The ' feet' of which { need] man1 were the holy Preachers, bj the presence <>f which me compassing the Gentile world, llr unit round about >be. Of whom it i.;- said bj the Prophet, And I will walk in them. Was not he His foot, who whilst h- Id fast in fetters, said, For which I
<;. is. iii/t an ambassador in bonds? Bui those, who proved themselves ' a shadow of death and a stone of darkness,1 L the foot of the needy Man forgot,' because in the very outset <>f the new born Church, whereas the holy Apostles were minded to have preached the kingdom of heaven to Judaea, se< ing that the] profited for nothing at all. they went <>ll' for the preaching to the Gentiles, as they themselves sa\ in ■; their Acts; H was two sary thai flic word of God fthould first have been spoken to //>>/<; /ml seeing yeput it from >/>>u, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, /<>. we turn to the Gentiles. Concerning whom also it i- said by p 16,2. the Psalmist, Th mountains shall be carried iul>> the heart of the sea; I the Apostles, being thrust offby Judaea, were* carried1 into this scene of the Gentile world. Who then are those, thai by unbounded hardness and from dimif heart, like a hind of* stone of darkness and the shadow of death,1 are divided from th< P< pie of the Saints
11 ing those whom l the foot Of the needy Man
. e. whom the Preachers of the Lord, poor.is lie
. thai i-. in »f human nature, abandoned on
»unt of the swelling of their pride; and those the] wholly ot, whilst the] transferred the seeds of their preaching to ail "t the Gentiles only? Whom moreover he rightl] calls 'inaccessible1 also, becausi while they wire hardened in their infidelity, the] refused i" ■ ii th< words of
The land ilmt had the bread of Truth burned n/>. 358 life access to their heart. But this Judsa which grows thus i'ook hardened, win ther what she was for long, or what she ' underwent afterwards, let us listen to. It goi s on;
Yer. 5. The earth, from which bread arose, is overturned in its /dace by fin.
51. Judaea was wont to give bread, in that she used to setxxxii. before nun the words of the Law. Which same Law because the children of perdition could now no longer understand and interpret, the prophet Jeremiah bewails in the Lamentations, saying. The yOUng Children asked ///cad, and there teas Lam. ■», no man to break il unto them; but this 4 earth is overturned in its place with fire,' because on beholding the mimcles of the faithful it consumed itself with the firebrand of envy. For because envy is always used to be engendered from pride, she ' perished in her place by lire,' who for this reason burned with envy, because she did not abandon pride. And so ' the earth, which first had bread, was afterwards overturned by fire,' because the Synagogue, which set before men the commandments of God in the Law, by persecuting the new-born Church consumed itself with the fire of envy. Was it not in flames with the brands of its jealousy when on seeing the miracles of our Redeemer, it said by certain of its own, What do ice? for this Man doeth many miracles? JohnU, Or, surely, Ye see that we gain nothing; yea, the whole world i(,j2 w goeth after Him. They saw that whereby they should have been converted, and they were thereby rendered the more fro ward. They sought to stifle Him, Whom they beheld give life to the dead. They held the Law in the mouth, but persecuted the Author of the Law. Therefore the earth, from which bread arose, was overturned in its place by fire. Because Judaea had in her own self first the Law that should refresh, and afterwards envy that should consume her. For the describing of whom it is further added,
Yer. ti. The stones of it are the place of sapphire, and her clods gold.
52. The proclaim of the glory going before adds to thexxxiii. guilt of the sin following after. For the fall of every individual is of worse criminality, in proportion as before he fell he had the power to be of greater excellency. Thus let it be told of Judaea, let it be told what she was, and let the great- i i the excellencies goin| grow into the heightening of ihe delinquencies succeeding afterwards. 1 1< r slum i were
' tin i leu ' ' / sa) i /"'< 8, and her clods of gold. What d<> we understand in this place by ' gold,1 l<nt the minds of the Saints and Btrong ones? For in Holj Scripture ' Bttmi
■ wuiii to be taken Bometimes <>n the Bide of bad and sometimes "ii the Bide of good. For when a ' Btone1 is put for insensibility, by 'stones1 we have hard hearts denoted. Mutt s,Wh( nee also ii is said by John; God is able of these stones i<> raise up children unto Abraham; who, Burely, l>y the name <>i ' stones1 denotes the hearts "I the Gentiles, at that time hard and insensible in respect of unbelief. And by the 1. Propb< t the Lord promises, ssjing, And / will take the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you an heart of flesh. ■ in by ' stones' the minds of the strong ones are used to be denoted. And hence it is said t<> the Saints l>\ Peter, '•'• •-',)<■ also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood. And by the Prophet the Lord promises to 1-...1. the Church when she comes, saying, Behold, 1 will lay down 11 la. ijflj gfoflgg;„ order, and lay thy foundations n ith sapphires; and I will make thy bulwarks jasper, and thy galea in cut in s, and all tin/ borders into / leasant stones. And all tin/ children shall In- taught of tin Lord. For He did 'lay down in her the stones in order,' in that He distinguished the holy -"ids in her by the diverseness of merits. II" 'laid her foundation in sapphires,1 which same stones retain in themselves tli" likeness <>l the colour of th" air, because the Btrength of the Church is firmly based in souls seeking after heavenly things. And because a jasp< r is of a green hue, He * mad" his bulwarks <>f the jasper,1 because they are advanced against her adversaries in the defence of Holy Church, who growing green and Irish by interior desires, do not die off by any drying uj> of damnable lukewartnness. Bui He * set her gates in cut shines.' For those are the t< ' of ih" ('lunch, by whose life and teaching the multitude < f those that believe enu r into her. Who also for this reason, that they are rich in great deeds, and that what by speaking thej declare, bj living they exhibit, are described to be not plain but ' "ut Btom s.1 For in whosesoever lit" right I radio is Be< n, then is as it wen' represented in those Bame
The humble Faithful in il<< Law, * clods of gold? 305 persons what they have done. Where also embracing all Boos the number of the Elect in a general roll, he added, and all XV111- thy borders in pleasant stones. And as though we, on hearing these tiling—, begged that he would make known those stones thai he spoke of, be added, All thy children shall be taught Of the Lord. And therefore because from out of Judaea there were never wanting holy souls, to lead a heavenly life, it is said, Iicr stones arc t/ir place of sapphires. And because with an extraordinary brightness of life and of wisdom she shone forth by faith, it is added, (Did her ctods gold. What is denoted by ' clods,' hut the assemblages and multitudes of the several orders: Now clods are compacted of moisture and dust; and so all they that being watered with the dew of grace confessed with a true-sighted knowledge that by the debt of death they are dust, whilst they were made to shin " bright by excellency of life, lay in her lite ' clods of gold.' ' Clods' this earth had in the Prophets, ' clods' she had in the teachers, ' clods' in the Ancient Fathers, who by an extraordinary infusion of grace kept themselves close in unanimity of profession and of practice. Therefore let him sav, And the clods (>/' it <jol<l; be< ause therein the multitude of the spiritual souls shone with greater perfection, in proportion as it bound itself up in God and its neighbour with greater unanimity.
53. But this gold was afterwards dimmed by the darkness of unbelief. Whose blackness, surely, the Prophel Jeremiah surveying laments, Baying, How is the </"/</ become dM»?I*m.4, how is the most fine gold changed! For ' the gold is become dim,' in that that ancient brilliancy in them of faith and innocency, upon unbelief coming upon them, dulled itself with the night of wickedness. Therefore, what it was since we have heard, even that her stones (ire the place of sapphires, now let us hear next wherefore that People so beloved of God lost th< -r great blessings. It goes on;
Ver. 7. The pathway of the bird it knew not, nor beheld the eye* of the vulture.
