Behold, we are
sluggish
on this earth, and are as it were
Psalm
ver.
Psalm
ver.
Augustine - Exposition on the Psalms - v6
dead:) because, I say, they believed Moses and the Prophets, -- and were not of the number of those whom Abraham found
fault with, they heard what the Lord said, Knew ye not
that all things must he fulfilled which are written in the
Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms con cerning Me? Behold them who believed Moses and the Prophets, see how on their testimony they believe Him Who
rose from the dead. Then opened He their understanding Lule24, that they should understand the Scriptures ; and said unto45- 46*
them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead the third day.
18. Here thou hast the Bridegroom of the Church. And about Him Moses was not silent, the Prophets were not silent, that Christ should rise from the dead on the third day ; that He should suffer, and then rise. The Bridegroom is described to us, that we may make no mistake. But certain persons come forward, and, because we are not wrong in the Bridegroom, they themselves too seem to believe the same as we do about the Bridegroom, that they may draw us away from the members of the Bridegroom ; they say to us, ' Yes, He is the Bridegroom, Whom ye believe, and we
believe Him too, but the Bride is not the Church, whom ye hold to be. ' What then is? 'The party of Donatus. ' And this what thou sayest: dost thou say this, or the Bridegroom ? Dost thou say or God by Moses Behold,
through Moses hold the Church thy seed shall all nations be blessed. the Spirit of God by the Prophets Prophets hold the Church
said by Moses, In Dost thou say or Behold, through the
said by the Prophet, All the borders of the earth shall remember themselves, and be turned to the Lord. Behold, already hold the
testimony of the Law and the testimony of the Prophets: let us hear moreover Him Who rose from the dead. He sheweth Himself as the Bridegroom we hold Him. He confirmed this by proof, by exhibiting testimonies. For this Moses and the Prophets said, that behoved Christ to
suffer, and to rise again the third day. Now then since we both hold the Bridegroom from these words, and think that thou now art beginning with me to believe both
vol. VI. r1
d : it,
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402 Christ Himself bears witness to the Catholic Church.
Psalm these words of Moses and the Prophets, let us believe Him
cxlvi^ also Wh0 rose from the dead. Let Him go on, and say,
' O Lord, I see now Christ the Bridegroom : it is done ; let
none separate me from the members of Thy Bride, and so
Thou be not to me the Head, if I be not among her
members. Tell me somewhat about the Church too, for I
no longer doubt about her Bridegroom. ' Hear about the
Luke24, Church too : He goeth on and saith, that in His Name
4'-
should be preached repentance and remission of sins. Nothing could be truer: that in His Name should be preached repentance and remission of sins. But where ? For some say, lo here, others say, lo there. And what Mat. 24, saith He Himself? Believe them not, for there shall arise 23. 24. yalge Christs and false Prophets, and shall say, lo here, and, lo there. For they say not of the Head Himself, lo here,
am
and, lo there; for it is well known that Christ is in heaven ;
but of the Church, where Christ is, Who saith, Lo, I with you always, even unto the end of the world. But the Lord saith, Believe them not. He who saith, lo here, and lo there, pointeth lo parts : I have bought the whole. Let the Gospel tell me this: let Him Himself tell this from the Gospel; for Thou hast risen from the dead, that they may believe Thee, who believe Moses and the Prophets: do Thou tell me this. 1 hear, It behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again the third day : and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name throughout all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem. What is heretic Certainly, when was quoting Moses and the Prophets, thou didst wait for Him Who should rise from the dead: lo, He hath risen lo, He hath spoken as truly there no doubt of the Church of Christ, and the Spouse of Christ, as there was none of the Body of Christ, when shewn to the eyes and handled by the hands of the disciples. Lo, He Who rose from the dead sheweth both He sheweth the Head, He sheweth the members: He sheweth the Bride groom, He sheweth the Bride either believe both with me, or else thou believest what thou dost to thy condemnation. For why believest thou that He rose from the dead, that He rose in the same Body 'On good grounds because He shewed the scars of His wounds: because, as He was
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O is
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TheCatholicity oftheChurchprefiguredin thegiftoftongues. 403 crucified and buried, so was He restored and proved. ' Ver.
Thou believest quite right. Now hear Him in Whom thou believest, speaking : That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name. Where ? Throughout the broad earth. If I chose to say this, now struggling against heretics, now fighting, now having a contest with them on so important a question, I should not say it. against present heretics as strongly as He said what He did say against future ones. What wouldest thou have more ? Remission of sins is preached in Christ's Name. Where ? Throughout all nations. Whence ? Beginning at Jerusalem. Communicate with this Church. Wherefore do we contend ? For this Church began from the earthly Jerusalem, that from thence it may rejoice unto God in the other, the heavenly Jerusalem. From this it beginneth, in that it endeth. In that the Church will be entire, from this it
took the beginning of its faith.
19. Read the Acts of the Apostles, and see whether I lie,
how there the disciples were gathered together, when the Holy Ghost came ; that that which the Lord said may be proved to thee, beginning from Jerusalem ; how they on
whom the Spirit came, spake in the tongues of all men. Wherefore wilt thou not speak in the tongues of all men ? Lo, there were heard the sounds of all tongues. Wherefore doth not he, to whom the Holy Ghost is given, now speak in the tongues of all men ? For this was then the token of the Holy Ghost coming upon men, that they spake in the tongues of all men. What wilt thou say now, O heretic ?
I say not where it is given; but is it not given? If it is not given, what is it that ye do, preaching, baptizing, blessing ? What is it
that the Holy Ghost is not given ?
that ye do ? These are empty celebrations. He is then
given. If He is given, wherefore do not they to whom He
is given speak in the tongues of all men? Hath the gift of
God failed, or is the fruit thereof less ? The tares grew,
but the wheat grew also. Let both grow together till the Mat. 13, time of the harvest. He said not, ' Let the tares grow, let
the wheat decrease ;' both grew. Wherefore doth not the Holy Ghost now manifest Himself in the tongues of all men ? Yea rather, He doth manifest Himself in all tongues:
nd2
8*
404 ff'e must be in Jerusalem now, if we
Psalm for then the Church was not spread throughout the world, ^xlvii. ^ ^e n1enlbers of Christ should speak in all tongues. Then was fulfilled in one what was foretold in all. Now
the whole Body of Christ speaketh in the tongues of all, and in whatsoever it speaketh not, it will speak. For the Church shall increase till it filleth every tongue. That which ye have abandoned, how great hath it grown ! Ad vance with us whithersoever it hath approached, that with us ye may reach places whither it hath not yet approached. I dare to say to thee, I speak in the tongues of all men : 1 am in the Body of Christ, in the Church of Christ: if the Body of Christ now speaketh in the tongues of all men, I also am in all tongues : mine is the Greek, mine the Syrian, mine the Hebrew, mine the tongues of all nations, because I am in the unity of all nations.
