A Rhythm against the Jews

A Rhythm against the Jews

Ephrem the Syrian

c. AD 306–373

A long rhythm in which Ephrem argues with the Jews that the prophets are fulfilled in Christ, who came in low estate as they foretold, and that their rejection of him was foreseen.

A Rhythm against the Jews, delivered upon Palm Sunday

1. To the feast full of wise meanings have ye been invited, my beloved. Offer ye the gifts of praise to the Wise One Who invited you. To the marriage supper of all noble things have ye assembled yourselves, ye successful men; as conquering wrestlers, take the standard upon your hands. Unto the haven of all good things have ye approached to-day: the hidden treasures of the [Divine] Essence are become a spiritual merchandize. Unto the port which is full of peace have ye come as swimmers: spring in and enter into the place where is no danger, since the storms make no eddies therein. Prayer for restitution of unity and holiness. 2. Lo! unto joy hath the King's Son who cometh to our place invited you. Go ye out to meet Him with olive-branches, and sing unto Him with your Hosannahs. It is the Lord of feasts and seasons that hath invited you on this day to come unto this feast, the Lord [it is] of months and years. And Thou hast taught us to sing to Thee in the festival that is dedicated to Thee, and Thou hast shewed us that we should speak unto Thee in the day of the memorial of Thy goodnesses unto us. May the Angels rejoice along with us the while their trumpets sound aloud; nations and languages exult as joying in their Hosannahs.

3. Let our troubles be wiped away in Thee: let our evil-doings also be blotted out by Thy glorious doings for our sakes! Let our souls be refreshed in Thee, forgetting their straitenings! Let the creatures also rejoice that were worn out, and grown old, and become corrupt! Let our glorious [gifts] be fastened up and fitted into their wonted places; let our Churches be honoured in Thee, Thou Lord of things spiritual! Let our spirits too be cleansed! Let our families be blessed in Thee, Thou that art akin to our human nature! Let our consciences be sanctified in Thee, and let them get their evils corrected! Let our breaches be builded up in Thee, and let them be holpen against the adversaries! Let our sound parts also be beautified that we may return to the former fairness! Let the heaven and the earth and all that is therein glorify Thee, O Lord of those above! Let the creatures, Lord, praise Thee, [each] in the form wherein Thou didst stablish it! Let all winds rejoice to Thee with wonderful and nimble blasts! Let the ornaments of Heaven S. the wonder give honour to the gloriousness of Thy Essence! Let the and nimheights rejoice in Thy coming down, the depths also exult and nimbleness and give glory!

4. Let the sea rejoice at Thy treadings upon it, yea the dry land at Thy footsteps! Let our nature rejoice and give glory to Thee, because in it Thy Majesty dwelt! Let my weak mind give praise to Thee with words full of discernment! Let the company of the Prophets rejoice in the voice of the children's praise: let the band of the Apostles exult in the various voices of all measures! To-day let the heavens rejoice, and all the ghostly companies, when they confess each in his own form Him that bowed His Height and came down! To-day let the waters that are above [the firmament] proclaim glory in Hosannahs! To-day let the waters that are beneath, yield the fruit of lauds unto Thy high and mighty Name! 5. To-day let the firmament exult and give glory to that Essence that bowed the heavens and came down to the earth, that He might dwell with the earthy! To-day let the sun rejoice, yea, let his rays make them a joyful countenance, as confessing the Mighty Sun that gave shine to worlds and creatures! To-day let the moon glisten amid the glorious gleamings of the bright stars, as worshipping in a lofty place the Mighty One, Who at His good pleasure humbled Himself! To-day let all the bright stars in the garnishment of their forms send forth the presents of their praises to the Creator that garnished them! To-day let the earth exult, and the mountains skip like lambs before the King's Son, Who made Himself lowly, Who came that He might visit things below! To-day let the sea rejoice, and the islands that are in it wear a glad countenance at the Lord, Who came from His place to the vile place of our human nature!

