The Sixth Sunday after Trinity
O GOD, who hast prepared for those who love thee such good things as pass man's understanding; Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Collect Source: Sacrementary of Gelasius, Bishop of Rome [ca 494AD]. Inspired by 1 Corinthians ii. 9. (from Isaiah lxiv.4) Latin
Psalms 28, 29 | 30, 31 , Romans vi. 3 & St. Matthew v. 20
Homily of Augustine on Psalm XXXI
Romans vi. 3
KNOW ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.St. Matthew v. 20
JESUS said unto his disciples, Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.The Collects of Thomas Cranmer
HOMILY
Augustine
Homily
Psalm XXXI
Psalm XXXI. [682]
To the end, a psalm of David himself, an ecstasy. [683]
1. To the end a Psalm of David Himself, the Mediator strong of hand in
persecutions. For the word ecstasy, which is added to the title,
signifies a transport of the mind, which is produced either by a panic,
or by some revelation. But in this Psalm the panic of the people of God
troubled by the persecution of all the heathen, and by the failing of
faith throughout the world, is principally seen. But first the Mediator
Himself speaks: then the People redeemed by His Blood gives thanks: at
last in trouble it speaks at length, which is what belongs to the
ecstasy; but the Person of the Prophet himself is twice interposed,
near the end, and at the end.
2. "In Thee, O Lord, have I trusted, let Me not be put to confusion for
ever" (ver. 1). In Thee, O Lord, have I trusted, let Me never be
confounded, whilst they shall insult Me as one like other men. "In Thy
righteousness rescue Me, and deliver Me." And in Thy righteousness
rescue Me from the pit of death, and deliver Me out of their company.
3. "Bend down Thine ear unto Me" (ver. 2). Hear Me in My humiliation,
nigh at hand unto Me. "Make haste to deliver Me." Defer not to the end
of the world, as with all who believe on Me, My separation from
sinners. "Be unto Me a God who protecteth Me." Be unto Me God, and
Protector. "And a house of refuge, that Thou mayest save Me." And as a
house, wherein taking refuge I may be saved.
4. "For Thou art My strength, and My refuge" (ver. 3). For Thou art
unto Me My strength to bear My persecutors, and My refuge to escape
them. "And for Thy Name's sake Thou shalt be My guide, and shalt
nourish Me." And that by Me Thou mayest be known to all the Gentiles. I
will in all things follow Thy will; and, by assembling, by degrees,
Saints unto Me, Thou shalt fulfil My body, and My perfect stature.
5. "Thou shalt bring Me out of this trap, which they have hidden for
Me" (ver. 4). Thou shalt bring Me out of these snares, which they have
hidden for Me. "For Thou art My Protector."
6. "Into Thy hands I commend My Spirit" (ver. 5). To Thy power I
commend My Spirit, soon to receive It back. "Thou hast redeemed Me, O
Lord God of truth." Let the people too, redeemed by the Passion of
their Lord, and joyful in the glorifying of their Head, say, "Thou hast
redeemed me, O Lord God of truth."
7. "Thou hatest them that hold to vanity uselessly" (ver. 6). Thou
hatest them that hold to the false happiness of the world. "But I have
trusted in the Lord."
8. "I will be glad, and rejoice in Thy mercy:" which doth not deceive
me. "For Thou hast regarded My humiliation:" wherein Thou hast
subjected me to vanity in hope. [684] "Thou hast saved my soul from
necessities" (ver. 7). Thou hast saved my soul from the necessities of
fear, that with a free love it may serve Thee.
9. "And hast not shut me up into the hands of the enemy" (ver. 8). And
hast not shut me up, that I should have no opening for recovering unto
liberty, and be given over for ever into the power of the devil,
ensnaring me with the desire of this life, and terrifying me with
death. "Thou hast set my feet in a large room." The resurrection of my
Lord being known, and mine own being promised me, my love, having been
brought out of the straits of fear, walks abroad in continuance, into
the expanse of liberty.
10. "Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am troubled" (ver. 9). But what is
this unlooked-for cruelty of the persecutors, striking such dread into
me? "Have mercy on me, O Lord." For I am now no more alarmed for death,
but for torments and tortures. "Mine eye hath been disordered by
anger." I had mine eye upon Thee, that Thou shouldest not abandon me:
Thou art angry, and hast disordered it. "My soul, and my belly." By the
same anger my soul hath been disturbed, and my memory, whereby I
retained what my God hath suffered for me, and what He hath promised
me.
11. "For my life hath failed in pain" (ver 10). For my life is to
confess Thee, but it failed in pain, when the enemy had said, Let them
be tortured until they deny Him. "And my years in groanings." The time
that I pass in this world is not taken away from me by death, but
abides, and is spent in groanings. "My strength hath been weakened by
want." I want the health of this body, and racking pains come on me: I
want the dissolution of the body, and death forbears to come: and in
this want my confidence hath been weakened. "And my bones have been
disturbed." And my stedfastness hath been disturbed.
12. "I have been made a reproach above all mine enemies" (ver 11). All
the wicked are my enemies; and nevertheless they for their wickednesses
are tortured only till they confess: I then have overpassed their
reproach, I, whose confession death doth not follow, but racking pains
follow upon it. "And to my neighbours too much." This hath seemed too
much to them, who were already drawing near to know Thee, and to hold
the faith that I hold. "And a fear to mine acquaintance." And into my
very acquaintance I struck fear by the example of my dreadful
tribulation. "They that did see me, fled without from me." Because they
did not understand my inward and invisible hope, they fled from me into
things outward and visible.
13. "I have been forgotten, as one dead from the heart" (ver. 12). And
they have forgotten me, as if I were dead from their hearts. "I have
become as a lost vessel." I have seemed to myself to be lost to all the
Lord's service, living in this world, and gaining none, when all were
afraid to join themselves unto me.
