THEOSISAugustine of Hippo
Bless the Lord, O my soul. Let all our souls, united in Christ, declare this truth: O Lord, my God, You are immensely exalted! Where do You express Your greatness? You have adorned Yourself with confession and beauty. Declare your praises, that you may be richly adorned, that He may cover you. Dressed in light as if in a garment (Psalm 103:2), we are cloaked in His Church, which has transformed from darkness into His light, as the apostle states: "You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord" (Ephesians 5:8). You stretch heaven like a canopy, as effortlessly as you would spread a piece of skin; in a similar way, Holy Scripture covers the whole world, referred to as skin because the skin signifies mortality. The authority of the Divine Scriptures has been bestowed upon us through mortal beings, whose glory continues even beyond death.
He covers the heights with water (Psalm 102:3). What do we mean by 'the heights'? They represent the heavens. What is Heaven? It is figuratively expressed in the Divine Scriptures. What do the heights of the Divine Scriptures represent? The commandment of love, which is the highest of all (Mark 12:31). Why is love likened to water? Because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us (Romans 5:5). But from where does this Spirit, the water, originate? For Jesus proclaimed: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-38). The evangelist himself clarifies that he refers to the Spirit whom those who believed in Him would receive.
He rides upon the wings of the winds, that is, above the virtues of the soul. What is the virtue of the soul? It is love of self. How will He conquer it? For God's love for us surpasses our love for Him.
He transforms spirits into His angels and makes a fiery blaze His messengers (Psalm 102:4); those who are already spirits, who exist in a spiritual rather than carnal state, He sends as angels to proclaim His gospel. The flame serves Him, for if the preacher is indifferent, he will fail to ignite passion in those to whom he speaks.
He established the earth on its firm foundation (Psalm 103:5). He grounded the Church on the steadfastness of its foundation. What is the foundation of the Church? It is what the Apostle affirms: "No man can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus" (1 Corinthians 3:11). Therefore, what is deserved by such a foundation? It will never be shaken. He founded the earth on its strength; in similar fashion, He established the Church upon Christ. The Church will tremble if its foundation is unsettled; but when will Christ, through whom all things were created and without whom nothing was made (John 1:3), who upholds all things by His Majesty (Hebrews 1:3), be shaken? Because Christ remains steadfast, the Church will not be moved.
Where are those who claim the Church has vanished when it cannot even be worshiped?
The abyss, like a robe, envelops her (Psalm 102:6). Whose garment might this be? It cannot be God's because He has already been described as "clothed with light as a garment." I understand that God is clothed with light, and that light, should we desire it, becomes us. What happens when we seek it? We are no longer in darkness. If God wears light, then whose garment is the abyss? The entirety of water—the vastness of moisture and substance, flowing from seas, rivers, and hidden caves—is collectively known as the Abyss. This helps us comprehend the earth, for He declares: "The Abyss, like a garment, is its garment." Water surrounds and covers the earth as a garment.
The waters will rise above the mountains, meaning that the coverage of the abyss—the earth's garment—has swollen to the point where waters stand even over the mountains. We read of such an occurrence during the time of the flood. The prophet, wanting to predict the future rather than recount the past, proclaimed this to signify that the Church would endure a flood of persecution. There was a period when countless persecutors engulfed God's Church, to the extent that even the mightiest mountains seemed hidden. When they were scattered, how could they fail to appear? Perhaps it is these very waters that cry out, "Save me, O God, for the waters reach even to my soul." Particularly the waters that render the sea tumultuous and desolate, for wherever the sea covers the land, it makes it barren rather than fruitful. Even the mountains were submerged, as water rose above the mountains.
Why did the apostles flee? Because the waters overtopped the mountains. The might of the waters was formidable, but for how long? Hear what follows.
At Your rebuke, they shall flee (Psalm 102:7). And it indeed occurred, beloved; by God's rebuke, the waters receded, that is, they turned back from advancing over the mountains. What then of the mountains themselves, Peter and Paul; how they are exalted! Those once oppressed by persecutors are now honored as rulers. The waters fled at God's rebuke; because the heart of kings is situated in the hand of God, He directs it as He wishes (Proverbs 21:1); He has commanded peace for Christians; the authority of the Apostles has strengthened and risen. The waters fled at God's rebuke. At the sound of Your thunder, they tremble. Who would not quake at the voice of God communicated through the apostles, through His Scriptures, through His clouds? The sea was calmed, the waters were afraid, the mountains emerged, and the emperor issued commands. But who would have given the command had not God thundered? By His will, the commands were given, and it was accomplished. Therefore, let no one take credit for themselves.
