Let him attend then and see what things
pass in man's heart : how even prayers are often hindered by
vain thoughts, so that the heart scarcely remains fixed on
God: and it would hold itself so as to be fixed, and some
how flees from itself, and finds no frames in which it can inclose itself, no bars by which it may keep in its flights
and wandering movements, and stand still to be made glad
by its God.
pass in man's heart : how even prayers are often hindered by
vain thoughts, so that the heart scarcely remains fixed on
God: and it would hold itself so as to be fixed, and some
how flees from itself, and finds no frames in which it can inclose itself, no bars by which it may keep in its flights
and wandering movements, and stand still to be made glad
by its God.
Augustine - Exposition on the Psalms - v4
That he wicked and cannot.
'
12'
>>
'
is
:
4,
'
is,
:
182 God giveth a sweetness in working righteousness.
Psalm fruit thou canst have none of, except He give it thee, unto l,IxT' Whom thou makest confession. Therefore when he had said, Truth is sprung out of the earth, and righteousness hath
looked down from heaven, as if he were asked, What is it that thou saidst, Righteousness hath looked down from heaven; he continues, For the Lord shall give sweetness, and our land shall give her increase. Let us therefore look back upon ourselves: and if we find in ourselves nothing but sins, let us hate sins, and long for righteousness. For when we have begun to hate sins, that very hatred of sins straightway begins to make us like God, because we hate that which God also hateth. When therefore thou hast begun to hate sins and to confess to God, when unlawful delights hurry thee away, and draw thee to those things which profit not, make complaint to God : and confessing unto Him thy sins, thou shalt deserve from Him delight, and He will give uuto thee the sweetness of working righteousness, so that righ teousness shall begin to delight thee, whom before unrigh
teousness delighted: so that thou who at first didst delight m drunkenness, shalt rejoice in sobriety: and thou who didst at first rejoice in theft, so as to take from another man what thou hadst not, shalt seek to give to him that hath not that which thou hast: and thou who didst take delight in robbing, shalt delight now in giving : thou whom shows delighted, shalt delight in prayer; thou who didst delight in trifling and lascivious songs, shalt now delight in singing hymns to God ; in running to church, thou who at first didst run to the theatre. Whence is that sweetness bom to thee, except from this, that God giveth sweetness, and our land shall give her increase? For, behold, ye see what
I mean : behold, I have spoken unto you the word of God, I have sown seed in your devout hearts, finding your souls furrowed, as it were, with the plough of confession: with devout attention ye have received the seed ; think now upon the word which ye have heard, like those who break up the clods, lest the fowls should carry away the seed, that what is sown may be able to spring up there: and unless God rain upon what profits that sown? This what meant by the Lord shall give sweetness, and ovs land shall give her increase. May He with His visitations,
is
it,
it
it is
is
Just confession makes a way for God's steps. 183
in leisure, in business, in your house, in your bed, at meal- Ver. time, in conversation, in walks, visit your hearts, when we ------ are not by. May the rain of God come and make to sprout
what is sown there: and when we are not by, and are resting
quietly, or otherwise employed, may God give increase to the
seeds which we have sown, that remarking afterwards improved characters, we too may rejoice for your fruit. For the Lord shall give sweetness, and our land shall give her
increase.
16. Ver. 14. For righteousness shall go before him, and
he shall direct his steps in the way: that righteousness, namely, which consists in confession of sins: for this is truth itself. For thou oughtest to be righteous towards thyself, and to punish thyself: for this is the beginning of man's righteousness, that thou shouldest punish thyself, who art
Him a way, in confession of sins. Therefore J
ohn too, when he was baptizing in the water of repentance, and would have men come to him repenting of their former deeds, spoke
thus; Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. Matt. 3, Thou didst please thyself in thy sins, O man : let that which
thou wast displease thee, that thou mayest be able to become
what thou wast not. Prepare the way of the Lord : let that righteousness go before, of confession of sins : He will come
and visit thee, for He shall place His steps in the way: for now He hath where to place His steps, He hath whereby He may come to thee. Before thou didst confess thy sins, thou hadst shut up the way of God : there was no way by which He might come unto thee. Confess thy past life, and thou openest a way ; and Christ shall come unto thee, and shall place His steps in the way, that He may guide thee with His own footsteps.
your
evil, and God should make thee good. Therefore since this is the beginning of man's righteousness, this becomes a way for God, that God may come unto thee : there make for
Lax. lxxxv.
PSALM LXXXVI.
184
A Sermon to the people on the vigil of a festival, perhaps of St. Cyprian, delivered at Carthage,
No greater gift could God have given to men than in making His Word, by Which He created all things, their Head, and joining them to Him as His members: that the Son of God might become also the Son of man, one God with the Father, one Man with men ; so that when we speak to God in prayer for mercy, we do not separate the Son from Him; and when the Body of the Son prays, it separates not its Head from itself : and it is one Saviour of His Body,
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who both prays for us, and prays in us, and is prayed to by us. He prays for us, as our Priest; He prays in us, as our Head ; He is prayed to by us, as our God. Let us therefore recognise in Him our words, and His words in us. Nor when any thing is said of our Lord Jesus Christ, especially in prophecy, implying a degree of humility below the dignity of God, let us hesitate to ascribe it to Him Who did not hesitate to join Himself unto us. For unto Him all creation is subject, since by Him all creation was made. And, therefore, when we behold His sublime and divine nature, when we hear,
John I, [n tlie beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. I7ie Same was in the begin
ning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made : gazing upon this divine nature of the Son of God, far surpassing and exceeding all the most sublime things of creation, we hear Him then in some part of Scripture groaning, praying, con fessing ; and we hesitate to ascribe unto Him these words, because our thoughts are reluctant to descend from that late contemplation of His divine nature, to this His humble condition, and seem almost to do Him injury, if they recog nise in a man His words, unto Whom as to God they were directing words of prayer, they often remain doubtful, and try to change the understanding, and yet they meet with nothing in the Scripture but what reverts ever to Him, and suffers them not to turn aside from Him. They ought, there
Words of our Lord as Man, and as One with His Body. 1 85
fore to rouse themselves, and thoroughly wake up in their Ver. faith; then they would see, that He Whom they were a little --- before contemplating in the form of God, look upon HimselfPMl- 3, the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of man ; ' 8' and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself,
and became obedient unto death ; and it was His will to
make the words of the Psalm His own words, as He hung
upon the Cross, and said, My God, My God, why hast Thou Ps- 22,
forsaken Me? He is prayed to in the form of God, in the'' form of a servant He prayeth ; there the Creator, here created ; assuming unchanged the creature, that it might be changed, and making us with Himself one Man, Head and Body. Therefore we pray to Him, through Him, in Him ; and we speak with Him, and He speaks with us ; we speak
in Him, He speaks in us the prayer of this Psalm, which is entitled, A Prayer ofDavid. For our Lord was, according to the flesh, the Son of David ; but according to His divine nature, the Lord of David, and his Maker; and not only before David, but also before Abraham, from whom David came ; and also before Adam, from whom were all men ; and also before heaven and earth, in which are all creatures. Let no one then, when he hears these words, say, Christ speaketh not ; nor again say, I speak not ; nay rather, if he
own himself to be in the Body of Christ, let him say both, Christ speaks, and I speak. Be thou unwilling to say any
thing without Him, and He saith nothing without thee.
Have w e not this in the Gospel ? There where it is certainly written, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word wasioha l, with God, and the Word was God. All things were made l?
by Him; there certainly we have, Jesus was sorrowful, Mat. 26,
Jesus was wearied, Jesus slept, Jesus was hungry and was V\ thirsty, Jesus prayed, and continued in prayer all night. 6.
He prayed, says the Gospel, and He continued in prayer ; 94^**- 8' and there ran down over His body great drops of blood. Matt. 4, What did that shew, when drops of blood ran down from Luke. 6, His body as He prayed, but that His body, which is the L2u'le22
Church, was already flowing with the blood of martyrs ? 44. 2. Ver. I . Bow down Thine ear, O Lord, and hear me. He speaks in the form of a servant : speak thou, O servant, in the form of thy Lord : Bow down Thine ear, O Lord. He
180 God bows His ear to the humble, rich or poor.
Psalm bows down His ear, if thou dost not lift up thy neck : for limm. unto ^e ilum|ile pje draweth near : from him that is exalted He removes afar off, except whom He Himself hath exalted from being humble. God then bows down His ear unto us.
