Psalm 113 (Vulgate 112)

1. Ver. 1 — 3. Ye know, brethren, and ye have very often heard the Lord say in the Gospel. Suffer little children to come unto Me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven; and again, If any man receive not the kingdom of heaven as a Utile child, he shall in no case enter therein: and in many other passages our Lord, through an extraordinary pattern of humility, chargetb the pride of the old man to lead a new life humbly, by the similitude of the age of infancy. Wherefore, most beloved, when ye hear sung in the Psalms, Praise the Lord, ye children; imagine not that that exhortation pertaineth not unto yo^, because having already passed the youth of the body, ye are either blooming in the prime of manhood, or growing grey with the honours of old age: for unto all of you the Apostle saith, Brethren> be not children in understanding; howbeit9 in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. What malice in particular, save pride? For it is pride that, presuming in false greatness, suffereth not man to walk along the narrow path, and to enter by the narrow gate; but the child easily entereth through the narrow entrance; and thus no man, save as a child, entereth into the kingdom of heaven. But what is worse than the malice of pride, which disliketh to have even God set over it! For it is written, The beginning of pride is when one departeth from God. This pride when it raiseth up itself with swelling neck, against the divine commandments, and resisteth the gracious yoke of the Lord, throw ye down, break, crush, and consume, and Praise the Lord, ye children, praise the Name of the Lord. For when pride is laid prostrate and extinguished, praise is perfected from the mouth of babes and infants: when it is crushed and annihilated, let him who glorieth, glory in the Lord. They who think themselves great do not sing thus; they sing not thus who, though they know God, have not glorified Him as God, or given thanks; they praise themselves, not God; for they are not children. They rather wish their own name to be celebrated, and praise not the Name of the Lord. Therefore, they have become vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart is darkened; and professing themselves to be wise, they have become fools; their own name they wished to be celebrated far and wide to the latest posterity, themselves soon to pass away into a narrow space. It becometh God, it becometh the Lord, to be both always and every where proclaimed. Let Him therefore be alway proclaimed: (ver. 2.) Blessed be The praise of God is eternal, yet begins in us. the Name of the Lord, from this time forth for evermore. Let Him be proclaimed every where: (ver. 3.) From the rising up of the sun unto the going down of the same9 praise ye the Name of the Lord,

2. If any of the holy children who praise the Name of the Lord were to ask of me and say to me, for evermore I understand to mean unto all eternity; but why from this, and why is*not the Name of the Lord blessed before this, and before all ages? I will answer the infant, who asketh not in contumacy. Unto you it is said, masters and children, unto you it is said, Praise the Name of the Lord; blessed be the Name of the Lord: let the Name of the Lord be blessed, from this, that is, from the moment ye speak these words. For ye begin to praise, but praise ye without end. Say not, We begin indeed to praise the Lord, because we are children; but when we have grown up, we shall praise ourselves. Not thus, children, not thus; for the Lord saith in Isaiah, Even to your old age, I AM. He Who IS, is ever to be praised. Praise Him, children^ from this, praise Him, old men, for evermore. For your old age will indeed grow white with the hoary hairs of wisdom, but will not wither with the age of the flesh. Or, since in this passage he seemeth to signify rather humility than childhood, the contrary of which is the vain and false greatness of pride; and for this reason none but children praise the Lord, since the proud know not how to praise Him; let your old age be childlike, and your childhood like old age; that is, that neither may your wisdom be with pride, nor your humility without wisdom, that ye may praise the Lord from this for evermore. Wherever the Church of Christ is diffused in her childlike saints, Praise ye the Name of the Lord; that is, from the rising up of the sun unto the going down of the same, praise ye the Name of the Lord.

3. Ver. 4. The Lord is high above all heathen. The heathen are men: what wonder if the Lord be above all men? They see with their eyes those whom they worship high above themselves to shine in heaven, the sun and moon and stars, creatures which they serve while they neglect the Creator. But not only is the Lord high above all heathen; but His glory also is above the heavens. The heavens look up unto Him above themselves; and the humble have Him together with them, who do not worship the heavens instead of Him, though placed in the flesh beneath the heavens.

4. Ver. 5, 6. Who is like unto the Lord our God, that hath His dwelling so high; and yet beholdeth the humble things? Any one would think that He dwelleth in the lofty heavens, whence He may behold the humble things on earth; but He beholdeth the humble things that are in heaven and earth: what then is His high dwelling, whence He beholdeth the humble things that are in heaven and earth? Are the humble things He beholdeth His own high dwelling itself? For He thus exalteth the humble, so as not to make them proud. He therefore both dwelleth in those whom He raiseth high, and maketh them heaven for Himself, that is, His own abode; and by seeing them not proud, but constantly subject to Himself, He beholdeth even in heaven itself these very humble things, in whom raised on high He dwelleth. For the Spirit thus speaketh through Isaiah: Thus saith the Highest that dwelleth on high, that inhabiielh eternity; the Lord Most High, dwelling in the holy. He hath expounded what He meant by dwelling on high, by the more full expression, dwelling in the holy. But who are holy, but the humble, who as children praise God? He therefore addeth: and giving courage to the meek, and life unto them that are of a-humble spirit. To the holy in whom He dwelleth, unto these humble ones He giveth courage. By giving them courage He setteth them on high, in Whom He hath rest, and dwelleth in them Whom He hath exalted. But since it is the meek to whom He giveth courage, He beholdeth the humble in those very persons in Whom He dwelleth on high. Yet, he saith, He beholdeth the humble things that are in heaven and earth.

