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2 COR. I. 23.
But I call God for a witness upon my soul,
that to spare you I forbare to come unto
Corinth.
WHAT sayest thou, O blessed Paul? To
spare them thou camest not to Corinth? Surely
thou presentest us with something of a
contradiction. For a little above thou saidst
that thou therefore camest not, because thou
purposest not according to the flesh nor art
thine own master, but art led about every where
by the authority of the Spirit, and didst set
forth thine afflictions. But here thou sayest
it was thine own act that thou camest not, and
not from the authority of the Spirit; for he
saith, "To spare you I forbare to come to
Corinth." What then is one to say? either,
that this too was itself of the Spirit, and
that he himself wished to come but the Spirit
suggested to him not to do so, urging the motive
of sparing them; or else, that he is speaking
of some other coming, and would signify that
before he wrote the former Epistle he was minded
to come, and for love's sake restrained himself
lest he should find them yet unamended. Perhaps
also, after the second Epistle though the
Spirit no longer forbade him to go, he
involuntarily stayed away for this reason. And
this suspicion is the more probable, that in the
first instance the Spirit forbade him: but
afterwards upon his own conviction also that this
was more advisable, he stayed away.
And observe, I pray you, how he remembers
again his own custom, (which I shall never
cease to observe,) of making what seems against
him tell in his favor. For since it was natural
for them to respect this and say, 'It was
because thou hatedst us, thou wouldest not come
unto us,' he shows on the contrary, that the
cause for which he would not come was that he
loved them.
What is the expression, "to spare you?" I
heard, he saith, that some among you had
committed fornication; I would not therefore
come and make you sorry: for had I come, I
must needs have enquired into the matter, and
prosecuted and punished, and exacted justice
from many. I judged it then better to be away
and to give opportunity for repentance, than to
be with you and to prosecute, and be still more
incensed. For towards the end of this Epistle
he hath plainly declared it, saying, "I fear
lest when I come, my God should humble me
before you, and that I should mourn for many of
them that have sinned heretofore, and repented
not of the lasciviousness and uncleanness which
they committed." (2 COR. XII. 20,
21.) This therefore here also he intimates,
and he saith it indeed as in his own defence;
yet rebuketh them most severely and putteth them
in fear; for he implied that they were open to
punishment, and will also have somewhat to
suffer, unless they be quickly reformed. And
he says the same thing again at the end of the
Epistle thus; "If I come again, I will not
spare." (2 COR. XIII. 2.) Only there
he says it more plainly: but here, as it was
the proem, he does not say it so but in a
repressed tone; nor is he content even with
this, but he softens it down, applying a
corrective. For seeing the expression was that
of one asserting great authority, (for a man
spares those whom he has also power to punish,)
in order to relieve it, and draw a shade over
what seems harsh, he saith, Ver. 24.
"Not for that we have lordship over your
faith."
That is, I did not therefore say, "To spare
you I came not," as lording it over you.
Again, he said not you, but "your faith,"
which was at once gentler and truer. For him
that hath no mind to believe, who hath power to
compel?
"But are helpers of your joy."
For since, saith he, your joy is ours, I
came not, that I might not plunge you into
sorrow and increase my own despondency; but I
stayed away that ye being reformed by the threat
might be made glad. For we do every thing in
order to your joy, and give diligence in this
behalf, because we are ourselves partakers of
it. "For by faith ye stand."
Behold him again speaking repressedly. For he
was afraid to rebuke them again; since he had
handled them severely in the former Epistle,
and they had made some reformation. And if,
now that they were reformed, they again re
ceived the same reproof, this was likely to
throw them back. Whence this Epistle is much
gentler than the former.
Chap. ii. 1. "But I determined for myself
that I would not come again to you with
sorrow."
The expression "again" proves that he had
already been made sorry from thence, and whilst
he seems to be speaking in his own defence he
covertly rebukes them. Now if they had both
already made him sorry and were about again to
make him sorry, consider how great the
displeasure was likely to be. But he saith not
thus, 'Ye made me sorry,' but turns the
expression differently yet implying the very same
thing thus, 'For this cause I came not that
I might not make you sorry:' which has the
same force as what I said, but is more
palatable.
