Augustine of Hippo — Commentary on Scripture

Jeremiah 23:24

So the aspect he chose was the one by which Christ came into the world. He came, after all, insofar as he was man. Because insofar as he was God, he was always here. Is there anywhere God is not, I mean, seeing that he said, “I fill heaven and earth”? Christ is certainly the power of God and the wisdom of God. Of this wisdom it says, “She reaches from end to end mightily and disposes all things sweetly.” So then, “he was in this world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him.” He was here, and yet he also came. He was here by divine greatness; he came by human weakness. So because he came by human weakness, that is why Paul declared his coming by saying, “The word is human.” The human race would not have been set free unless the Word of God had agreed to be human. After all, people are said in particular to be human who show some humanity, above all by giving hospitality to human persons. So if human beings are called human because they receive human beings into their homes, how human must that one be who received humanity into himself by becoming human?

SERMON 174:1

Jeremiah 25:11

We have seen the promises that God made to Abraham—to be the father, first, of the Jewish race according to the flesh, and second, of all nations who were to embrace the faith. The development in history of the City of God will show how these promises were kept. The end of the preceding book brought us up to the reign of King David. I shall now begin with his reign and treat of what ensued in as much detail as the theme of this book requires. There is a period that begins with the prophecies of Samuel and continues through the seventy years of the Babylonian captivity (which Jeremiah had foretold) and ends with the rebuilding of the temple, after the Israelites came home. This period is known as the age of the prophets, although, of course, the patriarch Noah, in whose lifetime the whole earth was destroyed by the flood, and others before and after him up to the time of the kings were prophets also. At least, they prefigured, in some fashion, many things touching the City of God and the kingdom of heaven and sometimes actually prophesied. Consequently, it is not too much to speak of…

We have seen the promises that God made to Abraham—to be the father, first, of the Jewish race according to the flesh, and second, of all nations who were to embrace the faith. The development in history of the City of God will show how these promises were kept. The end of the preceding book brought us up to the reign of King David. I shall now begin with his reign and treat of what ensued in as much detail as the theme of this book requires. There is a period that begins with the prophecies of Samuel and continues through the seventy years of the Babylonian captivity (which Jeremiah had foretold) and ends with the rebuilding of the temple, after the Israelites came home. This period is known as the age of the prophets, although, of course, the patriarch Noah, in whose lifetime the whole earth was destroyed by the flood, and others before and after him up to the time of the kings were prophets also. At least, they prefigured, in some fashion, many things touching the City of God and the kingdom of heaven and sometimes actually prophesied. Consequently, it is not too much to speak of these men as prophets; some of them are explicitly in Holy Scripture, for example, Abraham and Moses.

City of God 17.1

Jeremiah 27:8

For Jeremiah also prophesied that the Lord commanded them to go into Babylon. He reproved as false prophets any of the other prophets who told the people not to go to Babylon. Let those who read the Scriptures remember this as we do. Let those who do not, give us credit. Jeremiah, then, on the part of God, threatened those who would not go to Babylon, whereas he promised rest to those who would go and even a kind of contentment in the cultivation of their vines, and planting of their gardens and the abundance of their fruits.

SERMON 51.14

Jeremiah 29:7

Remember then, that Jeconiah, rejected without any fault of his own, ceased to reign and passed into the custody of the Gentiles when the exile to Babylon took place. Now observe the symbol of things to come in the Lord Jesus Christ revealed in advance. For the Jews did not want our Lord Jesus Christ to reign over them, yet they found no fault in him. He was rejected in his own person and in that of his servants also, and so they passed into the custody of the Gentiles as into Babylon symbolically.… How then do the people of Israel, not now in symbol but in truth, pass into the custody of Babylon? Where did the apostles come from? Were they not from the nation of the Jews? Where did Paul come from? He said, “I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Many of the Jews then believed in the Lord. From these were the apostles chosen. From these were the more than five hundred brothers, who were allowed to see the Lord after his resurrection. From these were the 120 in the house when the Holy Spirit came down.But what does the apostle in the Acts of the Apo…

