Church Postil (sermons on the Gospel & Epistle lessons)

ind f hat, knowlDf the tlBie, that now It is blgh time to awake out of steep: for BOW Is oar salvation nearer than when we i»ellc¥ed.

The night Is far spent, the day is at kand: let «s therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let as put on the armor of light.

Let us walk honestly, as In the day; not in riotiFEg and dronkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, nnd make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

This Epistle does not treat of faitli, 1)11 1 of the works and friiits of £aitli,?>howmg ]iow a Cliristian should live externally among men on earth, in regard to his body. For, how we should walk in the spirit and before God, faith teaches; of which St. Paul writes and treats in a very copioiLS and apostolic manner in the langTiage i)receding this Ej)istle. If we examine this Epistle pix)pea'ly, we find that it is not ociuipied in teaching, but in inciting, exhorting, urging, and awakening those who already know what they should do. For St. Paul, Eom. 12, 7, 8, divides the office of the minister into two parts, doctrinam et exliortationem, doctiine and exhortation. Doctrine consists in preaching that which is not generally known, instructing or enlightening the people; exhortation^ in inciting and urging persons to that which they already well understand.

! Both parts necessarily claim the at-! tention of a minister, an<l hence, both are employed by St-. Paul.! In order,, therefore, that this admo: nitioii nmy be the more pleasing and impressive, he employs many be^uiti fid, figurative terms, making as ele~ gant, flowery address. He int«KbiceS the words sleep, darlcness^ Ught^ muali^, armor, imrh^ day, and night", these are purely figurative words, through which something different from their literal and natural import is conveyed. For he speaks not, indeed, of natiu-al night, day, darkness, light, awakening, sleep, armor, and works; but he portrays for us through these natural media a simile, by which he incites and leads us into our spiritual element. As if he should say: joxa see that, or account of temj^oral advantages, persons rise from sleep, lay aside the work of darkness, and assume the work of day, when the night has passed by, and the day appeared^ how much more, then, should we awake from oui* sleep, cast off the works of our darkness, and enter upon the works of our light, since our night has passed away, and our day has broken forth.

By sleep, he means the works ol wickedness and unbelief. For sleep is a work which properly takes i^lace in the night, and he thus explains himself, when he says: ^^ Let us cast off the works of darkness." Thus again, anxmhening and rising mp denote the works of faith and piety. For rising is properly a work of the morning and day, concerning which he also says, 1 Thess. 5, 4-10: ^' But ye, brethren, are not in darkness. * * Ye are all children of Hght, and the children of the day: we axe not of tiie Bight, nor

of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the mght j and they that be drunken, are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be so^ ber, putting on the breast-plate of faith and love; and for an helmet,, the hope of salvation. For Gotl hath not appojirted us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we shoidd live together with him.'''

Here it is evident that he does not forbid natural sleep, and yet he employs the comparison between natural sleep and wakefulness in elucidation of sj)iritual sleep and wakefulness; that Is, pious ancl impious life. In short, rising tip from sleep is equivalent to liis declaration. Tit. 2, 11-13: ^^For the f^race of God that brmgeth solvation, hath appeared to all men,, Teaching us, that denying iingodliness and worldly lusts, we sho^ild live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope,, and the glorious appearing of the gTeat God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Thie denying of ungodliness and worldly lusts, he calls here, rising from sleep; and the sober, righteous, godly life, he calls here, waking and j)\iiting on the armor of liglit. Tlie appearing of grace is the day and the light; as we shaU hear.

Kow observe the comparison between natural and spiritual sleep. He who sleeps,, neither sees nor feels any of the things or realities, which are upon the earth, and round about him. He lies in the midst of these things as a dead, useless person, who has neither use nor care for any thing; and although he lives in himself, yet he is.

stead,, nioreover, of real things, he is occui)i^4 in his dreams with mere images and useless forms of realities, and he is so foolish as to think they are truly realities; but when he awakes, these dreamy illusio:«C4 fall away and vanish. He then begins to be occupied with real things, excluding all images,. Thus^ too, spiritiiaHy., ThQ individ- ual who lives in ungodliness, sleeps, and is, as it were, dead before God, neither seeing nor feeling the real spiritual blessings, offered and promised to him through the Gospel, regarding them as vain and useless. For these blessings can be seen only by faith in the heart, being yet concealed. Still, however, he mingles in temporal, transitory things, luxuries and honors, which, in contrast with eternal life, joy, and happiness, are to be regarded as dreamy images eomi)ared to natural, i>hysieal creatures.

When he awakes, and obtains faith, all these transitory things will vanisJf. and show how futile they are; concerning which it is said*: — ^Ps. 73, 20: ^^ As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou aT*^akest, thou shalt despise their image;" and Isa. 29, 8: "It sliall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold he eateth; but he awaketh,^ a:iid his?, soul is empty; or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drink - eth; but he awaketh, and, beliold, he is faint, and his soul hath apx>etite: so shall the nnaltitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount ^fon."

Behold, now is it not entirely too contemptuous, to comjiare this world's highest power, riches, pleasure, and honor, to a dream and dreamy images* Who dares to say that kings, princes, wealth, possessions, i)leasure^ and power, are the creatures of a dream, when there is so much raging and raiding after them on earth f It is because men sleej), and do not rise up and see this light in faith.

"For now is our salvation nearei' tliaii when we believed/'

What is implied by this? Did we believe before, or do we not believe now? Here it is necessary to know,, as St. Paul, Eoui. 1, 2, 3, says, that through his i)rophets God promised in the Holy Scriptiu-e, the Gospel of his Son Jesus Christ, oiu^ Lord, that through him all the world should be saved, as the words. Gen. 22, 18, to Abraham, read: "In thy seed shall

all the nations of the earth be blessed.'^ This blessing promised here to Abraham in his seed, is nothing else but the ^Tace and salvation in Chiist, presented throngh the Gospel to all the world, as St. Paul, Kom. 4 and Gal. 4, also declares. For Christ is the vseed of Abraham, that is, his natural tiesh and blood, in whom all, who believe and call on him, will be blessed.

This promise of God was afterwards more carefully set forth and widely circulated by the prophets, and all of them wrote concerning the advent of Christ, his grace and Gospel, as St. Peter, Acts 3, 18-24, says. This same divine promise was believed by all the saints before the birth of Christ, and thus in and through the Christ yet to come, they were x^reserved and saved hj tiiis faith; so that even Christ, Luke 10, 22, calls this promise Abraham's bosom, into which all the saints from Abraliiim to Christ were gathered, j^ow, this is what St. Paul means, wlien he says: " Oiu^ salvation is nearer than when we believed.'' As if he shoidd say: The promise of God, made to Abraham, is now no more to be awaited in the ftitiu^e 5 it is fidfilled; Christ is come; the Gospel has arisen^ and the blessing is distributed through all the world; and now all that we waited for and believed in the promise, is here. By this the apostle lias described the spiritual day^ con- <'erning which he afterwards speaks, and which is proi^erly the rising and the light of the Gospel -^ as we shall Iiear.

But faith is not, therefore, abolished, but rather established. For even as men forinerly believed in the promise of God, that it woidd be fulfilled; so we believe on the same promise of God, that it is now fidfiUed; one faith is like the other, in itself, except that o]ie succeeds the other, like the promise and the ftilfiUment succeed each other; For they are both based on the seed of Abraham, that is, on Christ, the one preceding and the other succeeding his advent. For he Avho would now believe, like the Jews, that Christ is yet to come, as if the promise were not yet fidfilled, woidd be fondemned, because he would make

G^ a liar, pretending that he has hot yet fulfilled his promise, which, however, he has fulfilled. Thus oiu^ salvation would still be far from us, and we would have to wait for it yet in the ftiture.

Concerning these two foiths Paul, Eom. 1, 17, says: '^ In the Gospel is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith." What is meant by the expression: ^'From faith to faith f' Nothing else but, — although the faith of the fathers and our faith are one and the same, trusting in Ciirist yet to come, and in Christ who has already come, st 11 the Gospel leads us from that faith to this faith, — that now it is necessary to believe, not only the promise, but also the fulfillment already made, which Abraham and the ancients had not then to believe, although they had the same Christ that we have. One faith, one spirit, one Christ, one community of all saints, except that they preceded, and we succeed Christ.

Thus we, (that is, the fathers with us,) have, in the same common faith, believed in one Christ, and stiU believe in him, but in a different condition. And as, for the sake of the common faith and of Christ, we say, Avhen the fathers believed, that we have believed, although we did not live in their time; so, on the other hand, they say, when we hear, see, and believe Christ, that they hear, see, and believe him, although they do not live in our day. For David thus speaks, Ps. 8, 3: " Allien I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers*;" again, Ps. 0, 2: ''I will be glad, and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High;" and in many other similar passages; so that one person is taken for, or assimies another, in consequence of the common faith, through which they have Clirist in the midst of them and become one body.

