IX. 76 The Jews fell through unbelief and pride : HOMIL. Sound. (For their way of life was more impure and more accursed than their doctrine. As was likely; for when they saw their gods delighting in all wickedness, worshipped by shameful words, and more shameful deeds, reckoning this festivity and praise, and moreover honoured by foul murders, and child-slaughters, how should not they emulate these things?) Still, fallen as they were as low as the very depth of wickedness, on a sudden, as by the agency of some machine, they have appeared to us shining from on high, and from the very summit of heaven. How then and whence came it to pass? Hear Paul telling you. For that blessed person searching exactly into these things, ceased not until he had found the cause, and had Ideclared it to all others. What then is it? and whence came such blindness upon the Jews? Hear him who was 1 Cor. entrusted with this stewardship declare. 9, 17. Rom. say in resolving this doubt of the many? 10, 3. 30.32. What then does he being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. Wherefore they have suffered this. And again, explaining the same matter in Rom. 9, other terms, he says, What shall we say then? That the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness, have attained unto righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith; but Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. His meaning is this: "These men's unbelief has been the cause of their misfortunes, and their haughtiness was parent of their unbelief." For when having 1 'Exań- before enjoyed greater privileges than the heathen', through having received the law, through knowing God, and the rest which Paul enumerates, they after the coming of Christ saw the heathen and themselves called on equal terms through faith, and after faith received one of the circumcision in nothing preferred to the Gentile, they came to envy and were stung by their haughtiness, and could not endure the unspeakable and exceeding lovingkindness of the Lord. So this has happened to them from nothing else but pride, and wickedness, and unkindness. γων Their discontent unreasonable. 77 I. 11. [2.] For in what, O most foolish of men, are ye injured by JOHN the care1 bestowed on others? How are your blessings made 1 κηδεμο σίας. 14. less through having others to share the same? But of a truth vías wickedness is blind, and cannot readily perceive any thing that it ought. Being therefore stung by the prospect of having others to share the same confidence, they thrust a waßßnsword against themselves, and cast themselves out from the aías. lovingkindness of God. And with good reason. For He saith, Friend, I do thee no wrong, I will give to these also Mat. 20, even as unto thee. Or rather, these Jews are not deserving even of these words. For the man in the parable if he was discontented, could yet speak of the labours and weariness, the heat and sweat, of a whole day. But what could these men have to tell? nothing like this, but slothfulness and profligacy and ten thousand evil things of which all the prophets continued ever to accuse them, and by which they like the Gentiles had offended against God. And Paul declaring this says, For there is no difference between the Rom. Jew and the Greek: For all have sinned, and come short of Rom. 3, 10, 12. the glory of God: being justified freely by His grace. And 22-24. on this head he treats profitably and very wisely throughout that Epistle. But in a former part of it he proves that they are worthy of still greater punishment. For as many as Rom. 2, have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; that is to say, more severely, as having for their accuser the law as well as nature. And not for this only, but for that they have been the cause that God is blasphemed among the Gentiles: My Name, He saith, is blasphemed among the Gentiles TOû through you. 3 12. Θεοῦ 24. Since now this it was that stung them most, (for the thing Rom. 2, appeared incredible even to those of the circumcision who Is. 52,5. believed, and therefore they brought it as a charge against Peter, when he was come up to them from Cesarea, that he Acts 11, went in to men uncircumcised, and did eat with them; and after that they had learned the dispensation of God, even so still they wondered how on the Gentiles also was poured al. out the gift of the Holy Ghost: shewing by their astonishment that they could never have expected so incredible a 45. thing,) since then he knew that this touched them nearest, 4 'again.' Acts 10, 1 al.'he may empty.' 