Ver. 2. "For if I make you sorry, who
then is he that maketh me glad, but he that is
made sorry by me?"
What is this consequence? A very just one
indeed. For observe, I would not, he saith,
come unto you, lest I should increase your
sorrow, rebuking, showing anger and disgust.
Then seeing that even this was strong and
implied accusation that they so lived as to make
Paul sorry, he applies a corrective in the
words, "For if I make you sorry, who then is
he that maketh me glad, but he that is made
sorry by me?"
What he saith is of this kind. 'Even though
I were to be in sorrow, being compelled to
rebuke you and to see you sorry, still
nevertheless this very thing would have made me
glad. For this is a proof of the greatest
love, that you hold me in such esteem as to be
hurt at my being displeased with you.'
Behold too his prudence. Their doing what all
disciples do, namely, smarting and feeling it
when rebuked, he produces as an instance of
their gratifying him; for, saith he, 'No man
maketh me so glad as he that giveth heed to my
words, and is sorry when he seeth me angry.'
Yet what followed naturally was to say, 'For
if I make you sorry, who then is he that can
make you glad?' But he doth not say this, but
turns his speech back again, dealing tenderly
with them, and says, 'Though I make you
sorry, even herein ye bestow on me a very great
favor in that ye are hurt at what I say.'
Ver. 3. "And I wrote this very thing unto
you."
What? That for this cause I came not, to
spare you. When wrote he? In the former
Epistle when he said, "I do not wish to see
you now by the way?" (1 Cor. xvi. 7.)
I think not; but in this Epistle when he
said, "Lest when I come again, my God
should humble me before you." (2 COR. XII.
21.) I have written then towards the end
this same, saith he, "lest when I come, my
God will humble me, and I should mourn for
many of them that have sinned heretofore."
But why didst thou write? "Lest when I came
I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought
to rejoice, having confidence in you all, that
my joy is the joy of you all?" For whereas he
said he was made glad by their sorrow, and this
was too arrogant and harsh, again he gave it a
different turn and softened it by what he
subjoined. For, he saith, I therefore wrote
unto you before, that I might not with anguish
find you unreformed; and I said this, "lest
I should have sorrow," out of regard not to my
own interest but yours. For I know that if ye
see me rejoicing ye rejoice, and if ye behold me
sad ye are sad. Observe therefore again the
connection of what he said; for so his words
will be more easy to understand. I came not,
he says, lest I should cause you sorrow when
finding you unreformed. And this I did, not
studying my own advantage, but yours. For as
to myself, when ye are made sorry I receive no
little pleasure, seeing that you care so much
about me as to be sorry and distressed at my
being displeased. "For who is he that maketh
me glad, but he that is made sorry by me."
However, though it be so with myself, yet
because I study your advantage, I wrote this
same thing to you that I might not be made
sorry, herein also again studying not my
advantage, but yours; for I know, that were
ye to see me sad, ye also would be sorry; as
also ye are glad when ye see me rejoicing.
Observe now his prudence. He said, I came
not, that I might not make you sorry;
although, saith be, this makes me glad.
Then, lest he should seem to take pleasure in
their pain, he saith, In this respect I am
glad inasmuch as I make you feel, for in
another respect I am sorry in that I am
compelled to make those sorry who love me so
much, not only by this rebuke, but also by
being myself in sorrow and by this means causing
you fresh sorrow.
But observe how he puts this so as to mingle
praise; saying, "from them of whom I ought to
rejoice," for these are the words of one
testifying kindred and much tender affection; as
if one were speaking of sons on whom he had
bestowed many benefits and for whom he had
toiled. If then for this I write and come
not; it is with weighty meaning I come not,
and not because I feel hate or aversion, but
rather exceeding love.
