The Second Sunday after
Trinity
Homily of Augustine on Psalm XII
Trinity Home
LORD, make us to have a perpetual fear and love of thy holy name: for thou never failest to help and govern them whom thou doest bring up in thy stedfast love. Grant this, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Collect source: Sacrementary of Gelasius, Bishop of Rome [ca 494AD]. 1549 BCP version. An differnt arrangement appeared in the 1662 BCP
Genesis vi.5, Psalms12, 13 | 10, 11 ; 1 St. John iii. 13 & St. Luke xiv. 16
Genesis vi. 5
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
1 St. John iii. 13
MARVEL not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.St. Luke xiv. 16.
A CERTAIN man made a great supper, and bade many: and sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.HOMILY
Augustine
Homily on Psalm XII
1. It has been said on the sixth Psalm, [459] that "the eighth" may be
taken as the day of judgment. "For the eighth" may also be taken "for
the eternal age;" for that after the time present, which is a cycle of
seven days, it shall be given to the Saints.
2. "Save me, O Lord, for the holy hath failed;" that is, is not found:
as we speak when we say, Corn fails, or, Money fails. "For the truths
have been minished from among the sons of men" (ver. 1). The truth is
one, whereby holy souls are enlightened: but forasmuch as there are
many souls, there may be said in them to be many truths: as in mirrors
there are seen many reflections from one face.
3. "He hath talked vanity each man to his neighbour" (ver. 2). By
neighbour we must understand every man: for that there is no one with
whom we should work evil; "and the love of our neighbour worketh no
evil." [460] "Deceitful lips, with a heart and a heart they have spoken
evil things." [461] The repetition, "with a heart and a heart,"
signifies a double heart.
4. "May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips" (ver. 3). He says "all,"
that no one may suppose himself excepted: as the Apostle says, "Upon
every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and of the Greek."
[462] "The tongue speaking great things:" the proud tongue.
5. "Who have said, We will magnify our tongue, our lips are our own,
who is Lord over us?" (ver. 4). Proud hypocrites are meant, putting
confidence in their speech to deceive men, and not submitting
themselves to God.
6. "Because of the wretchedness of the needy and the sighing of the
poor, now I will arise, saith the Lord" [463] (ver. 5). For so the Lord
Himself in the Gospel pitied His people, because they had no ruler,
when they could well obey. Whence too it is said in the Gospel, "The
harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few." [464] But this must
be taken as spoken in the person of God the Father, who, because of the
needy and the poor, that is, who in need and poverty were lacking
spiritual good things, vouchsafed to send His own Son. From thence
begins His sermon on the mount to Matthew, where He says, "Blessed are
the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." [465] "I will
place in salvation." He does not say what He would place: but, "in
salvation," must be understood as, in Christ; according to that, "For
mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." [466] And hence He is understood to
have placed in Him what appertains to the taking away the wretchedness
of the needy, and the comforting the sighing of the poor. "I will deal
confidently in Him:" according to that in the Gospel, "For He taught
them as one having authority, and not as their scribes." [467]
7. "The words of the Lord" are "pure words" (ver. 6). This is in the
person of the Prophet himself, "The words of the Lord" are "pure
words." He says "pure," without the alloy of pretence. For many preach
the truth impurely; [468] for they sell it for the bribe of the
advantages of this life. Of such the Apostle says, that they declared
Christ not purely. "Silver tried by the fire for the earth." [469]
These words of the Lord by means of tribulations approved to sinners.
"Purified seven times:" by the fear of God, by godliness, by knowledge,
by might, by counsel, by understanding, by wisdom. [470] For seven
steps also of beatitude there are, which the Lord goes over, according
to Matthew, in the same sermon which He spake on the Mount, "Blessed"
are "the poor in spirit, blessed the meek, blessed they that mourn,
blessed they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, blessed
the merciful, blessed the pure in heart, blessed the peacemakers."
[471] Of which seven sentences, it may be observed how all that long
sermon was spoken. For the eighth where it is said, "Blessed" are "they
which suffer persecution for righteousness' sake," [472] denotes the
fire itself, whereby the silver is proved seven times. And at the
termination of this sermon it is said, "For He taught them as one
having authority, and not as their scribes." [473] Which refers to that
which is said in this Psalm, "I deal confidently in Him."
8. "Thou, O Lord, shalt preserve us, and keep us from this generation
to eternity" (ver. 7): here as needy and poor, there as wealthy and
rich.
9. "The ungodly walk in a circle round about" (ver. 8): that is, in the
desire of things temporal, which revolves as a wheel in a repeated
circle of seven days; and therefore they do not arrive at the eighth,
that is, at eternity, for which this Psalm is entitled. [474] So too it
is said by Solomon, "For the wise king is the winnower of the ungodly,
and he bringeth on them the wheel of the wicked.--After Thine height
Thou hast multiplied the sons of men." [475] For there is in temporal
things too a multiplication, which turns away from the unity of God.
Hence "the corruptible body weigheth down the soul, and the earthy
tabernacle presseth down the mind that museth upon many things." [476]
But the righteous are multiplied "after the height of God," when "they
shall go from strength to strength." [477]
To the end, for the eighth, a psalm of David.
Let us pray in the words of Augustine.
Turn we to the Lord God, the Father Almighty, and with pure hearts offer to him, so far as our
meanness can, great and true thanks, with all our hearts praying his exceeding kindness, that of
his good pleasure he would deign to hear our prayers, that by his Power he would drive out the
enemy from our deeds and thoughts, that he would increase our faith, guide our understandings,
give us spiritual thoughts, and lead us to his bliss, through Jesus Christ his Son our Lord, who
liveth and reigneth with him, in the Unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
[A prayer which he was wont to use after his Sermons and Lectures.]
NPNF (V1-08) St. Augustine
[A.N.F., vol. i. p. 63, note 2. The world created in seven days;
and the Fathers take the eighth to mean the new creation, or
"regeneration." Matt. xix. 28, with which compare Acts iii. 21.--C.]
[460] Rom. xiii. 10.
[461] LXX. Al. kakEUR.
[462] Rom. ii. 9.
[463] [Here the Anglican Psalter is inimitable for rhythm and pathos
and for its archaic charm: "Now for the comfortless troubles' sake of
the needy, and because of the deep sighing of the poor, I will up,
saith the Lord."--C.]
[464] Matt. ix. 37.
[465] Matt. v. 3.
[466] Luke ii. 30.
[467] Matt. vii. 29.
[468] Phil. i. 16.
[469] [Or, "from the earth." So St. Jerome. The earthen crucible may be
the figure.--C.]
[470] Isa. xi. 2.
[471] Matt. v. 3-9.
[472] Matt. v. 10.
[473] Matt. vii. 29.
[474] [So the Septuagint and Vulgate, "in a cycle." Contrasted by the
Fathers with the straightforward march of the (Prov. iv. 18) just. This
Psalm was used by the Hebrews on the eighth day, for circumcision.--C.]
[475] Prov. xx. 26. See LXX.
[476] Wisd. ix. 15.
[477] Ps. lxxxiv. 7.
HOME