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2 TIMOTHY ii. 20, 21.
"But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of
silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to
dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a
vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and
prepared unto every good work."
MANY men are still even now perplexed to account for the fact, that
the wicked are suffered to remain, and are not yet destroyed. Now
doubtless various reasons may be assigned for this, as, that they may
be converted, or that by their punishment they may be made an example
to the multitude. But Paul here mentions a similar case. For he
says, "In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and
silver, but also of wood and earth." Showing by this, that as in a
great house it is likely there should be a great difference of vessels,
so here also, in the whole world, for he speaks not of the Church
only, but of the world at large. For think not, I pray, that he
means it of the Church; for there he would not have any vessels of
wood or of earth, but all of gold or silver where is the body of
Christ, where is that "pure virgin, without spot, or wrinkle, or
any such thing." (Eph. v. 27.) And this is what he means to
say Let it not disturb thee that there are corrupt and wicked men.
For in a great house there are such vessels. But what then? they do
not receive the same honor. But some are to honor and some to
dishonor. "Nay," says one, "in a house they may be of some use,
but not at all in the world." Though God employs them not for such
honorable service, he makes use of them for other purposes. For
instance, the vainglorious man builds much, so does the covetous man,
the merchant, the tradesman, the magistrate; there are certain works
in the world suited to these. But the golden vessel is not of such a
nature. It is employed about the royal table. He does not say
however that wickedness is a necessary thing, (for how should it
be?) but that the wicked also have their work. For if all were of
gold or of silver, there would be no need of the viler sort. For
instance, if all were hardy, there would be no need of houses; if all
were free from luxury, there would be no need of dainties. If all
were careful only for necessaries, there would be no need of splendid
building.
"If therefore a man purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel
unto honor, sanctified." Seest thou that it is not of nature, nor
of the necessity of matter, to be a vessel of gold or of earth, but of
our own choice? For otherwise the earthen could not become gold, nor
could the golden descend to the vileness of the other. But in this
case there is much change, and alteration of state. Paul was an
earthen vessel, and became a golden one.
Judas was a golden vessel, and became an earthen one. The earthen
vessels, therefore, are such from uncleanness. The fornicator and
the covetous man become earthen vessels. "But how then does he say
elsewhere, 'We have this treasure in earthen vessels,' so that he
does not despise but honor the earthen vessel, speaking of it as the
recipient of the treasure?" There he shows the nature itself, and
not the form of the material. For he means to say that our body is an
earthen vessel. For as earthenware is nothing else but baked clay, so
is our body nothing but clay consolidated by the heat of the soul; for
that it is earthen, is evident. For as such a vessel is often by
falling broken and dashed to pieces, so our body falls and is dissolved
by death. For how do our bones differs from a potsherd, hard and dry
as they are? or our flesh from clay, being, like it, composed of
water? But, as I said, how is it that he does not speak
contemptuously of it? Because there he is discoursing of its nature,
here of our choice. "If a man," he says, "purge himself from
these," not merely "cleanse," but "cleanse out," that is,
cleanse himself perfectly, "he shall be a vessel unto honor,
sanctified, and meet for the Master's use." The others therefore
are useless for any good purpose, though some use is made of them.
"And prepared unto every good work." Even though he do it not, he
is fit for it, and has a capacity for it.
We ought therefore to be prepared for everything, even for death, for
martyrdom, for a life of virginity, or for all these.
Ver. 22. "Flee also youthful lusts."
Not only the lust of fornication, but every inordinate desire is a
youthful lust. Let the aged learn that they ought not to do the deeds
of the youthful. If one be given to insolence, or a lover of power,
of riches, of bodily pleasures, it is a youthful lust, and foolish.
These things must proceed from a heart not yet established, from a
mind not deeply grounded, but in a wavering state. What then does he
advise in order that none may be captivated by these things? "Flee
youthful" imaginations, "but "Follow righteousness, faith,
charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure
heart."
He calls virtue in general, "righteousness" godliness of life,
"faith, meekness, charity."
What is meant by "those that call upon the Lord out of a pure
heart"? It is as if he said, Rejoice not in those who only call
upon the Lord; but those who call upon Him sincerely and
unfeignedly, who have nothing of deceit about them, who approach Him
in peace, who are not contentious. With these associate thyself.
But with others be not easy, but only as far as lies in you, be
peaceable.
Ver. 23. "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing
that they do gender strifes."
Do you see how he everywhere draws him off from questions; not that he
was not able to overthrow them; for he was well able. For had he not
been able he would have said, Be diligent, that thou mayest be able
to refute them; as when he says, "Give attendance to reading, for
by so doing thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee."
