Psalm 26 (Vulgate 25)

First Exposition

Of David himself.

I. It may be attributed to David himself, not the Mediator, &e Man Christ Jesus, but the whole Church now perfectly established in Christ.

2. Ver. I. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence. Judge me, O Lord, for, after the mercy which Thou first shewedst me, I have some desert of my innocence, the way whereof I have kept. And trusting in the Lord I shall not be moved. And yet not even so trusting in myself, but in the Lord, I shall abide in Him.

3. Ver. 2. Prove me, O Lord, and try me. Lest, however, any of my secret sins should be hid from me, prove me, 0 Lord, and try me, making me known, not to Thee from Whom nothing is hid, but to myself, and to men. Burn my reins and my heart. Apply a remedial purgation, as it were fire, to my pleasures and thoughts. (Ver. 3.) For Thy mercy is be/ore mine eyes. For, that I be not consumed by that fire, not my merits, but Thy mercy, whereby Thou hast brought me on to such a life, is before my eyes. And 1 have been pleasing in Hiy truth. And since my own falsehood hath been displeasing to me, but Thy truth pleasing, I have myself been pleasing also with it qpd in it.

4. Ver. 4. / have not sat with the council of vanity. I have not chosen to give my heart to them who endeavour to provide, what is impossible, how they may be blessed in the enjoyment of things transitory. And I will not enter in with them that work wickedly. And since this is the very cause of all wickedness, therefore I will not have my conscience hid, with them that work wickedly.

5. Ver. 5. / have hated the congregation of evil doers. But to arrive at this council of vanity, congregations of evil doers are formed, which I have hated. And I will not sit with the ungodly. And, therefore, with such a council, with the ungodly, I will not sit, that is, I will not place my consent. A nd 1 wiU not sit with ihe ungodly.

6. Ver. 6. / will wash mine hands amid the innocent. I will make clean my works among the innocent: among the innocent will I wash mine hands, with which I shall embrace Thy glorious gifts. And I will compass Thy altar,

Lord

7. Ver. 7. That I may hear the voice of Thy praise. That I may learn how to praise Thee. And that I may declare all Thy wondrous works. And after I have learnt, I may set forth all Thy wondrous works.

8. Ver. 8. O Lord, I have loved the beauty of Thy house: of Thy Church. And the place of the habitation of Thy glory: where Thou dwellest, and art glorified.

9. Ver. 9. Destroy not my soul with the ungodly. Destroy not then, together with them that hate Thee, my soul, which hath loved the beauty of Thy house. And my life with the men of blood. And with them that hate their neighbour. For Thy house is beautified with the two commandments.

10. Ver. 10. In whose hands is wickedness. Destroy me not then with the ungodly and the men of blood, whose works are wicked. Tlieir right hand is full of gifts. And that which was given them to obtain eternal salvation, they have converted into the receiving this world's gifts, supposing that godliness is a trade.

11. Ver. 11. But I have walked in mine innocence: deliver me, and have mercy on me. Let so great a price of my Lord's Blood avail for my complete deliverance: and in the dangers of this life let not Thy mercy leave me.

12. Ver. 12. My foot hath stood in uprightness. My love hath not withdrawn from Thy righteousness. In the Churches I will bless Thee, O Lord. I will not hide Thy blessing, 0 Lord, from those whom Thou hast called; for next to the love of Thee I join the love of my neighbour.

Second Exposition

1. When the Apostle Paul was being read, ye heard, as we did, holy Brethren: As, saith he, the truth is in Jesus,Evh.4, that ye lay aside after the former conversation the old man,21~~2i% who is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; but be ye renewed in th e spirit of your mind, and put ye on the new wan, which after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth. And lest any one should suppose that any thing material is to be laid aside, as one takes off a coat; or any thing to be taken from without, as one takes up a garment; as if putting aside one coat and assuming another; and this carnal understanding of it should not allow men to carry into action within themselves spiritually what the Apostle enjoined, he went on and explained what it was to put the old man off one, and put on the new. For the rest of this lesson relates to the idea. He speaks as if to one asking, And how am I to put off the old man, or how put on the new? Am I myself a third person to lay aside the old man, which I have had, and to take a new man, which I have not had? so that three men should be conceived, and he that lays aside the old man and takes the new, should be between the other two. Lest any one then, hindered by such a carnal thought, should fail to do what is commanded, and excuse himself for not doing it by the obscurity of the lesson, the Apostle says in the following words: Wherefore laying aside lying, speak ye the truth. And, lo, this is the laying aside the old man, and the putting on the new. Wherefore laying aside lying, speak ye the truth, every one with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

