Commentary on the Psalms 40

Blessed are all they that fear the Lord.

Observe how he begins here at the very point at which he left off before.

For just as there he pronounced them blessed for this reason, that they are not put to shame, because they have God as their helper and with themselves;

so also here he makes this his opening theme from the outset, saying:

Blessed are all they that fear the Lord.

And again he frames his saying in universal terms, taking his beginning from those very men.

Whether one be a slave, or a master, or poor, or maimed in body, or whosoever he may be, none of these things hinders him from possessing that blessedness which he here proclaims.

For that other blessedness, the false and counterfeit one, which many pursue, is scarcely produced even when many things come together;

and unless all things concur, a man could not become blessed in the eyes of men.

If a man be rich, this alone does not suffice him for blessedness, but there must also be health present with it.

For if he be rich, but maimed in body, his claim to blessedness goes lame, and he is more wretched than the poor.

At any rate many who are rich, yet wrestling with disease, count blessed the poor who pass through the narrow streets, and reckon themselves wretched even with their countless talents.

Again, if his body be healthy and he be rich, but he enjoys no glory, that is yet another impediment.

For indeed there are some who possess much wealth, and have a body unharmed, yet suffer incurable wrongs at the hands of those who are enrolled in military service and clothed with power.

For because they share in no honour, they reckon themselves the most wretched of all, cringing before those whose slaves they often find to be better off than themselves.

Again, if there be glory, and wealth, and bodily health, but security be lacking, with countless men plotting, envying, casting the evil eye, hating, accusing, slandering, then such a one will be more wretched than all, living the life of a hare, suspecting even shadows, and trembling and afraid of everyone.

But suppose he be delivered even from these, and be loved by all, and everything flow for him with the current — glory, and wealth, and security, and honour (which is impossible to concur together, yet let it be granted for argument's sake) — suppose, then, that all these things pour in upon him, and there be nothing to break the flow, but there be the goodwill of the populace, and greatness of glory, and abundance of riches, and health of body, and complete security, and inviolability all running together for him: yet, having often taken to live with him a wicked and perverse wife, he becomes more wretched than all who possess none of those things.

But if she too be some good woman, and things fall out for him according to his mind and purpose, then, having begotten worthless children, such a man must of necessity be more wretched than all;

or else, having begotten none at all, he laments and mourns.

And wherever one may look among men, he will see many precipices.

And what need is there to mention the rest? Often a wicked servant has overturned and thrown all into confusion, and nothing is so precarious as to plume oneself among men.

But he that fears God is not such a one; rather, delivered from the waves, he sits in calm and in harbour, plucking the true blessedness.

For this reason, then, the prophet, passing over all those things, counts this man alone blessed.

For that other blessedness, unless all things concur, can never stand firm;

or rather, even when they do concur, it is then shaken by those very things which give it birth.

For wealth has destroyed men, and a beautiful wife has often brought ruin, and a household of servants has betrayed, and children who were born have become murderers of their fathers;

and, as I said before, it has its perils many and on every side.

But here, even if all contrary things flow together, they not only do no harm at all to this blessedness, but even render it stronger and more manly.

For whether it be poverty, or dishonour, or maiming of the body, or a wicked wife, or wicked children, or whatever else you may name, none of these trips up this blessedness, nor shakes it.

For it does not derive its origin from those things, that it should also be shaken by them when they are swept away, but it has its root from on high;

And if you please, let us handle this matter in the very facts themselves.

Was not Joseph a slave? was he not a stranger? was he not a man without a city? was he not the servant of barbarians, first of Saracens, and afterwards of the Egyptians who were more savage still? was he not reckoned an adulterer? was he not accused? was he not falsely slandered? did he not dwell in prison? was he not bound with a chain? And which of these things harmed him? Nay rather, it was through these very things that he was most of all blessed.

For this indeed is the wonderful thing, which I said before, that not only is this blessedness in no way harmed thereby, but it even becomes more radiant and more resplendent.

For had he suffered none of these things, he would not have been so blessed.

