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The LORD My Shield (Psalm 3) | Saint Augustine · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking, the deep dive where we chew on
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ideas that matter and unpack truths that shape our
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understanding of God and his world.
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Glad to be digging in today. Today we're taking a look at a
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classic text, Psalm 3, through the discerning eye of 1 of
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Christianity's most influential thinkers, Augustine.
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It's a Psalm that you know at first seems pretty
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straightforward. King David fleeing from his
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rebellious son Absalom. Right.
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Seems historical. But as Augustine shows us, its
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words resonate far beyond that specific historical moment.
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They speak volumes about Christ, His Church, and even your own
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walk of faith. We've gathered insights from
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Augustine's expositions on the book of Psalms, Psalm 3,
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alongside a set of related notes.
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Yeah, trying to get to the heart of his reading.
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Our aim is really to extract the most striking Nuggets of
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understanding, give you a comprehensive view you know
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without the information overload.
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Hopefully give some real clarity.
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You're about to gain some surprising clarity on what this
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ancient text truly says about our Savior and His people.
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So let's unpack this OK first section Setting the stage Psalm
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3 Score Allegorical lens. Right.
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Where does Augustine start? Well, Augustine suggests Psalm 3
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is a text with layers. It's applicable far beyond its
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original historical setting. He views it primarily as a
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prophecy focused on Christ. So not just David's personal
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journal entry. Exactly.
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You see this right from the start with the Psalms
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superscription, a Psalm of David when he fled from the face of
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Absalom, his son. The title itself.
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Yeah, This historical backdrop, David's desperate flight from
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his rebellious son Absalom, it's presented as the immediate,
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tangible context. The thing everyone would know at
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the time? It's the starting point for
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Augustine's thought, sort of a historical anchor, but it's
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definitely not where he ends his thinking.
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Just the jumping off point. David's experience is the
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opening note, you could say, not the full Symphony.
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OK. However, Augustine then points
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to a particular verse as a key indicator that this Psalm is
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about more than just David. Ah, here's the turn.
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He cites verse 5. I slept and took rest, and rose,
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for the Lord will take me up. That specific verse.
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And he argues that these words, they sound more suitable for the
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passion and resurrection of our Lord than for David's flight.
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More weighty. He makes the case that while
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David certainly slept and rose, you know during his flight.
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These words carry a different weight, a greater weight when
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applied to Christ. The language feels bigger than
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just David's situation. This is where he begins to shift
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the lens from the historical King David to a prophetic
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reading centered on Christ himself.
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OK. So that versus the hinge
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essentially? Pretty much, yeah.
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What's fascinating here is how Agustin uses the specific phrase
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I slept and took rest and rose for the Lord will take me up to
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sort of reorient the whole focus.
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Right shifts the perspective. He sees David's experience not
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just as a standalone event, but as a foreshadowing or what
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theologians call a type. A type?
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Yeah, important concept. Think of it as maybe a divine
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prototype, an earlier pattern or event in the Old Testament that
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prefigures and finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ.
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Like seeing the shadow before the real thing shows.
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Up exactly. It's like seeing the shadow
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before the true substance appears.
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So David's historical suffering becomes a divinely ordained
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picture pointing forward to Christ's ultimate suffering and
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triumph. So this raises a really
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interesting question for us. How does David's rebellious son
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Absalom that specific historical detail?
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How does that connect to Christ's experience in a way
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that lets Augustine see David's story as a type for something
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far grander? How do you get from Absalom to
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Christ? And that's where Augustine and
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his brilliance draws a direct, almost shocking parallel between
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Absalom, David's rebellious son, and Judas, the disciple who
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betrayed Christ. Wow.
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OK. Absalom and Judas.
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It's not a casual connection he makes.
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It's absolutely central to his allegorical reading of Psalm 3.
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So it's foundational to his interpretation.
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Definitely. Let's start with a foundational
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element, Absalom's meaning. The name Absalom means patriots
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backs or father's peace in Latin.
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Father's peace. OK, this is a crucial point
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because it immediately sets up a paradox that Augustine just
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delights and unpacking. Yeah, I can see that.
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How can Father's peace wage war? Exactly how can a name
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signifying father's peace be given to his son, who actively
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wages war against his own father?
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This tension is precisely what Augustine wants us to consider.
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He. Loves those kinds of tensions in
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the text. He does so.
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Augustine addresses this by looking first at the historical
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paradox embedded in David's own life.
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Back to David for a moment. Absalom undeniably waged a
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bitter war against his father David, seeking his throne and
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even his life. Yet David, the father in this
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equation, maintained A remarkable state of peace
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regarding his son. Despite the rebellion.
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We see this most powerfully evidenced by David's profound
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sorrow and lamentation over Absalom's death.
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When he got the news, David cried out.