54. Who is denoted in this place by the title of 'the bird,'xxxiv. saving Be, Who in ascending poised skywards the fleshly body, which He took to Him. Who furthermore is fitly designated by the title of the ' vulture' as well. For the
' rulture1 while it i- flies it' it w urease Lying, drops itself down for the devouring of tin- carcase, and \< ry often it is in tins way taken in death, when it baa come from on high after the dead animal. Rightly therefore is tin ■ Mediator between God and Man, our Redeemer, denoted by the appellation of a ' \ ultnre,' Who whilst remaining in 1 1 1 « - loftini ss of Mis Divine Nature, marked as it were from a kind <>f flight on 1 1 i i_r 1 1 tin- carcase of our mortal being down below, and lit Himself drop from the regions of heaven to the lowest places 1 or in bur behalf] [e rouchsafi <\ to become man, and while he Bought the dead creature, He found death among us, Who was d< athless in Himself. Now ' the eye1 of this 1 vulture1 was the actual aiming at our Resurrection, because He Himsell being dead for three days set us free from everlasting death. And so that faithless people of Judaea saw llim in the Blat< ol mortality, but how by llis death!!<■ should destro) our death, it noted not. It beheld, indeed, the vulture, but ' the eyes of the vulture it did not behold.' Which People, wb< n as il n fused to regard the ways of llis humility, whereby He lifted us up on high, • knew not the pi thwai of the bird.1 For neither did it betake itself to consider thai llis humility would lift us to the heaven!) heights, and the aim oi llis death renew ua to life. Therefore the pathway of the bird if knew //<</, nor beheld the < >i< i of the vulture. For though ii saw Him Whom it held hound in (lath, it refused to see what wonderful glory by His death followed our life*. And hence it was kindled to the cruelty of pers,,ut ion likewise; it n fused to ree. i\ e the won Is of life; the Preachers of the kingdom of heaven, by forbidding, lis evil entreating, bj smiting il thrust from it. Which same, being so thrust off, abandoning Judaea whereto they had been sent, were disp< rsed for the gathering togeth< r of the G< utile world. And hence it is further added;
bath the lionets passed through if.
lloh/ Preacher* trade with Truth for good work*. 359 win on this accoont, that they are ' instant in plying work.
But both the one phrase and the other, tho igh they disagree in atterance, yel are not at variance in meaning, because all those who instruct the practice of the faithful, carry ou a spiritual dealing, that while they supply preaching to their hearers, they should receive back from them faith and right works;;is hImv it is written touching Holy Church, She makelh fine linen, and selleth it. Con-Pror. corning whom it is likewise said a little after iu that place, ' She perceiveth that her trading is good. Who in tins place ▼• 18. are called ' instructors1 but the holy Prophets, who busied themselves by prophesying to instruct the ways of the Synagogue unto faith? ' Sous' of whom, assuredly, the holj Apostles are styled, who that they should believe God Man wne begotten to the same faith by the preaching of those. Concerning whom it is said to the Church by the Psalmist; Instead of thy fathers are born to thee children, whom thou v-. i:>, mayest make princes over all the earth, lint because the Apostles being thrust off went out from the borders of the ogue, it is rightly said now, The children of the dealers have not trodden it. Since the ' children of the dealers' would have ' trodden it,' if the holy Preachers had borne down the badness of the Synagogue with the heel of goodness. But it' th< le ' dealers' we take for the
: h.rs of Holy Church, then the v children' of the dealt rs, nothing hinders us taking for the Shepherds and Teachi rs who followed the way of the Apostles. Which did not ' tread1 the Synagogue, because whilst their lathers, i. e. the Apostles, were thrust off by that Synagogue, they thorn- Ives too ceased from the calling of her.
56. Which same Syn the lioness passed not by,' because Holy Church, being devoted to the assembling together of the Gentiles, never any longer employed itself upon that people of Judaea. Now the Church is rightly called ' a lioness,' in that persons living amiss in bad habits, it kills with the mouth of holy preaching. Hence to the first Shepherd himself it is said as to the mouth of this lioness; flay mid int. For what is ' slain" is killed out ofActalO, life, whilst that which is eaten is changed into tin body of '
M, the person eating. Accordingly it is said, 'Slay and eat; _J?: i. e. ' Kill those lo ihe sin when in they arc living, and con- \. it tli, in from themselves into thine own members. ind I.. cause this Church is the body of the Lord, the Lord likewise Himself by the voice of Jacob is called 'a lion' in ci of Himself, a ' Lioness1 bj the body, when it is said ■ him under the likeness of Judah, To Ihe prey, my ml //mil I/mi,- up. Thou Imxt couched as <i lion, <m<l at <i lioness. Who slmll rouse him u/>. Accordingly this lioness it is nev( r said • passed not1 Judaea, bul ' pass* d not through.1 For upon the Apostles preaching, in the first instance three thousand out of her, and afterwards five thousand, believed. \nd so the Church ' passed by1 the way of the Synagogue, Imt ' passed nol through,1 because a few from out <>f her it carried off t<> faith, but yet that faithless people it did not utterly make extinct to misbelief. But, what we have >\\ often said, being cast off by the infidelity of the Jews it turned away to the calling of the Gentiles. Hence it is \.t fiirther said of that same lion* l iirm Hi the mountains by the roots, ww\. 57. For ' he stretched <>nt his band to the flint,' becaum
II. put forth the arm of His preaching t" the hardni sv of the
Gentiles. Hence the same blessed Job, forewarned of the history of his Buffering being destined to be made known to
1 the Gentiles, ' these things be graven with mi iron this place do we understand by the ' mountains1 saving the powerful niirs ni this world, who on account of earthly
Bubst mm •<• Bwell themselves high? Concerning whom the
>i Psalmist Baith, Touch the mountains, and they shall *m but the mountains an overturned from the roots, because, on
Holy Church preaching the highest powi is..i this world fell from their inmost thinking into the adoring of Almighty
God. For 'the roots1 of the mountains are the inmost thoughts <ii the proud. And' the mountains fall from the rool in-., for the worshipping of God, the powers of the world are laid level with the earth from the loweal thoughts. Foi h\ a root the hidden thought is rightly denoted, because bj means oi that which is uot seen, being
Streams cut in Gentile tockfor living Waters toflow. 359 within, tin iv bunts out what should be seen without. And Booi hence on the side of good it is said by the Prophet, And the '.,_ remnant llmi is escaped <>/' i/n- house of Judah shall again 31. take root downward, and bear fruit upward. As though it were expressed in plain speech; ' Deep down below the thought Bprings up, that up on 1 1 i ■_: 1 1 the reward may be rendered back.' So then let him say, He stretcheth out his hand to the flint, and overturneth the mountains from the roots. For whilst the sacred preaching sought the hardness of the Gentiles, it entirely frustrated the loftiness of the proud. Bui because those whom it empties <>(' earthly thoughts, it iills with heavenly gifts, and those, whom it drains of interest below, it waters, with streams from Above, it is directly added;
58. i. e. in the hard hearts of the Gentiles he opened thexxxvii. riv< is of preaching; as it is likewise Bpoken by the Prophet of watering the dryness of the Gentiles; He turneth thev-. 107, wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into water springs. And in the Gospel the Lord promises, saying, He 1 Hint believeth on Me, as the Scrip/ are hath said, out oj his belly shall flow rivers of living water. What we then heard promised, we now see fulfilled. For see how in the holy preachers, not sprung from Judaea, through the universal Church spread over the whole world, streams of heavenly pts flow forth in abundance from the mouths of the Gentiles. Thus because in the rocks I [e opened streams, from hard hearts too there flowed forth the river of holy preaching.
. I nd his eye hath seen every precious thing.
