Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament

⁶ But what do you say? Seeing that these “strange children” that they “whose mouth has spoken vanity,” have “called the people happy that has these things,” what do you say? These are false riches, show me the true. Thou findest fault with these, show me what you praise. You wish me to despise these, show me what to prefer. Let the Psalmist speak himself. For he who said, “they called the people happy that has these things,” gives us such an answer, as if we had said to him, that is, to the Psalmist himself, “Lo, this you have taken away from us, and nothing have you given us: lo, these, lo, these we despise; whereby shall we live, whereby shall we be happy?

For they who have spoken, they will undertake to answer for themselves. For they have 'called' men 'who have' riches 'happy.' But what do you say?” As if he had been thus questioned, he makes answer and says, They call the rich happy: but I say, “Happy are the people whose is the Lord their God.” Thus then you have heard of the true riches, make friends of the mammon of iniquity, and you shall be “a happy people, whose is the Lord their God.” At times we go along the way, and see very pleasant and productive estates, and we say, “Whose estate is that?”

We are told, “such a man's;” and we say, “Happy man!” We “speak vanity.” Happy he whose is that house, happy he whose that estate, happy he whose that flock, happy he whose that servant, happy he whose is that household. Take away vanity if You would hear the truth. “Happy he whose is the Lord” his “God.” For not he who has that estate is happy: but he whose is that “God.” But in order to declare most plainly the happiness of possessions, you say that your estate has made you happy.

And why? Because you live by it. For when you highly praise your estate, you say thus, “It finds me food, I live by it.” Consider whereby you really live. He by whom you live, is He to whom you say, “With You is the fountain of life.” “Happy is the people whose God is the Lord.” O Lord my God, O Lord our God, make us happy by You, that we may come unto You. We wish not to be happy from gold, or silver, or land, from these earthly, and most vain, and transitory goods of this perishable life.

Let not “our mouth speak vanity.” Make us happy by You, seeing that we shall never lose You. When we shall once have gotten You, we shall neither lose You, nor be lost ourselves. Make us happy by You, because “Happy is the people whose is the Lord their God.” Nor will God be angry if we shall say of Him, He is our estate. For we read that “the Lord is the portion of my inheritance.” Grand thing, Brethren, we are both His inheritance, and He is ours, seeing that we both cultivate His service and He cultivates us. It is no derogation to His honour that He cultivates us.

Because if we cultivate Him as our God, He cultivates us as His field. And, (that you may know that He does cultivate us) hear Him whom He has sent to us: “I,” says He, “am the vine, you are the branches, My Father is the Husbandman.” Therefore He does cultivate us. But if we yield fruit, He prepares for us His garner. But if under the attention of so great a hand we will be barren, and for good fruit bring forth thorns, I am loth to say what follows. Let us make an end with a theme of joy. “Let us turn then to the Lord,” etc.