Expositions on the Book of Psalms 84
84.1 Psalm LXXXIV PL 36, 1069
1. This Psalm is entitled, “For the winepresses.” And, as you observed with me, my beloved (for I saw that you attended most closely), nothing is said in its text either of any press, or wine-basket, or vat, or of any of the instruments or the building of a winepress; nothing of this kind did we hear read; so that it is no easy question what is the meaning of this title inscribed upon it, “for the winepresses.” For certainly, if after the title it mentioned anything about such things as I enumerated, carnal persons might have believed that it was a song concerning those visible wine-presses; but as it has this title, yet says nothing afterwards of those winepresses which we know so well, I cannot doubt that there are other wine-presses, which the Spirit of God intended us to look for and to understand here. Therefore, let us recall to mind what takes place in these visible winepresses, and see how this takes place spiritually in the Church. The grape hangs on the vines, and the olive on its trees. For it is for these two fruits that presses are usually made ready; and as long as they hang on their boughs, they seem to enjoy free air; and neither is the grape wine, nor the olive oil, before they are pressed. Thus it is with men whom God predestined before the world to be conformed to the image of His only-begotten Son, who has been first and especially pressed in His Passion, as the great Cluster. Men of this kind, therefore, before they draw near to the service of God, enjoy in the world a kind of delicious liberty, like hanging grapes or olives: but as it is said, “My son, when thou drawest near to the service of God, stand in judgment and fear, and make thy soul ready for temptation:” so each, as he draweth near to the service of God, findeth that he is come to the winepress; he shall undergo tribulation, shall be crushed, shall be pressed, not that he may perish in this world, but that he may flow down into the storehouses of God. He hath the coverings of carnal desires stripped off from him, like grape-skins: for this hath taken place in him in carnal desires, of which the Apostle speaks, “Put ye off the old man, and put on the new man.” All this is not done but by pressure: therefore the Churches of God of this time are called winepresses.
Deprecati sumus Dominum Deum nostrum, ut ostendat nobis misericordiam suam, et salutare suum det nobis. Dictum est hoc quidem in prophetia, cum primum Psalmi isti dicerentur et scriberentur: caeterum quod attinet ad hoc tempus, jam ostendit Dominus Gentibus misericordiam suam, et dedit eis salutare suum. Ille quidem ostendit; sed multi sanari nolunt, ut videant quod ostendit. Sed quia ipse sanat oculos cordis ad videndum se; propterea cum dixisset, «Ostende nobis misericordiam tuam,» tanquam multis caecis dicturis, Quomodo videbimus, cum coeperit ostendere? adjunxit, «Et salutare tuum da nobis.» Dando enim salutare suum, sanat in nobis unde possimus videre quod ostendit: non quomodo medicus homo ipse curat, ut lucem istam ostendat eis quos curaverit; et aliud est ista lux quam demonstraturus est, aliud autem ipse medicus qui curat oculos quibus ostendat lucem, quae lux non est ipse. Non ergo sic Dominus Deus noster: ipse est enim medicus qui curat unde videre possimus, et ipse est lux quam videre possimus. Totum tamen Psalmum breviter, quantum possumus, quantum donat Dominus, pro angustia temporis attenti curramus.
84.2 PL 36, 1069
2. But who are we who are placed in the wine-presses? “Sons of Core.” For this follows: “For the winepresses, to the sons of Core.” The sons of Core has been explained, sons of the bald: as far as those could explain it to us, who know that language, according to their service due to God.…
[«vers.» 1.] Titulus ejus est, «In finem, filiis Core, Psalmus.» Finem non intelligamus, nisi quem dicit Apostolus, «Finis enim Legis Christus, ad justitiam omni credenti» . Ergo cum primo in titulo Psalmi posuit, «In finem;» direxit cor nostrum in Christum. In illum si intendamus, non errabimus; quia ipse est veritas quo festinamus, et ipse est via per quam curramus . Quid est, «filiis Core?» Interpretatur Core ex verbo hebraeo in latinum Calvus. Ergo «filiis Core,» filiis calvi. Quis est iste calvus? Non ut irrideamus illum, sed ut ploremus ante illum. Nam irriserunt quidam, et a daemonibus vastati sunt: quomodo in Regnorum libro calvum Elisaeum irriserunt pueri, dicebantque post illum, «Calve, calve;» processerunt ursi de silva, et comederunt pueros male ridentes , et plangendos a parentibus suis. Significavit hoc factum prophetia quadam, futurum Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum. Ille enim a Judaeis irridentibus velut calvus irrisus est, quia in Calvariae loco crucifixus est . Nos autem si in illum crediderimus, filii ipsius sumus. Nobis ergo cantatur iste psalmus, ubi inscribitur, «filiis Core:» sumus enim filii sponsi . Ille quippe sponsus, dans arrham sponsae suae, sanguinem suum et Spiritum sanctum, quo locupletavit nos interim in ista peregrinatione; adhuc autem servat nobis occultas divitias suas. Unde enim tale pignus dedit, quid est quod servat?
84.3 PL 36, 1070
3. But being placed under pressure, we are crushed for this purpose, that for our love by which we were borne towards those worldly, secular, temporal, unstable, and perishable things, having suffered in them, in this life, torments, and tribulations of pressures, and abundance of temptations, we may begin to seek that rest which is not of this life, nor of this earth; and the Lord becomes, as is written, “a refuge for the poor man.” What is, “for the poor man”? For him who is, as it were, destitute, without aid, without help, without anything on which he may rest, in earth. For to such poor men, God is present. For though men abound in money on earth,…they are filled more with fear than with enjoyment. For what is so uncertain as a rolling thing? It is not unfitly that money itself is stamped round, because it remains not still. Such men, therefore, though they have something, are yet poor. But those who have none of this wealth, but only desire it, are counted also among rich men who will be rejected; for God takes account not of power, but of will. The poor then are destitute of all this world’s substance, for even though it abounds around them, they know how fleeting it is; and crying unto God, having nothing in this world with which they may delight themselves, and be held down, placed in abundant pressures and temptations, as if in winepresses, they flow down, having become oil or wine. What are these latter but good desires? For God remains their only object of desire; now they love not earth. For they love Him who made heaven and earth; they love Him, and are not yet with Him. Their desire is delayed, in order that it may increase; it increases, in order that it may receive. For it is not any little thing that God will give to him who desires, nor does he need to be little exercised to be made fit to receive so great a good: not anything which He hath made will God give, but Himself who made all things. Exercise thyself to receive God: that which thou shalt have for ever, desire thou for a long time.…
[«vers.» 2.] Itaque cantat ei Propheta in futurum, et utitur verbis quasi jam praeteriti temporis; tanquam facta dicit, quae futura erant; quia apud Deum et quod futurum est, jam factum est. Ibi ergo Propheta videbat futura nobis, jam vero facta in illius providentia et praedestinatione certissima, quomodo dicit et in illo psalmo ubi omnes Christum agnoscunt; sic enim recitatur, tanquam Evangelium legatur: «Foderunt manus meas et pedes, dinumeraverunt omnia ossa mea; ipsi vero consideraverunt et conspexerunt me, diviserunt sibi vestimenta mea et super vestem meam miserunt sortem» . Quis non, legente lectore Psalmum, agnoscat Evangelium? Et tamen cum diceretur in Psalmo, non dictum est, Fossuri sunt manus meas et pedes; sed, «foderunt manus meas et pedes:» nec dictum est, Dinumeraturi sunt ossa mea; sed, «dinumeraverunt ossa mea:» nec dictum est, Divisuri sunt vestimenta mea; sed, «diviserunt sibi vestimenta mea.» Haec omnia quae futura videbat Propheta, tanquam praeterita indicabat: sic et hic, «Benedixisti, Domine, terram tuam;» tanquam jam fecerit.