2. But let not any one of you, Brethren, imagine that truth must be spoken with a Christian, and falsehood with a pagan. Speak with thy neighbour. He is thy neighbour, who is with thee a child of Adam and Eve. We are all neighbours by the lot of qui* earthly birth: but brethren after another manner by the hope of an heavenly inheritance. Thou oughtest to deem every man thy neighbour, even before he be a Christian. For thou knowest not what he is, with God; thou knowest not how God may have foreknown him. Sometimes he, at whom thou scoffest as worshipping stones, is converted, and worshippeth God, perchance more devoutly than thyself, who wast but just now scoffing at him. There are then neighbours of ours lying hid among those, who are not as yet iu the Church; and there are those lying hid in the Church, who are far from us. And therefore let us, who know not things future, regard every one as our neighbour, not only by the lot of human mortality, whereby we came into this world under the same condition; but also by the hope of that inheritance, since we know not what he is to be, who now is nothing.

3. Attend then to what follows in the putting on the new man, and putting off the old man. Laying aside, saith he, lying, speak ye the truth, every one with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not. If thou art angry with thy servant, because he hath sinned; be angry with thyself, lest thou sin also. Let not the sun go down upon thy wrath. It is understood, Brethren, it is true, with reference to time: because although from the very condition of our humanity, and weakness of our mortal nature, which we bear, wrath doth steal upon the Christian, yet it must not be long retained, nor last to the second day. Cast it out of the heart, before this visible light go down, lest that light invisible abandon thee. But, it is also well understood in another sense, for that Christ, the Truth, is our Sun of Righteousness; not this sun, which is worshipped by Pagans and Manichaeans, and is seen by sinners even; but that other Sun, by Whose truth human nature is enlightened, at Which the Angels rejoice: but the weakened vision of the heart of man, although it quails beneath His rays, is purified nevertheless to contemplate Him by His commands. When this Sun hath begun to dwell in a man by faith, let not the wrath, which is born within thee, so far prevail against thee, that it should go down upon thy wrath, that is, that Christ should abandon thy soul; for Christ will not dwell with thy wrath. For He seemeth as it were to go down 'from thee, when thou dost go down from Him: for anger, when it hath become inveterate, becomes hatred; when it hath become hatred, thou art at once a murderer. For as the Apostle John saith, Whosoever hatethhis brother is a murderer. Again he saith, that everyone that hateth his brother abideth in darkness. And no wonder if he abide in darkness, from whom the Sun hath gone down.

4. To this too, perhaps, refers what ye have heard in the Gospel. The ship was in jeopardy in the lake, and Jesus was asleep. We too are sailing through a lake, so to say,23, and there is no want of wind and tempest: our ship is almost filled through the daily temptations of this life. And whence comes it, but because Jesus is asleep? If Jesus were not asleep within thee, thou wouldest not be exposed to these storms; but wouldest have calm within, through Jesus watching with thee. But what is "\Fesus sleepeth?" Thy faith which is of Jesus, hath fallen asleep. The tempests of tn*s lake arise, thou seest evil men flourishing, the good in trouble; it is a temptation, it is a wave. And thy soul saith, O God, is this Thy justice, that the evil should flourish, the good be in trouble? thou sayest to God, " Is this Thy justice?" and God to thee, " Is this thy faith?" For have I promised thee this? wert thou made a Christian for this, that thou shouldest flourish in this life? Art thou tormented, because the evil flourish here, who shall, hereafter, be tormented with the devil? But why speakest thou thus? why art thou disturbed by the waves of the sea, and the storm? Because Jesus is asleep, that is, because thy faith, which is of Jesus, hath been laid asleep in thine heart. What doest thou that thou mayest be delivered? Awake Jesus, and say, Master, we perish. For the doubtful dangers of the deep alarm us, we perish. He will awake, that is, thy faith will return to thee; and with His help, thou wilt consider in thy soul, that what is, for a time, given to the evil, will not abide with them. For either it will leave them, while they live, or is left by them when they die. But what is promised to thee, will abide for ever. What is granted them for a time, is soon taken away. For it hath flourished as the flower of the grass. For all flesh is grass: the grass wither eth7 and the flower falleth, but the word of the Lord abideth for ever. Turn therefore the back upon that which falleth,and the face to that which abideth. Now that Christ is awake, the storm shall no more shake thy heart, the waves shall not fill thy bark: for thy faith commands the winds and the waves, and the danger shall pass away. For to this, Brethren, all that belongs, which the Apostle saith of putting off the old man. Be ye angry, and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath; neither give place to the devil. The old man then did give place, let not the new. He that stole, let him steal no more. The old man then did steal, let not the new. It is the same man, it is one man: it was Adam, let it be Christ: it was the old man, let it be the new; and so on with what follows there.

