Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

It is now time to examine the evidence that proves convincingly that the biblical years, so far from being only one-tenth as long as ours, were precisely as long as the present solar years. This is true of the years used in giving those extremely long life spans. It is said, for example, that the flood occurred in the six hundredth year of Noah's life. But notice the full text: "The waters of the flood overflowed the earth in the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, in the second month, in the twenty-seventh day of the month." Now those words are inexplicable if a year was so short that it took ten of them to make one of ours. That would mean that a year had only thirty-six days. For so short a year (if it was actually called a year in ancient usage) either had no months at all, or if it had twelve months, then each month could have had but three days. How, then, [can we] explain the words of the text, "in the six hundredth year … in the second month, in the twenty-seventh day of the month," unless the months then were the same as they are now? There is no other way of explaining how the flood could be said to have had a beginning on the twenty-seventh day of the second month.

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened, and rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. The months among the Hebrews are computed only according to the course of the moon from the first to the first, and their first month, in which the Passover is commanded to be kept, and in which the world was made, is called Nisan, which we call April. The second is Jair, which we call May, on whose seventeenth day, that is, when the moon of the same month was the seventeenth, the flood came, when on that same day Noah entered the ark with all the men, animals, and birds that were to be saved through it, for this is what follows.

And then what? "All the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the flood gates of heaven were opened. And the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights." And a little later: "And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the earth." And again, "And Noah only remained alive and they that were with him in the ark." Here and now I wish to ask them who call God indifferent to human affairs whether they believe that at that time he either cared for earthly affairs or intervened in them.

The fact, too, that he brought on the deluge for forty days and nights is a further wonderful sign of his loving kindness. His purpose in his great goodness was that at least some of them might come to their senses and escape that utter ruin, having before their eyes the annihilation of their peers and the destruction about to overwhelm them. I mean, the likelihood is that on the first day some proportion were drowned, an additional number on the second day, and likewise on the third day and so on. His reason for extending it for forty days was that he might remove from them any grounds for excuse. You see, had it been his wish and command, he could have submerged everything in one downpour. Instead, out of fidelity to his characteristic love he arranged for a stay of so many days.

On that day, Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, his sons, and his wife, and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark. They and every animal according to its kind, and so on until it says: and all the birds entered the ark with Noah. Therefore, all the living creatures entered the ark on one and the same day, because Noah did not labor greatly and for a long time to collect and bring them in or drive them into the ark; but by divine guidance, they all came willingly in their respective numbers, following him with his children and wives in order, and each took their own quarters, as if by their own will, under the guidance of the Lord. This is supported by what is said of the birds: they entered the ark with Noah, and above generally, and of all that moved on the earth, two by two they entered the ark with Noah. On that same day, that is, the seventeenth day of the second month, the following happened.

[We see that] certain psalms are titled "for the octave." This is the day on which the synagogue comes to an end and the church is born. This is the day in the number of which eight souls were preserved in the ark of Noah, and "its counterpart, the church," says Peter, "now saves you."

And the Lord shut him in from outside, and the flood was upon the earth forty days. Now this is the eighth day since the whole structure of the ark was completed. From which it is evident that the ark in the great mystery was completed on the tenth day of the same second month. For the first month, indeed, that ancient one which was collected from the Hebrews, can aptly represent the people of God. The second month, however, signifies the people of the New Testament. Hence it is commanded in the law, that whoever either were defiled by a dead body, or on a long journey, or preoccupied by any other necessity, could not celebrate Passover in the first month, should do so in this second month, in the blood of a lamb and with unleavened bread, on the fourteenth day in the evening. By the addition of this month we are marked, who could not previously celebrate the sacrament of the Lord's passion with the former people of God, as we were far distant from the communion of the saints, and defiled, indeed dead in sins; but who, after the sacrament of the Lord's incarnation being accomplished, came to faith, as it were, in the light of the second month we celebrate the Lord's Passover. On the tenth day of this month the ark was completed, for the Lord appearing in the flesh promised us the tenfold reward of the heavenly kingdom, granting us the ability to fulfill the Decalogue of the law, through the grace of the Holy Spirit given to us. This grace can indeed be symbolized by the number of seven days during which, after the ark was made, its entry and the advent of the flood were awaited, because surely, having received the promise of the kingdom, which is expressed by the tenfold reward, grace is given to the faithful by the Spirit, through which they can be united to the members of the holy Church. We can also correctly understand that the ark was flooded on the seventeenth day of the month and not before, because each of the faithful first ought to be marked in the faith with the sealing of true rest and the heavenly tenfold reward, that is, the image of the eternal king, and thus be admitted into the society of the Church through the washing of regeneration. Now because of the flood all the fountains of the great abyss were broken up and the floodgates, that is, the windows of heaven were opened, by the name of the great abyss the Scripture of the Old Testament is designated, which, long closed by the veil of the letter, could not open the veins of spiritual understanding to the world, but now revealed by the Lord, it provides the Church with abundant fountains of saving knowledge. The opening of the floodgates of heaven, however, signifies the outpouring of the evangelical and apostolic preaching, which clearly waters earthly hearts from above. Therefore, because we are confirmed in the faith of regeneration by the revealed words of prophecy, and by the open proclamation of the heralds of the New Testament, it is rightly said that for the making of the flood all the fountains of the great abyss were broken up and the floodgates of heaven were opened.

But the Lord sealed the ark from the outside, because He always protects His Church, which rejoices in the washing of sacred baptism, with heavenly defense, so that none of those whom He has predestined to life may perish in any way, and He protects it, struggling amid the waves of the world, so that it may not be overwhelmed or submerged by the pressures or delights of the world. For the Lord sends an angel encamping around those who fear Him, and He will rescue them. But on the day of judgment, the Lord encloses Noah with the inhabitants of the ark from the outside, when, with His elect gathered with Him in the house of His Father, He shuts the door of the kingdom against the entry of the lost, although late repentant, perpetually, according to that parable in the Gospel of the ten virgins, where it is said that those who were ready went in with Him to the marriage, and the door was shut, and so forth. Moreover, it is well said that it rained upon the earth for forty days and forty nights; for ten taken four times makes forty, because all guilt of sins, which is committed against the ten precepts of the law, throughout the whole world, which is contained in four parts, is washed away by the sacrament of heavenly baptism, whether that guilt pertains to days from the prosperity of things, or to nights from the adversity of things contracted.

"The Lord shut the door before Noah," lest those left behind come at the time of the floods and break down the gate of the ark. The deluge came and "God blotted out all flesh. Only Noah was left and those that were with him in the ark." The springs of the abyss and the floodgates of heaven were open forty days and forty nights, and the "ark was afloat for one hundred fifty days."

The text goes on, "The Lord God shut the ark from the outside." Notice in this place too the considerateness in the expression "God shut the ark from the outside," to teach us that he had ensured the good man's complete safety. The reason for adding "from the outside" to "he shut" was that the good man might not be in the position of seeing the disaster occur and suffering even greater distress. I mean, if he brooded over that terrible flood and set indelibly in his mind the destruction of the human race, the complete annihilation of all brute beasts and the disappearance, as it were, of people, animals and the earth itself, he would have been disturbed and anguished.

When 'God shut Noah into the ark,' you must not imagine that the unbegotten God Himself came down or went up from any place. For the ineffable Father and Lord of all neither has come to any place, nor walks, nor sleeps, nor rises up, but remains in His own place, wherever that is, quick to behold and quick to hear, having neither eyes nor ears, but being of indescribable might; and He sees all things, and knows all things, and none of us escapes His observation; and He is not moved or confined to a spot in the whole world, for He existed before the world was made.

And the waters increased and lifted the ark high above the earth, the waters increased greatly and filled everything on the surface of the earth. And the waters of baptism and faith, multiplied throughout the whole world, raise the Church from the desire for earthly things to the hope and desire for heavenly life; but also from where the tribulations frequently striking the Church, the more intensely they filled everything, the higher they compelled her to seek the joys of another life: which is well indicated in sacred history, when it is said that the Amorite confined the children of Dan, in the mountain, and did not give them the place to descend to the plains. For the Amorite indeed is interpreted as Bitter, Dan as Judging or Judgment; and who are signified by the sons of Dan, if not those who diligently examine all they do, so that it may be right, in the balance of truth, who, walking by the light of the word of God, swear and decide to keep His judgments of justice; and who are expressed through the Amorite, if not those who attempt to disturb or even overthrow the sweetness of the life of the saints with the bitterness of tribulations? And the Amorite confines the sons of Dan in the mountain, and does not allow them to descend to the plains, as often such a violent storm of persecutions afflicts the elect, that they are not permitted to indulge in any time for weak thoughts; but living in the highest continence, they must devote themselves continually to prayers and fastings and the meditations of the divine Scriptures, so that by greater exercise of virtues they may be able to overcome greater struggles of temptations.

But let us see where this most sacred number of forty days had its beginning. We read first in the Old Testament that in the time of Noah, when criminal wickedness had seized the whole human race, torrents of water poured forth from the opened floodgates of heaven for just as many days. In a kind of mysterious image of Quadragesima, this inundation of the earth refers not so much to a flood as to baptism. This was clearly a baptism in which the wickedness of sinners was removed and Noah's righteousness preserved. For this reason, then, the Lord has given us forty days now as well in imitation of that time, so that for this number of days, while the heavens are opened, a celestial rain of mercy might pour upon us and, with the flood, the water of the saving washing might enlighten us in baptism and—as was the case then—the wickedness of our sins might be quenched in us by the streams of water and the righteousness of our virtues preserved. For the very same thing is at issue with regard to Noah and in our own day: baptism is a flood to the sinner and a consecration to the faithful; by the Lord's washing, righteousness is preserved and unrighteousness is destroyed.

Moreover, the ark was carried above the waters, and the waters prevailed exceedingly, and all the high mountains under the entire heaven were covered. They signify every proud mountain and those lifting themselves up in the glory of this world: the waters cover these mountains, but the ark is carried above them, because the torrent of temptations treads down and sinks the proud and the wicked, but it is overcome by the righteous, who, with a free course of good work and a keen mind, do not cease to strive toward the harbor of eternal salvation: which was well prefigured when Peter walked upon the water to the Lord, for evidently the Church, knocking down the waves of the world, was destined to reach the tranquility of heavenly life. Likewise, the waters of the flood lift the ark on high, covering and hiding the mountains, because the sacrament of baptism, by which the Church is exalted, despises the proud height of the world and shows it to be worthless; and because we are baptized in the hope of the future rest of souls and the resurrection of bodies unto eternal life, which carnal wisdom ignores, it is appropriately added:

With the eye of my mind I gazed upon paradise. The summit of every mountain is lower than its summit, the crest of the flood reached only its foothills, these it kissed with reverence before turning back to rise above and subdue the peak of every hill and mountain. The foothills of paradise it kisses, while every summit it buffets.

The water was fifteen cubits higher than the mountains which it covered. Indeed, seven and eight make fifteen; seven pertains to the rest of souls which is to be after death, since the Lord certainly rested in the tomb on the seventh Sabbath; but since He rose from the dead after the Sabbath, that is, on the eighth day, the number eight very rightly indicates the time of our resurrection. Therefore, the water surpassed the high mountains by fifteen cubits, that is, seven and eight, because the faith of the Church, sanctified by the fountain of the saving washing, surpasses in the hope of future rest and immortality all the arrogance of carnal philosophy, which indeed knows how to subtly dispute about the creation of the world, but knows nothing to say about the Creator of the world and the life of the saints that is above the world.

It is not without purpose that Scripture describes all this to us. Instead, its purpose is for us to learn that not only people, cattle, four-footed beasts and reptiles were drowned but also the birds of heaven and whatever inhabited the mountains, namely, animals and other wild creatures. Hence the text says, "The flood rose fifteen cubits above the mountains," for you to learn that the execution of the Lord's sentence had been effected. He said, remember, "After seven more days I will bring a deluge upon the earth and I will wipe off the face of the earth all the life I have made, from human beings to cattle, and from reptiles to birds of heaven." So Scripture narrates this not simply to teach us the flood level but that we may be able to understand along with this that there was absolutely nothing left standing—no wild beasts, no animals, no cattle—rather, everything was annihilated along with the human race. Since it was for their sake that all these creatures had been created, with the imminent destruction of the human beings it was fitting that these creatures too should meet their end. Then, after teaching us the great height reached by the flood waters and the fact that they rose a further fifteen cubits above the mountain peaks, it further adds out of fidelity to its characteristic precision, "There perished all flesh that moved on the earth—birds, animals, every reptile that moved on the earth, every human being—everything that had breath of life, everything on dry land: all perished." That was not an idle reference in the words "everything on dry land"; instead, its purpose was to teach us that while others perished, the just man with everyone in the ark alone was saved.

Then, a little further on in the same book [Genesis], one could just as easily have noticed the verse "Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died." This means that everything that lived on the earth perished in the flood. Thus we find that Holy Scripture is accustomed to use both phrases—"living soul" and "the breath of life"—in regard even to beasts, and in the verse "All things wherein there is the breath of life" the Greek text does not use the word pneuma but pnoē.

We read in the story of holy Noah how he miraculously escaped the flood which destroyed the impious by being preserved with his household in the ark. From this it is evident to everyone that the Lord who loves righteousness and hates iniquity knows how to deliver the pious from temptation and to punish the impious with the punishment they deserve.… Through spiritual understanding this same text is shown to be full of more sacred mysteries, when the ark is discerned to signify the catholic church; the water of the flood, baptism; the clean and unclean animals, those in the church both spiritual and carnal; the wood of the ark which was smooth and covered with pitch, the teachers who are stalwart as a result of their faith.

For when Moses had the rod in his hands, he led your nation through the sea. And you believe that this was spoken to your nation only, or to the land. But the whole earth, as the Scripture says, was inundated, and the water rose in height fifteen cubits above all the mountains: so that it is evident this was not spoken to the land, but to the people who obeyed Him: for whom also He had before prepared a resting-place in Jerusalem, as was previously demonstrated by all the symbols of the deluge; I mean, that by water, faith, and wood, those who are afore-prepared, and who repent of the sins which they have committed, shall escape from the impending judgment of God.

And the waters held sway over the earth for one hundred and fifty days. And this number pertains to the same mystery as the number fifteen because seventy is derived from seven, and eighty from eight; combining both numbers, the waters held sway over the earth for one hundred and fifty days, thus commending and confirming the sacrament of baptism in consecrating the new man towards upholding the faith in rest and resurrection.

