Psalm 148

1. The subject of our meditation in this present life should be the praises of God; for the everlasting exaltation of our life hereafter will be the praise of God, and none can become fit for the life hereafter, who hath not 416 Lent, a type of this life: Easter, of that to come. practised himself for it now. So then now we praise God, but we pray to Him too. Our praise is marked by joy, our prayer by groans. For somewhat is promised to us, which as yet we have not: and so, because He Who hath promised is true, we rejoice in hope; but, because as yet we have not, we groan in longing. It is good for us to persevere in longing, till what is promised come, and so groaning pass away, praise alone succeed. On account of these two seasons, one, that which now is in the temptations and tribulations of this life, the other, that which is to be hereafter in everlasting rest and exultation; we have established also the celebration of two seasons, that before Easter and that after Easter. That which is before Easter siguifieth tribulation, in which we now are; that which we are now keeping after Easter, signifieth the bliss in which we shall hereafter be. The celebration then which we keep before Easter is what we do now: by that which we keep after Easter we signify what as yet we have not. Therefore we employ that time in fastings, and prayer, this present time we spend in praises, and relax our fast. This is the Halleluia which we sing, which, as you know, meaneth in Latin, Praise ye the Lord. Therefore that period is before the Lord's Resurrection, this, after His Resurrection: by which time is signified the future hope which as yet we have not: for what we represent after the Lord's Resurrection, we shall have after our own. For in our Head both are figured, both are set forth. The Baptism of the Lord setteth forth to us this present life of trial, for in it we must toil, be harassed, and, at last, die; but the Resurrection and Glorification of the Lord setteth forth to us the life which we are to have hereafter, when He shall come to recompense due rewards, evil to the evil, good to the good. And now indeed all the evil men sing with us, Halleluia; but, if they persevere in their wickedness, they may utter with their lips the song of our life hereafter; but the life itself, which will then be in the reality which now is typified, they cannot obtain, because they would not practise it before it came, and lay hold on what was to come.

2. Now then, brethren, we exhort you that ye praise God; this is what we all say to one another, when we say, We must praise God with our lives as well as lips. 4 1 7 Halleluia. * Praise the Lord,' thou sayest to thy neighbour, he to thee: when all are exhorting each other, all are doing what they exhort others to do. But praise with your whole selves: that is, let not your tongue and voice alone praise God, but your conscience also, your life, your deeds. For now, when we are gathered together in the Church, we praise: when we go forth each to his own business, we well, and then he ever praiseth God. Then dost thou cease to praise God, when thou turnest aside from righteousness and from all that pleaseth Him. For, if thou never turn aside from a good life, though thy tongue be silent, yet thy life crieth out, and the ears of God are open to thy heart. For just as our ears are open to our voices, so God's ears are open to our thoughts. But it is impossible for a man's acts to be evil, whose thoughts are good. For acts issue from thought: nor can a man do any thing. or move his limbs to do aught, unless the bidding of his thought precede: just as in all things which ye see done throughout the provinces, whatsoever the Emperor biddetb goeth forth from the inner part of his palace throughout the whole Roman Empire. How great commotion is caused at one bidding by the Emperor as he sits in* his palace! He but moveth his lips, when he speaketh: the whole province is moved, when what he speaketh is being executed. So in each single man too, the Emperor is within, his seat is in the heart. If he be good and biddeth good things, good things are done: if he be bad and biddeth evil things, evil things are done. When Christ sitteth there, what can He bid, but what is good? When the devil is the occupant, what can he bid, but evil? But God hath willed that it should be in thy choice for whom thou wilt prepare roora^ for God, or for the devil: when thou hast prepared it, he who is occupant will also rule. Therefore, brethren, attend not only to the sound; when ye praise God, praise with your whole selves: let your voice, your life, your deeds, all sing. And if there be still groaniug, tribulation, temptation, hope that they will all pass away, and then the day will come when ye will praise without failure. This present Psalm is clear, and we may run over it quickly. For it 418 All things, animate and inanimate, arrayeth all creation to praise God, and as it were exhorteth it to praise, as though it had found it holding its peace.

