Augustine of Hippo — Commentary on Scripture

Psalms 19:6 · 2 passages

His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

Someone lights a lamp.… That lamp, as far as regards the little flame that shines there, that fire has light in itself.… When the lamp was not there, your eyes were inactive and saw nothing. Now they, too, have light, but not in themselves. Accordingly, if your eyes turn away from the lamp, they are darkened. If they turn toward it, they are enlightened. But that fire, as long as it exists, emits light; if you wish to take the light away from the fire, you extinguish it also at the same time; for without light it cannot remain in existence. But the light, Christ, is inextinguishable and co-eternal to the Father, always glowing, always shining, always burning; for if he did not burn, would it be said in the psalm, “There is no one who can hide from his heat”?

"His going forth is from the highest heaven" [Psalm 19:6]. From the Father is His going forth, not that in time, but from everlasting, whereby He was born of the Father. "And His meeting is even to the height of heaven." And in the fullness of the Godhead He meets even to an equality with the Father. "And there is none that may hide himself from His heat." But whereas, "the Word was even made flesh, and dwelt in us," [John 1:14] assuming our mortality, He permitted no man to excuse himself from the shadow of death; for the heat of the Word penetrated even it.

Psalms 19:7 · 2 passages

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

The law cannot be fulfilled except by spiritual persons, and there cannot be such save by grace. The more one is assimilated to the spiritual law, the more one attains to a spiritual disposition, and the more one fulfills the law. The more one delights in it, the less one is afflicted by its burdensomeness and the more one is quickened by its light.… When grace forgives sins and infuses a spirit of charity, righteousness ceases to be hard and becomes even pleasant.

"The law of the Lord is undefiled, converting souls" [Psalm 19:7]. The law of the Lord, therefore, is Himself who came to fulfil the law, not to destroy it; [Matthew 5:17] an undefiled law, "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth," [1 Peter 2:22] not oppressing souls with the yoke of bondage, but converting them to imitate Him in liberty. "The testimony of the Lord is sure, giving wisdom to babes." "The testimony of the Lord is sure;" for, "no man knows the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him," [Matthew 11:27] which things have been hidden from the wise and revealed to babes; [Luke 10:21] for, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." [James 4:6]

Psalms 19:8

The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

"The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart" [Psalm 19:8]. All the statutes of the Lord are right in Him who taught not what He did not; that they who should imitate Him might rejoice in heart, in those things which they should do freely with love, not slavishly with fear. "The commandment of the Lord is lucid, enlightening the eyes." "The commandment of the Lord is lucid," with no veil of carnal observances, enlightening the sight of the inner man.

Psalms 19:9 · 2 passages

The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

As for that fear that is holy, enduring forever, if it can exist in the world to come—and how else can we interpret “enduring forever”?—it will not be a fear deterring us from an evil that might befall us but a fear preserving us in a good that can never be lost. For in a state where love of possessed good is utterly unchangeable, there, if I may put it thus, fear of all evil will be perfectly at peace. What “holy fear” really means is a will so fixed that we shall necessarily refuse to sin and guard against it, not out of worry or weakness lest we fall, because our love is perfectly at peace.

"The fear of the Lord is chaste, enduring for ever" [Psalm 19:9]. "The fear of the Lord;" not that distressing fear under the law, dreading exceedingly the withdrawal of temporal goods, by the love of which the soul commits fornication; but that chaste fear wherewith the Church, the more ardently she loves her Spouse, the more carefully does she take heed of offending Him, and therefore, "perfect love casts" not "out" this "fear," [1 John 4:18] but it endures for ever.

Psalms 19:10

More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

"The judgments of the Lord are true, justified together." The judgments of Him, who "judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son," [John 5:22] are justified in truth unchangeably. For neither in His threatenings nor His promises does God deceive any man, nor can any withdraw either from the ungodly His punishment, or from the godly His reward. "To be desired more than gold, and much precious stone" [Psalm 19:10]. Whether it be "gold and stone itself much," or "much precious," or "much to be desired;" still, the judgments of God are to be desired more than the pomp of this world; by desire of which it is brought to pass that the judgments of God are not desired, but feared, or despised, or not believed. But if any be himself gold and precious stone, that he may not be consumed by fire, but received into the treasury of God, more than himself does he desire the judgments of God, whose will he preferrs to his own. "And sweeter than honey and the honey comb." And whether one be even now honey, who, disenthralled already from the chains of this life, is awaiting the day whe…

"The judgments of the Lord are true, justified together." The judgments of Him, who "judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son," [John 5:22] are justified in truth unchangeably. For neither in His threatenings nor His promises does God deceive any man, nor can any withdraw either from the ungodly His punishment, or from the godly His reward. "To be desired more than gold, and much precious stone" [Psalm 19:10]. Whether it be "gold and stone itself much," or "much precious," or "much to be desired;" still, the judgments of God are to be desired more than the pomp of this world; by desire of which it is brought to pass that the judgments of God are not desired, but feared, or despised, or not believed. But if any be himself gold and precious stone, that he may not be consumed by fire, but received into the treasury of God, more than himself does he desire the judgments of God, whose will he preferrs to his own. "And sweeter than honey and the honey comb." And whether one be even now honey, who, disenthralled already from the chains of this life, is awaiting the day when he may come up to God's feast; or whether he be yet as the honey comb, wrapped about with this life as it were with wax, not mixed and become one with it, but filling it, needing some pressure of God's hand, not oppressing but expressing it, whereby from life temporal it may be strained out into life eternal: to such an one the judgments of God are sweeter than he himself is to himself, for that they are "sweeter than honey and the honey comb."

