Psalm 33 [MT 34]

The Lord loves thankful people. They never cease to praise him, and they regularly thank him. In both good times and bad times they offer praise and thanksgiving to God. They worship the Lord, the God of times, without regard to what the times are like.

"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall be ever in my mouth" [Psalm 34:1]. So speaks Christ, so also let a Christian speak; for a Christian is in the Body of Christ; and therefore was Christ made Man, that that Christian might be enabled to be an Angel, who says, "I will bless the Lord at all times." When shall I "bless the Lord"? When He blesses you? When the goods of this world abound? When you have great abundance of grain, oil, and wine, of gold and silver, of servants and cattle; when this mortal health remains unwounded and sound; when all that are born to you grow up, nothing is withdrawn by immature death, happiness wholly reigns in your house, and all things overflow around you; then shall you bless the Lord? No; but "at all times." Therefore both then, and when according to the time, or according to the scourges of our Lord God, these things are troubled, are taken away, are seldom born to you, and born pass away. For these things come to pass, and thence follows penury, need, labour, pain, and temptation. But you, who hast sung, "I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall be ever in my mouth," both when He gives them, bless; and when He takes them away, bless. For it is He that gives, it is He that takes away: but Himself from him that blesses Him He takes not away.

The prophet seems to promise something impossible. For how can the praise of God be always in a person's mouth? When he engages in the ordinary conversations pertaining to daily life, he does not have the praise of God in his mouth. When he sleeps, he will keep absolute silence. And how will the mouth of one who is eating and drinking produce praise? We answer to this that there is a certain spiritual mouth of the inner person by which he is fed when he partakes of the word of life, which is the bread that comes down from heaven. Concerning that mouth the prophet also says, "I opened my mouth and panted." The Lord even urges us to have it open wide so as to receive plentifully the food of truth. "Open your mouth wide," he says, "and I will fill it." The thought of God, therefore, having been once for all molded and, as it were, sealed in the authoritative part of the soul, can be called praise of God, since it is always present in the soul. Moreover, according to the counsel of the apostle, the zealous person can do all things for the glory of God, so that every act and every word and every work has in it power of praise. Whether the just person eats or drinks, he does all for the glory of God.

Who is there who blesses the Lord at all times? The person whom good fortune does not corrupt or adversity frighten. This, then, is the first and real peace, to be at peace with God. When this has been accomplished, then we can also possess peace within ourselves. However, if a person is unwilling to have peace with God, he will not be able to possess peace with himself.

The title: "A Psalm of David, when he changed his countenance before Abimelech, and he dismissed him, and he departed." This history is found in 1 Sam. 21, where it is said that David, fleeing from the face of Saul, came to Achish the king of Gath, and was recognized there, along with his valor, because he had slain the Philistine. And fearing that danger threatened him on this account, because those men were of the race of the Philistines and also because of envy of his valor, he wished to avoid this and feigned himself a fool, and so that king despised him. All this is found in 1 Sam. 21, except that the name does not agree, because there the king is called Achish, but here Abimelech. Nor is this inconsistent, either because he had two names, or because his name was Achish but he was of the family of Abimelech. Hence he changed his countenance by showing himself to be a fool, and the king dismissed him and he departed, because David, cast out by him, departed and withdrew. Mystically, Christ changed his countenance when he changed his sacrament, in which the divine truth was concealed. Or, Christ changed the old paschal sacrament into the new before Abimelech, which is interpreted "the kingdom of my father." The Father of Christ is God according to his divinity, and David according to his humanity. The kingdom of David is the Jewish people; the kingdom of God is the Church. Christ indeed changed his countenance before Abimelech, that is, before the Jews, because they were the kingdom of his father David, and they did not recognize him: Is. 53: "We saw him, and there was no comeliness"; and they despised him: hence, "nor did we esteem him." And he departed to the Gentiles. Or Achish, which is interpreted "incredulous," signifies the Jews. In the preceding Psalm, the Psalmist set forth the dignity of the just; here, however, he invites others to the praise of God. This Psalm is divided into two parts. First, an exhortation to praise is presented. Second, a certain necessary instruction, at "Come, children." Concerning the first he does two things. First, he treats of the praise of God. Second, he presents the matter of praise, at "I sought." Concerning the first he does two things. First, he sets forth the example of praise. Second, he exhorts others to imitate, at "Let the meek hear." Concerning the first he does two things. First, he presents the example of praise in himself. Second, the fruit of praising God, at "In the Lord my soul shall be praised." He says therefore, "I will bless the Lord." Sometimes a person praises God for his own sake, as when he speaks with his tongue, he speaks only to himself. Sometimes for the consolation of others, as when he prophesies also to others. To bless the Lord, therefore, is, as has been said, to confess the praise of God; but to bless the Lord is to do good: "at all times," namely of adversity and prosperity. Against this, Ps. 48: "He will praise you when you do good for him"; but Job did not act thus, Job 2: "If we have received good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not also accept evil things?" etc. Tob. 4: "At all times bless God." Likewise, it is necessary that one not only bless God in himself, namely in his own heart, but also that he have his praise on his lips. For the necessity of vocal praise is that you not only praise God yourself, but also that for the benefit and encouragement of others you praise him. Hence he says, "His praise is always in my mouth": Is. 51: "Joy and gladness shall be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of praise." "Always," however, he says, that is, at every appointed time. Or, in the preparation of the mind. Or, always by doing good, from which God is always praised. Note that this verse is chanted at the sixth hour, when Christ suffered, whose passion is for us a cause of praise.

But wherefore doth man bless the Lord at all times? Because he is humble. What is it to be humble? To take not praise unto himself. Who would himself be praised, is proud: who is not proud, is humble. Wouldest thou not then be proud? That thou mayest be humble, say what is here written; "In the Lord shall my soul be praised: the humble shall hear thereof and be glad" (ver. 2). Those then who will not be praised in the Lord, are not humble, but fierce, rough, lifted up, proud. Gentle cattle would the Lord have; be thou the Lord's jumentum; that is, be thou humble. He sitteth upon thee, He ruleth thee: fear not lest thou stumble, and fall headlong: that indeed is thy infirmity; but consider Who sitteth upon thee. Thou art an ass's colt, but thou carriest Christ. For even He on an ass's colt came into the city; and that beast was gentle. ..."Be not ye as the horse or as the mule, which have no understanding." For horse and mule sometimes lift up their neck, and by their own fierceness throw off their rider. They are tamed with the bit, with bridle, with stripes, until they learn to submit, and to carry their master. But thou, before thy jaws are bruised with the bridle, be humble, and carry thy Lord: wish not praise for thyself, but praised be He who sitteth upon thee, and say thou, "In the Lord shall my soul be praised; the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad." ...

Then when he says, "In the Lord," the fruit of praise is presented. He says therefore, "In the Lord my soul shall be praised." For one always regards the good of a friend as one's own good. Hence he says, the praise of God is also my praise. If God is great, it is certain that his friend is great: Ps. 117: "The Lord is my strength and my praise." And he says "soul," because spiritual joy principally pertains to it.

Next, when he says, "Let the meek hear," he leads others first to the cause of praise. Second, to the praise itself, at "Magnify." The beginning of praise is interior joy; hence he says, "Let the meek hear." And therefore they rejoice in all things that are of God, because the harsh do not rejoice but rebel. And he says, "Let them hear," because this joy comes from hearing of others who act well.

Now followeth, "O magnify the Lord with me" (ver. 3). Who is this that exhorteth us, that we should magnify the Lord with him? Whoever, Brethren, is in the body of Christ, ought for this to labour, that the Lord may be magnified with him. For he loveth the Lord, whoever he is. And how doth he love Him? So as not to envy his fellow-lover. ...Let them blush who so love God as to envy others. Abandoned men love a charioteer, and whoever loveth a charioteer or hunter, wisheth the whole people to love with him, and exhorteth, saying, Love with me this pantomime, love with me this or that shame. He calleth among the people that shame may be loved with him; and doth not a Christian call in the Church, that the Truth of God may be loved with him? Stir up then love in yourselves, Brethren; and call to every one of yours, and say, "O magnify the Lord with me." Let there be in you that fervour. Wherefore are these things recited and explained? If ye love God, bring quickly to the love of God all who are joined unto you, and all who are in your house; if the Body of Christ is loved by you, that is, if the unity of the Church, bring them quickly to enjoy, and say, "O magnify the Lord with me."

Then when he says, "Magnify," he exhorts to praise. And first to interior praise. Second, to exterior, at "And let us exalt." As to the first he says, "Magnify the Lord with me." To magnify and to praise God are the same thing, because the goodness of God and his greatness are the same; because in those things that are not great in bulk, to be greater is the same as to be better, according to Augustine in On the Trinity. And therefore he says, "Magnify": Lk. 1: "My soul magnifies the Lord." And this corresponds to what he says, "I will bless the Lord." As to the second he says, "And let us exalt his name." That which is high in itself is said to be exalted when it is spread among many: Sir. 43: "Glorifying the Lord, exalt him as much as you can," etc. "Together," that is, in concord. And this corresponds to what he says, "His praise is always in my mouth."