84.4 PL 36, 1070
4. Wherefore, most beloved, as each can, make vows, and perform to the Lord God what each can: let no one look back, no one delight himself with his former interests, no one turn away from that which is before to that which is behind: let him run until he arrive: for we run not with the feet but with the desire. But let no one in this life say that he hath arrived. For who can be so perfect as Paul? Yet he saith, “Brethren, I count not myself to have attained.”
«Avertisti captivitatem Jacob.» Populus ejus antiquus Jacob, populus Israel, natus de semine Abrahae, in repromissione futurus aliquando haeres Dei. Erat quidem ergo ille populus, cui datum est Testamentum Vetus; sed in Vetere Testamento figurabatur Testamentum Novum: illa figura erat, haec expressio veritatis. In illa autem figura secundum quamdam praenuntiationem futurorum, data est illi populo terra quaedam promissionis, in quadam regione ubi habitavit populus Judaeorum; ubi est etiam Jerusalem civitas, cujus nomen omnes audivimus. Hanc ergo terram cum accepisset ille populus, ab hostibus suis vicinis circumquaque inimicantibus multas molestias patiebatur: et cum peccabat in Deum suum, dabatur in captivitatem; non ad interitum, sed ad disciplinam; non damnante patre, sed flagellante. Et cum possessa esset, liberabatur, et aliquoties captivata est et liberata est illa gens: et modo in captivitate est, et hoc pro peccato magno, quod Dominum suum crucifixit. Quid igitur secundum istos accipimus, quod ait, «Avertisti captivitatem Jacob?» An forte intelligimus hic aliam captivitatem, de qua omnes nos volumus liberari? Nam omnes pertinemus ad Jacob, si pertinemus ad semen Abrahae. Hoc enim dicit Apostolus: «In Isaac vocabitur tibi semen; id est, non hi qui filii carnis, hi filii Dei, sed filii promissionis deputantur» «in semen» . Si filii promissionis in semen deputantur, offendendo Deum Judaei degeneraverunt; nos promerendo Deum, de genere Abrahae facti sumus, non pertinentes ad carnem, sed pertinentes ad fidem. Imitati enim fidem, filii facti sumus: illi autem degenerando a fide, exhaeredari meruerunt. Nam, ut noveritis quia perdiderunt illud, quod nati erant de Abraham, cum se arroganter jactarent audiente Domino Jesu Christo, gloriantes de sanguine et non de vita, et dicerent Domino, «Nos patrem habemus Abraham;» ait illis Dominus tanquam degenerantibus: «Si filii Abrahae estis, facta Abrahae facite» . Si ergo illi propterea jam non filii, quia non faciebant facta Abrahae; nos propterea filii, quia facimus facta Abrahae. Quae sunt facta Abrahae quae facimus? Credidit autem Abraham Deo, et deputatum est illi ad justitiam . Ergo omnes ad Jacob pertinemus, imitantes Abrahae fidem, qui credidit Deo, et deputatum est illi ad justitiam. Quae est ergo illa captivitas unde nos volumus liberari? puto enim neminem nostrum modo esse apud Barbaros, nec aliquam gentem irruisse armatam, et captivos duxisse nos. Sed modo ostendo quamdam captivitatem, in qua gemimus, et unde nos liberari cupimus. Paulus apostolus procedat, ipse illam dicat; sit ipse speculum nostrum, ille loquatur, et nos ibi videamus: nemo est enim qui non hic se agnoscat. Ait ergo ille beatus apostolus, «Condelector enim legi Dei secundum interiorem hominem;» intus delectat me lex Dei: «video autem aliam legem in membris meis, repugnantem legi mentis meae.» Jam audisti legem, audisti pugnam; captivitatem nondum audieras, audi quae sequuntur: «Repugnantem,» inquit, «legi mentis meae, et captivum me ducentem in lege peccati, quae est in membris meis.» Agnovimus captivitatem: quis nostrum est qui nolit se de ista captivitate liberari? Et unde liberabitur? Quoniam hoc cantavit ipse Psalmus futurum: «Avertisti captivitatem Jacob.» Cui dixit? Christo, propter «In finem,» propter filios Core: ille enim avertit captivitatem Jacob. Audi et ipsum Paulum confitentem. Cum diceret se trahi captivum a lege in membris suis repugnante legi mentis suae, exclamavit sub illa captivitate, et ait: «Infelix ego homo, quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus?» Quaesivit quis esset, et statim illi occurrit, «Gratia Dei per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum» . De hac gratia Dei Propheta dicit huic Domino nostro Jesu Christo, «Avertisti captivitatem Jacob.» Attendite captivitatem Jacob, attendite quia hoc est, Avertisti captivitatem nostram: non liberando nos a Barbaris, in quos non incurrimus; sed liberando nos ab operibus malis, a peccatis nostris, per quae nobis satanas dominabatur. Si quis enim liberatus fuerit a peccatis suis, non habet unde illi dominetur princeps peccatorum.
84.5 PL 36, 1071
5. If therefore thou feelest the passions of this world, even when thou art happy, thou understandest now that thou art in the winepress.…If therefore the world smile upon thee with happiness, imagine thyself in the winepress, and say, “I found trouble and heaviness, and I did call upon the name of the Lord.” He said not, I found trouble, without meaning, of such a kind as was hidden: for some troubles are hidden from some in this world, who think they are happy while they are absent from God. “For as long as we are in the body,” he saith, “we are absent from the Lord.” If thou wert absent from thy father, thou wouldest be unhappy: art thou absent from the Lord, and happy? There are then some who think it is well with them. But those who understand, that in whatever abundance of wealth and pleasures, though all things obey their beck, though nothing troublesome creep in, nothing adverse terrify, yet that they are in a bad case as long as they are absent from the Lord; with a most keen eye these have found trouble, and grief, and have called on the name of the Lord. Such is he who sings in this Psalm. Who is he? The Body of Christ. Who is that? You, if you will: all we, if we will: for Christ’s Body is one.…
“How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts” (ver. 1). He was in some tabernacles, that is, in winepresses: but he longed for other tabernacles, where is no pressure: in this he sighed for them, from these, he, as it were, flowed down into them by the channel of longing desire.
[«vers.» 3, 4.] Quomodo enim avertit captivitatem Jacob? Videte quia ista liberatio spiritualis est, videte quia intus agitur: «Remisisti,» inquit, «iniquitatem plebis tuae; operuisti omnia peccata eorum.» Ecce unde avertit captivitatem, quia remisit iniquitatem: iniquitas tenebat captivum, remissa iniquitate liberaris. Confitere ergo te esse in captivitate, ut dignus sis liberari: nam qui hostem suum non intellexit, quomodo invocat liberatorem? «Operuisti omnia peccata eorum.» Quid est, «operuisti?» Ut non illa videres. Quid est, ut non illa videres? Ut non in illa vindicares. Noluisti videre peccata nostra; et ideo non vidisti, quia ipsa videre noluisti: «Operuisti omni a peccata eorum. Sedasti omnem iram tuam; avertisti ab ira indignationis tuae.»
