Augustine of Hippo

Expositions on the Psalms

PSALM 59

Augustine of Hippo (354-430 C.E.) was one of the most influential of the so-called Church Fathers. He was born in Tagaste, in the outlying imperial provinces of Roman Africa, and died in nearby Hippo. His mother was a devout Christian, his father a pagan. Augustine received a typical Roman education, gaining a keen knowledge of what we now regard as "classical" Latin authors. His philosophical thinking and temperament led him for a time to join an eastern religious sect whose followers are known as the Manichees, but he soon became disillusioned. Ambitious and talented, he moved to Milan and pursued a public career there. But in Milan, the bishop of that city, Ambrose, introduced Augustine to the world of learned Christianity. He underwent a conversion and was baptized in 387. He gave up his public career and retired to Roman Africa. In 395 he was appointed bishop of Hippo, and devoted the rest of his life to the Church in that position.

Instructions: Before reading the excerpt from Augustine's Commentary on Psalm 59, read the entire psalm, with special attention to verse 11, on which Augustine will comment in the excerpt.


Augustine's Baptistry at Hippo

Psalm 59

1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise up against me;

2 deliver me from those who work evil,
and save me from bloodthirsty men.

3 For behold, they lie in wait for my life;
fierce men stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD,

4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
Awake, come to meet me, and see!

5 You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

6 Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.

7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths
with swords in their lips--
for "Who," they think, "will hear us?"

8 But you, O LORD, laugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.

9 O my Strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress.

10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

11 Kill them not, lest my people forget;
scatter them by your power and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield!

12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,

13 consume them in wrath;
consume them till they are no more,
that they may know that God rules over Jacob
to the ends of the earth. Selah

14 And at evening let them return,
and let them howl like a dog,
and go round about the city.

15 They wander about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.

16 But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.

17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.

Instructions: Now read Augustine's interpretation of verse 11.

Part I
...
18. But of the enemies themselves what? "Slay them not, lest sometime they forget Thy law."[verse 11: but compare with the verse above] He is making request for his enemies, he is fulfilling the commandment . . . . Slay not them of whom the sins Thou slayest. But what is it to be slain? To forget the law of the Lord. It is real death, to go into the pit of sin; this indeed may be also understood of the Jews. Why of the Jews, "Slay not them, lest sometime they forget Thy law"? Those very enemies of mine, that have slain me, do not Thou slay. Let the nation of the Jews remain: certainly it has been conquered by the Romans, certainly their city is effaced, Jews are not admitted into their city, and yet Jews there are. Not without reason is there that Cain, on whom, when he had slain his brother, God set a mark in order that no one should slay him. This is the mark which the Jews have: they hold fast by the remnant of their law, they are circumcised, they keep Sabbaths, they sacrifice the Passover; they eat unleavened bread. These are therefore Jews, they have not been slain, they are necessary to believing nations. Why so? In order that He may show to us among our enemies His mercy. "My God hath shown to me in mine enemies." He showeth His mercy to the wild-olive grafted on branches that have been cut off because of pride. Behold where they lie, that were proud, behold where thou hast been grafted, that didst lie: and be not thou proud, lest thou shouldest deserve to be cut off.

19. "Scatter them abroad in Thy virtue" (verse 11). Now this thing hath been done: throughout all nations there have been scattered abroad the Jews, witnesses of their own iniquity and our truth. They have themselves writings, out of which hath been prophesied Christ, and we hold Christ. And if sometime perchance any heathen man shall have doubted, when we have told him the prophecies of Christ, at the clearness whereof he is amazed, and wondering hath supposed that they were written by ourselves, then out of the copies of the Jews we prove, how this thing so long time before had been foretold. See [how] by means of our enemies we confound other enemies. "Scatter them abroad in Thy virtue:" take away from them "virtue," take away from them their strength. "And bring them down, my protector, O Lord." "The transgressions of their mouth, the discourse of their lips: and let them be taken in their pride: and out of cursing and lying shall be declared consummations, in the anger of consummation, and they shall not be" (ver. 12). Obscure words these are, and I fear lest they be not well instilled . . . .

Part II

1. For, behold, the Jews are enemies, whom this Psalm seemeth to imply; the law of God they hold, and therefore of them hath been said, "Slay not them, lest sometime they forget Thy law:" in order that the nation of Jews might remain, and by it remaining the number of Christians might increase. Throughout all nations they remain certainly, and Jews they are, nor have they ceased to be what they were: that is, this nation hath not so yielded to Roman institutions, as to have lost the form of Jews; but hath been subjected to the Romans so as that it still retaineth its own laws; which are the laws of God. But what in their case hath been done? "Ye tithe mint and cummin, and have forsaken the weightier matters of the law, mercy, and judgment, straining a gnat, but swallowing a camel." This to them the Lord saith. And in truth so they are; they hold the law, hold the Prophets; read all things, sing all things: the light of the Prophets therein they see not, which is Christ Jesus.

Not only Him now they see not, when he is sitting in Heaven: but not even at that tithe saw they Him, when among them humble He was walking, and they were made guilty by shedding the blood of the Same; but not all Not all: because many of them were turned to Him whom they slew, and by believing on Him, they obtained pardon even for the shedding of His blood: and they have given an example for men; how they ought not to despair that sin of whatsoever kind would be remitted to them, since even the killing of Christ was remitted to them confessing . . . . 6. "They shall be converted at evening" (ver. 14): that is, even if late, that is, after the slaying of our Lord Jesus Christ: "They shall be converted at evening: and hereafter they shall suffer hunger as dogs." But "as dogs," not as sheep or calves: "as dogs," as Gentiles, as sinners; because they too have known their sin that thought themselves righteous . . . . It is a good thing therefore for a sinner to be humbled; and no one is more incurable than he that thinketh himself whole. "And they shall go around the city." Already we have explained "city;" it is all nations.

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