Shall they that are such,
thinkest
thou, fall into his nets ?
Augustine - Exposition on the Psalms - v6
good man Caius and good.
"
Seins, only be Christian. ' So
punish
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The victory of the Gospel. 253
what? That praise sweeteneth not: it is the oil of a sinner. Ver.
Yet ceaseth he not to speak so. Let him not therewith ---L-- fatten thy head; that is, rejoice not in such things; agree
not to such things ; consent not to such things ; rejoice not
in such things ; and then, if he have applied to thee the oil of flattery, yet hath thy head remained as it was, it has not been puffed up, it hath not swollen. For if it hath been puffed up and swollen, it increaseth in weight, and hurleth thee headlong. But let not the oil of a sinner fatten my head.
18. For still shall My word be wellpleasing to them. Wait awhile: now they revile Me, saith Christ. In the early times of the Christians, the Christians were blamed on all sides. Wait as yet; and My word shall be wellpleasing to them. The time shall come when they shall conquer thousands of men, who shall beat their breasts, and say, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Even now, how many remain who blush to beat their breasts ? Let them then blame us : let us bear it. Let them blame ; let them hate, accuse, detract; still shall My word be well pleasing to them ; the time shall come when My word shall please them. For they shall lift themselves up as though righteous in their own strength, they shall be conquered in the strife ; because they have lifted themselves up proudly,
they shall be dashed down, they shall be dragged by their sins, they shall see that they are unrighteous ; then shall be fulfilled what was spoken by the Prophets, judgment shall begin to be feared, the eye of the soul shall turn itself to consciousness of sins, and those words that please Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. wordy defence of iniquity Verily now whole nations say this, and the thunder of nations beating their breasts ceaseth not. Rightly do the
clouds thunder, wherein now God dwelleth. Where now that wordiness, where that boasting, am righteous nought of ill have done Verily, when thou hast con templated in Holy Scripture the law of righteousness, how far soever thou hast advanced, thou shalt find thyself sinner. Thou hast advanced now thou worshippest one God well now thou goest not whoring from Him to idols, to astrologers, fortune-tellers, diviners, augurs, evil
: it is
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254 Even the good overtaken by lesser sins.
Psalm doers; for that is committing fornication against the Lord ftiau's thy God; now art thou included in some number of the
22.
members of Christ. Now begin to see also the common sins of human society. Thou murderest none; thou committest not adultery with another's wife ; thou wrongest not thy wife by going to another ; thou pollutest not thyself by any grievous defilement ; thou hast kept thy hands from theft, thy tongue from perjury, thy heart from coveting thy neighbour's goods ; now thou art righteous. Consider what remains : be not yet proud. Dost thou never sin in thy tongue ? dost thou not fall into harsh words ? But what great matter is this ? What great matter ? Whosoever shall say to his brother, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell
Now trembleth all that pride. Supposing now that he committeth no great thing, which may seem by some im piety to blaspheme God ; that he hasteth not to injure any ; doth not to another what he would not should be done to him; what of the tongue? who tameth that? But suppos ing thou hast bridled even it; (though who is so good as entirely to achieve this? ) supposing thou hast bridled even
what doest thou with thy thoughts what doest thou with the tumult and crowd of rebellious desires? dost thou keep from giving thy members to them believe and see that thou dost: but still thy thoughts sometimes bend thee and carry thee away, often even when thy knees are fixed in prayer. Thou prostratest thy body, bowest down thy neck, confessest thy sins, worshippest God see where thy body
prostrate, ask whither thy mind flitteth. see thy members prostrate let us see whether conscience standeth still let us see whether fixed on Him Whom wor- shippeth whether be not often caught by thoughts, as by some tide of the sea, and borne by the storm to one thing and another. If thou wert now speaking with me, and suddenly wert to turn away to thy servant, and leave me, say not when thou wast asking somewhat of me, but even when thou wast conversing with me on equal terms, should
not think that wrong was done me That what thou doest daily to God. What sort of man am now speaking of, brethren speak of him who worshippeth God alone, who confesseth Christ, who knoweth the Father and the Son
fire.
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For which they must seek pardon in the Lord's Prayer. 255
and the Holy Ghost to be one God; who conimitteth not Ver. fornication against Him ; who worshippeth not devils ; who ----- seeketh him not aid from the devil; who holdeth the Catholic
Church ; whom no one complaineth of as cheating ; under
whose oppression no weak neighbour groaneth ; who assail-
eth not another's wife ; who is content with his own, or
even without his own, in such wise as is lawful, and as Apostolical discipline permitteth, with consent of both, or 1 Cor. 7, when she is not yet married. Even he who is such as this,8'
is yet overtaken in such things as I have mentioned.
19. So then the time has come which was spoken of. Yet shall My word be wellpleasing to them, whether it be
that which He taught, or that whereby He intercedeth for
us. For all these daily sins then what is our hope, save to say
with humble heart in the Lord's Prayer, while we defend not
our sins, but confess them, Forgive us our debts, as twMatt. 6,
forgive our debtors; and to have an Advocate with </"? {jonil2 Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, that He may be the l.
propitiation for our sins ? Now let the proud speak : they
are overpowered by numbers, by whole nations, by the whole world, from the rising to the setting of the sun, praising the Name of the Lord. What do a few maintain
ing the contrary ? They are the judges of the wicked. What is that to thee ? See what followelh : their judges ver. 7. have been swallowed up beside the Rock. What is, swallowed
up beside the Rock? That Rock was Christ, They have lCor. 10, been swallowed up beside the Rock. Beside, that com- 4' pared, as judges, as mighty, powerful, learned: they are
called their judyes, as judging about morals, and laying
down their opinions. This Aristotle said. Set him beside
the Rock, and he swallowed up. Who Aristotle let
him hear, Christ hath said,' and he trembleth among the
dead. This Pythagoras said, that Plato said. Set them
beside the Rock, compare their authority to the authority
of the Gospel, compare the proud to the Crucified. Say
we to them, Ye have written your words in the hearts of
the proud; He hath planted His Cross in the hearts1 of on the kings. Finally, He died, and rose again ye are dead, andn? er^jg,
will not ask how ye rise again. So their judges haveMm- been swallowed up beside that Rock. So long do their
I
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256 Christ's servants fear not even death.
Psalm words seem somewhat, till they are compared with the Rock. -tlHi Therefore if any of them be found to have said what Christ too hath said, we congratulate him, but we follow him not.
But he came before Christ. If any man speak what is true, is he therefore before the Truth itself? Regard Christ, O man, not when He came to thee, but when He made thee. The sick man too might say, ' But I took to my bed before the physician came to me. ' Why, for that very reason has He come last, because thou first has sickened.
