8. " My wounds stink and are corrupt " (ver. 5). Now he who has wounds is not perfectly sound. Add to this, that the wounds " stink and are corrupt." Wherefore do they " stink "? Because they are " corrupt: " now in what way this is explained in reference to human life, who doth not understand? Let a man but have his soul's sense of smelling sound, he perceives how foully sins stink. The contrary to which stink of sin, is that savour of which the Apostle says, " We are the sweet savour of Christ unto God, in every place, unto them which be saved." 2 But whence is this, except from hope? Whence is this, but from our " calling the Sabbath to remembrance "? For it is a different thing that we mourn over in this life, from that which we anticipate in the other. That which we mourn over is stench, that which we reckon upon is fragrance. Were there not therefore such a perfume as that to invite us, we should never call the Sabbath to remembrance.' But since, by the Spirit, we have such a perfume, as to say to our Betrothed, " Because of the savour of Thy good ointments we will run after Thee;"4 we turn our senses away from our own unsavourinesses, and turning ourselves to Him, we gain some little breathing-time. But indeed, unless our evil deeds also did smell rank in our nostrils, we should never confess with those groans, " My wounds stink and are corrupt." And wherefore?
" from the face of my foolishness." 5 From the same cause that he said before, " from the face of my sins; " from that same cause he now says, " from the face of my foolishness."
9. " I am troubled, I am bowed down even unto the end" (ver. 6). Wherefore was he " bowed down "? Because he had been " lifted up." If thou art " humble, thou shalt be exalted; " if thou exaltest thyself, thou shalt be " bowed down; " for God will be at no loss to find a weight wherewith to bow thee down...Let him groan on these things; that he may receive the other; let him " call the Sabbath to remembrance," that he may deserve to arrive at it. For that which the Jews used to celebrate was but a sign. Of what thing was it the sign? Of that which he calls to remembrance, who saith, " I am troubled, and am bowed down even unto the end." What is meant by even " unto the end "? Even to death.
" I go mourning all the day long." " All day long," that is, " without intermission." By " all the day long," he means, "all my life long." But from what time hath he known it? From the time that he began to " call the Sabbath to remembrance." For so long as he " calls to remembrance " what he no longer possesses, wouldest thou not have him "go mourning"? " All the day long have I gone mourning."
10. " For my soul is filled with illusions, and there is no soundness in my flesh" (ver. 7). Where there is the whole man, there there is soul and flesh both. The " soul is filled with illusions; " the flesh hath "no soundness." What does there remain that can give joy? Is it not meet that one should " go mourning "? " All the day long have I gone mourning." Let mourning be our portion, until our soul be divested of its illusions; and our body be clothed with soundness. For true soundness is no other than immortality. How great however are the soul's illusions, were I even to attempt to express, when would the time suffice me? For whose soul is not subject to them? There is a brief particular that I will remind you of, to show how our soul is filled with illusions. The presence of those illusions sometimes scarcely permits us to pray. We know not how to think of material objects without images, and such as we do not wish, rush in upon the mind; and we wish to go from this one to that, and to quit that for another. And sometimes you wish to return to that which you were thinking of before, and to quit that which you are now thinking of; and a fresh one presents itself to you; you wish to call up again what you had forgotten; and it does not occur to you; and another comes instead which you would not have wished for. Where meanwhile was the one that you had forgotten? For why did it afterwards occur to you, when it had ceased to be sought after; whereas, while it was being sought for, innumerable others, which were not desired, presented themselves instead of it? I have stated a fact briefly; I have thrown out a kind of hint or suggestion to you, brethren, taking up which, you may yourselves suggest the rest to yourselves,.and discover what it is to mourn over the " illusions " of our " soul." He hath received therefore the punishment of illusion; he hath forfeited Truth. For just as illusion is the soul's punishment, so is Truth its reward. But when we were set in the midst of these illusions, the Truth Itself came to us, and found us overwhelmed by illusions, took upon Itself our flesh, or rather took flesh from us; that is, from the human race. He manifested himself to the eyes of the Flesh, that He might " by faith " heal those to whom He was going to reveal the Truth hereafter, that Truth might be manifested to the now healed eye. For He is Himself " the Truth," 6 which He promised unto us at that time, when His Flesh was to be seen by the eye, that the foundation might be laid of that Faith, 6 John xiv. 6.
