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David therefore reigned in the earthly Jerusalem, a son of the
heavenly Jerusalem, much praised by the divine testimony; for even
his faults are overcome by great piety, through the most salutary
humility of his repentance, that he is altogether one of those of whom
he himself says, "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered." After him Solomon his son reigned over
the same whole people, who, as was said before, began to reign while
his father was still alive. This man, after good beginnings, made a
bad end. For indeed "prosperity, which wears out the minds of the
wise," hurt him more than that wisdom profiled him, which even yet is
and shall hereafter be renowned, and was then praised far and wide.
He also is found to have prophesied in his hooks, of which three are
received as of canonical authority, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the
Song of Songs. But it has been customary to ascribe to Solomon
other two, of which one is called Wisdom, the other Ecclesiasticus,
on account of some resemblance of style, but the more learned have no
doubt that they are not his; yet of old the Church, especially the
Western, received them into authority, in the one of which, called
the Wisdom of Solomon, the passion of Christ is most openly
prophesied. For indeed His impious murderers are quoted as saying,
"Let us lie in wait for the righteous, for he is unpleasant to us,
and contrary to our works; and he upbraideth us with our transgressions
of the law, and objecteth to our disgrace the transgressions of our
education. He professeth to have the knowledge of God, and he
calleth himself the Son of God. He was made to reprove our
thoughts. He is grievous for as even to behold; for his life is
unlike other men's and his ways are different. We are esteemed of him
as counterfeits; and he abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness.
He extols the latter end of the righteous; and glorieth that he hath
God for his Father. Let us see, therefore, if his words be true;
and let us try what shall happen to him, and we shall know what shall
be the end of him. For if the righteous be the Son of God, He will
undertake for him, and deliver him out of the hand of those that are
against him. Let us put him to the question with contumely and
torture, that we may know his reverence, and prove his patience. Let
us condemn him to the most shameful death; for by His own sayings He
shall be respected. These things did they imagine, and were
mistaken; for their own malice hath quite blinded them." But in
Ecclesiasticus the future faith of the nations is predicted in this
manner: "Have mercy Upon us, O God, Ruler of all, and send
Thy fear upon all the nations: lift up Thine hand over the strange
nations, and let them see Thy power. As Thou wast sanctified in us
before them, so be Thou sanctified in them before us, and let them
acknowledge Thee, according as we also have acknowledged Thee; for
there is not a God beside Thee, O Lord." We see this prophecy in
the form of a wish and prayer fulfilled through Jesus Christ. But
the things which are not written in the canon of the Jews cannot be
quoted against their contradictions with so great validity.
But as regards those three books which it is evident are Solomon's
and held canonical by the Jews, to show what of this kind may be found
in them pertaining to Christ and the Church demands a laborious
discussion, which, if now entered on, would lengthen this work
unduly. Yet what we read in the Proverbs of impious men saying,
"Let us unrighteously hide in the earth the righteous man; yea, let
us swallow him up alive as hell, and let us take away his memory from
the earth: let us seize his precious possession," is not so obscure
that it may not be understood, without laborious exposition, of
Christ and His possession the Church. Indeed, the gospel parable
about the wicked husbandmen shows that our Lord Jesus Himself said
something like it: "This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and
the inheritance shall be ours."
In like manner also that passage in this same book, on which we have
already touched when we were speaking of the barren woman who hath born
seven, must soon after it was tittered have come to be understood of
only Christ and the Church by those who knew that Christ was the
Wisdom of God. "Wisdom hath builded her an house, and hath set up
seven pillars; she hath sacrificed her victims, she hath mingled her
wine in the bowl; she hath also furnished her table. She hath sent
her servants summoning to the bowl with excellent proclamation,
saying, Who is simple, let him turn aside to me. And to the void of
sense she hath said, Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine
which I have mingled for you." Here certainly we perceive that the
Wisdom of God, that is, the Word co-eternal with the Father,
hath builded Him an house, even a human body in the virgin womb, and
hath subjoined the Church to it as members to a head, hath slain the
martyrs as victims, hath furnished a table with wine and bread, where
appears also the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, and hath
called the simple and the void of sense, because, as saith the
apostle, "He hath chosen the weak things of this world that He might
confound the things which are mighty." Yet to these weak ones she
saith what follows, "Forsake simplicity, that ye may live; and seek
prudence, that ye may have life." But to be made partakers of this
table is itself to begin to have life. For when he says in.another
book, which is called Ecclesiastes, "There is no good for a man,
except that he should eat and drink," what can he be more credibly
understood to say, than what belongs to the participation of this table
which the Mediator of the New Testament Himself, the Priest after
the order of Melchizedek, furnishes with His own body and blood?
For that sacrifice has succeeded all the sacrifices of the Old
Testament, which were slain as a shadow of that which was to come;
wherefore also we recognize the voice in the 40th Psalm as that of
the same Mediator speaking through prophesy," Sacrifice and offering
Thou didst not desire; but a body hast Thou perfected for me."
Because, instead of all these sacrifices and oblations, His body is
offered, and is served up to the partakers of it. For that this
Ecclesiastes, in this sentence about eating and drinking, which he
often repeats, and very much commends, does not savor the dainties of
carnal pleasures, is made plain enough when he says, "It is better
to go into the house of mourning than to go into the house of
feasting." And a little after He says, "The heart of the wise is
in the house of mourning, and the heart of the simple in the house of
feasting." But I think that more worthy of quotation from this book
which relates to both cities, the one of the devil, the other of
Christ, and to their kings, the devil and Christ: "Woe to thee,
O land," he says, "when thy king is a youth, and thy princes eat
in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son
of nobles, and thy princes eat in season, in fortitude, and not in
confusion!" He has called the devil a youth, because of the folly
and pride, and rashness and unruliness, and other vices which are wont
to abound at that age; but Christ is the Son of nobles, that is, of
the holy patriarchs, of those belonging to the free city, of whom He
was begotten in the flesh. The princes of that and other cities are
eaters in the morning, that is, before the suitable hour, because
they do not expect the seasonable felicity, which is the true, in tile
world to come, desiring to be speedily made happy with the renown of
this world; but the princes of the city of Christ patiently wait for
the time of a blessedness that is not fallacious. This is expressed by
the words, "in fortitude, and not in confusion," because hope does
not deceive them; of which the apostle says, "But hope maketh not
ashamed." A psalm also saith, "For they that hope in Thee shall
not be put to shame." But now the Song of Songs is a certain
spiritual pleasure of holy minds, in the marriage of that King and
Queen-city, that is, Christ and the Church. But this pleasure is
wrapped up in allegorical veils, that the Bridegroom may be more
ardently desired, and more joyfully unveiled, and may appear; to whom
it is said in this same song, "Equity hath delighted Thee; and the
bride who there hears, "Charity is in thy delights." We pass over
many things in silence, in our desire to finish this work.
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