Homilies on the Psalms

Homilies on the Psalms

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Homily 13, on Psalm 80

1 Latin source: Germanus Morin (ed.), Sancti Hieronymi Presbyteri Tractatus sive Homiliae in Psalmos, Anecdota Maredsolana III (Maredsoli, 1897) — public domain. Psalm numbering follows the Septuagint/Vulgate (Morin). To the end, for the winepresses, of Asaph. In the Law it is written that there are three solemn feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Before the Feast of Tabernacles, ten days before, there was a fast, and the fast lasted until evening. At that time they sounded the trumpets — that is, they fasted, and during the fast they sounded the trumpets — and after ten days came the Feast of Tabernacles. Attend carefully. There are three solemn feasts described in the Law: first Passover, then Pentecost, then the Feast of Tabernacles. Before the Feast of Tabernacles, a fast; and during the fast they sounded the trumpets. Notice what Scripture signifies. Lift up the veil that was placed before the eyes of Moses, and see that we cannot become tabernacles unless we first fast. But that very fast, unless it has the sign of victory that frightens off our adversaries, Amalek is not conquered. Since therefore there are three solemn feasts — Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles — for that reason three psalms too have the title 'for the winepresses': the eighth psalm, and the eightieth, and the eighty-third. You see, then, how three psalms have been written in the psalter that are inscribed 'for the winepresses.' See what it says: the eighth psalm, and the eightieth, and the eighty-third.

2 And before we argue about the number, let us say what these winepresses mean to signify. For the winepresses. Winepresses are found nowhere except where there is a vineyard and an unbounded vintage. For the winepresses. Therefore the Lord and Savior says: 'I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the nations there was no man with me.' Therefore he transferred a vine out of Egypt and planted it. And he says in Jeremiah: 'I planted you a true vine, wholly chosen: how have you turned into bitterness for me, you strange vine?' And Noah drank wine and became drunk. It is said also by Solomon, said in a mystery: 'Drink, friends, and become drunk.' We read also in another place that Joseph, that holy man who went before as a type of the Savior, who was sold by his brothers, whom his brothers sold, and reigned in Egypt — just as our Lord and Savior too was sold by the Jews and reigned in the Egypt of this world. That Joseph, then, the holy man, that outstanding one, who overcame cruelty with love; who for this reason was sold into Egypt, that he might feed Egypt and his brothers who had sold him — that Joseph, then, invited his brothers. But see: 'And he became drunk at midday.' And is this true, and can it stand according to the letter, that a holy man became drunk? Noah too became drunk, but he had truly become drunk.

3 Joseph was drunk, Noah too became drunk, and he became drunk in his own house. See the mystery. Let us first see what it signifies in mystery, and afterward let us discuss what it signifies in its plain sense. After the flood of this world Noah drank, and became drunk in his own house, and his thighs were uncovered, and his shame appeared. And the elder brother came and mocked; but the younger brother covered him. All this is said of the Savior, since he had drunk his passion on the cross. 'Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.' He drank, and became drunk, and his thighs were uncovered: that is, the ignominy of the cross. The elder brother came, the people of the Jews, and mocked; and the younger, the people from the nations, covered the ignominy. Therefore 'cursed be Canaan, he shall be a servant to his brother.' Behold, that curse persists to this very day. We, the younger people, command the elder people of the Jews. As therefore the Lord became drunk in his passion, so too the saints are daily made drunk in the ardor of faith, and are made drunk with the Holy Spirit. You who yesterday were gathering gold, today throw it away: do you not seem mad in the eyes of those who do not know you?

4 Finally the apostles too, because the Holy Spirit had descended upon them and filled them, and they were speaking in various tongues, for that reason were said to be full of new wine. Many are the things that might be said about the mystery of wine and about drunkenness. To the end, for the winepresses, of Asaph. The eighth psalm, and the eightieth, and the eighty-third. No other number could have the winepresses except the eighth, and the eightieth, and the eighty-third. The eighth is the day of resurrection in the single number. Again, in eight decades, the eightieth, another and greater number. You see, then, that these winepresses are prescribed only on the day of resurrection, the eighth, and the eightieth. Someone may say: Why is 'winepresses' said afterward in the eighty-third? These winepresses pertain to the mystery of the Trinity. Therefore there are also three choir-masters. In the eighth it says, 'A Psalm of David'; in the eightieth, 'of Asaph'; in the eighty-third, 'of the sons of Korah.' The eighth is David, which is interpreted 'strong in hand.' For our first victory involves a fight and a struggle: therefore he is called 'David, strong in hand.' But the second, that is in the eightieth, 'of Asaph.' And Asaph is interpreted 'synagogue' (assembly). In the eighth, then, we conquer, and in the eightieth we are gathered together with the Lord. But in the eighty-third, 'of the sons of Korah.' Korah is interpreted 'Calvary' (the place of the skull). 'Go up, bald one; go up, bald one.' This the boys said also to Elisha, because he had suffered in the place of the skull. Many are the things that might be said as to how Elisha was mocked at Bethel by forty-two boys. These are the winepresses of which the Savior too says: 'Make yourselves friends of the unrighteous mammon, that they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.'

5 For it is a commandment for Israel, and a judgment of the God of Jacob. What is the commandment of God? To sing to God in victory: not to think it one's own, but the Lord's. When he came out of the land of Egypt, he heard a tongue which he did not know. We too, when we came out of Egypt, heard a tongue which we did not know. Which of us knew the Gospel? which the Apostle? which the prophets? We came out of Egypt, and we heard a tongue which we did not know; we learned a tongue which we did not know. 6 And immediately there follows: He turned his back away from burdens. When we were in Egypt, we were building the cities of Pharaoh, we were carrying mud and brick, and our whole soul was seeking straw. We had no wheat, we had no heavenly bread that comes down from heaven: we were not yet receiving manna from heaven, the serpent had not yet been lifted up for us in the wilderness, the rock had not yet sent us water, we were not yet stretching out our hands and Amalek falling. We sat in the mud, and we did Egyptian works, we were building the cities of Pharaoh. He turned his back away from burdens. How great were the burdens we once had. Therefore our Moses says: 'Come to me, all you who are laden with sins, and I will refresh you.' His hands served in the basket. Whose? Israel's. The baskets of Egypt are one thing, and the baskets of Jesus another. Jesus too has his own baskets, and our Savior filled twelve baskets from the fragments. O wondrous thing, signifying immense mysteries! Five thousand of the people were dwelling in the wilderness, apart from the little ones and the women; in a deserted place there are found only as many as five loaves; for the place was a desert. I ask you, you who follow only the letter: in a deserted place there are found only five loaves — and how are twelve baskets found? If the place was a desert, surely it could not have twelve baskets. But all this is signified: that the Lord led his people out of Egypt into the desert of this world; he fed them with his loaves, and whatever was left over he stored up in twelve baskets — that is, in the twelve apostles; so that what had perished in the twelve tribes might be saved in the twelve apostles.