Do you wish that I should speak also of those who spent their days more violently in wickedness, and then all at once changed, and stripped off the whole of that wickedness? What became more wretched than the robber? Yet all at once he was shown to be more blessed than all.

And yet he had wrought countless murders;

for indeed he was condemned to the cross, and was being led away to death, and all were accusing him, and all his time had been wasted, and his life had been spent in wickedness;

but because in a brief span of time he feared God as one ought to fear Him, he became blessed.

So too the harlot, although she trafficked in her prime, and lay exposed to the insolent abuse of all, and for this reason was more wretched than all, became blessed, having feared God as one ought.

For there is no evil that the fear of God does not quench;

but just as fire, whatever iron it takes hold of, however warped it be or covered with much rust, renders it bright and gleaming, scouring it clean and wholly straightening out its distortion;

so also the fear of God, even in a short time, will accomplish all things, and does not permit those who have been dyed by it to be tripped up by any human circumstance.

Was not Timothy weak? Was he not continually beset with sicknesses and hardships? What then became more blessed than he? And what of Job, tell me?

Was he not brought into poverty? Into childlessness? Into a most grievous plague upon his body? Into reproaches? Into insults? Into revilings? Into famine? Into all the ills that befall mankind? And yet this man too became more blessed than all.

For not only did none of these things trip him up, but they even made him more steadfast.

Moreover a wife, on top of all those trials, pressed upon him with reproaches, and yet through it all he shone forth.

Pondering all these things, then, the Prophet said:

'Blessed are all they that fear the Lord,' he says, 'that walk in His ways.'

For lest you should think that the fear alone suffices for you,

he added, 'they that walk in His ways,' making both things plain: that they are those who fear and who also walk.

For many who have an exact faith, but a corrupt manner of life, have become more wretched than all men.

Therefore, lest the saying should seem on this account to be refuted, he added:

'They that walk in His ways.'

And what are the ways of God, but the manner of life that is according to virtue? For through this it is possible to ascend into heaven, to lay hold of the mother-city, and to behold God Himself, so far as it is possible for a man to behold Him.

And they are called His ways, because through them it is possible to depart unto God.

And he did not say 'way,' but 'ways,' showing that they are many and varied.

For on this account he cut them into many, making our entrance easy by the abundance of ways.

For some among men shine in virginity, others are distinguished in marriage, others are adorned by widowhood;

and some have put off all their possessions, others but the half;

and some by an upright life, others through repentance;

for on this account He cut many ways, that you might travel with ease.

Were you not able, after the laver, to keep your body pure? You can make yourself pure through repentance; you can do so through your money, through almsgiving.

But you have no money? Yet you can visit the sick, go to the one in chains, give a cup of cold water, take the stranger under your roof, offer two mites like the widow, and groan over those in anguish.

For this too is almsgiving.

But are you utterly desolate and poor, and weak in body, and cannot even walk? Bear all these things with thanksgiving, and you have reaped a great reward.

Since this too was Lazarus' achievement.

For neither did that man succour anyone out of money.

For how could he, who did not even have an abundance of necessary food? He did not go into a prison;

For how could he, who was not even able to stand upright? He did not visit the sick;

For how could he, who lay exposed to the tongues of the dogs? Yet even without these things he snatched away the prize of virtue, by bearing all things nobly, by seeing the cruel and inhuman man in good repute and living in luxury, while he himself lay amid so many ills, and yet uttered not one unseemly word.

And on this account he received the bosom of Abraham—he who was in no better state than a corpse, but lay then cast idle at the rich man's gate, and yet was crowned together with the patriarch who had achieved so much;

and he was proclaimed and enjoyed that man's bosom, though he had done no almsdeeds, had stretched out no hand to the wronged, had received no strangers, and was able to display nothing else of such things, but only in all things gave thanks, and carried off the shining crown of patience.

For a great work is thanksgiving, and the love of wisdom, and endurance exercised amid so many ills;

and this is a greater achievement than all.

Whence Job also was crowned; for which reason the devil too said:

'Skin for skin, and all that a man has will he give for his life;

but put forth Your hand now, and touch his flesh.'