Next, whereas he said, he that makes me sorry
makes me glad; lest they should say 'this then
is what thou studiest, that thou mightest be
made glad and mightest exhibit to all the extent
of thy power;' he added, Ver. 4. "For
out of much affliction and anguish of heart I
wrote unto you with many tears, not that ye
should be made sorry, but that ye might know the
love which I have more abundantly unto you."
What more tenderly affectioned than this man's
spirit is? for he showeth himself to have been
not less pained than they who had sinned, but
even much more. For he saith not "out of
affliction" merely, but "out of much," nor
"with tears," but "with many tears" and
"anguish of heart," that is, I was
suffocated, I was choked with despondency; and
when I could no longer endure the cloud of
despondency," I wrote unto you: not that ye
should be grieved, but that ye might know the
love," saith he, "which I have more
abundantly unto you." And yet what naturally
followed was to say, not that ye might be
grieved, but that ye might be corrected: (for
indeed with this purpose he wrote.) This
however he doth not say, but, (more to sweeten
his words, and win them to a greater
affection,) he puts this for it, showing that
he doth all from love. And he saith not simply
"the love," but "which I have more
abundantly unto you." For hereby also he
desires to win them, by showing that he loveth
them more than all and feels towards them as to
chosen disciples. Whence he saith, "Even if
I be not an Apostle unto others, yet at least
I am to you;" (1 Cor. ix. 2.) and,
"Though ye have many tutors, yet have ye not
many fathers; " (1 Cor. iv. 15.) and
again, "By the grace of God we behaved
ourselves in the world, and more abundantly to
you ward;" (2 COR. I. 12.) and farther
on, "Though the more abundantly I love you,
the less I be loved;" and here "Which I
have more abundantly unto you;" (2 Cor.
xii. 15.) So that if my words were full of
anger, yet out of much love and sadness was the
anger; and whilst writing the Epistle, I
suffered, I was pained, not because ye had
sinned only, but also because I was compelled
to make you sorry. And this itself was out of
love. Just as a father whose legitimate son is
afflicted with a gangrene, being compelled to
use the knife and cautery, is pained on both
accounts, that he is diseased and that he is
compelled to use the knife to him. So that what
ye consider a sign of hating you was indeed a
sign of excessive love. And if to have made you
sorry was out of love, much more my gladness at
that sorrow.
Having made this defence of himself, (for he
frequently defends himself, without being
ashamed; for if God doth so, saying, "O My
people, what have I done unto thee?" (Mic.
vi. 3.) much more might Paul,) having, I
say, made this defence of himself, and being
now about to pass on to the plea for him who had
committed fornication, in order that they might
not be distracted as at receiving contradictory
commands, nor take to cavilling because he it
was who both then was angry and was now
commanding to forgive him, see how he provided
for this beforehand, both by what he has said
and what he is going to say. For what saith
he?
Ver. 5. "But if any hath caused sorrow, he
hath caused sorrow not to me."
Having first praised them as feeling joy and
sorrow for the same things as himself, he then
strikes into the subject of this person, having
said first, "my joy is the joy of you all."
But if my joy is the joy of you all, need is
that you should also now feel pleasure with me,
as ye then were pained with me: for both in that
ye were made sorry, ye made me glad; and now in
that ye rejoice, (if as I suppose ye shall
feel pleasure,) ye will do the same. He said
not, my sorrow is the sorrow of you all; but
having established this in the rest of what he
said, he has now put forward that only which he
most desired, namely, the joy: saying, my joy
is the joy of you all. Then, he makes mention
also of the former matter, saying, "But if
any hath caused sorrow he hath caused sorrow not
to me, but in part (that I press not too
heavily) to you all."
I know, he saith, that ye shared in my anger
and indignation against him that had committed
fornication, and that what had taken place
grieved in part all of you. And therefore said
I "in part," not as though ye were less hurt
than I, but that I might not weigh down him
that had committed fornication. He did not then
grieve me only but you also equally, even though
to spare him I said, "in part." Seest thou
how at once he moderated their anger, by
declaring that they shared also in his
indignation.