For He is above, we below: He id a high place, we in a Bom. 6, lowly one, yet not deserted. For, God sheweth His love
8
ib. 7.
towards us: for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. For scarcely for a just man will one die: yet for a good man peradventure one would even dare to die: but our Lord died for the wicked. For no merits of ours had gone before, for which the Son of God should die : but the more, because there were no merits, was His mercy great. How sure then, how firm is the promise, by which for the righteous He keepeth His life, Who for the wicked gave His owIn death !
Bow down Thine ear, 0 Lord, and hear me : for
and in misery. To the rich then He boweth not down His ear : unto the poor and him that is in misery He boweth down His ear, that is, unto the humble, and him that confesseth, uuto him that is in need of mercy : not unto him that is full, who lifteth up himself and boasteth,as if he wanted nothing,
I thank Thee that lam not as this Publican. For
Lukeis, and saith,
1--13' the rich Pharisee boasted of his merits : the poor Publican
confessed his sins.
3. Yet do not take what I have said, my brethren, in such
a way, as if God does not hear those who have gold and silver, and a household, and farms, if they happen to be born to this estate, or hold such a rank in the world : only let
l Tim. them remember the Apostle's words : Charge those who are ' ' rich in this world, that they be not highminded. For those that are not highminded are poor in God, and to the poor
and needy and those in want He inclines His ear. For they know that their hope is not in gold and silver, nor in those things in which for a time they seem to abound. It is enough that riches ruin them not ; it is enough that they do them no harm : for good they can do them none. What certainly profiteth is a work of mercy, done by a rich or by a poor man: by a rich man, with will and deed, by a poor man, with will alone. When therefore he is such an one as despiseth in himself every thing which is wont to swell men with pride, he is one of God's poor : He inclines unto him
am poor
Abraham, though rich, humble be/ore God. 1 87
His ear, for He knows that his heart is contrite. It is true, Vrr. my brethren, that that poor man, who lay full of sores before La^16 the rich man's door, was taken away by Angels into Abraham's 19--24. ' bosom : so we read, so we believe : but that rich man who
Was clothed in purple and fine linen, and who feasted in splendour every day, was taken away to hell to be tormented.
Was it really for the merit of his poverty that the poor man
was carried away by Angels, or was it for the sin of his
riches that the rich man was sent away to be tormented ? In
that poor man is signified the honour which is paid to humility, in that rich man the condemnation which awaits
pride. I will prove shortly that it was not riches but pride
which was tormented in that rich man. It is certain that the
poor man was carried into the bosom of Abraham : of Abraham himself Scripture saith that he had here very much Gen. 13,
gold and silver, and was rich on the earth. If every one2-
that is rich is hurried away to be tormented, how could Abraham have gone before that poor man, so as to be ready
to receive him when carried to his bosom ? But Abraham in
his riches was poor, humble, reverencing all commands, and obeying them. So true was it that he counted all those
riches for nothing, that on God's command he was ready
to sacrifice his son, for whom he was keeping his riches, aTM. 22, Learn therefore ye to be poor and needy, whether ye have ,0,
any thing in this world, or whether ye have not. For you
may find a poor man proud, and a rich man you may find confessing. God resisteth the proud, both those clothed all James in silk, and those in rags: to the humble He giveth grace,*'6' both those who have some of this world's goods, and those
who have not. God looketh within : there He weigheth,
there He trieth in the balance : thou seest not God's scales,
thy mind is raised to behold it. See, the desert of his being heard, that is, the cause why he was heard he places herein, saying, For I
lest thou be not poor and in misery, if so thou art not, thou shalt not be heard. Whatever there is around thee,
or in thee, for which thou mightest presume, cast it from
thee : presume not thou in aught but in God : be thou in need of Him, that thou mayest be filled with Him. For
am poor and in misery. Take care
188 Christ's Body holy by communication from Him.
Psalm whatever else thou mayest have without Him, thou art the
Levit. 19' 2'
more entirely poor.
4. Ver. 2. Preserve Thou My Soul, for lam holy. I know
not whether any one could say this, / am holy, but He Who
was in the world without sin : He by Whom all sins were 'non not committed but remitted'. We own it to be His voice
""J"^8' saying, Preserve Thou My Soul, for I
am holy; of course in dimissorthat form of a servant which He had assumed. For in that was flesh, in that was also a Soul. For He was not, as 'ApolH-some* have said, only Flesh and the Word: but Flesh and narian>>. goul and ^ yforA, and all this, One Son of God, One Christ, One Saviour; in the form of God equal to the Father, in the form of a servant the Head of the Church.
When therefore I hear, for I
am holy, I recognise His voice: yet do I exclude my own? Surely He speaks in
from His body when He speaks thus. Shall I
separably
then dare to say, For I
as needing none to sanctify, I should be proud and false: but if holy as made holy, as it is written, Be ye holy, for 1 am holy, then the body of Christ may venture, and that one
am holy? If holy as making holy, and
Ps. 61,2. Man, crying from the end of the earth, may venture with
am holy. For he hath received the grace of holiness, the grace of Baptism,
his Head, and under his Head, to say, For I
iCor. 6,and of remission of sins. And such were ye, saith the
ll-
sins, light ones and heavy, and horrible; And such were ye: but ye are
Apostle, enumerating many
customary
washed, but ye are sanctified. If then he calls them sanc
/am holy. This is not the pride of one puffed up, but the confession of one not
tified, each one of the faithful may say,
For if thou sayest that thou art holy of thyself, thou art proud : on the other hand, thou who art faithful in Christ, and a member of Christ, if thou sayest that thou art not holy, thou art ungrateful. The Apostle rebuking pride,
ungrateful.
iCor. 4, saith not, Thou hasi not; but he saith, What hast thou that 7' thou didst not receive ? Thou wast not rebuked for sayiug that thou hast what thou hast not, but for wishing that
what thou hast should be of thyself. Do thou then own both that thou hast, and that of thyself thou hast nothing, so as to be neither proud nor ungrateful. Say unto thy
The unholy wrong Him. The crying of His Body. 189
God, I am holy, for Thou hast sanctified me : because Ver.
I received, not because I had : because Thou gavest, -- not because I deserved. For on another side thou art beginning to do an injury to our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
For if all Christians who are faithful and have been baptized
'--
in Him have put Him on, as the Apostle saith, As many as Gal. 3, are baptized in Christ have put on Christ: if they have27- been made members of His body, and say that they are not
holy, they do injury to their Head, of Whom they are members, and yet not holy. Look thou where thou art, and
from thy Head assume dignity. For thou wert in darkness,
6k/ now light in the Lord. Ye were sometime darkness, he Eph. 6, saith : but did ye remain darkness ? Was it for this the 8' Enlightener came, that ye might still remain darkness, or
that in Him ye might become light? Therefore, every Christian by himself, therefore also the whole body of Christ,
may say, it may cry every where, while it suffers tribulations, various temptaItions and offences, it may say, Preserve Thou
my soul, for
am holy: my God, save Thy servant, that pulteth his trust in Thee. See thou, that holy man is not .
proud, since he putteth his trust in God.
5. Ver. 3. Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for I
have cried unto Tliee all day. Not one day: understand all day to mean continually: from the time that the body of Christ
groans being in afflictions, until the end of the world, when afflictions pass away, that man groaneth and calleth upon God : and each one of us after his measure hath his part in that cry in the whole body. Thou hast cried in thy days, and thy days have passed away: another hath come after thee, and cried in his days : and thou here, he there, another elsewhere: the body of Christ crieth all the day, its members departing and succeeding one another. One Man it is that reaches to the end of the world : the same members of Christ cry, and some members already rest in Him, some still cry, some when we shall be at rest will cry, and after them others will cry. It is the whole body Iof Christ whose voice He
cried all the day. Our Head on the right hand of the Father intercedes for us: some members He recovereth, others He scourgeth, others
hears, saying, Unto Thee have
He cleanseth, others He comforteth, others He is creating,
190 The soul needs lilting up to rejoice in God.
Psalm others calling, others recalling, others correcting, others lxxxvI- restoring.