59. It is a thing to be especially borne in mind, that each xxxviii. individual soul is rendered the more precious in the Bight of God, by how much it is for Jove of the truth the more despised in its own eves. When thou wast little in thine \sam. own sight, did I not make thee the head of the tribes of16* 17#
Israel ' As if he said in plain terms, ' Thou wast great with Me, because thou wasl contemptible to thyself, but now tuse thou art great to thyself thou art become contemptible to \h.' \nd hence it is Baid by the Prophet; Woe unto them that <ire uise in their 0 on '-yes, and prudent in
.'<t;n Lowly souls prccioui m GotFt right, and by Hun choten, their own tight! Thus every man becomes the more worthless
11. — — — to God, in proportion a^ he i^ more precious to himself, bo much the more precious to God a^ be is for lli^ sake more
I), worthless to himself; because He regardeth tin- lowly,and ceth the high afar off, Every precious £&fif7, therefore,
His eye taw. In Holy Scripture God's ' seeing* is put for
John 1. i choosing,1 a-* it Is- written in the Gospel; // hen thou watt under the Jig tree, I taw tln<\ \. e. I chose Ihee whilst placed under the shadow of the Law.1 Therefore He* Baw every
'» thing precious,1 because He chose the lowly. Ood hath which are mighty. He * Baw the precious thing1 when the human soul, having base views of its* ilf, He visited with the illumination <>f Hi- grace. Of which same bouI it i^ Baid by
(/inn s/mli beat My mouth. For the present world is vile with God, but th ■ soul of man is precious to Him. 1!«•. then, that ■ separates the precious from the eile1 is called ' as the mouth of God,' because by that man <i"d deals forth Mis words, who bj Bpeaking the things thai he is able to Bpet ik, wmlil. And Inc. him the teachers of the New Testament are brought t<> this, that even the biddm darkness of allr^m-ies in the old Testament they Bearch out, it is rightly added; and the hidden things He hath brought to light.
60. For what else arc here call< d ' floods1 but the Bayings of the ancient Fathers. For who might!)«• able to estimate bon vehement a flood, whilst he was founding the Law, burst forth from the very breast of Moses? how vehement a flood gushed from the heart of David? what mighty streams of il Is flowed out from the lips <>t Solomon and all the
Prophets? Now of these * floods' Judaea held the shew, when in keeping the Burface of the letter Bhe knew not the depths thereof. Bui \\<. who, on the Lord coming, Beek therein interior spiritual things, search their 'depths.1 And this thing the Lord is Himself said to do, because by Himself vouchsafing it we are enabled to do it; and so by us, who follow not the letter which killeth, but the spirit which maketh alive, th< Lord ' searcheth the depths of thi floods, and bringeth ihe bidden things into light,' because the state- Booi ments of the Law, which the too dark history makes obscure,- a spiritual interpretation dow lights up. And Inner ' Truth1 when speaking in parables in the Gospel bade the Disciples, saying, What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light; Matao, and what ye ht ar in the ear, that prt ach ye on the house tops. '' For the plainly spoken words of these interpreting have made the sentences of the ancient Fathers henceforth clear to us. Hence the Prophet Isaiah dewing the words plain by the interpretation of Holj Church, not obscured by the darkness of allegories, exclaimed, saying, The place of rivers, lhe^.33, broadest and open streams. For the Bayings of the Old"
ment were as narrow and close streams, which bound up the sent* nces of their lore in the darkest gathering ther. But on the other hand the teaching of Holy Church are 'streams both broad and open,' because her declarations arc at mice many in number to those that find them, and plain to those that seek. Then lore he says,
The depths of the floods he hath searche I, and the hidden things he hath brought to light. Because when He poured into Bis interpreters the spirit of understanding, He set open the ancient obscurities of those prophesying. And that Holy Church henci forth knows and sees by the Spirit, which the Synagogue before was not at all able to understand by the letter. Whence Moses also, while he spoke to the people, veiled his fare; surely, in order i<> denote that that People of the Jews knew the words of the Law, but did not at all Bee the clearness of that Law. And hence it is rightly said by
Paul; But even i<> this day, »//'■" Moses is read, the r<il /.v2Cor.3, upon their heart. But because the declarations of Cod are, without His wisdom, never fathomed at all, (for except him who hath received His Spirit, none kiiowvth in any sort His words,] the holy man adds words touching the subject of searching out that same Wisdom of God, Bayirj
Wr. 12 — 15. />'"/ where shall wisdom be Jbundf "/id where is the place of understanding? Mm knoweth n>>t tinprice thereof: neither is it/bund in the hi ml of them that /ic- pleasantly. The depth saith, It is not with me, and the sea saith, It is nut villi me. I'm'' gold shall not be given for it: m weighed Jbr the price thereof.
80S I itii) inconsistent unless taken of Divine H isdom,
JoaSS, 01. It is first to be noted, that two points be proposed to himself, and two be adds making answer. For to this that
_i he said above, Where shall wit and where u the plaa of understanding f he answered in this verse, The h saith, It is not with me; and the tea saith, // is not with me. r>ui in answer t" that wbicb he had said, Man hwweth not the place thereof '; neither is it found in ///<■ land of them that live pleasantly; he gave the lower \ saying, Fine gold.shall not be given for it; neither shall silver be weighed for!//<■ price thereof. So then be answered to both questions, yet in adding to what he had objected, not in solving it. For when he enquired the place of Wisdom, and then answered below, The depth saith, It is not with me; be pointed out not where it was, but where it was not. in when he said that ' the price thereof was not known by man,1 and rejoined to this below9fine gold shall not be given for it; he Bhewed not what was the price oi it, but what was not. For it is plain to all that neither can this wisdom of man he held in a place, nor be bought with riches. But the holy man being full of my stica] ideas sends us mi for the making out other things, so that we should look for not wis. l. nu created, hut Wisdom creating; for except in those words we search the Becrel depths of allegory, surely those things that follow are utterly deserving of disregard, if they be estimated according to the historical narration alone. For a little afterwards he saith, Gold and glass cannot <<iv<il it; and while, as we know,glass is far and incomparably ol lower price tli. hi gold, wherefore after the name of gold, which is unquestionably a precious metal, 1>\ way of unlimited praise did he say that ' f^lass1 too is not equal to wisdom: So by the mere difficult] of the letter. We are forced that we he quicksighted to the mystical Benlimenti in these words. So then what wisdom is it, the holy man is contemplating, hut that ol which Paul th ■ ipostie saith. Christ the Power qf ami, and thr Wisdom <>J ami' Concerning which it is written by Solomon; Wisdom hath builded her house; and of which the Psalmisl saith; /// tdom hast Thou made all things, oi this same Wisdom
' man knOWetfa not the price, ' hecaiise he lindelh nothing worth] "i thi estimate thereof. Now this juice of Wisdom
Man did not of himself merit the gift of Wisdom. 868 is not Baid at once ' to be,' and not ' to be known/ but as Book for this reason ' not to be known; because it is wanting, in. that manner of Bpeaking by which a person can-lit in a strait, when he finds no remedy of succour, is wont to confess that ' what to do he knows not/
62. So th n • not to know the price of this Wisdom,' is t«» find no meriting of meet practice whereby to obtain it. For we give a price with this object, that instead of it «e may possess ourselves of that object which we long after. But what have we given, that we should deserve to obtain this Wisdom, which is Christ? Since it is by grace we are redeemed. For those works alone by living badly have we uiv, n, for which if a just return were reserved, not Christ but punishments would be rendered back*. But man deserved one thing in the way of justice, and obtained another in respect of grace. Let Paul bear witness, before the time that his mind received the seed of unbought truth, with what briars of error he was overlaid. Who WOBl Tim. before, he savs, a blasphemer, mui a persecutor, and > injurious, hut I obtained mercy, because I did il ignoranthy in unbelief. Let him testily for what sort of persons Christ deigned to die. While we were yet sinners, he says, Christ in Horn. 5, due tunc diedfor the ungodly. We, then, who on Wisdom's coming were found ungodly, what title of good practice have we given, whereby we might obtain to receive that Wisdom: ' The price of this Wisdom man knoweth not,' because whoso c See 1. ii. on Fzekiel, Horn. vii. fore that the Creator of all I
• n panted from brute animals by the understanding faculty of reason, understand! that be is not saved by his own merits, knows and sees that be bad not given any thing <>! I practic< that la- might come t<> faith. For it is as it were to gives price for the obtaining of Wisdom, to anticipate the coming to the knowledge of God by the merchandise of one's conduct
68. lie bad learnt that of this Wisdom there is 'no price,1 u)n> said, Who hath first given unto Ilim. and it shall be I unto him again, Hence it ii written again, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and lift not of yourselves; it is the gift ofOod. Not of works, lest any i/uni should boast. Miner concerning himself he again ■ sp aks, Baying, By the grace of God I am what I am. And as bj the inspiration of this same grace, the practici - of the parts of virtue are a1 once engendered in the heart, so that from free will also conduct should follow, which after this lit'.- the Eternal Recompensing Bhould answer to, he thereupon added,.//"/ His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in ruin. But there are those who • x ult that they 8X6 in a sound state by their own powers, and pride themselves that l>\ their own meiits going before they have been redeemed, whose declaration, surely, is found to be contradictor} to themselves, because, while they maintain themselves at once
1 innocent' ami ' redeemed,1 this very name of redemption they make null and void in themselves. For even one that is redeemed is doubtless Bel free from some sort of captivity. Whence then is this said person redeemed, if he was not before captii e under sin? It is plain then that he greatly misjudges who judges so* For heavenly grace does not find d< sen of man, in order to make it come, but alter it has come, causes the ^.mie; and God, when lie eouies to the undeserving mi ml, at once ^< ts it forth to Himself deserving by so coming, and i'iium s therein merit for linn to recompense, wh< EL bad found only that for Him to punish.
