Augustine worked on his Exposition of the Psalms over the course of 30 years as he preached or taught through them. As I’ve been reading through Augustine’s works and posting highlights from them, I’ll also be slowly posting through his works on the Psalms. While Augustine is typically known for “City of God” being his largest work, his Exposition of the Psalms is around 50% longer. It’s an important and often overlooked resource from Augustine.
Augustine, in his typical manner, gave too much emphasis on hidden meaning in names. From the ESV, the title of this Psalm is “A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.” Regarding “Cush”, Augustine said that meant “silence”. And, obviously this signifies Christ’s silence during His Passion.
The ruin then of that disciple, who betrayed Him, is rightly understood to be a brother’s ruin, which we said is the interpretation of Achitophel. Now as to Chusi, from the interpretation of silence, it is rightly understood that our Lord contended against that guile in silence, that is, in that most deep secret, whereby blindness happened in part to Israel, [Romans 11:25 when they were persecuting the Lord, that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter in, and so all Israel might be saved.
Regarding the repayment of evil, Augustine relates that we should have patience not to do so. Further, we should imitate the silence of Christ as he saw the title signifying.
Now it is an instance of greater patience, not even to repay him evil, who after receiving benefits returns evil for good, than if without receiving any previous benefit he had had a mind to injure. If therefore he says, I have repaid them that recompense me evil: that is, If I have not imitated You in that silence, that is, in Your patience, which You have wrought for me, may I fall by mine enemies empty. For he is an empty boaster, who, being himself a man, desires to avenge himself on a man; and while he openly seeks to overcome a man, is secretly himself overcome by the devil, rendered empty by vain and proud joy, because he could not, as it were, be conquered.
He relates to us that the “enemy” in verse 5 is Satan, continually after the souls of man.
By again naming the enemy in the singular number, he more and more clearly points out him whom he spoke of above as a lion. For he persecutes the soul, and if he has deceived it, will take it. For the limit of men’s rage is the destruction of the body; but the soul, after this visible death, they cannot keep in their power: whereas whatever souls the devil shall have taken by his persecutions, he will keep.
This is a beautiful statement about the believer’s justification and passing from a slave of sin to one of God.
For when the ungodly is justified, from ungodly he is made just, and from being the possession of the devil he passes into the temple of God.
Here the cry of David is asking God to “arise” (or “appear” as Augustine would see it) at the time of his need for salvation and help. It is great comfort to know that God hears the cries of His people in our time of need.
Arise, O Lord; in Your anger. Arise (he has used it as “appear”), in words, that is, human and obscure; as though God sleeps, when He is unrecognised and hidden in His secret workings.
Here is a brief discussion of how Augustine might see Trinitarian processions.
And for their sakes return Thou on high: that is, for the sake of this congregation return Thou on high: which He is understood to have done by His resurrection and ascension into heaven. For being thus glorified He gave the Holy Ghost, which before His exaltation could not be given, as it is written in the Gospel, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. [John 7:39] Having then returned on high for the sake of the congregation of the people, He sent the Holy Ghost: by whom the preachers of the Gospel being filled, filled the whole world with Churches.
As God knows our thoughts, he also directs the righteous.
And You shall direct the righteous, O God, who searches the hearts and reins. How then can the righteous be directed but in secret? When even by means of those things which, in the commencement of the Christian ages, when as yet the saints were oppressed by the persecution of the men of this world, appeared marvellous to men, now that the Christian name has begun to be in such high dignity, hypocrisy, that is pretence, has increased; of those, I mean, who by the Christian profession had rather please men than God. How then is the righteous man directed in so great confusion of pretence, save while God searches the hearts and reins; seeing all men’s thoughts, which are meant by the word heart; and their delights, which are understood by the word reins? For the delight in things temporal and earthly is rightly ascribed to the reins; for that it is both the lower part of man, and that region where the pleasure of carnal generation dwells, through which man’s nature is transferred into this life of care, and deceiving joy, by the succession of the race. God then, searching our heart, and perceiving that it is there where our treasure is, that is, in heaven; searching also the reins, and perceiving that we do not assent to flesh and blood, but delight ourselves in the Lord, directs the righteous man in his inward conscience before Him, where no man sees, but He alone who perceives what each man thinks, and what delights each. For delight is the end of care; because to this end does each man strive by care and thought, that he may attain to his delight. He therefore sees our cares, who searches the heart.
Augustine relates to us the attributes of God’s strength and patience (long-suffering). It is an interesting point to consider that even though God is outside of time, He is still the epitome of patience (which, by definition, entails waiting over a span of time). Would such a statement mean anything to the believer who denies that God can even be patient due to a rigid (even hyper) denial of God’s immanence?
12. God the righteous judge, strong (in endurance) and long-suffering [ Psalm 7:11 ]. What God is judge, but the Lord, who judges the people? He is righteous; who shall render to every man according to his works. [ Matthew 16:27 ] He is strong (in endurance); who, being most powerful, for our salvation bore even with ungodly persecutors. He is long-suffering; who did not immediately, after His resurrection, hurry away to punishment, even those that persecuted Him, but bore with them, that they might at length turn from that ungodliness to salvation: and still He bears with them, reserving the last penalty for the last judgment, and up to this present time inviting sinners to repentance.
In verse 13, Augustine equates the “arrows” to the Apostles going forth.
And in it He has prepared the instruments of death: He has wrought His arrows for the burning [ Psalm 7:13 ]. That bow then I would readily take to be the Holy Scripture, in which by the strength of the New Testament, as by a sort of string, the hardness of the Old has been bent and subdued. From thence the Apostles are sent forth like arrows, or divine preachings are shot. Which arrows He has wrought for the burning, arrows, that is, whereby being stricken they might be inflamed with heavenly love. For by what other arrows was she stricken, who says, Bring me into the house of wine, place me among perfumes, crowd me among honey, for I have been wounded with love ?
An interesting observation by Augustine that God was said to have only created light but not darkness. I’m not so sure this would hold up very well, though, since the darkness in Genesis 1:1 existed prior to the light. Was the darkness not also something God created or was the darkness eternal?
Thus then he says, I will confess to the Lord according to His justice, as one who saw that darkness was not made by God, but ordered nevertheless. For God said, Let light be made, and light was made. [ Genesis 1:3 ] He did not say, Let darkness be made, and darkness was made: and yet He ordered it. And therefore it is said, God divided between the light, and the darkness: and God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. [ Genesis 1:4-5 ] This is the distinction, He made the one and ordered it: but the other He made not, but yet He ordered this too.
He offers another way to consider this Psalm as it would be related to Jesus.
This Psalm can also be taken in the person of the Lord Man: if only that which is there spoken in humiliation be referred to our weakness, which He bore.
Chris Whisonant 