7 In tribulation you called upon me, and I delivered you. The prophets and the psalms are for this reason obscure, because suddenly, when you are not expecting it, the speaker is changed. Up to this point the prophet has been speaking: now suddenly the person of God is brought in, speaking to the people. In tribulation you called upon me, and I delivered you. Whoever you are that are in tribulation, be secure: call upon me, and you will be heard. I heard you in the hiding-place of the tempest. That tempest which was pressing upon you, and dragging you this way and that as if with waves: I was in the midst of the tempest. I proved you at the water of contradiction. According to the letter it is said of Moses and Aaron that at the water of contradiction they offended God. Indeed, for this reason they did not enter the land of promise. But to us God says: I proved you at the water of contradiction. Simon was proved at the water of contradiction, because in hypocrisy he received baptism. Whoever, therefore, receives baptism in hypocrisy, he is proved at the water of contradiction.

8 Hear, my people, and I will testify to you. God is speaking to us. Whatever he said to the people, he speaks also to us. Israel, if you will hear me. Why do you ask that I hear you? Let us see what he commands. There shall be no new god in you. He whose god is his belly, a new god is his. As many vices as we have, as many sins, so many new gods do we have. I have been angered: anger is a god to me. I have seen a woman, and I have lusted: lust is a god to me. For each one, whatever he desires and reveres, this is his god as well. The greedy man has gold for his god. Nor shall you adore a strange god. Our God is virtue; the god of others, vices and sins. 9 For I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. It is we who have been brought out of the land of Egypt — if indeed we have gone out, if we are in the wilderness, if we long to see the land of promise. If we have left Sodom, let us not look back to Sodom: we have been saved on the mountain. Let us not desire the flesh-pots of Egypt, let us not say: How well off we were in Egypt, when we ate flesh in the cauldrons, and the rest, and the cucumbers. Do you wish to receive the Lord's foods? do you wish to eat your Lord and Savior himself? Hear what he says. Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it. Open wide your mouths: he himself is both the Lord and the bread. He himself exhorts us to eat, and he himself is our food. As much as you open wide, so much will you receive: it is therefore not in my power, but in yours. If you are willing, you will receive me whole; if you are unwilling, you will receive at least a part.

10 And my people did not hear my voice. I stand before the door, I knock. I want you to open, and I will come in: and you are unwilling to open. And Israel did not attend to me. And I let them go according to the desires of their heart: they shall go on in their own devices. Unhappy is he who is not corrected by God. If anyone sinning is not struck, he is wretched. Therefore he says: I let them go according to the desires of their heart. For this reason I let them go, because I often struck them and they did not accept discipline. I entreated, they did not hear; I struck, they did not feel the pain. I let them go in their own wishes, so that, sated with their vices, they might even so do their repentance. If my people had heard me. O most merciful Father, O compassionate God! He entreated, and was not heard; as though angered, he lets go the wanton son. Again he sees him perishing, and grieves that he perishes. And what does he say? If my people had heard me, if Israel had walked in my ways, I would perhaps have humbled their enemies for nothing. Was it a great thing for me to deliver you from tribulation? could I not send forth my majesty and rescue you from danger? But because I have left you to free will, and have set the stadium before you, and I do not crown any but the one who has fought, for that reason I leave the victory to your own choice.

11 The enemies of the Lord have lied to him. In the Hebrew it better reads 'the enemies of the Lord shall deny him' — that is, the Jews, his enemies, shall deny him. But these enemies who are going to deny him — will they then perish? will there then be no remnant? And how did you swear to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that their seed should be as the stars of heaven and as the sand of the sea? Why did you promise to the fathers, and not repay the sons? The enemies of the Lord shall deny him. But what does it say? And their time shall be forever. 'When the fullness of the nations has come in, then all Israel shall be saved.' In the future they will believe; only now they have not believed. Now let me speak to the Jews. For they are wont to applaud themselves and say: And their time shall be forever. Let us say: It is true, for some of the Jews are going to believe. Indeed we read also in the Apocalypse of John that twelve thousand from each of the tribes — that is, a hundred and forty-four thousand — are going to believe; and this is said to be of virgins. But where the number of virgins will be so great, how great will be the number of those who are not virgins? Therefore let us too say to the Jews: Your time shall be forever — that is, in the age to come. But to you, who today do not believe, what does it pertain? And their time shall be forever. Such as belongs to the enemies of God, such shall their time be.

12 And he fed them from the fat of the wheat. He led them into the land of promise: he fed them not with manna, as in the desert, but with the wheat that fell, that rose again. And he fed them from the fat of the wheat. See the mystery of the Scriptures. From the fat of the wheat. Does wheat have fat? does it perhaps even have entrails? But he wished to show the bounty and richness of spiritual grace, and therefore he named it 'fat.' And with honey from the rock he satisfied them. He himself is the wheat; he himself is also the rock, who satisfied the people of Israel with water in the desert. Spiritually, he satisfied them with honey and not with water: so that whoever have believed and received the food may feel honey in their mouth. 'How sweet are your words to my throat, above honey to my mouth!' Finally our Lord too, after the resurrection, for this reason ate the honeycomb, and was satisfied with honey from the rock. I say something new. He himself the rock, he himself ate the honey, that he might bestow honey and sweetness upon us: so that those who under the Law had drunk myrrh — that is, bitterness — might afterward in the Gospel eat the honey of the Gospel.

Homily 14, on Psalm 81

1 Latin source: Germanus Morin (ed.), Sancti Hieronymi Presbyteri Tractatus sive Homiliae in Psalmos, Anecdota Maredsolana III (Maredsoli, 1897) — public domain. Psalm numbering follows the Septuagint/Vulgate (Morin). God stood in the assembly of the gods. There are many postures. For frequently we sit, sometimes we stand, sometimes we lie down, sometimes we run, sometimes we walk. So too God is described according to the variety of human beings, and his posture is introduced as varied. If we are holy, and are like Moses, it is said to us: 'But you, stand here with me.' For this is what God says to Moses. For Moses was standing upon the rock: therefore God too was standing for him. But if we were holy first, and afterwards sinners, God no longer stands for us, but walks: that is, he who before had stood for us moves from his place. After we have been moved, he too is moved together with us. Finally, Adam too, as long as he was in paradise and kept the law, God stood for him. But after he transgressed, he heard the voice of God walking in paradise. Do you want to know that God was walking for him? What did he say to him? 'Adam, where are you?' He who had not fled from God while he stood, afterwards fled from him as he walked.

2 We have spoken of the one standing, we have spoken of the one walking: let us speak of the one sitting. Whenever God is introduced as sitting, he is introduced in two ways: either as a king, or as a judge. If as a king, one sees him as Isaiah did: 'I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up.' There he is introduced as a king reigning. But when he is introduced as a judge: 'The thrones were set, and the books were opened.' It is written in Daniel. What is said? The thrones were set, and the books were opened: that is, the Lord about to sit as a judge, and about to read over the works of all. The books which are now folded up shall then be opened. Everything that we do, that we speak, that we think — even for an idle word we are going to render an account: it is written in the books of God. Someone thinks there are books in heaven, where our sins are written. I think the books are our consciences, which shall then be opened, and each one shall see what he has done. 'Nothing is hidden, that shall not be revealed.' Therefore the thrones were set, and the books were opened. How many things are written in my book, and I dare not confess even to my brother nor to my friend. The angels know what I have done, the thrones know, the seraphim know: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit know.

