Twelfth Sermon on the Psalm XC: On God’s Goodness to Us, and on the Respect, Love, Gratitude and Confidence Due to Our Guardian Angels

“ For He hath given His angels charge over thee : to keep thee in all thy ways.”

In yesterday’s sermon, as you will remember, I told you that the ways of the demons are presumption and obstinacy ; and I gave you my reasons for saying so. But there is another point of view from which, if you judge it necessary, their ways may be examined. For although they endeavour by every means to hide them, the Holy Spirit constantly frustrates their efforts, and in several passages of the Scriptures points out to us clearly the paths of the wicked. Thus of all the demons it is written, “ The wicked walk round about.” And of their leader in particular, we read, “ The devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour.” He was once even compelled to acknowledge this himself, in the presence of the Divine Majesty. For so it is written in Job: “ Now on a certain day when the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, Satan also was present amongst them. And the Lord said to him: whence comest thou? And he answered and said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it.” Let us say, therefore, that the ways of Satan are gyrations and circumventions. The latter of these he uses with us ; the former he practises in himself. For he is always lifting himself up, and is always flung down again: his pride is ever soaring aloft, and ever humbled even to the ground. What is this but going round in a circle ? And he who thus walks round about, moves indeed, but never advances. Woe to the man that imitates this gyration by refusing to renounce his own will! Should I attempt to draw him away from it, he appears to follow me for a little, but in manifest pain. He is evidently moving in a circle. He is beginning already to return—but by another road—to the point whence he started, namely, to self-will, from which he refuses to be completely detached. He struggles to break loose on this side and on that, he endeavours to escape, now by one way, now by another, but is always held fast by the peg of self-will.

But, my brethren, if it is an evil thing to be gyrating oneself in this manner, it is much worse to be the circumventor of another. In truth, it is this particularly which makes the devil to be a devil. Yet you may ask how can that proudest of creatures descend from the loftiness of his pride in order to circumvent miserable mortals ? But observe even here how the wicked one walks round about. “He beholdeth every high thing,” as holy Job says, yet he also carefully considers what is lowest, but only that he may be lifted up the more, that he may be the more inflated. For he seems to himself to have mounted higher when he has placed the humble under his feet. Hence we read in the psalm, “Whilst the wicked one acts proudly, the poor is set on fire.”’* How perversely do the evil angels thus imitate the good in ascending and descending! They to have succeeded in kindling in our souls the fire of the passions. —(Translator.)

ascend from the love of vainglory, and descend through the malice of jealousy. As their descent is a cruelty, so their ascent is a lie. For, as I told you yesterday, the demons are strangers to mercy and truth. But if the malignant angels come down for the purpose of circumventing us, let us give thanks to Him by Whose command the good angels also descend to assist us and to keep us in all our ways. Nor is that enough. For “in their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

Oh, how much instruction, and admonition, and consolation is given us, dearest brethren, in the different verses of this psalm! Is there another psalm in the entire psalter which so admirably consoles the fainthearted, admonishes the remiss, instructs the ignorant ? Therefore it is that divine providence has brought it to pass that the words of this should be very frequently on the lips of the faithful, especially during the holy season of Lent. And the Church seems to have caught the suggestion to make so much use of the same psalm in her times of fasting, from the use which the devil made of it to tempt the Lord after His long fast in the desert. Thus, in this matter also, that most wicked servant has unwillingly and unwittingly benefited the children of God. For what can grieve him more, or what can rejoice us more, than the fact that even his malice is made to co-operate unto good for us? “ He hath given His angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways.” “Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to Him, and His wonderful works to the children of men.” Let them confess and “say among the gentiles : The Lord hath done great things for us: we are become joyful.” ‘‘O Lord, what is man that

Thou art made known to him ? or the son of man that Thou makest account of him?” “Or why dost Thou set Thy Heart upon him?” For in truth, Thou dost set Thy Heart upon us and “ hast care of us,” and art ever “solicitous for us.” Thou hast sent us Thine only-begotten Son, Thou hast given us Thy Holy Spirit, Thou hast promised us the vision of Thy Face. And lest there should beany one at all in the kingdom of heaven unoccupied in the care of us, Thou hast appointed the blessed angels “ to minister for us,” Thou hast charged them with our keeping, and ordered them to act as our guides. It is not enough that Thou “makest (these) spirits Thy angels,” * but Thou must also make them the angels of Thy little ones. For the Lord has said, “ Their (the little ones’) angels in heaven always see the Face of My Father Who is in heaven.” So Thou hast made these blissful spirits Thy messengers to us and also our messengers to Thee.

“ He hath given His angels charge over thee.” t Oh, marvellous condescension ! Oh, truly divine affection of charity ! For Who is He that hath given charge? And

• This and the following paragraphs are read in both the Roman and Cistercian Breviaries as the lessons for the second nocturn of the feast of the Guardian Angels, October 2nd.— (Translator.)

to whom hath the charge been given? And concerning whom? Brethren, let us diligently study and carefully commit to memory the words of this most consoling charge. Who is He That hath given charge ? Whose are the angels ? Whose commands do they obey ? To Whose will are they submissive? Attend to the Psalmist ; “ He (the Almighty) hath given His angels charge over thee : to keep thee in all thy ways.” Nor do the angels show any reluctance to execute the order, since they even “bear thee up in their hands.” The Divine Majesty, therefore, has given charge to angels, has given charge to His own angels, namely, to those sublime and blissful spirits, who dwell so near Himself, who are so intimately united to Him, and are truly the “ domestics of God.” And He has given them charge over thee. Who art thou? Lord, “ what is man that Thou art mindful of him ? or the son of man that Thou visitest him ? ” As if indeed man were not rottenness, and the son of man but a worm! But what, thinkest thou, is the charge He has given concerning thee? Perhaps, as holy Job feared, He has “written bitter things against (thee) and will consume (thee) for the sins of (thy) youth’? Perhaps He has charged His angels “against a leaf that is carried away with the wind” to “show their power, and to pursue a dry straw ” ? Perhaps He has charged them to “take away the impious one that he may not see the glory of God” ? No, that charge has not been given yet, but the day will come when it shall be given. And lest it be given against thee, take good care never to depart from “ the aid of the Most High ” and always to “ dwell under the protection of the God of heaven.” For that terrible charge shall be given, not against, but in behalf of those whom the God of heaven protects. And if it is not given now, it is for their sake it is deferred, because “all things are for the sake of the elect.” For when the servants were preparing to go out with the intention of plucking up at once the cockle sown amidst the wheat, “ the good man of the house coming said to them: suffer both to grow until the harvest, lest perhaps, gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it.” But how shall the wheat be preserved until the harvest time? This, my brethren, is the task here enjoined the angels: this is the work they are busy with now.

And so, “He hath given His angels charge over thee to keep thee.” O Word incarnate! O Wheat amongst the cockle! O Grain amidst the chaff! O “ Lily amongst the thorns”! Let us return thanks to Him, my brethren, let us give thanks to Him both for you and for me. For He has entrusted you to my care as a most precious deposit, the fruit of His cross, and the price of His Blood. But He is not content with such poor protection for you, so unsafe, so useless, so weak, so inadequate; and He therefore proclaims by His Prophet, ‘Over thy wall, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen.” For they who appear to be the walls of the spiritual Jerusalem, or the towers of the walls, require themselves, and indeed more than others, the vigilance of these watchmen.

“ He hath given His angels charge over thee : to keep thee in all thy ways.” O my brother, with how much reverence, with how much gratitude, with how much confidence ought not these words to inspire thee!

With how much reverence for a presence so august ! With how much gratitude for benevolence so great ! With how much confidence in a keeping so secure ! Walk therefore with caution, remembering that the angels of God accompany thee in all thy ways, as the Lord has commanded them. In every place, whether public or private, show respect for thy angel. Surely thou wouldst not dare to do in his presence what thou wouldst fear to do in mine. But perhaps thou dost doubt the presence of him whom thou canst not see ? What if thou wert to hear him ? or to touch him ? or to scent him? Understand, therefore, that it is not by sight alone that we can have certainty of the presence of objects. For not even all things belonging to the material order are perceptible to sight. Much less, then, can it perceive purely spiritual objects, which lie beyond the range of every corporeal faculty and require to be “ spiritually examined.” But if thou wilt consult thy faith, it shall give thee evidence of the presence of the angels. I have said advisedly, “ thy faith shall give thee evidence,” because the Apostle himself defines faith to be “the evidence (argumentum) of things that appear not.” The angels are present, therefore, and they are present to thee: not only are they with thee, but they are with thee to defend thee. Yes, my brother, the angels of God stand nigh to assist and to protect thee. ‘‘ What (shalt thou) render to the Lord for all the things that He hath rendered to (thee)? ” For to Him alone is due all the honour and glory. Why do I say, “ to Him alone ” ? Because it is He Who “ hath given charge.” And “ every best gift and every perfect gift is from above,coming down from the Father of lights.”