20. So then, brethren, the Church began from Jerusalem, and spread through all nations. What is more clear than this testimony of the Law, the Prophets, and of the Lord Himself? The voices of the Apostles sound every where, giving testimony of our hope in the unity of the Body of Christ. Rejoice over the wheat, tolerate the tares, groan in the threshing, sigh for the garner. The time will come when we shall rejoice, when the bars of the gates of Jeru salem are made strong. Let him enter, who is to enter. He who shall enter there manifested, here entereth not disguised. But he who entereth here disguised, is really without. He is without, and knows it not: the fan will
the bars will prove it. He who now truly and truthfully within, there will be finally within: he who now
within by enduring, there will be within in rejoicing. For the borders of Jerusalem are peace; for he saith, He hath set peace for thy borders. Now we long for peace, which here we have but in hope. For as yet in ourselves
Gal. what sort of peace there The Jlesh lusteth against the
17-
spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. Where full peace even in one man When there shall be full peace in one man, then shall there be full peace in all the citizens of
prove
iCor. 15, Jerusalem. When will there be full peace? When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality then will be full peace,
;
?
is
is
is
5,
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would enjoy the peace and bliss of it hereafter. 405
then will be firm peace: then nothing contendeth against Ver. the soul in man, not itself against itself, being wounded in ------ one part; not frailty of flesh, not want of body, not hunger,
not thirst, not cold, not weariness, not any need, no pro vocation of strife, certainly not the anxious care at once to
avoid and to love one's enemy. All these things, brethren, contend against us, not yet is there full and perfect peace.
What ye cried out awhile ago at the very mention of peace,
ye cried from longing : your cry was from thirst, not from fulness; for there will be perfect righteousness where will
be perfect peace. Now we hunger and thirst after righteous
ness. Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after Matt. 5, righteousness, for they shall be filled. How shall they be 6-
filled ? When we have arrived at peace. Therefore when
he had said, Who hath set peace for thy borders, because there is fulness and no want, he added at once, and filleth
thee with the fat of wheat.
21. Brethren, since this peace whereof we speak is not
yet entirely in us, that is, entire in each one of us, it de- lighteth perhaps your spirits to go on yet to listen : but if there be nothing in the body which resists and rebels, let us finish the Psalm. I never find you weary, yet I fear, God knoweth, lest 1 be a burden to you, or to some of the brethren : and I see how zealously many of you demand of me this toil and effort, which I believe will not be unfruitful in the Lord. I rejoice that ye find such pleasure in the
truth of the Word of God, that your good zeal in what is good and concerning what is good, surpasses the zeal of the
madmen who are in the amphitheatre. Would they still be at their show, if they had to stand so long? Therefore, brethren, let us hear the rest, since so ye will. May the Lord be with us, may He be with our strength and our understandings. Who hath set peace for thy borders, he saith to the Jerusalem that is to be, and satisfieth thee with the fat of wheat. Hunger and thirst after righteousness
pass away, plenty succecdeth. What will then be the fat
of wheat, save that Bread which came down from heaven John 6, to us ! In our true country how will He satisfy us, Who in41"
our pilgrimage hath thus fed us !
22. Now he is about to speak of this our pilgrimage,
406 The wondrous swiftness
Psalm whereby we come to that Jerusalem, where we shall praise
c*IAn"
ver. 15.
in unison the Lord; where we shall praise the Lord our God, ourselves Jerusalem, ourselves Sion ; when the bars of our gates shall be made strong. For He Who then will satisfy us with the fat of wheat, what doeth He in this our pilgrimage? Who sendeth forth His Word to the earth. Behold, on earth we toil, weary, fainting, sluggish, cold : when should we be raised up to the fat of wheat that satisfieth, did not He send His Word to the earth, whereby we were weighed down, to the earth, whereby we were hindered from returning? He sent His Word, He deserted us not even in the wilderness, He rained manna from heaven. Who sendeth forth His Word to the earth ; and to earth His Word came. How? or what is His Word? Even unto swiftness His Word runneth. He said not, ' His Word is swift,' but, His Word runneth even unto
Let us understand, my brethren : He could not have chosen a better word. He who is hot grows hot by heat, he who is cold grows cold by cold, he who is swift becometh swift by swiftness. What is hotter than heat itself, whereby whatever is hot groweth hot ? what is colder than cold itself, whereby whatever is cold groweth cold ? What then is swifter than swiftness itself, whereby whatever runneth swiftly is made swift ? Many things may be called swift, some more, some less ; and in that degree is each thing swift, in which it is partaker of swiftness. This thing is in a greater degree partaker of swiftness, therefore it is swifter : this thing is in a less degree partaker of swiftness, therefore it is less swift. Than swiftness itself then, what is swifter ? To what degree then doth it run ? Even to swiftness. Increase as much as you will the swiftness of the Word, and say, It is as swift as this or that, as birds, as
the winds, as the Angels ; is any of these as great as swift ness itself, even unto swiftness? What is swiftness itself, brethren? It is every where; it is not in part. This belongeth to the Word of God, not to be in part, to be every where by Himself the Word, whereby He is the
swiftness.
I Cor. l, Power of God and the Wisdom of God, before He had II taken flesh upon Him. If we think of God in the Form of God, the Word equal to the Father, this is the Wisdom
and power of God's Word. 407
of God, of Which is said, reacheth from one end to the Ver. other mightily. What mighty speed ! // reacheth from one end "' to the other mightily. But perhaps it reacheth without being 1. moveable. If without being moveable it filleth any space
like some mass of stone, it is said to reach from one end to
the other of the same space, yet not by motion. What
say we then ? Hath then that Word no motion, and
is that Wisdom senseless r Where is then that which is
said of the Spirit of Wisdom ? After much else, it is called quick, full of motion, plain, undefiled. Thus then theWisd. 7, Wisdom of God is evidently endowed with motion.
If then it be endowed with motion, when it toucheth this, doth
it not also touch that ? Where then is swiftness ? Swift
ness maketh it to be every where always, yet no where to
be imprisoned and detained. But these things are beyond
our thoughts : we are too sluggish for them. Who can think
on these things ? And in truth, brethren, I have spoken as
I could, (if indeed I could, if indeed I understood,) and ye
have understood as ye were able. But what saith the Apostle ? Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding Eph. 3, abundantly above all that we ask or think. What meaneth 20'
he here ? That however often we have understood, we have
not understood Him as He is. Wherefore is this ? Because Wisd. 9, the corruptible body presseth down the soul. Therefore on 15- earth are we cold, for swiftness is hot ; and all that is hot is
swift, all that is cold, slow. We are slow, therefore we are
cold. But Wisdom runneth even unto swiftness. Therefore
it is exceeding hot, and there is nothing that can hide itselfPs. 19,6.
from the heat thereof.
