Latest / Reformed Thinking / The Two Ways Set Before Every Soul (Psalm 1) | Augustine

Transcript

The Two Ways Set Before Every Soul (Psalm 1) | Augustine · Reformed Thinking

0:00
Welcome to reformed thinking. This is the deep dive.
0:03
We take the research, the notes and the sources you share with
0:06
us, and we really try to distill the necessary knowledge, giving
0:10
you a comprehensive understanding without the
0:12
information overload. Our source material today is
0:16
just magnificent. We're going back to the early
0:18
Christian world, to Saint Augustine.
0:20
We're doing a deep dive into excerpts from his expositions on
0:24
the Book of Psalms. And specifically his commentary
0:26
on Psalm 1. Right.
0:28
And this isn't just about, you know, finding the meaning of a
0:31
few verses. It's about watching a master
0:33
theologian completely recast a text that feels very familiar to
0:38
most of us. It is Augustine's reading is so
0:41
critical for understanding how Christian belief developed,
0:44
especially around Christology, how the early church really
0:47
understood Christ, and the role of the Old Testament law.
0:50
And he takes the structure of the Psalm, which on the surface
0:53
looks like, well, simple moral advice, and he transforms it
0:57
into this detailed prophecy that centered entirely on one
1:01
specific figure. Yeah, the moment you start
1:03
reading, Augustine insists that Blessed is the Man isn't a
1:07
general statement. He's not talking about just any
1:09
good person. And he immediately charges these
1:11
simple actions, going away, standing and sitting with this
1:16
deep theological meaning that defines really spiritual life
1:20
and spiritual death. It's all there in the first
1:22
verse. So our mission to day is to
1:24
distill Augustine analysis of this scripture.
1:28
We want to focus on what he sees as the central question.
1:31
How does Augustine identify this blessed man, and what startling
1:35
meaning does he find in that simple sequence of actions?
1:38
Let's begin by grounding ourselves in his initial
1:40
assertion, right at the top, about who the subject of the
1:43
Psalm is. Augustine's opening line in the
1:45
commentary really does set the whole stage.
1:47
He reads that first phrase, Blessed is the man that have not
1:50
gone away in the counsel of the ungodly, and he doesn't even
1:53
pause to consider another interpretation.
1:56
No. For him, it's clear, he asserts
1:58
that this perfect man is our Lord Jesus Christ, whom he calls
2:02
the Lord Man. That's the theological anchor
2:05
for the whole thing, isn't it? It is Augustine immediately sets
2:08
up this idea of the perfect human standard and he says you
2:11
have to read the Psalm. In contrast to the failure of
2:15
the man of earth, Adam. Adam is the one who did consent.
2:19
He took the advice that was counter to God's counsel.
2:22
He was deceived by the serpent. He transgressed the commandment
2:24
Christ, by fulfilling the negative commands of the Psalm
2:27
through His perfect obedience, stands as the anti Adam.
2:31
So if Adam's whole story is defined by his failure to stay
2:35
in the divine council, Christ's perfection is defined by his
2:39
refusal to even enter that sequence of spiritual decline.
2:42
Exactly. And that decline is laid out in
2:44
those three negative actions went away, stood SAT.
2:48
Why is Augustine so particular that this order has to be
2:51
maintained? Why does the sequence matter so
2:53
much? Because he sees it not as just a
2:56
random list of bad things, but as a precise metaphorical
2:59
description of a spiritual descent.
3:01
It's a progression. From what to what?
3:02
It moves from the initial temptation to a confirmed habit,
3:06
and then finally to this hardened, irrecoverable
3:09
rebellion and Christ. Of course, Florida State avoided
3:12
every single step. The structure of the text itself
3:15
shows you how a person falls into sin.
3:18
OK. Let's look at step one then.
3:20
Gone away in the counsel of the ungodly.
3:23
What does Augustine mean by gone away here?
3:25
It sounds like a physical action.
3:27
Well, it's an initial act of retreat, but a spiritual one.
3:30
It's the drawing back from the light of God's instruction.
3:34
Augustine connects it to that moment of choosing human or
3:37
worldly advice over divine counsel.
3:39
It's the consent, the consent. Think about Adam again.