3 τῶν 78 The call of the Geniles no loss to the Jews. 1 5 HOMIL. See how he has emptied their pride, and relaxed their IX. highly swelling insolence. For after having discoursed on does all the case of the heathen3, and shewn that they had not from things that he any quarter any excuse, or hope of salvation, and after having definitely charged them both with the perversion of 2 al.'may their doctrines and the uncleanness of their lives, he shifts relax. his argument to the Jews; and after recounting all the 'Exλŋví- expressions of the Prophet, in which he had said that they were polluted, treacherous, hypocritical persons, and had Orpoph. altogether become unprofitable, that there was none among ' then.' them that seeketh after God, that they had all gone out of Rom. 3, the way, and the like, he adds, Now we know that what Rom. 3, things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world Rom. 3, may become guilty before God. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. κων 4 δια 5 al. 12. 19. 23. Why then exaltest thou thyself, O Jew? why art thou high minded? for thy mouth also is stopped, thy boldness also is taken away, thou also with all the world art become guilty, and, like others, art placed in need of being justified freely. Thou oughtest surely even if thou hadst stood upright and hadst had great boldness with God, not even so to have envied those who should be pitied and saved through His lovingkindness. This is the extreme of wickedness, to pine at the blessings of others; especially when this was to be effected without any loss of thine. If indeed the salvation of others had been prejudicial to thy advantages, thy grieving might have been reasonable; though not even then 6 pixoσo would it have been so to one who had learned true wisdom". φεῖν But if thy reward is not increased by the punishment of another, nor diminished by his welfare, why dost thou bewail thyself because that other is freely saved? As I said, thou oughtest not, even wert thou (one) of the approved, to be pained at the salvation which cometh to the Gentiles through grace. But when thou, who art guilty before thy Lord of the same things as they, and hast thyself offended, art displeased at the good of others, and thinkest great things, as if thou alone oughtest to be partaker of the grace, thou art guilty not only of envy and insolence, but The evils of pride, and how to avoid it. 79 I. 11. 10, 13. of extreme folly, and mayest be liable to all the severest JOHN torments; for thou hast planted within thyself the root of all evils, pride. Wherefore a wise man has said, Pride is the beginning of Ecclus. sin: that is, its root, its source, its mother. By this the first created was banished from that happy abode: by this the devil who deceived him had fallen from that height of dignity; from which that accursed one, knowing that the nature of the sin was sufficient to cast down even from heaven itself, came this way when he laboured to bring down Adam from such high honour. For having puffed him up with the promise that he should be as a God, so he broke him down, and cast him down into the very gulphs of hell1.1adov Because nothing so alienates men from the loving-kindness of God, and gives them over to the fire of the pit, as the 2 yıívne tyranny of pride. For when this is present with us, our whole life becomes impure, even though we fulfil temperance, chastity, fasting, prayer, almsgiving, any thing. For, Every one, saith the wise man, that is proud in heart Prov. 16, 5. is an abomination3 to the Lord. Let us then restrain this 3 swelling of the soul, let us cut up by the roots this lump of clean,' pride, if at least we would wish to be clean, and to escape the punishment appointed for the devil. For that the proud must fall under the same punishment as that (wicked) one, hear Paul declare; Not a novice, lest being lifted up with 1 Tim. pride, he fall into the judgment, and the snare of the devil. (partialWhat is the judgment? He means, into the same condemnation, ly quoted.) the same punishment. How then does he say, that a man may 4 xgína, avoid this dreadful thing? By reflecting upon his own nature, demnaupon the number of his sins, upon the greatness of the tion,' torments in that place, upon the transitory nature of the 5 al. things which seem bright in this world, differing in nothing; calcufrom grass, and more fading than the flowers of spring. Iflating.' we continually stir within ourselves these considerations, and keep in mind those who have walked most upright, the devil, though he strive ten thousand ways, will not be able to lift 66 iragar us up, nor even to trip us at all. May the God Who is the God of the humble, the good and merciful God, grant both to you and me a broken and humbled heart, so shall k kirooniλirai, (a gymnastic term, like the preceding). un LXX. 3, 6. 7. con E. V. |