Psalm 146 (Vulgate 145)

1. The divine songs are the delights of our spirits, wherein even weeping is not without joy. To a faithful man, and one who is a stranger in the world, no remembrance is. so joyous as that of the city whence he is a wanderer: but the recollection of his city in his wanderings is not without sorrow and sighing. Yet the sure hope of our return comforteth and cheeretb us when sad with our wandering. Let the words of God seize upon your hearts, and let Him, Whose ye are, claim His own possession, that is, your mind, that they be not turned aside to ought else. Let each one of you so be entirely here, that he be not here: that is, let him give himself wholly to the word of God, which soundeth on earth, that by it he may be lifted up, and not be on earth. For therefore was He God with us, that we might be with Him. For H? Who came down from heaven to be with us, maketh us ascend to Him, that we may be with Him. Meanwhile He scorned not our estrangement; for no where is He a stranger, Who made all things.

2. Behold the Psalm soundeth; it is the voice of some one, (and that some one are ye, if ye will,) of some one encouraging his soul to praise God, and saying to himself, Praise the Lord, O my soul. For sometimes in the tribu-?er. lations and temptations of this present life, whether we will or no, our soul is troubled; of which troubling he speaketh in another Psalm, saying, Wherefore art thou sad, O myP*.42, soul9 and wherefore troublest thou me? But to remove this troubling, he suggesteth joy; not as yet in reality, but in hope; and saith to it when troubled and anxious, sad and sorrowing, Hope in God, for I will yet confess to Him. The hope wherewith he lifted himself up, he set in confession, as though his soul, which troubled him with sadness, said to him, Why sayest thou to me, Hope in God f I am called back therefrom by consciousness of sins: I know what I have committed, and thou sayest to me, hope in God. Thou hast committed these things, it is true: but whence dost thou hope? Because, / will confess to Him. As God hateth one who defendeth his sin, so He helpeth one who confessed. Having then received this hope, which hope cannot be without joy, although we be in circumstances most difficult as concerning this life, and full of storms and tempests, yet the soul uplifted by this hope, because it rejoiceth in hope, as the Apostle saith, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, hath received a sort of lifting up to God, to praise God; and to it is said, Praise the Lord, O my soul.

3. But who saith it, and to whom saith he it? What shall we say, brethren? Is it the flesh that saith, Praise thou the Lord, O my soul? And can the flesh suggest good counsel to the soul? However much the flesh be conquered, and subjected as a servant to us through strength which the Lord imparteth, that it serve us entirely as a bond slave, enough for us that it hinder us not. In the next place, surely, brethren, men seek counsel from their betters: and if our soul be in some sense good, and our flesh is in some sense good, because He created both Who created alf things very good, although, I say, both be good in their several kinds, yet the Apostle saith, the body is dead because of sin. There is indeed that body also which is promised to us, which as yet we have not, in whose redemption we rejoice in hope, as the Apostle saith, We groan within ourselves^ waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies. For we are saved in hope. But hope which is seen is not hope; for what a man seeth, why doth he hope for f but if we hope for what we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Although then our body be in some sense good, yet, so long as it is mortal because of sin, as long as it is needy, as long as it is corruptible, as long as it is so changeable, that even for a moment it abideth not, without doubt it is such, that we must wish for its redemption, whereby it will at length cease to be such. But what will it be hereafter? Such as the same Apostle saith another place, For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But even when our body shall have become such as this, a body now heavenly and spiritual, a body angel-like in its fellowship with angels, not even then will it give counsel to the soul. For the body, inasmuch as it is the body, is even beneath the soul; and every soul, however vile, is found more excellent than the most excellent body.