Ver. 6. "Sufficient to such a one is this
punishment which was inflicted by the many"
And he saith not "to him that hath committed
fornication," but here again "to such a
one," as also in the former Epistle. Not
however for the same reason; but there out of
shame, here out of mercy. Wherefore he no
where subsequently so much as mentions the
crime; for it was time now to excuse.
Ver. 7. "So that contrariwise ye should
rather forgive him and comfort him, lest by any
means such a one should be swallowed up with his
overmuch sorrow."
He bids them not only take off the censure:
but, besides, restores him to his former
estate; for if one let go him that hath been
scourged and heal him not, he hath done
nothing. And see how him too he keeps down lest
he should be rendered worse by the forgiveness.
For though he had both confessed and repented,
he makes it manifest that he obtaineth remission
not so much by his penitence as by this free
gift. Wherefore he saith, "to forgive him and
to comfort him," and what follows again makes
the same thing plain. 'For' saith he, 'it
is not because he is worthy, not because he has
shown sufficient penitence; but because he is
weak, it is for this I request it.' Whence
also he added, "lest by any means such a one
should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow."
And this is both as testifying to his deep
repentance and as not allowing him to fall into
despair.
But what means this, "swallowed up?" Either
doing as Judas did, or even in living becoming
worse. For, saith he, if he should rush away
from longer enduring the anguish of this
lengthened censure, perchance also despairing he
will either come to hang himself, or fall into
greater crimes afterwards. One ought then to
take steps beforehand, lest the sore become too
hard to deal with; and lest what we have well
done we lose by want of moderation.
Now this he said, (as I have already
observed,) both to keep him low, and to teach
him not to be over-listless after this
restoration. For, not as one who has washed
all quite away; but as fearing lest he should
work aught of deeper mischief, I have received
him, he saith. Whence we learn that we must
determine the penance, not only by the nature of
the sins, but by the disposition and habit of
them that sin. As the Apostle did in that
instance. For he feared his weakness, and
therefore said, "lest he be swallowed up,"as
though by a wild beast, by a storm, by a
billow.
Ver. 8. "Wherefore I beseech you."
He no longer commands but beseeches, not as a
teacher but as an equal; and having seated them
on the judgment seat he placed himself in the
rank of an advocate; for having succeeded in his
object, for joy he adopts without restraint the
tone of supplication. And what can it be that
thou beseechest? Tell me.
"To confirm your love toward him."
That is, 'make it strong,' not simply have
intercourse with him, nor any how. Herein,
again, he bears testimony to their virtue as
very great; since they who were so friendly and
so applauded him as even to be puffed up, were
so estranged that Paul takes such pains to make
them confirm their love towards him. Herein is
excellence of disciples, herein excellence of
teachers; that they should so obey the rein, he
so manage their motions. If this were so even
now, they who sin would not have transgressed
senselessly. For one ought neither to love
carelessly, nor to be estranged without some
reason.
Ver. 9. "For to this end also did I write
to you, that I might know the proof of you,
whether ye are obedient in all things;" I not
only in cutting off but also in reuniting.
Seest thou how here again he brings the danger
to their doors. For as when he sinned, he
alarmed their minds, except they should cut him
off, saying, "A little leaven leaventh the
whole lump," (1 Cor. v, 6.) and several
other things; so here too again he confronts
them with the fear of disobedience, as good as
saying, 'As then ye had to consult not for
him, but for yourselves too, so now must ye not
less for yourselves than for him; lest ye seem
to be of such as love contention and have not
human sensibilities, and not to be in all things
obedient. And hence he saith, "For to this
end also did I write to you, that I might know
the proof of you, whether ye are obedient in all
things."