3:42
His initial transgression wasn't, you know, a physical
3:45
act. It was intellectual and
3:46
volitional. He listened to the wrong
3:48
counsel. Christ, the blessed man did not
3:50
allow his will to be bent by advice that opposes God's
3:53
structure for life to go away is that first, often very subtle
3:57
step toward disobedience. OK.
3:59
So if going away is that initial consent to bad advice that seems
4:03
different from the next stage stood in the way of sinners.
4:06
It is, the source clarifies that Christ did come into the world
4:09
in the way of sinners. He was born into the human
4:12
condition, mortality and all that, but He didn't stand there.
4:17
That distinction is absolutely critical to Augustine's
4:19
argument. Christ shared our nature, but he
4:22
did not share our corruption. So what is standing imply?
4:26
Standing imply is a kind of rootedness.
4:29
It suggests you've stopped moving.
4:30
You're taking pleasure in it. You're setting up a residence
4:33
within sin itself. The way of sinners is the path
4:36
they walk in life, you know, influenced by the world.
4:39
Christ walked that path. But the worldly enticements, the
4:42
habits of sin, they didn't detain him.
4:45
They didn't define him. They didn't cause him to stop
4:47
and say, you know what? This is good.
4:49
I'll stay here. Augustine sees standing as the
4:52
heart beginning to harden. The initial thought becomes a
4:54
delightful habit. Which brings us to the most
4:57
severe step where that decline is confirmed.
5:00
Sat in the seat of pestilence. Sitting doesn't just imply
5:04
stopping. It sounds like settling down,
5:06
taking authority. It does.
5:08
Sitting in this context signifies a confirmation and
5:10
sin. It's a state of permanence and
5:12
rebellion where the individual is, for all intents and
5:15
purposes, incapable of going back without some kind of
5:18
external intervention. And Augustine gives 2 powerful
5:21
interpretations for what this seed of pestilence actually
5:25
represents. He does, and they're both linked
5:28
to things that corrupt the whole of human society.
5:30
The first reading connects that seed of pestilence to an earthly
5:34
Kingdom and to pride. Right.
5:36
He calls pride itself a pestilence.
5:38
And just think about why Augustine would use such strong
5:41
medical language. A pestilence is a disease that's
5:44
widely spread and involving all or nearly all people.
5:47
That's a good description of pride.
5:49
It's a perfect description. Pride, that pervasive desire for
5:52
self rule, the craving for human praise and glory, is precisely
5:56
that kind of disease. It infects everyone.
5:59
Christ avoided this confirmation by refusing the temptation of an
6:02
earthly Kingdom born of human pride.
6:04
He willed the Kingdom of God, not the Kingdom of the earth.
6:08
But the source material seems to suggest that the second
6:11
interpretation of the seed of pestilence might be even more
6:14
fitting, especially in the context of the overall
6:17
progression. I think so.
6:18
The second reading identifies the seat of pestilence with
6:21
hurtful doctrine. Hurtful doctrine.
6:23
Doctrine that corrupts the soul and spreads like a disease.
6:27
Augustine directly connects this to that scriptural image that
6:31
the word of false teaching spreadeth as a canker.
6:34
So if we compare the two, pride versus doctrine, what's Agustin
6:37
getting at by making hurtful doctrine the highest form of
6:41
this spiritual decline? We'll think about it.
6:43
The pride of an earthly Kingdom might only affect the ambitious
6:48
but hurtful doctrine. Doctrine that promises
6:50
liberation while actually leading to spiritual death
6:53
poisons the whole community. I see.
6:55
If you were sitting in the seat of hurtful doctrine, you're not
6:58
just confirmed in your own error, you are actively teaching
7:01
and spreading that spiritual canker to other people.
7:04
It's the final, most damaging consequence of the progression.
7:07
You went away, you stood still, and now you're teaching others
7:11
to sit right there alongside you.
7:13
So the theological application of this entire sequence went
7:16
away. Stood Sat is a detailed map of
7:19
increasing bondage. A very clear map.
7:22
And Christ's perfect negative obedience meant he never took
7:25
that first step which ensure he was never detained by the 2nd,
7:28
and He certainly was never confirmed in the third.
7:31
It really highlights that liberation requires the perfect
7:34
obedience of the blessed man himself.
7:36
And this movement from the freedom of Christ to the bondage
7:39
of Adam and the ungodly, it sets the stage perfectly for
7:42
Augustine's understanding of the law.