3 We have said concerning God that for some he stands, for others he walks, for others he sits either as a king or as a judge: but for others he sleeps. If ever he abandons us to temptations — even though we may be holy, nevertheless we are left to temptations, that we may be tested — at that time the Lord sleeps for us. Finally, what does the psalmist too say? 'Arise, why do you sleep, O Lord?' And when the apostles were in the boat, and the boat was being battered by the waves, the Lord was sleeping for them: for this reason the boat was being battered by the waves. Finally, they rouse him, and he awakes, and immediately the storm grows still. 4 We have spoken of the four postures of God: that for some he stands, for others he walks, for others he sits, for others he seems to sleep, and for others he wakes and rises up. God stood in the assembly of the gods. Because they were gods, therefore God stood for them. In this very assembly of ours God has different postures: for some he stands, for others he sits, for others he walks, for others he sleeps. Although he himself is unchangeable, according to our variety he is changed. See the dignity of man. God stood in the assembly of the gods. He grants us the name, that he may grant also the merit. And in the midst he judges the gods. Like a commander in the midst of the army he judges the gods. He judges the gods. A fearful thing, a thing full of terror. If he judges the gods, what does he do about the sinner? These two little verses the prophet spoke, as it were. But this which follows, How long will you judge iniquity? — God himself speaks to the judges, that is, to the leaders of the people. Specifically these verses which follow are spoken to the judges. If the judges of the world, it is plain: but if the judges of the church, let us understand it of bishops and presbyters. How long will you judge iniquity? He who judges iniquity is a judge of iniquity. He is the judge of iniquity of whom it is said in the Gospel, that he did not fear God, and did not respect man. How long will you judge iniquity? I have given you power over my flock and over the people of God: you ought to be judges, not wolves.

5 And you accept the persons of sinners: judge for the needy and the orphan, do justice to the lowly and the poor: rescue the poor and the needy, and the rest. When a case comes to you, you do not consider the cause, you do not consider the judgment, but the persons of those who have the cases. For instance, if a poor man comes having a just case, and a rich man comes having a bad case: you look at the persons, not the case. This so far according to one interpretation. But there is also another, more sacred interpretation. In the theaters one man frequently is accustomed to have different persons. Now he enters into a woman, now into a man, now into a king; and he who had come forward as a king, again comes forward as a slave. I have given the example, so that from the carnal we may be able to come to the spiritual. We too take on different persons. For when I grow angry, I take on the person of a lion: when I seize the goods of others, I take on the person of a wolf: but when I am cruel and kill, I take on the person of a cruel man. But just as those who are sinners have different persons in their sins: so on the contrary those who are holy, they too have different persons, but in the good. When I give alms, I have as it were the person of a merciful man: but when I judge well, I have the person of a good judge: but when I suffer wrong and am humble, I have the person of a humble man. Unhappy is he who has many persons in evil: happy is he who has different persons in the good.

6 They knew not, neither did they understand, they walk in darkness. Who? The bad judges. Those whom I was calling gods, by their own vice have been called bad judges. They knew me not, neither did they understand my judgment: they walk in darkness. Because they forsook the light, therefore they walk in darkness. I said, you are the light of this world: and you turned aside from the light, and became darkness. Because, then, they have done this, let us see what follows. All the foundations of the earth shall be shaken. See what kind of recompense the evil princes have: because of bad judges the foundations of the earth are shaken. This so far we have said first according to the letter, that the shaking of the whole world comes because of bad judges. But let us say it also in another way. All the foundations of the earth shall be shaken. I will overturn the bad judges, who have set their foundations on earth, and not in heaven: who ought to have Christ as their foundation, whom the architect Paul laid, but they were unwilling, and set their foundations on earth.

7 I said: you are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High. Let Eunomius hear, let Arius hear, who say that the Son of God is a son in the same way as we are. That we are gods, we are so not by nature, but by grace. 'For as many as received him, he gave them power to become sons of God.' Therefore I made man, that out of men gods might be made. I said: you are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High. See how great the dignity is: we are called both gods and sons. I made you gods, just as I made Moses a god of Pharaoh: that after you have been gods, you may be made worthy to be sons of God. Consider the divine Scripture. 'There is no respect of persons with God.' He did not say: I said: you are gods, the kings and the princes, but all: to whom equally I have given a body and a soul and a spirit, equally I have bestowed both deity and adoption. We are all born equally, both emperors and the poor: equally we also die. For our condition is equal.

8 But you shall die like men. You see, then, that he who is a man dies. For God does not die. And Adam, as long as he kept the commandment and was a god, did not die. But after he tasted of the forbidden tree, immediately he died. Finally God says to him: 'On whatever day you taste, you shall die the death.' It has it better in the Hebrew: 'But you shall die like Adam.' Just as he was cast out of paradise, so we too have been cast out. And you shall fall like one of the princes. Since he had said 'all of you sons of the Most High'; one cannot be a son of the Most High, unless he too be most high. I said that you should all be most high, as I am most high. But you shall fall like one of the princes. Since we were most high, therefore we are said to have fallen. Where are they who say that the devil was made a devil? Where are they who say that an evil nature was created by God? According to the Hebrew two things are said here. But you shall die like Adam: just as your father was unwilling to hear the commandment of the Lord, and fell, so you too shall die. Therefore that was said concerning Adam. But this which follows, And you shall fall like one of the princes: who is this one of the princes, who fell?

9 If you should wish to say Adam, it was already said in the earlier verses, But you shall die like Adam. And at the same time see the significance of the word. But you shall die like Adam. Since Adam died, we too die. But the devil, who was a prince, and fell, did not die. For angelic dignity cannot receive death, but only ruin. Therefore he said, you shall fall like one of the princes. 'How is Lucifer fallen, who rose in the morning?' Behold, both here he fell, and there he fell. He fell for this reason, because he always dwelt among the heavenly things. This is he to whom it is said in Ezekiel: 'You are the unsealing of the likeness.' See what he says, the unsealing of the likeness. He did not say, You are the seal of the likeness: but, the unsealing of the likeness. God had sealed you, and had made you like himself: but you afterwards unsealed yourself. After the likeness and image of God you too were formed. Finally it is said in that same prophecy: 'In the midst of the cherubim you were nourished, among the stones of jasper and carbuncle you were in the paradise of God. And you fell,' he says, 'and were wounded from the mountain of the Lord.' This prince of Tyre: now prince of Tyre from the time when he fell: since Tyre in the Hebrew tongue is called sor, that is tribulation.

10 Therefore this prince too, who at first was in heaven, has now been made prince of Tyre, that is, of the tribulation of this world. You shall fall like one of the princes. When he says 'like one,' he shows that there are others also. Read the Apocalypse of John: when the dragon fell from heaven, he drew with him a third part of the stars. 11 Up to this point God has spoken to men, and again the prophet speaks. Arise, O God, judge the earth. Arise, because our boat is battered by the waves. Arise, O God, judge the earth: since the bad judges do not judge, but overturn your law, and tear your flocks. Do you arise, who are the true judge. Because, then, the bad judges have died like Adam, and have fallen like one of the princes: therefore do you arise, do you judge, do you save your creature. But the hireling, when he sees the wolf, flees, and leaves the sheep: he cannot grieve for another's as one grieves for father and mother. Let us say it also in another way. Arise, you who suffered for us, who died for us: arise, and save us. Let us say it also in another way. You who came humble and despised, come as a judge, and vindicate us. Arise, O God, judge the earth. See the significance and the properties of the words. He did not say, Judge heaven, but the earth. Therefore the earth is judged, not heaven. If, then, the earth is judged, and not heaven, then in heaven sins are not committed. But if sins were committed in heaven, he would say: Arise, O God, judge the earth and heaven. See the mercy of the prophet. He did not say, Slay the earth: but judge, judge and save. He did not say, Judge through angels, judge through your ministers.