64. 1 1 is good herein to recall the ey< s of the mind to that robber, who from the jaws of the devil ascended the Cross, ami from the Cross mounted to Paradise. Let n> behold m bat tort of p< rson he came to the Block of the Cross, what sort "i person hi went from the Cross. He came bound
The Thief on the Cross, how changed by grace. 8fi5 by bis brothers blood, he came bloodstained, but by interior Bqoi grace he was changed on the Cross; and he who inflicted- ■ death upon;i brother, of the Lord when dying proclaimed the life, saying, Lord, remember me when Thou comeet in/oLaka Thy Kingdom, On the Cross the nails bad bound fast his bauds and feet, and there remained nought in him that punishment left free, but tin; tongue and tbe bcart. But God inspiring it, he offered all to Him that he found free in himself, so that according t<> that which is written, he Bhould with the heart believe unto righteousness, and with Rom. the month make confession unto salvation. Hut that in the ' hearts of the faithful there arc three virtues in a special manner abiding, the Apostle testifies, saving, And now icor. abideth faith, hope, charity; all of which the robber being » ' filled with instantaneous grace both received and kept on the Cross. For he had faith, who believed the Lord was about to reign, when he saw Him dying equally with himself; he had hope, who begged for admission into His kingdom, saying, Lord, remember me when Thou earnest into Thy kingdom. Charity also in his death he livingly retained, who at once charged home for his iniquity a brother and fellow robber dying for the like crime, and preached to him the life which he had learnt, saying, Dost Luke not thou fear God, seeing thon art in the same condemnation?**> 40* And we indeed justly: for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this Man hath done nothing amiss. lie that came such to the Cross by sin, see what he departed from the Cross by grace He confessed the Lord. Whom be beheld dying along with himself by human frailty, at the time that the Apostles denied Mini, Whom tiny had Been doing miracles by dit ine power.
65. But they who make out that man is saved by his own powers fancy that that same confession of man is from the efficacy <>f man by himself. Which if it were BO, the Psalmist wnuld not say in praise of God, Confession and great doing p9. m, are J lis work. So that from Him we receive it to confess3, what is light, by Whom it is granted us to practise what is great also. Therefore because we have not given aught of good practice, whereby we mighl deserve to be vouchsafed tliis Wisdom, bt it be rightly said, Man hnoncUi not its price, Inasmuch;i- he thai henceforth usee i son looks down upon himsi It und< r ili«' perception <>!" this Wisdom much the deeper) in proportion as he more truly knows the interior depth of that Wisdom, bo as to Bee that he lias attaint «1 i<> dot being unworthy, by the which it is brought to with* ut price, that he should be made worthy. Conci rning \\ hich it is well Baid;
V ither is it/bund in the hind of those thai live sweetly. xli. en. What is denoted in this passage 1>\ the title of the 'land,1 Baving the soul of man? Concerning which the ''-• i;;. Psalmist saitb, My soul thirsteth after 'I'lnr. as a land with' out water. 1 Jut this wisdom cannot be ' found iu the laud of those that live sweetly;1 because the man that is still fed with the pleasures of this life, is severed from the perception ol Eternal Wisdom. For if he were truly wise-minded, being banished from the interior delights, he would mourn over that blind estate of his exile, whereinto he has fallen. For
1 I, hence it is said 1>\ Solomon; He Unit adilrlh knowledge^ addeth pain also. For the more a man begins to Know what be has lost, the more he begins to bewail the sentence of his uption, which he has met with. For he sees whence and whereto he has fallen; how that from tin1 joys of Paradisc he has conic to the woes of the presenl life, from the companyings of the Angels to carings for necessities; he considers in what a number of perils he now lies prostrate, who before without peril disdained to stand; he bewails the exile which being accursed he undergoes, and sighs alter the state of heavenly glory, which he mighl be enjoying in Becurity, i! he had not had a mind to commit sin. Which iiiir, I dm cast i-iii from the face of thine eyes. For after contemplating the interior joys of the vision of God, and the in fellowship <>l" the Angels holding fast, he brought hack his eyes to things beneath, he saw where he Wat Laid low, who was created for this end that he might have been able to stand in heavenly realms; he considered wilt re h. was. and where he was not he grieved to think, he mourned lor himself as ' cast out from the face of (Jed's e\ i v.' 1. cause by comparison with the interior light, he had f! It the darkness of his exile, that he was undergoing, to be the
Tin' wise it ill not solace themselves with litis world. 3<>7 heavier. 1 Eence it is thai he admits not to his soul the solace Boob of any favouring from the present life, saying, / refused my- ' soul to be comforted. For oftentimes the rich ones of this world, being afflicted with weariness of spirit, are used to regard the good gifts bestowed on them in time, and to soften down their sadness. For when they feel themselves affected with something of sadness, they loot at their horses, they survey the vessels ol their gold and their silver, they go the round of their estates. And while they gladly carry their eyes through the range of these temporal things, they get the belter of the sadness of soul that has risen up. And hence Truth saith to them also in the Gospel; But woe unto you Luke 6, that are rich, for ye have your comfort here. But the holy man, who mourns for this, that he has fallen from everlasting joys, does not admit consolation on the ground of things temporal, saying, / hare refused my soul to be comforted. As though he said in plain speech; ' 1, who do not grieve for the loss of temporal things, am utterly unable to be comforted by the abundance thereof.' And as though we ourselves on hearing these things said to him, ' What then dost thou seek, who refusest to find comfort in those things that are of the world?' he thereupon added; / remembered God, and was delighted. As if he said in plain terms; ' Me not even the abundance of things earthly doth cheer, but even aide to Bee, gives me delight.' So then, this is the bitterness the remembrance only of my Maker, Whom as yet I am not of the wise, that whilst they are lifted up on high in hope, they do not bow down the mind here to any delights* For hence it is written; The heart of the wise is where there wEccl. 7, sorrow, and the heart of fools where there is mirth. Hence James saith: He afflicted and mourn and weep; let your James laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. » Hence 'Truth bears witness by Itself, saying, Blessed are Matt. 6, they that mourn, for they shall be comforted? So wisdom cannot be ' found in the land of those that live sweetly;' because they are the more really foolish, in proportion as whilst parting with the greater things tiny delight themselves in the hast. Hence Peter blames that same folly of the wicked, Baying, That count for pleasure the indulgence oj ' the? Peter i. rning Wisdom, Neither is it found in the land ofthoee that In, nveelly. In this way plainly, thai those irho in this world lire §we tly, are still so besotted, that this very thing tin \ know oot, riz. Whence they have fallen. It