6. To-day let the thickets rejoice and the groves' in their * Compare §. 2. and §. 3. at the close. The waters above the Firmament may mean the Angels. It may be worth noticing, that the Jews thought they were typified by the different branches employed. See Groddeck de Festo Palm, in Ugolin. xviii. p. 526. Their festival however was in September, and must not be confounded with the event alluded to in the text. Vineyard of the Lord overthrown. trees, for lo! their branches have been cut off to be a fair banner! To-day do ye beasts exult; yea, let the wild beasts leap for joy, for lo! borne upon the ass's foal is the Heavenly One, Who hath come unto our abode! To-day let the city of David rejoice exceedingly and be comforted, for lo! Luke 9, the Lord of all creatures hath set His face to come unto her! 51. To-day let the places round about rejoice, and let the cities Mat.21, be troubled at the cry of the children that cry aloud, Blessed 9. be He that cometh!

7. To-day the vineyard of the well-beloved is barren and Is. 5, 1. scattered among the nations, and lo! the tramplers treat it &c. contemptuously, for it is made a mock and is broken down! The hedge thereof that was rejected hath fallen; to-day it is removed and destroyed: and its high tower to-day hath the voice of the cry shaken down as Jericho g, which was ruined at the voice of their trumpets! Of the vines that were worn out and spoiled, to-day a restoration happened, for in their place was planted the Vine that grew among the nations! The great vineyard that was fruitless did the beasts of the forest feed upon: for it yielded not grapes, but wild clusters 2, and the Lord of the vineyard was wrath, and kindled fire in the branches thereof, and also commanded the clouds that they give not the rain in its season, that it might be dry and barren and without fruit or green leaves. He cut off from it the rain of the Prophets h and the spiritual dew of the Seers, for the well of Jacob was dried up, and the stream of Israel had failed.

Zech. 11, 7. 8. The two rods full of fatness He cut away from the portion while the Church is in joy with the departed. 65 of Abraham, and the kingdom and the priesthood perished from Israel. He cut off the crowns to-day, loosening the crown of Judah; and the Lord caused the ruler to pass from His people, the prince and him that was of venerable countenance, the wise man, and the counsellor, and the prophet, with the chief ruler! To-day the congregation that loved feast-days, sitteth in sorrow; because she declined the feast-day of the Son, He hath despised and rejected her feast-days! To-day the glory passed away from the people of Israel, and they stand among the nations ashamed, as Cain was, at their unnatural deed! To-day the breaches are multiplied in the dwellings of Jacob in every quarter, seeing the Workman that builded her walls hath now destroyed her corner-stones! To-day let the synagogue sing this song among the people, He hath brought upon me a great mourning, the Lord hath left me desolate, and the Lord hath forgotten that I am His heritage, and hath reckoned me as a stranger, and as a widow that is bereaved!

9. To-day let our congregation rejoice with the voice of the sweet things of the Prophets, and let us make the boughs of praise to flourish, and let us flower as the lilies! To-day let us pluck fruits from the plot of the Prophets, and by the luscious things of their gardens gain we spiritual sweetnesses! Clap your hands, O ye people, in this spiritual feast, and sing with your Hosannahs to Him that crowneth your feast-days. Jacob will come and preach to you the foal and the vine, David will rouse the babes and sucklings to praise, Zachariah crieth to Jerusalem, 'Rejoice and be glad, thou daughter of Zion.' Isaiah again will preach unto us as hinting the disciples, 'Behold upon the mountains the feet of them that proclaim the glad tidings of righteousness.' His entrance into Zion with a great procession of Hosannahs is a type of Witnesses of the Prophets

