Commentary on the Psalms 4 part 2/3

so do not be envious of, nor imitate, his wickedness, but rather have pity on that man too, who does not bridle the beast within him, but first ravages and destroys himself.

For that such men ravage themselves, one may hear from many of those who settle quarrels of this kind, when they exhort them with this very counsel:

it ravages only the one who gives birth to it, turning everything upside down.

Let us not, then, in our desire to take vengeance on others, ourselves fall out of the harbor.

For neither, if a man about to be shipwrecked and to sink beneath the waves had insulted you as you sat upon the land, would you have grieved, nor would you have gone out from the land to share in his shipwreck.

Reckon this, then: that the man who insults you and behaves outrageously, as though sunk beneath the waves by some whirlpool or storm, is going under, having fallen into the shipwreck of his own rage;

but you, who bear it nobly, luxuriate in the harbor and along the shore.

But if you are carried away into the same passion as he, you have plunged not him, but yourself, beneath the waves.

'Arise, O Lord, in Your anger; be exalted at the borders of Your enemies.'

He spoke thus, showing that it is possible also to arise not in anger;

'Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God.'

But when you hear the word 'Arise,' suspect nothing bodily.

For just as 'sitting,' when spoken of God, is not said in a bodily sense, so neither is this.

'For You,' Scripture says, 'sit enthroned forever.'

What, then, is it that He hints at through this 'sitting'? The settledness, the fixity, the stability of His nature, its permanence—which indeed He also made plain through the contrast.

For having said, 'You sit enthroned forever,' He added, 'But you shall perish forever.'

As therefore 'sitting' is not bodily, so neither is 'arising';

but there it signifies the settledness, while here it signifies the punitive, the consuming.

There is a place, however, where 'sitting' signifies also the judicial;

'You sat upon the throne, You who judge righteousness.'

'Thrones were set, and the tribunal took its seat.'

'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.'

'A rod of uprightness is the rod of thy kingdom.'

Whence the words, 'Sit thou at my right hand,' also indicate equality of honour.

But what is the meaning of 'In thy wrath'? This too must again be understood in a manner befitting God.

For the wrath of God is not a passion, but a chastisement and a punishment.

'Be thou exalted amid the borders of thine enemies.'

Another translator says, 'In wrath against thine enemies.'

Another, 'In indignation against those who afflict me.'

Yet another, 'In the relentless assaults of those who bind me fast.'

And the Hebrew renders the phrase 'amid the borders' as 'Bebaroth.'

See again how here he does not avenge himself, but says these things for the sake of the glory of God.

For he did not simply say, 'Punish mine enemies,' or 'thine enemies.'

And how is he exalted who is exalted, and is ever Most High? For the height of his nature is neither diminished nor does it receive any increase.

For he is perfect and without need, and ever remains the same.

How then, and in what manner, is he exalted? He is exalted in the minds of the many.

For instance, he was oftentimes longsuffering;

but his enemies deemed this to be, not longsuffering, but lowliness and weakness.

So that he is indeed made low, yet not in reality, but only in the minds of those men.

For just as the sun appears dim to those whose sight is weak, so too God appears weak and lowly in the minds of those men.

But just as the sun is thought to be such, yet is not in fact dim—rather it is the affliction of their weakness;

so too God, even though he be suspected of this, is not weak, but it is the symptom of their folly.

What then does the righteous man say? 'Be thou exalted even in the eyes of our enemies; go forth and show thy might, that those who suppose thee to be lowly, from the things they suffer, may behold thy glory.'

You see his aim, that he seeks not his own interest, but that of God.

As for the phrase 'amid the borders,' some render it 'upon their heads,' while others render it 'Let none of the enemies escape.'

Great is the virtue of the righteous man, when he has the same enemies as God and the same friends;

just as it is great wickedness, when a man holds God's friends as enemies, and God's enemies as friends.

As therefore God is said to have enemies, not hating nor turning away from them, but abhorring their wicked deeds;

so too the righteous man has enemies, not avenging himself upon them, but turning away from their wickedness.

'And awake, O Lord my God, according to the commandment which thou hast enjoined.'

'And the congregation of the peoples shall compass thee about.'

'And for their sake return thou on high, O Lord.'