12 For they, if they judge, cannot show mercy, because they are executors of your sentence. But you, if you judge, can yourself show mercy. Arise, O God, judge the earth. An emperor can change his sentence, a prefect cannot. Therefore we entreat you as judge, not despising, but praying. For men and angels in comparison with you are cruel: you alone are the most gentle judge. Do you want to know that God is merciful, and every man is cruel? While the master of the house was sleeping, an enemy man oversowed tares. The servants want to pull them up, and the master of the house says: 'Let be, allow them to grow, lest while you pull up the tares, you uproot the wheat also together with them.' 13 For you shall inherit among all the nations. Therefore we entreat you as judge, because you have had mercy on all the nations. Why did he not say, You shall possess all the nations, but, You shall inherit? Wherever an inheritance is set, there death has gone before. Therefore we are called heirs and coheirs. He said heirs of Christ, because he died for us; coheirs, because he is going to reign with us. You shall inherit. For you sent your servants (let us return to the apostles), one to the circumcision, another to the nations. As long as you had sent Moses, as long as Isaiah, as long as Jeremiah, as long as the other prophets, God was known in Judea, in Israel his name was great. In a small land the knowledge of God's name was carried. You sent Peter, Peter the fisherman, who had left even his net, who from his work had a callused hand. You did not send an orator, you did not send a philosopher: you sent a rustic man, a fisherman. This fisherman, this rustic, went from Jerusalem to Rome: and the rustic captured Rome, which the eloquent could not capture. Again the apostle Paul went, from Jerusalem he preached as far as Illyricum, and preached where the Gospel had not been preached, lest he lay a building upon another's foundation. Then he says that he would go from the city of Rome to Spain. See Paul the persecutor, who in Judea had been a persecutor, preaching among the nations.

14 Where are they who proclaim Alexander the Great, the Macedonian commander, that in a short span he conquered so many nations? He had an army, he had also huge crowds: and he could not do any such thing, but only some small thing. But this Paul, once a persecutor, who said 'Though unskilled in speech, yet not in knowledge,' who makes solecisms in speaking, carries the cross of Christ, and as though triumphing captures all. He subdued the whole world from the ocean as far as the Red Sea. 15 Someone may say: They did all this for the sake of gain. For this is what Porphyry says: Rustic and poor men, since they had nothing, worked certain signs by magic arts. But it is not a great thing to work signs. For the magicians in Egypt too worked signs against Moses. Apollonius worked them too, Apuleius worked them too: and they worked countless signs. I grant you, Porphyry, they worked signs by magic arts, that they might receive riches from the rich little women whom they had led astray: for this is what you say. Why did they die? why were they crucified? Others too worked signs by magic arts: but they did not die for a dead man, for a crucified man. These know that the man is dead, and they die without cause. Happy, then, is our victory, which was consecrated in the blood of the apostles. Our faith is not proven except through their blood. Let us therefore bless God, to whom is glory forever and ever. Amen.

Homily 15, on Psalm 82

1 Latin source: Germanus Morin (ed.), Sancti Hieronymi Presbyteri Tractatus sive Homiliae in Psalmos, Anecdota Maredsolana III (Maredsoli, 1897) — public domain. Psalm numbering follows the Septuagint/Vulgate (Morin). O God, who shall be like unto you? Since there is none like you, we seek no other author but you. Be not silent, neither be still, O God. We keep silent; do you speak on our behalf. It is the voice of the righteous man: he who says, "Neither be still, O God," is confident of his own righteousness. 2 For behold, your enemies have made a noise. We can interpret this, according to the tropology, of the Church and of the heresies. But we can also interpret it, according to the letter, of the people of the Jews and of the other nations that were assailing Judaea round about. For behold, your enemies have made a noise. He chose to call the voice and the disparagement of his adversaries a "noise." For behold, your enemies have made a noise. See what he says: they have made a noise — that is, just like a tinkling cymbal, so they made a noise in my ears. It is properly called a "sound": only the sound is heard, and the voice is not understood. Therefore what he says is this. They indeed were speaking, as though they wished to accuse me; but I, for my part, was hearing not a voice, as it were, but a sound. And they that hate you have lifted up the head. See what he says. Therefore he who raises up his head hates God. "For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." And they that hate you have lifted up the head. If ever you have something against someone, if your brother disparages you, and you are humble for Christ's sake, and he is proud on account of the devil, you imitate him who says, "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart." But he who exalts himself imitates the one who says, "I will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven, I will be like the Most High." And they that hate you have lifted up the head.

3 Against your people they have dealt maliciously in counsel. It is enough for anyone, if he be the people of God. And they have taken counsel against your saints. This needs no interpretation: to have read it is to have understood it. They have said: Come, and let us destroy them from the nation. Let there be no nation, for it is the people of God. And let the name of Israel be remembered no more. Let him be remembered no more who sees God with his understanding. 4 For they have taken counsel with one accord together. Unhappy are we, unhappy the people of God: it cannot have as great a concord in what is good as the wicked have in what is evil. Against you they have arranged a covenant: the tabernacles of the Edomites and the Ishmaelites. See the mysteries of the names. The tabernacles of the Edomites and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagarenes, Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek, and the foreigners with them that dwell at Tyre: for Asshur also is come with them, they are become a help to the sons of Lot. There are eleven who fight against the saints. Therefore, since they fought against the saints, they could not come to the perfect number, that is, to the twelfth. The tabernacles of the Edomites. They have no foundation at home, but tabernacles which quickly pass away. Edom is interpreted in two ways: either "bloody" or "earthly. See therefore who they are that fight against the saints: the tabernacles of the Edomites, the earthly ones. And the Ishmaelites. The Ishmaelites are interpreted as "those obedient to themselves": that is, whatever the heart and the evil thought may have conceived, they straightway do it. Therefore it is said in Ezekiel: "Son of man, speak against the prophets who follow their own heart, and whatever their thought impels them to, they do. But we ought not to follow our own thought, nor to be called Ishmaelites, that is, "obedient to themselves," but Ishmael, that is, "obedient to God.

5 Moab, "from the father," that is, those withdrawing from God the Father. The Hagarenes, "proselytes. They who ought to be dwellers with God have been made proselytes. Gebal is interpreted "empty valley": ge means "valley," and bal is interpreted "empty. These, then, who are against the people of God, are not of the mountain, but of the empty valley. And Ammon is interpreted "turbulent people": that is, those who trust in a multitude, and not in simplicity. Amalek is interpreted "licking the earth. For whoever fights against the people of God does not eat the heavenly bread, but licks the earth like a serpent. The foreigners. Where it says "foreigners," the Hebrew has Philistines. And the Philistines are interpreted "falling by drink": that is, those who are made drunk from the cup of the devil, and being drunk have fallen. With them that dwell at Tyre. Tyre in the Hebrew tongue is called sor, which is interpreted "straitness" and "tribulation. They who ought to have been sojourners in this world have become dwellers. These, then, who assail the people of God, dwell in Sor, that is, in the straitness and tribulation of their own soul. So then, these so many nations that fight against the saints — let us see whom they have as their prince, the Savior or the devil. What follows? For Asshur also is come with them. Asshur, Nebuchadnezzar, the adversary of God, who led the people of God into captivity.