For it is no small thing to bridle a soul in anguish, so that it sins not at all.

This is equal to martyrdom; this is the crowning summit of all good things.

You too, then, beloved, when you are often held fast by sickness, or by fevers, or when the sharpness of your pain compels you to utter something blasphemous, if you restrain yourself and give thanks and glorify God, you will receive the very same reward.

For why do you blaspheme, tell me, and bring forth a bitter word? Does your pain become any lighter for it? Nay, even if it did become lighter, not even so ought you to dare it, nor to barter away the salvation of your soul while contriving comfort for your body.

But as it is, your pain is not only not lightened, but even becomes more grievous.

For the devil, seeing that he has prevailed somewhat and has led you into blasphemy, intensifies the furnace and kindles the anguish,

so as to fulfill his own desire.

Most certainly, then, as I said, even if it were being lightened, you ought not to do this.

But when you gain nothing whatever by it, why do you slaughter yourself? Can you not bear to keep silent? Then give thanks to God;

then glorify Him who tests you in the furnace.

Instead of blasphemy, utter a doxology.

Here both the reward is great, and the wound becomes lighter.

So too that blessed man, when he spoke, said:

'The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away.'

'If we have received good things at the Lord's hand, shall we not endure the evil?' But, he says, He did not give me wealth.

For it is not the same thing to have enjoyed the benefits of wealth and then be stripped of it, as never even to have had a taste of it and to live in poverty.

For if, seeing the evils of others and setting their own griefs against them, many of the poor reckon their own the more grievous by the comparison,

when they make the comparison not from someone else's case but from their own, consider how much more grievous the despondency becomes, in proportion as the experience makes the sense of the loss all the greater.

In this respect too, childlessness from the beginning is lighter than that which follows after having had good children.

For it is not the same thing not to have received, and to be deprived after having received.

Bear, therefore, all that befalls you nobly;

for this is a martyrdom for you.

For it is not only he who, being commanded to sacrifice, refuses to sacrifice, but rather chooses to be torn to pieces than to do this, who makes a martyr;

but also, when pain is driving one to blasphemy, to choose to persevere in the suffering and to say nothing unseemly makes one a martyr.

Since Job too was crowned, not because, being commanded to sacrifice, he did not sacrifice, but because he bore his sufferings nobly.

And Paul likewise was proclaimed from this—from the scourgings, from the afflictions, from the other things which he endured with thanksgiving.

'You shall eat the labors of your fruits;'

'blessed are you, and it shall be well with you.'

Why does he double the blessing? Because he knows its greatness, he revels in the picturing of the thing.

And what is the meaning of 'It shall be well'? Tell me.

'Your wife is like a fruitful vine on the sides of your house;'

Another version says, 'In the innermost parts.'

'Your sons are like young olive shoots around your table.'

'Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.'

Is this the blessedness? Is this the gain—the prosperity of a household, the enjoyment of one's own labors, a multitude of children, and a wife? Not this, but this comes out of the abundance.

'For seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all these things shall be added to you.'

Since, then, he was still speaking to those more imperfect, he leads them on, as it were little children, by means of things perceptible to the senses.

For if Paul does this at a time of such lofty philosophy, discoursing from these things to those still walking upon the ground—

And where does Paul do this? In many places.

For indeed, when he discourses about virginity, he says nothing to them about the things to come;

but he sets forth only the deliverance from the griefs that arise from marriage;

and when he speaks about honor toward parents, he uses the same manner, speaking thus:

'Which is the first commandment with a promise.'

And what is that commandment? 'Honour thy father and thy mother, and thou shalt be long-lived upon the earth.'

But even when he writes concerning the higher wisdom that is to be shown toward one's enemies, he again sets forth a tangible reward, saying:

'For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.'

But Christ does not so;

for neither does He converse with weak men;

but upon virginity He sets the kingdom, and upon the loving of one's enemies He sets the becoming like unto God, insofar as it is possible for men to become like Him.

