THEOSISAugustine of Hippo
Praise the Lord, my soul! And all that is within me, bless His holy Name (Psalm 101:1). I believe the psalmist is not referring to the physical aspects of our bodies; he does not mean for our lungs, liver, or other organs to cry out with praise. Certainly, we possess lungs that function mechanically to produce breaths, expelling air that forms our words into sounds; thus, our utterances emerge from the air forced out by our lungs. However, this interpretation misses the deeper intention of the passage; it speaks to the ears of men. God has ears, and the heart possesses a voice. A person looks inward and commands, “All that is within me, bless His holy Name!” What lies within you? Your very soul. Therefore, to proclaim, “All that is within me, bless His holy Name,” is simply a reiteration of the earlier declaration, “Bless the Lord, my soul,” with the action of blessing being inherently implied. Shout with your voice if someone may hear; be silent if there is none to listen, yet do not fail to hear the call of your innermost being. The blessing has already emanated from our lips as we repeated those very words. We sang as long as time permitted, and then we became silent; shall our hearts remain quiet in their adoration of the Lord? Let our voices alternately bring Him praise, while the praise of our hearts endures eternally. When you arrive at church to recite a hymn, your voice brings glory to God: you have sung your portion; as you depart, let your soul continue to exalt Him. In your daily tasks, let your soul give thanks to God. When you partake of meals, reflect on what the apostle Paul said: Whatever you eat or drink, do all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Even as you rest, let your soul praise the Lord. Do not allow thoughts of wrongdoing to disturb you, or schemes of thievery to agitate your mind, nor allow plans of corrupt dealings to take root. Your innocence, even in sleep, is an expression of your soul.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits (Psalm 102:2). However, the Lord’s rewards cannot be recognized unless our sins are first acknowledged. Do not allow past transgressions to be a source of joy, but instead keep the condemnation of sin before your eyes: your own condemnation, along with God’s forgiveness. So God repays you that you might ask, How can I repay the Lord for all His benefits? This is what the martyrs, whose memory we commemorate today, along with all saints who took lightly this earthly life, understood. As stated in the epistle by John, they laid down their lives for their brothers, recognizing the fullness of love (1 John 3:16), as our Lord articulated: Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends (John 15:13). These holy martyrs, therefore, considered their lives here to be insignificant so as to find them there, heeding our Lord’s words: “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it, retaining it for eternity.” Remember not, He advised, all of His benefits— for they are many and true since what is justly given, and what is unmerited, is bestowed alike. From hence we hear the reflection, "What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits to me?" You have returned evil for good; He returns good for evil. How have you, O man, repaid your God with evil for good? You who were once a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man (1 Timothy 1:13), you received repayment for your blasphemies. Why? First, because of your very existence; but also because you are alive, as even cattle are. What return can you make to God since He created you above all livestock, and in His image? (Genesis 1:26-27) Seek not how to recompense Him: return to Him His image, for that is all He requires; He seeks His coin (Matthew 22:21).
Consider, O soul, all the Lord's rewards, reflecting on all your wicked deeds: as many as your iniquities, so numerous are His gracious rewards. What offering, what gift, what sacrifice can you present to Him...? What can you give to the Lord? You pondered and found no suitable reward: I will take the cup of salvation. Did not the Lord Himself provide the cup of salvation? Can you repay Him with something of your own? I implore you, do not attempt that; He seeks no recompense from you. If you repay Him from yourself, you repay your own sin; all that you possess originates from Him; your sins alone are yours. He desires no repayment from you, as He executes His will from His own abundance. It is akin to bringing a stalk of wheat to the farmer, a product of his planting; if you present thorns, you offer him nothing of value. Reward the truth; thus, truly praise the Lord: if you attempt to give Him out of your own, you deceive yourself. He who speaks a lie speaks from his own; (John 8:44) conversely, he who speaks truth speaks for the Lord. Yet, what does accepting the cup of salvation entail but imitating the Passion of the Lord? I will accept the cup of Christ; I will partake in the Passion of the Lord. Beware lest you falter. But I will call upon the Name of the Lord. Those who fell short did not call on Him; they relied on their own strength. Remember, you are returning what you have received. Therefore, let your soul bless the Lord and remember all of His benefits.
