Psalms 118

Psalms 118:1

Augustine of Hippo: …We are taught in this Psalm, when we chaunt Allelujah, which meaneth, Praise the Lord, that we should, when we hear the words, “Confess unto the Lord” (ver. 1), praise the Lord. The praise of God could not be expressed in fewer words than these, “For He is good.” I see not what can be more solemn than this brevity, since goodness is so peculiarly the quality of God, that the Son of God Himself when addressed by some one as “Good Master,” by one, namely, who beholding His flesh, and comprehending not the fulness of His divine nature, considered Him as man only, replied, “Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.” And what is this but to say, If thou wishest to call Me good, recognise Me as God? But since it is addressed, in revelation of things to come, to a people freed from all toil and wandering in pilgrimage, and from all admixture with the wicked, which freedom was given it through the grace of God, who not only doth not evil for evil, but even returneth good for evil; it is most appropriately added, “Because His mercy endureth for ever.” — Exposition on Psalms 118

Augustine of Hippo: We have been warned and instructed by the Spirit of God to confess to the Lord. And this is the reason given for confessing to the Lord, because He is good. It is briefly said what is deeply thought. Confess, he says, to the Lord. And as if we asked: “Why,” the answer is: Because He is good. What more do you seek, or if you seek anything else, what do you seek but the good? Such is the strength of the good that even the wicked seek the good. But the things that are called good are good because they owe their goodness to some good. If we seek all good things from where they have their goodness, let us remember: And God made everything, and behold, it was very good. Therefore there would be nothing good unless it were made by the good. And by what kind of good? A good that nobody made. Therefore, there would be nothing good unless it were made by the good, which itself was not made. The heavens are good, but created good; the angels are good, but created good; the stars, sun and moon, the alternation of night and day, the changes of seasons, the ages of the world, the cycles of the years, the sprouts of trees and herbs, the nature of animals, and among all these, the praising creature, man. All are good, but created good. And they are good from God, not from themselves. He who made these things is above all and is good, because nobody made Him good, but He is good in Himself. Yet He is not good to Himself alone, but also to us. Therefore, confess to the Lord, for He is good. — Sermon 29

Psalms 118:2

Augustine of Hippo: “Let Israel now confess that He is good, and that His mercy endureth for ever” (ver. 2). “Let the house of Aaron now confess that His mercy endureth for ever” (ver. 3). “Yea, let all now that fear the Lord confess that His mercy endureth for ever” (ver. 4). Ye remember, I suppose, most beloved, what is the house of Israel, what is the house of Aaron, and that both are those that fear the Lord. For they are “the little and the great,” who have already in another Psalm been happily introduced into your hearts: in the number of whom all of us should rejoice that we are joined together, in His grace who is good, and whose mercy endureth for ever; since they were listened to who said, “May the Lord increase you more and more, you and your children;” that the host of the Gentiles might be added to the Israelites who believed in Christ, of the number of whom are the Apostles our fathers, for the exaltation of the perfect and the obedience of the little children; that all of us when made one in Christ, made one flock under one Shepherd, and the body of that Head, like one man, may say, “I called upon the Lord in trouble, and the Lord heard me at large” (ver. 5). The narrow straits of our tribulation are limited: but the large way whereby we pass along hath no end. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” — Exposition on Psalms 118

Psalms 118:4

Gregory of Nyssa: Therefore, if one examines these matters and because of this despises whatever is held in honor among people and longs only for the divine life, knowing that “all flesh is grass and all the glory of people is as the flower of grass,” is he likely to think of grass, which exists today and is gone tomorrow, as something worth striving for? The one who has examined well the divine things knows that not only human affairs have no stability but also that the whole world itself has not remained forever unchanged. Therefore, he despises this life as alien and impermanent, since “heaven and earth will pass away,” according to the word of the Savior, and all things of necessity undergo a transformation. Therefore, as long as he is “in the tent, burdened” by the present life, as the apostle says to illustrate its impermanence, he laments the lengthening of his stay, as the psalmist says in his divine songs. For they truly live in darkness who spend their life in these quarters. Because of this, the prophet groans over the extension of his sojourn here and says: “Alas, my stay is lengthened.” But he attributes the cause of his dejection to darkness, for in Hebrew darkness is equivalent to qedar, as we learn from the scholars. Is it not true that people overcome by some night blindness are thus dim-sighted in recognizing delusions, not knowing that whatever is considered honorable in this life, or even whatever is assumed to be the opposite, is understood thus only on the assumption of the foolish? Of themselves they are never anything at all. — ON VIRIGINITY 4

Psalms 118:6

Athanasius of Alexandria: And how should Christ, who said to Abraham, “Fear not, for I am with you,” and encouraged Moses against Pharaoh and said to the son of Nun, “Be strong and of a good courage,” himself be terrified before Herod and Pilate? Furthermore, did he who helps others overcome fear (for “the Lord,” says Scripture, “is on my side, I will not fear what people shall do to me”), fear governors, who are mortals? Was he who himself encountered death terrified of death? Is it not both unseemly and irreligious to say that he was terrified of death or hades, whom the keepers of the gates of hades saw and shuddered? But if, as you would maintain, the Word was afraid, wherefore, when he spoke long before of the conspiracy of the Jews, did he not flee, no, said when actually sought, “I am he,” for he could have avoided death, as he said, “I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again”; and “No one takes it from me.” — Discourses Against the Arians 3.29.54

Augustine of Hippo: But are men, then, the only enemies that the Church hath? What is a man devoted to flesh and blood, save flesh and blood? But the Apostle saith, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against,” …he saith, “spiritual wickedness in high places;” that is, the devil and his angels; that devil whom elsewhere he calleth “the prince of the power of the air.” — On the Psalms, Psalms 118

Cyprian: The injuries and punishments of persecutions are not to be feared, because the Lord is greater in protecting than the devil in assaulting. John in his epistle approves, saying, “Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.” Likewise in Psalms 117 [LXX]: “I shall not fear what people do to me; the Lord is my helper.” And again: “Those are strong in chariots, these in horses, but we, in the name of our God. They with their feet bound have fallen, but we are risen up and stand erect.” — Treatise XI. Exhortation to Martyrdom 5:10

