Ezekiel 40:44

The mercy of the Lord, by which sins are forgiven, even the sinner ought to sing—that is, to speak of it with joy and to hope in it. But who is so righteous that he can call before the eyes of his mind the eternal judgment and not tremble, and rather presume, hasten, and rejoice to come to that examination before so great a Judge? Whoever he is, he is great, because, already singing of the Lord's mercy and judgment, he loves with the whole affection of his mind the almighty God who mercifully forgives his sins, and therefore does not fear His judgment. For perfect love, as the apostle John says, casts out fear. He sings indeed of the judgment which he does not dread to enter. Therefore let his mind be a treasury of singers, so that through the riches of mercy which he receives, he may proceed joyfully to the judgment which he no longer fears. Let us see, if you please, dearest brothers, another treasury of the singer as well. Perhaps he too sings of judgment. For what does he say? "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith; for the rest, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will render to me on that day." He who, conscious of his labors, mindful of the struggle he waged, mindful of the faith he kept, says that a crown is laid up for him at the judgment, and hopes rather than expects it to be granted to him as a gift on that day—it is clearly evident that he sings of the judgment which he desires to come. Hence he also adds: "And not only to me, but also to those who love His appearing." For no one loves the coming of the Judge unless he knows that he has a good case in the judgment. […]

But your charity remembers that in our previous discourse we said that faith is designated by the Eastern gate, hope by the Northern, and charity by the Southern. Therefore these treasuries are mentioned as being between the Eastern and Northern gates, and as looking toward the Southern way, because the hearts of the saints, positioned between faith and hope, look toward the Southern way, since they burn with the fires of holy charity. The Eastern gate itself is also said to look toward the Northern way, because although all sins are forgiven us through faith in baptism, nevertheless while we still live here, even after faith we frequently decline toward sins. And the Eastern gate, as it were, looks toward the Northern way, when our life after receiving faith still grows somewhat numb in the coldness of fault. For who in this life is able to live without fault after faith, since John says: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us"? Agreeing with whose words, James says: "For in many things we all offend." But if past sins were forgiven in the reception of faith, and we still decline toward sins after faith, what presumption of righteousness will there be for us, what hope of enduring life, unless now, while we are still between the Eastern and Northern gates, we lift the eyes of our mind toward the Southern way, so that, burning with holy charity, the heat of love may free us from the fault of numbness and coldness? Therefore let the treasuries be between the Eastern and Northern gates; but, as was said, let their faces look toward the Southern way, so that between this—that we were born in faith—and this—that afterward, having fallen into sins, we presume upon the hope of divine mercy—we may exercise ourselves in the ardor of charity, and direct the eyes of our heart there, where we are kindled by the fires of love.

The North gate can signify the Gentiles, the South way Judea, and the East gate the Lord Himself. For not without reason is the Gentile world represented by the North, which he possessed in the coldness of torpor who said: "I will sit on the mount of the covenant, on the sides of the North." Judea is also rightly understood by the South gate, in which the spiritual fathers burned with heavenly love. One of them speaks, saying: "Turn again, O Lord, our captivity, like a torrent in the South." Although it had a carnal people in whom it bore, as it were, the cold of the North, nevertheless in its holy teachers and Prophets it burned with the heat of charity toward God and neighbor. The East gate not without reason signifies Him of whom it is written: "Behold the man, Rising is his name." And of whom Zechariah says: "The Rising from on high has visited us." Therefore let the treasuries of the singers be on the side of the North gate, because not only in Judea were the hearts of the saints spiritually kindled, but also in the multitude of the Gentiles converted to the sacraments of the holy faith, the hearts of the saints burn with love of the heavenly fatherland, they yearn for eternal joys, they sigh for the fellowship of their fellow citizens in heaven; yet they take examples of this ardor, which they received by the gift of the Holy Spirit, from the spiritual fathers of the Synagogue. Hence those same treasuries, though placed on the side of the North, turn their eyes toward the South way. For behold, we come from among the Gentiles; but in this, that we are warmed by the love of the Holy Spirit, we look to the fathers of Judea, who daily provide us examples of holy desire in their words.

