A psalm to David himself, on the remembrance of the Sabbath.
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What does this recollection of the Sabbath mean? What is this Sabbath? For it is with groaning that he calls it to recollection. You have both heard already when the Psalm was read, and you will now hear it when we shall go over it, how great is his groaning, his mourning, his tears, his misery. But happy he who is wretched after this manner! Whence the Lord also in the Gospel called some who mourn blessed. How should he be blessed if he is a mourner? How blessed, if he is miserable? Nay rather, he would be miserable, if he were not a mourner. Such an one then let us understand here too, calling the Sabbath to remembrance (viz.), some mourner or other: and would that we were ourselves that some one or other! For there is here some person sorrowing, groaning, mourning, calling the Sabbath to remembrance. The Sabbath is rest. Doubtless he was in some disquietude, who with groaning was calling the Sabbath to remembrance…
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O Lord, rebuke me not in Your indignation; neither chasten me in Your hot displeasure. For it will be that some shall be chastened in God’s hot displeasure, and rebuked in His indignation. And haply not all who are rebuked will be chastened; yet are there some that are to be saved in the chastening. So it is to be indeed, because it is called chastening, but yet it shall be so as by fire. But there are to be some who will be rebuked, and will not be corrected. For he will at all events rebuke those to whom He will say, I was an hungred, and you gave me no meat… Neither chasten me in Your hot displeasure; so that You may cleanse me in this life, and make me such, that I may after that stand in no need of the cleansing fire, for those who are to be saved, yet so as by fire. Why? Why, but because they build upon the foundation, wood, stubble, and hay. Now they should build on it, gold, silver, and precious stones; and should have nothing to fear from either fire: not only that which is to consume the ungodly for ever, but also that which is to purge those who are to escape through the fire. For it is said, he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. And because it is said, he shall be saved, that fire is thought lightly of. For all that, though we should be saved by fire, yet will that fire be more grievous than anything that man can suffer in this life whatsoever.
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Now on what ground does this person pray that he may not be rebuked in indignation, nor chastened in hot displeasure? (He speaks) as if he would say unto God, Since the things which I already suffer are many in number, I pray You let them suffice; and he begins to enumerate them, by way of satisfying God; offering what he suffers now, that he may not have to suffer worse evils hereafter.
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For Your arrows stick fast in me, and Your hand presses me sore. There is no soundness in my flesh, from the face of Your anger. He has now begun telling these evils, which he is suffering here: and yet even this already was from the wrath of the Lord, because it was of the vengeance of the Lord. Of what vengeance? That which He took upon Adam. For think not that punishment was not inflicted upon him, or that God had said to no purpose, You shall surely die; or that we suffer anything in this life, except from that death which we earned by the original sin…Whence then do His arrows stick fast in him? The very punishment, the very vengeance, and haply the pains both of mind and of body, which it is necessary for us to suffer here, these he describes by these self-same arrows. For of these arrows holy Job also made mention, and said that the arrows of the Lord stuck fast in him, while he was labouring under those pains. We are used, however, to call God’s words also arrows; but could he grieve that he should be struck by these? The words of God are arrows, as it were, that inflame love, not pain…We may then understand the arrows sticking fast, thus: Your words are fixed fast in my heart; and by those words themselves is it come to pass, that I called the Sabbath to remembrance: and that very remembrance of the Sabbath, and the non-possession of it at present, prevents me from rejoicing at present; and causes me to acknowledge that there is neither health in my very flesh, neither ought it to be so called when I compare this sort of soundness to that soundness which I am to possess in the everlasting rest; where this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, and see that in comparison with that soundness this present kind is but sickness.