Desert Fathers: A brother asked an old man, “What shall a man do in every temptation that comes on him and in every thought sent by the enemy?” He replied, “He must weep in the sight of the goodness of God, that he may aid and assist him. For it is written, ‘The Lord is with me to help me, and I shall avenge myself upon my foes.’ " — SAYINGS OF THE EGYPTIAN FATHERS 36

Psalms 118:7

Augustine of Hippo: Hear therefore what followeth: “The Lord is my helper: therefore shall I despise mine enemies” (ver. 7). From what class soever my enemies may arise, whether from the number of evil men, or from the number of evil angels; in the Lord’s help, unto whom we chant the confession of praise, unto whom we sing Allelujah, they shall be despised. — On the Psalms, Psalms 118

Psalms 118:8

Augustine of Hippo: But, when my enemies have been brought to contempt, let not my friend present himself unto me as a good man, so as to bid me repose my hope in himself: for “It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put any confidence in man.” — Exposition on Psalms 118

Augustine of Hippo: Moreover, he will destroy every dominion and authority through the express manifestation of the kingdom of the Father so that all may know that no ruler and no authority, whether they are heavenly or earthly, have possessed any dominion and authority of themselves but by him from whom are all things, not only in respect of their existing but also in respect of their ordering. For in that appearing there will remain no hope for anyone in any ruler or in any person. This is said even now by way of prophecy: “It is good to hope in the Lord rather than to hope in people; it is good to hope in the Lord rather than to hope in princes.” Thus, with this meditation, the soul rises up even now to the kingdom of the Father, neither placing much value in the power of anyone besides him, nor, to its own destruction, flattering itself about its own. — ON EIGHTY-THREE VARIED QUESTIONS 69:4

Jerome: Avoid entertaining people of the world, especially those whose honors make them swell with pride. You are the priest of a crucified Lord who was poor and lived on the bread of strangers. It is a disgrace to you if the consul’s lictors or soldiers keep watch before your door and if the governor of the province has a better dinner with you than in his own palace. If you plead as an excuse your wish to intercede for the unhappy and the oppressed, I reply that a secular magistrate will defer more to a pastor who is self-denying than to one who is rich; he will pay more regard to your holiness than to your wealth. Or if he is a man who will only listen to the clergy over a glass, I will readily forego his aid and will appeal to Christ, who can help more effectively than any judge. Truly “it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in people. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” — LETTER 52.11

Psalms 118:9

Augustine of Hippo: Nor let any one, who may in a certain sense be styled a good angel, be regarded by myself as one in whom I ought to put my trust: for “no one is good, save God alone;” and when a man or an angel appear to aid us, when they do this of sincere affection, He doth it through them, who made them good after their measure. “It is” therefore “better to trust in the Lord, than to put any confidence in princes.” For angels also are called princes, even as we read in Daniel, “Michael, your prince.” — Exposition on Psalms 118

Psalms 118:10

Augustine of Hippo: “All nations compassed me round about, but in the Name of the Lord have I taken vengeance on them.” He signifies the toils and the victory of the Church. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Psalms 118:11

Augustine of Hippo: “They kept me in on every side, they kept me in, I say, on every side; but in the Name of the Lord have I taken vengeance on them.” As if the question were asked how she could have overcome so great evils, he looks back to the example, and declares what she had first suffered in her Head, by adding what follows, “They kept me in on every side:” and the words, “All nations,” are with reason not repeated here, because this was the act of the Jews alone. There that very religious nation (which is the body of Christ, and in behalf of which was done all that was done in mortal form with immortal power, by that inward divinity, through the outward flesh), suffered from persecutors, of whose race that flesh was assumed and hung upon the cross. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Psalms 118:12

Augustine of Hippo: “They came about me as bees do a hive, and burned up even as the fire among the thorns: and in the Name of the Lord have I taken vengeance on them” [Psalms 118:12]. Here then the order of the words corresponds with the order of events. For we rightly understand that our Lord Himself, the Head of the Church, was surrounded by persecutors, even as bees surround a hive. For the Holy Spirit is speaking with mystic subtlety of what was done by those who knew not what they did. For bees make honey in the hives: while our Lord’s persecutors, unconscious as they were, rendered Him sweeter unto us even by His very Passion; so that we may taste and see how sweet is the Lord, “Who died for our sins, and arose for our justification.” [Romans 4:25] But what follows, “and burned up even as the fire among the thorns,” is better understood of His Body, that is, of a people spread abroad, whom all nations compassed about, since it was gathered together from all nations. They consumed this sinful flesh, and the grievous piercings of this mortal life, in the flame of persecution. “Taken vengeance on them:” either because they themselves, that wickedness, which in them persecuted the righteous, having been extinguished, were joined with the people of Christ; or because the rest of them, who have at this time scorned the mercy of Him who calls them, will at the end feel the truth of Him who judges them. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Pachomius the Great: When a thought oppresses you, do not be downhearted but put up with it in courage, saying, “They swarmed around me closer and closer, but I drove them back in the name of the Lord.” Divine help will arrive at your side immediately, and you will drive them away from you, and courage will compass you round about, and the glory of God will walk with you; and “you will be filled to your soul’s desire.” For the ways of God are humility of heart and gentleness. It is said indeed, “Whom shall I consider if not the humble and the meek?” If you move ahead in the ways of the Lord, he will watch over you, will give you strength and will fill you with knowledge and wisdom. Your remembrance will remain before him at all times. He will deliver you from the devil, and in your dying day he will grant you his peace. — INSTRUCTIONS 9

Psalms 118:13

Augustine of Hippo: “I have been driven on like a heap of sand, so that I was falling, but the Lord upheld me” [Psalms 118:13]. For though there were a great multitude of believers, that might be compared to the countless sand, and brought into one communion as into one heap; yet “what is man, save Thou be mindful of Him?” He said not, the multitude of the Gentiles could not surpass the abundance of my host, but, “the Lord,” he says, “has upheld me.” The persecution of the Gentiles succeeded not in pushing forward, to its overthrow, the host of the faithful dwelling together in the unity of the faith. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Psalms 118:14

