I.34-51.

Mat.10,

Matt.5,

9.

And the Lamb, Whose Blood redeemed the world. 105 Lamb,' for the disciples also are called lambs. Behold I JOHN send you as lambs in the midst of wolves. They too are called light: Ye are the light of the world: but in a different 16. sense He of Whom it is said, That was the true Light Which 14. lighteth every man that cometh into this world. So too the John 1, Lamb, singly and preeminently, alone without spot and without sin not, whose spots have been washed away; but in Whom never was spot. For that John should say of the Lord, Behold a Lamb of God; was John himself not a lamb was he not a holy man? was he not the friend of the Bridegroom? Therefore of Him singly saith John, This is the Lamb of God; because singly by this Lamb's blood alone could men be redeemed.

6. My brethren, if we acknowledge the price with which we were redeemed to be the blood of the Lamb, what are they that celebrate to-day a festivity of the blood of I know not what woman, and how ungrateful are they! A golden earring, say they, was torn from the woman's ear, and the blood ran, and the gold was placed in a pair of scales, and the blood outweighed by much. If a woman's blood was of such weight as to turn the scale when weighed against gold, how weighty must be the Blood of the Lamb, by Whom the world was made, to turn the scale when weighed against the world! And truly that spirit, whoever he was, that he might depress the weight, was propitiated with blood. The unclean spirits knew that Jesus Christ was coming, they had heard it from angels, they had heard it out of the prophets, and they looked for His coming. For if they did not look for it, wherefore did they cry, What have we to do with Thee? Mark 1, Art Thou come before the time to destroy us? We know who Thou art, The Holy One of God. They knew that He was coming, but they did not know the time. But what have you heard in the Psalm concerning Jerusalem? For Thy servants Psalm 102, 15. have taken pleasure in her stones, and will pity the dust there- 14. of. Thou shalt arise, saith he, and have pity upon Zion, for the time is come that Thou have pity upon her. When the time was come for God to have pity, then came the Lamb. What kind of Lamb, whom wolves fear! What kind of Lamb is that, Who when slain slew a lion! For the devil is called a lion going about and roaring, seeking whom he may devour. By the

24.

1 Peter

106

Demons ape Divine truths among the heathen.

HOMIL. blood of the Lamb the lion was overcome. Such are the

VII. spectacles of the Christians. And what is more, they yonder,

with the eyes of the flesh, see vanity; we, with the eyes of the heart, truth. Think not, brethren, that the Lord our God hath dismissed us without spectacles; for if there are no spectacles, wherefore are ye come together to-day? Lo, what we said, ye saw, and cried out. Ye would not have cried out unless ye had seen. This is a mighty spectacle to behold throughout the whole world:-the lion overcome by the blood of the Lamb; the members of Christ plucked from the teeth of lions, and joined to the body of Christ. Therefore by way of hitting off a sort of likeness and counterfeit of the truth, some spirit or other chose that blood should be told down in purchase of his own image, because he knew that precious blood was at some time or other to be told down in redemption of the human race. In fact, the evil spirits do fashion counterfeit shadows, as it were, of honour for themselves, that so they may deceive those who follow Christ. So much so, my brethren, that the very same, who 1 ligatu- seduce by amulets', by incantations, by the contrivances of S.Chrys. the enemy, mingle the name of Christ with their incantations. de Stat. Since they cannot now seduce Christians so as to give them 2. (21.) poison, they add honey, that the bitter may be concealed in the sweet, and so drunk to their ruin. So much so, that to my knowledge the priest of that Pilleatus was sometime used to say, Pilleatus himself also is a Christian. Why this, my brethren, unless that Christians could not otherwise be seduced?

ræ.

Catech.

7. Then seek ye not Christ elsewhere than where He would have Himself preached to you; and in what way He would have Himself preached to you, in that hold ye Him, in that write ye Him in your heart. It is a wall against all assaults, and all artifices of the enemy. Fear not: he does not even tempt unless by permission: it is plain that he can do nothing unless he has been permitted, or sent. He is sent, as an evil angel, by a power which holds him under control; permitted, when he makes some request: and this, brethren, docs not occur but that the righteous may be proved, the unrighteous punished. What then dost thou fear? Walk in the Lord thy God; be assured: what He will not have thee suffer, thou sufferest not; what He may

To resort to heathen practices is to give place to the devil.' 107

1.34-51.