joys, and fulfilleth mysteries and parables. The children run before Him with their branches in their hands, and unto Him with Hosannahs do simple and artless babes sing: and after a glorious sort there surrounds Him the band of the Apostles, and holiness cleaveth to Him, and royalty, yea, and the priesthood. And the Prophets with their trumpets proclaim before Him their mysteries, and as unto the King they pour forth to meet Him praise—the gifts they give Him—and with variety of sounds they picture similitudes of Him. Bar. 3, 38. Gen. 28, 13. Exod. 3, 2. p. 68. Is. 9, 6. Ezek. 1, 13; 11, 23. See Zeph. 3, 14. Is. 24, 13. 10. One saith, this is He Whom I said would come in the end unto the earth: and another said, that upon the ladder he saw Him standing. One saith, this is He Whom I saw in the bush in the likeness of fire: and another called Him Wonderful, and Mighty God of the ages. One saith, This is He that came down amid the crashes and the mighty lightnings, and came in the voice of a trumpet upon the mountain top, and I saw Him. And another cried and said, Praise thy God, O Zion, take the harp and the lute, and sing unto Him with thy songs! One said, He is the Remnant that was plucked off from Israel: and another took Him up and proclaimed, For Him it is that the Gentiles wait. One said, Gen. 49, He is the Herb that sprung up and sprouted without seed: 10. Is. 53, 2. and another answered and said, This is the Stock of Jesse. Is. 11, 1. One said, This is the Standard which should be lifted up to Is. 5, 26. the peoples of the earth: and another likened Him to a sheep before the shearer. One said, doubtless this is He Is. 53, 7. Whom the Gentiles wait to see: and another, that the Lord Is. 62, 2. cometh down and treadeth forth over the top of the mountains. Amos 4, One repeateth the mighty acts and the signs of His visitations; 13. for, lo! He looseth the prisoners and bindeth up the broken-Ps. 147, hearted.

Another seeketh for His Name, and anxiously 3. Is. 61, enquires how he shall call Him: He that taketh the Wind in Prov. His fists, what is His Name and the Name of His Son. 30, 4. One saith, As a root, so shall a dry land bear Him: and Spirit Is. 53, 2. another crieth and saith, that before the sun His Name Ps. 72, existed. One saith, As for this Child, this day was His birth: 17. Is. 9, 6. and another, The Ancient of Days and the Elder of all the Ps. 2, 7. creation. One saith, I saw Him standing against a high Dan. 7, 6. Witness of the Prophets; Amos 7, wall: and another calleth Him Angel, because the Gospel of 7. the Father was in His hand 8. One saith, Shall God indeed 2 Chron. dwell with men? and another saith on this wise, He is the 6, 18. Lord our God. Is. 25, 9. Is. 60, 1. 11. One saith unto Jerusalem, Arise and shine, for thy Light Zeph. 3, is come: and another, Exult, thou daughter of Zion, rejoice 14. p. 56. Zech. 3, and shout, Jerusalem. One saith, that He is the Day-Spring: 12. another calls Him, Star. One saith, He is a Rod: another, Numb. 24, 17. the Shepherd of Israel. One saith, He is a King: another, a Ps. 110, 2; 80, 1. Head and Counsellor. One saith, He is a Lamb: and 2; 80, 1. another, a whole Offering. One saith, He is a Stone cut out Hos. 1, 11. Is. 9, 6; without hands: and another calleth Him, a Prince of Peace 53, 7. 53, 7. and Righteousness. One saith, it is He Whom I saw Mie. 5, 5. Dan. 7, carried upon the clouds: and another saw Him sitting upon

13. Is. 6, 1. the chariot of Cherubim. One saith, that I saw Him sitting upon a high throne, and with the train of His skirts the holy Temple was filled: others were making wise significations of secret mysteries. One said, I heard from the Father, Gen. 11, saying, Come, let us go down unto Babylon and divide the 7. Dan. 4, tongues there: another preached and said, To thee They 31. speak, Nebuchadnezzar. Another said, As for me, I was preached of that I should come forth to preach in the Gen. 1, world that the Lord said to His Only-begotten, Come, let Us 26. Ps. 72, 6. make man in Our Image. One shadowed out His coming down in a shower that cometh down tranquilly, and Mary again he shadowed forth in a Fleece comely and pure. Jer. 31, Another foreshewed His Conception, and shadowed out His 22.