4. And let not this seem to you to be wonderful, that even any vile and sinful soul is better than any great and most surpassing body. It is better, not in deserts, but in nature. The soul indeed is sinful, is stained with certain defilements of lusts; yet gold, though rusted, is better than the most polished lead. Let your mind then run over every part of creation, and ye will see that what we are saying is not incredible, that a soul, however blameable, is yet more praiseworthy than a praiseworthy body. There are two things, a soul and a body. The soul I chide, the body I praise: the soul I chide, because it is sinful; the body I praise, because it is sound. Yet it is in its own kind that I praise the soul, and in its own kind that I blame the soul: and so in its own kind I praise the body, or blame it. If you ask me which is better, what I have blamed or what I have praised, wondfous is the answer thou wilt receive. True, I praised the one and blamed the other, yet, when asked which is better, I answer that what I have blamed is better than what I have praised. If thou wonderest at these two things, observe the case of the two things ready to our hands, which I have already quoted, the gold and the lead. Observe: I have found fault with the gold: it is rusted: it shines not as much, it is not as clean: this lead is beautiful, as clean as can be. The former I have found fault with, the latter I have praised, and have set before you both, finding fault with the one, praising the other. After thus bestowing my blame and praise, ask me which of these is better: I shall answer, the gold, even though rusted, is better, is better than the lead when clear. How, better, and wherefore then hast thou found fault with it? Wherefore have I found fault with it? Because it is not yet the gold which it can be. What can it be? Cleansed and better. Because it hath not yet been cleansed, it is found fault with. Why hast thou praised the lead? Because it is already so clean that it cannot be better. So you speak of the best horse and the worst man; yet thou preferrest the man thou findest fault with to the horse thou praisest. For if thou wert asked which of these two was better, thou wouldest say, 6 the man,1 not by deserts, but by nature. So in trades, thou speakest of a first-rate cobbler, and findest fault with some lawyer, because be is ignorant of many laws: thou hast praised the cobbler, thou hast blamed the lawyer; yet ask which of these two is better, and the unskilled lawyer is preferred to the perfect cobbler. Observe, my beloved, after having in so many instances praised some things, blamed others, yet when asked, we for the most part prefer what we have blamed to what we have praised. The nature of the soul is more excellent than the nature of the body: it surpasseth it by far, it is a thing spiritual, incorporeal, akin to the substance of God. It is somewhat invisible, it ruleth the body, moveth the limbs, guideth the senses, prepareth thoughts, putteth forth actions, taketh in images of countless things; who is there, in short, beloved brethren, who may suffice for the praises of the soul? And yet such is the grace given to it, that this man saith, Praise the Lord, Omy soul. Who can praise God? If he said, ' praise thyself,' perchance it woulS fail: he saith, praise God. Endeavour with the affection of love, still thou wilt fall short in His praise. Better is it for thee to fall short in praising God, than to go forward in praising thyself. For when thou praisest God, and unfoldest not what thou wouldest, thy thought spreads inwardly, its very spreading maketh thee more able to contain Him Whom thou praiseth.

5. Who then is it, as I began to say, who saith, Praise the Lord, O my soul? It is not the flesh that saith it. Let tlje body be angel-like, still it is inferior to the soul, it cannot give advice to its superior. The flesh when duly obedient is the handmaid of the soul: the soul rules, the body obeys; the soul commands, the body performs; how then can the flesh give this advice to the soul? Who then is it who saith, Praise the Lord, O my soul? We find nothing more in man than flesh and soul: the whole man consists of this, of body and soul. Is it then perchance the soul herself, who saith to herself, and in a manner commandeth herself, and exhorteth and asketh herself? For through certain passions in one part of her nature she wavered; but in another part, which they call the reasonable mind, the wisdom whereby she thinks, clinging to God, and now sighing towards Him, she perceives that certain inferior parts of her are troubled by worldly emotions, and by a certain excitement of earthly desires, betake them to outward things, leaving God Who is within; so she recalleth herself from things outward to inward, from lower to higher, and says, Praise the Lord, O my soul. What pleaseth thee in the world? what is there which thou wishest to praise? what that thou wishest to love? Whithersoever thou turnest thyself with thy corporeal senses, Man should obey God, rule his body. 341 there meeteth thee the sky, meeteth thee the'earth; what thou lovest on earth, is earthly; whatever thou lovest even in the sky, is corporeal. Every where thou lovest, and every where thou praisest: how greatly is He to be praised, Who made these things which thou praisest! Now then thou hast long lived in the midst of engagements, and hast been battered by various desires, so that thou art wounded, and beares^ the mark of their blows: thou hast been distracted between many loves, ever disquieted, never free from care; concentrate thyself within thyself; whatever before pleased thee without thee, seek now Who was its Author. For instance, there is nothing better on earth than this and that; gold, for example, or silver, or animals, or trees, or beautiful places, or the whole earth together. What is there in the sky better than sun, moon, and stars? or consider if you will the whole heaven together. All these things together are very good; for God made all things very good. On all sides is the beauty of the work, which commendeth to thee the Maker. Thou admirest the workmanship, love the Worker. Be not taken up with that which is made, and withdraw from Him Who made it. For these things with which thou art taken up, He made beneath thee, Who made thee beneath Himself. If thou cling to Him Who is above thee, thou wilt trample under thee what is below thee: if thou withdraw thyself from Him that is above thee, these things will be turned into punishment for thee. For this is the case, my brethren; man received a body to be servant to him, having God as his Lord, his body as his servant: having above him his Creator, beneath him that which was created below him; while the reasonable soul, set in a sort of middle ground, had a law laid upon it, to cling to Him Who is above it, to rule that which is below it. It cannot rule that which is below it, unless it be ruled by Him that is better than it. If it be drawn away by what is beneath it, it has abandoned Him Who is better than it. It can no longer rule what it did rule, because it would not be ruled by Him, Who used to rule it. Now then let it return, let it praise. The soul itself giveth itself counsel from the light of God by the reasonable mind, whereby it conceiveth the wisdom fixed in the everlasting nature of its Author. It readeth there of somewhat to be feared, to be praised, to be loved, to be longed for, and sought after: as yet it graspeth it not, it coraprehendeth it not; it is, as it were, dazzled with brightness; it has noj; strength to abide there. Therefore it gathers itself, as it were, into a sound state, and saith, Praise the Lord, O my soul.