For the former instance might have seemed to
proceed even of envy and malice, but this shows
very especially the obedience to be pure, and
whether ye are apt unto loving kindness. For
this is the test of right minded disciples; if
they obey not only when ordered to do certain
things, but when the contrary also. Therefore
he said, "in all things," showing that if
they disobey, they disgrace not him a so much as
themselves, earning the character of lovers of
contention; and he doth this that hence also he
may drive them to obey. Whence also he saith,
"For to this end did I write to you;" and
yet he wrote not for this end, but he saith so
in order to win them. For the leading object
was the salvation of that person. But where it
does no harm, he also gratifies them. And by
saying, "In all things," he again praises
them, recalling to memory and bringing forth to
view their former obedience.
Ver. 10. "To whom ye forgive any thing,
I forgive also."
Seest thou how again he assigns the second part
to himself, showing them as beginning, himself
following. This is the way to soften an
exasperated, to compose a contentious spirit.
Then lest he should make them careless, as
though they were arbiters, and they should
refuse forgiveness; he again constrains them
unto this, saying, that himself also had
forgiven him.
"For what I also have forgiven, if I have
forgiven any thing, for your sakes have I
forgiven it." For, this very thing I have
done for your sakes, he saith. And as when he
commanded them to cut him off, he left not with
them the power to forgive, saying, "I have
judged already to deliver such an one unto
Satan," (1 Cor. v. 3, 5.) and again
made them partners in his decision saying, "ye
being gathered together to deliver him," (ib.
4, 5.) (thereby securing two most important
things, viz., that the sentence should be
passed; yet not without their consent, lest
herein he might seem to hurt them;) and neither
himself alone pronounces it, lest they should
consider him self-willed, and themselves to be
overlooked, nor yet leaves all to them, lest
when possessed of the power they should deal
treacherously with the offender by unseasonably
forgiving him: so also doth he here, saying,
'I have already forgiven, who in the former
Epistle had already judged.' Then lest they
should be hurt, as though overlooked, he adds,
"for your sakes." What then? did he for
men's sake pardon? No; for on this account he
added, "In the person of Christ."
What is "in the person of Christ?" Either
he means according to [the will of] God, or
unto the glory of Christ.
Ver. 11. "That no advantage may be gained
over us by Satan: for we are not ignorant of
his devices."
Seest thou how he both committeth the power to
them and again taketh away that by that he may
soften them, by this eradicate their self will.
But this is not all that he provides for by
this, but shows also that should they be
disobedient the harm would reach to all, just as
he did at the outset also. For then too he
said, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole
lump." (1 Cor. v. 6.) And here again,
"Lest Satan should get an advantage of us."
And throughout, he maketh this forgiveness the
joint act of himself and them. Consider it from
the first. "But if any," saith he, "have
caused sorrow he hath caused sorrow not to me,
but in part (that I press not too heavily) to
you all." Then again, "Sufficient to such a
one is this punishment which was" inflicted by
the "many." This is his own decision and
opinion. He rested not however with this
decision, but again makes them partners saying,
"So that contrariwise ye should rather
forgive" him "and comfort" him. "Wherefore
I beseech you to confirm your love towards
him." Having thus again made the whole their
act, he passes to his own authority, saying,
"For to this end did I write unto you, that
I might know the proof of you, whether ye are
obedient in all things." Then, again, he
makes the favor theirs, saying, "To whom ye
forgive anything." Then, his own, "I"
forgive "also:" saying, "if I have forgiven
anything, it is for your sakes." Then both
theirs and his, "For," saith he, "if I
have forgiven any thing, for your sakes forgave
I it in the person of Christ," either [that
is] for the glory of Christ, or as though
Christ commanding this also, which was most
effectual to prevail with them. For after this
they would have feared not to grant that which
tended to His glory and which He willed. Then
again he signifieth the common harm should they
disobey, when he saith, "Lest Satan should
get an advantage of us;" well naming it,
getting advantage. For he no more takes his
own, but violently seizeth ours, for he is
reformed. And tell me not that this one only
becomes the wild beast's prey, but consider
this also, that the number of the herd is
diminished, and now especially when it might
recover what it had lost. "For we are not
ignorant of his devices," That he destroys
even under the show of piety. For not only by
leading into fornication can he destroy, but
even by the contrary, the unmeasured sorrow
following on the repentance for it. When then
besides his own he taketh ours too, when both by
bidding to sin, he destroys; and when we bid
repent, violently seizeth; how is not this case
getting "advantage?" For he is not content
with striking down by sin, but even by
repentance he doth this except we be vigilant.