6. Ver. 4. Make glad the soul of Thy servant: for unto Thee, 0 Lord, have I lifted up my soul. Make it glad, for unto Thee have I lifted it up. For it was on earth, and from
the earth it felt bitterness: lest it should wither away in bitterness, lest it should lose all the sweetness of Thy grace, I lifted it up unto Thee : make Thou it glad with Thyself. For Thou alone art gladness: the whole world is full of bitterness. Surely with reason He admonishes His members to lift up their hearts. May they hear and do it : may they lift up unto Him what on earth is ill. There the heart decayeth not, if it be lifted up to God. If thou hadst corn in thy rooms below, thou wouldest take it up higher, lest it should grow rotten. Wouldest thou remove thy corn, and dost thou suffer thy heart to rot on the earth ? Thou wouldest take thy corn up higher: lift up thy heart to heaven. And how can I, dost thou say ? What ropes are needed ? what machines? what ladders ? Thy affections are the steps : thy
. will the way. By loving thou mountest, by neglect thou descendest. Standing on the earth thou art in heaven, if thou lovest God. For the heart is not so raised as the body is raised : the body to be lifted up changes its place : the heart to bIe lifted up changes its will. For unto Thee, 0
sought the fount of sweetness, and found it not on the earth. For wherever he turned himself, he found offences, fears, troubles, temptations. In what man was there safety? in whom could he securely rejoice ? Certainly not in himself : how much less in others ? Either men are bad, and we must bear with them, and hope that they will be changed ; or they are good, and we ought to love them so as to fear at the same time, lest (as they are changeable) they should become bad ; in one case their wickedness causes bitterness of soul, in the other it is caused by anxiety and fear, lest he who walks well should slip. Wherever therefore he turns himself, he finds bitterness in earthly things : he has not
Lord, do
up my soul.
7. Ver. 5. For Thou, Lord, art good and gracious.
lift
There fore make Thou me glad. As though wearied with the bitterness of earthly things he wished to be sweetened, and
God 'gracious' in taking well our ill performed devotions. 191
whereby be may be sweetened, unless he lift himself up to Vga. God. Far Tliou, Lord, art good and gracious. What is ---- gracious ? Bearing me until Thou hast made me perfect.
I will speak truly, my brethren, like a man among men, and sprung from men : let each one endure to look into his own
heart without flattery, and without false soothing. For nothing is more foolish than for a man vainly to soothe and seduce himself.
Let him attend then and see what things
pass in man's heart : how even prayers are often hindered by
vain thoughts, so that the heart scarcely remains fixed on
God: and it would hold itself so as to be fixed, and some
how flees from itself, and finds no frames in which it can inclose itself, no bars by which it may keep in its flights
and wandering movements, and stand still to be made glad
by its God. Scarcely does one such prayer occur amongst
many. Each one might say that this happened to him, but
that it happened not to others, if we did not find in the holy Scripture David praying in a certain place, and saying,
Since 1 have found my heart, O Lord, so that I might pray* Sam. unto Thee. He said that he had found his heart, as if it 7' 27' were wont to flee from him, and he to follow it like a fugitive, and not be able to catch and to cry to God, For Ps. 38, my heart hath deserted me. Therefore, my brethren, thinking 1? ' over what he saith here, Thou, Lord, art good and gracious, think see what he meaneth by "gracious. " Make
glad the soul of Thy servant, for unto Thee, Lord, have lifted up my soul for Thou art good and gracious
seem to feel that for this reason he calls God gracious, because He bears with those failings of ours, and yet expects prayer from us, in order to make us perfect and when we have given to Him, He receives gratefully, and listens to
and remembers not those many prayers which we pour out unthinkingly, and accepts the one which we can scarcely find. For what man there, my brethren, who, on being addressed by his frieud, when he wishes to answer his address, sees his friend turn away from him and speak to another, who there who would bear this? Or
you appeal to judge, and set him up to hear you, and all at once,
while you are speaking to him, pass from him, and begin to converse with your friend, who would endure this Yet God
if ?
O
a
is
is
it,
I
it
it
O it,
:
I :
: I
1
192 They call not truly upon God, who call in vain.
Psalm endures the hearts of so many persons who pray and think ijixxvi. oj. different things : I am not now speaking of evil things, such are sometimes perverse and at enmity with God; to
think of any thing that is superfluous is an injury to Him with Whom you have begun to speak. Thy prayer is a speech addressed to God : when thou readest, God speaks to thee : when thou prayest, thou speakest to God. What then? Must we despair of mankind, and say that every man is already condemned into whose prayers any wandering thoughts have crept aud interrupted them ? If we say this, my brethren, I know not what hope remains. Therefore because there is some hope before God, because His mercy is great, let us say
unto Him, Make glad the soul of Thy servant: for unto Thee, O Lord, hare Ilifted up my soul. And how have I lifted it up? As I could, as Thou gavest me strength, as I could catch it when"it fled away. " And hast thou forgotten," imagine God to say, that as often as thou didst stand before Me, thou didst think of so many vain and useless things, and didst scarcely pour out unto Me an earnest and steady prayer ? " For Thou,
Lord, art good and gracious: gracious art Thou, enduring me. From infirmity I sink : heal Thou me, and I shall stand : strengthen Thou me, and I shall be strong. But until Thou do this, Thou bearest with me : For Thou, Lord, art good and gracious.
8. And of great mercy.
That is, not only of mercy, but of great mercy: for as our iniquity abounds, so also aboundeth Thy mercy. And of great mercy art Thou unto all that call upon Thee. What
Prov. l, is it then which Scripture saith in many places; They shall
28?
call, and
(yet surely
Thou art
merciful
I will not hear them ?
to all that call upon Thee;) but that some call, yet call not
Ps. 63,4. upon Him, of whom it is said, They have not called upon God. They call, but not on God. Thou callest upon what ever thou lovest: thou callest upon whatever thou callest
unto thyself, whatever thou wishest to come unto thee. Therefore if thou callest upon God for this reason, in order that money may come unto thee, that an inheritance may come unto thee, that worldly rank may come unto thee, thou callest upon those things which thou desirest may come unto thee : but thou makest God the helper of thy desires,
How it is that some prayers are not granted. 193
not the listener to thy needs. God is good, if He gives what Ver. thou wishest. What if thou wishest ill, will He not then be ----- more merciful by not giving? Then, if He gives not, then
is God nothing to thee; and thou sayest, How much I have prayed, how often I have prayed, and have not been heard !
Why, what didst thou ask ? Perhaps that thy enemy might
die. What if he at the same time were praying for thy
death ? He Who created thee, created him also : thou art a
man, he too is a man ; but God is the Judge : He hears
both, and He grants their prayer to neither. Thou art sad, because thou wast not heard when praying against him ;
be glad, because his prayer was not heard against thee.
But thou sayest, I did not ask for this ; I asked not for the
death of my enemy, but for the life of my child; what ill did
I ask ? Thou askedst no ill, as thou didst think. What if
he was taken away, lest wickedness should alter his under- Wind. 4, standing. But he was a sinner, thou sayest, and therefore
1 wished him to live, that he might be corrected. Thou wishedst him to live, that he might become better; what if God knew, that if he lived he would become worse ? How then couldest thou know what was good for him, to die or to live ? If then thou knewest not, return into thy heart, leave it to God to take counsel for thee. What am I to do then, dost thou say? what am I to pray for? What art thou to pray for ? What the Lord has taught thee, what thy heavenly Master has taught thee. Call upon God as God, love God as God : there is nothing better than He is ; long for Him, Him desire. See how he calls on God in another
I willPn. il,*. ask. What is it which he required? That I may dwell in
the house of the Lord all the days of my life. For what
Psalm: One thing have I required of the Lord, this
reason? That I may behold the delightfuluess of the Lord. If then thou wouldest be a lover of God, with thy innermost marrow and wilh pure sighings love Him, desire Him, for Him burn, long for Him, than Whom thou shalt find nothing more pleasant, nothing better, nothing more joyful, nothing more lasting. For what so lasting as that which is ever lasting ? Thou necdest not fear, lest He should ever be lost to thee, Who causes that thou be not lost thyself. If, there fore, thou callest on God as God, be confident thou shalt be
vol. iv. o
J 94 God withholds what we ask, to give our chief desire, Himself.