And the Lord brought a spirit upon the earth, and the water ceased (Genesis VIII, 1). I do not think this is said in such a way that we should understand the spirit as the name for wind. For the wind could not have dried up the flood. Otherwise, since the sea is stirred up daily by winds, it would certainly be emptied. For how could the sea, which had spread out over the whole earth in the flood, not be emptied by the force of the winds, if it had receded even to the pillars of Hercules, as they say, and the Great Sea was boiling up against the roofs of high mountains? Therefore, it is not doubtful that by the power of the invisible divine spirit, that flood was repressed, not by a gust of wind, but by celestial operation.

But the Lord remembered Noah, and all the living creatures, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark, and caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters were diminished. This can be understood in the name of the Vivifying Spirit of God, of which it is said at the beginning: "And the Spirit of God was moving over the waters" (Genesis 1:2), regarding which there is no doubt that just as then, when the waters were gathered to one place, making the land dry, so also now, with the waters of the flood taken away, He once again revealed the face of the earth. This wind can also be called the Spirit, according to the following from the Psalmist: "He spoke and the stormy wind stood" (Psalm 107:25), by whose frequent blowing the waters are often caused to diminish or to be moved from their place; hence the passage from Exodus: "And when Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, the Lord caused it to go back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided" (Exodus 14:21).

Hippolytus, the expositor of the Targum, and my master, Jacobus Rohaviensis, have said: On the twenty-seventh day of the month Jiar, which is the second Hebrew month, the ark rose from the base of the holy mount; and already the waters bore it, and it was carried upon them round about towards the four cardinal points of the world. The ark accordingly held off from the holy mount towards the east, then returned towards the west, then turned to the south, and finally, bearing off eastwards, neared Mount Kardu on the first day of the tenth month. And that is the second month Kanun.

And Noah came out of the ark on the twenty-seventh day of the month Jiar, in the second year: for the ark continued sailing live whole months, and moved to and fro upon the waters, and in a period of fifty-one days neared the land. Nor thereafter did it float about any longer. But it only moved successively toward the four cardinal points of the earth, and again finally stood toward the east. We say, moreover, that that was a sign of the cross. And the ark was a symbol of the Christ who was expected. For that ark was the means of the salvation of Noah and his sons, and also of the cattle, the wild beasts, and the birds. And Christ, too, when He suffered on the cross, delivered us from accusations and sins, and washed us in His own blood most pure.

And just as the ark returned to the east, and neared Mount Kardu, so also Christ, when the work was accomplished and finished which He had proposed to Himself, returned to heaven to the bosom of His Father, and sat down upon the throne of His glory at the Father's right hand.

As to Mount Kardu, it is in the east, in the land of the sons of Raban, and the Orientals call it Mount Godash; the Arabians and Persians call it Ararat.

And there is a town of the name Kardu, and that hill is called after it, which is indeed very lofty and inaccessible, whose summit no one has ever been able to reach, on account of the violence of the winds and the storms which always prevail there. And if any one attempts to ascend it, there are demons that rush upon him, and cast him down headlong from the ridge of the mountain into the plain, so that he dies. No one, moreover, knows what there is on the top of the mountain, except that certain relics of the wood of the ark still lie there on the surface of the top of the mountain.

See how God did everything out of his esteem for the human being. As in the case of the destruction of human beings in the flood he destroyed also along with them the whole range of brute beasts, so in this case too, when he intends to show his characteristic love for the good man out of his regard for him, he extends his goodness to the animal kingdom as well, the wild beasts, the birds and the reptiles. "God was mindful of Noah," the text says, "and of all the wild beasts, all the cattle and all the reptiles that were with him in the ark. God sent a wind upon the earth, and the water subsided." Being mindful of Noah, the text says, and of those with him in the ark, he directed the flood of water to halt so that little by little he might show his characteristic love and now give the good man a breath of fresh air, free him from the turmoil of his thoughts and restore him to a state of tranquility by granting him the enjoyment of daylight and a breath of fresh air. "God sent a wind upon the earth, and the water subsided. The torrents of the depths and the sluice gates of heaven were shut off."

And the fountains of the deep were closed, and the windows of heaven, and the rains from heaven were restrained, and the waters returned from the earth, going and coming, and they began to decrease after one hundred and fifty days. What is said, that the waters returned from the earth going and coming, clearly indicates according to the letter that all the courses of rivers and streams return through the hidden veins of the earth to the matrix of the abyss, according to Solomon: All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea does not overflow; to the place where the rivers go forth, they return so that they may flow again (Ecclesiastes I, 7). Mystically, however, after one hundred and fifty days, the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven are closed, the rains ceasing, the waters return, because the words of the sacred oracle, after having trained us in the faith and hope of eternal rest and immortality, will cease to teach us further, because they will have nothing greater to promise, after having perfected us in the immortal glory of flesh and spirit and led us to the blessed vision of our Creator. Hence it is well that the book of Psalms, which is contained in the number of one hundred and fifty, is completed in divine praise. Indeed, the beginning of blessedness takes its rise from continence and meditation on the divine law, saying: Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked (Psalm I, 1), and the rest. Near the end, however, it commends the new joys of the future age, saying, and at the very end consummates all in praise of God: Sing to the Lord a new song, praise in the assembly of the saints (Psalm CXLIX, 1); thus concluding; Let everything that has breath praise the Lord (Psalm CL, 6). This hundred and fiftieth psalm is rightfully sung entirely in praise of God, and completed, because evidently the sum of all our blessedness is in this, that dwelling in His house we may endlessly praise Him.

(Chapter 8, Verse 2) And the water subsided, and the fountains of the deep were revealed, and the floodgates of heaven were opened. The interpreters have translated the phrase 'fountains of the deep were revealed' as 'the closed and sealed fountains were opened'. And regarding the following phrase: 'the water subsided from the earth', it is written that 'the waters returned from the earth, going and coming' (Ecclesiastes 1:7). Note, according to Ecclesiastes, that all waters and torrents return to the hidden veins of the abyss.

The springs of the abyss and the floodgates of heaven were open forty days and forty nights and "the ark was afloat for one hundred fifty days." But after one hundred fifty days the waters began to subside and the ark came to rest on Mt. Qardu. In the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen. In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. In the second month, that is, Iyor, "on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry." Therefore Noah and those with him had been in the ark three hundred sixty-five days, for from the seventeenth of the second month, that is, Iyor, until the twenty-seventh of the same month the following year, according to the lunar reckoning, there were three hundred sixty-five days. Notice then that even the generation of the house of Noah employed this reckoning of three hundred sixty-five days in a year. Why then should you say that it was the Chaldeans and Egyptians who invented and developed it?

The Parables of Solomon. A new title is given, because a new kind of speech begins; so that not as before on individual aspects of good or evil debating at length, but in alternating verses he describes the actions of both.

A wise son makes a father glad, etc. Whoever keeps the mysteries of faith well received, gladdens God the Father; but he who stains them with evil deed or heresy, saddens the Church, his mother.

Be obedient to your bishop and welcome him as the parent of your soul.… In your case the bishop combines in himself many titles to your respect. He is at once a monk, a prelate and an uncle who has before now instructed you in all holy things. This also I say that the bishops should know themselves to be priests, not lords. Let them render to the clergy the honor which is their due that the clergy may offer to them the respect which belongs to bishops.… It is a bad custom which prevails in certain churches for presbyters to be silent when bishops are present on the ground that they would be jealous or impatient hearers. "If anything," writes the apostle Paul, "be revealed to another that sits by, let the first hold his peace. For you may all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be comforted; and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace." "A wise son makes a glad father," and a bishop should rejoice in the discrimination which has led him to choose such for the priests of Christ.

Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, etc. And often from temporal death, as with Daniel and the three youths, and always from eternal death, righteousness delivers. But treasures gathered through wickedness, even if they seem sometimes to rescue from bodily death, bring more harm because of the wickedness by which they were acquired, than benefit in being given in exchange for life.

If a man cast his seed in ground that is fertile [only] in thorns, and fruitful in briars, and densely covered with useless stubble, he sustains a double loss; of his seed first, and also of his trouble. In order, therefore, that the divine seed may blossom well in us, let us first cast out of the mind worldly cares and the unprofitable anxiety which makes us seek to be rich. "For we brought nothing into the world, nor can we take anything out." For what profit is there in possessing superfluities? "Treasures profit not the wicked," as Scripture says, "but righteousness delivers from death." For immediately upon the possession of affluence, there run up, and, so to speak, forthwith hem us in, the basest wickednesses; profligate banquets, the delights of gluttony and carefully prepared sauces; music and drunkenness, and the pitfalls of wantonness; pleasures and sensuality, and pride hateful to God. But as the disciple of the Savior has said, "Everything that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of the world; and the world passes away, and its lust; but he that does the will of God abides for ever."

"Treasures bring no profit to the unrighteous." What then? Did not many avoid death by paying money? Certainly, but they did not get free from sin and in fact they prepared for themselves a life much worse than death. Therefore let us not put our confidence in wealth but in virtue. Indeed when justice comes to deadly sins, people are taken away by death. Would they not rather receive profit from being righteous than from treasures amassed on the earth, "where they grow rusty and moth-eaten, and thieves break in to steal them?" Thus, justice not only saves those who possess it but also leads many others to desire it, and always transports them from death to eternal immortality.

The Lord will not let the soul of the righteous be famished, etc. And if at any time the unjust afflict or even kill the righteous with famine, they will not hurt his soul, whom the Lord will comfort in the future life with the glory of His visitation, who also rightly turns the same traps of the wicked back upon them by judgment.

Do you fear that your patrimony may fail if you begin to act generously from it? For when did it happen that resources could fail a just person, when it is written, "The Lord will not afflict the soul of the just with famine."

If the life of the wicked is malicious and the Lord will overturn it, then it is clear that at some point the wicked will no longer be wicked. For, after that "reversal," "the Lord will pass the kingdom over to God the Father," so that God may be "all in all."

Lazy hands lead to poverty, etc. Whoever lives negligently in this world will suffer lack of good things in the future; but whoever fights bravely for the Lord is rewarded with the riches of eternal blessedness.

The gift of fortitude is given for accomplishing manly deeds; whence in Proverbs: "The slack hand works poverty, but the hand of the strong prepares riches."

He who gathers in summer is a wise son, etc. He who gathers to Christ the souls of the faithful is a wise son. And indeed, this harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few (Luke 10). But he who in this acceptable time is sluggish in caring for his own salvation will be ashamed in the day of tribulation.

The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the righteous, etc. The righteous will be told in judgment: Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom (Matt. 25). The mouths of the wicked, which served for revelry, drunkenness, and evil gossip, will be condemned by the wickedness they practiced. Indeed, the mouth of him who sought to cool his tongue in torment, on account of the many crimes for which he was punished more severely, was covered by wickedness (Luke 16).

The memory of the righteous is a blessing, etc. And in this life, the good praise the good, whether living or dead; but they detest the actions and name of the wicked. In the future life, the righteous live in God's praises, but the honor, name, and praises of the reprobate are changed into putrid torments of hell, where their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched (Isaiah 66).

Those who are humble should thank God and remain in humility to the end of their lives. Thus, the blessing of the angels and patriarchs and prophets and apostles and all the Scriptures will come upon them, as is given to all who persevere in humility. With those blessings they will reach eternal rewards, while there will be fulfilled in them the words "The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the just."

What wonder is it, dearest brethren, that a dancing girl killed the prophet [John the Baptist]? For we know that dissipation is always the enemy of justice and that error ceaselessly persecutes the truth. Wantonness, moreover, associates with cruelty. The head of the prophet is brought to the table of Herod; this dish was due to his inhumanity. Blessed John had told him that it was not right for him to take the wife of a man who was still living, and for this one admonition Herod had him thrown into prison. O how bitter reproof is to sinners! In order that wickedness may not be rebuked, it is multiplied.… Truly "the memory of the just will always be blessed, but the desire of the wicked shall perish."

"The memory of the just man will be praised." But he did not say this because he meant that the departed souls are helped by our praise. He said it because those who praise the departed derive the greatest benefits from remembering them. Since, therefore, we have so much to gain from keeping their memory sacred, let us not reject the wise man's words but rather let us heed them.

Whoever walks uprightly, walks securely, etc. He who knows he lives uprightly, easily disregards all adverse things, because he trusts he will come to joy through them, saying with the prophet: The Lord is the protector of my life; whom shall I fear? and the rest (Psalm 26). But he who walks in crooked paths, though unwilling, becomes exposed and receives due recompense. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed (Luke 12).

Absalom was a treacherous man and "stole all men's hearts." Observe how great was his treachery. It is recorded, "He went about, and said 'Have you no judgment?' " wishing to conciliate everyone to himself. But David was guileless. What then? Look at the end of them both, look, how full of utter madness was the former! For inasmuch as he looked solely to the hurt of his father, in all other things he was blinded. But not so David. For "he that walks uprightly, walks securely."

He who winks with the eye causes trouble. Whoever mockingly winks at someone will not escape without the pain of torment and regret. Of such people the Psalmist says, Those who hate me without cause and wink maliciously with the eye (Psalm 35); or certainly, he who winks with the eye causes trouble because a foolish son is a grief to his mother.

A fool's lips bring him strife. It is either from his own, by whom he deserved to be condemned, because death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. XVIII), or from those by whom, because he could not be corrected, he received the sentence of condemnation; as the Psalmist says, "Lord, deliver my soul from lying lips and a deceitful tongue" (Psal. CXIX), he asks this from the Lord, so that he himself neither possesses lying lips and a deceitful tongue, nor can he be deceived by the iniquity and deceit of others.

Those they have stolen are to be pointed out, that we may thereby pull down their conceit; and of those on the discovery of which through investigation they plume themselves, the refutation will be furnished. By consequence, also we must treat of what is called the curriculum of study-how far it is serviceable; and of astrology, and mathematics, and magic, and sorcery. For all the Greeks boast of these as the highest sciences. "He who reproves boldly is a peacemaker." We have often said already that we have neither practised nor do we study the expressing ourselves in pure Greek; for this suits those who seduce the multitude from the truth. But true philosophic demonstration will contribute to the profit not of the listeners' tongues, but of their minds.