20. See then the language of the Psalm. Yet shall My Word be well pleasing to them. But there shall be many who speak against it. Their judges have been s wallowed up
beside the Rock. What then will happen ? They shall hear My Words, for they have prevailed. My Words have prevailed over their words. They have spoken clever things, I true things. To praise one who talketh well is one thing, to praise One who speaketh truth is another. They shall hear My Words, for they have prevailed. How have they
Who of them has been taken offering sacrifice, when such things were forbidden by the law, and has not denied it? Who of them has been taken worshipping an idol, and has not exclaimed, ' I did it not,' and feared lest he should be convicted ? Such servants hath the devil.
prevailed?
Mat. 10, BIut how have the Words of the Lord prevailed? Behold,
16. 2>>.
senrl y0u as sheep in the midst wolves. Fear not forth of
those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but fear Him, Who can cast both body and soul into hell fire. He gave them fear, He suggested hope, He kindled love.
fell, and yet stood. And what was the result of so many deaths of martyrs, save that those words prevailed, and the earth being, so to speak, watered by the blood of Christ's witnesses, the cross of the Church shot up every where?
They shall hear, saith He, My Words, for they have pre vailed. How have they prevailed ? We have said already, when they were preached by men who feared not. Feared not what? Neither banishment, nor losses, nor death, nor
' Fear not death,' He saith. Do ye fear death ?
Fear ye, lest a hair of your head perish ? I first rise again in the flesh uninjured. Rightly have ye heard His Words, for they have prevailed. They spake, and were slain; they
I die first.
The blood of Martyrs the seed of the Church. 257
crucifixion : for it was not death alone that they did not Ver. fear; but even crucifixion, a death than which none was------ thought more accursed. It the Lord endured, that His disciples might not only not fear death, but not even that
kind of death. When then these things are said by men that fear not, they have prevailed.
21. What then have all those deaths of the
accomplished? Listen: As the fatness of the earth wver. 7. spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered beside
the pit. Beside the pit have been scattered the bones of the martyrs, that is, the bodies of the witnesses of Christ. The martyrs were slain, and they who slew them seemed to prevail. They prevailed by persecution, that the words of
Christ might prevail by preaching. And what was the
result of the deaths of the saints ? As the fatness of the
earth is spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered
beside the pit. What meaneth, the fatness of the earth is
spread over the earth ? We know that every thing that is
refuse is the fatness of the earth. The things which are, as
it were, contemptible to men, enrich the earth. For it is
said also in a certain Psalm, that the dead bodies of the P? . 79, saints were cast out, and there was none to bury them.
But all these dead bodies became the fatness of the earth.
Just as the earth receives a sort of fatness from things con temptible and refuse, so from that which this world despised,
the earth received fatness, so that from it the crop of the Church should sprout more plentifully. Now ye know, brethren, that the contemptible things of this earth, where
with the soil is enriched, which I am unwilling to name, nor is
it fitting to speak of them, are a kind of nourishment of the
earth, and a sort of fatness : they are, as it were, vile, and are
thrown away. But what hath He done, to use now His own
words? He hath lifledup the needyfrom the earth , and raised^*- 113, the poor from the dunghill, to set him with the princes, the
princes of His people. For he was laid upon the earth, as
a sort of fatness of the earth, he was scattered over the
earth ; so lay Lazarus full of sores, yet was he raised by
angels into Abraham's bosom. Precious in the sight of the P>>- 1'6, Lord is the death of His saints. As it is contemptible to the
world, so is it precious to the husbandman. For he knoweth VOL. vi. s
martyrs
258 In their distress they appealed to God.
Psalm the use thereof, and its rich juice; he knoweth what he
CxlI" desireth, what he seeketh, whence the fertile crop ariseth;
1 Cor. 1, but this world despiseth it. Know ye not that God hath
27 28
ver. 8.
22. For unto Thee, Lord, are mine eyes ; in Thee hare I hoped, take not Thou away my life. For they were tortured in persecutions, and many failed. And because it was of the captivity of persecution that he said, As the fatness of the earth is spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered beside the pit, it occurreth to him that many have failed, many have been in hazard, and as it were in the midst of the tribulation of persecution is sent forth the voice of one praying; For unto Thee, Lord, are mine eyes: I care not what they threaten who stand around, unto Thee, Lord, are mine eyes. More do I fix mine eye on Thy promises than on their threats. I know what Thou hast suffered for me, what Thou hast prIomised me. To Thee,
ver. 9.
chosen the contemptible things of the world, and those which are not, like as those which are, that the things which are may be brought to nought ? From the dunghill was Peter lifted up, and Paul ; when they were put to death, they were despised : now, the earth having been enriched by them, and the cross of the Church springing up, behold, all that is noble and chief in the world, even the emperor himself, cometh to Rome, and whither does he hasten ? to the temple of the emperor, or the memorial of the fisherman ? For, as the fatness of the earth is spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered beside the pit.
Lord, are mine eyes : in Thee have
take not away 23. Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me.
'
my life.
If thou consentest, I
thee. ' In
What was the trap ?
the trap was set the bait of the present life ; if the bird love this bait, it falleth into the trap : but if the bird be able to
Jer. 17, say, ' The day of man have 1 not desired: Thou knowestS his
P<<. 25, eVes sJ'gM not oe withdrawn from God, and He shall pluck
15-
hisfeet out of the net. Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling-blocks of them which work iniquity. Two things he hath mentioned to be distinguished the one from the other: the trap he said was set by persecutors ; the stumbling-blocks came from those
hoped,
spare
Only obstinate sinners fall into the devil's nets. 259
who have consented and apostatised : and from both he Ver. desires to be guarded. On the one side they threaten and 9" l0' rage, on the other consent and fall : I fear lest the one be
such, that I fear him ; the other such, that I imitate him.
' This I do to thee, if thou consent not. ' Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me. ' Behold, thy brother hath already consented. ' And from the stumbling-blocks of them which work iniquity.
24. Sinners shall fall into his nets. What then, brethren, ver. 10. is, sinners shall fall into his vets f Not all sinners : certain sinners, who are so great sinners, as to love this life to such
a degree as to prefer it to everlasting life, shall fall into his
trap. But what sayest thou?
