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1. WHEN our Lord Christ, foretelling His own passion, and the
fruitfulness of His death in being lifted up on the cross, said that
He would draw all [things] after Him; and when the Jews,
understanding that He spoke of His death, put to Him the question
how He could speak of death as awaiting Him, when they heard out of
the law that Christ abideth for ever; He exhorted them, while still
they had in them the little light, which had so taught them that
Christ was eternal, to walk, to make themselves acquainted with the
whole subject, lest they should be overtaken with darkness. And,
when He had said this, He hid Himself from them. With these points
you have been made acquainted in former Lord's day lessons and
discourses.
2. The evangelist thereafter brings forward what has formed the brief
subject of today's reading, and says, "But though He had done so
many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him: that the
saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke,
Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the
Lord been revealed?" Where he makes it sufficiently plain that the
Son of God is Himself the arm of the Lord; not that the person of
God the Father is determined by the shape of human flesh, and that
the Son is attached to Him as a member of His body; but because all
things were made by Him, and therefore He is designated the arm of
the Lord. For as it is with thine arm that thou workest, so the
Word of God is styled His arm; because by the Word He elaborated
the world. For why does a man, in order to do some work, stretch
forth his arm, but because the doing of it does not straightway follow
his word? And if he was endowed with such pre-eminent power that what
he said was done without any movement of his body, then would his word
be his arm. But the Lord Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God the
Father, as He is no mere member of the Father's body, so is He no
mere thinkable, and audible, and transitory word; for, as all things
were made by Him, He was the word of God.
3. When, therefore, we hear that the Son of God is the arm of
God the Father, let no carnal custom raise its distracting din in our
ears; but as far as His grace enables us, let us think of that power
and wisdom of God by which all things were made. Surely such an arm
as that is neither held out by stretching, nor drawn in by contracting
it. For He is not one and the same with the Father, but He and the
Father are one; and as equal with the Father, He is in all respects
complete, as well as the Father: so that no room is left open for the
abominable error of those who assert that the Father alone exists, but
according to the difference of causes is Himself sometimes called the
Son, sometimes the Holy Spirit; and so also from these words may
venture to say, See you perceive that the Father alone exists, if
the Son is His arm: for a man and his arm are not two persons, but
one. Not understanding nor considering how words are transferred from
one thing to another, on account of some mutual likeness, even in our
daily forms of speech about things the most familiar and visible; and
how much the more must it be so, in order that things ineffable may
find some sort of expression in our speech, things which, as they
really exist, cannot be expressed in words at all? For even one man
styles another his arm, by whom he is accustomed to transact his
business: and if he is deprived of him, he says in his grief, I have
lost my arm; and to him who has taken him away, he says, You have
deprived me of my arm. Let them understand, then, the sense in which
the Son is termed the arm of the Father, as that by which the Father
hath executed all His works; that they may not, by failing to
understand this, and continuing in the darkness of their error,
resemble those Jews of whom it was said, "And to whom hath the arm
of the Lord been revealed?"
4. And here we meet with the second question, to treat of which,
indeed, in any adequate manner, to investigate all its mysterious
windings, and throw them open to the light in a befitting way, I
think within the scope neither of my own powers, nor of the shortness
of the time, nor of your capacity. Yet, as we cannot allow ourselves
so far to disappoint your expectations as to pass on to other topics
without saying something on this, take what we shall be able to offer
you: and wherein we fail to satisfy your expectations, ask the
increase of Him who appointed us to plant and to water; for, as the
apostle saith, "Neither is he that planteth anything, nor he that
watereth; but God that giveth the increase." There are some,
then, who mutter among themselves, and sometimes speak out when they
can, and even break forth into turbulent debate, saying: What did
the Jews do, or what fault was it of theirs, if it was a necessity
"that the saying of Isaiah the prophet should be fulfilled, which he
spoke, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm
of the Lord been revealed?" To whom our answer is, that the Lord,
in His foreknowledge of the future, foretold by the prophet the
unbelief of the Jews; He foretold it, but did not cause it. For
God does not compel any one to sin simply because He knows already the
future sins of men. For He foreknew sins that were theirs, not His
own; sins that were referable to no one else, but to their own
selves. Accordingly, if what He foreknew as theirs is not really
theirs, then had He no true foreknowledge: but as His foreknowledge
is infallible, it is doubtless no one else, but they themselves,
whose sinfulness God foreknew, that are the sinners. The Jews,
therefore, committed sin, with no compulsion to do so on His part,
to whom sin is an object of displeasure; but He foretold their
committing of it, because nothing is concealed from His knowledge And
accordingly, had they wished to do good instead of evil, they would
not have been hindered; but in this which they were to do they were
foreseen of Him who knows what every man will do, and what He is yet
to render unto such an one according to his work.