His declaration, '^Our salvation is nearer than Avhen we believed," can not be understood of nearness of possession or occui)ancy. For the fathers had the same faith, and even the same Christ, that we have, and he

* A. That is, the Apostles, (B.) an4 yet he did njot live to do it,,

wa« equally as near to them as he is tons; as Heb. 13, 8, says: "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever f that is, Christ has been from the beginning of the world to the end, and through and in him all are preserved. To him that believes ^ost, he is nearest, and from him that believes least, salvation is farthest, so far as i)OSsession and occupancy are concerned. But St. Paul has reference here to the nearness of the manifestation [of this salvation.] Since, in the days of Christ, the promise was fulfilled, and the Gospel arose in all the world, and appeared, and was publicly preached through him to all men, the Apostle says "our salvation is nearer" than when it lay concoaled in the promise and was not developed. Thus it is said, Tit. 2, 11: '^ For the grace of God, that bringeth salvation, hath appeared j" that is, it has arisen and is publicly preached ^ although all the saints who lived previous to this appearing of that grace, were likewise in i)ossession of it.

The Scripture teaches, therefore, that Christ shall come, notwithstanding he has already been in all the fathers. He did not come to all, however, through i)ublic preaching,, until after his resurrection from the dead. Of this coming, or advent the Scrii^- ture mostly speaks, in consequence of which he also came bodily in the human nature. For his becoming man would have benefited no one if a gospel had not resulted from it, through which he might be presented to all the world, and through which it might be made known why he became man; so that the promised blessing might lie imx^arted to all who through the Gospel believe in him. Hence St. Paul, Eom. 1, 2, says; that the Gospel was promised of God. As if he Avould say: God was more concerned about the Gospel and this public coming or advent through the word, than about the bodily birth or advent in the human nature. He was occupied with the Gospel and our faith; he '.therefore permitted his son to become iman, so th^^t the Gospel might be preached conoerning him, and thus, through the Tevealed word, his salvtt- tion might draw near and come to all the world.

Some have presented four different advents of Christ, according to the four Sundays in Advent. But the one, which is the most useful, upon which all the efficacy depends, and concerning which St. Paul here speaks, they did not perceive. For they do not know what gospel is, or why and for what purpose it was given. Tliey talk much about the advent of Christ, and yet they drive him farther from us than heaven is from earth. Of what use is Christ,, if he is not embraced by faith? But how can he be embraced by faith where the Gospel is not preached?

" The night is far spent, the day is at hand."

This is equivalent to saying our salvation is near. For by the wor<l day Paul means the Gospel^ v/hich is a day that enlightens the hearts or souls; therefore, since the day has broken forth, our salvation is near t^> us; that is, Christ and his gTace promised to Abraham, have now arisen; are preached in all the world; they enlighten all men; they awaken us all from sleep, and show us the true, eternal blessings; so that we may be oc~ cui)ied with them, and walk honorably in the day. By the word night,, however, we must understand &ll i&etrines which are not the Gospel; for there is no saving doctrine but that of the Gospel; all else is night and darkness.

Observe the words of Paul. He describes the most lovely and clieerfui part of the day; namely, the lovely, joy fur dawn, and rising of the sun. For the dawn is the time, at which the night has i)assed away and disappeared, and the day has broken forth. Then we see, in consequence of the dawn, aU the birds singing, all the beasts moving, and all human beings lifting themselves up; so that when the day breaks and the redness of the sky appears, it seems as if the world were new and all things were re- animated. Therefore, in many portions of the Scripture, the consolatory, \ivifying preaching of the Gospel, is compared to the dawn^ and to the rising of the sun, sometimes under figures, sometimes in plain language; as, here, Paul in plain terms styles the Gospel the breaking day.*

This day, the most lovely sun, Jesus Christ, produces.,Hence Malachi calls him Sun of righteousness, saying, ch. 4, v. 2: *' But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." For all who believe in Christ, receive from hiin the brightness of his grace, and righteousness, and shall be happy under his wings. In the 118th Ps. v. 24, it is also said: '' This is the day w^hicli the Lord hath madej we vrHl rejoice and be glad in it." As if he shoidd say: the natiu-al sun makes the natural day, but the Lord himself, this day. He is the sun himself, from whom the brightness and the day, that is, the Gospel, proceed, and shine in all the world. John 9, 5: ^'I am the light of the world."