"I sought the Lord, and He heard me" (ver. 4). Where heard the Lord? Within. Where giveth He? Within. There thou prayest, there thou art heard, there thou art blessed. Thou hast prayed, thou art heard, thou art blessed; and he knoweth not who standeth by thee: it is all carried on in secret, as the Lord saith in the Gospel, "Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." When therefore thou enterest into thy chamber, thou enterest into thy heart. Blessed are they who rejoice when they enter into their heart, and find therein nought of evil. ...

"I sought the Lord, and He heard me." Who then are not heard, seek not the Lord. Attend, Holy Brethren; he said not, I sought gold from the Lord, and He heard me; I sought from the Lord long life, and He heard me; I sought from the Lord this or that, and He heard me. It is one thing to seek anything from the Lord, another to seek the Lord Himself. "I sought" (saith he) "the Lord, and He heard me." But thou, when thou prayest, saying, Kill that my enemy, seekest not the Lord, but, as it were, makest thyself a judge over thy enemy, and makest thy God an executioner. How knowest thou that he is not better than thou, whose death thou seekest? In that very thing haply he is, that he seeketh not thine. Therefore seek not from the Lord anything without, but seek the Lord Himself, and He will hear thee, and while thou yet speakest, He will say, "Lo, here I am." ...

The whole life of the just person is filled with affliction.… But God delivers his saints from their afflictions. Though he does not leave them without trial, yet he bestows on them patient endurance. For if "tribulation works out endurance, and endurance tries virtue," he who excludes tribulation from himself deprives himself of his tried virtue. As no one is crowned without an adversary, so also he cannot be declared tried except through tribulations.

"I sought the Lord" not in the expansive space of lands nor through broad and expansive regions, but in the heart. If we reflect on his majesty there, we find it present in every way.

By saying "from all," nothing is left which you might have suspected was still standing in opposition.

Next, when he says, "I sought," the matter of praise is presented, which is divine clemency in hearing prayer. Concerning the first he does two things. First, he presents the clemency of his hearing. Second, the merit of being heard, at "This poor man cried out." Concerning the first he does two things. First, he presents the benefit granted to himself. Second, he invites others to obtain this benefit, at "Come to him," etc. Concerning the first he does three things. First, he presents the petition. Second, the hearing, at "And he heard me." Third, the effect of being heard, at "And from all." He says therefore, "I sought the Lord." The best choice is to seek God himself; hence in the Lord's Prayer the first petition is "Hallowed be thy name": Is. 55: "Seek the Lord while he may be found." He says therefore, "I sought," as if to say, with great diligence I sought. And therefore the hearing follows, "And he heard me." The effect of the hearing is that "from all my tribulations he delivered me." For he delivers the just from tribulations sometimes so that they do not suffer tribulations: Job 5: "In six tribulations he will deliver you, and in the seventh, evil shall not touch you." Sometimes so that they are not too greatly troubled: Ps. 93: "According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, your consolations have gladdened my soul": 2 Cor. 1: "Who comforts us in all our tribulation"; and this consolation the holy always have. Likewise, he delivered them exteriorly, because the wicked can never separate the saints from Christ: Rom. 8: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?"

I have said who was the exhorter, namely, that lover who would not alone embrace what he loveth, and saith, "Approach unto Him, and be ye lightened" (ver. 5). For he saith what he himself proved. For some spiritual person in the Body of Christ, or even our Lord Jesus Christ Himself according to the flesh, the Head exhorting His Own Members, saith; what? "Approach unto Him, and be ye lightened." Or rather some spiritual Christian inviteth us to approach to our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. But let us approach to Him and be lightened; not as the Jews approached to Him, that they might be darkened; for they approached to Him that they might crucify Him: let us approach to Him that we may receive His Body and Blood. They by Him crucified were darkened; we by eating and drinking The Crucified are lightened. "Approach unto Him, and be ye lightened." Lo, this is said to the Gentiles. Christ was crucified amid the Jews raging and seeing; the Gentiles were absent; lo, they have approached who were in darkness, and they who saw not are lightened. Whereby approach the Gentiles? By following with faith, by longing with the heart, by running with charity. Thy feet are thy charity. Have two feet, be not lame. What are thy two feet? The two commandments of love, of thy God, and of thy Neighbour. With these feet run thou unto God, approach unto Him, for He hath both exhorted thee to run, and hath Himself shed His Own Light, as he hath magnificently and divinely continued. "And your faces shall not be ashamed." "Approach" (saith he) "unto Him, and be ye lightened; and your faces shall not be ashamed." No face shall be ashamed but of the proud. Wherefore? Because he would be lifted up, and when he hath suffered insult, or ignominy, or mischance in this world, or any affliction, he is ashamed. But fear not thou, approach unto Him, and thou shalt not be ashamed. ...

His light is said to be inaccessible when the unique and omnipotent character of its substance is described. But when the grace of the holy Godhead pours itself forth, one both approaches him and is offered blessed illumination.

Let us therefore also gaze on God, raising up and exalting his holy name in praise. Let us take refuge with his purity by continual recollection of his name; let us sculpt out the beauty of our souls by gazing on the likeness of his glory, so that we may be seen to be glorious statues of his divinity within creation.

Whoever approaches him in faith receives rays of intellectual light.

Then when he says, "Come to him and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be confounded," he invites others to obtain this benefit. And concerning this he does two things. First, he presents the invitation. Second, the effect of the invitation, at "And your faces shall not be confounded." He says therefore, "Come to him," through faith and charity: Jas. 4: "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." And therefore he adds, "And be enlightened." God is light, and he who approaches the light is enlightened: Is. 60: "Arise," through affection, "and be enlightened": Deut. 33: "He who draws near to his feet shall receive from his teaching." The effect of the invitation is that "your faces shall not be confounded" in refusal, because you will not suffer it, "for there is no confusion for those who hope in him," Dan. 3. Or, "your faces," that is, your thoughts, "shall not be confounded" through defect of truth.

Draw near to him who is pure of heart, draw near and be enlightened. Let your faces not be ashamed in their poverty. If you remember the wealth of the Lord of heaven and earth was made poor for the sake of your poverty, tried for the sake of our tribulation, you will not be ashamed, nor will you fail. For that poor one cries from the cross. Who is this poor one? He who, although rich, was made poor: "Made obedient even to the cross" so that he could free you from crosses. He shouted, and the Lord heard. He sent his angels to guard his body and removed the stone and snatched him from the tomb.

As the Prophet testifies, "The poor man cried, and the Lord heard him" [Psalm 34:6]. He teaches you how you may be heard. Therefore are you not heard, because you are rich. Lest haply thou say, you cried and wast not heard, hear wherefore; "The poor man cried, and the Lord heard him." As poor cry thou, and the Lord hears. And how shall I cry as poor? By not, if you have anything, presuming therefrom upon your own strength: by understanding that you are needy; by understanding that so long are you poor, as you have not Him who makes you rich. But how did the Lord hear him? "And saved him out of all his troubles." And how saves He men out of all their troubles? "The Angel of the Lord shall send round about them that fear Him, and shall deliver them" [Psalm 34:7]. So it is written, brethren, not as some bad copies have it, "The Lord shall send His Angel round about them that fear Him, and He shall deliver them:" but thus, "The Angel of the Lord shall send round about them that fear Him, and shall deliver them." Whom called He here the Angel of the Lord, who shall send round about them that fear Him, and shall deliver them? Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself is called in Prophecy, the Angel of the great Counsel, the Messenger of the great Counsel; so the Prophets called Him. Even He then, the Angel of the great Counsel, that is, the Messenger, shall send unto them that fear the Lord, and shall deliver them. Fear not then lest you be hid: wheresoever you have feared the Lord, there does that Angel know you, who shall send to succour you, and shall deliver you.

Poverty is not always praiseworthy, but only that which is practiced intentionally according to the evangelical aim. Many are poor in their resources but very grasping in their intention; poverty does not save these; on the contrary, their intention condemns them. Accordingly, not he who is poor is by all means blessed, but he who has considered the command of Christ better than the treasures of the world.

The word this indicates the person poor in spirit who is not only devoid of worldly riches, but also of abundant vices. This is the poor person who is enlightened as he approaches God, whose face does not blush, and his prayer is heard appropriately, leading to his salvation when he cries to the Lord; afterwards he comes forth not to be freed from a single affliction, but from all earthly distresses. This takes places regularly for the just when they yield their souls to holy conduct and are taken from the chaotic disaster of this world to lasting freedom from care.