Shall they that are such, thinkest thou, fall into his nets ? what of Thy disciples, O Christ? Behold, when persecution was raging, when they
all left Thee alone, and went every one to his own: (this John 16, Thou didst foretell, because Thou didst foresee: for not32' because Thou didst announce it beforehand, didst Thou therefore do or in any way deny Thyself:) but, lo! they
who were closest to Thee, in Thy trial and persecution, when Thine enemies demanded Thee to be crucified, abandoned Thee. And that one bold one, who had promised Thee that he would go with Thee even unto death, heard from the Physician what was being done in him, the sick man. For being in fever, he had said he was whole but the Lord touched the vein of his heart. Then came the trial then came the test; then came the accusation; and now,
not some great power, but by humble slave, and that a woman, questioned by handmaid, he yielded he denied thrice When he had once denied and was reminded, he denied second time. When he had twice denied and was reminded, he denied a third time. This had the Lord foretold, not fore-ordered, not compelled. Or,
Peter be thought to have done rightly, because the Lord foretold it, Judas also did rightly, who betrayed Him, for this also the Lord had foretold. God forbid, my brethren. These are the words of those elect who defend their own sins also, rather than confess them. Let us rather consider Peter himself. If he sinned not, why wept he Let us ask
none concerning Peter, save the tears of Peter: more faith-
questioned
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2H0 The Apostles not firm in their faith
Psalm ful witness concerning him we do not find. He wept -"-- Utterly, it saith. Not yet was he fitted to suffer. To him John 13, was said, Thou shall follow Me afterwards. Hereafter he
was to be firm, having been strengthened by the Lord's Resurrection.
25. Not yet then was it time that those bones should be scattered beside the pit. For see how many failed, even to those who first hung on His mouth ; even they failed.
Wherefore? / am alone, until I
pass over: for this fol- loweth in the Psalm. Above he hath said, Keep me, O Lord, from the trap which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling-blocks of them who work iniquity. From the
trap, and from the stumbling-blocks, from those who frighten, and from those who have fallen. But because, at His passion, even those first ones, who were destined to be leaders of the Church and pillars of the earth, failed; not yet was accomplished what He saith in another Psalm,
Ps. 76,3.
/ have strengthened the pillars
What saith He ? This is said in the person pass over. What is, alone?
/ am alone, until I pass over.
of the Head, / am alone, until
In Thy Passion Thou alone sufferest, Thou alone art slain
I
unto the Father. What then is, until Ipass
this world unto the Father? For then have I strengthened the pillars thereof, that is, the pillars of the world, when in My Resurrection they have clearly learnt that death is not
by Thine enemies. / am alone, until
pass over. What
John 13, is, until I pass
J hour was come that Jesus should pass over from this world
I
thereof.
over? The saith, When the Evangelist
an object of fear. Until then
when I have passed over, I shall be multiplied; many shall imitate Me, many shall suffer for My Name. One am I until I pass over; many shall be one in Me when I have
passed over. / am alone, until I
farther a mystery in this word. According to the Greek method of speech, Pascha seemeth to mean Passion; but, according to the Hebrew tongue, as they explain who know
Pascha meaneth Pass-over. For you ask true Greeks, they say that Pascha no Greek word. sounds like Tcaa"^etv, that is, to suffer but not wont to be derived in this way. For Passion in Greek **&<>(, not Pascha.
/
pass over, I am alone:
over, save,
from
pass over. Hear
it is
'
is ;'
if is
It
it,
until strengthened by the Lord's Remrrection. 26'1
Pascha then, as they say who know, and who have explained Ves, to us what to read, meaneth ' Pass-over. ' When then the -- Lord's Passion was about to come, the Evangelist, as though
he would use this very word, saith, When the hour was come
that Jesus should pass Iover to the Father. We hear then
of Pascha in this verse,
Pascha I shall no longer be alone, after passing-over I shall no longer be alone. Many shall imitate Me, many shall follow Me. And if afterward they shall follow, what shall be the case now ?
am alone, until I
pass over. After
/ am alone, until I over. What pass
is it that the Lord saith in this Psalm, / am alone, until I pass over ? What is it that we have expounded ? I f we have understood listen to His own words in the Gospel.
Verily, verily, say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall John 12, into the ground and die, abideth alone; but die, it24' beareth much fruit. This He saith in the same place
where He also saith, And be lifted up from the earth, lb. 32. will draw all men unto Me. Except a corn of wheat, He
saith, fall into the ground and die, abideth alone; but die, bringeth forth much fruit. To that Corn of wheat then, great crop was due but wait let It first die, for,
except a corn wheat fall into the ground and die, abideth alone.
26. Therefore He was alone before He was put to death. Therefore too Peter had not yet sufficient strength he was to receive strength to follow, he had not strength to go before. For for Christ's sake, that is, for confessing the Name of Christ, whereby we are Christians, no one died before Christ, lest perchance such thought should occur to you. For many died and are martyrs, many prophets suffered the same things, yet they were not put to death because they
foretold Christ, but because they told men of their sins, and freely resisted their iniquities, and so are accounted among martyrs. Rightly for, though not for confessing the Name of Christ, yet for the truth's sake were they slain. But so far was any from dying for the Name, that is, for confessing the Name of Christ, before that Corn of wheat fell into the ground, in whose person said, am alone, until pass over, that even John, who was slain just before Him, being given by wicked king to dancing woman, was not put
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26-2 John the Baptist did not suffer for Christ.
Psalm to death because he confessed Christ. Of course he might have c,w"- boen put to death for this, and that by many. If for another reason he was put to death by one man, how much more
might he have been put to death by those very men, who put Christ to death ? For John gave testimony to Christ. They who heard Christ, wished to slay Him ; the man who gave testimony to Him they slew not. For had John been attacked for Christ's sake, he would not have denied Him ; for he had great strength, wherefore he was called,
John 3, fne frienol vf tJle Bridegroom. Great grace was there in Mat. 11, him, great excellence; among them that are born of women.
ll*
hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist. He therefore was attacked, who had not so great strength : Peter was attacked, not John. For Peter received the strength afterwards, but then he was weak. For Christ's Name he is questioned, who had not strength : he who had strength, suffers not persecution for Christ, lest for the Name of Christ he should precede Christ. He is not slain by the Jews who gave free testimony to Christ, Whom the Jews slew ; he is slain by Herod, because he said to
Mat. 14, l)iirl, 1i ig not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. For his brother had not died without issue. For the law of truth, for equity, for righteousness' sake, he did die : therefore is he a saint, therefore a martyr; but yet he died not for that Name whereby we are Christians, wherefore, save that the saying might be fulfilled, / am alone, until Ipass over.
Lat. CxEI"
PSALM CXLII. Sermon to the People.
This festival of the martyrs, as it claimeth from you the devotion of a crowded attendance, so doth it also claim a dis course from me, your servant. But ye ought to remember, beloved, how much was said yesterday. For we ought not, because, through the eagerness of your inward appetite, ye were present throughout the whole discourse as though ye had
just arrived, therefore to forget our common weakness, first because we ought also to treat with honour excellent words, as it is written, 'Excellent are the words of the wisdom of the Lord God. ' By us, as by earthen vessels, they are
We should meditate on and digest what we hear. 263
ministered to you : but, if the vessels be earthen, yet is the Vkr.
bread from heaven. The Apostle saith, We have treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the 7.