The eyes especially are to be sparingly used, since it is better to slip with the feet than with the eyes. Accordingly, the Lord very summarily cures this malady: "If thine eye offend thee, cut it out," He says, dragging lust up from the foundation. But languishing looks, and ogling, which is to wink with the eyes, is nothing else than to commit adultery with the eyes, lust skirmishing through them. For of the whole body, the eyes are first destroyed. "The eye contemplating beautiful objects, gladdens the heart;" that is, the eye which has learned rightly to see, gladdens. "Winking with the eye, with guile, heaps woes on men."

The mouth of the righteous is a well of life. And the Lord speaks of teachers, "He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his heart" (John VII).

And the mouth of the wicked covers iniquity. The wicked are those who conceal their own or their neighbor's faults, defending them so that they do not reach health. The prophet, detesting this, prays to the Lord that his heart might not incline to an evil word, to excuse excuses in sins (Psal. CXL).

Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. [Proverbs 10:12] Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Ignorance involves a lack of education and learning. It is teaching which implants in us the scientific knowledge of things divine and human. It is possible to live uprightly in poverty. It is also possible in wealth. We admit that it is easier and quicker to track down virtue if we have a preliminary education. It can be hunted down without these aids, although even then those with learning, "with their faculties trained by practice," have an advantage. "Hatred," says Solomon, "stirs up strife, but education guards the paths of life."

Who can explain the bond of the charity of God? Who can express the splendor of its beauty? The height to which charity lifts us is inexpressible. Charity unites us to God, "Charity covers a multitude of sins." Charity bears all things, is long-suffering in all things. There is nothing mean in charity, nothing arrogant. Charity knows no schism, does not rebel, does all things in concord. In charity all the elect of God have been made perfect. Without charity nothing is pleasing to God.

This remedy has been granted by God to human weakness: If someone contracts any guilt while living on this earth, almsgiving wipes it away. Almsgiving is a work of love, and we know that "love covers a multitude of sins."

In the lips of the wise is found wisdom, etc. The rod on the back is vengeance on the posterior, that is, in the following life; well expressed by that famous plague by which the Philistines were struck on their buttocks (1 Sam. V). Therefore, whoever does not want to carry the rod on their back, let them carry wisdom in their lips. I will speak the praises of Christ and preach His commandments. However, because it is always suitable to praise God but not always to teach, it is fitting that the wise do not teach everything they know to everyone, rightly adding:

The wise hide knowledge. Knowing indeed, that there is a time to be silent and a time to speak (Eccl. III). Hence the prophet says, "While the sinner stood against me, I was mute and humbled and silent from good things" (Psal. XXXVIII). And the Apostle, "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Cor. II).

But the mouth of the fool is near to confusion. Because either he will speak good things inordinately, or openly speak evil things.

But riches in themselves are not blameable. For the ransom of a man's life are his riches, for he who gives to the poor, redeems his soul. There is therefore scope for virtue even in these material riches. Ye are as it were pilots, in a great sea. If any man steers well his ship, he quickly passes over the sea, and reaches his haven, but he who cannot manage his property is sunk together with his burthen. Wherefore it is written, The rich man's strength is his strong city.

The wealth of the rich is his strong city, etc. The rich trust in their wealth as in a fortified city; the poor therefore tremble, fearing they may lack because they know they are needy. Spiritually, he who is rich in God trusts in Him through good works, as in an impregnable city that no enemy can overcome; but those who are afflicted by a lack of virtues are therefore in need of heavenly riches because they fear with harmful dread to endure harsh labors for the Lord.

Lying lips hide hatred, etc. Therefore, if you desire to be truthful and wise, neither conceal hatred in the secret of the heart, nor express slander through the mouth; but let your heart be filled with love and your mouth with truth.

Learn what your door is: Place, O Lord, a guard at my mouth, and a door protector around my lips. And Paul asks to be prayed for: That a door may be opened to me, he says, to speak the mystery of Christ. But as he was chosen to preach the Gospel, he rightly desired that the door of the word be opened to him; for from his mouth salvation of the nations went forth, from his mouth came forth the life of the people. But we shut the door, lest fault enter, lest any slip of speech should go out. Fault enters if a slip goes out. Listen how fault enters. In much speaking, it says, you will not avoid sin. Much speaking went out, sin entered; because in much speaking, the word that goes out is not at all examined. It slips foolishly, though speaking excessively is a great sin in itself.

The virtue of silence, especially in church, is very great. Let no sentence of the divine lessons escape you. If you give ear, restrain your voice, utter no word with your lips which you would wish to bring back, but let your boldness to speak be sparing. For in truth in much speaking there is abundance of sin. To the murderer it was said, "You have sinned, be silent," that he might not sin more; but to the virgin it must be said, "Be silent lest you sin." For Mary, as we read, kept in heart all things that were said concerning her Son. So when any passage is read where Christ is announced as about to come or is shown to have come, do not make a noise by talking, but attend. Is anything more unbecoming that the divine words should be so drowned by talking, as not to be heard, believed or made known, that the sacraments should be indistinctly heard through the sound of voices, that prayer should be hindered when offered for the salvation of all?

I know that it is written, "In much speaking you shall not escape sin." Would that all my speaking were only the preaching of your word and the praise of you! Then I would not only escape sin, no matter how many words I spoke, but also obtain a good reward. For it could not have been sin that a man blessed of you commanded upon his own son in the faith, to whom he wrote, "Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season." In him who neither in season nor out of season kept back your word, none can say that there was not much speaking. And yet it was not much, when so much was needed. [But] deliver me, O God, from the multitude of words within my own soul.

If, for the sake of silence, we ought sometimes not to speak what is good, then even more are we obliged to avoid all evil talk, for fear of the punishment due to sin. Therefore, frequent leave to talk is not to be granted to those who are advanced in perfection, even if the subject is good and holy and edifying. Because it is written, "In much talk you shall not avoid sin," and elsewhere, "Life and death are in the power of the tongue." It belongs to the master to speak and teach, and it is the duty of the disciple to hear and obey.

Some brothers from Scetis wanted to visit Antony, and set out in a ship to go there. On board they met an old man who also wanted to go to Antony, but he did not belong to their party. During the voyage they talked about the sayings of the fathers, and the Scriptures, and then the manual work that they did, but the old man said nothing at all. When they came to the landing-place, they realized that the old man also was going to see Antony. When they arrived, Antony said to them, 'You found good company on your journey in this old man.' He said to the old man, 'You found good companions in these brothers.' The old man said, 'Yes, they are good, but their house has no door. Anyone who wants to goes into the stable and steals the donkey.' He said this because they had said the first thing that came into their heads.

They said of Agatho that for three years he kept a stone in his mouth in order to teach himself silence.

Arsenius always used to say this, 'Why, words, did I let you get out? I have often been sorry that I have spoken, never that I have been silent.'

A brother asked Poemen, 'How ought I to behave in my cell in the place where I live?' He answered, 'Be as prudent as a stranger; and wherever you are, do not expect your words to be taken seriously when you speak, and you will find peace.'

Stir up your soul, so that, by his wisdom, you may know what is fitting, and that, by his will, what is in the commandment may come to pass. One who is pleasing to the wicked is more evil than they. Impure words are only verbiage and empty noise. "Abundance of words will not go blameless." Abundance of words is the sign of no discipline.

How can teaching accomplish anything without a multitude of words, understood in the simpler sense, since even wisdom herself declares to the perishing, "I stretched out words, and you did not heed." Paul appears to have continued teaching from early morning till midnight, when indeed Eutychus, overcome with deep sleep, fell down and troubled the audience since they thought he was dead.If, then, the statement is true, "In a multitude of words you will not escape sin," and it is also true that Solomon did not sin when he recited the many words about the subjects mentioned earlier, nor did Paul when he extended his teaching until midnight, one must inquire what the multitude of words is, and from there make a transition to see what the many books are. The complete Word of God which was in the beginning with God is not a multitude of words, for it is not words. It is a single Word consisting of several ideas, each of which is a part of the whole Word.… Consequently, according to this understanding, we would say that he who utters anything hostile to religion is loquacious, but he who speaks the things of truth, even if he says everything so as to leave out nothing, always speaks the one Word. The saints are not loquacious, since they cling to the goal which accords with the one Word.

When I read the Proverbs today, I began with this sentence: "The tongue of the righteous is tried silver." I said, If the tongue of the righteous is choice silver, the tongue of the wicked is most polluted. What is more choice or what is holier than the tongue of a man who uses it to confess and preach God and his Christ and to give him praise, but then also to read his laws and to meditate on them day and night, and also to speak every good word?

If they seemed to have the eyes of the soul and a human mind, they were still nonetheless blind to the deceit of idolatry. But what then happened to them provides the basis for Isaiah's message. For the former blind and deaf were gathered together into the church of God even as the rulers of the nations opposed the people of God. The prophet is amazed and tries to make sense of the prophecy that he is speaking, and so he calls out, saying, "Who can announce these things?"

(Verses 8-9) Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears. Let all the nations gather together, and let the peoples be assembled. Who among you will declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring their witnesses to justify them, and let them hear and say, 'It is true.' LXX: Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears. All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, 'It is true.' Let them bring their witnesses, and let them be justified, and let them hear and speak the truth. And what follows: Educate the blind people, who have eyes; the deaf, who have ears; many people think that it is said about the Gentile people, who began to hear and see through the teaching of the Apostles. But we should also understand this about the dispersed Israel, who was called by the Apostles and believed first; to whom Paul also speaks: It was necessary for the word of God to be preached to you first (Acts 13:46). And the Lord Himself in the Gospel: Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6). Finally, it follows: all the nations are gathered together, and the tribes are assembled, that is, with the people who believed from the Jews, so that there may be a dual calling, of circumcision and of uncircumcision. But what is said, 'Bring forth, O Lord, the word is spoken to the Son.' Or, according to the Septuagint, the Father speaks to the Son, that He may bring forth His blind and deaf people, and join them to the nations, and make many leaders of the Church from them. And the prophet marvels that no one among the nations could have known these things in advance, nor could they have known the plans of God; but only His people who have received the Law and had prophets: For God is known in Judea, His name is great in Israel (Ps. LXX, 1).

All the nations. Here he excludes the sharing of divinity. And first, he shows the falsehood of other gods by the manner of a judgment, setting out the consensus of the nations in idolatry: assembled together, in one error: they are all gone aside (Ps 14:3); seeking a sign of divinity: who among you, that is, which of your gods; or this is said to the idols; and he seeks testimony: let them bring forth their witnesses, let them be justified, that is, let them justly be called gods; and let the witnesses hear, future things from them, and say, testimony for you, above: there is none that shows, nor that foretells (Isa 41:26).

Second, he shows the truth of his own divinity, and first, as to knowledge, second, as to power: you are my witnesses (Isa 43:12).

If Christ is Son, Christ is certainly after God. But after God there is nothing comparable to him. Christ is therefore not comparable to God; or if he is not after God, certainly he is with God; for in no way can he be before God; therefore he is consubstantial (homoousion) … substance as substance, especially if it is a homogeneous substance that is realized in two or more individuals, which is said to be identical substance, not similar.

(Verses 10-11) You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I am, I am the Lord, and there is no savior without me. LXX: Be my witnesses, and I am a witness, says the Lord God, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe and understand that I am: Before me there was no other God and after me there will be none. I am God, and there is no Savior besides me. Whether he himself is the witness of his own words, both the doer and the boy and servant whom he has chosen. There is no doubt that it signifies Christ, to whom he also says above: It is great for you to be called my servant. And all these things will happen, so that the truth may be preached to the world, and they may know, and believe, and understand, whose minds were previously brutish and insensible, that besides one God, there is no other God, neither before nor after. For the creator of times never has a beginning, since time itself sometimes exists. And how did He speak: I am a witness, says the Lord God; and the boy whom I have chosen, saying this very thing to the Lord in the Gospel: The testimony of two men is true. I am the one who testifies about myself, and the one who sent me is the Father (John 8:17-18). Thus, we must understand the divinity of Him, that there is no God except Himself who speaks, and His chosen boy. Besides God the Father, there is no other God: because Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1), who speaks in the Gospel: I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me (John 14:11). For just as the one Lord Christ does not take away from the Father so that he may not be Lord, so the one God the Father does not take away from the Son so that he may not be God: who in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God: this was in the beginning with God (John 1:1-2). And what follows: And there is no Savior without me, shows that the Son saves all things in the Father. Concerning whom the same prophet testifies: And the Lord will send them a Savior, who will make them safe (Isaiah 9). For indeed, God is wise and strong, and His wisdom and virtue cannot exist without Him.

Still I would like to ask of our opponents what the words mean that were once uttered by the prophet, "Before me there was no God, and after me there is none." If the Son is younger than the Father, how can the Father say, "after me there shall be none"? You will not, therefore, also deprive the Only Begotten himself of his substance, will you? Indeed, you must dare to do this or else to accept the one Godhead with the distinct persons of the Father and the Son.

"I have glorified you in the world." By this glory Christ has led the blind people into the light. For the sun of righteousness does not allow us to be children of the night and shadows but rather of day, as the divine apostle says. When Paul says, "They have been gathered," this in fact has not yet taken place, and he is obviously speaking prophetically, meaning "they will be gathered." For speaking of things to come as if they had happened is customary in the Scriptures; another example of such is "I have given my back to the rod" and "they divided my clothing among them."

He gives testimony, assigning men to give testimony: you are my witnesses, my servant, the people of Jacob, or Christ: you shall be witnesses (Acts 1:8); setting out the manner of knowing: that you may know, as to those things which can be known about God by natural reason, and believe, as to those things which are above reason, and thus, understand, for unless you believe, you will not understand, above (Isa 7:9), according to another reading; and setting out what is said by the witnesses, that he alone is God: that I, alone, am, God; there was no God who forms, or formed, namely, no idol: see that I alone am, and there is no other God besides me (Deut 32:39).