6 Although the nations may seem to have very many fighting on their behalf, yet they have Asshur, that is, the devil, as their prince, who are become a help to the sons of Lot. Lot is interpreted "declining. The demons were formerly angels, and afterward fell with the devil, and became his satellites, as it is written in the Apocalypse of John, that the dragon fell, and drew with him the third part of the stars. So then, what does he say? These, who came with so many nations, and assailed your people, and Asshur came with them, and they have the devil as their prince, are become a help to the sons of Lot — that is, to the demons who declined from you: they do the same work that the demons also do. 7 You see that these are most difficult passages, you see that they are obscure, and that in each single phrase there are great mysteries, and we are compelled by necessity to dwell rather long on the Hebrew words that are full of mysteries. For we are not now airing out some rhetorical commonplace: but we are striving to interpret that which was spoken by the Holy Spirit. For unless we interpret it as we have said, what does it profit the churches of Christ to read "the tabernacles of the Edomites, and the Ishmaelites," and the other names?

8 Since, therefore, they came against your people, let us see what the psalmist imprecates upon them. Do to them as to Midian and Sisera. You have read the book of Judges: this is that Midian whom Gideon assailed. And Sisera, and Jabin. Jabin and Sisera are those whom Deborah and Barak assailed. At the torrent of Kishon, they perished at Endor. Deborah and Barak slew Sisera, the commander of the army. Therefore what he says, see what it means. Lord, since they have such great pride, since they come with so great an army, since they have Nebuchadnezzar the prince of the Assyrians, since they are become a help to the sons of Lot, since they do the very thing that the demons do, since their pride has been raised up even to you: therefore I pray you, that to their disgrace they may be conquered not by a man, but by a woman. They are become as the dung of the earth. Who? Midian, and Sisera, and Jabin: these three are become as the dung of the earth. Midian is interpreted "abandoning judgment." Whoever fights against your people does not consider that there will be a judgment to come. Sisera is interpreted "the sight of a horse." These who fight against your people are not of your flock and of your cattle, but of the horses that rage madly after females. These horses, then, are always ready for battle. As Jabin. Jabin is interpreted "understanding." Those who trust in their own wisdom, and not in the glory of God, are become as the dung of the earth. Those who gloried in their army, who had Asshur as their prince, and were saying, "I will ascend into heaven," not only fell to the earth, but became dung upon the earth.

9 Make their princes. Whose? Of those who fight against your people. As Oreb and Zeeb, and Zebah and Zalmunna, all their princes. I think you have read the history in the book of Judges, that Gideon, who is called by another name Jerubbaal, fighting on behalf of the people of God, conquered these four kings, and slew them. And see what sort of men the princes of the Midianites are, who forsook the judgment of God. Oreb and Zeeb and Zebah and Zalmunna. Who thinks that in these words there are mysteries of the Savior? The philosophers read this, and mock; the rhetoricians read it, and now think it to be nonsense. And not only the rhetoricians, but the Jews also: they have not the key of knowledge, since a veil is placed before their eyes. Oreb is interpreted "a hole," into which a snake enters; Zeeb is interpreted "a wolf." See the names of the princes who are adversaries of Christ. Zebah, "a victim," that is, those whom the wolf has strangled; and Zalmunna, "perfected in malice." See, therefore, the mysteries of the names. Who said: Let us possess the sanctuary of God by inheritance. They said it, but they did not accomplish it: for the Lord was fighting for his people.

10 O my God, make them as a wheel. See the clemency of the prophet: he does not pray against them, but for them. See what he says. O my God — you who are the God of all, but properly my God: O my God, make them as a wheel. Those who have, as it were, a foundation in malice, let them have no foundation, but let them totter, and not stand firm in malice. As stubble before the face of the wind, as fire that burns up a forest. As stubble: not as wheat, but as stubble. What he says is this: if there is among them anything that is stubble and chaff, let it perish. As fire that burns up a forest. He did not say "fruitful trees," but "forest," which has no fruit. If anyone, then, is stubble, and has no wheat; if anyone is a forest, and has no fruit — let this perish. As a flame burning up the mountains: let the pride in them perish.

11 So shall you pursue them in your tempest, and in your wrath... What? will you kill them? No: you will trouble them, that they may be saved. Fill their faces with shame, that they may be confounded. Why this? And they shall seek your name, O Lord. You see, then, that he prays not against them, but for their salvation. Finally, in what follows also, see what he says. Let them be ashamed and troubled for ever and ever, and let them be confounded and perish. Let them perish according to that which is evil in them, and let that which is good be saved. Finally, see that "perdition" here does not signify abolition, but salvation. What follows? And let them know that your name is Lord: you alone are the Most High over all the earth. Let him who wishes exalt himself, and let him be exalted: let us say, You alone are the Most High over all the earth. However much anyone exalts himself, we have God, than whom there is none higher.

Homily 16, on Psalm 83

1 Latin source: Germanus Morin (ed.), Sancti Hieronymi Presbyteri Tractatus sive Homiliae in Psalmos, Anecdota Maredsolana III (Maredsoli, 1897) — public domain. Psalm numbering follows the Septuagint/Vulgate (Morin). To the choirmaster, for the winepresses, a psalm of the sons of Korah. There are three psalms which are inscribed "for the winepresses": the eighth, the eightieth, and the eighty-third. The eighth is inscribed to David, the eightieth is inscribed to Asaph, the eighty-third is inscribed as of the sons of Korah. I give you a certain rule, so that you may know what you ought to observe in the Scriptures. Whatever psalm is inscribed as of the sons of Korah has nothing sad in it, but always signifies joyful things. For since Korah and Dathan and Abiram acted against Moses, and were punished by the Lord, the sons of Korah, who did not follow their father, were blessed with eternal joy. And since Korah is interpreted "skull," and it is plain that the skull signifies the place of the resurrection, whoever is a son of Korah is a son of the resurrection. And whoever is a son of the resurrection can have nothing that is sad.

2 How beloved are your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts: my soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord. Then it is said, "Blessed are they who dwell in your house." See that there are three things: the tabernacles, and the courts, and lastly the house. How beloved are your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts. What are these tabernacles? Let us look at the Gospel, whether it may offer us some meaning. The Lord speaks, and says: "Make yourselves friends of the unjust mammon, that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles." What is it that fails? This, that is, the unjust mammon. May they receive you into the eternal tabernacles. You see, therefore, that the unjust mammon fails in this world. Yet consider that this unjust thing prepares righteousness. In the Hebrew tongue riches are called "mammon": not gold, as some suppose. Of the unjust mammon. There is also a certain saying of the philosopher that is true: "Every rich man is either unjust, or the heir of an unjust man." For this reason the Lord and Savior says that the rich enter with difficulty into the kingdom of heaven. Someone may say: How did Zacchaeus enter into the kingdom of heaven, who was rich? But he gave away his riches, and at once he exchanged his riches for the kingdom of heaven. He did not say, Whoever are rich shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he said, that the rich enter with difficulty into the kingdom of heaven.