'
so to speak, in the stomach of your memory, that by again revolving and meditating ye in a manner ruminate. For
this is, A treasure to be desired resteth in the mouth of the
wise, but a foolish man swalloweth it up. What he said is
in brief, A wise man ruminateth, a fool doth not ruminate.
And what is this in plain and downright language ? The wise thinketh on that which he heareth, but the fool committeth
what he hath heard to oblivion. For neither was it for any
other reason that in the Law those animals are called clean Lev. 11, which ruminate, those which do not ruminate unclean : for3- every creature of God is clean. To God the Creator the
swine is as clean as the lamb. For He created all things Gen. 1,
very good; and every creature of God is good, saith thei'^im Apostle; and, to the pure all things are pure. Since then 4, 4. by nature both are clean, but in signification the lamb
power may be of God. But that which is the treasure, the
same is also the bread : for, were not the treasure and the
bread the same, it would not elsewhere be said of this very treasure, A treasure to be desired resteth in the mouth ofProv. the wise, but the foolish man swalloweth it up. Wherefore 21,20' we exhort you, beloved, that what by hearing, ye store,
clean, the swine something unclean, the lamb signifieth the innocence of wisdom that ruminateth,
the swine signifieth the uncleanness of folly that forgetteth.
A brief Psalm hath been said for the festival, let us see
whether can also be briefly handled.
2. With my voice have cried unto the Lord. It werever. 1.
enough to say, with voice not for nothing perhaps has my been added. For many cry unto the Lord, not with their own voice, but with the voice of their body. Let the inner Eph. man then, in whom Christ hath begun to dwell by faith, cry unto the Lord, not with the din of his lips, but with the affection of his heart. God heareth not, where man heareth: unless thou criest with the voice of lungs and side and
signifieth something
man heareth thee not: thy thought thy cry to
tongue,
the Lord.
with my voice have prayed unto the Lord. What he
With my voice have cried unto the Lord:
this^^' -
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is
3,
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2t54 Prayer ' before God' is prayer in the" soul.
Psalm meant by, / have cried, he explained when he said, / have C,l"'prayed. For they too who blaspheme, cry unto the Lord. In the former part he set down his crying, in the latter he explained what it was. As though it were demanded, With
what cry hast thou cried unto the Lord ? Unto the Lord, saith he, I have prayed. My cry is my prayer, not reviling, not murmuring, not blaspheming.
Matt.
Eph.
2.
Him my prayer. What is, before Him? In His sight. What in His sight? Where He seeth. But where doth He not see For so do we say, where He seeth, as though somewhere He seeth not. But in this assemblage of bodily substances men too see, animals too see He seeth where man seeth not. For thy
thoughts no man seeth, but God seeth. There then pour out thy prayer, where He alone seeth, Who rewardeth. For the Lord Jesus Christ bade thee pray in secret: but thou knowest what thy closet is, and cleansest there thou pray est to God. When ye pray, saith He, be not as the
who stand praying in the roads and streets, that they may be seen of men. But thou, uhen thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and shut the door, and pray to thy Father in secret, and He Who seeth in secret shall reward thee. If men are to reward thee, pour out thy prayer before men God to reward thee, pour out thy prayer before Him and close the door, lest the tempter enter. For the tempter ceaseth not to knock, that he may break in; he find shut, he passeth on. Therefore the Apostle, because in our power to shut the door, the door of our hearts, not of our walls, for in our closet, --because
in our power to shut this door, saith, neither give place to the devil. For he have entered and taken possession, observe that thou hast either negligently closed, or neglected to close it.
3.
before
hypocrites,
J uill pour out
4. But what to shut the door This door hath as were two leaves, desire and fear. Either thou desireth something earthy, and he enter by this or thou fearest something earthly, and he enters by that. Close then the door of fear and desire against the devil, open to Christ. How dost thou open these folding doors to Christ?
kingdom of heaven, by fearing the fire of hell. By desire of
By desiring the
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6,
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if
it
if
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is it :
if
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We are to love and fear Christ, not the devil. 265
this world the devil entereth, by desire of eternal life Christ Ver.
2--
entereth; by fear of temporal punishment the devil entereth,
by fear of everlasting fire Christ entereth. Behold, the martyrs closed the door against the devil, opened it to Christ.
Many things this world promised them : they laughed ; they closed the leaf of desire against the devil. The world threatened them with wild beasts, with fire, with the cross ;
they feared not; they closed the leaf of fear against the devil.
Let us see whether they opened them to Christ. He that Mat. 10,
con/esseth Me, saith He, before men, him will Iconfess
afso32 before My Father Which is in heaven. They loved then the kingdom of heaven, where Christ will confess them. How
shall He confess them? Come, ye blessed of My Father, Mat. 25, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of3*'
the world. He will confess them when they are set on the
right hand. Let us see whether they opened also to Christ
the leaf of fear, which they closed to the devil. In one and
the same place doth the Lord bid us both close it to the
devil and open it to Him. Fear not, saith He, them /Aa/Mat. 10,
kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. He bade the door of fear be closed in the face of the devil. Is there nothing to be feared ? Is not the approach of fear opened to Christ, which is shut to the devil ? He added at once, as though He would say, Thou hast shut out him, open to me; fear Him,
Who hath power to kill both soul and body in hell fire. Now
then, if thou hast believed and opened to Christ, and closed it against the devil, Christ is within ; there He dwelleth :
pour out before Him thy prayer ; seek not that He hear thee
from afar. For not far off is the wisdom of God, which reacheth from one end to the other, and mightily and sweetly 'Wisd. 8, ordereth all things. Within then, in thyself, before Him1.
pour out thy prayer : there are His ears. For neither fromVa. 15,6.
the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert mountains ; 7' for God is the Judge. But, if He be the Judge, take heed
5.
in the two preceding sentences, and in these which follow : the sentiments are two, but both twice expressed. One is, with my voice have Icried unto the Lord; with my voice have
what cause thou bearest in thine heart.
/ will pour out
I will proclaim in His sight. There is a repetition, both
before
Him my prayer ; my tribulation
'
Trusting, not in our own strength, but His.
Psalm I prayed unto the Lord ; the other is, / will pour out before CxlI1- Him my prayer ; my tribulation will I proclaim in His sight. For, in His sight, is the same as before Him; Iwill / will pour out my prayer. When doest thou this ? Being set in the midst >>er. 3. of persecution, he saith, while my spirit failed from me. Wherefore hath thy spirit failed, 0 martyr, set in tribulation? That I may not claim my strength as mine own, that I may know that Another worketh in me the goodness I have. Mat 10, But when they shall deliver you up to judges, (so warned the Lord those whom He wished to make martyrs,) take no thought what ye shall speak ; for it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.