23. We then are burdened by the sluggishness of this
cold body, and the bonds of this earthly and corruptible life; have we no hope of receiving the Word, Which runneth even un to swiftness? or hath He abandoned us, though by the body we are depressed to the lowest depths ? Did not He predestinate us, before we were born in this mortal and sluggish body? He then, Who predestinated us, gave snow to the earth, even ourselves. For now let us come to those somewhat obscure verses of the Psalm, let those entangle ments begin to be unrolled : since the Word of God findeth you the more eager, the more it is uttered to you by us.
Behold, we are sluggish on this earth, and are as it were
Psalm
ver. 16.
408 The ' wool,' Christians, who are the robe of Christ.
frozen here. And just as happens to the flakes of snow, for they freeze above, then fall down ; so as love groweth cold, human nature falleth down to this earth, and involved in a sluggish body becometh like snow. But in that snow are predestined sons of God. For, He giveth snow like wool. What is, like wool? It meaneth, of the snow which He hath given, of these, who are as yet slow in spirit and cold, whom He hath predestinated, He is about to make some what. For wool is the material of a garment: when we see wool, we look on it as a sort of preparation for a garment. Therefore since He hath predestinated these, who at present are cold and creep on earth, and as yet glow not with the spirit of love, (for as yet He speaketh of predestination,) God hath given these as a sort of wool: He is about to
Mat. 17, make of them a garment. Rightly did the raiment of Christ
2'
Eph. "''
shine on the mountain, like snow. The raiment of Christ did shine like snow, as though of that snow a garment had already been made : of which wool, that of the snow which He gave like wool, they being as yet predestined, were sluggish but wait, see what followeth. Since He gave them as wool, garment made of them. For as the Church called the Body of Christ, so the Church also called the garment of Christ hence cometh that which said by the Apostle, that He might present to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle. Let Him then present unto Himself glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle; let Him make Himself garment of that wool, which He had predestinated in the snow. While men are yet unbelieving, and cold, and sluggish, let Him make garment of this wool. That may be washed from spots, let be cleansed by faith that may have no wrinkle, let
be stretched out upon the cross. Who giveth snow like wool.
24. Now they are predestined, they are to be called. For whom He predestined, them He also called. Now how are they called from the sickness of the body, to become sound How are they called Hear the Gospel came
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. That snow then beginneth at once in predestination to acknow ledge its sluggishness, to accuse its sins beginneth, being called, to come to repentance. Rightly then
Rom. >0'
Matt.
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The 'mist' of ignorance scattered by ' ashes' of repentance. 409
said, Who giveth snow like wool, on account of the com- Ver. pletion of the garment that is to be ; and also on account lb- - of the calling to repentance, He scattereth mist like ashes.
He scattereth, saith the Psalmist, mist like ashes. Who?
He Who giveth snow like wool. For whom He predestined,
He calleth to repentance; for whom He predestined, them
He also called. But ashes are connected with repentance.
Hear Him calling to repentance, when He upbraided certain
cities, saying, Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Hat. 11, Bethsaidal for if the mighty works which have been done21'
in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they had long ago repented in dust and ashes. Therefore, He scattereth mist like ashes. What He scattereth mist like ashes When
man called to learn about God, and said to him, Receive the Truth he beginneth to wish to receive the
Truth, but not able he seeth that He under sort of darkness, which before he saw not. For this purpose then is that mist, that thou mayest know that thou knowest nothing, and that thou mayest know what thou oughtest to know, and mayest see that thou art too weak to know what ought to be known. For while in this mist thou pre- sumest that thou knowest, thou shalt hear from the Apostle,
He who thinketh he knoweth anything, knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. Therefore as yet thou hast not2' comprehended, as yet thou art under mist. But He hath not abandoned thee, Who lit up for thee the lamp of His Flesh. Wander not the mist, follow in faith. But foras much as thou endeavourest to see and art not able, repent of thy sins, for mist scattered like ashes. Repent thee now of having been obstinate against God, repent of having
followed thine own evil ways. Thou hast come into this state where difficult for thee to see the vision of bliss, and the mist will be healthful to thee, which God scattereth like ashes. Thou thyself art as yet mist, but like ashes. For they that are penitent, as yet roll themselves in ashes,
my brethren, testifying, as were, that they are like
saying unto God, am ashes. ' For certain Scripture saith, have despised myself, and wasted away, have j? b 30, reckoned myself earth and ashes. This the humility ofy^g the penitent. When Abraham speaketh to his God, and
Cor. 8,
is
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is in
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Psalm
GeD 18 27.
410 ' Crystal,' hardened sinners, who
wisheth the burning of Sodom to be disclosed to him, he saith, I am out earth and ashes. How hath this humility ever been found in great and holy men ! He scattereth
l^0"1,8' their mist like ashes. Wherefore? Because whom He Matt. 9, predestinated, them He also called, Who came not to call
13-
the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Ter. 17. 25. Who sendeth His crystal like morsels of bread. We
need not spend our toil again in saying what crystal is. We have already said and do not think that ye, beloved, have forgotten it. What then, He sendeth His crystal like morsels bread? Just as that snow His, because
of the predestinated; just as that mist His, because they are called to repentance, who are predestinated to salvation, so the crystal in manner His. What crystal? It very hard, very tightly congealed; cannot, like snow, be easily melted. Snow, hardened by many years' duration, and by the succession of ages, called crystal, and this He sendeth like morsels of bread. What meaneth this They were too hard, no longer fit to be compared to snow, but to crystal but they too are predestinated and called, and some of them even so as to feed others, to be useful to others also. And what need there to enumerate many, whom we happen to know, this one and that one Every one when he thinks can recall to mind how hardened and obstinate some of those whom he knows have been, how they have struggled against the truth yet now they preach the truth, they have been made
Rom. 12, morsels of bread. Who that one Bread? We being
"'
lCor. 10, also, we being many are one Bread and one Body. If
"
then the whole Body of Christ one Bread, the members of Christ are morsels of Bread. Of some that are hard He maketh members of Himself, and useful for feeding others. Why go we through many instances Let us look on the well-known Apostle Paul. Nothing better known to us than he, nothing sweeter, nothing in all Scripture more familiar. And there have been, who from being as hard as he was have been made Bread, let his example set before us recall all, that the meaning may be unfolded
of, He sendeth His crystal like morsels of bread. Behold,
many, saith the Apostle, are one Body in Christ he saith
if
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;
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are only thawed by the Grace of Christ. 411
the Apostle Paul was a crystal, hard, resisting the truth, Ver. crying out against the Gospel, hardening himself, as it were, --17' against the sun. How hard was he, profiting in the law, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, a teacher of the law. Acts22, He heard not Moses and the Prophets preaching Christ. 3' Great hardness this. True, the Gentiles had not heard the Prophets, had not heard Moses; they were cold, but they
were not crystal. He who believed words that preached Christ, but believed not Christ when He came, he was exceeding hardened. Since then he was crystal, he appeared
clear and white, but he was hard and very cold. How was
he bright and white ? An Hebrew of the Hebrews ; as touch- Phil. 3,
ing the law, a Pharisee. Behold the brightness of crystal. 5-6- Now hear the hardness of crystal. As touching zeal, per secuting the Church of Christ. Among the stoners of the
holy martyr Stephen, was he, hard, perhaps harder than all.