Wherefore also with reason did he call it
getting advantage, when he even conquereth our
own weapons. For to take by sin is his proper
work; by repentance, however, is no more his;
for ours, not his, is that weapon. When then
even by this he is able to take, think how
disgraceful the defeat, how he will laugh at and
run us down as weak and pitiful, if he is to
subdue us with our own weapons. For it were
matter for exceeding scorn and of the last
disgrace, that he should inflict wounds on us
through our own remedies. Therefore he said,
"for we are not ignorant of his devices,"
exposing his versatility, his craftiness, his
evil devices, his malice, his capacity to
injure under a show of piety.
These things then having in mind, let us too
never despise any one; nor ever, though we fall
into sin, despair; on the other hand, again,
let us not be easy-minded afterwards, but,
when we transgress, afflict our minds and not
merely give vent to words. For I know many who
say indeed that they bewail their sins, but do
nothing of account. They fast and wear rough
garments; but after money are more eager than
hucksters, are more the prey of anger than wild
beasts, and take more pleasure in detraction
than others do in commendations. These things
are not repentance, these things are the
semblance and shadow only of repentance, not
repentance itself. Wherefore in the case of
these persons too it is well to say, Take heed
"lest Satan should get an advantage of us, for
we are not ignorant of his devices;" for some
he destroys through sins, others through
repentance; but these in yet another way, by
suffering them to gain no fruit from repentance.
For when he found not how he might destroy them
by direct [attack,] he came another road,
heightening their toils, whilst robbing them of
the fruits, and persuading them, as if they had
successfully accomplished all they had to do,
therefore to be neglectful of what remains.
That we may not then fruitlessly afflict
ourselves, let us address a few words to women
of this character; for to women this disorder
especially belongs. Praiseworthy indeed is even
that which now ye do, your fasting and lying on
the ground and ashes; but except the rest be
added, these are of no avail. God hath showed
how He remitteth sins. Why then forsaking that
path, do ye carve another for yourselves. In
old time the Ninevites sinned, and they did the
things which ye too now are doing. Let us see
however what it was that availed them. For as
in the case of the sick, physicians apply many
remedies; howbeit the man of understanding
regardeth not that the sick person has tried this
and that, but what was of service to him; such
must be also our inquiry here. What then was it
that availed those barbarians? They applied
fasting unto the wounds, yea applied extreme
fasting, lying on the ground too, putting on of
sackcloth, and ashes, and lamentations; they
applied also a change of life. Let us then see
which of these things made them whole. And
whence, saith one, shall we know? If we come
to the Physician, if we ask Him: for He will
not hide it from us, but will even eagerly
disclose it. Rather that none may be ignorant,
nor need to ask, He hath even set down in
writing the medicine that restored them. What
then is this? "God," saith He, "saw that
they turned every one from his evil way, and He
repented of the evil that He had said He would
do unto them." (Jonah iii. 10.) He said
not, He saw [their] fasting and sackcloth and
ashes. And I say not this to overturn
fasting, (God forbid!) but to exhort you
that with fasting ye do that which is better than
fasting, the abstaining from all evil. David
also sinned. (2 Sam. xii. 17. &c.)
Let us see then how he too repented. Three
days he sat on ashes. But this he did not for
the sin's sake, but for the child's, being as
yet stupefied with that affliction. But the sin
by other means did he wipe away, by humbleness,
contrition of heart, compunction of soul, by
falling into the like no more, by remembering it
always, by bearing thankfully every thing that
befalls him, by sparing those that grieve him,
by forbearing to requite those who conspire
against him; yea, even preventing those who
desire to do this. For instance, when Shimei
was bespattering him with reproaches without
number (2 Sam. xvi.