3 How beloved are your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts. Others desire possessions, others the riches of this world, others to hold office in the churches of this world, and to have some glory among men: for me this alone is my desire, to see your eternal tabernacles. Those tabernacles are beloved to me, where there is a gathering of virtues, not of vices. My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord. This is my only desire, this is my only love, that I may see your courts. See the order. First he desires the tabernacles, tabernacles which have no foundation, tabernacles which are quickly changed. For a tabernacle is always being changed, and is carried from here to there. But the courts are indeed not the house, yet they have some foundations, and from the court we enter into the house. Therefore this man first desires the tabernacles, and afterward faints and melts with love that he may see the courts: and when he has been in the court, then he says: "Blessed are they who dwell in your house."

4 My heart and my flesh have exulted in the living God. It is difficult that both the heart and the flesh of anyone should agree together in common. For if, according to the apostle, the spirit fights against the flesh and the flesh against the spirit, how does he here say: My heart and my flesh have exulted? This no one can say, except him who is fixed with his whole mind in the love of God. My heart and my flesh. This is what he says also in another place: "My soul has thirsted for you, how manifoldly my flesh for you." And my flesh. This is the flesh that desires the Lord, of which it is said in another place: "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." But that flesh, of which it is said "All flesh is grass," does not desire the Lord. My heart and my flesh. Show me some abstinent man, who reckons the death of his flesh to be the gain of his soul. And these are the fastings and the afflictions of the flesh. Finally, what does the apostle also say? "Whom I have handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved." Unless the flesh has died, the spirit cannot be made alive. For this reason the apostle also says: "When I am weak, then I am stronger." Let each one consider himself, when he is wearied and worn out with fasting, how the soul flourishes, how the mind considers nothing else except God, how it always says: How beloved are your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts.

5 For indeed the sparrow has found itself a home, and the turtledove a nest for itself where it may place its young. For the moment let us interpret it simply. See what he says. I desire, O Lord, your eternal tabernacles: my soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord: I desire to have some seat and little nest for my soul and my body. The birds which wander freely here and there, yet after they have flown, have a place and little nests where they may rest: how much more ought my soul and my flesh to prepare for themselves a place, where they may be able to rest? Now let us ascend to something higher. "In the Lord I trust: how do you say to my soul, Migrate to the mountains like a sparrow? See therefore, that no one migrates to the mountains, except him who is a sparrow. And the turtledove a nest for itself. This is the turtledove, of which he says in the Song of Songs: "The voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land. The turtledove a nest for itself. The turtledove is an animal of chastity, the turtledove does not dwell in low places, but always makes its nests for itself in the lofty trees.

6 As therefore the sparrow and the turtledove, most chaste birds, make their nests for themselves in the higher places, so therefore the tabernacles and the courts and the house are not on this low earth, but on high, that is, in the kingdoms of heaven. Finally, see what he says. Blessed are they who dwell in your house. In the tabernacle we do not dwell, but we sojourn. And as long as we are in the court, we do not dwell, but we sojourn: for from the courts we pass into the house. But when we have come into the house, what is said? Blessed are they who dwell in your house. The house, which has a foundation: because from the house it is not permitted for us to go out, but from the courts it is permitted. 7 Blessed is the man whose help is from you. We indeed desire your tabernacles and courts and house: but this very thing, that we may be able to attain it, is not of our own strength, but of your help. He has arranged ascents in his heart. Who has arranged ascents in his heart? Blessed is the man whose help is from the Lord: he has arranged ascents in his heart. Whoever is holy is daily stretched out toward the things before, and forgets the things that are past. For this reason there are also said in the Psalter the fifteen psalms of the steps, and the first is said, "To the Lord when I was in tribulation I cried out." And in the second, "I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from where my help shall come." And in the third, "I was glad in the things that were said to me." And he always proceeds, and advances, and ascends to loftier things. What he says is this. He has arranged ascents in his heart. Happy is he who daily advances, who does not consider what he did yesterday, but what he may do and advance in today. The holy man places ascents in his heart, the sinner descents. As he who is holy daily advances, so he who is a sinner daily decreases. Blessed is the man who arranges ascents in his heart. See the sequence of the Scriptures.

8 In the valley of tears, in the place which he has set. Where "in the valley" is said, it is necessary that we understand, by contrast, also the mountain. Therefore whoever arranges ascents in his heart, where has he been placed? In the valley of tears. Let us consider that we are in the valley: we are not on the mountain, we are not in paradise, in the height of paradise; but in the lowliness of the earth, the accursed earth, which brings forth for us thistles and thorns, which is the serpent's food, of which it is said to Adam, "You are earth, and to earth you shall go." As long, therefore, as we are in the valley of tears, we ought not to laugh, but to weep. For this reason the Lord also says: "Blessed are they who weep, for they themselves shall laugh." For the time being, therefore, we are in the valley of tears, and this world is a world of tears, not of joy. We ought not to laugh, since this world and this time is of tears, that other is of joy. In the valley of tears, in the place which he has set. What is it that he says, In the place which he has set? In the place, that is, in the valley of tears. In the place which he has set: God has set us for the contest, that we may always fight in this. This place, therefore, that is, the valley of tears, is not of peace, is not of security, but of contest and of wars.

9 For indeed he who gave the law will give blessings. Someone may say: In the valley of tears, in the place which he has set for the struggle, that is, for the contest. Why has he set us for the struggle? Why has he willed us to fight? The psalmist himself has answered himself, and says: For this reason in this place he has willed us to fight, that he may be able to bestow crowns. For indeed the lawgiver will give blessings. This lawgiver, that is, our judge of the contest (agonotheta), for this reason has willed us to fight, that he may be able to bless us. See the sequence. But what are the blessings of this judge of the contest? They shall go from strength to strength. Here they conquer, that there they may be crowned. If here a man appears strong, there he becomes more robust. They shall go from strength to strength. Therefore, unless here we have had strength, there we cannot have greater strength. For he did not say, they shall go from weakness to strength: but, they shall go from strength to strength. Do you wish to be strong there? First be strong here. Do you wish to be crowned there? Fight here. They shall go from strength to strength. We can also say it another way. "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. He who has had strength here, will have that same strength there also. They shall go from strength to strength.

10 What gain will they have, when they have gone from strength to strength? what reward will they have? The God of gods shall be seen in Zion. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they themselves shall see God. It suffices for the victors, it suffices for those who have fought, the face of Christ: to see God is an infinite crown. The God of gods shall be seen in Zion. How great a joy it is, how great a happiness, to go from strength to strength, and to have this very reward, that we may be counted worthy to see Christ! 11 Our protector, look, O God, and look upon the face of your Christ. See what he says, And look upon the face of your Christ. And a man prays, that the Father may look upon the face of the Son. But see what he says. Since the apostle said, "Do you seek proof of him who speaks in me, Christ?" and again the Savior himself said, "He who receives you receives me," therefore this is what he says: Look upon us: for in us you look upon your Son, who dwells in us. For better is one day in your courts above thousands. See what he says, "one day." Someone thinks it should be understood thus: It is better for me to have a little in the kingdom of heaven, than here the whole, that is, in this world. This understanding, indeed, is not a bad one. But let us say: If it could happen that someone should be for one day in the kingdom of heaven, and afterward be cast down headlong, he would rightly say: Better is one day in your courts. But now, in that he says "one day," this is what he says: The kingdom of heaven is one day; it does not have night and darkness, but always there is light. He therefore who has been for one day in the kingdom of heaven, is always there.