io6 [Psalm XXXVIII.
of which the Truth was to be the reward. For it was not Himself that Christ showed forth on earth; but it was His Flesh that He showed. For had He showed Himself, the Jews would have seen and known Him; but had they " known Him, they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory." ■ But perhaps His disciples saw Him, when they said unto Him, " Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us; " 2 and He, to show that it was not Himself that had been seen by them, added: " Have I been so long with you, and have ye not known Me, Philip? He that seeth Me, seeth the Father also." 3 If then they saw Christ, wherefore did they yet seek for the Father? For if it were Christ whom they saw, they would have seen the Father also. They did not therefore yet see Christ, who desired that the Father should be shown unto them. To prove that they did not yet see Him, hear that, in another place, He promised it by way of reward, saying, " He who loveth Me, keepeth My commandments; and whoso loveth Me, shall be loved of My Father; and I will love Him, and " (as if it were said to Him, " what wilt Thou give unto him, as Thou lovest him?" He saith), "I will manifest Myself unto him."4 If then He promises this by way of a reward unto them that love Him, it is manifest that the vision of the Truth, promised to us, is of such a nature, that, when we have seen it, we shall no longer say, " My soul is filled with illusions." ii. "I am become feeble,5 and am bowed down greatly" (ver. 8). He who calls to mind the transcendent height of the Sabbath, sees how "greatly" he is himself "bowed down." For he who cannot conceive what is that height of rest, sees not where he is at present. Therefore another Psalm hath said, " I said in my trance, I am cast out of the sight of Thine eyes." 6 For his mind being taken up thither,7 he beheld something sublime; and was not yet entirely there, where what he beheld was; and a kind of flash, as it were, if one may so speak, of the Eternal Light having glanced upon him, when he perceived that he was not yet arrived at this, which he was able after a sort to understand, he saw where he himself was, and how he was cramped and " bowed down " by human infirmities. And he says, " I said in my trance, I am cast out of the sight of Thine eyes." Such is that certain something which I saw in my trance, that thence I perceive how far off I am, who am not already there. He was already there who said that he was " caught up into the third Heaven, and there heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to ' John xiv. 8.
, Augustin, infirmatus; E. V. ■feeble;" Vulgate, afflictut. 6 IV xxxi. aa.
1 i Cor. ii. io. * John xiv. 2i. J St..
' John xiv. 9. 1 troubled; " Prayer Book, 7 Assumpta mente.
utter." 8 But he was recalled to us, in order that, as requiring to be made perfect, he might first mourn his infirmity, and afterwards be clothed with might. Yet encouraged for the ministration of his office by having seen somewhat of those things, he goes on saying, " I heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." 9 Now then what use is it for you to ask, either of me or of any one, the " things which it is not lawful for man to utter." If it was not lawful for him to utter them, to whom is it lawful to hear them? Let us however lament and groan in Confession; let us own where we are; let us " call the Sabbath to remembrance," and wait with patience for what He has promised, who hath, in His own Person also, showed forth an example of patience to us. " I am become feeble, and bowed down greatly."
12. "I have roared with the groaning of my heart." IO You observe the servants of God generally interceding with groaning; and the reason of it is asked, and there is nothing apparent, but the groaning of some servant of God, if indeed it does find its way at all to the ears of a person placed near him. For there is a secret groaning, which is not heard by man: yet if the thought of some strong desire has taken so strong hold of the heart, that the wound of the inner man finds expression in some uttered exclamation, the reason of it is asked; and a man says to himself, " Perhaps this is the cause of his groaning; " and, " Perhaps this or that hath befallen him." Who can determine, but He in whose Eyes and Ears he groaned? Therefore he says, " I roared with the groaning of mine heart; " because if men ever hear a man's groanings, they for the most part hear but the groaning of the flesh; they do not hear him who groans " with the groaning of his heart." Some one hath carried off his goods; he " roareth," but not " with the groaning of his heart: " another because he has buried his son, another his wife; another because his vineyard has been injured by a hailstorm; another because his cask has turned sour; another because some one hath stolen his beast; another because he has suffered some loss; another because he fears some man who is his enemy: all these " roar " with the " groaning of the flesh." The servant of God, however, because he " roareth " from the recollection of the Sabbath, where the Kingdom of God is, which flesh and blood shall not possess, says, " I have roared with the groaning of my heart."