Another says, 'And above it return thou to the height.'

Another, 'And over this return thou on high.'

And the Hebrew renders the phrase 'for their sake' as 'Oualea.'

What is the meaning of 'according to the commandment which thou hast enjoined'? Namely, to help those who are wronged, and not to overlook, he says, those who are plotted against.

'What therefore thou hast laid down as law for us, this do thou thyself also render to us in deeds.'

But some say something else also—that he promised to be at enmity with his enemies.

'And the congregation of the peoples shall compass thee about.'

Suspect nothing human here either.

For though the words be such, yet the meanings are befitting God.

What then is the meaning of 'shall compass thee about'? It means, 'shall sing to thee, shall praise thee in hymns, shall bring thee much acclamation.'

For since they used to do this by means of choirs, standing round in a circle in the temple and at the altar, and in this way offering up their thanksgivings, it was from the fashion of their standing that he hinted at the praise.

And what he means is this:

For this will make you exalted even among your enemies, and will bring you much praise from your people.

See how he seeks not his own things, but the things of God.

For everywhere he desires that God be glorified, both among his enemies and among his own people.

And for the sake of this, 'Return on high.'

Of what? 'Of the congregation,' he says.

That is, for the sake of this, 'Return on high.'

Exalt us, lead us up, do lofty things, make her more splendid and illustrious, bring her back to her former prosperity.

And observe how everywhere he mingles teaching also with his supplications.

For indeed, before this, having said, 'Have mercy on me, and hear me,' he turns his discourse into counsel, saying thus:

'Sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart?' And here too, having said, 'Return on high, O Lord,' he adds:

But another translator says, 'The Lord shall judge.'

He teaches those who suppose that all things are borne along simply and by chance, that a certain providence presides over affairs, demanding an accounting for what is done.

And by 'judgment' here he means both the future one and the present one.

For there indeed it is the universal and manifest one;

but here too, in part, he exacts penalties, both rousing the more slothful and drawing the more unbelieving toward the thought of the providence that governs the universe.

'Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness.'

Another translator: 'According to what is right for me.'

'And according to my innocence that is upon me.'

'Let the wickedness of sinners be brought to an end.'

Another says, 'Let affliction be made complete against the ungodly.'

Another, 'And you shall establish the righteous.'

How is it that he who says elsewhere, 'Enter not into judgment with your servant,' here says, 'Judge me according to my righteousness'? Because this is one thing, and that is another.

For there, when he says, 'Enter not into judgment with your servant'—that is, 'Be not brought into judgment against me'—he makes clear that he does not want his own life to be examined by comparison with the benefits that come from God.

Therefore he also added, 'For in your sight shall no living man be justified,'—that is, when judged in comparison with you.

But here he does not say this;

for he does not wish to be judged against Him, but against himself.

Therefore he said also, 'According to my righteousness,' that is, according to the righteousness that is mine.

And by 'righteousness' here he means the not being the first to lay unjust hands;

which is what he said above, 'If I have done this,' and what follows.

And this same thing the words 'According to my innocence' also declare:

'It is according to this that I wish to be judged,' he says.

Great here too is the boldness of the righteous man.

And these things he says, having fallen into a necessity.

What kind of necessity was this? That among many senseless people he was acquiring an evil reputation from the things he was suffering.

For the majority of the senseless are wont, from misfortunes, to slander even a man's whole life;

which is exactly what happened in the case of Job.

Wherefore they said, though conscious of no wickedness in him:

'You have been scourged less than your sins deserved.'

The barbarians too supposed that Paul was some wicked man and evildoer, because the viper had fastened upon his hand.

Therefore they also said, 'Though this man was saved from the sea, Justice has not permitted him to live.'

And Shimei too called David a man of blood, deriving from David's misfortune this evil verdict about him.

Therefore, that you also may not suffer this same thing, come, let us discourse a little concerning these matters.

For indeed I hear many saying:

'If God loved the poor, He would not have suffered them to be poor';

and others again, whenever they see someone wrestling with sickness and a long disease, say:

'Where are so-and-so's acts of mercy? and where are his good deeds?' That you therefore may not sin in such matters, let us carefully sift the discourse concerning these things.