6. And what is the case, brethren? Do we not praise the Lord? Do we not daily sing our hymn? Daily doth not our mouth sound, our heart utter, according to our measure, the praise of God? And what is it which we praise? Great is that which we praise, but that wherewith we praise as yet is weak. When doth he who praiseth fully reach the excellence of Him he praiseth? Behold a man standeth up, he singeth unto God at great length, and often his lips are moving in song, while his thoughts are flitting through I know not what desires. Our mind then stood up, as it were, to praise God; our soul the while was drifting hither and thither amid divers desires or anxieties of business. The mind, as it were, from above observeth it, drifting hither and thither, and turning, as it were, to its disquiet in its anxieties, it saith, Praise the Lord, O my soul. Why busiest thou thyself in other things? Why art thou taken up with anxiety about things of earth, and of this life? Stand with me, and praise the Lord. And then the soul, weighed down, as it were, and unable to stand up as is fitting, answereth the mind, / will praise the Lord in. my life. What is, in my life? Because now I am in my death. Therefore first encourage thyself, and say, Praise the Lord, O my soul. Thy soul answereth thee, I do praise so far as 1 can, slightly, poorly, weakly. Wherefore? Because, while we are in the body, we are absent from the Lord. Wherefore thus praisest thou the Lord, not perfectly, not stedfastly? Ask Scripture: for the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that muselh upon many things. Take ■ me away the body that presseth down the soul, and I praise the Lord: take me away the earthly tabernacle that weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things, that from many things I may concentrate myself to one, and I praise the Lord: but, as long as I am thus, I cannot, I am weighed down. What then? Wilt thou be silent, and not praise the Lord perfectly? / will praise the Lord in my life.

. 7. What is, in my life? Thou art my hope here. Here we say, Thou art my hope; but my portion, not here, but, in the land of the living: for this is the land of the dying: we pass from hence; but it makes a difference whither. For both the evil man is a wanderer here, and the good man is a wanderer here. For it is not that the good passeth away, or the evil abideth here; or that the evil passeth away, and the good remaineth here: both pass away, but not both to one end. There were two men: a beggar full of sores, lying at the rich man's gate; and a rich man, clothed in purple and fine linen, faring sumptuously every day: both were here; both passed away from hence; but not both to the same place: different places receive them, because different deserts bring them thither. The beggar passed into Abraham's bosom, the rich man passed into the torments of hell. In body they were neighbours upon earth; one in the house, the other at the gate: after death they were so widely severed, that Abraham saith, between us and you there is a great gulph fixed. Therefore, brethren, since faith feedt us here, but our life is not perfect, save that which is promised to us, here we have groans, here temptations, here straits, here sorrows, here dangers; there our soul shall praise God as He is to be praised; according to what is said in another Psalm, Blessed are they who dwell in Thy house, they shall be alway praising Thee: when our whole business will be merely praise. But when will this be? In my life. Now what has it? It might answer thee, 1 My death.' Whence, 'My death?' because 1 am absent from the Lord. For if to cling to Him is life, to depart from Him is death. But what comforteth thee? Hope. Now thou livest in hope: in hope praise, in hope sing. Thy death is from the sadness of this life, thou livest in hope of a future life. / will upraise, saith he, my God in my life.

8. And how wilt thou praise thy Lord? / will sing unto my God, as long as I have my being. What sort of praise is this, / will sing unto my God as long as I have my being? Behold, my brethren, what sort of being this will be; where there will be everlasting praise, there will be also everlasting being. Behold, now thou hast being: dost thou sing unto God as long as thou hast being? Behold, thou wast singing, and hast turned thyself away to some business, thou singest no longer, yet thou hast being: thou hast being, yet thou singest not. It may be also thy desire turneth thee to somewhat; not only dost thou not sing, but thou even offendest His ears, yet thou hast being. What praise will that be, when thou praisest as long as thou hast rjeing? But what meaneth, as long as I have being? Will there be any time when he will not be? Nay, rather, that long will be everlasting, and therefore it will be truly long. For whatever hath end in time, however prolonged it is, is yet not long. I will sing unto God as long as I have being.