84.6 PL 36, 1072
6. And what follows? “My soul longeth and faileth for the courts of the Lord” (ver. 2). It is not enough that it “longeth and faileth:” for what doth it fail? “For the courts of the Lord.” The grape when pressed hath failed: but for what? So as to be changed into wine, and to flow into the vat, and into the rest of the storeroom, to be kept there in great quiet. Here it is longed for, there it is received: here are sighs, there joy: here prayers, there praises: here groans, there rejoicing. Those things which I mentioned, let no one while here turn from ashamed: let no one be unwilling to suffer. There is danger, lest the grape, while it fears the winepress, should be devoured by birds or by wild beasts.…
[«vers.» 5.] Et quoniam de futuro ista dicuntur, quamvis verba praeterita sonent; sequitur, et dicit: «Converte nos, Domine» «sanitatum nostrarum.» Quod modo narrabat quasi factum esset, quomodo orat ut fiat; nisi quia voluit ostendere praeterita verba se in prophetia dixisse? Nondum autem factum esse quod dicebat jam factum, hinc ostendit, quia orat ut fiat: «Converte nos, Domine sanitatum nostrarum; et averte iracundiam tuam a nobis.» Non jamdudum dicebas, «Avertisti captivitatem Jacob; operuisti omnia peccata eorum: sedasti omnem iram tuam; aversus es ab ira indignationis tuae?» Quomodo hic, «Et averte iracundiam tuam a nobis?» Respondet tibi Propheta: Illa dico quasi facta, quia video futura; quia vero nondum facta sunt, oro ut veniant, quae jam vidi. «Averte iracundiam tuam a nobis.»
84.7 PL 36, 1072
7. Thou hast heard a groan in the winepress, “My soul longeth and faileth for the courts of the Lord:” hear how it holdeth out, rejoicing in hope: “My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God.” Here they have rejoiced for that cause. Whence cometh rejoicing, but of hope? Wherefore have they rejoiced? “In the living God.” What has rejoiced in thee? “My heart and my flesh.” Why have they rejoiced? “For,” saith he, “the sparrow hath found her a house, and the turtle-dove a nest, where she may lay her young” (ver. 3). What is this? He had named two things, and he adds two figures of birds which answer to them: he had said that his heart rejoiced and his flesh, and to these two he made the sparrow and turtle-dove to correspond: the heart as the sparrow, the flesh as the dove. The sparrow hath found herself a home: my heart hath found itself a home. She tries her wings in the virtues of this life, in faith, and hope, and charity, by which she may fly unto her home: and when she shall have come thither, she shall remain; and now the complaining voice of the sparrow, which is here, shall no longer be there. For it is the very complaining sparrow of whom in another Psalm he saith, “Like a sparrow alone on the housetop.” From the housetop he flies home. Now let him be on the housetop, treading on his carnal house: he shall have a heavenly house, a perpetual home: that sparrow shall make an end of his complaints. But to the dove he hath given young, that is, to the flesh: “the dove hath found a nest, where she may lay her young.” The sparrow a home, the dove a nest, and a nest too where she may lay her young. A home is chosen as for ever, a nest is framed for a time: with the heart we think upon God, as if the sparrow flew to her home: with the flesh we do good works. For ye see how many good works are done by the flesh of the saints; for by this we work the things we are commanded to work, by which we are helped in this life. “Break thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor and roofless into thy house; and if thou see one naked, clothe him:” and other such things which are commanded us we work only through the flesh.…We speak, brethren, what ye know: how many seem to do good works without the Church? how many even Pagans feed the hungry, clothe the naked, receive the stranger, visit the sick, comfort the prisoner? how many do this? The dove seems, as it were, to bring forth young: but finds not herself a nest. How many works may heretics do not in the Church; they place not their young in a nest. They shall be trampled on and crushed: they shall not be kept, shall not be guarded.…In that faith lay thy young: in that nest work thy works. For what the nests are, what that nest is, follows at once. Having said, And the dove hath found herself a nest, where she may lay her young; as if thou hadst asked, What nest? “Thy altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God.” What is, “My King and my God?” Thou who rulest me, who hast created me.
[«vers. 6.] Non in aeternum irascaris nobis.» De ira Dei enim mortales sumus, et de ira Dei in ista terra in egestate et labore vultus nostri manducamus panem. Hoc enim audivit Adam, quando peccavit ; et Adam ille omnes nos eramus, quia in Adam omnes moriuntur: quod ille audivit, secutum est et nos. Non enim eramus jam nos, sed eramus in Adam: ideo quidquid evenit ipsi Adam, secutum est et nos, ut moreremur; omnes quippe in illo fuimus. Ea enim peccata parentum non pertinent ad filios, quae faciunt parentes jam natis filiis: jam enim natifilii ad se pertinent, et parentes ad se pertinent. Itaque illi qui nati sunt, si tenuerint vias parentum suorum malas, necesse est portent et merita ipsorum: si autem mutaverint se, et non fuerint imitati parentes malos, incipiunt habere meritum suum, non meritum parentum suorum. Usque adeo autem non tibi obest peccatum patris tui, si te mutaveris, ut nec ipsi patri tuo obsit, si se mutaverit. Sed jam quod accepit ad mortalitatem istam radix nostra, duxit de Adam. Quid duxit? Istam fragilitatem carnis, hoc tormentum dolorum, hanc domum paupertatis, hoc vinculum mortis, et laqueos tentationum: portamus omnia ista in carne hac; et ira Dei est ista, quia vindicta Dei est. Sed quia futurum erat ut regeneraremur, et credendo novi efficeremur, atque in resurrectione omnis illa mortalitas absumeretur, et novitas totius hominis repararetur; sicut enim in Adam omnes moriuntur, sic et in Christo omnes vivificabuntur : hoc videns Propheta ait, «Non in aeternum irascaris nobis, vel extendas iram tuam a generatione» «in generationem.» Fuit prima generatio mortalis de ira tua; erit altera generatio immortalis de misericordia tua.
84.8 PL 36, 1073
8. …“Blessed are those who dwell in Thy house” (ver. 4).…If thou hast thy own house, thou art poor; if God’s, thou art rich. In thy own house thou wilt fear robbers; of the house of God, He is Himself the wall. Therefore “blessed are those who dwell in Thy house.” They possess the heavenly Jerusalem, without constraint, without pressure, without difference and division of boundaries; all have it, and each have all. Great are those riches. Brother crowdeth not brother: there is no want there. Next, what will they do there? For among men it is necessity which is the mother of all employments. I have already said, in brief, brethren, run in your mind through any occupations, and see if it is not necessity alone which produces them. Those very eminent arts which seem so powerful in giving help to others, the art of speaking in their defence or of medicine in healing, for these are the most excellent employments in this life; take away litigants, who is there for the advocate to help? take away wounds and diseases? what is there for the physician to cure? And all those employments of ours which are required and done for our daily life, arise from necessity. To plough, to sow, to clear fallow ground, to sail; what is it which produces all these works, but necessity and want? Take away hunger, thirst, nakedness; who has need of all these things?…For instance, the injunction, “Break thy bread to the hungry.” For whom could you break bread, if there were nobody hungry? “Take in the roofless poor into thy house.” What stranger is there to take in, where all live in their own country? What sick person to visit, where they enjoy perpetual health? What litigants to reconcile, where there is everlasting peace? What dead to bury, where there is eternal life? None of those honourable actions which are common to all men will then be your employment, nor any of these good works; the young swallows will then fly out of their nest. What then? You have said already what we shall have; “Those who dwell in Thy house are blessed.” Say now what they shall do, for I see not then any need to induce me to action. Even what I am now saying and arguing springs from some need. Will there be any such argument there to teach the ignorant, or remind the forgetful? Or will the Gospel be read in that country where the Word of God Itself shall be contemplated?…“They shall be always praising Thee.” This shall be our whole duty, an unceasing Hallelujah. Think not, my brethren, that there will be any weariness there: if ye are not able to endure long here in saying this, it is because some want draws you away from that enjoyment. If what is not seen gives not so much joy here, if with so much eagerness under the pressure and weakness of the flesh we praise that which we believe, how shall we praise that which we see? “When death shall be swallowed up in victory, when this mortal shall have put on immortality,” no one will say, “I have been standing a long time;” no one will say, “I have fasted a long time,” “I have watched a long time.” For there shall be great endurance, and our immortal bodies shall be sustained in contemplation of God. And if the word which we now dispense to you keeps your weak flesh standing so long, what will be the effect of that joy? how will it change us? “For we shall be like Him, since we shall see Him as He is.” Being made like Him, when shall we ever faint? what shall draw us off? Brethren, we shall never be satiated with the praise of God, with the love of God. If love could fail, praise could fail. But if love be eternal, as there will there be beauty inexhaustible, fear not lest thou be not able to praise for ever Him whom thou shalt be able to love for ever. For this life let us sigh.