For if a man endowed with reason would become neither a hater of good nor a lover of evil, how do you dare to say such things about the Lord — that God hates those in poverty, even though they be in virtue, and loves those in wealth, even though they be in wickedness — opening a blasphemous mouth, and not considering the greatness of the absurdity? That you therefore may not sin in such matters, learn what God loves and what He hates.

Whom, then, does He love? The one who keeps His commandments.

'For him,' He says, 'will I love, and I will come to him';

not the one who is rich, not the one who is healthy, but the one who obeys My precepts.

And whom does He turn away from? The one who does not do His commandments.

Whenever, therefore, you see someone not doing His commandments, even though he be in health, even though he abound in wealth, set him among those whom He hates;

but the virtuous man, even though you see him sick, even though you see him poor, number him among those who are loved.

For the things of love lie not in these outward matters, but in those.

Or do you not see, even in the affairs of this life, that the friends of kings are precisely those who face danger foremost in wars, and bear wounds, and are sent off into exile? Have you not heard that 'whom the Lord loves, He chastens,'

and He scourges every son whom He receives'? But many, one says, are made to stumble when they see these things.

Not because of these things, but because of their own folly.

For it is not here that the recompense of our labors is given us;

but here are the wrestling-grounds,

while the prizes and the crowns come afterward.

Do not, therefore, seek relaxation and freedom from care in the season of wrestling and on the day of the contest;

'But many,' one says, 'are weaker.'

But for these too God has made provision;

and He has suffered many even of the righteous to be in prosperity here as well, not for their own sake, but for the sake of the weaker.

So that, even if those in affliction cause you to stumble, let those in ease build you up;

and if the prosperous among the wicked trip you up, let those who are in punishment and torment set you upright again.

Have you not heard Christ saying, 'In the world you shall have tribulation'? Why then do you seek ease, when He has said these things? Have you not heard Him saying, 'The world shall rejoice, but you shall ever be sorrowful'? So that it would have been reasonable for the more foolish to be made to stumble, if the contrary of what He said had come to pass;

but if all things come to pass in accordance with what He foretold, for what reason are you made to stumble? 'And for what reason,' one says, 'did God ordain it thus?' Do not examine it, nor busy yourself curiously about it.

For neither shall the thing formed say to Him who formed it,

'Why have You made me thus?' For this reason also the prophet rebuked the Jews, because, being full of ten thousand evils, they meddled curiously with the ways of God, saying:

'They desire to know My ways, as a people that had done righteousness, and had not forsaken the judgment of their God';

doing something like as if a household servant, having given offense and being liable for ten thousand accusations, should — passing over the loosing of his master's wrath — demand a reckoning of him as to why he had done this.

Do not, then, seek out these things, forsaking to weep and lament and to wash away your own evils.

I say these things, not as being at a loss to give the explanation, but wishing to cast you away from this meddlesome curiosity into concern for your own salvation.

For what reason, then, did He ordain it thus? Sparing the race of men.

For the labor He allotted here, where life is brief;

but the crowns He stored up for the age to come, where the eternity is ageless and unending.

And this labor is quickly dissolved and runs its course past;

But those things remain immortal, never coming to an end.

In another way too, it trains the souls in the love of virtue.

For whenever the soul chooses virtue even with toil, though it never receives a prize, it practises to be disposed toward her with great exactness;

and whenever it flees from wickedness even amid pleasure, though it never undergoes chastisement, it is trained to hate and to turn away from her.

So that from this it will also acquire a settled habit of enmity toward wickedness, and of love toward virtue.

And what is this? That affliction above all anoints one for the love of wisdom, and makes people stronger.

And together with this, yet another.

And what is this? It wishes to teach us to look down upon present things, and not to be nailed fast to them, nor bound together with them.

For this very reason he has allotted affliction and toil, and has made the good and bright things themselves easily dissolved.

'Let the wickedness of sinners be brought to an end, and thou shalt direct the righteous.'

What does 'Let it be brought to an end' mean? Bring on punishment, he says, and thou shalt make them cease from their wickedness.

For just as festering sores yield to bitter medicines, and to cauterizations and incisions;

so also wickedness is checked by punishment.

We ought not to weep over those who are punished, nor over those who are chastised, but over those who sin unpunished.

For the first evil is to sin;

and the second, that those who sin should obtain no cure.