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Oh, Absalom, my son, would God I had died for thee.
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Not exactly the words of someone glad his enemy is gone.
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Not at all. This isn't the cry of an angry,
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vengeful father. This demonstrates that David's
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peace, his inner disposition, remained even when his son was
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actively at war with him. The peace was an inherent
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attribute of the father, David, irrespective of the son's
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hostile actions. It resided with David, not
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necessarily with Absalom. The peace belonged to the
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Father. That's key.
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And this is precisely where the spiritual parallel with Christ
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and Judas becomes truly insightful and, well, quite
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moving actually. Yeah, bring it to Christ now.
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Judas is viewed by Augustine as the quintessential undutiful
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disciple who, through his betrayal, embodied the spirit of
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Absalom. The ultimate rebellious
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follower. Right.
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And Christ's flight from Judas is not a physical retreat in the
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way David fled from Absalom's army.
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That's not the point. They're running away.
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Instead, Augustine interprets it as a spiritual departure.
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He suggests it's the power and wisdom of God abandoning
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Judas's, allowing the devil to wholly occupy him.
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So God's presence withdrawing from Judas inner being.
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Yes, this flight denotes quickness, much like we say
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something fled from us when we can't recall it immediately.
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So Augustine means that Truth, Divine Light, and Wisdom simply
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departed swiftly and completely from Judas's mind.
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No longer enlightening him or guiding him.
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Exactly. It's a striking image of
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spiritual abandonment, not because Christ moved away
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physically, but because Judas internally turned away, making
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space for darkness. Chilling thought, really.
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It's a striking image indeed, that spiritual departure, And it
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does highlight Christ's perfect righteousness.
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But Augustine also emphasizes that Christ displayed incredible
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patience with Judas leading up to that point.
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He didn't just cast him out immediately.
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No, he knew Judas's thoughts. His divine nature surely
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revealed the darkness brewing within.
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He bore with him for a long time, and still admitted him to
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the Last Supper, where Christ gave the figure of his body and
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blood to all his disciples, including Judas.
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The sacrament itself, even to Judas.
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For Augustine, this figure refers to the symbolic
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representation, the sacrament, which Christ offered to all
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present, signifying his sacrificial work.
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And then, at the very moment of betrayal, Christ even received
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the kiss of peace from Judas. That ultimate sign of hypocrisy?
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Right. It was a custom, a greeting of
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friendship and loyalty, but Christ accepted it,
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demonstrating his peace towards his betrayer, even though Judas
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himself was consumed by what Augustine vividly calls
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intestine war of so abominable a device.
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Intestine war. Powerful image for inner
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turmoil. Yeah, this intestine war
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describes the internal chaos, spiritual corruption, and the
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hatred that raged within Judas, completely at odds with the
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peace Christ offered and embodied.
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Complete contrast between Christ's peace and Judas's inner
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state. That's a truly illuminating and
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consistent insight that Augustine draws out of this
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paradox. The peace, this profound state
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of composure and divine benevolence, resided with the
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Father. Both David and Christ.
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Both David and his historical tribulation and Christ and his
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ultimate passion, even if the Son, whether Absalom or Judas,
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did not possess or reciprocate that peace.
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It didn't depend on the son's response.
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Exactly. It was an inherent attribute of
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the Father's character, a disposition that remains
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steadfast, rather than a state that depended on the Son's
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response. This is foundational to
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understanding God's character as one who maintains peace, who
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offers peace even in the face of deep betrayal, hostility, and
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rebellion. It shows his unchanging
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disposition. His unchanging nature
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independent of human actions. And you know, this isn't merely
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A theological point, it's a deep comfort.
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It suggests God's peace isn't not just a reaction to our
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behavior, but an inherent part of His being.
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That's a powerful thought. Imagine the steadfastness of a
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love that remains peaceful even when facing absolute betrayal.
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What does that tell us about the nature of the divine, and how
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does that challenge our human understanding of how peace works
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in relationships? It definitely reframes things.
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It reframes our entire understanding of divine love and
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constancy. OK, moving on from that profound
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concept of the Father's unwavering peace, Augustine then
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shifts our days to what he considers the absolute prophetic
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heart of Psalm 3. The core prophecy.
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Right verses that brilliantly illuminate Christ's death and
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glorious resurrection. It's here that the Psalms true
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spiritual clarity really starts to shine.
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Getting to the climax of the Psalms meaning for Christ.
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He focuses specifically on Psalm 3.5.
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Again I slept and took rest, and rose, for the Lord will take me
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up. Back to that T verse.
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For Augustine, this phrase has layers of meaning that apply
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precisely and uniquely to Christ.
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First he untaxed. I slept and took rest.
