{"collection":"chr","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/chr/ecf/108/1080127.htm","path":"chr/ecf/108/1080127.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/108/1080127.htm","text":"Psalm CXVI. 5076\n1. \u201cI have loved, since the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer\u201d (Psa. 116.1). Let the soul that is sojourning in absence from the Lord sing thus, let that sheep which had strayed sing thus, let that son who had \u201cdied and returned to life,\u201d who had \u201cbeen lost and was found;\u201d 5077 let our soul sing thus, brethren, and most beloved sons. Let us be taught, and let us abide, and let us sing thus with the Saints: \u201cI have loved: since the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer.\u201d Is this a reason for having loved, that the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer? and do we not rather love, because He hath heard, or that He may hear? What then meaneth, \u201cI have loved, since the Lord will hear\u201d? Doth he, because hope is wont to inflame love, say that he hath loved, since he hath hoped that God will listen to the voice of his prayer?\n2. But whence hath he hoped for this? Since, he saith, \u201cHe hath inclined His ear unto me: and in my days I have called upon Him\u201d (Psa. 116.2). I loved, therefore, because He will hear; He will hear, \u201cbecause He hath inclined His ear unto me.\u201d But whence knowest thou, O human soul, that God hath inclined His ear unto thee, except thou sayest, \u201cI have believed\u201d? These three things, therefore, \u201cabide, faith, hope, charity:\u201d 5078 because thou hast believed, thou hast hoped; because thou hast hoped, thou hast loved.\u2026\n3. And what are thy days, since thou hast said, \u201cIn my days I have called upon Him\u201d? Are they those perchance, in which \u201cthe fulness of time came,\u201d and \u201cGod sent His Son,\u201d 5079 who had already said, \u201cIn an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee\u201d? 5080 \u2026I may rather call my days the days of my misery, the days of my mortality, the days according to Adam, full of toil and sweat, the days according to the ancient corruption. \u201cFor I lying, stuck fast in the deep mire,\u201d 5081 in another Psalm also have cried out, \u201cBehold, Thou hast made my days old;\u201d 5082 in these days of mine have I called upon Thee. For my days are different from the days of my Lord. I call those my days, which by my own daring I have made for myself, whereby I have forsaken Him: and, since He reigneth everywhere, and is all-powerful, and holdeth all things, I have deserved prison; that is, I have received the darkness of ignorance, and the bonds of mortality.\u2026For in these days of mine, \u201cThe snares of death compassed me round about, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me\u201d (Psa. 116.3): pains that would not have overtaken me, had I not wandered from Thee. But now they have overtaken me; but I found them not, while I was rejoicing in the prosperity of the world, in which the snares of hell deceive the more.\n4. But after \u201cI too found trouble and heaviness, I called upon the Name of the Lord\u201d (Psa. 116.4). For trouble and profitable sorrow I did not feel; trouble, wherein He giveth aid, unto whom it is said, \u201cO be Thou our help in trouble: and vain is the help of man.\u201d 5083 For I thought I might rejoice and exult in the vain help of man; but when I had heard from my Lord, \u201cBlessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted:\u201d 5084 I did not wait until I should lose those temporal blessings in which I rejoiced, and should then mourn: but I gave heed to that very misery of mine which caused me to rejoice in such things, which I both feared to lose, and yet could not retain; I gave heed to it firmly and courageously, and I saw that I was not only agonized by the adversities of this world, but even bound by its good fortune; and thus \u201cI found the trouble and heaviness\u201d which had escaped me, \u201cand called upon the Name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech Thee, deliver my p. 555 soul.\u201d Let then the holy people of God say, \u201cI called upon the Name of the Lord:\u201d and let the remainder of the heathen hear, who do not as yet call upon the Name of the Lord; let them hear and seek, that they may discover trouble and heaviness, and may call upon the Name of the Lord, and be saved.\u2026\n5. \u201cGracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful\u201d (Psa. 116.5). He is gracious, righteous, and merciful. Gracious in the first place, because He hath inclined His ear unto me; and I knew not that the ear of God had approached my lips, till I was aroused by those beautiful feet, that I might call upon the Lord\u2019s Name: for who hath called upon Him, save he whom He first called? Hence therefore He is in the first place \u201cgracious;\u201d but \u201crighteous,\u201d because He scourgeth; and again, \u201cmerciful,\u201d because He receiveth; for \u201cHe scourgeth every son whom He receiveth;\u201d nor ought it to be so bitter to me that He scourgeth, as sweet that He receiveth. For how should not \u201cThe Lord, who keepeth little ones\u201d (Psa. 116.6), scourge those whom, when of mature age, He seeketh to be heirs; \u201cfor what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?