Psalms 19:11

Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

"For Your servant keeps them" [Psalm 19:11]. For to him who keeps them not the day of the Lord is bitter. "In keeping them there is great reward." Not in any external benefit, but in the thing itself, that God's judgments are kept, is there great reward; great because one rejoices therein.

Psalms 19:12 · 3 passages

Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

"Who understands sins?" [Psalm 19:12.] But what sort of sweetness can there be in sins, where there is no understanding? For who can understand sins, which close the very eye, to which truth is pleasant, to which the judgments of God are desirable and sweet? Yea, as darkness closes the eye, so do sins the mind, and suffer it not to see either the light, or itself.

However great a person’s righteousness may be, he ought to reflect and think, lest there should be found something blameworthy that has escaped indeed his own notice, when that righteous King shall sit on his throne, whose cognizance no sins can possibly escape, not even those of which it is said, “Who understands his transgressions?” “When, therefore, the righteous King shall sit on his throne, who will boast that he has a pure heart? Or who will boldly say that he is pure from sin?” Except perhaps those who wish to boast of their own righteousness and not glory in the mercy of the Judge.

You must know then, dearly beloved, that God’s testing is not aimed at his getting to know something he was ignorant of before but at bringing to light what was hidden in a person, by means of a test, which is a kind of interrogation. People are not as well known to themselves as they are to their Creator, nor do the sick know themselves as well as the doctor does. A person is sick; he is suffering, the doctor is not suffering, and the patient is waiting to hear what he is suffering from from the one who is not suffering. That is why a man cries out in a psalm, “From my hidden ones cleanse me, O Lord.” There are things in a person that are hidden from the person in whom they are. And they will not come out, or be opened up or discovered, except through tests and trials and temptations. If God stops testing, it means the master has stopped teaching.

Psalms 19:13

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

"Cleanse me, O Lord, from my secret faults." From the lusts which lie hidden in me, cleanse me, O Lord. "And from the" faults "of others preserve Your servant" [Psalm 19:13]. Let me not be led astray by others. For he is not a prey to the faults of others, who is cleansed from his own. Preserve therefore from the lusts of others, not the proud man, and him who would be his own master, but, Your servant. "If they get not the dominion over me, then shall I be undefiled." If neither my own secret sins, nor those of others, get the dominion over me, then shall I be undefiled. For there is no third source of sin, but one's own secret sin, by which the devil fell, and another's sin, by which man is seduced, so as by consenting to make it his own. "And I shall be cleansed from the great offense." What but pride? For there is none greater than apostasy from God, which is "the beginning of the pride of man." [Sirach 10:12] And he shall indeed be undefiled, who is free from this offense also; for this is the last to them who are returning to God, which was the first as they departed from Him.

Psalms 19:14

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

"And the words of my mouth shall be pleasing, and the meditation of my heart is always in Your sight." The meditation of my heart is not after the vain glory of pleasing men, for now there is pride no more, but in Your sight always, who regardest a pure conscience.

Psalms 19:15

"O Lord, my Helper, and my Redeemer." O Lord, my Helper, in my approach to You; for You are my Redeemer, that I might set out unto You: lest any attributing to his own wisdom his conversion to You, or to his own strength his attaining to You, should be rather driven back by You, who resistest the proud; for he is not cleansed from the great offense, nor pleasing in Your sight, who redeemest us that we may be converted, and helpest us that we may attain unto You.

Psalms 20:1

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;

"The Lord hear You in the day of trouble" [Psalm 20:1]. The Lord hear You in the day in which Thou said, "Father glorify Your Son." "The name of the God of Jacob protect You." For to You belongs the younger people. Since "the elder shall serve the younger."

Psalms 20:2

Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;

"Send You help from the Holy, and from Sion defend You" [Psalm 20:2]. Making for You a sanctified Body, the Church, from watching safe, which waits when You shall come from the wedding.

Psalms 20:3

Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah.

"Be mindful of all Your sacrifice" [Psalm 20:3]. Make us mindful of all Your injuries and despiteful treatment, which You have borne for us. "And be Your whole burnt offering made fat." And turn the cross, whereon You were wholly offered up to God, into the joy of the resurrection.

Psalms 20:4

Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.

" Diapsalma." The Lord render to You according to Your Heart [Psalm 20:4]. The Lord render to You, not according to their heart, who thought by persecution they could destroy You; but according to Your Heart, wherein Thou knew what profit Your passion would have. [John 12:32] "And fulfil all Your counsel." "And fulfil all Your counsel." not only that whereby Thou laid down Your life for Your friends, [John 15:13] that the corrupted grain might rise again to more abundance; [John 12:24] but that also whereby "blindness in part has happened unto Israel, that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter in, and so all Israel might be saved." [Romans 11:25-26]

Psalms 20:5

We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.

"We will exult in Your salvation" [Psalm 20:5]. We will exult in that death will in no wise hurt You; for so You will also show that it cannot hurt us either. "And in the name of the Lord our God will we be magnified." And the confession of Your name shall not only not destroy us, but shall even magnify us.