[7.] He both is abundantly and infinitely rich; and He desires and earnestly endeavors to obtain our friendship; we do not thus earnestly endeavor. What am I saying, do not earnestly endeavor'? We do not wish to obtain the good things as He wishes it. And what He has done shows that He wishes it more [than we]. For while, for our own sake, we with difficulty think lightly of a little gold: He, for our sake, gave even the Son who was His own. Let us make use of the love of God as we ought; let us reap the fruits of His friendship. For "ye are My friends" (he says) "if ye do what I say to you." ( John xv. 14.) How wonderful! His enemies, who were at an infinite distance from Him, whom in all respects He excels by an incomparable superiority, these He has made His friends and calls them friends. What then should not one choose to suffer for the sake of this friendship? For the friendship of men we often incur danger, but for that of God, we do not even give up money. Our [condition] does indeed call for mourning, for mourning and tears and wailings, and loud lamentation and beating of the breast. We have fallen from our hope, we are humbled from our high estate, we have shown ourselves unworthy of the honor of God; even after His benefits we are become unfeeling, and ungrateful. The devil has stripped us of all our good things. We who were counted worthy to be sons; we His brethren and fellow-heirs are come to differ nothing from His enemies that insult Him.
Henceforward, what consolation shall there be for us? He called us to Heaven, and we have thrust ourselves down to hell. "Swearing and lying and stealing and adultery, are poured out upon the earth." ( Hos. iv. 2.) Some "mingle blood upon blood"; and others do deeds worse than blood-shedding. Many of those that are wronged, many of those that are defrauded prefer ten thousand deaths to the suffering such things: and except they had feared God, would even have killed themselves, being so murderously disposed against themselves. Are not these things then worse than blood-shedding?
[8.] "Woe is me, my soul! For the godly man is perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men" ( Mic. vii. 1, 2 , LXX.); let us also now cry out, first about our own selves: but aid me in my lamentation.
Perhaps some are even disgusted and laugh. For this very cause ought we to make our lamentations the more intense, because we are so mad and beside ourselves, that we do not know that we are mad, but laugh at things for which we ought to groan. O man! "There is wrath revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men" ( Rom. i. 18 ); "God will come manifestly: a fire will burn before Him, and round about Him will be a mighty tempest." ( Ps. l. 3.) "A fire will burn before Him, and consume His enemies on every side." ( Ps. xcvii. 3.) "The day of the Lord is as a burning oven." ( Mal. iv. 1.) And no man lays up these things in his mind, but these tremendous and fearful doctrines are more despised than fables, and are trodden under foot. He that heareth,--there is no one: while they who laugh and make sport are--all. What resource will there be for us? Whence shall we find safety? "We are undone, we are utterly consumed" ( Num. xvii. 12 ), we are become the laughingstock of our enemies, and a mockery for the heathen and the Demons. Now is the devil greatly elated; he glories and is glad. The angels to whom we had been entrusted are all ashamed and in sadness: there is no man to convert [you]: all means have been used by us in vain, and we seem to you as idle talkers. It is seasonable even now to call on the heaven, because there is no man that heareth; to take to witness the elements: "Hear, O heaven! and give ear, O earth! for the Lord hath spoken." ( Isa. i. 2.)
Give a hand, stretch it forth, O ye who have not yet been overwhelmed, to them who are undone through their drunkenness: ye that are whole to them that are sick, ye that are sober-minded to them that are mad, that are giddily whirling round.
Let no man, I beseech you, prefer the favor of his friend to his salvation; and let violence and rebuke look to one thing only,--his benefit. When one has been seized by a fever, even slaves lay hold of their Masters. For when that is pressing on him, throwing his mind into confusion, and a swarm of slaves are standing by, they recognize not the law of Master and Servant, in the calamity of the Master.
Let us collect ourselves, I exhort you: there are daily wars, submersions [of towns], destructions innumerable all around us, and on every side the wrath of God is enclosing us as in a net. And we, as though we were well-pleasing to Him, are in security. We all make our hands ready for unjust gains, none for helping others: all for plundering, none for protecting: each one is in earnest as to how he shall increase his possessions; no one as to how he shall aid the needy: each one has much anxiety how he may add to his wealth; no one how he may save his own soul. One fear possesses all, lest (you say) we should become poor; no man is in anguish and trembling lest we should fall into hell. These things call for lamentations, these call for accusation, these call for reprobation.
[9.] But I do not wish to speak of these things, but I am constrained by my grief. Forgive me: I am forced by sorrow to utter many things, even those which I do not wish. I see that our wound is grievous, that our calamity is beyond comfort, that woes have overtaken us greater than the consolation. We are undone. "O that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears" ( Jer. ix. 1 ), that I might lament. Let us weep, beloved, let us weep, let us groan.
