Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. VIII: Expositions on...

Nicene and Post-Nicene FathersPsalms CommentarySt. Augustine

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This is a patristic sermon-commentary by Augustine of Hippo on Psalm 120, belonging to the tradition of early Christian biblical exposition delivered to a congregation. Augustine organizes the psalm around the metaphor of spiritual "degrees of ascent," arguing that those who begin progressing toward God will immediately face opposition from "deceitful tongues" — not outright enemies of Christ, but false counselors who discourage reform through flattery, mock-praise of Christ, and social pressure to remain worldly. Against these, Augustine reads the psalm's "sharp arrows" and "burning coals" as the Word of God and the living examples of converted sinners, presented as the believer's weapons against spiritual discouragement. The sermon's most distinctive move is its allegorical reading of "tents of Kedar" as the sons of Ishmael — representing carnal, earthly-minded members within the Church itself — meaning the soul's exile is not from pagans outside but from false brothers within, a concern clearly pointed at the Donatist controversy. Augustine closes with a direct anti-schismatic argument: those who separated to preserve purity are the very ones who "hate peace," since Christ is peace and to divide the Church is to undo what Christ made one. The editorial footnotes add a notable aside that Augustine himself refused communion with Rome while insisting on Catholic unity, grounding his ecclesiology in Nicene rather than papal authority.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. VIII: Expositions on...

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