(Verse 11.) Hence the Prophet said correctly: According to your name, O God, so is your praise to the ends of the earth: your right hand is full of justice. It is not surprising that the right hand of God is full of justice, for he is the right hand of God. Moreover, the power of God is the same as the justice of God; so, by knowing that he is full of the justice of God, you should understand that he possesses the fullness of justice that the Father has; and by understanding that the power and justice of God the Father and the wisdom are read, you should not perceive anything different in him from the divine majesty; instead, you should recognize that he has received everything from the Father, and that the Son is the splendor of all the Father's glory, and the exact representation of his essence: he has expressed the Father in such a way that the whole Father is in him, just as the whole Son is in the Father.
(Verse 12.) And because the Prophet saw in spirit that the praises of Christ should be proclaimed throughout the earth, he exhorts us to joy and worship of His name as a kind of conclusion to the discourse he began, saying: Let Mount Zion rejoice; that is, those who trust in the Lord, as he subsequently interpreted, saying: They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, etc. (Psalm 124:1). The Lord Jesus Himself, who is the mountain and height of His Church, which contemplates Christ with its whole affection, rejoices in its faith and devotion which have pleased God, for the faithless have been rejected. Therefore, this can also be understood devoutly, since he himself is the highest mountain above all, onto which he is commanded to ascend who preaches the faith, with the Scripture saying: 'Ascend to the high mountain, you who preach good news to Zion' (Isaiah 40:9).
Let the souls confessing to You rejoice, he says. They themselves are the daughters of that Judea in which God is well known. For that Judea, which is in the flesh or in writing, did not know the Lord. For if she had known, she would have also received him. But she did not know him, whom she did not receive, and she rejected his judgments: about which he reminds them that they do not originate from Father Abraham, but from the seed of the devil, because every sin is the seed of the enemy. However, the daughters of confession do not commit sin, but they overshadow. Therefore blessed are those whose sins are forgiven. And rightly will the daughters of confession rejoice because of the judgments of the Lord, when they have come to know His judgments and ways, which in this age are inscrutable and unsearchable to men: and when they have begun to behold the truth face to face, then those things which now appear inscrutable, they will comprehend, and they will rejoice in their understanding.
(Verse 13.) Surround, he says, Zion, and embrace her: narrate in her towers. Those who understand Zion, surround her, and embrace her with their senses; so that they may hold onto her and not let her go, lest the discipline of virtue may be taken away from them. Therefore, she says in the Canticles: I have taken hold of him, and I will not let him go (Cant. III, 4); she who sought the wisdom of God, and embraced the justice of God with the arms of charity, and with certain arms of faith and devotion; for he himself is the embrace of a pious mind. Therefore, let us also comprehend as much as we can the internal mysteries of truth, and let us write them down and engrave them in our senses, and the power of the heavenly oracle: which, in order to attain, that skilled Moses ascended, in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, unto the mountain and entered into the cloud; so that he may know the hidden and secret things, with Jesus as his companion; for no one can understand uncertain wisdom and hidden things without the true Jesus. And thus in the form of Jesus of Nave, the true Savior, his coming was signified, through whom all the teachable ones of God would be made, who would open the Law and reveal the Gospel.
Therefore, those who surround Zion with their prudence, and embrace understanding as they ascend its towers, reveal from above what must be done or guarded against by those who cannot ascend its towers. For the city of God is fortified; and elsewhere the Lord says: 'Behold, I have painted your walls, O Jerusalem.' (Isaiah 49:16) It is marked with towers that the adversary may be detected if he should approach. He has his armies, which he is accustomed to gain possession of the souls of God, to bring forth machines; so that he may be able to overcome fortified towers. But you, he says, preach about the towers; for there is abundance in the towers of Jerusalem. Preach righteousness, warn of the watchfulness; for wisdom is sung in the end, and is preached in the highest walls. And elsewhere he says again: I have set watchmen on your walls, they will not keep silent day or night to the end (Isaiah 62:6). Therefore, narrate without interruption, without end. The adversary is awake, prowling, and with savage rage seeks whom he may devour. Therefore, the Lord must always be praised, who crushes the teeth of lions and breaks their jaws, so that they cannot harm us.
