The Enarrations, or Expositions, on the Psalms

^4. To all of them, verily, what follows is most fitly suited: “They did not know nor understand, they walk on in darkness”. “For if even they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory:” and those others, if they had known, would never have consented to ask that Barabbas should be freed, and Christ should be crucified. But as the above-mentioned blindness happened in part unto Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in, this blindness of that People having caused the crucifixion of Christ, “all the foundations of the earth shall be moved.” So have they been moved, and shall they be moved, until the predestined fullness of the Gentiles shall come in. For at the actual death of the Lord the earth was moved, and the rocks rent. And if we understand by the foundations of the earth those who are rich in the abundance of earthly possessions, it was truly foretold that they should be moved, either by wondering that lowliness, poverty, death, should be so loved and honoured in Christ, when it is to their mind great misery; or even in that themselves should love and follow it, and set at nought the vain happiness of this world. So are all the foundations of the earth moved, while they partly admire, and partly are even altered. For as without absurdity we call foundations of heaven those on whom the kingdom of heaven is built up in the persons of saints and faithful; whose first foundation is Christ Himself, born of the Virgin, of whom the Apostle says, “Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus;” next the Apostles and Prophets themselves, by whose authority the heavenly place is chosen, that by obeying them we may be built together with them; whence he says to the Ephesians, “You are built upon the foundation of Apostles and Prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief corner stone.”...But the kingdom of earthly happiness is pride, to oppose which came the lowliness of Christ, rebuking those whom He wished by lowliness to make the children of the Most High, and blaming them: “I said, You are gods, you are all the children of the Most High”. “But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes”. Whether to those He said this, “I said, You are gods,” and to those particularly who are unpredestined to eternal life; and to the other, “But you shall die like men,” etc., “and shall fall like one of the princes,” in this way also distinguishing the gods; or whether He blames all together, in order to distinguish the obedient and those who received correction, “I said, You are gods, and you are all the children of the Most High:” that is, to all of you I promised celestial happiness, “but you,” through the infirmity of your flesh, “shall die like men,” and through haughtiness of soul, “like one of the princes,” that is, the devil, shall not be exalted, but “shall fall.” As if He said: Though the days of your life are so few, that you speedily die like men, this avails not to your correction: but like the devil, whose days are many in this world, because he dies not in the flesh, you are lifted up so that you fall. For by devilish pride it came to pass that the perverse and blind rulers of the Jews envied the glory of Christ: by this will it came to pass, and still does, that the lowliness of Christ crucified unto death is lightly esteemed in the eyes of them who love the excellence of this world.