{"id":3763,"date":"2024-02-21T16:21:28","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T16:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/?p=3763"},"modified":"2024-02-21T16:21:28","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T16:21:28","slug":"you-are-my-god-i-cannot-be-my-own-master-augustine-on-psalm-143","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/2024\/02\/21\/you-are-my-god-i-cannot-be-my-own-master-augustine-on-psalm-143\/","title":{"rendered":"You are My God – I Cannot Be My Own Master: Augustine on Psalm 143"},"content":{"rendered":"

[In the February 21 sermon on Psalms 142 and 143, I quoted from Augustine\u2019s commentary on 143:10. As mentioned in a December blog post<\/a>, we do well to interact with believers who are not our contemporaries, for they will often see in Scripture what we miss. I commend to you, therefore, these excerpts from Augustine\u2019s comments on Psalm 143:5-11, based on this 19th<\/sup> century English translation<\/a>. I have made some edits, updating the verb forms, generally replacing the cited Scriptures with the ESV, adding Scripture references, and clarifying some sentences. So I pray that you may profit from this 1600-year-old exposition! \u2013 Coty]<\/p>\n

[Verse 5] In all the works of God then, and in meditation on all the works of God, [David] introduces grace, he commends grace, he boasts that he has found grace, the grace whereby we are saved without price\u2026. Why do you boast of your own righteousness? Why lift yourself up, being ignorant of the righteousness of God? Because you contributed to your salvation? What did you contribute to being made a man? Look back then upon the Framer of your life, the Author of your substance, of your righteousness, and of your salvation: meditate upon the works of His hands, for even the righteousness in you, you will find, is the work of His hands [Ephesians 2:9-10]\u2026. Turn from your own work, to His work Who made you; He fashioned you, and let Him refashion what He fashioned and you destroyed. For you exist because He made you; you are good \u2013 if you are \u2013 because He made you good.\u2026<\/p>\n

[Verse 6] And what did I do when I saw that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning [James 1:17]? When I saw this, I turned from the evil work which I had wrought in myself, and I stretched forth my hands unto You\u2026. Indeed, my soul is as a land without water to You. Rain upon me to bring forth from me good fruit\u2026. I can thirst for You; I cannot water myself. My soul thirsts for the living God. When shall I come to Him [Psalm 42:2], save when He has come to me?<\/p>\n

[Verse 7a] \u201cAnswer me quickly, O Lord!\u201d For what need of delay to inflame my thirst, when already I thirst so eagerly? You delayed the rain, that I might drink Your flow. If then You delayed for this cause, now give, for my soul is as a land without water to You\u2026. Let Your Spirit fill me, for my spirit has failed me. This is the reason why You should quickly hear me\u2026. I am now poor in spirit; make me blessed in the kingdom of heaven [Matthew 5:3]\u2026. But quickly hear me, O God, rain on me, strengthen me, that I be not dust which the wind drives away from the face of the earth [Psalm 1:4]. Quickly hear me, O God; my spirit has failed: let not my need suffer longer delay\u2026. \u201cif anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come\u201d [2 Corinthians 5:17]. Old things pass away in our own spirit, they are made new in Your Spirit.<\/p>\n

[Verse 7b] \u201cHide not Your face from me.\u201d You hid it from me when I was proud. For once I was full, and in my fulness I was puffed up. Once in my fulness I said, \u2026 \u201cI shall not be moved.\u201d I knew not Your Righteousness, and tried to establish my own; \u2026 but from You came whatever fulness I had. And to prove to me that it was from You, You hid Your Face from me, and I was troubled. After this trouble, \u2026 then I became like a land without water to You: hide not Your Face! \u2026 Hide not Your Face from me, because, if You hide it, I shall \u201cbe like them that go down into the pit.\u201d What does \u201cgo down into the pit\u201d mean? \u2026 He no longer believes in Providence, or if he does believe, he thinks that he has no longer anything to do with it. He sets before himself license to sin, the reins of iniquity being let loose now that he has no hope of pardon. He does not confess his sin\u2026. \u201cHide not Your face from me or I shall be like them that go down into the pit.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Verse 8a] \u201cLet me hear in the morning of Your steadfast love, for in you I trust.\u201d Behold, I am in the night, yet I have trusted in You, until the iniquity of the night passes away. For we have, as Peter says, \u201cthe prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts\u201d [2 Peter 1:19]. He calls \u201cmorning\u201d the time after the end of the world\u2026. \u201cIf we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience [Romans 8:25] The night requires patience, the day will give joy.<\/p>\n