(Verse 14, 15.) He says, 'Set your hearts on his power,' that is, to understand his power; and distribute his steps, so that you may recount them to another generation. For this is God, our God forever and ever; he will rule us forever. The Greek word 'βάρεις' means high and towering houses; hence, when the Prophet spoke of the city of God and its inhabitants, he said, 'Distribute its steps,' that is, its lofty and sublime dwellings in the heavens. It teaches that the order of merits must be observed. For each person is in their own order (John XIV, 2). Therefore, the Lord says to the Disciples that He is going and preparing dwellings; so that each person may obtain dwellings suitable for the account of their merits, in which they may enjoy eternal rest.
There are also lofty and profound teachings, in which are hidden the mysteries of piety and the principles of heavenly discourse. Divide these, he says, and distribute them according to the capacity of each individual, as much as each person can comprehend with their own intellect. For Paul did not argue the same things to everyone. To some, he preached nothing but Christ Jesus, and him crucified, not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and power; but to the mature, he spoke wisdom; for the whole populace cannot grasp the wisdom hidden in mystery.
Therefore, Christ hid it so that fools may not understand it, and the wise may seek it more earnestly; and they may proclaim it to the next generation, which would be more perfect in spirit by virtue; because the previous generation, due to its weak faith, could not understand the sacraments of perfect wisdom. And therefore, it sought a sign and rejected the truth; when in fact, it is not the truth of the sign, but the sign of the truth. Hence, the Lord responded to him: An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign; and a sign shall not be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah (Matthew 12:39). To argue against the perfidy of the Jews, the example of Jonah is brought forth; because the people of Nineveh believed the sign, and thought they should follow the preaching of Jonah, who had been in the belly of the whale: but the Jews did not believe even after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, who rose from the heart of the earth after three days, and lives and reigns forever. Amen.
On Psalm 49, Commentary
On the Psalm XLVIII, Commentary. The title of this is: To the end, for the sons of Kore, a Psalm of David.
(Verses 1, 2.) Listen to these things, all you nations; listen with your ears, all you who inhabit the earth. In the very beginning, we recognize the voice of the Lord calling the nations to the Church for salvation; so that they may renounce error, follow truth, and acknowledge the gift of pious worship. But because the hearts of the human race were infected by the poisons of the serpent's venom, and their conscience, being subject to sin, despaired of forgiveness and could not call itself back, He promises a remedy, freely offering indulgence through the abundance of His own mercy; so that the guilty one may not fear, but rather rejoice in being aware that he renders the service of slavery to a good master, who knows how to forgive sins and honor virtues. Finally, with the same series of calling, the Lord also urges us in the Gospel, saying: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart (Matthew 11:28-29). Then he mentions that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light; for whoever despairs of the medicine will not be able to be cured. And therefore gentleness is pleasing to all, which heals the wounds of inward souls.
Therefore, he came to the sick, coming as a doctor, who would cure our serious ulcers; he presents remedies, so that people may see and come together with diligent faithfulness for the cure of salvation. Thus, that woman in the Gospel deserved health, who suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years. She heard that the doctor had come and hastened to touch, saying: If I touch his garment, I will be saved (Matthew 9:20-21). She said this within herself, and Christ heard it: and she touched the garment, and power came forth from the Savior, which cured the sick, strengthened the weak, stopped the flow, and demonstrated piety. Likewise, here also, He calls all people to the fountain of wisdom and prudence: He promises redemption to all, so that no one may be afraid, no one may despair, where no one is excluded; but every soul is invited to grace, so that it may be redeemed from sin without cost, and may obtain the fruit of eternal life.