13. And who observed and noticed the cause of his groaning? "All my desire is before Thee " (ver. 9). For it is not before men who 10 Rugitbam a gemitu cordis met. E. V. by reason of the disquictncss."
Psalm XXXVIII.]
canhot see the heart, but it is before Thee that all my desire is open! Let your desire be before Him; and " the Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee." * For it is thy heart's desire that is thy prayer; and if thy desire continues uninterrupted, thy prayer continueth also. For not without a meaning did the Apostle say, " Pray without ceasing." 2 Are we to be " without ceasing " bending the knee, prostrating the body, or lifting up our hands, that he says, " Pray without ceasing "? Or if it is in this sense that we say that we " pray," this, I believe, we cannot do "without ceasing." There is another inward kind of prayer without ceasing, which is the desire of the heart. Whatever else you are doing, if you do but long for that Sabbath, you do not cease to pray. If you would never cease to pray, never cease to long after it. The continuance of thy longing is the continuance of thy prayer. You will be ceasing to speak, if you cease to long for it. Who are those who have ceased to speak? They of whom it is said, " Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." ' The freezing of charity is the silence of the heart; the burning of charity is the cry of the heart. If love continues still, you are still lifting up your voice; if you are always lifting up your voice, you are always longing after something; if always longing for something absent, you are calling " the Sabbath rest to remembrance." And it is important you should understand too before whom the " roaring of thine heart " is open. Now then consider what sort of desires those should be, that are before the eyes of God. Should it be the desire for the death of our enemy? a thing which men flatter themselves they lawfully wish for? For sometimes we pray for what we ought not. Let us consider what they flatter themselves they pray for lawfully! For they pray that some person may die, and his inheritance come to them. But let those too, who pray for the death of their enemies, hear the Lord saying, " Pray for your enemies." 4 Let them not pray for this, that their enemies may die; but rather pray for this, that they may be reclaimed; then will their enemies be dead; for from the time that they are reclaimed, henceforth they will be enemies no longer. "And all my desire is before Thee." What if we suppose that our desire is before Him, and that yet that very " groaning " is not before Him? How can that be, since our desire itself finds its expression in " groaning "? Therefore follows, " And my groaning is not hid from Thee."
From Thee indeed it is not hid; but from many men it is hid. The servant of God sometimes seems to be saying in humility, " And my 2 j Thess. v. 17.
3 Matt. xxiv. 12.
groaning is not hid from Thee." Sometimes also he seems to smile. Is then that longing dead in his heart? If however there is the desire within, there is the " groaning " also. It does not always find its way to the ears of man; but it never ceases to sound in the ears of God.
14. " My heart is troubled " (ver. 10). Wherefore is it troubled? " And my courage hath failed me." Generally something comes upon us on a sudden; the " heart is troubled; " the earth quakes; thunder is sent from Heaven; a formidable attack is made upon us, or a horrible sound heard. Perhaps a lion is seen on the road; the " heart is troubled." Perhaps robbers lie in wait for us; the " heart is troubled: " we are filled with a panic fear; from every quarter something excites anxiety. Wherefore? Because " my courage hath failed me." For what would be feared, did that courage still remain unmoved? Whatever bad tidings were brought, whatever threatened us, whatever sound was heard, whatever were to fall, whatever appeared horrible, would inspire no terror. But whence that trouble? " My courage faileth me." Wherefore hath my courage failed me? "The light of mine eyes also is gone from me." Thus Adam also could not see " the light of his eyes." For the " light of his eyes " was God Himself, whom when he had offended, he fled to the shade, and hid himself among the trees of Paradise.5 He shrunk in alarm from the face of God: and sought the shelter of the trees; thenceforth among the trees he had no more " the light of his eyes," at which he had been. wont to rejoice...