The one who was in need of everything and given up as lost by people implored God in a moment of tribulation, and the Lord heard him and saved him against the odds.

Learn from my experience, he is saying, to trust in the God of all: though lowly and a mere shepherd, he accorded me his personal providence and rendered me superior to my enemies.

Then when he says, "This poor man cried out," he presents the merit of being heard. And concerning this he does three things. First, he presents the merit itself. Second, he promises a similar benefit to others, at "The Angel shall encamp." Third, he exhorts them to experience it, at "Taste." He says therefore, "This poor man." This verse differs in nothing from the other, "I sought," except that there he speaks of himself, but here of a poor man. And therefore only this should be explained: who is this poor man? And it is said that "this" either points to himself or to Christ. And in what he says, "poor," he insinuates the merit of being heard, because he is poor in spirit, or poor of pride, or of the desire to possess earthly things. And these are heard: Jdt. 9: "The prayer of the humble and the meek has always pleased you": Ps. 32: "He has regarded the prayer of the humble," etc. "He cried out," with the greatness of interior affection: Is. 6: "The Seraphim cried out one to another and said, Holy, holy," etc.

Christ is more capable of protecting his servants than the devil is capable of stirring up our enemies. For although the same devil gathers for himself hoards and arms them with cruel rage, they are still easily destroyed, because the Savior surrounds his people with his auxiliaries, for the prophet says: "The Angel of the Lord places himself in the midst of those who fear him, and he will rescue them." If the Angel of the Lord rescues those who fear him from dangers, one who fears the Savior is not able to fear the barbarian, nor is someone who has kept the commandments of Christ able to fear the attack of an enemy. The commandments of Christ are the armor of the Christian, and the fear of God drives the fear of the enemy from us. These are our weapons, with which the Savior has equipped us: prayer, mercy and fasting. For fasting guards us more effectively than a wall, mercy liberates us more easily than pillaging, and prayer can wound from a greater distance than an arrow. For an arrow hits the enemy only when he is close at hand, but prayer wounds the enemy even when he is positioned far away.

Second, when he says, "The Angel of the Lord shall encamp," he promises a similar benefit; as if to say, others are heard just as this poor man was. Many manuscripts have, "The Angel of the Lord shall encamp." Jerome has, "The Angel of the Lord encamps round about those who fear him." He says therefore, "The Angel of the Lord shall encamp," protecting with the splendor of his light, "round about": Ps. 124: "Mountains are round about him," namely the Angels: 2 Kgs. 6: "There are many more with us than with them." And below: "Behold, the mountain," etc. He shall encamp, therefore, that is, he shall make an encampment: Heb. 1: "All are ministering spirits." "And he shall deliver them," namely from the attack of enemies and demons: Jdt. 7: "The children of Israel do not trust in lance or arrow, but the mountains defend them," namely the Angel, or Christ: Is. 9. According to the translation of the Seventy Interpreters, "He shall be called the Angel of great counsel." Because he was sent by God insofar as he is man. Or, Angel is understood as a prelate of the Church: Mal. 2: "He is the angel of the Lord of hosts." For the prelates of the Church ought to guard their flock.

In Christ we possess everything. Let every soul approach him, whether it is sick with the sins of the flesh, infixed by the nails of worldly desires, admittedly still imperfect, progressing by intense medication or already perfect in its many virtues. Everyone is in the Lord's power, and Christ is all things to us. If you desire to heal your wounds, he is your doctor; if you are on fire with fever, he is your fountain; if you are burdened with iniquity, he is your justification; if you need help, he is your strength; if you fear death, he is your life; if you desire heaven, he is your way; if you are fleeing from darkness, he is your light; if you are seeking food, he is your nourishment. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Happy is the one who takes refuge in him.

Taste the body of life and see how sweet is the Lord. He has life in himself who eats his flesh and drinks his blood, and then he will be blessed.

Now will He speak openly of the same Sacrament, whereby He was carried in His Own Hands. "O taste and see that the Lord is good" [Psalm 34:8]. Does not the Psalm now open itself, and show you that seeming insanity and constant madness, the same insanity and sober inebriety of that David, who in a figure showed I know not what, when in the person of king Achis they said to him, How is it? When the Lord said, "Except a man eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, he shall have no life in him"? [John 6:53] And they in whom reigned Achis, that is, error and ignorance, said; what said they? "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" [John 6:52] If you are ignorant, "Taste and see that the Lord is good:" but if you understand not, you are king Achis: David shall change His Countenance and shall depart from you, and shall quit you, and shall depart.

As the nature of honey can be described to the inexperienced not so much by speech as by the perception of it through taste, so the goodness of the heavenly Word cannot be clearly taught by doctrines, unless, examining to a greater extent the dogmas of truth, we are able to comprehend by our own experience the goodness of the Lord.

Nor do I say this so that we should be without affection, and with a dry heart move only our hands to works. I have read among the other great and grievous evils of men which the Apostle writes, this also numbered: namely to be without affection (Rom 1:31). But there is an affection which the flesh begets; and there is one which reason rules; and there is one which wisdom seasons. The first is that which the Apostle says is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be (Rom 8:7); the second is that which he affirms on the other hand to be consenting to the law of God, because it is good (Rom 7:16); nor is there any doubt that the contentious and the consenting differ from each other. But the third is far distant from both, which both tastes and savors that the Lord is sweet (Ps 34:8), eliminating the first and rewarding the second. For the first indeed is sweet, but base; the second is dry, but strong; the last is rich, and sweet.

"The angels," he said, "have no senses; their experience is purely intellectual and spiritual. That is why we know something about God which they don't. There are particular aspects of His love and joy which can be communicated to a created being only by sensuous experience. Something of God which the seraphim can never quite understand flows into us from the blue of the sky, the taste of honey, the delicious embrace of water whether cold or hot, and even from sleep itself."

William Law remarks that people are merely "amusing themselves" by asking for the patience which a famine or a persecution would call for if, in the meantime, the weather and every other inconvenience sets them grumbling. One must learn to walk before one can run. So here. We—or at least I—shall not be able to adore God on the highest occasions if we have learned no habit of doing so on the lowest. At best, our faith and reason will tell us that He is adorable, but we shall not have _found_ Him so, not have "tasted and seen." Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are "patches of Godlight" in the woods of our experience.

If we taste the Lord, we taste through faith. If he is good, it is through the knowledge of his goodness that we taste.

This feeling for expressing a fresh solidity by the image of eating is really a very old one. So far from being a paradox of perversity, it is one of the oldest commonplaces of religion. If any one wandering about wants to have a good trick or test for separating the wrong idealism from the right, I will give him one on the spot. It is a mark of false religion that it is always trying to express concrete facts as abstract; it calls sex affinity; it calls wine alcohol; it calls brute starvation the economic problem. The test of true religion is that its energy drives exactly the other way; it is always trying to make men feel truths as facts; always trying to make abstract things as plain and solid as concrete things; always trying to make men, not merely admit the truth, but see, smell, handle, hear, and devour the truth. All great spiritual scriptures are full of the invitation not to test, but to taste; not to examine, but to eat. Their phrases are full of living water and heavenly bread, mysterious manna and dreadful wine. Worldliness, and the polite society of the world, has despised this instinct of eating; but religion has never despised it.

Spiritual delights, when not possessed, are treated with disgust, but when possessed they are desired; and the more they are hungered for by the one eating, the more they are also consumed by the one hungering. For spiritual delights increase desire in the mind while they satisfy, because the more their flavor is perceived, the more one recognizes what should be loved more eagerly. And therefore, when not possessed, they cannot be loved, because their flavor is unknown. For who is able to love what he does not know? Hence the Psalmist admonishes us, saying: "Taste and see that the Lord is sweet." As if he were saying openly: You do not know his sweetness if you do not taste it at all. But touch the food of life with the palate of your heart, so that by proving its sweetness you may be able to love it.

Just as the body dies unless it is given proper food, even so does the soul if it is not given spiritual food. Why am I making such a point of this? Because there are some who insist on saying, I have no need for sacred Scripture; the fear of God is enough for me. That is, therefore, precisely why we affirm that just as there are foods for the body, so there are, likewise, foods for the soul, namely, the sacred Scripture.

God's people have spiritual feasts and pure delicacies that it is healthy for them to look for and laudable for them to desire, for the prophet says in praise of them, "Taste and see that the Lord is sweet." Whoever have touched with the taste of their hearts the sweetness of the justice and mercy of God, by which all his ordinances are carried out, and have drunk from the experiences of supernal joys never to be diminished by any pride, they will despise the corruptible and temporal good in their admiration of the eternal, and they will glow in that fire that the love of God kindles. As when cold is changed to warmth and night is changed to daylight, the Holy Spirit by one stroke in the hearts of the faithful takes away darkness and destroys sin.

