Praying the Psalms with Augustine and Friends

Chapter 3: Psalms 39–59

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Psalm 53 with Augustine – Cultivating the Right Kind of Fear

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God” (v. 1). Who is this fool? If God exists, he is just; if he is just, he despises injustice and sin. But when you think that sin pleases him, you deny God. For if God despises sin, but God does not seem to you to despise sin, and there is no God but one who despises sin, then when you say in your heart, God supports my sin, you say in effect: “There is no God.” There they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread (v. 5). Is there fear if someone loses riches? There is nothing to dread there, and yet in that case people are afraid. But if someone loses wisdom, truly that is worthy of dread, yet the person is not afraid. You have been afraid of losing money, and have willed to lose faithfulness. The martyrs took no property from others, and even despised their own property to avoid losing faith; it was too little to lose money, they lost life, in order that unto everlasting life they might find it (Matt 10:39). They feared where they should have been afraid. But those who have said Christ is not God have feared where there was no fear. For they said, “If we let Him go, the Romans will come and take away from us both place and kingdom” (John 11:48). O folly and recklessness to say, “He is not God”! You have feared to lose earth, but you have lost heaven. You have feared the Romans. Could they take God from you? What remains then? What besides your confession that you wanted to keep, and by keeping you have lost everything? For you have lost both place and nation by killing Christ. For you wanted to kill Christ rather than to lose your place; and you have lost your place, and nation, and Christ.