Ps. 19, 1, both, the sun and the day, Christ and the Gospel, are described in the most lovely manner: ^'TJie lieavens declare the glory of God;" that is, like the natural heavens show forth the sim and the day, and as the sun is in the heavens; so in their preaching, the Apostles present and introduce the real Sun, Christ; and then follows: ^^ In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sim; which is as a. bridegToom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." All this is spoken of this lovely breaking of the day, that is, of the Gospel, which the Scripture extols in a high and lovely manner; for it produces life, joy, pleasure, energy, and brings with itself all that is good; it is therefore also called Gospel, that is, joyful news. AMio can enumerate, however, what

*A Again, Ps. 110, 3; "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning, thou hagt the dew of thy youth." Here the Gospel is clearly called womb of ihe morning, and day of the power of Christ, in which, like the dew", we are conceived and born children of Christ, without the works of man, from heaven and through the^-race of the Holy Spirit.

this day reveals to us? It teaches us all things, — what God is, what we are^ what has passed, wliat is to come, in regard to heaA^en, to hell, earth, angels, devils. Here Ave see how we shoidd demean oiu'selves in regard to all these things, — ^whence we are, and Avhither Ave are going. Yet the deA'il has so deceiA^ed us that we forsake the day, and seek truth from philosophers and heathens wlio ncA^er kncAv a solitary thing about all this, and, permit ting ourselA'es to be blinded by human doctrines, aac return to the night. WhatCA^er is not this day, cannot indeed belight. OtherAvise St. Paul and all the Scrii)tiu'e Avould not urge this day alone and pronounce all elseniglit. Oiu' disposition to seek, in opposition to declarations of Scripture ko clear and exj)ress, secondary lights, Avhen the Lord himself declares that he is the light and sun of the world, must result from the displeasure ot ProAddence, which Ave have inciu'- red; and Avere there no other indications, by which we might knoAV that the high schools of the Pope are the most abominable harlotries and ]j;naA'- eries of the dcAil, the fact alone indeed would be abundantly sufficient, that they so shamelessly introduce and extol Aristotle as a secondary light, and that they exercise themseh^es more in him than in Christ; nay, they exercise themselA^es, not in Christ, but wholly in Aristotle.

"Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light."

Precisely as Christ is the sun, and the Gosi)el is the day, so faith is the light or medium of sight and v> akefulness on this day. For it profits us nothing for the sun to shine, and make the day, if our eyes do not perceiA e the light. Therefore, although the Gospel has arisen, andin^eaches Christ in all the Avorld, none are enlightened by it, excei)t those who receive it, and haA^e risen Irom sleep through the light of faith. But to the sleeping the sun and the day are useless; for from these they receiA^e no light, and see as little as if there were neither sun nor day. NoAv is the time and the hour, of which he says: ^^ Beloved bretb- ren, that knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep/^ &c. Although it is a spiritual time and hour, it has arisen in natural time, and still daily arises; in which we nuist rise up from sleex3 and lay aside the works of darkness, &c. Thus St. Paul shows that he is not speaking to those who are yet in unbelief. For, as already said, he does not teach the doctrine of faith here, but the works and fruits of faith.

they know that the night is past^ Ijroken forth.

But if you ask, these of such an e already stated that there are two kinds of preaching: one, wliich teaches; the other which incites and exhorts. jSTow, no one ever knows so much as to make it unnecessary to admonish liim^ and continually to lu'ge him to fresh meditations on that wiiich he already knows, in order that the devil, the world, and the ilesli, his un- (•easing enemies, may not render him weary and negligent, and ultimately careless, and thus lull liim to sleej).

^^ Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom lie may devoiu^;" therefore says he: ^' Be sober, be vigilant." Here too the flesign of St. Paul, is that, since the rlcs'il, the world, and the liesh cease not to assail us, there should be no cessation in exhorting, inciting and impelling to vigilance and activity.*

For this reason St. Paul likewise arranges his language so appropriately. He calls, not the works of darkness, but the works of light, arm or ^ and not workB. Why this? Without doubt, to show that in maintaining proi)er vigilance and a pious life.

will be inclined, since these three powerl'ul enemies, the devil, the world, and the flesh, incessantly oppose us day and night. Hence Job, ch. 7, v. I, says, that the life of man on earth is strife and contention.