9. Meanwhile it is well: thou shalt praise God in thy life, thou singest hereafter to thy God as long as thou hast being. It is well: whatever thou reliest on here, hope in Him. Let not hope desert us here, in this pilgrimage and trial, amid these wickednesses and snare of our enemy, while the temptations of the world roar around us on all sides, while we are set in the midst of toils and distresses on all sides. What then shall we do? Hear what followelh. Put not your trust in princes. Brethren, here we receive a mighty task; it is a voice from heaven, from above it soundeth to us. For now through some kind of weakness the soul of man, whensoever it is in tribulation here, despaireth of God, and chooseth to rely on man. Let it be said to one when set in some affliction, ' There is a great man, by whom thou mayest be set free;' he smileth, he rejoiceth, he is lifted up. But if it is said to him, 6 God freeth thee,' he is chilled, so to speak, by despair. The aid of a mortal is promised, and thou rejoicest; the aid of the Immortal is promised, and art thou sad? It is promised thee that thou shalt be freed by one who needeth to be freed with thee, and thou exultest, as at some great aid: thou art promised that Liberator, Who needeth none to free Him, and thou despairest, as though it were but a fable. Woe to such thoughts: they wander far; truly there is sad and great death in them. Approach, begin to long, begin to seek and to know Him by Whom thou wast made. For He will not leave His Man cannot even help himself, work, if He be not left by His work. Turn thee then to Him, to Whom thou say est, / will praise the Lord in my life, I unit sing unto my God as long as I have being. For the Psalmist warneth us as one filled with the Spirit, and saith, as to men far distant and wandering, and not only not willing to praise God, but not as yet hoping in God, Put not your trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, in whom is no salvation. In one Son of man alone is there salvation, and in Him, not because He is the Son of man, but because He is the Son of God; not on account of that which He took of thee, but of that which He retained in Himself. In no man then is tSere salvation, for even in Him there is salvation only because He is God, If ho is over all, God blessed for ever. Of Christ is said, Of whom according to the flesh Christ came. Of whom? Of the Jews, of the fathers in Christ according to the flesh: but is Christ entirely that which He is according to the flesh? No: for neither according to the flesh is He over all, God blessed for ever. Therefore in Him is salvation, for salvation is the Lord's. For another Psalm saith, Salvation is the Lord's, and Thy blessing is upon TJiy people. And without cause do men claim to themselves to give salvation. Let them give it to themselves. Reply to the proud man, Thou boastest in that thou sayest that thou givest me salvation: give it to thyself: see whether thou hast it; considering well thy frailty, thou seest that thou hast it not yet. Therefore bid me not look for it from thee, but look thou for it with me. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, in whom is no salvation. Behold, certain princes* come forth I know not whence, and say, I baptize, and what I give is holy: if thou receive from another, thou hast received nothing; if thou receivest from me, thou hast received something. O man, O prince, wishest thou to be among the sons of men, and among the princes in whom is no salvation? Have I therefore salvation, because thou givest? Is what thou givest thine own? Or is it true that thou givest it?* or can we say that thou givest it? So the pipe may say, that it giveth water; so too may the gutter say, that it itself runs; so too may the usher1 say, that he setteth free. In the water I regard the fountain, in the voice of the usher I recognise the judge. Verily thou shalt not be the author of my salvation: He shall be, on Whom I can rely: of thee I am uncertain. If thou art not presumptuous, not only am I uncertain about thee, but thou art also about thyself. From Him then is my salvation, Who is over all, for salvation is the LoroVs. Thou art amongst the sons of men, amongst the princes; but I hear the Psalm saying, Put not your trust in princes, nor^in the sons of men, from whom is no salvation. *

10. Looking to the multitude of men, what are these sons of men? Wilt thou know what they are? His breath shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth. Behold all which he saith, knowing not how long he shall say it: he threateneth, knowing not how long he shall live. On a sudden his breath shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth. Shall it be when he wisheth that his breath shall go forth? It shall go forth, and shall go forth when he wisheth it not, and when he knoweth not he shall return to his earth. When the breath goeth forth, the flesh shall return to the earth* But because it was flesh that thus spake; (for none would say, Rely on me, and I will give to thee, save they to whom it is said that they are flesh:) his breath shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth: in that day shall all his thoughts perish. Where is swelling? where is pride? where is boasting? But perhaps he will have passed to a good place, if indeed he have passed. For I know not whither he who spake thus hath passed. For he spake in pride; and I know not whither such men pass, save that 1 look into another Psalm, and see that their, passage is an evil one. / beheld the wicked lifted up above the cedars of Libanus, and I passed by, and, lo, he was not; and I sought him, and his place was not found. The good man, who passed by, and found not the wicked, reached a place where the wicked is not. Wherefore, brethren, let us all listen: brethren, beloved of God, let us all listen; in whatsoever tribulation, in whatsoever longing for the heavenly gift, let us not trust in princes, nor in sons of men, in whom is no salvation. All this is mortal, fleeting, perishable. His breath shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth: in that day all his thoughts shall perish.