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What does he make of that? Augustine interprets this as
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highlighting Christ's deliberate and willing choice to undergo
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death. He makes it clear that Kress was
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not slain against his will, as if his life was just snatched
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from him. Not a victim, but a willing
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sacrifice. Precisely this aligns perfectly
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with Christ's own words in John 10.18, where he declared, No man
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taketh it from me. I have power to lay it down and
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I have power to take it again. His own authority over his life
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and death. So the act of sleeping here
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signifies the very act of dying, a voluntary yielding of his
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spirit rather than a forced cessation of life.
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And took rest then signifies the state of being dead, resting in
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the tomb, describing the transition into and the actual
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state of death itself. Sleeping is dying.
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Resting is being dead. Yeah, Augustine phrases it as
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Christ, saying I gave myself up to my passion and death ensued.
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It signifies his active, deliberate submission, a
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conscious choice to lay down his life.
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Not passive victimhood. Right.
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This emphasizes Christ's agency and His own sacrifice, making it
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a truly free and loving act of obedience.
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And then the second part of that verse, and I rose for the Lord
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will take me up, obviously refers to Christ's resurrection.
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Clearly, Augustin notes, the interesting prophetic use of
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both the past tense I rose and the future tense will take me up
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within the same phrase. Past and future together, Why?
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He explains that while the event of Christ's resurrection was
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still future in time, when the psalmist spoke, it was already
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viewed as absolutely certain and accomplished in God's eternal
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knowledge and decree. As good as done in God's plan.
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Exactly. The prophet speaks of things yet
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to come as if they have already occurred because of their
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absolute certainty in God's preordained plan.
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Like a divine guarantee. It's a linguistic marker for
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Augustine of divine foreknowledge and unshakable
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certainty. God's plan cannot be thwarted,
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So what he purposes to do the prophets can declare as already
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done. Makes sense in a prophetic
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context. Augustine continues his deep
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analysis by looking at another phrase.
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But thou, O Lord, art my taker. My taker, what's that about?
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He interprets this as referring to the incarnation, the profound
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mystery of God taking on human nature, the Word made flesh, as
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John's Gospel puts it. God taking humanity.
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Right. It points to Christ unique
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identity as God in human form, truly divine and truly human.
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For Gustin, this phrase underscores the unbreakable
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union of the divine and human in Christ's person.
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The two natures united. It's about God reaching down not
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just to assist humanity, but to actively assume human flesh to
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become one with us in our very nature so that salvation could
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be accomplished from within our human experience.
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God becoming what we are to save us, yes.
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This act of taking is the ultimate condescension where the
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infinite God becomes finite man for our sake.
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It truly sets the stage for everything that follows in
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Christ's life and work. Following that, Augustine turns
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to Christ's declaration. My glory.
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Christ calling God his glory? Yeah.
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Even Christ, being one with God, the second person of the
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Trinity, calls God his glory. This is a crucial point for
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Augustine, and he uses it to teach a powerful lesson against
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human pride. If even Christ deflects glory.
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Exactly, if Christ in his full divinity and perfect humanity,
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attributes His glory to the Father, how much more should we
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mere creatures, do the same? Puts our achievements in
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perspective. All true glory, all true
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excellence, all true worth comes solely from God's gift, from His
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grace, from His creative and sustaining hand in a world
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obsessed with self-made success and personal branding.
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I guess his point is pretty radical.
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Even Christ didn't hoard glory, but directed it back to the
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Father. It's about accurate attribution,
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not self deprecation. Right.
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It frees us from that exhausting burden of proving ourselves,
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reminding us that our true excellence, whatever gifts for
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accomplishments we possess, flows entirely from grace.
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It redirects our focus from ourselves to the giver of all
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good things. A very humbling and liberating
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thought. And finally, in this section,
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Augustine unpacks and the lifter up of my head.
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The lifter up of my head. How does that apply to Christ?
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He applies this to Christ's human mind, specifically how it
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remained unified with His divine nature despite the deep
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humiliation and suffering of His Passion.
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So even in suffering, his mind was upheld.
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Yes, Christ's earthly journey, culminating in the cross, was
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one of profound basement and suffering.
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Yet Augustine argues that even in that lowest point, Christ's
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human intellect and will, the head of his human nature, was
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not separated from his divine essence.
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I'm not diminished or disconnected.
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It wasn't diminished or disconnected by the experience
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of the cross. Rather, it was lifted up,
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sustained, and upheld in its perfect connection to the
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Divine. This speaks to the integrity of
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Christ's person even in his suffering.
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His humanity was fully present in His agony, yet His divine
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nature ensured its ultimate triumph and exaltation, raising
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up His human mind to perfect union and victory.
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God upholding the human aspect through it all.
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It speaks to the incomprehensible reality of God
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and human flesh enduring all while remaining fully God.