"goes forth," i. e. to destroy the earth for the wickedness of its inhabitants. What he says of the roll points to the Incarnation of Emmanuel, Who was hung upon the Cross. And if any one should say, 'why, he calleth it a curse,' let him be persuaded by the Apostle, who says, 'He was made a curse for us.' 8 It is to be observed, that St. E. here looks upon the Angel as the Son. Upon Exodus 3. he observes, that Moses at first saw a dim vision of an Angel, but that as he drew nearer, he perceived that it was not an Angel, but God speaking in an Angel. See upon S. Athanasius, p. 120. 9 On Gen. 11. "In this passage it is not one that is spoken to, for the phrase 'come let us go down,' were out of place of one. It was to the Son then and to the Spirit that He spake, inasmuch as neither the former nor the latter tongues were given without the Son and the Spirit." See also adv. Scrut. lx. §. 5. In the next words he probably means to insist on the plural verb, 'They speak' (which the LXX. and Syriac, following the original literally, preserve) as indicating the Trinity.

10 The Fleece is commonly thus explained. See J. Lauretus Sylv. Alleg. n. v. St. E. on Judges, p. 317. "The Fleece of Gideon, in that it was a receptacle for the dew of heaven, has prefigured the Virgin in whom the Word became Flesh." Birth. One hinted at the Way [saying], Make straight the Is. 40, 3. Way of our God. 12. With these voices was He magnified as He went into Jerusalem, and a company of Prophets moved at His entrance into Zion; and there were gathered together the children, and Prophets with disciples that they might bring the King in with pomp, and with the grandeur of their Hosannahs. The Church of the Gentiles longed for Him and worshipped Him, the King of kings; and at Him the harlot synagogue full of stains was indignant: she received below, Him not with exultation, as the Prophets had plainly told p. 77. her. She saw His Majesty and felt afraid, that the Most High was come to her, and His Holiness, and she burned with vexation. Because she was wanton between the legs, she looked again upon Him rashly, since He was contemptible in His body; and turned aside from the glory of His Essence, which was hidden in His Godhead. David the son of Jesse cried unto her, because of that hidden glory; in the beauty of holiness was He born from the Bosom of [His Father's], Syr. V. Essence. Him Who rode upon the back of the unharnessed ass's foal, did the Father beget in a hidden way from the beginning in His Essence: from us, however, S. the He was [born] visibly in the limits of times and seasons. The Lord swore and lieth not as speaking to His beloved Son, S. be-

cause of The Jews rejected, Thou art a spiritual Priest like Melchizedek, for ever. For David shadowed out for Him this true image: after the manner of a man he moulded Him in his Psalms discerningly, in that mention is made of His human nature with which He clothed Himself when He came: for in it it was that the Priesthood was fore-ordained to belong to that High-Priest Who is for ever, and to that King Who shall never decease. For Thou, it says, art a Priest for ever, Thy dominion is an everlasting dominion, and Thy kingdom is over all generations. Ps. 145, 13. In these graces which are blended with the hidden nature of the Godhead, David shadowed forth before the eyes of the daughter of Jerusalem, similitudes of this King of glory, before whom the Prophets cried out, Hearken, and look, and incline thine ear to the voice of the children's praise, and forget thine iniquity and thy people's, and the rebellion of thy father's house, because the King is ravished with thy grace, and longeth exceedingly for thee who art so glorious. She despised the voice of the Prophets and the preaching of the Apostles; and to the youths and the children she inclined not her harlot ear, which listened not, neither went along with the joyousness or praise. He wrote and delivered to her the divorcement as being rejected and polluted. He took the veil from her head, and from her eyes also chastity: He stripped her of her ornaments, and doubled back and lifted up her covering: He took her necklaces from her neck, and took away her bracelets and her armlets; and as an adulteress and a harlot He drove her out and sent her forth from His chamber; and she sat without a veil, and with her head uncovered and disgraced!