Psalm heard : thou hast part in that verse ; And of great mercy unto all that call upon Thee.
9. Say not thou then, He did not give me that which 1 Oxf. I prayed for. Return thou into thy conscience1: weigh . heart. ' question spare not. If thou calledst on God truly, be
sure that that which perhaps thou wishedst to have as temporal blessing He gave thee not, for this reason, because was not good for thee. Let your heart, my brethren, be builded up on this, Christian heart, faithful heart begin not, when ye are sad as defrauded of your wants, begin Acts not to be angry against God: for not good to kick against the pricks. Look back to the Scriptures. The devil heard, and not the Apostle what think ye How Matt. are the devils heard They prayed that they might go into the swine, and was allowed them. How was the devil Joh1, heard? He asked for Job, that he might tempt him, and
received permission. How was the Apostle not heard? Cor. Lest should be exalted above measure through the abun- 12 7--9 dance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn tn the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest should be exalted above measure. For this thing besought the Lord thrice, that might depart from me. And He said
unto me, My grace is sufficient fur thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. He heard him whom He ordained to damnation, and did not hear him whom He willed to heal. So sick man asketh many things of the physician; but the physician giveth them not: he heareth not for his desire, that he may hear for his cure.
Make God then thy Physician seek of Him health, and He Himself will be thy health seek not as thou wouldest gain salvation from any other source, but so that He Himself may be salvation unto thee: not so as again to love any other salvation besides Him, but as thou hast written
Ps. 36,3. the Psalm Say unto my soul, am thy salvation. What to thee what He saith unto thee, so that He give Himself unto thee? Wouldest thou that He should give Himself unlo thee? What that which thou wouldest have He wills not that thou shouldest have, that He may give Himself unto thee? He removes hindrances, that he may enter into
thee. Think, brethren, and reflect what good things God
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God's best gifts are for His own. His healing to be trusted. 1 95
giveth unto sinners: and learn hence what He keepeth for Vsr.
His own servants. To sinners who blaspheme Him every day He giveth the sky and the earth, He giveth springs,
fruits, health, children, wealth, abundance : all these good things none giveth but God. He who giveth such things to sinners, what thinkest thou He keeps for His faithful ones ? Is this to be believed of Him, that He Who giveth such things to the bad, keepeth nothing for the good ? Nay verily He doth keep,not earth, but heaven for them. Too common a thing perhaps I say when I say heaven ; Himself rather, Who made the heaven. Fair is heaven, but fairer is the Maker of heaven. But I see the heavens, Him I see not. Because thou hast eyes to see the heavens: a heart thou hast not yet to see the Maker of heaven : therefore came He from heaven to earth, to cleanse the heart, that He may be seen
Who made heaven and earth. But wait thou with full patience for salvation. By what treatment to cure thee, He knoweth : by what cutting, what burning, He knoweth. Thou hast brought sickness on thyself by sinning: He comes not only to nurse, but also to cut and to burn. Seest thou not how much men suffer under the hands of physicians, when a man promises them an uncertain hope? Thou wilt be cured, says the physician: thou wilt be cured, if I cut. It is a man who speaks, and to a man that he speaks : neither is he sure who speaks, nor he who hears, for he who is speaking to the man hath not made man, and knows not perfectly what is passing in man : yet at the words of a man who knows not what is passing in man, man sooner believeth, submits his limbs, suffers himself to be bound, often without being bound is cut or burned ; and receives perhaps health for a few days, even when just healed not knowing when he may die : perhaps, while being healed, dies; perhaps cannot be healed. But to whom hath God promised any thing, and deceived him ?
10. Ver. 6. Fix my prayer in Thy ears, O Lord. Great earnestness of him who prays! Fix viy prayer in Thine ears, O Lord: that is, let not my prayer go out of Thine ears, fix it then in Thine ears. How did he travail that he might fix his prayer in the ears of God? Let God answer and say to us ; Wouldest thou that I fix thy prayer in My ears? Fix My
o2
-- -- --
IMS Thc present life a ' day of trouble. '
Psalm law in thy heart. Fix my prayer in Thine ears, 0 Lord;
-
and attend to the voice of my prayer.
11. Ver. 7. In the day ofmy trouble
I have cried unto Thee,for Thou hast heard me. The caIuse that Thouheardest
me was, that in the day of my trouble
little before he had said, All the day have I cried, all the day have I been troubled. Let no Christian then say that there is any day in which he is not troubled. By all the day we have understood the whole of time. What then, is there trouble even when it is well with us? Even so, trouble. How is there trouble? Because as long as we are in the body toe
2 Cor.
are absent from the Lord. Let what will abound here, we are not yet in that country whither we are hastening to return, lie to whom foreign travel is sweet, loveth not his country: if
cried unto Thee. A
his country is sweet, travel is bitter; if travel is bitter, all the day there is trouble ? When is there not trouble ? When there is joy in one's country. At Thy right hand are delights for
Ps. 16,
Ps. 27, evermore. 'Thou shIalt fill me with joy,' he saith, 'with Thy
*'
countenance: that
toil and groaning shall pass away : there shall be not prayer
may see the delight the Lord. ' There of
but raise; there Alleluia, there Amen, the voice in concord with Angels; there vision without failing and love without weariness. So long therefore as we are not there, ye see that we are not in that which is good. But do all things abonnd? If all things abound, see if thou art assured that all things perish not. But I have what I had not: more money is come to me which I had not before. Perhaps more fear too
. is come, which thou hadst not before: perhaps thou wast so much the more secure as thou wast the poorer. In fine, be it that thou hast wealth, that thon hast redundance of this world's affluence, that thou hast assurance given thee that all
this shall not perish ; besides this, that God say unto thee, Thou shalt remain for ever in these things, they shall be for ever with thee, but My face thou shalt not see. Let none ask counsel of the flesh : ask ye counsel of the Spirit : let your heart answer you; let hope, faith, charity, which has begun to be in you, answer. If then we were to receive as
surance that we should always be in affluence of worldly goods, and if God were to say to us, My face ye shall not see, would ye rejoice in these goods ? Some one might perhaps choose
None of the gods like unto God. Excuses of idolaters. 197
to rejoice, and say, These things abound unto me, it is well Ver.
:--
Ps. 42,
with me, I ask no more. He hath not yet begun to be a lover of God : he hath not yet begun to sigh like one far from home. Far be far be from us: let them retire, all those seductions: let them retire, those false blandishments: let them
be gone, those words which they say daily unto us, Where
thy God? Let us pour out our soul1 over us, let us confess i'<a? per in tears, let us groan in confession, let us sigh in misery. nos'
Whatever present with us besides our God, we would not have all tilings that He hath given, not Himself Who gave all things. Fix my prayer,
not sweet He gives Lord, in lu the day of my trouble have cried unto Thee, for Thou hast heard uie. 12. Ver. 8. Among the gods there none like unto Thee,
Thy ears, and attend to the voice of my prayer,
O Lord. What did he say Among the gods there none
like unto Thee, O Lard. Let the Pagans make for them
selves what gods they will let them bring workmen in silver
and in gold, furbishers, sculptors let them make gods. What
kind of gods? Having eyes, and seeing not; and the other Ps. 116, things which the Psalm mentions in what follows. But we 6-
do not worship these, he says; we do not worship them, these
are symbols. What then do ye worship Something else
that worse for the gods of the gentiles are devils. What
then Neither, say they, do we worship devils. Ye have Ps. 96, certainly nothing else in your temples, nothing else inspires6- your prophets than devil. But what do ye say? We worship Angels, we have Angels as gods. Ye know not altogelherwhat Angels are. Angels worship the one God, and favour not
men who wish to worship Angels and not God. For we find Angels of high rank* forbidding men to adore them, and com- 'hono- manding them to adore the true God. But when they say r^'19 Angels, suppose they mean men, since said, have said, io.