3. Praise ye the Lord from heaven. As though he had found things in heaven holding their peace in the praise of the Lord, he exhorteth them to arise and praise. Never have things in heaven held their peace in the praises of their Creator, never have things on earth ceased to* praise God. But it is manifest that there are certain things which have breath to praise God in that disposition wherein God pleaseth them. For no one praiseth ought, save what pleaseth him. And there are other things which have not breath of life and understanding to praise God, but ^et, because they also are good, and duly arranged in their proper order, and form part of the beauty of the universe, which God created, though they themselves with voice and heart praise not God, yet when they are considered by those who have understanding, God is praised in them; and, as God is praised in them, they themselves too in a manner praise God. For instance, in heaven all things praise God, which have the breath of life, and a pure intelligence to contemplate and love Him without disgust or weariness. But on earth men praise God by their understanding whereby they discern good and evil, by their understanding whereby they know the creature and the Creator, because they can think of these things, because God has given them a mind to discern them, to love, and to praise. This man can do; but surely beasts have not this sort of understanding: if they had, God would not say to us, Be ye not like unto horse and mule, which have no understanding. When He exliorteth us not to be like beasts, which have no understanding, He sheweth us that to man He hath assigned an understanding whereby to praise God. And the trees surely have not so much as the life whereby they may have senses, like the beasts. For though the beasts have not the inner sense of reason, and an understanding, and a discerning mind, which man has, to praise God withal, yet they have an outward and visible life, as we all know, whereby they seek food, take what is for their good, reject what is harmful; they have senses whereby to discern rational and irrational, praise God. corporeal things, sight to distinguish colour, hearing to distinguish sounds, smell to distinguish odours, taste to distinguish flavours; they naturally move towards what pleases, away from what annoys them. This we understand and see before our eyes. They have not reason to understand with, but they have the breath of a living body, and a visible life: the trees have not even this; yet all of the#i praise God. Wherefore do they praise God? Because when we see them, and think upon the Creator Who made them, they cause to arise within us praise to God; and, since through consideration of them God is praised, all things praise God. He begins then with heaven: all things praise, and yet he says, Praise ye. Wherefore doth he say, Praise ye9 when they are praising? Because he delighteth in their praising, and therefore it pleaseth him to add, as it. were, his own encouragement. Just as, when you come to men who are doing any good work with pleasure in their vineyard or in their harvest field, or in some other matter of husbandry, you are pleased at what they are doing, and say, ' work on,' ' go on:' not that they may begin to work, when thou sayest this, but, because you are pleased at finding them working, you add your approbation and encouragement. For by saying, * work on,' and encouraging those who are working, you, so to speak, work with them in wish. In this sort of encouragement then the Psalmist, filled with the Holy Ghost, saith this.