\u201d 5085 \u201cI was in misery, and He helped me.\u201d He helped me, because I was in misery; for the pain which the physician causeth by his knife is not penal, but salutary.\n6. \u201cTurn again then unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath done good to thee\u201d (Psa. 116.7): not for thy deservings, or through thy strength; but because the Lord hath done good to thee. \u201cSince,\u201d he saith, \u201cHe hath delivered my soul from death\u201d (Psa. 116.8). It is wonderful, most beloved brethren, that, after he had said that his soul should turn unto rest, since the Lord had rewarded him; he added, since \u201cHe hath delivered my soul from death.\u201d Did it turn unto rest, because it was delivered from death? Is not rest more usually said of death? What is the action of him whose life is rest, and death disquietude? Such then ought to be the action of the soul, as may tend to a quiet security, not one that may increase restless toil; since He hath delivered it from death, who, pitying it, said, \u201cCome unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,\u201d etc. 5086 Meek therefore and humble, following, so to speak, Christ as its path, should the action of the soul be that tendeth towards repose; nevertheless, not slothful and supine; that it may finish its course, as it is written, \u201cIn quietness make perfect thy works.\u201d 5087 \u201cThou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.\u201d Whoever feeleth the chain of this flesh, chanteth these things as fulfilled in hope towards himself. For it is truly said, \u201cI was in misery, and He delivered me;\u201d but the Apostle saith this also truly, that we are saved by hope. 5088 And that we are delivered from death, is well said to be already fulfilled, so that we may understand the death of unbelievers, of whom he saith, \u201cLeave the dead to bury their dead.\u201d 5089 \u2026He will then clear our eyes of tears, when He shall save our feet from falling. For there will then be no slipping of our feet as they walk, when there will be no sliding of the weak flesh. But now, however firm our path, which is Christ, be; yet since we place flesh, which we are enjoined to subdue, beneath us; in the very work of chastening and subduing it, it is a great thing not to fall: but not to slip in the flesh, who can attain? \u201cI shall please in the sight of the Lord, in the land of the living\u201d (Psa. 116.9).\u2026We \u201clabour\u201d indeed now, because we are awaiting \u201cthe redemption of our body:\u201d 5090 but, \u201cwhen death shall have been swallowed up in victory, and this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal immortality;\u201d 5091 then there will be no weeping, because there will be no falling; and no falling, because no corruption. And therefore we shall then no longer labour to please, but we shall be entirely pleasing in the sight of the Lord, in the land of the living.\n7. \u2026\u201cI believed,\u201d saith he, \u201cand therefore did I speak. But I was sorely brought down\u201d (Psa. 116.10). For he suffered many tribulations, for the sake of the word which he faithfully held, faithfully preached; and he was sorely brought down; as they feared who loved the praise of men better than that of God. But what meaneth, \u201cBut I\u201d? He should rather say, I believed, and therefore I have spoken, and I was sorely brought down: why did he add, \u201cBut I,\u201d save because a man may be sorely brought down by those who oppose the truth, the truth itself cannot, which he believeth and speaketh? Whence also the Apostle, when he was speaking of his chain, saith, \u201cthe word of God is not bound.\u201d 5092 So this man also, since there is one person of the holy witnesses, that is, of the Martyrs of God, saith, \u201cI believed, and therefore will I speak.\u201d \u201cBut I;\u201d not that which I believed, not the word which I have delivered; \u201cbut I was sorely brought down.\u201d\n8. \u201cI said in my trance, All men are liars\u201d (Psa. 116.11). By trance he meaneth fear, which when persecutors threaten, and when the sufferings of torture or death impend, human weakness suffereth. For this we understand, because in this Psalm the voice of Martyrs is heard. For trance is used in another sense also, when the mind is not beside itself by fear, but is possessed by some inspiration of revelation. \u201cBut I said p. 556 in my haste, All men are liars.\u201d In consternation he hath had regard to his infirmity, and hath seen that he ought not to presume on himself; for as far as pertaineth to the man himself, he is a liar, but by the grace of God he is made true; lest yielding to the pressure of his enemies he might not speak what he had believed, but might deny it; even as it happened to Peter, since he had trusted in himself, and was to be taught that we ought not to trust in man. And if every one ought not to trust in man, surely not in himself; because he is a man. Rightly therefore in his fear did he perceive that every man was a liar; since they also whom no fear robs of their presence of mind, so that they never lie by yielding to the persecutors, are such by the gifts of God, not by their own strength.