7:44
Because the blessed man isn't just defined by what he avoids,
7:47
but by what he delights in. Exactly, which is where we shift
7:51
to the positive characteristic in verse 2.
7:53
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law will he
7:56
meditate by day and by night. This move from avoidance to
8:00
delight immediately force you to confront the Apostolic teaching
8:03
right, particularly Paul's clarification that the law is
8:07
not made for a righteous man. If the blessed man is righteous
8:10
and Agustin says he is Christ, then why does he delight in the
8:13
law? And this is where Augustine
8:15
performs A crucial bit of theological surgery.
8:18
It's one that is so vital for understanding Christian liberty.
8:22
He introduces a very precise distinction between being in the
8:25
law and being under the law. Freedom versus slavery.
8:29
That's it. It's the difference between
8:31
freedom and slavery. OK, let's detail that
8:33
difference. Let's start with the state of
8:34
servitude to be under the law. Whoso is under the law is a
8:38
slave. The law stands above them as
8:41
this external crushing force. They're acted upon by the law
8:45
according to its letter and its penalty.
8:47
Augustine says that the written law, the external command, is
8:51
imposed upon the servant and it functions primarily to confirm
8:54
their guilt. Because they can't fulfill it.
8:56
Because the servant lacks the internal disposition to fulfill
8:59
the law. So the law serves only as a
9:01
taskmaster, a mirror that shows you your failure, but it offers
9:05
no internal means of escape or delight.
9:07
So the written law, when you're just looking at it externally,
9:10
simply confirms the fact that you are ungodly.
9:14
You are bound by its literal command.
9:16
Precisely. The letter killeth, as Paul says
9:19
it confirms the human condition of spiritual death.
9:23
You can't find joy in something that is perpetually accusing
9:26
you. The law that one exists under
9:28
highlights the inability of the flesh to conform to the divine
9:32
standard, and that results in fear and compulsion, not
9:34
delight. But the blessed man who is free
9:37
is in the law. What changes when you move from
9:41
under to in? This is the revolutionary part
9:43
for Augustine. The person in the law is the one
9:46
who acts according to the law, and they do it from a place of
9:48
freedom and internal disposition, not external
9:51
coercion. So the law is no longer a
9:53
external letter. No, because they already possess
9:56
the Spirit and the intention of that law within them.
9:58
They have the law mentally discerned.
10:00
That phrasing, mentally discerned, is so key.
10:04
It suggests the kind of spiritual understanding that
10:06
goes way beyond just rote adherence.
10:09
Absolutely. The righteous man or the blessed
10:11
man doesn't need the external letter of the law because their
10:13
internal desires, their mind, their will, they're already
10:16
aligned with God's standard. The law becomes a source of
10:19
pleasure because it reflects the truth and goodness they now
10:22
possess. I see.
10:23
So for the Servant, the written law exposes sin.
10:27
Right. But for the righteous man, the
10:29
discerned law is the mirror of their new life.
10:32
It moves from being a burden to being a source of pleasure,
10:36
which is the exact sentiment mirrored in the Psalm.
10:39
His delight is in the Law. And this whole shift defines
10:42
liberty. It's the move from a legalistic
10:45
framework, you know, obeying to avoid punishment to a spiritual
10:49
framework acting out of a nature that loves the standard.
10:52
And that love manifests itself in continuous reflection.
10:56
Which brings us to the meditation by day and by night.
10:59
Augustine explores this with a dual meaning.
11:03
The simple reading is that it just means without ceasing
11:05
perpetual devotion, but the deeper interpretation uses day
11:09
and night as metaphors for different spiritual states.
11:12
So let's exhitter by day. First, this refers to spiritual
11:15
clarity or joy. Yes, Day is when the light of
11:18
understanding is brightest. It's a time of prosperity,
11:21
spiritual joy, or revelation. Augustine supports this by
11:24
citing Christ's statement. Abraham saw my day and was glad.
11:28
When the light of salvation is shining, when the truth is
11:30
certain and joy is present, meditation is delightful and
11:34
it's clear. It's easy to focus on God's
11:36
structure when things are going well, when the sun is shining on
11:39
your understanding. And then there's the meditation
11:42
by night, which refers to tribulation or trial.
11:45
Right. The night is the spiritual
11:47
darkness, affliction, testing periods of doubt or confusion,
11:51
and Augustine insists that the blessed man's meditation
11:54
continues even then he quotes another Psalm.