Or rather, one might justly call even this the first, and by far the most grievous.

For just as it is not the being sick that is grievous, but the sick man's not being cured;

nor do we simply lament the man who has a festering sore, but the man who has it and lies uncared for, and who does not obtain the physician's hands;

but the man who is being cut and cauterized, of him we would say that he is journeying toward health, looking not at the pain that comes from the incision, but at the health that comes from the incision;

so too must we be disposed concerning the soul: not to lament those who are chastised, for they are being drawn toward health, but to lament and mourn those who sin unpunished.

And if punishments are a check upon wickedness, someone asks, why then do we not pay the penalty for our sins every single day? Because, if this had happened, the human race would have been snatched away beforehand, and the season of repentance would have been done away with.

Consider, at any rate, the case of Paul.

For if he had paid the penalty for his persecution and been destroyed, how could he have had a season to repent, and after his repentance to work countless good deeds, and, so to speak, to lead the whole inhabited world by the hand from error to the truth? Do you not see the physicians too, when someone is beset with many wounds, not applying as much treatment as the nature of the wounds demands, but only as much as the substance of the patient's strength can bear, lest, in curing the wounds, they carry off the sick man? For this very reason God neither punishes all at once, nor all according to their desert, but gently, and giving room;

and often, by punishing one, he has brought many to soberness through that one.

This also happens often in the case of the body;

the cutting off of one member has furnished health to many others.

But see the tender-loving soul of the righteous man, how everywhere he seeks the common good, and the doing away of wickedness—not that he himself may exact vengeance from his enemies, but that his enemies may cease from their wickedness.

Let us therefore everywhere look to this, how the works of wickedness may be stayed, and let us lament those who are in it, even though they be clad about in silken garments;

and let us count blessed those who are in virtue, even though they wrestle with the utmost poverty, entering from the outward things into the inner mind of each.

For then we shall see the wealth of the one, and the poverty of the other.

For what does it matter if he is wrapped about on the outside with a splendid robe? In what does he differ from the workshops, and from the poles that hold them up? In what is this man better off than those who take such things to sell? But the righteous man's wealth is not of this kind, but abiding and firmly fixed.

And if the rich do not perceive that they are in poverty, it is nothing to wonder at.

Neither do those seized by delirium have any perception of their disease, and for this very reason they are most of all pitiable, not to be counted blessed.

For if they perceived it, they would at least run to the physician;

but as it is, this is the most grievous thing about wickedness, that those who are in it do not even discern that they are in it.

Do not, then, look at this, that the rich man rejoices in his riches;

but for this very reason weep over him all the more, that he does not even perceive in how great an evil he lies.

For to exult in these things is not human, but belongs to the utmost irrationality.

What is this? For when the wicked are chastised, he says, the righteous become more attentive.

And so from this there come two good things:

for those men withdraw from their wickedness, while these others draw nearer to virtue.

For just as a healthy man, seeing another being cauterized or cut, becomes more attentive concerning his own health,

For indeed many of the people of that time were stumbled, and even of those who seemed to give heed to themselves, being still too immature in their disposition at the prosperity of the wicked.

Wherefore this same man also said in another place:

'My steps had well nigh been poured out, because I was envious at the lawless,'

'Why is it that the way of the ungodly prospers?' And Job too sought after many such things.

These things those who spoke, being of a rather immature disposition, kept saying, and those who inquired kept inquiring;

but now the man who is thrown into confusion by these things is worthy of no pardon, seeing that he has learned to practise such lofty wisdom, and has received such doctrines concerning things to come, and has been taught more clearly the word concerning hell and concerning the kingdom, and that each man shall receive there according to his desert.

'God who tries hearts and reins is righteous.'

'My help is from God, who saves the upright in heart.'

Another version: 'The examiner of hearts and reins is God, the righteous one, my defender.'

And yet another: 'God is righteous.'

But the Seventy rendered it thus: 'God who tries hearts and reins.'

'Righteous is my help from God.'

He has said that He will judge the world; now he goes on to say also how He will judge.

He has said that it is not as one needing witnesses, nor proofs of guilt, nor demonstrations, nor written records, nor any other such thing;

for He is the one who knows the hidden things.

