For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord. My soul hath relied on his word: (Psalm 129:4 DR)
Whenever we suffer from illness or some other such affliction, a necessary step in recovery to health is to acknowledge the problem exists. But many times we are wont either through pride or sloth to ignore such maladies as long as possible, sometimes even to the point that they pass the ability to be easily overcome, or even to be overcome at all. After all, the difference between cancer in its earliest stage and that which has metastasized could not be more dramatic, even if at base it is the same cancer. And while all things on the natural level cannot be overcome or remedied, prevention and early treatment give one the best shot.
It is thus ironic that we often put off such things for so long and make things far more painful for ourselves than necessary, usually with the motivation of avoiding any unpleasantness as much as possible. Going to a doctor, changing one’s habits—all such things are inconveniences or hard work, and our current cultural mindset is to avoid all suffering at all costs, even if the later consequences are even worse.
In the spiritual life we are often the same way. We let little sins fester because they don’t seem like a big deal and we don’t address them because it would require some (usually slight) self-mortification. But then they become cancerous and spread, so that a little compromise in one area makes us more willing to do so in others, until we are back in the slavery of sin and committing sins that cut us off from the life of grace.
And like the absurdity of the patient getting mad at the doctor for providing a poor albeit true diagnosis, we can become indignant with those who confront us with the truth of our spiritual condition, as if their attempts to wake us up to the cancer of the soul is a form of judgment or holier-than-thou-ism when it is rather potentially the greatest mercy. For unlike natural cancers which cannot always be cured or treated, spiritual cancer always can.
The Psalmist moves from the realization of the justice of God to an absolute hope in His mercy to forgive. This forgiveness is—as the Vulgate has it—not just God hand-waving away sin but is based upon propitiation:
But wherefore is there hope? “For there is propitiation with You” [Psalm 129:4]. And what is this propitiation, except sacrifice? And what is sacrifice, save that which has been offered for us? The pouring forth of innocent blood blotted out all the sins of the guilty: so great a price paid down redeemed all captives from the hand of the enemy who captured them. (St. Augustine, Expositions on the Psalms, 129, 3.)
This prophetic confidence in the oblation of our Lord Jesus Christ to His Father is remarkable and underscores the relation of justice and mercy as it coalesces (as it were) in this self-same offering of atonement for sins (cf. Hebrews 2:17), of which the sacrifices of the Old Covenant were a prefiguring, but now brought to their completion and fulfillment in our Lord.
The Psalmist thus does not pit justice and mercy against each other in some Manichean delusion but rather demonstrates their complete congruity. In fact, he goes as far to say that “by reason of Thy law” he has waited for the Lord, which is the explication of the previous confidence in God’s mercy—“for with Thee there is merciful forgiveness.” The penitence he brings before God is not a presumption on God’s mercy as if he is owed it but rather confidence in God’s promises and the loving kindness of God which is never failing. It is a penitent heart that hopes for mercy even as it recognizes the depths of its sins; it is the one who in pride or sloth refuses to admit his sin that despises God’s mercy:
To be truly penitent, we need two things; to reflect on our own wretched condition, and to know the extent of God’s mercy; because he that is ignorant of the state he is in, seeks for no medicine, does no penance; and he that has no idea of God’s mercy, falls into despair, and looks upon penance as of no value. (St. Robert Bellarmine, A Commentary on the Book of the Psalms, 129, 4-5).
This is an important observation of St. Bellarmine, for as much as we can presume upon God’s mercy in our pride, that same pride can be twisted to despair of God’s mercy and to hide ourselves from Him—as our first parents did—because we imagine God is out to get us. However, there is no humility in not seeking mercy but rather the insidious pride of the Evil One that would rather indulge in its own misery rather than turn to the One Who desires to show us mercy. The demons, after all, do not desire mercy, and even if they were capable of receiving it (which they are not) they would reject it because of their pride. The embodied nature of our existence entails that we have the ability to turn things around by God’s grace, to take the right path and humbly accept God’s gracious gift.
St. Augustine develops this idea masterfully by showing how the Law which condemns us was given by the Lawgiver so that we could see ourselves in our true state, that we would recognize our sin and turn to God for mercy:
A law was not given that could give life, [Galatians 3:21] but which might show his sins to the sinner. For the sinner had forgotten himself, and saw not himself; the law was given him, that he might see himself. The law made him guilty, the Lawgiver freed him: for the Lawgiver is the Supreme Power. (St. Augustine, Expositions on the Psalms, 129, 3.)
This diagnosis of our sin by the law doesn’t make the law evil (cf. Romans 7:7-8) any more than a doctor telling you that you have cancer makes the doctor the cause of your pathology. In fact, without this diagnostic function of the law the tumor of sin would grow beneath the surface, spreading and metastasizing until it is discovered too late.
The justice of God and the mercy of God (which are ultimately the same thing) thus work together to effect our salvation, for when—to continue the analogy—we acknowledge the diagnosis of our sins, we can then turn to the Great Physician to cure us. St. Augustine continues by noting how our agreement with the condition of our souls leads to this ultimate outcome:
The law of love gives forgiveness to sins, blots out the past, warns concerning the future; forsakes not its companion by the way, becomes a companion to him whom it leads on the way. But it is needful to agree with the adversary, while you are with him in the way. [Matthew 5:25] For the Word of God is your adversary, as long as thou dost not agree with it. But you agree, when it has begun to be your delight to do what God's Word commands. Then he who was your adversary becomes your friend: so, when the way is finished, there will be none to deliver you to the Judge. (ibid.)
In this manner the difference between God as Judge and God as Friend is not any change on God’s part but on ours, on the submission of our will to His. We can thus have hope and confidence in God’s mercy to heal the sickness of our souls if we turn to Him with contrite and humble hearts, for He has promised to heal us and cannot deceive:
“For with thee there is merciful forgiveness and by reason of thy law I have waited for thee, O Lord;” as much as to say, though no one can stand before you if you choose to mark our iniquities, still, knowing you, as I do, to be naturally merciful, and knowing that “with thee there is merciful forgiveness,” and that, “by reason of the law” you imposed on yourself, to show no mercy to the impenitent, but to receive the penitent, it is “by reason of such law that I have waited for thee, O Lord,” in the hope and expectation of pardon for my sins. (St. Robert Bellarmine, A Commentary on the Book of the Psalms, 129, 4-5).
For this animation I kept it pretty simple, opting for using Trapcode Mir. I applied the effect to a Solid and adjusted the parameters until I found something I liked, and then adjusted the X Step which creates the ribbon effect. Or maybe it was the Y Step. It all depends on the orientation of the geometry relative to the canvas, which I’m sure is relevant to no one except myself.
I then animated the offset and Evolution to get it to move, and I thought that it kind of felt like the passage of time to go along with the waiting. Or at least that’s how I will retcon it.
Enjoy.
For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord. My soul hath relied on his word:
(Psalm 129:4 DR)
View a higher quality version of this gif here: