‘In Christ we suffered temptation, and in him we overcame the Devil.’
Who was Saint Augustine of Hippo?
Saint Augustine of Hippo (354–430) was a theologian, philosopher, and bishop whose writings shaped Western Christianity and philosophy. He was born in Thagaste, North Africa (modern-day Algeria), to a pagan father, Patricius, and a devout Christian mother, Monica. Despite his mother’s influence, Augustine spent much of his early life pursuing worldly ambitions and exploring different philosophies.
In his youth, Augustine studied rhetoric in Carthage, where he adopted the Manichean belief system, which claimed to explain the problem of evil through a dualistic worldview. Dissatisfied with its teachings, he later turned to Neoplatonism, which emphasized the spiritual nature of reality. Throughout this period, Augustine lived a restless life, marked by ambition, relationships, and inner conflict.
In 386, after hearing a passage from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans urging moral transformation, Augustine experienced a profound conversion to Christianity. He was baptized the following year by Saint Ambrose in Milan. Returning to North Africa, he founded a monastic community before being ordained a priest in 391 and later appointed Bishop of Hippo in 395.
As bishop, Augustine worked to defend the Church against various heresies, including Donatism, which questioned the validity of sacraments performed by sinful priests, and Pelagianism, which denied the necessity of divine grace for salvation. His major works include Confessions, an autobiographical reflection on his spiritual journey; The City of God, a defense of Christianity in response to Rome’s decline; and On Christian Doctrine, a guide to interpreting Scripture.
Augustine’s teachings on grace, free will, and the nature of the Church have had a lasting influence. He is recognized as a Doctor of the Church and is commemorated in the Roman Catholic Church on August 28. His writings continue to shape theology and philosophy in both Western and Eastern Christian traditions.
Summary | A commentary Of St Augustine On Psalm 60
Saint Augustine’s commentary on Psalm 60 focuses on the psalmist’s words: “From the ends of the earth I call to you.” Augustine interprets this as the cry of a person who feels distant from God. He explains that this “distance” is not physical but spiritual — a condition of being separated from God by sin, suffering, or inner turmoil.
Augustine describes this state as one of exile, where the believer feels isolated from God’s presence. Yet despite this feeling of separation, the psalmist still calls out, showing that no one is beyond God’s reach. Augustine emphasizes that calling to God from “the ends of the earth” is itself an act of faith — a recognition that God’s mercy extends even to those who feel lost or abandoned.
He reflects on the phrase “set me on the rock that is higher than I.” Augustine identifies this rock as Christ — stable, firm, and unshaken. He contrasts the frailty of human nature with the strength of this rock, noting that those who trust in themselves remain vulnerable, while those who place their trust in Christ find security.
Augustine encourages the faithful to cling to this rock, particularly in times of trial. He warns that pride distances people from God, while humility enables them to rely on Him fully. The believer who recognizes their own weakness and seeks Christ as their foundation will endure hardship with greater strength.
A commentary Of St Augustine On Psalm 60
Hear, O God, my petition, listen to my prayer. Who is speaking? An individual, it seems. See if it is an individual: I cried out to you from the ends of the earth while my heart was in anguish. Now it is no longer one person; rather, it is one in the sense that Christ is one, and we are all his members. What single individual can cry from the ends of the earth? The one who cries from the ends of the earth is none other than the Son’s inheritance. It was said to him: Ask of me, and I shall give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession. This possession of Christ, this inheritance of Christ, this body of Christ, this one Church of Christ, this unity that we are, cries from the ends of the earth. What does it cry? What I said before: Hear, O God, my petition, listen to my prayer; I cried out to you from the ends of the earth.’ That is, I made this cry to you from the ends of the earth; that is, on all sides.
Why did I make this cry? While my heart was in anguish. The speaker shows that he is present among all the nations of the earth in a condition, not of exalted glory but of severe trial.
Our pilgrimage on earth cannot be exempt from trial. We progress by means of trial. No one knows himself except through trial, or receives a crown except after victory, or strives except against an enemy or temptations.
The one who cries from the ends of the earth is in anguish, but is not left on his own. Christ chose to foreshadow us, who are his body, by means of his body, in which he has died, risen and ascended into heaven, so that the members of his body may hope to follow where their head has gone before.
He made us one with him when he chose to be tempted by Satan. We have heard in the gospel how the Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. Certainly Christ was tempted by the devil. In Christ you were tempted, for Christ received his flesh from your nature, but by his own power gained salvation for you; he suffered death in your nature, but by his own power gained glory for you; therefore, he suffered temptation in your nature, but by his own power gained victory for you.
If in Christ we have been tempted, in him we overcome the devil. Do you think only of Christ’s temptations and fail to think of his victory? See yourself as tempted in him, and see yourself as victorious in him. He could have kept the devil from himself; but if he were not tempted he could not teach you how to triumph over temptation.
Jesus has told his disciples about the Passion to come for the third time, as they journey to Jerusalem, and still this grizzly series of events, of mockery, scourging and death, is quite beyond the disciples’ comprehension. It is a great testimony to the apostles’ honesty and humility that, in recounting the Gospel, they do not seek to conceal their early weaknesses; these men chosen by Jesus have yet to be transformed through grace, to become the great pillars of the Church. Now further weakness is recalled, as the disciples reveal their ambition to have a powerful and prestigious position when the Kingdom comes [ … ]
There is such over-flowing of goodness and joy in our response to Jesus. Faced with such overwhelming power of truth, it is paradoxically to be expected that people will object. We may all have felt a certain closing off at times, a rejection of what might be best in favour of what we know and are accustomed to. Too many of the people of Jesus’ time look set to reject him, just because of who he is and what he represents – i.e. the truth and the new and better way – rather than because of all that he says and does. These people seek evil where there is only good [ … ]
Herbert structures the poem as a dramatic monologue, with Christ narrating his journey to the Cross. The refrain not only highlights the unmatched sorrow of Christ’s ordeal but also serves as a rhetorical question that invites readers to contemplate such depth of Christ’s sacrifice. The refrain anchors each stanza and reinforces a theme of unparalleled grief [ … ]