4. And it is a Psalm of Haggai and Zachariah: so the title runneth. These two Prophets prophesied at the time when the people was kept captive in Babylon, and foretold the coming end of the captivity, that the city of Jerusalem which had been destroyed in war, should be restored. They set forth to us then in a mystery the life to come, wherein we shall praise God, when the captivity of this present life is at an end, when shall be restored that mighty city Jerusalem, in wandering from whence we sigh, prisoners as yet under the burden and weight of this mortal body: wherefore as yet we groan in our pilgrimage, but we shall exult when we reach our country. But he, who groaneth not as a pilgrim, shall not rejoice as a citizen, because there 420 We practise now what we shall perform hereafter. is no longing in him. Those holy Prophets then gave great comfort to the people, who were then captives according to the flesh, that is, who were placed in Babylon under strange sovereigns. For they shewed in prophecy, that a time should come when they should be freed from their captivity, and Jerusalem should be restored. But all these things were done in a figure, they contain their own truth; they were figured in what happened of old, they mre set forth really present among us. Now then what saith the Apostle? While we are present in the body, we are absent from the Lord. As yet we are not in our country: when shall we be? When we shall triumph for victory over our enemy the devil; when death, the last enemy, shall be destroyed; then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is thy strife? where, O death, is thy sting f When then shall there be no more strife of death, which now there is, and maketh us groan at the failure and changeableness of things, at the frailness of man's flesh? Daily temptations strive with us, daily delights: even though we consent not, yet we suffer annoyance, and strive: and great is the peril, lest he who striveth be conquered: and even if by not consenting we conquer, yet we suffer annoyance in resisting delights. The enemy ceaseth not, dieth not, save in the resurrection of the dead. But let us hope, let us trust: Haggai and Zacharias lift us up, they sing our coming liberation. If they sang to that people, and it hath been fulfilled, shall what is sung to the Christian people not he fulfilled? Be not troubled: only take heed how ye act in this pilgrimage of life. Let not love of Babylon please you, lest ye forget your city Jerusalem. Though your body is yet detained in Babylon, let your heart be sent forward to Jerusalem. Let then the whole creation praise the Lord: for there we shall do what here we practise beforehand.

5. Praise ye the Lord from heaven: praise Him in the high places. First he saith, from heaven, then from earth for it is God that is praised, Who made heaven and earth. All in heaven is calm and peaceful; there is ever joy, no death, no sickness, no vexation; there the blessed ever praise God; but we are still below: yet, when we think All creation praises its Creator. how God is praised there, let us have our heart there, and let us not hear to no purpose, 'Lift up your hearts.' Let us lift up our heart above, that it become not corrupted on earth: for we take pleasure in what the Angels do there. We do it now in hope: hereafter we shall in reality, when we have come thither. Praise Him then in the high places.

6. jfaaise Him, all ye angels of His, praise Him, all His™--3 powers. Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all ye stars and light. Praise Him, ye heaven of heavens, and waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the Name of the Lord. When can he unfold all in his enumeration? Yet he hath in a manner touched upon them all summarily, and included all things in heaven praising their Creator.

7. And as though it were said to him, c Why do they praise Him? what hath He conferred on them, that they should praise Him?' he goeth on, for He spake, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created. No wonder if the works praise the Worker, no wonder if the things that are made praise the Maker, no wonder if creation praise its Creator. In this Christ also is mentioned, though we seem not to have heard His Name. Who is Christ? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. By what were they made? By the Word? How doth he shew in this Psalm, that all things were made by the Word? He spake, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created. No one speaketh, no one commandeth, save by word.