1 1. What then must we do, if we are not to hope in sons of men, nor in princes? What must we do? Blessed is he, whose Helper is the God of Jacob: not this man or that man; not this angel or that angel; but, blessed is he whose Helper is the God of Jacob: for to Jacob also so great an Helper was He, that of Jacob He made him Israel. O mighty help! now he is Israel, * seeing God.' While then thou art placed here, and a wanderer n<5t yet seeing God, if thou hast the God of Jaeob for thy Helper, from Jacob thou wilt become Israel, and wilt be i seeing God,1 and all toil and all groans shall come to an end, gnawing cares shall cease, happy praises shall succeed. Blessed is he whose Helper is the God of Jacob; of this Jacob. Wherefore is he happy? Meanwhile, while yet groaning in this life, his hope is in the Lord his God. Therefore is he blessed, because his hope is in the Lord his God. In Whom his hope is, in Him will be his whole. Brethren, am I perchance wrong in saying, that the Lord will be our whole? what if I should say that He will be our inheritance? Thou art my and my portion, in the land of the living. Thou shalt be6' my portion. Thou shalt both be a possession, and shalt possess: thou shalt be God's possession, and God shall be thy Possession: thou shalt be His possession, to be cultivated1 by Him; He shall be thy possession, for thee toi0olaris worship* Him. For thou both worshippest God, and art cultivated by God. Rightly is it said, I worship God. But how am I cultivated by God? We find in the Apostle, Ye are Go&s husbandry, ye are GooVs building. And the Lord saith, / am the Vine, ye are the branches; and, My Father is the Husbandman. God then cultivateth thee,1-6- that thou mayest be fruitful; thou worshippest God, that thou mayest be fruitful. It is good for thee that God cultivateth thee: it is good for thee that thou worshippest God. If God the Cultivator depart from man, man is abandoned: if man the worshipper depart from God, it is man himself who is abandoned. God neither increaseth by thy approach to Him, nor decreaseth by thy withdrawal. He then will be our possession, that He feed us; we shall be His possession, that He rule us.

12. His hope is in the Lord his God. Who is this, Lord his God? Observe, my brethren. For many men have nianv 80(^8> an<* call them their lords and their gods. But 'the Apostle saith, Although there be that be called gods, whether in heaven or in earthy as there are gods many and lords many; yet to us there is one God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom are all things. Therefore let Him be thy hope, even the Lord thy God; in Him let thy hope be. His hope too is in the lord his god, who worsRippeth Saturn; his hope is in the lord his god, who worshippeth Neptune or Mercury; yea more, I add, who worshippeth his belly, of whom is said, whose god is their belly. The one is the god of the one, the other of the other. Who of this blessed one? for his hope is in the Lord his God. But Who is He? Who made heaven and earth, the sea^ and an inat is in them. My brethren, we have a great God; let us bless His holy Name, that He hath deigned to make us His possession. As yet thou seest not God; thou canst not fully love what as yet thou seest not. All that thou seest, He hath made. Thou admirest the world; why not the Maker of the world? Thou lookest up to the heavens, and art amazed: thou considerest the whole earth, and tremblest; when canst thou contain in thy thought the vastness of the sea? Look at the countless number of the stars, look at all the many kinds of seeds, all the different sorts of animals, all that swimmeth in the water, creepeth on the earth, flieth in the sky, hovereth in the air; how great are all these, how beautiful, how fair, how amazing! Behold, He Who made all these, is thy God. Put thy hope in Him, that thou mayest be happy. His hope is in the Lord his God. What God? Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.

13. Observe, my brethren, the mighty God, the good God, Who maketh all these things. What then was God's thought in this, (if indeed we may say ' thought,' of God,) in making heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them? Perhaps this man was about to say, 6 1 see indeed that all these things are great; God hath made heaven and earth and the sea; where doth God reckon me among the things which He hath made, or do I truly partake of His care, or doth God now think of me, and know whether I am alive? What is this which thou sayest? Let not an evil thought creep into thy heart: be of those, of whom we spake a little above, / will praise God in my life, I will sing unto God as long as I have being. But he is addressing others, some anxious ones, whom he cheereth, seeming to fear lest they despair about themselves, as though they are not even in the reckoning of God. For many have such thoughts. But thetefore do they abandon God, and hurry through any kind of sin, because they believe not that God careth what they do. Hear the words of God's mouth, despair not of thyself. He Who cared to make thee, careth He not to remake thee? If he mentioned these things only, perhaps thou wouldest answer me, ' God, Who made heaven and earth and sea, is a great God: but doth He think of me P1 It would be said to thee, 4 He made thee.' How so? am I heaven, or am I earth, or am I sea? Surely it is plain; I am neither heaven, nor earth, nor sea: yet I am on earth. At least thou grantest me this, that thou art on earth. Hear then, that God made not only heaven and earth and sea: for He made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them. If then He made all that is in them, He made thee also. It is too little to say, thee; the sparrow, the locust, the worm, none of these did He not make, and He careth for all. His care refers not to His commandment, for this commandment He gave to man alone: for the Psalm saith, Thou j Lord, shalt save both man and beast, according to the multitude of Thy mercy, O God. The multitude of Thy6' mercy, He saith: according to this, Thou shalt save both man and beast. And the Apostle saith, Doth God take care for oxen? In the one passage, God careth not for9' oxen; in the other, Thou, Lord, shalt save both man and beast: are these contrary? For what is it that the Apostle saith? Doth God regard oxen f Where then is the command, Thou shalt not muzzle the' ox that treadeth out the. corn: hath not God there thought about oxen? He meant then certain other oxen to be represented. For God doth not take care to bid thee how to treat thy oxen, this human nature herself careth for. Man is so made, that he knoweth how to provide for his oxen; nor in regard of them hath he received commandments from God, but it has been implanted in him by God, so that he should know how to act even without commandment; such hath God made him. But as he ruleth his cattle, so is he to be ruled by Another: from Him by Whom he is ruled, he hath received a commandment. As regards then the tenor of the commandment, God doth not take care for oxen: as regards His providential care of the universe, whereby He created all things, and ruleth the world, Thou, Lord, shalt save both titan and beast.

