XVIII. σίαν 336 Men favour their slaves above Christ. HOMIL. of which they are no longer the owners, but are of such an 'inimical and hostile disposition, as not even to give Him a share in what is useless to themselves. Do you not know how many of mankind have not even been counted worthy to obtain an end of this kind, but have been snatched off suddenly? But thee doth God empower to give orders to thy kindred, and to speak with them about thy property, and set all that is in thy house in order. What defence then wilt thou have to set up, when even after receiving this favour from Him, thou hast treacherously given up the benefit, and art standing as it were in diametrical opposition to thy forefathers in the faith? For they even in their lifetime sold all, and brought it to the Apostle's feet. But thou, even at thy death, dost not give any share to them that need. What is the better part, and app gives one much boldness', is to remedy poverty in one's lifetime. But if thou hast not been minded to do this, at all events do upon thy death-bed some noble act. For this is not what a strong love for Christ would do, yet still it is an act of love. For if thou wilt not have the high place" with the Lambs, still even to be with Him at all' is no light thing, and so not to be placed with the goats nor on the left hand. But if thou wilt not do this, what plea is to rescue thee, 2 Mar. when neither the fear of God nor thy money having become and Ms. henceforth of no use to thee, nor the leaving of safety behind thee to thy children, nor the laying up of much pardon there against the time to come, will make thee merciful to man? Wherefore I advise, as the best thing, that in your lifetime you give the larger half of your goods to the poor. But if there be any of so narrow a soul as not to have the heart to do so, at all events let them by necessity become merciful. For when you were living as if there were no death, then you clung close to your goods. But now since you have learnt that you are to die, at least now give over your opinion, and deliberate about your affairs as one that must die. Or rather as one that ought to enjoy immortal life for evermore. For if what I am going to say be distasteful, and big with horror, still it must be said. Reckon with thy slaves the Lord. Art thou giving thy slaves liberty? Give Christ liberty from famine, 1 So mar. Sav. and Ms. to be after them. of death Η προεδρίαν, mar. προσεδρείαν, near place. 11, 6. No help in Judgment for those who neglect Christ here. 337 from distress, from imprisonment, from nakedness. Art thou ROM. horrified at the words? Is it not then more horrible when thou dost not even thus much? And here the word makes thy blood curdle. But when thou art gone to that world, and hast to hear things far more grievous than these, and seest the tortures which are incurable, what wilt thou say? To whom wilt thou flee for refuge? Whom wilt thou call to thy alliance and assistance? Will it be Abraham? He will not hearken to thee. Or those virgins? They will not give thee of their oil. Thy father then or thy grandfather? But none even of these, if he be ever so holy, will have it in his power to reverse that sentence1. Weighing then all these things, to1 Ms. Him who alone is Lord to blot out the bill against thee, and to quench that flame, to Him make prayer and supplication, and propitiate Him, by now feeding Him and clothing Him continually that in this world thou mayest depart with a good hope, and when thou art there thou mayest enjoy eternal blessings, which may we all attain to by the grace and love toward man, &c.. : end that quarrel HOMILY XIX. HOMIL. XIX. 18. 29, 10. ROM. xi. 7. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. He had said that God did not cast off His people; and to Ishew in what sense He had not cast them off, he takes refuge in the Prophets again. And having shewn by them that the more part of the Jews were lost, that he might not seem to be again bringing forward an accusation of his own, and to make his discourse offensive, and to be attacking them as enemies, he takes refuge in David and Isaiah, and says, Ver. 8. According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber. Or rather we should go back to the beginning of his argument. Having then mentioned the state of things in Elijah's time, and shewn what grace is, he proceeds, What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for. Now this is as much what an accuser would say, as what one who was putting a question. For the Jew, he means, is inconsistent with himself when he seeketh for righteousness, which he will not accept. Then to leave them with no excuse, he shews, from those who have accepted it, their unfeeling spirit, as he says, But the election hath obtained it, and they are the condemnation of the others. And this is Lukell, what Christ says, But if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by 19. whom do your children cast them out? Wherefore they Grace and Free-will. In what sense God blinds men. 839 11, 8. shall be your judges. For to prevent any one from accusing ROM. the nature of the thing, and not their own temper, he points out those who had obtained it. Hence he uses the worda with great propriety, to shew at once the grace from above and the zeal of these. For it is not to deny freewill that he speaks of their having obtained1 it, but to shew the greatness as by of the good things, and that the greater part was of grace, though Gr. iinot the whole. For we too are in the habit of saying, 'so Tux and so chanced to get, so and so met with,' when the same gain has been a great one. Because it is not by man's labours, but by God's gift, that the greater part was brought about. And the rest were blinded. 2 chance word See how he has been bold enough to tell with his own. voice the casting off of the rest. For He had indeed spoken of it already, but it was by bringing the prophets in as accusers. But from this point he declares it in his own person. Still even here he is not content with his own declaration, but brings Isaiah the prophet in again. For after saying, were blinded, he proceeds; according as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber. Now whence came this blinding? He had indeed mentioned the causes of it before, and turned it all upon their own heads, to shew that it was from their unseasonable obstinacy that they had to bear this. And now he speaks of it too. For when he says, Eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, he is but finding fault with their contentious spirit. For when they had eyes to see the miracles, and were possessed of ears to hear that marvellous Teaching, they never used these as were fitting. And the He gave, do not imagine to mean here an agency, but a permission only. But slumber 3 3 xaráis a name he here gives to the habit of soul inclinable lit. pierto the worse, when incurably and unchangeably so. For in cing another passage David says, that my glory may sing unto Ps. 30, thee, and I may not be put to slumber; that is, I may not LXX. alter, may not be changed. For as a man who is hushed to slumber in a state of pious fear would not easily be made to Or language.' He has before remarked on the term election as implying an approved character; see on v. 5. p. 330. b So on x. 21. but see on viii. 26. and xi. 22. p. 349. νυξις 12. 340 The Jews' bowed down' for ever as foretold. HOMIL. change his side; so too he that is slumbering in wickedness XIX. would not change with facility. For to be hushed to slum Ps. 69, ber here is nothing else but to be fixed and rivetted to a thing. In pointing then to the incurable and unchangeable character of their spirit, he calls it a spirit of slumber. Then to shew that for this unbelief they will be most severely punished, he brings the Prophet forward again, threatening the very things which in the event came to pass. Ver. 9. Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, 22. 23. and a stumbling-block. That is, let their comforts and all their good things change and perish, and let them be open to attack from any one. And to shew that it is in punishment for sins that they suffer this, he adds, and a recompense unto them. Ver. 10. Let their eyes be darkened that they may not see, and bow Thou down their back alway. Do these things then still require any interpreting? Are they not plain even to those ever so senseless? And before our words, the very issue of facts has anticipated us in bearing witness to what was said. For at what time have they ever been so open to attacks? at what time such an easy prey? at what time hath He so bowed down their backs? At what time have they been set under such bondage? And what is more, there is not to be any unloosing from these terrors. And this the Prophet hath also hinted. For he does not say only, bow Thou down their back, but, for ever bow Thou down. But if thou art disposed to dispute, O Jew, about the issue, from what hath gone before learn also the present case. Thou didst go down to Egypt; and two hundred years passed, and God freed thee speedily from that bondage, and that though thou wert irreligious, and wentest a whoring with the most baneful whoredom. Thou wert freed from Egypt, and thou didst worship the calf, thou didst sacrifice thy sons to Baalpeor, thou didst defile the temple, thou didst go after every sort of vice, thou didst grow not to know c Accommodated to the E. V. Gr. to a deep (often Gen. 2, 21. 15, Ps. 76, 7. In Ps. 30, (al. 29,) 13. the verb is 7, which signifies stillness (from horror or amazement). We speak of being penetrated with horror; here the notion of piercing is taken, and applied to fixing. See Schleusner in κατανύσσομαι. |