchas, qui unum Deum colebant? Factum est autem in figura, et discessum est. Non enim unxit lapidem, et venit illuc semper adorare, et sacrificia ibi facere. Expressum est mysterium, non inchoatum sacrilegium. Et videte lapidem: Lapidem quem reprobaverunt aedificantes, hic factus est in caput anguli . Et quia caput viri Christus , propterea lapis ad caput. Attendite magnum sacramentum: lapis Christus. Lapidem vivum, ait Petrus, ab hominibus reprobatum, a Deo autem electum . Et lapis ad caput, quia caput viri Christus . Et unctus lapis quia a chrismate dictus est Christus. Et videntur scalae, revelante Christo, a terra in coelum, vel a coelo in terram, et ascendentes et descendentes Angeli . Quid hoc sit, melius videbimus, cum testimonium evangelicum ab ipso Domino commemoraverimus. Nostis quia Jacob ipse est Israel. Illi enim cum Angelo luctanti et praevalenti, et benedicto ab eo cui praevaluit, nomen mutatum est, ut appellaretur Israel : sicut populus Israel praevaluit Christo, ut crucifigeret eum; et tamen in his qui Christo crediderunt, ab ipso cui praevaluit, benedictus est. Sed multi non crediderunt, inde claudicatio Jacob. Benedictio et claudicatio. Benedictio in his qui crediderunt: nam postea novimus ex illo populo multos credidisse. Claudicatio autem in his qui non crediderunt. Et quia plures non crediderunt, et pauci crediderunt; ideo ut fieret claudicatio, tetigit latitudinem femoris ejus. Quid est latitudo femoris ejus? Multitudo generis. Videte ergo scalas illas · Dominus quando vidit Nathanaelem in Evangelio ait: Ecce vere Israelita, in quo dolus non est . Sic enim dicitur de ipso Jacob, Et erat Jacob sine dolo habitans in domo : hoc recolens Dominus videns Nathanaelem sine dolo de gente illa et de populo illo, Ecce vere, inquit, Israelita, in quo dolus non est. Appellavit Israelitam, in quo dolus non esset, propter Jacob. Et ille Nathanael, Unde me nosti? Et Dominus, Cum esses sub arbore fici vidi te: id est, cum esses in illo populo sub Lege constitutus, quae carnali umbra illum populum protegebat, ibi te vidi. Quid est, ibi te vidi? Ibi tui misertus sum. Ille autem recordatus quod fuerat etiam sub arbore fici in veritate, admiratus, quia putabat se a nemine visum cum ibi esset, confitetur et dicit: Tu es Filius Dei, tu es rex Israel. Quis hoc dixit? Qui audierat quod verus esset Israelita, et dolus in illo non esset. Et Dominus: Quia dixi tibi, Vidi te sub arbore fici, credidisti; majora horum videbis. Loquitur cum Israel, cum Jacob, cum illo qui sibi lapidem ad caput posuerat. Majora horum videbis. Quae majora? Quia jam lapis ille ad caput est. Amen dico vobis, videbitis coelum apertum, et Angelos Dei ascendentes et descendentes super Filium hominis . Angeli Dei ascendant et descendant per scalas illas, fiat hoc in Ecclesia, Angeli Dei annuntiatores sunt veritatis: ascendant et videant, In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Descendant, et videant, quia Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis . Ascendant, ut erigant magnos: descendant, ut nutriant parvos. Vide ascendentem Paulum: Sive mente excessimus, Deo. Vide descendentem: Sive temperantes sumus, vobis . Vide ascendentem: Sapientiam loquimur inter perfectos. Vide descendentem: Lac vobis potum dedi, non escam . Hoc fit in Ecclesia: ascendunt et descendunt Angeli Dei super Filium hominis: quia sursum est Filius hominis, ad quem ascendunt corde, id est caput ejus; et deorsum Filius hominis, id est corpus ejus. Membra ejus hic sunt, caput sursum est: ascenditur ad caput, descenditur ad membra. Christus ibi, Christus hic. Nam si ibi tantum, et hic non; unde vox illa: Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris ? Quis enim illi in coelo molestus fuit? Nemo, nec Judaei, nec Saulus, nec diabolus tentator; nemo ibi molestus illi: sed sicut in compage corporis humani pede calcato lingua clamat.
44.21 PL 36, 507
21. “Arise, O Lord, help us” (ver. 26). And indeed, dearly beloved, He has arisen and helped us. For when he awaked (i.e. when He arose again, and became known to the Gentiles) on the cessation of persecutions, even those who had cleaved to the earth were raised up from the earth, and on performing penance, have been restored to Christ’s body, feeble and imperfect though they were: so that in them was fulfilled the text, “Thine eyes did see my substance yet being imperfect; and in Thy book shall they all be written.”
“Arise, O Lord, help us, and redeem us for Thy Name’s sake;” that is to say, freely; for Thy Name’s sake, not for the sake of my merits: because Thou hast vouchsafed to do it, not because I am worthy that Thou shouldest do it unto me. For this very thing, that “we have not forgotten Thee;” that “our heart hath not gone back;” that we “have not stretched out our hands to any strange god;” how should we have been able to achieve, except with Thy help? How should we have strength for it, except through Thy appealing to us within, exhorting us, and not forsaking us? Whether then we suffer in tribulations, or rejoice in prosperities, redeem Thou us, not for our merits, but for Thy Name’s sake.
Dilexisti justitiam, et odisti iniquitatem: propterea unxit te, Deus, Deus tuus. Locuti sumus de uncto Deo, hoc est de Christo. Non potuit apertius dici nomen Christi, quam ut diceretur unctus Deus. Quomodo speciosus forma prae filiis hominum; sic unctus, oleo exsultationis prae participibus suis. Qui enim participes ejus? Filii hominum: quoniam et ipse Filius hominis particeps factus est mortalitatis illorum, ut faceret eos participes immortalitatis suae.