42 And see what follows: “You shall send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be made”. You shall take away their spirit, and send forth Your own: You shall take away their spirit: they shall have no spirit of their own. Are they then forsaken? “Blessed are the poor in spirit:” but they are not forsaken. They refused to have a spirit of their own: they shall have the Spirit of God. Such were our Lord's words to the future martyrs: “It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you.” Attribute not your courage to yourselves. If it is yours, He says, and not Mine, it is obstinacy, not courage. “For we are His workmanship,” says the Apostle, “created unto good works.” From His Spirit we have received grace, that we may live unto righteousness: for it is He that justifies the ungodly. “You shall take away their spirit, and they shall fail; You shall send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be made: and You shall renew the face of the earth:” that is, with new men, confessing themselves to have been justified, not righteous of their own power, so that the grace of God is in them. What then? When He has taken away our spirit, we shall be turned again to our dust, beholding to our edification our weakness, that when we receive His Spirit we may be refreshed. See what follows: “Be the glory of the Lord for ever”. Not yours, not mine, not his, or his; not for a season, but “for ever.” “The Lord shall rejoice in His works.” Not in yours, as if they were yours: because if your works are evil, it is through your iniquity; if good, it is through the grace of God. “The Lord shall rejoice in His works.”
43. “Who looks on the earth, and makes it tremble; who touches the hills, and they shall smoke”. O earth, you were exulting in your good, to yourself you ascribed your fullness and opulence; behold, the Lord looks on you, and causes you to tremble. May He look on you, and make you tremble: for the trembling of humility is better than the confidence of pride....For it is God, he says, which works in you. For this reason then with trembling, because God works in you. Because He gave, because what you have comes not from you, you shall work with fear and trembling, for if you fear not Him, He will take away what He gave. Work, therefore, with trembling. Hear another Psalm: “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice unto Him with trembling.” If we must rejoice with trembling, God beholds us, there comes an earthquake; when God looks upon us, let our hearts tremble; then will God rest there. Hear Him in another passage: “Upon whom shall My Spirit rest? Even on him that is lowly and quiet, and who trembles at My Word.”
“Who looks on the earth, and makes it tremble; who touches the hills, and they shall smoke”. The hills were proud, and boastful of themselves, God had not touched them: He touches them, and they shall smoke. What means the smoking of the hills? That they pray unto the Lord. Behold great hills, proud hills, vast hills, prayed not to God: they wished themselves to be entreated, and entreated not Him who was above them. For what powerful, arrogant, proud man is there upon the earth, who deigns humbly to entreat God? I speak of the ungodly, not of the “cedars of Libanus, which the Lord has planted.” Every ungodly man, unhappy soul, knows not how to entreat God, while he wishes himself to be entreated by men. He is a hill; it is needful that God touch him, that he may smoke: when he has begun to smoke, he will offer prayers unto God, as it were the sacrifice of his heart. He smokes unto God, he then beats his breast: he begins to weep, for smoke does elicit tears.
44. “I will sing unto the Lord in my life”. What will sing? Everything that is willing. Let us sing unto the Lord in our life. Our life at present is only hope; our life will be eternity hereafter: the life of mortal life, is the hope of an everlasting life. “I will praise my God while I have my being.” Since I am in Him for ever and ever, while I have my being, I will praise my God. Let us not imagine that, when we have commenced praising God in that state, we shall have any other work: our whole life will be for the praises of God. If we become weary of Him whom we praise, we may also become weary of praising. If He is ever loved, He is ever praised by us.
45. “Let my discourse be pleasing to Him: my joy shall be in the Lord”. What is the discourse of man unto God, save the confession of sins? Confess unto God what you are, and you have discoursed with Him. Discourse unto Him, do good works, and discourse. “Wash you, make you clean,” says Isaiah. What is it to discourse unto God? Unfold yourself to him who knows you, that He may unfold Himself to you who know not Him. Behold, it is your discourse that pleases the Lord; the offering of your humility, the tribulation of your heart, the holocaust of your life, this pleases God. But what is pleasing to yourself? “My joy shall be in the Lord.” This is that discoursing which I meant between God and yourself: show yourself to Him who knows you, and He shows Himself unto you who know not him. Pleasing unto Him is your confession: sweet unto you is His grace. He has spoken Himself unto you. How? By the Word. What Word? Christ....
46. “Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth”. He seems angry! O holy soul, which here does sing and groan! Would that our soul were with that very soul! Would that it were coupled with it, associated, conjoined with it! It shall behold also His loving-kindness when he is angry. For who but he who is filled with charity, understands this? Thou tremblest, because he curses. And who does curse? A saint. Without doubt he is listened to. But it is said unto the saints, “Bless, and curse not.” What is then the sense of the words, “Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth”? Let them utterly be consumed; let their spirit be taken away, that He may send forth His own Spirit, and they may be restored. “And the ungodly, so that they be no more.” In what that they be no more, save as wicked men? Let them therefore be justified, that they may no longer be ungodly. The Psalmist saw this, and was filled with joy, and repeats the first verse of the Psalm: “Bless thou the Lord, O my soul.” Let our soul bless the Lord, brethren, since He has deigned to give unto us both understanding and the power of language, and unto you attention and earnestness in hearing. Let each, as he can recall to mind what he has heard, by mutual conversation stir up the food you have received, ruminate on what you have heard, let it not descend in you into the bowels of forgetfulness. Let the treasure to be desired rest upon your lips. These matters have been sought out and discovered with great labour, with great labour have they been announced and discoursed of; may our toil be fruitful unto you, and may our soul bless the Lord.
Source: The Enarrations, or Expositions, on the Psalms (New Advent)