For he kept the raiment of all who were stoning, so that he Acts 22, stoned by the hands of all. 20,
26. Thus then we see the snow, the mist, the crystal : it is good that He blow and thaw them. For if He blow not, if He Himself thaw not the hardness of this ice, in the face of His cold who shall stand? In the face of His
cold : whose ? God's. Whence is His cold ? Behold, He abandoneth a sinner, behold, He calleth him not; behold, He openeth not his perception ; behold, He poureth not in grace ; let the man thaw himself, if he can, from the ice of folly. He cannot. Wherefore can he not? In the
face of His cold who shal/l stand? Behold him then
see another law in my mem- Rom. 7, bers warring against the law of my mind, and enslaving'23,
me to the lIaw of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? Behold, I am growing cold, behold, I am growing hard, what heat shall thaw me that I may run ? Who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? In the face of His cold who shall stand? And who shall free himself, if God abandon him ? Who is it that freeth ? The grace of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Hear here also the grace of God : Who sendeth forth His crystal like morsels of bread ; who shall stand in the face of His cold f
growing harder, and saying,
412 So Saul was thawed, and became Paul.
Psalm Are we then to despair? God forbid. For it goeth on,
cxlvi^ IIe sftan seflci oui fjis Word, and melt them. Let not Ter' * then the snow despair, nor the mist, nor the crystal. For of the snow, as of wool, a garment is being made. That
mist findeth safety in repentance : for, whom He pre destinated, them He also called. But even though they be the very hardest among the predestinated, though they have been for a long time hardening, and are become crystal, they will not be hard to the mercy of God. He shall send out His Word, and melt them. What is melt ? Understand not melt in an ill sense: it meaneth, He shall liquify He shall thaw them. For they are hard through pride. Rightly is pride called also dulness: for whatever is dull, is also cold. It is an every day saying of men when they
are chilled, ' I was dulled. ' Pride then is dulness. He shall send out His Word, and melt them. And, in truth, heaps of snow, when they are heated, melt in humility. Just then as cold heapeth up snow into mountains, as it were, so doth pride lift up fools. He shall send out His Word, and melt them. Behold that crystal Saul, after the slaughter and stoning of Stephen, came dull with a kind of hardness against Christ, and asked letters of the high priest that he
Acts 9, might every where inform against the Christians, breathing
' etc"
out slaughters. Hard he is and cold against the fire of God. But hard and cold though he was, behold, He Who shall send out His Word, and melt them, called from heaven with heat, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? By that one word, all that great hardness of crystal was melted. He shall send out then His Word, and melt them.
Despair not of the crystal, much less of the snoir, or of the mist. Despair not even of the crystal. Hear a saying of the
iTim. l, crystal. Who before was a blasphemer, and a persecutor,
13-
ib. 16.
and injurious. But wherefore doth God melt the crystal ? That thIe snow despair not of itself. For he saith, For this
obtained mercy, that in me Jesus Christ
first might
cause
shew forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them that hereafter should believe on Him unto eternal life. God then calleth unto the Gentiles, ' Be melted, O crystal; come, ye snows. ' He shall send forth His Word, and melt them. His Spirit shall blow, and the waters shall fiou: Lo, the
Effort needed to obtain God's Grace. 413 crystal and the snows are melted, they turn into water, let Ver.
l9'
'
it is said in another Psalm, Turn our captivity, O Lord,Ps. 126, as a torrent in the south wind. For captive Jerusalem4,
had, as it were, frozen in Babylon : the south wind blows,
the chill of captivity is dissolved, the warmth of love runneth to God. His Spirit shall blow, and the waters shall flow.
He shall become in them a well of water springing up unto John 4, everlasting life. i4'
27. Announcing His Word unto Jacob, His Righteousnesses ver. 19. and Judgments unto Israel. What Righteousnesses, what Judgments? Because whatever mankind had suffered here before, when it was snow and mist and crystal, it suffered
for the deserts of its pride and uplifting against God. Let us go back to the origin of our fall, and see thatImost
them that thirst, come and drink. Saul, hard as crystal, persecuted Stephen unto death; Paul, now in the living 37. water, calleth the Gentiles to the Fount. His Spirit shall blow, and the waters shall flow: the fervent spirit; whence
truly is it sung in the Psalm, Before II was troubled I
wrong. But he who says, Before
was troubled
went Ps. 119,
went67'
I, It is good me that Thou hast Pa. 119, for
wrong, saith also
humbled me, that
righteousnesses Jacob learnt from God, Who made him to wrestle with an Angel, under the guise of which Angel God Himself wrestled with him. He held Him, he exerted violence to hold Him, he prevailed to hold Him: HeGen. 32, caused Himself to be held, in mercy, not in weakness. 2i' et0" Jacob therefore wrestled, and prevailed : he held Him, and
when he seemed to have conquered Him, asked to be blessed
of Him. How did he understand with Whom he had wrestled, Whom he had held ? Wherefore did he wrestle violently, and hold Him? Because the kingdom of heaven Mat. 11, suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Wherefore 12' then did he wrestle ? Because it is with toil. Wherefore do
we with difficulty hold, what we so easily lose ? Lest, easily
getting back what we have lost, we learn to lose that which we
hold. Let man have toil to hold : he will hold firmly, what
he has only held after toil. These His judgments therefore
God manifested to Jacob and Israel. I will speak yet
more openly: I mean, that even the righteous, while here,
may
learn Thy Righteousnesses. These'1,
414 The Righteousness of Christ not given
Psalm endure toils, dangers, annoyances, sufferings, for their ---- deserts, by the righteous judgment of God. For He alone can say that He suffered here without cause : (though in this
way He did not suffer without cause, in that He suffered for
I paid them then the things trhich
Pa. 69,5. us:) Who alone can say,
Jobnu, / took not : Who alone could say, Behold, the prince of this 30' world cometh, and shall find nothing in Me.
fault with, they heard what the Lord said, Knew ye not
that all things must he fulfilled which are written in the
Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms con cerning Me? Behold them who believed Moses and the Prophets, see how on their testimony they believe Him Who
rose from the dead. Then opened He their understanding Lule24, that they should understand the Scriptures ; and said unto45- 46*
them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead the third day.
