Cyprian to Quirinus
CHAPTER 0
1 Cyprian to his son Quirinus, greeting. It was necessary, my beloved son, that I should obey your spiritual desire, which asked with most urgent petition for those divine teachings wherewith the Lord has condescended to teach and instruct us by the Holy Scriptures, that, being led away from the darkness of error, and enlightened by His pure and shining light, we may keep the way of life through the saving sacraments. And indeed, as you have asked, so has this discourse been arranged by me; and this treatise has been ordered in an abridged compendium, so that I should not scatter what was written in too diffuse an abundance, but, as far as my poor memory suggested, might collect all that was necessary in selected and connected heads, under which I may seem, not so much to have treated the subject, as to have afforded material for others to treat it. Moreover, to readers also, brevity of the same kind is of very great advantage, in that a treatise of too great length dissipates the understanding and perception of the reader, while a tenacious memory keeps that which is read in a more exact compendium. But I have comprised in my undertaking two books of equally moderate length: one wherein I have endeavoured to show that the Jews, according to what had before been foretold, had departed from God, and had lost God's favor, which had been given them in past time, and had been promised them for the future; while the Christians had succeeded to their place, deserving well of the Lord by faith, and coming out of all nations and from the whole world. The second book likewise contains the sacrament of Christ, that He has come who was announced according to the Scriptures, and has done and perfected all those things whereby He was foretold as being able to be perceived and known. And these things may be of advantage to you meanwhile, as you read, for forming the first lineaments of your faith. More strength will be given you, and the intelligence of the heart will be effected more and more, as you examine more fully the Scriptures, old and new, and read through the complete volumes of the spiritual books. For now we have filled a small measure from the divine fountains, which in the meantime we would send to you. You will be able to drink more plentifully, and to be more abundantly satisfied, if you also will approach to drink together with us at the same springs of the divine fullness. I bid you, beloved son, always heartily farewell.
CHAPTER 1
1 That the Jews have fallen under the heavy wrath of God because they have forsaken the Lord, and have followed idols.
2 In Exodus the people said to Aaron: "Arise and make us gods which shall go before us: because as for this man Moses, who brought us out of Egypt, we know not what has become of him." In the same place also Moses says to the Lord: "O Lord, I pray you, this people have sinned! A great sin. They have made to themselves gods of gold and silver. And now, if you will forgive them their sin, forgive; but if not, blot me out of the book which You have written. And the Lord said unto Moses, If any one has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book." Likewise in Deuteronomy: They sacrificed unto demons, and not unto God." In the book of Judges too: "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and offended the Lord, and forsook God, and served Baal." Also in the same place: "And the children of Israel added again to do evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baal and the gods of the strangers, and forsook the Lord, and served Him not." In Malachi: "Judah is forsaken, and has become an abomination in Israel and in Jerusalem, because Judah has profaned the holiness of the Lord in those things wherein He has loved, and courted strange gods. The Lord will cut off the man who does this, and he shall be made base in the tabernacles of Jacob."
CHAPTER 2
1 Also because they did not believe the prophets, and put them to death.
2 In Jeremiah the Lord says: "I have sent unto I you my servants the prophets. Before the daylight I sent them (and you heard me not, and did not listen with your ears), saying, Let every one of you be converted from his evil way, and from your most wicked desires; and you shall dwell in that land which I have given you and your fathers forever and ever." And again: "Go not after other gods, to serve them, and do not worship them; and provoke me not to anger in the works of your hands to scatter you abroad; and you have not hearkened unto me." Also in the third book of the Kings, Elias says unto the Lord: "In being jealous I have been jealous for the Lord God Almighty; because the children of Israel have forsaken You, have demolished Your altars, and have slain Your prophets with the sword; and I have remained solitary, and they seek my life, to take it away from me." In Ezra also: "They have fallen away from You, and have cast Your law behind their backs, and have killed Your prophets which testified against them that they should return to You."
CHAPTER 3
1 That it was previously foretold that they would neither know the Lord, nor understand, nor receive Him.
2 In Isaiah: "Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord has spoken; I have begotten and brought up children, but they have rejected me. The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master's crib: but Israel has not known me, and my people has not perceived me. Ah sinful nation, a people filled with sins, a wicked seed, corrupting children: you have forsaken the Lord, and have sent that Holy One of Israel into anger." In the same also the Lord says: "Go and tell this people, You shall hear with the ear, and shall not understand; and seeing, you shall see, and shall not perceive. For the heart of this people has waxed gross, and they hardly hear with their ears, and they have shut up their eyes, lest haply they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should return, and I should heal them." Also in Jeremiah the Lord says: "They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have dug for themselves worn-out cisterns, which could not hold water." Moreover, in the same: "Behold, the word of the Lord has become unto them a reproach, and they do not wish for it." Again in the same the Lord says: "The kite knows his time, the turtle, and the swallow; the sparrows of the field keep the time of their coining in; but my people does not know the judgment of the Lord. How say you, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? The false measurement has been made vain; the scribes are confounded the wise men have trembled, and been taken, because they have rejected the word of the Lord." In Solomon also: "Evil men seek me, and shall not find me; for they held wisdom in hatred and did not receive the word of the Lord." Also in the twenty-seventh Psalm: "Render to them their deserving, because they have not perceived in the works of the Lord." Also in the eighty-first Psalm: "They have not known, neither have they understood; they shall walk on in darkness." In the Gospel, too, according to John: "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God who believe on His name."
CHAPTER 4
1 That the Jews would not understand the Holy Scriptures, but that they would be intelligible in the last times, after that Christ had come.
2 In Isaiah: "And all these words shall be unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which, if you shall give to a man that knows letters to read, he shall say, I cannot read, for it is sealed. But in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and they who are in darkness and in a cloud; the eyes of the blind shall see." Also in Jeremiah: "In the last of the days you shall know those things." In Daniel, moreover: "Secure the words, and seal the book until the time of consummation, until many learn, and knowledge is fulfilled, because when there shall be a dispersion they shall know all these things." Likewise in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, that all our fathers were under the cloud." Also in the second Epistle to the Corinthians: "Their minds are blinded even unto this day, by this same veil which is taken away in Christ, while this same veil remains in the reading of the Old Testament, which is not unveiled, because it is made void in Christ; and even to this day, if at any time Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. But by and by, when they shall be turned unto the Lord, the veil shall be taken away." In the Gospel, the Lord after His resurrection says: "These are the words which I was speaking unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me. Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures; and said unto them, That thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name even among all nations."
CHAPTER 5
1 That the Jews could understand nothing of the Scriptures unless they first believed in Christ.
2 In Isaiah: "And if you will not believe, neither will you understand." Also the Lord in the Gospel: "For if you believe not that I am He, you shall die in your sins." Moreover, that righteousness should subsist by faith, and that in it was life, was predicted in Habakkuk: "Now the just shall live by faith of me." Away Abraham, the father of the nations, believed; in Genesis: "Abraham believed in God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." In like manner, Paul to the Galatians: "Abraham believed in God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. You know, therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are children of Abraham. But the Scripture, foreseeing that God justifies the heathens by faith, foretold to Abraham that all nations should be blessed in him. Therefore they who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."
CHAPTER 6
1 That the Jews should lose Jerusalem, and should leave the land which they had received.
2 In Isaiah: "Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers shall devour it in your sight; and the daughter of Zion shall be left deserted, and overthrown by foreign peoples, as a cottage in a vineyard, and as a keeper's lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a city which is besieged. And unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we should have been as Sodoma, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah." Also in the Gospel the Lord says: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kill the prophets, and stone them that are sent unto you, how often would I have gathered your children as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house shall be left unto you desolate."
CHAPTER 7
1 Also that they should lose the Light of the Lord.
2 In Isaiah: "Come you, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. For He has sent away His people, the house of Israel." In His Gospel also, according to John: "That was the true light which lights every man that comes into this world. He was in this world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not." Moreover, in the same place: "He that believes not is judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light."
CHAPTER 8
1 That the first circumcision of the flesh is made void, and the second circumcision of the spirit is promised instead.
2 In Jeremiah: "Thus says the Lord to the men of Judah, and to them who inhabit Jerusalem, Renew newness among you, and do not sow among thorns: circumcise yourselves to your God, and circumcise the foreskin of your heart; lest my anger go forth like fire, and burn you up, and there be none to extinguish it." Also Moses says: "In the last days God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love the Lord your God." Also in Jesus the son of Nave: "And the Lord said unto Jesus, Make you small knives of stone, very sharp, and set about to circumcise the children of Israel for the second time." Paul also, to the Colossians: "You are circumcised with the circumcision not made with hands in the putting off of the flesh, but with the circumcision of Christ." Also, because Adam was first made by God uncircumcised, and righteous Abel, and Enoch, who pleased God and was translated; and Noah, who, when the world and men were perishing on account of transgressions, was chosen alone, that in him the human race might be preserved; and Melchizedek, the priest according to whose order Christ was promised. Then, because that sign did not avail women, but all are sealed by the sign of the Lord.
CHAPTER 9
1 That the former law which was given by Moses was to cease.
2 In Isaiah: "Then shall they be manifest who seal the law, that they may not learn; and he shall say, I wait upon the Lord, who turns away His face from the house of Jacob, and I shall trust in Him." In the Gospel also: "All the prophets and the law prophesied until John."
CHAPTER 10
1 That a new law was to be given.
2 In Micah: "For the law shall go forth out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among many peoples, and He shall subdue and uncover strong nations." Also in Isaiah: "For from Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem; and He shall judge among the nations." Likewise in the Gospel according to Matthew: "And behold a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear you Him."
CHAPTER 11
1 That another dispensation and a new covenant was to be given.
2 In Jeremiah: "Behold, the days come, says the Lord, and I will complete for the house of Israel, and for the house of Judah, a new testament, not according to the testament which I ordered with their fathers in that day in which I took hold of their hands to bring them out of the land of Egypt, because they remained not in my testament, and I disregarded them, says the Lord: Because this is the testament which will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will give them my laws, and into their minds I will write them; and I will be to them for a God, and they shall be to me for a people; and they shall not teach every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least even to the greatest of them: for I will be merciful to their iniquities, and will no more be mindful of their sins."
CHAPTER 12
1 That the old baptism should cease, and a new one should begin.
2 In Isaiah: "Therefore remember you not the former things, neither reconsider the ancient things. Behold, I make new the things which shall now arise, and you shall know it; and I will make in the desert a way, and rivers in a dry place, to give drink to my chosen race, my people whom I acquired, that they should show forth my praises." In the same also: "If they thirst, He will lead them through the deserts; He will bring forth water from the rock; the rock shall be cloven, and the water shall flow: and my people shall drink." Moreover, in the Gospel according to Matthew, John says: "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire." Also according to John: "Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. For that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
CHAPTER 13
1 That the old yoke should be made void, and a new yoke should be given.
2 In the second Psalm: "For what purpose have the heathen raged, and the people imagined vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers have gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ. Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke from us." Likewise in the Gospel according to Matthew, the Lord says: "Come unto me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will cause you to rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is excellent, and my burden is light." In Jeremiah: "In that day I will shatter the yoke from their neck, and will burst their fetters; and they shall not labor for others, but they shall labor for the Lord God; and I will raise up David a king unto them."
CHAPTER 14
1 That the old pastors should cease and new ones begin.
2 In Ezekiel: "Wherefore thus says the Lord, Behold, I am above the shepherds; and I will require my sheep from their hands, and I will turn them away from feeding my sheep; and they shall feed them no more, and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, and I will feed them with judgment." In Jeremiah the Lord says: "And I will give you shepherds according to my own heart, and they shall feed you with the food of discipline." In Jeremiah, moreover: "Hear the word of the Lord, you nations, and tell it to the islands which are afar off. Say, He that scatters Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd his flock: for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and taken him out from the hand of him that was stronger than he."
CHAPTER 15
1 That Christ should be the house and temple of God, and that the old temple should cease, and the new one should begin.
2 In the second book of Kings: "And the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus says the Lord, You shall not build me an house to dwell in; but it shall be, when your days shall be fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, which shall come from your bowels, and I will make ready his kingdom. He shall build me an house in my name, and I will raise up his throne forever; and I will be to him for a father, and he shall be to me for a son: and his house shall obtain confidence, and his kingdom for evermore in my sight." Also in the Gospel the Lord says: "There shall not be left in the temple one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down." And "After three days another shall be raised up without hands."
CHAPTER 16
1 That the ancient sacrifice should be made void, and a new one should be celebrated.
2 In Isaiah: "For what purpose to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? Says the Lord: I am full; I will not have the burnt sacrifices of rams, and fat of lambs, and blood of bulls and goats. For who has required these things from your hands?" Also in the forty-ninth Psalm: "I will not eat the flesh of bulls, nor drink the blood of goats. Offer to God the sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you: and you shall glorify me." In the same Psalm, moreover: "The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me: therein is the way in which I will show him the salvation of God." In the fourth Psalm too: "Sacrifice the sacrifice of righteousness, and hope in the Lord." Likewise in Malachi: "I have no pleasure concerning you, says the Lord, and I will not have an accepted offering from your hands. Because from the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same, my name is glorified among the Gentiles; and in every place odors of incense are offered to my name, and a pure sacrifice, because great is my name among the nations, says the Lord."
CHAPTER 17
1 That the old priesthood should cease, and a new priest should come, who should be forever.
2 In the cixth Psalm: "Before the morning star I begat you. The Lord has sworn, and He will not repent, You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." Also in the first book of Kings, God says to the priest Eli: "And I will raise up to me a faithful priest, who shall do all things which are in my heart: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall pass in the presence of my anointed ones for all days. And it shall be, whosoever shall remain in your house, shall come to worship for an obolus of money, and for one loaf of bread."
CHAPTER 18
1 That another Prophet such as Moses was promised, to wit, one who should give a new testament, and who rather ought to be heard.
In Deuteronomy God said to Moses: "And the Lord said to me, A Prophet will I raise up to them from among their brethren, such as you, and I will give my word in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them that which I shall command Him. And whosoever shall not hear whatsoever things that Prophet shall speak in my name, I will avenge it." Concerning whom also Christ says in the Gospel according to John: "Search the Scriptures, in which you think you have eternal life. These are they which set forth testimony concerning me; and you will not come to me, that you might have life. Do not think that I accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuses you, even Moses, on whom you hope. For if you had believed Moses, you would also believe me: for he wrote of me. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words?"
CHAPTER 19
1 That two peoples were foretold, the eider and the younger; that is, the old people of the Jews, and the new one which should consist of us.
2 In Genesis: "And the Lord said unto Rebekah, Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be separated from your belly; and the one people shall overcome the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger." Also in Hosea: "I will call them my people that are not my people, and her beloved that was not beloved. For it shall be, in that place in which it shall be called not my people, they shall be called the sons of the living God."
CHAPTER 20
1 That the Church which before had been barren should have more children from among the Gentiles than what the synagogue had had before.
2 In Isaiah: "Rejoice, you barren, that bar-est not; and break forth and cry, you that travail not: because many more are the children of the desolate one than of her who has an husband. For the Lord has said, Enlarge the place of your tabernacle, and of your curtains, and fasten them: spare not, make long your measures, and strengthen your stakes: stretch forth yet to your right hand and to your left hand; and your seed shall possess the nations, and shall inhabit the deserted cities. Fear not; because you shall overcome: nor be afraid because you are cursed; for you shall forget your eternal confusion." Thus also to Abraham, when his former son was born of a bond-woman, Sarah remained long barren; and late in old age bare her son Isaac, of promise, who was the type of Christ. Thus also Jacob received two wives: the eider Leah, with weak eyes, a type of the synagogue; the younger the beautiful Rachel, a type of the Church, who also remained long barren, and afterwards brought forth Joseph, who also was himself a type of Christ. And in the first of Kings it is said that Elkanah had two wives: Peninnah, with her sons; and Hannah, barren, from whom is born Samuel, not according to the order of generation, but according to the mercy and promise of God, when she had prayed in the temple; and Samuel being born, was a type of Christ. Also in the first book of Kings: "The barren has born seven and she that had many children has grown weak." But the seven children are the seven churches. Where also Paul wrote to seven churches; and the Apocalypse sets forth seven churches, that the number seven may be preserved; as the seven days in which God made the world; as the seven angels who stand and go in and out before the face of God, as Raphael the angel says in Tobit; and the sevenfold lamp in the tabernacle of witness; and the seven eyes of God, which keep watch over the world; and the stone with seven eyes, as Zechariah says; and the seven spirits; and the seven candlesticks in the Apocalypse; and the seven pillars upon which Wisdom has built her house in Solomon.