Let none of the foolish therefore say:

'And how shall He judge the world, being so vast?' For He who made it when it was not, will also judge it now that it has come to be.

And by 'reins' he here means the hidden things of the mind, the innermost and deepest parts, hinting at them from the position of that organ.

What is the meaning of 'trying'? The very thing that the other translator expressed by 'testing.'

And even if the expressions are human, yet the meanings are worthy of God.

For just as Paul, when he says 'He who searches the hearts,' uses 'to search' in the sense of 'to know clearly';

so also this writer uses 'trying' in the sense of 'to know exactly.'

And 'to test by torture' means 'to lay bare,' which belongs to exact knowledge and understanding;

'And all things are naked and laid open to His eyes.'

Another version: 'Righteous is my defender.'

What is the meaning of 'Righteous is my help from God'? 'It would come to me righteously,' he says, 'from God';

So that if we mean to enjoy the alliance from above, we ought to ask for such things as also have the character of what is righteous;

that by the very nature of our request we may draw the balance in our favour. 'Who saves the upright in heart.'

This is His work, this is His wont.

Since, then, I also have not been the first to lift unrighteous hands, nor do I desire to take revenge, for this reason my help from God would be righteous.

Knowing these things, then, let us ask for nothing of such a kind as hinders the gift.

For when you ask against enemies, your help is not righteous;

for it is contrary to the law of Him who gives;

and if you ask for wealth, or if you ask for beauty, or if you ask for anything of that kind belonging to this life, fleeting and contrary to the philosophy of the soul.

Let us therefore ask in such a way as also to obtain.

'God is a righteous judge, and strong, and longsuffering, and not bringing on His wrath every day.'

Another version says: 'Being indignant every day.'

But the Hebrew has, 'Throughout all life.'

And another version has, 'Threatening, rebuking, not punishing.'

And what he means is something like this:

If He is righteous, He will assuredly will to punish the unrighteous;

if He is mighty, He will assuredly be able to do so.

And where, one asks, is His lovingkindness, if He judges according to strict justice? First of all, in that He does not bring the penalty hard upon our heels; and rather, before this, in that He remits all our sins through the washing of regeneration;

and secondly, in that He also grants repentance.

For if you consider that we sin every single day, then above all will you see the unspeakable greatness of His lovingkindness.

And this indeed he makes plain when he goes on to say:

'God is a righteous judge, and strong, and longsuffering.'

You are perplexed: since He both is able and wills it, for what reason does He not punish? Learn, he says, that He is longsuffering, and does not bring His anger upon men every single day.

For lest any of the foolish should suppose that He does not proceed against us out of weakness, he shows the reason for the delay:

namely, that even His longsuffering has great measures.

For since it is for this reason that He is longsuffering, leading you to repentance, whenever you gain nothing from this remedy—

then indeed we are worthy of punishment every single day.

For otherwise, were this not so, he would not have set down as something great the words, 'Not bringing His anger every single day.'

But it is because the facts demanded this, while the lovingkindness of God holds back the deserved punishment, that he says this.

Do you see how here too he shows God's freedom from resentment, and calls the punishment 'anger'? For no one brings anger upon another, but rather the anger he himself possesses, while the punishment he brings upon another.

Nothing else, then, does he signify by saying, 'And not bringing His anger every single day,' than the punishment.

And how does he say, 'Every single day'? Let each man enter into his own conscience, and then he will see.

For, to pass over each man's secret sins, who shall escape even these common ones? And what kind are these? What day is there on which we do not pray carelessly and with much negligence? And that this is worthy of anger is plain from the following:

if you came before a judge yawning, and were convicted, would he not at once have exacted the penalty of you, and banished you into exile? 'Yes,' one says;

And what of it? For a man, when insulted, would not be justified in being indignant;

for he was insulted by one of equal rank with himself;

yet he might justly inflict the penalty.

For this sin is greater than that committed against a man.

And the man, in seeking his own, does this;

so that, in this respect, this rather is worthy of indignation.

For it is not the same thing to despise those who seek their own, and to despise Him who seeks your good.

For this is worthy of greater anger, when, even while about to ask the things that are profitable to you, you are not sober and attentive. And who is there who has not wantonly insulted his brother? Do not tell me that he insulted a household servant;

for in Christ there is neither male nor female, neither bond nor free.

