Augustine of Hippo — Commentary on Scripture

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

"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.

Psalms 20:6 · 2 passages

Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.

Sometimes people run off to a mountain to pray, as though God will be able to hear them better from there. Do you want to make contact with God in your prayer? Humble yourself. But again, just because I have said, “Do you want to make contact with God? Humble yourself,” do not take it literally and materialistically and go off down to underground vaults and there start beseeching God. Do not go seeking either caverns or mountains. Have lowliness in your heart, and God will give you all the high altitude you want. He will come to you and be with you in your bedroom.

"The Lord fulfil all Your petitions." The Lord fulfil not only the petitions which You made on earth, but those also whereby Thou intercedest for us in heaven. "Now have I known that the Lord has saved his Christ" [Psalm 20:6]. Now has it been shown to me in prophecy, that the Lord will raise up His Christ again. "He will hear Him from His holy heaven." He will hear Him not from earth only, where He prayed to be glorified; [John 17:1] but from heaven also, where interceding for us at the Right Hand of the Father, [Hebrews 7:25] He has from thence shed abroad the Holy Spirit on them that believe in Him. "In strength is the safety of His right hand." Our strength is in the safety of His favour, when even out of tribulation He gives help, that "when we are weak, then we may be strong." [2 Corinthians 12:10] "For vain is" that "safety of man," which comes not of His right hand but of His left: for thereby are they lifted up to great pride, whosoever in their sins have secured a temporal safety.

Psalms 20:7

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

"Some in chariots, and some in horses" [Psalm 20:7]. Some are drawn away by the ever moving succession of temporal goods; and some are preferred to proud honours, and in them exult: "But we will exult in the name of the Lord our God." But we, fixing our hope on things eternal, and not seeking our own glory, will exult in the name of the Lord our God.

Psalms 20:8

They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.

"They have been bound, and fallen" [Psalm 20:8]. And therefore were they bound by the lust of temporal things, fearing to spare the Lord, lest they should lose their place by "the Romans:" [John 11:48] and rushing violently on the stone of offense and rock of stumbling, they fell from the heavenly hope: to whom the blindness in part of Israel has happened, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and wishing to establish their own. "But we are risen, and stand upright." But we, that the Gentile people might enter in, out of the stones raised up as children to Abraham, [Matthew 3:9] who followed not after righteousness, have attained to it, and are risen; [Romans 9:30] and not by our own strength, but being justified by faith, we stand upright.

Psalms 20:9

Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.

"O Lord, save the King:" that He, who in His Passion has shown us an example of conflict, should also offer up our sacrifices, the Priest raised from the dead, and established in heaven. "And hear us in the day when we shall call on You" [Psalm 20:9]. And as He now offers for us, "hear us in the day when we shall call on You."

Psalms 21:1

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

"O Lord, the King shall rejoice in Your strength" [Psalm 21:1]. O Lord, in Your strength, whereby the Word was made flesh, the Man Christ Jesus shall rejoice. "And shall exult exceedingly in Your salvation." And in that, whereby Thou quickenest all things, shall exult exceedingly.