While they say great, they do not go so far as to say how great; no one knows that, after all, so he added as well, and highly to be praised. There is no limit, you see, to his greatness. What it means, however, is something like this: It is necessary to praise him and sing to him alone, and this to an extraordinary degree; but the need is to sing his praises both for this infinite and incomprehensible greatness of his being and for the excess of his beneficence to us.

He is everywhere great and powerful, but our narrow mind cannot take in the greatness of his divine power and grace. The closer our knowledge gets to God, the more wonderful his majesty appears to be.

Often the divine Scripture gives the name city not to the building but to the way of life. Accordingly, here too he says the Lord of all was shown to be great through the things done by him in connection with his city, which the elevation of its teachings rendered illustrious as though located on a lofty and mighty hill.

This is the city set on a mountain that cannot be hidden, the lantern that is not concealed under a meal tub but known to all and universally renowned. Not every one is a citizen of it, but only those for whom the Lord is great and exceedingly worthy of praise.

Truly the Lord is called great. For consider, he has poured exaltation and joy over all the orb of this earth where previously the land produced the most dreadful growth of sin; he has made joyful the earth that once abounded in sorrow, tears and groans.^[1] Now our conscience is set free from sin and can rejoice. Before this it was unhappy, it was drowned in the whirlpool of its own sin; but now, through the goodness and kindness of Christ, it is absolved from all error.

Joy is rooted in Christ. . . . His root is God the Word, which is in himself.

For what reason, tell me, does he now mention the north and describe to us the location of the place? Because from that quarter war generally broke out with the invasion of savages, and generally the inspired authors mention it, calling it from the north, and speak in terms of a cauldron boiling from that direction. . . . This city generally vulnerable from that quarter you made impregnable. In other words, just as if someone were to say about the body, That weak part I made stronger, he too is suggesting the same in this verse in the words, The quarters from which come wailing and weeping, the basis of disasters, these parts run over with satisfaction, with tranquility; [the place from which] come threats and fears and dangers, [from them come] delight and happiness. No one any longer fears that northern part of creation, no one is anguished, no one is suspicious. All enjoy happiness, for you root it in satisfaction.

To emphasize that this is the effect of grace, it adds, When he upholds her, for what would that city have been, if God had not upheld it? It would collapse immediately if it had no such foundation, wouldn’t it? No one can lay any foundation other than that which is laid already, Christ Jesus. That city is truly great, and the Lord is acknowledged in it, only when he upholds it.

On the one hand, there is one church throughout all land and sea; thus we say in prayer, For the holy, single, universal and apostolic church, from one end of the world to the other. On the other hand, it is also divided into cities, towns and villages, which the inspired Word called buildings. As each city is composed of different houses and yet is called one city, so there are countless churches that defy numbering, both on islands and on continents, but all constitute one by being united in the common harmony of the true teachings. In these the God of all became apparent.

At this point he is describing a harsh war concerted from every direction and a famous victory. You see, after he said that God comes to [the city’s] aid and gives evidence of great care, he then shows also how he came to its aid. When countless nations made an attack (this he suggests, note, in mentioning the great number of kings), and not simply an attack but concerted and combined, such extraordinary developments occurred that they departed, marveling at the surprising turn of events. . . . Thus it is clear that instead of the war being conducted in terms of human logic, it was God whose tactics directed the fighting, who not only depressed the enemies’ spirits but also shook their resolve by causing distress in their ranks and prompting an unspeakable fear in them. It was the same as if a great fleet had assembled and an unfavorable wind came on them and smashed the ships, sank the triremes and instilled instant disorder.

As he is recognized, the kings of the earth are disturbed.

This, I say, is man’s real death, when souls that know not God shall be consumed in long-protracted torment with raging fire, into which certain fiercely cruel beings shall cast them, who were unknown before Christ and brought to light only by his wisdom.

We should no longer put our trust in setting our sails or in the favorable tide of worldly prosperity; our foundation must be in Zion. There we must find our stability, and not be tossed about by every gust of teaching. Those whose sails are swollen with the uncertain fortunes of this life are liable to be capsized, and all the pride of the Gentiles must be subjected to Christ, who smashes the ships of Tarshish with a violent wind.

So what did he hear, and what did he see? That the grace of God renders the city stronger and intact. This, in fact, is its foundation, this its strength, this makes it impregnable—not human aid and help, or the power of weapons or towers and ramparts. What instead? God rules it as his own. This most of all it was, in fact, that they should have been taught, and towards this the inspired author constantly urges them.

Outside the city, we have heard. Inside the city, we have seen. God is the eternal light of this city.^[1] The light of day shines there without the sun we know in this world, and of the moon there is no need. The foundation of this city belongs not to time but to eternity.

O blessed church, at one time you heard, and at another time you saw. The church heard the promises and now sees the promises fulfilled; it heard in prophecy what it now sees made manifest in the gospel. Everything that is now being realized was prophesied beforehand. Lift up your eyes; let your gaze sweep around the world, look at the inheritance that stretches to the ends of the earth; see how the promise is being made good.