[Verse 8b] But what do we do until the morning comes? For it is not enough to hope for the morning; we must \u2026 seek Him\u2026. Since then we must thus hope for the morning, and bear this night, and persevere in this patience until the day dawn, what meanwhile must we do here? So that you will not think you should do anything of yourself to earn your being brought to the morning, he says, \u201cMake me know the way I should go.\u201d That is why God lit the lamp of prophecy, that is why He sent Jesus in the vessel, as it were, of the flesh\u2026. Walk by prophecy, \u2026 walk by the word of God. As yet you do not see the Word as He was in the beginning, God with God [John 1:1]: walk by the Form of [the Word as] a servant, and you shall be conformed to the Form of God. \u201cFor to You I lift unto up my soul.\u201d I have lifted it up to<\/em> You, not against<\/em> You. With You is the Fountain of life: to You have I lifted up my soul. I have brought my soul as a vessel to the Fountain: fill me, therefore, for unto You have I lifted up my soul.<\/p>\n

[Verse 9] \u201cDeliver me from my enemies, O Lord, for I have fled for refuge to You.\u201d I who once fled from<\/em> You, now flee to<\/em> You\u2026. I think not here of human enemies. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. But against whom?… The rulers of this world, of this darkness, the rulers of the wicked [Ephesians 6:12]; against these you wrestle. Great is your conflict, not to see your enemies, and yet to conquer. Against the rulers of this world, of this darkness, the devil, that is, and his angels\u2026.<\/p>\n

[Verse 10a] \u201cTeach me to do Your will, for You are my God.\u201d Glorious confession! glorious rule! \u201cFor You are my God.\u201d To another I would hasten to be re-made, if by another I was<\/em> made. You are my all, for You are my God. Shall I seek a father to get an inheritance? You are my God, not only the Giver of my inheritance, but my Inheritance itself [Psalm 142:5]\u2026. Shall I seek a patron, to obtain redemption? You are my God. Lastly, having been created, do I desire to be re-created? You are my God, my Creator, Who created me by Your Word, and re-created me by Your Word. But You created me by Your Word [the Son], Who was with You: You re-created me by Your Word, made Flesh for our sakes. Teach me then to do Your will, for You are my God. If You do not teach, I shall do my own will, and my God will abandon me. Teach me to do Your<\/em> will, for You are my God. Teach me: for it cannot be that You are my God, and yet I am to be my own master. See how grace is commended to us. This hold fast, this drink in, this let none drive out of your hearts, lest you have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge [Romans 10:2]; lest, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and going about to establish your own righteousness, you submit not yourselves to the righteousness of God [Romans 10:3]\u2026.<\/p>\n

[Verse 10b-11] Your good Spirit, not my bad one, \u2026 shall lead me into the right land. For my bad spirit has led me into a crooked land. And what have I deserved? What can be reckoned as my good works without Your aid, through which I might \u2026 be worthy to be led by Your Spirit into the right land? What are my works? \u2026 Listen, then, with all your power, to the commendation of Grace, whereby you are saved without price. \u201cFor Your Name’s sake, O Lord, You shall make me live.\u201d You <\/em>shall make me live. \u201cNot to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory\u201d [Psalm 115:1]. \u201cFor Your Name’s sake, O Lord, You shall make me live in Your righteousness;\u201d not in my own righteousness. Not because I have deserved to live, but because You have mercy. For I deserve nothing of you except punishment. You have pruned from me my own merits; You have grafted in Your own gifts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[In the February 21 sermon on Psalms 142 and 143, I quoted from Augustine\u2019s commentary on 143:10. As mentioned in a December blog post, we do well to interact with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,14,15,22],"tags":[2960,1940,2957,2962,2952,657,664,726,2340,1010,2961,2958,2959,2951,2955,2963,1424,2956,2953,2954],"class_list":["post-3763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-commentary","category-devotions","category-quotes-blog","tag-2-corinthians-517","tag-augustine","tag-ephesians-28-10","tag-ephesians-612","tag-exposition-on-the-psalms","tag-gospel","tag-grace","tag-hesed","tag-james-117","tag-merit","tag-new-creation","tag-poor-in-spirit","tag-psalm-14","tag-psalm-143","tag-righteousness","tag-romans-102","tag-self-righteousness","tag-steadfast-love","tag-teach-me-to-do-your-will","tag-you-are-my-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3763"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3764,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3763\/revisions\/3764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}