15. "My lovers;" why should I henceforth speak of my enemies? "My lovers and my neighbours drew nigh, and stood over against me" (ver. n). Understand this that he saith, " Stood over against me." For if they stood over against me, they fell against themselves. " My lovers and my neighbours drew nigh and stood over against me."6 Let us now recognise the words of the Head speaking; now let our Head in His Passion begin to dawn upon us. Yet again when the Head begins to speak, do not sever the Body from it. If the Head would not separate itself from the words of the Body, should the Body dare to separate itself from the sufferings of the Head? Do thou suffer in Christ's suffering: for Christ, as it were, sinned in thy infirmity. For just now He spoke of thy sins, as if speaking in His own Person, and called them His own...To those who wished to be near His exaltation, yet thought not of His humility, He answered and said to them, " Can ye drink of the cup that I shall drink of? " 7 Those sufferings of the Lord then are 5 Gen. iii 8. 7 Matt. xx. 22.
6 E. V. " and my friends stand aloof."
io8 [Psalm XXXVIII.
our sufferings also: and were each individual to serve God well, to keep faith truly, to render to each their dues, and to conduct himself honestly among men, I should like to see if he does not suffer even that which Christ here details in the account of His Passion. " My lovers and my neighbours drew nigh, and stood over against me."
16. "And my neighbours stood afar off " Who were the " neighbours " that drew nigh, and who were those who stood afar off? The Jews were " neighbours " because " near kinsmen," they drew near even when they crucified Him: the Apostles also were His " neighbours; " and they also " stood afar off," that they might not have to suffer with Him. This may also be understood thus: " My friends," that is, those who feigned themselves " My friends: " for they feigned themselves His friends, when they said, " We know that Thou teachest the way of God in truth; " ' when they wished to try Him, whether tribute ought to be paid to Caesar; when He convinced them out of their own mouth, they wished to seem to be His friends. "But He needed not that any should testify of man, for He Himself knew what was in man; " * so that when they spoke unto Him words of friendship, He answered them, "Why tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites?"3 "My friends and my neighbours " then " drew near and stood over against me, and my neighbours stood afar off." You understand what I said. I called those neighbours who " drew nigh," and at the same time " stood afar off." For they "drew nigh" in the body, but "stood afar off" in their heart. Who were in the body so near to Him as those who lifted Him on the Cross?
Who in heart so far off as those who blasphemed Him? Hear this sort of distance described by the Prophet Isaiah; observe this nearness and distance at one and the same time. " This people honours Me with their lips: " behold, with their body they draw near; " but their heart is far from Me."4 The same persons are at the same time "near" and "afar off" also: with their lips they are near, in heart afar off. However, because the Apostles also stood afar off, through fear, we understand it more simply and properly of them; so that we mean by it, that some drew near, and others stood afar off; since even Peter, who had followed more boldly than the rest, was still so far off, that being questioned and alarmed, he thrice denied the Lord, wfth whom he had promised to " be ready to die." Who afterwards that, from being afar off, he might be made to draw nigh, heard after the resurrection the question, " Lovest thou Me? " and said, " I love Thee; " * and by so saying was brought "nigh," even as by denying Him, he 1 Malt. xxii. 16. * lsa. xxix. 13.
■ y * John xxi. 15.
3 Matt. xxii. 18.
had become "far off;" till with the threefold confession of love, he had put away from him his threefold denial. " And my neighbours stood afar off."
17. "They also that sought after my soul were preparing violence against me " (ver. 12). It is now plain who " sought after His soul; " viz. those who had not His soul, in that they were not in His Body. They who were " seeking after His soul," were far removed from His soul; but they were " seeking it " to destroy it. For His soul may be " sought after " in a right way also. For in another passage 6 He finds fault with some persons, saying, " There is no man to care for My soul." He finds fault with some for not seeking after His soul; and again, with others for seeking after it. Who is he that seeketh after His soul in the right way? He who imitates His sufferings. Who are they that sought after His soul in the wrong way? Even those who " prepared violence against Him," and crucified Him.