CHAPTER 21
1 That the Gentiles should rather believe in Christ.
2 In Genesis: "And the Lord God said unto Abraham, Go out from your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, and go into that land which I shall show you: and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will magnify your name; and you shall be blessed: and I will bless him that blesses you, and I will curse him that curses you. And in you shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed." On this same point in Genesis: "And Isaac blessed Jacob. Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field which the Lord has blessed: and God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fertility of the earth, abundance of grain, and wine, and oil: and peoples shall obey you, and princes shall worship you: and you shall be lord over your brother, and the sons of your father shall worship you; and he that curses you shall be cursed, and he that blesses you shall be blessed." On this matter too in Genesis: "But when Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it seemed displeasing to him: and Joseph laid hold of his father's hand, to lift it from the head of Ephraim on to the head of Manasseh. Moreover, Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: this is my first-born; place your right hand upon his head. But he would not, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: and he also shall be a people, and he shall be exalted; but his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations." Moreover in Genesis: "Judah, your brethren shall praise you: your hand shall be upon the back of your enemies; the sons of your father shall worship you. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the slender twig, my son, you have ascended: you laid down and slept as a lion, and as a lion's whelp. Who shall stir him up? There shall not fail a prince from Judah, and a leader from his loins, until those things entrusted to him shall come; and he is the hope of the nations: binding his foal unto the vine, and his donkey's colt unto the branch of the vine; he shall wash his garments in wine, and his clothing in the blood of the grape: terrible are his eyes with wine, and his teeth are whiter than milky," Away in Numbers it is written concerning our people: "Behold, the people shall rise up as a lion-like people." In Deuteronomy: "You Gentiles shall be for the head; but this unbelieving people shall be for the tail." Also in Jeremiah: "Hear the sound of the trumpet. And they said, We will not hear: for this cause the nations shall hear, and they who shall feed their cattle among them." In the seventeenth Psalm: "You shall establish me the head of the nations: a people whom I have not known have served me: at the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me." Concerning this very thing the Lord says in Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you; and before you went forth from the womb, I sanctified you, and established you as a prophet among the nations." Also in Isaiah: "Behold, I have manifested him for a witness to the nations, a prince and a commander to the peoples." Also in the same: "Nations which have not known You shall call upon You; and peoples which were ignorant of You shall flee to You." In the same, moreover: "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall rise to rule in all the nations; in Him shall the Gentiles hope: and His rest shall be honor." In the same again: "The land of Zebulon, and the land of Nephtalim, by the way of the sea, and you others who inhabit the maritime places, and beyond Jordan of the nations. People that walk in darkness, behold yes great light; you who dwell in the region of the shadow of death, the light shall shine upon you." Also in the same: "Thus says the Lord God to Christ my Lord, whose right hand I hold, that the nations may hear Him; and I will break asunder the strength of kings, I will open before Him gates; and cities shall not be shut." Also in the same: "I come to gather together all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. And I will send out over them a standard, and I will send those that are preserved among them to the nations which are afar off, which have not heard my name nor seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory to the nations." Also in the same: "And in all these things they are not converted; therefore He shall lift up a standard to the nations which are afar, and He will draw them from the end of the earth." Also in the same: "Those who had not been told of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand." Also in the same: "I have been made manifest to those who seek me not: I have been formal of those who asked not after me. I said, Lo, here am I, to a nation that has not called upon my! Name." Of this same thing, in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul says: "It was necessary that the word of God should first be shown to you; but since you put it from you, and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles: for thus said the Lord by the Scriptures, Behold, I have set You a light among the nations, that You should be for salvation even to the ends of the earth."
CHAPTER 22
1 That the Jews would lose while we should receive the bread and the cup of Christ and all His grace, and that the new name of Christians should be blessed in the earth.
2 In Isaiah: "Thus says the Lord, Behold, they who serve me shall eat, but you shall be hungry: behold, they who serve me shall drink, but you shall be thirsty: behold, they who serve me shall rejoice, but you shall be confounded; the Lord shall slay you. But to those who serve me a new name shall be named, which shall be blessed in the earth." Also in the same place: "Therefore shall He lift up an ensign to the nations which are afar off, and He will draw them from the end of the earth; and, behold, they shall come swiftly with lightness; they shall not hunger nor thirst." Also in the same place: "Behold, therefore, the Ruler, the Lord of Sabaoth, shall take away from Judah and from Jerusalem the healthy man and the strong man, the strength of bread and the strength of water." Likewise in the thirty-third Psalm: "O taste and see how sweet is the Lord. Blessed is the man that hopes in Him. Fear the Lord God, all you His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. Rich men have wanted and have hungered; but they who seek the Lord shall never want any good thing." Moreover, in the Gospel according to John, the Lord says: "I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall not hunger, and he that trusts in me shall never thirst." Likewise He says in that place: "If any one thirst, let him come and drink. He that believes on me, as the Scripture says, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." Moreover, He says in the same place: "Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you shall have no life in you."
CHAPTER 23
1 That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven.
2 In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
CHAPTER 24
1 That by this alone the Jews can receive pardon of their sins, if they wash away the blood of Christ slain, in His baptism, and, passing over into His Church, obey His precepts.
2 In Isaiah the Lord says: "Now I will not release your sins. When you stretch forth your hands, I will turn away my face from you; and if you multiply prayers, I will not hear you: for your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; take away the wickedness from your souls from the sight of mine eyes; cease from your wickedness; learn to do good; seek judgment; keep him who suffers wrong; judge for the orphan, and justify the widow. And come, let us reason together, says the Lord: and although your sins be as scarlet, I will whiten them as snow; and although they were as crimson, I will whiten them as wool. And if you be willing and listen to me, you shall eat of the good of the land; but if you be unwilling, and will not hear me, the sword shall consume you; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things."
CHAPTER 25
1 That Christ is the First-born, and that He is the Wisdom of God, by whom all things were made.
2 In Solomon in the Proverbs: "The Lord established me in the beginning of His ways, into His works: before the world He rounded me. In the beginning, before He made the earth, and before He appointed the abysses, before the fountains of waters gushed forth, before the mountains were settled, before all the hills, the Lord begot me. He made the countries, and the uninhabitable places, and the uninhabitable bounds under heaven. When He prepared the heaven, I was present with Him; and when He set apart His seat. When He made the strong clouds above the winds, and when He placed the strengthened fountains under heaven, when He made the mighty foundations of the earth, I was by His side, ordering them: I was He in whom He delighted: moreover, I daily rejoiced before His face in all time, when He rejoiced in the perfected earth." Also in the same in Ecclesiasticus: "I went forth out of the mouth of the Most High, first-born before every creature: I made the unwearying light to rise in the heavens, and I covered the whole earth with a cloud: I dwelt in the high places, and my throne in the pillar of the cloud: I compassed the circle of heaven, and I penetrated into the depth of the abyss, and I walked on the waves of the sea, and I stood in all the earth; and in every people and in every nation I had the pre-eminence, and by my own strength I have trodden the hearts of all the excellent and the humble: in me is all hope of life and virtue: pass over to me, all you who desire me." Also in the eighty-eighth Psalm: "And I will establish Him as my first-born, the highest among the kings of the earth. I will keep my mercy for Him forever, and my faithful covenant for Him; and I will establish his seed forever and ever. If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they profane my judgments, and do not observe my precepts, I will visit their wickednesses with a rod, and their sins with scourges; but my mercy will I not scatter away from them." Also in the Gospel according to John, the Lord says: "And this is life eternal, that they should know You, the only and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth: I have finished the work which You gave me to do. And now, do You glorify me with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was made." Also Paul to the Colossians: "Who is the image of the invisible God, and the first-born of every creature." Also in the same place: "The first-born from the dead, that He might in all things become the holder of the pre-eminence." In the Apocalypse too: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto Him that is thirsting from the fountain of the water of life freely." That He also is both the wisdom and the power of God, Paul proves in his first Epistle to the Corinthians."Because the Jews require a sign, and the Creeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews indeed a stumbling-block, and to the Gentiles foolishness; but to them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."
CHAPTER 26
1 That Christ is the Wisdom of God; and concerning the sacrament of His incarnation and of His passion, and cup and altar; and of the apostles who were sent, and preached.
2 In Solomon in the Proverbs: "Wisdom has built herself an house, and she has placed under it seven pillars; she has slain her victims; she has mingled her wine in the goblet, and has made ready her table, and has sent her servants, calling with a loud announcement to the cup, saying, Let him who is foolish turn to me: and to them that want understanding she has said, Come, eat of my loaves, and drink the wine which I have mingled for you. Forsake foolishness, and seek wisdom, and correct knowledge by understanding."
CHAPTER 27
1 That the same Christ is the Word of God.
2 In the forty-fourth Psalm: "My heart has breathed out a good Word. I tell my works to the King." Also in the thirty-second Psalm: "By the Word of God were the heavens made fast; and all their strength by the breath of His mouth." Also in Isaiah: "A Word completing and shortening in righteousness, because a shortened word will God make in the whole earth." Also in the cvith Psalm: "He sent His Word, and healed them." Moreover, in the Gospel according to John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." Also in the Apocalypse: "And I saw the heaven opened, and lo, a white horse; and he who sate upon him was called Faithful and True, judging rightly and justly; and He made war. And He was covered with a garment sprinkled with blood; and His name is called the Word of God."
CHAPTER 28
1 That Christ is the Hand and Arm of God.
2 In Isaiah: "Is God's Hand not strong to save? Or has He made His ear heavy, that He cannot hear? But your sins separate between you and God; anti on account of your sins He turns His face away from you, that He may not pity. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins. Moreover, your lips have spoken wickedness, and your tongue meditates unrighteousness. No one speaks truth, nor is there true judgment: they trust in vanity, and speak emptiness, who conceive sorrow, and bring forth wickedness." Also in the same place: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom is the Arm of God revealed?" Also in the same: "Thus says the Lord, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is the support of my feet. What house will you build unto me? Or what is the place for my rest? For all these things has mine hand made." Also in the same: "O Lord God, Your Arm is high, and they knew it not; but when they know it, they shall be confounded." Also in the same: "The Lord has revealed His Arab that holy Arm, in the sight of all nations; all nations, even the ends of the earth, shall see salvation from God." Also in the same place: "Behold, I have made you as the wheels of a thrashing chariot, new and turned back upon themselves;" and you shall thrash the mountains, and shall beat the bills small, and shall make them as chaff, and shall winnow them; and the wind shall seize them, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: but you shall rejoice in the saints of Israel; and the poor and needy shall exult. For they shall seek water, and there shall be none. For their tongue shall be dry for thirst. I the Lord God, I the God of Israel, will hear them, and will not forsake them; but I will open rivers in the mountains, and fountains in the midst of the fields. I will make the wildernesses watery groves, and a thirsty land into watercourses. I will establish in the land of drought the cedar-tree and the box-tree, and the myrtle and the cypress, and the elm and the poplar, that they may see and acknowledge, and know and believe together, that the Hand of the Lord has done these things, and the Holy One of Israel has shown them."
CHAPTER 29
1 That Christ is at once Angel and God.
2 In Genesis, to Abraham: "And the Angel of the Lord called him from heaven, and said unto him, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, Here am I. And He said, Lay not your hand upon the lad, neither do you anything unto him. For now I know that you fear your God, and have not spared your son, your beloved son, for my sake." Also in the same place, to Jacob: "And the Angel of the Lord was speaking unto me in dreams, I am God, whom you saw in the place of God where you anointed me a pillar of stone, and vowed to me a vow." Also in Exodus: "But God went before them by day indeed in a pillar of cloud, to show them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire." And afterwards, in the same place: "And the Angel of God moved forward, which went before the army of the children of Israel." Also in the same place: "Lo, I send my Angel before your face, to keep you in the way, that He may lead you into the land which I have prepared for you. Observe Him, and obey Him, and be not disobedient to Him, and He will not be wanting to you. For my Name is in Him." Where He Himself says in the Gospel: "I came in the name of my Father, and you received me not. When another shall come in his own name, him you will receive." And again in the cxviith Psalm: "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Also in Malachi: "My covenant of life and peace was with Levi; and I gave him fear, that he should fear me, that he should go from the face of my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips. In the peace of the tongue correcting, he walked with us, and turned many away from unrighteousness. Because the lips of the priests shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at His mouth; for He is the Angel of the Almighty."
CHAPTER 30
1 That Christ is God.
2 In Genesis: "And God said unto Jacob, Arise, and go up to the place of Bethel, and dwell there; and make there an altar to that God who appeared unto you when you reddest from the face of your brother Esau." Also in Isaiah: "Thus says the Lord, the God of Sabaoth, Egypt is wearied; and the merchandise of the Ethiopians, and the tall men of the Sabeans, shall pass over unto You, and shall be Your servants; and shall walk after You bound with chains; and shall worship You, and shall pray to You, because God is in You, and there is no other God beside You. For You are God, and we knew it not, O God of Israel, our Savior. They shall all be confounded and fear who oppose You, and shall fall into confusion." Likewise in the same: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. Every channel shall be filled up, and every mountain and bill shall be made low, and all crooked places shall be made straight, and rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be seen, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God, because the Lord has spoken it." Moreover, in Jeremiah: This is our God, and no other shall be esteemed beside Him, who has found all the way of knowledge, and has given it to Jacob His son, and to Israel His beloved. After this He was seen upon earth, and He conversed with men." Also in Zechariah God says: "And they shall cross over through the narrow sea, and they shall smite the waves in the sea, and they shall dry up all the depths of the rivers; and all the haughtiness of the Assyrians shall be confounded, and the sceptre of Egypt shall be taken away. And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God, and in His name shall they glory, says the Lord." Moreover, in Hosea the Lord says: "I will not do according to the anger of mine indignation, I will not allow Ephraim to be destroyed: for I am God, and there is not a holy man in you: and I will not enter into the city; I will go after God." Also in the forty-fourth Psalm: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever: the sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: wherefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your fellows." So, too, in the forty-fifth Psalm: "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth." Also in the eighty-first Psalm: "They have not known, neither have they understood: they will walk on in darkness." Also in the sixty-seventh Psalm: "Sing unto God, sing praises unto His name: make a way for Him who goes up into the west: God is His name." Also in the Gospel according to John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word." Also in the same: "The Lord said to Thomas, Reach here your finger, and behold my hands: and be not faithless, but believing. Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God. Jesus says unto him, Because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed." Also Paul to the Romans: "I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren and my kindred according to the flesh: who are Israel-ires: whose are the adoption, and the glory, and the covenant, and the appointment of the law, and the service (of God), and the promises; whose are the fathers, of whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is God over all, blessed for evermore." Also in the Apocalypse: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end I will give to him that is thirsty, of the fountain of living water freely. He that overcomes shall possess these things, and their inheritance; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." Also in the eighty-first Psalm: "God stood in the congregation of gods, and judging gods in the midst." And again in the same place: "I have said, You are gods; and you are all the children of the Highest: but you shall die like men." But if they who have been righteous, and have obeyed the divine precepts, may be called gods, how much more is Christ, the Son of God, God! Thus He Himself says in the Gospel according to John: "Is it not written in the law, that I said, You are gods? If He called them gods to whom the word of God was given, and the Scripture cannot be relaxed, do you say to Him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, that you blaspheme, because I said, I am the Son of God? But if I do not the works of my Father, believe me not; but if I do, and you will not believe me, believe the works, and know that the Father is in me, and I in Him." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "And you shall call His name Emmanuel, which is, being interpreted, God with us."
CHAPTER 31
1 That Christ our God should come, the En-lightener and Savior of the human race.
2 In Isaiah: "Be comforted, you weakened hands; and you weak knees, be strengthened. You who are of a timorous heart, fear not. Our God will recompense judgment, He Himself will come, and will save us. Then shall be opened the eves of the blind, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. Then the lame man shall leap as a stag, and the tongue of the dumb shall be intelligible; because in the wilderness the water is broken forth, and the stream in the thirsty land." Also in that place: "Not an elder nor an angel, but the Lord Himself shall deliver them; because He shall love them, and shall spare them, and He Himself shall redeem them. Also in the same place: "I the Lord God have called You in righteousness, that I may hold Your hand, and I will comfort You; and I have given You for a covenant of my people, for a light of the nations; to open the eyes of the blind, to bring forth them that are bound from chains, and those who sit in darkness from the prison-house. I am the Lord God, that is my name. I will not: give any glory to another, nor my powers to given images." Also in the twenty-fourth Psalm: "Show me Your ways, O Lord, and teach me Your paths, and lead me unto Your truth, and teach me; for You are the God of my salvation." Where, in the Gospel according to John, the Lord says: "I am the light of the world. He that will follow me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Moreover, in that according to Matthew, the angel Gabriel says to Joseph: "Joseph, you son of David, fear not to take unto you Mary your wife. For that which shall be born to her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins." Also in that according to Luke: "And Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has foreseen redemption for His people, and has raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David." Also in the same. Place, the angel said to the shepherds: "Fear not; for, behold, I bring you tidings that unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ Jesus."
CHAPTER 32
1 That although from the beginning He had been the Son of God, yet He had to be begotten again according to the flesh.
2 In the second Psalm: "The Lord said unto me, You are my Son; this day have I begotten You. Ask of me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the bounds of the earth for Your possession." Also in the Gospel according to Luke: "And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and she was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she cried out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And where does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Also Paul to the Galatians: "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent His Son, horn of a woman." Also in the Epistle of John: "Every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. But whosoever denies that He is come in the flesh is not of God, but is of the spirit of Antichrist."
CHAPTER 33
1 That this should be the sign of His nativity, that He should be born of a virgin-man and God-a son of man and a Son of God.
2 In Isaiah: "And the Lord went on to speak to Ahaz, saying, Ask you a sign from the Lord your God, in the height above and in the depth below. And Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord my God. And He said, Hear you, therefore, O house of David: it is no trifling contest unto you with men, since God supplies the struggle. On this account God Himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and you shall call His name Emmanuel. Butter and honey shall He eat; before that He knows to prefer the evil, He shall exchange the good." This seed God had foretold would proceed from the woman that should trample on the head of the devil. In Genesis: "Then God said unto the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed are you from every kind of the beasts of the earth. Upon your breast and your belly shall you crawl, and earth shall be your food all the days of your life. And I will place enmity between you and the woman and her seed. He shall regard your head, and you shall watch his heel."