5. But the words of the Gospel also, that follow, are still more
pressing, and start a question of more profound import: for He goes
on to say, "Therefore they could not believe, because that Isaiah
said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart;
that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their
heart, and be converted, and I should heal them." For it is said
to as: If they could not believe, what sin is it in man not to do
what he cannot do? and if they sinned in not believing, then they had
the power to believe, and did not use it. If, then, they had the
power, how says the Gospel, "Therefore they could not believe,
because that Isaiah said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and
hardened their heart;" so that (which is of grave import) to God
Himself is referred the cause of their not believing, inasmuch as it
is He who "hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart"? For
what is thus testified to in the prophetical Scriptures, is at least
not spoken of the devil, but of God. For were we to suppose it said
of the devil, that he "hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their
heart;" we have to undertake the task of being able to show what blame
was theirs in not believing, of whom it is said, "they could not
believe." And then, what reply shall we give touching another
testimony of this very prophet, which the Apostle Paul has adopted,
when he says: "Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for;
but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded,
according as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of
remorse, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not
hear, unto this day"?
6. Such, as you have just heard, brethren, is the question that
comes before us, and you can perceive how profound it is; but we shall
give what answer we can. "They could not believe," because that
Isaiah the prophet foretold it; and the prophet foretold it because
God foreknew that such would be the case. But if I am asked why they
could not, I reply at once, because they would not; for certainly
their depraved will was foreseen by God, and foretold through the
prophet by Him from whom nothing that is future can be hid. But the
prophet, sayest thou, assigns another cause than that of their will.
What cause does the prophet assign? That "God hath given them the
spirit of remorse, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they
should not hear; and hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their
heart." This also, I reply, their will deserved. For God thus
blinds and hardens, simply by letting alone and withdrawing His aid:
and God can do this by a judgment that is hidden, although not by one
that is unrighteous. This is a doctrine which the piety of the
God-fearing ought to preserve unshaken and inviolable in all its
integrity: even as the apostle, when treating of the same intricate
question, says, "What shall we say then? is there unrighteousness
with God? God forbid." If, then, we must be far from thinking
that there is unrighteousness with God, this only can it be, that,
when He giveth His aid, He acteth mercifully; and, when He
withholdeth it, He acteth righteously: for in all He doeth, He
acteth not rashly, but in accordance with judgment. And still
further, if the judgments of the saints are righteous, how much more
those of the sanctifying and justifying God? They are therefore
righteous, although hidden.
Accordingly, when questions of this sort come before us, why one is
dealt with in such a way, and another in such another way; why this
one is blinded by being forsaken of God, and that one is enlightened
by the divine aid vouchsafed to him: let us not take upon ourselves to
pass judgment on the judgment of so mighty a judge, but tremblingly
exclaim with the apostle, "O the depth of the riches both of the
wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and
His ways past finding out!" As it is also said in the psalm, "Thy
judgments are as a great deep."
7. Let not then, brethren, the expectations of your Charity drive
me to attempt the task of penetrating into such a deep, of sounding
such an abyss, of searching into what is unsearchable. I own my own
little measure of ability, and I think I have some perception of
yours also, as equally small. This is too high for my stature, and
too strong for my strength; and for yours also, I think. Let us,
therefore, listen together to the admonition and to the words of
Scripture: "Seek not out the things that are too high for thee,
neither search the things that are above thy strength." Not that such
things are forbidden us, since the divine Master saith, "There is
nothing hid that shall not be revealed:" but if we walk up to the
measure of our present attainments, then, as the apostle tells us,
not only what we know not and ought to know, but also if we are minded
to know anything else, God will reveal even this unto us. But if we
have reached the pathway of faith, let us keep to it with all
constancy: let it be our guide to the chamber of the King, in whom
are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. For it was in no
spirit of grudging that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself acted towards
those great and specially chosen disciples of His, when He said,
"I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now."
We must be walking, making progress, and growing, that our hearts
may become fit to receive the things which we cannot receive at
present. And if the last day shall find us sufficiently advanced, we
shall then learn what here we were unable to know.
8. If, however, any one considers himself able, and has confidence
enough, to give a clearer and better exposition of the question before
us, God forbid that I should not be still more ready to learn than to
teach. Only let no one dare to defend the freedom of the will in any
such way as to attempt depriving us of the prayer that says, "Lead us
not into temptation;" and, on the other hand, let no one deny the
freedom of the will, and so venture to find an excuse for sin. But
let us give heed to the Lord, both in commanding and in offering His
aid; in both telling us our duty, and assisting us to discharge it.
For some He hath let be lifted up to pride through an overweening
trust in their own wills, while others He hath let fall into
carelessness through a contrary excess of distrust. The former say:
Why do we ask God not to let us be overcome by temptation, when it is
all in our own power? The latter say: Why should we try to live
well, when the power to do so is in the hands of God? O Lord, O
Father, who art in heaven, lead us not into any of these
temptations; but "deliver us from evil!" Listen to the Lord, when
He says, "I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail
not;" that we may never think of our faith as so lying in our free
will that it has no need of the divine assistance. Let us listen also
to the evangelist, when he says, "He hath given them power to become
the sons of God;" that we may not imagine it as altogether beyond our
own power that we believe: but in both let us acknowledge His
beneficent acting. For, on the one side, we have to give Him thanks
that the power is bestowed; and on the other, to pray that our own
little strength may not utterly fail. It is this very faith that
worketh by love, according to the measure thereof that the Lord hath
given to every man; that he that glorieth may glory, not in himself,
but in the Lord.
