Sermon 18

SERMO 18

SAINT AUGUSTINE ON THE VERSE OF PSALM 49:
"God will come manifested"

God seems now not to judge between the good and the wicked.

To exhort the minds of your Charity, accept gratefully a few things about the present psalm, which the Lord grants. It is prophesied about our Lord Jesus Christ in this psalm, where we have heard and sung: "God will come manifestly, our God, and will not remain silent." For the Lord Christ Himself, our God, the Son of God, came in His first advent hidden, in His second advent He will come manifest. When He came hidden, He was known only to His servants; when He comes manifest, He will be known to both the good and the wicked. When He came hidden, He came to be judged; when He comes manifest, He will come to judge. In short, when He was judged, He was silent, and of His silence the Prophet had foretold: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer, so He opened not His mouth." But "God will come manifestly, our God, and will not remain silent." In this way, He will not be silent when He comes to judge as He was silent when He was judged. Even now He is not silent, if there is one who listens, but it is said, "He will not be silent then," when even those who now despise Him will recognize His voice. For now, when the commandments of God are spoken, some are turned into laughter. And because what God has promised is not shown now, and what He threatens is not seen now, what He commands is ridiculed. For now, indeed, worldly happiness is possessed by both the wicked and the good: the unhappiness of this world is also possessed by both the good and the wicked. Men who believe in the present and do not believe in the future observe that these goods and evils of the present age are promiscuously possessed by both the good and the wicked. If they desire riches, they see both the worst of men and good men having riches. They also see that if they shun poverty and the miseries of this age, it is not only the good but also the wicked who toil in those miseries. And they say in their hearts that God neither regards nor governs human affairs, but has entirely left us to the chances of this world's depths, and shows us no providence. Because of this, contempt for the commandment arises in them, because they do not see the manifestation of judgment.

But the patience of God leads you to repentance.

Nevertheless, even now one must consider that when God wills, He observes and judges, and does not postpone it for an hour; but when He wills, He postpones. And why is this? Because if He never judged in the present, He would not be believed to be God; if He judged everything in the present, nothing would be reserved for judgment. For many things are kept for judgment, and some are judged in the present, so that those who are postponed may fear and turn back. For God does not love to condemn but to save, and hence He is patient with the wicked, so that He may make the wicked good. Thus says the Apostle, for the wrath of God will be revealed against all ungodliness, and God will render to each according to his works. He admonishes and rebukes the contemptuous man and says: Do you despise the riches of His goodness and forbearance? Because He is good to you, because He is patient with you, because He is forbearing, because He postpones you and does not remove you, do you despise Him and deem that there is absolutely no judgment of God, ignorant that the patience of God leads you to repentance? But according to the hardness of your heart, you store up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each according to his works.

Whatever a man does now, he puts into the treasury for the final judgment.

Whatever a man does now, he puts into a treasure, but he does not know what he is collecting. Just as the rich who put into the treasure of the earth, as if they know what they are collecting, but they do not know for whom they are collecting. For they utterly ignore who may possess their riches after their death, and sometimes their riches reach their enemies. And so each person cheats themselves by refusing to eat in order to become rich, so that another may enjoy and indulge and waste their labors. Just as they collect knowing what they are collecting but not for whom they collect, so contrariwise, the good know what they collect in a heavenly treasure, but the wicked do not know what they collect. For the good man places in the heavenly treasure all the works of mercy he has done to aid those in need, and he knows that there is a faithful keeper who preserves all that he has stored. He does not see them, but he is certain of his treasure because nothing is stolen by a thief, invaded by an enemy, or taken by a malicious and powerful foe as if by conquest, but it always remains because it is guarded by the most powerful Lord. For if men trust their money to a faithful servant and feel secure, why should they be anxious when they entrust their mercies to the powerful Lord? They know, therefore, that whatever they store is completely safe there. Those who are faithful unite faith with the power of their Lord. They believe He keeps it safe and find what He has kept. Indeed, do men who collect money see the vault itself or the money within it? They always collect and dispatch, or bury it and keep it. They do not see it, and yet they seem to know in their conscience that it is there where they placed it. And perhaps the thief has already taken it, and the fool rejoices in vain who has stored it senselessly. However, if we have placed anything in the heavenly treasure, we are secure in the Lord's custody, and we suffer no thief or loss at all. The wicked, however, also put all their evil deeds into a treasure, and God keeps it for them. This is what the Apostle said: "You are treasuring up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and the righteous judgment of God."