CHAPTER 34
1 That Christ is both man and God, compounded of both natures, that He might be a Mediator between us and the Father.
2 In Jeremiah: "And He is man, and who shall know Him? Also in Numbers: "A Star shall arise out of Jacob, and a man shall rise up from Israel." Also in the same place: "A Man shall go forth out of his seed, and shall rule over many nations; and His kingdom shall be exalted as Gog, and His kingdom shall be increased; and God brought Him forth out of Egypt. His glory is as of the unicorn, and He shall eat the nations of His enemies, and shall take out the marrow of their fatnesses, and will pierce His enemy with His arrows. He couched and lay down as a lion, and as a lion's whelp. Who shall raise Him up? Blessed are they who bless You, and cursed are they who curse You." Also in Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; on account whereof He has anointed me: He has sent me to tell good tidings to the poor; to heal the bruised in heart, to preach deliverance to the captives, and sight to the blind, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of retribution." Where, in the Gospel according to Luke, Gabriel says to Mary: "And the angel, answering, said to her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you. Wherefore that holy thing which is born of you shall be called the Son of God." Also in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "The first man is of the mud of the earth; the second man is from heaven. As was he from the soil, such are they also that are of the earth; and as is the heavenly, such also are the heavenly. As we have born the image of him who is of the earth, let us also bear the image of Him who is from heaven."
CHAPTER 35
1 That Christ was to be born of the seed of David, according to the flesh.
2 In the second of Kings: "And the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus says the Lord, You shall not build me an house to dwell in; but it shall come to pass, when your days shall be fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you who shall come from your loins, and I will establish His kingdom. He shall build me a house in my name, and I will set up His throne forever; and I will be to; Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son; and His house shall obtain confidence, and His kingdom forever in my sight." Also in Isaiah: "And a rod shall go forth of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall go up from his root; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety; and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill Him." Also in the cxxxist Psalm: "God has sworn the truth unto David himself, and He has not repudiated it; of the fruit of your belly will I set upon my throne." Also in the Gospel according to Luke: "And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary. For you have found favor before God. Behold, you shall conceive, and shall bring forth a son, and shall call His name Jesus. The same shall be great, and He shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end." Also in the Apocalypse: "And I saw in the right hand of God, who sate on the throne, a book written within, and on the back sealed with seven seals; and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to receive the book, and to open its seals? Nor was there any one either in heaven or upon the earth, or under the earth, who was able to open the book, nor even to look into it. And I wept much because nobody was found worthy to open the book, nor to look into it. And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book, and to loose its seven seals."
CHAPTER 36
1 That Christ should be born in Bethlehem.
2 In Micah: "And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrata, are not little, that you should be appointed among the thousands of Judah. Out of you shall He come forth to me, that He may be a prince in Israel, and His goings forth from the beginning from the days of old." Also in the Gospel: "And when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah, in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and we have come with gifts to worship Him."
CHAPTER 37
1 That Christ was to come in low estate in His first advent.
2 In Isaiah: "Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed? We have declared in His presence as children, as a root in a thirsty ground. There is no form nor glory in Him; and we saw Him, and He had no form nor beauty; but His form was without honor, and lacking beyond other men. He was a man set in a plague, and knowing how to bear weakness; because His face was turned away, He was dishonoured, and was not accounted of. He bears our sins, and grieves for us; and we thought that He was in grief, and in wounding, and in affliction; but He was wounded for our transgressions, and He was weakened for our sins. The discipline of our peace was upon Him, and with His bruise we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray; than has gone out of his way. And God has delivered Him for our sins; and He, because He was afflicted, opened not His mouth." Also in the same: "I am not rebellious, nor do I contradict. I gave my back to the stripes, and my cheeks to the palms of the hands. Moreover, I did not turn away my Gee from the foulness of spitting, and God was my helper." Also in the same: "He shall not cry, nor will any one hear His voice in the streets. He shall not break a bruised reed, and a smoking flax He shall not extinguish; but He shall bring forth judgment in truth. He shall shine forth, and shall not be shaken, until He set judgment in the earth, and in His name shall the nations trust." Also in the twenty-first Psalm: "But I am a worm, and no man; the accursed of man, and the casting away of the people. All they who saw me despised me, and spoke within their lips, and moved their head. He hoped in the Lord, let Him deliver him; let Him save him, since he will have Him." Also in that place: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue is glued to my jaws." Also in Zechariah: "And the Lord showed me Jesus, that great priest, standing before the face of the Angel of the Lord, and the devil was standing at his right hand to oppose him. And Jesus was clothed in filthy garments, and he stood before the face of the Angel Himself; and He answered and said to them who were standing before His face, saying, Take away his filthy garments from him. And he said to him, Behold, I have taken away your iniquities. And put upon him a priestly garment, and set a fair head dress upon his head." Also Paul to the Philippians: "Who, being established in the form of God, thought it not robbery that He was equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore also God exalted Him, and gave Him a name which is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, of things in earth, and of infernal things, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord in the glory of God the Father."
CHAPTER 38
1 That He is the righteous One whom the Jews should put to death.
2 In the Wisdom of Solomon: "Let us lay hold of the righteous, because He is disagreeable to us, and is contrary to our works, and reproaches us with our transgressions of the law. He professes that He has the knowledge of God, and calls Himself the Son of God; He has become to us an exposure of our thoughts; He is grievous unto us even to look upon, because His life is unlike to others, and His ways are changed. We are esteemed by Him as frivolous, and He restrains Himself from our ways, as if from uncleanness; and He extols the last end of the righteous, and boasts that He has God for His Father. Let us see, then, if His words are true, and let us try what will come to Him. Let us interrogate Him with reproach and torture, that we may know His reverence and prove His patience. Let us condemn Him with a most shameful death. These things they considered, and erred. For their maliciousness has blinded them, and they knew not the sacraments of God." Also in Isaiah: "See you how the righteous perishes, and no man understands; and righteous men are taken away, and no man regards. For the righteous man is taken away froth the face of unrighteousness, and his burial shall be in peace." Concerning this very thing it was before foretold in Exodus: "You shall not slay the innocent and the righteous." Also in the Gospel: "Judas, led by penitence, said to the priests and elders, I have sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood."
CHAPTER 39
1 That Christ is called a sheep and a lamb who was to be slain, and concerning the sacrament (mystery) of the passion.
2 In Isaiah: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, so He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His judgment was taken away: who shall relate His nativity? Because His life shall be taken away from the earth. By the transgressions of my people He was led to death; and I will give the wicked for His burial, and the rich themselves for His death; because He did no wickedness, nor deceits with His mouth. Wherefore He shall gain many, and shall divide the spoils of the strong; because His soul was delivered up to death, and He was counted among transgressors. And He bare the sins of many, and was delivered for their offences." Also in Jeremiah: "Lord, give me knowledge, and I shall know it: then I saw their meditations. I was led like a lamb without malice to the slaughter; against me they devised a device, saying, Come, let us cast the tree into His bread, and let us erase His life from the earth, and His name shall no more be a remembrance." Also in Exodus God said to Moses: "Let them take to themselves each man a sheep, through the houses of the tribes, a sheep without blemish, perfect, male, of a year old it shall be to you. You shall take it from the lambs and from the goats, and all the congregation of the synagogue of the children of Israel shall kill it in the evening; and they shall take of its blood, and shall place it upon the two posts, and upon the threshold in the houses, in the very houses in which they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh on the same night, roasted with fire; and they shall eat unleavened bread with bitter herbs. You shall not eat of them raw nor dressed in water, but roasted with fire; the head with the feet and the inward parts. You shall leave nothing of them to the morning; and you shall not break a bone of it. But what of it shall be left to the morning shall be burnt with fire. But thus you shall eat it; your loins girt, and your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hands; and you shall eat it in haste: for it is the Lord's Passover." Also in the Apocalypse: "And I saw in the midst of the throne, and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth throughout all the earth. And He came and took the book from the right. Hand of God, who sate on the throne. And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders cast themselves before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden cups full of odors of supplications, which are the prayers of the saints; and they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are You, O Lord, to take the book, and to open its seals: for You were slain, and have redeemed us with Your blood from every tribe, anti and people, and nation; and You have made us a kingdom unto our God, and have made us priests, and they shall reign upon the earth." Also in the Gospel: "On the next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and says, Behold the Lamb of God, and behold Him that takes away the sins of the world!"
CHAPTER 40
1 That Christ also is called a Stone.
2 In Isaiah: "Thus says the Lord, Behold, I place on the foundations of Zion a precious stone, elect, chief, a corner stone, honorable; and he who trusts in Him shall not be confounded." Also in the cxviith Psalm: "The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. This is done by the Lord, and it is wonderful in our eyes. This is the day, which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. O Lord, save therefore, O Lord, direct therefore. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Also in Zechariah: "Behold, I bring forth my servant. The Orient is his name, because the stone which I have placed before the face of Jesus; upon that one stone are seven eyes." Also in Deuteronomy: "And you shall write upon the stone all this law, very plainly." Also in Jesus the son of Nave: "And be took a great stone, and placed it there before the Lord; and Jesus said unto the people, Behold, this stone shall be to you for a testimony, because it has heard all the things which were spoken by the Lord, which He has spoken to you today; and it shall be for a testimony to you in the last of the days, when you shall have departed from your God." Also in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter: "You princes of the people, and elders of Israel, hearken: Behold, we are this day interrogated by you about the good deed done to the impotent man, by means of which he is made whole. Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you have crucified, whom God has raised up from the dead, by Him he stands whole in your presence, but by none other. This is the stone which was despised by you builders, which has become the head of the corner. For there is no other name given to men under heaven in which we must be saved." This is the stone in Genesis, which Jacob places at his head, because the head of the man is Christ; and as he slept he saw a ladder reaching to heaven, on which the Lord was placed, and angels were ascending and descending. And this stone he designating Christ consecrated and anointed with the sacrament of unction. This is the stone in Exodus upon which Moses sate on the top of a hill when Jesus the son of Nave fought against Amalek; and by the sacrament of the stone, and the stedfastness of his sitting, Amalek was overcome by Jesus, that is, the devil was overcome by Christ. This is the great stone in the first book of Kings, upon which was placed the ark of the covenant when the oxen brought it back in the cart, sent back and returned by the strangers. Also, this is the stone in the first book of Kings, with which David smote the forehead of Goliath and slew him; signifying that the devil and his servants are thereby thrown down-that part of the head, namely, being conquered which they have not had sealed. And by this seal we also are always safe and live. This is the stone which, when Israel had conquered the aliens, Samuel set up and called its name Ebenezer; that is, the stone that helps.
CHAPTER 41
1 That afterwards this Stone should become a mountain, and should fill the whole earth.
2 In Daniel: "And behold a very great image; and the aspect of this image was fearful, and it stood erect before you; whose head was of fine gold, its breast and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were of brass, and its feet were partly indeed of iron, and partly of clay, until that a stone was cut out of the mountain, without the hands of those that should cut it, and struck the image upon the feet of iron and clay, and brake them into small fragments. And the iron, and the clay, and the brass, and the silver, and the gold, was made altogether; and they became small as chaff, or dust in the threshing-floor in summer; and the wind blew them away, so that nothing remained of them. And the stone which struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth."
CHAPTER 42
1 That in the last times the same mountain should be manifested, and upon it the Gentiles should come, and on it all the righteous should go up.
2 In Isaiah: "In the last times the mountain of the Lord shall be revealed, and the house of God upon the tops of the mountains; and it shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall come upon it, and many shall walk and say, Come, and let us go up into the mountain of the Lord, and into the house of the God of Jacob; and He will tell us His way, and we will walk in it. For from Zion shall proceed the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem; and He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke much people; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks, and they shall no more learn to fight." Also in the twenty-third Psalm: "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, or who shall stand in His holy place? He that is innocent in his hands, and of a clean heart; who has not received his life in vanity, and has not sworn craftily to his neighbor. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and mercy from the God that saves him. This is the generation of those who seek Him, that seek the face of the God of Jacob."
CHAPTER 43
1 That Christ is the Bridegroom, having the Church as His bride, from which spiritual children were to be born.
2 In Joel: "Blow with the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast, and call a healing; assemble the people, sanctify the Church, gather the elders, collect the little ones that suck the breast; let the Bridegroom go forth of His chamber, and the bride out of her closet." Also in Jeremiah: "And I will take away from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of the joyous, and the voice of the glad; the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride." Also in the eighteenth Psalm: "And he is as a bridegroom going forth from his chamber; he exulted as a giant to run his course. From the height of heaven is his going forth, and his circuit even to the end of it; and there is nothing which is hid from his heat." Also in the Apocalypse: "Come, I will show you the new bride, the Lamb's wife. And he took me in the Spirit to a great mountain, and he showed me the holy city Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God." Also in the Gospel according to John: "You are my witnesses, that I said to them who were sent from Jerusalem to me, that I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before Him. For he who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom is he who stands and hears him with joy, and rejoices because of the voice of the bridegroom." The mystery of this matter was shown in Jesus the son of Nave, when he was bidden to put his shoes from off him, doubt less because he himself was not the bridegroom. For it was in the law, that whoever should refuse marriage should put off his shoe, but that he should be shod who was to be the bridegroom: "And it happened, when Jesus was in Jericho, he looked around with his eyes, and saw a man standing before his face, and holding a javelin in his hand, and said, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" And he said, "I am the leader of the host of the Lord; now draw near." And Jesus fell on his face to the earth, and said to him, Lord, what do You command unto Your servant. And the leader of the Lord's host said, Loose your shoe from your feet, for the place whereon you stand is holy ground." Also, in Exodus, Moses is bidden to put off his shoe, because he, too, was not the bridegroom: "And there appeared unto him the angel of the Lord in a flame of fire out of a bush; and he saw that the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will pass over and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed. But when He saw that he drew near to see, the Lord God called him from the bush, saying, Moses, Moses. And he said, What is it? And He said, Draw not nigh here, unless you have loosed your shoe from off your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy ground. And He said unto him, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." This was also made plain in the Gospel according to John: "And John answered them, I indeed baptize with water, but there stands One in the midst of you whom you know not: He it is of whom I said, The man that comes after me is made before me, the thong of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose." Also according to Luke: "Let your loins be girt, and your lamps burning, and you like to men that wait for their master when he shall come from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks, they may open unto him. Blessed are those servants whom their Lord, when He comes, shall find watching." Also in the Apocalypse: "The Lord God omnipotent reigns: let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give to Him the honor of glory; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself ready."
CHAPTER 44
1 That the Jews would fasten Christ to the cross.
2 In Isaiah: "I have spread out my hands all day to a people disobedient and contradicting me, who walk in ways that are not good, but after their own sins." Also in Jeremiah: "Come, let us cast the tree into His bread, and let us blot out His life from the earth." Also in Deuteronomy: "And Your life shall be hanging (in doubt) before Your eyes; and You shall fear day and night, and shall not trust to Your life." Also in the twenty-first Psalm: "They tore my hands and my feet; they numbered all my bones. And they gazed upon me, and saw me, and divided my garments among them, and upon my vesture they cast a lot. But You, O Lord, remove not Your help far from me; attend unto my help. Deliver my soul from the sword, and my only one from the paw of the dog. Save me from the mouth of the lion, and my lowliness from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare Your name unto my brethren; in the midst of the Church I will praise You." Also in the cxviiith Psalm: "Pierce my flesh with nails through fear of You." Also in the cxlth Psalm: "The lifting up of my hands is an evening sacrifice." Of which sacrifice Sophonias said: "Fear from the presence of the Lord God, since His day is near, because the Lord has prepared His sacrifice, He has sanctified His elect." Also in Zechariah: "And they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced." Also in the eighty-seventh Psalm: "I have called unto You, O Lord, the whole day; I have stretched out my hands unto You." Also in Numbers: "Not as a man is God suspended, nor as the son of man does He suffer threats." Where in the Gospel the Lord says: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believes in the Son may have life eternal."
CHAPTER 45
1 That in the passion and the sign of the cross is all virtue and power.
2 In Habakkuk: "His virtue covered the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise, and His splendour shall be as the light; there shall be horns in His hands. And there the virtue of His glory was established, and He founded His strong love. Before His face shall go the Word, and shall go forth unto the plains according to His steps." In Isaiah also: "Behold, unto us a child is born, and to us a Son is given, upon whose shoulders shall be government; and His name shall be called the Messenger of a mighty thought." By this sign of the cross also Amalek was conquered by Jesus through Moses. In Exodus Moses said to Jesus: "Choose you out men, and go forth, and order yourselves with Amalek until the morrow. Behold, I will stand on the top of the hill, and the rod of God in mine hand. And it came to pass, when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when Moses had let down his hands, Amalek waxed strong. But the hands of Moses were heavy; and they took a stone, and placed it under him, and he sat upon it and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, on the one side and on the other side; and the hands of Moses were made steady even to the setting of the sun. And Jesus routed Amalek and all his people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this, that it may be a memorial in a book, and tell it unto the ears of Jesus, that I may utterly destroy the memory of Amalek from under heaven."
CHAPTER 46
1 That in this sign of the Cross is salvation for all people who are marked on their foreheads.
2 In Ezekiel the Lord says: "Pass through the midst of Jerusalem, and you shall mark the sign I upon the men's foreheads, who groan and grieve for the iniquities which are done in the midst of them." Also in the same place: "Go and smite, and do not spare your eyes. Have no pity on the old man, and the youth, and the virgin, and slay little children and women, that they may be utterly destroyed. But you shall not touch any one upon whom the sign is written, and begin with my holy places themselves." Also in Exodus God says to Moses: "And there shall be blood for a sign to you upon the houses wherein you shall be; and I will look on the blood, and will protect you. And there shall not be in you the plague of wasting when I shall smite the land of Egypt." Also in the Apocalypse: "And I saw a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty and four thousand; and they had His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads." Also in the same place: "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have power over the tree of life."
CHAPTER 47
1 That at mid-day in His passion there should be darkness.
2 In Amos: "And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, the sun shall set at noonday, and the day of light shall be darkened; and I will turn your feast-days into grief, and all your songs into lamentation." Also in Jeremiah: "She is frightened that has born children, and her soul has grown weary. Her sun has gone down while as vet it was mid-day; she has been confounded arid accursed: I will give the rest of them to the sword in the sight of their enemies." Also in the Gospel: "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the earth even to the ninth hour."