18. Here thou hast the Bridegroom of the Church. And about Him Moses was not silent, the Prophets were not silent, that Christ should rise from the dead on the third day ; that He should suffer, and then rise. The Bridegroom is described to us, that we may make no mistake. But certain persons come forward, and, because we are not wrong in the Bridegroom, they themselves too seem to believe the same as we do about the Bridegroom, that they may draw us away from the members of the Bridegroom ; they say to us, ' Yes, He is the Bridegroom, Whom ye believe, and we
believe Him too, but the Bride is not the Church, whom ye hold to be. ' What then is? 'The party of Donatus. ' And this what thou sayest: dost thou say this, or the Bridegroom ? Dost thou say or God by Moses Behold,
through Moses hold the Church thy seed shall all nations be blessed. the Spirit of God by the Prophets Prophets hold the Church
said by Moses, In Dost thou say or Behold, through the
said by the Prophet, All the borders of the earth shall remember themselves, and be turned to the Lord. Behold, already hold the
testimony of the Law and the testimony of the Prophets: let us hear moreover Him Who rose from the dead. He sheweth Himself as the Bridegroom we hold Him. He confirmed this by proof, by exhibiting testimonies. For this Moses and the Prophets said, that behoved Christ to
suffer, and to rise again the third day. Now then since we both hold the Bridegroom from these words, and think that thou now art beginning with me to believe both
vol. VI. r1
d : it,
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it,
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402 Christ Himself bears witness to the Catholic Church.
Psalm these words of Moses and the Prophets, let us believe Him
cxlvi^ also Wh0 rose from the dead. Let Him go on, and say,
' O Lord, I see now Christ the Bridegroom : it is done ; let
none separate me from the members of Thy Bride, and so
Thou be not to me the Head, if I be not among her
members. Tell me somewhat about the Church too, for I
no longer doubt about her Bridegroom. ' Hear about the
Luke24, Church too : He goeth on and saith, that in His Name
4'-
should be preached repentance and remission of sins. Nothing could be truer: that in His Name should be preached repentance and remission of sins. But where ? For some say, lo here, others say, lo there. And what Mat. 24, saith He Himself? Believe them not, for there shall arise 23. 24. yalge Christs and false Prophets, and shall say, lo here, and, lo there. For they say not of the Head Himself, lo here,
am
and, lo there; for it is well known that Christ is in heaven ;
but of the Church, where Christ is, Who saith, Lo, I with you always, even unto the end of the world. But the Lord saith, Believe them not. He who saith, lo here, and lo there, pointeth lo parts : I have bought the whole. Let the Gospel tell me this: let Him Himself tell this from the Gospel; for Thou hast risen from the dead, that they may believe Thee, who believe Moses and the Prophets: do Thou tell me this. 1 hear, It behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again the third day : and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name throughout all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem. What is heretic Certainly, when was quoting Moses and the Prophets, thou didst wait for Him Who should rise from the dead: lo, He hath risen lo, He hath spoken as truly there no doubt of the Church of Christ, and the Spouse of Christ, as there was none of the Body of Christ, when shewn to the eyes and handled by the hands of the disciples. Lo, He Who rose from the dead sheweth both He sheweth the Head, He sheweth the members: He sheweth the Bride groom, He sheweth the Bride either believe both with me, or else thou believest what thou dost to thy condemnation. For why believest thou that He rose from the dead, that He rose in the same Body 'On good grounds because He shewed the scars of His wounds: because, as He was
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O is
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TheCatholicity oftheChurchprefiguredin thegiftoftongues. 403 crucified and buried, so was He restored and proved. ' Ver.
Thou believest quite right. Now hear Him in Whom thou believest, speaking : That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name. Where ? Throughout the broad earth. If I chose to say this, now struggling against heretics, now fighting, now having a contest with them on so important a question, I should not say it. against present heretics as strongly as He said what He did say against future ones. What wouldest thou have more ? Remission of sins is preached in Christ's Name. Where ? Throughout all nations. Whence ? Beginning at Jerusalem. Communicate with this Church. Wherefore do we contend ? For this Church began from the earthly Jerusalem, that from thence it may rejoice unto God in the other, the heavenly Jerusalem. From this it beginneth, in that it endeth. In that the Church will be entire, from this it
took the beginning of its faith.
19. Read the Acts of the Apostles, and see whether I lie,
how there the disciples were gathered together, when the Holy Ghost came ; that that which the Lord said may be proved to thee, beginning from Jerusalem ; how they on
whom the Spirit came, spake in the tongues of all men. Wherefore wilt thou not speak in the tongues of all men ? Lo, there were heard the sounds of all tongues. Wherefore doth not he, to whom the Holy Ghost is given, now speak in the tongues of all men ? For this was then the token of the Holy Ghost coming upon men, that they spake in the tongues of all men. What wilt thou say now, O heretic ?
I say not where it is given; but is it not given? If it is not given, what is it that ye do, preaching, baptizing, blessing ? What is it
that the Holy Ghost is not given ?
that ye do ? These are empty celebrations. He is then
given. If He is given, wherefore do not they to whom He
is given speak in the tongues of all men? Hath the gift of
God failed, or is the fruit thereof less ? The tares grew,
but the wheat grew also. Let both grow together till the Mat. 13, time of the harvest. He said not, ' Let the tares grow, let
the wheat decrease ;' both grew. Wherefore doth not the Holy Ghost now manifest Himself in the tongues of all men ? Yea rather, He doth manifest Himself in all tongues:
nd2
8*
404 ff'e must be in Jerusalem now, if we
Psalm for then the Church was not spread throughout the world, ^xlvii. ^ ^e n1enlbers of Christ should speak in all tongues. Then was fulfilled in one what was foretold in all. Now
the whole Body of Christ speaketh in the tongues of all, and in whatsoever it speaketh not, it will speak. For the Church shall increase till it filleth every tongue. That which ye have abandoned, how great hath it grown ! Ad vance with us whithersoever it hath approached, that with us ye may reach places whither it hath not yet approached. I dare to say to thee, I speak in the tongues of all men : 1 am in the Body of Christ, in the Church of Christ: if the Body of Christ now speaketh in the tongues of all men, I also am in all tongues : mine is the Greek, mine the Syrian, mine the Hebrew, mine the tongues of all nations, because I am in the unity of all nations.