8. He hath established them for the age, and for age upon age. All things in heaven, all things above, all powers and angels, a certain city on high, good, holy, blessed; from whence because we are wanderers, we are wretched; whither because we are to return, we are blessed in hope; whither when we shall have returned, we shall be blessed indeed; He hath established them for the age, and for age upon age: He hath given them a law which shall not pass away. What sort of command, think ye, have things ia heaven and the holy angels received? What sort of comhath God given them? What, but that they praise Him? Blessed are they whose business is to praise God! They plough not, they sow not, they grind not, they cook not; for these are works of necessity, and there is no necessity there. They steal not, they plunder not, they commit no adultery; for the» are works of iniquity, and there is no iniquity there. They break not bread for the hunger, they clothe not the naked, they take not in the stranger, they visit not the sick, they set not at one the contentious, they bury not the dead; for these are works of mercy, and there there is no misery, for mercy to be shewn to. O blessed they! Think we that we too shall be like this? Ah! let us sigh, let us groan in sighing. And what are we, that we should be there? mortal, outcast, abject, earth and ashes! But He, Who hath promised, is almighty. If we regard ourselves, what are we? if we regard Him, He is God. He is almighty. Cannot He make of a man an angel, who made man out of nothing? Or doth God count man of little value, for whom He willed that His only-begotten Son should die? Let us observe the proof of His love. These are the pledges which we have received of the promise of God: we have already the Death of Christ, we have already the Blood of Christ. Who is it that did die? The Only-begotten. For whom did He die? Would that it were for the good, would that it were for the righteous. But what? Christ, saith the Apostle, died for the ungodly. He Who gave to the ungodly His Death, what reserveth He for the righteous but His Life? Let then frail man lift himself up, let him not despair, let him not dash himself down, let him not turn away, let him not say, c I shall not be one.' He Who hath promised is God; and He came to promise; He appeared unto men, He came to take upon Him our death, to promise us His Life. He came to the region where we were strangers, here to receive all that aboundeth here, disgrace, scourges, buffettiugs, spitting in the face, insults, a crown of thorns, the hanging on the tree, the cross, death. These things abound in our region, these He came to barter for. What gave He here, what received He? He gave exhortation, He gave teaching, He gave remission of our everlasting life. of sins: He received insults, death, the cross. He brought to us, from the region where He was, good things; He endured, in the region where we were, evil things. Yet hath He provided to us that we shall be in the place from whence He came, and saith, Father, / will that where / am, there they may be with Me also. So great is the24, love that hath gone before. For where we were, He hath been )fith us; where He is, we shall be with Him. What hath God promised thee, O mortal? l*hat thou shalt live for ever. Dost not thou believe? Believe it, believe it. For greater is what He hath done already, than what He hath promised. What hath He done? He hath died for thee. What hath He promised? That thou shalt live with Him. More incredible is it, that the Immortal should die, than that the mortal should live for ever. Already we have what is the more incredible. If God died for man, shall not man live with God? Shall not the mortal live for ever, for whom He, Who liveth for ever, died? But how did God die? and by what means.did He die? and can God die? He took of thee that, whereby He might die for thee. Nought could die, save flesh: nought could die, save a mortal body: He put on Him that wherein He might die for thee; He will put on thee that wherein thou shalt live with Him. Where did He clothe himself with death? In the womb of His Virgin Mother. Where will He clothe thee with life? In His equality with the Father. He chose for Himself here a chaste chamber, where the Bridegroom might be wedded to the Bride. He was the Word made flesh, that He might become tBe Head of the Church. For the Word Himself is not part of the Church: but, that He might become the Head of the Church, He took upon Him flesh. Somewhat of us is already above, that which He took here, where He died, where He was crucified. Already a sort of first-fruits of thee are gone before, and doubtest thou that thou wilt follow?

9. Let him then turn himself to things on earth too, since he hath already spoken the praises of things in heaven. Praise ye the Lord from the earth. For wherewith began he before? Praise ye the Lord from heaven: and he went through things in heaven: now hear of things on earth. Dragons and all abysses. Abysses are depths of water: all ^ seas^ au(j fills atmosphere of clouds, pertain to the abyss. Where there are clouds, where there are storms, where there is rain, lightning, thunder, hail, snow, and all that God willeth should be done above the earth, by this moist and misty atmosphere, all this he hath mentioned under the name of earth, because it is very changeable and mortal; unless ye think that it raineth from above the stars# All these things happen here, close to the earth. Sometimes even men are on the tops of mountains, and see the clouds beneath them, and often it raineth: and all commotions which arise from the disturbance of the atmosphere, those who watch carefully see that they happen here, in this lower part of the universe. Therefore the devil was condemned to these regions of darkness, that is, to this air, as to a prison, when he fell with his Angels from the force of the Angels above; for the Apostle saith this of him, According io the prince of the power of this air, who now worketh in the children of disobedience. And another Apostle saith, For if God spared not the Angels that sinned, but cast them down to the prisons of lower darkness, and delivered them to be kept for punishment at the judgment; calling this region the 'lower, because it is the lower part of creation. For think not what the devil received, but what he lost. Thou seest then what kind all these things are, changeable, troublous, fearful, corruptible: yet they have their place, they have their rank, they too in their degree fill up the beauty of the universe, and so they praise the Lord. He turns then to them, as though He would exhort them too, or us, that by considering them we may praise the Lord: (for thus is it that they praise God, when the consideration of them begetteth praise of God;) he beginneth to say, Praise the Lord from earth, ye dragons and all abysses. Dragons live about the water, come out from caverns, fly through the air; the air is set in motion by them: dragons are a huge kind of living creatures, greater there are not upon the earth. Therefore with them he beginneth, Dragons and all abysses. There are caves of hidden waters, whence springs and streams come forth: some come forth to flow over the earth, some flow secretly beneath; and all this kind, all this The folly of cavillers at God's dealings. 425 damp nature of waters, together with the sea and this lower air, are called abyss, or abysses, where dragons live and praise God. What? Think we that the dragons form choirs, and praise God? Far from it. But do ye, when ye consider the dragons, regard the Maker of the dragon, the Creator of the dragon: then, when ye admire the dragons, and say, 'Great is the Lord Who maie these,' then the dragons praise God by your voices. Dragons and all abysses.