Third, when he says, "Taste and see that the Lord is sweet," he exhorts them to experience it. And concerning this he does two things. First, he exhorts to the experience of divine fellowship. Second, to the observance of divine fear, at "Fear." Concerning the first he does two things. First, he exhorts to experience. Second, he presents the effect of experience, at "And see that." He says therefore, "Taste and see," etc. Experience of a thing is acquired through the senses; but differently for a thing present and for a thing absent: because for an absent thing, through sight, smell, and hearing; for a present thing, through touch and taste; but through touch for a thing externally present, through taste for a thing internally present. Now God is not far from us, nor outside us, but within us: Jer. 14: "You are in our midst, O Lord." And therefore the experience of divine goodness is called tasting: 1 Pet. 2: "If indeed you have tasted how sweet," etc. Prov. 31: "She has tasted and seen that her trading is good." The effect of experience is presented as twofold. One is the certitude of the intellect; the other is the security of the affections. As to the first he says, "And see." For in corporeal matters, one first sees and then tastes; but in spiritual matters, one first tastes, then sees; because no one knows who does not taste. And therefore he says first "taste" and then "see." As to the second he says, "That the Lord is sweet": Wis. 12: "O how good and sweet, O Lord, is your spirit in us." Ps. 30: "How great is the multitude of your sweetness." And then, "Blessed is the man who hopes in him": Is. 30: "Blessed are all who wait for him."

Fear the Lord, all his saints, because the ones fearing him lack nothing—nothing of excellence in the present, nothing of perfection, nothing of future joy.

"O fear the Lord, all you His saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him" [Psalm 34:9]. For many therefore will not fear God the Lord, lest they suffer hunger. It is said to them, Defraud not; and they say, Whence can I feed myself? No art can be without imposture; no business can be without fraud. But fraud God punishes: fear God. But if I should fear God, I shall not have whence to live. "O fear the Lord, all you His saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him." He promises plenty to him that trembles, and doubts, lest haply if he should fear God, he should lose things superfluous. The Lord fed you despising Him, and will He desert you fearing Him? Attend, and say not, Such an one is rich, and I am poor. I fear the Lord, he by not fearing how much has he gained, and I by fearing am bare! See what follows; "The rich do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing" [Psalm 34:10]. If you receive it according to the letter, He seems to deceive you, for you see that many rich men that are wicked die in their riches, and are not made poor while they live; you see them grow old, and come even to the end of life amid great abundance and riches. You see their funeral pomp celebrated with great profusion, the man himself brought rich even to the sepulchre, having expired in beds of ivory, his family weeping around; and you say in your mind, if haply you know some both sins and crimes done by him: I know what things that man has done; lo, he has grown old, he has died in his bed, his friends follow him to the grave, his funeral is celebrated with all this pomp; I know what he has done; the Scripture has deceived me, and has spoken falsely, where I hear and sing; "The rich do lack and suffer hunger." When was this man in need? When did he suffer hunger? "But they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing." Daily I rise up to Church, daily I bend the knee, daily I seek the Lord, and have nothing good: this man sought not the Lord, and he has died in the midst of all these good things! Thus thinking, the snare of offense chokes him; for he seeks mortal food on the earth, and seeks not a true reward in heaven, and so he puts his head into the devil's noose, his jaws are tied close, and the devil holds him fast unto evil doing, that so he may imitate the evil men, whom he sees to die in such plenty.

Unless fear disciplines our life, it is impossible successfully to attain holiness in body.… In him who fears there is not want, that is, he is failing with regard to no virtue who is prevented by fear from every absurd act, since he falls short of nothing good that belongs to human nature. As he is not perfect in body who is lacking in any necessary part but is imperfect because of what he lacks, so also he who is disposed contemptuously about one of the commands, because he is wanting in it, is imperfect in that in which he lacks. But he who has assumed perfect fear and through piety shrinks beneath all things will commit no sin because he despises nothing; he will not experience any want because he will possess fear sufficiently in all things.

It is not possible for the one who fears God and hopes in him to fail.

Then when he says, "Fear," he first exhorts to the observance of divine fear. Second, he assigns the cause of fear, at "For there is no want." Third, he makes the cause manifest, at "The rich have been in need." He says therefore, "The Lord is sweet and gentle." But to whom? To those who fear him. Therefore, "Fear the Lord, all you his saints." And he says "saints," because no one can be holy unless he is God-fearing. And he says this because fear is necessary not only for those ascending to holiness, but also for those remaining in it: Sir. 27: "If you do not hold yourself steadfastly in the fear of the Lord, your house will quickly be overthrown." And also because nothing so empties holiness as pride; and fear is a restraint upon pride: Sir. 7: "He who fears God neglects nothing": Sir. 40: "In the fear of the Lord there is no diminishment." The reason why one should fear, he adds: "For there is no want for those who fear him." This is explained in multiple ways. First, concerning the want of spiritual goods: Is. 33: "The riches of salvation are wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure." If therefore the fear of the Lord is a treasure, there is no want for those who fear him. Likewise, concerning bodily want. For it sometimes happens that one who fears God has little; but it does not happen that he is destitute. One is destitute who considers himself lacking; those who fear God are content with what they have: Phil. 4: "Everywhere and in all things I have been instructed," etc. Likewise, God comes to the aid of those who seek him in their need. But Augustine objects in his Sermon on the Mount, because the Apostle says, 1 Cor. 4: "Even to this hour we hunger and thirst and are naked." How then is there no want for those who fear him? And he says that God is both nourisher and physician. A physician, however, withdraws nourishment from the sick and makes them hunger and thirst, because it is expedient for health. So God, according to what is expedient for our salvation, sometimes sends want, sometimes confers riches, sometimes grants length of days, sometimes brings brevity.

The rich dwell in uncertainty concerning the things the world gives. The riches that God gives do not fail, but they remain because these riches arise in the fear of the Lord.

Wealth is unstable and like a wave accustomed to change hither and thither by the violence of the wind.… God himself is absolute Good, and they who seek him will not be without him.

But next, when he says, "The rich have been in need," he makes the reason manifest through the contrary. For the contrary of the fear of the Lord is the affection of those who give their souls to riches. First, therefore, he shows that those who are in riches are in want. Second, that those who seek God are without want, at "Those who seek." He says therefore, "The rich have been in need," namely spiritually; that is, those who are rich in worldly things have been in want of spiritual riches. Rev. 3: "You say, I am rich and have been enriched and need nothing; and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked." "And have been hungry," namely for spiritual goods: because there is a natural appetite in man for virtue; for although the appetite is depraved toward sins, yet naturally he desires virtues. Or, in the future, "they have been in need," that is, they will be in need, "and have been hungry," that is, they will hunger: Is. 65: "My servants shall eat, and you shall be hungry." Likewise, it is understood literally: because the rich are frequently reduced to destitution, because worldly things are perishable. Lk. 1: "The hungry he has filled with good things," etc. "But those who seek the Lord": Is. 55: "Seek the Lord while he may be found," etc. "Shall not be diminished in any good," that is, they shall not lack the perfect good: because they shall have spiritual goods at will, and temporal goods as needed: Lk. 12: "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you": Prov. 10: "The desire of the just shall be granted." And their desire is every good: Prov. 11: and therefore they shall have every good.

"Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord" (ver. 11). Ye think, brethren, that I say this: think that David saith it; think that an Apostle saith it; nay think that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself saith it; "Come, ye children, hearken unto Me." Let us hearken unto Him together: hearken ye unto Him through us. For He would teach us; He the Humble, He that drummeth, He that affecteth, would teach us. ...

This is not the fear that leads to dread, but the kind that leads to love. Fear of people is full of bitterness, but this fear is full of sweetness. The first compels us to slavery, but the second draws us toward freedom. Finally, the first fears confinement, but the second opens up the kingdom of heaven. So he rightly professes that this second type of fear is useful and we ought to learn it with an eager mind.

"Come." Having presented above the exhortation to praise, here a necessary instruction is presented. And concerning this he does two things. First, he instructs about the fear of God. Second, about divine providence, at "The eyes of the Lord," etc. Concerning the first he does two things. First, he presents, as it were, a proem to his teaching. Second, he adds his teaching, at "Who is the man?" In the introduction he does three things. First, he renders the hearer benevolent. Second, attentive, at "Listen to me." Third, docile, at "I will teach you the fear of the Lord." He says therefore, as to the first, "Come, children." For it belongs to parents to love their children; and therefore he says "children," so that by parental love he may render them benevolent. Likewise, it belongs to parents to invite their children to learning and to educate them; hence he says, "Come": Gen. 49: "Jacob called his sons and said, Gather yourselves together that I may tell you what shall happen to you in the last days": Heb. 12: "We have had fathers of our flesh as educators, and we reverenced them." As to the second he says, "Listen to me": Prov. 1: "The wise man, hearing, will be wiser," etc. Sir. 33: "Hear me, O you great men, and all you peoples, and you rulers of the Church," etc. Third, he renders them docile; and this when he indicates what he is about to speak of: "I will teach you the fear of the Lord," that is, what fruit you shall have if you fear God. Or, how you should fear God. And he begins with fear, and rightly so; because in knowledge one must begin with the elements: Prov. 1: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," namely divine wisdom.

Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. [Psalms 34:12-16] And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

"What man is he that desireth life, and loveth to see good days?" (ver. 12). He asketh a question. Doth not every one among you answer, I? Is there any man among you that loveth not life, that is, that desireth not life, and loveth not to see good days? Do ye not daily thus murmur, and thus speak; How long shall we suffer these things? Daily are they worse and worse: in our fathers' time were days more joyful, were days better. O if thou couldest ask those same, thy fathers, in like manner would they murmur to thee of their own days. Our fathers were happy, miserable are we, evil days have we: such an one ruled over us, we thought that after his death might some refreshing be given to us; worse things have come: O God, show unto us good days! "What man is he that desireth life, and loveth to see good days?" Let him not seek here good days. A good thing he seeketh, but not in its right place doth he seek it. As, if thou shouldest seek some righteous man in a country, wherein he lived not, it would be said to thee, A good man thou seekest, a great man thou seekest, seek him still, but not here; in vain thou seekest him here, thou wilt never find him. Good days thou seekest, together let us seek them, seek not here. ...Read the Scriptures. ...

But are ye so devoid of fear, or rather of faith, as not to believe the Lord Himself, or Paul, who in Christ's stead thus entreats: "Taste and see that Christ is God?" Faith will lead you in; experience will teach you; Scripture will train you, for it says, "Come hither, O children; listen to me, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord." Then, as to those who already believe, it briefly adds, "What man is he that desireth life, that loveth to see good days?" It is we, we shall say-we who are the devotees of good, we who eagerly desire good things. Hear, then, ye who are far off, hear ye who are near: the word has not been hidden from any; light is common, it shines "on all men." No one is a Cimmerian in respect to the word. Let us haste to salvation, to regeneration; let us who are many haste that we may be brought together into one love, according to the union of the essential unity; and let us, by being made good, conformably follow after union, seeking after the good Monad.

Then he adds his teaching when he says, "Who is the man?" And concerning this he does two things. First, he teaches the fruit of fear. Second, the teaching itself, at "Keep." He says therefore, "Who is the man who desires life?" For a person desires two things: namely a long life and prosperity. But because a long life in evil is to be fled, therefore he says, "Who is the man who desires life?" This life, moreover, a person acquires through the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, as is said in Ps. 110, without which wisdom there is no life; hence wisdom herself says, Prov. 8: "He who finds me shall find life." Some, however, live but in evils and hardships: Gen. 47: "The days of the pilgrimage of my life are one hundred and thirty years, few and evil." And therefore he says, "He loves to see good days," that is, full days, because in those days of eternity there is nothing but good: Ps. 83: "One day in your courts is better than a thousand."

If … anger has got the start, and has already taken possession of your mind and mounted into your heart, forsake not your ground. Your ground is patience, it is wisdom, it is reason, it is the allaying of indignation. And if the stubbornness of your opponent rouses you and his perverseness drives you to indignation: if you cannot calm your mind, check at least your tongue. For so it is written: "Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips that they speak no guile. Seek peace and pursue it." … First, then, calm your mind. If you cannot do this, put a restraint on your tongue. Last, do not neglect to seek for reconciliation. These ideas the speakers of the world have borrowed from us and have set down in their writings. But he who said it first has the credit of understanding its meaning.

Let not a Christian then murmur, let him see whose steps he follows: but if he loves good days, let him hearken unto Him teaching and saying, "Come, you children, hearken unto Me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord." What would you? Life and good days. Hear, and do. "Keep your tongue from evil" [Psalm 34:13]. This do. I will not, says a miserable man, I will not keep my tongue from evil, and yet I desire life and good days. If a workman of yours should say to you, I indeed lay waste this vineyard, yet I require of you my reward; you brought me to the vineyard to lop and prune it, I cut away all the useful wood, I will cut short also the very trunks of the vines, that you have thereon nothing to gather, and when I have done this, you shall repay to me my labour. Would you not call him mad? Would you not drive him from your house or ever he put his hand to the knife? Such are those men who would both do evil, and swear falsely, and speak blasphemy against God, and murmur, and defraud, and be drunken, and dispute, and commit adultery, and use charms, and consult diviners, and withal see good days. To such it is said, you can not doing ill seek a good reward. If you are unjust, shall God also be unjust? What shall I do, then? What do you desire? Life I desire, good days I desire. "Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips that they speak no guile," that is, defraud not any, lie not to any.

The most common and varied sin is that committed through the tongue. Were you provoked to anger? The tongue is already running on. Are you possessed by concupiscence? Before all things you have a tongue, a sort of pimp and promoter, as it were, assistant to the sin, subduing your neighbors by histrionic arts. Your tongue is also a weapon for your injustice, not uttering the words from the heart but bringing forth those inspired by deceit. But what need is there to put in words all the sins committed through the tongue? Our life is filled with faults due to the tongue. Obscenity, scurrility, foolish talk, unbecoming words, slanders, idle conversation, perjuries, false testimony, all these evils, and even more than these, are the work of the tongue.

Let us restrain our tongues from evil, since they have been sanctified by our confession of faith. Let us fear to use that [same tongue] with which we bless our God and Father to curse human beings, who have been made according to God's likeness.

Let us train therefore our tongue to speak good words. For "refrain," it is said, "your tongue from evil." For God gave it not that we should speak evil, that we should revile, that we should calumniate one another, but to sing hymns to God, to speak those things that "give grace to the hearers," things for edification, things for profit.

But what the effect of fear is, he shows first in speech. Second, in deed, at "Turn away." In speech he forbids two things: namely open evil and fraudulent good. As to the first he says, "Keep your tongue from evil," namely detraction, defamation, and error: Eph. 4: "Let no evil speech proceed from your mouth": Jas. 1: "If anyone thinks himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue," etc. As to the second he says, "And let your lips not speak deceit"; as if to say, do not even utter good things deceitfully: Ps. 11: "May the Lord destroy the deceitful tongue." And note that he first speaks of restraining the tongue, and then of the lips: because first one moves the tongue when one wishes to speak, and then the lips. Likewise, the tongue first forms words, but the lips distinguish them.

But what is, "Depart from evil"? (ver. 14). It is little that thou injure none, murder none, steal not, commit not adultery, do no wrong, speak no false witness; "Depart from evil." When thou hast departed, thou sayest, Now I am safe, I have done all, I shall have life, I shall see good days. Not only saith he, "Depart from evil," but also, "and do good." It is nothing that thou spoil not: clothe the naked. If thou hast not spoiled, thou hast declined from evil; but thou wilt not do good, except thou receive the stranger into thine house. So then depart from evil, as to do good. "Seek peace, and ensue it." He hath not said, Thou shalt have peace here; seek it, and ensue it. Whither shall I ensue it? Whither it hath gone before. For the Lord is our peace, hath risen again, and hath ascended into Heaven. "Seek peace, and ensue it;" because when thou also hast risen, this mortal shall be changed, and thou shall embrace peace there where no man shall trouble thee. For there is perfect peace, where thou wilt not hunger. ...

Mere abstinence from evil is not a characteristic of a perfect person, but for one recently instructed in basic principles it is fitting to turn aside from the impulse to evil and, being delivered from the habits of a depraved life as from a bad road, to pursue the performance of good. In fact, it is impossible to cling to the good unless one has withdrawn entirely and turned away from the evil, just as it is impossible to repair one's health unless one rids himself of the disease, or for one who has not completely checked a chill to be in a state of warmth; for, these are inadmissible to each other. So also, it is proper for one who intends to live a good life to depart from all connection with evil.… Yet, as long as we were bound to the flesh, we were yoked to many things that also troubled us. Seek, then, after peace, a release from the troubles of this world; possess a calm mind, a tranquil and unconfused state of soul that is neither agitated by the passions nor drawn aside by false doctrines that challenge by their persuasiveness to an assent, in order that you may obtain "the peace of God that surpasses all understanding and guards your heart."

To see good days it is insufficient simply to abstain from evil acts; our compassion must also compel us to perform good works. The first stage of virtue is not to covet what belongs to others, but then the higher stage is not to hold back our own possessions from those in need. In the first stage, we escape blame, but in the second we win the palm of compassion.

The person of peace ought to seek and follow peace; he who knows and loves the bond of charity ought to restrain his tongue from the evil of dissension. Among his divine commands and salutary instructions the Lord now very near his passion added the following: "Peace I leave you, my peace I give you." This inheritance he gave us, all the gifts and rewards of his promise he assured us in the conservation of peace. If we are heirs of Christ, let us remain in the peace of Christ; if we are children of God, we ought to be peacemakers. "Blessed," he said, "are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." The children of God should be peacemakers, gentle in heart, simple in speech, harmonious in affection, clinging to one another faithfully in the bonds of unanimity.