20. So then, brethren, the Church began from Jerusalem, and spread through all nations. What is more clear than this testimony of the Law, the Prophets, and of the Lord Himself? The voices of the Apostles sound every where, giving testimony of our hope in the unity of the Body of Christ. Rejoice over the wheat, tolerate the tares, groan in the threshing, sigh for the garner. The time will come when we shall rejoice, when the bars of the gates of Jeru salem are made strong. Let him enter, who is to enter. He who shall enter there manifested, here entereth not disguised. But he who entereth here disguised, is really without. He is without, and knows it not: the fan will
the bars will prove it. He who now truly and truthfully within, there will be finally within: he who now
within by enduring, there will be within in rejoicing. For the borders of Jerusalem are peace; for he saith, He hath set peace for thy borders. Now we long for peace, which here we have but in hope. For as yet in ourselves
Gal. what sort of peace there The Jlesh lusteth against the
17-
spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. Where full peace even in one man When there shall be full peace in one man, then shall there be full peace in all the citizens of
prove
iCor. 15, Jerusalem. When will there be full peace? When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality then will be full peace,
;
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is
is
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5,
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would enjoy the peace and bliss of it hereafter. 405
then will be firm peace: then nothing contendeth against Ver. the soul in man, not itself against itself, being wounded in ------ one part; not frailty of flesh, not want of body, not hunger,
not thirst, not cold, not weariness, not any need, no pro vocation of strife, certainly not the anxious care at once to
avoid and to love one's enemy. All these things, brethren, contend against us, not yet is there full and perfect peace.
What ye cried out awhile ago at the very mention of peace,
ye cried from longing : your cry was from thirst, not from fulness; for there will be perfect righteousness where will
be perfect peace. Now we hunger and thirst after righteous
ness. Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after Matt. 5, righteousness, for they shall be filled. How shall they be 6-
filled ? When we have arrived at peace. Therefore when
he had said, Who hath set peace for thy borders, because there is fulness and no want, he added at once, and filleth
thee with the fat of wheat.
21. Brethren, since this peace whereof we speak is not
yet entirely in us, that is, entire in each one of us, it de- lighteth perhaps your spirits to go on yet to listen : but if there be nothing in the body which resists and rebels, let us finish the Psalm. I never find you weary, yet I fear, God knoweth, lest 1 be a burden to you, or to some of the brethren : and I see how zealously many of you demand of me this toil and effort, which I believe will not be unfruitful in the Lord. I rejoice that ye find such pleasure in the
truth of the Word of God, that your good zeal in what is good and concerning what is good, surpasses the zeal of the
madmen who are in the amphitheatre. Would they still be at their show, if they had to stand so long? Therefore, brethren, let us hear the rest, since so ye will. May the Lord be with us, may He be with our strength and our understandings. Who hath set peace for thy borders, he saith to the Jerusalem that is to be, and satisfieth thee with the fat of wheat. Hunger and thirst after righteousness
pass away, plenty succecdeth. What will then be the fat
of wheat, save that Bread which came down from heaven John 6, to us ! In our true country how will He satisfy us, Who in41"
our pilgrimage hath thus fed us !
22. Now he is about to speak of this our pilgrimage,
406 The wondrous swiftness
Psalm whereby we come to that Jerusalem, where we shall praise
c*IAn"
ver. 15.
in unison the Lord; where we shall praise the Lord our God, ourselves Jerusalem, ourselves Sion ; when the bars of our gates shall be made strong. For He Who then will satisfy us with the fat of wheat, what doeth He in this our pilgrimage? Who sendeth forth His Word to the earth. Behold, on earth we toil, weary, fainting, sluggish, cold : when should we be raised up to the fat of wheat that satisfieth, did not He send His Word to the earth, whereby we were weighed down, to the earth, whereby we were hindered from returning? He sent His Word, He deserted us not even in the wilderness, He rained manna from heaven. Who sendeth forth His Word to the earth ; and to earth His Word came. How? or what is His Word? Even unto swiftness His Word runneth. He said not, ' His Word is swift,' but, His Word runneth even unto
Let us understand, my brethren : He could not have chosen a better word. He who is hot grows hot by heat, he who is cold grows cold by cold, he who is swift becometh swift by swiftness. What is hotter than heat itself, whereby whatever is hot groweth hot ? what is colder than cold itself, whereby whatever is cold groweth cold ? What then is swifter than swiftness itself, whereby whatever runneth swiftly is made swift ? Many things may be called swift, some more, some less ; and in that degree is each thing swift, in which it is partaker of swiftness. This thing is in a greater degree partaker of swiftness, therefore it is swifter : this thing is in a less degree partaker of swiftness, therefore it is less swift. Than swiftness itself then, what is swifter ? To what degree then doth it run ? Even to swiftness. Increase as much as you will the swiftness of the Word, and say, It is as swift as this or that, as birds, as
the winds, as the Angels ; is any of these as great as swift ness itself, even unto swiftness? What is swiftness itself, brethren? It is every where; it is not in part. This belongeth to the Word of God, not to be in part, to be every where by Himself the Word, whereby He is the
swiftness.
I Cor. l, Power of God and the Wisdom of God, before He had II taken flesh upon Him. If we think of God in the Form of God, the Word equal to the Father, this is the Wisdom
and power of God's Word. 407
of God, of Which is said, reacheth from one end to the Ver. other mightily. What mighty speed ! // reacheth from one end "' to the other mightily. But perhaps it reacheth without being 1. moveable. If without being moveable it filleth any space
like some mass of stone, it is said to reach from one end to
the other of the same space, yet not by motion. What
say we then ? Hath then that Word no motion, and
is that Wisdom senseless r Where is then that which is
said of the Spirit of Wisdom ? After much else, it is called quick, full of motion, plain, undefiled. Thus then theWisd. 7, Wisdom of God is evidently endowed with motion.
If then it be endowed with motion, when it toucheth this, doth
it not also touch that ? Where then is swiftness ? Swift
ness maketh it to be every where always, yet no where to
be imprisoned and detained. But these things are beyond
our thoughts : we are too sluggish for them. Who can think
on these things ? And in truth, brethren, I have spoken as
I could, (if indeed I could, if indeed I understood,) and ye
have understood as ye were able. But what saith the Apostle ? Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding Eph. 3, abundantly above all that we ask or think. What meaneth 20'
he here ? That however often we have understood, we have
not understood Him as He is. Wherefore is this ? Because Wisd. 9, the corruptible body presseth down the soul. Therefore on 15- earth are we cold, for swiftness is hot ; and all that is hot is
swift, all that is cold, slow. We are slow, therefore we are
cold. But Wisdom runneth even unto swiftness. Therefore
it is exceeding hot, and there is nothing that can hide itselfPs. 19,6.
from the heat thereof.