5. And he hath moved us also to enquire whether the Lord our God beholdeth the same humble things in heaven and in earth: or different humble things in heaven to what He beholdeth on earth. For if they are the, same, I see how I can understand this according to the Apostle's words: For ^0^^ we waiic in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through Qod. Whence then are they mighty, save because they are spiritual? Since therefore the Apostle at once walketh in the flesh, and warreth in the spirit, it is no wonder if his humility both be beholden in heaven on account of the spirit's freedom, and on earth on account of the servitude of the body. For he saith in another passage, For our conversation is in heaven: and also of himself, that it was far better for him to depart, aud be with Christ, but3' to abide in the flesh, he saith, is more needful for your.sakes. Whoever therefore understandeth both the con versation of the Apostle in heaven, and his abode in the flesh on earth; should at the same time understand the Lord our God dwelling in the exalted saints, how He beholdeth the same, nevertheless, humble before Himself; both in heaven, since they who have in hope risen again with Christ, set their affections on things above; and on earth; since they3' are not as yet released from the chain of the flesh, so that they may be with all their life in Christ. But if the Lord our God beholdeth other humble things in heaven to what He doth on earth; I suppose that He already beholdeth in heaven those whom He hath called, and in whom He dwelleth; while1 on earth He beholdeth those whom He is now calling, that He may dwell in them. For He hath the one with Him musing on heavenly things, the others He is waking, while they yet dream things earthly.

6. But since it is difficult to call even those humble, who have not as yet submitted their necks in piety to the gracious yoke of Christ, since the divine writings throughout the whole Psalm warn us to understand holy, by the word humble; there is also another interpretation, which, Beloved, ye may consider with me. 1 believe that those are now meant by heavens who shall sit upon twelve thrones, andM«»i9, shall judge with the Lord; and under the name of the ear ill, the rest of the multitude of the blessed, who shall be set on the right hand, that through works of mercy they may be praised and received into everlasting habitations by those, whom they have made friends to themselves from the mammon of unrighteousness in this mortal life. For unto them the Apostle saith, If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we shall reap your carnal things? Which may be said in these words: if we have sown unto you heavenly things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your earthly things? In heaven therefore He beholdeth these sowing heavenly things, in earth those yielding earthly things; yet both these and those humble. For, He beholdeth the humble things that are in heaven and in earth; because both are mindful of what they were through their own wickedness, and of what they have become through the Lord's grace. For not unto them alone saith the Vessel of Election, For ye were sometimes darkness; but now are ye light in the Lord: and again, By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift, of God; not of works, lest any man should boast; but he next addeth himself also, saying, For we are His workmanship, created unto good works. He speaketh also separately of himself and of those who are beheld in heaven, for we were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. And again, For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another: but after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward men appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration. Behold" the humble things which are beheld in heaven. For they are spiritual, and judge all things; but nevertheless humble, lest they be cast down and judged. What saith he of himself individually; are not his words of like sort? For 1 dm not meet, he saith, to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God; but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

7. Ver. 6 — 8. Lastly, after these verses, in which the Spirit saith in the Psalm, Who is like unto the Lord our God, that hath His dwelling so high, and beholdeth the humble things that are in heaven and earth? wishing to teach us why they are called humble things in heaven, when they are now mighty in spiritual power and worthy of judgment-seats; he added at once, (ver. 6.) He taketh up the destitute out of the dust, and lifteth the poor out of the mire; (ver. 7.) that The humble that are seen in heaven were taken from the mire. 273 He may set Him with the princes, even with the princes of His people. Let not then the heads of the exalted disdain to be humble, beneath the Lord's right hand. For though the faithful steward of the Lord's money be placed together with the princes of the people of God, although he be28, destined to sit on the twelve seats, and even to judge angels; yet he is taken up destitute from the dust, and lifted from out of the mire. Was not he possibly lifted up from the mire, who served divers lusts and pleasures f But perhaps when he was writing this, he was no longer destitute, no longer poor. Why then doth he still groan beneath his burden, longing to be clothed with a heavenly habitation?** Why, lest he be lifted up, is he buffetted, and made subject to the angel of Satan, the thorn of his flesh \ He is high indeed, the Lord dwelling in him, and having that Spirit which searcheth all things, even the deep things of God: he is therefore in heaven; but even in heaven the Lord beholdeth humble things.

8. What then, brethren, if we have already heard of those humble things which are in heaven, lifted up from the mire, that they might be set with the princes of the people; have we by consequence heard nothing of the humble things which the Lord beholdeth on the earth? For those friends who will judge with their Lord are fewer, while those whom they receive into everlasting habitations are more in number. For although the whole of a heap of corn compared with the separate chaff may seem to contain few in number; yet considered by itself, it is abundant. For more are the\B^\9 children of the desolate than those of her that hath the husband: more are the children of her who conceived through grace in old age, than of her who from her childhood hath been wedded to the bond of the Law. And I say, hath conceived in old age; regarding Sarah our mother in the one IsaAc, the mother of the faithful throughout all nations. But consider the character in Isaiah: as if by no means that of a mother, nor of one who hath given birth to any. And yet what is said unto her? The children, he saith, which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the20'21 other, shall say again in thy ears, The place is too strait for us; make room yet for us that we may dwell. Then thou shalt say in thine heart. Who hath begotten me these, seeing that I know I am childless and a widow? Who hath brought me up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been? The Church then speaketh thus in that sense, wherein she seemeth to bear no offspring among those crowds who have not given up all things, that they might follow the Lord, and might sit upon the twelve thrones. J3ut how many in the same crowd, who make unto themselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, shall stand on the right hand through works of mercy? He not only then lifteth up from the mire him whom He is to place with the princes of His people; but also, (ver. 8.) Maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children: He who dwelleth on high, and beholdeth the humble things that are in heaven and earth, the seed of Abraham like the stars of heaven, holiness set on high in heavenly habitations; and like the sand on the sea shore, a merciful and countless multitude gathered together from the harmful waves, and the bitterness of impiety.