11:58
My reigns also have instructed me, even unto the night.
12:01
So the Lord uses those dark moments.
12:04
He uses them, those periods of difficulty and internal
12:07
struggle. They're used to instruct and to
12:09
deepen our knowledge of his standard.
12:11
The law, mentally discerned, sustains and instructs even when
12:14
external circumstances are difficult or opaque.
12:17
That makes the meditation a completely comprehensive
12:20
spiritual discipline, regardless of what's happening on the
12:22
outside. It really demonstrates the
12:24
constancy of the blessed man. He's never pulled away from the
12:28
law, whether it's in the delight of clarity or the instruction of
12:30
suffering. And the key take away for us,
12:33
for the listener, is really the definition of Christian
12:35
maturity. It's that shift from being held
12:38
captive by the external letter to discerning its intention
12:41
through spiritual understanding. A discernment that's sustained
12:44
in every phase of life and that ensures that the law, instead of
12:48
being a burden, becomes the very structure of delight.
12:51
And that internal rootedness in law is what sets the stage for
12:55
the beautiful agricultural imagery that comes next.
12:58
We move from the inner disposition to the external
13:01
result. Augustine transitions seamlessly
13:04
into the simile, and he shall be like a tree planted hard by the
13:07
running streams of waters. And following his consistent
13:10
pattern, Augustine immediately identifies the tree itself as
13:13
the perfect man, Christ. He calls the tree very wisdom,
13:17
which assumed man's nature for our salvation.
13:20
It's an image that points directly to the incarnation.
13:23
It does God taking root in the human experience.
13:26
The imagery speaks to stability, life, and productivity.
13:30
A tree planted by water isn't afraid of a drought.
13:33
But the crucial point for Augustine is the identification
13:35
of the running streams of waters.
13:37
He provides 3 possible meanings, and they range from the obvious
13:42
to the highly surprising. Let's start with meaning A,
13:45
which identifies the streams with the very essence of divine
13:48
knowledge and truth. Meaning a The streams are very
13:51
wisdom itself, the counsel of God.
13:54
Augustine links this to the description in another Psalm.
13:57
The river of God is full of water, so the tree is nourished
14:00
by this inexhaustible flow of divine counsel.
14:03
That's the simplest reading. The blessed man is sustained by
14:06
the source of truth, ensuring eternal life.
14:10
And meaning B builds on that, relating the streams to the
14:14
internal life giving source of the Holy Spirit.
14:16
The streams represent the Holy Ghost, and this reading is
14:19
firmly supported by the New Testament, where Christ offers
14:22
living water, of which whoso drinketh shall never thirst.
14:26
The Spirit is the internal animating power that nourishes
14:29
the tree. OK, so these two meanings,
14:31
wisdom and the Spirit, speak to the divine substance that
14:34
sustains Christ. That's right.
14:35
But this is where Agustin really challenges our expectations.
14:39
Meaning C presents the streams as the sinful people.
14:43
When I read that, I had to stop and check the context.
14:46
How does Augustine justify water as humanity, and specifically as
14:50
sinful humanity? He uses scriptural context.
14:52
He justifies identifying water with people by noting that
14:55
waters are referred to as peoples in the Apocalypse.
14:59
The second part, identifying them as sinful, comes from the
15:01
nature of the stream. It's a running stream, and
15:04
Augustine suggests that the word run or running often implies a
15:08
fall in a moral sense. It relates to the propensity of
15:11
people to sin. The stream is the ever flowing,
15:14
fallen nature of humanity. That is very counterintuitive.
15:18
If the tree is Christ the perfect model, why would he draw
15:21
nourishment from the very source of human fallibility?
15:24
How does the tree draw discipline from sinful people?
15:27
This is a brilliant insight into the purpose of the Incarnation
15:30
and Christ's mission. If the tree represents Christ in
15:33
his assumption of man's nature, he is planted among the sinful
15:37
people. He draws from them by way of
15:39
discipline. So the sustenance isn't the
15:41
water itself. No, the water is flawed, the
15:44
sustenance is the reason for the planting.
15:46
Christ takes on mortality, He draws the people into His roots
15:50
through his ministry, and He establishes the Church right in
15:53
the middle of humanity's fallibility.
15:55
His work among sinful people is the very definition of His
15:59
perfect obedient and the reason He bore fruit.