5. But let us examine the Psalm somewhat more carefully, because when anyone hath made progress in the Church, he must needs endure evil men in the Church. But the man who is such does not recognise them, although many evil men murmur against the evil, just as one man in health bears more easily with two sick men, than two sick men with one another. Therefore, Brethren, we give this charge, The Church of the time present is a threshing-floor: we have often said it, we often repeat it. It contains both chaff and corn. Let no man look for all the chaff to go out thence, save in the time of winnowing. Let no man leave the floor before the time of winnowing, as if in his unwillingness to endure sinners; lest being found without the floor, he be picked up by the birds, before he enter into the barn. Now, Brethren, mark how we would enforce this. When the corn has begun to be threshed, the grains, amidst the chaff, do not touch each other: it is as though they did not know each other, because of the intervention of the chaff. And any one who looks at a floor at some little distance, thinks there is nothing but chaff; except he look more narrowly, except he put forth his hand, except he make a separation by the breath of his mouth, that is, by a purifying wind, he hardly attains to distinguish the grains. Therefore sometimes even the very grains are so separated as it were from each other, and not touching one another, that any one, when he has made progress, may think that he is alone. This thought, Brethren, tempted Elias, so great a man; and he said to God, as the Apostle also records, They have killed Thy prophets, and digged down Thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God to him? I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee before Baal. He said not to him, Thou hast two or three others like thyself. Do not deem thyself alone. There are, saith He, seven thousand others; and dost thou deem thyself alone? Accordingly this briefly we enjoin, as I had begun to say. Do ye, holy Brethren, give heed with me, and may God's mercy be with us in our hearts, that it may be so understood by you, as to bear fruit, and work in you. Hear it briefly: Whosoever is still evil, let him not deem that no one is good: whosoever is good, let him not deem that he only is good. Do ye apprehend this? Lo, I repeat it, mark ye how I say: Whosoever is evil, let him not in questioning his own conscience, and receiving a bad report of himself, imagine that no one is good: whosoever is good, let him not imagine thai only is good; and let not the good man fear in the mixture with the evil, for the time will come that he shall be separated from them. For to this end we have sung to-day, Destroy not my soul with the ungodly, and my life with the men of blood. For what is, Destroy not with the ungodly? Destroy not together. Why doth he fear, lest God should destroy him together? For I see that it is said to God, Because Thou sufferest us now together, destroy not together those whom Thou sufferest together. And this pervades the whole psalm, which I would briefly consider with you, holy Brethren, for it is brief,

6. Ver. 1. Judge me, O Lord. It is a serious1 and seemingly perilous wish, which he expresses for himself, that he may be judged. What is, to be judged, which he wishes? He wishes to be separated from the evil. In another place clearly speaks of this judgment of separation: Judge me, 0 Lord, and separate my cause from the unholy nation. He shews what he meant by, Judge: lest, as if without judgment, both the good and bad (for both good and bad enter at present into the Church) should go into eternal fire. Judge me, O Lord. Why? For I have walked in mine innocence, and trusting in the Lord I shall not be moved. What is, trusting in the Lord? For he stumbles among the evil, who does not trust in the Lord. Hence it has come that schisms arose. They trembled among the evil, when they were worse themselves, aud were unwilling, as it were, to be good among the evil. O! if they were corn, they would endure the chaff in the floor till the time of winnowing. But. because they are chaff, the wind hath blown before this winnowing, and hath caught up the chaff from the threshing floor, and cast it forth among thorns. And the chaff indeed hath been cast forth thence: but is that which remains corn only? It is only the chaff that flies away before the winnowing; but there remains both corn and chaff: but the chaff will be winnowed, when the time of winnowing shall come. This the Psalmist meant: 1 have walked in mine innocence, and trusting in the Lord 1 shall not be moved. For if I shall trust in man, I shall see perhaps this man sometime living ill, and not keeping to those good ways, which he hath either learnt or teaches in the Church, but those which he hath followed under the teaching of the devil; and because my trust shall be in man, when man stumbles my trust stumbles, and when man falls my trust will fall: but, because I trust in the Lord, I shall npt be moved.