Consider His benefits: He forgives all your iniquities; He heals all your diseases (Psalm 101:3). Reflect on His generosity. What, besides punishment, was deserved by the sinner? What did the blasphemer merit but a hellfire? He bestowed no such recompense to frighten you, devoid of love. But you are a sinner. Turn, and accept His gifts: He forgives all your sins... Even after the forgiveness of sins, the soul may still be troubled by certain passions; it remains in the midst of temptation and struggles with desires; some allure it, while others produce revulsion, and at times it consents to those it finds appealing. This is a weakness, yet He heals all your infirmities. All your ailments shall be healed; do not fear. Though you say they are considerable, the Physician is greater. No ailment appears to the Almighty Healer as beyond cure: simply allow Him to mend you; do not turn away from His grasp; He knows how to tend to your needs. You shall not only rejoice when He embraces you, but also endure when He applies the scalpel; bear the pain of the healing process, contemplating your future recovery. Do not waver in doubts; He who promised you healing cannot deceive you. The earthly physician may be mistaken and promise health within the human condition. Why is he often misled? Because he does not treat himself. God created your body; God crafted your soul. He knows how to restore what He has fashioned; He understands how to recreate what He has previously made: simply endure under the care of the Physician, for He detests the one who rejects His mercy.
Who redeems your life from destruction (Psalm 101:4). A corrupted body burdens the soul (Wisdom 9:15). Hence, the soul finds vigor within a perishing body. Yet what sort of vitality is that? It bears its loads, it suffers heaviness. How greatly do obstacles impede our thoughts of God, as if it were fitting for humanity to consider the Divine while mired in the realities of human frailty! How many distractions prohibit our focus, how many interruptions halt our contemplation of what is divine? A swarm of illusions, a multitude of suggestions—these are the worms of human decay within the heart. We have articulated the severity of our plight; let us also extol the Great Physician. Would not He who fashioned you to be well heal you, if only you were to heed the law of health that He has granted you...? Focus initially on your own health. Often, a person may be struck down at home, in bed, by a disorder greater than what is typically acknowledged, despite this affliction—one that many prefer to remain unspoken—it is evident; yet anyone may bear the sickness that beckons doctors, may be bedridden with fever. While consumed by concerns for life’s affairs, sorting out estate or personal matters, that individual is often distracted from those matters by the urgent worry of friends around him, implicitly urging him to prioritize his well-being. Thus, this speaks to you and to all: if you are well, think of another; if your very ailment confirms your sickness, prioritize your healing. Christ is your health; therefore, think of Christ. Take the cup of His saving grace, which heals all your infirmities; if you desire, you shall possess this wellness... For your life has been saved from destruction; take comfort now: the agreement of goodwill is sealed; no one deceives, no one entraps, no one oppresses your Redeemer. He has completed the exchange, has already paid the price, He has poured out His blood. The only-begotten Son of God has bled for us: awake, O soul, for such is your worth... He will redeem your life from doom.
Who covers you with mercy and compassion. Perhaps you might feel pride when you hear, “He crowns you.” Did you not strive well then? Whose strength was it? Yours, yet granted by Him. He crowns you not because of your merits, but because He blesses His own gifts. “I labored more abundantly than they all,” says the Apostle; yet he adds, “not I, but the grace of God with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). And then, by grace, you shall receive your crown; be proud of nothing; always praise the Lord; never forget all His benefits. It is a gift that you, a sinful and wretched creature, are called to righteousness. It is a gift to be lifted, guided, that you may stand steadfast to the end. It is a gift that even your flesh, which once weighed you down, shall be raised up, and that not a single hair from your head will be lost. It is a gift that after your resurrection you will receive a crown. It is a gift that you shall be enabled to extol God for eternity without ceasing.
Following the struggle, I shall receive my crown, but after winning the crown, what comes next? He who fulfills your longing for goodness (Psalm 102:5)... Seek good for yourselves, O soul. For what is good differs among creatures; for one, one thing is beneficial; for another, another, and every creature possesses its particular goodness to fulfill its nature. There exists a distinction in what is essential to every imperfect being so that it may be perfected; pursue goodness for yourselves. None is good but One, that is, God (Matthew 19:17). The highest good is your good. What is lacking for the one who possesses the highest good? For there are lesser definitions of goodness serving various beings. What, dear friends, is good for livestock but to fill their bellies, to avert want, to rest, to entertain themselves, to exist, to flourish? This is indeed good for them; within certain confines, such goodness is ordained by God, the Creator of all. Do you seek such a good? God grants it too, but do not solely pursue it. Can you, fellow heir with Christ, delight in partaking in the goods alongside livestock? Elevate your hopes toward the ultimate goodness. He alone shall be your good, who made you good in your kind, and through whom all things of their kind were made good. For God saw all He created and declared it very good.