Nevertheless, although it is the Lord Who “ hath given His angels charge over thee,” we must also show ourselves grateful to these celestial spirits, who obey the divine injunction with so much charity, and assist us in our so great necessity. Let us, therefore, make a return of gratitude, yea, and of affection to such glorious guardians. Let us give them love for love. Let us honour them as much as we are bound to, as much as we can. Yet all our reverence and all our love must be directed ultimately to Him from Whom both angels and men derive their whole capacity for honouring and loving, and their whole claim to be honoured and loved. But we ought not to interpret the Apostle’s words, “To God alone be honour and glory ”* in such a manner as to make him contradict what the Psalmist says, “ But to me Thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honourable.” In my opinion, this passage of St. Paul ought to be understood in the same sense as what he writes in another place, ““ Owe no man anything, but to love one another.” For surely he does not here counsel the faithful to refuse to acknowledge their other obligations. Especially as he has told them in the very last preceding verse to “ render to all men their dues : tribute to whom tribute is due ; custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour.” Therefore, in order that you may understand more fully what he intends to teach or counsel in both these passages, take an illustration from the lights of the firmament. Consider how when the sun is shining the lesser luminaries manifestly does not accord with St. Bernard’s context.— (Translator. )

are nowhere to beseen. Do you suppose they have © been removed from the sky ? Or that they have been extinguished ? No, my brethren, that is not the reason. They are still in their places, but are so covered and surrounded by the more brilliant radiance of the sun that they are no longer visible to our eyes. In the same way, the law of love ought to overcome all other obligations and reign alone in our hearts, appropriating to itself whatever is due to other laws, so that we may do all things solely from love. Thus also the honour due to God must prevail over and in a sense exclude the honour claimed by others, so that He alone is not only honoured more than any other, but is honoured in all others. And this is equally true with respect to the charity we should have for God, as compared with that which we owe to His creatures. For when we have given the Lord our God the love of our whole heart, and of our whole soul, of our whole mind, and of our whole strength, what love is there left to give others? Consequently, let us in Him love His angels, and love them tenderly, since we are destined as “joint-heirs ’? with them to share in their glory. For now indeed we are the sons of God, but “it hath not yet appeared what we shall be,” because we are still as children “ under tutors and governors, until the time appointed by the Father”; and seem in the meanwhile to ‘‘ differ nothing from servants.”

Yet, my brethren, although we are but little ones, and although there is still a long road before us, aye, and a road beset with dangers innumerable, why should we be afraid under the protection of such powerful guardians? They who keep us in all our ways cannot be conquered by any hostile force; and they can neither beled astray themselves nor lead us astray. They are faithful, they are prudent, they are invincible: wherefore, then, should we fear? Only let us follow them, only let us cling to them, and we shall “ dwell in the aid of the Most High’ and “ abide under the protection of the God of heaven.” And consider how necessary for thee is this protection, this keeping of thee in all thy ways. “In their hands,” sings the Psalmist, “ they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Does it seem to thee a matter of small account that there is “a stone of stumbling in the way ?” ? Attend to the words which follow: “Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk ; and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon.” Oh, how needful is a guide, or rather a carrier, especially for a little one entering upon this danger-strewn road! “In their hands they shall bear thee up.” They will keep thee in all thy own ways, and will conduct thee wherever, as a child, thou art able to walk. But they will not suffer thee to be tempted beyond what thou canst endure; and when the ‘“‘ stone of stumbling ” appears in the way they will take thee up in their arms, and lift thee over. Oh, how easily does ke surmount obstacles who is borne in the hands of the holy angels! How easy one finds it to swim, when (according to the vulgar saying) another holds one’s head over water ! Therefore, my brethren, I say to each one of you: as often as thou feelest the pressure of violent temptation, as often as bitter tribulation threatens to engulf thee: invoke thy guardian, call upon thy guide, cry to thy “helper in due times in tribulation.” Call out to him and say, “ Lord, save me, I perish.” “He neither slumbereth nor sleepeth that keepeth ” thee (although he sometimes hides himself from thee for a space) lest perchance thou, not knowing that he is supporting thee, should to thy great peril throw thyself out of his arms. These arms of his are to be understood spiritually. They are, in fact, spiritual succours, which are variously and invisibly ministered to each of the elect according to the measure of the particular difficulty or danger to be encountered, or, as it were, according to the magnitude of the “stone of stumbling ” ; and they are ministered by angels appointed to that office. I shall now make mention of some of those trials which I regard as the more common, and of which, I am sure, most of you have had experience. Suppose you see a person under violent temptation. He is severely tried either by bodily infirmity, or by temporal misfortune ; or is assailed by spiritual sadness, or suffering from a fainting of soul. Already he is beginning to be tempted above what he can bear; already he has reached the “stone of stumbling” ; and he shall certainly dash his foot against it, unless someone comes to help him. But, my brethren, what is that stone? I take it to be none other than that ‘‘ Stone of stumbling,” that Rock of scandal, upon Which “ whosoever shall fall he shall be broken, but on whomsoever It shall fall, It shall grind him to powder”; the “chief Corner-Stone, elect, precious,” that is to say, our Lord Jesus Christ. To fall upon this Stone is to murmur against Him, to be scandal-ised because of “ pusillanimity of spirit and the storm.” And so he who is now on the point of falling, who is ready to dash his foot against the Stone, has urgent need of angelic consolation, and of angelic hands to

R bear him up. It is evidently true that the murmurer or the blasphemer falls upon the Stone of stumbling, and that he hurts only himself, not also Him against Whom he so blindly dashes his foot.

It appears to me that persons subject to such tempta- ‘tions are oftentimes upheld by the spiritual hands of angels, in so powerful a manner that they pass over, almost unconsciously, the obstacles which had occasioned them the utmost alarm. And afterwards they feel as much surprised at the facility they have experienced as they had previously felt dismayed at the difficulty which they anticipated. Now do you wish me to tell you what is meant in particular (in my opinion) by the two hands of the angels? It seems to me that they signify a twofold admonition : we are borne up in angelic hands whenever we are reminded of the shortness of our present tribulation, and of the eternity of the future reward: I should rather have said, whenever these truths are so engraved and imprinted on our hearts that we perceive in a most intimate and lively way how “ that which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory.” Now who can question that these inspirations are the work of the good angels, since it is certain that evil suggestions come from the bad angels ? Dearest brethren, make the angels of God your familiar friends ; frequent their society by constant remembrance and fervent prayer ; for they are always nigh to you with eomfort and protection.

THIRTEENTH SERMON ON PSALM XC.

ON THE FOUR VICES OF OBSTINACY, ENVY, ANGER, AND PUSILLANIMITY.

“In their hands they shall bear thee up : lest thou dash thy feet against a stone. Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk : and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon.”

“Tn their hands they shall bear thee up; lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” It seems to me, my brethren, that these words (which, as you will remember, were discussed in yesterday’s sermon also) may be understood not only of present consolation, but of future comfort as well. I mean to say that the holy angels who during life keep us in all our ways, will bear us up in their hands when life’s journey is ended. To this there are not wanting trustworthy witnesses. It is not long since you heard it read to you of our holy father St. Benedict (blessed in everything else as well as in name) how that, whilst his gaze appeared to be riveted on the splendour of some dazzling light, he beheld the soul of Germanus, Bishop of Capua, being borne to heaven by angels in the form of a fiery globe. But wherefore do I offer you human testimony ? For Truth Itself tells us in the Gospel concerning the poor ulcerous mendicant that “he was carried by angels into Abraham’s bosom.” How indeed could we walk without their assistance in ways so new to us, and in a land so entirely unknown, especially since there is a “ stone of stumbling” in our path? What is this stone? The stone here is the wicked one who was wont in times past to be worshipped in stones, and who offered stones to the Lord, saying, “ If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Moreover, thy foot is thy affection*: her affection is the foot of thy soul which the angels bear up in their hands lest she should dash it against the stone. Oh, how could any soul be otherwise than extremely alarmed if she had to make alone that last long journey, if she had to enter upon those perilous paths without consolation, if she had to walk with her own feet along that stone-bestrewn way ! ;

But I will offer thee yet stronger proof of the need thou hast to be borne in other hands, and in none other than those of the angels. ‘‘ Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk : and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon.” How should the human foot fare amongst such stones? What affection of the soul could pass without hurt through the midst of such horrible monsters; which are nothing else than the “spirits of wickedness,” here designated by most appropriate symbolic names? For it is of them the Psalmist has told thee what I do not believe thou hast forgotten, namely, that “a thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand.” But perhaps we may suppose that the powers of hell have so divided amongst them the works of malice, the functions of iniquity, that, deriving their names from their particular offices, they are called—one an asp, another a basilisk, a third a lion, and a fourth a dragon: In other words, they are named asps, or basilisks, or lions, or dragons, according to their special invisible manner of injuring souls, whether by their bite, or by their glance, or by their roar and violence, or even by their breath. I remember to have read in the Gospel of a certain kind of evil spirit that it “is not cast out but by prayer and fasting.” The words of apostolic reproof had no power to dislodge it. Have we not here the asp which the Psalmist represents as deaf, where he says, “ Like a deaf asp that stoppeth her ears, which will not hear the voice of the charmer ” ? Dost thou desire to be delivered from the fear of so terrible a monster? Dost thou desire to be able after death to walk upon this formidable asp ? If so, be careful not to walk after him in life. Take care not to imitate him now and he shall have no power to frighten thee hereafter.