7. There follows, (ver. 2.) Prove me, O Lord, and try me; burn my reins, and my heart. What is, Burn my reins, and my heart? Burn my delights, burn my thoughts, (He hath used heart for thoughts, and reins for delights,) lest I should think any evil, lest any evil should delight me. But wherewith wilt Thou burn my reins? With the fire of Thy word. Wherewith wilt Thou burn my heart? With the heat of Thy Spirit. Of which heat it is said elsewhere, And there is none who can hide himself from the heatPa.19,6. thereof. And of which fire the Lord saith, I came to send™*12 fire on the earth.

8. Therefore there follows, (ver. 3.) For Thy mercy is before mine eyes, and I have been pleasing in Thy truth. That is, I have not been pleasing in man's sight, but I have been pleasing unto Thee within, where Thou seest: and I care not, if 1 be displeasing where men see, as the Apostle saith, Let every one prove his own work, and then shall he have glory in himself alone, and not in another.

9. Ver. 4. I have not sat, saith he, with the council of vanity. Give heed, holy Brethren, to what this, / have not sat, is. According as God seeth, he saith, / have not sat. Sometimes thou art not in the council, yet thou sittest thereFor instance, thou dost not sit in the theatre, but thou<80lne. thinkest on the shows of the theatre, against which it is*;™68 said, Burn my reins: thou sittest there in heart, though thou in art not there in body. But it may happen, that thou art™^! held there by some one, and fast bound, or some pious duty test may make thee sit there. How can this happen? It chances there# from some duty of piety, that a necessity may lie on a servant of God to be in the amphitheatre; he wished to deliver some gladiator or other, it might happen that he was sitting, and waiting, until he whom he was desirous of delivering came out. See! he hath not sat in the council of vanity, though he was seen sitting there in body. What is it to sit? To consent unto them who sit there: which if thou have not done, though present, thou hast not sat there: if thou have done it, though absent, thou hast sat there. And I will not enter in with them that work wickedness. (Ver, 5.) / have hated the congregation of evil doers. You see that it is within, that, And I will not sit with the ungodly.

10. Ver. 6. / will wash mine hands in innocency; not with this visible water. Thou dost wash the hands, when thou dost think piously of thy works, knd innocently in God's sight; for there is an altar too in God's sight, whereunto the Priest hath entered, Who first offered Himself up for us. There is an heavenly altar, and no man embraceth that altar, but he who washeth his hands in innocency. For many unworthy men touch this altar here, and God endures that his Sacraments should suffer injury for a time. But what! my Brethren, will the heavenly Jerusalem be as these walls? You will not be so received with the evil into Abraham's bosom, as you are now received with the evil within the walls of the Church. Fear not then: wash thine hands. And I will compass the altar of the Lord: where thou offerest vows unto the Lord, where thou pourest forth prayers, where thy conscience is pure, where thou dost tell God what thou art; and if there be haply aught in thee that displeaseth God, He, to Whom thou dost make confession, taketh care for it. Wash then thine hands in innocency, and compass the altar of the Lord, that thou mayest hear the voice of praise.