[«vers.» 7.] Quid ergo? hoc tibi tu praestitisti, o homo, ut quia conversus es ad Deum, merereris misericordiam ipsius; qui autem conversi non sunt, non sunt adepti misericordiam, sed invenerunt iram? Quid autem, ut convertereris, posses, nisi vocareris? Nonne ille qui te vocavit aversum, ipse praestitit ut convertereris? Noli tibi ergo arrogare nec ipsam conversionem; quia nisi te ille vocaret fugientem, non posses converti. Propterea et ipsius conversionis beneficium Deo tribuens Propheta, hoc orat, et dicit: «Deus, tu convertens vivificabis nos.» Et non quasi nos ipsi nostra sponte sine misericordia tua convertimur ad te, et tu vivificabis nos: sed, «tu convertens vivificabis nos;» ut non solum vivificatio nostra a te sit, sed etiam ipsa conversio ut vivificemur. «Deus tu convertens vivificabis nos; et plebs tua laetabitur in te.» Malo suo laetabitur in se; bono suo laetabitur in te. Quando enim voluit habere gaudia de se, invenit planctum in se: nunc vero quia totum gaudium nostrum Deus est, qui vult securus gaudere, in illo gaudeat, qui non potest perire. Quid enim, fratres mei, gaudere vultis in argento? Aut argentum perit, aut tu; et nemo scit quid prius: verumtamen illud constat, quia utrumque periturum est; quid prius, incertum est. Nam nec homo hic potest manere semper, nec argentum hic potest manere semper; sic aurum, sic vestis, sic domus, sic pecunia, sic lata praedia, sic postremo lux ista. Noli ergo velle gaudere in istis: sed gaude in illa luce quae non habet occasum; gaude in illa luce quam non praecedit hesternus dies, nec sequitur, crastinus. Quid est ista lux? «Ego sum,» inquit, «lux mundi» . Qui tibi dicit, «Ego sum lux mundi,» vocat te ad se. Cum vocat te, convertit te; cum convertit te, sanat te; cum sanaverit te, videbis conversorem tuum, cui dicitur, «Et plebs tua laetabitur in te.»
84.9 PL 36, 1073
9. But how shall we come thither? “Happy is the man whose strength is in Thee” (ver. 5). He knew where he was, and that by reason of the frailty of his flesh he could not fly to that state of blessedness: he thought upon his own burden, as it is said elsewhere; “For the corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly house depresses the understanding which has many thoughts.” The Spirit calls upward, the weight of the flesh calls back again downward: between the double effort to raise and to weigh down, a kind of struggle ensues: this struggle goes toward the pressure of the winepress. Hear how the Apostle describes this same struggle of the winepress, for he was himself afflicted there, there he was pressed.…“Miserable man that I am: who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”…“For I delight in the Law of God according to the inner man.” But what shall I do? how shall I fly? how shall I arrive thither? “I see another law in my members,” etc.…And as in the words of the Apostle, that difficulty and that almost inextricable struggle is alleviated by the addition, “The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord;” so here, when he sighed in the ardent longing for the house of God, and those praises of God, and when a kind of despair arose at the feeling of the burden of the body and the weight of the flesh, again he awoke to hope, and said (ver. 5), “Blessed is the man whose taking up is in Thee.”
[«vers. 8.] Ostende nobis, Domine, misericordiam tuam.» Hoc est quod cantavimus, et jam hinc diximus. «Ostende nobis, Domine, misericordiam tuam; et salutare tuum da nobis; salutare tuum,» Christum tuum. Felix est cui ostendit Deus misericordiam suam. Ipse est qui superbire non potest, cui Deus ostendit misericordiam suam. Ostendendo enim illi misericordiam suam, persuadet illi quia quidquid boni habet ipse homo, non habet nisi ab illo qui omne bonum nostrum est. Et cum viderit homo quidquid boni habet non se habere a se, sed a Deo suo; videt quia totum quod in illo laudatur, de misericordia Dei est, non de meritis ipsius: et videndo ista non superbit, non superbiendo non extollitur, non se extollendo non cadit, non cadendo stat, stando inhaeret, inhaerendo manet, manendo perfruitur, et laetatur in Domino Deo suo. Erunt illi deliciae ipse qui fecit illum; et delicias ipsas nemo corrumpit, nemo interpellat, nemo aufert. Quis potens minabitur auferre? quis vicinus malus, quis latro, quis insidiator tibi tollit Deum? Et potest tibi tollere totum quod possides corpore, non tibi tollit eum quem possides corde. Ipsa est misericordia, quam utinam Deus ostendat nobis, «Ostende nobis, Domine, misericordiam tuam; et salutare tuum da nobis:» Christum tuum da nobis: in illo est enim misericordia tua. Dicamus illi et nos: Da nobis Christum tuum. Jam quidem dedit nobis Christum suum: adhuc illi tamen dicamus, Da nobis Christum tuum; quia dicimus illi, «Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie» . Et quis est panis noster, nisi ipse qui dixit, «Ego sum panis vivus, qui de coelo descendi» ? Dicamus illi: Da nobis Christum tuum. Dedit enim nobis Christum, sed hominem: quem nobis dedit hominem, eum ipsum nobis daturus est Deum. Hominibus enim hominem dedit; quia talem illum dedit hominibus qualis posset capi ab hominibus: Deum enim Christum nullus hominum capere poterat. Factus est hominibus homo, servavit se Deum diis. An forte arroganter dixi? Revera arroganter, nisi ipse dixisset: «Ego dixi, Dii estis, et filii Altissimi omnes» . Ad ipsam adoptionem renovamur, ut efficiamur filii Dei. Jam quidem sumus, sed per fidem: sumus quidem in spe, nondum sumus in re. «Spe enim salvi facti sumus,» sicut dicit Apostolus. «Spes autem quae videtur, non est spes: quod enim videt quis, quid sperat? Si autem quod non videmus speramus, per patientiam exspectamus» . Quid enim «exspectamus per patientiam,» nisi videre quod credimus? Modo enim credimus quod non videmus: permanendo in eo quod credentes non videmus, merebimur videre quod credimus. Propterea Joannes in Epistola sua quid ait? «Dilectissimi, filii Dei sumus, et nondum apparuit quid erimus.» Quis non exsultet, si subito nescio cui peregrinanti et ignoranti genus suum, patienti aliquam egestatem, et in aerumna et labore constituto diceretur: Filius senatoris es; pater tuus amplo patrimonio gaudet in re vestra; revoco te ad patrem tuum? quali gaudio exsultaret, si hoc non fallax promissor diceret? Venit ergo non fallax apostolus Christi, et ait: Quid est quod de vobis desperatis? quid est quod vos affligitis, et moerore conteritis? quid est quod concupiscentias vestras sequendo, in egestate istarum voluptatum conteri vultis? Habetis patrem, habetis patriam, habetis patrimonium. Quis est iste pater? «Dilectissimi, filii Dei sumus.» Quare ergo nondum videmus patrem nostrum? Quia «nondum apparuit quid erimus.» Jam sumus, sed in spe: nam «quid erimus, nondum apparuit.» Et quid erimus? «Scimus,» inquit, «quia cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus, quoniam videbimus eum sicuti est» . Sed hoc de Patre dixit, de Filio autem Domino Jesu Christo non dixit: et forte videndo