(1 Tim. iv. 13, 16.) But he knew that it was useless to
enter at all into these disputes, that there will be no end of it,
save contentions, enmities, insults, and reproaches. These
"questions" therefore "avoid"; so that there are other questions,
some relating to the Scriptures, some to other things.
Ver. 24. "And the servant of the Lord must not strive."
Not even in questions ought he to strive, for the servant of the Lord
must keep far from strife, since God is the God of peace, and what
should the servant of the God of peace have to do with strife?
"But be gentle unto all men."
How is it then he says, "Rebuke with all authority" (Tit. ii.
15); and again, "Let no man despise thy youth" (1 Tim. iv.
12): and again, '"Rebuke them Sharply"? (Tit. i. 13.)
Because this is consistent with meekness. For a strong rebuke, if it
be given with gentleness, is most likely to wound deeply: for it is
possible, indeed it is, to touch more effectually by gentleness, than
one overawes by boldness.
"Apt to teach"; that is, those who are willing to be taught. For
"a man that is an heretic," he says, "after the first and second
admonition reject." (Tit. iii. 10.) "Patient." He has
well added this, for it is a quality which a teacher above all things
ought to possess. All things are vain without it. And if fishermen
do not despair, though often they cast their nets for a whole day
without catching anything, much more should not we. For see what is
the result. From constant teaching, it often happens that the plow of
the word, descending to the depth of the soul, roots out the evil
passion that troubled it. For he that hears often will at length be
affected. A man cannot go on hearing continually without some effect
being produced. Sometimes therefore, when he was on the point of
being persuaded, he is lost by our becoming weary. For the same thing
occurs, as if an unskillful husbandman should in the first year dig
about the vine he had planted, and seeking to reap some fruit in the
second year, and again in the third, and gathering nothing, should
after three years despair, and in the fourth year, when he was about
to receive the recompense of his labors, abandon his vine. And having
said, "Patient," he is not satisfied, but goes on to say, Ver.
25. "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves."
For he that teaches must be especially careful to do it with meekness.
For a soul that wishes to learn cannot gain any useful instruction from
harshness and contention. For when it would apply, being thus thrown
into perplexity, it will learn nothing. He who would gain any useful
knowledge ought above all things to be well disposed towards his
teacher, and if this be not previously attained, nothing that is
requisite or useful can be accomplished. And no one can be well
disposed towards him who is violent and overbearing. How is it then
that he says, "A man that is an heretic, after the first and second
admonition, reject"? He speaks there of one incorrigible, of one
whom he knows to be diseased beyond the possibility of cure.
"If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging
of the truth."
Ver. 26. "And that they may recover themselves out of the snare
of the devil."
What he says amounts to this. Perhaps there will be a reformation.
Perhaps! for it is uncertain. So that we ought to withdraw only from
those, of whom we can show plainly, and concerning whom we are fully
persuaded, that whatever be done, they will not be reformed. "In
meekness," he says. In this temper, you see, we ought to address
ourselves to those who are willing to learn, and never cease from
conversing with them till we have come to the demonstration.
"Who are taken captive by him at his will." It is truly said,
"Who are taken captive," for meanwhile they float in error.
Observe here how he teaches to be humble-minded. He has not said,
if peradventure you should be able, but, "if peradventure God should
grant them a recovery"; if anything be done, therefore, all is of
the Lord. Thou plantest, thou waterest but He soweth and maketh it
produce fruit. Let us not therefore be so affected, as if we
ourselves wrought the persuasion, even if we should persuade any one.
"Taken captive by him," he says, "to His will." This no one
will say relates to doctrine, but to life. For "His will" is that
we live rightly. But some are in the snare of the devil by reason of
their life, we ought not therefore to be weary even with respect to
these.
"If peradventure," he says, "they may recover, that are taken
captive, unto His will." Now "If peradventure," implies much
longsuffering. For not to do the will of God is a snare I of the
devil.
For as a sparrow, though it be not wholly enclosed, but only caught
by the foot, is still under the power of him who set the snare; so
though we be not wholly subverted, both in faith and life, but in life
only, we are under the power of the devil. For "Not every one that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven"; and again, "I know you not; depart from me, ye that work
iniquity." (Matt. vii. 21-23.) You set there is no
advantage from our faith, when our Lord knows us not: and to the
virgins he says the same, "I know you not." (Matt. xxv.