11. For this follows, (ver. 7.) That I may hear the' voice of praise, and declare all Thy wondrous works. What is, That I may hear the voice of praise? He means, That I may understand. For this is to hear before God, not as these sounds, which many hear, and many do not. How many are there hearing now as regards us, who yet are deaf toward God! How many who have ears, and have not those of which Jesus saith, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear! What is it then to hear the voice of praise? I will tell you, if I can, with the help of the Lord's mercy, and your prayers. To hear the voice of praise, is to understand, inwardly, that whatever of evil from sin is in thee, is thine t>wn; whatever of good in works of righteousness is God's. So hear the voice of praise, as not to praise thyself even when thou art good. For in praising thyself as good, thou dost become evil. For humility had made thee good, pride maketh thee evil. Thou wast converted that thou mightest be illuminated, and by Tby conversion thou wert made full of light, having been enlightened by conversion. But whereunto? unto thyself? If thou couldest be illuminated by conversion to thyself, thou couldest never be in darkness, because thou wouldest ever be with thyself. Wherefore wert thou illuminated? Because thou turnedst thyself to something else, which thou wert not. What is the something else which thou wert not? God is light. For thou wast not light, becanse thou wast a sinner. For the Apostle saith to them, whom he would have hear the voice of praise, For yeEph. were sometime darkness, but now are ye light. What is,8. Ye were sometime darkness, but the old man? But now light: not without a cause are ye light, who were sometime darkness, but because ye have been illumined. Think not that thou art thyself light: that is the light, which lighteth every man that cometh into this world: but thou by thyself, by evil9, will, by thy turning away from God, wast in darkness: now thou art in light. But he immediately subjoined, lest they should be proud to whom it was said, But now light, and added, In the Lard. For thus he saith, Ye were sometime darkness, but now light in the Lord. Therefore if without the Lord, then not light, but if therefore light because in the Lord, what hast thou that thou hast not received? But if thou hast received it, why dost thou glory as if tha»i hadst not received it? For thus the Apostle himself spake in another place to men who bore themselves proudly, and would attribute to themselves what is God's, and glory in good as if it were their own: he saith to them, For what hast thouibid. that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? He Who hath given to the humble, taketh away from the proud, because he who gave can take away. This is the bearing, Brethren, (if so be I have explained it, as I wished: I have indeed explained it as far as I could, although not as far as I wpuld,) this is the bearing of the words, / will wash my hands in innocency, and I will compass Thine altar, O Lord, that I may hear the voice of Thy praise: that is, that I may not for this good thing in me rely on myself, but on Thee Who gavest it me, that I should not wish to be praised for myself in myself, but for Thee in Thee. Therefore there follows, That I may hear the voice of Thy praise^ and declare all Thy wondrous works: not mine, but Thine.

12. And now see, Brethren, see that lover of God, who relieth on God, placed among the evil, entreating God that he be not destroyed with the evil, for that God erreth not in judgment. For, when thou seest men have entered into one place, thou thinkest their merits equal: but God is not deceived, fear not. By the judgment of the wind thou dost discriminate between the chaff and the wheat: thou dost wish the wind to blow for thee, and thou art not the wind, but thou dost wish the wind to blow for thee: and, when with the winnowing fau thou hast shaken out both chaff and wheat, the wind takes away the light, the heavy remains. Thou dost look then for the wind to judge the floor. What? doth God look for another to judge with Him, lest He destroy the good with the evil? Fear not then: be thou secure in thy goodness, even in the midst of the evil; and say what thou hearest, (ver. 8.) O Lord, I have loved the beauty of Thine house. God's house is the Church: as yet it contains evil men, but the beauty of God's house is in the good, is in the holy: this beauty of Thine house have I loved. And the place of the habitation of Thy glory. What is this? This too will I explain, it has a somewhat obscure reference to that meaning: may the Lord help me, and your heart's earnest attention inspired by the same Lord. Why doth he say, the place of the habitation of Thy glory? He said before, the beauty of Thine house: and he explains what is the beauty of God's house, The place, saith he, of the habitation of Thy glory. It is not enough to say, the place of God's habitation; but, the place of the habitation of God's glory. What is God's glory? Whereof I spoke a little before, that he even who is made should not glory in himself, but in the Lord. For aU ^ave s*nn£d9 and are in need of the glory of God. In whom then the Lord so dwells, that He receiveth glory for His own good things, that they are unwilling to attribute to themselves, and claim as it were for their own, what they have received from Him: these belong to the beauty of God's house. Nor would Scripture have them distinguished, unless there were some, who have indeed the gift of God, and will not glory in God, but in themselves: they have indeed the gift of God, but they do not belong to the beauty of God's house. For they who belong to the beauty of God's house, in whom God's glory dwelleth, are themselves the place of the habitation of God's glory. And in whom doth God's glory dwell, but in such as so glory, that tbey glory not in themselves, but in the Lord? Since then I have loved the beauty of Thine house, that is, all who are there and seek Thy glory; and, moreover, I have not put my trust in man, and have not consented to the ungodly, and will not enter into nor sit in their assembly; since I have been such in the Church of God, what reward wilt Thou give me? What should be our answer follows, (ver. 9.) Destroy not my sovl with the ungodly, nor my life with the men of blood.

