Praying the Psalms with Augustine and Friends

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Praying the Psalms with Augustine and Friends

Psalm 57 with Athanasius – Corruption Does Not Save One thing you can count on: Corruption does not save those who get into it. On the contrary, it sets itself up against them, tears them down, and brings about their doom. Woe to those people against whom this prophecy is written! For the evil they pursue is sharper than a two-edged sword, and it will first kill those who lay hold of it. As the psalmist points out, their teeth are spears and arrows, [their] tongues are sharp swords (v. 4). But the wonderful part is that the one these people plan to harm actually suffers nothing, while they, on the other hand, are pierced by their own spears. That is because inside themselves they have built up anger, wrath, malice, guile, hatred, and bitterness. Although they may not be able to turn these evil thoughts upon others, they find themselves eaten up by their own internal poison. It works out as the psalmist prays, “But their swords will pierce their own hearts” (Ps 37:15). There is also a similar proverb: “The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast” (Prov 5:22). As the Spirit said, “The fool says in his heart, ‘there is no God’” (Ps 14:1). Their actions correspond with their thoughts: “They are corrupt, and their deeds are vile’ (Ps 14:1). The unrighteous person, then, corrupts their own body in every possible way: stealing, committing adultery, cursing, getting drunk, and doing similar things.