Patrem, non Filium, crimus beati? Ipsum audi Christum: «Qui me vidit, vidit et Patrem.» Cum enim unus Deus videtur, Trinitas videtur, Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus. Audi expressius quia ipsius Filii visio tribuet nobis beatitudinem, et nihil interest inter visionem ipsius et visionem Patris. Ipse ait in Evangelio: «Qui diligit me, mandata mea custodit, et ego diligam illum, et ostendam meipsum illi» . Loquebatur illis, et dicebat, «ostendam meipsum illi.» Quare? Non erat ipse qui loquebatur? Sed carnem caro videbat; divinitatem cor non videbat. Ad hoc autem caro carnem vidit, ut per fidem cor mundaretur, unde Deus videretur. Dictum est enim de Domino, «Fide mundans corda eorum» : et dixit Dominus, «Beati mundo corde, quia ipsi Deum videbunt» . Ergo nobis promisit ostendere se nobis. Qualis est pulchritudo ejus, fratres, cogitate. Omnia ista pulchra quae videtis, quae amatis, ipse fecit. Si haec pulchra sunt, quid est ipse? si haec magna sunt, quantus est ipse? Ergo ex istis quae hic amamus, illum magis desideremus; et contemnentes ista, illum diligamus: ut ipsa dilectione per fidem cor mundemus, et mundatum cor nostrum inveniat aspectus illius. Lux quae nobis ostendetur, sanos nos debet invenire: hoc agit modo fides. Hoc ergo hic diximus. «Et salutare tuum da nobis:» da nobis Christum tuum, noverimus Christum tuum, videamus Christum tuum; non quomodo illum viderunt Judaei, et crucifixerunt, sed quomodo illum vident Angeli, et gaudent.
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10. What then does God supply by His grace to him whom He taketh hold of to lead him on? He goes on to say: “He hath placed steps in his heart.”…Where does it place steps? “In his heart, in the valley of weeping” (ver. 6). So here thou hast for a winepress the valley of weeping, the very pious tears in tribulation are the new wine of those that love.…They went forth “weeping,” he says, “casting their seed.” Therefore, by the grace of God may upward steps be placed in thy heart. Rise by loving. Hence the Psalm “of degrees” is called.…“He hath placed steps of ascent to the place which He hath appointed” (ver. 7). Now we lament; whence proceed our lamentations, but from that place where the steps of our ascent are placed? Whence comes our lamentation, but from that cause wherefore the Apostle exclaimed that he was a wretched man, because he saw another law in his members, warring against the law in his mind? And whence does this proceed? From the penalty of sin. And we thought that we could easily be righteous as it were by our own strength, before we received the command; “but when the command came, sin revived; but I died,” saith the Apostle. For a law was given to men, not such as could save them at once, but it was to show them in what severe sickness they were lying.…But when sin was made manifest by the law given, sin was but increased, for it is both sin, and against the Law; “Sin,” saith he, “taking occasion by the command, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence.” What does he mean by “taking occasion by the law”? Having received the command, men tried as by their own strength to obey it; conquered by lust, they became guilty of transgression of this very command also. But what saith the Apostle? “Where sin abounded, grace hath much more abounded;” that is, the disease increased, the medicine became of more avail. Accordingly, my brethren, did those five porches of Solomon, in the middle of which the pool lay, heal the sick at all? The sick, says the Evangelist, lay in the five porches. In the Gospel we have and read it. Those five porches are the law in the five books of Moses. For this cause the sick were brought forth from their houses that they might lie in the porches. So the law brought the sick men forth, but did not heal them: but by the blessing of God the water was disturbed, as by an Angel descending into it. At the sight of the water troubled, the one person who was able, descended and was healed. That water surrounded by the five porches, was the people of the Jews shut up in their law. The Lord came and disturbed this people, so that He Himself was slain. For if the Lord had not troubled the Jews by coming down to them, would He have been crucified? So that the troubled water signified the Passion of the Lord, which arose from His troubling the Jewish people. The sick man who believeth in this Passion, like him who descended into the troubled water, is healed thereby. He whom the Law could not heal, that is, while he lay in the porches, is healed by grace, by faith in the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.…
[«vers. 9.] Audiam quid loquetur in me Dominus Deus.» Propheta dixit. Loquebatur in illo Deus intus, et mundus faciebat illi strepitum foris. Cohibens ergo aliquantum ab strepitu mundi, et avertens se ad se, et a se in illum cujus vocem audiebat interius; quasi obturans aurem contra tumultuantem vitae hujus inquietudinem, et contra animam corpore quod corrumpitur aggravatam, et sensum terrena inhabitatione deprimentem multa cogitantem , ait, «Audiam quid loquitur in me Dominus Deus:» et audivit, quid? «Quoniam loquetur pacem in plebem suam.» Vox ergo Christi, vox Dei pax est, ad pacem vocat. Eia, dicit, quicumque nondum estis in pace, amate pacem: quid enim vobis melius de me invenire potestis quam pacem? Pax quid est? Ubi nullum bellum est. Quid est, ubi nullum bellum est? Ubi nulla est contradictio, ubi nihil resistit, nihil adversum est. Videte si jam ibi sumus; videte si jam non est conflictus cum diabolo, videte si non omnes sancti et fideles cum principe daemoniorum luctantur. Et quomodo cum illo luctantur, quem non vident? Luctantur cum concupiscentiis suis, quibus ille suggerit peccata: et non consentiendo quod suggerit, etsi non vincuntur, tamen pugnant. Nondum est ergo pax, ubi pugna est. Aut date mihi hominem qui nihil tentationis patitur in carne sua, ut possit mihi dicere quia jam pax est. Nihil quidem tentationis forte patitur in illicitis voluptatibus, saltem suggestiones ipsas patitur: vel suggeritur illi quod respuit, vel delectat unde contineat. Sed ecce jam nihil delectat illicitum; vel contra famem et sitim pugnat quotidie: quis enim justus hinc alienus? Pugnat ergo fames et sitis, pugnat contra nos lassitudo carnis, pugnat delectatio somni, pugnat oppressio. Vigilare volumus; dormitamus: jejunare volumus; esurimus et sitimus: stare volumus; defatigamur: quaerimus sedere; si et hoc diu facimus, deficimus. Quidquid nobis providerimus ad refectionem, illic rursus invenimus defectionem. Esuris, dicit tibi aliquis? respondes, Esurio. Ponit ante te cibum; ad refectionem posuerat: persevera in eo quod posuit; certe reficere te volebas, hoc age semper; hoc agendo, in eo quod adhibueras ad refectionem, ibi invenis lassitudinem. Multum sedendo fatigatus eras; surgis, deambulando reficeris: persevera in eo quo reficeris, multum deambulando lassaris; sedere iterum quaeris. Inveni mihi aliquid