1. Behold, now, bless ye the Lord, all you servants of the Lord Psalm 133:1, who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God Psalm 133:2. Why has he added, in the courts? Courts mean the wider spaces of a house. He who stands in the courts is not straitened, is not confined, in some fashion is enlarged. Remain in this enlargement, and you can love your enemy, because you love not things in which an enemy could straiten you. How can you be understood to stand in the courts? Stand in charity, and you stand in the courts. Breadth lies in charity, straitness in hatred.
2. Lift up your hands by night in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord Psalm 133:2. It is easy to bless by day. What is by day? In prosperity. For night is a sad thing, day a cheerful. When it is well with you, thou dost bless the Lord. Your son was sick, and he is made whole, thou dost bless the Lord. Your son was sick, perchance you have sought an astrologer, a soothsayer, perchance a curse against the Lord has come, not from your tongue, but from your deeds, from your deeds and your life. Boast not, because you bless with your tongue, if you curse with your life. Wherefore bless ye the Lord. When? By night. When did Job bless? When it was a sad night. All was taken away which he possessed; the children for whom his goods were stored were taken away. How sad was his night! Let us however see whether he blesses not in the night. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; it is as the Lord willed; blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1:21 And black was the night....
3. The Lord out of Zion bless you, who made heaven and earth Psalm 133:3. He exhorts many to bless, and Himself blesses one, because He makes one out of many, since it is good and pleasant for brethren to dwell together in one. It is a plural number, brethren, and yet singular, to dwell together in one. Let none of you say, It comes not to me. Do you know of whom he speaks, the Lord bless you out of Zion. He blessed one. Be one, and the blessing comes to you.
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St. Augustine (354 - 430)
Was an early Christian theologian and philosopher [5] whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius in north Africa and is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions.When the Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Church as a spiritual City of God, distinct from the material Earthly City. His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview. The segment of the Church that adhered to the concept of the Trinity as defined by the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople closely identified with Augustine's On the Trinity.
Aurelius Augustinus, Augustine of Hippo, or Saint Augustine is one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity. In Roman Catholicism and the Anglican Communion, he is a saint and pre-eminent Doctor of the Church, and the patron of the Augustinian religious order. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider him to be one of the theological fountainheads of Reformation teaching on salvation and grace. In Orthodox Churches he is considered a saint by some while others are of the opinion that he is a heretic, primarily for his statements concerning what became known as the filioque clause.
Born in Africa as the eldest son of Saint Monica, he was educated in Rome and baptized in Milan. Augustine drifted through several philosophical systems before converting to Christianity at the age of thirty-one. Returning to his homeland soon after his conversion, he was ordained a presbyter in 391, taking the position as bishop of Hippo in 396, a position which he held until his death.
St. Augustine stands as a powerful advocate for orthodoxy and of the episcopacy as the sole means for the dispensing of saving grace. In the light of later scholarship, Augustine can be seen to serve as a bridge between the ancient and medieval worlds. A review of his life and work, however, shows him as an active mind engaging the practical concerns of the churches he served.