12 I have chosen to be an outcast in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners. This is what the Savior also says about John: "Amen I say to you, that among those born of women there is not a greater than John the Baptist." Then he says that he himself is an angel. And then he says: "But he who is lesser in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." The sense there is this: John is greater than all men, and, if you wish to know, he himself is an angel; but this one who on earth is an angel, is the least in the kingdom of heaven, that is, he is lesser than the angels; but he who is lesser in the kingdom of heaven, that is, the angel, is greater than this one who on earth is greater than all. This, therefore, is now what the prophet says: I have chosen to be an outcast in the house of my God, that is, I have wished to be the least in the kingdom of heaven, rather than the first in this world. I have chosen to be an outcast in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners. Consider what he says, Rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners. Tabernacles have no foundation, but they pass away: yet he who is a sinner never merely sojourns on the earth, but dwells in it and possesses it.

13 For God loves mercy and truth. Two things God loves, mercy and truth. If he were only merciful, he would provoke us all to sins: if he loved only truth, no one would have hope of repentance. For this reason he seeks two things, and tempers the one by the other. If you are a sinner, hear that God is merciful, and do not despair, and do penance. But if you are righteous, do not be negligent, because God is clement: since God is also just, and loves truth. The Lord will give grace and glory. He did not say, He will give glory and grace: but what did he say? The Lord will give grace and glory. First he forgives sins, and afterward he crowns. He will not deprive of good things those who walk in innocence. It has it better in the Hebrew: "in perfection." For innocence is not a perfect virtue: since he who is innocent, unless he also has prudence, is not of perfect and consummate virtue. For this reason he also says in the Gospel: "Be prudent as serpents, and simple as doves." O Lord of hosts. See what he says, O Lord of hosts. Therefore when we have any sins in us, God, who is the Lord of hosts, is not our Lord: because the Lord is not the Lord of sinners, but of the righteous. Blessed is the man who hopes in you. He hopes in the Lord, who has no conscience of sins, who lifts free eyes to heaven. This man hopes, who knows that he has not offended his Lord.

Homily 17, on Psalm 84

1 Latin source: Germanus Morin (ed.), Sancti Hieronymi Presbyteri Tractatus sive Homiliae in Psalmos, Anecdota Maredsolana III (Maredsoli, 1897) — public domain. Psalm numbering follows the Septuagint/Vulgate (Morin). 2 Unto the end, a psalm of the sons of Korah. The eighty-fourth psalm is headed with this title. I have often said: wherever there is the title "Of the sons of Korah," nothing is sorrowful, but always joyful. For the sorrow of the father is consoled by the joy of the sons. Read the psalms through carefully, then, and wherever you find the title "Of the sons of Korah," you will find nothing sorrowful. I have often said: Korah, which is interpreted as "the place of the Skull," must signify something joyful. So then, who is this Korah? He is the one who was going up from Jericho to Bethel. Bethel, "the house of God. Note this carefully. Whoever is in Jericho, and wishes to go to the house of God, must go up. Therefore our Korah went up from Jericho — that is, Elisha — to the house of God, Bethel; and there come out from Bethel, that is, from the house of God, that is, from the synagogue, where formerly there had been the house of God, there come out forty-two boys, and they mock Elisha, our Korah, and say, "Go up, baldhead, go up, baldhead. He comes to his own house, and is mocked by the little children of Bethel. But that most patient Elisha, who had come to Bethel for this very purpose, to save it, at length turned round upon them: he turned round, and gave orders that two bears should come out of the wood, and they killed forty-two boys.

3 So too our Lord, that is, our Korah, when He had come to Bethel and wished to go up, mocked by the little ones, gives orders that two bears come out — that is, Vespasian and Titus — and they killed forty-two boys. Who are these forty-two boys? From the ascension of Christ up to the overthrow of Jerusalem there are forty-two years. Look carefully, and you will find it so. And so He gave them room for repentance for forty-two years, even after His resurrection, when He went up to Bethel. But because they kept mocking, "Go up, baldhead, go up, baldhead," the two bears came out and killed them. 4 You have blessed, O Lord, Your land. This is spoken of the coming of the Savior. This properly according to the history; but according to the tropology, after we have spoken of the history, we shall discourse afterwards. You have blessed, O Lord, Your land. This we have said of the coming of the Savior. The land which had offended You, which had been defiled with idolatries, was saved when You came. You have blessed, O Lord, Your land. Let the sinner speak, and then, having obtained pardon: You have blessed, O Lord, Your land. Although it brought forth thistles and thorns, yet it is Your creation, and therefore it was saved. You have turned away the captivity of Jacob: of those who have believed in Christ. You have turned away the captivity of Jacob. Whoever is in sins is held captive. You have remitted the iniquity of Your people. Not on account of their works, but on account of Your mercy, You have saved Your people. You have covered all their sins, and right up to the end the psalm is about the coming of the Savior, as I said. Mercy and truth. Nevertheless His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land. For truly the glory of God dwelt in our land, and thereafter righteousness looked down from heaven. For the Lord shall give loving-kindness. What loving-kindness? Our land shall yield its fruit. Mary, our land, our flesh, yielded her fruit. Righteousness shall walk before Him. The virgin land gave forth its righteous fruit.

5 This much, for the moment, we have said according to the history; now let us speak according to the tropology. You have remitted the iniquity of Your people. No one remits anything except what is owed. You have covered all their sins. You have covered them with virtues, and therefore the sins do not appear. For example, You have covered iniquity with righteousness, You have covered unchastity with chastity, You have covered blackness with whiteness. You have softened all Your wrath, You have turned away from the wrath of Your indignation. Turn us, O God of our salvations. See what he says. You, for Your part, have turned away from wrath on account of Your clemency. Turn us, O God. You have turned away from wrath; turn us away from sins. Turn us, O God of our salvations. Why did he not say, "of our salvation," but, "of our salvations"? If we sinned but once, we would need one salvation. We have sinned in many things, therefore we need many salvations. O God, You, turning again, will bring us to life. As long, therefore, as the Lord does not turn to us, we are dead. Show us, O Lord, Your mercy, and grant us Your salvation. That the Savior came down is a matter of God's mercy: the physician would not have come, had not very many been sick. Because very many were sick, therefore the physician came: because we were in need of mercy, therefore the Savior came.