Here is the meaning of the psalm, which we will arrange in its proper order, when we have explained the power and quality of the previous words. For the nations are commanded to listen, and the inhabitants of the earth to perceive with their ears. Surely it is the world of the earth, of which it was said above: The Lord's is the earth and its fullness: the world and those who dwell in it. He himself has founded it upon the seas: and has prepared it upon the rivers. (Psalm 24:1-2) What the Greeks call 'οἰκουμένην' is the inhabited world because it is inhabited by Christ, as he himself said: 'For I will dwell in them'; for he dwells in order to fill what appeared empty. What, therefore, is 'οἰκουμένη'; if not the holy Church, the temple of God, and the dwelling place of Christ? The Latins also fittingly, though using a different language, called it the orbis terrae, for just as the wheel rolls in a circle without any obstacle to its course, so the lives of the saints, who are inhabited by the Spirit, revolve in a circle.
Therefore, the Church is founded in tribulations, in storms and tempests, in worries and sorrows, and is prepared in adverse circumstances and in rivers. In which rivers? Hear the one who says: The rivers lifted up their voice (Psalm 93:3). Hear also in the Gospel: Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture says, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive (John 7:38-39). Therefore the Church is prepared in these rivers, in which the grace of God flows. These are the rivers that receive the word of God with their ears and speak; so they pour the word into the hearts of each individual. And so the Scripture makes a distinction by saying: Listen to these things, all nations: hear with your ears, all who dwell on the earth. Everyone can hear, but not everyone can perceive with their ears, unless they are the chosen ones of God. And so the Savior says: Who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke 8:8). He speaks of those spiritual ears of the inner man, whose nostrils we also read, as Job says: The divine spirit is in my nostrils (Job 27:3). Not all men have these ears and these nostrils. For the form of the body is one thing, the grace of the spirit another. The spiritual man hears and judges all things, but the animal man does not perceive what belongs to the Spirit of God. For the former is earthly, the latter heavenly.
(Verse 3.) And so he added: Both those born of the earth and of men: both rich and poor, in order to call everyone. Who is born of the earth, if not the son of man? Who is spiritual, if not the Son of God? The former is conceived from blood and generated through the pleasure of flesh and man; the latter is born from God. One is rich in every word and knowledge; the other is poor, yet rich in grace, because he cried out in poverty and the Lord heard him. On the contrary, both the rich are in pride and the poor are in humility. All are called to the Church, so that all may be redeemed by Christ. The sick find a doctor; the healthy acquire wisdom; the captive redeems, the free rewards. The divine Scripture builds up everyone. In it, each person finds what heals their wounds or confirms their merits. But at the same time, the calling of the rich and the poor together provokes us to a certain humility and equality, so that the rich does not scorn the poor and the poor does not envy the rich. Rather, both are united by the same grace, because the Lord became poor, though he was rich, so that he could be the Savior of both the poor and the rich.
(Verse 4.) And it weaves together: My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. Truly all are called, because the fountain of wisdom abounds for all, and it cannot be compared to a monetary treasure, which is declared more precious than all treasures. Therefore, neither the rich turn away, nor the poor are excluded; for wisdom does not discriminate based on wealth, but on desires. He is more suitable who is more passionate, and closest in discipline. But if the meditation of the heart speaks of prudence, how much more perfect is doctrine! Then we are admonished not to give forth a tumultuous speech but, through the exercise of meditation, to examine in the balance of our inner mind what is to be said. For it is written elsewhere: A deceitful balance is not good (Prov. 20:23).
(Verse 5.) I will incline my ear to a proverb: I will open my proposition in the psaltery. An attentive listener understands, and bends his ear to comprehend the figures of the parables. The Savior Himself calls His ear, which He has for hearing. The Lord also opens His closed proposition; when He has found a fitting instrument and a chosen vessel, which He calls a psaltery: of which Paul, the sweet chant of grace, produced a melody by all his strings sounding together, with the inner string struck by the plectrum of the Holy Spirit, and the outer one being plucked, so that both tongue and mind could pray. And so he says: I will pray with the spirit, I will pray also with the mind: I will sing with the spirit, I will sing also with the mind (I Cor. XIV, 15). Therefore, Christ promises such a man long before, through whom He would reveal hidden things and open the mysteries of prophetic speech veiled in darkness. The psaltery is good, when it agrees with the life of faith, and it is a flesh of the soul, the will aspiring to virtue. This is the sweet psaltery, where the discipline of living is melodious; that what is written may be fulfilled: The tongue of the mute shall be clear (Isaiah XXXIII, 6).