Ye are Gods, and all the children the Most Highest. ^' Among the gods there none like unto Thee, Lord.
Whatever man3 thinks to the contrary, that which was made
not like Him Who made it. Except God, whatever else there Jjjj^i
in the universe was made by God. What difference there between Him Who made, and that which was made, who can worthily imagine Therefore this man said, Among the gods there none like unto Thee, Lord: but how much
Quod-
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4,
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182 God giveth a sweetness in working righteousness.
Psalm fruit thou canst have none of, except He give it thee, unto l,IxT' Whom thou makest confession. Therefore when he had said, Truth is sprung out of the earth, and righteousness hath
looked down from heaven, as if he were asked, What is it that thou saidst, Righteousness hath looked down from heaven; he continues, For the Lord shall give sweetness, and our land shall give her increase. Let us therefore look back upon ourselves: and if we find in ourselves nothing but sins, let us hate sins, and long for righteousness. For when we have begun to hate sins, that very hatred of sins straightway begins to make us like God, because we hate that which God also hateth. When therefore thou hast begun to hate sins and to confess to God, when unlawful delights hurry thee away, and draw thee to those things which profit not, make complaint to God : and confessing unto Him thy sins, thou shalt deserve from Him delight, and He will give uuto thee the sweetness of working righteousness, so that righ teousness shall begin to delight thee, whom before unrigh
teousness delighted: so that thou who at first didst delight m drunkenness, shalt rejoice in sobriety: and thou who didst at first rejoice in theft, so as to take from another man what thou hadst not, shalt seek to give to him that hath not that which thou hast: and thou who didst take delight in robbing, shalt delight now in giving : thou whom shows delighted, shalt delight in prayer; thou who didst delight in trifling and lascivious songs, shalt now delight in singing hymns to God ; in running to church, thou who at first didst run to the theatre. Whence is that sweetness bom to thee, except from this, that God giveth sweetness, and our land shall give her increase? For, behold, ye see what
I mean : behold, I have spoken unto you the word of God, I have sown seed in your devout hearts, finding your souls furrowed, as it were, with the plough of confession: with devout attention ye have received the seed ; think now upon the word which ye have heard, like those who break up the clods, lest the fowls should carry away the seed, that what is sown may be able to spring up there: and unless God rain upon what profits that sown? This what meant by the Lord shall give sweetness, and ovs land shall give her increase. May He with His visitations,
is
it,
it
it is
is
Just confession makes a way for God's steps. 183
in leisure, in business, in your house, in your bed, at meal- Ver. time, in conversation, in walks, visit your hearts, when we ------ are not by. May the rain of God come and make to sprout
what is sown there: and when we are not by, and are resting
quietly, or otherwise employed, may God give increase to the
seeds which we have sown, that remarking afterwards improved characters, we too may rejoice for your fruit. For the Lord shall give sweetness, and our land shall give her
increase.
16. Ver. 14. For righteousness shall go before him, and
he shall direct his steps in the way: that righteousness, namely, which consists in confession of sins: for this is truth itself. For thou oughtest to be righteous towards thyself, and to punish thyself: for this is the beginning of man's righteousness, that thou shouldest punish thyself, who art
Him a way, in confession of sins. Therefore J
ohn too, when he was baptizing in the water of repentance, and would have men come to him repenting of their former deeds, spoke
thus; Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. Matt. 3, Thou didst please thyself in thy sins, O man : let that which
thou wast displease thee, that thou mayest be able to become
what thou wast not. Prepare the way of the Lord : let that righteousness go before, of confession of sins : He will come
and visit thee, for He shall place His steps in the way: for now He hath where to place His steps, He hath whereby He may come to thee. Before thou didst confess thy sins, thou hadst shut up the way of God : there was no way by which He might come unto thee. Confess thy past life, and thou openest a way ; and Christ shall come unto thee, and shall place His steps in the way, that He may guide thee with His own footsteps.
your
evil, and God should make thee good. Therefore since this is the beginning of man's righteousness, this becomes a way for God, that God may come unto thee : there make for
Lax. lxxxv.
PSALM LXXXVI.
184
A Sermon to the people on the vigil of a festival, perhaps of St. Cyprian, delivered at Carthage,
No greater gift could God have given to men than in making His Word, by Which He created all things, their Head, and joining them to Him as His members: that the Son of God might become also the Son of man, one God with the Father, one Man with men ; so that when we speak to God in prayer for mercy, we do not separate the Son from Him; and when the Body of the Son prays, it separates not its Head from itself : and it is one Saviour of His Body,
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who both prays for us, and prays in us, and is prayed to by us. He prays for us, as our Priest; He prays in us, as our Head ; He is prayed to by us, as our God. Let us therefore recognise in Him our words, and His words in us. Nor when any thing is said of our Lord Jesus Christ, especially in prophecy, implying a degree of humility below the dignity of God, let us hesitate to ascribe it to Him Who did not hesitate to join Himself unto us. For unto Him all creation is subject, since by Him all creation was made. And, therefore, when we behold His sublime and divine nature, when we hear,
John I, [n tlie beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. I7ie Same was in the begin
ning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made : gazing upon this divine nature of the Son of God, far surpassing and exceeding all the most sublime things of creation, we hear Him then in some part of Scripture groaning, praying, con fessing ; and we hesitate to ascribe unto Him these words, because our thoughts are reluctant to descend from that late contemplation of His divine nature, to this His humble condition, and seem almost to do Him injury, if they recog nise in a man His words, unto Whom as to God they were directing words of prayer, they often remain doubtful, and try to change the understanding, and yet they meet with nothing in the Scripture but what reverts ever to Him, and suffers them not to turn aside from Him. They ought, there
Words of our Lord as Man, and as One with His Body. 1 85
fore to rouse themselves, and thoroughly wake up in their Ver. faith; then they would see, that He Whom they were a little --- before contemplating in the form of God, look upon HimselfPMl- 3, the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of man ; ' 8' and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself,
and became obedient unto death ; and it was His will to
make the words of the Psalm His own words, as He hung
upon the Cross, and said, My God, My God, why hast Thou Ps- 22,
forsaken Me? He is prayed to in the form of God, in the'' form of a servant He prayeth ; there the Creator, here created ; assuming unchanged the creature, that it might be changed, and making us with Himself one Man, Head and Body. Therefore we pray to Him, through Him, in Him ; and we speak with Him, and He speaks with us ; we speak
in Him, He speaks in us the prayer of this Psalm, which is entitled, A Prayer ofDavid. For our Lord was, according to the flesh, the Son of David ; but according to His divine nature, the Lord of David, and his Maker; and not only before David, but also before Abraham, from whom David came ; and also before Adam, from whom were all men ; and also before heaven and earth, in which are all creatures. Let no one then, when he hears these words, say, Christ speaketh not ; nor again say, I speak not ; nay rather, if he
own himself to be in the Body of Christ, let him say both, Christ speaks, and I speak. Be thou unwilling to say any
thing without Him, and He saith nothing without thee.
Have w e not this in the Gospel ? There where it is certainly written, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word wasioha l, with God, and the Word was God. All things were made l?
by Him; there certainly we have, Jesus was sorrowful, Mat. 26,
Jesus was wearied, Jesus slept, Jesus was hungry and was V\ thirsty, Jesus prayed, and continued in prayer all night. 6.
He prayed, says the Gospel, and He continued in prayer ; 94^**- 8' and there ran down over His body great drops of blood. Matt. 4, What did that shew, when drops of blood ran down from Luke. 6, His body as He prayed, but that His body, which is the L2u'le22
Church, was already flowing with the blood of martyrs ? 44. 2. Ver. I . Bow down Thine ear, O Lord, and hear me. He speaks in the form of a servant : speak thou, O servant, in the form of thy Lord : Bow down Thine ear, O Lord. He
180 God bows His ear to the humble, rich or poor.
Psalm bows down His ear, if thou dost not lift up thy neck : for limm. unto ^e ilum|ile pje draweth near : from him that is exalted He removes afar off, except whom He Himself hath exalted from being humble. God then bows down His ear unto us.