Again, who is there who has not accused falsely, nor lied? who has not looked upon a woman with unchaste eyes? who has not envied? who has not been vainglorious? who has not uttered an idle word? And all these things lie under punishment.

And if, while being not zealous in worldly matters, we were likewise not so in spiritual things, we should be deserving of pardon;

but as it is, we are deprived even of this defence.

For in those things we are wide awake, but in these we are slack and supine.

And so, lest by hearing that He is longsuffering we should become the more careless, he went on to add:

'If you do not turn back, He will whet His sword.'

And another version says, 'He will sharpen His blade.'

'He has bent His bow, and made it ready.'

'And in it He has prepared the instruments of death.'

His arrows He has wrought for those who burn.

Another translator says, 'For burning.'

What will they say here, those who declare that God has a human form, on the ground that He is said to have hands and feet and eyes? Are there then bows on high, and arrows, and a whetstone, and a sword, and a quiver? And indeed another passage says:

When You look upon them, the mountains shall be shaken before You.

He who looks upon the earth and makes it tremble.

But if by merely looking upon the earth He also melts the very nature of stones, much more will He be able to do this in the case of men.

Why then, when He is able to overthrow the whole inhabited world merely by looking upon it — or rather merely by willing it, for He who made it by His will alone can plainly also destroy it by His will alone — is He said to have a broadsword and a bow? For if 'in His hand are the ends of the earth,' and 'those who dwell therein are as grasshoppers';

and 'all the nations shall be reckoned as a drop from a bucket, and as the turning of the scale';

and His angel, going forth, in a brief moment of time destroyed one hundred and eighty-five thousand;

why do I speak of an angel? flies and caterpillars and worms destroyed the army of the Egyptians;

where in that case is there need of a bow? and where of a sword? For what reason then have these things been said? On account of the grossness of the hearers, and in order that by the names familiar to them, the names of weapons, He might shake their understanding.

For He in whose hand is the breath of us all, and before whose face is the cold —

before whom no one can in any way stand — how does He have need of weapons? But, as I said before, it is on account of the grossness and the insensibility of the hearers that these things have been said in this way.

And what is the meaning of 'And He shall furbish it'? It means, He shall whet it.

Is there then also need of a whetstone? and is there rust about the sword? And who, having sense, would tolerate taking these things just as they have been said? But, as I said before, He depicts the punishment through all these figures, and proceeds to the grosser images, so that even those who are utterly senseless may perceive that one must not sit fixed upon the mere words, but must gather from them conceptions befitting God.

So that if anyone is perplexed as to why wrath and anger are spoken of concerning God, he will be much more perplexed on account of these things.

But if these things are not to be understood as they have been said, but in a manner befitting God, it is plain that the things concerning wrath and anger are likewise so to be understood;

and the grossness of the expressions is for the purpose of reaching down to the grossness of the listeners.

For this very reason He was not content with what had been said, but proceeds still further to what is more human, magnifying the fear.

For He introduces Him not merely as having a broadsword, but even as arming Himself.

For since one is not equally afraid on hearing that the sword is being whetted and that the bow is in His hands, He shakes the understanding of the hearers by means of human figures, saying:

He has bent His bow and made it ready;

frightening the hearer, and at the same time displaying both His long-suffering and His anger.

For he did not say, He let it fly, nor, He took it up, but, He bent it and made it ready;

that is, He is ready for the letting fly.

And why do you marvel if it is spoken thus in the Old Testament, when even in the New, John, discoursing to the Jews, says something of the same kind? 'Even now the axe is laid at the root of the trees.'

What then? Does God imitate a woodcutter chopping wood with an axe? And are we to understand a literal axe and literal wood? Away with the thought!

just as neither chaff nor wheat are to be taken literally, when he says:

Whose winnowing-fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly cleanse His threshing-floor, and will gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with unquenchable fire.

What then is the axe? It is the punishment and the chastisement.

And what are the trees? They are men.

And what is the chaff? They are the wicked.

So also here the broadsword, and the bow, and the arrows are the chastisement and the punishment.

Then, by the bending and the making ready, He set forth the delay — that the punishment stands off indeed, yet not far off, but is at the doors.