Augustine of Hippo: “The Lord is my strength and my praise, and has become my salvation” [Psalms 118:14]. Who then fall, when they are pushed, save they who choose to be their own strength and their own praise? For no man falls in the contest, except he whose strength and praise fails. He therefore whose strength and praise is the Lord, falls no more than the Lord falls. And for this reason He has become their salvation; not that He has become anything which He was not before, but because they, when they believed on Him, became what they were not before, and then He began to be salvation unto them when turned towards Him, which He was not to them when turned away from Himself. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Augustine of Hippo: The fortitude of the martyrs of Christ, both men and women, is Christ. For if only men were strong in suffering, virtue would be ascribed to the stronger sex. Therefore, the weaker sex could also suffer bravely because God could do all things in everyone. So whether it is a man or a woman, in their tribulation they should say: The Lord is my strength; and: I will love you, Lord, my strength. Love itself is a virtue: for whoever knows how to love can endure all things for the sake of what they love. And if illicit love persuaded lovers to endure many hardships bravely for their trifles and sins, and they place no danger before their eyes as they lie in wait for another’s modesty, how much stronger should they be in the love of God who love Him, from whom they cannot be separated, whether living or dying? The impudent lover indeed loses what he loves if he is killed for the sake of his beloved; but the strong and just lover of God not only does not lose what he loved by dying, but finds what he loved by dying. Finally, the lover of sin fears to confess, the lover of God fears to deny. Let us, therefore, choose the love, brothers, in which we can live innocently and die safely; for with this love chosen, when it possesses our hearts, for us to live will be Christ, and to die will be gain. By dying, we avoid what we hate; by dying, we reach what we love. — SERMON 299E.1

Psalms 118:15

Augustine of Hippo: “The voice of joy and health is in the dwellings of the righteous” (ver. 15); where they who raged against their bodies thought there was the voice of sorrow and destruction. For they did not know the inward joy of the saints in their future hope. Whence the Apostle also saith, “As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing;” and again, “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also.” — Exposition on Psalms 118

Psalms 118:16

Ambrose of Milan: And there are some who suppose that God is fashioned after a bodily manner, when they read of his hand or finger, and they do not observe that these things are written not because of any fashion of a body, since in the godhead there are neither members nor parts, but they are expressions of the oneness of the godhead, that we may believe that it is impossible for either the Son or the Holy Spirit to be separated from God the Father; since the fullness of the godhead dwells as it were bodily in the substance of the Trinity. For this reason, then, is the Son also called the right hand of the Father, as we read: “The right hand of the Lord has done mighty things, the right hand of the Lord has exalted me.” — On the Holy Spirit 2.7.69

Augustine of Hippo: “The right hand of the Lord hath brought mighty things to pass” (ver. 16). What mighty things? saith he. “The right hand of the Lord,” he saith, “hath exalted me.” It is a mighty thing to exalt the humble, to deify the mortal, to bring perfection out of infirmity, glory from subjection, victory from suffering, to give help, to raise from trouble; that the true salvation of God might be laid open to the afflicted, and the salvation of men might remain of no avail to the persecutors. These are great things: but what art thou surprised at? Hear what he repeateth: “The right hand of the Lord hath brought mighty things to pass.” — Exposition on Psalms 118

Psalms 118:17

Athanasius of Alexandria: Thus it is that sinners, and all those who are aliens from the catholic church, heretics and schismatics, since they are excluded from glorifying [God] with the saints, cannot properly even continue to be observers of the feasts. But the righteous person, although he appears dying to the world, uses boldness of speech, saying, “I shall not die but live and narrate all your marvelous deeds.” For even God is not ashamed to be called the God of those who truly mortify their members that are on the earth but live in Christ; for he is the God of the living, not of the dead. And he by his living Word quickens all people and gives him to be food and life to the saints; as the Lord declares, “I am the bread of life.” — FESTAL LETTERS 7:4

Augustine of Hippo: “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord” [Psalms 118:17]. But they, while they were dealing havoc and death on every side, thought that the Church of Christ was dying. Behold, he now declares the works of the Lord. Everywhere Christ is the glory of the blessed Martyrs. By being beaten He conquered those who struck Him; by being patient of torments, the tormentors; by loving, those who raged against Him. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Augustine of Hippo: I am disposed, after careful examination, to doubt whether the expression so often used by the Lord, “the kingdom of heaven,” can be found in these books [Old Testament]. It is said, indeed, “Love wisdom, that you may reign forever.” And if eternal life had not been clearly made known in the Old Testament, the Lord would not have said, as he did even to the unbelieving Jews, “Search the Scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life, and they are they that testify of me.” And to the same effect are the words of the psalmist: “I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord.” And again: “Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.” Again, we read, “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of the Lord, and pain shall not touch them”; and immediately following, “They are in peace; and if they have suffered torture from people, their hope is full of immortality; and after a few troubles, they shall enjoy many rewards.” Again, in another place: “The righteous shall live forever, and their reward is with the Lord, and their concern with the Highest; therefore shall they receive from the hand of the Lord a kingdom of glory and a crown of beauty.” These and many similar declarations of eternal life, in more or less explicit terms, are found in these writings. Even the resurrection of the body is spoken of by the prophets. The Pharisees, accordingly, were fierce opponents of the Sadducees, who disbelieved the resurrection. This we learn not only from the canonical Acts of the Apostles, which the Manichaeans reject, because it tells of the advent of the Paraclete promised by the Lord, but also from the Gospel, when the Sadducees question the Lord about the woman who married seven brothers, one dying after the other, whose wife she would be in heaven. As regards, then, eternal life and the resurrection of the dead, numerous testimonies are to be found in these Scriptures. But I do not find there the expression “the kingdom of heaven.” This expression belongs properly to the revelation of the New Testament, because in the resurrection our earthly bodies shall, by that change that Paul fully describes, become spiritual bodies, and so heavenly, that thus we may possess the kingdom of heaven. And this expression was reserved for him whose advent as king to govern and priest to sanctify his believing people was ushered in by all the symbolism of the old covenant, in its genealogies, its typical acts and words, its sacrifices and ceremonies and feasts and in all its prophetic utterances and events and figures. He came full of grace and truth, in his grace helping us to obey the precepts and in his truth securing the accomplishment of the promises. He came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it. — AGAINST FAUSTUS, A MANICHAEAN 19:31