For He is above, we below: He id a high place, we in a Bom. 6, lowly one, yet not deserted. For, God sheweth His love
8
ib. 7.
towards us: for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. For scarcely for a just man will one die: yet for a good man peradventure one would even dare to die: but our Lord died for the wicked. For no merits of ours had gone before, for which the Son of God should die : but the more, because there were no merits, was His mercy great. How sure then, how firm is the promise, by which for the righteous He keepeth His life, Who for the wicked gave His owIn death !
Bow down Thine ear, 0 Lord, and hear me : for
and in misery. To the rich then He boweth not down His ear : unto the poor and him that is in misery He boweth down His ear, that is, unto the humble, and him that confesseth, uuto him that is in need of mercy : not unto him that is full, who lifteth up himself and boasteth,as if he wanted nothing,
I thank Thee that lam not as this Publican. For
Lukeis, and saith,
1--13' the rich Pharisee boasted of his merits : the poor Publican
confessed his sins.
3. Yet do not take what I have said, my brethren, in such
a way, as if God does not hear those who have gold and silver, and a household, and farms, if they happen to be born to this estate, or hold such a rank in the world : only let
l Tim. them remember the Apostle's words : Charge those who are ' ' rich in this world, that they be not highminded. For those that are not highminded are poor in God, and to the poor
and needy and those in want He inclines His ear. For they know that their hope is not in gold and silver, nor in those things in which for a time they seem to abound. It is enough that riches ruin them not ; it is enough that they do them no harm : for good they can do them none. What certainly profiteth is a work of mercy, done by a rich or by a poor man: by a rich man, with will and deed, by a poor man, with will alone. When therefore he is such an one as despiseth in himself every thing which is wont to swell men with pride, he is one of God's poor : He inclines unto him
am poor
Abraham, though rich, humble be/ore God. 1 87
His ear, for He knows that his heart is contrite. It is true, Vrr. my brethren, that that poor man, who lay full of sores before La^16 the rich man's door, was taken away by Angels into Abraham's 19--24. ' bosom : so we read, so we believe : but that rich man who
Was clothed in purple and fine linen, and who feasted in splendour every day, was taken away to hell to be tormented.
Was it really for the merit of his poverty that the poor man
was carried away by Angels, or was it for the sin of his
riches that the rich man was sent away to be tormented ? In
that poor man is signified the honour which is paid to humility, in that rich man the condemnation which awaits
pride. I will prove shortly that it was not riches but pride
which was tormented in that rich man. It is certain that the
poor man was carried into the bosom of Abraham : of Abraham himself Scripture saith that he had here very much Gen. 13,
gold and silver, and was rich on the earth. If every one2-
that is rich is hurried away to be tormented, how could Abraham have gone before that poor man, so as to be ready
to receive him when carried to his bosom ? But Abraham in
his riches was poor, humble, reverencing all commands, and obeying them. So true was it that he counted all those
riches for nothing, that on God's command he was ready
to sacrifice his son, for whom he was keeping his riches, aTM. 22, Learn therefore ye to be poor and needy, whether ye have ,0,
any thing in this world, or whether ye have not. For you
may find a poor man proud, and a rich man you may find confessing. God resisteth the proud, both those clothed all James in silk, and those in rags: to the humble He giveth grace,*'6' both those who have some of this world's goods, and those
who have not. God looketh within : there He weigheth,
there He trieth in the balance : thou seest not God's scales,
thy mind is raised to behold it. See, the desert of his being heard, that is, the cause why he was heard he places herein, saying, For I
lest thou be not poor and in misery, if so thou art not, thou shalt not be heard. Whatever there is around thee,
or in thee, for which thou mightest presume, cast it from
thee : presume not thou in aught but in God : be thou in need of Him, that thou mayest be filled with Him. For
am poor and in misery. Take care
188 Christ's Body holy by communication from Him.
Psalm whatever else thou mayest have without Him, thou art the
Levit. 19' 2'
more entirely poor.
4. Ver. 2. Preserve Thou My Soul, for lam holy. I know
not whether any one could say this, / am holy, but He Who
was in the world without sin : He by Whom all sins were 'non not committed but remitted'. We own it to be His voice
""J"^8' saying, Preserve Thou My Soul, for I
am holy; of course in dimissorthat form of a servant which He had assumed. For in that was flesh, in that was also a Soul. For He was not, as 'ApolH-some* have said, only Flesh and the Word: but Flesh and narian>>. goul and ^ yforA, and all this, One Son of God, One Christ, One Saviour; in the form of God equal to the Father, in the form of a servant the Head of the Church.
When therefore I hear, for I
am holy, I recognise His voice: yet do I exclude my own? Surely He speaks in
from His body when He speaks thus. Shall I
separably
then dare to say, For I
as needing none to sanctify, I should be proud and false: but if holy as made holy, as it is written, Be ye holy, for 1 am holy, then the body of Christ may venture, and that one
am holy? If holy as making holy, and
Ps. 61,2. Man, crying from the end of the earth, may venture with
am holy. For he hath received the grace of holiness, the grace of Baptism,
his Head, and under his Head, to say, For I
iCor. 6,and of remission of sins. And such were ye, saith the
ll-
sins, light ones and heavy, and horrible; And such were ye: but ye are
Apostle, enumerating many
customary
washed, but ye are sanctified. If then he calls them sanc
/am holy. This is not the pride of one puffed up, but the confession of one not
tified, each one of the faithful may say,
For if thou sayest that thou art holy of thyself, thou art proud : on the other hand, thou who art faithful in Christ, and a member of Christ, if thou sayest that thou art not holy, thou art ungrateful. The Apostle rebuking pride,
ungrateful.
iCor. 4, saith not, Thou hasi not; but he saith, What hast thou that 7' thou didst not receive ? Thou wast not rebuked for sayiug that thou hast what thou hast not, but for wishing that
what thou hast should be of thyself. Do thou then own both that thou hast, and that of thyself thou hast nothing, so as to be neither proud nor ungrateful. Say unto thy
The unholy wrong Him. The crying of His Body. 189
God, I am holy, for Thou hast sanctified me : because Ver.
I received, not because I had : because Thou gavest, -- not because I deserved. For on another side thou art beginning to do an injury to our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
For if all Christians who are faithful and have been baptized
'--
in Him have put Him on, as the Apostle saith, As many as Gal. 3, are baptized in Christ have put on Christ: if they have27- been made members of His body, and say that they are not
holy, they do injury to their Head, of Whom they are members, and yet not holy. Look thou where thou art, and
from thy Head assume dignity. For thou wert in darkness,
6k/ now light in the Lord. Ye were sometime darkness, he Eph. 6, saith : but did ye remain darkness ? Was it for this the 8' Enlightener came, that ye might still remain darkness, or
that in Him ye might become light? Therefore, every Christian by himself, therefore also the whole body of Christ,
may say, it may cry every where, while it suffers tribulations, various temptaItions and offences, it may say, Preserve Thou
my soul, for
am holy: my God, save Thy servant, that pulteth his trust in Thee. See thou, that holy man is not .
proud, since he putteth his trust in God.
5. Ver. 3. Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for I
have cried unto Tliee all day. Not one day: understand all day to mean continually: from the time that the body of Christ
groans being in afflictions, until the end of the world, when afflictions pass away, that man groaneth and calleth upon God : and each one of us after his measure hath his part in that cry in the whole body. Thou hast cried in thy days, and thy days have passed away: another hath come after thee, and cried in his days : and thou here, he there, another elsewhere: the body of Christ crieth all the day, its members departing and succeeding one another. One Man it is that reaches to the end of the world : the same members of Christ cry, and some members already rest in Him, some still cry, some when we shall be at rest will cry, and after them others will cry. It is the whole body Iof Christ whose voice He
cried all the day. Our Head on the right hand of the Father intercedes for us: some members He recovereth, others He scourgeth, others
hears, saying, Unto Thee have
He cleanseth, others He comforteth, others He is creating,
190 The soul needs lilting up to rejoice in God.
Psalm others calling, others recalling, others correcting, others lxxxvI- restoring.