(Verse 6.) It follows: Why should I fear in the day of evil? The wickedness of my heel surrounds me. This means that when my mouth speaks wisdom, and the meditation of my heart provides prudence, I am afraid of what I can do on the day of judgment; unless perhaps the wickedness of my heel needs to be washed away. (Compare Augustine, Against Julian, Book 1, Chapter 3). Our wickedness is one thing, the wickedness of our heels is another, in which Adam was wounded by the tooth of the serpent, and he left behind to his human descendants an inherited liability through his own wound, so that we all limp because of that wound. Where the Lord washed the feet of the disciples, so that he might wash away the poison of the serpent: and Peter is reproved because he made excuses, not wanting the Lord to wash his feet. Therefore it was said to him: Unless I wash your feet, you will not have a share with me (John 13:8). When he heard this, he offered not only his feet, but also his hands to be washed. To whom the Lord responded: He who is bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet: but he is clean overall (Ibid., 10).
Therefore David says: My iniquities have overwhelmed my head (Psalm 38:5); he who knew himself to be conceived in iniquity and born in sin from his mother. But the Lord, who had no sins of his own and did not know his own iniquities, says: The iniquity of my heel will surround me; that is, the iniquity of Adam, not mine. But that cannot be a terror to me; for on the day of judgment, our own sins, not the crimes of others, will be punished in us. Hence I think that the slipperiness of the heel in committing wrongdoing is more culpable than the guilt of any offense we have committed. And rightly the Lord, who has taken on everything for our sake, says: 'Let us wash our feet, so that we may remove the slipperiness of the heel; may this be a trustworthy foundation for virtues, and may no one falter due to the error of their father, who is prepared to stand by his own purpose: and may no one fear the slippery inheritance, who desires to hold onto the path of virtue.' Therefore, the iniquity of our heel is the transgression of Adam, through which he fell into contempt and disregard for heavenly commandments.
There is also the wickedness of the heel, the betrayal of Judas must be considered. The heel, because it is written: 'He who eats bread with me, lifts his heel against me' (Psalm 38:12)'. And there he said 'his heel', and here he said 'my heel'. His heel, because Christ is without wickedness, but this is the wickedness of the traitor: my heel, as Christ calls Judas the last part of his body, of which we are the body and members. The apostles are the more excellent and active members of Christ: Judas is the heel, like the farthest part of the body that is subject to the serpent, and is open to injury. First, therefore, the heel of Adam, second the heel of Judas. The former was the downfall of the whole inheritance, the latter of the traitor alone, who could not entangle the inheritance; for we are now not of the flesh, but of the Redeemer's inheritance, as the Scripture says: The inheritance is for those who believe in the Lord (Isaiah 54:17).
There is also that wickedness of his heel, which surrounded Christ: 'They surrounded me, they surrounded me,' he says, 'and in the name of the Lord I avenged myself upon them.' (Psalm 117:11) His heel is the Synagogue, the beauty and glory of his face is the Church; as it is written: 'The Lord has reigned, he has put on beauty.' (Psalm 92:1)
(Verse 7.) Therefore, they are the heel of whom it is said: Those who trust in their own strength, and those who boast in the abundance of their riches. The rich have become poor and hungry (Psalm 33:11). This is said of the Jews. But also, all those who live in luxury and do not submit to Christ are the heel. But these are general things that are widely known. However, he specifically spoke of Judas, the traitor, who seemed strong and rich in the glory of his apostleship.