Psalms 118:18

Augustine of Hippo: Nevertheless, let him point out to us, why the body of Christ, the holy Church, the people of adoption, suffered such indignities. “The Lord,” he says, “hast chastened and corrected me, but He has not given me over unto death” [Psalms 118:18]. Let not then the boastful wicked imagine that anything has been permitted to their power: they would not have that power, were it not given them from above. Oft does the father of a family command his sons to be corrected by the most worthless slaves; though he designs the heritage for the former, fetters for the latter. What is that heritage? Is it of gold, or silver, or jewels, or farms, or pleasant estates? Consider how we enter into it: and learn what it is. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Clement of Alexandria: Consider the carefulness and the wisdom and the power of this Educator [Christ]: “He shall not judge according to appearance or reprove according to gossip, but he shall render judgment with humility and shall reprove the sinners of the earth.” And through the lips of David, he says, “The Lord chastising has chastised me, but he has not delivered me over to death.” Indeed, the very act of being chastised, and being educated by the Lord as a child, means deliverance from death. Again, he says through the same psalmist: “You shall rule them with a rod of iron.” Similarly, the apostle exclaimed when he was aroused by the Corinthians: “What is your wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and in the spirit of meekness?” By another psalmist, the Lord says again: “The Lord will send forth the rod of power out of Zion.” — The Instructor Book 1

Clement of Alexandria: “When we are judged by the Lord,” says the apostle, “it is for our education, so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” Earlier the prophet said, “The Lord has given me a stern lesson but not handed me over to death.” Scripture says, “It is to teach you his righteousness that he taught you a lesson, tested you and exposed you to hunger and thirst in a desolate land, for you to know in your heart all his statutes and judgments that I am laying on you today. The Lord your God will educate you just as a human will educate his son.” Scripture again emphasizes the lesson taught by a good example: “It is a great education when a malefactor sees a criminal punished,” for “the fear of the Lord breeds wisdom.” — The Stromata Book 1

Desert Fathers: [Syncletica] also said, ‘When the devil does not use the goad of poverty to tempt us, he uses wealth for the same purpose. When he cannot win by scorn and mockery, he tries praise and flattery. If he cannot win by giving health, he tries illness. If he cannot win by comfort, he tries to ruin the soul by vexations that lead us to act against our monastic vows. He inflicts severe sicknesses on people whom he wants to tempt and so makes them weak, and thereby shakes the love they feel towards God. But although the body is shattered and running a high temperature and thirsting unbearably, yet you, who endure all this, are a sinner; you should therefore remember the punishments of the next world, the everlasting fire, the torments of judgement. Then you will not fail in the sufferings of this present time, indeed you should rejoice because God has visited you. Keep saying the famous text: “The Lord hath chastened and corrected me: but he hath not given me over unto death” (Ps. 118:18). Iron is cleaned of rust by fire. If you are righteous and suffer, you grow to a higher sanctity. Gold is tested by fire. When a messenger from Satan is given to you to be a thorn in your flesh, lift up your heart, for you have received a gift like that of St Paul. If you suffer from fever and cold, remember the text of Scripture, “We went through fire and water,” and “thou broughtest us out into a place of rest” (Ps. 66:12). If you have overcome suffering, you may expect rest, provided you are following what is good. Cry aloud the prophet’s words, “I am poor and destitute and in misery” (Ps. 66:29). Threefold suffering like this shall make you perfect. He said also, “Thou hast set me at liberty when I was in trouble” (Ps. 4:1). So let this kind of self-discipline test our souls, for our enemy is always in sight.’ — The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

Syncletica of Alexandria: Rejoice because God has visited you. Keep saying the famous text: “The Lord has chastened and corrected me, but he has not given me over to death.” … A messenger from Satan is given to you to be a thorn in your flesh. Lift up your heart, for you see that you have received a gift like that of St. Paul. If you suffer from fever and cold, remember the text of Scripture, “We went through fire and water,” and then, “you brought us out to a place of rest.” … Threefold suffering like this will make you perfect. He also said, “You set me at liberty when I was in trouble.” Thus, let us test our souls by this kind of self-discipline, for we have our enemy before our eyes. — SAYINGS OF THE FATHERS 7:16

Syncletica of Alexandria: When the devil does not use the goads of poverty to tempt, he uses wealth for the purpose. When he cannot win by scorn and mockery, he tries praise and flattery. If he cannot win by providing health, he tries illness; if he cannot win by comfort, he tries to ruin the soul by vexations that lead a person to act against the monastic vow. He inflicts severe sicknesses on people whom he wants to tempt, and so makes them weak and thereby shakes the love that they feel toward God. But although the body is shattered and running high temperatures and thirsting unbearably—yet you who endure all this are a sinner, and remember the punishments of the next world, and the everlasting fire and the torments of the judgment. So you will not fail in the sufferings of this present time; indeed you should rejoice because God has visited you. Keep saying the famous text: “The Lord has chastened and corrected me, but he has not given me over to death.” Iron is cleaned of rust by fire. If you are righteous and suffer, you grow to a yet higher sanctity. Gold is tested by fire. A messenger from Satan is given to you to be a thorn in your flesh. Lift up your heart, for you see that you have received a gift like that of Paul. If you suffer from fever and cold, remember the text of Scripture, “We went through fire and water”—and then “you brought us out into a place of rest.” If you have endured the suffering, you may expect the place of rest, provided you are following what is good. Cry aloud the prophet’s words, “I am poor and destitute and in misery”—for the threefold suffering shall make you perfect. — SAYINGS OF THE FATHERS 7:16