Now, it is by no means a light matter, to stand continually in battle-

* A Hence the Holjr Spirit is called ParacletiiSf ^ conjfort^r, who incitgs and urges on to good.

array during our whole life. Hence it is necessary, indeed, to have good trumpets and bugles; that is, such preaching and exhortation as will enable us valiantly to maintain our position in the battle. Good works are armors; evil works are not; unless we conform to them, and allow them to control us. If so, they likewise become armors; as St. Paul, Eom. 6, 13, says: ^' Yield not your members as instruments of luirighteousness unto sin." As if he should say: Let not the works of darkness so overcome you as to render your members instruments of unrighteousness.

Now, it has already been sufficiently stated that here by the word light faith is imi^lied, which shines from the day of the Gospel, out of the sun, Christ, into our hearts; hence the armors of light are nothing else but the worl's of faith. Dai^lness, on the other hand, is vnhelief reigning in the absence of the Gosi)el and of Christ, through the doctrines of men and their own reason, instigated by the devil. The tvorJi'S of darJcness are, therefore, the worlcs of unbelief; for even as Christ is a Lord and Euler of that brilliant faith, so, as St. Paul, Eph. 6, 12, says, the devil is a ruler of this darkness; that is, over unbelievers; as 2 Cor. 4, 3, 4, he also says: ^'But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the God of this world," (that is, the devil,) '^hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ * * should shine unto them." The character of these two different works, however, will hereafter appear.

"Let us walk honestly, as in the day."

In the day, the works of darkness are not performed; one is ashamed of another, and conducts himself honorably. The expression, the night is shameless, is proverbial; and it is true. Therefore, the works of which we would be ashamed in the day, are performed in the night. But the day is shame-faced, ancl constrains us to an honorable walk. A Christian should, therefore, so live and conduct himself th<vt all his works ma;^' be,g|;

siicli a character as never to cause liim to be asliamed of tlieni, althougli all tlie world should see them. For he tliat so lives and acts as to be unwilling for his deeds to be seen or heard, openly before every one, lives certainly not in a Christian manner. Of this, John 3, 20, Christ speaks: " For every one that doetli evil, hateth the ligiit, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifest that they are wrought in God."

Hence you perceive the great necessity of this incitation and exhortation to be vigilant and to put on the armor of iig-lit. How many Christians are there at the present time, who could bear for all their works to come to the day? But what kind of a Chiistian life do we hypocrites lead, that we cannot bear for our conduct to be exposed to men, which, however, is already exposed to God, his angels, and all his creatures, and, on the last day, shall be exposed to every imej A Christian should, therefore, live as he would ])e iound in Hie last day and before all men; Eph. 5, 9: *' Walk as children of light; for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth f' and Ivom. 12, 17: ^* Provide things lionest,'' not only in the sight of God, but also, '^ in the sight of all men.-' Again, 2 Cor. 1, 12: ''For our rejoiciiig is tills, the testimony of our conscftice, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with iieslily wisdom, * * we have had our conversation in the world."

But sudi a life indeed cannot be ])erpetuated where faith does not exist, since this vigilant, active, valiant faith has enough to do to continue in such a life, vdthout falling asleep or growing weary. As necessary, therefore, as it is to ])reach doctrine to tlie illiterate, so necessary is it to exhort the literate, so that they may not fall off fi'om their incipient good life, tlirough the assaults of the raging flesh, the subtle world, and the treacherous devil.

"Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and.>\taTitQBnesSi

not in strife and envying."

Here he enumerates the works of darkness by nam.e, one of which he calls sleep, in the commencement of this discourse; as, 1 Thess. 5, G, it is written: '' Let us not sleep as do others; but let us wat(di and be sober.^ Xot that he forbids natural sleep, but spiritual, which cimsivSts in unbelielV from Avhich the works of darkness result; although natural sleep is a work, too, of darkness, if indulged in througli lust and inebriety,* to the obstruction of the light and its armor. These six worls of darJxncss include all others; such as are enumerated in Gal. 5, 19, 20, 21, and Col. 3, 5, 8. We shall briefly divide them into two classes, the one upon the right, the other upon the left. Upon the right side, these four, rlotin(j, drnulenness^ chamheriiu/^ and icanto)iness,\ ure ai rayed; on the left, strife and envi/iuf/. For in the Scrii)ture tlie left side signifies advei'- sity, and all that results fi'om adver« sity; as, tcraflt, envying, &c. The right side means prosperity, and all that results from xu^osperity; as riotinfi, drunlienness^ lust, indolence.