unde te reficias, ubi non, si perseveraveris, iterum deficias. Qualis ergo est ista pax, quam hic habent homines tantis resistentibus molestiis, cupiditatibus, indigentiis, lassitudinibus? Non est ista vera, non est perfecta pax. Quae erit perfecta pax? «Oportet corruptibile hoc induere incorruptionem, et mortale hoc induere immortalitatem: tunc fiet sermo qui scriptus est, Absorpta est mors in victoriam. Ubi est, mors, aculeus tuus? ubi est, mors, contentio tua» ? Ubi enim adhuc mortalitas, quomodo est plena pax? Etenim de morte venit lassitudo ista, quam invenimus in omnibus refectionibus nostris. De morte est, quia corpus mortale portamus; quod quidem mortuum dicit Apostolus et ante animae resolutionem: «Corpus quidem,» inquit, «mortuum est propter peccatum» . Nam si perseveraveris in eo quo te reficis, etiam morieris. Persevera in multum manducando; ipsa res te interficiet: persevera in multum jejunando; inde morieris: sede semper, ut nolis surgere; morieris inde: ambula semper, ut nolis quiescere; morieris inde: vigila semper, ut nolis dormire; morieris inde: dormi semper, ut nolis vigilare; morieris inde. Quando ergo absorpta fuerit mors in victoriam, non erunt ista; et erit pax plena et aeterna. Erimus in quadam civitate: fratres, quando de illa loquor, finire nolo, et maxime quando scandala crebrescunt. Quis non desideret illam civitatem, unde amicus non exit, quo inimicus non intrat, ubi nullus tentator est, nullus seditiosus, nullus dividens populum Dei, nullus fatigans Ecclesiam in ministerio diaboli; quando ipse princeps ipsorum mittitur in ignem aeternum, et hi cum illo quicumque illi consentiunt, et recedere ab eo nolunt? Erit ergo pax purgata in filiis Dei, omnibus amantibus se, videntibus se plenos Deo, cum erit Deus omnia in omnibus . Commune spectaculum habebimus Deum; communem possessionem habebimus Deum; communem pacem habebimus Deum. Quidquid enim est quod nobis modo dat, ipse nobis erit pro omnibus quae dat: ipsa erit perfecta et plena pax. Hanc loquitur in plebem suam; hanc volebat audire ille qui ait: «Audiam quid loquetur in me Dominus Deus; quoniam loquetur pacem in plebem suam, et super sanctos suos, et in eos qui convertunt cor ad ipsum.» Eia, fratres, vultis ut ad vos pertineat ista pax quam loquitur Deus? Convertite cor ad ipsum; non ad me, aut ad illum, aut ad quemquam hominem. Quisquis enim homo voluerit convertere ad se corda hominum, cadit cum ipsis. Quid est melius, ut cadas cum illo ad quem converteris, an ut stes cum illo cum quo converteris? Gaudium nostrum, pax nostra, requies nostra, finis omnium molestiarum, non est nisi Deus: beati «qui convertunt cor ad ipsum.»
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11. “He shall give blessing,” saith he, “who gave the law.”…Grace shall come after the law, grace itself is the blessing. And what has that grace and blessing given unto us? “They shall go from virtue to virtue.” For here by grace many virtues are given. “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith, to another the gift of healing, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues, to another prophecy.” Many virtues, but necessary for this life; and from these virtues we go on to “a virtue.” To what “virtue”? To “Christ the Virtue of God and the Wisdom of God.” He giveth different virtues in this place, who for all the virtues which are necessary and useful in this valley of weeping shall give one virtue, Himself. For in Scripture and in many writers four virtues are described useful for life: prudence, by which we discern between good and evil; justice, by which we give each person his due, “owing no man anything,” but loving all men: temperance, by which we restrain lusts; fortitude, by which we bear all troubles. These virtues are now by the grace of God given unto us in the valley of weeping: from these virtues we mount unto that other virtue. And what will that be, but the virtue of the contemplation of God alone?…It follows in that place: “They shall go from virtue to virtue.” What virtue? That of contemplation. What is contemplation? “The God of Gods shall appear in Sion.” The God of Gods, Christ of the Christians.…When all is finished, that mortality makes necessary, He shall appear to the pure in heart, as He is, “God with God,” The Word with the Father, “by which all things were made.”
[«vers. 10.] Verumtamen prope timentes eum salutare ipsius.» Erant quidam qui jam timebant eum in gente Judaeorum. Per omnes terras ubique idola colebantur; daemonia timebantur, non Deus: in illa gente timebatur Deus. Sed propter quid timebatur? In Veteri Testamento timebatur, ne daret illos in captivitatem, ne tolleret illis terram, ne grandine contunderet vites ipsorum, ne faceret steriles uxores eorum, ne auferret ab eis filios ipsorum. Haec enim carnalia promissa Dei tenebant adhuc parvas animas, et propter haec timebatur Deus: sed prope illis erat, qui vel propter haec ipsum timebant. Terram petebat Paganus a diabolo; terram petebat Judaeus a Deo: unum erat quod petebant; sed non unus a quo petebant. Petendo iste quod Paganus petebat, discernebatur tamen a Pagano, quia ab illo ista petebat, qui omnia fecerat. Et prope illis erat Deus, qui Gentibus longe erat; tamen respexit et eos qui longe erant, et eos qui prope erant, sicut dicit Apostolus: «Et veniens evangelizavit pacem vobis qui eratis longe, et pacem his qui prope» . Quos dixit qui erant prope? Judaeos, quia unum Deum colebant. Quos dixit qui erant longe? Gentes, quia dimiserant eum a quo facti erant, et colebant illa quae ipsi fecerant. Non enim regionibus longe est quisque a Deo, sed affectibus. Amas Deum, prope es; odisti Deum, longe es. Uno loco stans, et prope es, et longe es. Ergo, fratres, respexit ista Propheta: quanquam generalem vidit misericordiam Dei super omnes; tamen aliquid speciale et proprium vidit in gente Judaea, et ait, «Verumtamen. Audiam quid loquetur in me Dominus Deus; quoniam loquetur pacem in plebem suam:» et plebs ipsius non Judaea sola erit, sed de omnibus gentibus colligetur; «quia super sanctos suos loquetur pacem, et in eos qui convertunt cor ad ipsum,» et omnes qui conversuri sunt cor ad ipsum de omni orbe terrarum. «Verumtamen prope timentes eum salutare ipsius, ut inhabitet gloria in terra nostra:» id est, in ea terra in qua natus erat Propheta, inhabitet gloria major; quia inde coepit pit praedicari Christus. Inde Apostoli, et illuc prius missi: inde Prophetae, ibi primo templum, ibi sacrificabatur Deo, ibi Patriarchae, ibi ipse etiam venit de semine Abrahae, ibi manifestatus est Christus, ibi apparuit Christus: inde enim virgo Maria, quae peperit Christum. Ibi ambulavit pedibus suis, ibi mirabilis fecit. Postremo tantum honorem illi genti detulit, ut cum eum interpellaret quaedam mulier Chananaea salutem quaerens filiae suae, dixerit ei: «Non sum missus nisi ad oves quae perierunt domus Israel» . Hoc ergo videns Propheta, ait: «Verumtamen prope timentes eum salutare ipsius, ut inhabitet gloria in terra nostra.»
