20. Shall not He take account of their toil,
Who will not cast off for ever even those whom He casts off? For
David says: “God will not cast off for
ever,” Ps. lxxvii.
[lxxvi.] 7. In the
Psalm this passage is a question of the Psalmist in his bitter
troubles, “Will God cast off?” St. Ambrose, in
arguing against Novatian, not only modifies the text, but somewhat
modifies its meaning. and in
opposition to this shall we listen to heresy asserting, “He does
cast off for ever”? David says: “God will not
for ever cut off His mercy from generation to generation, nor will He
forget to be merciful.” Ps. lxxvii.
[lxxvi.] 8, 9. This
is the prophet’s declaration, and there are those who would
maintain a forgetfulness of mercy on God’s
part.