There is one vice, my brethren, over which, as it seems to me, this kind of devil has full dominion. And if you wish to know what it is, it is that spiritual circuitousness, against which I warned you in yesterday’s discourse : it is that obstinacy which I admonished you to beware of in the sermon last preceding. .For I never weary of warning you (whenever the opportunity offers) to avoid with all diligence so deadly a pest. Indeed this vice is the subversion of all religion ; and according to the testimony of the Hebrew Legislator, “the venom of asps is incurable.” It is said to be the custom of the asp to press one of his ears as strongly as he can against the ground, and to stop the other with the end of his tail, so as to prevent himself from hearing. How then can he be influenced by the voice of the charmer, by the voice of the preacher? I can only pray for him; I can only humble my soul in penance for him ; I can only baptise myself for his dead soul in an abundant flood of compassionate tears: for I see that such a one is spiritually dead, and that no wisdom of human charmer, no labour of human admonisher can overcome his insensibility. However, let the obstinate soul remember that it is not in heaven but in the earth the asp is wont to hide his head. For the wisdom which is from above is, according to St. James, not only “modest,” but also “ peaceable,” that is to say, docile ; whilst the stubborn wisdom of the asp cannot but be “ of the earth, earthly.” But the pressing of his ear to the earth would not be enough to cause complete deafness, unless his tail were also employed to stop his hearing. Now what does this tail signify ? It signifies the evil end which the soul proposes to herself in her intentions. This it is which makes her deafness desperate. For now she is on the one hand bowed to the earth by her attachment to her own will, and on the other hand, by bending back her tail (if I may so speak), she assiduously contemplates and holds steadily before her mind the evil object which she wishes to obtain. Do not, my brethren, do not, I beg of you, ever stop the ear of your conscience, ever harden your hearts. For the reason why the mouth of the obstinate man is always full of sharp and bitter words is this, because no benevolent admonition can penetrate to his soul. Hence the poison of the asp is always felt in the sting of his tongue, because he has hardened himself with so much diligence against the tongue of the charmer.

The basilisk is the most baneful and abominable of all irrational creatures. It is said to carry its venom in its eye. Do you wish to know what this venomous eye, this evil eye, this fascinating eye, signifies spiritually ? Believe me, it is the vice of envy. For what is it to be envious but to look with an evil eye? Were the devil that seduced our first parents not a basilisk, death would never have entered the world by his envy. Alas for miserable man, that he does not take due precautions against this envious one! My brethren, let us overcome this vice whilst we are still in the body, if we wish to have no fear after death of a demon of such monstrous iniquity. Let no one look with an envious eye upon his brother’s spiritual prosperity. For by doing so he infects it with his poison, so to speak, and in a manner kills it—as far as it depends upon him. “ Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer,” according to the testimony of Truth. And what of him who hates the spiritual good of his brother ? Does he not likewise deserve to becalled a murderer ? In the former case, thy brother still lives, yet thou art guilty of his death ; in the latter the fire of charity, which the Lord Jesus came to cast upon the earth, still burns in the breast of thy brother, and nevertheless thou art already condemned as having by thy envy extinguished the flame.

But woe to us because of the dragon! For the dragon is a monster of prodigious size, which kills whatever it touches with its fiery breath, as well the birds of heaven as the beasts of the earth. In my opinion, by this dragon is to be understood the spirit of anger. How many, even of those who appeared to beliving a life of exalted virtue, have we not lamented to see miserably blasted by the dragon’s breath and falling shamefully into his mouth! How much better had it been for them to have been angry with themselves, as the Psalmist counsels, so that they might not sin!

The human passion of anger is a good natural affection : but the abuse of the gifts of nature brings heavy loss and lamentable ruin. Therefore, my brethren, let us exercise this passion in its legitimate sphere, lest otherwise it should begin to occupy itself with things illicit or unprofitable. It is thus that one love is wont to destroy another; and thus one fear is accustomed to be expelled by another. “Be not afraid of them who kill the body,” says the Lord, “and after that have no more than they can do.” And He added immediately, “ But I will shew you Whom you shall fear : fear Him Who, after He hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say to you, fear Him.” That is to say, we are to fear God in order to be delivered from the fear of man: we are to be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord, and then there shall be no room in us for any other fear. And I counsel you, my dearest brethren, yet not I but the Lord, not I but Truth: be not angry with them who take from you transitory goods, or who heap insult upon you, or who even perchance inflict upon you physical suffering, “and after that have no more that they can do.” But I will show you what you ought to be angry with. Be angry with that which alone has power to hurt you, which alone can prevent all temporal evils from benefiting rather than injuring you. Shall I tell you what it is? It is your own personal iniquity. ‘‘ Yea, I say to you,” be angry with that. For no adversity shall have power to harm you if no iniquity reigns in you.* He who is angry as he ought to be, with this evil, shall be found indifferent to all others, or he will even welcome them. “I am ready for stripes,” he will say with the Psalmist ; “‘ come reverses, come reproaches, come bodily pain : ‘ I am ready and am not disturbed,’ because ‘my sorrow (for my sins) is always in my sight.” Why should we not esteem as nothing all external troubles in comparison with this domestic affliction ? Why should we not, each of us, say with King David, “‘ Behold my son who came forth from my bowels persecuteth me, and shall I be angry with an impudent servant? ” “ My heart is troubled, my strength hath left me, and the light of my eyes itself is not with me ” : and shall I bewail temporal losses ? shall I allow myself to be troubled by bodily discomforts ?

It is thus, my brethren, that we acquire not only the spirit of meekness which the dragon’s breath cannot injure, but also a magnanimity which the roaring of the lion cannot terrify, “Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion goeth about,” says the Apostle Peter. Yes, he can roar, but thanks to the great “ Lion of the tribe of Juda,” he cannot hurt us. Let him roar as much as he pleases: but let not the flock of Christ flee from him. How he threatens! How he rages! How he strives to overwhelm us with fear! But let us stand firm. Let us not show ourselves such helpless beasts as to be overcome by his mere roaring. We are told by writers who have made a careful study of these matters, that no animal can stand before the roařing of the lion, not even such as will repel his actual onslaught with the greatest courage ; he puts to rout by his roaring the enemy that would resist his attack. He, therefore, is truly a beast, truly devoid of reason, whosoever is so pusillanimous as to succumb to pure fear, who is conquered before the battle by the mere anticipation of labour, who is slain not by the sword but by the trumpet. “You have not yet resisted unto blood,” said that strenuous leader, who knew so well how harmless is the roaring of the infernal lion. And another Apostle tells us, “ Resist the devil and he will fly from you.”

FOURTEENTH SERMON ON PSALM XC.

ON GOD’S FOURFOLD CLAIM TO OUR GRATITUDE; ON THE DEVIL’S FOURFOLD TEMPTATION, AND ON THE FOURFOLD VIRTUE WHEREWITH THIS MUST BE ENCOUNTERED.

“Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk : and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon.”

My brethren, let us give thanks to our Creator, to our Benefactor, to our Redeemer, to Him in Whom we have placed all our hope, or I should rather say, to Him Who is Himself all ourhope. For He Who is our Redeemer already, is likewise to be our Reward : nor do we now seek from Him any other reward than Himself.* We are ourselves the first gift He has bestowed upon us. For, as the Psalmist sings, “‘ He made us and not we ourselves.” Dost thou, O man, esteem it a small favour that He has made thee? But consider what He has made thee: a noble creature, even according to thy material part, yet nobler far in thy soul, which is stamped with the Creator’s likeness, endowed with the faculty of reason, and with the capacity for everlasting bliss. Moreover, according to both soul and body, thou hast been made admirable above all other earthly creatures, thy two elements of spirit and flesh being united together in an incomprehensible manner by the unsearchable wisdom of the Creator. And in proportion to the greatness of man is the greatness of the favour which God has done thee by creating thee. What is more, that favour was entirely gratuitous. Can it be doubted? Before his creation, clearly, man had no merit, since as yet he had no being at all. But perhaps it was expected that after receiving existence he would make an adequate return to his Maker? “I have said to the Lord,” sings the Psalmist, “ Thou art my God, for Thou hast no need of my goods.” Therefore there was no expectation that man would render requital to Him Who is absolutely self-sufficing, but he was expected to render humble thanks to Him Who has so many claims to his gratitude. Why should he not return thanks? Were another to restore to thee the light of thy eyes, or the power of hearing, or the sense of smell, or the free control of hand or foot, or the use of reason, by some cause suspended : who would not be violently angry with thee if he found thee at any time either forgetful of the benefit, or ungrateful to the benefactor? But the Lord thy God has given thee not only the use and exercise of thy members and faculties, but the members and faculties themselves, all of which He created for thee out of nothing. Yes, it was He Who made them, Who formed and fashioned them, and appointed its proper function for each. How then does He not deserve by every right and title all the gratitude thou art capable of for benefits so great ?

But not content with creating thee, great though that benefit was, He Who caused thee to be when before thou wert not, gave thee also the means of preserving thy existence. And He showed Himself as generous in this as He was admirable in the work of thy creation. Regarding the first benefit He said, ‘‘Let Us make man to Our image and likeness,” but with respect to the second, “ Let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth.” He had already announced that the heavenly bodies were created for thy use ; for they are represented as having been made in order to be “for signs and for seasons, for days and years.” For whose benefit, thinkest thou ? Evidently for thine alone ; because other creatures either have no need of such things, or have no understanding thereof. How bountiful He has been in this second benefit, how incomparably generous! How liberally He has provided for thy support, for thy instruction, for thy consolation, for thy correction also, if ever thou shouldst need it, yea, and even for thy innocent pleasure! And both these benefits were doubly gratuitous. Why do I say they were doubly gratuitous? Because they neither cost thee any merit to obtain, nor the Lord any labour to bestow. For ‘‘ He spoke and they were made, He commanded and they were created.” But oughtest thou to be the less devoted to Him, the less indebted to Him, the less grateful to Him, for the reason that the benefits obtained cost Him no more to give than they cost thee to acquire? It is one of the characteristics of a perverted heart to seek out occasions of ingratitude. No one acts in this way but he who is disposed to be ungrateful even without occasion or excuse. I suppose thou wilt acknowledge that neither of these two benefits of God is the less useful to thee because it cost thy Benefactor no labour? But if, perchance, thou shouldst esteem gifts bestowed upon thee the more highly in proportion to the trouble and expense to the donor, thou hast this judgment from thyself, and (as I think) hast learned it from no other teacher than thine own heart. Thou dost not even allow it to be used as a standard by thine own beneficiaries. For thou art more willing to oblige thy brother whenever thou canst do so without inconvenience to thyself. And nevertheless, although the act of kindness has cost thee nothing, thou shouldst be very displeased if that were alleged as an excuse for ingratitude.