10. Fire, hail, snow, ice, wind of storms, which do His™. word. Wherefore added he here, which do His word? Many foolish men, unable to contemplate and discern creation, in its several places and rank, performing its movements at the nod and commandment of God, think that God doth indeed rule all things above, but things below He despiseth, casteth aside, abandoneth, so that He neither careth for them, nor guideth, nor ruleth them; but that they are ruled by chance, how they can, as they can: and they are influenced by what they say sometimes to one another, (but let them not say it to thee, that is, do not thou by listening consent when they say these things: for they are blasphemers, and accursed in the sight of God:) for instance; ' If it were God that gave rain, would He rain into the sea? What sort of Providence,* they say, 'is this? Getulia is thirsty, and it rains into the sea.' They think that they handle the matter cleverly: one should say to them, 4 Getulia does at all events thirst, thou dost not even thirst.' For good were it for thee to say to God, My soul is as a land without water to Thee: as is openly said in another6, place, My soul hath thirsted for Thee, in how many ways for Thee my flesh also. And the Lord saith in the Gospel, Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. For he that thus argueth is already satisfied; he thinketh himself learned, he is not willing to learn, therefore he thirsteth not. For if he thirsted, he would be willing to learn, and he would find that every thing happeneth upon earth by God's Providence, and he would wonder at the arrangement of even the limbs of a flea. Attend, beloved. Who hath arranged the limbs of a flea and a gnat, that they should have their proper order, GooVs creation harmonious, life, motion? Consider one little creature, even the very smanestj whatever thou wilt. If thou considerest the order of its limbs, and the animation of life whereby it moveth; how doth it shun death, love life, seek pleasures, avoid pain, exert divers senses, vigorously use movements suitable to itself! Who gave its sting to the gnat, for it to suck blood with? How narrow is the pipe whereby it sucketh! Who arranged all this? who made all this? Thpu art amazed at the smallest things; praise Him that is great. Hold then this, my brethren, let none shake you from your faith or from sound doctrine. He Who made the Angel in heaven, the Same also made the worm upon earth: the Angel in heaven to dwell in heaven, the worm upon earth to abide on earth. He made not the Angel to creep in the mud, nor the worm to move in heaven. He hath assigned dwellers to their different abodes; incorruption He assigned to incorruptible abodes, corruptible things to corruptible abodes. Observe the whole, praise the whole. He then Who ordered the limbs of the worm, doth He not govern the clouds? And wherefore raineth He into the sea? As though there are not in the sea things which are nourished by rain; as though He made not fishes therein, as though He made not living creatures therein. Observe how the fishes run to sweet water. And wherefore, saith he, doth He give rain to the fishes, and sometimes giveth not rain to me? That thou mayest consider that thou art in a desert region, and in a pilgrimage of life; that so this present life may grow bitter to thee, that thou mayest long for the life to come: or else that thou mayest be scourged, punished, amended. And how well doth He assign their properties to regions. Behold, since we have spoken of Getulia, He raineth here nearly every year, and giveth corn every year; here the corn cannot be kept, it soon rotteth, because it is given every year; there, because it is given seldom, both much is given, and it can be kept for long. But dost thou perchance think