In the judgment, treasures are revealed and sentences are pronounced.

But since whatever evil they do and do not know is preserved, when our God comes manifested and will not be silent, He will call all nations to Himself, as it says in the Gospel, and will separate some placing them on the right and some on the left, and will begin to deal with the treasures of both, what each one has placed, so that they may find it. "Come," He says, "blessed of My Father," to those who are on the right, "receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. The kingdom of heaven, an everlasting kingdom, fellowship with angels, eternal life where no one is born nor dies, receive this. For when you were placing your works in the treasury, you were buying the kingdom of heaven. Receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world." He also shows them their treasures: "I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was naked, and you clothed me; I was a stranger, and you brought me in; I was in prison, and you came to me; I was sick, and you visited me." And they respond, "Lord, when did we see You in these necessities, and minister to You?" And He says, "When you did it to one of the least of My brethren, you did it to Me. Because when you did it to one of the least of My brethren, you did it to Me, receive what you sent, possess what you bought. For you believed Me as your Savior." Then He will turn to those who are on the left and show them their treasures empty of good works: "Go," He says, "into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. I was hungry, and you did not give me food." Or if you find something in this treasury or consider what you sent, it will be restored to you. But they say, "We never saw You hungry." And He says, "When you did not do it to one of the least of My brethren, you did not do it to Me. For perhaps you did not do it for Me because you did not see Me walking on earth. You are so evil that if you saw Me, as the Jews did, you would crucify Me. Today, evil men who try, if possible, to destroy God's commandments, who try, if possible, that there be no Churches where God's commandments are preached, would they not also kill Christ Himself if they found Him living on earth? But they will dare to say, as if He did not know the thoughts of men, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry?' And He says, 'When you did not do it to one of the least of My brethren, you did not do it to Me.' I had placed the least of My brethren in need before you on earth. I, as the head, was sitting in heaven at the right hand of the Father, but My members labored on earth, My members were in need on earth. You would give to My members, and what you gave would go up to the head. And you would know that when I placed the least of My brethren needy before you on earth, I established them as carriers who would carry your works to My treasury. And you placed nothing in their hands; therefore, you find nothing with Me.

Do not let your repentance be late and unfruitful, act now.

Then, therefore, it will not be silent, but will appear; thus it is said: It will not be silent. But now the reader says it from the book and it is despised; the preacher or bishop disputes it from his mouth and it is mocked. Will it thus be mocked when it is spoken by that most powerful judge himself? Each one will receive what he has done, whether good or evil. Then men will say with late and unfruitful repentance: "Oh, if we could live again and hear and do what we despised!" Then those whom their iniquities place opposite will say, as it is written in the book of Wisdom: What profit did pride give us, and what benefit did the boasting of riches confer on us? All things have passed away like a shadow. You see that they will repent, but such repentance will be tormentable, not curable. Do you want to have profitable repentance? Have it now. For if you have it now, you can be corrected. When you have been corrected, that treasure where your evil works were gathered will be emptied, and another treasure will be filled where all your good works are collected. But perhaps having turned to God, you will die immediately, and perhaps no works will be found in that treasure? Clearly, you will find your works there because it is written: Peace on earth to men of good will. God does not note one's faculties, but crowns the will. He knows because you wanted to, but could not; thus, He notes you as if you did what you wanted. Therefore, it is necessary that you turn, lest by delaying you suddenly die, and nothing at all might be found which you presently possess, and in the future, you can possess. Turned to God.