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OK, so let's connect these insights now to the bigger
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picture of Christ's communication with God and the
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opposition he faced. Prayer and enemies, basically.
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Right Augustine delves into the nature of Christ's prayer,
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beginning with With my voice have I cried unto the Lord from
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Psalm 3.4. With my voice.
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Augustine makes it explicitly clear that this cry is not the
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sound of the body, which he describes as merely drawn out
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with the sound of the reverberation of the air, just a
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physical thing. Not about volume or vocal cords.
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No. In Instead, Augustine identifies
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this cry as the voice of the. Heart, the inner cry.
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It's a silent, inward communication that speaks
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directly to God alone, without any need for external sound.
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Augustine states that this cry is rightly made when the soul
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alone, taking to itself nothing of the flesh and nothing of the
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aims of the flesh in prayer, speaks to God where he only
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hears. Pure intention focused only on
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God. Exactly this describes a purity
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of intention and prayer, where one's inner being is completely
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focused on God, undistracted by worldly thoughts or desires.
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He warns that if external thoughts interpose, if our minds
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wander to earthly matters, even silently, it cannot truly be
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considered this pure kind of cry, even if no sound is
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uttered. The intensity matters more than
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the sound. Yes, the strength of its intent
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and the deep earnestness and spiritual intensity is what
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makes it a cry, even without sound.
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He gives examples. He references biblical examples
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to illustrate this, like Susannah's silent prayer in the
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book of Daniel where she cried out to God in her heart, and
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Christ's own instruction to pray in closets, meaning the
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innermost recesses of the heart, noiselessly, where God truly
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listens. This isn't about vocal cords or
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even whispered words. It's about the deep, unfiltered
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groan of the soul, a silent yearning that resonates directly
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with God because it's stripped of all pretense and external
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distraction. Prayer that's too deep for
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words, almost. You could say that it's the
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prayer so intense, so desperate, that it transcends language
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itself. That distinction between outward
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sound and inward intention is quite striking, emphasizing the
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sincerity of prayer. It really does.
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And from there the Psalm says, And he heard me out of his holy
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mountain. Augustine offers a couple of
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understandings for this, each adding death.
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OK. What's the primary one?
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Primarily, he interprets this as God hearing Christ out of his
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justice. Out of his justice, what does
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that mean exactly? It means it was righteous.
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It was just that the innocent Christ who suffered evil for
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good should be raised from the dead.
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His resurrection wasn't just mercy, it was also justice.
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Vindicating his innocence. Right, vindicating his sinless
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life and perfect sacrifice. And by extension it was also
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righteous that his persecutors receive a just reward for
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repaying him. Evil for good, meaning judgement
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for their unrighteous acts. So God acting according to his
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righteous character. Exactly.
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So God's hearing and acting came from his very nature of
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righteousness. But there's also a more nuanced
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reading. Augustine Skedges.
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What's that where Christ could be Speaking of himself as his
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holy mountain? Christ as the mountain, yeah.
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In this sense God heard him out of myself as of his holy
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mountain. He heard me when he dwelt in me,
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that is, in this very mountain. So God heard him out of his own
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being, his Incarnate self. Precisely this highlights
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Christ's designation as a mountain by the prophet Daniel.
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You know, the stone that was cut out without hands grew to the
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size of a mountain. That prophecy in Daniel, too.
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Right. For Augustine, Christ is that
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mountain, a symbol of his eternal Kingdom and divine
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authority. So when God hears Christ out of
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his holy mountain, it means God hears him in his very nature and
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His Incarnate being in the perfect union of divine and
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human, that is, Christ Himself. Highlighting the father son
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intimacy again. Exactly, it speaks to the
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intimacy of the father son relationship.
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Now the Psalm also speaks directly to the intense
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opposition Christ faced during his earthly ministry and
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passion. The enemies mentioned in the
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Psalm. Right, Many say unto my soul,
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there is no salvation for him and his God.
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From verse 2, Augustine says this powerfully reflects the
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mindset of Christ's persecutors, including Judas.
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They really thought he was finished.
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They truly believed he would not rise again.
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We hear this echoed in their mocking taunts at the cross.
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Let him come down from the cross.
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If he be the Son of God, or he saved others himself, he cannot
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save. Doubting his power in God's
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favor. These statements vividly
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demonstrate their contempt, their disbelief in His divine
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ability to deliver Himself, and their absolute certainty that
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His mission had failed and His God had abandoned.
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It's a direct challenge to His deity and His divine protection.
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You. Thought it was the end.
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And then in Psalm 3.6, I will not fear the thousands of people
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that surround me. Augustine understands this to
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refer to the great multitude, the sheer number of adversaries
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present during Christ's suffering and crucifixion.
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The crowds and the soldiers. Think of the crowds demanding
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his crucifixion. The Roman soldiers, the
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religious leaders, all gather in opposition.