The commandments which Jesus spake unto him, "Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, and Thou shalt not bear false witness," agree with the words of David, who said, "Depart from evil, and do good"; and with those which Paul spake, "Let not wickedness overcome you." And the commandments, "Honour thy father and thy mother," and, "That which is hateful unto thee, do not unto thy neighbour," agree with, "Do ye good," and, "Overcome evil with good."

The peaceable person entertains peace toward everyone, not purloining the neighbor's property furtively, not committing homicide, not undermining marriages, not speaking evil, not doing evil, doing favors, showing respect, sharing, lending support, sharing dangers and struggles—such is unalloyed love and genuine friendship.

Likewise, in deed he shows two things to be done. For a person ought to order his life, first with regard to himself; and with regard to this he says, "Turn away." Second, with regard to neighbor; and with regard to this he says, "Seek," etc. Concerning the first he does two things, according to the diverse parts of justice, which are namely turning away from evil and doing good. The second is at "And do good." He says therefore, "Turn away from evil": Sir. 7: "Do not do evil things," etc. To turn away from evil is not meritorious if "turning away" denotes only a negation; for by this, namely by not doing evil, one indeed avoids the punishment that one would have incurred by committing it; yet life is not acquired on this account. And therefore, understood in this way, not doing evil is not meritorious, so long as such a will is not informed by charity, so as to turn from evil for God's sake. "And do good": Is. 1: "Learn to do well." Second, with regard to neighbor he says, "Seek peace," etc. But it happens sometimes that you have a neighbor who attacks you, and then it is your part to seek peace; and therefore he says, "Seek peace": Rom. 12: "If it be possible, as much as is in you, have peace with all men." But sometimes it happens that you have someone who seeks peace from you, and then it is your part to pursue it; hence he says, "And pursue it." Or he speaks of the peace that one ought to have within oneself; and this, he says, you should seek in this life. But it is not fully had, because the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, Gal. 5. He says moreover, "And pursue it," so that you may have more of it, although it is not perfect here, but in the future, where the people shall sit in the beauty of peace, Is. 32. Or, "Seek peace," that is, Christ, who is our peace: Eph. 2; "And pursue it": Eccl. 2: "Who is the man who can follow the king his maker?"

"The Eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous:" fear not then; labour; the eyes of the Lord are upon you. "And His Ears are open unto their prayers" [Psalm 34:15]. What would you more? If an householder in a great house should not hearken to a servant murmuring, he would complain, and say, What hardship do we here suffer, and none hears us. Can you say this of God, What hardships I suffer, and none hears me? If He heard me, haply, do you say, He would take away my tribulation: I cry unto Him, and yet have tribulation. Only do thou hold fast His ways, and when you are in tribulation, He hears you. But He is a Physician, and still have you something of putrefaction; you cry out, but still He cuts, and takes not away His Hand, until He has cut as much as pleases Him. For that Physician is cruel who hears a man, and spares his wound and putrefaction. How do mothers rub their children in the baths for their health. Do not the little ones cry out in their hands? Are they then cruel because they spare not, nor hearken unto their tears? Are they not full of affection? And yet the children cry out, and are not spared. So our God also is full of charity, but therefore seems He not to hear, that He may spare and heal us for everlasting.

God takes care of the righteous (by "eyes" referring not simply to sight but also to what is done by God in beneficence and providence).… He also accepts their requests.… But he has an eye also for the wicked, though not in the same way as for the good. To what effect? "To destroy remembrance of them from the land": … God gives evidence of great care for the righteous, accepting their supplication while completely disregarding those guilty of wrong actions and inflicting destruction on them.

Then when he says, "The eyes of the Lord are upon the just," he instructs about divine providence. And concerning this he does two things. First, he sets forth divine providence. Second, he shows the effect of divine providence, at "The just cried out." Concerning the first he does two things. First, he proposes divine providence with regard to the good. Second, with regard to the wicked, at "But the face of the Lord." He says therefore, "The eyes of the Lord," etc. To those for whom we have care, we attend in two ways: namely by sight, regarding their deeds; and with regard to this he says, "The eyes of the Lord." And by hearing, regarding their words; and with regard to this he says, "And his ears." And although in God there is neither sight nor hearing, but the very wisdom of God, yet because of the diverse things known, both are said, namely sight and hearing. Sight is signified by the eyes with regard to deeds themselves; hearing, however, by ears with regard to words. Therefore he says, "The eyes of the Lord are upon the just," namely with the look of approval: 2 Tim. 2: "The Lord knows who are his": Sir. 15: "The eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him," etc. "And his ears," that is, he is attentive to hearing, "are open to their prayers." For he who wishes to hear gladly listens to those who pray; hence by this he signifies that he is willing to hear. And he says, "To their prayers," because while they are still speaking he hears: Is. 65: "While they are still speaking, I will hear."

Haply say the wicked, I securely do evil, because the Eyes of the Lord are not upon me: God attends to the righteous, me He sees not, and whatever I do, I do securely. Immediately added the Holy Spirit, seeing the thoughts of men, and said, "But the Face of the Lord is against them that do evil; to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth" [Psalm 34:16].

After explaining the grace toward the just, he now turns his attention to the punishment of the wicked.… Understand that he sees both groups, but his gaze results in a different outcome for each group; he looks at the just to hear them, but looks upon sinners to destroy them. When he says "from the earth," he means the future homeland, which only those who have pleased God will possess. The "remembrance" of the sinners will perish, because there will not be any recollection of them among the just.… Those who leave the Lord's memory surely go on to eternal punishments.

Next, when he says, "But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to destroy," etc., the providence of the Lord regarding the wicked is shown. And concerning this he does two things. First, it is stated that divine providence extends to the wicked. Second, how it is different with regard to the good, at "To destroy." He says therefore, "But the face of the Lord," etc. He had said above, "The eyes of the Lord are upon the just." The wicked person could say: if the eyes of the Lord are not upon me, I can sin freely, because he does not see: Job 22: "The clouds are his hiding place, and he does not consider our affairs": Ezek. 8: "The Lord does not see; the Lord has forsaken the land." But it is not so, because "the face of the Lord is upon the wicked": Prov. 15: "Hell and perdition are before the Lord," etc. And he says "face," because it signifies that he looks upon the wicked with a certain anger. But to what end does he look upon them? Surely, "to destroy from the earth the memory of them." This can be understood in two ways. Either because it can refer to the present earth; and thus their memory perishes from the earth in two ways. In one way, so that it is entirely no more. In another way, so that it is bad: Prov. 10: "The name of the wicked shall rot." Many wicked men have sought that their memory remain, and yet it has perished. But if the memory of some endures, it is said to have perished because it is rotten and bad: Ps. 9: "The memory of them has perished with a crash." Or it can be understood of the land of the living. But do not the saints have a memory of the wicked? If they have no memory of the evils they suffered, how then "shall the just man rejoice when he sees the vindication?" Ps. 57. I reply: it must be said that they will have a memory of them, but not for good, because they will not have a memory of compassion and commiseration for them, nor will they pray for them: Lk. 16: "A great chasm has been established," etc. As if to say, even if they wished, they could not have mercy, because they are there joined to God where they can will nothing except what God's justice has decreed: Is. 26: "You have crushed them and destroyed all memory of them."

"The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their troubles" [Psalm 34:17]. Righteous were the Three Children; out of the furnace cried they unto the Lord, and in His praises their flames cooled. The flame could not approach nor hurt the innocent and righteous Children praising God, and He delivered them out of the fire. [Daniel 3:28] Some one says, Lo, truly righteous were those who were heard, as it is written, "The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their troubles:" but I have cried, and He delivers me not; either I am not righteous, or I do not the things which He commands me, or haply He sees me not. Fear not: only do what He commands; and if He deliver you not bodily, He will deliver you spiritually. For He who took out of the fire the Three Children, did He take out of the fire the Maccabees? [2 Maccabbees 7:3] Did not the first sing hymns in the flames, these last in the flames expire? The God of the Three Children, was not He the God also of the Maccabees? The one He delivered, the other He delivered not. Nay, He delivered both: but the Three Children He so delivered, that even the carnal were confounded; but the Maccabees therefore He delivered not so, that those who persecuted them should go into greater torments, while they thought that they had overcome God's Martyrs. He delivered Peter, when the Angel came unto him being in prison, and said, "Arise, and go forth," [Acts 12:7] and suddenly his chains were loosed, and he followed the Angel, and He delivered him. Had Peter lost righteousness when He delivered him not from the cross? Did He not deliver him then? Even then He delivered him. Did his long life make him unrighteous? Haply He heard him more at last than at first, when truly He delivered him out of all his troubles. For when He first delivered him, how many things did he suffer afterwards! For there He sent him at last, where he could have suffered no evil.