\ i. ii. //,, bottomless pit saith, It is tint with me.. Wli.it does he call ' the bottomless pit' but the hearts of men, which are at once bj the fall all floating, and bj the mistiness of double-dealing full of darkness? Which Bame 1 bottoml( B8 pit' declares thai this Wisdom ' i- not with' it; because the cricked mind, while it longs to be wise in a carnal way, shews itself foolish as to things spiritual. For tuse.i- Paul testini s, ih< wisdom of this world is foolishness with Qod\ bo much the more completely is ever] one lered foolish within, as be endeavours to appear wise 30, without Concerning this abyss ii is said 03 John,.//"/ 1— 3- I saw <in Angel come down from heaven, having the key of tin bottomless pit t and a great chain in his hand. And he I, till hold mi th< dragon, that old n rpi nt, which is tht I '■ vil (tiiil Satan, and l"'iin<l him <t thousand years* Ind cast In//, into tin- bottomless pit, and *lnti him up, uml -< > a teal /,/„>// him, Uml he should deceive the nations n<> more, til/ th, thousand years should be fulfilled. For by the number of a thousand, he denoted not the quantity of time but the universality, with which the Church exercises dominion. Now the old serpent is bound with a chain and cast into th<- bottomless pit, 1" cause being tied up from the hearts of the d, while he is Bhut up in the minds of lost Binners, be rules over them with worse cruelty. And a little while afterwards he is described as brought up <>nt of the hollow ol the bottomless pit, in that from the hi the wicked which now cretly, having then gotten power against the
Church, he shall break out into the violence of op< n |" rsecution. \nd v.. this bottomless pit, when in the di ril is now kept bidden, ' saith that Wisdom is not with it,1 because by
Deep craft and restless worUUineu lack Wisdom. M>\) wicked deeds it sinus itsell a Btraneer to true wisdom. For. Book whilst,i man covers wickedness in the heart, but with the '.
mouth gives forth flatteries, whilst he overshadows his purwiili double-dealing, whilst he eschews words of singlemindedness as foolishness, whilst he slums the waj a of Bimple innocency, it is as if the Abyss denies thai she has the Wisdom of God. And because minds that arc devoted to this world, arc disturbed by the cares and anxieties of the present life, and therefore arc quite unable to enjoy the repose of thai Wisdom, it is rightly added;
And the si a saitht It is not with me.
68. For what is there denoted by the name of the sea xliii. Baving the bitter disquietude of worldly minds, which while they fall foul of one another in enmities by turns, dash themselves together like encountering waves? For the life of worldly persons is rightly called ' a sea;' because, whilst it is agitated by the tempestuous stirrings of actions, it is parted from the tranquillity and stedfastness of interior Wisdom. Contrary to which it is well said by the Prophet,
Upon whom shell My Spirit rest but upon him that wis.66,2. humble and quiet, and that trembleth at my words? But from earthly minds the Spirit flies the further in proportion as lie flndeth no rest with them. For it is hence that it is said of certain by the Psalmist; Bruising and unhappiness Ps.is,7. is in thei nd the way of peace have they not known., * f[
From which same bruising of disquietude the Lord calls usCom-Prhack, savin—. Come unto Vc. all ye that labour and oreMatii, heavy lot T will give you rest. Take My yoke upon98'99' yon, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in hearty and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For what is more toilsome in this life than to be fevered with earthly desires? or what is there more full of repose here, than to long for nought of this world? It is hence that the Israelitish people received the keeping of the Sabbath in gift; it is hence on the opposite side thai Egypt was smitten with a multitude of (lies. For the people, that follows God, n ceiv< s the Sabbath, i. e. the rest of the spirit, that it should not be worn out in this lite by an\ craving o1 carnal passions. But Egypt, which bears a likeness of this world, is stricken with tiles. I or the fly is an ex< I BSlvelj intrusive and r< Bl VOL. II. H b
•nn. Wherein what elw is there represented bol the rr— j intrusive solicitations of carnal desires. Win nee it is -aid ■ sewhere, Dying flies destroy the sweetness of the ointment. B cause superfluous thoughts, which in the mind taken up with things carnal an' for ever both springing into life and dying away, destroy thatsweetni ss, with which each individual has been inwardly anointed by the Spirit; because the) do nut Miller him i<> enjoy the unadulteratedness thereof. Ami so Egypt i- smitten with Mies, because the parts of those sons that love an earthly life, while they art- Btricken with the disquietudes ol their desin j the Bwarms of carnal imaginations borne down beneath, bo that tiny cannot be lifted up tu the desire of interior rest. Whence when Truth
COmes to the heart with the wonderful help of 1 lis pitifulneSS,
II first banishes therefrom the fevers of carnal thoughts, and afterwards distributes in it the gifts of the parts of virtue. Which same the Bacred history of the Gospel excellently conveys to us; in which when the Lord being besought na> led by the way in order to restore thi* daughter of the ruler mh life, it is added directly, But when tin' crowd were put forth lb went in, <m<l took her by the hand\ "ml the maid I'm e. So the crowd i- cast forth without, in order that the damsel maj he raised up; because if the importunate throng of worldly cares be not first expelled from the inner r. i of the heart, the soul, whi< h lies dead in the interior, cannot rise up. For whilst it lets itself loose amongst the countless imaginings ol earthly desires, it never in any degree gathers itself up to the consideration of sell'. Thus then, knowing and seeing that in these \v,i\es of perturhatioiis Wisdom cannot dwell, he says, //"/ (In' sea saith, II is not with me. For no m. e. i receives her fully, saving he who strips t<> withdraw himself from all the drifting to and fro of carnal C0U1 - \nd hence it is said elsewhere. Write WtSClom in the time qf leisure. And he that is I in doing,
69. But how is ii that We Know that most of the old ice interiorly held las) this Wisdom in its hi, •, and outward!) administered the affairs of the world in ordinary • Do we i all Joseph deprived of the attainment of
// isdum <ttii dwell with cares borne for obedience. 87 i this Wisdom, who in the time of dearth taking upon himself Book the affairs of all Egypt not only furnished provisions to the —II- Egyptians, but by the skilfulness of his administration prt served the life of foreign people as well thai came to him? Did Daniel prove a Btranger to this Wisdom, who, when he was made by the king of the Chaldeans in Babylon chief of the governors, was busied with greater charges in proportion as bj a higher pitch of dignity he was likewise w i above all? Whereas then it is plain that very often even the good are engaged in earthly charges with no interest, we plainly see that in this way the citizens of Jerusalem sometimes render services' to Babylon, in like manner as often- 1 times the citizens of Babylon pay suit and service to"" Jerusalem. For there are some persons who preach the word of life for the displaying of wisdom alone, they minister the succour of alms from the passion of vain-glory; and indeed the things they do seem to be proper to.Jerusalem. but yet are they citizens of Babylon.