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This verse points to the very real and numerous adversaries he
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faced in his passion, A literal throng of enemies.
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Yet he says, I will not fear. Right.
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Christ's declaration of fearlessness in the face of such
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overwhelming numbers speaks to His divine composure and His
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unwavering resolve to complete His redemptive work despite the
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intense, palpable hatred surrounding him.
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Calm determination in the face of the mob.
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He walked right into that with calm determination.
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The ultimate defeat of these opponents, which is a
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consequence of Christ's triumph, is described in Psalm 3.7.
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Since thou has smitten all who oppose me without a cause, thou
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has broken the teeth of the sinners.
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God striking down the opposition.
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This signifies the absolute defeat of Christ's enemies as a
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direct result of His salvation and glorious triumph over sin
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and death. And Augustine provides 2
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distinct but complementary interpretations for what's meant
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by teeth of the sinners. OK, what are the interpretations
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of the teeth? First, he says, these teeth are
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the words of cursing from sinners.
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Blasphemous words, Insults. Exactly.
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These are the blasphemous, tearing words that attack and
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revile the Son of God. These words, though they seem
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powerful and destructive, are brought to not, as it were, to
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dust by God's truth in Christ's victory.
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They become meaningless, powerless.
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Right. He connects this to the Apostle
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Paul's cautioning Galatians. If you white one another, take
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heed that you be not consumed one of another, highlighting the
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destructive nature of slander and false accusation.
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Like teeth tearing at truth. But Christ's triumph renders
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these verbal attacks utterly ineffective, pulverizing them
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into dust. And the second interpretation.
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Alternatively, Agustin suggests that teeth can represent the
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chiefs of sinners, the leaders who by their authority and
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influence spiritually cut off others from godly fellowship and
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incorporate them instead with evil ones.
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The influential leaders leading people astray.
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Yes, these were the prominent figures, the religious and
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political leaders who primarily persecuted Christ, while often
22:10
the common people were drawn to him and honored him.
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Remember. Right, the leaders were often
22:14
the main antagonist. So the breaking of these teeth
22:17
means that these leaders, their authority to mislead, and their
22:20
ability to sever people from truth and true fellowship are
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brought to nothing. Nullifying their destructive
22:25
influence. It represents a complete
22:28
nullification of their destructive capabilities and
22:30
their ability to draw others away from Christ.
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So it's not just the words, but the very source of the
22:36
destructive words and actions, the leaders themselves, who are
22:39
rendered ineffective. A comprehensive victory, then.
22:42
Yes, silencing both the direct verbal attacks and the
22:46
organizational influence of those who opposed him.
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Now, Augustine doesn't stop with Christ's personal experience in
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Psalm 3. This is where his thought
22:56
becomes really expensive and broadly applicable for.
22:58
Us beyond just Christ as an individual.
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Right, he broadens the scope to what he famously calls whole
23:05
Christ. Whole Christ, Christ and his
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Church together. Exactly.
23:09
This concept is truly foundational for Augustine.
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It's not just Christ as an individual, but Christ in his
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fullness, the head inseparable from his body, which is the
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Church. Sees them as one entity in a
23:21
sense. When Agustin reads Scripture, he
23:23
often sees these two united. So an experience of the head
23:26
also becomes the experience of the body, and vice versa.
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It's a theological lens that allows him to apply these
23:32
ancient words to the ongoing reality of God's people
23:35
throughout history. So the Psalm speaks for the
23:36
church too. So understanding this whole
23:39
Christ concept, the Church founded amidst the storms of
23:43
persecution throughout the world and across history, echoes the
23:46
Psalms lament. Oh Lord, how are they multiplied
23:50
to trouble me? Many rise up against me.
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Psalm 3.1. The church facing opposition
23:57
just like Christ. This isn't just a historical
23:59
statement for David, it's the church's perpetual cry.
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It reflects the countless attempts throughout history to
24:06
exterminate Christianity. From Roman persecutions to
24:08
modern day challenges, the Church has always faced
24:11
opposition. A familiar experience for
24:14
believers. And persecutors often believed
24:16
there is no salvation for him and his God, hoping God had
24:19
abandoned the church and that it will be destroyed, much like the
24:22
enemies of Christ believed he wouldn't rise.
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Thinking God wouldn't save his people.
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But the Church, as the body of Christ, consistently affirms its
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unity with its head and its humble reliance on God.
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Yes, the Church proclaims, but thou, Lord, art my taker,
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acknowledging its incorporation into Christ's flesh by the Word,
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who was made flesh. A.
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Declaration of identity in Christ.
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It's a declaration of identity. The Church exists because God in
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Christ took on human nature and thereby gathered believers into
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his own body. The Church calls God my glory,
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attributing all its excellence, its growth, its spiritual life
24:57
to God's grace and mercy, not to its own strength or wisdom.