CHAPTER 48
1 That He was not to be overcome of death, nor should remain in Hades.
2 In the twenty-ninth Psalm: "O Lord, You have brought back my soul from hell." Also in the fifteenth Psalm: "You will not leave my soul in hell, neither will You suffer Your Holy One to see corruption." Also in the third Psalm: "I laid me down and slept, and rose up again, because the Lord helped me." Also according to John: "No man takes away my life from me; but I lay it down of myself. I have the power of laying it down, and I have the power of taking it again. For this commandment I have received from my Father."
CHAPTER 49
1 That He should rise again from the dead on the third day.
2 In Hosea: "After two days He will revive us; we shall rise again on the third day." Also in Exodus: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down and testify to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow; and let them wash their garments, and let them be prepared against the day after tomorrow. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai." Also in the Gospel: "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet Jonas: for as Jonas was in the whale's belly three days and three nights, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
CHAPTER 50
1 That after He had risen again He should receive from His Father all power, and His power should be everlasting.
2 In Daniel: "I saw in a vision by night, and behold as it were the Son of man, coming in the clouds of heaven, came even to the Ancient of days, and stood in His sight. And they who stood beside Him brought Him before Him: and to Him was given a royal power, and all the kings of the earth by their generation, and all glory obeying Him: and His power is eternal, which shall not be taken away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed." Also in Isaiah: "Now will I arise, says the Lord; now will I be glorified, now will I be exalted, now you shall see, now you shall understand, now you shall be confounded. Vain will be the strength of your spirit: the fire shall consume you." Also in the cixth Psalm: "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit You on my fight hand, until I make Your enemies the footstool of Your feet. God will send the rod of Your power out of Zion, and You shall rule in the midst of Your enemies." Also in the Apocalypse: "And I turned and looked to see the voice which was speaking with me. And I saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a long garment, and He was girt about the paps with a golden girdle. And His head and His hairs were white as wool or snow, and His eyes as a flame of fire, and His feet like to fine brass from a furnace of fire, and His voice like the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; and His face shone as the sun in his might. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, and said, Fear not; I am the first and the last, and He that lives and was dead; and, lo, I am living for evermore and I have the keys of death and of hell." Likewise in the Gospel, the Lord after His resurrection says to His disciples: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."
CHAPTER 51
1 That it is impossible to attain to God the Father, except by His Son Jesus Christ.
2 In the Gospel: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father but by me." Also in the same place: "I am the door: by me if any man shall enter in, he shall be saved." Also in the same place: "Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them." Also in the same place: "He that believes on the Son has eternal life: he that is not obedient in word to the Son has not life; but the wrath of God shall abide upon him." Also Paul to the Ephesians: "And when He had come, He preached peace to you, to those which are afar off, and peace to those which are near, because through Him we both have access in one Spirit unto the Father." Also to the Romans: "For all have sinned, and fail of the glory of God; but they are justified by His gift and grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." Also in the Epistle of Peter the apostle: "Christ has died once for our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might present us to God." Also in the same place: "For in this also was it preached to them that are dead, that they might be raised again." Also in the Epistle of John: "Whosoever denies the Son, the same also has not the Father. He that confesses the Son, has both the Son and the Father."
CHAPTER 52
1 That Jesus Christ shall come as a Judge.
2 In Malachi: "Behold, the day of the Lord comes, burning as an oven; and all the aliens and all the wicked shall be as stubble; and the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord." Also in the forty-ninth (or fiftieth) Psalm: "God the Lord of gods has spoken, and called the earth. From the rising of the sun even to the going down thereof, out of Zion is the beauty of His glory. God shall come manifestly, our God, and shall not keep silence. A fire shall burn before Him, and round about Him shall be a great storm. He has called the heaven above, and the earth, that He may separate His people. Gather together His saints unto Him, those who arrange His covenant with sacrifices. And the heavens shall announce His righteousness, for God is the judge." Also in Isaiah: "The Lord God of strength shall go forth, and shall break war in pieces: He shall stir up contest, and shall cry over His enemies with strength. I have been silent; shall I always be silent?" Also in the sixty-seventh Psalm: "Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered: and let those who hate Him flee from His face. As smoke vanishes, let them vanish: as wax melts from the face of fire, thus let the sinners perish from the face of God. And let the righteous be glad and rejoice in the sight of God: and let them be glad with joyfulness. Sing unto God, sing praises unto His name: make a way to Him who goes up into the west. God is His name. They shall be put to confusion from the face of Him who is the Father of the orphans, and the Judge of the widows. God is in His holy place: God, who makes men to dwell with one mind in an house, bringing forth them that are bound with might, and equally those who provoke unto anger, who dwell in the sepulchres: God, when You went forth in the sight of Your people, in passing into the desert." Also in the eighty-first Psalm: "Arise, O God; judge the earth: for You will exterminate among all nations." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "What have we to do with You, You Son of David? Why are You come here to punish us before the time?" Likewise according to John: "The Father judges nothing, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. He that honors not the Son, honors not the Father who has sent Him." So too in the second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may bear the things proper to his body, according to those things which he has done, whether they be good or evil."
CHAPTER 53
1 That He will reign as a King forever.
2 In Zechariah: "Tell you the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King comes unto you: just, and having salvation; meek, sitting upon an as that has not been tamed." Also in Isaiah: "Who will declare to you that eternal place? He that walks in righteousness, and holds back his hands from gifts; stopping his ears. That he may not hear the judgment of blood; and closing his eyes, that he may not see unrighteousness: this man shall dwell in the lofty cavern of the strong rock; bread shall be given him, and his water shall be sure. You shall see the King with glory." Likewise in Malachi: "I am a great King, says the Lord, and my name is illustrious among the nations." Also in the second Psalm: "But I am established as a King by Him upon His holy hill of Zion, announcing His empire." Also in the twenty-first Psalm: "All the ends of the world shall be reminded, and shall turn to the Lord: and all the countries of the nations shall worship in Your sight. For the kingdom is the Lord's: and He shall rule over all nations." Also in the twenty-third Psalm: "Lift up your gates, you princes; and be you lifted up, you everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord strong in battle. Lift up your gates, O you princes; and be you lifted up, you everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory." Also in the forty-fourth Psalm: "My heart has breathed forth a good discourse: I tell my works to the king: my tongue is the pen of a writer intelligently writing. You are lovely in beauty above the children of men: grace is shed forth on Your lips, because God has blessed You forever. Be girt with Your sword on Your thigh, O most mighty. To Your honor and to Your beauty both attend, and direct Yourself, and reign, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness." Also in the fifth Psalm: "My King, and my God, because unto You will I pray. O Lord, in the morning You shall hear my voice; in the morning I will stand before You, and will contemplate You." Also in the ninety-sixth Psalm: "The Lord has reigned; let the earth rejoice; let the many isles be glad." Moreover, in the forty-fourth Psalm: "The queen stood at your right hand in a golden garment; she is clothed in many colors. Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father's house; for the King has desired your beauty, for He is your Lord God." Also in the seventy-third Psalm: "But God is our King before the world; He has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "And when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and have come to worship Him." Also, according to John, Jesus said: "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would be in trouble, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from away. Pilate said, Are you a king, then? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I am come into the world, that I might bear testimony to the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice."
CHAPTER 54
1 That He Himself is both Judge and King.
2 In the seventy-first Psalm: "O God, give Your judgment to the king, and Your righteousness to the king's son, to judge Your people in righteousness." Also in the Apocalypse: "And I saw the heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He who sate upon him was called Faithful and True; and He judges justice and righteousness, and makes war. And His eyes were. As it were, a flame of fire, and upon His head were many crowns; and He bare a name written that was known to none other than Himself': and He was clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood, and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven followed Him on white horses, clothed in linen white and Clean. And out of His mouth went forth a sword with two edges, that with it He should smite the nations, which He shall shepherd with a rod of iron; and He shall tread the winepress of the wrath of God Almighty. Also He has on His garment and on His thigh the name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords." Likewise in the Gospel: "When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He shall sit in the throne of His glory; and all nations shall be gathered together before Him, and He shall separate them one from another, even as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He shall place the sheep at His right hand, but the goats at His left hand. Then shall the King say unto them who shall be at His right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which is prepared for you from the beginning of the world: for I was hungry, and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink: I was a stranger, and you received me: naked, and you clothed me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer, and say unto Him, Lord, when saw we You hungry, and fed You? Thirsty, and gave You to drink? And when saw we You a stranger, and received You? Naked, and clothed You? And when saw we You sick, and in prison, and came unto You? And the King, answering, shall say unto them, Truly I say unto you, In as far as you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me. Then shall He say unto them who shall be on His left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which my Father has prepared for the devil and his angels: for I have been hungry, and you gave me not to eat: I have been thirsty, and you gave me not to drink: I was a stranger, and you received me not: naked, and you clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and you visited me not. Then shall they also answer and say, Lord, when saw we You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and have not ministered unto You? And He shall answer unto them, Truly I say unto you, Inasmuch as you have not done it to one of the least of these, you have not done it unto me. And these shall go away into everlasting burning, but the righteous into life eternal."
CHAPTER 55
1 Cyprian to his son Quirinus, greeting. Of your faith and devotion which you manifest to the Lord God, beloved son, you asked me to gather out for your instruction from the Holy Scriptures some heads bearing upon the religious teaching of our school; seeking for a succinct course of sacred reading, so that your mind, surrendered to God, might not be wearied with long or numerous volumes of books, but, instructed with a summary of heavenly precepts, might have a wholesome and large compendium for nourishing its memory. And because I owe you a plentiful and loving obedience, I have done what you wished. I have labored for once, that you might not always labor. Therefore, as much as my small ability could embrace, I have collected certain precepts of the Lord, and divine teachings, which may be easy and useful to the readers, in that a few things digested into a short space are both quickly read through, and are frequently repeated. I bid you, beloved son, ever heartily farewell.
CHAPTER 56
1 Of the benefit of good works and mercy.
2 In Isaiah: "Cry aloud," says He, "and spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell my people their sins, and the house of Jacob their wickednesses. They seek me from day to day, and desire to know my ways, as a people which did righteousness, and did not forsake the judgment of God. They ask of me now a righteous judgment, and desire to approach to God, saying, What! Because we have fasted, and You have not seen: we have humiliated our souls, and You have not known. For in the days of fasting are found your own wills; for either you torment those who are subjected to you, or you fast for strifes and judgments, or you strike your neighbours with fists. For what do you fast unto me, that today your voice should be heard in clamour? This fast I have not chosen, save that a man should humble his soul. And if you shall bend your neck like a ring, and spread under you sackcloth and ashes, neither thus shall it be called an acceptable fast. Not such a fast have I chosen, says the Lord; but loose every knot of unrighteousness, let go the chokings of impotent engagements. Send away the harassed into rest, and scatter every unrighteous contract. Break your bread to the hungry, and bring the houseless poor into your dwelling. If you see the naked, clothe him; and despise not them of your own seed in your house. Then shall your seasonable light break forth, and your garments shall quickly arise; and righteousness shall go before you: and the glory of God shall surround you. Then you shall cry out, and God shall hear you; while you are yet speaking, He shall say, Here I am." Concerning this same thing in Job: "I have preserved the needy from the hand of the mighty; and I have helped the orphan, to whom there was no helper. The mouth of the widow blessed me, since I was the eye of the blind; I was also the foot of the lame, and the father of the weak." Of this same matter in Tobit: "And I said to Tobias, My son, go and bring whatever poor man you shall find out of our brethren, who still has God in mind with his whole heart. Bring him here, and he shall eat my dinner together with me. Behold, I attend you, my son, until you come." Also in the same place: "All the days of your life, my son, keep God in mind, and transgress not His precepts. Do justice all the days of your life, and do not walk in the way of unrighteousness; because if you act truly, there will be respect of your works. Give alms of your substance, and turn not your face from any poor man. So shall it come to pass that the face of God shall not be turned away from you. Even as you have, my son, so do: if you have abundant substance, give the more alms therefrom; if you have little, communicate even of that little. And do not fear when you give alms: you lay up for yourself a good reward against the day of need; because alms delivers from death, and does not suffer to go into darkness. Alms is a good office for all who do it in the sight of the most high God." On this same subject in Solomon in Proverbs: "He that has pity on the poor lends unto the Lord." Also in the same place: "He that gives to the poor shall never want; but he who turns away his eye shall be in much penury." Also in the same place: "Sins are purged away by alms-giving and faith." Again, in the same place: "If your enemy hunger, feed him; and if he thirst, give him to drink: for by doing this you shall scatter live coals upon his head." Again, in the same place: "As water extinguishes fire, so alms-giving extinguishes sin." In the same in Proverbs: "Say not, Go away, and return, tomorrow I will give; when you can do good immediately. For you know not what may happen on the coming day." Also in the same place: "He who stops his ears that he may not hear the weak, shall himself call upon God, and there shall be none to hear him." Also in the same place: "He who has his conversation without reproach in righteousness, leaves blessed children." In the same in Ecclesiasticus: "My son, if you have, do good by yourself, and present worthy offerings to God; remember that death delays not." Also in the same place: "Shut up alms in the heart of the poor, and this will entreat for you from all evil." Concerning this thing in the thirty-sixth Psalm, that mercy is beneficial also to one's posterity: "I have been young, and I have also grown old; and I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread. The whole day he is merciful, and lends; and his seed is in blessing." Of this same thing in the fortieth Psalm: "Blessed is he who considers over the poor and needy: in the evil day God will deliver him." Also in the cxith Psalm: "He has distributed, he has given to the poor; his righteousness shall remain from generation to generation." Of this same thing in Hosea: "I desire mercy rather than sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than whole burnt-offerings." Of this same thing also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be satisfied." Also in the same place: "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." Also in the same place: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust does corrupt, and where thieves do not dig through and steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Also in the same place: "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman seeking goodly pearls: and when he has found a precious pearl, he went away and sold all that he had, and bought it." That even a small work is of advantage, also in the same place: "And whoever shall give to drink to one of the least of these a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, truly I say unto you, His reward shall not perish." That alms are to be denied to none, also in the same place: "Give to every one that asks you; and from him who would wish to borrow, be not turned away." Also in the same place: "If you will enter into life, keep the commandments. He says, Which? Jesus says unto him, You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother: and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man says unto Him, All these things have I observed: what lack I yet? Jesus says unto him, If you will be perfect, go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." Also in the same place: "When the Son of man shall come in His majesty, and all the angels with Him, then He shall sit on the throne of His glory: and all nations shall be gathered together before Him; and He shall separate them one from another, even as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats: and He shall place the sheep on the right hand, but the goats on the left hand. Then shall the King say unto them that are on His right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: naked, and you clothed me: I was sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer Him, and say, Lord, when saw we You a stranger, and took You in: naked, and clothed You? And when saw we You sick, and in prison, and came to You? And the King, answering, shall say unto them, Truly I say unto you, Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it unto me. Then shall He say unto them who are on His left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which my Father has prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink: I was a stranger, and you took me not in: I was naked, and you clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and you visited me not. Then shall they also answer, and say, Lord, when saw we You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto You? And He shall answer them, Truly I say unto you, Inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not unto me. And these shall go away into everlasting burning: but the righteous into life eternal." Concerning this same matter in the Gospel according to Luke: "Sell your possessions, and give alms." Also in the same place: "He who made that which is within, made that which is without also. But give alms, and, behold, all things are pure unto you." Also in the same place: "Behold, the half of my substance I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, that salvation has this day been wrought for this house, since he also is a son of Abraham." Of this same thing also in the second Epistle to the Corinthians: "Let your abundance supply their want, that their abundance also may be the supplement of your want, that there may be equality: as it is written, He who had much had not excess; and he who had little had no lack." Also in the same place: "He who sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he who sows in blessing shall reap also of blessing. But let every one do as he has proposed in his heart: not as if sorrowfully, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver." Also in the same place: "As it is written, He has dispersed abroad; he has given to the poor: his righteousness remains forever." Likewise in the same place: "Now he who ministers seed to the sower, shall both supply bread to be eaten, and shall multiply your seed, and shall increase the growth of the fruits of your righteousness: that in all things you may be made rich." Also in the same place: "The administration of this service has not only supplied that which is lacking to the saints, but has abounded by much giving of thanks unto God." Of this same matter in the Epistle of John: "Whoso has this world's substance, and sees his brother desiring, and shuts up his bowels from him, how dwells the love of God in him?" Of this same thing in the Gospel according to Luke: "When you make a dinner or a supper, call not your friends, nor brethren, nor neighbours, nor the rich; lest haply they also invite you again, and a recompense be made you. But when you make a banquet, call the poor, the weak, the blind, and lame: and you shall be blessed; because they have not the means of rewarding you: but you I shall be recompensed in the resurrection of the I just."
CHAPTER 57
1 In works and alms, even if by smallness of power less be done, that the will itself is sufficient.
2 In the second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "If there be a ready will, it is acceptable according to what a man has, not according to that which he has not; nor let there be to others a mitigation, but to you a burdening.
