Annotatio CLXXXIII

”Blessed [is he] whom thou hast chosen and taken up.” — Psalm 64:5

Hilary, in the explanation of the Psalter, illustrating this passage, seems to incline to the opinion of those who lay down that our merits are the cause of the divine and eternal election,¹ saying: “Blessed is whosoever shall have been elected: for many, according to the Gospel, are called, but few [are] chosen; and the elect are conspicuous in the nuptial garment, splendid with the pure and whole body of the new nativity. And so election is not a matter of undiscerning judgment, but a discrimination made out of the choice of merit: blessed, therefore, [is he] whom God has chosen — blessed for this, that he is worthy by [his] election.” Augustine condemns this opinion in [his books] against the Pelagians, as thou hast below in Annotation 251 of the following book.