70. In this way then it sometimes happens, that they who love tin heavenly Country alone, seem to be subjected to the charges of the earthly country. Whose ministration however is distinguished from the practices ol the wicked for the must part in act, but sometimes before the Judge Above in thought only. For being lull of wisdom from Above, they distinguish how they may at once be free to one thing inwardly, and busied with another thing outwardly; so that if perchance by God's secret appointment aught of the concerns of this world is charged upon them, they coveting it not, they may yield to God Whom they delight in. and from the love of Him, may interiorly desire His Vision only, but from the fear of Him externally discharge the course imposed upon them with humility, that they should at once desire to lie disengaged to God by force of tiie free attachment of loving affection, and again fulfil the charges impose,! upon them by force of the constitution of servitude; and when the affairs of business make a din without, within the most peaceful repose is maintained in love; and the turmoils of employ m< nis outwardly clamourin r reason as presiding judge disposes of within, and with tranquil governance regulates the things, which all around
Inward tranquillity, it isdom to come m Person. re too little tranquil. forc< of mind is at the bead bridling the motioua of the flesh, bo ver) often the love
\, i,,.. ill tranquillity regulates aright the imposed turmoils <>f business;!•• ic tenor charges, if they be not desired v\ith a wrong affection, may be executed with a mind not disordered bul regulated. For holy men never court them, but lament them when put upon them b) n cr< i appointment, and thou sped of a better aim the} shun them, yel in r. I a submissive mind they bear them. Which same the) are above every thing eager to avoid it ii might be, but fearing the ispensations ol Qod, they la) hold of ili. it they eschew, and execute what they avoid.
For the) go into their conscience, and the) there take counsel what the Becretwill of God would have, and being conscious that they ought to be Bubjecl to the Appointments mi high, they humble the necli ol the heart t<» the yoki of
Diviue Providence. But he that is such as this, whatever turmoils an at work without, they never reach i<> bis interior parts. And so ii comes to pass that there is one thing maintained within in wish and another thing maintained without in office, and that with this Wisdom their hearts are filled, 1" ing no longer troubled and disorderedi but in;i
Btate of tranquillity. Well, then, is it said thereof, that the depth sailh, It is not with me, and the sea faith, It is not with rm. As though it were expressed in plain Bpeecfa;
• The troubled minds of the worldly cry out b) the nun circumstance of their not being quiet, thai the) are widely separated from true Wisdom. But because this Wisdom <>l
God, abiding with the Father before the ages of the world, was tu be made Incarnate in the end thereof, so that in to redeem the human race. It Bhould send not the huh Ingels, not just men, but in the manifestation ol xUv. 71. For what is denoted by ' fine gold/ save the holy who are right)) called both * gold,' and * fine ';' 'gold,' thi j q< ver had any defilement of sin. But for just men, so long as the) are in this corruptible flesh v\ith the goloV they cannot be in any wise; because the corruptible Boo* body presseth down (If soul, and tli'; earthy tabernacle ^ji,'
'•// (I,- mi/til, that museth upon many things.is. For thougfa in this lit'.- tin \ m.i\ -liiin- by an extraordinary brightness..i righteousness, yel they never purely lack tin: of sins; as John the Vpostle bears witness, who says, say we have /<<> sin, in- dea ire ourselves, and the truth 1 John is //■// in us; and as James affirms, who puts a proof, saying, ' my things we nil offend. As the Prophet likewise Jamea ihes, who savs, Enter not into judgment with 7'/'// ',':,;■,,:<) servant, <> Lord, for in Thy sight shall no man living t justified. Those then arc termed ' line gold' who whilst holding fast in that innocency, wherein they were created, at once shine with tin- brightness of righteousness, and an stain< d with do dross of -ins, no not the very least. 72. But because in the Btead of this Wisdom no one of the
Angels was to he sent as the Redeemer of the human race, lest in those Angels, who, we have been taught, have often appeared in aid (.linen, any man should vest his hope, it is said, Fine gold shall not be given/or it. As though it were expressed in plain speech; ' By Its own Self shall Wisdom he manifested, in order that the human race may he redeemed from sin.' There is no Angel sent in His stead; because it must needs be that by the Creator the creature should be settle.. And hence the Lord saith in the Gospel, If the John 8, Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. But the holy man. being tilled with the Spirit of that same Wisdom, foresaw that there would not 1..- wanting in.India some that should put their hope in the Lawgiver, and make.Moses the author of their salvation, even as to the man that had been healed, speaking evil, tbej say, Be thou His disciple, A"Mohn 9, we are Moses* disciples. Whence it is yet further introduced with propriety.
Nor shall silver be weighed in exchange thereof.
78. For because the divine revelations are oft< n denoted *lvby " silver,1 by the term ol silver it may be that the writers ol that p relation are also underst 1, whose life Bhone amidst the crowds of their fellow-creatures with the light of virtuous attainments. But because the haw was able to point out sins, lint not able to take them away, it was not any one of
Job 38, the ancient Fathers, nor the Lawgiver Moses, thai became the Redeemer of mankind. So 'silver is not weighed in
A llbo. exchange of this Wisdom,' because all that have had power in be boly, bj comparison with the Only-begotten Bon of God are accounted to have been of no worth, who except they had known and seen that they were servants ol that • Wisdom,' could never at all have been holy. For t<> this cud were the} sent, that in the hearts of men tiny might bj preaching prepare a way for this - Wisdom,' neither yet that for her, but by her ihe) might goi tin the peoples under their charge. For because it was certain that by tin' acci ssion of p< riods of lini, the ailments of the waning world should grow to a height, it was brought about that in the end of - the Eternal Wisdom of God should 1>\ Its own Self come to this full grown sick one. with his o\. rgreal infirmity, i.e. to the human race lying sick, throughout the whole world, that preachers having been dispatched beforehand, like a kind of visitors, the power ol the physician might aft rwards come so much the more efficacious, in proportion
B8 the sickness <>i the diseased had more grown to a head, lint because there is no one sent in the stead ol' Mini for the saving of us, let it he rightly said. Nor shall silver be weighed in tin eaochangi thereof. Forasmuch as the life of the just men who preached, with whatever light ol* holiness it might abound, doth not by its presence make exchange tor the coming of Heavenly Wisdom to us. But there were multitudes of the Gentiles, who being attached to the systems of discipline of this world's wise ones, observed those things which are honourable among men. and believed that, honourable dealing being observed, thej were sure to he saved, nor any longer sought a Mediator between 'bid and man, Bince they held the teaching of the philosophers as being Bufficient for them. In contempt of whom it is directly added;
xhi. 7 1. For what i8 meant by India, which furnishes a black people, Baving this world, wherein the lite of man is engendered dark in respect of sin? Now ' the <\\<<\ Colours "f India' are the wise ones of this world, who though in respect of infidelily> and oftentimes in respect of behaviour, they be
False colours of man's wisdom. Hidden sense in mean words.375 foul, \ct before the eyea of men arc stained with the hue of Boob overlaid honourableness. But the coeternal Wisdom of God is not ' compared to the dyed colours of India,1 in that he, who reallj takes It in, discovers how widely it differs from Ihose human beings whom the world has worshipped for wise ones. And the very words of llis precepts differ from the wise ones of this world, in that while they strain after eloquence, their sayings appear as if fair in shew and in the Btaining of the dye, and while they lack the power of realities, feign themselves to be something else than what tiny are by combination of words as by overcoated colours. But on the other hand the instruction of Wisdom is at once fair by preaching and shining by unadulterated truth, nor does it by deceit set itself forth one thing outwardly, and retain another thing inwardly, nor in its savings aim to appear fair by brilliancy of speech, but by uncorruplness of truth. Therefore in its precepts the Wisdom of God is not ' compared to tlie dyed colours of India,' since whereas it has not the stained adornments of eloquence, it pleases like a robe without dye. Which staining of the dye Paul rightly despised, when he said, Which things also ice speak not in the words\ Cor. that man's wisdom teacheth, but which tlie Holy Ghost*'13, teacheth. For he chose rather to display this ' Wisdom' by the simple transparency of truth alone, but not to stain it with the dyeing of speech. It follows;
Nor to Ike most precious sardonyx stom tnor to the sapphire.