God’s true temple is the body of Christ, and in that body lies the purification of all our sins. Truly, that flesh is God’s temple, and in it there is no contagion of sin. On the contrary, it was itself the sacrifice that takes away the sin of all the world. That flesh is indeed God’s temple, and in it shone God’s image. In it there dwelled the fullness of divinity in a bodily manner,^[1] for Christ is himself that fullness. . . . In that temple, the psalmist tells us, we have received your mercy. . . . Just as Christ is redemption, so too he is mercy. No greater mercy can there be than that he should offer himself as a victim for our crimes. He sacrificed himself to wash the world clean in his blood, for in no other way could our sin be abolished.

The right hand of God is Christ, who is filled with righteousness and from his fullness we receive everything.

As it belongs to fire to heat, to the sun to give light, just so as well the role of benefactor belongs to him—not in the same manner, however, but even much more. Thus he spoke also this way, Your right hand is filled with righteousness, suggesting abundance, relation to his being.

To be sure, we cannot deny that there are very many bad people, so many that the good can scarcely be seen among them, just as the grains of wheat are almost invisible on the threshing floor. Anyone who glances at the threshing floor will think there is nothing there but straw. An inexperienced onlooker regards it as a waste of time to send in oxen and have workers sweating away in the heat threshing the straw. But hidden within it is a mass of grain that will be winnowed out. Then the bulky yield of grain, which was hidden by the bulk of the straw, will be evident. Do you want to find the good people? Be one yourself, and you will find them.

Let Mount Zion rejoice; let the church rejoice; the daughters of Judah rejoice. You have judged all the spirits from the womb of the church, so that you may yoke the devil and may free the souls of people. Now, O freed spirits, encompass your mother Zion, whom you have followed; tell his mercy to the towers. In the towers they defend the city and resist the enemies. Place your hearts in his strength. Consider with what strength he fights for you . . . , so you may tell later generations.

God makes no mistakes when he judges. Let your life stand out in contrast, though by birth you blend in with them, for the plea that went up from your lips and your heart has not gone unheard: Do not destroy my soul with the ungodly, nor my life with those who shed blood.^[1] God is a highly skilled winnower. He will bring his winnowing shovel with him and will not let a single grain of wheat fall into the heap of chaff for burning or a single wisp of straw get into the barn to be stored. Dance for joy, daughters of Judea, over the judgments of a God who makes no mistakes, and do not arrogate to yourselves the right to make judgments in advance. It is your job to garner, his to sift what has been garnered.

[This] it intimates, I think, those who have sublimely embraced the Word, so as to become lofty towers and to stand firmly in faith and knowledge.

Those who have wisely surrounded Zion and embraced it spiritually climb up onto its towers. There they tell of it to those not able to ascend its turrets. . . . Always the insidious foe has his eye on it, to see if he can approach and capture it. For Satan has his armies, and with them he lays siege to souls. He has siege engines that he moves up close to the walls so as to take its towers by force. But you, says the psalm, must preach from the towers. . . . Preach, proclaim, without intermission, without end. Your enemy does not sleep; he goes round like a raging animal seeking someone to devour.^[1] Keep singing the praises of the Lord, for he can smash the lion’s teeth and break his jaw to pieces.^[2]

He calls the godly form of government Zion, that is, the church throughout the world, and its towers those devoted to virtue and imitating on earth the way of life of the angels, encircling and protecting it like towers. Buildings likewise, as we have said before, the churches divided among the cities, towns and villages: he speaks of them as one and many. So the inspired word, the grace of the all-holy Spirit, urges those to whom the saving message was entrusted to go around and move about, both to strengthen the towers with teaching and confirm its other force, and in addition to this to apportion care of the churches, as we have already remarked on the forty-fifth psalm. He urges it here, too: take its buildings one by one, so that one may care for this church and another for that, and be in charge of each by way of cultivating and exercising due care.

The psalmist exhorts the people, Behold this city. . . . Understand something from . . . its structure, its beauty, its fame, so as to learn from this God’s power, how he made the lost city more mighty, and recount to your progeny God’s power and the enduring course of his providence; his care of us, his leadership and shepherding last forever. Stories of this to those who come after will, in fact, prove an occasion for great advance in wisdom, a basis for more precise knowledge of God and a study of virtue.

Each generation has to pass on to the next what we have received from the former so that the saving message may pass to all generations, and all people know that he is our God and Lord, good shepherd, everlasting. Since he said, take its buildings one by one, and entrusted to them the task of shepherding, of necessity he taught that there is one good shepherd, who laid down his life for the sheep, shepherding forever, and shepherding not only the sheep but also those called pastors of the sheep.

The earth was visible, but the Creator of the earth was not. Christ’s flesh could be touched, but God in the flesh was not so readily recognized. They from whom his flesh was taken (for the Virgin Mary was from Abraham’s stock) held onto his flesh, but they stayed at the level of the flesh and did not perceive his godhead. O you, apostles, O you, great city, preach from your towers and tell them, This is our God. . . . If he is our God, he is our King as well. He protects us, because he is our God, and saves us from death; he rules us, because he is our King and saves us from falling. . . . For our part, let us choose to be ruled and liberated by him, for this is our God forever and for ages unending; he it is who will guide us forever.