13. Ver. 10. In whose hands are wickednesses, their right hand is full of gifts. Gifts are not only money, not only gold and silver, not only presents1; nor do all who receive these, receive gifts. For sometimes they are received by the Church. Yea, moreover, Peter received such; the Lord received such; He had a bag, Judas stole what wasjohnia, put therein. But what is to receive gifts? To praise a man6, for gifts, to flatter a man, to fawn and wheedle, to judge contrary to truth for gifts. For what gifts? Not for gold and silver and any thing of this kind only; but he too who judges amiss for praise, receives a gift, and a gift than which nothing is more empty. For his hand was open to receive the judgment of another's tongue, and he hath lost the judgment of his own conscience. Hence in whose hands there are wickednesses, their right hand is full of gifts. You see, brethren, that they are before God also, in whose hands are no wickednesses, neither is their right hand filled with gifts, of course, in God's sight; and they can say to none but God, Thou knowest: to none but Him can they say, Destroy not my soul with the ungodly, and my life with the men of blood; Who Alone can see that they receive no gifts. For instance, it happens that two men have a cause before a servant of God: no one calls any but his own cause just. For if he thought his own cause unjust, he would not seek the judge. This one thinks that he has a just cause, and so does the other. They come before the judge: before sentence is pronounced, they both say, We accept your judgment; whatever you shall judge, far be it from us to reject. — What say you too? — Judge what you will; only judge: if I should resist at all on any point, may I be anathema. Both love the judge, before he passes judgment. But when sentence shall have been pronounced, it will be against one; and neither of them knows against whom it will be. The judge then, if he shall wish to please both parties, receives for a gift the praise of men. But having received that gift, see what gift he loses. He receives what sounds, and passeth away: he loses what is uttered, and never passeth away. The word of God is being ever uttered; It never passeth away: the word of man as soon as it has been uttered presently passeth away. He holds the shadow1, he lets go the substance2. Now if he have regard tQ q0(j? he will pronounce sentence against one of the parties, having his thoughts on God, under Whom as Judge he pronounces it. But he, against whom it has been pronounced, and if it cannot now be disannulled, because it is maintained, it may not be by the law of the Church, but of this world's princes, who have granted so much authority to the Church, that whatever has been judged therein cannot be set aside, if, I say, it cannot be disannulled, he has no wish any longer to look into himself, but turns his blinded eyes against the judge, and maligns him as much as he can. He wished, saith he, to please the other party, he favoured the rich man, either he received something from him, or he was afraid to offend him. He makes an accusation, as if gifts had been received. But if the poor man shall have had a cause against a rich man, and judgment shall have been for the poor man, the rich one again says, He has received gifts. What gifts from a poor man? He saw, saith he, a poor man, and that he might not be blamed as having acted against the poor, he has overborne justice, and pronounced sentence against the truth. Since then it must needs be that this be said, see how it cannot be said by them who do not receive gifts, save in God's sight, Who alone seeth who receiveth and who doth not receive. (Ver. 11.) But I have walked in mine innocence: O deliver me, and be merciful unto me: (ver. 12.) my foot hath stood in uprightness. I have been shaken indeed on every side by scandals andj?*1^- temptations from those who blame my judgment with thetentarashness of men; but my foot hath stood iu uprightness. But why in uprightness? Because he had said above, And trusting in the Lord, I shall not be moved.

14. How then does he conclude? In the Churches I will bless Thee, O Lord. That is, in the Churches I will not bless myself, as if certain of men, but I will bless Thee in my works. For this it is to bless God in the Churches, Brethren, so to live that God may be blessed by each man's conversation. For he who blesseth the Lord with his tongue, and curseth Him in his deeds, doth not bless God in the Churches. Almost all bless with the tongue, but not all in deed. Some bless with the voice, some with their conversation. Now those in whose conversation there is not found what they say, cause God to be blasphemed, so that they who do not as yet enter the Church, although they love their sins, and therefore are unwilling to be Christians, yet excuse themselves by the evil, so as to flatter themselves, deceiving their own selves, and saying, Why dost thou persuade me to be a Christian? I have suffered fraud at a Christian's hands, and never did any: a Christian has sworn falsely to me, and I have never done so. And when they speak thus, they are kept back from salvation: that it profiteth them nothing, not indeed that they are already good, but that they are but moderately1 bad. For as it is no profit to open the eyes, if a man be in darkness; so is it no profit to be in the light, if the eyes are closed. And so the pagan indeed, (to speak of them the rather as though their lives were good,) is, with open eyes, in darkness; because he acknowledgeth not the Lord his Light: but the Christian, whose life is evil, is in none other light than God's, but with closed eyes; for, by his evil life, he will not see Him, in Whose Name he is, as it were, blind, in the midst of light, quickened by no vision of the True Light.