But consider now the third benefit of God, I mean the work of thy redemption. With regard to this, at any rate thou hast not even the shadow of an excuse for ingratitude, since it certainly cost thy Benefactor labour. It was indeed a gratuitous favour, yet only free of cost so far as concerned thee, not also on the side of the Redeemer. Thou hast been saved without merit on thy part, but not without suffering on His. Wherefore, then, does thy affection still slumber ? Nay, it must be rather dead than slumbering, if it does not respond to a benefit so great, if it does not pour itself out unreservedly in “ thanksgiving and the voice of praise.” For this third benefit powerfully commends the two preceding, by most evidently proving them to have been the genuine effects of love, which were bestowed without labour on the part of God, not because He was unwilling to bestow them otherwise, but because it was not expedient that He should otherwise bestow them. Therefore the Lord thy God made thee; He made many other creatures for thee; aye, and He even made Himself for thee.

For what says the Evangelist? “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” What more remains for Him to do? One thing more. He has made Himself one flesh with thee : He designs now to make thee one spirit with Himself. O my brother, never allow any of these four favours to leave thy heart, or thy lips, or thy memory, or thy affection. Keep the thought of them ever in thy mind, and the joy of them ever in thy heart. Employ each one of them as a stimulant to spur on thy soul; make use of them as torches to set thy heart on fire. Thus shalt thou make Him a return of love, Who has proved His love for thee in so many ways. But remember His words to the disciples, “ If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Therefore, keep the commandments of thy Creator, keep the commandments of thy Benefactor, of thy Redeemer, of thy Rewarder.

The benefits, then, are four: how many are the commandments? We all know that they are ten in number: now multiply ten by four, the tenfold observance of the law by the fourfold thanksgiving, and thou hast forty, the mystic quadragesimal number. Only be sure now to “stand in justice and fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation.” Beware of the serpent’s craft; be on thy guard against the enemy’s ambush. For he will endeavour to prevent by a fourfold temptation the fourfold thanksgiving thou art required to make. The Lord Jesus Himself was tempted in all these ways, as St. Paul truly testifies, where he says of Him that “He was tempted in all things like as we are, without sin.” Perhaps there may be someone who is surprised at this and saying to himself, “I do not remember to have read of any fourth temptation of the Lord.” But I think such a one will be convinced of what I say if he recalls the testimony of holy Job, ‘‘ The life of man upon earth is a warfare.’ For bearing this in mind, he will understand that the temptations to intemperance in the desert, to vainglory on the pinnacle, and to ambition on the mountain-top, were not the only ones endured by Christ.* Each of these was a manifest temptation. But more violent than any of them, although also more secret, was the temptation which from that time never left Him until His death on the cross. Nor is the hiddenness of this long-continued trial out of keeping with the correspondence I have asserted to exist between the four benefits and the four temptations. For with regard to the benefits also, the three preceding, which have been already conferred, are, as thou knowest, very apparent and visible; whilst the fourth, which is to fulfil our longing for eternal life, has not yet been bestowed, not yet experienced. What wonder, therefore, if the fourth temptation is concealed, since the benefit which occasions it is also concealed ? But it is the most powerful and persistent of them all, because in it the wicked one makes use of all the resources of his malice to frustrate our hope.

In the first place, therefore, he strives to render thee ungrateful to the Author of thy nature by inspiring thee with an excessive solicitude for that nature : just as he had the impudence to say to Christ Himself during His fast in the desert, “‘ Command that these stones be made bread.” As if He Who fashioned us did not know our weakness and our many corporal necessities : as if He had no care for men Who feeds the very birds of the air! Oh,what ingratitude art thou guilty of towards Him Who, for thy sake, created the whole material universe, if ever thou shouldst dare to fall down and adore the demon, in order to obtain from him the worldly wealth thou dost covet! ‘‘ All these will I give thee,” he says, “if falling down thou wilt adore me.” O most miserable one! Art thou, then, the creator of the things thou dost promise ? Or how canst thou bestow what the Lord has created? Or how are those goods which He has made and retains in His own possession to be hoped for from thee, and to be purchased by paying thee homage? But as to the diabolical suggestion, “ Cast thyself down,” be on thy guard, who-soever thou art that hast been placed on the pinnacle of the temple ; be careful of thyself, thou who standest in the watch-tower of the house of God ; beware thou who appearest to hold the position of honour and eminence in the Church of Christ. How ungrateful shouldst thou prove thyself, nay rather how unjust to Him Who has entrusted to thy stewardship that “ great mystery of piety,” if thou wert to administer the same for thine own profit, ‘supposing gain to be godliness’?! How unfaithful wouldst thou be to Him Who has consecrated this ministry with His own most precious Blood, if in it thou soughtest only thine own glory, which is nothing, if thou soughtest the things that are thine own, “not the things that are Jesus Christ’s ” ! How unworthily wouldst thou correspond to His incredible condescension, Who has made thee so honourable in the dispensation of mysteries where He appears Himself so humble, Who has committed to thy charge His

I, 8 holy sacraments, and invested thee with heavenly powers, with powers perhaps greater than He has communicated even to the supernal spirits: how unworthily wouldst thou correspond to all this goodness, wert thou to “ cast thyself down ” by “ minding (not) the things that are above,” but “the things that are upon the earth” |! Yea, everyone that descends or casts himself down from the sublimity of virtue to the quest after vainglory, undoubtedly requites with insult the goodness of the “ Lord of virtues,” Who suffered so much on earth in order to stamp our souls with the seal of His own divine sanctity.

Let us consider more attentively the first temptation, which takes occasion from corporal necessity to attack the soul; and let us see whether it ought not to be likened to the asp. This reptile wounds by fiercely biting, and stops its ears so that it may not hear the voice of the charmer. Now, what does the tempter strive to do in such temptations? He endeavours to stop and deafen the ear of the heart against the consolations of faith. But “the enemy had no advantage over Him” Who said, “ not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God,” for he could not stop the spiritual ear of Christ. As to the temptation wherein it is said, “ All these will I give thee, if falling down Thou wilt adore me,” do you not discern in it the very hiss of the infernal dragon insidiously inciting to sin? * This monster, we are told, lying concealed in the sand, can draw down to him by the power of his poisonous breath even the birds as they fly in the air.. And what deadly poison was contained in that breath which he breathed upon the Lord, when he spoke the words, ‘“ All these will I give Thee, if falling down Thou wilt adore me ” ! But Christ was not like other birds, and the dragon’s breath had no power to do Him harm.

What shall I say of the basilisk? The most terrible of all beasts is he, and the very sight of him is sufficient (so we are assured) to poison and kill human beings. Unless I mistake, this monstrous creature is a type of vainglory.* “Take heed,” said the Saviour, “that you do not your justice before men, to beseen by them.” As if He should say to us, ‘‘ Beware of the eyes of the basilisk.” But whom are we told the basilisk has power to hurt? Only the man who does not see the basilisk. For if thou seest him before he has seen thee, he can do thee no harm, but (so they say) dies himself. At any rate, such is the case with the spiritual basilisk. Vainglory can kill only such as do not see it, the blind and the negligent, who expose themselves to it and present themselves before it : who

“ So having said, a while he stood, expecting Their universal shout and high applause To fill his ear : when contrary he hears On all sides from innumerable tongues

A dismal universal hiss, the sound Of public scorn.’’—Paradise Lost, x. 504-509.

Cf. Virgil also :— ‘ Saucius et serpens sinuosa volumina versat, Arrectisque horret squamis, et sibilat ore, Arduus insurgens.’’—/£n., xi. 753-756. — (Translator. )

do not rather fix their eyes upon it, observe it, study it, and perceive how silly a thing it is, how transitory, how vain, how worthless. For thou slayest the basilisk by scrutinising him in this manner: thou art not conquered by vainglory, but art rather its conqueror and destroyer, having reduced it to smoke (so to speak), yea, brought it even to nothingness. There is no need, I think, to explain why I have understood as referring to vainglory the temptation contained in the words, “ If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down.” For wherefore would He consent to do such a thing but in order to beseen and applauded by the crowd ?

But notice, my brethren, how the basilisk concealed himself, so that he might not be observed before he was an observer. “For it is written,” he said, “ that He hath given His angels charge over thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up.” What is written, O malignant one? What, I ask, is written? “ He hath given His angels charge over thee.” Yes, but what is the charge He hath given? Consider, my brethren, and take notice how this wicked and deceitful basilisk suppresses that which would expose his imposture. For what is the charge given by God to His angels? That which follows in the psalm, “To keep thee in all thy ways.” But does He charge them to keep me even if I should throw myself down a precipice? O miserable one, what manner of way is this which thou art suggesting, this headlong plunge from the pinnacle of the temple? Surely it would be more proper to speak of it as a ruinous fall than as a simple way. Or if a way it be, it is thy way, but not mine. Vainly hast thou employed as a temptation against the Head what was written for the comfort of the body. For it is the body that requires to beguarded, and that occasions the fear lest it dash its foot against a stone. But the Head, Who has nothing to be afraid of, has consequently no need of protection.* Why dost thou not quote the passage which follows : “Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon”? Because no doubt these words appertain to thyself. Monstrous malignity is here designated by monstrous appellatives, and represented as doomed to betrampled on, not only by the Head, but by the whole body as well. For after having been thrice put to confusion, the demon no longer attacked the Lord with the craft of the serpent,f but exhibited against Him thenceforward the cruelty of the lion, unto contumely, and stripes, and blows, and death, yea, unto the death of the cross. However, the “Lion of the tribe of Juda hath conquered” and manifestly “ trampled under foot the lion”’ of hell. So also against ourselves, my brethren, when he finds his other temptations unavailing, the infernal enemy gives full vent to his ferocious anger, and stirs up a persecution “such as hath not been from the beginning,” in order that at least the bitterness of the tribulation might shut against our hopes the city of God. Happy the soul that, mighty in her virtue, tramples even the lion under foot, and prevails so far as to bear away by violence the kingdom of heaven !