14. Where is the beauty of thy youth, yea, the glory of thy nuptials? Where are thy days, those former ones that were of old? Where is thy beauty, and thy glory, and thy garniture, and thy comeliness? Where is the house that Solomon built thee to thy glory? Where is the priest and the ephod which stood and ministered to thee? Where is the girdle that was bound on, and the chain too, and the turban? Where the fine linen, and the purple, and the bells of gold, and the pomegranates? where the row of beryls, the clusters of goodly stones? Where is the table of gold, and shew-bread which was thereon? where the fumes of propitiatory sacrifices, and the fat of whole burnt-offerings? Where is the ark itself, and the tables of stone that were therein? Where are the cups, and the dishes, and all the vessels of the ministry? Where are thy feast-days, and thy new moons, and thy observances? Rejoicing hath ceased from thee, and the sound of the dance and of thy chanting! and, lo! wailings are the chants of thy mouth, and of thy children's mouths!

15. What is thine iniquity, O daughter of Jacob, that thy chastisement is so severe? Thou hast dishonoured the King and the King's Son, thou shameless one and harlot! The King was dishonoured in the wilderness, and the King's Son again, in Jerusalem. The Father was exchanged for the calf and for sundry similitudes, and the Son also was exchanged for a thief and a blood-shedder; and the Spirit of the Lord did they vex among the strange nations. The Trinity 7 On Ps. lxxi. §. 2. St. Austin says, 'He that is King is also the King's Son, seeing that God the Father is King; which is indeed the usual interpretation. Comp. adv. Scrut. lviii. 4. S. Methodius, as above, c. v. refers apparently to it, '[He is] a Very King from a Very King, having a Kingdom coeternal and before the ages, as He hath Who begat Him. For the Kingdom is common to Him, nor is it from without that the expression makes the Son to inherit the honour of this Kingship or as if it had a beginning, or accrued to Him—far from it—but it is one natural and His own by a true possessorship. For there is one Kingship of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, as there is also one Essence and one Lordship. Hence also we do with one adoration worship the Trine Essence of the Godhead, which hath no beginning, creation, boundary, or successiveness. For neither will the

Father ever cease to be Father, or the Son to be Son and King, nor the Holy Spirit to be that which He is by Essence.' 2 These words may be rendered, 'the Trinity that was from Eternity,'. However, this will not alter the passage in one respect, viz. in this, that St. E. evidently here contemplates the generality of the Jews as having access to a knowledge of the Trinity. This opinion seems expressed with some limitation, adv. Scrut. viii. §. 2. and xliv. §. 3. lix. §. 2. and cont. Scrut. i. §. 37. on which see the notes. I think it will be found, that other Fathers agree with St. E. in proportion as they had access to Jewish sources of information. Thus Origen in Josh. iii. §. 2. "I think that those of old who were under the Law, attained indeed a knowledge of the Trinity, though not a whole and perfect, but a partial one, inasmuch The Jews' adoption of Idols for the Trinity