Seins, only be Christian. ' So
punish
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The victory of the Gospel. 253
what? That praise sweeteneth not: it is the oil of a sinner. Ver.
Yet ceaseth he not to speak so. Let him not therewith ---L-- fatten thy head; that is, rejoice not in such things; agree
not to such things ; consent not to such things ; rejoice not
in such things ; and then, if he have applied to thee the oil of flattery, yet hath thy head remained as it was, it has not been puffed up, it hath not swollen. For if it hath been puffed up and swollen, it increaseth in weight, and hurleth thee headlong. But let not the oil of a sinner fatten my head.
18. For still shall My word be wellpleasing to them. Wait awhile: now they revile Me, saith Christ. In the early times of the Christians, the Christians were blamed on all sides. Wait as yet; and My word shall be wellpleasing to them. The time shall come when they shall conquer thousands of men, who shall beat their breasts, and say, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Even now, how many remain who blush to beat their breasts ? Let them then blame us : let us bear it. Let them blame ; let them hate, accuse, detract; still shall My word be well pleasing to them ; the time shall come when My word shall please them. For they shall lift themselves up as though righteous in their own strength, they shall be conquered in the strife ; because they have lifted themselves up proudly,
they shall be dashed down, they shall be dragged by their sins, they shall see that they are unrighteous ; then shall be fulfilled what was spoken by the Prophets, judgment shall begin to be feared, the eye of the soul shall turn itself to consciousness of sins, and those words that please Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. wordy defence of iniquity Verily now whole nations say this, and the thunder of nations beating their breasts ceaseth not. Rightly do the
clouds thunder, wherein now God dwelleth. Where now that wordiness, where that boasting, am righteous nought of ill have done Verily, when thou hast con templated in Holy Scripture the law of righteousness, how far soever thou hast advanced, thou shalt find thyself sinner. Thou hast advanced now thou worshippest one God well now thou goest not whoring from Him to idols, to astrologers, fortune-tellers, diviners, augurs, evil
: it is
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254 Even the good overtaken by lesser sins.
Psalm doers; for that is committing fornication against the Lord ftiau's thy God; now art thou included in some number of the
22.
members of Christ. Now begin to see also the common sins of human society. Thou murderest none; thou committest not adultery with another's wife ; thou wrongest not thy wife by going to another ; thou pollutest not thyself by any grievous defilement ; thou hast kept thy hands from theft, thy tongue from perjury, thy heart from coveting thy neighbour's goods ; now thou art righteous. Consider what remains : be not yet proud. Dost thou never sin in thy tongue ? dost thou not fall into harsh words ? But what great matter is this ? What great matter ? Whosoever shall say to his brother, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell
Now trembleth all that pride. Supposing now that he committeth no great thing, which may seem by some im piety to blaspheme God ; that he hasteth not to injure any ; doth not to another what he would not should be done to him; what of the tongue? who tameth that? But suppos ing thou hast bridled even it; (though who is so good as entirely to achieve this? ) supposing thou hast bridled even
what doest thou with thy thoughts what doest thou with the tumult and crowd of rebellious desires? dost thou keep from giving thy members to them believe and see that thou dost: but still thy thoughts sometimes bend thee and carry thee away, often even when thy knees are fixed in prayer. Thou prostratest thy body, bowest down thy neck, confessest thy sins, worshippest God see where thy body
prostrate, ask whither thy mind flitteth. see thy members prostrate let us see whether conscience standeth still let us see whether fixed on Him Whom wor- shippeth whether be not often caught by thoughts, as by some tide of the sea, and borne by the storm to one thing and another. If thou wert now speaking with me, and suddenly wert to turn away to thy servant, and leave me, say not when thou wast asking somewhat of me, but even when thou wast conversing with me on equal terms, should
not think that wrong was done me That what thou doest daily to God. What sort of man am now speaking of, brethren speak of him who worshippeth God alone, who confesseth Christ, who knoweth the Father and the Son
fire.
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For which they must seek pardon in the Lord's Prayer. 255
and the Holy Ghost to be one God; who conimitteth not Ver. fornication against Him ; who worshippeth not devils ; who ----- seeketh him not aid from the devil; who holdeth the Catholic
Church ; whom no one complaineth of as cheating ; under
whose oppression no weak neighbour groaneth ; who assail-
eth not another's wife ; who is content with his own, or
even without his own, in such wise as is lawful, and as Apostolical discipline permitteth, with consent of both, or 1 Cor. 7, when she is not yet married. Even he who is such as this,8'
is yet overtaken in such things as I have mentioned.
19. So then the time has come which was spoken of. Yet shall My word be wellpleasing to them, whether it be
that which He taught, or that whereby He intercedeth for
us. For all these daily sins then what is our hope, save to say
with humble heart in the Lord's Prayer, while we defend not
our sins, but confess them, Forgive us our debts, as twMatt. 6,
forgive our debtors; and to have an Advocate with </"? {jonil2 Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, that He may be the l.
propitiation for our sins ? Now let the proud speak : they
are overpowered by numbers, by whole nations, by the whole world, from the rising to the setting of the sun, praising the Name of the Lord. What do a few maintain
ing the contrary ? They are the judges of the wicked. What is that to thee ? See what followelh : their judges ver. 7. have been swallowed up beside the Rock. What is, swallowed
up beside the Rock? That Rock was Christ, They have lCor. 10, been swallowed up beside the Rock. Beside, that com- 4' pared, as judges, as mighty, powerful, learned: they are
called their judyes, as judging about morals, and laying
down their opinions. This Aristotle said. Set him beside
the Rock, and he swallowed up. Who Aristotle let
him hear, Christ hath said,' and he trembleth among the
dead. This Pythagoras said, that Plato said. Set them
beside the Rock, compare their authority to the authority
of the Gospel, compare the proud to the Crucified. Say
we to them, Ye have written your words in the hearts of
the proud; He hath planted His Cross in the hearts1 of on the kings. Finally, He died, and rose again ye are dead, andn? er^jg,
will not ask how ye rise again. So their judges haveMm- been swallowed up beside that Rock. So long do their
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256 Christ's servants fear not even death.
Psalm words seem somewhat, till they are compared with the Rock. -tlHi Therefore if any of them be found to have said what Christ too hath said, we congratulate him, but we follow him not.
But he came before Christ. If any man speak what is true, is he therefore before the Truth itself? Regard Christ, O man, not when He came to thee, but when He made thee. The sick man too might say, ' But I took to my bed before the physician came to me. ' Why, for that very reason has He come last, because thou first has sickened.