It should be noted that the Eastern gate is described as being between the gate of the South and of the North, because our Lord and Redeemer was born from Judea, and soon afterward drew the Church from the Gentiles to His faith. For He appeared as it were between the southern gate and that of the North, because He came from the former and converted the latter to His service. Hence it is well said that the same Eastern gate looks toward the way of the North, because the Lord when born abandoned the Synagogue and gathered the multitude of the Gentiles. It should also be noted that when it was being said concerning the treasury chambers: "And their faces toward the way of the South," "one" was added, so that we might clearly understand that the way to the heavenly homeland is not one for us who come from the Gentiles, and another for those fathers who were in Judea; but this same one way is for us and for them, which leads us to eternal joys, which says to us through the Gospel: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Concerning which the Psalmist says: "That we may know Your way on earth, Your salvation among all nations." For what is called Jesus in Hebrew is called Savior in Latin. Therefore the way is known on earth, because Jesus, God before the ages, and made man at the end of the ages, was manifested to the Gentiles. Therefore there is one way both for those who are from the South and for those who are from the North.

The holy Church has two lives: one which it leads temporally, another which it receives in eternity; one in which it labors on earth, another in which it is rewarded in heaven; one in which it gathers wages, another in which it now rejoices over the wages received, and in both lives it offers sacrifice. Here, namely, the sacrifice of compunction, and there the sacrifice of praise. Of this sacrifice it is said: "A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit." But of that one it is written: "Then you will accept the sacrifice of justice, offerings and holocausts." Of which again it says: "That my glory may sing to you, and I may not be pierced with compunction." In both sacrifices, however, flesh is offered, because here the offering of flesh is the mortification of the body, there the offering of flesh is the glory of resurrection in praise of God. For then flesh will be offered there as in a holocaust, when, transformed into eternal incorruption, it will have nothing of contradiction, nothing of mortality, because entirely kindled at once by the fires of his love, it will remain in praise without end. Therefore let this inner gate, that is, in the holy Church, have its interior parts, namely that life which is still hidden from our eyes. Let it have outside it an outer court, that is, the present life, in which every good is done so that the good without end may be reached.

Was he not burning as if with the heat of midday fervor, who was inflamed, saying: "As the deer longs for the springs of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul has thirsted for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God?" Who again said: "I will sing and understand in the immaculate way, when will you come to me?" He who said this was also kindled with this ardor: "Now you dismiss, Lord, your servant according to your word in peace, because my eyes have seen your salvation." Therefore, because we come from the Gentiles, but we set before ourselves the holy fathers of Judea for imitation in divine love, we are like certain treasury chambers of the singers on the side of the gate that looks toward the way of the North, but we keep our faces toward the way of the South.

And it should be noted that these same treasuries are said to be between the gate of the North and the East, because evidently after the Lord's incarnation a multitude of nations came to the faith, and among those faithful peoples themselves and the sacraments of the Lord's incarnation which they love from the depths of their hearts, the hearts of those who love rise up. Therefore let the holy treasuries have the gate of the East on one side and of the North on the other, because among those very mysteries of their redemption which they follow, and certain carnal people whom they also tolerate within the holy Church, many advance in strong love toward God, grow in virtues, seek the coming of the eternal Judge, and between those things which they love and those which they tolerate, like certain treasuries, they preserve the riches of the spirit in their mind. Nor do they fail between the sacraments which they love and certain contrary things which they bear, because they direct their faces toward the Southern way. For what do we suffer that our fathers did not previously endure for love of the Lord?

And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers,....

It should seem they were first provided for before any other that attended this temple-service, to intimate, not only that the singing of psalms should still continue a gospel-ordinance, but that the gospel should furnish all that embrace it with abundant matter for joy and praise, and give them occasion to break forth into singing, which is often foretold concerning gospel times, Ps. xcvi.

Without - Outside of the gate in the inner court. See N, Plan II. Singers - These were Levites of particular families, those of Heman, Asaph, and Merari, whose genealogy is carefully traced up to Levi (see marginal reference). These chambers (N, Plan II) may have been for the “singers and priests” who were for the time being engaged in the services of the temple. Other chambers (Eze 42:1 ff) were for the use of the “priests” at other times; and the Levites and singers, when “not” on duty, would find accommodation in the thirty chambers of the outer court.

the chambers of the singers--two in number, as proved by what follows: "and their prospect (that is, the prospect of one) was toward the south, (and) one toward the north." So the Septuagint.

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