Psalm 113 [MT 114–115]

"When Israel came out of Egypt, and the house of Jacob from among the strange people" [Psalm 114:1], "Judah was His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion" [Psalm 114:2]; "the sea saw that and fled, Jordan was driven back" [Psalm 114:3]. Think not that past deeds are related unto us, but rather that the future is predicted; since, while those miracles also were going on in that people, things present indeed were happening, but not without an intimation of things future....Some things he has related differently to what we have learned and read there: that he might not truly be thought to be repeating past acts rather than to be prophesying future things. For in the first place, we read not that the Jordan was driven back, but that it stood still on the side nearest the source of its streams, while the people were passing through; next, we read not of the mountains and hills skipping: all which he has added, and repeated. For after saying, "The sea saw that, and fled; Jordan was driven back:" he added, "The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like young sheep" [Psalm 114:4]: and then asks, "What ails you, O thou sea, that you fled, and thou, Jordan, that you were driven back?" [Psalm 114:5]. "You mountains, that you skipped like rams; and you little hills, like young sheep?" [Psalm 114:6].

Nor ought it to appear at all improbable that at the command of God the bones were fitted again to their joints, since we have numberless instances in which nature has obeyed the commands of heaven; as the earth was commanded to produce the green herb3 and did produce it; as the rock at the touch of the rod produced water for the thirsting people; and the hard stone poured forth streams by the mercy of God for those parched with heat. What else did the rod changed into a serpent5 signify than that at the will of God living things can be produced from those that are without life? Do you think it more incredible that bones should come together when commanded than that streams should be turned back or the sea flee? For thus does the prophet testify: "The sea saw it and fled; Jordan was driven back." Nor can there be any doubt about this fact, which was proved by the rescue of one and the destruction of the other of two peoples, that the waves of the sea stood restrained and at the same time surrounded one people and poured back on the other for their death, that they might overwhelm the one but preserve the other. And what do we find in the Gospel itself? Did not the Lord himself prove there that the sea grew calm at a word, the clouds were driven away, the blasts of the winds yielded, and that on the quieted shores the dumb elements obeyed God?

But, again, listen to another excellent steward of God, whom I reverence as a father, for in Christ Jesus he begat me through the gospel, and from this servant of Christ I received the laver of regeneration. I speak of the blessed Ambrose, whose grace, constancy, labors, dangers, whether in works or in speech, for the catholic faith, I myself have experienced, and together with me the Roman world does not hesitate to proclaim them. When this man was explaining the Gospel according to Luke, he said, "The Jordan turned backwards" signified the future mysteries of the laver of salvation, through which infants who are baptized at the beginning of their natural life are reformed from badness.

The water was cleansed, which was enriched with the warmth of the Lord's blessing, although it was common and cold. Consequently, what previously had scarcely washed away worldly stains on objects now purifies the spiritual stains on souls. And do not marvel at the fact that we say that water, that is, a bodily substance comes to have the power to purify a soul. It clearly comes to have that power; it penetrates all the recesses of the conscience. For although water itself is delicate and fine, nonetheless by Christ's blessing it was made even more delicate and entered through the hidden conditions of life into the secret places of the soul with its spiritual dew. For the course of blessings is more delicate than the pathways of water. Thus we also say that the blessing in our Savior's baptism, which flowed down like a spiritual river, dyed the courses of all eddies and the water-courses of all fonts. When Christ entered the Jordan, the rivers of waters streamed in a marvelous manner, but the floods of blessings also ran. From the one side the eddy of the riverbed was carried along more boisterously; from the other side the most pure font of the Savior was trickling down; and in some bewildering manner the consecration of baptism was going upstream to the source of the Jordan, and the river of blessings was being borne contrary to the direction the waters were flowing. This is why (or so I think) holy David said, "The Jordan turned back." For in the baptism of Christ the Jordan did not turn back in its own waters but in the sacraments, and it traced its source in the blessing of its nature rather than in its substance. For while the grace of consecration is spread abroad on all fonts through him, it seems that its own course has gone back to the origin of its channels.

"Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob" [Psalm 114:7]. What means, "at the presence of the Lord," save at the presence of Him who said, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." [Matthew 28:30] For the earth trembled; but because it had remained slothful, it was made to tremble, so that it might be more firmly fixed at the presence of the Lord.

"Who turned the hard rock into standing waters, and the flint stone into springing wells" (ver. 8). For He melted Himself, and what may be called His hardness to water those who believe on Him, that He might in them become "a fountain of water gushing forth unto everlasting life;" because formerly, when He was not known, He seemed hard. Hence they who said, "This is an hard saying, who can bear it?" were confounded, and waited not until He should flow and stream upon them when the Scriptures were revealed. The rock, that hardness, was turned into pools of water, that stone into fountains of waters, when on His resurrection, "He expounded unto them, commencing with Moses and all the prophets, how Christ ought to suffer thus;" and sent the Holy Ghost, of whom He said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink."

"Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Your Name give the praise" [Psalm 115:1]. For that grace of the water that gushed from the rock ("now that rock was Christ" [1 Corinthians 10:4]), was not given on the score of works that had gone before, but of His mercy "that justifies the ungodly." [Romans 4:5] For "Christ died for sinners," that men might not seek any glory of their own, but in the Lord's Name.

When Jesus was entrusting Peter with his sheep, he was entrusting him with us. When he was entrusting Peter with us, he was entrusting the church with his members. So, Lord, entrust your church to your church, let your church entrust itself to you. After all, we say, "Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give the glory." I mean, what are we without you? Only Peter when he denied you three times. To show up Peter to himself, that is to show up Peter to Peter, the Lord turned his face away from him for a while—and Peter denied him. He turned his face toward him when he looked around—and he wept. Peter washed away his fault with his tears; he poured water from his eyes and baptized his conscience.

"For Your loving mercy, and for Your truth's sake" [Psalm 115:2]. Observe how often these two qualities, loving mercy and truth, are joined together in the holy Scriptures. For in His loving mercy He called sinners, and in His truth He judges those who when called refused to come. "That the heathen may not say, Where is now their God?" For at the last, His loving mercy and truth will shine forth, when "the sign of the Son of man shall appear in heaven, and then shall all tribes of the earth cry woe;" [Matthew 24:30] nor shall they then say, "Where is their God?" when He is no longer preached unto them to be believed in, but displayed before them to be trembled at.

"As for our God, He is in heaven above" (ver. 3). Not in heaven, where they see the sun and moon, works of God which they adore, but "in heaven above," which overpasseth all heavenly and earthly bodies. Nor is our God in heaven in such a sense, as to dread a fall that should deprive Him of His throne, if heaven were withdrawn from under Him. "In heaven and earth He hath made whatsoever pleased Him." Nor doth He stand in need of His own works, as if He had place in them where He might abide; but endureth in His own eternity, wherein He abideth and hath done whatsoever pleased Him, both in heaven and earth; for they did not support Him, as a condition of their being created by Him: since, unless they had been created, they could not have supported Him. Therefore, in whatsoever He Himself dwelleth, He, so to speak, containeth this as in need of Himself, He is not contained by this as if He needed it. Or it may be thus understood: "In heaven and in earth He hath done whatsoever pleased Him," whether among the higher or the lower orders of His people, He hath made His grace His free gift, that no man may boast in the merits of his own works...

Therefore, there is no falseness in God's promises because for the all-powerful there is no problem about doing things. And so the effects of the will are never lacking because the will itself is nothing other than power. Whatever God wills, he can do; he can do as much as he wishes.So it is rightly said of him alone, "He does whatever he pleases." And again, "For you have power to act whenever you choose." So we have said that there is as much power of will there as there is will itself for the power. Since for the one to whom it is subject, when he shall will, he can, willing being nothing other than power.

But this all inspired Scripture also teaches more plainly and with more authority, so that we in our turn write boldly to you as we do, and you, if you refer to Scripture, will be able to verify what we say. For an argument when confirmed by higher authority is irresistibly proved. From the first then the divine Word firmly taught the Jewish people about the abolition of idols when it said, "You shall not make for yourself a graven image or the likeness of anything that is in the heaven above or in the earth beneath." But the cause of their abolition another writer declares, saying, "The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the works of human hands; they have a mouth and will not speak, they have eyes and will not see, they have ears and will not hear, they have noses and will not smell, they have hands and will not handle, they have feet and will not walk." Nor has it passed over in silence the doctrine of creation; but, knowing well its beauty, lest any attending solely to this beauty should worship things as if they were gods, instead of God's works, it teaches people firmly beforehand when it says, "And do not, when you look up with your eyes and see the sun and moon and all the host of heaven, go astray and worship them, which the Lord your God has given to all nations under heaven." But he gave them, not to be their gods but that by their agency the Gentiles should know, as we have said, God the Maker of them all.

