The Enarrations, or Expositions, on the Psalms

^12. Lastly, “And they lusted a lust in the wilderness, and they tempted God in the dry land”. The “dry land,” or land without water, and “desert,” are the same: so also are, “they lusted a lust,” and, “they tempted God.” The form of speech is the same as above, “they praised a praise.”

13. “And He gave them their desire, and sent fullness withal into their souls”. But He did not thus render them happy: for it was not that fullness of which it is said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” In this passage he does not speak of the rational soul, but of the soul as giving animal life to the body; to the substance of which belong meat and drink, according to what is said in the Gospel, “Is not the soul more than meat, and the body than raiment?” as if it belonged to the soul to eat, to the body to be clothed.

14. “And they angered Moses in the tents, and Aaron the saint of the Lord”. What angering, or, as some have more literally rendered it, what provocation, he speaks of, the following words sufficiently show.

15. “The earth opened,” he says, “and swallowed up Dathan, and covered over the congregation of Abiram”: “swallowed up” answers to “covered over.” Both Dathan and Abiram were equally concerned in a most sacrilegious schism.

16. “And the fire was kindled in their company; the flame burnt up the sinners”. This word is not in Scripture usually applied to those, who, although they live righteously, and in a praiseworthy manner, are not without sin. Rather, as there is a difference between those who scorn and scorners, between men who murmur and murmurers, between men who are writing and writers, and so forth; so Scripture is wont to signify by sinners such as are very wicked, and laden with heavy loads of sins.

17. “And they made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the graven image”. “Thus they changed their glory, in the similitude of a calf that eats hay”. He says not “into” the likeness, but “in” the likeness. It is such a form of speech as where he said “and they believed in His words.” With great effect in truth he says not, they changed the glory of God when they did this; as the Apostle also says, “They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man:” but “their glory.” For God was their glory, if they would abide His counsel, and hasten not....

18. “They forgat God who saved them”. How did He save them? “Who did so great things in Egypt: Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and fearful things in the Red Sea”. The things that are wondrous, are also fearful; for there is no wonder without a certain fear: although these might be called fearful, because they beat down their adversaries, and showed them what they ought to fear.

19. “So He said, He would have destroyed them”. Since they forgot Him who saved them, the Worker of wondrous works, and made and worshipped a graven image, by this atrocious and incredible impiety they deserved death. “Had not Moses His chosen stood before Him in the breaking.” He does not say, that he stood in the breaking, as if to break the wrath of God, but in the way of the breaking, meaning the stroke which was to strike them: that is, had he not put himself in the way for them, saying, “Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—and if not, blot me, I pray You, out of Your book.” Where it is proved how greatly the intercession of the saints in behalf of others prevails with God. For Moses, fearless in the justice of God, which could not blot him out, implored mercy, that He would not blot out those whom He justly might. Thus he “stood before Him in the breaking, to turn away His wrathful indignation, lest He should destroy them.”

20. “Yea, they thought scorn of that pleasant land”. But had they seen it? How then could they scorn that which they had not seen, except as the following words explain, “and believed not in His words.” Indeed, unless that land which was styled the land that flowed with milk and honey, signified something great, through which, as by a visible token, He was leading those who understood His wondrous works to invisible grace and the kingdom of heaven, they could not be blamed for scorning that land, whose temporal kingdom we also ought to esteem as nothing, that we may love that Jerusalem which is free, the mother of us all, which is in heaven, and truly to be desired. But rather unbelief is here reproved, since they gave no credence to the words of God, who was leading them to great things through small things, and hastening to bless themselves with temporal things, which they carnally savoured of, they “abided not His counsel,” as is said above.

21. “But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord”; who strongly forbade them to murmur.

22. “Then lift He up His hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness”; “to cast out their seed among the nations: and to scatter them in the lands”.

23. “They were initiated also unto Baalpeor;” that is, were consecrated to the Gentile idol; “and ate the offerings of the dead”. “Thus they provoked Him to anger with their own inventions; and destruction was multiplied among them”. As if He had deferred the lifting up of His hand which was to cast them down in the desert, and to cast out their seed among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands; as the Apostle says: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” “'Destruction,' therefore, 'was multiplied among them,' when they were heavily punished for their heavy sins.”

24. “Then stood up Phineas, and appeased Him, and the shaking ceased”. He has related the whole briefly, because he is not here teaching the ignorant, but reminding those who know the history. The word “shaking” here is the same as “breaking” before. For it is one word in the Greek. Lastly, so great was their wickedness, in being consecrated to the idol, and eating the sacrifices of the dead (that is, because the Gentiles sacrificed to dead men as to God), that God would not be otherwise appeased than as Phineas the Priest appeased Him, when he slew a man and a woman together whom he found in adultery. If he had done this from hatred towards them, and not from love, while zeal for the house of God devoured him, it would not have been counted unto him for righteousness....Christ our Lord indeed, when the New Testament was revealed, chose a milder discipline; but the threat of hell is more severe, and this we do not read of in those threatenings held out by God in His temporal government.

25. “And that was counted unto him for righteousness among all posterities for evermore”. God counted this unto His Priest for righteousness, not only as long as posterity shall exist, but “for evermore;” for He who knows the heart, knows how to weigh with how much love for the people that deed was done.

26. “And they angered Him at the waters of strife: so that Moses was vexed for their sakes”; “because they provoked his spirit, so that he spoke doubtfully with his lips”. What is spoke doubtfully? As if God, who had done so great wonders before, could not cause water to flow from a rock. For he touched the rock with his rod with doubt, and thus distinguished this miracle from the rest, in which he had not doubted. He thus offended, thus deserved to hear that he should die, without entering into the land of promise. For being disturbed by the murmurs of an unbelieving people, he held not fast that confidence which he ought to have held. Nevertheless, God gives unto him, as unto His chosen, a good testimony even after his death, so that we may see that this wavering of faith was punished with this penalty only, that he was not allowed to enter that land, whither he was leading the people....