that was of old she despised, and behaved herself madly, and loved vain gods, devils, and fortunes, and images. For Saturn had honour paid to him, and the Word of the Father got dishonoured; Chemosh too was beloved, and the gracious Son was insulted. Thamuz was near and dear, and Ez. 8, 14. as in that Trinity there was wanting to them a knowledge of the Incarnation," &c. S. Just. Mart. by his reasoning with Trypho appears to expect them to allow a plurality of Persons, 'do ye admit, he says, that the Holy Ghost calleth any else God and Lord beside the Father of all,' p. 277. ed. 1686. comp. p. 274. and St. Athan. below. St. Epiphan. p. 18. 'In the Monarchy the Trinity was ever preached and believed upon by the chiefest men among them, i. e. the Prophets and the Saints.' p. 24. 'In the Pentateuch there is scattered here and there evidence of the Resurrection of the dead, yet it is not preached, so as to be visible to all; and evidence is scattered also concerning the Only-Begotten Son of God and the Holy Spirit, and against idols. But one has the proof of the Monarchy more visible to all, and in the Monarchy the Trinity is spiritually declared,' cf. p. 899. 'The One Godhead is chiefly declared in Moses. More than One in the Prophets is fully preached, but in the Gospels the Trinity is made clear, suiting as it does better in respect of the seasons and generations for the justified man to know and believe. S. Bas. Hex. vi. §. 2. In every part of the History is the Doctrine of Theology mystically scattered.' Pseudo-B. c. Eun. v. p. 317. 'The Word did the Fathers know, the Word of God they worshipped, and with the Word the Spirit.' What St. B.

himself says, p. 258, of the ignorance of the Jews does not necessarily make against this, as it may be observed, that St. Athan. c. Arian. i. §. 38. ii. §. 1. iii. §. 28. speaks in a like way of the Jews of that day, (see also adv. Scrut. xliv. §. 3. whereas in §. 40. St. A. speaks of the Patriarchs worshipping the Son. St. B.'s words are: 'though there be many things which separate Christianity off as well from Grecian error as from Jewish ignorance, I think no doctrine more peculiar to itself exists in the Gospel of our salvation than the belief in the Father and the Son.' So also Greg. Nys. ii. p. 322. b. Still it must be admitted, that in his Hexaem. ix. §. 6. and Hom. xxiv. p. 189. he holds the same language without any limitation to the later Jews: and in Hex. vi. as above, seems rather to be looking at the actual contents of Holy Writ than the insight the Jews had into it. St. Chrys. de Incompr. v. "This (the keeping the Jews from Polytheism) was the cause why the Son of God was not clearly or manifestly, but darkly and sparingly, made known to the Jews. For as they were just set free from Polytheism, if they had had to hear of God, and God again, they would have turned back again to this mischief." This may suffice to shew the degree in which the Fathers admit that a knowledge of the Trinity might have existed under the Old Testament, though it were but obscure and imperfect.—It may be added, that the reference to Barabbas, which seems out of the order one should expect, is perhaps intended to refer to the general character of the Jews: all along they preferred thieves and robbers to the Word, whether speaking in divers ways by the Prophets or in His own Person.

the Lord on high was rejected and despised. Astaroth was paraded in every place, and the Heavenly One was put aside. Baal was honoured by sacrifices, and the Messiah was persecuted of the impure. And the bats and ghosts Bar. 6, were worshipped in her chamber, and He on whose nod the earth hangeth, was smitten with palms in the streets. Who hath heard the like of this which was done to the Redeemer? Jer. 19, Wherefore I will break you in pieces [it says] and make you 11; 23, a great reproach. These things did Israel hear from the mouth of prophecy, lo! ye are as Ethiopians, children that Is. 24, 5. have transgressed My law. For the ox knoweth his owner Is. 1, 3. and the ass his master's crib, but My people hath not known their God, and Israel hath not considered. Would that Ps. 81, My people had known Me and Israel had walked in My 13. ways, then had their enemies perished in a little while, and I should have turned My hand against them that hated them. For thus He spake with them: with His reproach in severity and in His anger He troubled them, and shame filled their faces. Jer. 51, And He was wroth at Jerusalem and made it also desolate. 51. And the Prophet Isaiah cried, intimating [things] concerning it; that as a shed in the midst of a vineyard, and as a hovel Is. 1, 8, 9. which is let alone, thus hath the Lord left Jerusalem, because of her iniquity. And except the Lord of Hosts had left a small remnant unto the assembly of the house of Israel, which was to shoot up from the stock of Jesse, they would have been as Sodom and would be like unto Gomorra.

