We have discussed the prayer of holy Job; now let us approach that prayer that we have found in the psalms. David spoke out in many passages in regard to worldly vanity; he often asserted that the supposed goods of this world were vain, especially in the thirty-eighth psalm, in which he says, And indeed all things are vanity, every one living. Although a person walks in the image of God, yet he is troubled vainly. He stores up, and he knows not for whom he is gathering these things.^[1] And in another passage he says, How long shall sinners, O Lord, how long shall sinners glory?—because here they have a shadow of glory, but, when they have departed from life, they will not have the benefit of consolation. Still, the same David introduced into the collection Psalm 72 [LXX]. In it he declares, under the title Asaph,^[2] that at first he almost fell, being afflicted with great pain. For he saw that sinners were wealthy and rich in this world and enjoyed prosperity and abundance, whereas he, who was just in his heart, was in afflictions and tribulations. He had committed a rather serious offense in the beginning; later he had been corrected and enlightened through the scourges of the Lord and had learned the course of true surrender by the gift of God’s knowledge.

However, with the other class of unbelievers who either believe that there is no divine power or that it has nothing to do with human affairs, I am not sure that an argument should be undertaken on any subject of dutiful devotion, although hardly anyone can be found nowadays who is so foolish as to dare to say even in his own heart, There is no God.^[1] But other fools are not lacking who have said, The Lord shall not see, that is, he does not extend his providence to these earthly affairs. Accordingly, in those books which I wish your charity^[2] to read, along with the description of the city of God, if God wills and for whom he wills, I shall justify the belief that not only does God exist—and this belief is so ingrained in nature that hardly any impiety ever tears it out—but that he regulates human affairs, from governing human beings to rewarding the just with blessedness in the company of the holy angels and condemning the wicked to the lot of the bad angels.

Take care, then, to avoid what the great apostle sets forth so fearfully, and when you feel that you do not understand, make an immediate act of faith in what is divinely revealed, that there is both free will in humans and grace from God; and pray that what you religiously believe you may also wisely understand. Indeed, it is for this very reason that we have free will that we may wisely understand, for, unless our understanding and wisdom were regulated by free will, we should not be commanded in the words of Scripture: Understand, you senseless among the people; and you fools be wise at last. The very fact, then, that we are instructed and commanded to understand and be wise is proof of a demand on our obedience, which cannot exist without free will. But, if it were possible for this to be accomplished by free will without the grace of God, namely, that we should understand and be wise, we should not have to say to God, Give me understanding that I may know your commandments;^[1] nor would it be written in the Gospel, Then he opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures;^[2] nor would the apostle James have said, But if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all people abundantly and upbraids not: and it will be given to him.^[3]

When, then, that man,^[1] so learned in the Scriptures, was commenting on the psalm where it says, Understand, you senseless among the people; and you fools be wise at last. He who has planted the ear, shall he not hear? or he who has formed the eye, does he not consider? He said, among other things, This passage is directed chiefly against the anthropomorphists who say that God has members such as we have. For example, God is said to have eyes: the eyes of the Lord look on all things;^[2] the hand of the Lord makes all things;^[3] and it says, Adam heard the footsteps of the Lord walking in paradise.^[4] They take these expressions literally, and they attribute our human inadequacies to the magnificence of God. But I say that God is all eye, he is all hand, he is all foot. He is all eye because he sees all things; he is all hand because he effects all things; he is all foot because he is everywhere present. See, then, what it says, He who has planted the ear, does he not hear? It does not say, He who has planted, does he not then have an ear? and it does not say, Does he not then have eyes? What does it say? He who has planted the ear, shall he not hear? He who has formed the eye, does he not consider? He brought together the members, he gave the faculties.^[5]

What is the topmost pinnacle of the building we are striving to construct? How far does the top of our edifice reach? I’ll tell you straightaway: as far as the sight of God. You can see how high that is, what a great thing it is, to see God. Any of you who long for this will understand what I am saying and you are hearing. We have been promised the sight of God, of the true God, of the supreme God. This really is a wonderful thing, to see the one who sees.^[1]

I mean, those who worship false gods can easily see them, but they see gods who have eyes and do not see. But we have been promised the vision of the God who lives and sees, and so the God we should be yearning to see is the one of whom Scripture says, Will he who planted the ear not hear? Does he who fashioned the eye not observe? So does the one who made you something to hear with not hear himself? And does he not see, the one who created the means for you to see with?

