1. I have not thought that the CVIIIth Psalm required an exposition; since I have already expounded it in the LVIIth Psalm, and in the LXth, of the last divisions of which this Psalm consists. For the last part of the LVIIth is the first of this, as far as the verse, Your glory is above all the earth. Henceforth to the end, is the last part of the LXth: as the last part of the CXXXVth is the same as that of the CXVth, from the verse, The images of the heathen are but gold and silver: as the XIV and LIIId, with a few alterations in the middle, have everything the same from the beginning to the end. Whatever slight differences therefore occur in this CVIIIth Psalm, compared with those two, of parts of which it is composed, are easy to understand; just as we find in the LVIIth, I will sing and give praise; awake, O my glory: here, I will sing and give praise, with my glory. Awake, is said there, that he may sing and give praise therewith. Also, there, Your mercy is great (or, as some translate, is lifted up) unto the heavens; but here, Your mercy is great above the heavens. For it is great unto the heavens, that it may be great in the heavens; and this is what he wished to express by above the heavens. Also in the LXth, I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem: here I will be exalted, and will divide Shechem. Where is shown what is signified in the division of Shechem, which it was prophesied should happen after the Lord's exaltation, and that this joy does refer to that exaltation; so that He rejoices, because He is exalted. Whence he elsewhere says, You have turned my heaviness into joy; You have put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness. Also there Ephraim, the strength of my head: but here, Ephraim the taking up of my head. But strength comes from taking up, that is, He makes men strong by taking up, causing fruit in us; for the interpretation of Ephraim is, bearing fruit. But taking up may be understood of us, when we take up Christ; or of Christ, when He, who is Head of the Church, takes us up. And the words, them that trouble us, in the former Psalm, are the same with our enemies, in this.
2. We are taught by this Psalm, that those titles which seem to refer to history are most rightly understood prophetically, according to the object of the composition of the Psalms....And yet this Psalm is composed of the latter portions of two, whose titles are different. Where it is signified that each concur in a common object, not in the surface of the history, but in the depth of prophecy, the objects of both being united in this one, the title of which is, A Song or Psalm of David: resembling neither of the former titles, otherwise than in the word David. Since, in many places, and in diverse manners, as the Epistle to the Hebrews says, God spoke in former times to the fathers through the Prophets; Hebrews 1:1 yet He spoke of Him whom He sent afterwards, that the words of the Prophets might be fulfilled: for all the promises of God in Him are yea. 2 Corinthians 1:20
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St. Augustine (354 - 430)
Was an early Christian theologian and philosopher [5] whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius in north Africa and is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions.When the Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Church as a spiritual City of God, distinct from the material Earthly City. His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview. The segment of the Church that adhered to the concept of the Trinity as defined by the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople closely identified with Augustine's On the Trinity.
Aurelius Augustinus, Augustine of Hippo, or Saint Augustine is one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity. In Roman Catholicism and the Anglican Communion, he is a saint and pre-eminent Doctor of the Church, and the patron of the Augustinian religious order. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider him to be one of the theological fountainheads of Reformation teaching on salvation and grace. In Orthodox Churches he is considered a saint by some while others are of the opinion that he is a heretic, primarily for his statements concerning what became known as the filioque clause.
Born in Africa as the eldest son of Saint Monica, he was educated in Rome and baptized in Milan. Augustine drifted through several philosophical systems before converting to Christianity at the age of thirty-one. Returning to his homeland soon after his conversion, he was ordained a presbyter in 391, taking the position as bishop of Hippo in 396, a position which he held until his death.
St. Augustine stands as a powerful advocate for orthodoxy and of the episcopacy as the sole means for the dispensing of saving grace. In the light of later scholarship, Augustine can be seen to serve as a bridge between the ancient and medieval worlds. A review of his life and work, however, shows him as an active mind engaging the practical concerns of the churches he served.