The cry of the just is a spiritual one, having its loudness in the secret recess of the heart, able to reach even to the ears of God.… They sought after nothing petty, nothing earthly, nothing lowly. For this reason the Lord received their voice, and he delivered them from all their tribulations, not so much freeing them from their troubles as making them victorious over the circumstances.

What then do we say about the martyrs, since it is well known that they were not freed from the torments of the tyrants? They were certainly set free when they were conducted to the kingdom of heaven; they were plainly released from all their troubles. For the cry of the just is always heard, not only for this life, but most of all for their eternal benefit.

Then when he says, "The just cried out," the effect of divine providence is presented. And first, with regard to the good. Second, with regard to the wicked, at "The death of sinners." Concerning the first he does two things. First, he shows how the ears of the Lord are open to the prayers of the just. Second, how the eyes of the Lord are upon them, at "The Lord is near." Concerning the first he does three things. Because first he presents the prayer of the saints. Second, he presents the hearing, at "And the Lord heard them." Third, the effect of the hearing, at "And from all." He says therefore, "They cried out." The prayer of the saints is called a cry: Is. 19: "They shall cry to the Lord from the face of the oppressor": Jas. 5: "Their cry has entered the ears of the Lord of hosts." A cry is a loud voice; and the prayer of the saints is a loud voice for two reasons: namely because of the greatness of the affection, and because of the greatness of the petition, since they seek eternal things: Mt. 6: "Seek first the kingdom of God." "And the Lord heard them," because he himself gives me the ability to ask: Ps. 119: "To the Lord when I was in trouble," etc. There follows the effect of the hearing: "And from all their tribulations," etc., namely so that they do not endure tribulations. Or if they suffer them, yet not so as to be overwhelmed by tribulations: Heb. 11: "They became valiant in battle." Or, because they were delivered from Limbo: Zech. 9: "You also, by the blood of your covenant, have sent forth your prisoners from the pit," etc. Ps. 33: "This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and from all," etc.

"The Lord is near unto them that have broken their heart; and saves such as be lowly in spirit" [Psalm 34:18]. God is High: let a Christian be lowly. If he would that the Most High God draw near unto him, let him be lowly. A great mystery, Brethren. God is above all: you raise yourself, and touchest not Him: you humble yourself, and He descends unto you.

He who has despised present things, and has given himself to the word of God and is using his mind for thoughts that are above and are more divine, he would be the one who has a contrite heart and has made it a sacrifice that is not despised by the Lord. For "a contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise." … He who has no vanity and is not proud of anything human, he is the one who is contrite in heart and humble of spirit.

He did not apply the terms "lowly" and "contrite of heart" simply to those reduced to this condition from the disasters but to those in this condition by intent and resolve. Even if tested by disasters, on the basis of their lowliness of intent they thought that they received their just deserts, asked God with due reverence for help and received it by gift. So it is clear from this that even by saying above "let the gentle hear and be glad" he refers neither to those humbled of necessity by disasters nor to those in this condition by nature, whom the general run of good people like to think gentle, but to those in this condition in heart and purpose, who emerge by their zeal in bearing nobly the wrongs done them since they look to God for help. This, in fact, is gentleness, not being insensitive or keeping complete silence while ignoring sensation even in situations that are often unavoidable, when it is possible to effect a greater good.

Second, when he says, "The Lord is near," he shows how the eyes of the Lord are upon the just. And concerning this he does three things. First, he presents the merit of the just. Second, their impending danger, at "Many are the tribulations." Third, the help given to them, at "And from all these." Concerning the first he does two things, according to the twofold merit of the just by which they earn the mercy of God. He touches first upon the merit of contrition for sins; and with regard to this he says, "The Lord is near," etc. Ps. 144: "The Lord is near to all who call upon him." Some are truly miserable yet do not recognize it; hence they are not contrite; and therefore they do not obtain mercy: Rev. 3: "You say that you are rich and have been enriched and need nothing; and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked." For it is necessary that they recognize their misery by groaning in heart; and therefore he says, "To those who are troubled in heart." Behold, contrition for sins: Is. 66: "To whom shall I look, if not to the poor and the contrite in spirit?" etc. Mt. 5: "Blessed are those who mourn," etc. As to the second he says, "And he will save the humble of spirit." He says "of spirit," not of words: because Sir. 19: "There is one who humbles himself wickedly, and his interior," etc. "The humble," therefore, "of spirit," who have true humility in their heart, "he will save": Prov. 29: "He will uphold the humble of spirit."

"Many are the troubles of the righteous" (ver. 19): doth He say, "Therefore let Christians be righteous, therefore let them hear My Word, that they may suffer no tribulation? He promiseth not this; but saith, "Many are the troubles of the righteous." Rather, if they be unrighteous they have fewer troubles, if righteous they have many. But after few tribulations, or none, these shall come to tribulation everlasting, whence they shall never be delivered: but the righteous after many tribulations shall come to peace everlasting, where they shall never suffer any evil. "Many are the tribulations of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of all."

He who says that affliction is not proper to the just says nothing else than that an adversary is not proper for the athlete. But what occasions for crowns will the athlete have who does not struggle?

The afflictions of the just are certainly many, for the devil pursues them with great power and people also often oppress them out of jealousy. The wicked can be afflicted sometimes too, if they suffer something adverse by themselves, but the just are oppressed both by their own sufferings and when they share in those of others through love.

One who does not suffer trial, therefore, is not just.

It often happens that the righteous are put to the test in extreme troubles and severe tribulations.… Even if they are tested by many troubles and many tribulations, God allowing this to their advantage, he nevertheless definitely frees them from the troubles, not allowing them to be overcome by the disasters in the end.… He rescues them after allowing the tribulations for a while to their advantage, keeps those in the midst of tribulations free from harm and preserves their strength completely.

While God allows them to descend into the arena of tribulations, he comes to their assistance and renders them superior to the calamities besetting them, confirming their resolve and making it strong.

Next he presents the impending danger, because "many are the tribulations of the just": Lam. 1: "Many are my groans," etc. 2 Tim. 3: "All who wish to live devoutly in Christ will suffer persecution." And they endure these tribulations from persecutors: Ps. 118: "Many are those who persecute me and trouble me." Likewise, from the company of those whom they see sinning, they grieve: 2 Pet. 2: "Dwelling among them, they tormented the just soul from day to day with their wicked works." Likewise, from the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the enemy: Gal. 5: "The flesh desires against the spirit," etc.

Next, when he says, "And from all these he will deliver them," he presents the help given to them. Now they are helped in two ways. First, so that they are completely delivered; and with regard to this he says, "And from all these the Lord will deliver them." Second, so that they do not succumb to tribulations; and with regard to this he says, "The Lord guards," etc. He says therefore, "And from all these tribulations the Lord will deliver them," partly here, but perfectly in the future, when (Rev. 7) "they shall neither hunger nor thirst anymore," etc. Sir. 51: "You have delivered me according to the multitude of the mercy of your name": 2 Macc. 1: "Delivered from great dangers by God, we give him great thanks."

"The Lord keeps all their bones: not one of them shall be broken" [Psalm 34:20]: this also, Brethren, let us not receive carnally. Bones are the firm supports of the faithful. For as in flesh our bones give firmness, so in the heart of a Christian it is faith that gives firmness. The patience then which is in faith, is as the bones of the inner man: this is that which cannot be broken. "The Lord keeps all their bones: not one of them shall be broken." If of our Lord God Jesus Christ he had said this, "The Lord keeps all the bones of His Son; not one of them shall be broken;" as is prefigured of Him also in another place, when the lamb was spoken of that should be slain, and it was said of it, "Neither shall you break a bone thereof:" [Exodus 12:46] then was it fulfilled in the Lord, because when He hung upon the Cross, He expired before they came to the Cross, and found His Body lifeless already, and would not break His legs, that it might be fulfilled which was written. [John 19:33] But He gave this promise to other Christians also, "The Lord keeps all their bones; not one of them shall be broken." Therefore, Brethren, if we see any Saint suffer tribulation, and haply either by a Physician so cut, or by some persecutor so mangled, that his bones be broken; let us not say, This man was not righteous, for this has the Lord promised to His righteous, of whom He said, "The Lord keeps all their bones; not one of them shall be broken." Would you see that He spoke of other bones, those which we called the firm supports of faith, that is, patience and endurance in all tribulations? For these are the bones which are not broken. Hear, and see ye in the very Passion of our Lord, what I say. The Lord was in the middle Crucified; near Him were two thieves: the one mocked, the other believed: the one was condemned, the other justified: the one had his punishment both in this world, and that which shall be, but unto the other said the Lord, "Verily I say unto you, Today shall you be with Me in Paradise;" [Luke 23:43] and yet those who came broke not the bones of the Lord, but of the thieves they broke: as much were broken the bones of the thief who blasphemed, as of the thief who believed. Where then is that which is spoken, "The Lord keeps all their bones; not one of them shall be broken"? Lo, unto whom He said, "Today shall you be with Me in Paradise," could He keep all his bones? The Lord answers you: Yea, I kept them: for the firm support of his faith could not be broken by those blows whereby his legs were broken.