It has been sufficiently demonstrated that God exists and that his essence is incomprehensible. Furthermore, those who believe in sacred Scripture have no doubt that he is one and not several. For the Lord says at the beginning of his lawgiving, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall not have strange gods before me." And again: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord your God is one Lord." And through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah: "I am," he says, "the first God, and I am the last, and there is no God besides me. Before me there was no God, and after me there shall be none, and beside me there is none." And the Lord speaks thus to his Father in the holy Gospels: "This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God." With those who do not believe in sacred Scripture we shall reason as follows. The Divinity is perfect and without deficiency in goodness or wisdom or power. He is without beginning, without end, eternal, uncircumscribed; to put it simply, he is perfect in all things. Now, if we say that there are several gods, there must be some difference to be found among them. For if there is no difference at all among them, then there is one God rather than several. But if there is some difference, then where is the perfection? For if one should come short of perfection in goodness, or power, or wisdom, or time or place, then he would not be God. The identity of God in all things shows him to be one and not several.

If you want to have me as a witness to your verdict, then be the first to render witness to my truth. In this case, I will not be alone in bearing witness, but there is also my chosen servant. Now it is neither Moses nor another of the prophets who is referred to here, but Christ our Master. And he calls him a [servant], not as God but as a human being; for it is as a human being that he has named him "chosen." … We likewise find in the holy Gospels this number of two witnesses. In the course of a conversation with the Jews our Master Christ in effect declared, "It is written in your law that the testimony of two persons is true. I bear witness concerning myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness." … "I am, I am your God, and there is no other savior besides me." Again these words proclaim the one divinity. For our Master Christ is called "savior" throughout the holy Scriptures, as I think even the followers of Arius and Eunomius would concede. Now if apart from God there is no savior and if Christ is called "Savior," it is clear that he participates in the [divine] nature. If Christ does not, as the blasphemers allege, then he is not Savior.… But if he is Savior, then he shares the same essence to which alone belongs the faculty of saving.

And that he alone is Lord: I am, singularly, I am, preeminently: neither is there salvation in any other (Acts 4:12).

(Verses 12-13) I have declared and saved; I have made known, and there was no strange one among you. You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and I am God, and from the beginning I am myself, and there is no one who can rescue from my hand. I will work, and who can turn it aside? LXX: I have declared and saved: I have rebuked and there was no stranger among you. You are my witnesses, and I am the Lord God from the beginning, and there is no one who can deliver from my hand. I will do it, and who will turn it away? So when I foretell these things from the beginning, there will be no one who rejects my will: indeed, what I have done, they could make void. These things are indeed said to Jacob and Israel, but they refer to the apostolic choir and all who want to believe in Christ and be saved from the Jewish people.

I not only made the predictions; I have also brought them to their conclusion. "I reproached, and then there was no strange god among you." The three interpreters have rendered the word "I have reproached" by the verb "I have made to understand," which comes back to saying, I have born witness. The verb "I have made reproaches" also has the same sense: it is because they do not cease to sin that they suffer reproaches. Moreover, he then makes the following declaration: At the time when I gave the law, no strange god was present: "You are my witnesses, and I am the Lord God." Know clearly, he is saying, that no one else is concerned for you, but that you alone have benefited by my providence.

Second, he gives a sign of his divinity: I have declared, there was no strange one among you, by which you could know: O Israel, if you will hearken to me, there shall be no new god in you: neither shall you adore a strange god (Ps 81:8–9).

Here he shows the truth of his divinity as to power. And first, he gives the testimony: you are my witnesses: I am the beginning (John 8:25).

"I will act, and who will hinder it?" For I have accomplished the calling of the nations, he says, that is, I have saved those who were led astray. And who can alter this, or who could change things so that they did not happen? The Savior himself assures us that no one can snatch those who are being saved from the hand of God. "For my sheep hear my voice, and I know them; and they follow me, and I give them eternal life."

He gives a sign of his power in punishing: and there is none that can deliver out of my hand, as in Deuteronomy 32:39 and Job 10:7; and in working: I will work, above: the Lord of hosts has decreed, and who can disannul it? (Isa 14:27).

"I have brought down all the runaways and the Chaldeans," that is, "For your sake I will send you to Babylon" and will make the Medes rise, in order to deliver you from captivity. And when the Babylonians fly from you in every manner, through the land and the sea, they will be captured in "their ships" and be imprisoned. He calls "runaways" the Medes because of their previous weakness.

(Verse 14.) Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their bars, and the Chaldeans glorying in their ships. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your king. LXX: Thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, your redeemer: For your sakes I will send to Babylon, and will bring down all their fugitives, and the Chaldeans, in the ships of their rejoicing. I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, who have shown your king, Israel. According to the Hebrew, the prophetic speech is still directed to Israel, to whom their redeemer, the Lord and Holy One of Israel, spoke these words: 'Because of you who preach the Gospel with me, to whom I said above: Do not be afraid, for I am with you, you who are the witnesses of my will, and you announce my other Son to the unbelieving world, I have sent my Son into Babylon and the confusion of this age. And I have removed all its bars, which are called Barihim in Hebrew (or Barichim, as interpreted by Theodotion).' And, he said, the Chaldeans are implied, I have removed those who boasted in their ships: in these, namely, who floated like ships among idols. No one doubts about the Chaldeans that they sound like demons. I, the Lord, have foretold these things, who am your Creator and the king of Israel. Moreover, according to the Septuagint, the meaning is quite different: I, the Lord, who have delivered you from dangers, and the holy one of Israel: because of you, I will send the king of the Medes and Persians to Babylon, and I will make its inhabitants flee, and the Chaldeans who captured you will be bound and transferred across the Caspian Sea to other nations. I, the Lord, have determined these future events, which will reveal that the King of Israel will be the one who believes.

[Isaiah] predicts the defeat of the Babylonians and the enslavement of the Chaldeans. They will suffer these misfortunes because of you, he says, since they were unwilling to recognize that their victory depended on my good will and that you were made prisoners because I rejected you.

Thus says the Lord. Here he sets out the sign of his love, that he destroyed for them the Babylonians, who gloried in their ships because of the multitude of their waters: I sent, namely, my wrath: the Lord has both purposed, and done all that he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon (Jer 51:12).

To say that God remembers is to say that he acts. Conversely, to say that he forgets is to say that he does not act: not because there is forgetfulness in God (given that he never changes) or remembrance (given that he never forgets). For those, then, who did not know what they were doing, "I have become like a man without support," when I was "free among the dead." And for those who did not know what they were doing, I have become "like the slain who sleep in the grave. And they are cast away from your hand." That is, when they reduced me to such a condition, "they were cast away from your hand." They thought I was a man without support; rather, it was they who were without the support of your hand. In fact, as it says in another psalm, "they dug a ditch before me, but they fell in it themselves." I think that the words "and I have been cast away from your hand" are best interpreted in this way, rather than referring to those who sleep in the grave, whom God does not remember. In fact, there are some righteous people among these latter, of whom it is true that he has not remembered them yet, so as to raise them. Nevertheless, of these it is also said, "The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God." That is, they enjoy the support of the Most High, and they dwell in the protection of the God of heaven. As for the others, however, they were cast away from the hand of God, since they thought that the Lord Jesus Christ was rejected by his hand, so much so that they could number him among the evildoers and kill him.

Where do we think these saints are? In a place where they are doing well. What more do you want? You do not know the place, but consider what it truly is. Wherever they are, they are with God. "The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God; no torment will touch them." They passed through torments to reach the place without torment. Through narrowness and constriction they reached the place of freedom. Therefore, those who are heading toward such a homeland should not be dismayed if the way is difficult.

In the first part, on the side of the retribution of the just, there is touched upon first their liberation from evil: second, their reward in good: The just shall shine, etc. In the first, there is touched upon first their liberation from the evil of eternal damnation: second, from the evil of temporal death, at: They seemed in the eyes, etc.; third, from the evil of present vexation or tribulation: And if before men they suffered torments.

(Verse 1). But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, etc. Rabanus continues thus: "In the preceding chapter the sentence of the wicked was expressed, which they brought forth against Christ: now they are condemned for foolishness, because they think the Saints perish, whom they slaughter for his confession." But it can be continued in this way: I rightly said that those "who are on his side" "imitate" the devil. But, standing for "however"; the souls of the just, etc., "that is, of the Martyrs," according to the Gloss: which is also true of other just persons, but Martyrs are called especially just, because "just is he who disregards loss for the sake of a friend," as is found in Proverbs 12: and this the Martyrs do especially, because for Christ they disregard the loss of possessions and of carnal friends and even of their own bodies, as is clear from Hebrews 11. The souls, I say, of the just: he does not say bodies, because "the earth," that is, the body made from earth, "is given into the hands of the wicked," Job 9. He does not say temporal goods: Job 1: "Behold, all that he has is in your hand," etc. But the souls are in the hand of God, that is, in his protection, and therefore they are secure; Psalm: "He who dwells in the aid of the Most High," etc.; John 10: "No one shall snatch them from my hand." And the torment of death shall not touch them, namely "eternal" death, as the Gloss says: whence Job 5: "In six tribulations he will deliver you, and in the seventh no evil shall touch you," that is, the torment of Gehenna. This torment is described in Job 24: "From the waters of snow he shall pass to excessive heat"; likewise in a Psalm: "He shall rain snares upon sinners, fire," etc. By the name of death, taken in its general sense, is understood here eternal death, because that is true death: but temporal death is as it were the shadow of death: for it is a certain passage to life, according to that saying in John 5: "He does not come into judgment," namely of condemnation, "but has passed from death to life."

"My life is always in your hands, but I do not forget your law." Because the soul of the righteous is persecuted by the wickedness of thieves, who want to seduce it with various traps, it very wisely says that it is placed "in the hands" of God. No violence of its adversaries can reach there, as it says, "The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God, and no fatal torment will touch them." And also, "My sheep listen to my voice," and a little later, "No one will steal them from my hand." He added "ever," so that it would be understood that at no time is the soul left to the mercy of its foes. When it then says "in the hands," it means that God acts with power, since he keeps safe those who show themselves to have acted according to his judgments. Why then does he say that his soul is placed "in the hands" of the Lord? Because his law is not taught to someone who forgets. Therefore, we are under his protection if we do not stray in anything from the saving precepts. This is what is asked of us at all times and what we are commanded in particular here: to return to the law, and not to stray from the law. - "Explanation of the Psalms 118.109"

"My life is always in your hands, but I do not forget your law." Because the soul of the righteous is persecuted by the wickedness of thieves, who want to seduce it with various traps, it very wisely says that it is placed "in the hands" of God. No violence of its adversaries can reach there, as it says, "The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God, and no fatal torment will touch them." And also, "My sheep listen to my voice," and a little later, "No one will steal them from my hand." He added "ever," so that it would be understood that at no time is the soul left to the mercy of its foes. When it then says "in the hands," it means that God acts with power, since he keeps safe those who show themselves to have acted according to his judgments. Why then does he say that his soul is placed "in the hands" of the Lord? Because his law is not taught to someone who forgets. Therefore, we are under his protection if we do not stray in anything from the saving precepts. This is what is asked of us at all times and what we are commanded in particular here: to return to the law, and not to stray from the law.

The good God, showing his great and varied providence, not only ordained all of creation, unfolded the heavens, spread the seas, enkindled the sun, caused the moon to shine, gave the earth to be inhabited and offered all the resources of the earth for food and for the sustenance of our bodies, but he also gave us the relics of the holy martyrs. After taking their souls ("The souls of the righteous," it says, "are in the hand of God"), he left us their bodies in the meantime as an exhortation and a comfort, so that, drawing near to the graves of these saints, we might be moved to zeal and to imitation and that seeing them we might keep the memory of their good works and of the rewards associated with them.

The Word of God, who out of mercy condescended to become her son, serves with his sovereign hands this most holy and most divine woman as is fitting toward a mother and receives her holy soul. What a good legislator! Not being subject to the law, he keeps the law that he decreed. It is he, in fact, who established the duty of children toward their parents. "Honor," he says, "your father and your mother." I believe this is a truth that is obvious to anyone who is at least a little familiar with the divine revelation of sacred Scripture. If, as sacred Scripture says, "the souls of the righteous are in the hands of the Lord," how much more should she not entrust her soul to her Son and her God?

"The sufferings of the present time cannot be compared with the future glory that will be revealed in us." But it remains hidden until it is revealed. And precisely because it is hidden, "in the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died." But, by the fact that it is concealed, does it thus also remain hidden to God, before whom it is precious? "Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his saints." Consequently, in the face of this hidden mystery we need eyes of faith, so as to believe what we do not see and to suffer courageously, resolutely accepting unjust evils.

"In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their end was thought to be a punishment." "Malice," in Latin, does not ordinarily have the same meaning that it has in the language used in sacred Scripture. In fact, in Latin one usually calls "malice" that which makes human beings wicked. In the language of the Scripture, however, by "malice" is also meant the evil suffered by human beings. In this passage, therefore, the term should be understood in the sense of "punishment."

"The Lord abandoned the evil he intended to inflict on his people." God wanted it to be understood that this evil was a punishment, as is said, "Their end was thought to be an evil." Similarly, it is said that good and evil come from God, but not according to the evil by which human beings are evil. God in fact is not evil, but he gives bad things to evil people, because he is just.

(Vers. 2.). They seemed to the eyes etc. It should be noted that the wicked and unbelieving regard the death of the Saints as death in the separation of the conjunction of soul to body, affliction in the pain of the conjoined, destruction in the perdition of the soul, which they regard as perishing with the body; the way of destruction with regard to the subsequent incineration of the body. According to this it is read thus: They seemed, that is the just, in the eyes of the foolish to die, namely by eternal death, when nevertheless they pass over to a better life. Whence Augustine: "God bestowed so great a grace upon the Christian faith that death, which is known to be contrary to life, became an instrument through which one might pass over to life." In the eyes, he says, of the foolish, who "set their eyes to decline toward the earth," that is, who consider only present things and not future things: and therefore to such people they seem utterly to die, but in the eyes of the wise they seem to be born, on account of which the death of the Saints is called a birthday, according to that passage in Job 11: "When you think yourself consumed, you shall rise as the morning star." And it was accounted, namely by the impious, as affliction, namely alone without any benefit, their departure, from the body, when nevertheless it is for them a consolation, according to that passage in Philippians 1: "Having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ." Bernard: "The Saints hold death in desire, life in patience." But for the reprobate, there is affliction of departure in their death, and this because, as the same Bernard says, "for them there is pain in departure, horror in passage, shame in the sight of God."

