12. "All they that are in the circuit of Him shall offer gifts." Who are in the circuit of Him?...Whatever is common to all is in the midst. Why is it said to be in the midst? Because it is at the same distance from all, and at the same proximity to all. That which is not in the middle, is as it were private. That which is public is set in the middle, in order that all they that come may use the same, may be enlightened. Let no one say, it is mine: lest he should be wanting to make his own share of that which is in the midst for all. What then is, "All they that are in the circuit of Him shall offer gifts"? All they that understand truth to be common to all, and who do not make it as it were their own by being proud concerning it, they shall offer gifts; because they have humility: but they that make as it were their own that which is common to all, as though it were set in the middle, are endeavouring to lead men astray to a party, these shall not offer gifts...."To Him terrible." Let therefore all men fear that are in the circuit of Him. For therefore they shall fear, and with trembling they shall praise; because they are in the circuit of Him, to the end that all men may attain unto Him, and He may openly meet all, and openly enlighten all. This is, to stand in awe with others. [3478] When thou hast made him as it were thine own, and no longer common, thou art exalted unto pride; though it is written, "Serve ye the Lord in fear, and exult unto Him with trembling." [3479] Therefore they shall offer gifts, who are in the circuit of Him. For they are humble who know truth to be common to all.
13. To whom shall they offer gifts? "To Him terrible, and to Him that taketh away the spirit of princes" (ver. 12). For the spirits of princes are proud spirits. They then are not His Spirits; for if they know anything, their own they will it to be, not public; but, that which setteth Himself forth as equal toward all men, that setteth Himself in the midst, in order that all men may take as much as they can, whatever they can; not of what is any man's, but of what is God's, and therefore of their own because they have become His. Therefore they must needs be humble: they have lost their own spirit, and they have the Spirit of God....For if thou shalt have confessed thyself dust, God out of dust doth make [3480] man. All they that are in the circuit of Him do offer gifts. All humble men do confess to Him, and do adore Him. "To Him terrible they offer gifts." Whence to Him terrible exult ye with trembling: [3481] "and to Him that taketh away the spirit of princes:" that is, that taketh away the haughtiness of proud men. "To Him terrible among the kings of the earth." Terrible are the kings of the earth, but He is above all, that doth terrify the kings of the earth. Be thou a king of the earth, and God will be to thee terrible. How, wilt thou say, shall I be a king of the earth? Rule the earth, and thou wilt be a king of the earth. Do not therefore with desire of empire set before thine eyes exceeding wide provinces, where thou mayest spread abroad thy kingdoms; rule thou the earth which thou bearest. Hear the Apostle ruling the earth: "I do not so fight as if beating air, but I chasten my body, and bring it into captivity, lest perchance preaching to other men, I myself become a reprobate." [3482] ...
[3432] Lat. LXXV. Sermon to the Commonalty, wherein he disputeth against the Donatists, and treateth of vows.
[3433] Rom. ii. 29.
[3434] [This habit of the primitive faithful, claiming the fatherhood of Abraham and the prophets, is conspicuous in our author.--C.]
[3435] Gen. xxi. 1, xxv. 26, xxix. 32, etc.
[3436] Numb. xviii. 20.
[3437] Gen. xlviii. 5.
[3438] 1 Sam. ix. 1.
[3439] 1 Sam. xvi. 12.
[3440] Gen. xlix. 10.
[3441] 2 Tim. ii. 8.
[3442] John viii. 58.
[3443] John i. 3.
[3444] Gen. xlix. 10.
[3445] Luke iii. 1.
[3446] John xix. 15.
[3447] 2 Tim. ii. 8.
[3448] John xix. 15.
[3449] Rom. ix. 5.
[3450] John i. 3.
[3451] John i. 47.
[3452] Ps. cxlvii. 7.
[3453] Ps. cxxi. 1.
[3454] Ps. cxxi. 2.
[3455] Acts xvii. 18, 32.
[3456] 1 Cor. ii. 9.
[3457] Many omit "good."
[3458] Luke xix. 8.
[3459] Exod. xiv. 8.
[3460] Balatis.
[3461] Ps. xciv. 3.
[3462] Oxf. mss. "they," "themselves."
[3463] Acts ix. 5, 6.
[3464] 2 Tim. ii. 8.
[3465] Nobis Christus immolatur; the mss. have not pro, which is in the earlier editions.--Ben.
[3466] Nobis sic immolatur.
[3467] Rom. xii. 12.
[3468] Castimoniali.
[3469] The wife being living, and supposing he may survive. The following case would be that of one already a widower.
[3470] 1 Tim. v. 14.
[3471] 1 Cor. vii. 40.
[3472] 1 Tim. v. 12.
[3473] Luke xvii. 32.
[3474] Gen. xix. 26.
[3475] Fatui.
[3476] Oxf. mss. habeat.
[3477] [See A.N.F. vol. iv. p. 40, and General Index, sub voce "Marriage."--C.]
[3478] Contremiscere.
[3479] Ps. ii. 11.
[3480] Or, "make thee man" (three mss. ap. Ben. te).
[3481] Ps. ii. 11.
[3482] 1 Cor. ix. 26, 27.
Psalm LXXVII. [3483]
1. This Psalm's lintel is thus inscribed: "Unto the end, for Idithun, a Psalm to Asaph himself." What "Unto the end" is, ye know. Idithun is interpreted "leaping over those men," Asaph is interpreted "a congregation." Here therefore there is speaking "a congregation that leapeth over," in order that it may reach the End, which is Christ Jesus. [3484] ...