that God there deserteth man, or that they do not there after their own manner of rejoicing both praise and glorify God? Take a Getulian from his country, and set him amid our pleasant trees; he will wish to flee away, and return to his bare Getulia. To all places then, regions, and obeys His Will. seasons, God hath assigned and arranged what fits them. And it were a long task to go through a more accurate enumeration of all these matters. Who could unfold it? Yet they who have eyes see many things therein: when seen, they please; pleasing, they are praised; not they really, but He Who made them; thus shall all things praise ll*It was in thought of this that the spirit of the Prophet, after he had said, Fire, hail, snow, ice, wind of storm, added, because all these seem to some foolish persons to be all confusion, and, as it were, moved hither and thither by chance, the words, which do His word. Think not then that these things are moved by chance, which in every motion of theirs obey God. Whither God willeth, thither the fire spreads, thither the cloud hurries, whether it carry in it rain, or snow, or hail. And wherefore doth the lightning sometimes strike the mountain, yet strikes not the robber? I will say what I can, according to the capacity of my mind, so much as God deigneth to give me: greater men may know greater things, and understand more, and may God give to you to be wiser than my words, only let it be with moderation, without pride. I then, in my measure, can give a reason why it strikes the mountain and strikes not the robber; because perhaps He yet seeketh the robber's conversion, and therefore is the mountain which feareth not smitten, that the man who feareth may be changed. Thou also sometimes, when maintaining discipline, smitest the ground to terrify a child. Sometimes too He smiteth a man, whom He will. But thou sayest to me, Behold, He smiteth the more innocent, and passeth over the more guilty. Wonder not; death, whencesoever it come, is good to the good man. And whence dost thou know what punishment is reserved in secret for that more guilty man, if he be unwilling to be converted? Would not they rather be scorched by lightning, to whom it shall be said in the end, Depart into everlasting Jire? The needful thing is, that thou be guileless. Why so? Is it an41, evil thing to die by shipwreck, and a good thing to die by fever? Whether he die in this way or in that, ask what sort of man he is who dieth; ask whither he will go after God. death, not how he is to depart from life. We shall depart hence by whatever may befall us. By what deaths were the martyrs thought worthy to die? Was it by fevers? How is it that many wish to be set free by fever? Some perished by a single blow of the sword, some by fire, some by wild beasts. Wild beasts devoured the bodies of the martyrs, yet feared they not that their bodies would perish. For God will bring back from all quarters the bodies of the saints, God by Whom the very hairs of our head are numbered. When He willed too, He delivered the Three Children from the fire. Did He therefore desert the Macca- -n grep rpjje former jje 0pen]y set free, tne latter He secretly crowned. God then knoweth what He doeth. Do thou fear, and be good. For whatsoever way He will that thou depart hence, let Him find thee ready. For here thou art a sojourner, not a possessor of the house. For the house is let to thee, this house is let to thee, not given: loth though thou be, thou must depart from it: neither hast thou received it on such terms, as that thou hast any fixed time. What said thy Lord? 'Whensoever I will, whensoever I shall say, Depart, be thou ready. I drive thee from thy lodging, but I will give thee a home: thou art a sojourner on earth, thou shalt be possessor in heaven.'