16:02
So the tree's health is measured not by how far away it stands
16:05
from the contamination, but by how successfully it draws the
16:08
material of its environment, the people, into its purpose.
16:12
Exactly. It synthesizes all three
16:14
meanings. The tree is Christ, sustained
16:16
internally by divine wisdom and the Spirit.
16:18
That's meanings A&B. But it's fulfilling its purpose
16:21
by being planted among the sinful world, meaning C.
16:25
And the outcome of being planted, regardless of the water
16:27
source, is to bring forth fruit. The text says the tree will
16:30
bring forth fruit in his season. What is the fruit and why that
16:34
specific season? The fruit is defined as the
16:36
establishment of churches, the works of salvation, and the
16:39
season is critical because it defines the timing of Christ's
16:43
glorification. Augustine insists the fruit is
16:46
brought forth only after Christ has been glorified by his
16:49
resurrection and ascension. So not doing his earthly
16:52
ministry. No.
16:53
The season is specifically marked by the sending of the
16:55
Holy Ghost to the apostles, the confirmation of their mission,
16:58
and their subsequent success in establishing communities of
17:02
faith globally. The fruit is the result of
17:04
Christ's finished work. And just as significant as the
17:08
fruit is the promise concerning the leaf.
17:10
His leaf also shall not fall. What does Augustine identify as
17:15
the leaf? The leaf is Christ's word in a
17:17
tree. The leaf is the external
17:19
manifestation, the thing that is seen and that provides shade or
17:22
covering. The leaf shall not fall means
17:25
the word, the external declaration of truth.
17:27
The gospel shall not be in vain. And Agustin contrast this
17:30
persistent word with everything that's temporary and mortal.
17:33
He provides that strong antithesis that we still quote
17:36
today. All flesh is grass, and the
17:39
glory of man is the flower of grass.
17:41
The grass withereth and the flower falleth, but the Word of
17:45
the Lord abideth forever. Mortal glory, temporary fame,
17:49
all that human effort that's disconnected from Christ, It
17:52
just falls away like a dry flower.
17:55
But the leaf, the Word, persists.
17:57
It defines the permanence of the Blessed Man's influence.
18:01
Which means the final statement, whatsoever He doeth shall
18:04
prosper, covers the totality of Christ's work, the internal
18:07
reality and the external proclamation.
18:10
Yes. The success that's guaranteed
18:12
covers both the fruit, the deeds of salvation, the existence of
18:15
the churches and the leaves, the doctrine, the widespread
18:18
spreading of the Gospel. Everything proceeding from the
18:21
blessed man is guaranteed success and permanence.
18:24
Because it's rooted in wisdom and sustained by the Spirit.
18:27
Even when planted among the sinful stream of humanity.
18:29
And that sets up the inevitable sharp contrast.
18:32
Augustine moves from this rooted tree to the volatility of the
18:35
opposition in verse 4. The ungodly or not so, but are
18:38
like the dust which the wind casteth forth from the face of
18:41
the earth. A complete shift from permanence
18:44
and stability to total dispersion.
18:46
Yeah. The stability of the tree is all
18:48
about its deep roots, and that's explicitly contrasted with the
18:51
fragility of dust. Dust has no real connection to
18:55
the earth it sits on. Right.
18:56
It's susceptible to the slightest disturbance, and to
19:00
grasp this image, Augustine first has to define what this
19:03
earth is that the dust is cast from.
19:05
It's clearly not, you know, physical ground.
19:07
Augustine defines this spiritual earth as steadfastness in God.
19:12
It's the invisible internal earth that provides support for
19:15
the inner man. This is the inheritance promise
19:18
to the righteous. It's spiritual security, a
19:20
connection to the divine nature. He pulls together different
19:23
scriptural citations to confirm this idea of spiritual
19:26
stability. The Lord is the portion of mine
19:28
inheritance. And of course, the famous
19:30
beatitude. Blessed are the meek, for they
19:32
shall inherit the earth. So this spiritual earth is the
19:34
place of true rest, stability, security for the soul.
19:39
So if the earth is spiritual steadfastness, what is the wind
19:43
that cast the ungodly forth from it?
19:45
The wind is pride. And why pride?
19:47
Because pride is the act of being puffed up.
19:50
It's self inflation that disconnects the individual from
19:53
the ground of reality, which is God.