5, 9.) and the captain who was with him was
greatly indignant, he said, "Let him curse
me, for the Lord hath bidden him:" for he had
a contrite and humbled heart, and it was this
especially which wiped away his sins. For this
is confession, this is repentance. But if
whilst we fast we are proud, we have been not
only nothing profited but even injured.
Humble then thine heart, thou too, that thou
mayest draw God unto thee. "For the Lord is
nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart."
(Ps. xxxiii. 19.) Seest thou not in the
gorgeous houses those who are in disgrace; how
they answer not again when even the lower
servants insult them, but put up with it because
of the disgrace with which their fault hath
surrounded them? So do thou too: and if any
one revile thee, wax not fierce, but groan,
not for the insult, but for that sin which cast
thee into disgrace. Groan when thou hast
sinned, not because thou art to be punished,
(for this is nothing,) but because thou hast
offended thy Master, one so gentle, one so
kind, one that so loveth thee and longeth for
thy salvation as to have given even His Son for
thee. For this groan, and do this
continually: for this is confession. Be not
to-day cheerful, to-morrow of a sad
countenance, then again cheerful; but continue
ever in mourning and self contrition. For,
"Blessed," saith he, "are they that
mourn," that is, that do this perpetually.
Continue then to do this perpetually, and to
take heed to thyself, and to afflict thine
heart; as one who had lost a beloved son might
mourn. "Rend," saith he, "your hearts,
and not your garments." (Joel ii. 13.)
That which is rent will not lift itself on
high; that which hath been broken cannot rise up
again. Hence one saith, "Rend," and
another, "a broken and a con trite heart God
will not despise." (Ps. li. 17.) Yea,
though thou be wise, or wealthy, or a ruler,
rend thine heart. Suffer it not to have high
thoughts nor to be inflated. For that which is
rent is not inflated, and even if there be
something to make it rise, from being rent it
cannot retain the inflation. So also do thou be
humble-minded. Consider that the publican was
justified by one word, although that was not
humiliation, but a true confession. Now if
this hath power so great, how much more
humiliation. Remit offences to those who have
transgressed against thee, for this too
remitteth sins. And concerning the former He
saith, "I saw that he went sorrowful, and I
healed his ways;"
(Is. lvii. 17. 18. LXX.) and in
Ahab's case, this appeased the wrath of God:
(1 Kings xxi. 29) concerning the latter,
"Remit, and it shall be remitted unto you."
There is also again another way which bringeth
us this medicine; condemning what we have done
amiss; for, "Declare thou first thy
transgressions, that thou mayest be
justified." (Is. xliii. 26. LXX.)
And for one in afflictions to give thanks
looseth his sins; and almsgiving, which is
greater than all.
Reckon up therefore the medicines which heal thy
wounds, and apply all unremittingly,
humbleness, confession, forgetting wrongs,
giving thanks in afflictions, showing mercy both
in alms and actions, persevering in prayer. So
did the widow propitiate the cruel and unyielding
judge. And if she the unjust, much mere thou
the gentle. There is yet another way along with
these, defending the oppressed; "for," He
saith, "judge the fatherless, and plead for
the widow; and come, and let us reason
together, and though your sins be as scarlet,
I will make them white as snow." (Is. i.
17, 18.) What excuse then can we deserve
if with so many ways leading us up to heaven,
and so many medicines to heal our wounds, even
after the Layer we continue where we were. Let
us then not only continue so, but let those
indeed who have never yet fallen abide in their
proper loveliness; yea, rather let them
cultivate it more and more, (for these good
works, where they find not sins, make the
beauty greater:) and let us who in many things
have done amiss, in order to the correction of
our sins use the means mentioned: that we may
stand at the tribunal of Christ with much
boldness, whereunto may all we at in through the
grace and love towards men of or Lord Jesus
Christ, with Whom to the Father, together
with the Holy Spirit, be glory, on power,
and honor, now and ever, world without end.
Amen.
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