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12. And again, from the thought of those joys he returns to his own sighs. He sees what has come before in hope, and where he is in reality.…Therefore returning to the groans proper to this place, he saith, “O Lord God of virtues, hear my prayer: hearken, O God of Jacob” (ver. 8): for Jacob himself also Thou hast made Israel out of Jacob. For God appeared unto him, and he was called Israel, seeing God. Hear me therefore, O God of Jacob, and make me Israel. When shall I become Israel? When the God of Gods shall appear in Sion.
[«vers. 11.] Misericordia et veritas occurrerunt sibi.» Veritas in terra nostra ex persona Judaeorum, misericordia in terra Gentium. Veritas enim ubi? Ubi erant eloquia Dei. Misericordia ubi? In illis qui dimiserant Deum suum, et converterant se ad daemonia. Numquid et ipsos despexit? Quomodo si diceret: Voca et istos longe fugitivos, qui multum a me recesserunt; voca, inveniant me quaerentem se, quia ipsi nolebant quaerere me. Ergo, «Misericordia et veritas occurrerunt sibi; justitia et pax osculatae sunt se.» Fac justitiam, et habebis pacem; ut osculentur se justitia et pax. Si enim non amaveris justitiam, pacem non habebis: amant enim se duo ista, justitia et pax, et osculantur se; ut qui fecerit justitiam, inveniat pacem osculantem justitiam. Duae amicae sunt; tu forte unam vis, et alteram non facis: nemo est enim qui non vult pacem; sed non omnes volunt operari justitiam. Interroga omnes homines: Vis pacem? Uno ore tibi respondet totum genus humanum: Opto, cupio, volo, amo. Ama et justitiam; quia duae amicae sunt justitia et pax; ipsae se osculantur: si amicam pacis non amaveris, non te amabit ipsa pax, nec veniet ad te. Quid enim magnum est desiderare pacem? Quivis malus desiderat pacem. Bona enim res est pax. Sed fac justitiam; quia justitia et pax se osculantur, non litigant. Tu quare litigas cum justitia? Ecce justitia dicit tibi, Ne fureris; et non audis: Ne adulteres; non vis audire: Non facias alteri quod tu pati non vis, non dicas alteri quod et tibi dici non vis. Inimicus es amicae meae, dicit tibi pax; quid me quaeris? Amica sum justitiae, quemcumque invenero inimicum amicae meae, non ad illum accedo. Vis ergo venire ad pacem? Fac justitiam. Ideo alius psalmus dicit tibi: «Declina a malo, et fac bonum» (hoc est amare justitiam); et cum jam declinaveris a malo, et feceris bonum, «quaere pacem, et persequere eam» . Jam enim non diu illam quaeres, quia et ipsa occurret tibi, ut osculetur justitiam.
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13. “Behold, O God our defender. And look on the face of Thy Christ” (ver. 9). For when doth God not look upon the face of His Christ? What is this, “Look on the face of Thy Christ”? By the face we are known. What is it then, Look on the face of Thy Christ? Cause Thy Christ to become known to all. Look on the face of Thy Christ: let Christ become known to all, that we may be able to go from strength to strength, that grace may abound, since sin hath abounded.
[«vers. 12.] Veritas de terra orta est, et justitia de coelo prospexit. Veritas de terra orta est:» Christus de femina natus est. «Veritas de terra orta est:» Filius Dei de carne processit. Quid est veritas? Filius Dei. Quid est terra? Caro. Interroga unde natus est Christus, et vides quia «veritas de terra orta est.» Sed haec veritas quae orta est de terra, erat ante terram, et per ipsam factum est coelum et terra; sed ut justitia de coelo prospiceret, id est, ut justificarentur homines divina gratia, veritas nata est de Maria virgine; ut posset pro illis justificandis offerre sacrificium, sacrificium passionis, sacrificium crucis. Et unde offerret sacrificium pro peccatis nostris, nisi moreretur? unde autem moreretur, nisi a nobis acciperet ubi moreretur? Id est, nisi a nobis sumeret carnem mortalem, Christus mori non posset; quia Verbum non moritur, divinitas non moritur, Virtus et Sapientia Dei non moritur. Quomodo offerret sacrificium victimam salutarem, si non moreretur? quomodo autem moreretur, nisi carnem indueret? quomodo carnem indueret, nisi veritas de terra oriretur? «Veritas de terra orta est, et justitia de coelo prospexit.»
84.14 PL 36, 1079
14. “For one day in Thy courts is better than a thousand” (ver. 10). Those courts they were for which he sighed, for which he fainted. “My soul longeth and faileth for the courts of the Lord:” one day there is better than a thousand days. Men long for thousands of days, and wish to live here long: let them despise these thousands of days, let them long for one day, which has neither rising nor setting: one day, an everlasting day, to which no yesterday yields, which no to-morrow presses. Let this one day be longed for by us. What have we to do with a thousand days? We go from the thousand days to one day; let us hasten to that one day, as we go from strength to strength.
Possumus hinc dicere alterum sensum. «Veritas de terra orta est:» confessio ab homine. Homo enim peccator eras. O terra, qui quando peccasti, audisti, «Terra es, et in terram ibis» , oriatur de te veritas, ut respiciat de coelo justitia. Quomodo a te oritur veritas, cum tu peccator sis, cum tu iniquus sis? Confitere peccata tua, et orietur de te veritas. Si enim cum sis iniquus, dicis te justum, quomodo a te veritas oriretur? Si autem cum sis iniquus, dicis te iniquum; «veritas de terra orta est.» Intende illum Publicanum longe a Pharisaeo in templo orantem, qui neque oculos ad coelum audebat levare, sed percutiebat pectus suum, dicens, «Domine, propitius esto mihi peccatori:» ecce «veritas de terra orta est,» quia confessio peccatorum ab homine facta est. Quid ergo sequitur? «Amen dico vobis, quia descendit justificatus Publicanus ille magis quam ille Pharisaeus: quia omnis qui se exaltat, humiliabitur; et qui se humiliat, exaltabitur» . «Orta est veritas de terra,» in confessione peccatorum; «et justitia de coelo prospexit,» ut descenderet justificatus Publicanus ille magis quam ille Pharisaeus. Nam ut noveritis quia veritas pertinet ad confessionem peccatorum, ait Joannes evangelista: «Si dixerimus quia peccatum non habemus, nos ipsos seducimus, et veritas in nobis non est.» Quomodo ergo veritas de terra oritur, ut justitia de coelo prospiciat, audi illum sequentem et dicentem: «Si confiteamur peccata nostra, fidelis est et justus, ut remittat nobis peccata, et purget nos ab omni iniquitate» . «Veritas» ergo «de terra orta est, et justitia de coelo prospexit.» Quae «justitia de coelo prospexit?» Tanquam Dei dicentis: Parcamus huic homini, quia ipse sibi non pepercit; ignoscamus, quia ipse agnoscit. Conversus est ad puniendum peccatum suum; convertar et ego ad eum liberandum. «Veritas de terra orta est, et justitia de coelo prospexit.»