As therefore even in the Old Testament, where men were led on by means of things perceptible to the senses, we shall see that those who knew how to practise the higher wisdom were drawn onward from the greater things.

And Paul, making this plain, said:

'These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and having embraced them.'

This, then, was the sole reward of those who fear God—the enjoyment of their own household: a wife, and children, and the prosperity of a home;

but these things come out of abundance and in the rank of an addition;

while the chief and great things are, first, the very fearing of God itself, which holds its recompense within itself;

and then those unutterable things also, 'which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man.'

'The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion, and thou shalt see the good things of Jerusalem.'

Another version: 'And behold thou in the good things of Jerusalem.'

By 'good things' he means the city, its wealth, its comeliness, its victories, its honours, its prosperity, its good seasons, its security, its peace.

'All the days of thy life.'

Well has he made use of the addition of the days.

For this too was a very great sign that these things were given from God, and a token of His providence: that they should suffer nothing such as befalls mankind, nor fall away, nor undergo change—except whenever, being provoked to anger, He cut them off.

'And thou shalt see thy children's children.'

And yet many, one may say, who fear God have passed their lives in childlessness.

And what of that? For we did not strip ourselves for the sake of things present, but chiefly for the sake of pleasing God, and then for the sake of the hopes that are to come.

And at that time these were the prizes;

but now it is heaven and the good things that are in the heavens.

And if thou hast had no children, thou that fearest God, whence knowest thou but that, in place of this good fortune, He has given thee other and greater things? For He does not benefit all in one manner, but in various ways, being rich.

How many that have had children have counted the childless blessed? How many that have gained wealth have ended more wretchedly than the poor? How many that have enjoyed glory have been pierced through by it as by a sword, and have suffered irreparable things? Seek not, then, the things themselves, nor demand a reckoning of God, but bear all things nobly and with thanksgiving;

or rather, be not nailed fast to any of the things present.

For it was on this account that thou wast commanded to pray such a prayer, in which thou askest but one single perceptible request, and nothing more.

But even this, again, by its measure becomes spiritual.

For all the other petitions have been spoken to us concerning the heavens, and the kingdom there, and the exact manner of life, and the deliverance from sins;

but concerning perceptible things we are commanded to say one single phrase.

And what is that? 'Give us this day our daily bread,' and nothing more.

For since we are now called to another fatherland, and have been transferred to a greater life, we must make our requests also to correspond with that life;

and these present things, even if they flow in upon us, we must thrust away with much exactness.

Another version: 'And see thou the children of thy children, peace upon Israel.'

For this above all they long for, seeing that they have been thoroughly worn out by a long war.

For what profit is there to them from all the other things, if there is no peace? Therefore it is the chief of the good things of that time, together with their security, that He promises—namely peace, and that a lasting one;

which is above all the work of God's providence—both to give and not to suffer it to fall away.

For since the very nature of human things is something fluid and not enduring, showing that these things do not simply come upon them of themselves, but from the influence from above and from God's inclining toward them, he said 'All the days,' and promised a lasting peace.

And this has come to pass — at least so far as it concerns what pertains to God.

But if it was cut short, this too came about from their wickedness.

For just as, when He threatens punishments upon certain people, and they ward off His wrath through repentance, the workings of the chastisement are halted;

so likewise, even if He promises good things, but those who are to enjoy the promise show themselves unworthy, the fulfilment of what was pledged is held back.

So then, as far as it concerned Him, He promised them all their days;

but by their own wickedness they cut short the gift.

Now I say these things, that we may neither despair when He threatens, but ward off His wrath through repentance, nor grow slack when He promises good things, but by earnestness and by diligence in our manner of life

may call the promises forth into deed.

For if we do not do this, the promise alone does not suffice to save.

Since to Judas also He promised that he would sit upon the throne with the eleven disciples;

yet the cause lay not with the One who promised, but with the man who showed himself unworthy of the promise.

We too, therefore, having the promise of the Kingdom, let us not be slothful, but let us contribute our own part, that we may be able to attain the eternal good things, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the might unto the ages of ages.