12.) What then is the benefit of virginity, or of many labors,
when the Lord knows us not? And in many places we find men not blamed
for their faith, but punished for their evil life only; as elsewhere,
not reproved for evil lives, but perishing for their pravity of
doctrine. For these things hold together. You see that when we do
not the will of God, we are under the snare of the devil. And often
not only from a bad life, but from one defect, we enter into Hell,
where there are not good qualities to counterbalance it, since the
virgins were not accused of fornication or adultery, nor of envy or
ill-will, nor of drunkenness, nor of unsound faith, but of a failure
of oil, that is, they failed in almsgiving, for that is the oil
meant. And those who were pronounced accursed in the words, "Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire," were not accused of any
such crimes, but because they had not fed Christ.
MORAL. Seest thou that a failure in alms-giving is enough to
cast a man into hell. fire? For where will he avail who does not give
alms? Dost thou fast every day? So also did those virgins, but it
availed them nothing. Dost thou pray? What of that? prayer without
alms-giving is unfruitful, without that all things are unclean and
unprofitable. The better part of virtue is destroyed. "He that
loveth not his brother," it is said, "knoweth not God." (1
John iv. 8.) And how dost thou love him, when thou dost not even
impart to him of these poor worthless things? Tell me, therefore,
dost thou observe chastity? On what account? From fear of
punishment? By no means. It is of a natural endowment that thou
observest it, since if thou wast chaste from fear of punishment, and
didst violence to nature in submitting to so severe a rule, much more
oughtest thou to do alms. For to govern the desire of wealth, and of
bodily pleasures, is not the same thing. The latter is much more
difficult to restrain. And wherefore? Because the pleasure is
natural, and the desire of it is innate and of natural growth in the
body. It is not so with riches. Herein we are able to resemble
God, in showing mercy and pity. When therefore we have not this
quality, we are devoid of all good. He has not said, "ye shall be
like unto your Father, if ye fist," nor "if ye be virgins," nor
"if ye pray," hath He said, "ye shall be like unto your
Father," for none of these things can be applied to God, nor are
they His acts. But what? "Be ye merciful, as your Father in
Heaven is merciful." (Luke vi. 36.) This is the work of
God. If therefore thou hast not this, what hast thou? He says:
"I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." (Hosea vi. 6.) God
made Heaven, and earth, and sea. Great works these, and worthy of
His wisdom! But by none of these has He so powerfully attracted
human nature to Himself, as by mercy and the love of mankind. For
that indeed is the work of power and wisdom and goodness. But it is
far more so that He became a servant. Do we not for this more
especially admire Him? are we not for this still more amazed at Him?
Nothing attracts God to us so much as mercy. And the prophets from
beginning to end discourse upon this subject. But I speak not of
mercy that is accompanied with covetousness.
That is not mercy. For it is not the root of the thorn but of the
olive that produces the oil; so it is not the root of covetousness, of
iniquity, or of rapine, that produces mercy. Do not put a slander on
almsgiving. Do not cause it to be evil spoken of by all. If thou
committest robbery for this, that thou mayest give alms, nothing is
more wicked than thy almsgiving. For when it is produced by rapine,
it is not almsgiving, it is inhumanity, it is cruelty, it is an
insult to God. If Cain so offended, by offering inferior gifts of
his own, shall he not offend, who offers the goods of another? An
offering is nothing else but a sacrifice, a purification, not a
pollution. And thou who darest not to pray with unclean hands, dost
thou offer the dirt and filth of robbery, and think thou doest nothing
wrong? Thou sufferest not thy hands to be full of dirt and filth, but
having first cleansed these, thou offerest. Yet that filth is no
charge against thee, while the other deserves reproach and blame. Let
it not therefore be our consideration, how we may offer prayers and
oblations with clean hands, but how the things offered may be pure.
If one, after having washed a vessel clean, should fill it with
unclean gifts, would it not be ridiculous mockery? Let the hands be
clean; and they will be so, if we wash them not with water only, but
first with righteousness. This is the purifier of the hands. But if
they be full of unrighteousness, though they be washed a thousand
times, it avails nothing. "Wash you, make you clean" (Isa. i.
16), He says, but does He add, "Go to the baths, the lakes,
the rivers"? No; but what? "Put away the evil of your doings from
your souls." This is to be clean. This it is to be cleansed from
defilement. This is real purity. The other is of little use; but
this bestows upon us confidence towards God. The one may be obtained
by adulterers, thieves, murderers, by worthless, and dissolute, and
effeminate persons, and especially the latter. For they are ever
careful of the cleanliness of their bodies, and scented with perfumes,
cleansing their sepulcher. For their body is but a sepulcher, since
the soul is dead within it. This cleanness therefore may be theirs,
but not that which is inward.