Therefore, my dearest brethren, let us proceed in future with the utmost wariness and circumspection,

The asp, basilisk, and dragon are comprehended under the generic name of serpent.-—(Translator.)

like persons walking on asps and basilisks. Let us be always on our guard against every “‘ root of bitterness,” so that none of us may be found fractious, or arrogant, or impatient, or unforgiving, or disobedient. Let us not cast ourselves down, but rather let us rise above and leap over the deadly fascination of temporal glory; so that, according to what is written— “ A net is spread in vain before the eyes of them that have wings ’’—we may also “trample under foot the lion and the dragon,” undismayed by the roaring of the one, and untouched by the poison of the other. These four monsters, so it seems to me, lie in wait for the four cardinal passions of our nature, one for each. What passion does the dragon study to surprise? Doubtless, cupidity, because he knows that it is the root of all evils, and how readily. it corrupts the heart. Hence he said to the Lord with such urgency, “ All these will I give Thee, if falling down Thou wilt adore me.” As for the lion, there is no need to inform you that his terrific roaring is only heard at the gates of fear. The asp is known to haunt the threshold of sadness and he hopes by his biting to gnaw his way through the door. Hence he did not dare to approach Christ until he observed Him to be hungry. Joy, on the other hand, has need to beware of the basilisk, because it is by the avenue of this affection that he is wont to dart into the soul his poisonous glances: that is to say, vainglory can only hurt us by means of the vain joy it engenders.*

the dragon, Antichrist. For other interpretations see Bellarmin’s Commentary.—(Translator.)

But consider also, my brethren, if we cannot oppose to these four temptations the four cardinal virtues. Where is the man that does not tremble when the lion begins to roar? If there beany such, look upon him as a man of fortitude. But when the lion has been baffled, the dragon conceals himself in the sand, in order to attract the soul by his poisonous breath, blowing into her (if I may so speak) the desire for earthly things. Who shall be able to avoid this hidden danger? No one certainly but the man of prudence. But perhaps whilst thou art carefully guarding thyself against both the lion and the dragon, thou meetest with some disappointment : and behold the asp makes his appearance at once, because this he regards as a favourable opportunity. Who shall avoid impatience under the sting of this asp? Only he that is temperate and modest, knowing, like the Apostle, how “to abound and to suffer need.” It is now, I think, after such victories, that the evil eye (of the basilisk) will try to fascinate thee with its treacherous charms. And shalt thou be able to turn away thy face? Most assuredly, if yet thou art a just man, who not only does not take to himself the glory that belongs to God, but even declines to accept it when offered to him by another; who not merely does what is just, but does it justly; who does not his justice before men to beseen by them; who, lastly, does not make his justice a reason for holding his head high. For the virtue of justice is closely related to humility *; it is the virtue which purifies the intention ; and it acquires merit the more truly and abundantly in proportion as it arrogates nothing to itself.

FIFTEENTH SERMON ON PSALM XC.

ON THE INSUFFICIENCY OF HUMAN AND ANGELIC PROTECTION, WITHOUT THE DIVINE; AND ON WHAT IS MEANT BY KNOWING THE NAME OF GOD.

“ Because he hoped in Me, I will deliver him: I will protect him because he hath known My name.”

“ Come to Me all you that labour and are burdened,” says the Lord Jesus,“ and I will refresh you. Take up My yoke upon you . . . and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is sweet and My burden light.” He calls to refreshment them that labour, He invites to rest them that are burdened. Nevertheless, He does not promise to relieve them at once of every labour and burden, but only to exchange the labour and the burden which oppresses them for another, for a sweet yoke and a light burden, wherein, although it is not apparent how, they shall yet find rest and refreshment. Heavy, no doubt, is the burden of iniquity, sitting upon the talent of lead.* Under this weight was the Psalmist groaning when he exclaimed, “ My iniquities are gone over my head, and as a heavy burden are become heavy upon me.” What, then, is the burden of Christ? What is this light burden which He offers us? As I believe, it is the burden of His benefits. A light and sweet burden, surely, yet only for him who feels it, who has experience of it ; because the Saint’s reading differed apparently from the Vulgate. Cf. Sermons on the Canticle of Canticles, vol. i. p. 268.—(Translator).

FIFTEENTH SERMON ON PSALM XC 28r if thou feelest it not or dost not make account of it, it becomes very heavy indeed, yea, and very dangerous. Man, my brethren, is a beast of burden during the whole time of his mortality. If he yet bears the weight of his sins, his burden is an oppressive one. If the load of guilt has perchance been removed from his shoulders, he is now indeed less painfully laden ; but if he is truly wise, he shall discover this very unburdening to be itself no less sensible a burden than the burden of which it relieves him. For God burdens us by unburdening us. He burdens us with His goodness when He unburdens us of our sins. Listen to the voice of a benefit-burdened soul: “‘ What shall I render to the Lord for all the things that He hath rendered to me ?”’ Listen to another, “ Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” And to another, “ I have always feared God as waves swelling over me, and His weight I was not able to bear.” “I have always feared,” says holy Job. That is, not only before, but also after obtaining the benefit of grace and pardon. Happy he who is thus always fearful, and is as much afraid of being oppressed by the benefits of God as by the weight of his own sins! *

My brethren, the reason why, in the Holy Scriptures, the divine beneficence, so constant and so bountiful towards us, is kept continually before our eyes, is in order to excite us to gratitude and to inflame us with love. “He hath given His angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways.” “What more could (He) have done for thee and hath not done it? ” But I know what thou art now thinking of, high-born creature that thou art. Thou art thankful indeed to the angels of the Lord for their kindness in keeping thee: but thy soul is yearning for the Lord of the angels. Thou art wishing and praying that He would not be content with sending servants, but would come and speak to thee Himself ; that He would kiss thee, not through any intermediary, but with the kiss of His own Mouth. Thou hast heard Him promise that “ thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon’’; nor art thou unaware of the victory won over the dragon by Michael and his angels. Nevertheless, not to Michael, but to Michael’s Lord do thy desires cry aloud, ‘‘ Deliver me, O Lord, and set me beside Thee, and let any man’s hand fight against me.” The soul that has such dispositions may be said to seek a refuge not only higher than what is high, but higher than all except the highest. Therefore, inasmuch as she says with sincerity, “ Because Thou, O Lord, art my hope,” she deserves to receive the answer, ‘‘ Thou hast made the Most High thy refuge.”

For the Lord, Who is “ compassionate and merciful,” does not disdain to be the hope of the miserable ; He does not refuse to show Himself the Deliverer and the Protector of them that trust in Him. “ Because he hoped in Me, I will deliver Him: I will protect him, because he hath known My name.” Very necessary is this protection; for “unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it,” whether he be an angel or a man. ‘‘ Mount-tains are round about” Jerusalem, but that would not be sufficient for its protection, nay, it would be no protection at all, unless also ‘‘ the Lord is round about His people.” With reason, therefore, is it said of the Spouse in the Canticle, that after finding “ the watch-men who kept the city ”—I should rather have said, after she had been found by the watchmen, since ‘she was not seeking them but the Bridegroom—she did not pause, but having questioned them briefly concerning her Beloved, sped forward more swiftly in pursuit of Him. For her heart had put its hope, not in the watchmen, but in the Lord. And had anyone tried to induce her to seek a refuge outside of Him, she was ready to answer with the Psalmist, “ In the Lord I put my trust: how do you say to my soul: Get thee away from hence to the mountain like a sparrow ? ” The Corinthians were not careful to follow this example of the Spouse. For on meeting the watchmen, they turned aside to tarry with them instead of passing on, and so began to say, “ I indeed am of Paul, and I am of Apollo, and I am of Cephas.” But what was the conduct of these sober-minded sentinels, these vigilant watchmen ?—for they could not keep the Spouse to themselves, being virtuously jealous of her, jealous of her “with the jealousy of God,” and having “espoused (her) to one Husband, that they might present (her) as a chaste virgin to Christ.” ‘‘ They struck me and wounded me,” she complains. Wherefore did they treat her thus? Unless I mistake, they were trying to make her pass on in order that she might find her Beloved. And she adds, “The keepers of the walls took away my mantle from me,” doubtless to enable her to run more freely. It is worth while noticing with how much force the Apostle strikes and with what kind of arrows he wounds those whom he considered to be tarrying with the watchmen, when they should be passing on. ‘“‘ Was Paul then crucified for you? ” he asks, “ or were you baptised in the name of Paul?” And again, “ For while one saith: I indeed am of Paul ; and another, I am of Apollo; are you not men? What then is Apollo, and what is Paul? The ministers of Him Whom you have believed.” ‘‘ Because he hoped in Me, I will deliver him.” This may be paraphrased thus: “Not in the keepers, whether men or angels, hath he hoped, but in Me, expecting nothing of good even at their hands, except from Me. For he knows that “every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.’ From Me is the vigilance which men keep over him in his external conduct, because I have entrusted this to the care of human keepers. From Me likewise is the watchful guardianship of the holy angels, who observe the more hidden affections of his soul, powerfully excite him to virtue, and repel the suggestions of the wicked one. But the intimate surveillance over the most secret thoughts and intentions of his heart is not only from Me, but must also be exercised by Me in person, because no created eye, human or angelic, can penetrate to this sanctuary.” *

as they exist in the intellect, and the affections (intentions) as they are in the will. In this way none but God can know am sie |