75. That the sardonyx and sapphire are not precious stones, who would be ignorant? And whereas there be many other precious stones, which immeasurably exceed these in the account of greatness, why is the sapphire or the sardonyx especially called precious, when either stone by comparison with other stones is most contemptible? except that those stones which are described as precious, when we know not to be precious, we look out for some other thing in the meaning of them. For the sardonyx bears the likeness of red earth, but the sapphire has an aereal appearance. And so it may be that in the sardonyx by the red earth human beings are denoted, in the sapphire by the aereal appearance the An® Is are denoted. For whereas the sardonyx stone bears the appearance of red earth, it not improperly denotes man; in tbc Lain tongue ' R< '1 earth.' What does ii mean then
NiMii.ili.it it is v.iicl thai this Wisdom is not * compared to the onyx nor to the sapphire,1 but thai He, Who ii the
• P irerofGod and I lom of God,' i. c. the Mediator between God and man, the.Man Christ Jesus, surpasses all things by Mich preeminent greatness that neither the first man on the earth, nor the Angela in h< ai n, can be compared
■ Him. \ml In nee it is said by the Psalmist, 11 ho in the heaven can bt compared Hutu the Lordt Who among the tons of God' can be likened unto the Lord?
Bui it is possible that by the sardonyx Btone the Fathers of the Old Testament, while by the sapphire the Preach ra of the New Testament, are Bel forth. For the first, though they maintained an extraordinary life of righteon i lent themselves to carnal procreation. Therefore whereas it is plain that they did sonic things of an earthly Kind, they arc nol inappropriately denot< d by the sardonyx Btone, which as we before said bears the appearan 'red earth.'' Bui by the sapphire, which is of an etl hue, we Buitablj understand the Preachers of the New Jim nt, who laying aside the desires of carnal gendering, followed after the things <>f heaven alone. And hence the Prophet beholding the holy Apostles mounting above all the desires of the flesh with spiritual fervency, being.iiicK with admiration, s.iith. Who are these thai fly at clouds? As though he expressed it in plain Bpeech; ' We Jong by the waj of earth, in that ■ till involved in marryings and employ acts of the flesh upon the propagating offspring; but these walk not on earth, bul the) * fly as clouds,' who whilst tin v aim at heavenly things touch notlgbl connected \\ i 1 1 1 earthly desires.1 Therefore he Bays that the w isdom of God is not ' compared to tin Bardonyx or the Bapphire stoi though he told in plain terms, saying, l- Him, Who is seen Man among men, neither any in the old Fathers nor any in the new is equalled, in thai from Mis head He derives it thai in I lis Manhood He hath nol any like i" Him.1 Whence it is \. t further added;
77. Who that is sound of perception would deem it Boos worthy to understand this according to tin- letter? For • glass,1 as \\r said abore, is of much Less worth than ' gold,1 xlwuand alter it was said that ' gold is not equal1 to this Wisdom, it is yet further, as if heightening, subjoined, that ' glass1 too cannot equal it either. Hut the bare letter failing us in the historical sense, studs us to investigating the mystery of the allegory. Fot we know that the metal gold shines with a superior brightness to all the metals. But it is of the nature of glass that whilst seen without it shines with perfect transparency in the inside. In every other metal whatever is contained within is hidden from sigh;, hut in the case of gla^s. every liquid, such as it is contained within, such is it shewn to he without, and, so to say, all the liquid in a glass i, whilst shut up is open. What other thing, then, do w( understand by ' gold and glass,' hut that heavenly Country, that society of blessed citizens, whose hearts mutually one with another at once shine with brightness, and are transparent by pureness; which John in Revelations had beheld, when he said, And the building of the wall of it was o^Ber.21, jasper, and (//c cit// iras of pure gold like unto clear glass. H> l'oi because all the Saints shall shine in the supreme brightness of hliss, it is described as constructed of gold.
7s. And because their very hrightness itself is reciprocally open to them in each other's hreasts, and when the countenance of each one is marked his conscience is penetrated along with it, this very gold is described as like pure glass. For there the mind of every person no bodily frame of limbs will hide from the eyes of his fellow, but the interior will be given to view, the very harmony of the body too will also be plain to the eyes of the body, and each one will he in such wise distinguishable to another, as now he cannot he distinguishable to himself. But now our heart-. S i long as we are in this life, because they cannot be seen in one by another, are enclosed not within glas* but within
Is of earthenware; in which same clay in respect of the
378 No Saint, however glorious, comparable to Christ. Jon 98, this tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. There-
Ax.LBG.foK in tliis earthly house so long as ire lire, the mere partition wall of our corrupt state, bo t<> say, ire do not penetrate with the ryes of the mind, and the hidden things in each other we cannot see. Hence Holy Church desiring to see the form of her Spouse in the Godhead, yet not being able, because the fashion of His Eternal Being, which she longed to behold, His Manhood, which He took upon Him, hid from her eyes, says mourning in the Song of
Cant 2,SongSj Heboid lie standi tit behind OUT wall. As if she said in plain speech, ' I desire to see IIIM now already in the appearance of His Godhead, but I am still shut out from the sight of Him by the wall of the flesh He has assumed.1 Therefore so long as we live in this corruptible flesh, ire Bee not the thoughts of the hearts in one another. Whence it is i Cor. 2, said by the same Paul, For what man knoweth the things of a man san' the Spirit of man that is in him? And again; l Cot. 4, Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come. Who both will brim) to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts. So then that City, which manifests the hearts of them that are in it to each severally and reciprocally, is described ' of gold like to pure glass,' that by the gold it may be represented bright, and by the glass transparent.
79. But though all the Saints therein glitter with such wonderful brightness, and shine through with such extraordinary transparency, yet that Wisdom, by a likeness of Which they have all that they are, they ' cannot equal.1 Therefore it is well said, 77/e gold and the glass cannot equal it. For it is for this that all the Saints are brought to those eternal joys, that they may be like to God, i John as it is written, When He shall appear, we shall be like ' 2" Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And yet it is i'-. -:•.'•. written, <> Lord (iod of hosts, who is like unto Theet And lb. \.c>. again; 11 ho shall be like unto dad auwmj the sons of Godf Whence then shall they be like, and whence not like, but that to this ' Wisdom' they at once be like for a semblance and not like for equality? For by gazing on the Eternity of God, it i^ brought to pass upon them that they should be
This truth implied in St. Peter's confession. Wi) eternal, and while they receive the gift of seeing Him, by Boob the receiving of Blessedness they copy the thing that they ' sit'. They are both like, then, because they are made blessed; and they are not like to the Creator, because they arc a creature. And thus they both have a certain likeness to God, because they are without end; and yet they have no equality to the Incomprehensible One, because they have comprehensible being. Therefore let it be justly said, The gold and the glass is not equal to it. For with whatever brightness and transparency the Saints may shine, it is one thing for men to be wise in God, and another thing for a Man to be the Wisdom of God. Which same Wisdom he was truly acquainted with, who never ventured to liken any one of the Saints to the Mediator between God and man. And hence it is added;
Neither shall vessels of (/old high and overtopping he exchanged instead of it.