23. We then are burdened by the sluggishness of this
cold body, and the bonds of this earthly and corruptible life; have we no hope of receiving the Word, Which runneth even un to swiftness? or hath He abandoned us, though by the body we are depressed to the lowest depths ? Did not He predestinate us, before we were born in this mortal and sluggish body? He then, Who predestinated us, gave snow to the earth, even ourselves. For now let us come to those somewhat obscure verses of the Psalm, let those entangle ments begin to be unrolled : since the Word of God findeth you the more eager, the more it is uttered to you by us.
Behold, we are sluggish on this earth, and are as it were
Psalm
ver. 16.
408 The ' wool,' Christians, who are the robe of Christ.
frozen here. And just as happens to the flakes of snow, for they freeze above, then fall down ; so as love groweth cold, human nature falleth down to this earth, and involved in a sluggish body becometh like snow. But in that snow are predestined sons of God. For, He giveth snow like wool. What is, like wool? It meaneth, of the snow which He hath given, of these, who are as yet slow in spirit and cold, whom He hath predestinated, He is about to make some what. For wool is the material of a garment: when we see wool, we look on it as a sort of preparation for a garment. Therefore since He hath predestinated these, who at present are cold and creep on earth, and as yet glow not with the spirit of love, (for as yet He speaketh of predestination,) God hath given these as a sort of wool: He is about to
Mat. 17, make of them a garment. Rightly did the raiment of Christ
2'
Eph. "''
shine on the mountain, like snow. The raiment of Christ did shine like snow, as though of that snow a garment had already been made : of which wool, that of the snow which He gave like wool, they being as yet predestined, were sluggish but wait, see what followeth. Since He gave them as wool, garment made of them. For as the Church called the Body of Christ, so the Church also called the garment of Christ hence cometh that which said by the Apostle, that He might present to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle. Let Him then present unto Himself glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle; let Him make Himself garment of that wool, which He had predestinated in the snow. While men are yet unbelieving, and cold, and sluggish, let Him make garment of this wool. That may be washed from spots, let be cleansed by faith that may have no wrinkle, let
be stretched out upon the cross. Who giveth snow like wool.
24. Now they are predestined, they are to be called. For whom He predestined, them He also called. Now how are they called from the sickness of the body, to become sound How are they called Hear the Gospel came
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. That snow then beginneth at once in predestination to acknow ledge its sluggishness, to accuse its sins beginneth, being called, to come to repentance. Rightly then
Rom. >0'
Matt.
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The 'mist' of ignorance scattered by ' ashes' of repentance. 409
said, Who giveth snow like wool, on account of the com- Ver. pletion of the garment that is to be ; and also on account lb- - of the calling to repentance, He scattereth mist like ashes.
He scattereth, saith the Psalmist, mist like ashes. Who?
He Who giveth snow like wool. For whom He predestined,
He calleth to repentance; for whom He predestined, them
He also called. But ashes are connected with repentance.
Hear Him calling to repentance, when He upbraided certain
cities, saying, Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Hat. 11, Bethsaidal for if the mighty works which have been done21'
in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they had long ago repented in dust and ashes. Therefore, He scattereth mist like ashes. What He scattereth mist like ashes When
man called to learn about God, and said to him, Receive the Truth he beginneth to wish to receive the
Truth, but not able he seeth that He under sort of darkness, which before he saw not. For this purpose then is that mist, that thou mayest know that thou knowest nothing, and that thou mayest know what thou oughtest to know, and mayest see that thou art too weak to know what ought to be known. For while in this mist thou pre- sumest that thou knowest, thou shalt hear from the Apostle,
He who thinketh he knoweth anything, knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. Therefore as yet thou hast not2' comprehended, as yet thou art under mist. But He hath not abandoned thee, Who lit up for thee the lamp of His Flesh. Wander not the mist, follow in faith. But foras much as thou endeavourest to see and art not able, repent of thy sins, for mist scattered like ashes. Repent thee now of having been obstinate against God, repent of having
followed thine own evil ways. Thou hast come into this state where difficult for thee to see the vision of bliss, and the mist will be healthful to thee, which God scattereth like ashes. Thou thyself art as yet mist, but like ashes. For they that are penitent, as yet roll themselves in ashes,
my brethren, testifying, as were, that they are like
saying unto God, am ashes. ' For certain Scripture saith, have despised myself, and wasted away, have j? b 30, reckoned myself earth and ashes. This the humility ofy^g the penitent. When Abraham speaketh to his God, and
Cor. 8,
is
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Psalm
GeD 18 27.
410 ' Crystal,' hardened sinners, who
wisheth the burning of Sodom to be disclosed to him, he saith, I am out earth and ashes. How hath this humility ever been found in great and holy men ! He scattereth
l^0"1,8' their mist like ashes. Wherefore? Because whom He Matt. 9, predestinated, them He also called, Who came not to call
13-
the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Ter. 17. 25. Who sendeth His crystal like morsels of bread. We
need not spend our toil again in saying what crystal is. We have already said and do not think that ye, beloved, have forgotten it. What then, He sendeth His crystal like morsels bread? Just as that snow His, because
of the predestinated; just as that mist His, because they are called to repentance, who are predestinated to salvation, so the crystal in manner His. What crystal? It very hard, very tightly congealed; cannot, like snow, be easily melted. Snow, hardened by many years' duration, and by the succession of ages, called crystal, and this He sendeth like morsels of bread. What meaneth this They were too hard, no longer fit to be compared to snow, but to crystal but they too are predestinated and called, and some of them even so as to feed others, to be useful to others also. And what need there to enumerate many, whom we happen to know, this one and that one Every one when he thinks can recall to mind how hardened and obstinate some of those whom he knows have been, how they have struggled against the truth yet now they preach the truth, they have been made
Rom. 12, morsels of bread. Who that one Bread? We being
"'
lCor. 10, also, we being many are one Bread and one Body. If
"
then the whole Body of Christ one Bread, the members of Christ are morsels of Bread. Of some that are hard He maketh members of Himself, and useful for feeding others. Why go we through many instances Let us look on the well-known Apostle Paul. Nothing better known to us than he, nothing sweeter, nothing in all Scripture more familiar. And there have been, who from being as hard as he was have been made Bread, let his example set before us recall all, that the meaning may be unfolded
of, He sendeth His crystal like morsels of bread. Behold,
many, saith the Apostle, are one Body in Christ he saith
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;
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are only thawed by the Grace of Christ. 411
the Apostle Paul was a crystal, hard, resisting the truth, Ver. crying out against the Gospel, hardening himself, as it were, --17' against the sun. How hard was he, profiting in the law, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, a teacher of the law. Acts22, He heard not Moses and the Prophets preaching Christ. 3' Great hardness this. True, the Gentiles had not heard the Prophets, had not heard Moses; they were cold, but they
were not crystal. He who believed words that preached Christ, but believed not Christ when He came, he was exceeding hardened. Since then he was crystal, he appeared
clear and white, but he was hard and very cold. How was
he bright and white ? An Hebrew of the Hebrews ; as touch- Phil. 3,
ing the law, a Pharisee. Behold the brightness of crystal. 5-6- Now hear the hardness of crystal. As touching zeal, per secuting the Church of Christ. Among the stoners of the
holy martyr Stephen, was he, hard, perhaps harder than all.