My brethren, let us acknowledge these three orders of keepers ; and with respect to each, let us discharge the duties which are incumbent upon us. Let us imitate the Apostle by “‘ providing good things not only in the sight of God but also in the sight of all men,”

‘and in the sight of the angels. Let us endeavour to please all in all, but especially Him Who is supreme and sovereign over all. Let us “sing praise to Him in the sight of the angels,” so that in these blessed spirits may be fulfilled what is written, “ They that

‘fear Thee shall see me and shall beglad: because I have greatly hoped in Thy words.” “ Obey your prelates and be subject to them,” as the Apostle commands, “for they watch as being to render an account of your souls: that they may do this with joy and not with grief.’’ But indeed, brethren, I must confess that there is not much need to admonish you concerning this duty, that I have not much cause for anxiety with regard to your obedience, all thanks to God to Whose grace it is entirely due. For what is my joy and my glory if it be not your ready obedience, and your irreproachable lives? And if I could have the certain assurance that the angels also can discover nothing unworthy in you; that nothing of the anathema of Jericho* is the thoughts of the heart or the affections (intentions) of the will. The reason is: because the will of a rational creature is subject to God alone, and He alone can work on it, as being its principal Object and ultimate End. And hence those things which depend upon or exist in the will alone can beknown (directly) only to Him. Now it is manifest that it depends on the will whether the intellect actually considers such or such objects, because when one has the habit of science, or the ea intelligibles in his mind, he can use them as he wills, ” (St. Thomas, Sum. Theol., I. q. lvii. a. ivi—(Translator.)

concealed in any of you; that none of you is guilty of murmuring or of secret detraction; that none of you is insincere or remiss in religious observance ; that none of you entertains in his mind illicit images, which, alas! are wont to produce evil motions even in the body: had I full certainty on all these points, my joy and my glory would no doubt be greatly increased ; although they would not as yet be perfect. For we are not so great as to be able to esteem it “a small thing ” that we cannot be judged “ by man’s day,” much less are we so great as to count it “a small thing” that we “are not conscious to ourselves of anything.” But if even the truly great dread the secret Judge, how much more does it become us to think of His scrutiny with fear and trembling? Oh, if it were only given me to know for certain that there is nothing in any one of us displeasing to the eyes of Him Who alone has perfect knowledge of what is in man, and Who sees in him even that which he does not perceive himself! Dearest brethren, let us reflect with all possible diligence on that divine judgment. Let us fearfully, tremblingly, consider it in our meditations, and the more so, the less we are able to penetrate the unfathomable abyss of God’s judgments, or His irrevocable decrees. Accompanied with this fear, our hope shall have merit: when we are thus solicitous, our expectation shall not be in vain. Moreover, if you consider the matter carefully, you shall find that this very fear is itself the most solid and secure ground of our hope. For this fear is one of the greatest of God’s gifts. Now the bestowal of present benefits confirms our expectation of favours still in store. Besides we are assured by the Psalmist that “the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him.” But if there is “life in His good will,” as the same Prophet tells us surely in His “ pleasure” is everlasting salvation. ‘‘ Because he hoped in Me, I will deliver him.” With what sweetness and generosity does God here promise never to fail them that put their trust in Him! For this is the whole merit of man, the placing of all his hope in Him Who can save him, body and soul. ‘In Thee,” sings the Psalmist, “have our fathers hoped ; they have hoped, and Thou hast delivered them. They cried to Thee, and they were saved ; they trusted in Thee, and were not confounded.” Who ever “hath hoped in the Lord and hath been confounded’? Therefore, “trust in Him, all ye congregation of people.” For “every place that your foot shall tread upon, shall be yours.” Your foot is your hope.* Consequently, hope has a promise to obtain whatever it shall extend itself to, if yet it is entirely grounded on the divine goodness, so that it may be firm and stagger not. Why should it fear the asp or the basilisk? Why should it dread the lion’s roar or the hiss of the dragon ?

“Because he hoped in Me, I will deliver him.” “ Besides, after delivering him, ‘I will protect him’ and watch over him, lest he should be attacked again, and again be in need of deliverance ; provided, however, that ‘he hath known My name’ ; provided only he hath not attributed his deliverance to his own virtue, but hath given glory to My name.” “I will protect him because he hath known My name.” The unveiling of His Countenance shall be our glorification. But meantime we must seek for our salvation in the knowledge of His name. His name gives us hope, His presence shall give us, not hope, but happiness. “ For what aman seeth, why doth he hope for? ” So speaks St. Paul, who tells us elsewhere that “faith cometh by hearing.” And in another place he defines faith as “the substance of things to be hoped for.” * “I will protect him, because he hath known My name.” But fe hath not known the name of the Lord whosoever takes it in vain, whosoever says to Him, “ Lord, Lord,” and doth not the things which He says. And he hath not known His name who neither honours Him as a Father nor fears Him as a Lord. He also hath not known His name who attends to “ vanities and lying follies.”

‘“ Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord,” says the Royal Prophet, “and who hath not regard to vanities and lying follies.” But the name of the Lord was known to him who said, “ For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved.” And we, my brethren, if we have indeed known that holy name which is “invoked upon us,” we must desire to see it always hallowed in us; and we must pray for this, saying, according to the formula prescribed by the Lord, “Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.” Listen to what follows in the psalm I am expounding, “ He hath cried to Me and I will hear him.” This, my brethren, is the fruit of the knowledge of the Lord’s name, the strong cry of fervent prayer. And further, the fruit of the cry is the hearing of the

FIFTEENTH SERMON ON PSALM KC 289 -

Saviour. For how can anyone be heard by the Lord if he does not call upon Him? Or how can he call upon Him if he hath not known His name? All thanks to Him Who has revealed to men the Father’s name, and in the invocation thereof constituted the fruit of salvation, according to what is written in the Prophet Joel, “ Every one that shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Amen.

SIXTEENTH SERMON ON PSALM XC.

ON HOLY DESIRES, AND ON THE THREE GREAT BENEFITS WE MUST PRAY AND HOPE FOR.

“ He hath cried to Me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation. I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.”

“ He hath cried to Me, and I will hear him.” Here manifestly we have a “ testament of peace,” a pledge of piety, a compact of mercy and compassion. “‘ He hoped in Me,” saith the Lord, “and I will deliver him ; he hath known My name and I will protect him ; he hath cried to Me, and I will hear him.” He does not say, “he is deserving, he is just, he is righteous, he is ‘innocent in hands and clean of heart,’ therefore will I deliver him, and protect him, and hear him.”’ Had He used this or similar language, who would not despair? For who will venture to boast that his heart is perfectly pure? But now “ with Thee there is merciful forgiveness, and by reason of (this) Thy law I have waited for (sustinui—hoped in Thee), O Lord.” A most sweet law this, which places the right to be heard in the very cry of petition. “He shall cry to me,” saith the Lord, “and I will hear him.” And justly is a hearing refused to the soul that neglects to cry, either not praying at all, or praying with tepidity and indevotion. A loud cry in the ears of God is the ardour of strong desire.* On the other hand, a weak desire resembles the subdued sound of a whisper. How shall this ce

SIXTEENTH SERMON ON PSALM XC 291r penetratetheclouds? Howshallit beheardinheaven ? Therefore at the very beginning of the Lord’s Prayer it is mentioned that the Father to Whom we are about to address ourselves has His home in heaven, in order to remind us that we must cry aloud and that our petition must be, as it were, shot up to Him by the impulsive force of spiritual fervour. For “‘ God is a Spirit,” and whosoever wishes that his cry shall come to Him, must cry in the spirit. Just as He does not, like man, look upon the face of man, but “ regardeth the heart ” ; so His ears are open rather to the desire of the heart than to the voice of the lips. Hence it was that once, when Moses was silent exteriorly, the Lord said to him, ‘‘ Why criest thou to Me?” For the affection of the Lawgiver’s heart had sounded in His ears as a strong cry. Rightly therefore does the Royal Prophet call him “the God of my heart.”

“ He hath cried to Me, and I will hear him.” It is not without reason that the faithful one cried thus to God. The greatness of his necessity extorted a loud cry from him. For what has he sought by his cries but consolation, deliverance, and glorification ? This is evident from the answer he receives. For why should he obtain the promise of these favours had he prayed for something different? ‘‘ He hath cried to Me and I will hear him.” In what way wilt Thou hear him, O Lord? ‘I am with him in tribulation. I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.” It seems to me, my brethren, that the three benefits promised in this place are to be especially referred to the great triduum which we shall soon be commemorating.* For Christ, because of us, “ found tribulation and sorrow,” when “ having joy set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame.” Nevertheless, ‘‘the things concerning (Him) had an end,” as He predicted before His passion. And therefore at the moment of His death He exclaimed, “ It is consummated ” ; and after that He rested awhile. But He had not to wait long for the glory of His resurrection. Early in the morning of the third day, the Divine Sun of justice arose unto us from the sepulchre. Thus, therefore, both the fruit of His tribulation and the truth of His deliverance were made manifest in the visible fact of His glorification. But for ourselves also, as I think, a similar triduum can be discovered. ‘‘ I am with him in tribulation,” saith the Lord. Does not this seem to refer to the day of our tribulation, to the day of our crucifixion, when that is fulfilled in us which Christ has foretold, saying, “ In the world you shall have distress’”’ ; and likewise His Apostle, “ All that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution ° ? From this tribulation there can be no full and final deliverance before the hour of our death, because, in the words of the Wise Man, ‘‘a heavy yoke is upon the children of Adam from the day of their coming out of their mother’s womb, until the day of their burial into the mother of all.” This, then, is the day in which the Lord promises to deliver us, when the world shall no longer have power to injure us, either in body or in soul. As for our glorification, that is reserved for the last day of all, the day of the general resurrection, when that which “‘is sown in corruption shall rise in incorruption,’” when that which “is sown in dishonour shall rise in glory.”