In this psalm [the psalmist] very neatly prefaces those words with these: Understand, therefore, you who are unwise among the people; and you fools, come sooner or later to your senses. You see, this is why many people do wrong, imagining that they are not noticed by God. It is difficult, of course, for them to believe he cannot see, but they assume he does not want to. You won’t find many people so totally irreligious that they fulfill the text, The fool has said in his heart, There is no God.^[2] Few hold this crazy idea. Just as there aren’t many people who are deeply religious, so there aren’t many who are totally irreligious. But what I am going to say now is what the crowd says: Look, do you really think God takes trouble to know what I do in my house, that God cares two cents what I choose to do in my bed? Well, who is it that says, Understand, you who are unwise among the people; and you fools, come sooner or later to your senses? Being a mere human, it takes you quite a lot of trouble to know everything that goes on in your house and to insure that what your slaves say and do gets back to you; but do you imagine it is any trouble like that for God to pay attention to you, seeing that it was no trouble at all for him to create you? Having made your eyes, will he not turn his own on to you? You did not exist, and he created you, to bring you into being. Now that you do exist, will he not care for you, he that summons the things that are not, as though they were?

So this Peter, playing the great part I have suggested to you, is questioned by the Lord after the resurrection, as we had it read to us, and he said to him, Simon of John—you see, he was called Simon when he was born; he was the son of John—Simon of John, do you love me more than these? Who is doing the questioning? The one who knew everything. Is he like someone who does not know, this one who has passed on knowledge? It was not that the Lord wanted to be informed, but that he wanted Peter to confess.

People argue against this evident truth. What else, after all, could you expect from mere people, who savor the things of humankind, but to argue about God against God? I mean, he is God, they are mere individuals. But God knows the thoughts of people, that they are vain. With worldly, materialistic people, what they are in the habit of observing entirely governs their manner of understanding. What they are accustomed to see, they can believe; what they aren’t, they can’t. God performs miracles that go beyond what we are accustomed to, because he is God. It is in fact a greater miracle, so many people being born every day who did not previously exist, than a few having risen again, who did exist; and yet this kind of miracle is not seriously considered and appreciated, but being so common is disregarded as uninteresting. Christ rose again; the case is complete and closed. He was body, he was flesh, which hung on the cross, gave up the soul, was placed in the tomb. He presented it alive, seeing he lived in it. Why are we astonished, why don’t we believe? It is God who did it. Reflect on the one who brought it about, and you eliminate all possibility of doubt.

How much power in any case can mortals have? Let mortals hold on to justice; power will be given them when they are immortal. Compared with this, the power of those people who are called powerful on earth is shown to be ridiculous weakness, and a pit is dug for the sinner in the very place where the wicked seem to be able to do most. The just person sings, Happy is the one whom you instruct, Lord, and teach from your law, in order to comfort him in evil days, until a pit is dug for the sinners. For the Lord will not reject his people or forsake his inheritance, until justice turns into judgment, and those who have it are all of an upright heart. So in this time during which the power of the people of God is being deferred, God will not reject his people or forsake his inheritance, however bitter and humiliating the trials it suffers in its humility and weakness, until the justice that now belongs to the weakness of the godly turns into judgment, that is until it receives the authority to judge, which is being reserved for the just in the end, when power follows in its proper order on the justice that preceded it.

