First Sermon on Psalm XC: On the Three Classes of Men Who Dwell Outside the Aid of the Most High

“ He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven.” *

You will most easily understand, my brethren, who he is “ that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High,” if I describe for you the different classes of persons who do not make their home in the divine help. There are three such classes, namely, those who have no hope, those whose hope is weak, and those whose hope is vain. For he does not dwell in the aid of the Most High who “ hath not made God his Helper, but trusteth in the abundance of his riches ” and in his own strength. Such a one is deaf to the voice of the Prophet, who calls out to him, saying, “ Seek ye the Lord while He may be found ; call upon Him while He is near.” For, pursuing temporal goods alone, he is “ emulous of evildoers,” and “‘envieth them that work iniquity,” “seeing the prosperity of sinners ” ; and thus he removes himself far from the help of the Most High, which he does not consider necessary for the attainment of such objects. I am not without fear, brethren, lest even amongst ourselves there should be some, who, instead of dwelling in the help of the Most High, “ trust in their own strength and glory in the multitude of their riches.” There may be someone, for instance, who, buoyed up with fervour of spirit, feels nothing but delight in his watchings, in his fastings, in his labours, and in the other austere observances imposed by our Rule: or perhaps he seems to himself to have acquired an immense treasure of merits during a long course of years. Well, relying on this, he loses little by little, the fear of God ; then, influenced by a feeling of false and pernicious security, he begins to indulge himself more easily in curiosity and sloth, and commits faults of murmuring, detraction, and rash judgment. Now it is certain that, if he dwelt “in the aid of the Most High,” he would look to himself better, and would fear to offend One Whose help he realised to bestill so necessary to him. And his fear of the Lord and his anxiety to please Him would be all the greater in proportion to the gifts he has already received. For without God’s assistance, we are not able even to preserve and guard what He bestows upon us. Nevertheless—though I cannot speak of or witness it without sorrow—there are some here who, in the beginning of their conversion, were fearful and careful enough, until they had made some little progress in the way of perfection and were given the taste of spiritual joy ; then, when their desires ought rather to have been intensified, according to what is written, “ They that eat Me shall yet hunger,” they began to say, at least, by their conduct, “ Why should we serve the Lord any longer, since we already possess all that He has promised to giveus ? ” O my brother, if thou only knewest how little comparatively that is which thou hast obtained, and how easily it will be lost, unless He Who gave it helps thee to keep it! These are considerations which should render us all very careful and very obedient to God, so that we shall not belong to the number of those who therefore dwell not “in the aid of the Most High,” because they regard His aid as unnecessary to them. And it is of such I have said that they are without hope in the Lord.

The second class is of those whose hope is weak, of those, namely, who considering their own powerlessness, entirely lose heart and succumb to “ pusillaniminity of spirit.” They dwell not “ in the aid of the Most High,” but in the helplessness of their own flesh, and are so fond of contemplating their own miseries, that they are ready at any moment to recite the full list of what they have to endure. For weacquire a facility for doing the things in which we are constantly engaged. Such as these, I say, do not “ dwell in the aid of the Most High ” ; they do not so much as know that aid, because they are unable to raise their thoughts high enough to think of it, even occasionally. In the third class are they who hope indeed, but in vain. For they trust themselves so securely to the mercy of the Lord that they take no pains to get rid of their sins. Hope of this kind is utterly useless. It is a hope which confoundeth, because it is devoid of charity. And to such as entertain it the Prophet says, “ Cursed is he that sinneth in hope.” * The Psalmist, on the other hand, tells us that “‘ the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, and in them that hope in His name.” Observe how significantly he speaks of the fear of the Lord in them that please Him, before referring to their hope. For he hopes in vain who by his presumption drives far from him the grace of God and empties his hope of all merit.

Therefore no man belonging to any of these three categories “ dwelleth in the aid of the Most High.” The first class dwell in their own merits, the second in their miseries, the third in their sins. The dwelling-place of the third is unclean ; that of the second, uncomfortable ; that of the first, unsafe and stupid. For can anything be more stupid than to dwell in a house scarcely yet begun? Perhaps it appears to you to be finished ? But according to Holy Scripture, ‘‘ When a man hath completed then shall he begin.” For this dwelling of man’s merits is at best but a tottering building, which, instead of occupying, we must rather prop up and sustain. Is not this present life fragile and uncertain ? Therefore similarly uncertain and fragile must be all that is founded upon it. Who indeed would have faith in the stability of a house built upon a shifting foundation? Dangerous, my brethren, is the dwelling of those who confide in their own merits, dangerous, I say, as wanting solidity. Uncomfortable I have called the home of them that are plunged in despair by the consideration of their own miseries, because, as I have said, they dwell in torments. For not only are they overwhelmed with present woes, which refuse them a moment’s respite, but they suffer also and more eruelly from the foresight of troubles not yet experienced, and even from the dread of others which perhaps they shall never feel, so that in their case not “‘ sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.” Can any torture be more terrible, any hell be more insupportable than such a condition ? And what renders their wretchedness more wretched still is the fact that, although burdened with such a weight of miseries, they have no heavenly bread to support them. These are they who dwell not “in the aid of the Most High,” because they have abandoned hope. The first class do not seek the help of God because they do not realise its necessity. And the third class are far removed from it, because they seek it in a way in which it cannot be found. For they alone ‘ dwell in the aid of the Most High,” who desire to obtain it alone, who fear to lose it alone, and who meditate on it with anxious and assiduous thought. This is the piety of divine worship. Blessed indeed is the man who thus “ dwelleth in the aid of the Most High,” because he “shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven.” Which of all the creatures under heaven can harm him whom the God of heaven wills to protect and deliver ? Now, everything with power to hurt is under heaven. Under heaven are the aerial powers, under heaven is the present wicked world, under heaven is the flesh which “lusteth against the spirit.”

Rightly, therefore, is it said, “ He shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven,” so that all who render themselves worthy of this protection have nothing to fear from anything under heaven. And the same is true even if we suppose that the sense of this first verse depends on the second in the following manner, “ He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, he (that) shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven, hfe shall say to the Lord: Thou art my Protector.” According to this reading, the words “He (that) shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven,” are explanatory of the preceding,

“ He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High.” Or rather the second clause seems to be ampliative of the first, as implying that we must seek not only help for well-doing, but also protection and deliverance from evil. But observe attentively how the Psalmist does not say, “ He shall abide in the presence of the God of heaven,” but, “ He shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven.” The holy angels exult in the presence of the Lord ; but it were enough for me if only I could abide under His protection. His presence inundates them with happiness ; my prayer is that His protection may render me secure. And He is here called the God of heaven, because, although really present everywhere, yet His presence in heaven is such that, in comparison with it, He seems to be without any presence on earth. Hence we say in the Lord’s Prayer, “ Our Father, Who art in heaven.” Thus, the soul is in every part of the body, and nevertheless exists in the head in a more excellent and particular manner. For all the senses reside in the head, whereas the other members have but one, namely, the sense of touch, so that comparatively with her mode of presence in the head, the soul seems rather to rule than to occupy the rest of the body. In the same way, therefore, when we consider the presence of God which the blessed angels enjoy in heaven, the presence implied in the protection granted us on earth will appear hardly worthy of the name. Nevertheless, blessed is the man who merits even this protection. For it is he that “ shall say to the Lord: Thou art my Protector.” But I will reserve this verse for another sermon.