11. Whatever then happeneth here contrary to our wish, thou wilt know that it happeneth not, save by the will of God, by His providence, by His ordering, by His nod, by His laws: and if we understand not why any thing is done, let us grant to His providence that it is not done without reason: so shall we not be blasphemers. For when we begin to argue concerning the works of God, * why is this?' i why is that?' and, * He ought not to have done this,' * He did this ill;' where is the praise of God? Thou hast lost thy Halleluia. Regard all things in such wise as to please God and praise the Creator. For if thou wert to happen to enter the workshop of a smith, thou wouldest not dare to find fault with his bellows, his anvils, his hammers. But take an ignorant man, who knows not for what purpose each thing is, and he findeth fault with all. But if he have not the skill of the workman, and have but the reasoning power of a man, what saith he to himself? All creation praises by our voice. Not without reason are the bellows placed here: the workman knoweth wherefore, though I know not. In the shop he dareth not to find fault with the smith, yet in the universe he dareth to find fault with God. Therefore just as fire, hail, snow, ice, wind of storms, which do His word, so all things in nature, which seem to foolish persons to be made at random, simply do His word, because they are nart made save by His command.

12. Then he mentioneth, that they may praise the Lord, mountains and hills, fruitful trees and all cedars: beasts10' and all cattle, creeping things, and winged fowls. Then he goeth to men; kings of the earth and all people, ^princes and all judges of the earth; young men and maidens, old men and young, let them praise the Name of the Lord. Ended is the praise from heaven, ended is the praise from earth.

13. For His Name only is exalted. Let no man seek to exalt his own name. Wilt thou be exalted? Subject thyself to Him Who cannot be humbled. His Name only is e waited,

14. His confession is in earth and heaven. What is, His confession is in earth and heaven? Is it the confession wherewith He confesseth? No, but that whereby all things confess Him, all things cry aloud: the beauty of all things is in a manner their voice, whereby they praise God. The heaven crieth out to God, * Thou madest me, not I myself.' Earth crieth out, ' Thou createdst me, not I myself.' How do they cry out? When thou regardest them, and findest this out, they cry out by thy voice, they cry out by thy regard. His confession is in earth and heaven. Regard the heavens, it is beautiful: observe the earth, it is beautiful: both together are very beautiful. He made them, He ruleth them, by His nod they are swayed, He ordereth their seasons, He reneweth their movements, by Himself He reneweth them. All these things then praise Him, whether in stillness or in motion, whether from earth below or from heaven above, whether in their old state or in their renewal. When thou seest all these things, and rejoicest, and art lifted up to the Maker, and gazest on His invisible things understood by the things which are made, His con-The Christian's true life hidden now, fession is in earth a fid heaven: that is, thou confessest tQ |jjm £rom ijjjjjgg on earth, thou confessest to Him from things in heaven. And since He made all things, and nought is better than He, whatsoever He made is less than He, and whatsoever in these things pleaseth thee, is less than He. Let not then what He hath made so please thee, as to withdraw thee from Him Who made: if thou lovest what He made, love much more Him Who made. «Jf the things which He hath made are beautiful, how much more beautiful is He Who made them: His confession is in earth and heaven,

15. And He shall exalt the horn of His people. Behold what Haggai and Zachariah prophesied. Now the horn of His people is humble in afflictions, in tribulations, in temptations, in beating of the breast; when will He exalt the horn of His people? When the Lord hath come, and our Sun is risen, not the sun which is seen with the eye, and riseth upon the good and the evil, but That Whereof is said, To you that feat God, the Sun of Righteousness shall rise, and healing in His wings; and of Whom the proud wicked shall hereafter say, The light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us. This shall be our summer. Now during the winter weather the fruits appear not on the stock; thou observest, so to say, dead trees during the winter. He who cannot see truly, thinketh the vine dead; perhaps there is one near it, which is really dead; both are alike during winter; the one is alive, the other is dead, but both the life and death are hidden: summer advanceth; then the life of the one shineth brightly, the death of the other is manifested: the splendour of leaves, the abundance of fruit, cometh forth, the vine is clothed in outward appearance from what it hath in its stock. Therefore, brethren, now we are the same as other men: just as they are born, eat, drink, are clothed, pass their life, so also do the saints. Sometimes the very truth deceiveth men, and they say, ' Lo, he hath begun to be a Christian: hath he lost his headache?' or, because he is a Christian, what gaineth he from me?' O dead vine, thou observest near thee a vine that is bare indeed in winter, yet not dead. Summer will come, the Lord but to be manifested at Christ* 8 coming. 431 will come, our Splendour, that was hidden in the stock, and then He shall exalt the horn of His people, after the captivity wherein we live in this mortal life. Wherefore the Apostle saith, Judge nothing before the time, till the Lord\ come, Who shall bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and then shall every one have praise of God. But thou sayest unto me, Where is my stock? where is my fruit? If thou believest, thou knowest where thy root is. For it is there, where thy faith is, where thy hope and charity are. Hear the Apostle; For ye are dead. In the winter they seemed to be dead; hear that they are*alive: and your life3' is hid with Christ in God. There is where thou hast thy root. When then shalt thou be adorned with splendour? when shalt thou be made abundant with fruit? Hear how he goeth on: When Christ, Who is your Life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear trith Him in glory. And He shall exalt the horn of His people.