(Vers. 3.). And from the just path, that is from the way of justice, they went away into destruction: the Gloss: "That is, in the estimation of the wicked," because "they regard the palm of martyrdom as affliction and destruction," that is, a retreat into nothingness as regards the soul, which they think is reduced to nothing: and repeat: the just went away, in the estimation of the impious, into the way of destruction, that is incineration, as regards the body; which destruction or way of destruction is from us, that is from our first parents: Romans 5: "Through one man death entered the world." Or: destruction he calls temporal death, because it excludes from the present life: way however of destruction he calls eternal death, because it excludes from eternal life: Baruch 3: "They were destroyed and descended to the netherworld." And with this, there one passes or goes from deadly punishment to deadly punishment, according to that passage in Job 24: "From the waters of snow he shall pass to excessive heat." Such people err in thinking thus: whence below in chapter 5: "We fools accounted their life madness and their end without honor." But they are in peace; the Gloss: "Of perpetual rest, now in hope, at last in reality"; Apocalypse 14: "From henceforth now, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors." For the end of the just is peace: whence Isaiah 32: "The work of justice shall be peace."

But someone will ask, "Why do we see that the good die along with the bad?" The former do not perish but escape, because they are freed from commerce with the wicked and from persecution, and they are brought to rest. The others die and truly perish, because what awaits them when they depart from this world is the torment and punishment of a terrible judgment. The good are called before their time, so that the perverse will torment them no more. The wicked and godless are taken away so that they would no longer persecute the good. The righteous are called from difficulties, tribulations and anguish into rest. The godless are dragged from luxury, abundance and pleasures to punishment. The former go to judge, the latter to be judged. The former, to receive their due, the latter to receive their punishment, as it is written, "The righteous, even if he dies prematurely, will find rest." And also, "Because he lived among sinners, he was taken away." And also, "His soul was pleasing to the Lord. Therefore God took him quickly from the wickedness around him." And still, "They go to death together with the godless, but they are in peace." You see therefore that this disintegration of the body is rest, not punishment, for the righteous and for those who worship God. In decay, rather than perishing, they are freed. Thus the faithful do not fear decay, nor are they overawed by it, but they desire and long for its coming. They understand that through it they will arrive at rest, not punishment. The perverse, the godless and those who are conscious of their crimes rightly fear decay, because of a natural disposition by which they cannot fail to judge themselves. Consequently, having received and understood this explanation, we must not sin at all, especially because we are not unaware that there is a judgment of sinners in this world, which remains in the future one.

And if before men etc. Here is touched upon the deliverance from the evil of present vexation, and first the deliverance in hope: second in reality, at: Afflicted in few things etc.; third the cause of both, at: For God tested them etc.

(Verses 4, 5). It is said therefore: And if, that is, although, before men: the Gloss: "Because before God is the crown of glory"; they suffered torments, namely various and grievous ones, as is evident in the Martyrs, concerning whom Hebrews eleven says: "They were stoned, they were cut asunder" etc. Their hope, namely of the just, according to that saying of Proverbs fourteen: "The just man hopes in his death": is full of immortality, an immortality, I say, not such as was the immortality of the first parents, namely with the possibility of dying; not such as that of the damned in hell, namely with the perpetual desire of dying: Revelation nine: "They shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them"; not such as that of little children in limbo, namely with the lack of the glorious life, but such as that of the Blessed in heaven: Romans five: "We glory in the hope of the glory of the children of God".

And rightly they hope, because, afflicted in few things, the Gloss: "Bodily"; in many things they shall be well disposed: Matthew twenty-five: "Because you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things"; Luke twenty-two: "I dispose to you a kingdom" etc. But what those many things are, is said in Isaiah sixty-four: "Eye has not seen, O God, apart from you, what you have prepared for those who wait for you".

But there is a doubt about what it says: Afflicted in few things etc., because it is said in Hebrews eleven: "They were stoned, they were cut asunder" etc.

It must be said that their torments were many in themselves, but few by comparison: first, by comparison with their own estimation, according to that saying of Genesis twenty-nine: "The days seemed to him," namely to Jacob, "few because of the greatness of his love." Second, by comparison with the Passion of Christ: Lamentations one: "O all you who pass by the way"; likewise in the Psalm: "They were swallowed up, joined to the rock," namely to Christ, "their judges," that is, the Apostles themselves and other Martyrs. Third, by comparison with the future reward: Romans eight: "The sufferings are not worthy" etc.; likewise, Second Corinthians four: "That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation works for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory." Fourth, by comparison with eternal affliction: Job six: "He who fears the frost, upon him shall the snow rush." Fifth, by comparison with the debt and the obligation, that is, the punishment owed on account of things omitted and the obligation on account of things committed: the Psalm: "What shall I render to the Lord for all the things that he has rendered to me"?

For God tested them etc. Here the cause of the aforesaid is touched upon, and first, their chastisement: second, their purification, there: As gold in the furnace etc.; third, the future recompense, there: And in the time there will be etc.

I rightly said that they will be well disposed in many things, for God tested them: Gloss: "That is, He chastised them with various tribulations"; 2 Corinthians 6: "As chastised and not put to death."

But to the contrary: "God tempts no one," as is found in James 1.

It must be said that He does not test in order to learn, as a man does: Daniel 1: "Test us, I beseech you" etc.; nor in order to deceive, as the devil does; Matthew 4: "The tempter, approaching, said to Him" etc.; likewise 1 Corinthians 7: "Lest Satan tempt you"; but in order to instruct, as a master instructs a disciple; Psalm: "Prove me, O Lord, and test me" etc.

And He found them worthy of Himself, namely "of the participation of His blessedness," which is acquired through tribulations: whence Acts 14: "Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of heaven"; likewise Tobit 3: "If he shall have been in trial, he shall be crowned."

How great is the constancy of the martyrs! How excellent is the faith of the saints who willingly accepted many torments for the name of Christ and who, nevertheless, despising these torments, defeated the devil who was in their persecutors! Indeed, Solomon said of them, "Even if to human eyes they suffer punishments, their hope is full of immortality." Therefore the saints had a great hope, because they believed that, enduring a temporary passion, they would receive in the resurrection what they hoped for. And what did they hope for in suffering these things? It is easier to speak of what they suffered, because who can speak of what they hoped for? Listen to the apostle Paul: "The sufferings of the present moment cannot be compared with the future glory that will be revealed in us."

There are two kinds of persecutors: those who insult and those who flatter. The tongue of the flatterer does more damage than the hand of the murderer, and Scripture calls such a tongue a furnace. Speaking of persecution, it says, "He tried them like gold in the crucible" (referring to the martyrs who had been killed), "and they pleased him like a sacrifice." Listen how the tongue of the flatterer is no different: "Fire puts gold and silver to the test, and a person is tested by the mouth that praises him." Both the one and the other are fire. You must emerge unscathed from both. The one who insults you breaks you to pieces, and you are shattered in the furnace like a clay vase. The word of God formed you; then came the test of suffering. Indeed, it is necessary that what has been formed also be baked. If the vase was well formed, fire is welcome! It will serve to harden it.

The nations "did for their gods what is abominable to the Lord and what he detests. They even burned their sons and daughters in the fire, in homage to their gods." In what other way can it be more clearly shown than with these testimonies of sacred Scripture (and I have omitted others that are similar) that God, who gave these Scriptures to the human race, was not only not pleased but indeed detested sacrifices in which human beings were immolated? God loves and rewards fully those sacrifices in which a righteous person who suffers iniquity fights for the truth even to the point of death or is killed by enemies that he has offended for the sake of justice, repaying them good for evil, love for hatred. The Lord calls this righteous blood, from the blood of Abel until the blood of Zechariah. And especially, because he poured out his blood for us and offered himself in sacrifice to God. This surely was an offering, as much as it was also his being killed by his enemies for the sake of justice. Imitating him, the army of the martyrs fought until death for the truth and was immolated by ruthless enemies. Scripture says of the martyrs, "He tried them like gold in the crucible, and he was pleased with them as with a holocaust." Thus the apostle says, "Indeed, I am already being sacrificed."

(Verse 6.) As gold in the furnace He tested them, namely on the part of the soul, purifying them through the fire of tribulations but not consuming them: Gloss: "Just as gold in the furnace is not burned up but is tested, so the Martyrs do not fail but are prepared for glory"; Sirach 2: "Gold and silver are tested in fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation," which, namely, comes through present tribulations: Job 23: "He tested me as gold that passes through fire." And as a victim of holocaust, which is entirely consumed in the sacrifice of the Lord's body: He received them, namely on the part of the body, by approving or accepting their devotion: Romans 12: "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God." And in the time, namely of retribution: Gloss: "The death of the Saints is not perpetual, but in the day of judgment there is abundant recompense"; there will be regard for them, that is, they will be regarded by God, namely with the eye of mercy, which the Psalmist sought, saying: "Look upon me and have mercy on me." Regard, I say, for them, that is, of the just, who now seem to be abandoned by God, according to that verse of the Psalm: "God, my God, look upon me, why have You forsaken me?"; likewise, to be despised, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Why do You turn Your face away?"

God removes evil from us in two ways, by "wind" and by "fire." If we are good and obedient to his teachings and allow ourselves to be instructed by his Word, the "wind" sweeps away our evils, according to what is written, "If by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you will live." But if the Spirit has not taken away our evils, there is need of purification by fire. Observe closely, however, each combination of terms. The first is "wind" and "cloud," the second "fire" and "light," the third "electrum" and "splendor." Each of these, as though it were sad, is paired with something more cheerful. Indeed, if the wind dies down, immediately a cloud appears. If fire appears, there is light. If one speaks of electrum, there is brightness all around. We must, "like gold in the furnace" and electrum, be fused by an extremely hot fire. You will find, in the prophet we are commenting on, the Lord who sits in the middle of Jerusalem, fanning those who are a heap of silver, tin, iron and lead. With laments, he reproaches those who bear within themselves the dross of more base material. He says, "You have become the dross of silver, silver that is no longer pure like the grape." When we superimpose on God's creature, which at the beginning is good, the vices and passions that come from our wrongs, then we mix iron, tin and lead with gold and silver. To be purified, fire is necessary. As early as possible, then, we must act in such a way so as, when we arrive at this fire, to pass through it peacefully, like gold and silver and precious stones, which have no blemish of adultery. Not that we would be defeated by the fire, but that we might emerge from it approved.

The Father tests us, the Son tests us, the Holy Spirit tests us. He says of the Father to the Thessalonians, "Thus we preach, not seeking to please human beings but God, who tests our hearts." Solomon says of the Son, "He tried them like gold in the crucible and found them worthy of himself." Of the Holy Spirit, Solomon says, "He who tests hearts is the Spirit of the Lord," and he will wipe out the wicked from the earth.

The just shall shine etc. After he has treated of deliverance from evil, here he adds concerning reward in good, first, as regards the stole of the body: second, as regards the honor of judicial power, there: They shall judge the nations etc.; third, as regards the glory of divine fruition, there: Those who trust in Him etc.

(Vers. 7.). I said well that there will be in time a regard for them, because the just shall shine, namely by the endowment of clarity in the judgment as regards the substance of the body, according to that passage of Matthew thirteen: "Then the just shall shine as the sun"; but the sun shall shine sevenfold more than it does now: whence Isaiah thirty: "The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold." And they shall run about like sparks, that is, they shall be apt for running about through the endowment of agility, and this as regards the operation or motion of the body, according to that passage of Isaiah forty: "They that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles"; Augustine: "Where the spirit wills, there immediately shall the body also be." Like sparks, I say, in a bed of reeds, which they set ablaze and consume. A bed of reeds here signifies the assembly of the reprobate, because it is outwardly splendid through pretense, inwardly void of truth, laden with no fruit of good works, continually watered by the swamp of carnal concupiscence, agitated by the wind of pride, fit for eternal burning. In this bed of reeds the Saints are said to run about, trampling them underfoot; Malachi, last chapter: "You shall tread down the wicked." In the spark, moreover, the four endowments of the body can be noted, namely on account of its fiery clarity, subtlety, agility, and active power, through which impassibility can be understood.

"Like the moon, eternally perfect and a faithful witness in the sky." First he spoke of the sun, and we said that this referred to the soul of the righteous. Now he speaks of the moon, which is here appropriately compared with the human body, because it waxes and wanes with time. But he adds that it is "perfect" so that, by referring to that spiritual body, you would understand that he is not speaking of something temporal but only of that eternity that will never fail. Our very body, in fact, will be filled with light "forever," like "the perfect moon." And this moon, that is, the structure of our body, will be a "faithful witness," because in it the promises will have been fulfilled. And see that he has placed it "in the heavens," that is, in a holy person. The bodies of those whose souls shine with divine light will shine in the same way, as Solomon says, "The righteous will shine forth and, like sparks in the stubble, run here and there." - "Explanation of the Psalms 88.37"

God said earlier that those who sincerely repent will be saved and that after they have received the remedy of forgiveness, we must think of them as stars. Indeed, those who have merited to be numbered among the saints shine like the nighttime stars of this creation. But as much as it might seem to us that there are many, many of these in the church, God has counted every one of those who will have the joy of participating in his kingdom. The fact that we can think of the stars as holy people is attested to in the passage of Genesis that says, "I will make your descendents as numerous as the stars of heaven." And Solomon says, "The righteous will shine like the stars of heaven."

"Like the moon, eternally perfect and a faithful witness in the sky." First he spoke of the sun, and we said that this referred to the soul of the righteous. Now he speaks of the moon, which is here appropriately compared with the human body, because it waxes and wanes with time. But he adds that it is "perfect" so that, by referring to that spiritual body, you would understand that he is not speaking of something temporal but only of that eternity that will never fail. Our very body, in fact, will be filled with light "forever," like "the perfect moon." And this moon, that is, the structure of our body, will be a "faithful witness," because in it the promises will have been fulfilled. And see that he has placed it "in the heavens," that is, in a holy person. The bodies of those whose souls shine with divine light will shine in the same way, as Solomon says, "The righteous will shine forth and, like sparks in the stubble, run here and there."

Will it perhaps be that one who is cold must clothe himself, there where it will not even be necessary to cover the body, in the presence of that cold of which the prophet says, "Who can withstand his cold?" Or, where the one who has lost his wedding garment will be naked forever? Where the wicked person with a stained conscience will be clothed with darkness, and the good person with a mantle of immortality and blessedness. Where our merits will be our dress, as the Lord says, "The righteous will shine like the sun." And the prophet, "Your priests are clothed with righteousness," or, "The queen is at your right hand, in a gown of spun gold." Where an eternal light will shine that will replace the tunics of holy bodies. Where a garment that will never be removed will be changed into a body. Where the garment will be the prize and the angelic clothing will no longer be a covering or a garment but nature?