18. He goes on: "Those who sought after My faults had spoken vanity." What is, " sought after,My faults "? They sought after many things, and found them not. Perhaps He may have meant this: " They sought for criminal charges against me." For they sought for somewhat to say against Him, and "they found not."7 For they were seeking to find evil things to say of " the Good; " crimes of the Innocent; When would they find such things in Him, who had no sin? But because they had to seek for sins in Him who had no sin, it remained for them to invent that which they could not find. Therefore, " those who sought after My faults have spoken vanity," i.e., untruth, " and imagined deceit all the day long; " that is, they meditated treachery without intermission. You know how atrocious false-witness was borne against the Lord, before He suffered. You know how atrocious false-witness was borne against Him, even after His resurrection. For those soldiers who watched His sepulchre of whom Isaiah spake, " I will appoint the wicked for His burial " 8 (for they were wicked men, and would not speak the truth, and being bribed they disseminated a lie), consider what " vanity " they spake. They also were examined, and they said, " While we slept, His disciples came- and stole Him away."9 This it is, " to speak vanity." For if they were sleeping, how could they know what had been done?
19. He saith then, " But I as a deaf man heard not" (ver. 13). He who replied not to what He heard, did, as it were, not hear them. " But I as a deaf man heard not. And I was as • Ps. cxlii. 4. » Matt, xxvi 60.
* Isa. liii. 9. St Augustin, Ponam males pro sepuiturd ejus. Vulgate, Dabtt impios, etc.
9 Matt, xxviii. 13.
Psalm XXXVIII.]
a dumb man that openeth not his mouth." And he repeats the same things again.
" And I became as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs" (ver. 14). As if He had nothing to say unto them, as if He had nothing wherewith to reproach them. Had He not already reproached them for many things? Had He not said many things, and also said, " Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees," ' and many things besides? Yet when He suffered, He said none of these things j not that He had not what to say, but He waited for them to fulfil all things, and that all the prophecies might be fulfilled of Him, of whom it had been said, " And as a sheep before her shearer is dumb, so openeth He not His mouth." 2 It behoved Him to be silent in His Passion, though not hereafter to be silent in Judgment. For He had come to be judged, then, who was hereafter coming to judge; and who was for this reason to coine with great power to judge, that He had been judged in great humility.
20. " For in Thee, O Lord, do I hope; Thou wilt hear, O Lord, my God" (ver. 15). As if it were said to Him, " Wherefore openedst thou not thy mouth? Wherefore didst Thou not say, ' Refrain '? Wherefore didst Thou not rebuke the unrighteous, while hanging on the Cross?" He goes on and says, " For in Thee, O Lord, do I hope; Thou, O Lord my God, wilt hear." He warns you what to do, should tribulation haply befall. For you seek to defend yourself, and perhaps your defence is not listened to by any one. Then are you confounded, as if you had lost your cause; because you have none to defend or to bear testimony in your favour. " Keep " but your " innocence " within, where no one can pervert thy cause. False-witness has prevailed against you before men. Will it then prevail before God, where your cause has to be pleaded? When God shall be Judge, there shall be no other witness than your own conscience. In the presence of a just judge, and of your own conscience, fear nothing but your own cause. If you have not a bad cause, you will have no accuser to dread; no false-witness to confute, nor witness to the truth to look for. Do but bring into court a good conscience, that you may say, " For in Thee, O Lord, do I hope; Thou, O Lord my God, wilt hear."
21. "For I said, Let not mine enemies ever rejoice over me. And when my feet slip, they magnify themselves against me" (ver. 16). Again He returns to the infirmity of His Body: and again the Head takes heed of Its " feet." The Head is not' in such a manner in Heaven, as to forsake what It has on earth; He evidently sees and observes us. For sometimes, as is the 1 Matt xxiii. 13.