Remember then, that Jeconiah, rejected without any fault of his own, ceased to reign and passed into the custody of the Gentiles when the exile to Babylon took place. Now observe the symbol of things to come in the Lord Jesus Christ revealed in advance. For the Jews did not want our Lord Jesus Christ to reign over them, yet they found no fault in him. He was rejected in his own person and in that of his servants also, and so they passed into the custody of the Gentiles as into Babylon symbolically.… How then do the people of Israel, not now in symbol but in truth, pass into the custody of Babylon? Where did the apostles come from? Were they not from the nation of the Jews? Where did Paul come from? He said, “I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Many of the Jews then believed in the Lord. From these were the apostles chosen. From these were the more than five hundred brothers, who were allowed to see the Lord after his resurrection. From these were the 120 in the house when the Holy Spirit came down.But what does the apostle in the Acts of the Apostles say, when the Jews refused the word of truth? “We were sent to you, but seeing you have rejected the word of God, see, we turn to the Gentiles.” The true passing over into Babylon, which was prefigured in the time of Jeremiah, took place in the spiritual dispensation of the time of the Lord’s incarnation. But what does Jeremiah say about these Babylonians to those who were passing into their custody? “For in their peace shall be your peace.” When Israel then went into exile in Babylon by Christ and the apostles, that is, when the gospel came to the Gentiles, what did the apostle say, as though by the mouth of Jeremiah in ancient times? “I exhort therefore that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all people. For kings, and for all that are in authority, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” For they were not Christian kings, yet he prayed for them. Israel then praying in Babylon has been heard. The prayers of the church have been heard, and the kings have become Christian, and you see now fulfilled what was then spoken in symbol: “In their peace shall be your peace,” for they have received the peace of Christ and have ceased persecuting Christians, that now in the secure quiet of peace, the churches might be built up and peoples planted in the garden of God, and that all nations might bring forth fruit in faith and hope and love, which is in Christ.

SERMON 51.14

Jeremiah 29:7

Because the life of the flesh is the soul, so the blessed life of humankind is God, of whom the sacred writings of the Hebrews say, “Blessed are people whose God is the Lord.” Miserable, therefore, are people who are alienated from God. Yet even this people has a peace of its own that is not to be lightly esteemed, though, indeed, it shall not in the end enjoy it, because it makes no good use of it before the end. But it is our interest that it enjoys this peace meanwhile in this life. As long as the two cities are combined, we enjoy the peace of Babylon. For from Babylon the people of God is so freed that it meanwhile travels in its company. Therefore the apostle also admonished the church to pray for kings and those in authority, assigning as the reason “that we may live a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness and love.” And the prophet Jeremiah, when predicting the captivity that was to befall the ancient people of God and giving them the divine command to go obediently to Babylonia and thus serve their God, counseled them also to pray for Babylonia, saying, “In its peace you w…

Because the life of the flesh is the soul, so the blessed life of humankind is God, of whom the sacred writings of the Hebrews say, “Blessed are people whose God is the Lord.” Miserable, therefore, are people who are alienated from God. Yet even this people has a peace of its own that is not to be lightly esteemed, though, indeed, it shall not in the end enjoy it, because it makes no good use of it before the end. But it is our interest that it enjoys this peace meanwhile in this life. As long as the two cities are combined, we enjoy the peace of Babylon. For from Babylon the people of God is so freed that it meanwhile travels in its company. Therefore the apostle also admonished the church to pray for kings and those in authority, assigning as the reason “that we may live a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness and love.” And the prophet Jeremiah, when predicting the captivity that was to befall the ancient people of God and giving them the divine command to go obediently to Babylonia and thus serve their God, counseled them also to pray for Babylonia, saying, “In its peace you will have peace”—the temporal peace that the good and the wicked together enjoy.

City of God 19.26

Jeremiah 31:31

Finally, that we may not be disturbed by the words I have quoted and many others of like importance, about returning the sins of the parents on the children—words written truthfully, yet that might be thought contrary to this prophecy—he solves this very vexed question by adding, "Behold, the days shall come, says the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their ancestors." In this new covenant through the blood of the Mediator, the paternal decree having been cancelled, humankind by rebirth begins to be no longer subject to the paternal debts that bind them at birth, as the Mediator says: "And call no one on earth your father," inasmuch as we but shall live forever with the Father.

AGAINST JULIAN 6:25.82

Jeremiah 31:31

Nowhere, or hardly anywhere, except in this passage of the prophet, do we find in the Old Testament Scriptures any mention so made of the New Testament as to indicate it by its name. It is no doubt often referred to and foretold as about to be given, but not so plainly as to have its name mentioned. Consider, then, carefully what difference God has testified as existing between the two Testaments—the old covenant and the new.

ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 33

Jeremiah 31:31

Because of the offense of the old Adam, which was by no means healed by the law that commanded and threatened, it is called the old covenant. The other is called the new covenant, because of the newness of the spirit that heals the new Adam of the fault of the old. Then consider what follows, and see in how clear a light the fact is placed, that people who have faith are unwilling to trust in themselves: “Because,” says he, “this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, says the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts.”

ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 35

Jeremiah 31:32

Learn, all of you—learn! What better law of God is there, after all, than the holy gospel? It is the law of the New Testament, about which you heard, when the prophet was read, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, I will perfect on the house of Jacob a new testament, not like the testament that I laid down for their ancestors when I led them from the land of Egypt.” The testament (or covenant) is promised there, delivered here. It is promised through the prophet, delivered through the Lord of the prophets.

SERMON 25:1

Jeremiah 31:32

“But I,” he says, “hold on to what God handed over to Moses.” Listen to what God says through the prophet. What is God telling Jeremiah? “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, I will confirm on the house of Jacob a new covenant.” Leave the old aside, take up the new, and you can see that you ought to leave aside circumcision, and unleavened bread taken literally, and the sabbath taken literally and the sacrifices taken literally. Listen to how the new covenant is promised: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, I will confirm for them a new covenant, not like the covenant that I gave to their ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt,” when the law of commandments was given, when the people were led through the desert. It is not like that that I will give the new covenant. So do not go on wearing the old tunic. That was what crucified Christ. Your parent crucified him; you hate him. He by his own hand, you in your heart, both of you have carried out the crime. Therefore be displeased with what your parent did, and listen to what your Lord has done.

SERMON 196A.2

Jeremiah 31:33

God is the reward, in him the end, in him the perfection of happiness, in him the sum of the blessed and eternal life. For after saying, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people,” he at once adds, “And they shall no more teach everyone his neighbor, and everyone his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least to the greatest of them.”

ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 39

Jeremiah 31:33

I have acted thus, not as a finished master but as one needing to be perfected with his pupils, excellent lady, daughter deservedly honored and cherished in Christ. Indeed, even in the subjects that, one way or another, I know, I am more anxious for you to be learned than to be in need of my learning, for we ought not to desire the ignorance of others in order to teach what we know. It surely is much better for all of us to be ready to be taught of God what will certainly be perfected in that country on high when the promise will be fulfilled in us, that a person shall not say to his neighbor, “Know the Lord, for all shall know him,” as it is written, “from the least of them even to the greatest.”

LETTER 266

Jeremiah 31:33

Isn’t the finger of God to be understood as being the Holy Spirit? Read the gospel, and see that where one Evangelist has the Lord saying, “If I with the Spirit of God cast out demons,” another says, “If I with the finger of God cast out demons.” So if that law too was written by the finger of God, that is by the Spirit of God, the Spirit by which Pharaoh’s magicians were defeated, so they said, “This is the finger of God.” So if that law too, indeed because that law too was composed by the Spirit of God, that is, by the finger of God, why can it not be said of it, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ has delivered you from the law of sin and death”?… So, the “law of the Spirit of life,” written on the heart, not on stone, in Christ Jesus, in whose person was celebrated the ultimately real and genuine Passover “has delivered you from the law of sin and death.”

SERMON 155:3, 6

Jeremiah 31:33

You should not write the creed out in any way, but, so as to hold the exact words of the creed, learn it by listening. Not even when you have learned it should you write it down, but, rather, always hold it and cherish it in your memory. For whatever you will hear in the creed is contained in the inspired books of the Holy Scriptures. The fact that it is not permitted to write down what has been thus collected and reduced to a definite form comes about in memory of the promise of God in which, predicting a New Testament, he said in the words of the prophet: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, by setting my law in their minds, I will write it also in their hearts.”

SERMON 212:2

Jeremiah 31:33

Here, God is Jerusalem’s reward. Its highest—its entire—good is to possess him and to be possessed by him.