2. "With my voice," he saith, "to the Lord I have cried" (ver. 1). But many men cry unto the Lord for the sake of getting riches and avoiding losses, for the safety of their friends, for the security of their house, for temporal felicity, for secular dignity, lastly, even for mere soundness of body, which is the inheritance [3485] of the poor man. For such and such like things many men do cry unto the Lord; scarce one for the sake of the Lord Himself. For an easy thing it is for a man to desire anything of the Lord, and not to desire the Lord Himself; as if forsooth that which He giveth could be sweeter than Himself that giveth. Whosoever therefore doth cry unto the Lord for the sake of any other thing, is not yet one that leapeth over....He doth indeed hearken to thee at the time when thou dost seek Himself, not when through Himself thou dost seek any other thing. It hath been said of some men, "They cried, and there was no one to save them; to the Lord, and He hearkened not unto them." [3486] For why? Because the voice of them was not unto the Lord. This the Scripture doth express in another place, where it saith of such men, "On the Lord they have not called." [3487] Unto Him they have not ceased to cry, and yet upon the Lord they have not called. What is, upon the Lord they have not called? They have not called the Lord unto themselves: [3488] they have not invited the Lord to their heart, they would not have themselves inhabited by the Lord. And therefore what hath befallen them? "They have trembled with fear where fear was not." They have trembled about the loss of things present, for the reason that they were not full of Him, upon whom they have not called. They have not loved gratis, so that after the loss of temporal things they could say, "As it hath pleased the Lord, so hath been done, be the name of the Lord blessed." [3489] Therefore this man saith, "My voice is unto the Lord, and He doth hearken unto me." Let him show us how this cometh to pass.
3. "In the day of tribulation I have sought out God" (ver. 2). Who art thou that doest this thing? In the day of thy tribulation take heed what thou seekest out. If a jail be the cause of tribulation, thou seekest to get forth from jail: if fever be the cause of tribulation, thou seekest health: if hunger be the cause of tribulation, thou seekest fulness: if losses be the cause of tribulation, thou seekest gain: if expatriation be the cause of tribulation, thou seekest the home of thy flesh. And why should I name all things, or when could I name all things? Dost thou wish to be one leaping over? In the day of thy tribulation seek out God: not through God some other thing, but out of tribulation God, that to this end God may take away tribulation, that thou mayest without anxiety cleave unto God. "In the day of my tribulation, I have sought out God:" not any other thing, but "God I have sought out." And how hast thou sought out? "With my hands in the night before Him."...
4. Tribulation must not be thought to be this or that in particular. For every individual that doth not yet leap over, thinketh that as yet to be no tribulation, unless it be a thing which may have befallen this life of some sad occasion: but this man, that leapeth over, doth count this whole life to be his tribulation. For so much doth he love his supernal country, that the earthly pilgrimage is of itself the greatest tribulation. For how can this life be otherwise than a tribulation, I pray you? how can that not be a tribulation, the whole whereof hath been called temptation? [3490] Thou hast it written in the book of Job, [3491] is not human life a temptation upon earth? Hath he said, human life is tempted upon earth? Nay, but life itself is a temptation. If therefore temptation, it must surely be a tribulation. In this tribulation therefore, that is to say in this life, this man that leapeth over hath sought out God. How? "With my hands," he saith. What is, "with my hands"? With my works. For he was not seeking any thing corporeal, so that he might find and handle something which he had lost, so that he might seek with hands coin, gold, silver, vesture, in short everything which can be held in the hands. Howbeit, even our Lord Jesus Christ Himself willed Himself to be sought after with hands, when to His doubting disciple He showed the scars. [3492] ...What then, to us belongeth not the seeking with hands? It belongeth to us, as I have said, to seek with works. When so? "In the night." What is, "in the night"? In this age. For it is night until there shine forth day in the glorified advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. For would ye see how it is night? Unless we had here had a lantern, we should have remained in darkness. For Peter saith," We too have more sure the prophetic discourse, whereunto ye do well to give heed, as to a lantern shining in a dark place, until day shine, and the day-star arise in your hearts." [3493] There is therefore to come day after this night, meanwhile in this night a lantern is not lacking. And this is perchance what we are now doing: by explaining these passages, we are bringing in a lantern, in order that we may rejoice in this night. Which indeed ought alway to be burning in your houses. For to such men is said, "The Spirit quench ye not." [3494] And as though explaining what he was saying, he continueth and saith, "Prophecy despise ye not:" that is, let the lantern alway shine in you. And even this light by comparison with a sort of ineffable day is called night. For the very life of believers by comparison with the life of unbelievers is day....Night and day--day in comparison with unbelievers, night in comparison with the Angels. For the Angels have a day, which we have not yet. Already we have one that unbelievers have not: but not yet have believers that which Angels have: but they will have, at the time when they will be equal to the Angels of God, that which hath been promised to them in the Resurrection. [3495] In this then which is now day and yet night; night in comparison with the future day for which we yearn, day in comparison with the past night which we have renounced: in this night then, I say, let us seek God with our hands. Let not works cease, let us seek God, be there no idle yearning. If we are in the way, let us expend our means in order that we may be able to reach the end. With hands let us seek God...."With my hands in the night before Him, and I have not been deceived."