\u2026\n9. \u201cWhat,\u201d he asketh, \u201cwhat reward shall I give unto the Lord, for all the benefits that He hath returned unto me?\u201d (Psa. 116.12). He saith not, for all the benefits that He hath done unto me but \u201cfor all the benefits that He hath returned unto me.\u201d What deeds then on the man\u2019s part had preceded, that all the benefits of God were not said to be given, but returned? What had preceded, on the man\u2019s part, save sins? God therefore repayeth good for evil, whilst unto Him men repay evil for good; for such was the return of those who said, \u201cThis is the heir: come, let us kill him.\u201d 5093\n10. But this man seeketh what he may return unto the Lord, and findeth not, save out of those things which the Lord Himself returneth. \u201cI will receive,\u201d he saith, \u201cthe cup of salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord\u201d (Psa. 116.13). \u201cMy vows will I render to the Lord, before all His people\u201d (Psa. 116.14). Who hath given thee the cup of salvation, which when thou takest, and callest upon the Name of the Lord, thou shalt return unto Him a reward for all that He hath returned unto thee? Who, save He who saith, \u201cAre ye able to drink the cup that I shall drink of?\u201d 5094 Who hath given unto thee to imitate His sufferings, save He who hath suffered before for thee? And therefore, \u201cRight dear in the sight of the Lord is the death of His Saints\u201d (Psa. 116.15). He purchased it by His Blood, which He first shed for the salvation of slaves, that they might not hesitate to shed their blood for the Lord\u2019s Name; which, nevertheless, would be profitable for their own interests, not for those of the Lord.\n11. Let therefore the slave purchased at so great a price confess his condition, and say, \u201cBehold, O Lord, how that I am Thy servant: \u201cI am Thy servant, and the son of Thine handmaid\u201d (Psa. 116.16).\u2026This, therefore, is the son of the heavenly Jerusalem, which is above, the free mother of us all. 5095 And free indeed from sin she is, but the handmaid of righteousness; to whose sons still pilgrims it is said, \u201cYe have been called unto liberty;\u201d 5096 and again he maketh them servants, when he saith, \u201cbut by love serve one another.\u201d\u2026Let therefore that servant say unto God, Many call themselves martyrs, many Thy servants, because they hold Thy Name in various heresies and errors; but since they are beside Thy Church, they are not the children of Thy handmaid. But \u201cI am Thy servant, and the son of Thine handmaid.\u201d \u201cThou hast broken my bonds asunder.\u201d\n12. \u201cI will offer to Thee the sacrifice of praise\u201d (Psa. 116.17). For I have not found any deserts of mine, since Thou hast broken my bonds asunder; I therefore owe Thee the sacrifice of praise; because, although I will boast that I am Thy servant, and the son of Thy handmaid, I will glory not in myself, but in Thee, my Lord, who hast broken asunder my bonds, that when I return from my desertion, I may again be bound unto Thee.\n13. \u201cI will pay my vows unto the Lord\u201d (Psa. 116.18). What vows wilt thou pay? What victims hast thou vowed? what burnt-offerings, what holocausts? Dost thou refer to what thou hast said a little before, \u201cI will receive the cup of salvation, and will call upon the Name of the Lord;\u201d and, \u201cI will offer to Thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving\u201d? and indeed whosoever well considereth what he is vowing to the Lord, and what vows he is paying, let him vow himself, let him pay himself as a vow: this is exacted, this is due. On looking at the coin, the Lord saith, \u201cRender unto C\u00e6sar the things which are C\u00e6sar\u2019s, and unto God the things which are God\u2019s:\u201d 5097 his own image is rendered unto C\u00e6sar: let His image be rendered unto God.\n14. \u201cIn the courts,\u201d he saith, \u201cof the Lord\u2019s house\u201d (Psa. 116.19). What is the Lord\u2019s house, the same is the Lord\u2019s handmaid: and what is God\u2019s house, save all His people? It therefore followeth, \u201cIn the sight of all His people.\u201d And now he more openly nameth his mother herself. For what else is His people, but what followeth, \u201cIn the midst of thee, O Jerusalem\u201d? For than that which is returned grateful, if it be returned from peace, and in peace. But they who are not sons of this handmaid, have loved war rather than peace.\u2026\nLat. CXV. A sermon to the common people.\n554:5077 554:5078 554:5079 554:5080 554:5081 554:5082 554:5083 554:5084 555:5085 555:5086 555:5087 555:5088 555:5089 555:5090 555:5091 555:5092 556:5093 556:5094\nMatt. xx. 22. [He omits ver. 14.\u2014C.]\n556:5095 556:5096 556:5097","title":"Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. VIII: Expositions on...","type":"page"}