"Their idols," he saith, "are silver and gold, even the work of men's hands" (ver. 4). That is, although we cannot display our God to your carnal eyes, whom ye ought to recognise through his works; yet be not seduced by your vain pretences, because ye can point with the finger to, the objects of your worship. For it were much worthier for you not to have what to point to, than that your hearts' blindness should be displayed in what is exhibited to these eyes by you: for what do ye exhibit, save gold and silver? They have indeed both bronze, and wood, and earthenware idols, and of different materials of this description; but the Holy Spirit preferred mentioning the more precious material, because when every man hath blushed for that which he sets more by, he is much more easily turned away from the worship of meaner objects. For it is said in another passage of Scripture concerning the worshippers of images, "Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth." But lest that man who speaketh thus not to a stone or stock, but to gold and silver, seem wiser to himself; let him look this way, let him turn hitherwards the ear of his heart: "The idols of the Gentiles are gold and silver." Nothing mean and contemptible is here mentioned: and indeed to that mind which is not earth, both gold and silver is earth, but more beautiful and brilliant, more solid and firm. Employ not then the hands of men, to create a false Deity out of that metal which a true God hath created; nay, a false man, whom thou mayest worship for a true God. ...

"For they have mouths, and speak not: eyes have they, and see not" (ver. 5). "They have ears, and hear not: noses have they, and smell not" (ver. 6). "They have hands, and handle not; feet have they, and walk not; neither cry they through their throat" (ver. 7). Even their artist therefore surpasseth them, since he had the faculty of moulding them by the motion and functions of his limbs: though thou wouldest be ashamed to worship that artist. Even thou surpassest them, though thou hast not made these things, since thou doest what they cannot do. Even a beast doth excel them; for unto this it is added, "neither cry they through their throat." For after he had said above, "they have mouths, and speak not;" what need was there, after he had enumerated the limbs from head to feet, to repeat what he had said of their crying through their throat; unless, I suppose, because we perceive that what he mentioned of the other members, was common to men and beasts? For they see, and hear, and smell, and walk, and some, apes for instance, handle with hands. But what he had said of the mouth, is peculiar to men: since beasts do not speak. But that no one might refer what hath been said to the works of human members alone, and prefer men only to the gods of the heathen; after all this he added these words, "neither cry they through their throat:" which again is common to men and cattle. ...How much better then do mice and serpents, and other animals of like sort, judge of the idols of the heathen, so to speak, for they regard not the human figure in them when they see not the human life. For this reason they usually build nests in them, and unless they are deterred by human movements, they seek for themselves no safer habitations. A man then moveth himself, that he may frighten away a living beast from his own god; and yet worshippeth that god who cannot move himself, as if he were powerful, from whom he drove away one better than the object of his worship. ...Even the dead surpasseth a deity who neither liveth nor hath lived. ...

Those who had possessions He freed from the bondage of senseless stuff, lest while they served it they should become servers of idols, concerning which it is written, "They have no breath in their mouth, and although they have eyes, and ears, and hands, they see not, and hear not, and work not." And for this reason the Apostle Paul called the love of mammon "idolatry," for as the heathen worship things which have no feeling, and in which there is neither life nor perception, even so do those who love riches worship the gold which is silent, and the silver which is dumb, together with all their possessions which have neither feeling nor knowledge.

The result that ensues is that described in the next verse: "They that make them are like them, and so are all such as put their trust in them" [Psalm 115:8]. Let them therefore see with open eyes, and worship with shut and dead understandings, idols that neither see nor live.

"But the house of Israel has hoped in the Lord" [Psalm 115:9]. "For hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man sees, why does he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." [Romans 8:24-25] But that this patience may endure to the end, "He is their helper and defender." Do perhaps spiritual persons (by whom carnal minds are built up in "the spirit of meekness," [Galatians 6:1] because they pray as higher for lower minds) already see, and is that already to them reality which to the lower is hope? It is not so. For even "the house of Aaron has hope in the Lord" [Psalm 115:10]. Therefore, that they also may stretch forward perseveringly towards those things which are before them, and may run perseveringly, until they may apprehend that for which they are apprehended, [Philippians 3:12-14] and may know even as they are known, [1 Corinthians 13:12] "He is their helper and defender." For both "fear the Lord, and have hoped in the Lord: He is their helper and defender" [Psalm 115:11].

For we do not by our deservings prevent the mercy of God; but, "The Lord has been mindful of us, and has blessed us. He has blessed the house of Israel, He has blessed the house of Aaron" [Psalm 115:12]. But in blessing both of these, "He has blessed all that fear the Lord" [Psalm 115:13]. Do you ask, who are meant by both of these? He answers, "both small and great." That is, the house of Israel with the house of Aaron, those who among that nation believed in Jesus the Saviour....For in the character of those who out of that nation believed, it is said, "Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like Gomorrha." [Romans 9:29] Seed, because when it has been scattered over the earth, it multiplied.