6 I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me. Many think, when Moses speaks and says, "Thus says the Lord," and Isaiah, and the rest, and when it is said, "The word of the Lord came to Isaiah" or "to Ezekiel the prophet," that the speech comes from outside, and that the prophet hears through these ears of his what is spoken by the Lord. It is not so. Indeed, what does our Lord Himself say to the Pharisees and the Jews? "He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And Isaiah says: "The Lord has added an ear for me. See what he says: The Lord has added an ear for me. Because I did not have that ear which is in the heart, He added it for me, that I might be able to hear the words of God. And so now, then, whatever the prophet hears, he hears in his heart. For just as we cry out in our hearts, "Abba, Father," and that cry is a cry of silence, and the silence is heard by the Lord: so too the Lord speaks to our heart, which cries out, "Abba, Father. Therefore, then, the prophet now says: I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me. Something similar the prophet Habakkuk also says: "I will stand upon my contemplation, and I will see what the Lord will answer me, and what I shall answer to Him" — and I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me.

7 Therefore this also that he says, I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me, he speaks in the heart, he speaks in the understanding. Do you wish to know what the cry of the heart is like? Do you wish to know that a cry before God is not one of voice, but of tears? It is said in the Lamentations of Jeremiah: "The pupil of my eye was not silent. For He will speak peace unto His people. This is properly said of the people of the Jews, who are to believe in Christ: that is, it is said of the coming of Christ and of the faith of the Jewish people, that is, of the apostles, and of all who believed the apostles. For He will speak peace unto His people. Peace is not spoken of except when there is war. 8 And unto His saints, and unto those who are turned to the heart: that is, those who first followed the flesh, and afterwards are turned to the heart. That you may know that this little verse is spoken further of the Jews — that is, of those who believed in the Savior — see the examples we have mentioned. Take for me a Jew reading Leviticus, and all those sacraments that are written there, and how the leper enters into the synagogue, how a hen is taken up, and its neck is wrung; then it is told how the blood is to be sprinkled, it is told of the water, it is told also of the hyssop, it is told too how his garments are to be rent, and thus he enters into the synagogue, he who had been a leper. If we read according to the letter, what profit is it to us that we read? But if we have turned to the heart, if we have understood spiritually, we shall see that the leper cannot enter to the people of God unless his garments be rent, unless whatever had been shut up be uncovered. Then see that this leper does not enter into the synagogue except through blood and water and hyssop. Therefore you too, who up to this day have been a leper — your leprosy did not appear until you came to the priest.

9 But because you came to the priest, the priest unstitched your garments, and that which seemed to be covered and sound, he showed to be leprous. He set all your sins and your leprosy before your eyes, and therefore he brings you back into the synagogue of God through blood and through water. Through blood, through the passion of Christ; and through water, through baptism. Therefore, after leprosy you will not be able to be healed except through the blood of Christ and through baptism. And when you have done this, that too is said: "You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: You shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. Up to this day you are in Egypt: as long as you do not come to the blood and to the water, you will not be able to be saved. Do you wish that the destroyer, who slew Egypt, may not slay you? Take hyssop, dip it in the blood, sprinkle your doorposts: and the destroyer, when he sees the blood on your forehead, will not be able to approach. Why have I said all this? Because it is written, Unto those who are turned to the heart. Therefore God will not be able to speak peace to His people, except to those who are turned to the heart.

10 Nevertheless His salvation is near to those who fear Him. I have shown the way of salvation, I grant mercy. Although you are not yet turned to the heart, still I wait, I grant room for repentance. And all this, indeed, that glory may dwell in our land. For this reason He calls you to repentance, that you, who were a leper, may have Christ as your guest. Mercy and truth have met each other: righteousness and peace have kissed. O how splendid a friendship! Mercy and truth have met each other. Are you a sinner? Hear what it says: Mercy. Are you holy? Hear what it says: And truth. Neither, if you are a sinner, should you despair; nor, if you are righteous, should you be proud. Let us speak in another way. There are two believing peoples: one from the people of the Gentiles, and another from the Jews. To the Jews it was promised that the Savior would come: but to us, who were strangers to the law of God, it was not promised. Mercy, therefore, is in the people of the Gentiles, truth in the people of the Jews: because what was promised has come, that is, what was promised to the fathers is fulfilled in the sons. Righteousness and peace have kissed. See what it says: Righteousness and peace have kissed. It is the same as what it said above, Mercy and truth. Mercy is the same as peace, but truth is the same as righteousness. For if anything pertains to peace, it pertains also to mercy: and if anything to truth, it pertains also to righteousness. See, then, what it says. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other: that is, mercy and truth have made friendship, that is, the people of the Gentiles and of the Jews are under one shepherd, Christ.

11 Truth has sprung up out of the earth. "I am the way and the truth and the life. He who said, I am the truth, has sprung up out of the earth. What is this truth, which has sprung up out of the earth? "There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up from his root. And in another place: "For God has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. What do you say, Manichaean, who deny that the Savior had flesh? Behold, the truth, the Savior, has sprung up out of the earth, that is, out of Mary. And righteousness has looked down from heaven. For it was righteous that the Savior should have mercy on His people. See what it says. O righteous judgments of God, and His ways past finding out! Truth has sprung up out of the earth, that is, the Savior. And again, And righteousness has looked down from heaven. Righteousness is the Savior Himself. How has He sprung up out of the earth? How has He looked down from heaven? He has sprung up out of the earth, because He was born a man: He has looked down from heaven, because as God He is always in the heavens. That is, He was indeed born of the earth: but He who was born of the earth is always in heaven. That is, He so appeared on earth that He did not leave the heavens. For God is everywhere. He looked down:

12 because, as long as we were sinning, He turned His eyes away from us. What He says is this. It is righteous that the potter should have mercy on his works, that the shepherd should have mercy on his flock. We are His people, we are His creation. Therefore, then, He sprang up out of the earth, and looked down from heaven, that He might fulfill His righteousness, and have mercy on His work. And so, that you may know that "righteousness" does not sound of cruelty, but of mercy, see what it says. For the Lord shall give loving-kindness. For this reason He looked down from heaven, that He might have mercy on His works. And our land shall yield its fruit. Truth indeed has sprung up out of the earth: this of the past. Now it is said of the future, And our land shall yield its fruit. Do not despair, because He was once born of Mary: daily He is born also in us. And our land shall yield its fruit. We too can bring forth Christ, if we will. And our land shall yield its fruit: from which is made the heavenly bread, of which He says, "I am the heavenly bread. All these things, indeed, we have said concerning the mercy of the Lord, since He came for this purpose, to save the human race. Nevertheless we ought to know that He Himself is to judge the living and the dead, He Himself will come to judge. Righteousness shall walk before Him.

13 Do not be negligent: Righteousness shall walk before Him. And He shall set His steps in the way. See what it says, His steps: where there are no stones, where there are no thorns and thistles, where the way is level, where He can walk, where He cannot stumble. Let us, then, also make a way for the Lord in our heart: the way over which John labored, and cried out in the wilderness, that we should make a way for the Lord. Therefore now too this is said. And He shall set His steps in the way. Where He finds a way, He will walk. Although before we had thorns and thistles, although stones, it is said to us in Isaiah: "And cast the stones out of the way. And He says this for the reason, that when He wishes to walk about in our way, He may not stub His foot. The stones which are in the way, and are commanded to be cast out, are our sins. Christ does not walk in our heart, if there be any sin: at once He stumbles against the stones. And He shall set His steps in the way. Let us make a way, and Jesus will set His steps in the way.