For he kept the raiment of all who were stoning, so that he Acts 22, stoned by the hands of all. 20,
26. Thus then we see the snow, the mist, the crystal : it is good that He blow and thaw them. For if He blow not, if He Himself thaw not the hardness of this ice, in the face of His cold who shall stand? In the face of His
cold : whose ? God's. Whence is His cold ? Behold, He abandoneth a sinner, behold, He calleth him not; behold, He openeth not his perception ; behold, He poureth not in grace ; let the man thaw himself, if he can, from the ice of folly. He cannot. Wherefore can he not? In the
face of His cold who shal/l stand? Behold him then
see another law in my mem- Rom. 7, bers warring against the law of my mind, and enslaving'23,
me to the lIaw of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? Behold, I am growing cold, behold, I am growing hard, what heat shall thaw me that I may run ? Who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? In the face of His cold who shall stand? And who shall free himself, if God abandon him ? Who is it that freeth ? The grace of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Hear here also the grace of God : Who sendeth forth His crystal like morsels of bread ; who shall stand in the face of His cold f
growing harder, and saying,
412 So Saul was thawed, and became Paul.
Psalm Are we then to despair? God forbid. For it goeth on,
cxlvi^ IIe sftan seflci oui fjis Word, and melt them. Let not Ter' * then the snow despair, nor the mist, nor the crystal. For of the snow, as of wool, a garment is being made. That
mist findeth safety in repentance : for, whom He pre destinated, them He also called. But even though they be the very hardest among the predestinated, though they have been for a long time hardening, and are become crystal, they will not be hard to the mercy of God. He shall send out His Word, and melt them. What is melt ? Understand not melt in an ill sense: it meaneth, He shall liquify He shall thaw them. For they are hard through pride. Rightly is pride called also dulness: for whatever is dull, is also cold. It is an every day saying of men when they
are chilled, ' I was dulled. ' Pride then is dulness. He shall send out His Word, and melt them. And, in truth, heaps of snow, when they are heated, melt in humility. Just then as cold heapeth up snow into mountains, as it were, so doth pride lift up fools. He shall send out His Word, and melt them. Behold that crystal Saul, after the slaughter and stoning of Stephen, came dull with a kind of hardness against Christ, and asked letters of the high priest that he
Acts 9, might every where inform against the Christians, breathing
' etc"
out slaughters. Hard he is and cold against the fire of God. But hard and cold though he was, behold, He Who shall send out His Word, and melt them, called from heaven with heat, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? By that one word, all that great hardness of crystal was melted. He shall send out then His Word, and melt them.
Despair not of the crystal, much less of the snoir, or of the mist. Despair not even of the crystal. Hear a saying of the
iTim. l, crystal. Who before was a blasphemer, and a persecutor,
13-
ib. 16.
and injurious. But wherefore doth God melt the crystal ? That thIe snow despair not of itself. For he saith, For this
obtained mercy, that in me Jesus Christ
first might
cause
shew forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them that hereafter should believe on Him unto eternal life. God then calleth unto the Gentiles, ' Be melted, O crystal; come, ye snows. ' He shall send forth His Word, and melt them. His Spirit shall blow, and the waters shall fiou: Lo, the
Effort needed to obtain God's Grace. 413 crystal and the snows are melted, they turn into water, let Ver.
l9'
'
it is said in another Psalm, Turn our captivity, O Lord,Ps. 126, as a torrent in the south wind. For captive Jerusalem4,
had, as it were, frozen in Babylon : the south wind blows,
the chill of captivity is dissolved, the warmth of love runneth to God. His Spirit shall blow, and the waters shall flow.
He shall become in them a well of water springing up unto John 4, everlasting life. i4'
27. Announcing His Word unto Jacob, His Righteousnesses ver. 19. and Judgments unto Israel. What Righteousnesses, what Judgments? Because whatever mankind had suffered here before, when it was snow and mist and crystal, it suffered
for the deserts of its pride and uplifting against God. Let us go back to the origin of our fall, and see thatImost
them that thirst, come and drink. Saul, hard as crystal, persecuted Stephen unto death; Paul, now in the living 37. water, calleth the Gentiles to the Fount. His Spirit shall blow, and the waters shall flow: the fervent spirit; whence
truly is it sung in the Psalm, Before II was troubled I
wrong. But he who says, Before
was troubled
went Ps. 119,
went67'
I, It is good me that Thou hast Pa. 119, for
wrong, saith also
humbled me, that
righteousnesses Jacob learnt from God, Who made him to wrestle with an Angel, under the guise of which Angel God Himself wrestled with him. He held Him, he exerted violence to hold Him, he prevailed to hold Him: HeGen. 32, caused Himself to be held, in mercy, not in weakness. 2i' et0" Jacob therefore wrestled, and prevailed : he held Him, and
when he seemed to have conquered Him, asked to be blessed
of Him. How did he understand with Whom he had wrestled, Whom he had held ? Wherefore did he wrestle violently, and hold Him? Because the kingdom of heaven Mat. 11, suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Wherefore 12' then did he wrestle ? Because it is with toil. Wherefore do
we with difficulty hold, what we so easily lose ? Lest, easily
getting back what we have lost, we learn to lose that which we
hold. Let man have toil to hold : he will hold firmly, what
he has only held after toil. These His judgments therefore
God manifested to Jacob and Israel. I will speak yet
more openly: I mean, that even the righteous, while here,
may
learn Thy Righteousnesses. These'1,
414 The Righteousness of Christ not given
Psalm endure toils, dangers, annoyances, sufferings, for their ---- deserts, by the righteous judgment of God. For He alone can say that He suffered here without cause : (though in this
way He did not suffer without cause, in that He suffered for
I paid them then the things trhich
Pa. 69,5. us:) Who alone can say,
Jobnu, / took not : Who alone could say, Behold, the prince of this 30' world cometh, and shall find nothing in Me.