So then, let us celebrate their feasts, as indeed we are doing, with the utmost devotion, soberly cheerful, gathered in a holy assembly, thinking faithful thoughts, confidently proclaiming their sanctity. It is no small part of imitation to rejoice together in the virtues of those who are better than we are. They are great, we are little; but "the Lord has blessed the little with the great." They have gone ahead of us, they tower over us like giants. If we are not capable of following them in action, let us follow in affection; if not in glory, then certainly in joy and gladness; if not in merit, then in desire; if not in suffering, then in fellow feeling; if not in excellence, then in our close relationship with them.

For the great ones, of the house of Aaron, have said, "May the Lord increase you more and more, you and your children" [Psalm 115:14]. And thus it has happened. For children that have been raised even from the stones have flocked unto Abraham: [Matthew 3:9] sheep which were not of this fold, have flocked unto him, that there might be one flock, and one shepherd; the faith of all nations was added, and the number grew, not only of wise priests, but of obedient peoples; the Lord increasing not only their fathers more and more, who in Christ might show the way to the rest who should imitate them, but also their children, who should follow their fathers' pious footsteps.

Therefore the Prophet says unto these great and small, the mountains and the little hills, the rams and the young sheep, what follows: "You are the blessed of the Lord, who made heaven and earth" [Psalm 115:15]. As if he should say, You are the blessed of the Lord, who made the heaven in the great, earth in the small: not this visible heaven, studded with luminaries which are objects to these eyes. For "The heaven of heavens is the Lord's" [Psalm 115:16]; who has elevated the minds of some saints to such a height, that they became teachable by no man, but by God Himself; in comparison of which heaven, whatever is discerned with carnal eyes is to be called earth; which "He has given to the children of men;" that when it is contemplated, whether in that region which illumines above, as that which is called heaven, or in that which is illumined beneath, which is properly called earth (since in comparison with that which is called heaven of heaven, the whole, as we have said, is earth;) the whole therefore of this earth He has given to the children of men, that by the consideration of it, as far as they can, they may conceive of the Creator, whom with their yet weak hearts they cannot see without that aid to their conception.

Rightly, therefore, does he who is intent on cleansing our heart follow up what He has said with a precept, where He says: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." If, therefore, the heart be on earth, i.e. if one perform anything with a heart bent on obtaining earthly advantage, how will that heart be clean which wallows on earth? But if it be in heaven, it will be clean, because whatever things are heavenly are clean. For anything becomes polluted when it is mixed with a nature that is inferior, although not polluted of its kind; for gold is polluted even by pure silver, if it be mixed with it: so also our mind becomes polluted by the desire after earthly things, although the earth itself be pure of its kind and order. But we would not understand heaven in this passage as anything corporeal, because everything corporeal is to be reckoned as earth. For he who lays up treasure for himself in heaven ought to despise the whole world. Hence it is in that heaven of which it is said, "The heaven of heavens is the Lord's," i.e. in the spiritual firmament: for it is not in that which is to pass away that we ought to fix and place our treasure and our heart, but in that which ever abideth; but heaven and earth shall pass away.

The festival of Easter does not consist in pleasant conversation at meals, or splendor of clothing or days of leisure but in the acknowledgment of God and the offering of thanksgiving and of praise to him. Now this belongs to the saints alone, who live in Christ; for it is written, "The dead shall not praise you, O Lord, neither all those who go down into silence; but we who live will bless the Lord, from henceforth even forever." So it was with Hezekiah, who was delivered from death and therefore praised God, saying, "Those who are in hades cannot praise you; the dead cannot bless you; but the living shall bless you, as I also do." For to praise and bless God belongs to those only who live in Christ, and by means of this they go up to the feast; for the Passover is not of the Gentiles or of those who are yet Jews in the flesh but of those who acknowledge the truth in Christ, as he declares who was sent to proclaim such a feast: "Our Passover, Christ, is sacrificed."

...But nevertheless since they derive the truth and richness of wisdom, not from man nor through man, but through God Himself, they have received little ones who shall be heaven, that they may know that they are heaven of heaven; as yet however earth, unto which they say, "I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase." For to those very sons of men whom He made heaven, He who knoweth how to provide for the earth through heaven, hath given earth upon which they work. May they therefore abide, heaven and earth, in their God, who made them, and let them live from Him, confessing unto Him, and praising Him; for if they choose to live from themselves, they shall die, as it is written, "From the dead, as though he were not, confession ceaseth." But, "The dead praise not Thee, O Lord, neither all they that go down into silence" (ver. 17). For the Scripture in another passage proclaimeth, "The sinner, when he cometh into the abyss of wickednesses, scorneth." "But we, who live, will praise the Lord, from this time forth for evermore" (ver. 18).