But, my brethren, how do we know that the Lord is with us in tribulation? By the very fact that we ourselves are in tribulation. For which of us could face it, which of us could endure it, which of us could persevere under it, without His support? Oh, then dearest brethren, “ count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations,” not only because “through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God,” but also because “the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart.” Hence the Psalmist sings, “ For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for Thou art with me.” In this manner, therefore, according to what He has promised, He is with us “all days, even to the consummation of the world.” But when will he deliver us and take us to Himself? This shall be when “ we shall be taken up in the clouds to meet Christ, into the air, and so shall be always with the Lord.” When shall we appear with Him in glory? ‘‘ When Christ shall appear, Who is our Life.” But meanwhile it is necessary for us that He should conceal Himself from our view, in order that tribulation may precede deliverance, and deliverance glorification. Listen to the voice of one that has been delivered: ‘‘ Turn, O my soul, into thy rest: for the Lord hath been bountiful to thee. For He hath delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from falling.” “ I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.” Happy the man who, during his earthly pilgrimage, has Thee, O Lord, for his Consoler and for his “Helper in due times in tribulation ” ! But how much happier he whom Thou hast delivered and saved from such terrible evils! How much happier he who has been already delivered from the “snare of the hunters,” who has been “taken away lest wickedness should alter his understanding, or deceit beguile his soul”! But happiest of all and beyond compare shall be he whom Thou shalt have taken to Thyself, whom Thou shalt have “ filled with the good things of Thy house,” and conformed to the brightness of Thy glory ! *

“And now, my little children, “let us cry to heaven, and the Lord our God will have mercy on us.” “Let us cry to heaven,” I say, because under heaven there is nothing but labour, and sorrow, and vanity, and vexation of spirit. For “the heart of man is perverse above all things, and unsearchable,” and his “imagination and thought are prone to evil from his youth.” “I know that there dwelleth not in me, that is to say, in my flesh, that which is good.” I have the “law of sin” in my members, “fighting against the law of my mind.” Moreover, “ my heart hath forsaken me,” and my “ body is dead because of sin.” Truly “ sufficient for the day is the evil thereof,” when “ the whole world is seated in wickedness.” How wicked is the world now in all its ways! How wickedly are worldly desires known to war against the soul ! Then there are “the rulers of the world of this darkness,” “the spirits of wickedness in high places,” the aerial powers, and amongst them “the old serpent, more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth.” These, my brethren, are all the things, which are under the sun: they are all that can be found under heaven.

To which of them all shalt thou run for refuge? From which of them all canst thou hope to obtain any assistance or consolation? If thou lookest within thyself, thou shalt find thy heart withered and thyself “ forgotten as one dead from the heart.” If ‘thou lookest below thee, thou shalt see that “ the corruptible body is a load upon the soul.” And shouldst thou gaze about thee, thou shalt perceive how “the earthly habitation presseth down the mind that museth upon many things.” Seek, therefore, above thee. But be careful to pass over the aerial powers. For these, being robbers, and knowing that “ every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,” lie in ambush between heaven and earth. Pass them by, therefore, pass by these wicked watchmen, who so tirelessly observe and guard the way, lest anyone from earth should enter the city of God. Should they strike thee, should they wound thee, as happened to the Spouse in the Canticle, leave them thy outer garment, as Joseph did of old to the temptress ; leave them also thy inner garment, so that, like the young man in the Gospel, thou mayest flee from them naked. Did not the Lord deliver into the hands of the wicked one not only the outer, but also the inner garment of holy Job, when He gave Satan power over his substance and his flesh, with the condition, however, that his life should be saved ? ' Therefore, my brother, lift up thy heart: lift up thy voice as well, and thy desire, and thy hope, and thy intention, and thy whole life. Cry to heaven, and cry aloud that thou mayest be heard, and that the Father Who is in heaven “ may send thee help from the sanctuary, and defend thee out of Sion,” according to the prayer of the Psalmist: that He may now “sive thee help from trouble,” afterwards deliver thee from tribulation, and glorify thee at last in the general resurrection. These in truth are great things to ask, but Thou, the great Lord, hast promised them. Thy promise is the ground and motive of our hope, and it is from the same we have the courage to sing,

“When our prayers from love proceed, Thou art promise-bound to heed.”’ *

From the Matins hymn for Lent.—(Translator.)

val

SEVENTEENTH SERMON ON PSALM XC,

ON THE VALUE OF TRIBULATION AND ON THE REWARD OF THE JUST.

“ I will fill him with length of days ; and I will show him My salvation.”

It is a happy coincidence for us, my brethren, that this verse of the psalm applies so well to the present season. Very soon we shall be celebrating the resurrection of the Lord, and now his own resurrection is promised to each one of us: so that the members may more joyously commemorate as accomplished in their Head what they look forward to see sometime accomplished in themselves also. Happily, therefore, ends the song with the promise of so happy an end to the singer. Joyous is its consummation which sings of a consummation so joyous. “I will fill him with length of days ; and I will shew him My salvation.” I have often reminded you, dearest brethren, that, according to the teaching of St. Paul, “godliness is profitable to all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that whiċh is to come.” Hence the same Apostle writes in another place, “‘ But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end life everlasting.” This is the fulness, this is the length of days, promised in the verse which I am now discussing. For what is so long as eternity? What is so long as that which is confined within no limits? Truly a happy end is life everlasting, a happy end which knows no ending.

And evidently that whereof the end is so good, must likewise be good itself. Let us therefore embrace sanctification, because it is good, because it leads to a life which endureth for ever. Let us “ follow peace and holiness ; without which no man shall see God.” “ I will fill him,” saith the Lord, “‘ with length of days, and I will shew him My salvation.” This is the promise of the Right Hand of God: it is the gift of His Right Hand, which holy Job prayed or rather predicted of old that He would extend to him, saying, “ To the work of Thy Hands Thou shalt reach out Thy Right Hand.” In this Hand “ are delights even to the end,” as the Psalmist tells us. He also desired to have this Right Hand reached out to him, and obtained his request, the same of whom the Royal Prophet says in another place, “ He asked life of Thee: and Thou hast given him length of days for ever and ever.” But still more clearly spoke the Wise Man, “‘ Length of days is in His Right Hand, and in His Left Hand riches and glory.” ‘“‘Who is the man that desireth life, who loveth to see good days?” For this life by which we live upon earth is rather a death than a life. It is not a pure life, but a dying life. We say that a man is dying when he is manifestly approaching death. But what have we been doing from the very first moment in which we began to live, but approaching death and beginning to die? And moreover, the days of our earthly life, such as it is, are “few and evil,” according to the testimony of the holy Patriarch Jacob. But there we shall truly live where life is pure and vivid. There we shall enjoy good days, where the length of the days is interminable. Thanks to Him Who disposeth all things, not alone oS ae ee oF with power, but also with sweetness: thanks, I say, to Him, Whose providence has so arranged that the days full of evil should be few and quick in passing, whilst the good days in store are destined to endure for ever.

“I will fill him with length of days.” By these words, my brethren, the Lord expresses more clearly what He has said in the verse preceding, namely, “ I will glorify him.” Where is the man that would not be content to be glorified by Him Whose works are all perfect ? For the Divine Immensity cannot glorify anyone otherwise than immensely. That glorification must undoubtedly be great which is derived from the glory of God, “coming down from the magnificent glory,” to borrow the language of St. Peter. And rightly is it called a magnificent glory, since it glorifies the creature so magnificently, with an eternity, an abundance, a plenitude of glory. Here, on earth, glory is deceitful and brightness is vain, and the days of our life are quickly ended. The man of wisdom will not desire such things. He will rather say from his heart to Him Who reads the heart, “T have not desired the day of man, Thou knowest.” But I am not content with not desiring the day of man: I desire that it be not given me. For I know Who it is That said, “‘I receive not glory from men.” Oh, how miserable are you “ who receive glory from one another, and the glory which is from God alone, you do not seek’’! The only glory which we neglect to seek is that which alone is lasting unto length of days, which alone has fulness. “The days of man are short,” says holy Job. And the Psalmist, ‘‘Man’s days are as grass: as the flower of the field, so shall he flourish’’; to which the Prophet Isaias adds, “The grass is withered and the flower is fallen: but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever.” He is the true Day That “ knoweth no setting,” the eternal Truth, and the true Eternity, and by consequence the true and eternal Fulness. How could that glory fill us which is itself empty and vain, which is therefore often described as empty, in order to indicate that it is more capable of emptying our hearts than of filling them? During the present life, therefore, it is better for us to be humbled than exalted, it is better to experience want than pleasure; because, whereas all these things alike shall quickly pass away, the momentary enjoyment brings eternal pain and the momentary suffering an immortal crown.