CHAPTER 58
1 That love and brotherly affection are to be religiously and steadfastly practised.
2 In Malachi: "Has not one God created us? Is there not one Father of us all? Why have you certainly deserted every one his brother?" Of this same thing according to John: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you." Also in the same place: "This is my commandment, That you love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love than this has no man, than that one should lay down his life for his friends." Also in the same place: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God." Also in the same place: "Truly I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth concerning everything, whatever you shall ask it shall be given you from my Father which is in heaven. For wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, I am with them." Of this same thing in the first Epistle to the Corinthians: "And I indeed, brethren, could not speak unto you as to spiritual, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I have given you milk for drink, not meat: for while you were yet little you were not able to bear it, neither now are you able. For you are still carnal: for where there are in you emulation, and strife, and dissensions, are you not carnal, and walk after man?" Likewise in the same place: "And if I should have all faith, so that I can remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods for food, and if I should deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I avail nothing. Love is great-souled; love is kind; love envies not; love deals not falsely; is not puffed up; is not irritated; thinks not evil; rejoices not in injustice, but rejoices in the truth. It loves all things, believes all things, hopes all things, bears all things. Love shall never fail." Of this same thing to the Galatians: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and accuse one another, see that you be not consumed one of another." Of this same thing in the Epistle of John: "In this appear the children of God and the children of the devil. Whosoever is not righteous is not of God, and he who loves not his brother. For he who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." Also in the same place: "If any one shall say that he loves God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he who loves not his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he sees not?" Of this same thing in the Acts of the Apostles: "But the multitude of them that had believed acted with one soul and mind: nor was there among them any distinction, neither did they esteem as their own anything of the possessions that they had; but all things were common to them." Of this same thing in the Gospel according to Matthew: If you would offer your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has ought against you; leave you your gift before the altar, and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift at the altar." Also in the Epistle of John: "God is love l and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him." Also in the same place: "He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is a liar, and walks in darkness even until now."
CHAPTER 59
1 That we must boast in nothing, since nothing is our own.
2 In the Gospel according to John: "No one can receive anything, except it were given him from heaven." Also in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "For what have you that you have not received? But if you have received it, why boast you, as if you had not received it?" Also in the first of Kings: "Boast not, neither speak lofty things, and let not great speeches proceed out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge." Also in the same place: "The bow of the mighty men has been made weak, and the weak are girt about with strength." Of this same thing in the Maccabees: "It is just to be subjected to God, and that a mortal should not think things equal to God." Also in the same place: "And fear not the words of a man that is a sinner, because his glory shall be filth and worms. Today he shall be lifted up, and tomorrow he shall not be found; because he is turned into his earth, and his thought has perished."
CHAPTER 60
1 That humility and quietness are to be maintained in all things.
2 In Isaiah: "Thus says the Lord God, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is the stool of my feet. What seat will you build for me, or what is the place for my rest? For all those things has my hand made, and all those things are mine. And upon whom else will I look, except upon the lowly and quiet man, and him that trembles at my words?" On this same thing in the Gospel according to Matthew: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Of this same thing, too, according to Luke: "He that shall be least among you all, the same shall be great." Also in the same lace: "Whosoever exalts himself shall be made low, and whosoever abases himself shall be exalted." Of this same thing to the Romans: "Be not high-minded, but fear; for if God spared not the natural branches, (take heed) lest He also spare not you." Of this same thing in the thirty-third Psalm: And He shall save the lowly in spirit." Also to the Romans: "Render to all what is due: tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor; owe no man anything, except to love another." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "They love the first place of reclining at feasts, and the chief seat in the synagogues, and salutations in the market, and to be called of men Rabbi. But call not you Rabbi, for One is your Master." Also in the Gospel according to John: "The servant is not greater than his lord, nor the apostle greater than He that sent himself. If you know these things, blessed shall you be if you shall do them." Also in the eighty-first Psalm: "Do justice to the poor and lowly."
CHAPTER 61
1 That all good and righteous men suffer more, but ought to endure because they are proved.
2 In Solomon: "The furnace proves the vessels of the potter, and the trial of tribulation righteous men." Also in the fiftieth Psalm: "The sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; a contrite and humbled heart God will not despise." Also in the thirty-third Psalm: "God is near to them that are contrite in heart, and He will save the lowly in spirit." Also in the same place: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but out of them all the Lord will deliver them." Of this same matter in Job: "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, naked also shall I go under the earth: the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away: as it has pleased the Lord, so it is done; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all these things which happened to him Job sinned in nothing with his lips in the sight of the Lord." Concerning this same thing in the Gospel according to Matthew: "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." Also according to John: "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me you may have peace. But in the world you shall have affliction; but have confidence, for I have overcome the world." Concerning this same thing in the second Epistle to the Corinthians: "There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, that I should not be exalted. For which thing I thrice besought the Lord, that it should depart from me. And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you; for strength is perfected in weakness." Concerning this same thing to the Romans: "We glory in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we also glory in afflictions: knowing that affliction works patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope does not confound; because the love of God is infused in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is given unto us." On this same subject, according to Matthew: "How broad and spacious is the way which leads unto death, and many there are who go in thereby: how straight and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there are that find it!" Of this same thing in Tobias: "Where are your righteousnesses? Behold what you suffer." Also in the Wisdom of Solomon: "In the places of the wicked the righteous groan; but at their ruin the righteous will abound."
CHAPTER 62
1 That we must not grieve the Holy Spirit, whom we have received.
2 Paul the apostle to the Ephesians: "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in which you were sealed in the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and indignation, and clamour, and blasphemy, be taken away from you."
CHAPTER 63
1 That anger must be overcome, lest it constrain us to sin.
2 In Solomon in the Proverbs: "Better is a patient man than a strong man; for he who restrains his anger is better than he who takes a city." Also in the same place: "The imprudent man declares his anger on the same day, but the crafty man hides away his dishonor." Of this same thing to the Ephesians: "Be you angry, and sin not. Let not the sun set upon your wrath." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "You have heard that it was said by the ancients, You shall not kill; and whoever shall kill shall be guilty of the judgment. But I say unto you, That every one who is angry with his brother without cause shall be guilty of the judgment."
CHAPTER 64
1 That brethren ought to support one another.
2 To the Galatians: "Each one having others in consideration, lest you also should be tempted. Bear you one another's burdens, and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ."
CHAPTER 65
1 That we must trust in God only, and in Him we must glory.
2 In Jeremiah: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the strong man glory in his strength, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows that I am the Lord, who do mercy, and judgment, and righteousness upon the earth, because in them is my pleasure, says the Lord." Of the same thing in the fifty-fourth Psalm: "In the Lord have I hoped; I will not fear what man can do unto me." Also in the same place: "To none but God alone is my soul subjected." Also in the cxviith Psalm: "I will not fear what man can do unto me; the Lord is my helper." Also in the same place: "It is good to trust in the Lord rather than to trust in man; it is good to hope in the Lord rather than to hope in princes." Of this same thing in Daniel: "But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, there is no need to answer you concerning this word. For God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the furnace of burning fire; and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. And if not, be it known unto you that we serve not your gods, and we adore not the golden image which you have set up." Likewise in Jeremiah: "Cursed is the man who has hope in man; and blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and his hope shall be in God." Concerning this same thing in Deuteronomy: "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve." Of this same thing to the Romans: "And they worshipped and served the creature, forsaking the Creator. Wherefore also God gave them up to ignominious passions." Of this thing also in John: "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in this world."
CHAPTER 66
1 That he who has attained to trust, having put off the former man, ought to regard only celestial and spiritual things, and to give no heed to the world which he has already renounced.
2 In Isaiah: "Seek you the Lord; and when you have found Him, call upon Him. But when He has come near unto you, let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him be turned unto the Lord, and he shall obtain mercy, because He will plentifully pardon your sins." Of this same thing in Solomon: "I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; and, lo, all are vanity." Of this same thing in Exodus: "But thus shall you eat it; your loins girt, and your shoes on your feet, and your staves in your hands: and you shall eat it in haste, for it is the Lord's Passover." Of this same thing in the Gospel according to Matthew: "Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewith shall we be clothed? For these things the nations seek after. But your Father knows that you have need of all these things. Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Likewise in the same place: "Think not for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for itself. Sufficient unto the day is its own evil." Likewise in the same place: "No one looking back, and putting his hands to the plough, is fit for the kingdom of God." Also in the same place: "Behold the fowls of the heaven: for they sow not, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you of more value than they?" Concerning this same thing, according to Luke: "Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning; and you like unto men that wait for their lord, when he comes from the wedding; that, when he comes and knocks, they may open to him. Blessed are those servants, whom their lord, when he comes, shall find watching." Of this same thing in Matthew: "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man has not where He may lay His head." Also in the same place: "Whoso forsakes not all that he has, cannot be my disciple." Of this same thing in the first to the Corinthians: "You are not your own, for you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body." Also in the same place: "The time is limited. It remains, therefore, that both they who have wives be as though they have them not, and they who lament as they that lament not, and they that rejoice as they that rejoice not, and they who buy as they that buy not, and they who possess as they who possess not, and they who use this world as they that use it not; for the fashion of this world passes away." Also in the same place: "The first man is of the clay of the earth, the second man from heaven. As he is of the clay, such also are they who are of the clay; and as is the heavenly, such also are the heavenly. Even as we have born the image of him who is of the clay, let us bear His image also who is from heaven." Of this same matter to the Philippians: "All seek their own, and not those things which are Christ's; whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and their glory is to their confusion, who mind earthly things. For our conversation is in heaven, where also we expect the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall transform the body of our humiliation conformed to the body of His glory." Of this very matter to Galatians: "But be it far from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Concerning this same thing to Timothy: "No man that wars for God binds himself with worldly annoyances, that he may please Him to whom he has approved himself. But and if a man should contend, he will not be crowned unless he fight lawfully." Of this same thing to the Colossians: "If you be dead with Christ froth I the elements of the world, why still, as if living in the world, do you follow vain things?" Also concerning this same thing: "If you have risen together with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting on the right hand of God. Give heed to the things that are above, not to those things which are on the earth; for you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ your life shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory." Of this same thing to the Ephesians: Put off the old man of the former conversation, who is corrupted, according to the lusts of deceit. But be you renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, him who according to God is ordained in righteousness, and holiness, and truth." Of this same thing in the Epistle of Peter: "As strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; but having a good conversation among the Gentiles, that while they detract from you as if from evildoers, yet, beholding your good works, they may magnify God." Of this same thing in the Epistle of John: "He who says he abides in Christ, ought himself also to walk even as He walked." Also in the same place: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Because everything which is in the world is lust of the flesh, and lust of the eyes, and the ambition of this world, which is not of the Father, but of the lust of this world. And the world shall pass away with its lust. But he that does the will of God abides forever, even as God abides forever." Also in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new dough, as you are unleavened. For also Christ our Passover is sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not in the old leaven, nor in the leaven of malice and wickedness, but in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
CHAPTER 67
1 That we must not swear.
2 In Solomon: "A man that swears much shall be filled with iniquity, and the plague shall not depart from his house; and if he swear vainly, he shall not be justified." Of this same matter, according to Matthew: "(Again, you have heard that it was said to them of old, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform unto the Lord your oaths.) I say unto you, Swear not at all: (neither by heaven, because it is God's throne; nor by the earth, because it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King; neither shall you swear by your head, because you can not make one hair white or black.) But let your discourse be, Yes, yes; No, no: (for whatever is fuller than these is of evil.)" Of this same thing in Exodus: "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain."
CHAPTER 68
1 That we must not curse.
2 In Exodus: "You shall not curse nor speak ill of the ruler of your people." Also in the thirty-third Psalm: "Who is the man who desires life, and loves to see good days? Restrain your tongue from evil, and your lips that they speak no guile." Of this same thing in Leviticus: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Bring forth him who has cursed abroad outside the camp; and all who heard him shall place their hands upon his head, and all the assembly of the children of Israel shall stone him." Of this same thing in Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians: "Let no evil discourse proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good for the edification of faith, that it may give grace to the hearers." Of this same thing to the Romans: "Blessing, and not cursing." Of this same thing in the Gospel according to Matthew: "He who shall say to his brother, You fool! Shall be liable to the Gehenna of fire." Of this same matter, according to the same Matthew: "But I say unto you, That every idle word which men shall speak, they shall give account for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned."
CHAPTER 69
1 That we must never murmur, but bless God concerning all things that happen.
2 In Job: "Say some word against the Lord, and die. But he, looking upon her, said, You speak as one of the foolish women. If we have received good things from the Lord's hand, why shall we not endure evil things? In all these things which happened unto him, Job sinned not with his lips in the sight of the Lord." Also in the same place: "Have you regarded my servant Job? For there is none like unto him in the earth: a man without complaint: a true worshipper of God, restraining himself from all evil." Of the same thing in the thirty-third Psalm: "I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall ever be in my mouth." Of this same thing in Numbers: "Let their murmuring cease from me, and they shall not die." Of this same thing in the Acts of the Apostles: "But about the middle of the night Paul and Silas prayed and gave thanks to God, and the prisoners heard them." Also in the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians: "But doing all things for love, without murmurings and revilings, that you may be without complaint, and spotless sons of God."
CHAPTER 70
1 That men are tried by God for this purpose, that they may be proved.
2 In Genesis: "And God, tempted Abraham, and said to him, Take your only son whom you love, Isaac, and go into the high land, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you." Of this same thing in Deuteronomy: "The Lord your God proves you, that He may know if you love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul." Of this same thing in the Wisdom of Solomon: "Although in the sight of men they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality; and having been in few things distressed, yet in many things they shall be happily ordered, because God tried them, and found them worthy of Himself. As gold in the furnace He proved them, and as a burnt-offering He received them. And in their time there shall be respect of them; they shall judge the nations, and shall rule over the people; and their Lord shall reign forever." Of this same thing in the Maccabees: "Was not Abraham found faithful in temptation, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness?"
CHAPTER 71
1 Of the benefits of martyrdom.
2 In the Proverbs of Solomon: "The faithful martyr delivers his soul from evils." Also in the same place: "Then shall the righteous stand in great boldness against them who have afflicted them, and who took away their labors. When they see them, they shall be disturbed with a horrible fear; and they shall wonder at the suddenness of their unhoped-for salvation, saying among themselves, repenting and groaning with distress of spirit, These are they whom some time we had in derision, and in the likeness of a proverb; we fools counted their life madness, and their end without honor. How are they reckoned among the children of God, and their lot among the saints! Therefore we have wandered from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness has not shined upon us, and the sun has not risen upon us. We have been wearied in the way of iniquity and of perdition, and we have walked through difficult solitudes; but we have not known the way of the Lord. What has pride profited us? Or what has the boasting of riches brought to us? All these things have passed away as a shadow." Of this same thing in the cxvth Psalm: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Also in the cxxvth Psalm: "They who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Walking they walked, and wept as they cast their seeds; but coming they shall come in joy, raising up their laps." Of this same thing in the Gospel according to John: "He who loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall find it to life eternal." Also in the same place: "But when they shall deliver you up, take no thought what you shall speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you." Also in the same place: "The hour shall come, that every one that kills you shall think he does service to God l but they shall do this also because they have not known the Father nor me." Of this same matter, according to Matthew: "Blessed are they which shall suffer persecution for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Also in the same place: "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to kill the soul and body in Gehenna." Also in the same place: "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him also will I confess before my Father which is in heaven; but he who shall deny me before men, him also will I deny before my Father which is in heaven. And he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved." Of this same thing, according to Luke: "Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you, and shall separate you (from their company), and shall drive you out, and shall speak evil of your name, as wicked, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice in that day, and exult; for, lo, your reward is great in heaven." Also in the same place: "Truly I say unto you, There is no man that leaves house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, and does not receive seven times as much in this present time, but in the world to come life everlasting." Of this same thing in the Apocalypse: "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar of God the souls of them that were slain on account of the word of God and His testimony. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And unto every one of them were given white robes; and it was said to them, that they should rest still for a short time, until the number of their fellow-servants, and of their brethren, should be fulfilled, and they who shall afterwards be slain, after their example." Also in the same place: "After these things I saw a great crowd, which no one among them could number, from every nation, and from every tribe, and from every people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb; and they were clothed with white robes, and palms were in their hands. And they said with a loud voice, Salvation to our God, that sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb. And one of the elders answered and said to me, What are these which are clothed with white robes? Who are they, and where have they come? And I said unto him, My lord, you know. And he said unto me, These are they who have come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits upon the throne shall dwell among them. They shall neither hunger nor thirst ever; and neither shall the sun fall upon them, nor shall they suffer any heat: for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall protect them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life; and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes." Also in the same place: "He who shall overcome I will give him to eat of the tree of life, which as in the paradise of my God." Also in the same place: "Be you faithful even unto death, and I will give you a crown of life." Also in the same place: "Blessed shall they be who shall watch, and shall keep their garments, lest they walk naked, and they see their shame." Of this same thing, Paul in the second Epistle to Timothy: "I am now offered up, and the time of my assumption is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. There now remains for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me in that day; and not only to me, but to all also who love His appearing." Of this same thing to the Romans: "We are the sons of God: but if sons and heirs of God, we are also joint-heirs with Christ; if we suffer together, that we may also be magnified together." Of this same thing in the cxviiith Psalm: "Blessed are they who are undefiled in the way, and walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who search into His testimonies."
CHAPTER 72
1 That what we suffer in this world is of less account than is the reward which is promised.
2 In the Epistle of Paul to the Romans: "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy of comparison with the glory that is to come after, which shall be revealed in us." Of this same thing in the Maccabees: "O Lord, who have the holy knowledge, it is manifest that while I might be delivered from death, I am suffering most cruel pains of body, being beaten with whips; yet in spirit I suffer these things willingly, because of the fear of your own self." Also in the same place: "You indeed, being powerless, destroy us out of this present life; but the King of the world shall raise us up who have died for His laws into the eternal resurrection of life." Also in the same place: "It is better that, given up to death by men, we should expect hope from God to be raised again by Him. For there shall be no resurrection to life for you." Also in the same place: "Having power among men, although you are corruptible, you do what you will. But think not that our race is forsaken of God. Sustain, and see how His great power will torment, you and your seed." Also in the same place: Do not err without cause; for we suffer these things on our own accounts, as sinners against our God. But think not you that you shall be unpunished, having undertaken to fight against God."