6. Ver. 4. Make glad the soul of Thy servant: for unto Thee, 0 Lord, have I lifted up my soul. Make it glad, for unto Thee have I lifted it up. For it was on earth, and from
the earth it felt bitterness: lest it should wither away in bitterness, lest it should lose all the sweetness of Thy grace, I lifted it up unto Thee : make Thou it glad with Thyself. For Thou alone art gladness: the whole world is full of bitterness. Surely with reason He admonishes His members to lift up their hearts. May they hear and do it : may they lift up unto Him what on earth is ill. There the heart decayeth not, if it be lifted up to God. If thou hadst corn in thy rooms below, thou wouldest take it up higher, lest it should grow rotten. Wouldest thou remove thy corn, and dost thou suffer thy heart to rot on the earth ? Thou wouldest take thy corn up higher: lift up thy heart to heaven. And how can I, dost thou say ? What ropes are needed ? what machines? what ladders ? Thy affections are the steps : thy
. will the way. By loving thou mountest, by neglect thou descendest. Standing on the earth thou art in heaven, if thou lovest God. For the heart is not so raised as the body is raised : the body to be lifted up changes its place : the heart to bIe lifted up changes its will. For unto Thee, 0
sought the fount of sweetness, and found it not on the earth. For wherever he turned himself, he found offences, fears, troubles, temptations. In what man was there safety? in whom could he securely rejoice ? Certainly not in himself : how much less in others ? Either men are bad, and we must bear with them, and hope that they will be changed ; or they are good, and we ought to love them so as to fear at the same time, lest (as they are changeable) they should become bad ; in one case their wickedness causes bitterness of soul, in the other it is caused by anxiety and fear, lest he who walks well should slip. Wherever therefore he turns himself, he finds bitterness in earthly things : he has not
Lord, do
up my soul.
7. Ver. 5. For Thou, Lord, art good and gracious.
lift
There fore make Thou me glad. As though wearied with the bitterness of earthly things he wished to be sweetened, and
God 'gracious' in taking well our ill performed devotions. 191
whereby be may be sweetened, unless he lift himself up to Vga. God. Far Tliou, Lord, art good and gracious. What is ---- gracious ? Bearing me until Thou hast made me perfect.
I will speak truly, my brethren, like a man among men, and sprung from men : let each one endure to look into his own
heart without flattery, and without false soothing. For nothing is more foolish than for a man vainly to soothe and seduce himself.
Let him attend then and see what things
pass in man's heart : how even prayers are often hindered by
vain thoughts, so that the heart scarcely remains fixed on
God: and it would hold itself so as to be fixed, and some
how flees from itself, and finds no frames in which it can inclose itself, no bars by which it may keep in its flights
and wandering movements, and stand still to be made glad
by its God. Scarcely does one such prayer occur amongst
many. Each one might say that this happened to him, but
that it happened not to others, if we did not find in the holy Scripture David praying in a certain place, and saying,
Since 1 have found my heart, O Lord, so that I might pray* Sam. unto Thee. He said that he had found his heart, as if it 7' 27' were wont to flee from him, and he to follow it like a fugitive, and not be able to catch and to cry to God, For Ps. 38, my heart hath deserted me. Therefore, my brethren, thinking 1? ' over what he saith here, Thou, Lord, art good and gracious, think see what he meaneth by "gracious. " Make
glad the soul of Thy servant, for unto Thee, Lord, have lifted up my soul for Thou art good and gracious
seem to feel that for this reason he calls God gracious, because He bears with those failings of ours, and yet expects prayer from us, in order to make us perfect and when we have given to Him, He receives gratefully, and listens to
and remembers not those many prayers which we pour out unthinkingly, and accepts the one which we can scarcely find. For what man there, my brethren, who, on being addressed by his frieud, when he wishes to answer his address, sees his friend turn away from him and speak to another, who there who would bear this? Or
you appeal to judge, and set him up to hear you, and all at once,
while you are speaking to him, pass from him, and begin to converse with your friend, who would endure this Yet God
if ?
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192 They call not truly upon God, who call in vain.
Psalm endures the hearts of so many persons who pray and think ijixxvi. oj. different things : I am not now speaking of evil things, such are sometimes perverse and at enmity with God; to
think of any thing that is superfluous is an injury to Him with Whom you have begun to speak. Thy prayer is a speech addressed to God : when thou readest, God speaks to thee : when thou prayest, thou speakest to God. What then? Must we despair of mankind, and say that every man is already condemned into whose prayers any wandering thoughts have crept aud interrupted them ? If we say this, my brethren, I know not what hope remains. Therefore because there is some hope before God, because His mercy is great, let us say
unto Him, Make glad the soul of Thy servant: for unto Thee, O Lord, hare Ilifted up my soul. And how have I lifted it up? As I could, as Thou gavest me strength, as I could catch it when"it fled away. " And hast thou forgotten," imagine God to say, that as often as thou didst stand before Me, thou didst think of so many vain and useless things, and didst scarcely pour out unto Me an earnest and steady prayer ? " For Thou,
Lord, art good and gracious: gracious art Thou, enduring me. From infirmity I sink : heal Thou me, and I shall stand : strengthen Thou me, and I shall be strong. But until Thou do this, Thou bearest with me : For Thou, Lord, art good and gracious.
8. And of great mercy.
That is, not only of mercy, but of great mercy: for as our iniquity abounds, so also aboundeth Thy mercy. And of great mercy art Thou unto all that call upon Thee. What
Prov. l, is it then which Scripture saith in many places; They shall
28?
call, and
(yet surely
Thou art
merciful
I will not hear them ?
to all that call upon Thee;) but that some call, yet call not
Ps. 63,4. upon Him, of whom it is said, They have not called upon God. They call, but not on God. Thou callest upon what ever thou lovest: thou callest upon whatever thou callest
unto thyself, whatever thou wishest to come unto thee. Therefore if thou callest upon God for this reason, in order that money may come unto thee, that an inheritance may come unto thee, that worldly rank may come unto thee, thou callest upon those things which thou desirest may come unto thee : but thou makest God the helper of thy desires,
How it is that some prayers are not granted. 193
not the listener to thy needs. God is good, if He gives what Ver. thou wishest. What if thou wishest ill, will He not then be ----- more merciful by not giving? Then, if He gives not, then
is God nothing to thee; and thou sayest, How much I have prayed, how often I have prayed, and have not been heard !
Why, what didst thou ask ? Perhaps that thy enemy might
die. What if he at the same time were praying for thy
death ? He Who created thee, created him also : thou art a
man, he too is a man ; but God is the Judge : He hears
both, and He grants their prayer to neither. Thou art sad, because thou wast not heard when praying against him ;
be glad, because his prayer was not heard against thee.
But thou sayest, I did not ask for this ; I asked not for the
death of my enemy, but for the life of my child; what ill did
I ask ? Thou askedst no ill, as thou didst think. What if
he was taken away, lest wickedness should alter his under- Wind. 4, standing. But he was a sinner, thou sayest, and therefore
1 wished him to live, that he might be corrected. Thou wishedst him to live, that he might become better; what if God knew, that if he lived he would become worse ? How then couldest thou know what was good for him, to die or to live ? If then thou knewest not, return into thy heart, leave it to God to take counsel for thee. What am I to do then, dost thou say? what am I to pray for? What art thou to pray for ? What the Lord has taught thee, what thy heavenly Master has taught thee. Call upon God as God, love God as God : there is nothing better than He is ; long for Him, Him desire. See how he calls on God in another
I willPn. il,*. ask. What is it which he required? That I may dwell in
the house of the Lord all the days of my life. For what
Psalm: One thing have I required of the Lord, this
reason? That I may behold the delightfuluess of the Lord. If then thou wouldest be a lover of God, with thy innermost marrow and wilh pure sighings love Him, desire Him, for Him burn, long for Him, than Whom thou shalt find nothing more pleasant, nothing better, nothing more joyful, nothing more lasting. For what so lasting as that which is ever lasting ? Thou necdest not fear, lest He should ever be lost to thee, Who causes that thou be not lost thyself. If, there fore, thou callest on God as God, be confident thou shalt be
vol. iv. o
J 94 God withholds what we ask, to give our chief desire, Himself.
Psalm heard : thou hast part in that verse ; And of great mercy unto all that call upon Thee.