To wash the body is no great matter. That is a Jewish purification,
senseless and unprofitable, where purity within is wanting. Suppose
one to labor under a putrefying sore, or consuming ulcer; let him wash
his body ever so much, it is of no advantage. And if the putrefaction
of the body receives no benefit from cleansing and disguising the
outward appearance; when the soul is infected with rottenness, what is
gained by the purity of the body? Nothing! Our prayers ought to be
pure, and pure they cannot be, if they are sent forth from a corrupt
soul, and nothing so corrupts the soul as avarice and rapine. But
there are some who after committing numberless sins during the day,
wash themselves in the evening and enter the churches, holding up their
hands with much confidence, as if by the washing of the bath they had
put off all their guilt. And if this were the case, it would be a
vast advantage to use the bath daily! I would not myself cease to
frequent the baths, if it made us pure, and cleansed us from our
sins! But these things are trifling and ridiculous, the toys of
children. It is not the filth of the body, but the impurity of the
soul, to which God is averse. For He says, "Blessed are the pure
"--does He say in body? No--"in heart: for they shall see
God." (Matt. v. 8.) And what says the Prophet: "Create in
me a clean heart, O God." (Ps. li. 10.) And again,
"Wash my heart from wickedness." (Jer. iv. 14.)
It is of great use to be in the habit of doing good actions. See how
trifling and unprofitable these washings are. But when the soul is
prepossessed by a habit, it does not depart from it, nor does it
venture to draw nigh in prayer, till it has fulfilled these
ceremonies. For instance, we have brought ourselves to a habit of
washing and praying, and without washing we do not think it right to
pray. And we do not willingly pray with unwashed hands, as if we
should offend God, and violate our conscience. Now if this trifling
custom has so great power over us, and is observed every day; if we
had brought ourselves to a habit of almsgiving, and had determined so
constantly to observe it, as never to enter a house of prayer with
empty hands, the point would be gained. For great is the power of
habit both in good things and in evil, and when this carries us on,
there will be little trouble. Many are in the habit of crossing
themselves continually, and they need no one to remind them of it, but
often when the mind is wandering after other things, the hand is
involuntarily drawn by custom, as by some living teacher, to make the
sign. Some have brought themselves into a habit of not swearing at
all, and therefore neither willingly nor unwillingly do they ever do
it. Let us then bring ourselves into such a habit of almsgiving.
What labors were it worth to us to discover such a remedy. For say,
were there not the relief of almsgiving, while we still by our
numberless sins rendered ourselves liable to Divine vengeance, should
we not have lamented sadly? Should we not have said, O that it were
possible by our wealth to wash away our sins, and we would have parted
with it all! O that by our riches we could put away the wrath of
God, then we would not spare our substance? For if we do this in
sickness, and at the point of death we say, "If it were possible to
buy off death, such an one would give all his possessions"; much more
in this matter. For see how great is the love of God for man. He
has granted us power to buy off not temporal but eternal death. Do not
purchase, He says, this short life, but that life that is
everlasting. It is that I sell thee, not the other: I do not mock
thee.
Didst thou gain the present life, thou hadst gained nothing. I know
the worth of that which I offer thee. The bargainers and traffickers
in worldly goods do not act thus. They, when they can impose on whom
they will, give a little to receive a great deal. It is not so with
God. He gives the greater by far for the less.
Tell me, if you were to go to a merchant, and he were to set before
you two stones, one of little worth, and the other very precious, and
sure to fetch a large amount of wealth; if he allowed you for the price
of the cheap one to carry off the more costly, should you complain of
him? No! You would rather admire his liberality. So now, two
lives are set before us, the one temporal, the other eternal. These
God offers us for sale, but He would sell us the latter rather than
the former. Why do we complain, like silly children, that we receive
the more precious? Is it possible then to purchase life for money?
Yes, when what we bestow is our own, and not the property of
another; when we do not practice an imposture. But, you say,
henceforth the goods are mine. They are not thine after rapine. They
are still thy neighbor's, though thou wert a thousand times the master
of them. For if thou shouldest receive a deposit, it would not be
thine own even for the short season that the depositor was traveling,
though it might be laid up with thee. If therefore that is not ours,
which we received with the consent and thanks of those who deposited
it, even for the short period that we retain it, much less is that
ours, which we plundered against the will of its owner. He is the
master of it, however long thou mayest withhold it. But Virtue is
really our own; as for money, even our own is not strictly ours, much
less that of others. Today it is ours, to-morrow it belongs to
another. What is of virtue is our own possession. This does not
suffer loss, like other things, but is entirely possessed by all who
have it. This therefore let us acquire, and let us despise riches,
that we may be able to attain those real goods, of which God grant
that we may be thought worthy to partake, through the grace and
lovingkindness,
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