Psalms 118:19

Aphrahat the Persian Sage: Our father Jacob too prayed at Bethel and saw the gate of heaven opened, with a ladder going up on high. This is a symbol of our Savior that Jacob saw: the gate of heaven is Christ, in accordance with what he said: “I am the gate of life; every one who enters by me shall live forever.” David too said, “This is the gate of the Lord, by which the righteous enter.” Again, the ladder that Jacob saw is a symbol of our Savior, in that by means of him the just ascend from the lower to the upper realm. The ladder is also a symbol of our Savior’s cross, which was raised up like a ladder, with the Lord standing above it; for above Christ is the Lord of all, just as the blessed apostle said: “The head of Christ is God.” Now Jacob called that place Bethel; and Jacob raised up there a pillar of stone as a testimony, and he poured oil over it. Our father Jacob did this too in symbol, anticipating that stones would receive anointing—for the peoples who have believed in Christ are the stones that are anointed; just as John says of them: “From these stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham.” For in Jacob’s prayer the calling of the nations was symbolized. — DEMONSTRATIONS 4:5

Augustine of Hippo: “Open me,” he says, “the gates of righteousness” [Psalms 118:19]. Behold, we have heard of the gates. What is within? “That I may,” he says, “go into them, and give thanks unto the Lord.” This is the confession of praise full of wonder, “even unto the house of God, in the voice of joy and confession of praise, among such as keep holiday:” this is the everlasting bliss of the righteous, whereby they are blessed who dwell in the Lord’s house, praising Him for evermore. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Clement of Rome: Let us therefore root this out quickly, and let us fall down before the Master and entreat him with tears, that he may show himself propitious and be reconciled to us and may restore us to the seemly and pure conduct that belongs to our love of the brothers. For this is a gate of righteousness opened to life, as it is written: “Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter in thereby and praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter in thereby.” Seeing then that many gates are opened, this is that gate that is in righteousness, even that which is in Christ, whereby all are blessed who have entered in and direct their path in holiness and righteousness, performing all things without confusion. Let a person be faithful, let him be able to expound a deep saying, let him be wise in the discernment of words, let him be strenuous in deeds, let him be pure; for so much the more ought he to be lowly in mind, in proportion as he seems to be the greater; and he ought to seek the common advantage of all, and not his own. — 1 CLEMENT 48

Origen of Alexandria: In this place, then, the gates of hades are spoken of; but in the Psalms the prophet gives thanks saying, “He who lifts me up from the gates of death that I may declare all your praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion.” And from this we learn that it is never possible for anyone to be fit to declare the praises of God, unless he has been lifted up from the gates of death and has come to the gates of Zion. Now the gates of Zion may be conceived as opposed to the gates of death, so that there is one gate of death, dissoluteness, but a gate of Zion, self-control; and so a gate of death, unrighteousness, but a gate of Zion, righteousness, which the prophet shows forth saying, “This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter into it.” And again there is cowardice, a gate of death, but courage, a gate of Zion; and want of prudence, a gate of death, but its opposite, prudence, a gate of Zion. But to all the gates of the “knowledge that is falsely so called” one gate is opposed, the gate of knowledge which is free from falsehood. But consider if, because of the saying, “our wrestling is not against flesh and blood,” etc., you can say that each power and world ruler of this darkness and each one of the “spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” is a gate of hades and a gate of death. Let, then, the principalities and powers with which our wrestling is, be called gates of hades, but the “ministering spirits” gates of righteousness. But as in the case of the better things many gates are first spoken of, and after the gates, one, in the passage, “Open to me the gates of righteousness, I will enter into them and will make full confession to the Lord,” and “this is the gate of the Lord, by it the righteous shall enter”; so also in the case of those gates that are opposed, many are the gates of hades and death, each a power; but over all these the wicked one himself. — COMMENTARY ON Matthew 12:13

Origen of Alexandria: And it is not incredible that the gates that are said to open spontaneously are referred obscurely by some to the words “Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may go into them and praise the Lord; this gate of the Lord, into it the righteous shall enter”; and again, to what is said in the ninth psalm, “You that lift me up from the gates of death, that I may show forth all your praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion.” The Scripture further gives the name of “gates of death” to those sins that lead to destruction, as it calls, on the contrary, good actions the “gates of Zion.” So also “the gates of righteousness,” which is an equivalent expression to “the gates of virtue.” These are ready to be opened to one who follows after virtuous pursuits. — AGAINST CELSUS 6:36

Psalms 118:20

Augustine of Hippo: But consider how the gates of righteousness are entered into. “These are the gates of the Lord” he saith, “the righteous shall enter into them” (ver. 20). At least let no wicked man enter there, that Jerusalem which receiveth not one uncircumcised, where it is said, “Without are dogs.” Be it enough, that in my long pilgrimage “I have had my habitation among the tents of Kedar:” I endured even unto the end the intercourse of the wicked, but “these are the gates of the Lord: the righteous shall enter into them.” — Exposition on Psalms 118

Psalms 118:21

Augustine of Hippo: “I will confess unto You, O Lord, for You have heard me, and have become my salvation” [Psalms 118:21]. How often is that confession proved to be one of praise, that does not point out wounds to the physician, but gives thanks for the health it has received. But the Physician Himself is the Salvation. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Psalms 118:22

Aphrahat the Persian Sage: But I must proceed to my former statement that Christ is called the stone in the prophets. For in ancient times David said concerning him, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the building.” And how did the builders reject this stone that is Christ? How else than that they so rejected him before Pilate and said, “This man shall not be king over us.” And again in that parable that our Lord spoke that a certain nobleman went to receive kingly power and to return and rule over them; and they sent after him envoys saying, “This man shall not be king over us.” By these things they rejected the stone that is Christ. And how did it become the head of the building? How else than that it was set up over the building of the Gentiles and on it is reared up all their building. And who are the builders? Who but the priests and Pharisees who did not build a sure building but were overthrowing everything that he was building, as is written in Ezekiel the prophet: “He was building a wall of partition, but they were shaking it, that it might fall.” And again it is written, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land, that I might not destroy it, but I did not find one.” And furthermore Isaiah also prophesied beforehand with regard to this stone. For he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a chosen stone in the precious corner, the heart of the wall of the foundation.’ " And he said again there, “Every one who believes on it shall not fear. And whosoever falls on that stone shall be broken, and every one on whom it shall fall, it will crush.” For the people of the house of Israel fell on him, and he became their destruction forever. And again “it shall fall on the image and crush it.” And the Gentiles believed on it and do not fear. — DEMONSTRATIONS 1:6