19:55
The proud person believes they are self-sufficient, lifted
19:58
above the need for divine support.
20:01
So they're temporarily elevated. Temporarily elevated by self
20:04
glory or human praise, but because they have no true roots,
20:08
they're scattered like dust when a real test arrives.
20:11
Augustine provides these powerful historical examples of
20:14
this spiritual expulsion driven by pride, starting with the
20:18
original celestial rebel. He points to Lucifer, who was
20:21
cast forth from the celestial sphere because of his prideful
20:24
statement. I will place my seat in the
20:26
north and I will be like the Most High.
20:28
That ambition to be God, like the very essence of pride,
20:31
resulted in total expulsion from stability.
20:34
And the second example is Adam. Adam, the man of earth who
20:37
sought to be as God by tasting the forbidden fruit, and
20:39
consequently found himself having to hide from the face of
20:41
God. In both cases, pride acts as the
20:44
destructive, scattering wind. Augustine has this strikingly
20:48
graphic observation about the ungodly and the self-inflicted
20:51
nature of their fall. He says.
20:54
Why is earth and ashes proud? Because in his life he cast
20:58
forth his bowels. That phrase speaks volumes about
21:01
the internal nature of the destruction.
21:03
It means the ungodly individual chose to abandon their own
21:07
internal substance, their core spiritual commitment, for the
21:10
sake of external puffed up glory.
21:13
The expulsion isn't just a passive punishment by God.
21:16
The ungodly person chose pride, and in doing so they cast
21:19
themselves forth from the stability of that spiritual
21:22
earth. They're unstable because they
21:23
refuse used to abide in the only source of steadfastness.
21:26
That's it. And this inherent instability
21:28
leads us directly into the complicated discussion of
21:31
judgement in verse 5. Therefore, the ungodly rise not
21:34
in the judgement. This verse requires some
21:37
extremely careful unpacking for the listener.
21:39
It absolutely does. Augustine clarifies immediately
21:42
that this does not mean the ungodly won't experience
21:44
resurrection. The source material is clear.
21:46
Everyone is resurrected. Rather, the ungodly won't rise
21:50
in the judgement, meaning they won't rise to sit as judges, nor
21:53
will they rise to be evaluated for their status.
21:56
They are already condemned. They're appointed to punishment.
21:59
They are disqualified from the judicial process of the
22:01
righteous. This leads Augustine to draw a
22:04
necessary distinction between the ungodly and sinners.
22:07
While every ungodly man is by definition a Sinner, the reverse
22:11
isn't always true. Why is this distinction so vital
22:15
for understanding the judgement? He needs this distinction to
22:18
interpret the next line. Nor sinners in the counsel of
22:22
the righteous, the ungodly, those confirmed in pride and
22:25
apostasy, are already appointed to certain punishment, and do
22:29
not rise in the judgement they. Don't get to judge.
22:31
No, but the sinners, those who have strayed but perhaps haven't
22:35
reached that state of confirmed prideful rebellion, they do not
22:39
rise in the counsel of the righteous.
22:40
They also don't get to judge. But they may rise to be judged.
22:44
OK, so that differentiation allows for a specific type of
22:47
judgement for the Sinner. Yes, Agustin references the idea
22:51
of a judgment where the person might still be saved, yet so as
22:54
by fire. He quotes the idea that the fire
22:57
shall try every man's work, but he himself shall be saved yet so
23:01
as by fire. I see this possibility suggests
23:04
that a class of believer, perhaps those with significant
23:07
worldly works or failures, rises for judgment, suffers the loss
23:12
of their flawed achievements, but avoids the total absolute
23:15
condemnation that's already pronounced on the proud and
23:18
ungodly. The distinction allows Augustine
23:20
to maintain a nuanced view of divine justice.
23:23
So the key difference is rootedness.
23:26
The ungodly have actively destroy their roots through
23:29
pride. The center may still have roots,
23:31
however weak, but their works must be tested and refined.
23:34
Precisely, it is the final spiritual classification before
23:37
we arrive at the absolute basis of existence itself, which is
23:41
defined by God's knowledge. We turn to the final verse,
23:44
which provides the anchor for the fate of both groups.
23:47
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, followed by the
23:49
counterpoint, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
23:52
This immediately presents a complex theological paradox
23:55
concerning God's knowledge. Augustine confronts this
23:58
contradiction head on. If God is omniscient, how can
24:01
the text imply that the way of the ungodly he knoweth not?
