Psalms 33:19

In Isaiah: “Thus saith the Lord God, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is the stool of my feet. What seat will ye build for me, or what is the place for my rest? For all those things hath my hand made, and all those things are mine. And upon whom else will I look, except upon the lowly and quiet man, and him that trembleth at my words?” On this same thing in the Gospel according to Matthew: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Of this same thing, too, according to Luke: “He that shall be least among you all, the same shall be great.” Also in the same place: “Whosoever exalteth himself shall be made low, and whosoever abaseth himself shall be exalted.” Of this same thing to the Romans: “Be not high-minded, but fear; for if God spared not the natural branches, (take heed) lest He also spare not thee.” Of this same thing in the thirty-third Psalm: “And He shall sav …

In Solomon: “The furnace proveth the vessels of the potter, and the trial of tribulation righteous men.” Also in the fiftieth Psalm: “The sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; a contrite and humbled heart God will not despise.” Also in the thirty-third Psalm: “God is nearest to them that are contrite in heart, and He will save the lowly in spirit.” Also in the same place: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but out of them all the Lord will deliver them.” Of this same matter in Job: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, naked also shall I go under the earth: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: as it hath pleased the Lord, so it is done; blessed be the name of the Lord. …

3. Let me lay bare before my God that twenty-ninth year of my age. There had at this time come to Carthage a certain bishop of the Manichæans, by name Faustus, a great snare of the devil, and in any were entangled by him through the allurement of his smooth speech; the which, although I did commend, yet could I separate from the truth of those things which I was eager to learn. Nor did I esteem the small dish of oratory so much as the science, which this their so praised Faustus placed before me to feed upon. Fame, indeed, had before spoken of him to me, as most skilled in all becoming learning, and pre-eminently skilled in the liberal sciences. …

17. Let the new people, therefore, who are called to an eternal inheritance, use the word of the New Testament, and say, “Our Father who art in heaven,” i.e. in the holy and the just. For God is not contained in space. For the heavens are indeed the higher material bodies of the world, but yet material, and therefore cannot exist except in some definite place; but if God’s place is believed to be in the heavens, as meaning the higher parts of the world, the birds are of greater value than we, for their life is nearer to God. But it is not written, The Lord is nigh unto tall men, or unto those who dwell on mountains; but it is written, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,” which refers rather to humility. …

6. “Nicodemus answered and said unto Him, How can these things be?” And, in fact, in the carnal sense, he knew not how. In him occurred what the Lord had said; the Spirit’s voice he heard, but knew not whence it came, and whither it was going. “Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?” Oh, brethren! what? do we think that the Lord meant to taunt scornfully this master of the Jews? The Lord knew what He was doing; He wished the man to be born of the Spirit. No man is born of the Spirit if he be not humble, for humility itself makes us to be born of the Spirit; “for the Lord is nigh to them that are of broken heart.” The man was puffed up with his mastership, and it appeared of some importance to himself that he was a teacher of the Jews. …

25. We have heard, and it is manifest; we had gone out of doors, and we are sent inward. Would I could find, thou didst say, some high and lonely mountain! For I think that, because God is on high, He hears me the rather from a high place. Because thou art on a mountain, dost thou imagine thyself near to God, and that He will quickly hear thee, as if calling to Him from the nearest place? He dwells on high, but regards the lowly. “The Lord is near.” To whom? To the high, perhaps? “To them who are contrite of heart.” ’Tis a wonderful thing: He dwelleth on high, and yet is near to the lowly; “He hath regard to lowly things, but lofty things He knoweth from afar;” He seeth the proud afar off, and He is the less near to them the higher they appear to themselves to be. Didst thou seek a mountain, then? Come down, that thou mayest come near Him. …

10. Wherefore after the labour, and groaning, and very frequent showers of tears, since that cannot be ineffectual, which is asked so earnestly of Him, who is the Fountain of all mercies, and it is most truly said, “the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart:” after difficulties so great, the pious soul, by which we may also understand the Church, intimating that she has been heard, see what she adds: “Depart from me, all ye that work iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping” ( ver. 8 ). It is either spoken prophetically, since they will depart, that is, the ungodly will be separated from the righteous, when the day of judgment arrives, or, for this time present. For although both are equally found in the same assemblies, yet on the open floor the wheat is already separated from the chaff, though it be hid among the chaff. …

22. “The Lord is nigh unto them that have broken their heart; and saveth such as be lowly in spirit” ( ver. 18 ). God is High: let a Christian be lowly. If he would that the Most High God draw nigh unto him, let him be lowly. A great mystery, Brethren. God is above all: thou raisest thyself, and touchest not Him: thou humblest thyself, and He descendeth unto thee. “Many are the troubles of the righteous” ( ver. 19 ): doth He say, “Therefore let Christians be righteous, therefore let them hear My Word, that they may suffer no tribulation? He promiseth not this; but saith, “Many are the troubles of the righteous.” Rather, if they be unrighteous they have fewer troubles, if righteous they have many. …

“Innumerable evils have compassed me about” ( ver. 12 ). Who can number sins? Who can count his own sins, and those of others? A burden under which he was groaning, who said, “Cleanse Thou me from my secret faults; and from the faults of others, spare Thou Thy servant, O Lord.” Our own are too little; those “of others” are added to the burden. I fear for myself; I fear for a virtuous brother, I have to bear with a wicked brother; and under such burthen what shall we be, if God’s mercy were to fail? “But Thou, Lord, remove not afar off.” Be Thou near unto us! To whom is the Lord near? “Even” unto them that “are of a broken heart.” He is far from the proud: He is near to the humble. …

6. “I will cry to God most high” ( ver. 2 ). If most high He is, how heareth He thee crying? Confidence hath been engendered by experience: “to God,” he saith, “who had done good to me.” If before that I was seeking Him, He did good to me, when I cry shall He not hearken to me? For good to us the Lord God hath done in sending to us our Saviour Jesus Christ, that He might die for our offences, and rise again for our justification. For what sort of men hath He willed His Son to die? For ungodly men. But ungodly men were not seeking God, and have been sought of God. For He is Most High in such sort, as that not far from Him is our misery and our groaning: because “near is the Lord to them that have bruised the heart.” “God that hath done good to me.”

12. “O Lord, my God, be not far from me” ( ver. 12 ). So it is, and the Lord is not far off at all. For, “The Lord is nigh unto them that have bruised the heart.” “My God, unto my help look Thou.” “Be they confounded and fail that engage my soul” ( ver. 13 ). What hath he desired? “Be they confounded and fail.” Why hath he desired it? “That engage my soul”? What is, “That engage my soul”? Engaging as it were unto some quarrel. For they are said to be engaged that are challenged to quarrel. If then so it is, let us beware of men that engage our soul. What is, “That engage our soul”? First provoking us to withstand God, in order that in our evil things God may displease us. …

2. “We will confess to Thee, O Lord, we will confess to Thee, and will invoke Thy name” ( ver. 1 ). Do not invoke, before thou confess: confess, and invoke. For Him whom thou art invoking, unto thyself thou callest. For what is it to invoke, but unto thyself to call? If He is invoked by thee, that is, if He is called to thee, unto whom doth He draw near? To a proud man He draweth not near. High indeed He is, one lifted up attaineth not unto Him. In order that we may reach all exalted objects, we raise ourselves, and if we are not able to reach them, we look for some appliances or ladders, in order that being exalted we may reach exalted objects: contrariwise God is both high, and by the lowly He is reached. It is written, “Nigh is the Lord to them that have bruised the heart.” The bruising of the heart is Godliness, humility. He that bruiseth himself is angry with himself. …