Augustine of Hippo: But who is this whom we speak of? “The Stone which the builders rejected” [Psalms 118:22]; for “It has become the head Stone of the corner” to “make in Himself of two one new man, so making peace; and that He might reconcile both unto God in one body;” [Ephesians 2:15-16] circumcision, to wit, and uncircumcision. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Augustine of Hippo: Therefore, when they began to desire this, they began to belong to Jacob, who believed in Christ, and the flock of the Lord was made in Judah itself. But what does the Lord say about this flock? I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I go to bring them, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. What other sheep does the Lord Jesus Christ have, if not from the gentiles? The sheep from the gentiles were joined to the Jewish sheep. For from the Jews were the Apostles. There were also five hundred brethren who saw the Lord after the resurrection. From there was Nathaniel himself, of whom the Lord testified that there was no deceit in him. There were one hundred and twenty who, when they were in the house, the Holy Spirit came to fill them, whom He had promised to the disciples. There were so many thousands of people we read about in the Acts of the Apostles baptized in the name of Christ, even those who crucified Christ. Therefore, there were sheep from there, and many sheep. But not only those. The Lord had others from the gentiles. These two peoples, coming as if from different paths, are also signified by the two walls. Indeed, the Church of the Jews came from circumcision. The Church of the gentiles came from the uncircumcision. Coming from different paths, they were united in the Lord. Therefore, the Lord was called the corner stone. For the psalm says: The stone which the builders rejected, this became the head of the corner. And the Apostle says: Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone. Where there is a corner, two walls are joined; two walls do not meet at the corner unless they come from different directions; for if they come from one direction, they do not form a corner. Therefore, the two kids, these are the two peoples, these are the two folds, these are the two walls, these are the two blind men who were sitting by the road, these are the two boats in which the fish were hauled up. In many places of the Scriptures, the two peoples are understood, but they are one in Jacob. — SERMON 4:18

Augustine of Hippo: Figuratively stated: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” If we take the stone literally, which stone did the builders reject, and it became the cornerstone? If we take the corner literally, on whose corner was this stone made the head? If we admit it is said figuratively, and you take it figuratively; the cornerstone is Christ; the head of the corner, the head of the Church. Why is the Church a corner? Because here he called the Jews, there the Gentiles, and as if two walls coming from different directions and converging in himself, he united by the grace of his peace. For he himself is our peace, who made both one. — SERMON 89:4

Cyprian: Likewise at the setting of the sun and at the end of the day necessarily there must again be prayer. For since Christ is the true Sun and the true Day, as the sun and the day of the world recede, when we pray and petition that the light come on us again, we pray for the coming of Christ to provide us with the grace of eternal light. Moreover, the Holy Spirit in the Psalms declares that Christ is called the Day. He says, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is wonderful in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us exalt and rejoice therein.” Malachi the prophet also testifies that he is called the Sun when he says, “But to you who fear my name, the Sun of justice shall arise with healing in his wings.” But if in holy Scripture Christ is the true Sun and the true Day, no hour is appointed for Christians, by whom God should be adored frequently and always, so that we who are in Christ, that is, in the true Sun and in the true Day, should be insistent throughout the whole day in our petitions and should pray. When, by the law of nature, the revolving night, recurring in its alternating cycle, follows the day, there can be no harm from the darkness for those who pray, because to the sons of light even in the night there is day. For when is he without light who has light in his heart? Or when does he not have sun and day, to whom Christ is Sun and Day? — Treatise IV. On the Lord’s Prayer 35

Ephrem the Syrian: “A stone was placed at the entrance to the tomb.” Thus, one stone [was placed] against another stone, so that [this] stone might be keeping guard over “the stone that the builders rejected.” This [stone], lifted “up by” [human] hands, had to keep guard over that which was “detached, without [human] hands”; this [stone], on which “the angel was sitting,” [had to keep guard] over that which “Jacob had placed under his head”; this [stone] with its seal [had to keep guard] over that which, through its seal, watches over the faithful. Thus did the gate of life go forth from the gate of death. “For this is the gate of our Lord, through which the just enter.” When it was closed, it delivered those closed in. Through its death the dead lived. Through its voice the silent cried out. Through its resurrection, there was an earthquake. Its emergence forth from the tomb introduced the Gentiles into the church. — COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 21:21

Eusebius of Caesarea: [Christ] ordained that the former law should stand till he came, and he was revealed as the originator of the second law of the new covenant preached to all nations, as being responsible for the law and influence of the two religions, I mean Judaism and Christianity. And it is wonderful that divine prophecy should accord:“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone, choice, a cornerstone; precious, and he that believes on him shall not be ashamed.” Who could be the cornerstone but he, the living and precious stone who supports by his teaching two buildings and makes them one? For he set up the Mosaic building, which was to last till his day, and then fitted on to one side of it our building of the gospel. Hence he [Christ] is called the cornerstone. And it is said in the Psalms: “The stone that the builders refused, the same is become the head of the corner. This is of the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” This oracle too indubitably indicates the Jewish conspiracy against the subject of the prophecy, how he has been set at naught by the builders of the old wall, meaning the scribes and Pharisees, the high priests and all the rulers of the Jews. And it prophesied that though he should be despised and cast out he would become the head of the corner, regarding him as the originator of a new covenant, according to the preceding proofs. — PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 1:7