permit thee to suffer, is the rod of One that corrects, not the JOHN punishment of One that condemns. We are in training for an eternal inheritance, and do we spurn the rod? My brethren, if a boy should refuse a slapping or a whipping from his father, what a proud child he would be called, what a hopeless subject, how ungrateful for paternal discipline! And to what end does a human father train a human son? That he may be able to avoid losing the temporal goods, which he has acquired for him, which he has collected for him, which he would not have him lose, which himself who leaves cannot keep for ever. He is not teaching a son with whom he is to possess, but who is to possess after him. My brethren, if in teaching a son, a father teaches one who is to succeed him, and teaches withal that he too is destined to pass through all these things in the same way, by which he, who is admonishing him, is destined to pass through the same; how will ye that IIe train us, our Father, Whom we are not as successors to come after, but as inmates to come nigh unto, and abide with Him for ever, in an heritage which fadeth not, neither dieth, and where hailstorms are unknown? Himself is both the inheritance and the Father. Shall He be our possession, and is it not our duty to endure training? Then let us suffer the teaching of the Father. Let us not, when our head aches, run to charmers, to fortune-tellers, and remedies of vanity. My brethren, shall I not mourn over you? Every day I find these things: and what shall I do? Not yet do I succeed in persuading Christians that their hope is to be placed in Christ? Lo, suppose one dies to whom one of these remedies has been applied, (for how many have died with remedies? and how many have lived without?) with what assurance hath his spirit gone forth to God? He hath lost the sign of Christ, he hath received the sign of the devil. Or will any one say, I have not lost Christ's sign? Then thou hast had the sign of Christ and the sign of the devil both together. Christ will have no partnership; He will be the sole Proprietor of what He hath bought. He bought at so great a price, that He may be the sole Proprietor. Thou makest the devil, to whom by sin thou hast sold thyself, Christ's partner. Woe Ecclus. to the double-hearted; to those who in their hearts give part 2, 12. to God, part to the devil. God being angry that the devil

108 John's two disciples, when called to follow Christ.

HOMIL. has part there, departs, and the devil will possess the whole. VII. It is not in vain therefore that the Apostle saith; Neither 4, 27. give place to the devil. Let us learn to know the Lamb, then, brethren, know the price with which we have been bought.

Ephes.

John 1,

35.

8. John stood and two of his disciples. Lo, here two of John's disciples. Since John, the friend of the Bridegroom, was such as He was, he sought not his own glory, but bare witness to the Truth: did he wish at all that his disciples should remain with him, and not follow the Lord? Rather himself shewed his disciples whom to follow. For they accounted of him as though he were the Lamb: and he said to them, Wherefore look ye to me? I am not the Lamb. John 1, Behold the Lamb of God. He had also before said of Him, "Behold the Lamb of God." And what doth the Lamb of God profit us? Behold, saith he, Who taketh away the sin of the world. The two who were with John followed Him when they heard this.

36.

John 1,

29.

9. Let us see what follows: Behold the Lamb of God: this John said. And the two disciples heard him speak, and 37. 38. they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them

John 1,

following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto Him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest Thou? They did not follow Him in such wise as that they should now attach themselves to Him: for the time at which they attached themselves to Him is evident, for He called them from the ship. For one of these two, as ye have just heard, was Andrew; and Andrew was Peter's brother and we know in the Gospel, that the Lord called Peter and Andrew from the ship, saying, Come ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And from that time they attached themselves to Him, so as to go away no more. In following Him therefore in the present instance, these two do not follow as though they are not going away again; but they wished to see where He dwelt, and to do what is Ecclus. Written; Let thy foot wear out the threshold of His doors ; 6,36 37. arise to come to Him continually, and be instructed in His

Matt. 4, 19.

precepts. He shewed them where He dwelt; they came and abode with Him. What a happy day did they spend, what a happy night! Who can declare unto us what they heard from the Lord? Let us also build in our heart, and make a house whither He may come and teach us; may speak with us.

The mystery of the tenth hour: Christ, Master' of the Law. 109

17.

10. What seek ye? They said unto Him, Rabbi, (which JOHN is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest Thou? 1.34-51. He saith unto them, Come and see. And they came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him that day: and it was about the tenth hour. Think we that there was no occasion for the Evangelist to tell us what hour it was? Can it be that he would have us mark nothing in that circumstance, search nothing? It was the tenth hour. That number signifies the Law, because the Law was given in Ten Commandments. Now the time was come for the Law to be fulfilled by love; because by the Jews it could not be fulfilled by fear. Wherefore the Lord saith, I am Matt. 6, not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfil. With good reason therefore was it at the tenth hour that those two followed Him at the testimony of the friend of the Bridegroom; and at the tenth hour that He was addressed as Rabbi, (which is interpreted, Master.) If it was at the tenth hour that the Lord was addressed, Rabbi, and if the number ten pertains to the Law; the Master of the Law is no other than the Giver of the Law. Let no man say that one gave the Law, another teaches it. The Same teaches it Who gave it; the Same is the Master of His own Law, and the Teacher of it. And mercy is in His tongue, therefore mercifully doth He teach the Law, as it is said of Wisdom, The law and mercy doth she carry in her tongue. Fear not Prov. lest thou be not able to fulfil the Law: flee to mercy. If it 31, 26. is much for thee to fulfil the Law, avail thee of that covenant, avail thee of the written bond, avail thee of the prayers which the heavenly Lawyer hath appointed and composed for thee.

11. For they who have a cause, and wish to petition the Emperor, seek out some lawyer who has been trained in the schools, to compose a prayer for them; lest, peradventure, if they should make their request otherwise than they ought, they should not only not obtain what they ask, but should meet with punishment instead of a benefit. When therefore the Apostles sought to petition, and found not how to approach the Emperor, God, they said unto Christ, Lord, teach us to pray; that is, O Thou Who art our Lawyer, the Assessor, yea, the Consessor of God, compose us prayers!