24:04
Augustine reminds us of Christ's statement to those separated
24:07
from him. I never knew you.
24:09
This is not ignorance on God's part.
24:11
It is a specialized definition of knowing.
24:14
So how does Augustine define this specialized knowledge?
24:18
Well, he uses the analogy of medicine.
24:20
Medicine knows health perfectly. It can describe disease.
24:23
It can recognize it, categorize it.
24:25
But in an essential sense, medicine does not know disease.
24:29
Why not? Because disease is the privation
24:31
of health. It's the absence of what
24:32
medicine fundamentally affirms. Similarly, God is perfection and
24:36
existence itself. He sees everything, but His true
24:39
affirmative knowledge is reserved for what is true, good
24:43
and enduring. So divine knowledge is tied
24:45
directly to existence and affirmation.
24:47
Absolutely. Augustine uses this concept to
24:49
define reality itself. To be known of the Lord is to be
24:52
affirmed, approved and brought into His structure, and
24:55
fundamentally to abide to have. Permanent existence, and
24:59
conversely, to be not known of the Lord is to perish.
25:03
Yes, the way of the ungodly, which is defined by a lack of
25:06
steadfastness and rootedness and pride, is destined to cease.
25:10
It has no true permanent substance.
25:13
Augustine makes the two phrases equivalent in his reading.
25:15
Saying the way of the ungodly shall perish is functionally
25:19
identical to saying the way of the ungodly.
25:21
The Lord knoweth not. If God does not affirm your
25:24
existence through his knowledge, that existence must necessarily
25:27
vanish. That's the logic.
25:29
This concept connects existence back to God's own self
25:32
declaration in Scripture. I am that I am.
25:35
God is being itself. The righteous way abides because
25:38
it participates in God's permanent existence and is
25:41
affirmed by the Lord's knowledge.
25:43
While the ungodly way, being mere dust scattered by the wind
25:46
of pride, lacks that affirmation and therefore must perish, this
25:49
moves Psalm one way beyond mere morality.
25:51
Do good, avoid bad to a metaphysical statement about who
25:54
truly is and who is simply temporary noise.
25:57
It grounds the entire structure of the Psalm, the blessed man,
26:01
and the resulting fruit in the absolute truth of God's perfect
26:04
affirming will. The tree survives because its
26:07
structure is known and loved by the Source of all being.
26:10
So we've now synthesized Augustine's deep dive into Psalm
26:13
1. He moves the text from simple
26:15
moral instruction to a high Christology.
26:18
He does. He shows the perfect obedience
26:20
of Christ as the necessary, blessed man, and he defines
26:24
spiritual reality, the nature of the law, the earth, God's
26:27
knowledge, entirely through him. Augustine provides us with a
26:31
magnificent model for reading Scripture.
26:33
He clarifies that profound shift from being a slave under the
26:36
external letter of the law defining liberty and its
26:39
spiritual intent. And he contrasts the rooted
26:42
steadfastness of the tree planted by the living waters
26:45
with the catastrophic instability of the dust which is
26:48
perpetually scattered by the wind of pride.
26:50
The discussion of God's knowledge and its connection to
26:52
existence is the final essential point.
26:54
If the way of the ungodly perishes because the Lord
26:57
knoweth it not, it means that true being requires divine
27:00
affirmation. OK, let's leave you with this
27:02
final provocative thought, building on that concept of
27:05
abiding. If God's knowledge defines
27:08
genuine existence, if to be known by Him is to abide.
27:12
And Christ alone is the source of that steadfastness in the
27:14
spiritual earth. How should this shape our daily
27:17
understanding of what it means to truly be in the world?
27:20
Augustine shows that if we pursue pride, we are trading
27:23
existence for spiritual dust. We become temporary, rootless,
27:27
and perpetually cast forth from stability.
27:30
True being, true abiding, is the opposite, to be a tree planted
27:34
in Christ, sustained by His Word and Spirit.
27:37
So reflect on the sources of your own rootedness.
27:40
Are you standing in the counsel of the ungodly, or is your
27:42
delight in the law enduring through both the day of joy and
27:45
the night of tribulation? Thank you for joining us on this
27:48
deep dive. We hope this exploration into
27:50
Augustine gives you much to consider and meditate on.