14. Attend, my beloved. Here perhaps some one may say to me, God careth not for oxen, comes from the New Testament: Thou, Lord, shalt sate both man and beast, is from the Old Testament. There are some who find fault and say, that these two Testaments agree not with one another. That he may not, as is likely, say that there is one thing in the Old Testament, another in the New, and call upon me for a sentiment from the New Testament, such as this, Thou, Lord, shalt save both man and beast, what do I? Nothing is so much the sum of the New Testament as the Gospel. In the Gospel I find, that God hath to do with all these things: none can gainsay it. For is the Apostle at variance with the Gospel? Let us hear the Lord Himself, the Chief and Master of the Apostles: Consider, saith He, the fowls of the air; they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Therefore even beside men, these animals are objects of care to God, to be fed, not to receive a law. As far then as regards giving a law, God careth not for oxen: as regards creating, feeding, governing, ruling, all things have to do with God. Are not two sparrows sold for one farthing, saith our Lord Jesus Christ, and one of them shall not fall to the ground without the will of your Father: how much better are ye than they. Say not then, c I have nought to do with God.' Thy soul belongeth to God, thy body belongeth to God, for God made both thy soul and thy body. Perhaps thou say est, God counteth me not in this great multitude. There follows here a wondrous passage in the Gospel; the hairs of your head are all numbered,

15. He then is my God, and in Him is my hope, Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them. But as regardeth me, how dealeth He with me? Who keepeth truth for ever. He has commended to us a God to be loved and to be feared. Who keepeth truth for ever. What truth for ever? what truth doth He keep, and wherein doth He keep it for ever? Who executeth judgment for them that suffer wrong. He avengeth them that suffer wrong. My brethren, He executeth judgment for them. For wBom? for them that suffer wrong, punishing all wrong-doers. If then He will favour them that suffer wrong, and punish the wrong-doers, consider now of which number thou choosest to be. See, consider whether thou choosest to be among those who suffer wrong, or among those who do wrong. For there cometh at once to thee the voice of the Apostle; novo therefore there is altogether a fault among you, that ye go to law one with another: why do ye not rather suffer wrong? He urgeth thee not to suffer annoyance, but to suffer wrong: for not every annoyance is wrong. For whatever thou sufferest lawfully is not a wrong; lest perchance thou shouldest say, I also am among those who have suffered wrong, for I have suffered such a thing in such a place, and such a thing for such a reason. Consider whether thou hast suffered a wrong. Robbers suffer many things, but they suffer no wrong. Wicked men, evil doers, house-breakers, adulterers, seducers, all these suffer many evils, yet is there no wrong. It is one thing to suffer wrong; it is another to suffer tribulation, or penalty, or annoyance, or punishment. Consider where thou art; see what thou hast done; see why thou art suffering; and then thou* seest what thou art suffering. Right and wrong are contraries. Right is what is just. For not all that is called right, is right. What if a man lay down for you unjust right? nor indeed is it to be called right, if it is unjust. That is true right, which is also just. Consider what thou hast done, not what thou art suffering. If thou hast done right, thou art suffering wrong; if thou hast done wrong, thou art suffering right.

16. Wherefore have I said this, brethren? That heretics may not puff themselves up, when they happen to suffer ought from the orders of earthly powers; that they may not number themselves among those who suffer wrong, and Behold, the Psalm comforteth me, for I worship God. Who shall execute judgment for them that suffer wrong. Rightly do I ask, whether thou sufferest a wrong. If thou hast done right, it is a wrong thou sufferest. Is it right to renounce Christ? Is it right in rebellious pride to set up an altar? Is it right, when His persecutors spared Christ's robe, to rend Christ's Church? It follows then, that if this is not right, whatever thou sufferest for this fs right. Thou art not then of those who suffer wrong. I read somewhat yet more clear in the Gospel; Blessed, it saith, are they who suffer persecution. Wait: why dost thou hurry? why dost thou say, ' I am such?' Wait, I say; I will read the whole. Thou hast heard, Blessed are they that suffer persecution: now thou hast begun to claim somewhat to thyself: allow me to read the whole: see what followeth. Blessed are they which suffer persecution for righteousness* sake. Now say, * I am such.' If thou darest to say, 1 1 am such,' let us retract what I have said above: or, not to be long, I ask thee one question; If thou wast to condemn one man, whose cause thou hadst not heard, wouldest thou dare to say thou maintainedst justice? or if thou hadst suffered any thing for this, wouldest thou call it a wrong? Thou settest up thyself on the rash tribunal of thy heart, from whence thou must be cast down; and darest thou pass sentence- on a man whose cause thou hast not heard? If thou didst this in regard of one man, thou wouldest be unjust; thou doest it in regard of the whole world, and art thou just? Beloved brethren, who is it who suffereth the wrong, but the Catholic Church, which undergoeth all these things? Among all the scandals of heretics she groaneth; she seeth the weak drawn from her bosom by evil persuasion and deceit, her little ones dragged through I know not what secrets of wicked dens, sees them rebaptized, sees Christ destroyed in them; sees killed in them not their mortal being, whereby they are men, but that whereby they are to live for ever. A man is persuaded to say, ' I am not a Christian,' and it is called righteousness. * Thou art about to go before a Bishop,' he saith to him; ' see thou sayest not that thou art a Christian; for, if thou None but God can ' give food to the hungry.' 358 sayest that thou art a Christian, thou wilt not receive; in order to receive, say that thou art not. What dost thou advise, O Christian? what dost thou teach? Certainly thou sufferest persecution. How much more truly art thou thyself a persecutor! When the Emperors persecuted the Christians, they compelled by threats, what thou effectest by persuasion. Thou persuadest a Christian to deny that he is a Christian: what thou effectest by persuasion, that the persecutor effected not by slaying. A man liveth under thee, who denieth that he is a Christian. He denies, and is he alive? Nay, he hath already lost his life: he is a corpse that speaketh to thee. He who hath been smitten with the sword of the persecutor hath fallen, and yet liveth; he to whom thou speakest standeth, yet hath fallen. When thou doest thus, will whatever thou sufferest be a wrong? I would not that thou shouldest flatter thyself: if all these things which thou doest are unjust, whatever thou sufferest will be just. But for whom doth He execute judgment, Who keepeth truth for ever f For them that suffer wrong.