25:00
Giving credit back to God. And God is the lifter up of my
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head, referring to Christ, the first born from the dead who
25:07
ascended into heaven, leading the way for his body, the
25:09
Church, to follow. Christ paving the way for his
25:12
people. The Church's hope and its very
25:14
existence are rooted in Christ, who has taken her into his own
25:18
being and exalted her with him. It means every spiritual
25:21
blessing and every triumph the Church experiences flows
25:24
directly from its union with Christ, its head.
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Everything comes from that union.
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This concept of whole Christ also means that with my voice
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have I cried unto the Lord. And he heard me out of his holy
25:35
mountain. Represents the collective prayer
25:38
of All Saints. The whole church praying
25:40
together through history. It's not just Christ's singular
25:43
cry, but the unified voice of his entire body across time.
25:48
Augustine pictures this collective prayer as an odor of
25:51
sweetness ascending to God. A pleasing offering.
25:54
The church is heard either out of Christ as its head and
25:57
mediator, or out of God's perfect justice which vindicates
26:01
his suffering people. Heard through Christ or because
26:04
of God's justice? This shows a beautiful spiritual
26:07
synergy where the prayers of believers join with Christ's
26:10
intercession, creating a powerful spiritual force.
26:14
And just as Christ experienced it, the people of God the Church
26:17
can collectively declare, I slept and took rest and rose,
26:21
for the Lord will take me up. How does that apply to the
26:24
church? This signifies their spiritual
26:26
awakening from the slumber of sin, and their active cleaving
26:29
to their head Christ. They are taken out of sinners
26:32
and awakened from spiritual sleep to new life in Him.
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Spiritual resurrection, in a way.
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Kind of like a person waking from deep rest to resume their
26:40
day with renewed vigor. This spiritual awakening within
26:43
the church. And it was a profound
26:45
fearlessness in the face of opposition.
26:47
Indeed, the Church declares, I will not fear the thousands of
26:51
people that surround me, referring to the pagans, the
26:54
hostile empires and all those who surrounded them relentlessly
26:57
seeking to extinguish Christianity throughout its
27:00
early centuries and beyond. Facing down opposition with
27:03
faith. Augustine notes that this
27:05
fearlessness is actually fueled by the blood of the martyrs,
27:09
which acts like oil to kindle the ardor of love and commitment
27:13
within the Church. Persecution.
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Strengthening faith, not weakening it.
27:17
It wasn't the number of enemies that mattered, but the
27:19
steadfastness of faith. The persecution didn't deter, it
27:23
intensified the faith. It's a picture of the Church's
27:27
resilience and her ultimate victory, not through worldly
27:30
might, but through spiritual fortitude and divine sustenance.
27:33
God sustains His church. The Church's united cry, Arise,
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O Lord, save me, Oh my God acknowledges that its ultimate
27:40
salvation and vindication were secured at Christ rising from
27:43
the dead. Salvation rooted in Christ's
27:45
resurrection. His resurrection is the
27:47
foundation of the Church's hope and its assurance of victory.
27:50
And then, since thou has smitten all who oppose me without a
27:54
cause, thou has broken the teeth of the sinners.
27:56
Signifies that as the Church grows and spreads, its enemies
28:00
face confusion. Their plans get thwarted.
28:03
And their curses or their influential leaders are brought
28:06
to naughty their attacks become futile, their power to harm
28:09
diminished. It's God's vindication of His
28:12
church demonstrating his protective hand over His people
28:15
even when they appear weakest. God defending his own, and
28:19
Agustin makes a truly interesting and helpful
28:22
distinction here with what he calls the church's teeth.
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The church's teeth contrasted with the sinner's teeth.
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Exactly these are directly contrasted with the teeth of
28:31
sinners we discussed earlier, which tear and destroy.
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He describes the Church's teeth as those within the Church who
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prescribe rightly and as they prescribe live.
28:40
Teachers and leaders who live what they preach.
28:43
Right. They are teachers and leaders
28:45
who not only teach sound doctrine but also live lives
28:47
consistent with what they teach. Embodying the truth they
28:50
proclaim, they fulfill the two great commandments of love for
28:54
God and neighbor. Sound doctrine and sound living.
28:57
These individuals serve as authorities within the Church,
29:00
but their authority is constructive, not destructive.
29:04
They are the ones who bring believers out of error and into
29:07
the truth, metaphorically chewing on sound doctrine and
29:10
helping others digest it. Nourishing the body.
29:13
They incorporate new members into the body of Christ, bearing
29:16
much spiritual fruit. So instead of tearing apart,
29:19
these teeth of the church build up.