16. Yet now it thinks within itself that a restoration 4 shall be 4 See § 20. and adv. Serut. xliv. 3. So too on Isai. fin. 'The interpretation however [of this passage] which is certain, and squares in all points with the words of the Prophets and the history of the times is, that whatever both Prophets, Isaiah and Ezekiel, have said of the delivery and restitution of the Jews, is to be taken of the days of the coming of our Lord and of the preaching of His Gospel.' And elsewhere he notices how prophecies which had a partial fulfilment at the return from the Captivity were really fulfilled at Christ's coming, as on Jerem. 16. and 49. So also on 1 Kings 1. p. 440. he writes as follows, David in his old age "is a type of the way in which, in the people of the Jews, when grown old,

the warmth of love was gone, and the zeal for the Law had waxed cold: the nakedness of their coldness was covered by the Prophets, yet from the chilling of sin they gat no heat; for evil habits had seized them, and as ice that is not to be thawed, so did these bind their limbs with cold: neither was any medicine found for their inveterate chill, which had entered into the ligaments of their body and rotted the marrow of their bones. Assistance from heaven therefore was expected by them: from thence did the Wisdom of God come down: that is it which Abishag, the youthful and the fair, shadoweth out to us, and She came to Her own, and lay in the bosom of the old; but as this one was feeble, there was no cure wrought. For The Jews' infatuation in expecting again given unto it, this people who hath provoked God with all their perverse tumults; lo! it expecteth, and searcheth into the times when its release shall be. It reads foolishly in the Prophets and understandeth not their words. And, as one that heareth a restoration [coming], with blustering voice it cries that Jerusalem shall be built again. The Hebrew, though hearkening and longing again, yet knows not wherefore it was destroyed. Again it saith, that its glory is waxing great; and how it is to do so, it knoweth not; and it muttereth to itself that its name shall be great; and in whom it shall be great, it knoweth not. It says, that it is called redeemed, and who hath redeemed it, it skilleth not; and that it shall be for a [great] name and a glory it goes on to say madly, and in what, and how, it saith not, because its reason' has deserted it, his heart hath waxed gross, and Israel hath made his ears dull of hearing, that he should not hear aught that is written. Lo! at the entering in of our Redeemer prophecy cried aloud with its voice, that this

the Jews turned not from their evil ways, and the Messiah also who came to them, they hanged on the Cross. From that time a gloomy winter came over them and removed that Sun afar from them. After the Messiah was ascended into Heaven, and the disciples were dispersed into the four quarters of the world, there was awaked over the Jews' city a war, the weapon of destruction. Then was the nation of the Jews like unto a tree against which in mid-winter mighty blasts blow with evil whirlwind: for off it letteth fall its leaves, and within a little while is cast down on the ground." And presently after; "Adonijah depicts the haughtiness and rebelliousness of the elder son, i. e. of the people of Israel. For neither the sword, nor the yoke of bondage, nor the multitude of troubles that encompassed them, sufficed for their humiliation. But their pride is to be seen even in our days, and there is a hope among them that upon the coming of that Messiah, whom they expect, they will obtain the kingdom of the world. This Adonijah saw in his dreams, when he says, I will reign: for the Jews, who idly fancy to themselves these things, behave proudly and extravagantly to every body, and even imagine that they have the kingdom which in their own silly mind is to

be theirs. The Prophet says, 'they have reigned, but not from Me,' Hos. 8, 4. their kingdom then is from themselves, exists, that is, in the cogitation of their own heart." See also ii. p. 325. a. This is the opinion also of St. Chrysostom, St. Jerome, Origen, (contr. Cels. iv. p. 174. where see Spencer) St. Epiphanius, Har. xxix. §.3. Those who, after theology had become more systematic, speak of a return, as St. Aust. de C. D. xx. 29. St. Cyril de Ador. p. 428. on Hos. p. 62. seem to hold only, that they will be absorbed into the Church, not be lords over it. St. E.'s opinion upon the subject may be considered as of especial value, since from his youth he had enjoyed a capacity through his knowledge of the Semitic tongues for entering more deeply than other Fathers into the meaning of the Prophets.