CHAPTER 73
1 That nothing is to be preferred to the love of God and Christ.
2 In Deuteronomy: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "He that loves father or mother above me, is not worthy of me; and he that loves son or daughter above me, is not worthy of me; and he that takes not up his cross and follows me, is not my disciple." Also in the Epistle of Paul to the Romans: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, Because for your sake we are killed all the day long, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. But in all these things we are more than conquerors for His sake who loved us."
CHAPTER 74
1 That we are not to obey our own will, but the will of God.
2 In the Gospel according to John: "I came not down from heaven to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me." Of this same matter, according to Matthew: "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will." Also in the daily prayer: "Your will be done, as in heaven, so in earth." Also according to Matthew: "Not every one who says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father which is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." Also according to Luke: "But that servant which knows his Lord's will, and obeyed not His will, shall be beaten with many stripes." In the Epistle of John: "But he that does the will of God abides forever, even as He Himself also abides forever."
CHAPTER 75
1 That the foundation and strength of hope and faith is fear.
2 In the cxth Psalm: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Of the same thing in the Wisdom of Solomon: "The beginning of wisdom is to fear God." Also in the Proverbs of the same: "Blessed is the man who reverences all things with fear." Of the same thing in Isaiah: "And upon whom else will I look, except upon him that is lowly and peaceful, and that trembles at my words?" Of this same thing in Genesis: "And the angel of the Lord called him from heaven, and said unto him, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not your hand upon the lad, neither do anything unto him: for now I know that you fear your God, and have not spared your beloved son for my sake." Also in the second Psalm: "Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice unto Him in trembling." Also in Deuteronomy, the word of God to Moses: "Call the people together to me, and let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they themselves shall live upon the earth." Also in Jeremiah: "Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will perfect upon the house of Israel, and in the house of Judah, a new covenant: not according to the covenant that I had ordered with their fathers in the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; because they have not abode in my covenant, and I have been unmindful of them, says the Lord; because this is the covenant which I will ordain for the house of Israel; After those days, says the Lord, I will give my law, and will write it in their mind and I will be to them for a God, and they shall be to me for a people. And they shall not teach every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord because all shall know me, from the least even to the greatest of them: because I will be favorable to their iniquities, and their sins I will not remember any more. If the heaven should be lifted up on high, says the Lord, and if the earth should be made low from beneath, yet I will not cast away the people of Israel, says the Lord, for all the things which they have done. Behold, I will gather them together from every land in which I have scattered them in anger, and in my fury, and in great indignation; and I will grind them down into that place, and I will leave them in fear; and they shall be to me for a people, and I will be to them for a God: and I will give them another way, and another heart, that they may fear me all their days in prosperity with their children: and I will perfect for them an everlasting covenant, which I will not turn away after them; and I will put my fear into their heart, that they may not depart from me: and I will visit upon them to do them good, and to plant them in their land in faith, and with all the heart, and with all the mind." Also in the Apocalypse: "And the four and twenty elders which sit on their thrones in the sight (of God), fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give You thanks, O Lord God omnipotent, which are and which were; because You have taken Your great power, and have reigned. And the nations were angry, and Your wrath is come, and the time in which it should be judged concerning the dead, and the reward should be given to Your servants the prophets, and the saints that fear Your name, small and great; and to disperse those who have corrupted the earth." Also in the same place: "And I saw another angel flying through the midst of the heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to those who dwell upon the earth, and to all the nations, and tribes, and tongues, and peoples, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give Him honor, because the hour of His judgment is come; and adore Him who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Also in the same place: "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and the beasts were feeding with His lambs; and the number of His name a hundred and forty and four, standing upon the sea of glass, having the harps of God; and they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Your works, O Lord God Almighty; just and true are Your ways, You King of the nations. Who would not fear You, and give honor to Your name? For You only are holy: and because all nations shall come and worship in Your sight, because Your righteousnesses have been made manifest." Also in Daniel: "There was a man dwelling in Babylon whose name was Joachim; and he took a wife by name Susanna, the daughter of Helchias, a very beautiful woman, and one that feared the Lord. And her parents were righteous, and taught their daughter according to the law of Moses." Moreover, in Daniel: "And we are lowly this day in all the earth because of our sins, and there is not at this time any prince, or prophet, or leader, or burnt-offering, or oblation, or sacrifice, or incense, or place to sacrifice before You, and to find mercy from You. And yet in the soul and spirit of lowliness let us be accepted as the burnt-offerings of rams and bulls, and as it were many thousands of lambs which are fattest. If our offering may be made in Your presence this day, their power shall be consumed, for they shall not be ashamed who put their trust in You. And now we follow with our whole heart, and we fear and seek Your face. Give us not over unto reproach, but do with us according to Your tranquillity, and according to the multitude of Your mercy deliver us." Also in the same place: "And the king exceedingly rejoiced, and commanded Daniel to be taken up out of the den of lions; and the lions had done him no hurt, because he trusted and had believed in his God. And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel; and they cast them in the den of lions, and their wives and their children. And before they had reached the pavement of the den they were seized by the lions, and they brake all their bones in pieces. Then Darius the king wrote, To all peoples, tribes, and languages which are in my kingdom, peace be unto you from my face. I decree and ordain that all those who are in my kingdom shall fear and tremble before the most high God whom Daniel serves, because He is the God who lives and abides forever, and His kingdom shall not pass away, and His dominion goes on forever; and He alone does signs, and prodigies, and marvellous things in the heaven and the earth, who snatched Daniel from the den of lions." Also in Micah: "Wherewith shall I approach the Lord, and lay hold upon Him? In sacrifices, in burnt-offerings, in calves of a year old? Does the Lord favor and receive me with thousands of fat goats? Or shall I give my first-fruits of unrighteousness, the fruit of my belly, the sin of my soul? It is told you, O man, what is good; or what else the Lord does require, save that you should do judgment and justice, and love mercy, and be ready to go with the Lord your God. The voice of the Lord shall be invoked in the city, and He will save those who fear His name." Also in Micah: "Feed Your people with Your rod, the sheep of Your inheritance; and pluck up those who dwell separately in the midst of Carmel. They shall prepare Bashan and Gilead according to the days of the age; and according to the days of their going forth from the land of Egypt I will show them wonderful things. The nations shall see, and be confounded at all their might; and they shall place their hand upon their mouth. Their ears shall be deafened, and they shall lick the dust as do serpents. Dragging the earth, they shall be disturbed, and they shall lick the dust: in their end they shall be afraid towards the Lord their God, and they shall fear because of You. Who is a God as You are, raising up unrighteousness, and passing over impiety?" And in Nahum: "The mountains were moved at Him, and the hills trembled; and the earth was laid bare before His face, and all who dwell therein. From the face of His anger who shall bear it, and who withstands in the fury of His soul? His rage causes the beginnings to flow, and the rocks were melted by Him. The Lord is good to those who sustain Him in the day of affliction, and knows those who fear Him." Also in Haggai: "And Zerubbabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Judah, and Jesus the son of Josedech, the high priest, and all who remained of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, because the Lord sent him to them, and the people feared from the face of God." Also in Malachi: "The covenant was with life and peace; and I gave to them the fear to fear me from the face of my name." Also in the thirty-third Psalm: "Fear the Lord, all you His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him." Also in the eighteenth Psalm: "The fear of the Lord is chaste, abiding forever."
CHAPTER 76
1 That we must not rashly judge of another.
2 In the Gospel according to Luke: "Judge not, that you be not judged: condemn not, that you be not condemned." Of this same subject to the Romans: "Who are you that judge another man's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. But he shall stand; for God is able to make him stand." And again: "Wherefore you are without excuse, O every man that judge: for in that in which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you do the same things which you judge. But do you hope, who judge those who do evil, and do the same, that you yourself shall escape the judgment of God" Also in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "And let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." And again: "If any man thinks that he knows anything, he knows not yet in what manner he ought to know."
CHAPTER 77
1 That when we have received a wrong, we must remit and forgive it.
2 In the Gospel, in the daily prayer: "Forgive us our debts, even as we forgive our debtors." Also according to Mark: "And when you stand for prayer, forgive, if you have ought against any one; that also your Father who is in heaven may forgive you your sins. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive you your sins." Also in the same place: "In what measure you mete, in that shall it be measured to you again."
CHAPTER 78
1 That evil is not to be returned for evil.
2 In the Epistle of Paul to the Romans: "Rendering to no man evil for evil." Also in the same place: "Not to be overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Of this same thing in the Apocalypse: "And He said unto me, Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book; because now the time is at hand. And let those who persist in hurting, hurt: and let him who is filthy, be filthy still: but let the righteous do still more righteousness: and in like manner, let him that is holy do still more holiness. Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to every man according to his deeds."
CHAPTER 79
1 That it is impossible to attain to the Father but by His Son Jesus Christ.
2 In the Gospel according to John: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me." Also in the same place: "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved."
CHAPTER 80
1 That unless a man have been baptized and born again, he cannot attain unto the kingdom of God.
2 In the Gospel according to John: "Except a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. For that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Also in the same place: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you."
CHAPTER 81
1 That it is of small account to be baptized and to receive the Eucharist, unless one profit by it both in deeds and works.
2 In the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Know you not, that they which run in a race run indeed all, although one receives the prize? So run, that you may obtain. And those indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible." In the Gospel according to Matthew: "Every tree that brings not forth good fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire." Also in the same place: "Many shall say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and in Your name have cast out devils, and in Your name have done great works? And then shall I say to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you who work iniquity." Also in the same place: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Also Paul to the Philippians: "Shine as lights in the world."
CHAPTER 82
1 That even a baptized person loses the grace that he has attained, unless he keep innocency.
2 In the Gospel according to John: "Lo, you are made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing happen unto you." Also in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Know you not that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God abides in you? If any one violate the temple of God, him will God destroy." Of this same thing in the Chronicles: "God is with you, while you are with Him: if you forsake Him, He will forsake you."
CHAPTER 83
1 That remission cannot in the Church be granted unto him who has sinned against God (i.e., the Holy Spirit).
2 In the Gospel according to Matthew: "Whosoever shall say a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world nor in the world to come." Also according to Mark: "All sins shall be forgiven, and blasphemies, to the sons of men; but whoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, but he shall be guilty of eternal sin." Of this same thing in the first book of Kings: "If a man sin by offending against a man, they shall pray the Lord for him; but if a man sin against God, who shall pray for him?"
CHAPTER 84
1 That it was before predicted, concerning the hatred of the Name,
2 In the Gospel according to Luke: "And you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake." Also according to John: "If the world hate you, know you that it first hated me. If you were of the world, the world would love what would be its own: but because you are not of the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word which I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you." Also in Baruch: "For the time shall come, and you shall seek me, both you and those who shall be after you, to hear the word of wisdom and of understanding; and you shall not find me. But the nations shall desire to see the wise man, and it shall not happen to them; not because the wisdom of this world shall be wanting, or shall fail to the earth; but neither shall the word of the law be wanting to the world. For wisdom shall be in a few who watch, and are silent and quiet, and who hold converse with one another; because some shall dread them, and shall fear them as evil. But some do not believe the word of the law of the Highest. But some who are amazed in their countenance will not believe; and they also who contradict will believe, and will be contrary to and hindering the spirit of truth. Moreover, others will be wise to the spirit of error, and declaring the edicts, as if of the Highest and the Strong One. Moreover, others are possessors of faith. Others are mighty and strong in the faith of the Highest, and hateful to the stranger."
CHAPTER 85
1 That what any one has vowed to God, he must quickly repay.
2 In Solomon: "According as you have vowed a vow to God, delay not to pay it." Concerning this same thing in Deuteronomy: "But if you have vowed a vow to the Lord your God, I you shall not delay to pay it: because the Lord your God inquiring shall seek it of you; and it shall be for a sin. You shall observe those things that shall go forth out of your lips, and shall perform the gift which you have spoken with your mouth." Of this same matter in the forty-ninth Psalm: "Sacrifice to God the sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me." Of this same thing in the Acts of the Apostles: "Why has Satan filled your heart, that you should lie to the Holy Spirit, when your estate was in your own power? You have not lied unto men, but unto God." Also in Jeremiah: "Cursed is he who does the work of God negligently."
CHAPTER 86
1 That he who does not believe is judged already.
2 In the Gospel according to John: "He that believes not is already judged, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that light has come into the world, and men have loved darkness rather than light." Of this also in the first Psalm: "Therefore the ungodly shall not rise up in judgment, nor sinners in the council of the righteous."
CHAPTER 87
1 Of the benefit of virginity and of continency.
2 In Genesis: "Multiplying I will multiply your sorrows and your groanings, and in sorrow shall you bring forth children; and your turning shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you." Of this same thing in the Gospel according to Matthew: "All men do not receive the word, but they to whom it is given: for there are some eunuchs who were born so from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who have been constrained by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who can receive it, let him receive it." Also according to Luke: "The children of this world beget, and are begotten. But they who have been considered worthy of that world, and the resurrection from the dead, do not marry, nor are married: for neither shall they begin to die: for they are equal to the angels of God, since they are the children of the resurrection. But, that the dead rise again, Moses intimates when he says in the bush, The Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto Him." Also in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "It is good for a man not to touch a woman. But, on account of fornication, let every man have his own wife, and every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render what is due to the wife, and similarly the wife to the husband. The wife has not power over her own body, but the husband. And in like manner, the husband has not power over his own body, but the wife. Defraud not one the other, except by agreement for a time, that you may have leisure for prayer; and again return to the same point, lest Satan tempt you on account of your incontinency. This I say by way of allowance, not by way of command. But I wish that all men should be even as I am. But every one has his proper gift from God; one in one way, but another in another way." Also in the same place: "An unmarried man thinks of those things which are the Lord's, in what way he may please God; but he who has contracted marriage thinks of those things that are of this world, in what way he may please his wife. Thus also, both the woman and the unmarried virgin thinks of those things which are the Lord's, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit; but she that has married thinks of those things which are of this world, in what way she may please her husband." Also in Exodus, when the Lord had commanded Moses that he should sanctify the people for the third day, he sanctified them, and added: "Be you ready, for three days you shall not approach to women." Also in the first book of Kings: "And the priest answered to David, and said, There are no profane loaves in my hand, except one sacred loaf. If the young men have been kept back from women, they shall eat." Also in the Apocalypse: "These are they who have not defiled themselves with women, for they have continued virgins; these are they who follow the Lamb whithersoever He shall go."
CHAPTER 88
1 That the Father judges nothing, but the Son; and that the Father is not glorified by him by whom the Son is not glorified.
2 In the Gospel according to John: "The Father judges nothing, but has given all judgment unto the Son, that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. He who honors not the Son, honors not the Father who has sent Him." Also in the seventy-first Psalm: "O God, give the king Your judgment, and Your righteousness to the king's son, to judge Your people in righteousness." Also in Genesis: "And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur, and fire from heaven from the Lord."
CHAPTER 89
1 That the believer ought not to live like the Gentile.
2 In Jeremiah: "Thus says the Lord, Walk you not according to the way of the Gentiles." Of this same thing, that one ought to separate himself from the Gentiles, lest he should be a companion of their sin, and become a partaker of their penalty, in the Apocalypse: "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Go forth from her, my people, lest you be partaker of her crimes, and lest you be stricken with her plagues; because her crimes have reached even to heaven, and the Lord God has remembered her iniquities. Therefore He has returned unto her double, and in the cup which she has mixed double is mingled for her; and in how much she has glorified herself and possessed of delights, in so much is given unto her both torment and grief. For in her heart she says, I am a queen, and cannot be a widow, nor shall I see sorrow. Therefore in one hour her plagues shall come on her, death, grief, and famine; and she shall be burned with fire, because the Lord God is strong who shall judge her. And the kings of the earth shall weep and lament themselves for her, who have committed fornication with her, and have been conversant in her sins." Also in Isaiah: "Go forth from the midst of them, you who bear the vessels of the Lord."
CHAPTER 90
1 That God is patient for this end, that we may repent of our sin, and be reformed.
2 In Solomon, in Ecclesiasticus: "Say not, I have sinned, and what sorrow has happened to me? For the Highest is a patient repayer." Also Paul to the Romans: "Or despise you the riches of His goodness, and forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But, according to your hardness and impenitent heart, you treasure up to yourself wrath in the day of wrath and of revelation of the just judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds."
CHAPTER 91
1 That a woman ought not to be adorned in a worldly fashion.
2 In the Apocalypse: "And there came one of the seven angels having vials, and approached me, saying, Come, I will show you the condemnation of the great whore, who sits upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication. And I saw a woman who sate upon a beast. And that woman was clothed with a purple and scarlet robe; and she was adorned with gold, and precious stones, and pearls, holding a golden cup in her hand full of curses, and impurity, and fornication of the whole earth." Also to Timothy: "Let your women be such as adorn themselves with shamefacedness and modesty, not with twisted hair, nor with gold, nor with pearls, or precious garments, but as becomes women professing chastity, with a good conversation." Of this same thing in the Epistle of Peter to the people at Pontus: "Let there be in a woman not the outward adorning of ornament, or of gold, or of apparel, but the adorning of the heart." Also in Genesis: "Thamar covered herself with a cloak, and adorned herself; and when Judah beheld her, she appeared to him to be a harlot."
CHAPTER 92
1 That the believer ought not to be punished for other offences, except for the name he bears.
2 In the Epistle of Peter to them of Pontus: "Nor let any of you suffer as a thief, or a murderer, or as an evil-doer, or as a minder of other people's business, but as a Christian.
CHAPTER 93
1 That the servant of God ought to be innocent, lest he fall into secular punishment.
2 In the Epistle of Paul to the Romans: "Will you not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and you shall have praise of it."