Very profitable, my brethren, is that tribulation which “‘ worketh trial ’’ and leads to glory everlasting. “I am with him in tribulation,” saith the Lord, “I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.” Let us give thanks to the ‘“‘ Father of mercies,” Who condescends to bewith us in our tribulation, “‘ Who comforteth us in all our tribulation.” Very profitable, as I have said, yea, and very necessary for us ought we to esteem the short-lived tribulation which merits everlasting glory, and the short-lived sadness which shall be changed into joy, into unending joy which no one can take from us, into joy full and abounding. Truly necessary is that necessity which obtains for us an unfading crown. Therefore let us not undervalue our present tribulation: it is only a small seed, but nothing small is the fruit which grows from it. Perhaps it is insipid, perhaps it is unpalatable, perhaps it is a ‘‘ grain of mustard-seed.’’ Whatever it be, let us not regard that which is apparent in it, but only that which lies concealed. “For the things which are seen are temporal ; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Let us enjoy the foretaste of the promised glory ; let us, like the Apostle, “ glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of God.” Yea, and to speak more plainly with the same Apostle, let us “glory also in our tribu- -lations,’’ because therein consists our hope of glory. Consider if this be not the truth which the Doctor of nations intended to teach when he added, “ Tribulation worketh patience, and patience trial, and trial hope.” These words should make it manifest to you that in saying, “ And not only so, but we glory also in our tribulations,” he did not mean to assign a new motive for glorying, but simply to explain the one already given where he declared that he gloried in hope. His purpose was not to commend to us a second source of glory, but to point out where we ought to look for the hope of glory and the glory of hope. For it is only in tribulation that we can find the hope of glory: I should rather have said that glory itself is contained in tribulation, just as the hope of the fruit, yea, just as the fruit itself is contained in the seed. In this way the kingdom of God is even now within us, as an immense treasure in “earthy vessels,” or buried in an unprofitable field. It is truly there, I say, but as hidden. Happy the man that finds it! And who is he ? The man who thinks more of the harvest than of the sowing. It is the eye of faith that discovers this hidden treasure, because it does not judge according to the face, but looks to that which appears not, and contemplates the things which are not seen. The Apostle reveals to us how truly he had discovered this treasure for himself,

(E and how he desired it should be found by others, when he says, ‘‘ That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory.” Observe how he doesnot say, “‘ that which is momentary and light of our tribulation shall be rewarded with,” no, but, “‘ worketh for us an eternal weight of glory.” The glory, my brethren, is not manifest ; it is laid up for us in our tribulation ; the momentariness of our humiliation has hidden in it an eternity of glory ; the lightness of our suffering contains a weight of happiness above measure exceedingly. In the meantime, therefore, let us make haste to purchase that field and to possess ourselves of the treasure which is hidden in the field. Let us “count it all joy when (we) shall fall into divers temptations.” Let us say from our heart, let us say with conviction, “ It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting.”

“I am with him in tribulation,“ saith the Lord. This being so, shall I wish for anything but tribulation during my sojourn here on earth? ‘‘It is good for me to adhere to my God and (not only so, but likewise) to put my hope in the Lord God,” and in Him alone, because He has said, “ I will deliver him and I will glorify him.” ‘I am with him in tribulation.” Elsewhere He tells us, “ My delights are to bewith the children of men.” How well He deserves to becalled “Emmanuel, which, being interpreted, is God with us’’! “ Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” said the Archangel to Mary. He is with us now, my brethren, in the fulness of grace; He will bewith us hereafter in the fulness of glory. He came down from heaven that He might be “ nigh unto them that are of a contrite oe a he eee eens heart,” that He might bewith us in our tribulation. But the time will come when “we shall be taken up in the clouds to meet Christ, into the air, and so shall we be always with the Lord ” ; if yet we are in the mean-time careful to keep Him with us as the Companion of our way, Who alone can bring us safely to our heavenly home: or rather, He is Himself our Way now, as He shall be our Home hereafter. Lord, it is good for me to be in tribulation, provided that I have Thee as my Companion. Yea, it is better to be afflicted with Thee than without Thee to reign, or to feast without Thee, or without Thee to be glorified. It is better for me, O Lord, to embrace Thee in tribulation, better to endure with Thee the furnace of affliction, than without Thee to enjoy even the bliss of paradise. ‘‘ For what have I in heaven, and besides Thee what do I desire upon earth? ” ‘‘ The furnace trieth the gold, and the trial of affliction just men.” There, Lord Jesus, it is there Thou art with us: it is there that Thou standest in the midst of those who are gathered together in Thy name ; as of old Thou didst deign to appear with the three holy youths in the Babylonian furnace, so that even the pagan monarch saw Thee and wondering said, “I see four men loose and walking in the midst of the fire, and there is no hurt in them, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Why should we tremble? Why should we hesitate? Why should we shrink from this salutary furnace? Fiercely indeed the cruel fire rages: but courage! The Lord shall bewith us in tribulation. ‘‘ If God be for us, who is against us? ” And if He wills to deliver us, who shall snatch us out of His Hand? Who shall be able to wrest us from His grasp, if it is His good pleasure to save us?

Finally, if He wills to glorify us, who shall dishonour us? If He raises us up, who shall cast us down ? Hear now, my brethren, with what manner of glory He will glorify us. “I will fill him,” He says, “ with length of days.” Observe in the first place that He speaks of days in the plural, not to signify succession, but to indicate abundance. However, lest you should suppose succession to be implied, remember what the Psalmist says in another place, speaking to the Lord, “Better is (the) one day in Thy courts above thousands.” We read in the sacred Scriptures of many holy and perfect men, that they migrated full of days from these changing days of ours, and we take the meaning to be that they died full of grace and merit. And to this fulness they attained through their having been day by day “ transformed from glory to glory (not by their own spirit, but) as by the Spirit of the Lord.” If, then, we give the name of day to grace and merit; if (as I have remarked before) we call “ the day of man,” the splendour of honour which comes from man, and that balefully brilliant glory which we seek from one another: why should not the plenitude of true glory becalled the perfect day, or rather the full meridian? And if we can speak of the “divisions of graces ” as so many mystical days, why may we not also represent as a multitude of days the varieties of heavenly glory? Listen lastly to the Prophet Isaias speaking evidently of such a multitude of days as involves no vicissitude or succession: ‘‘ And the light of the moon,” he says, “ shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days.” Unless I am deceived, these are the days which the faithful King Ezechias had in mind when he prayed that he might sing psalms all the days of his life in the house of the Lord: because by the gratitude which they shall feel for every gift of glory, so great and so manifold, and by the thanks which they shall render always and in all things, the blessed shall sing psalms, as it were, all the days of their lives to the name of the Lord.

“I will fill him with length of days,” saith the Lord. These words may be thus paraphrased : “ I know what he desires, I know what he thirsts for, I know what it is that shall give him satisfaction. Neither gold nor silver has any value in his eyes. Pleasures cannot content him, or worldly knowledge, or any earthly honour. All such things he regards as loss, he despises them, and ‘counts them but as dung.’ He has entirely emptied himself of them. For he will not allow himself to be occupied by earthly goods, wherewith, as he knows, he could never be filled. He does not forget to Whose image and likeness he has been made, and of Whose glory he is rendered capable. Neither is he willing to enjoy such material prosperity as would be detrimental to his eternal interests. Therefore ‘I will fill him with length of days,’ since nothing but the true light can refresh him, nor anything fill him but the eternal light. For the length of days which I promise him shall have no limit, the glory shall never wane, the fulness never weary. The eternity of his happiness shall make him secure, its truth shall render him glorious, and its plenitude jubilant.” “And I will shew him My salvation.” It is then he shall deserve to see what he has so long desired, when the King of glory will “ present to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot’ on account of the brightness of the day,

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“or wrinkle” owing to the absolute fulness. For the splendour of that brightness can no more endure disquiet or agitation in any soul than it can tolerate uncleanness. Hence it is that even now we are commanded to “ follow peace and holiness, without which no man shall see God.” When, therefore the Lord shall have “‘ satisfied thy desire with good things,” so completely that thou shalt want for nothing more, thy soul being fully satiated and tranquillised by this plenitude, then shalt thou be able to gaze upon the tranquillity and the plenitude of the Divine Majesty, and shalt be made like to God because thou shalt see Him as He is. Or perhaps the words, “And I will shew him My salvation,” ought to be understood in this sense: The beatified one, already full of all glory in himself and dwelling in a world of delights, shall also contemplate outside himself the salvation wrought © by God, and the whole universe filled with His Majesty.*

Or again, we may, if we prefer, adopt the following exposition: In what He says, “I will shew him My salvation,” the Lord is only explaining what manner of days He has promised. ‘I will fill him with length of days,” He has said. Now someone might ask, how can there beany days in that supernal city, of which we read that no sun shall shine in it, and no night shall enshroud it? But we also read that “the glory of God hath enlighteneth it and the Lamb is the Lamp thereof.”’ Here, then, is the answer : “ I will shew him My salvation, so that, as the Evangelist says, the Lamb shall a become his Light. No longer will I instruct him in faith or exercise him in hope: I will now fill him with vision as with the brightness of days without number. I will shew him My salvation, that is to say, I will shew him My Jesus ; so that he shall now-and for ever contemplate Him in Whom he has believed, Whom he has loved, Whom he has always. yearned for.” ‘‘ Shew us, O Lord, Thy mercy and grant us Thy Salvation.” Shew us, O Lord, Thy Salvation “and it is enough for us.” For he that seeth Him seeth Thee also, because Thou art in Thy Salvation and Thy Salvation is in Thee. ‘‘ Now this is eternal life: That (we) may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent.” Therefore “now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word, in peace; because my eyes have seen Thy Salvation,” Thy Jesus and Our Lord, Who is over all things, God blessed for ever. Amen.

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