(Vers. 8, 9.) Finally, the sermon about the Passion of the Lord is woven together. The brother does not redeem, a man will redeem; nor will he give his propitiation to God, and the price of redeeming his soul; that is, why should I fear daily evils? For what can harm me, who not only do not need a redeemer, but I myself am the redeemer of all? Shall I make others free, and tremble for myself? Behold, I will make all things new, which are above the affection of mere brotherhood and piety. The brother who cannot redeem himself from the same mother's womb due to the weakness of his nature, will be redeemed by man. But that man of whom it is written: 'The Lord will send a man who will save them' (Isaiah 19:20); who himself said: 'You seek to kill Me, a man who has spoken the truth to you' (John 8:40). But even though he is a man, who will know him? Why will no one know him? For just as there is one God, so there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He is the only one who redeemed man, overcoming his brothers with compassion; for he poured out his own blood for others, which no one can offer for his brother. Therefore, he did not spare his own body in order to redeem us from sin: and he gave himself as redemption for all; as the true witness, the apostle Paul, affirmed, saying: I speak the truth, I do not lie (Rom. IX, 1). But why will he alone redeem here? Because no one can equal him in piety, to the extent that he would lay down his life for his slaves; no one in integrity; for all are under sin, all subject to the fall of Adam. Only the Redeemer is chosen, who cannot be subject to the old sin. Therefore, let us understand through the man, the Lord Jesus, who assumed human condition, that he crucified the sin of all in his flesh, and erased the handwriting of all with his own blood.
But perhaps you will say: How can it be denied that the brother will be redeemed, when he himself said: I will tell your name to my brothers (Ps. 21:23) ? But not as a brother to us, but as Christ Jesus, in whom God was; he forgave our sins. For it is written: God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself (2 Cor. 5:19) . In that Christ Jesus, of whom it is only said: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) . Therefore, he dwelt in us not as a brother, but as a Lord, when he dwelt in flesh. Therefore, since he reconciled the world to God, certainly he himself did not need reconciliation. For how could he propitiate God for his own sin, when he knew no sins? Lastly, when the Jews asked for a didrachma, which was given for sin according to the Law, he said to Peter: Simon, do the kings of the earth take tribute or taxes from their own sons, or from strangers? Peter answered: from strangers. To whom the Lord said: Therefore the sons are free. But lest we give them offense . . . cast a hook, and take up the fish that first comes up; and when you have opened its mouth, you shall find a piece of money: that take, and give it for me and for you (Matthew 17:24 et seq.). It shows that he does not need to offer propitiation for his sins; for he was not a slave of sin, but was free from every error as the Son of God. For the son, being free, is a slave in debt. Therefore, that free person is free from all and does not pay the price of redemption for his own soul, the price of whose blood could abound to redeem all the sins of the whole world. Rightly, therefore, he sets others free, who owes nothing for himself.
(Verse 10.) I will add more. Not only should Christ not pay the price for His own redemption or atonement for sin, but also if you consider any faithful person, it can be understood that they should not seek their own atonement; for Christ is the atonement for all, and He is the redemption of all. For if the blood of any person is sufficient for their own redemption, when Christ has shed His own blood for the redemption of all? Is there, therefore, anyone's blood that can be compared to the blood of Christ? Or is there any man so powerful that he can offer a propitiation for himself beyond the propitiation that Christ offered in himself, who alone reconciled the world to God through his blood? What greater sacrifice, what more excellent offering, what better advocate than the one who became a plea for the sins of all and gave his life for our redemption? Therefore, the propitiation or redemption of individuals is not sought; for the price of all is the blood of Christ, by which the Lord Jesus redeemed us, who alone reconciled the Father: and he labored until the end; because he himself undertook our labor, saying: Come to me, all you who labor... and I will refresh you (Matthew 11:28). See the one laboring: I have labored groaning, my throat has become hoarse (Psalm 69:4). And elsewhere: Issachar desired what is good, resting among the strong. And below: He placed his shoulder to the work, and became a farmer (Gen. XLIX, 14 and 15). Therefore, man will no longer offer his propitiation or redemption; for he has been once cleansed of sin by the blood of Christ. However, he will labor to keep the commandments of living and not deviate from heavenly mandates. While he lives, let him be in labor and persevere in it, so that he may live until the end, lest he himself die a death, since he has already been redeemed from death.