As fellow citizens of the saints and members of God's family and as heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, let us examine, to the extent possible, the renowned happiness of our city. Let us say with the prophet, "Oh, wonderful things are said of you, city of God, the home of all who rejoice in you!" You are the sum of all the joys of earth. In you there is no old age or the misery of old age. In you there are no cripples, or lame, or hunchbacks or deformed, but all "arrive at the stature of the perfect person, to the measure of the full maturity of Christ." What can be more beautiful than this life in which there is no fear of poverty or the sadness of disability; where no one is hurt or angry or envious; where no concupiscence flares up, nor is there desire for food, and where we are not agitated by ambition for honor or power? There is no fear of the devil there or of the snares of demons, and the fear of hell is long gone. There is death neither of the body nor of the soul but a life made joyous by the gift of immortality. There will be no more discord; rather, everything will be harmonious, of one heart, because there will be one unanimity among all the saints. Everything will be peaceful and joyful, calm and serene. There will be a perpetual splendor, not the one we see now but a greater brightness to match the greater happiness. Therefore, as we read, that "city will have no need of the light of the sun," but the almighty Lord will enlighten it, "and its lamp is the Lamb," where the saints will shine like stars forever, and those who teach many, like the splendor of the firmament. Thus, there will never be night or any darkness. Clouds will not gather, nor will there be cold or heat or bitterness. Rather, everything will be such that "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man," except those found worthy to enjoy it, "whose names are written in the book of life."

"If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." But, when we have arrived at life, what need is there for me to add "eternal"? And why add "happy"? Life, plain and simple, because that which is both eternal and happy is life. When we have arrived at life, we will have the certainty that we will live in it forever. In fact, if we find ourselves there and do not have the certainty of remaining there forever, even there we would be in fear. And if there is fear, there would be suffering, not of the body but of the soul, which is worse. But what kind of happiness is it where there is suffering? Thus, we will have the assurance of always being in that life, unable to see its end, because we will be in the kingdom of him about whom it was said, "And his kingdom will have no end." The book of Wisdom, making known to us the glory of God's saints, whose death is precious in his sight, says, as you heard at the end of the reading, "And the Lord will reign over them forever." We will therefore be in that great kingdom that endures forever, precisely because it is just, great and eternal.

(Vers. 8.). They shall judge nations. This is said specially of the perfect Saints, who shall judge and shall not be judged. For there shall be four orders in the judgment, as the Gloss says on that verse of the Psalm: "The wicked shall not rise in the judgment."

But how shall the Saints judge, since it is written in John five: "The Father has given all judgment to the Son"?

It must be said that there is a judgment of authority, by which the whole Trinity shall judge: of judicial examination, by which Christ alone as man shall judge: of assessorial dignity, by which only the more perfect Saints shall judge: of approbation, by which all the good shall judge: of comparison, by which the good, that is, the less wicked, shall judge: Matthew twelve: "The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it."

And they shall have dominion over peoples, namely after the judgment: Revelation five: "We shall reign upon the earth," that is, over the earthly. Or: they shall have dominion over peoples, after death: Matthew fifteen: "The little dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters," that is, we of the benefits of the Blessed. And He shall reign, with them, or in them, their Lord, namely Christ: Revelation nineteen: "King of kings," etc.: forever: Luke one: "Of His kingdom there shall be no end"; Psalm: "Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages."

Who trust in him. Here he touches upon the glory of fruition: and he touches upon this in three respects, namely in the knowledge of truth, in the adherence to goodness, there: And the faithful in love: in the perfection of comprehension, there: For gift and peace is etc.

(Vers. 9.). He says therefore: Who trust etc., as if to say, not only will they judge, but also those who trust in him, namely God, in the present, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Sion"; shall understand the truth, by open vision: First John 3: "We shall see him as he is": Gloss: "According to true confidence, the understanding of truth is given." And the faithful in love, that is, those loving him faithfully and inseparably, as the Apostle, who said: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ" etc., Romans 8: Ecclesiasticus 6: "To a faithful friend there is no comparison"; shall rest in him: Gloss: "Because in the future they will not be able to be torn from his fellowship, whom here they already held by faith and hope." Therefore rest in God through love will succeed the understanding of faith. For gift: Gloss: "Of eternal satisfaction"; Psalm: "I shall be satisfied when your glory shall appear"; likewise: "They shall be inebriated with the abundance of your house." And peace, "eternal," according to the Gloss: Isaiah 32: "My people shall sit in the beauty of peace": likewise Philippians 4: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding": is for his elect, the Saints, whom God chose from this world: John 15: "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you from the world." - This can also be expounded concerning present merit, which consists in the knowledge of truth through faith, in the conformity of human and divine will through love, so that gift is referred to the knowledge of faith, and peace to the tranquility of love.

If long and healthful life: there is sound eternity and eternal soundness, because the just shall live forever, and: The salvation of the just is from the Lord. If fullness: they shall be satisfied, when the glory of God shall appear. If inebriation: they shall be inebriated with the plenty of the house of God.

Third, concerning the retribution of the just and the reprobate, in two ways.

But the just forever. Here he sets forth the fitting retribution of the just and the reprobate, and first, the reward of the just; second, the punishment of the reprobate: And he shall take up armor.

He touches upon a twofold reward of the just: first, for the doing of good; and second, for the victory over evil: Therefore they shall receive etc.

(Verse 16). But the just etc., as if to say: such is the life and death of the impious: but, that is, "however." The just, on the contrary, shall live forever: The Gloss: "They shall live with eternal life," of which John 17: "This is eternal life" etc. And with the Lord, that is, in the Lord himself through hope, according to the Gloss: in the Psalm: "But it is good for me to adhere to God," namely through charity, "it is good to place my hope in the Lord God"; is their reward: The Gloss: "The recompense of labor": for he himself is the reward of the Saints: Genesis 15: "I am your protector and your reward exceedingly great": likewise Numbers 18: "I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel." And their thought etc., as if to say: and deservedly with the Lord is their reward, because their thought, that is, their whole solicitude and intention through faith, is with the Most High, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Cast your thought upon the Lord" etc. Or: thought, that is, the knowledge of their understanding, is with the Most High alone: for the just think only about God, or about those things which contribute to possessing him, according to that passage of 1 Corinthians 7: "The unmarried woman thinks about the things of the Lord."

If wisdom is pleasant in the knowledge of created things, how much more pleasant will be the Wisdom that created all things from nothing? If a great abundance of pleasures are found in pleasant things, what, and how great, will the pleasure be in him who made pleasant things? O, for the one who will enjoy this good! What will he have, and what won't he have? He will surely have everything he will want and nothing that he won't want. In that place there will truly be the goods of body and soul, "those things that eye has not seen or ear heard, nor have they even entered the human heart." Poor person, why then do you wander here and there seeking what is good for your body and soul? Love the one good in which all good things are, and that is enough. Desire that simple good that is every good, and that is enough. What do you love, my flesh? What do you desire, my soul? Everything that you love is there. Everything you desire is there. If beauty delights you, "The righteous will shine like the sun." If it is swiftness, strength or a freedom of the body that nothing can hinder, "They will be like the angels of God," since "a natural body is sown, and a spiritual body is raised"—by his power, of course, and not by nature. A long, healthy life is already an object of delight. There, there will be an eternity without evils, and eternal health, since "the righteous will live forever" and "the salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord." If one speaks of fullness, they will be filled when the glory of the Lord appears. If of intoxication, "They will be filled with the abundance of the Lord's house." If of melody, up there the choirs of angels sing endlessly to God in unison. If of any kind of pure desire, the Lord will give them to drink of the stream of the delights of his divinity. If of wisdom, "They will all be taught by God" in such a way that wisdom itself will teach them. If of friendship, they will love God more than themselves and one another as themselves. And God will love them more than they love themselves, since they will love him, loving themselves and one another in him, and he will love them in himself. If one speaks of harmony, they will all have a single will, because they will have only the will of God. If of power, they will enter into the power of the Lord, and their wills will be almighty, like that of God.

(Verse 17). And because they are such in the present, therefore they shall receive the kingdom of glory, that is, a glorious kingdom with respect to the golden crown or the essential reward; Matthew 5: "Blessed are the poor" etc. And the crown of beauty, that is, a beautiful one: The Gloss: "The enemy having been conquered"—and this with respect to the aureole or with respect to the accidental reward: 2 Timothy 4: "There is laid up for me a crown of justice." Concerning both, Exodus 25. From the hand of God, or of the Lord; The Gloss: "That is, from Christ, who is called the hand and arm and right hand of God the Father." For he is the hand by working: "For all things were made through him," John 1: the arm by protecting, according to that passage of the Psalm: "My arm shall strengthen him"; the right hand by rewarding: Matthew 25: "He shall set the sheep on his right hand." For his right hand shall cover them: The Gloss: "Here and in the future," from the wrath of the supreme Judge: Isaiah 49: "In the shadow of his hand he protected me": Sirach 34: "A shelter from the heat and a shade from the noonday." And with his holy arm, that is, of his holy power, he shall defend them, namely from every attack of the adversary, according to that passage of the Psalm: "The Lord is the defender of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?"

And he shall take armor etc. Here he touches upon the punishment of the reprobate under the metaphor of a king taking up arms against his adversaries. And first he describes the king's purpose: second, his equipment: He shall put on etc.: third, the battle: They shall go forth directly: fourth, the effect of the battle: And he shall bring to desolation: fifth, the remedy for the battle: Better is wisdom.

(Verse 18). And he shall take armor, namely against adversaries, his zeal: Proverbs six: "The zeal and fury of a man will not spare in the day of vengeance." "His arms, however, are truth, justice, and judgment," according to the Gloss. And he will arm the creature, namely as his army, according to that passage below in chapter sixteen: "The creature serving you its Maker burns against the unjust"; for the vengeance upon enemies: Psalm: "God of vengeances" etc.

He shall put on justice for a breastplate: justice is compared to a coat of mail or breastplate, because, just as a coat of mail protects the whole body, so justice protects the soul on every side: whence Second Corinthians six: "By the armor of justice on the right hand and on the left"; Isaiah fifty-nine: "He put on justice as a breastplate." And he shall take sure judgment for a helmet, or certain: right judgment, that is, discernment, and it is compared to a helmet, which is the defense of the head, that is, of reason: Proverbs sixteen: "Divination is on the lips of the king; in judgment his mouth shall not err."

He shall take equity for an invincible shield: to a shield, which defends the coat of mail, equity is compared, because it renders justice irreproachable: Isaiah eleven: "He shall reprove in equity for the meek of the earth."

Since justice necessarily requires that the human being, who merited or demerited not in soul alone nor in body alone, but in soul and body together, be punished or rewarded in both; the reformation of grace also requires that the whole body be conformed to Christ the Head, whose dead body necessarily had to rise, since it was inseparably united to the Divinity; and the completion of nature requires that the human being consist simultaneously of body and soul as of matter and form, which have a mutual appetite and mutual inclination: it is necessary that the resurrection be future, since the constitution of nature, the infusion of grace, and the retribution of justice demand this, according to which the whole universe is governed. And therefore from these three all things cry out that the human being must be raised, so that every excuse may be taken away from those who are deaf to this truth of faith, and deservedly against such people the whole world fights.

And he shall sharpen his fierce wrath; he says fierce to distinguish it from the light wrath with which he is now angry; for a spear: the wrath of God is compared to a spear, because it will reach even whatever is remote and will penetrate: Ezekiel twenty-one: "The sword is sharpened" etc.; likewise Exodus fifteen: "You sent forth your wrath, which devoured them as stubble." And the whole world shall fight with him against the senseless: Gregory: "When the Creator is offended, every creature is offended"; the Gloss: "The Creator through the creature subject to him corrects the offenders." That battle shall be terrible, concerning which Job forty: "Remember the battle, and speak no more."

He therefore who is not illumined by such great splendors of created things is blind; he who is not awakened by such great cries is deaf; he who does not praise God on account of all these effects is mute; he who from such great signs does not advert to the first principle is a fool. Open therefore your eyes, bring near your spiritual ears, loose your lips, and apply your heart, that in all creatures you may see, hear, praise, love, and worship, magnify and honor your God, lest perchance the whole world rise up against you. For on this account the whole world shall fight against the senseless, and conversely for the wise it shall be matter of glory, who according to the Prophet can say: Thou hast given me delight, O Lord, in thy making, and in the works of thy hands I shall rejoice. How great are thy works, O Lord! Thou hast made all things in wisdom, the earth is filled with thy possession.

They shall go directly etc. Here he describes the last battle according to the diverse battle lines of creatures. And first he introduces fire warring against and conquering the impious; second, the air: And from the stony: third, water: And it shall grow white-hot: fourth, wind or whirlwind proceeding from the earth: Against them shall stand the spirit of power.

(Verse 22). They shall go, therefore, namely against them, directly the bolts of lightning: Gloss: "At will, that is, according to the will of the commander": Ecclesiasticus 43: "He hastens to send forth the flashings of his judgment"; likewise in the Psalm: "Flash forth lightning, and you shall scatter them." And as from a well-curved bow of the clouds, that is, as the curved lines of the rainbow, when the sun comes upon them, the impious shall be destroyed: as if to say: just as quickly and easily the heavenly bow is dissolved, so the impious shall quickly and easily be destroyed, that is, they shall be placed outside the boundaries of present and eternal life: Baruch 3: "They were destroyed and descended to the netherworld"; in the Psalm: "He has bent his bow" etc. And they shall leap to a certain place, namely against the wicked only, so that they shall not touch the good: chapter 3 above: "The torment of death shall not touch them." To a certain place: Gloss: "Wherever it may be necessary; for that which divine wisdom has ordered cannot be confused": whence Exodus 9: "In Egypt the land of Goshen suffered no evil from the plagues inflicted upon Egypt."