What indeed does holy Scripture say in a psalm to those members who endure the wickedness of this age? The Lord will not cast off his people. His people, in truth, toil among the unworthy, among the wicked, among blasphemers, among murmurers, detractors, persecutors, and, if it be allowed, killers. It toils indeed, but the Lord will not cast off his people, and he will not forsake his own inheritance until justice is turned to judgment. Until justice, which the saints now possess, is turned to judgment, when what was said to them will be fulfilled: You will sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel.24 The apostle possessed justice, but not yet that judgment about which he says, Do you not know that we shall judge angels?25

But why is there no fear of uttering an indirect lie? We do not deny that free will is healed by the grace of God, but we believe that we make progress through the daily grace of God, and we trust in its help. And people say, It is in my own power to do good. If only people did do good! O empty boasting of wretchedness! Every day they disclaim sin, and in their boasting they attribute to themselves unaided free will, not scrutinizing their conscience, which cannot be healed but by grace, so as to say, Be merciful to me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.27 What would those do who boast of their own free will—which is not denied so long as it is helped by the grace of God—if death had now been swallowed up in victory, if our mortal were putting on immortality and our corruptible were putting on incorruption?28 Behold, their wounds fester, and they seek a remedy in pride. They do not say with the just person, Unless the Lord had been my helper, my soul had almost dwelled in hell. They do not say with the saint, Except the Lord guards the city, he watches in vain that guards it.29

The one who arranged the contest helps the contestant. God, you see, does not watch you in the ring in the same way as the populace watch a charioteer; they know how to shout, they do not know how to help. God does not watch you battling in the ring in the same way as the president at the games watches an athlete and prepares a crown of leaves for the winner; he does not know how to give strength to the man struggling in the arena, and he cannot do it anyhow; after all he is a man, not God. And perhaps while he is watching, he endures more weariness sitting there than the other does as he wrestles. God, you see, when he watches his champions, helps them when they call on him. I mean, it is the voice of his athlete in the psalm, If I said, my foot is slipping, your mercy, Lord, came to my help. So, my brothers and sisters, do not let us be slow about it; let us ask, let us seek, let us knock. For everyone who asks receives, and who seeks will find, and who knocks will have the door opened.^[1]

All the same, you^[1] must not think that you are in every respect or immediately going to be strong or . . . going to fail utterly by despairing. After all, that alternation of failure and of strength in the arms of God’s servant Moses was, perhaps, your alternation. Sometimes, you see, you fail in your trials and temptations, but do not totally succumb to them. Moses let his arms droop a little but did not collapse altogether.^[2] If I were to say, my foot has slipped, behold, your mercy, Lord, would come to my help. So do not be afraid; the one is present on the journey to help you along, who was not absent in Egypt to set you free. Do not be afraid, step out along the road, be confident and throw care to the winds. Sometimes he lowered his arms, sometimes he lifted them up; anyway, Amalek was defeated. They were able to wage war, they were not able to win.

So, to conclude this sermon where we began it, let us pray and put all our trust in God; let us live as he commands us, and when we stumble and stagger in this life, let us call on him as the disciples called upon him when they said, Lord, increase our faith.^[1] Peter too was full of confidence and staggered; yet he was not ignored and allowed to drown but given a helping hand and set on his feet. Just what, after all, did he place his confidence in? It was not in himself, it was in the Lord. How is that? Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you over the water. The Lord, you remember, was walking over the waters. If it is you, bid me come to you over the water. I know, you see, that if it is you, you have only to command, and it will happen. And he said, Come. Peter got down from the boat at his command; he began to tremble at his own weakness. And yet when he grew afraid Peter cried out to him: Lord, deliver me, he said. Then the Lord took him by the hand and said, Little faith, why did you doubt?^[2] It was Jesus that invited him, he that delivered him when Peter tottered and staggered. This fulfilled what was said in the psalm, If I said, My foot has slipped, your mercy, Lord, would come to my help.