9. It is no wonder, then, that they could not believe, when such
was their pride of will, that, being ignorant of the righteousness of
God, they wished to establish their own: as the apostle says of
them, "They have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of
God." For it was not by faith, but as it were by works, that they
were puffed up; and blinded by this very self-elation, they stumbled
against the stone of stumbling. And so it is said, "they could
not," by which we are to understand that they would not; in the same
way as it was said of the Lord our God, "If we believe not, yet
He abideth faithful, He cannot deny Himself." It is said of the
Omnipotent, "He cannot." And so, just as it is a commendation of
the divine will that the Lord "cannot deny Himself," that they
"could not believe" is a fault chargeable on the will of man.
10. And, look you! so also say I, that those who have such lofty
ideas of themselves as to suppose that so much must be attributed to the
powers of their own will, that they deny their need of the divine
assistance in order to a righteous life, cannot believe on Christ.
For the mere syllables of Christ's name, and the Christian
sacraments, are of no profit, where faith in Christ is itself
resisted. For faith in Christ is to believe in Him that justifieth
the ungodly; to believe in the Mediator, without whose interposition
we cannot be reconciled unto God; to believe in the Saviour, who
came to seek and to save that which was lost; to believe in Him who
said, "Without me ye can do nothing." Because, then, being
ignorant of that righteousness of God that justifieth the ungodly, he
wishes to set up his own to satisfy the minds of the proud, such a man
cannot believe on Christ. And so, those Jews "could not
believe:" not that men cannot be changed for the better; but so long
as their ideas run in such a direction, they cannot believe. Hence
they are blinded and hardened; for, denying the need of divine
assistance, they are not assisted. God foreknew this regarding these
Jews who were blinded and hardened, and the prophet by His Spirit
foretold it.
11. But when he added, "And they should be converted, and I
should heal them," is there a "not" to be understood, that is,
they should not be converted, connecting it with the clause before,
where it is said, "that they should not see with their eyes and
understand with their heart;" for here also it is certainly meant,
"and should not understand "? For conversion itself is likewise a
gift of His grace, as when it is said to Him, "Turn us, O God
of Hosts." Or may it be that we are to understand this also as
actually taking place through the merciful experience of the divine
method of healing, [namely this,] that, being of proud and perverse
wills, and wishing to establish their own righteousness, they were
left alone for the very purpose of being blinded; and thus blinded in
order that they might stumble on the stone of stumbling, and have their
faces filled with shame; and so, being thus humbled, might seek the
name of the Lord, and no longer a righteousness of their own, that
inflated their pride, but the righteousness of God, that justifieth
the ungodly? For this very way turned out to the good of many of
them, who were afterwards filled with remorse for wickedness, and
believed on Christ; and on whose behalf He Himself had put up the
prayer, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
And it is of that ignorance of theirs also that the apostle says, "I
bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge:" for he then goes on also to add, "For they, being
ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own
righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of
God."
12. "These things said Isaiah, when he saw His glory, and spoke
of Him." What Isaiah saw, and how it refers to Christ the Lord,
are to be read and learned in his book. For he saw Him, not as He
is, but in some symbolical way to suit the form that the vision of the
prophet had itself to assume. For Moses likewise saw Him, and yet
we find him saying to Him whom he saw, "If I have found grace in
Thy sight, show me now Thyself, that I may clearly see Thee;"
for he saw Him not as He is. But the time when this shall yet be our
experience, that same Saint John the Evangelist tells us in his
Epistle: "Dearly beloved, [now] are we the sons of God; and it
hath not yet become manifest what we shall be: because we know that,
when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as
He is." He might have said "for we shall see Him," without
adding "as He is;" but because he knew that He was seen of some of
the fathers and prophets, but not as He is, therefore after saying
"we shall see Him," he added "as He is." And be not deceived,
brethren, by any of those who assert that the Father is invisible,
and the Son visible. This assertion is made by those who think that
the latter is a creature, and whose understanding runs not in harmony
with the words, "I and my Father one." Accordingly, as respects
the form of God wherein He is equal with the Father, the Son also
is invisible: but, in order to be seen of men, He assumed the form
of a servant, and being made in the likeness of men, became visible to
man. He showed Himself, therefore, even before His incarnation,
to the eyes of men, as it pleased Him, in the creature-form at His
command, but not as He is. Let us be purifying our hearts by faith,
that we may be prepared for that ineffable and, so to speak, invisible
vision. For "blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see
God."
13. "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on
Him; but, because of the Pharisees, they did not confess Him,
lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the glory
of men more than the glory of God." See how the evangelist marked
and disapproved of some, who yet, he said, believed on Him: who,
if ever they did advance though this gateway of faith, would thereby
also overcome that love of human glory which had been overcome by the
apostle, when he said, "God forbid that I should glory, save in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified
unto me, and I unto the world." For to this end also did the Lord
Himself, when derided by the madness of human pride and impiety, fix
His cross on the foreheads of those who believed on Him, on that
which is in a manner the abode of modesty, that faith may learn not to
blush at His name, and love the glory of God more than the glory of
men.
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