84.15 PL 36, 1079
15. “I have chosen to be cast away in the house of the Lord, rather than to dwell in the tents of sinners” (ver. 11). For he found the valley of weeping, he found humility by which he might rise: he knoweth that if he would raise himself he shall fall, if he humble himself he shall be exalted: he hath chosen to be cast away, that he may be raised up. How many beside this tabernacle of the Lord’s winepress, that is beside the Catholic Church, wishing to be lifted up, and loving their honours, refuse to see the truth. If this verse had been in their heart, would they not cast away honours, and run to the valley of weeping, and hence find in their heart the way of ascent, and hence go from virtues to virtue, placing their hope in Christ, not in some man or another? A good word is this, a word to rejoice in, a word to be chosen. He himself chose to be cast away in the house of the Lord; but He who invited him to the feast, when he chose a lower place calleth him to a higher one, and saith unto him, “Go up higher.” Yet he chose not but to be in the house of the Lord, in any part of it, so that he were not outside the threshold.
[«vers. 13.] Etenim Dominus dabit suavitatem, et terra nostra dabit fructum suum.» Unus versus restat, peto sine taedio sit quod dicturus sum. Attendite rem necessariam, fratres mei; attendite, percipite, auferte vobiscum, et non sit inane semen Dei in cordibus vestris. «Veritas,» inquit, «de terra orta est,» confessio peccatorum ab homine; «et justitia de coelo prospexit,» id est, a Domino Deo data est justificatio confitenti, ut ipse agnoscat impius pium se fieri non posse, nisi ille fecerit cui confitetur, credendo in eum qui justificat impium . Tua ergo peccata potes habere; fructum bonum non habebis, nisi ille dederit cui confiteris. Ideo cum dixisset, «Veritas de terra orta est, et justitia de coelo prospexit;» tanquam diceretur ei, Quid est quod dixisti, «Justitia de coelo prospexit? Etenim,» inquit, «Dominus dabit suavitatem et terra nostra dabit fructum suum.» Nos ergo respiciamus nos; et si nihil in nobis invenerimus nisi peccata, oderimus peccata, et desideremus justitiam. Cum enim coeperimus odisse peccata, jam ipsum odium peccatorum similes nos incipit facere Deo; quia hoc odimus quod odit et Deus. Cum ergo coeperis odisse peccata et confiteri Deo, cum te delectationes illicitae rapiunt et ducunt ad ea quae tibi non prosunt, ingemisce ad Deum: et confitens illi peccata tua, mereberis ab illo delectationem, et suavitatem justitiae faciendae dabit tibi, ut incipiat te delectare justitia, quem primo delectabat iniquitas; ut qui primo gaudebas in ebrietate, gaudeas in sobrietate; et qui primo gaudebas de furtis, ut tolleres homini quod non habebas, quaeras donare non habenti quod habebas; et quem delectabat rapere, delectet donare; quem delectabat spectare, delectet orare; quem delectabant cantica nugatoria et adulterina, delectet hymnum dicere Deo; currere ad ecclesiam, qui primo currebas ad theatrum. Unde nata est ista suavitas, nisi quia «Dominus dabit suavitatem, et terra nostra dabit fructum suum?» Ecce enim videte quod dico: ecce locuti sumus vobis verbum Dei, semen sparsimus devotis cordibus, tanquam sulcata invenientes pectora vestra aratro confessionis; devotione et intentione suscepistis semen, cogitate de verbo quod audistis, tanquam glebas frangentes, ne semen rapiant volatilia, ut possit ibi germinare quod seminatum est; et nisi Deus pluerit, quid prodest quod seminatur? Hoc est, «Dominus dabit suavitatem, et terra nostra dabit fructum suum.» Ille enim visitationibus suis, in otio, in negotio, in domo, in lecto, in convivio, in collocutione, in deambulatione visitet corda vestra, ubi nos non sumus. Veniat imber Dei, et fructificet quod ibi seminatum est; et ubi non sumus nos, et securi quiescimus, aut aliud agimus, Deus det incrementum seminibus quae sparsimus, ut attendentes postea bonos mores vestros, etiam de fructu gaudeamus: «Quoniam Dominus dabit suavitatem, et terra nostra dabit fructum suum.»
84.16 PL 36, 1080
16. Wherefore did he choose?…“Because God loveth mercy and truth” (ver. 12). The Lord loveth mercy, by which He first came to my help: He loveth truth, so as to give to him that believeth what He has promised. Hear in the case of the Apostle Paul, His mercy and truth, Paul who was first Saul the persecutor. He needed mercy, and he has said that it was shown towards him: “I who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, that in me Christ Jesus might show forth all longsuffering towards those who shall believe in Him unto life eternal.” So that, when Paul received pardon of such great crimes, no one should despair of any sins whatever being forgiven him. Lo! Thou hast Mercy.…Lo, we see that Paul holdeth Him a debtor, having received mercy, demanding truth. The Lord, he says, shall give back in that day. What shall He give thee back, but that which He oweth thee? How oweth He unto thee? What hast thou given Him? “Who hath first given unto Him, and it shall be restored to him again.” The Lord Himself hath made Himself a debtor, not by receiving, but by promising: it is not said unto Him, Restore what Thou hast received: but, Restore what Thou hast promised. He hath shown mercy unto me, he saith, that He might make me innocent: for before I was a blasphemer and injurious: but by His grace I have been made innocent. But He who first showed mercy, can He deny His debt? “He loveth mercy and truth. He will give grace and glory.” What grace, but that of which the same one said: “By the grace of God I am what I am”? What glory, but that of which he said, “There is laid up for me a crown of glory”?
[«vers. 14.] Justitia ante eum praeibit, et ponet in; via gressus suos.» Justitia illa est quae est in confessione peccatorum: veritas enim ipsa est. Justus enim debes esse in te, ut punias te: ipsa est prima hominis justitia, ut punias te malum, et faciat te Deus bonum. Quia ergo ipsa est prima hominis justitia, ipsa fit via Deo, ut veniat ad te Deus: ibi illi fac viam, in confessione peccatorum. Ideo et Joannes cum baptizaret in aqua poenitentiae, et vellet ad se venire poenitentes de suis prioribus factis, hoc dicebat: «Parate viam Domino, rectas facite semitas ejus» . Placebas tibi in peccatis tuis, o homo; displiceat tibi quod eras, ut possis esse quod non eras. «Parate viam Domino:» praecedat ista justitia, ut confitearis peccata: veniet ille et visitabit te, quia «ponet in via gressus suos;» est enim jam ubi ponat gressus suos, est ubi ad te veniat. Ante autem quam confitereris peccata, intercluseras ad te viam Dei; non erat qua ad te veniret. Confitere vitam, et aperis viam; et veniet Christus, «et ponet in via gressus suos,» ut te informet vestigiis suis.
84.17 PL 36, 1069
17. Therefore “the Lord will not withhold good from those who walk in innocence” (ver. 12). Why then, O men, are ye unwilling to keep innocence, except in order that ye may have good things?…Thou seest wealth in the hands of robbers, of the impious, the wicked, the base; in the hands of scandalous and criminal men thou seest wealth: God giveth them these things on account of their fellowship in the human race, for the abundant overflowing of His goodness: who also “maketh His sun to rise upon the good and the evil, and causeth it to rain upon the righteous and upon the sinners.” Giveth He so much to the wicked, and keepeth nothing for thee? He keepeth something: be at ease, He who had mercy on thee when thou wast impious, doth He desert thee when thou hast become pious? He who gave to the sinner the free gift of His Son’s death, what keepeth He for the saved through that death? Therefore be at ease. Hold Him a debtor, for thou hast believed in Him promising. What then remains for us here, in the winepress, in affliction, in hardship, in our present dangerous life? What remains for us, that we may arrive thither? “O Lord God of virtues, blessed is the man that putteth his hope in Thee.”