16. An hymn to all His Saints. Know ye what an hymn is? It is a song with praise of God. If thou praisest God and singest not, thou utterest no hymn: if thou singest and praisest not God, thou utterest no hymn: if thou praisest ought else, which pertaineth not to the praise of God, although thou singest and praisest, thou utterest no hymn. An hymn then con tain eth these three things, song, and praise, and that of God. Praise then of God in song is called an hymn. What then meaneth, An hymn to all His Saints? Let His Saints receive an hymn: let His Saints utter an hymn: for this is what they are to receive in the end, an everlasting hymn. Therefore in another place a Psalm saith, The sacrifice of praise shall glorify Me, and there is the way wherein I will shew him My salvation.23' And again, Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house, they will praise Thee for ever and ever. This is the meaning ofj 4* An hymn to all His Saints. Who are His Saints? To the sons of Israel, to the people that draweth nigh unto Him. Let none say, I am not a son of Israel. Think not that the Jews are sons of Israel, and that we are not sons of Israel: I dare to say to you, brethren, that they are not sons, and we are. 1 will tell you why: because greater is he that is born after the Spirit, than he that is born after the flesh. Whose son was Israel? Abraham's: for Isaac wag Abraham's son, and Israel Isaac's. And how did Abraham please God? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Whosoever imitateth Abraham is a son of Abraham: whosoever hath degenerated from the faith of Abraham, hath lost the stock of Abraham. The Jews have degenerated, and have lost the stock; we have imitated, and have found it. T will shew thai they have lost it: what saith the Lord to them when they say, we are the sons of Abraham? They dared to boast themselves, to hold up * their head on the nobility of their righteous descent: and what saith the Lord to them? If ye were sons of Abraham, ye would do the deeds of Abraham. If then they lost the being sons of Abraham, we have found the being sons of Abraham. We, that is, by believing have found, what they by not believing have lost. For Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness: and Christ is the seed of Abraham, and we are in Christ; and of Israel is the people, of which people was Mary, of which Mary was Christ, in^Which Christ we are: therefore we are sons of Israel. And what hath he added, in order to distinguish us? To the sons of Israel, to the people that draweth nigh unto Him. Observe the Jews: if they draw nigh, they are they. ' And perhaps they do draw nigh,' saith some one to me: they also daily sing their Psalm, they sing hymns to God. Hear ye not what tne Prophet said unto them? This people honourelh Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. If their heart is far, yet our heart is most nigh, because we believe, because we hope, because we love, because we are joined to Christ, because we have been made His members. Are the members far from the head? If they were afar they would severed: He would not say, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the consummation of the aye. If they were severed, He would not cry from heaven, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? If He were not in us, He would not say> I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat. Then when they said to Him, When saw we Thee an hungered? He answered, Forasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of Mine, ye have done it unto Me. Behold the people, The New Testament a ' new song.* behold Israel that draweth nigh: they draw nigh now in hope; hereafter they shall in reality.