There should also be certain bones of the inner person in which the bond of union and harmony of spiritual powers is collected. Just as the bones by their own firmness protect the tenderness of the flesh, so also in the church there are some who through their own constancy are able to carry the infirmities of the weak. And as the bones are joined to each other through articulations by sinews and fastenings that have grown on them, so also would be the bond of charity and peace, which achieves a certain natural junction and union of the spiritual bones in the church of God.

The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. [Psalms 34:20]

Then when he says, "The Lord guards," he shows how he delivers them so that they do not succumb. He says therefore, "The Lord guards all their bones." Just as sight resides in the eye, so in the bones and sinews resides strength; and therefore, just as sight is signified by the eye, so strength and power are signified by the bones: because just as the body is sustained by bones, so human life is sustained by virtues. In the future, therefore, he will deliver completely, but in the meantime he guards the bones, that is, the virtues, which profit more in weakness. Or, by "bones" are understood the perfect men, whom the Lord will guard: Ezek. 37: "Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will send the spirit into you, and you shall live, and I will lay flesh upon you." "Not one of them shall be broken," because in tribulations no virtue of a person fails whom God guards. For charity did not fail in the saints through hatred, because they prayed for their persecutors; not meekness through anger, because no murmur resounded; not patience through injustice, indeed in their patience they possessed their souls. And therefore it is said of the paschal lamb, "You shall not break a bone of it," Ex. 12. Ps. 36: "When he falls, he shall not be dashed." Or, "Not one of these," namely of the predestined. Jn. 17: "None of them has perished except the son of perdition."

"The death of sinners is the worst" [Psalm 34:21]. Attend, Brethren, for the sake of those things which I said. Truly Great is the Lord, and His Mercy, truly Great is He who gave to us to eat His Body, wherein He suffered such great things, and His Blood to drink. How regards He them that think evil and say, "Such an one died ill, by beasts was he devoured: he was not a righteous man, therefore he perished ill; for else would he not have perished." Is he then righteous who dies in his own house and in his own bed? This then (do you say) it is whereat I wonder; because I know the sins and the crimes of this same man, and yet he died well; in his own house, within his own doors, with no injury of travel, with none even in mature age. Hearken, "The death of sinners is worst." What seems to you a good death, is worst if you could see within. You see him outwardly lying on his bed, do you see him inwardly carried to hell? Hearken, Brethren, and learn from the Gospel what is the "worst death" of sinners. Were there not two in that age, a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day; another a poor man who lay at his door full of sores, and the dogs came and licked his sores, and he desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table? Now it came to pass that the poor man died (righteous was that poor man), and was carried by Angels into Abraham's bosom. He who saw his body lying at the rich man's door, and no man to bury it, what haply said he? So die he who is my enemy; and whoever persecutes me, so may I see him. His body is accursed with spitting, his wounds stink; and yet in Abraham's bosom he rests. [Luke 16:19-22] If we are Christians, let us believe: if we believe not, Brethren, let none feign himself a Christian. Faith brings us to the end. As the Lord spoke these things, so are they. Does indeed an astrologer speak unto you, and it is true, and does Christ speak, and it is false? But by what sort of death died the rich man? What sort of death must it not be in purple and fine linen, how sumptuous, how pompous! What funeral ceremonies were there! In what spices was that body buried! And yet when he was in hell, being in torments, from the finger of that despised poor man he desired one drop of water to be poured upon his burning tongue, and obtained it not. Learn then what means, "The death of sinners is worst;" and ask not beds covered with costly garments, and to have the flesh wrapped in many rich things, friends exhibiting a show of lamentation, a household beating their breasts, a crowd of attendants going before and following when the body is carried out, marble and gilded memorials. For if you ask those things, they answer you what is false, that of many not light sinners, but altogether wicked, the death is best, who have deserved to be so lamented, so embalmed, so covered, so carried out, so entombed. But ask the Gospel, and it will show to your faith the soul of the rich man burning in torments, which was nothing profited by all those honours and obsequies, which to his dead body the vanity of the living did afford.

Not only do sinners meet such a fate, but also those hostile to the righteous will fall foul of troubles. Now, he says this to bring out the extent of the providence that God shows for the righteous. "Will come to grief" means that they will stumble, will trip up, will fail in their hostile intent against the righteous by being punished by God; "come to grief" meaning "missing the mark," which means failing to achieve a purpose and intent at odds with that prescribed—hence our calling a wrong action a sin as being at odds with the proper intention.

Then when he says, "The death of sinners," he presents the effects of divine providence with regard to the wicked. And concerning this he does two things. First, the dangers of the wicked are presented. Second, it is shown how God delivers his saints from these, at "The Lord will redeem." Concerning the first he does two things. First, he shows the evil that the wicked suffer in themselves. Second, what threatens them because they persecute the good, at "And those who hate." He says therefore, "Death," corporeal or spiritual. Corporeal death indeed is the worst for the wicked, because they are sent to the worst place. Lk. 16: "The rich man died and was buried in hell." Likewise, because they lose the hope of grace after death. Prov. 11: "When the wicked man dies, there will be no further hope." The death of sinners, therefore, is the worst, because they die both in body and in soul. Spiritual death: Eph. 5: "Rise from the dead." And this death is the worst. For death is the privation of life. Therefore the better the life of which it deprives, the worse the death. Spiritual death deprives the soul of the life of grace, which is the best, because it is through God. 1 Cor. 6: "He who clings to God is one spirit." Therefore it is the worst. Jerome has it thus: "Wickedness shall slay the impious," that is, shall destroy them. This is the wickedness that brings death upon sinners. Rom. 6: "The wages of sin is death." Next he shows what threatens the wicked because they persecute the just. Lk. 10: "He who despises you, despises me." And therefore he says, "And those who hate the just man shall offend." Prov. 29: "Bloodthirsty men hate the upright." If therefore he who hates God will offend, so also he who hates the servants of God.

But because there are many kinds of sinners, and not to be a sinner is difficult, or perhaps in this life impossible, he added immediately, of what kind of sinners the death is worst. "And they that hate the righteous one" (says he) "shall perish." What righteous one, but "Him that justifies the ungodly"? [Romans 4:5] Whom, but our Lord Jesus Christ, who is also "the propitiation for our sins"? [1 John 2:2] Who then hate Him, have the worst death; because they die in their sins, who are not through Him reconciled to our God. "For the Lord redeems the souls of His servants." But according to the soul is death to be understood either the worst or best, not according to bodily either dishonour, or honours which men see. "And none of them which trust in Him shall perish" [Psalm 34:22]; this is the manner of human righteousness, that mortal life, however advanced, because without sin it cannot be, in this perishes not, while it trusts in Him, in whom is remission of sins. Amen.

This psalm has certainly ended well in the hope of those who are good that, after forsaking the association of the wicked, they may instead reach toward the good things yet to come.

Then when he says, "The Lord will redeem," he shows how the good are delivered in these dangers. And first, how they are delivered from past sins. Second, how they are protected from future sins, at "And they shall not offend." He says therefore, "The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants." It could be said: if the death of sinners is the worst, since no one is so just that he does not sin, then the death of the just is also the worst. And therefore, to exclude this, he says, "The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants." He will redeem, I say, at the price of his death, the souls of his servants. He does not say "of the free." For those are free who shake off from themselves the yoke of justice. Rom. 6: "Being freed from sin, you have been made servants of God, and you have your fruit," etc. Therefore those who, from servants of God, have become free, are not redeemed; but those who are subjected to the yoke of God are redeemed from guilt and punishment by the precious blood of Christ. 1 Pet. 1: "Not with corruptible things, silver or gold, were you redeemed from your vain manner of life received from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of an unspotted and undefiled lamb." Hos. 13: "From death I will redeem them." Second, he shows how they are protected from future sin: because "they shall not offend," that is, they shall not sin unto death, "all who hope in him." "In him," he says, namely in the Lord; not in their own power, because such people fall; hence Ps. 29: "I said in my abundance," that is, in my own strength, "I shall never be moved." "O Lord, in your good will you gave strength to my beauty." "You turned your face from me, and I was troubled." But those who hope in the Lord, like the one who said, Wis. 8: "I knew that I could not otherwise be continent unless God should grant it"--this person shall not offend, because, protected by God, he will not sin mortally, etc.