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Neither is there any rest in my bones, from the face of my sin. It is commonly enquired, of what person this is the speech; and some understand it to be Christ’s, on account of some things which are here said of the Passion of Christ; to which we shall shortly come; and which we ourselves shall acknowledge to be spoken of His Passion. But how could He who had no sin, say, There is no rest in my bones, from the face of my sin…For if we were to say that they are not the words of Christ, those words, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? will also not be the words of Christ. For there too you have, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? The words of mine offenses are far from my health. Just as here you have, from the face of my sins, so there also you have, the words of my offenses. And if Christ is, for all that, without sin, and without offenses, we begin to think those words in the Psalm also not to be His. And it is exceedingly harsh and inconsistent that that Psalm should not relate to Christ, where we have His Passion as clearly laid open as if it were being read to us out of the Gospel. For there we have, They parted My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture. Why should I mention that the first verse of that Psalm was pronounced by the Lord Himself while hanging on the Cross, with His own mouth, saying, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? What did He mean to be inferred from it, but that the whole of that Psalm relates to Him, seeing He Himself, the Head of His Body, pronounced it in His own Person? Now when it goes on to say, the words of mine offenses, it is beyond a doubt that they are the words of Christ. Whence then come the sins, but from the Body, which is the Church? Because both the Head and the Body of Christ are speaking. Why do they speak as if one person only? Because they two, as He has said, shall be one flesh. This (says the Apostle) is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the Church…For why should He not say, my sins, who said, I was an hungred, and you gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me not in. I was sick and in prison, and you visited Me not. Assuredly the Lord was not in prison. Why should He not say this, to whom when it was said, When saw we You a hungred, and thirsty, or in prison; and did not minister unto You? He replied, that He spoke thus in the person of His Body. Inasmuch as you did it not unto one of the least of Mine, you did it not unto Me. Why should He not say, from the face of my sins, who said to Saul, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me, who, however, being in Heaven, now suffered from no persecutors? But just as, in that passage, the Head spoke for the Body, so here too the Head speaks the words of the Body; while you hear at the same time the accents of the Head Itself also. Yet do not either, when you hear the voice of the Body, separate the Head from it; nor the Body, when you hear the voice of the Head: because they are no more two, but one flesh.
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There is no soundness in my flesh from the face of your anger. But perhaps God is unjustly angry with you, O Adam; unjustly angry with you, O son of man; because now brought to acknowledge that your punishment, now that you are a man that has been placed in Christ’s Body, you have said, There is no soundness in my flesh from the face of Your anger. Declare the justice of God’s anger: lest you should seem to be excusing yourself, and accusing Him. Go on to tell whence the anger of the Lord proceeds. There is no soundness in my flesh from the face of Your anger; neither is there any rest in my bones. He repeats what he said before, There is no soundness in my flesh; for, There is no rest in my bones, is equivalent to this. He does not however repeat from the face of Your anger; but states the cause of the anger of God. There is no rest in my bones from the face of my sins.
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For mine iniquities have lifted up my head; and are like a heavy burden too heavy for me to bear. Here too he has placed the cause first, and the effect afterwards. What consequence followed, and from what cause, he has told us. Mine iniquities have lift up mine head. For no one is proud but the unrighteous man, whose head is lifted up. He is lifted up, whose head is lifted up on high against God. You heard when the lesson of the Book of Ecclesiasticus was read: The beginning of pride is when a man departs from God. He who was the first to refuse to listen to the Commandment, his head iniquity lifted up against God. And because his iniquities have lifted up his head, what has God done unto him? They are like a heavy burden, too heavy for me to bear! It is the part of levity to lift up the head, just as if he who lifts up his head had nothing to carry. Since therefore that which admits of being lifted up is light, it receives a weight by which it may be weighed down. For his mischief returns upon his own head, and his violent dealing comes down upon his own pate. They are like a heavy burden, too heavy for me to bear.
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My wounds stink and are corrupt. Now he who has wounds is not perfectly sound. Add to this, that the wounds stink and are corrupt. Wherefore do they stink? Because they are corrupt: now in what way this is explained in reference to human life, who does not understand? Let a man but have his soul’s sense of smelling sound, he perceives how foully sins stink. The contrary to which stink of sin, is that savour of which the Apostle says, We are the sweet savour of Christ unto God, in every place, unto them which be saved. But whence is this, except from hope? Whence is this, but from our calling the Sabbath to remembrance? For it is a different thing that we mourn over in this life, from that which we anticipate in the other. That which we mourn over is stench, that which we reckon upon is fragrance. Were there not therefore such a perfume as that to invite us, we should never call the Sabbath to remembrance. But since, by the Spirit, we have such a perfume, as to say to our Betrothed, Because of the savour of Your good ointments we will run after You; we turn our senses away from our own unsavourinesses, and turning ourselves to Him, we gain some little breathing-time. But indeed, unless our evil deeds also did smell rank in our nostrils, we should never confess with those groans, My wounds stink and are corrupt. And wherefore? from the face of my foolishness. From the same cause that he said before, from the face of my sins; from that same cause he now says, from the face of my foolishness.
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I am troubled, I am bowed down even unto the end. Wherefore was he bowed down? Because he had been lifted up. If you are humble, you shall be exalted; if you exalt yourself, you shall be bowed down; for God will be at no loss to find a weight wherewith to bow you down…Let him groan on these things; that he may receive the other; let him call the Sabbath to remembrance, that he may deserve to arrive at it. For that which the Jews used to celebrate was but a sign. Of what thing was it the sign? Of that which he calls to remembrance, who says, I am troubled, and am bowed down even unto the end. What is meant by even unto the end? Even to death.