20. See then the language of the Psalm. Yet shall My Word be well pleasing to them. But there shall be many who speak against it. Their judges have been s wallowed up
beside the Rock. What then will happen ? They shall hear My Words, for they have prevailed. My Words have prevailed over their words. They have spoken clever things, I true things. To praise one who talketh well is one thing, to praise One who speaketh truth is another. They shall hear My Words, for they have prevailed. How have they
Who of them has been taken offering sacrifice, when such things were forbidden by the law, and has not denied it? Who of them has been taken worshipping an idol, and has not exclaimed, ' I did it not,' and feared lest he should be convicted ? Such servants hath the devil.
prevailed?
Mat. 10, BIut how have the Words of the Lord prevailed? Behold,
16. 2>>.
senrl y0u as sheep in the midst wolves. Fear not forth of
those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but fear Him, Who can cast both body and soul into hell fire. He gave them fear, He suggested hope, He kindled love.
fell, and yet stood. And what was the result of so many deaths of martyrs, save that those words prevailed, and the earth being, so to speak, watered by the blood of Christ's witnesses, the cross of the Church shot up every where?
They shall hear, saith He, My Words, for they have pre vailed. How have they prevailed ? We have said already, when they were preached by men who feared not. Feared not what? Neither banishment, nor losses, nor death, nor
' Fear not death,' He saith. Do ye fear death ?
Fear ye, lest a hair of your head perish ? I first rise again in the flesh uninjured. Rightly have ye heard His Words, for they have prevailed. They spake, and were slain; they
I die first.
The blood of Martyrs the seed of the Church. 257
crucifixion : for it was not death alone that they did not Ver. fear; but even crucifixion, a death than which none was------ thought more accursed. It the Lord endured, that His disciples might not only not fear death, but not even that
kind of death. When then these things are said by men that fear not, they have prevailed.
21. What then have all those deaths of the
accomplished? Listen: As the fatness of the earth wver. 7. spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered beside
the pit. Beside the pit have been scattered the bones of the martyrs, that is, the bodies of the witnesses of Christ. The martyrs were slain, and they who slew them seemed to prevail. They prevailed by persecution, that the words of
Christ might prevail by preaching. And what was the
result of the deaths of the saints ? As the fatness of the
earth is spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered
beside the pit. What meaneth, the fatness of the earth is
spread over the earth ? We know that every thing that is
refuse is the fatness of the earth. The things which are, as
it were, contemptible to men, enrich the earth. For it is
said also in a certain Psalm, that the dead bodies of the P? . 79, saints were cast out, and there was none to bury them.
But all these dead bodies became the fatness of the earth.
Just as the earth receives a sort of fatness from things con temptible and refuse, so from that which this world despised,
the earth received fatness, so that from it the crop of the Church should sprout more plentifully. Now ye know, brethren, that the contemptible things of this earth, where
with the soil is enriched, which I am unwilling to name, nor is
it fitting to speak of them, are a kind of nourishment of the
earth, and a sort of fatness : they are, as it were, vile, and are
thrown away. But what hath He done, to use now His own
words? He hath lifledup the needyfrom the earth , and raised^*- 113, the poor from the dunghill, to set him with the princes, the
princes of His people. For he was laid upon the earth, as
a sort of fatness of the earth, he was scattered over the
earth ; so lay Lazarus full of sores, yet was he raised by
angels into Abraham's bosom. Precious in the sight of the P>>- 1'6, Lord is the death of His saints. As it is contemptible to the
world, so is it precious to the husbandman. For he knoweth VOL. vi. s
martyrs
258 In their distress they appealed to God.
Psalm the use thereof, and its rich juice; he knoweth what he
CxlI" desireth, what he seeketh, whence the fertile crop ariseth;
1 Cor. 1, but this world despiseth it. Know ye not that God hath
27 28
ver. 8.
22. For unto Thee, Lord, are mine eyes ; in Thee hare I hoped, take not Thou away my life. For they were tortured in persecutions, and many failed. And because it was of the captivity of persecution that he said, As the fatness of the earth is spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered beside the pit, it occurreth to him that many have failed, many have been in hazard, and as it were in the midst of the tribulation of persecution is sent forth the voice of one praying; For unto Thee, Lord, are mine eyes: I care not what they threaten who stand around, unto Thee, Lord, are mine eyes. More do I fix mine eye on Thy promises than on their threats. I know what Thou hast suffered for me, what Thou hast prIomised me. To Thee,
ver. 9.
chosen the contemptible things of the world, and those which are not, like as those which are, that the things which are may be brought to nought ? From the dunghill was Peter lifted up, and Paul ; when they were put to death, they were despised : now, the earth having been enriched by them, and the cross of the Church springing up, behold, all that is noble and chief in the world, even the emperor himself, cometh to Rome, and whither does he hasten ? to the temple of the emperor, or the memorial of the fisherman ? For, as the fatness of the earth is spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered beside the pit.
Lord, are mine eyes : in Thee have
take not away 23. Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me.
'
my life.
If thou consentest, I
thee. ' In
What was the trap ?
the trap was set the bait of the present life ; if the bird love this bait, it falleth into the trap : but if the bird be able to
Jer. 17, say, ' The day of man have 1 not desired: Thou knowestS his
P<<. 25, eVes sJ'gM not oe withdrawn from God, and He shall pluck
15-
hisfeet out of the net. Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling-blocks of them which work iniquity. Two things he hath mentioned to be distinguished the one from the other: the trap he said was set by persecutors ; the stumbling-blocks came from those
hoped,
spare
Only obstinate sinners fall into the devil's nets. 259
who have consented and apostatised : and from both he Ver. desires to be guarded. On the one side they threaten and 9" l0' rage, on the other consent and fall : I fear lest the one be
such, that I fear him ; the other such, that I imitate him.
' This I do to thee, if thou consent not. ' Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me. ' Behold, thy brother hath already consented. ' And from the stumbling-blocks of them which work iniquity.
24. Sinners shall fall into his nets. What then, brethren, ver. 10. is, sinners shall fall into his vets f Not all sinners : certain sinners, who are so great sinners, as to love this life to such
a degree as to prefer it to everlasting life, shall fall into his
trap. But what sayest thou?