Tertullian: Thus we find from this passage also, that Christ possessed a body of flesh, such as was able to endure the cross. “When, therefore, he came and preached peace to them that were near and to them which were afar off,” we both obtained “access to the Father,” being “now no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God” (even of him from whom, as we have shown above, we were aliens and placed far off), “built on the foundation of the apostles”—[the apostle added] “and the prophets”; these words, however, the heretic erased, forgetting that the Lord had set in his church not only apostles but prophets also. He feared, no doubt, that our building was to stand in Christ on the foundation of the ancient prophets, since the apostle himself never fails to build us up everywhere with [the words of] the prophets. For whence did he learn to call Christ “the chief cornerstone” but from the figure given him in the psalm: “The stone that the builders rejected is become the head [stone] of the corner”? — AGAINST MARCION 5.17

Tertullian: For Jesus tells them [the disciples] that “the Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected,” before his coming, at which his kingdom will be really revealed. In this statement he shows that it was his own kingdom that his answer to them had contemplated and that was now awaiting his own sufferings and rejection. But having to be rejected and afterwards to be acknowledged and taken up and glorified, he borrowed the very word rejected from the passage where, under the figure of a stone, his twofold manifestation was celebrated by David—the first in rejection, the second in honor. “The stone,” he says, “that the builders rejected is become the headstone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing.” Now it would be idle, if we believed that God had predicted the humiliation, or even the glory, of any Christ at all, that he could have designed his prophecy for any but him whom he had foretold under the figure of a stone and a rock and a mountain. — AGAINST MARCION 4.35

Psalms 118:23

Augustine of Hippo: “By the Lord was it made unto it” [Psalms 118:23]: that is, it is made into the head stone of the corner by the Lord. For although He would not have become this, had He not suffered: yet He became not this through those from whom He suffered. For they who were building, refused Him: but in the edifice which the Lord was secretly raising, that was made the head stone of the corner which they rejected. “And it is marvellous in our eyes:” in the eyes of the inner man, in the eyes of those that believe, those that hope, those that love; not in the carnal eyes of those who, through scorning Him as if He were a man, rejected Him. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Psalms 118:24

Ambrose of Milan: We must keep the law regarding Easter in such a way that we do not observe the fourteenth as the day of the resurrection; that day or one very close to it is the day of the passion, because the feast of the resurrection is kept on the Lord’s day. Moreover, we cannot fast on the Lord’s day; fasting on this day is what we criticize in the Manichaeans. One shows disbelief in the resurrection of Christ if he proposes a law that we fast on the day of the resurrection, since the law says that the Passover should be eaten with bitterness, that is, with sorrow because the author of our salvation was slain by humanity’s great sacrilege. On the Lord’s day the prophet bids us rejoice, saying, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice at it.” — Letter 36

Augustine of Hippo: “This is the day which the Lord hath made” (ver. 24). This man remembereth that he had said in former Psalms, “Since He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live;” making mention of his old days; whence he now saith, “This is the day which the Lord hath made;” that is, wherein He hath given me Salvation. This is the day whereof He said, “In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of Salvation have I helped thee;” that is, a day wherein He, the Mediator, hath become the head Stone of the corner. “Let us rejoice,” therefore, “and be glad in Him.” — On the Psalms, Psalms 118

Augustine of Hippo: What we have sung to God: This is the day which the Lord has made, hence let us speak of what the Lord has given. Here the Prophetic Scripture surely wanted us to understand something. That day which is not common, not conspicuous to the eyes of the flesh! It is not that day which rises and sets but the day which could know its dawn, not its setting! Let us see what the same Psalm previously said: The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the cornerstone. By the Lord has this been done, it is marvelous in our eyes. And it continues: This is the day which the Lord has made. Let us take the beginning of this day from the cornerstone. Who is the cornerstone which the builders rejected if not the Lord Christ whom the Jewish teachers rejected? For the experts of the Law, the teachers of the Jews, rejected Him saying: This one is not from God who loosens the Sabbath. You have already said: This one is not from God who loosens the Sabbath. The stone which the builders rejected, this one has become the cornerstone. How as the cornerstone? Why is Christ called the cornerstone? Because every corner unites two walls from different angles. The Apostles came from the circumcision, they came from the people of the Jews, they also came from those crowds which preceded and followed His beast, saying what is in this same Psalm: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; from there came so many churches of which the Apostle Paul says: I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which are in Christ, but they only heard that he who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once destroyed and they glorified God in me, Jews but adhering to Christ like the Apostles, coming and believing in Christ and making one wall. The other part remained, the Church coming from the Gentiles. They found each other; peace in Christ, unity in Christ who made both one. This is the day which the Lord has made. Consider the whole day as the head and the body, the head Christ, the body the Church. This is the day which the Lord has made. — SERMON 258:1

Peter Chrysologus: “And he summoned the twelve,” the text says. After the long centuries of dreadful night, the eternal day, our Christ, shone forth. The world had long awaited the splendor of his dawning. In the case of his twelve apostles he desired to signify the twelve hours of this day. The blessed psalmist saw this day in spirit when he sang, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” Consequently, the apostle, too, calls the believers children of light and of faith: “You are children of the light and children of the day.” — SERMON 170

Psalms 118:25

Augustine of Hippo: “Save me now, O Lord: prosper Thou well my way, O Lord” [Psalms 118:25]. Because it is the day of Salvation, “save me:” because we, returning from a long pilgrimage, are separated from those who hated peace, with whom we were peaceful, and who, when we spoke to them, made war upon us without a cause; “prosper well our way” as we return, since You have become our Way. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Psalms 118:26

Athanasius of Alexandria: But if the Gentiles are honoring the same God who gave the law to Moses and made the promise to Abraham and whose word the Jews dishonored—why are they [the Jews] ignorant of, or rather why do they choose to ignore, that what the Lord foretold in the Scriptures has been revealed in the world and appeared to it in bodily form, as the Scripture said: “The Lord God has shined on us”; and again: “He sent his Word and healed them”; and again: “Not a messenger, not an angel but the Lord himself saved them”? Their state may be compared to that of one out of his right mind, who sees the earth illumined by the sun but denies the sun that illumines it. — On the Incarnation of the Word 40