It is certain, theretbre, that St. Paul wishes to include under these two works of darkness, strife and enrynifj, all others of vsimilar character; as those enumerated in Eph. 4, 31: '' Let all bitterness, and ^-rath, and anger, and clamor, and evil-speakiu-g be put avrav from you, ^\ith all malice;■' and in Gal. 5, 20: "Now the works of tho flesh are hatred, A'arianee, emulation, wratli, strife, seditions, heresies, env.^ings, murder," &e., and, in a word, ail the e^ils so innumerable, which may result from ^^Tath, in Vv'ords and actions. Thus, too, under these four vices.

drnnlsenness, indolence, and lewdness, he includes all tlie vices of nucha stity in words and actions, which no one would desire to eimmerate; so that by these six eimmerated works it is briefly understood that the iadi« vidurJ who lives, under darkness, in unbelief, does not keep himself pure before his neighbor, but is inordinate in all his actions in regard to himself

* B. Through indolence and excessive inebiic^Vifin^ 1(A) drunkenness and uuchastity.

and liis fellow-man. Further comments, these worci^, hideed, need not; every one knows well what rioting and chiinkenness, or excessive eating and diinking, more for the gratification of the api^etite, than for the nourishment of the body, mean. Again, there is no difficulty in understanding what is meant by idleness in beds and chambers, by lewdness and unchastity; that is, the indulgence of the lusts and appetites of the flesh, by excessive sleeping and indolence, by every species of unchastity and carnality, committed in beds, by the satiated, indolent, drowsy, and lazy, whether in the day or night, in bed or elsewhere, alone or in company, — vit^es, all of which also seek natural darkness and secret places, and which St. Paul expresses by the words chambering and wantonness; and so, too, strife, envying, «&c., are generally understood.

*'But put yo on the Lord Jesus Christ."

Here he embraces and exhibits in a few words all the armors of light, when he admonishes us to])ut on Christ. Christ is put on in two ways. First, wlien we clothe ourselves with Ids own virtues; this is efcected through the faith which relies on the fact that Christ died and accomi)iished all things for us. For, not our righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ, reconciled us to God, and redeemed us from sin. This mode of putting on Christ belongs to the doctrine Avhich teaches faith; and in this way Christ is given to us as a gift and a pledge.*

SecomUy, he is our example and jmtteni, which we should follow and like which we should become, clothing ourselves even in tlie virtuous garment, m which he vv alked. Hence St. Paid says we should put on Christ, Again, I Cor. 15, 49: ^' As we have borne the image of the earthy, w^e shall also bear the image of the heavenly;" and Eph. 4, 22,23, 24: "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according

* B. In regard to this, more will be said in the Epistle for New Year's day, Gal. 3, 27:— *• For as many of you as have been baptized insto Christ, have put on Christ."

to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

IS^ow, in Christ we perceive nothing but i)ure armors of light. Here there is no gormandizing, or diamkenness, but fasting, moderation, and restraint of the flesh, through labor, active exertion, preaching, praying, and doing good for mankind; here there is no true discipline, purity, chastity, vigilance, wakefidness, sleeping in fields, having neither house, nor chambei", nor bed; here there is no wrath, strife, or envying, but pure goodness, sweetness, love, mercy, patience, &c. In order, therefore, to i:>resent Christ in a few words, as an example, St. Paul says in the w ords. Col. 3, 12, 15: " Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of nund, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And abo^^e all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness."* Again, in Phil. 2, 2, after commanding them to love one another, and serve, and be the servants of one another, lie also presents as an examifle, this same Christ who became a servant for us, saying: ''Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the firm of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man."

]N'ow, in short, the armors of light are good ivorlis in opposition to rioting, drunkenness, lechery, and indolence, strife and envying; such as, fasting, watchfulness, i)rayer, labor, chastity, modesty, temperance, goodness, endurance of hunger, thirst, cold, heat; and not to employ my own words, let us hear St. Paid himself in

* A. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in oi» body; and be ye thankful."