CHAPTER 94
1 That there is given to us an example of living in Christ.
2 In the Epistle of Peter to them of Pontus: "For Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you may follow His steps; who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, threatened not, but gave Himself up to him that judges unrighteously." Also Paul to the Philippians: "Who, being appointed in the figure of God, thought it not robbery that He was equal with God; but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, He was made in the likeness of man, and was found in fashion as a man. He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and the death of the cross. For which cause also God has exalted Him, and has given Him a name, that it may be above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should be bowed, of things heavenly, and earthly, and infernal; and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in glory of God the Father." Of this same thing in the Gospel according to John: "If I have washed your feet, being your Master and Lord, you also ought to wash the feet of others. For I have given you an example, that as I have done, you also should do to others."
CHAPTER 95
1 That we must not labor noisily nor boastfully.
2 In the Gospel according to Matthew: "Let not your left hand know what your right hand does, that your alms may be in secret; and your Father, which sees in secret, shall render to you." Also in the same place: "When you do an alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the streets and in the synagogues, that they may be glorified of men. Truly I say unto you, They have fulfilled their reward."
CHAPTER 96
1 That we must not speak foolishly and offensively.
2 In Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians: "Foolish speaking and scurrility, which are not fitting for the occasion, let them not be even named among you."
CHAPTER 97
1 That faith is of advantage altogether, and that we can do as much as we believe.
2 In Genesis: "And Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." Also in Isaiah: "And if you do not believe, neither shall you understand." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "O you of little faith, wherefore did you doubt?" Also in the same place: "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Pass over from here to that place, and it shall pass over; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Also according to Mark: "All things whatsoever you pray and ask for, believe that you shall receive them, and they shall be yours." Also in the same place: All things are possible to him that believes." In Habakkuk: "But the righteous lives by my faith." Also in Daniel: "Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, trusting in God, were delivered from the fiery flame."
CHAPTER 98
1 That he who believes can immediately obtain (i.e., pardon and peace).
2 In the Acts of the Apostles: "Lo, here is water; what is there which hinders me from being baptized? Then said Philip, If you believe with all your heart, you may."
CHAPTER 99
1 That believers who differ among themselves ought not to refer to a Gentile judge.
2 In the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Dares any of you, having a matter against other, to discuss it among the unrighteous, and not among the saints? Know you not that the saints shall judge this world?" And again: "Now indeed there is altogether a fault among you, because you have judgments one against another. Wherefore do you not rather suffer injury? Or wherefore are you not rather defrauded? But you do wrong, and defraud, and this your brethren. Know you not that the unrighteous shall not obtain the kingdom of God?"
CHAPTER 100
1 That hope is of future things, and therefore that our faith concerning those things which are promised ought to be patient.
2 In the Epistle of Paul to the Romans: "We are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man sees, why does he hope for? But if we hope for what we see not, we hope for it in patience."
CHAPTER 101
1 That a woman ought to be silent in the church.
2 In the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Let women be silent in the church. But if any wish to learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home." Also to Timothy: "Let a woman learn with silence, in all subjection. But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to be set over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve; and Adam was not seduced, but the woman was seduced."
CHAPTER 102
1 That it arises from our fault and our desert that we suffer, and do not perceive God's help in everything.
2 In Hosea: "Hear you the word of the Lord, you children of Israel: because judgment is from the Lord against the inhabitants of the earth because there is neither mercy nor truth, nor acknowledgment of God upon the earth; but cursing, and lying, and slaughter, and theft, and adultery is scattered abroad upon the earth: they mingle blood to blood. Therefore the land shall mourn, with all its inhabitants, with the beasts of the field, with the creeping things of the earth, with the birds of heaven; and the fishes of the sea shall fail: so that no man may judge, no man may refute." Of this same thing in Isaiah: "Is not the Lord's hand strong to save, or has He weighed down His ear that He may not hear? But your sins separate between you and God; and on account of your iniquities He turns away His face from you, lest He should pity. For your hands are polluted with blood, and your fingers with sins; and your lips have spoken wickedness, and your tongue devises unrighteousness. No one speaks true things, neither is judgment true. They trust in vanity, and speak emptiness, who conceive sorrow, and bring forth wickedness." Also in Zephaniah: "In failing, let it fail from the face of the earth, says the Lord. Let man fail, and cattle; let the birds of heaven fail, and the fishes of the sea; and I will take away the unrighteous from the face of the earth."
CHAPTER 103
1 That we must not take usury.
2 In the thirteenth Psalm: "He that has not given his money upon usury, and has not received gifts concerning the innocent. He who does these things shall not be moved forever." Also in Ezekiel: "But the man who will be righteous, shall not oppress a man, and shall return the pledge of the debtor, and shall not commit rapine, and shall give his bread to the hungry, and shall cover the naked, and shall not give his money for usury.." Also in Deuteronomy: "You shall not lend to your brother with usury of money, and with usury of victuals."
CHAPTER 104
1 That even our enemies must be loved.
2 In the Gospel according to Luke: "If you love those who love you, what thank have you? For even sinners love those who love them." Also according to Matthew: "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who makes His sun to rise upon the good and the evil, and gives rain upon the righteous and the unrighteous."
CHAPTER 105
1 That the sacrament of faith must not be profaned.
2 In Solomon, in the Proverbs: "Say not anything in the ears of a foolish man; lest, when he hears it, he may mock at your wise words." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "Give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast you your pearls before the swine, lest perchance they trample them down with their feet, and turn again and crush you."
CHAPTER 106
1 That no one should be uplifted in his labor.
2 In Solomon, in Ecclesiasticus: "Extol not yourself in doing your work." Also in the Gospel according to Luke: "Which of you, having a servant ploughing, or a shepherd, says to him when he comes from the field, Pass forward and recline? But he says to him, Make ready somewhat that I may sup, and gird yourself, and minister to me, until I eat and drink; and afterwards you shall eat and drink? Does he thank that servant because he has done what was commanded him? So also you, when you shall have done that which is commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we had to do."
CHAPTER 107
1 That the liberty of believing or of not believing is placed in free choice.
2 In Deuteronomy: "Lo, I have set before your face life and death, good and evil. Choose for yourself life, that you may live." Also in Isaiah: "And if you be willing, and hear me, you shall eat the good of the land. But if you be unwilling, and will not hear me, the sword shall consume you. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things." Also in the Gospel according to Luke: "The kingdom of God is within you."
CHAPTER 108
1 That he secrets of God cannot be seen through, and therefore that our faith ought to be simple.
2 In the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "We see now through the glass in an enigma, but then with face to face. Now I know partly; but then I shall know even as also I am known." Also in Solomon, in Wisdom: "And in simplicity of heart seek Him." Also in the same: "He who walks with simplicity, walks trustfully." Also in the same: "Seek not things higher than yourself, and look not into things stronger than yourself." Also in Solomon: "Be not excessively righteous, and do not reason more than is required." Also in Isaiah: "Woe unto them who are convicted in themselves." Also in the Maccabees: "Daniel in his simplicity was delivered from the mouth of tile lions." Also in the Epistle of Paul to the Romans: "Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable are His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counsellor? Or who has first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed to him again? Because from Him, and through Him, and in Him, are all things: to Him be glory forever and ever." Also to Timothy: "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they generate strifes. But the servant of God ought not to strive, but to be gentle towards all men."
CHAPTER 109
1 That no one is without filth and without sin.
2 In Job: "For who is pure from filth? Not one; even if his life be of one day on the earth." Also in the fiftieth Psalm: "Behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins has my mother conceived me." Also in the Epistle of John: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
CHAPTER 110
1 That we must not please men, but God.
2 In the fifty-second Psalm: "They that please men are confounded, because God has made them nothing." Also in the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians: "If I wished to please men, I should not be the servant of Christ."
CHAPTER 111
1 That nothing that is done is hidden from God.
2 In the Wisdom of Solomon: "In every place the eyes of God look upon the good and evil." Also in Jeremiah: "I am a God at hand, and not a God afar off. If a man should be hidden in the secret place, shall I not therefore see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth? Says the Lord." Also in the first of Kings: "Man looks on the face, but God on the heart." Also in the Apocalypse: "And all the churches shall know that I am the searcher of the kidneys and heart; and I will give to every one of you according to his works." Also in the eighteenth Psalm: "Who understands his faults? Cleanse You me from my secret sins, O Lord." Also in the second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "We must all be manifested before the tribunal of Christ, that every one may bear again the things which belong to his own body, according to what he has done, whether good or evil."
CHAPTER 112
1 That the believer is amended and reserved.
2 In the cxviith Psalm: "The Lord amending has amended me, and has not delivered me to death." Also in the eighty-eighth Psalm: "I will visit their transgressions with a rod, and their sins with scourges. But my mercy will I not scatter away from them." Also in Malachi: "And He shall sit melting and purifying, as it were, gold and silver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi." Also in the Gospel: "You shall not go out there until you pay the uttermost farthing."
CHAPTER 113
1 That no one should be made sad by death; since in living is labor and peril, in dying peace and the certainty of resurrection.
2 In Genesis: "Then said the Lord to Adam, Because you have hearkened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of that tree of which alone I commanded you that you should not eat, cursed shall be the ground in all your works; in sadness and groaning shall you eat of it all the days of your life: thorns and thistles shall it cast forth to you; and you shall eat the herb of the field in the sweat of your brow. You shall eat your bread until you return unto the earth from which also you were taken; because earth you are, and to earth you shall go." Also in the same place: "And Enoch pleased God, and was not found afterwards: because God translated him." And in Isaiah: "All flesh is grass, and all the glory of it as the flower of grass. The grass withered, and the flower has fallen away; but the word of the Lord abides forever." In Ezekiel: "They say, Our bones are become dry, our hope has perished: we have expired. Therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord, Behold, I open your monuments, and I will bring you forth from your monuments, and I will bring you into the land of Israel; and I will put my Spirit upon you, and you shall live; and I will place you into your land: and you shall know that I the Lord have spoken, and will do it, says the Lord." Also in the Wisdom of Solomon: "He was taken away, lest wickedness should change his understanding; for his soul was pleasing to God." Also in the eighty-third Psalm: "How beloved are your dwellings, You Lord of hosts? My soul desires and hastes to the courts of God." And in the Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians: "But we would not that you should be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who sleep, that you sorrow not as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also them which have fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him." Also in the first Epistle to the Corinthians: "You fool, that which you sow is not quickened except it have first died." And again: "Star differs from star in glory: so also the resurrection. The body is sown in corruption, it rises without corruption; it is sown in ignominy, it rises again in glory; it is sown in weakness, it rises again in power; it is sown an animal body, it rises again a spiritual body." And again: "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality. But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the word that is written, Death is absorbed Into striving. Where, O death, is your sting? Where, O death, is your striving?" Also in the Gospel according to John: "Father, I will that those whom You have given me be with me where I shall be, and may see my glory which You have given me before the foundation of the world." Also according to Luke: "Now let You Your servant depart in peace, O Lord, according to the word; for mine eyes have seen Your salvation." Also according to John: "If you loved me, you would rejoice because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I."
CHAPTER 114
1 Of the idols which the Gentiles think to be gods.
2 In the Wisdom of Solomon: "All the idols of the nations they counted gods, which neither have the use of their eyes for seeing, nor their nostrils to receive breath, nor their ears for hearing, nor the fingers on their hands for handling; but their feet also are slow to walk. For man made them; and he who has borrowed his breath, he fashioned them. But no man will be able to fashion a god like to himself. For since he is mortal, he fashions a dead thing with wicked hands. But he himself is better than they whom he worships, since he indeed lived, but they never." On this same matter: "Neither have they who have regarded the works known who was the artificer, but have thought that either fire, or wind, or the rapid air, or the circle of the stars, or the abundant water, or the sun and moon, were the gods that rule over the world; and if, on account of the beauty of these, they have thought thus, let them know how much more beautiful than these is the Lord; or if they have admired their powers and operations, let them perceive from these very things that He who has established these mighty things is stronger than they." Also in the cxxxivth Psalm: "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have a mouth, and speak not; they have eyes, and see not; they have ears, and hear not; and neither is there any breath in their mouth. Let them who make them become like unto them, and all those who trust in them." Also in the ninety-fifth Psalm: "All the gods of the nations are demons, but the Lord made the heavens." Also in Exodus: "You shall not make unto yourselves gods of silver nor of gold." And again: "You shall not make to yourself an idol, nor the likeness of any thing." Also in Jeremiah: "Thus says the Lord, Walk not according to the ways of the heathen; for they fear those things in their own persons, because the lawful things of the heathen are vain. Wood cut out from the forest is made. The work of the carpenter, and melted silver and gold are beautifully arranged: they strengthen them with hammers and nails, and they shall not be moved, for they are fixed. The silver is brought from Tharsis, the gold comes from Moab. All things are the works of the artificers; they will clothe it with blue and purple; lifting them, they will carry them, because they will not go forward. Be not afraid of them, because they do no evil, neither is there good in them. Say thus, The gods that have not made the heaven and the earth perish from the earth, and from under this heaven. The heaven has trembled at this, and has shuddered much more vehemently, says the Lord. These evil things has my people done. They have forsaken the fountain of living water, and have dug out for themselves worn-out wells, which could not hold water. Your love has smitten you, and your wickedness shall accuse you. And know and see that it shall be a bitter thing for you that you have forsaken me, says the Lord your God, and you have not hoped in me, says your Lord. Because of old time you have resented my yoke, and have broken your bonds, and have said, I will not serve, but I will go upon every lofty mountain, and upon every high hill, and upon every shady tree: there I will be confounded with fornication. To the wood and to the stone they have said, You are my father; and to the stone, You have begotten me: and they turned to me their back, and not their face." In Isaiah: "The dragon has fallen or is dissolved; their carved works have become as beasts and cattle. Laboring and hungry, and without strength, you shall bear them bound upon your neck as a heavy burden." And again: "Gathered together, they shall not be able to be saved from war; but they themselves have been led captive with you." And again: "To whom have you likened me? See and understand that you err in your heart, who lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, bringing it up to the weight. The workmen have made with their hand the things made; and, bowing themselves, they have adored it, and have raised it on their shoulders: and thus they walked. But if they should place them down, they will abide in their place, and will not be moved; and they will not hear those who cry unto them: they will not save them from evils." Also in Jeremiah: "The Lord, who made heaven and earth, in strength has ordered the world, in His wisdom has stretched forth the heaven, and the multitude of the waters in the heaven. He has brought out the clouds from the end of the earth, the lightnings in the clouds; and He has brought forth the winds from His treasures. Every man is made foolish by his knowledge, every artificer is confounded by his graven images; because he has molten a falsehood: there is no breath in them. The works shut up in them are made vain; in the time of their consideration they shall perish." And in the Apocalypse: "And the sixth angel sounded with his trumpet. And I heard one of the four corners of the golden ark, which is in the presence of God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound upon the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, to slay the third part of men; and the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred thousand of thousand: I heard the number of them. And then I saw the horses in the vision, and those that sate upon them, having breastplates of fire, and of hyacinth, and of sulphur: and the heads of the horses (as the heads of lions); and out of their mouth went fire, and smoke, and sulphur. By these three plagues the third part of men was slain, by the fire, and the smoke, and the sulphur which went forth from their mouth, and is in their tails: for their tails were like unto eels; for they had heads, and with them they do mischief. And the rest of the men who were not slain by these plagues, nor repented of the works of the deeds of their hands, that they should not worship demons and idols, that is, images of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood, which can neither see nor walk, repented not also of their, murders." Also in the same place: "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and has received his mark in his forehead or upon his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of His wrath, and shall be punished with fire and sulphur, under the eyes of the holy angels, and under the eyes of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torments shall ascend up forever and ever."
CHAPTER 115
1 That too great lust of food is not to be desired.
2 In Isaiah: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die. This sin shall not be remitted to you even until you die." Also in Exodus: "And the people sate down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." Paul, in the first to the Corinthians: "Meat commends us not to God; neither if we eat shall we abound, nor if we eat not shall we want." And again: "When you come together to eat, wait one for another. If any is hungry, let him eat at home, that you may not come together for judgment." Also to the Romans: "The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." In the Gospel according to John: "I have meat which you know not of. My meat is, that I should do His will who sent me, and should finish His work."
CHAPTER 116
1 That the lust of possessing, and money, are not to be sought for.
2 In Solomon, in Ecclesiasticus: "He that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver." Also in Proverbs: "He who holds back the grain is cursed among the people; but blessing is on the head of him that communicates it." Also in Isaiah: "Woe unto them who join house to house, and lay field to field, that they may take away something from their neighbor. Will you dwell alone upon the earth? Also in Zephaniah: "They shall build houses, and shall not dwell in them; and they shall appoint vineyards, and shall not drink the wine of them, because the day of the Lord is near." Also in the Gospel according to Luke: "For what does it profit a man to make a gain of the whole world, but that he should lose himself?" And again: "But the Lord said unto him, You fool, this night your soul is required of you. Whose, then, shall those things be which you have provided?" And again: "Remember that you have received your good things in this life. And likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is besought, and you grieve." And in the Acts of the Apostles: "But Peter said unto him, Silver and gold indeed I have not; but what I have I give unto you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And, taking hold of his right hand, he lifted him up." Also in the first to Timothy: "We brought nothing into this world, but neither can we take anything away. Therefore, having maintenance and clothing, let us with these be content. But they who will become rich fall into temptation and a snare, and many and hurtful lusts, which drown man in perdition and destruction. For the root of all evils is covetousness, which some coveting, have made shipwreck from the faith, and have plunged themselves in many sorrows."