Shall they that are such, thinkest thou, fall into his nets ? what of Thy disciples, O Christ? Behold, when persecution was raging, when they
all left Thee alone, and went every one to his own: (this John 16, Thou didst foretell, because Thou didst foresee: for not32' because Thou didst announce it beforehand, didst Thou therefore do or in any way deny Thyself:) but, lo! they
who were closest to Thee, in Thy trial and persecution, when Thine enemies demanded Thee to be crucified, abandoned Thee. And that one bold one, who had promised Thee that he would go with Thee even unto death, heard from the Physician what was being done in him, the sick man. For being in fever, he had said he was whole but the Lord touched the vein of his heart. Then came the trial then came the test; then came the accusation; and now,
not some great power, but by humble slave, and that a woman, questioned by handmaid, he yielded he denied thrice When he had once denied and was reminded, he denied second time. When he had twice denied and was reminded, he denied a third time. This had the Lord foretold, not fore-ordered, not compelled. Or,
Peter be thought to have done rightly, because the Lord foretold it, Judas also did rightly, who betrayed Him, for this also the Lord had foretold. God forbid, my brethren. These are the words of those elect who defend their own sins also, rather than confess them. Let us rather consider Peter himself. If he sinned not, why wept he Let us ask
none concerning Peter, save the tears of Peter: more faith-
questioned
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2H0 The Apostles not firm in their faith
Psalm ful witness concerning him we do not find. He wept -"-- Utterly, it saith. Not yet was he fitted to suffer. To him John 13, was said, Thou shall follow Me afterwards. Hereafter he
was to be firm, having been strengthened by the Lord's Resurrection.
25. Not yet then was it time that those bones should be scattered beside the pit. For see how many failed, even to those who first hung on His mouth ; even they failed.
Wherefore? / am alone, until I
pass over: for this fol- loweth in the Psalm. Above he hath said, Keep me, O Lord, from the trap which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling-blocks of them who work iniquity. From the
trap, and from the stumbling-blocks, from those who frighten, and from those who have fallen. But because, at His passion, even those first ones, who were destined to be leaders of the Church and pillars of the earth, failed; not yet was accomplished what He saith in another Psalm,
Ps. 76,3.
/ have strengthened the pillars
What saith He ? This is said in the person pass over. What is, alone?
/ am alone, until I pass over.
of the Head, / am alone, until
In Thy Passion Thou alone sufferest, Thou alone art slain
I
unto the Father. What then is, until Ipass
this world unto the Father? For then have I strengthened the pillars thereof, that is, the pillars of the world, when in My Resurrection they have clearly learnt that death is not
by Thine enemies. / am alone, until
pass over. What
John 13, is, until I pass
J hour was come that Jesus should pass over from this world
I
thereof.
over? The saith, When the Evangelist
an object of fear. Until then
when I have passed over, I shall be multiplied; many shall imitate Me, many shall suffer for My Name. One am I until I pass over; many shall be one in Me when I have
passed over. / am alone, until I
farther a mystery in this word. According to the Greek method of speech, Pascha seemeth to mean Passion; but, according to the Hebrew tongue, as they explain who know
Pascha meaneth Pass-over. For you ask true Greeks, they say that Pascha no Greek word. sounds like Tcaa"^etv, that is, to suffer but not wont to be derived in this way. For Passion in Greek **&<>(, not Pascha.
/
pass over, I am alone:
over, save,
from
pass over. Hear
it is
'
is ;'
if is
It
it,
until strengthened by the Lord's Remrrection. 26'1
Pascha then, as they say who know, and who have explained Ves, to us what to read, meaneth ' Pass-over. ' When then the -- Lord's Passion was about to come, the Evangelist, as though
he would use this very word, saith, When the hour was come
that Jesus should pass Iover to the Father. We hear then
of Pascha in this verse,
Pascha I shall no longer be alone, after passing-over I shall no longer be alone. Many shall imitate Me, many shall follow Me. And if afterward they shall follow, what shall be the case now ?
am alone, until I
pass over. After
/ am alone, until I over. What pass
is it that the Lord saith in this Psalm, / am alone, until I pass over ? What is it that we have expounded ? I f we have understood listen to His own words in the Gospel.
Verily, verily, say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall John 12, into the ground and die, abideth alone; but die, it24' beareth much fruit. This He saith in the same place
where He also saith, And be lifted up from the earth, lb. 32. will draw all men unto Me. Except a corn of wheat, He
saith, fall into the ground and die, abideth alone; but die, bringeth forth much fruit. To that Corn of wheat then, great crop was due but wait let It first die, for,
except a corn wheat fall into the ground and die, abideth alone.
26. Therefore He was alone before He was put to death. Therefore too Peter had not yet sufficient strength he was to receive strength to follow, he had not strength to go before. For for Christ's sake, that is, for confessing the Name of Christ, whereby we are Christians, no one died before Christ, lest perchance such thought should occur to you. For many died and are martyrs, many prophets suffered the same things, yet they were not put to death because they
foretold Christ, but because they told men of their sins, and freely resisted their iniquities, and so are accounted among martyrs. Rightly for, though not for confessing the Name of Christ, yet for the truth's sake were they slain. But so far was any from dying for the Name, that is, for confessing the Name of Christ, before that Corn of wheat fell into the ground, in whose person said, am alone, until pass over, that even John, who was slain just before Him, being given by wicked king to dancing woman, was not put
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26-2 John the Baptist did not suffer for Christ.
Psalm to death because he confessed Christ. Of course he might have c,w"- boen put to death for this, and that by many. If for another reason he was put to death by one man, how much more
might he have been put to death by those very men, who put Christ to death ? For John gave testimony to Christ. They who heard Christ, wished to slay Him ; the man who gave testimony to Him they slew not. For had John been attacked for Christ's sake, he would not have denied Him ; for he had great strength, wherefore he was called,
John 3, fne frienol vf tJle Bridegroom. Great grace was there in Mat. 11, him, great excellence; among them that are born of women.
ll*
hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist. He therefore was attacked, who had not so great strength : Peter was attacked, not John. For Peter received the strength afterwards, but then he was weak. For Christ's Name he is questioned, who had not strength : he who had strength, suffers not persecution for Christ, lest for the Name of Christ he should precede Christ. He is not slain by the Jews who gave free testimony to Christ, Whom the Jews slew ; he is slain by Herod, because he said to
Mat. 14, l)iirl, 1i ig not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. For his brother had not died without issue. For the law of truth, for equity, for righteousness' sake, he did die : therefore is he a saint, therefore a martyr; but yet he died not for that Name whereby we are Christians, wherefore, save that the saying might be fulfilled, / am alone, until Ipass over.
Lat. CxEI"
PSALM CXLII. Sermon to the People.
This festival of the martyrs, as it claimeth from you the devotion of a crowded attendance, so doth it also claim a dis course from me, your servant. But ye ought to remember, beloved, how much was said yesterday. For we ought not, because, through the eagerness of your inward appetite, ye were present throughout the whole discourse as though ye had
just arrived, therefore to forget our common weakness, first because we ought also to treat with honour excellent words, as it is written, 'Excellent are the words of the wisdom of the Lord God. ' By us, as by earthen vessels, they are
We should meditate on and digest what we hear. 263
ministered to you : but, if the vessels be earthen, yet is the Vkr.
bread from heaven. The Apostle saith, We have treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the 7.