Augustine of Hippo: “Blessed be He that comes in the Name of the Lord” [Psalms 118:26]. Cursed, therefore, is he that comes in his own name; as He says in the Gospel: “if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.” [John 5:43] “We have blessed you out of the house of God.” I believe that these are the words of the great to the little, of those great ones, to wit, who in spirit commune with God the Word, who is with God, as they may in this life; and yet temper their discourse for the sake of the little ones, so that they may sincerely say what the Apostle says: “For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constrains us.” [2 Corinthians 5:13-14] They bless the little children from the inner house of the Lord, where that praise fails not age after age: consider therefore what they proclaim from thence. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Bede: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” “In the name of the Lord” signifies “in the name of God the Father,” just as [our Lord] himself said elsewhere to the unbelieving Jews, “I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive me; another will come in his own name, him you will receive.” Christ came in the name of God the Father, because in everything that he did and said he was concerned with glorifying his Father and with proclaiming to human beings that he is to be glorified. The antichrist will come in his own name, and although he may be the most wicked person of all and a convivial companion of the devil, he will see fit to call himself the Son of God while “being opposed to and raised above everything that is said to be God and is worshiped.” The crowd took this verse of praise from Psalms 117 [LXX], and there is no one who doubts that it is sung about the Lord. Hence it is appropriate that there is previously sung of him in the same psalm, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” For Christ, whom the Jews rejected as they were building the decrees of their own traditions, became a memorial for believers from among both peoples, namely, the Jews and the Gentiles. For as to the fact that Christ is called the cornerstone in this psalm, this is what was being chanted in high praise in the gospel by the voice of those who followed and those who went ahead. — Homilies on the Gospels 2:3

Didache: But let every one that cometh in the name of the Lord be received, and afterward ye shall prove and know him; for ye shall have understanding right and left. If he who cometh is a wayfarer, assist him as far as ye are able; but he shall not remain with you, except for two or three days, if need be. But if he willeth to abide with you, being an artisan, let him work and eat; but if he hath no trade, according to your understanding see to it that, as a Christian, he shall not live with you idle. But if he willeth not to do, he is a Christ-monger. Watch that ye keep aloof from such. — The Didache, Chapter 12

Pachomius the Great: As for us, brothers, understanding these things, let us keep each to his own measure, the one who is considered a shepherd of souls as well as the one who is considered a sheep. Yet let us all pray to be sheep, for no one is the shepherd save he who said, “I am the good Shepherd.” But when he appeared, as David had foretold and signified, “God is the Lord, and he has appeared to us,” God the Word appearing in human form saved us, bestowing on us knowledge of the faith. And before going up into heaven, he established the apostles as his successors, saying to Peter, “Feed my lambs” and “Look after my sheep.” For this reason there is need now too for people who, generation after generation, feed the souls in the Lord, who says, “I am with you.” For we know that after the apostles it is the bishops who are the fathers. But all those who listen to Christ who is in them are also their children, although they do not belong to the clergy and have no ecclesiastical rank. — LIFE OF PACHOMIUS (FIRST GREEK) 135

Psalms 118:27

Augustine of Hippo: That Lord, who came in the Lord’s Name, whom the builders refused, and who became the head Stone of the corner, that “Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ,” is God, He is equal with the Father, He hath showed us light, that we might understand what we believed, and declare it to you who understand it not as yet, but already believe it. — On the Psalms, Psalms 118

Psalms 118:28

Augustine of Hippo: But that ye also may understand, “Declare a holy day in full assemblies, even unto the horns of the altar;” that is, even unto the inner house of God, from which we have blessed you, where are the high places of the altar. “Declare a holy day,” not in a slothful manner, but “in full assemblies” (ver. 28). For this is the voice of joyfulness among those that keep holy day, who walk “in the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even unto the house of God.” For if there be there the spiritual sacrifice, the everlasting sacrifice of praise, both the Priest is everlasting, and the peaceful mind of the righteous an everlasting altar. … — On the Psalms, Psalms 118

Psalms 118:29

Augustine of Hippo: And what shall we sing there, save His praises? What else shall we say there, save, “You are my God, and I will confess unto You; You are my God, and I will praise You. I wilt confess unto You, for You have heard me, and art become my Salvation.” We will not say these things in loud words; but the love that abides in Him of itself cries out in these words, and these words are love itself. Thus as he began with praise, so he ends: “Confess unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and His mercy endures for ever” [Psalms 118:29]. With this the Psalm commences, with this it ends; since, as from the commencement which we have left behind, so in the end, whither we are returning, there is not anything that can more profitably please us, than the praise of God, and Allelujah evermore. — Exposition on Psalms 118

Augustine of Hippo: Let us commend ourselves to God, my brothers, by works of mercy. “O praise the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endures forever.” Give praise, for God is merciful, and he wishes to forgive the sins of those who give praise. In addition, offer sacrifice to him. O man, be merciful to your fellow mortals, and God will show mercy to you. You are a mortal; the other person is a mortal also; you are both in need of mercy. On the other hand, God is not in need of mercy, but he is merciful. If, however, the person who is in need of mercy does not show mercy to another who is in need of mercy, how does he expect mercy from One who will never be in need of mercy? Think over what I am saying, brothers. For example, whoever is pitiless in regard to a shipwrecked person remains pitiless until he himself suffers shipwreck. But if he has been shipwrecked, whenever he sees a shipwrecked person he recalls his former experience and he experiences a sympathetic feeling of mercy. Hence, a personal experience of misfortune softens the one whom the common bond of human nature was not able to incline to mercy. How readily he who has been in service in the past has compassion on a servant! How readily he who was once a hired laborer feels sorry for a laborer deprived of his pay! The person who has once suffered a similar loss sympathizes most sincerely with a parent lamenting the loss of a child. Therefore, a similarity of suffering softens any degree of hardness in a human heart. If, then, you who either have been in need of mercy or who fear that you may be in such need (for, as long as you are on this earth, you ought to fear what you have not been, to remember what you have been and to consider what you may be)—if, then, encompassed with the memory of your former need of mercy, with the fear of future needs and with the suffering of present miseries, you do not have mercy on a person who is in trouble and in need of your help, do you expect him whom misery has never afflicted to have mercy on you? And do you fail to give of the abundance that you have received from God and then wish God to give to you from that which he has not received from you? — SERMON 259:3