29:21
They nourish, they unite, drawing people into the
29:24
fellowship of the Lord's people. A constructive use of authority
29:27
and teaching. OK, so this brings us to a
29:30
really relevant question for each of us listening how do
29:33
these powerful themes translate to your own personal walk of
29:37
faith? Making it personal now.
29:38
Augustine, in his wisdom, shows us how Psalm 3 speaks not only
29:42
to Christ and the corporate church, but also to each
29:45
individual believer, making it a profoundly personal text, not
29:48
just historical or corporate. So how does verse one apply
29:51
personally? Oh Lord, how are they multiplied
29:55
the trouble me. Well, on a personal level, an
29:57
individual believer can lament that this isn't necessarily
30:01
about external enemies, though it could be, but can refer to
30:04
the multitude of internal vices and lusts that constantly
30:07
trouble the mind and seek to lead the individual into sin.
30:11
The inner spiritual battle. That's it.
30:13
The inner spiritual battle that all believers face.
30:16
And when the Psalm says, many say unto my soul, there is no
30:19
salvation for him and his God, how does that play out for the
30:22
individual? The voice of despair.
30:24
Right. For the individual, this
30:26
reflects the deep despair caused by accumulated vices, the weight
30:30
of personal sin, or the devil's insidious, poisonous suggestions
30:34
leading to doubt in God's capacity to save them.
30:37
Doubting God's forgiveness or power.
30:38
It's that inner voice or the whispering of the accuser that
30:41
tries to convince you there's no hope, that God has surely given
30:44
up on you because of your failures.
30:46
It's a common struggle where the enemy seeks to undermine our
30:49
assurance and drive us to utter hopelessness.
30:52
Trying to cut off hope in God, but the individuals hope their
30:56
lifeline is founding. Confidently stating, But thou, O
31:00
Lord, art my taker. How does that help the
31:02
individual? This means recognizing that God
31:05
in his goodness took human nature in Christ specifically
31:08
for them, for each of us to rescue us from our fallen state.
31:12
It's personal application of the Incarnation.
31:15
God took my nature in Christ. My glory, then, serves as a rule
31:18
that no one should ascribe credit or spiritual merit to
31:21
themselves. All true glory, all good in us,
31:24
is from God alone, a gift of His grace, personal humility.
31:29
Always point back to God. And the lifter up of my head
31:32
refers to the elevation of the individual spirit or mind,
31:35
enabling it to rise above earthly concerns and serve God's
31:38
law. God lifting our thoughts towards
31:40
Him. It's the uplifting of our own
31:41
inner being, our conscience, our thoughts towards God, freeing us
31:45
from the downward pull of sin and worldly distractions.
31:48
It's God giving us the mental and spiritual capacity to Orient
31:51
ourselves toward Him. The individual believers
31:53
Declaration with my voice I have cried unto the Lord.
31:56
What does that signify personally?
31:58
Again, the inner cry. Signifies the most inward and
32:01
intensive form of prayer, that prayer of the heart that
32:04
Augustine spoke of earlier. Stripped of pretense, it's the
32:08
genuine, often silent outcry of the soul.
32:10
Sincere, deep prayer. And he heard me out of his holy
32:14
mountain. It means God hears individuals
32:16
through Christ's mediation. Through Christ, God has provided
32:20
all the help we need, so our prayers ascend to the Father
32:23
through the Son. Praying through Christ's
32:25
mediation. And I slept, and took rest, and
32:28
rose, for the Lord will take me up.
32:31
Can be spoken by any faithful person recalling their death of
32:35
sins and the gift of regeneration received through
32:37
baptism or conversion. My own spiritual death and
32:41
resurrection in Christ. It's a personal declaration of
32:43
new life, a spiritual waking from the death of sin to the
32:47
vibrant life in Christ. This mirrors Christ's
32:49
resurrection, showing how our personal spiritual experience
32:52
echoes his grand work. Indeed, the individual believer
32:55
can also declare I will not fear the thousands of people that
32:58
surround me. How is that?
32:59
Personal. It applies to the multitude of
33:02
personal temptations that encompass them in their daily
33:04
lives, the various seductions and pressures that threaten to
33:07
pull them away from faith. Facing daily spiritual warfare.
33:11
Arise, O Lord, Save me, Oh my God, becomes a deeply personal
33:15
prayer for God to make me to arise from spiritual slumber, to
33:20
deliver them from the grip of sin and temptation.
33:22
It's a cry for divine intervention in their personal
33:25
struggles. Asking God for help to stand up
33:28
spiritually. And since thou hast smitten, all
33:31
who oppose me without a cause is understood as God's
33:34
predetermined purpose concerning the devil and his angels, who
33:37
Rage Against individuals without any just cause, seeking to lead
33:41
them astray and destroy their souls.
33:42
Recognizing God's victory over spiritual enemies.