14. "For I have heard the rebuking of many dwelling by in a circuit"
(ver. 13). For I have heard many rebuking me, in the pilgrimage of this
world near me, following the circuit of time, and refusing to return
with me to the eternal country. "Whilst they were assembling themselves
together against me, they conspired that they might take my soul." That
my soul, which should by death easily escape from their power, might
consent unto them, they imagined a device, whereby they would not
suffer me even to die.
15. "But I have hoped in Thee, O Lord; I have said, Thou art my God"
(ver. 14). For Thou hast not changed, that Thou shouldest not save, Who
dost correct.
16. "In Thy hands" are "my lots" (ver. 15). In Thy power are my lots.
For I see no desert for which out of the universal ungodliness of the
human race Thou hast elected me particularly to salvation. And though
there be with Thee some just and secret order in my election, yet I,
from whom this is hid, have attained by lot unto my Lord's vesture.
[685] "Deliver me from the hands of mine enemies, and from them that
persecute me."
17. "Make Thy Face to shine upon Thy servant" (ver. 16). Make it known
to men, who do not think that I belong unto Thee, that Thy Face is bent
upon me, and that I serve Thee. "Save me in Thy mercy."
18. "O Lord, let me not be confounded, for I have called upon Thee"
(ver. 17). O Lord, let me not be put to shame by those who insult me,
for that I have called upon Thee. "Let the ungodly be ashamed, and be
brought down to hell." Let them rather who call upon stones be ashamed,
and made to dwell with darkness. [686]
19. "Let the deceitful lips be made dumb" (ver. 18). In making known to
the peoples Thy mysteries wrought in me, strike with dumb amazement the
lips of them that invent falsehood of me. "Which speak iniquity against
the Righteous, in pride and contempt." Which speak iniquity against
Christ, in their pride and contempt of Him as a crucified man.
20. "How great" is "the multitude of Thy sweetness, O Lord" (ver. 19).
Here the Prophet exclaims, having sight of all this, and admiring how
manifoldly plenteous is Thy sweetness, O Lord. "Which Thou hast hid for
them that fear Thee." Even those, whom Thou correctest, Thou lovest
much: but lest they should go on negligently from relaxed security,
Thou hidest from them the sweetness of Thy love, for whom it is
profitable to fear Thee. "Thou hast perfected it for them that hope in
Thee." But Thou hast perfected this sweetness for them that hope in
Thee. For Thou dost not withdraw from them what they look for
perseveringly even unto the end. "In sight of the sons of men." For it
does not escape the notice of the sons of men, who now live no more
after Adam, but after the Son of Man. "Thou wilt hide them in the
hidden place of Thy Countenance:" which seat Thou shalt preserve for
everlasting in the hidden place of the knowledge of Thee for them that
hope in Thee. "From the troubling of men." So that now they suffer no
more trouble from men.
21. "Thou wilt protect them in Thy tabernacle from the contradiction of
tongues" (ver. 20). But here meanwhile whilst evil tongues murmur
against them, saying, Who hath come thence? Thou wilt protect them in
the tabernacle, that of faith in those things, which the Lord wrought
and endured for us in time.
22. "Blessed be the Lord; for He hath made His mercy marvellous, in the
city of compassing" (ver. 21). Blessed be the Lord, for after the
correction of the sharpest persecutions He hath made His mercy
marvellous to all throughout the world, in the circuit of human
society. [687]
23. "I said in my ecstasy" [688] (ver. 22). Whence that people again
speaking saith, I said in my fear, when the heathen were raging
horribly against me. "I have been cast forth from the sight of Thine
eyes." For if Thou hadst regard to me, Thou wouldest not suffer me to
endure these things. "Therefore Thou heardest, O Lord, the voice of my
prayer, when I cried unto Thee." Therefore putting a limit to
correction, and showing that I have part in Thy care, Thou heardest, O
Lord, the voice of my prayer, when I raised it high [689] out of
tribulation.
24. "Love the Lord, all ye His saints" (ver. 23). The Prophet again
exhorts, having sight of these things, and saith, "Love the Lord, all
ye His saints; for the Lord will require truth." Since "if the
righteous shall scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner and the
ungodly appear?" [690] "And He will repay them that do exceeding
proudly." And He will repay them who even when conquered are not
converted, because they are very proud.
25. "Quit you like men, and let your heart be strengthened" (ver. 24):
working good without fainting, that ye may reap in due season. "All ye
who trust in the Lord:" that is, ye who duly fear and worship Him,
trust ye in the Lord.
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
Notes:
__________________________________________
[682] Lat. XXX.
[683] [Borrowed from the Septuagint, where it is anticipated from ver.
22. See p. 70, infra.--C.]
[684] Rom. viii. 20.
[685] John xix. 24.
[686] Umbris socientur.
[687] [Compare Hippolytus, vol. v. p. 202, A.N.F.--C.]
[688] [Elsewhere St. Augustin explains the word "ecstasy" as
sometimes=transport, sometimes=panic. See his sermon on this Psalm,
usually following this exposition.--C.]
[689] Nimis.
[690] 1 Pet. iv. 18.
Deus, qui viligentibus te bona invissbilia praeparasti, infunde cordibus nostris tui amoris affectum: ut te in omnibus et super omnia viligentes, promissiones tuas quae omne desiderium superant consequamur. Per Dominum -- Gel. Sac. Miss. Sar.
Alternate transaltion:
O God, who hast prepared for them that esteem thee invisible good things, pour into our hearts the affection of thy love, that we loving thee in all things and above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all we can desire; through our Lord.
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