(Verse 23). And from stony wrath: stony is said of that wrath on account of its effect, because it will manifest itself through rocks, or because it is unbreakable and hard like rock, or because it will be inflicted by Christ, who is called the rock in 1 Corinthians 10: "And the rock was Christ." Full hailstones shall be sent, that is, thick and great; or: fully, that is, completely or abundantly: Psalm: "Fire, hail, snow, ice" etc.; Job 38: "Have you entered the storehouses of snow?" Revelation 16: "Great hail like a talent in weight descended from heaven upon men." But the Greeks have it thus: And as from a well-curved bow of clouds they shall leap to a sure mark, and from a hurled stone, full wrath. This reading is clearer and seems truer, since this book appears to have been compiled in Greek. And it shall grow hot, that is, it shall boil, upon them, that is, against them, the water of the sea: for it shall become boiling, turbid, and foaming: Luke 21: "On earth, distress of nations from the confusion of the sound of the sea and the waves." For it shall be one of the fifteen signs, according to Jerome, that the sea shall raise itself above the height of the mountains. And rivers, that is, of fresh waters, shall rush together harshly, that is, forcefully: Exodus 15: "They sank like lead in mighty waters." Or: The water of the sea, that is, the bitterness of hell, shall grow hot against them, that is, it shall hiss and boil like water by the casting in of hot iron: Isaiah 14: "Hell beneath is disturbed." And rivers, namely of anguish, shall rush together harshly, because there shall be grief over goods lost, shame over evils committed, fear over present punishments.

(Verse 24). Against them shall stand the spirit of power, that is, a strong wind, according to that passage of Exodus 15: "Your spirit blew" etc., proceeding from the caverns of the earth, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Who brings forth winds from his storehouses"; likewise in the Psalm: "With a vehement wind you shall shatter the ships of Tarshish"; likewise Job 1: "A vehement wind rushed from the region of the desert." This is the "spirit of storms," of which the Psalm speaks. And as: as is expressive of truth, not a mark of similitude: a whirlwind, that is, a blast composed of contrary winds mixed with dust, shall divide them etc. Or: spirit can be called the sentence of the judge, according to that passage of Isaiah 11: "With the spirit of his mouth he shall slay the wicked." And then the term as is a mark of similitude, not expressive of truth, when it is said: And as a whirlwind shall divide them, namely from the good: Job 27: "A burning wind shall take him up, and as a whirlwind shall snatch him from his place"; the last chapter of Isaiah: "Behold, the Lord shall come in fire, and his chariots as a whirlwind." And to a wasteland, that is, a horrible and barren place, lacking every good: concerning such a place, Deuteronomy 32: "In a place of horror and vast solitude."

All the earth, that is, earthly ones, their iniquity will lead them through, that is, their own iniquity, not another's, will be the cause why they are led there, according to that passage of Isaiah 50: "Walk in the flames which you have kindled for yourselves." Or according to another reading: he says the land of their iniquity, because according to the Psalm: "Fire shall go before the judge himself," which will burn the surface of the earth on which their iniquities were committed and render it dry. And malice, which they practiced, which connotes something worse, will overthrow, that is, will be the cause of overthrowing, the thrones of the powerful, that is, kingdoms, cities and strongholds, towers and tribunals: Sirach 10: "God has destroyed the thrones of proud rulers." The Gloss expounds the preceding differently, namely, concerning the present overthrow of the impious, the unfaithful, and heretics by Christ and the Church: by the flashing of miracles, by the hail of rebukes, by the cleansing of tribulations, by the whirlwind of persecutions, by the subversion and removal of possessions, by the casting down of the powerful.

That there will be only one divine judgment through Christ, the apostle Paul explicitly states when he says, "God will judge people's secrets through our Lord Jesus Christ." Moreover, the same apostle tells us that the Spirit will also judge the antichrist, saying specifically of this figure, "The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the Spirit of his mouth." If the antichrist will be destroyed by the Spirit of the mouth of the Lord, then every created being will also be judged by the Spirit, something of which Solomon also speaks, saying, "The Spirit of power will break out against them, and a mighty wind will scatter them."

The Lord taught in the Gospel that the Holy Spirit is judge and can convict the entire world regarding sin, righteousness and judgment. It says, in fact, "The Holy Spirit, when he comes, will convict the world about sin, about righteousness and about judgment." And Isaiah says, "The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion." And in Solomon it is said, "The Spirit of God will break out against them and will scatter them like a whirlwind." Again Isaiah says, "See that in my Spirit I carry out judgment, says the Lord." Why then do you deny that people may ask pardon for their sins from their judge, so as to be more cleansed and more purified of sins, if they are successful in asking? And having done so, if they were to fall again into the evil of sin through rash words, that they could ask the Holy Spirit, directly and without difficulty, to grant them pardon and remission of their sins—to him, that is, who intercedes for us with the Father with inexpressible groanings? Since you accuse us of sacrilege for asserting, in confessing the Trinity, that the Holy Spirit is God and Lord, watch that you yourselves do not become more worthy of this charge. Indeed, you refuse to confess that Holy Spirit whom the Lord wanted the apostles to proclaim, without distinction, together with the Father and the Son, "Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." If, regarding the essence of the divinity, the Holy Spirit were not equal to the Father and the Son, how is it possible that in the sacrament of baptism nothing happens without him?

Wisdom is better etc., as if to say: since the powerful who lack understanding are treated in this way, better, that is, more useful, is wisdom, concerning divine things, which, according to the Gloss, "always rightly governs the soul"; than the strength of the body, which often casts one headlong into sins: Ecclesiastes 9: "I said that wisdom is better than strength." And a prudent man, in human affairs, according to the Gloss, not only in eloquence: more than a strong man: Gloss: "In body." Whence one ought not to glory in such strength, according to that saying from Jeremiah 9: "Let not the strong man glory in his strength."

Hear therefore, etc., as if to say: since wisdom is so useful, hear therefore, with the outward hearing, O kings: Gloss: "Prelates"; and understand, with the inward hearing: Proverbs 1: "A wise man hearing shall be yet wiser, and he that understandeth shall possess governance": Matthew 13: "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Learn, O judges of the ends of the earth, that is, of distinct lands or provinces. Kings are called prelates by directing toward the good; judges, by discerning between good and evil. Learn, I say, wisdom, because it is necessary for judges: whence Deuteronomy 1: "Give from among you wise and knowledgeable men."

Give ear, namely both the outward and inward ear, you who restrain, by holding back from evil, the multitudes of peoples committed to your care: Proverbs 14: "In the multitude of the people is the dignity of the king." And you delight in yourselves among the throngs of nations, that is, you glory in your prelacies: against which Gregory says in the Pastoral Rule: "As often as a prelate delights in ruling over men, so often does he fall into the crime of apostasy."

And you ought to listen, because power was given to you by the Lord: whence Romans thirteen: "There is no power except from God": power: Gloss: "Judiciary on earth," namely as regards the definition of the sentence: John nineteen: "You would have no power against me at all, unless it had been given to you from above." And strength: Gloss: "Of punishing," as regards the execution of the sentence. Or: power in civil cases, strength in criminal cases. From the Most High, namely God established above us: Psalm: "You, Lord, are most high over all the earth." Who will examine: Gloss: "In judgment"; Luke sixteen: "Render an account of your stewardship." Your works, namely exterior ones: Ecclesiastes, last chapter: "All things that are done, God will bring into judgment," etc. For he did not so give power that he would not demand an account; therefore Sirach eighteen: "Before judgment examine yourself, and before God you will find propitiation." And he will search out thoughts, that is, interior works: Gloss: "As one about to judge concerning all things"; above, chapter one: "There will be an inquisition into the thoughts of the ungodly." He will search out: Zephaniah one: "I will search Jerusalem with lamps"; nor will he only search out, but he will also make manifest: whence First Corinthians four: "He will illuminate the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of hearts."

It should be noted, moreover, that a threefold examination will be made of the prelate: first, how he entered: Matthew twenty-two: "Friend, how did you enter here," etc. Second, how he lived: Isaiah twenty-two: "What are you doing here? Or as who are you here?" Third, how he ruled and guarded the flock entrusted to him: Jeremiah thirteen: "Where is the flock that was given to you, your glorious cattle?"

The Father reigns, the Son reigns, the Holy Spirit reigns. Of the Father the Gospel says, "If one is not reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Of the Son it is said, "Say to the peoples, 'The Lord reigned from the wood.' " In Solomon it is said of the Holy Spirit, "Your sovereignty comes from the Holy Spirit." And then, "Though you are ministers of his kingdom, you have not judged rightly."

Here is the meaning: his death will be glorious so that what the Savior prayed in the Gospel might be fulfilled: "Father, glorify me with the glory that I had with you before the world came to be." This was said about his nativity and about other sacraments in the public view. He came to death who was not accustomed to bearing the name of the dead but because perpetual life was in Christ, it was called "rest." But we, in order to make the meaning clear to the reader, replaced "rest" and "dormancy" with another word of the same meaning: "sepulcher." At that time therefore, when the gospel of Christ shines in all the world and the earth is filled with the knowledge of God, like waters of the sea covering the land, the root of Jesse and he who arises from his stem will be a sign to all the people, that they might see the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. He will have a horn in his hands, in which are hidden his strength, that when he is exalted he might draw all things to himself.

Long before this tomb [of Christ] was hewn out by Joseph, its glory was foretold in Isaiah's prediction, "his rest shall be glorious," meaning that the place of the Lord's burial should be held in universal honor.

In that day, that is, at the time of which it was also spoken above, when the root of Jesse will arise as a sign for the peoples, or to rule the nations, the Lord will send forth his hand a second time that all of Israel may be saved at the end of the world when the fullness of the Gentiles will enter, by no means according to our Judaizers. But we should understand all these things as pertaining to the first advent. For since only one day is indicated both here and above, we are unable to refer the former to the first advent and the latter to the second, such that the events that follow and those that preceded would not be referred to Christ, whom the Jews contended had not yet come, but would still come in the future. After the calling of the Gentiles, therefore, who were formerly thought to be the tail, Israel will be known as the tail, that the Lord may put forth his hand a second time and take possession of the remnant of his people, about whom we also read above: not all of Israel but that portion of Israel to be saved, which will remain from Assyria and Egypt and diverse parts of the world. For first the twelve apostles and the seventy and the one hundred twenty souls and the five hundred to whom the Lord appeared at once, then the three thousand and the five thousand are Jews who will have believed in the Lord.

On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious. LXX: On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall seek him out, and his dwelling shall be honored. For his resting place has been chosen in Hebrew, Mnuatho (), which all have likewise translated. And for his honor, in Hebrew it is read as Chabod (), which clearly signifies glory. And the meaning is: his death will be glorious, so that what the Savior prays for in the Gospel may be fulfilled: Father, glorify me with the glory which I had before the world was with you (John 17:5). It has been said about his birth, it has been said about the others in the midst of the Sacraments: he came to death, which is not called by the usual name of mortals, but because eternal life was in Christ, it is called rest. But we, in order to make the meaning clear to the reader, translate it as dormition and rest, with another word but the same meaning, we turn it into a tomb. Therefore, in that time, when the Gospel of Christ will shine forth throughout the whole world, and the knowledge of the Lord will fill all the earth like the waters cover the sea, the root of Jesse will be and the one who will rise from his lineage as a sign for all peoples, so that the nations may see the sign of the Son of Man in heaven (Matt. 24). He will have horns in his hands, in which his strength will be hidden, so that when exalted, he may draw all things to himself (Hab. 3). As the Septuagint translated, he will rise from the dead to be the prince of all nations, and all peoples will hope in him. This is also testified by Jacob in a mystical message about the tribe of Judah: The prince will not fail from Judah, nor the leader from his loins, until he comes to whom it belongs, and he will be the expectation of the nations. And in that day, the Lord will stretch out his hand a second time to possess the remnant of his people, which will be left behind by the Assyrians, and by Egypt, and by Phut, and by Ethiopia, and by Elam, and by Shinar, and by Hamath, and by the islands of the sea. And He will lift up a signal for the nations, and will gather the outcasts of Israel, and assemble the scattered ones of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The jealousy of Ephraim will depart, and the enemies of Judah will be destroyed. Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not fight against Ephraim. They will swoop down on the Philistines' shoulder through the sea, together they will plunder the sons of the East. And Edom and Moab will be under their control, and the sons of Ammon will obey them. In that day, which is the time mentioned before, when the Root of Jesse rises as a signal for the peoples, in order to rule over the nations, the Lord will stretch out His hand a second time, so that not according to our Jewish understanding at the end of the world, when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved (Rom. XI); but let us understand all these things in relation to His first coming. For we cannot, when the same day is said both now and above, refer it to the first coming, and the one below to the second: lest by these things which follow, and those which precede, Christ whom the Jews contend has not yet come but is to come, should be referred to him. After the calling of the Gentiles, therefore, which were formerly reckoned in the tail, Israel shall be reckoned in the tail, in order that the Lord may again put forth his hand a second time, and possess the remnant of his people, of whom we have read above, not all Israel, but the remnants are to be saved, which shall be left by the Assyrians and by Egypt, and by the various nations around. For first the Twelve Apostles, and seventy, and one hundred twenty souls, and five hundred, who were gathered together, the Lord appeared to them, then three thousand, and five thousand Jews believed in the Lord. James also speaks to the apostle Paul, who himself was among the others: See, brother, how many thousands there are of believing Jews? all of these are zealous for the law (Acts 21:20). And in the same volume we read: Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven, who were amazed and said: Are not all these Galileans, and how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism; Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues! (Acts 2:9-11) From all these nations, people from Israel, through the apostles, will be saved. The Ecclesiastical Histories report that the apostles preached the Gospel in the whole world, in such a way that some reached Persia and India, and Ethiopia extended its hands to God, and gifts for Christ were brought from across the rivers of Ethiopia. So that it may not seem to signify only the eastern peoples, it also includes the rest: And from the islands of the sea. However, the islands of the sea signify the western region, which is enclosed by the circuit of the ocean. Therefore, the sign of the Cross will be raised among all nations, and first it will gather the people of Israel from the synagogues, in order to fulfill the command of the Savior given to the Apostles, who said: Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6). Finally, Paul also speaks to the unbelievers among the Jews, saying: It was necessary for the word of God to be spoken to you first; but since you have rejected it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles, as the Lord has commanded us (Acts 13:46-47). But the four cardinal directions, east and west, south and north, signify, as by these the calling of the world is demonstrated. In that time, Isaiah says, Ephraim and Judah, who now, as prophesied by me, dissent with hostile hatred between themselves, will not be enemies, but according to the prophecy of Ezekiel, two rods will be joined into one rod, and they will be joined in the Church of Christ, who were previously separated (Ezek. VII), so that they may work together in the nations and willingly bear the burden of the Philistines on their shoulders across the sea, that is, they may first preach to the coastal Palestinians and swiftly proceed by sea to the other nations. Or according to the Seventy Interpreters: they will fly in the ships of foreigners, they will plunder the sea together; from which let us understand the example of the apostle Paul, who was carried by ships of foreigners through Pamphylia, and Asia, and Macedonia, and Achaia, and various islands and provinces, even to Italy (Acts 28), and as he himself writes, to Spain also (Romans 15). Therefore, Ephraim and Judah, that is, those who believed in Christ from the twelve tribes of the Jews, will plunder the East together, and extend their hands in Idumea and Moab, according to what Christ speaks mystically in the person of David: I will stretch out my shoe to Idumea: to me foreigners will serve (Psalm 59:10). For at that time when Isaiah prophesied, these nations were adversaries to the people of Judah, and therefore he now says that after the root of Jesse rises, to reign over the nations, and the banner of the Cross for the salvation of the whole world is raised up, then even Idumea, Moab, and the sons of Ammon, in fact, the entire extent of Arabia, will give their hands to the Apostles, and in the places of idolatry the Church of Christ will be raised up.

Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. [Isaiah 11:10] Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Now Jesse was the father of David, and the promise with an oath was made to David. The prophet would not have spoken of the Lord Christ as a rod growing out of Jesse if he had only known him as God.

375. In that day. Here he places the dignity of the restorer. For a sign, the sign of the cross; those who take up this sign will be saved: I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself (John 12:32); below: behold I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and will set up my sign to the people; him the Gentiles shall beseech (Isa 49:22). All kings of the earth shall adore him: all nations shall serve him (Ps 71[72]:11). His sepulcher shall be glorious: it shall be venerated by all; hence it is signified by the sepulcher which he built in Modin for an everlasting monument, that it might be seen by all passing by (1 Macc 13:25–30). Others explain this as concerning Josias, for he was buried in the sepulchers of the kings.

376. And it shall come to pass in that day. In this part he promises the restoration of the people as to three things:

first, as to their liberation;

second, as to the condition of the liberated, where it says, and the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away (Isa 11:13);

third, as to the preparation of their liberation, where it says, and the Lord shall lay waste (Isa 11:15).

Concerning the first, he does two things:

first, he promises their liberation;

second, he describes the manner of their liberation: and the Lord shall set up a sign (Isa 11:12).

Some explain this as concerning the liberation from captivity in Babylon, when the Lord took possession of them, snatching them out of slavery in Babylon; and it is called second in relation to the first liberation, by which he led them out of slavery in Egypt: for when Nabuchodonosor was ravaging them, different nations led them into captivity and slavery, and, many of them having been killed, those remaining were congregated by the command of king Cyrus, as we read in Ezra 1. But this is better explained as concerning the liberation accomplished by Christ: for thus it agrees with what precedes it.

377. In that day, namely, when he shall stand as a sign of the peoples, the Lord shall set his hand the second time, through the apostles, for he himself preached the first time; the remnant, for a remnant shall be saved: in which is noted the holiness of the Jewish converts, and the multitude of the gentiles, about which, it says in Micah 7:1: I am become as one that gleans in autumn the grapes of the vintage. Phetros is a region which has its name from one of the sons of Abraham; Elam, a city of Persia; Emath, Antioch; Sennar, a place in Chaldea (Jer 30). Or, the second time, in the second coming, when the hearts of children will be turned to their fathers by the preaching of Elias (Mal 4:6). Blindness in part has happened in Israel (Rom 11:25).

378. And he shall set up. Here he places the manner of liberation, as to the first explanation: a sign, that is, the edict of king Cyrus; the fugitives of Israel, literally, those who went to Ezechias in Jerusalem, and joined themselves to the two tribes, and were captured with them and liberated with them. Or the sign of the Cross, as to the second explanation; he shall assemble the fugitives: to you it behooved us first to speak the word of God: but because you reject it . . . behold we turn to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46). Or the sign of some miracle by which they will be converted to the preaching of Elias, below: behold I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and will set up my sign to the people (Isa 49:22); you shall proclaim (Ezek 34).

379. And the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away. Here the condition of the liberated is shown,

and first, as to concord, in contrast to the hatred which had existed between Ephraim and Judah: and the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away, that is, their hatred; this was fulfilled in the return from captivity, according to the first explanation; or as to the unity of faith, according to the second; or it will be fulfilled in the future, as to the third explanation. Of this concord: the house of Judah shall go to the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land which I gave to your fathers (Jer 3:18).

He [the Antichrist] shall be proclaimed king by them, and shall be magnified by all, and shall prove himself an abomination of desolation to the world.

380. Second, as to power in the subjugation of enemies, either that which occurred literally in the time of the Maccabees, as to the first explanation; or through the preaching of the apostles, as to the second; or as to the prosperity which the Lord will also give them in the future. They shall fly, as if to say, they shall fall quickly, upon the shoulders of the Philistines, to scourge them, by the sea, because they are near the sea, and this as to the first and third explanation; together, with those already conquered, they shall spoil the children of the east, the Assyrians: this is not said to have happened in the time of the Maccabees; or they shall spoil by the sea, because the Philistines abounded in ships. Edom, and Moab, who at first were enemies, shall fulfill the precept of their hand, not expecting the other to act according to the command: in which is noted their great exaltation; and the children of Ammon: all these were great adversaries, below: behold these shall come from afar (Isa 49:12). Or, they shall fly, because of their desire to preach, by the sea, for the apostles reached many nations by ship through the sea. Or by the nations which he names he understands all nations, below: who are these, that fly as clouds? (Isa 60:8); the precept of their hand, for they taught by word and example.

It is said, as Paul witnesses: "And from sin He condemned sin." He bound his tongue with a cord, because by means of the likeness of sinful flesh He swept away all his deceitful arguments from the hearts of His Elect. For behold, when the Lord appears in the flesh, the tongue of Leviathan is bound, because, when His truth had become known, those doctrines of falsehood were silenced.

For where is now the error of the Academicians, who endeavour to establish on sure grounds that nothing is sure, who with shameless brow demand from their hearers belief in their assertions, when they declare that nothing is true? Where is the superstition of the Mathematicians, who, looking up at the courses of the constellations, make the lives of men to depend on the motions of the stars? Though the birth of twins often scatters their doctrine to the winds; for though born at one and the same moment, they do not abide in the same kind of conversation. Where are those many false teachings, which we abstain from enumerating, for fear of digressing far from the course of our commentary? But every false doctrine has now been silenced, because the Lord has bound the tongue of Leviathan by the cord of His Incarnation. Whence it is also well said by the Prophet: "And the Lord shall lay waste the tongue of the Egyptian sea." For the 'tongue of the sea,' is the knowledge of secular learning. But it is well called 'the Egyptian sea;' because it is darkened with the gloom of sin. The Lord, therefore, laid waste the tongue of the Egyptian sea, because by manifesting Himself in the flesh, He destroyed the false wisdom of this world. The tongue of Leviathan is, therefore, bound with a cord, because the preaching of the old sinner was bound by the likeness of sinful flesh.

And the Lord will dry up the tongue of the sea of Egypt, and he will lift his hand over the river with the strength of his spirit, and he will strike it in the seven streams, so that people can cross it in sandals. And there will be a highway for the remnant of my people who are left from Assyria, just as there was for Israel on the day when they came up from the land of Egypt. Just as Edom and Moab, and the sons of Ammon will submit their hands to the Apostles, so that they may obey the preaching of the Gospel, in the same way the Lord himself, who fulfilled those things in his Apostles, will dry up not the sea according to the Septuagint, but according to the Hebrews, the tongue of the sea of Egypt, which previously blasphemed against the Lord and presided over the Egyptian superstition. And in the Psalms we read: This great and spacious sea, wherein are reptiles without number (Psalm 10:25-26). It is said of them: This dragon, whom you have made to mock at him. Therefore, he shall desolate, that is, put under a curse, as Theodotion, Aquila, and Symmachus translated it, the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and he shall lift up his hand over the rivers of Egypt in the strength of his spirit, or his most violent spirit, which we understand to be the kingdom of the Romans. For when Caesar Augustus was reigning (Luke 2), when the flower of Jesse's root ascended, and the first census was made in the Roman world, the most powerful kingdom of the Egyptians, which lasted for many generations, was destroyed by the death of Cleopatra, and the Egyptian river was struck into seven streams, or into seven valleys. For the Nile, which previously flowed in one channel and was impassable, was divided and cut into seven very humble valleys and streams, so that it could be crossed on foot. However, this symbolically signifies that the nation of the Egyptians, given over to such great idolatry and worthless superstition, consecrated hawks, owls, dogs, goats, and donkeys with divine names, in order to distribute the infinite power of the kingdom through individual judges of the Roman empire, so that Thebes has one judge, Libya has another, Pentapolis has another, Egypt has another, Alexandria has another, and various regions, which the Egyptians call 'laws'. Therefore, under the metaphor, the Nile is divided into parts and cut into streams, so that the Evangelical word can flow freely and reach the farthest people of Egypt without any hindrance. And just as in the time of Moses the Red Sea was dried up so that the people could flee from Egypt, in contrast, the rivers of Egypt will dry up so that the remaining people of God, who will be saved from the Assyrians and various nations, can pass into Egypt, not fleeing from it, but entering and treading on it with their own feet. A wise and Christian reader should have this rule of the promises of the prophets, that we may teach spiritually things which the Jews, and not only our, rather not our Judaizers, contend carnally will happen in the future, lest we be compelled to judaize by the occasion of such fables and inextricable questions, according to the Apostle (II Tim. II).

381. And the Lord shall lay waste. Here the preparation of their liberation is set out. And concerning this two things are set out:

first, the preparation,

second, the attainment of the benefit: and there shall be a highway (Isa 11:16).

And the preparation is promised according to the likeness of the twofold benefit which was shown to their fathers who came out of Egypt:

first, in the parting of the sea, which we read about in Exodus 14, and as to this, he says, the tongue of the sea; and it is called the tongue of the sea because, as the Master says in the Histories, when the sons of Israel came out of Egypt, the sea was not parted from one shore, but like a tongue of land which surrounded a mountain. The tongue of the sea, that is, the middle of the sea, in the manner of Hebrew speech, which calls anything that is in the middle the tongue, because the tongue is in the middle of the mouth. This indeed never happened literally; but it signifies the removal of all impediments that detained them, as to the first explanation; or the tongue of the sea refers to Egypt, whose shore the sea licks. But as to the second explanation, the Lord shall lay waste the tongue of the sea of Egypt, that is, the tongue by which they praised idols.

382. The second benefit was in the parting of the Jordan, which we read about in Joshua 4; and as to this, he says: he shall lift up his hand, that is, his power, over the river, as to the first explanation; and this is metaphorical speech, so that by the division of the sea and the river the removal of all impediments is understood; as to the second explanation, it literally signifies a river: the Nile, which was divided into seven streams by Alexander, who was the preparation for the Romans; and it was broadened so much that, with the water passing through streams and channels, it could be forded in shoes by the apostles, about whom Ephesians 6:15 says, your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Or by the river is signified the kingdom of Egypt, which was divided by the Romans into many senates. In the strength of his spirit, the army of Alexander, or of the Romans; or the spirit, that is, the wind, like what is said in Exodus 14:21: by a strong and burning wind blowing all the night.

383. And there shall be a highway. Here the benefit is set out, and it is already evident from what has been said; as there was: renew your signs, and work new miracles. Glorify your hand, and your right arm. Raise up indignation, and pour out wrath (Sir 36:6–8).

And you shall say on that day: I will praise you, O Lord, for you were angry with me, but your anger has turned away, and you have comforted me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. You who were the first to speak in the wilderness, when you came out of the land of Egypt, and when the Red Sea was dried up before you: Let us sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea (Exodus 15:1), and the rest of the verse. Now with the tongue of the Egyptian sea struck, and its river dried up and cut off, and humiliated, glorify the Lord, and say: I will praise you, O Lord, for I have obtained mercy after deserving your wrath and fury; for you are my Savior, that is, Jesus, and I have no confidence in idols, nor will I fear what is not to be feared; but you are my strength and my praise, who have become my salvation. Let the most wicked heresy be heard, that the Lord was made by those who are saved, and that he was not previously Lord, so that we may understand in the holy scriptures both creation and making, not always the condition of those things that were not, but sometimes the grace that is bestowed on those who have deserved to become God.

384. I will confess. Here the thanksgiving for the benefit they received is set out, which indeed the prophet already saw by the prophetic spirit and promised to the people. Hence he does three things:

first, he sings a song,

second, he promises the benefit to the people: you shall draw waters (Isa 12:3),

third, he foretells that the people shall sing: and you shall say (Isa 12:4).

385. Now, they were then oppressed by three evils, namely, by divine wrath for past faults, by fear of enemies for future punishments, by sorrow of heart for present evils.

Against the first, he recalls the mercy of God. And therefore he says, I will confess to you, I myself, O Lord, from now on, that is, I will praise you, for the people do not yet see the benefit for which he gives thanks, for what follows: for, at first justly, you were angry with me, for my sins, and your wrath is turned, into mercy, and you have comforted me, as to the effect of mercy, using the past tense for the future; and this concerns the return of the people from Babylon, and most of all, the consolation wrought through Christ: as I purposed to afflict you, when your fathers had provoked me to wrath, says the Lord, and I had no mercy: so turning again I have thought in these days to do good to the house of Judah, and Jerusalem (Zech 8:14–15).

This fortitude is from God redeeming through the incarnation of the divine Word. Whence Isaiah says: "The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he has become my salvation; you shall draw waters with joy from the fountains of the Savior." These are the waters in which the soul is strengthened, purified, redeemed, sanctified, and snatched from the power of demons.

386. Against the second evil, he confesses confidence in God: behold, God is my savior, freeing the people from the slavery of Babylon, or more truly, who will save his people: for he shall save his people from their sins (Matt 1:21); fear you not, my servant Jacob, says the Lord, neither be dismayed, O Israel: for behold, I will save you from a country afar off (Jer 30:10).

Against the third evil, the power of divine strength: my strength, by which I subsist, and my praise, which I praise, having abandoned idols: I will love you, O Lord, my strength (Ps 17:2[18:1]).