17. Now go thou on, and prove with those fine arguments of thine, which seem so sharp and subtle, that thou feedest others: tell me, can a hungry man feed others? that is, can a sinner give what is holy? Can a hungry man feed others? Can a sick man heal? Can one that is bound set free? Those arguments seem grand and subtle, wherewith they deceive the unskilled. Let this Psalm shut their mouths: Who giveth food to the hungry. Behold, from thee I look for nothing: God giveth food to the hungry. Who are the hungry? All. What is, all? To all things that have life, to all men He giveth food: doth He not reserve some food for His beloved? If they have another kind of hunger, they have also another kind of food. Let us first enquire what their hunger is, and then we shall find their food. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, Matt. for they shall be filled. We ought to be God's hungry6- ones. Let us beg in prayers before the gate of His presence: He giveth food to the hungry. Why dost thou, O heretic, boast thyself, that thou settest free, thou liftest up, thou enlightenest? Is it, forsooth, because thou art already enlightened, and standest upright, and art a light? Far be it from thee. Listen to what was said above: put not your trust in princes, or in the children of men, in whom is no salvation. They do not give salvation. Let the heretics then depart from before us. The Lord looseth them that are fettered; the Lord lifteth up them that are dashed down; the Lord maketh wise them that are blind. Perfectly hath he by this last sentence explained to us all the preceding ones: lest perchance, when he had said, the Lord looseth them that are fettered, we should refer it to those fettered ones, who for some crime are bound in irons by their masters: and in that he. said, He lifteth up them that are dashed doivn, there should occur to our minds some one stumbling or falling, or thrown from a horse. There is another kind of fall, there are other kinds of fetters, just as there is other darkness and other light. Whereas he said, He maketh the blind wise; he would not say, He enlighteneth the blind, lest thou shouldest understand this also in reference to the flesh, as the man was enlightened by the Lord, when He anointed his eyes with clay made with spittle, and so healed him: that thou mightest not look for any thing of this sort, when He is speaking of spiritual things, he pointeth to a sort of light of wisdom, wherewith the blind are enlightened. Therefore in the same way as the blind are enlightened with the light of wisdom, so are the fettered set free, and those who are dashed down are lifted up. Whereby then have we been fettered? whereby dashed down? Our body was once an ornament to us: now, we have sinned, and thereby have had fetters put on us. What are our fetters? Our mortality. Hear the Apostle Paul, for he too was as yet fettered in his pilgrimage here. How vast regions did he traverse in his fetters: his fetters were not heavy to him: with these fetters he preached the Gospel to the whole world: the spirit of love carried away his fetters, and he went about to the utmost of his power. Yet what saith he himself? Having a desire to be set free, and to be with Christ What is, to he set free? From the fetters of mortality: and yet through compassion he still was willing to remain in fetters, for the sake of others who were fettered, that he might minister to them: to abide in the flesh is needful for you. Hie Lord, therefore, looseth them that are fettered, that is, from mortal

Christians ' orphans and widows* as 'absent from the Lord.* 355 He maketh them immortal; the Lord lifteth up them that are dashed down. Wherefore were they dashed down? Because they were up-lifted. Wherefore are they lifted up? Because they first were humbled. Adam fell, was dashed down. He fell, Christ came down. Wherefore came He down Who fell not, save that he might be lifted up, who did fall. The Lord maketh wise the blind; the Lord loceth the rightqpus. Therefore, He executeth judgment for them that suffer wrong.