9. Say not thou then, He did not give me that which 1 Oxf. I prayed for. Return thou into thy conscience1: weigh . heart. ' question spare not. If thou calledst on God truly, be
sure that that which perhaps thou wishedst to have as temporal blessing He gave thee not, for this reason, because was not good for thee. Let your heart, my brethren, be builded up on this, Christian heart, faithful heart begin not, when ye are sad as defrauded of your wants, begin Acts not to be angry against God: for not good to kick against the pricks. Look back to the Scriptures. The devil heard, and not the Apostle what think ye How Matt. are the devils heard They prayed that they might go into the swine, and was allowed them. How was the devil Joh1, heard? He asked for Job, that he might tempt him, and
received permission. How was the Apostle not heard? Cor. Lest should be exalted above measure through the abun- 12 7--9 dance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn tn the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest should be exalted above measure. For this thing besought the Lord thrice, that might depart from me. And He said
unto me, My grace is sufficient fur thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. He heard him whom He ordained to damnation, and did not hear him whom He willed to heal. So sick man asketh many things of the physician; but the physician giveth them not: he heareth not for his desire, that he may hear for his cure.
Make God then thy Physician seek of Him health, and He Himself will be thy health seek not as thou wouldest gain salvation from any other source, but so that He Himself may be salvation unto thee: not so as again to love any other salvation besides Him, but as thou hast written
Ps. 36,3. the Psalm Say unto my soul, am thy salvation. What to thee what He saith unto thee, so that He give Himself unto thee? Wouldest thou that He should give Himself unlo thee? What that which thou wouldest have He wills not that thou shouldest have, that He may give Himself unto thee? He removes hindrances, that he may enter into
thee. Think, brethren, and reflect what good things God
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God's best gifts are for His own. His healing to be trusted. 1 95
giveth unto sinners: and learn hence what He keepeth for Vsr.
His own servants. To sinners who blaspheme Him every day He giveth the sky and the earth, He giveth springs,
fruits, health, children, wealth, abundance : all these good things none giveth but God. He who giveth such things to sinners, what thinkest thou He keeps for His faithful ones ? Is this to be believed of Him, that He Who giveth such things to the bad, keepeth nothing for the good ? Nay verily He doth keep,not earth, but heaven for them. Too common a thing perhaps I say when I say heaven ; Himself rather, Who made the heaven. Fair is heaven, but fairer is the Maker of heaven. But I see the heavens, Him I see not. Because thou hast eyes to see the heavens: a heart thou hast not yet to see the Maker of heaven : therefore came He from heaven to earth, to cleanse the heart, that He may be seen
Who made heaven and earth. But wait thou with full patience for salvation. By what treatment to cure thee, He knoweth : by what cutting, what burning, He knoweth. Thou hast brought sickness on thyself by sinning: He comes not only to nurse, but also to cut and to burn. Seest thou not how much men suffer under the hands of physicians, when a man promises them an uncertain hope? Thou wilt be cured, says the physician: thou wilt be cured, if I cut. It is a man who speaks, and to a man that he speaks : neither is he sure who speaks, nor he who hears, for he who is speaking to the man hath not made man, and knows not perfectly what is passing in man : yet at the words of a man who knows not what is passing in man, man sooner believeth, submits his limbs, suffers himself to be bound, often without being bound is cut or burned ; and receives perhaps health for a few days, even when just healed not knowing when he may die : perhaps, while being healed, dies; perhaps cannot be healed. But to whom hath God promised any thing, and deceived him ?
10. Ver. 6. Fix my prayer in Thy ears, O Lord. Great earnestness of him who prays! Fix viy prayer in Thine ears, O Lord: that is, let not my prayer go out of Thine ears, fix it then in Thine ears. How did he travail that he might fix his prayer in the ears of God? Let God answer and say to us ; Wouldest thou that I fix thy prayer in My ears? Fix My
o2
-- -- --
IMS Thc present life a ' day of trouble. '
Psalm law in thy heart. Fix my prayer in Thine ears, 0 Lord;
-
and attend to the voice of my prayer.
11. Ver. 7. In the day ofmy trouble
I have cried unto Thee,for Thou hast heard me. The caIuse that Thouheardest
me was, that in the day of my trouble
little before he had said, All the day have I cried, all the day have I been troubled. Let no Christian then say that there is any day in which he is not troubled. By all the day we have understood the whole of time. What then, is there trouble even when it is well with us? Even so, trouble. How is there trouble? Because as long as we are in the body toe
2 Cor.
are absent from the Lord. Let what will abound here, we are not yet in that country whither we are hastening to return, lie to whom foreign travel is sweet, loveth not his country: if
cried unto Thee. A
his country is sweet, travel is bitter; if travel is bitter, all the day there is trouble ? When is there not trouble ? When there is joy in one's country. At Thy right hand are delights for
Ps. 16,
Ps. 27, evermore. 'Thou shIalt fill me with joy,' he saith, 'with Thy
*'
countenance: that
toil and groaning shall pass away : there shall be not prayer
may see the delight the Lord. ' There of
but raise; there Alleluia, there Amen, the voice in concord with Angels; there vision without failing and love without weariness. So long therefore as we are not there, ye see that we are not in that which is good. But do all things abonnd? If all things abound, see if thou art assured that all things perish not. But I have what I had not: more money is come to me which I had not before. Perhaps more fear too
. is come, which thou hadst not before: perhaps thou wast so much the more secure as thou wast the poorer. In fine, be it that thou hast wealth, that thon hast redundance of this world's affluence, that thou hast assurance given thee that all
this shall not perish ; besides this, that God say unto thee, Thou shalt remain for ever in these things, they shall be for ever with thee, but My face thou shalt not see. Let none ask counsel of the flesh : ask ye counsel of the Spirit : let your heart answer you; let hope, faith, charity, which has begun to be in you, answer. If then we were to receive as
surance that we should always be in affluence of worldly goods, and if God were to say to us, My face ye shall not see, would ye rejoice in these goods ? Some one might perhaps choose
None of the gods like unto God. Excuses of idolaters. 197
to rejoice, and say, These things abound unto me, it is well Ver.
:--
Ps. 42,
with me, I ask no more. He hath not yet begun to be a lover of God : he hath not yet begun to sigh like one far from home. Far be far be from us: let them retire, all those seductions: let them retire, those false blandishments: let them
be gone, those words which they say daily unto us, Where
thy God? Let us pour out our soul1 over us, let us confess i'<a? per in tears, let us groan in confession, let us sigh in misery. nos'
Whatever present with us besides our God, we would not have all tilings that He hath given, not Himself Who gave all things. Fix my prayer,
not sweet He gives Lord, in lu the day of my trouble have cried unto Thee, for Thou hast heard uie. 12. Ver. 8. Among the gods there none like unto Thee,
Thy ears, and attend to the voice of my prayer,
O Lord. What did he say Among the gods there none
like unto Thee, O Lard. Let the Pagans make for them
selves what gods they will let them bring workmen in silver
and in gold, furbishers, sculptors let them make gods. What
kind of gods? Having eyes, and seeing not; and the other Ps. 116, things which the Psalm mentions in what follows. But we 6-
do not worship these, he says; we do not worship them, these
are symbols. What then do ye worship Something else
that worse for the gods of the gentiles are devils. What
then Neither, say they, do we worship devils. Ye have Ps. 96, certainly nothing else in your temples, nothing else inspires6- your prophets than devil. But what do ye say? We worship Angels, we have Angels as gods. Ye know not altogelherwhat Angels are. Angels worship the one God, and favour not
men who wish to worship Angels and not God. For we find Angels of high rank* forbidding men to adore them, and com- 'hono- manding them to adore the true God. But when they say r^'19 Angels, suppose they mean men, since said, have said, io.
Ye are Gods, and all the children the Most Highest. ^' Among the gods there none like unto Thee, Lord.
Whatever man3 thinks to the contrary, that which was made
not like Him Who made it. Except God, whatever else there Jjjj^i
in the universe was made by God. What difference there between Him Who made, and that which was made, who can worthily imagine Therefore this man said, Among the gods there none like unto Thee, Lord: but how much
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