And thus the devil, the prince of the impious city, when he stirs up his own vessels against the city of God that sojourns in this world, is permitted to do her no harm. For without doubt the divine providence procures for her both consolation through prosperity, that she may not be broken by adversity, and trial through adversity, that she may not be corrupted by prosperity; and thus each is tempered by the other, as we recognize in the Psalms that voice which arises from no other cause, According to the multitude of my griefs in my heart, Thy consolations have delighted my soul. Hence also is that saying of the apostle, Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation.^[1]

This, then, is the way now in which one living according to Christ acts in regard to his flesh when he struggles against his evil lustfulness. He restrains it in order to be healed, but he retains it even though his flesh is not yet healed. Still he nourishes and cherishes his flesh’s good nature, since no one ever hated his own flesh.^[1] In this way also Christ regards the church, insofar as we may compare lesser things with the greater. He both curbs it by corrections lest it be dissolved through the inflation of impunity, and he cheers it by consolations lest it succumb to the weight of its infirmity. In reference to this we have both the words of the apostle: But if we judged ourselves, we should not thus be judged. But, when we are judged, we are being chastised by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world,^[2] and those of the psalm: According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, your comforts have given joy to my soul. We must hope for the perfect soundness of our flesh, free from any resistance, because at that time the church of Christ will have a certain security that is free from any fear.

Dearly beloved, as I have already said, the devil is always either raging or lying in ambush. So, it behooves us to be always prepared by keeping our hearts fixed on the Lord. It behooves us to exert ourselves to the utmost in beseeching the Lord for fortitude in the midst of those harassing trials and tribulations, for of ourselves we are nothing but little children. What should we say with regard to ourselves? You have heard the answer from the apostle Paul during the reading of the epistle, in which he says, For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so also through Christ does our comfort abound.^[1] In the psalm, it is expressed in this way: According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, your encouragements have given joy to my soul. The psalmist expresses it one way, the apostle expresses it in another, but each of them tells us that if the Comforter were not with us we would yield to the persecutor.

Remember how often I remind you of this,^[1] and let us not think that we ought now, in this life, to be happy and free from all trials; let us not sacrilegiously murmur against God in the straits of our temporal affairs, as if he were not giving us what he has promised. For he promised what we need for this life, but the comforting of the sad is one thing, the joys of the blessed something quite other. Lord, the psalmist says, according to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, your comforts have given joy to my soul. Let us not, then, murmur in our trials, lest we lose the inclusiveness of good cheer, of which it is said, rejoicing in hope, followed by patient in tribulation.^[2] Therefore, the new life begins now by faith and is carried on by hope, but then will come the time when death shall be swallowed up in victory,^[3] when that enemy, death, shall be destroyed last,^[4] when we shall be changed and shall become like the angels, for we shall all indeed, he says, rise again, but we shall not all be changed.^[5] And the Lord said, They will be equal to the angels of God.^[6] We have now mastered fear by faith, but then we shall have the mastery in love by vision. For as long as we are in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith and not by sight.^[7]

Who cause toil by your law.^[1] No one receives a crown while he is asleep; no one is secure in his possession of the kingdom of heaven; no one with a full stomach is fit to discourse on fasting.^[2] You grasp now the force of the versicle: who cause toil by your law. All the commandments of the Lord demand effort. Without labor and toil, we cannot possess the kingdom of heaven. Do you want to know why? If you will be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and come, follow me.^[3] In other words, a person who desires to attain the kingdom of heaven, let him pray night and day; let him keep watch; let him fast; let him make his bed on rushes, not on down and silk. Penitence has no fellowship with soft luxuries. For I eat ashes like bread and mingle my drink with tears.^[4]

But, instead, I was in a ferment of wickedness. I deserted you and allowed myself to be carried away by the sweep of the tide. I broke all your lawful bounds and did not escape your lash. For what person can escape it? You were always present, angry and merciful at once, strewing the pangs of bitterness over all my lawless pleasures to lead me on to look for others unallied with pain. You meant me to find them nowhere but in yourself, O Lord, for you teach us by inflicting pain, you smite so that you may heal,^[1] and you kill us so that we may not die away from you.