» Isa. liii.
way of this life, our feet are " turned aside," and they slip by falling into some sin; there the tongues of the enemy rise up with the bitterest malignity. From this then we discern what they really had in view, even while they kept silence. Then they speak with an unsparing harshness; rejoicing to have discovered what they ought to have grieved for. "And I said, Lest at any time my adversaries should rejoice over me." I said this indeed; and yet it was perhaps for my correction that Thou hast caused them to " magnify themselves against me, when my feet slipped; " that is to say, when I stumbled, they were elated, and said many things. For pity, not insult, was due from them to the weak; even as the Apostle speaks: " Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; " and he combines the reason why: " considering thyself also, lest thou also be tempted." ' Not such as these were the persons of whom He speaks: " And when my feet slipped, they rejoiced greatly against me; " but they were such as those of whom He says elsewhere: " They that hate me will rejoice if I fall.''
22. "For I am prepared for the scourges" (ver. 17). Quite a magnificent expression; as if He were saying, " It was even for this that I was born; that I might suffer." For He was not to be born,4 but from Adam, to whom the scourge is due. But sinners are in this life sometimes not scourged at all, or are scourged less than their deserts: because the wickedness of their heart is given over as already desperate. Those, however, for whom eternal life is prepared, must needs be scourged in this life: for that sentence is true: " My son, faint not under the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary when thou art rebuked of Him." ' " For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." 6 Let not mine enemies therefore insult over me; let " them not magnify themselves; " and if my Father scourgeth me, " I am prepared for the scourge; " because there is an inheritance in store for me. Thou wilt not submit to the scourge: the inheritance is not bestowed upon thee. For " every son " must needs be scourged. So true it is that " every son " is scourged, that He spared not even Him who had no sin. For "I am prepared for the scourges."
23. " And my sorrow is continually before me." What "sorrow" is that? Perhaps, a sorrow for my scourge. And, in good truth, my brethren, in good truth, let me say unto you, men do mourn for their scourges, not for the causes on account of which they are scourged. Not such was the person here. Listen, my brethren: If 3 Oal. vi. 1. 3 Prov. iii. u.
4 Ai. " He would not suffer." « Heb. xii. 6.
I IO [Psalm XXXVIII.
any person suffers any loss, he is more ready to say, "I did not deserve to suffer it," than to consider why he suffered it, mourning the loss of money, not mourning over that of righteousness. If thou hast sinned, mourn for the loss of thy inward treasure. Thou hast nothing in thy house, but perhaps thou art still more empty in heart; but if thine heart is full of its Good, even thy God, why dost thou not say, " The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away; as it pleased the Lord was it done. Blessed be the Name of the Lord." ' Whence then was it that He was grieving? Was it for the "scourging" wherewith He was scourged? God forbid. " And my sorrow " (says He) " is continually before me." And as if we were to say, "What sorrow? whence comes that sorrow? " he says: " For I declare mine iniquity; and I will have a care • for my sin" (ver. 18). See here the reason for the sorrow! It is not a sorrow occasioned by the scourge; not one for the remedy, not for the wound. For the scourge is a remedy against sins. Hear, brethren; We are Christians, and yet if any one's son dies, he mourns for him; but does not mourn for him if he sins. It is then, when he sees him sinning, that he ought to make mourning for him, to lament over him.
It is then he should restrain him, and give him a rule to live by; should impose a discipline upon him: or if he has done so, and the other has not taken heed, then was the time when he ought to have been mourned over; then he was more fatally dead whilst living in luxury, than when, by death, he brought his luxury to its close: at that time, when he was doing such things in thine house, he was not only " dead, but he stank also." * These things were worthy to be lamented, the others were such as might well be endured; those, I say, were tolerable, these worthy to be mourned over. They were to be mourned over in the same way that you have heard this person mourn over them: " For I declare mine iniquity. I will have a care for my sin." Be not free from anxiety when you have confessed your sin, as if always able to confess thy sin, and to commit it again. Do thou " declare thine iniquity in such a manner, as to have a care for thy sin." What is meant by " having a care of thy sin "? To have a care of thy wound. If you were to say, " I will have a care of my wound," what would be meant by it, but I will do my endeavour to have it healed.