The mountains ascend, and the valleys sink to the place You have appointed for them (Psalm 102:8). He continues to refer to the waters. Let us not interpret mountains here as physical earth; nor valleys as the physical landscape, but as vast waves that may be likened to mountains. The sea rose once, and its waves appeared as mountains, covering the mountains of the Apostles. But how long do the mountains rise and the valleys descend? They raged and now they have calmed. When they raged, they were mountains; now, pacified, they are valleys because He has established a place for them. There is, as it were, a channel, a profound space where all these newly unsettled hearts of men have retreated.
Previously they were mountains, now they yield as valleys; yet, beloved, the calm is still the sea. Why have they ceased to be fierce? Why are they no longer enraged? Why do they not attempt to overthrow our land, even if only to cover it? Why is this?
Listen. You have established a limit, which they shall not transgress, nor turn back to cover the earth (Psalm 103:9). Now that the fiercest waves have received their bounds, we are permitted to preach boldly; they have their appointed limit, they cannot cross it, nor will they return to envelop the earth. What is happening on the earth itself? What work is in progress now that the sea has left it exposed? Though the mild waves murmur upon its shores, though the Gentiles murmur about; I hear the sound of the shores, yet fear not the flood. What, then, is transpiring on the earth? You bring forth springs in the valleys (Psalm 102:10). You send forth springs to the low places. You know what valleys are, the low areas amid mountains. For in contrast, hills and mountains are the elevated regions of the earth, whilst valleys are the lower areas. Do not underestimate the low areas; springs flow there. You send forth springs to the small valleys. Listen to the mountain. The apostle declares, "I labored more than all" (1 Corinthians 15:10). Some greatness manifests, but immediately, that these waters might flow, he made a valley of himself. However, he adds, "Not I, but the grace of God with me."
There is no contradiction in saying that mountains can also serve as valleys; for as they are termed mountains due to their spiritual loftiness, so are they valleys in their humility. "Not I," he affirms, "but the grace of God with me."
What does it mean, "In the midst of the mountains, the waters shall flow through"? We have discerned who the mountains are—great ministers of the Word, exalted Servants of God, still in mortal flesh; elevated, not by self, but by His grace. However, they are also valleys, pouring forth their springs in their humility. "In the midst," he says, "between the mountains, the waters shall flow." Consider this: "In the midst of the Apostles, the preaching of the Word of Truth shall flow.” What exists in the heart of the apostles? That which is called 'in the midst' signifies a shared inheritance. The shared inheritance, through which all equally partake, is in the midst and does not belong to one person alone.
For if they are alone, it is like a private possession, and it does not serve public good; this is not the communication of peace. Therefore, beloved, may what we have spoken to your love serve this purpose: that the springs may flow from you, as valleys, and engage with all that you possess of God. Let the waters flow in unity, harbor no envy, drink deeply, be fulfilled, and let the living waters of God be glorified everywhere, not the selfish fables of men.
Thus, the beasts of the forests will drink (Psalm 103:11). We witness this in the visible creation, as the wild animals of the forest drink from the springs and streams that flow between the mountains. Since it has pleased God to conceal His wisdom in these images, not to remove it from the diligent, but to hide it from the indifferent, and reveal it to those who seek it; it has delighted the Lord God to encourage you through us, to discern in all these matters, which seem to speak of the corporeal and visible creations, a spiritually hidden truth, prompting us to rejoice upon its discovery. By beasts of the forest, we understand the Gentiles, which the Scriptures affirm throughout many passages.
These creatures partake of the waters, but only temporarily; they do not remain, but drift on in passing; for the teachings spread in this era are transient. Do not let your love think solely of the coming city, to which it is declared, "Praise the Lord, Jerusalem; praise your God, Zion"—for He has fortified the bars of your gates; and when the gates are secured and the city is sealed, as we previously mentioned, no friend departs, nor foe intrudes; there we shall have the Word to read, or messages to unfold as they are presently conveyed to you. Hence, it is currently administered, to preserve it there; that is why it is now dissected into syllables, so that it may be contemplated in its entirety. There will be no shortage of the Word of God there, nor of texts, nor of sounds, nor of books, nor of readers, nor of interpreters. How so? "In the beginning was the Word..." (John 1:1). For He did not come to be separated from hence; He was in the world that He created, and the world came into existence through Him. This is the Word we should immerse ourselves in. For the supreme God will reveal Himself in Zion. But when will this be? After our pilgrimage, when our journey concludes; unless, however, when our pilgrimage is completed, we are summoned before the Judge, so that the Judge may assign us to imprisonment. But if, following our journey, which we hope, long for, and strive for, we reach our homeland, there we shall behold that which we shall eternally venerate, and he who possesses, and we who partake, shall never find fulfillment in it; neither they who consume shall be satisfied, nor shall he who consumes be fulfilled by what he consumes. This contemplation will be great and marvelous.