33:45
God has already defeated these spiritual enemies through
33:47
Christ, and that victory is applied to the individual
33:50
believer. And finally for the individual.
33:52
Thou hast broken the teeth of the sinners.
33:55
How does that work personally? Sounds and critics or vices?
33:58
It applies to those external forces or individuals who revile
34:01
them, or even the prime authors of vice, those insidious
34:05
internal temptations or external influences that try to separate
34:09
believers from the body of Christ and from God, overcoming
34:12
things that pull us away. Just as Christ conquered his
34:16
enemies, God enables the believer to overcome these
34:18
destructive forces, rendering their teeth their power to harm
34:22
or mislead, broken and ineffective.
34:24
God gives the victory. The overarching message for
34:27
individuals from the Psalm, powerfully articulated by
34:30
Augustine, is this salvation is of the Lord.
34:33
The key take away. This serves as a constant and
34:36
essential reminder for them to guard against pride, to always
34:39
acknowledge that salvation from beginning to end comes solely
34:42
from God's grace and His sovereign work.
34:44
Total reliance on God. It calls for constant reliance
34:47
and humility before God, recognizing that every spiritual
34:50
victory and indeed eternal life itself is a gift.
34:53
So what does this all boil down to for you the listener, and for
34:57
our shared walk in faith? Augustine concludes his
35:00
exposition on Psalm Three with a really powerful summary.
35:03
In Psalm 3.8, salvation is of the Lord, and upon thy people be
35:08
thy blessing. That final verse.
35:10
Augustine, with his careful attention to the text,
35:13
identifies 2 distinct parts in this sentence, each with its own
35:17
significant meaning and application.
35:19
OK, break it down. The first part, salvation, is of
35:22
the Lord, he says, is addressed to men, to humanity at large.
35:25
A message for everyone. It's not just a statement of
35:28
fact, but an injunction. A profound teaching instructs
35:32
all people to rely completely on God for salvation and to never
35:36
presume on themselves, their own strength, or their own works.
35:38
Yeah. No self.
35:40
Salvation. It clearly teaches that
35:41
deliverance from the death of sin, from spiritual bondage,
35:44
comes only from God's grace made possible through Jesus Christ.
35:48
It sets the proper understanding of where our rescue truly
35:51
originates. From God's initiative alone.
35:53
Not from human effort or merit, but from divine initiative and
35:57
provision. It dismantles any notion of
36:00
self-sufficiency in the face of our deepest need.
36:04
And the second part of that powerful verse.
36:06
And upon thy people be thy blessing.
36:08
What about that? That changes things.
36:10
It turns into a prayer addressed directly to God himself.
36:13
A shift from declaration to prayer, Yes.
36:16
It's a plea, A heartfelt request asking for His blessing upon the
36:20
very people who look to Him alone for salvation.
36:23
Asking God to bless those who trust Him.
36:26
This statement masterfully brings together the core
36:29
theological message that Augustine has unpacked
36:31
throughout the Psalm. Our rescue comes from God alone,
36:34
entirely by His hand. Sums it all up.
36:37
It encourages utter humility and constant reliance on God's favor
36:40
for both our salvation and our ongoing sustenance.
36:43
This final verse for Gustin encompasses Christ's finished
36:46
work on the cross and his resurrection.
36:48
The Church's ongoing mission. The church's ongoing mission to
36:51
proclaim that salvation and your personal experience of new life,
36:55
all given by God's Amazing Grace.
36:57
It's a perfect summary of what it means to be God's people.
37:00
A fitting end to the Psalm and his exposition.
37:03
Wow, what a compelling study of Psalm 3 through Augustine's
37:07
unique perspective. It really helps us perceive how
37:10
this ancient text speaks with such precision to Christ's life,
37:15
the Church's collective experience, and even, you know,
37:18
your own struggles and triumphs in faith it.
37:20
Absolutely. Does the idea that peace rests
37:22
with the Father, even in the face of rebellion that offers
37:25
such a hopeful aspect doesn't? It it really does.
37:27
And the recognition that our salvation is entirely God's
37:30
work, well, that just anchors our trust and humility before
37:33
Him. Keeps us grounded in grace.
37:35
This deep dive shows us the layered richness of Scripture
37:38
and how divine truth speaks to every aspect of our existence.
37:41
Maybe consider how Augustine's description of the voice of the
37:44
heart encourages us to refine our own times of quiet
37:47
fellowship with God, to speak to him, not just with words maybe,
37:52
but with the purest intention of our inner being, something to
37:55
reflect on. Definitely something to take
37:57
away. Thank you for joining us on the
37:59
Deep Dive. We hope this conversation has
38:01
provided you with fresh insight into Psalm 3 and Augustine's
38:04
thought. Until next time, keep seeking
38:07
truth.