The Enarrations, or Expositions, on the Psalms

What then must we do, if we are not to hope in sons of men, nor in princes? What must we do? “Blessed is he whose Helper is the God of Jacob”: not this man or that man; not this angel or that angel; but, “blessed is he whose Helper is the God of Jacob:” for to Jacob also so great an Helper was He, that of Jacob He made him Israel. O mighty help! now he is Israel, “seeing God.” While then you are placed here, and a wanderer not yet seeing God, if you have the God of Jacob for your Helper, from Jacob you will become Israel, and will be “seeing God,” and all toil and all groans shall come to an end, gnawing cares shall cease, happy praises shall succeed. “Blessed is he whose Helper is the God of Jacob;” of this Jacob. Wherefore is he happy? Meanwhile, while yet groaning in this life, “his hope is in the Lord his God.”...Who is this, “Lord his God”?...“To us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things.” Therefore let Him be your hope, even the Lord your God; in Him let your hope be. His hope too is in the lord his god, who worships Saturn; his hope is in the lord his god, who worships Neptune or Mercury; yea more, I add, who worships his belly, of whom is said, “whose god is their belly.” The one is the god of the one, the other of the other. Who is this “blessed” one? For “his hope is in the Lord his God.” But who is He? “Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them”. My brethren, we have a great God; let us bless His holy Name, that He has deigned to make us His possession. As yet you see not God; you can not fully love what as yet you see not. All that you see, He has made. Thou admirest the world; why not the Maker of the world? Thou lookest up to the heavens, and art amazed: you consider the whole earth, and tremblest; when can you contain in your thought the vastness of the sea? Look at the countless number of the stars, look at all the many kind of seeds, all the different sorts of animals, all that swims in the water, creeps on the earth, flies in the sky, hovers in the air; how great are all these, how beautiful, how fair, how amazing! Behold, He who made all these, is your God. Put your hope in Him, that you may be happy. “His hope is in the Lord his God.” Observe, my brethren, the mighty God, the good God, who makes all these things....If he mentioned these things only, perhaps you would answer me, “God, who made heaven and earth and sea, is a great God: but does He think of me?” It would be said to you, “He made you.” How so? Am I heaven, or am I earth, or am I sea? Surely it is plain; I am neither heaven, nor earth, nor sea: yet I am on earth. At least you grant me this, that you are on earth. Hear then, that God made not only heaven and earth and sea: for He “made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them.” If then He made all that is in them, He made you also. It is too little to say, you; the sparrow, the locust, the worm, none of these did He not make, and He cares for all. His care refers not to His commandment, for this commandment He gave to man alone....As regards then the tenor of the commandment, “God does not take care for oxen:” as regards His providential care of the universe, whereby He created all things, and rules the world, “You, Lord, shall save both man and beast.” Here perhaps some one may say to me, “God cares not for oxen,” comes from the New Testament: “You, Lord, shall save both man and beast,” is from the Old Testament. There are some who find fault and say, that these two Testaments agree not with one another....Let us hear the Lord Himself, the Chief and Master of the Apostles: “Consider,” says He, “the fowls of the air; they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them.” Therefore even beside men, these animals are objects of care to God, to be fed, not to receive a law. As far then as regards giving a law, “God cares not for oxen:” as regards creating, feeding, governing, ruling, all things have to do with God. “Are not two sparrows sold for one farthing?” says our Lord Jesus Christ, “and one of them shall not fall to the ground without the will of your Father: how much better are you than they.” Perhaps you say, God counts me not in this great multitude. There follows here a wondrous passage in the Gospel: “the hairs of your head are all numbered.”

6. “Who keeps truth for ever.” What “truth for ever”? What “truth” does He “keep,” and wherein does “He keep it for ever”? “Who executes judgment for them that suffer wrong”. He avenges them that suffer wrong. There comes at once to you the voice of the Apostle: “now therefore there is altogether a fault among you, that you go to law one with another: why do ye not rather suffer wrong?” He urged you not to suffer annoyance, but to suffer wrong: for not every annoyance is wrong. For whatever you suffer lawfully is not a wrong; lest perchance you should say, I also am among those who have suffered wrong, for I have suffered such a thing in such a place, and such a thing for such a reason. Consider whether you have suffered a wrong. Robbers suffer many things, but they suffer no wrong. Wicked men, evil doers, house-breakers, adulterers, seducers, all these suffer many evils, yet is there no wrong. It is one thing to suffer wrong; it is another to suffer tribulation, or penalty, or annoyance, or punishment. Consider where you are; see what you have done; see why you are suffering; and then you see what you are suffering. Right and wrong are contraries. Right is what is just. For not all that is called right, is right. What if a man lay down for you unjust right? Nor indeed is it to be called right, if it is unjust. That is true right, which is also just. Consider what you have done, not what you are suffering. If you have done right, you are suffering wrong; if you have done wrong, you are suffering right....