80. For a ' lofty vessel of gold' did Elijah prove, ' a lofty xlix. vessel of gold' Jeremiah, ' lofty and overtopping vessels of gold' the old Fathers were. But this Wisdom of God, in order that It might redeem us from a carnal kind of life, appeared in the flesh, and he, who did not see that Wisdom in a true light, supposed that the Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus, was one of the Prophets, which Christ the eyes of the Elect held for God, when they saw Him but Man. Hence it is said by Him to the holy Disciples, Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? Mat.16 And when they thereupon answered Him, Some say that13-&c- Thou art John the Baptist; some Elias: some Jercmiax, or one of the prophets; they were immediately interrogated touching their own perception; But whom say ye that I am? To whom Peter, answering directly in the voice of the whole Church, says, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Li ring God. Thus, then, forasmuch as according to the declaration of Paul we ' know Christ, the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God,' for this Wisdom Peter refused to ' exchange vessels of gold lofty and overtopping,' because he understood concerning it no other thing than it was. For as has been said, a great ' vessel of gold' was John, a great ' vessel of gold* Elijah, a great ' vessel of gold' Jeremiah. Now whoever accounted r of the Jews in taking Christ I the Prophets.
ild high and overtopping/ for this* Wisdom.1 lint foe Alleo!*0*8 Wisdom the Church doth doI ' exchange vessels of gold high and overtopping,1 because it holds thai Christ the Son..t God is not one of the Prophets, bul 1 1 » « • (Jm Lord of the Propb< is. For seeing thai ' Wisdom1 Itself had come to her, she i< fused to keep herself axed in those golden i easels, but was eager with certainty of faith to pass on into thai Wisdom* i, Whence sin saith in the Song of Songs; The watchmen that keep the city found ///<; to whom I laid. Saw ye him, whom mi/ tout loveth H was but <i little that I passed from them, /mi I found him, whom my soul loveth. For whom < 1 « « we take ' the watchmen that go about the city' to be, bu1 the former fathers and prophets who set themselvi a to watch by the voice of holy preaching for our safe keeping? but when the Church sought her Redeemer, she would not fix hex hope in those same ancient preachers, in thai Bhe says, It i>iti it Huh- thai I passed from them, but i found him whom my tout loveth. For Him Bhe l».i< 1 nol been able to find, if Bhe had been unwilling ' t<> pass i,\ through these.1 Foi the unbelievers had rested themselves in those warden, who believed that Christ the Son of God was any one of those. With the voice then and the faith of Peter, Holy Church passed by the watchmen she found, in thai she disdained to believe the Lord Who had been prophesied to be any one of the number of the prophets. 'I bus, let it 1»'- said, nor shall vessels of <j"l<l high and overtopping be exchanged for it. Because the Bled severally both venerate the Life of the Saints for their loftiness, and yet do not take n|> with it for error. For those whom thej Know to be simple men they do not all compare to God-Man. Whence it is further added;
\< r. IS..\or shall they be mentioned in comparison with
1. SI. For all the Bled of the Country Above are indeed holy and righteous, but by a participation of Wisdom, not by
«"in pa lis,, n therewith. For what are men compared with God!
■ Light1 Wisdom is used to be called, c light1 also the servants oi Wisdom are wont to be called; but She as light
John i, lighting up, the; as light lighted up; as u was written; That
The Saints partaken oj Wisdom^ not compared to Her. -'>sl was the true Lii/ht, Which lighteth every man Hi, it cometh into the world* But t" these it is onlj said, Ye are the light of thr world. ' Righteousness1 indeed Wisdom is u, called, ' righteousness, ' the servants of1 Wisdom' as well arc called; but She righteousness that maketh righteous, they righteousness that is mail' righteous. For of God, Who is • W isdom,1 it is siid, 'Hint Ilr might Himself he just and the ELom..;. JustifU r; but these say, that we might be made the righteous-
God in Him. So then it is after one sort that the.-. 1 Light lighting9 is to be reverenced, after another that the ' light lighted1 is to be; in one way the Righteousness that maketh righteous, in another way the righteousness that is made righteous. Now Wisdom both is and is wis,., nor has She for one thing to be, and for another thing to be wise; but tin servants of Wisdom* are indeed able to be wise men, but yet they have not their being the same thing as being wise. For they may be, and not be wise. Wisdom hath life, but She hath not one thing, and is another thing, inasmuch as to Her it is that to be that it is to live. But the servants of* Wisdom' whilst they have life are one thing and have another, inasmuch as to whom to be is not the identical thing it is to live. For they may be after a sort, and yet not live. For to them it is one thing to be, and a different thing to live; foT in the very first parent they had being by a beginning, and life by an addition, since man was first made of the earth, and afterwards as it is written; He breathed Gen. 2, into his nostrils the breath qfl(fe. Now Wisdom hath being,7" She hath life; but this, which She hath, She Her own Self is. Wherefore She lives unchangeably, because sin- lives not by contingency, but essentially. lie then alone Is truly with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to Whose Being outs compared, is not to Be. To this Wisdom if we be joined, w< are, we live, we are wise. If we be compared to Him, we neither are wise, nor live at all, nor are.
8-2. Hence it is that all the Saints, when they advance in the vision of CJod, the more they view the interior depths of the Divine Nature, see BO much the more that they themselves are nothing. For it is no where read that Abraham confessed that he was dust and ashes except when he obtained to enjoy the converse of God. For he job 98, says, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which l8, am but 'lost and ashes. Fpr he would perchance have
GtaU8, thought that he was something, if he had not perceived at all tin- true Essence thai is above himself. 15m when foi the contemplating of the Unchangeable One he was transported above himself, being filled with so mighty a power of contemplation, when he saw Him, he saw that he himself was nought but ' dust.' Hence ii is thai the Prophet Ps. 103, being idled with the same Wisdom crieth out, Remember, 14,Kn-o Lord, thai we are but dust; who again viewing the Pa. 102, unchangeableness of that Essence, Baith, Yea, all qf them 26,2" shall wax old as doth a garment, "ml as a vesture shall Thou change them, and they shall he changed; but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail. Hence it is said to Ex.3, Moses, I AM THAT I AM: Tims shall thou say unto,4" the children qf Israel, HE THAT 18 hath sent me unto you. For Ho alone truly IS, Who alone unchangeably continues. For every thing thai now is alter this way, and now after another way, is near to not being. For to continue in its standing, it is not able. And in Bome manner there is a going on not to be, whilst from that which was, it is by the enfarings of time ever being led away to some other thing. In order then that in the partaking of His Body we may be something, let us know and see our own selves, that we are well nigh nothing. Therefore it is well said, Nor shall they be made mention qf in comparison with hen because \ i ss. Is of gold high and overtopping, which by participation of Wisdom are (it objects of reverence to us, in comparison of Wisdom air nut even fit to be made mention of. But because tins Wisdom is by secret means poured into the hearts of men, (;i^ it is John 8, likewise said of the Holy Spirit, The wind bloweth where s- it listeth, "lid thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not till whence it cometh, "ml whither it goeth,-) for this reason it is added,
For wisdom Is drawn from out qf sight, li. *:}. ' Wisdom is drawn from OU< of sight;' because whereas She is invisible, She cannot be found saving in an invisible way. And She i^ rightly said to be ' drawn' also, because like;.s we draw the breath, that tin' i>"dv may
Error of those who //link Christ once mere Man. 388 live, so from the interior depths of Wisdom the Spirit is Booh derived, that the soul may hold on to life. Whence the = — r~ Psalmist says, / opened my mouth, and drew in the spirit. 131. Which very Wisdom, taking human flesh together with ' t^e'mel' a rational soul, when It had presented Itself from thediumof.' interior depths close at hand, because this world could not behold its invisible Maker, Him Whom it saw visible Man, it also knew as invisible God as well. The Gentile world was converted from the darkness of its unbelief, being before full of pride by its avertedness; signs and wonders being exhibited, faith gained ground; and the faith being spread abroad, the summit of Holy Church shone forth in reverence with all men. To which same when there were wanting open adversaries, she began to be tried by her own members. For numberless heresies springing up in her, they arrayed against her wars of cruel conflict. For she must be exercised at this time by toiling, who is on the way to her recompensing in that which follows. Whereby it has come to pass that some in her should come forth who should call the Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus, created mere man, but one by grace made God, and should attribute so much of holiness to him as they knew in the rest of the Saints, the same being His servants. Which persons blessed Job being inspired with the spirit of prophecy, reproves by the laying out of his sentence, saying,