City of God 17.3

Jeremiah 31:33

What are you asking about, you see, is what special thing God is keeping for the good, if he generously bestows so many things on both good and bad. When I said, “What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it come up into the heart of people,” there is no lack of people to say, “Can you think what it is?” Here is what it is that God is keeping for the good alone, though it is he who has made them good. Here is what it is. Our reward has been very briefly defined by the prophet: I will be their God, and they shall be my people. I will be their God. He has promised us himself as our reward.

SERMON 331:4

Jeremiah 31:34

If we are asked why we do not worship God as the Hebrew ancestors of the Old Testament worshiped him, we reply that God has taught us differently by the New Testament fathers, and yet not in opposition to the Old Testament, but as that Testament itself predicted. For it is thus foretold by the prophet Jeremiah … that that covenant would not continue but that there would be a new one. And to the objection that we do not belong to the house of Israel or to the house of Judah, we answer according to the teaching of the apostle, who calls Christ the seed of Abraham and says to us, as belonging to Christ’s body, “Therefore you are Abraham’s seed.”

REPLY TO FAUSTUS THE MANICHAEAN 32:9

Jeremiah 31:34

You do not say, “Let man be made,” but, “Let us make man.” Nor do you say, “after his kind,” but after “our image” and “likeness.” Because, being renewed in his mind and beholding and apprehending your truth, a person does not need another person as his director so that he may imitate his own kind. By your direction he proves what your good, acceptable and perfect will is. You teach him—now that he has been made capable—to perceive the Trinity of the Unity and the Unity of the Trinity. Therefore this being said in the plural, “Let us make man,” it is yet followed by the phrase in the singular, “and God made man.” This is said in the plural, “after our likeness,” followed by the phrase in the singular, “after the image of God.” Thus humankind is renewed in the knowledge of God, after the image of him who created them. Being made spiritual, he judges all things—all things that are to be judged—“yet he himself is judged by no mortal.”

Confessions 13.22.32

Jeremiah 32:40

This grace God placed "in him in whom we have obtained a lot, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things." And thus as he works that we come to him, so he works that we do not depart. For this reason, it was said to him by the mouth of the prophet, "Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, and on the Son of man whom you made strong for yourself, and we will not depart from you." This certainly is not the first Adam, in whom we departed from him, but the second Adam, on whom his hand is placed, so that we do not depart from him. For Christ altogether with his members is—for the church's sake, which is his body—the fullness of him. When, therefore, God's hand is on him, that we depart not from God, assuredly God's work reaches to us (for this is God's hand). By this work of God we are caused to be abiding in Christ with God—not, as in Adam, departing from God. For "in Christ we have obtained a lot, being predestinated according to his purpose who works all things." This, therefore, is God's hand, not ours, that we depart not from God. That, I say, i…

This grace God placed "in him in whom we have obtained a lot, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things." And thus as he works that we come to him, so he works that we do not depart. For this reason, it was said to him by the mouth of the prophet, "Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, and on the Son of man whom you made strong for yourself, and we will not depart from you." This certainly is not the first Adam, in whom we departed from him, but the second Adam, on whom his hand is placed, so that we do not depart from him. For Christ altogether with his members is—for the church's sake, which is his body—the fullness of him. When, therefore, God's hand is on him, that we depart not from God, assuredly God's work reaches to us (for this is God's hand). By this work of God we are caused to be abiding in Christ with God—not, as in Adam, departing from God. For "in Christ we have obtained a lot, being predestinated according to his purpose who works all things." This, therefore, is God's hand, not ours, that we depart not from God. That, I say, is his hand who said, "I will put my fear in their hearts that they depart not from me."

PREDESTINATION OF THE SAINTS 2:14

Jeremiah 32:40

It is much more difficult to persevere when a persecutor is endeavoring that one not persevere, and on this account one is sustained in perseverance to death. The latter perseverance is more difficult to have, the former easier, but for him to whom nothing is difficult, it is easy to give either one. For God has promised this in saying, "I will give my fear in their heart, that they may not revolt from me." And what else do these words mean but, such and so great shall be my fear, which I will give into their heart that they will adhere with perseverance to me?...So when the hand of God is on him, that we not depart from God, then the work of God (for this is what is meant by his hand) reaches indeed to us. For in Christ "we have obtained our lot, being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things." Therefore it is by God's hand, not our own, that we depart not from God. This is his hand, I say, who declared, "I will give my fear into their heart, that they may not revolt from me."

ON THE GIFT OF PERSEVERANCE 2:2, 7:14