'
so to speak, in the stomach of your memory, that by again revolving and meditating ye in a manner ruminate. For
this is, A treasure to be desired resteth in the mouth of the
wise, but a foolish man swalloweth it up. What he said is
in brief, A wise man ruminateth, a fool doth not ruminate.
And what is this in plain and downright language ? The wise thinketh on that which he heareth, but the fool committeth
what he hath heard to oblivion. For neither was it for any
other reason that in the Law those animals are called clean Lev. 11, which ruminate, those which do not ruminate unclean : for3- every creature of God is clean. To God the Creator the
swine is as clean as the lamb. For He created all things Gen. 1,
very good; and every creature of God is good, saith thei'^im Apostle; and, to the pure all things are pure. Since then 4, 4. by nature both are clean, but in signification the lamb
power may be of God. But that which is the treasure, the
same is also the bread : for, were not the treasure and the
bread the same, it would not elsewhere be said of this very treasure, A treasure to be desired resteth in the mouth ofProv. the wise, but the foolish man swalloweth it up. Wherefore 21,20' we exhort you, beloved, that what by hearing, ye store,
clean, the swine something unclean, the lamb signifieth the innocence of wisdom that ruminateth,
the swine signifieth the uncleanness of folly that forgetteth.
A brief Psalm hath been said for the festival, let us see
whether can also be briefly handled.
2. With my voice have cried unto the Lord. It werever. 1.
enough to say, with voice not for nothing perhaps has my been added. For many cry unto the Lord, not with their own voice, but with the voice of their body. Let the inner Eph. man then, in whom Christ hath begun to dwell by faith, cry unto the Lord, not with the din of his lips, but with the affection of his heart. God heareth not, where man heareth: unless thou criest with the voice of lungs and side and
signifieth something
man heareth thee not: thy thought thy cry to
tongue,
the Lord.
with my voice have prayed unto the Lord. What he
With my voice have cried unto the Lord:
this^^' -
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2t54 Prayer ' before God' is prayer in the" soul.
Psalm meant by, / have cried, he explained when he said, / have C,l"'prayed. For they too who blaspheme, cry unto the Lord. In the former part he set down his crying, in the latter he explained what it was. As though it were demanded, With
what cry hast thou cried unto the Lord ? Unto the Lord, saith he, I have prayed. My cry is my prayer, not reviling, not murmuring, not blaspheming.
Matt.
Eph.
2.
Him my prayer. What is, before Him? In His sight. What in His sight? Where He seeth. But where doth He not see For so do we say, where He seeth, as though somewhere He seeth not. But in this assemblage of bodily substances men too see, animals too see He seeth where man seeth not. For thy
thoughts no man seeth, but God seeth. There then pour out thy prayer, where He alone seeth, Who rewardeth. For the Lord Jesus Christ bade thee pray in secret: but thou knowest what thy closet is, and cleansest there thou pray est to God. When ye pray, saith He, be not as the
who stand praying in the roads and streets, that they may be seen of men. But thou, uhen thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and shut the door, and pray to thy Father in secret, and He Who seeth in secret shall reward thee. If men are to reward thee, pour out thy prayer before men God to reward thee, pour out thy prayer before Him and close the door, lest the tempter enter. For the tempter ceaseth not to knock, that he may break in; he find shut, he passeth on. Therefore the Apostle, because in our power to shut the door, the door of our hearts, not of our walls, for in our closet, --because
in our power to shut this door, saith, neither give place to the devil. For he have entered and taken possession, observe that thou hast either negligently closed, or neglected to close it.
3.
before
hypocrites,
J uill pour out
4. But what to shut the door This door hath as were two leaves, desire and fear. Either thou desireth something earthy, and he enter by this or thou fearest something earthly, and he enters by that. Close then the door of fear and desire against the devil, open to Christ. How dost thou open these folding doors to Christ?
kingdom of heaven, by fearing the fire of hell. By desire of
By desiring the
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We are to love and fear Christ, not the devil. 265
this world the devil entereth, by desire of eternal life Christ Ver.
2--
entereth; by fear of temporal punishment the devil entereth,
by fear of everlasting fire Christ entereth. Behold, the martyrs closed the door against the devil, opened it to Christ.
Many things this world promised them : they laughed ; they closed the leaf of desire against the devil. The world threatened them with wild beasts, with fire, with the cross ;
they feared not; they closed the leaf of fear against the devil.
Let us see whether they opened them to Christ. He that Mat. 10,
con/esseth Me, saith He, before men, him will Iconfess
afso32 before My Father Which is in heaven. They loved then the kingdom of heaven, where Christ will confess them. How
shall He confess them? Come, ye blessed of My Father, Mat. 25, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of3*'
the world. He will confess them when they are set on the
right hand. Let us see whether they opened also to Christ
the leaf of fear, which they closed to the devil. In one and
the same place doth the Lord bid us both close it to the
devil and open it to Him. Fear not, saith He, them /Aa/Mat. 10,
kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. He bade the door of fear be closed in the face of the devil. Is there nothing to be feared ? Is not the approach of fear opened to Christ, which is shut to the devil ? He added at once, as though He would say, Thou hast shut out him, open to me; fear Him,
Who hath power to kill both soul and body in hell fire. Now
then, if thou hast believed and opened to Christ, and closed it against the devil, Christ is within ; there He dwelleth :
pour out before Him thy prayer ; seek not that He hear thee
from afar. For not far off is the wisdom of God, which reacheth from one end to the other, and mightily and sweetly 'Wisd. 8, ordereth all things. Within then, in thyself, before Him1.
pour out thy prayer : there are His ears. For neither fromVa. 15,6.
the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert mountains ; 7' for God is the Judge. But, if He be the Judge, take heed
5.
in the two preceding sentences, and in these which follow : the sentiments are two, but both twice expressed. One is, with my voice have Icried unto the Lord; with my voice have
what cause thou bearest in thine heart.
/ will pour out
I will proclaim in His sight. There is a repetition, both
before
Him my prayer ; my tribulation
'
Trusting, not in our own strength, but His.
Psalm I prayed unto the Lord ; the other is, / will pour out before CxlI1- Him my prayer ; my tribulation will I proclaim in His sight. For, in His sight, is the same as before Him; Iwill / will pour out my prayer. When doest thou this ? Being set in the midst >>er. 3. of persecution, he saith, while my spirit failed from me. Wherefore hath thy spirit failed, 0 martyr, set in tribulation? That I may not claim my strength as mine own, that I may know that Another worketh in me the goodness I have. Mat 10, But when they shall deliver you up to judges, (so warned the Lord those whom He wished to make martyrs,) take no thought what ye shall speak ; for it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.