Possibly there may be some here who say, He talks to us of nothing but lamentation, nothing but tears. It was not my wish, believe me, it was not my wish, but rather to go through a course of commendations and praises: but now it is not the season for these. Beloved, it is not lamenting which is grievous, but the doing things which call for lamentations. Sorrow is not the thing to shrink from, but the committing things that call for sorrow. Do not thou be punished, and I will not mourn. Do not die, and I will not weep. If the body indeed lies dead, thou callest on all to grieve with thee, and thinkest those without sympathy who do not mourn: And when the soul is perishing, dost thou tell us not to mourn?
But I cannot be a father, if I do not weep. I am a father full of affection. Hear how Paul exclaims, "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again" ( Gal. iv. 19 ): what mother in child-birth utters cries so bitter as he! Would that it were possible for thee to see the very fire that is in my heart, and thou wouldest know, that I burn [with grief] more intense than any woman, or gift that suffers untimely widowhood. She does not so mourn over her husband, nor any father over his son, as I do over this multitude that is here with us.
I see no progress. Everything turns to calumnies and accusations. No man makes it his business to please God; but (he says) let us speak evil of such an one or such an one.' Such an one is unfit to be among the Clergy.' Such an one does not lead a respectable life.' When we ought to be grieving for our own evils, we judge others, whereas we ought not to do this, even when we are pure from sins. "For who maketh thee to differ" (he says) "and what hast thou which thou didst not receive? But if thou hast received it, why dost thou glory, as though thou hadst not received it?" ( 1 Cor. iv. 7.) "And thou, why dost thou judge thy brother" ( Rom. xiv. 10 ), being thyself full of innumerable evils? When thou sayest, Such an one is a bad man, and a spendthrift, and vicious, think of thyself, and examine strictly thy own [condition], and thou wilt repent of what thou hast said. For there is no, no not any, such powerful stimulus to virtue, as the recollecting of our sins.
If we turn over these two things in our minds, we shall be enabled to attain the promised blessings, we shall be enabled to cleanse ourselves and wipe away [what is amiss]. Only let us take serious thought sometime; let us be anxious about the matter, beloved. Let us grieve here in reflection, that we may not grieve yonder in punishment, but may enjoy the everlasting blessings, where "pain and sorrow and sighing are fled away" ( Isa. xxxv. 10 ), that we may attain to the good things which surpass man's understanding, in Christ Jesus our Lord, for to Him is glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
[3230] chrematistheis
[3231] chrematistheis
[3232] chrematismos
[3233] e n kechrematismenon
[3234] chrematismos
[3235] chra. This word is properly used of quasi-Divine communications made through oracles: the words chrematizo and chrematismos have the same meaning. Hence the emphatic character of the words "of God" in our version of the text, Rom. xi. 4 ; and so in the other passage which St. Chrys. cites (Luke ii. 26 ), the Divinity of the Holy Spirit (he says) is implied in the use of the word e n kechrematismenon hupo (not dia ) tou Pneumatos, "a divine communication was made by the Spirit."
[3236] "To endeavor to imitate, or even surpass."
[3237] e lenchomenen
[3238] e xepipte : i.e. tes huposcheseos, "of the promise," is Mr. Field's interpretation; Mutianus has poene exciderat
[3239] komisamenoi. This word is used by St. Chrys. throughout this passage without any variation of reading. The text of the Epistle here has labontes, but in ver. 39 , ouk ekomisanto. [St. Chrys. in another work has the reading labontes, but komisamenoi is generally adopted by the critical editors as the true text in the Epistle.--F.G.]
[3240] We must probably understand also, "nor that the Patriarchs should live in Canaan" : the argument seems to require this; besides, in the statement of the difficulty, Abraham's having "got a hold on the land" is mentioned together with the blessings bestowed on Abel, Enoch, and Noah, as something already given them.
[3241] See above, p. 408.
[3242] St. Chrys. does not cite nor yet refer to the words kai peisthentes, "and were persuaded of them." They are found in the common editions of the Epistle, but are not supposed to be a genuine part of the Sacred Text. [They are rejected by all critical editors, and have very little support from the authorities for this text.--F.G.]
[3243] ten polin
[3244] polin
[3245] kai para kairon helikias. The common texts of St. Chrys. add here e teken, in accordance with the common editions of the New Testament; but in neither case is it supposed to be genuine. [Field's text omits it, and it is not in critical editions of the text of Heb.--F.G.]
[3246] eis katabolen spermatos
[3247] a xios
[3248] threnon
[3249] penthous