CHAPTER 117
1 That marriage is not to be contracted with Gentiles.
2 In Tobias: "Take a wife from the seed of your parents, and take not a strange woman who is not of the tribe of your parents." Also in Genesis, Abraham sends his servant to take from his seed Rebecca, for his son Isaac. Also in Esdras, it was not sufficient for God when the Jews were laid waste, unless they forsook their foreign wives, with the children also whom they had begotten of them. Also in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "The woman is bound so long as her husband lives; but if he die, she is freed to marry whom she will, only in the Lord. But she will be happier if she abide thus." And again: "Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? Far be it from me. Or know you not that he who is joined together with an harlot is one body? For two shall be in one flesh. But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit." Also in the second to the Corinthians: "Be not joined together with unbelievers. For what participation is there between righteousness and unrighteousness? Or what communication has light with darkness?" Also concerning Solomon in the third book of Kings: "And foreign wives turned away his heart after their gods."
CHAPTER 118
1 That the sin of fornication is grievous.
2 In the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Every sin whatsoever a man does is outside the body; but he who commits fornication sins against his own body. You are not your own, for you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear the Lord in your body."
CHAPTER 119
1 What are those carnal things which beget death, and what are the spiritual things which lead to life.
2 Paul to the Galatians: "The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: for these are contrary the one to the other, that you cannot do even those things which you wish. But the deeds of the flesh are manifest, which are: adulteries, fornications, impurities, filthiness, idolatries, sorceries, murders, hatreds, strifes, emulations, animosities, provocations, hatreds, dissensions, heresies, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: with respect to which I declare, that they who do such things shall not possess the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, magnanimity, goodness, faith, gentleness, continency, chastity. For they who are Christ's have crucified their flesh, with its vices and lusts."
CHAPTER 120
1 That all sins are put away in baptism.
2 In the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Neither fornicators, nor those who serve idols, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor the lusters after mankind, nor thieves, nor cheaters, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers, shall obtain the kingdom of God. And these things indeed you were: but you are washed, but you are sanctified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God."
CHAPTER 121
1 That the discipline of God is to be observed in Church precepts.
2 In Jeremiah: "And I will give to you shepherds according to my own heart; and they shall feed the sheep, feeding them with discipline." Also in Solomon, in the Proverbs: "My son neglect not the discipline of God, nor fail when rebuked by Him. For whom God loves, He rebukes." Also in the second Psalm: "Keep discipline, lest perchance the Lord should be angry, and you perish from the right way, when His anger shall burn up quickly against you. Blessed are all they who trust in Him." Also in the forty-ninth Psalm: "But to the sinner says God, For what do you set forth my judgments, and take my covenant into your mouth? But you hate discipline, and have cast my words behind you." Also in the Wisdom of Solomon: "He who casts away discipline is miserable."
CHAPTER 122
1 That it was foretold that men should despise sound discipline.
2 Paul, in the second to Timothy: "There will be a time when they will not endure sound doctrine; but according to their own lusts will heap to themselves teachers itching in hearing, tickling their ears; and shall turn away their hearing indeed from the truth, but they shall be converted unto fables."
CHAPTER 123
1 That we must depart from him who lives irregularly and contrary to discipline.
2 Paul to the Thessalonians: "But we have commanded you, in the name of Jesus Christ, that you depart from all brethren who walk disorderly, and not according to the tradition which they have received from us." Also in the forty-ninth Psalm: "If you saw a thief, at once you ran with him, and placed your portion with the adulterers."
CHAPTER 124
1 That the kingdom of God is not in the wisdom of the world, nor in eloquence, but in the faith of the cross, and in virtue of conversation.
2 In the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Christ sent me to preach, not in wisdom of discourse, lest the cross of Christ should become of no effect. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who perish; but to those who are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reprove the prudence of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? Since indeed, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Because the Jews desire signs, and the Greeks seek for wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews indeed a stumbling-block, and to the Gentiles foolishness; but to them that are called, Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." And again "Let no man deceive himself. If any man think that he is wise among you, let him become a fool to this world, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, You shall rebuke the wise in their own craftiness." And again: "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are foolish."
CHAPTER 125
1 That we must obey parents.
2 In the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians: "Children, be obedient to your parents: for this is right. Honor your father and your mother (which is the first command with promise), that it may be well with you, and you may be long-lived on the earth."
CHAPTER 126
1 And that fathers also should not be harsh in respect of their children.
2 Also in the same place: "And, you fathers, drive not your children to wrath: but nourish them in the discipline and rebuke of the Lord."
CHAPTER 127
1 That servants, when they have believed, ought to serve their carnal masters the better.
2 In the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians: "Servants, obey your fleshly masters with fear and trembling, and ill simplicity of your heart. As to Christ; not serving for the eye, as if you were pleasing men; but as servants of God."
CHAPTER 128
1 Moreover, that masters should be the more gentle.
2 Also in the same place: "And, you masters, do the same things to them, forbearing anger: knowing that both your Master and theirs is in heaven; and there is no choice of persons with Him."
CHAPTER 129
1 That all widows that are approved are to be held in honor.
2 In the first Epistle of Paul to Timothy: "Honor widows which are truly widows. But the widow that is wanton, is dead while she lives." And again: "But the younger widows pass by: for when they shall be wanton in Christ, they wish to marry; having judgment, because they have cast off their first faith."
CHAPTER 130
1 That every person ought to have care rather of his own people, and especially of believers.
2 The apostle in his first Epistle to Timothy: "But if any take not care of his own, and especially of those of his own household, he denies the faith, and is worse than an infidel." Of this same thing in Isaiah: "If you shall see the naked, clothe him; and despise not those who are of the household of your own seed." Of which members of the household it is said in the Gospel: "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much rather them of his household!"
CHAPTER 131
1 That an elder must not be rashly accused.
2 In the first to Timothy: "Against an eider receive not all accusation."
CHAPTER 132
1 That the sinner must be publicly reproved.
2 In the first Epistle of Paul to Timothy: "Rebuke them that sin in the presence of all, that others also may be afraid."
CHAPTER 133
1 That we must not speak with heretics.
2 To Titus: "A man that is an heretic, after one rebuke avoid; knowing that one of such sort is perverted, and sins, and is by his own self condemned." Of this same thing in the Epistle of John: "They went out from among us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would doubtless have remained with us." Also in the second to Timothy: "Their word does creep as a canker."
CHAPTER 134
1 That innocency asks with confidence, and obtains.
2 In the Epistle of John: "If our heart blame us not, we have confidence towards God; and whatever we ask, we shall receive from Him." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "Blessed are they of a pure heart, for they shall see God." Also in the twenty-third Psalm: "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place? The innocent in hands and of a pure heart."
CHAPTER 135
1 That the devil has no power against man unless God have allowed it.
2 In the Gospel according to John: "Jesus said, You could have no power against me, unless it were given you from above." Also in the third of Kings: "And God stirred up Satan against Solomon himself." Also in Job, first of all God permitted, and then it was allowed to the devil; and in the Gospel, the Lord first permitted, by saying to Judas, "What you do, do quickly." Also in Solomon, in the Proverbs: "The heart of the king is in God's hand."
CHAPTER 136
1 That wages be quickly paid to the hireling.
2 In Leviticus: "The wages of your hireling shall not sleep with you until the morning."
CHAPTER 137
1 That divination must not be used.
2 In Deuteronomy: "Do not use omens nor auguries."
CHAPTER 138
1 That a tuft of hair is not to be worn on the head.
2 In Leviticus: "You shall not make a tuft from the hair of your head."
CHAPTER 139
1 That the beard must not be plucked.
2 "You shall not deface the figure of your beard."
CHAPTER 140
1 That we must rise when a bishop or a presbyter comes.
2 In Leviticus: "You shall rise up before the face of the elder, and shall honor the person of the presbyter."
CHAPTER 141
1 That a schism must not be made, even although he who withdraws should remain in one faith, and in the same tradition.
2 In Ecclesiasticus, in Solomon: "He that cleaves firewood shall be endangered by it if the iron shall fall off." Also in Exodus: "In one house shall it be eaten: you shall not cast forth the flesh abroad out of the house." Also in the cxxxiid Psalm: "Behold how good and how pleasant a thing it is that brethren should dwell in unity!" Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathers not with me scatters." Also in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "But I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all say the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you; but that you be all joined together in the same mind and in the same opinion." Also in the sixty-seventh Psalm: "God, who makes men to dwell with one mind in a house."
CHAPTER 142
1 That believers ought to be simple, with prudence.
2 In the Gospel according to Matthew: "Be you prudent as serpents, and simple as doves." And again: "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt have lost his savor, in what shall it be salted? It is good for nothing, but to be cast out abroad, and to be trodden under foot of men."
CHAPTER 143
1 That a brother must not be deceived.
2 In the first Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians: "That a man do not deceive his brother in a matter, because God is the avenger for all these."
CHAPTER 144
1 That the end of the world comes suddenly.
2 The apostle says: "The day of the Lord shall so come as a thief in the night. When they shall say, Peace and security, then on them shall come sudden destruction." Also in the Acts of the Apostles: "No one can know the times or the seasons which the Father has placed in His own power."
CHAPTER 145
1 That a wife must not depart from her husband; or if she should depart, she must remain unmarried.
2 In the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "But to them that are married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not be separated from her husband; but if she should depart, that she remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband: and that the husband should not put away his wife."
CHAPTER 146
1 That every one is tempted so much as he is able to bear.
2 In the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "No temptation shall take you, except such is human. But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it."
CHAPTER 147
1 That not everything is to be done which is lawful.
2 Paul, in the first Epistle to the Corinthians: "All things are lawful, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful, but all things edify not."
CHAPTER 148
1 That it was foretold that heresies would arise.
2 In the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Heresies must needs be, in order that they which are approved may be made manifest among you."
CHAPTER 149
1 That the Eucharist is to be received with fear and honor.
2 In Leviticus: "But whatever soul shall eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of salvation, which is the Lord's, and his uncleanness is still upon him, that soul shall perish from his people." Also in the first to the Corinthians: "Whosoever shall eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord."
CHAPTER 150
1 That we are to live with the good, but to avoid the evil.
2 In Solomon, in the Proverbs: "Bring not the impious man into the habitation of the righteous." Also in the same, in Ecclesiasticus: "Let righteous men be your guests." And again: "The faithful friend is a medicine of life and of immortality." Also in the same place: "Be you far from the man who has the power to slay, and you shall not suspect fear." Also in the same place,: "Blessed is he who finds a true friend, and who speaks righteousness to the listening ear." Also in the same place: "Hedge your ears with thorns, and hear not a wicked tongue." Also in the seventeenth Psalm: "With the righteous You shall be justified; and with the innocent man You shall be innocent; and with the backward moving man You shall be backward moving." Also in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Evil communications corrupt good dispositions."
CHAPTER 151
1 That we must labor not with words, but with deeds.
2 In Solomon, in Ecclesiasticus: "Be not hasty in your tongue, and in your deeds useless and remiss." And Paul, in the first to the Corinthians: "The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." Also to the Romans: "Not the hearers of the law are righteous before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "He who shall do and teach so, shall be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Also in the same place: "Every one who hears my words, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon a rock. The rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one who hears my words, and does them not, I will liken him to the foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. The rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and its ruin became great."
CHAPTER 152
1 That we must hasten to faith and to attainment.
2 In Solomon, in Ecclesiasticus: "Delay not to be converted to God, and do not put off from day to day; for His anger comes suddenly."
CHAPTER 153
1 That the catechumen ought now no longer to sin.
2 In the Epistle of Paul to the Romans: "Let us do evil until the good things come; whose condemnation is just."
CHAPTER 154
1 That judgment will be according to the times, either of equity before the law, or of law after Moses.
2 Paul to the Romans: "As many as have sinned without law, shall perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged also by the law."
CHAPTER 155
1 That the grace of God ought to be without price.
2 In the Acts of the Apostles: "Your money be in perdition with yourself, because you have thought that the grace of God is possessed by money." Also in the Gospel: "Freely you have received, freely give." Also in the same place: "You have made my Father's house a house of merchandise; and you have made the house of prayer a den of thieves." Also in Isaiah: "You who thirst, go to the water, and as many as have not money: go, and buy, and drink without money." Also in the Apocalypse: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that thirsts from the fountain of the water of life freely. He who shall overcome shall possess these things, and their inheritance; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."
CHAPTER 156
1 That the Holy Spirit has frequently appeared in fire.
2 In Exodus: "And the whole of Mount Sinai smoked, because God had come down upon it in fire." Also in the Acts of the Apostles"And suddenly there was made a sound from heaven, as if a vehement blast were born along, and it filled the whole of that place in which they were sitting. And there appeared to them cloven tongues as if of fire, which also settled upon each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit." Also in the sacrifices, whatsoever God accounted accepted, fire descended from heaven, which consumed what was sacrificed. In Exodus: "The angel of the Lord appeared in a flame of fire from the bush."
CHAPTER 157
1 That all good men ought willingly to hear rebuke.
2 In Solomon, in the Proverbs: "He who reproves a wicked man shall be hated by him. Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you."
CHAPTER 158
1 That we must abstain from much speaking.
2 In Solomon: "Out of much speaking you shall not escape sin; but sparing your lips, you shall be wise."
CHAPTER 159
1 That we must not lie.
2 "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord."
CHAPTER 160
1 That they are frequently to be corrected who do wrong in domestic duty.
2 In Solomon: "He who spares the rod, hates his son." And again: "Do not cease from correcting the child."
CHAPTER 161
1 That when a wrong is received, patience is to be maintained, and vengeance to be left to God.
2 Say not, I will avenge me of mine enemy; but wait for the Lord, that He may be your help." Also elsewhere: "To me belongs vengeance; I will repay, says the Lord." Also in Zephaniah: "Wait on me, says the Lord, in the day of my rising again to witness; because my judgment is to the congregations of the Gentiles, that I may take kings, and pour out upon them my anger."
CHAPTER 162
1 That we must not use detraction.
2 In Solomon, in the Proverbs: "Love not to detract, lest you be taken away." Also in the forty-ninth Psalm: "You sat, and spoke against your brother; and against the son of your mother you placed a stumbling-block." Also in the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians: "To speak ill of no man, nor to be litigious."
CHAPTER 163
1 That we must not lay snares against our neighbor.
2 In Solomon, in the Proverbs: "He who digs a pit for his neighbor, himself shall fall into it."
CHAPTER 164
1 That the sick are to be visited.
2 In Solomon, in Ecclesiasticus: "Be not slack to visit the sick man; for from these things you shall be strengthened in love." Also in the Gospel: "I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came unto me."
CHAPTER 165
1 That tale-bearers are accursed.
2 In Ecclesiasticus, in Solomon: "The talebearer and the double-tongued is accursed; for he will disturb many who have peace."
CHAPTER 166
1 That the sacrifices of the wicked are not acceptable.
2 In the same: "The Highest approves not the gifts of the unrighteous."
CHAPTER 167
1 That those are more severely judged, who in this world have had more power.
2 In Solomon: "The hardest judgment shall be made on those who govern. For to a mean man mercy is granted; but the powerful shall suffer torments mightily." Also in the second Psalm "And now, you kings, understand; be amended, you who judge the earth."
CHAPTER 168
1 That the widow and orphans ought to be protected.
2 In Solomon: "Be merciful to the orphans as a father, and as a husband to their mother; and you shall be the son of the Highest if you shall obey." Also in Exodus: "You shall not afflict any widow and orphan. But if you afflict them, and they cry out and call unto me, I will hear their cryings, and will be angry in mind against you; and I will destroy you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children orphans." Also in Isaiah: "Judge for the fatherless, and justify the widow; and come let us reason, says the Lord." Also in Job: "have preserved the poor man from the hand of the mighty, and I have helped the fatherless who had no helper: the mouth of the widow has blessed me." Also in the sixty-seventh Psalm: "The Father of the orphans, and the Judge of the widows."
CHAPTER 169
1 That one ought to make confession while he is in the flesh.
2 In the fifth Psalm: "But in the grave who will confess unto You?" Also in the twenty-ninth Psalm: "Shall the dust make confession to You?" Also elsewhere that confession is to be made: "I would rather have the repentance of the sinner than his death." Also in Jeremiah: "Thus says the Lord, Shall not he that falls arise? Or shall not he that is turned away be converted?"
CHAPTER 170
1 That flattery is pernicious.
2 In Isaiah: "They who call you blessed, lead you into error, and trouble the paths of your feet."
CHAPTER 171
1 That God is more loved by him who has had many sins forgiven in baptism.
2 In the Gospel according to Luke: "To whom much is forgiven, he loves much; and to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."
CHAPTER 172
1 That there is a strong conflict to be waged against the devil, and that therefore we ought to stand bravely, that we may be able to conquer.
2 In the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians: "Our wrestle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers and princes of this world, and of this darkness; against the spiritual things of wickedness in the heavenly places. Because of this, put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the most evil day; that when you have accomplished all, you may stand, having your loins girt in the truth of the Gospel, putting on the breastplate of righteousness, and having your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; in all things taking the shield of faith, in which you may extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
CHAPTER 173
1 Also of Antichrist, that he will come as a man.
2 In Isaiah: "This is the man who arouses the earth, who disturbs kings, who makes the whole earth a desert."
CHAPTER 174
1 That the yoke of the law was heavy, which is cast off by us, and that the Lord's yoke is easy, which is taken up by us.
2 In the second Psalm: "Wherefore have the heathen been in tumult, and the peoples meditated vain things? The kings of the earth have stood up, and their princes have been gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ. Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away from us their yoke." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "Come unto me, you who labor and are burdened, and I will make you to rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is good, and my burden is light." Also in the Acts of the Apostles: "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to impose upon you no other burden than those things which are of necessity, that you should abstain from idolatries, from shedding of blood, and from fornication. And whatsoever you would not to be done unto you, do not to others."
CHAPTER 175
1 That we are to be urgent in prayers.
2 In the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians: "Be instant in prayer, and watch therein." Also in the first Psalm: "But in the law of the Lord is his will, and in His law will he meditate day and night."