18. And who are the righteous? How far are they righteous now? Just as thou hast; the Lord guardeth proselytes. Proselytes are strangers. Every Church of the Gentiles is a stranger. For it cometh in to the Fathers, not sprung of their flesh, but their daughter by imitating them. Yet the Lord, not any man, guardeth them. The orphan and widow He will take up. Let none think that He taketh up the orphan for his inheritance, or the widow for any business of hers. True, God doth help them; and in all the duties of the human race, he doeth a good work, who taketh care of an orphan, who abandoneth not a widow: but in a certain way we are all orphans, not because our Father is dead, but because He is absent. For among men one is an orphan whose father is dead. Yet if ye look at the truth, my brethren, since the soul dieth not, our parents are alive; and so, those who are orphans, are orphans rather because their parents are absent: if they have been evil, they are living in punishment; if good, they are living in rest: to their Creator all things remain. Yet so long as we are in this body, and inhabit the place of our wandering, our Father is absent, and we cry to Him, Our Father, Which art in Heaven. Therefore is the Church a widow, her Spouse, her Husband, being absent. Hereafter He will come, Who now protecteth her, not seen, but longed for. For we are seized with great longing, and through love of Him Whom we see not, we long. We shall cling to His embrace when we see Him, if, while as yet we see Him not, we are filled with faith in Him. By orphan and widow then, what meant He to be understood, brethren? who are bereft of all hope and aid. Let the soul is bereft in the world hope for the aid of God. Whatever thou hast here — hast thou gold, and dost thou rely on it? now thou art not a stranger thou art not an orphan, thou art not reckoned as a widow. Hast thou a friend? if thou reliest on him and givest up God, thereby thou art no longer bereft. Hast thou all these things, and yet reliest not on them, pridest not thyself on them? Thou art God's orphan, God's widow. He taketh up the orphan. He taketh up the widow too.

19. And the way of sinners He shall root out. T\1iat is, the way of sinners? To mock at these things which we say. c Who is an orphan, who a widow? What kingdom of heaven, what punishment of hell is there? These, are fables of the Christians. To what I see, to that will I live: us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die? Beware lest-such men persuade you of ought: let them not enter through your ears into your heart; let them find thorns in your ears: let him, who seeketh to enter thus, go away pierced: for, evil communications corrupt good manners. But here perhaps thou wilt say, * Wherefore then are they prosperous? Behold, they worship not God, and commit every kind of evil daily: yet they abound in those things, through want of which I toil.' Be not envious against sinners. What they receive, thou seest; what is in store for them, seest thou not? And how, saith he, do I see what is not seen? Verily faith hath eyes; eyes too, greater, and more powerful, and strong. These eyes have never deceived any one: let these eyes be ever unto the Lord, that He may pluck thy feet out of the net. The way of sinners pleaseth thee because it is broad, and many walk therein: thou seest its breadth, thou seest not its end. Behold, where it endeth is a precipice; where it endeth is a deep pit: in that end they who walk joyously along this road are whelmed. But thou canst not strain thine eyes so as to see the end: believe Him Who seeth it. And what man is there that seeth it? perhaps no man: but thy Lord hath come to thee, that thou mightest believe God. Wilt thou not believe even the Lord thy God, Who saith, Broad and spacious is the way that leadelh to destruction, and many there be that walk by it? This way the Lord will root out, for this is the way of sinners.

20. And, when the way of sinners has been rooted out, what remaineth for us? Come, ye blessed of My Father, enjoy the Kingdom which hath been prepared for you from the beginning of the world. Herewith the Psalm concludeth: and the way of sinners He shall root out. And how shalt thou fare? The Lord shall reign for ever. Rejoice, for for thee He shall reign: rejoice, for thou shalt be His kingdom. For see also what followeth. Certainly thou art a citizen of Sion, not of Babylon, that is, not of the perishable city of this world, but of Sion, which for a while is in toil and wandering, but for eternity shall reign. Thou hast heard then the end: to it thou belongest. The Lord shall reign for ever, thy God, O Sion. O Sion, thy God shall reign for ever; surely thy God will not reign without thee. For generation and generation. He hath said it twice, because he could not say it for ever. And think not that eternity is bounded by finite words. The word eternity consists of four syllables; in itself it is without end. It could not be commended to thee, save thus, Thy God shall reign for generation and generation. Too little hath he said: if he spoke it all day long, it were too narrow: if he spoke it all his life, must he not at length hold his peace? Love eternity: without end shalt thou reign, if Christ be thine End, with Whom thou shalt reign for ever and ever. Amen.

21. We listened attentively, while this present Psalm was being chanted: yet not all who heard, also understood. How much more attentively then should it now be listened to, if, as I hope and desire, with the help of the prayers of all who hear me, whatever in it is perhaps obscure, may, by God's grace, be revealed; that your hearing may be profitable; and that the hearer may not return empty, who when present listened with attention. Wherewith doth it begin? It is said to us, Praise the Lord. This is said to all nations, not to us alone. And these words, sounded forth through separate places by the Readers, each Church heareth separately; but the one same Voice of God proclaim-