* Possibly there is an allusion here to the processions, &c. which it appears from St. Chrys. adv. Judæos, that the Jews used to be in the habit of making. 'This seems to be the sense:—Syr. Because it is deserted by its own mind,' as though its mind were contemplated as different from itself, and so able to divorce it. Possibly, however, the self-contempt inwardly felt by the people in spite of its boasting, is intended. is He of Whom it saith, Lo! He cometh riding upon the foal of an ass. Arise, go forth to meet Him with Hosannahs, and with timbrels rejoice and be glad. But the scornful one, when she heard the voice of His praise in Hosannahs, was burning with grief, and was vexed, and sought to silence the little ones, for the voices of the Apostles, and of the children, were intermingled g. Even the Old [Testament] sung with joy to the Redeemer, Prophecy along with the children, and the Apostleship in its own person. Lo! in the Messiah perfected are the Prophets and the Apostles, and both of them at once give praise to the Lord that gave both [Testaments].

17. The Jews, then, not only made themselves strangers to the covenants, but dishonoured the Father, and killed the Son in envy. The Prophet invites the congregation of the house of Israel to praise Him, but it went about to kill Him, and hastened to do mischiefs. The heavens declare His glory, and the synagogue yielded not obedience. The earth was amazed at His humiliation, and the Jews considered it not. All the types of Him came true, but they impudently assert that He was not true. And the things that were to come, met their accomplishment, yet they deny that they have ever come nigh to them. The types also which the Seers foreshewed, our Redeemer fulfilled and brought to a close, and the people, hard-hearted and rebellious, deny impudently with an oath that hitherto new things have been administered unto them, but say, that they are all still kept a mystery. O fools, how long will ye be unwilling to get wisdom! Come, and let us search aright the sayings of prophecy, and let us see if these types which were spoken have not been fulfilled!

18. Jacob blessed Judah, saying, 'The sceptre shall not depart from thee, nor an interpreter from between his feet, until the Shepherd come unto him; Whose is the kingdom, and Whom the nations look for to redeem them from their errors, The Jews ought to be ashamed, He shall bind His foal to the vine, and his ass, my son, to the vine-branch. In this passage let the Jew that perceiveth not, search and look if there be sceptre in Judah or interpreter between his feet, then the things that are written have not been fulfilled, neither have they hitherto met their accomplishment. But if the sceptre be done away with, and the prophet too be silenced, let the people of the Jews be put to shame, however hardy in impudence they be. If He sat not upon the colt as Zachariah prophesied, and the children did Ps. 8, 4. not praise Him as David also said, and if He made not the Zech. 9, kingdom to pass away from Ephraim as it is written, and if He 10. spake not with the people and things were not accomplished as had been said, then let it not be believed on the earth that He is King for ever.

19. If however He effected these things and accomplished types and parables, let the Jew be also ashamed when hearing Hos. 1, from God, 'Ye are not My people, neither am I your God.' 10. The people is exchanged for the nations, them that are near for Jer. 9, them that are far off. Lo! I have scattered thee among the 16. nations, saith the Lord to Israel, and have sold thee without Ps. 44, money, neither will I exchange thee any more: because they 12; 106, were mingled among the nations, and learned their works, 35. lo! I will remove them far off and call the nations unto Me. Is. 28, And, in the midst of Zion will I place a choice Stone, [a 16. stone] of stumbling, and he that trusteth upon His Name shall not be confounded, saith the Lord. And again the It appears from 2 Kings 4, 29. that it was usual for prophets, the authorized interpreters of the law, to carry a staff. St. E.'s words on the place will conveniently follow: "He spoke of the Kingdom, which, though they were under trials and humiliations, no body was able to take from them. For it was for the Lord of the Kingdom, that a kingdom was preserved among their tribes, and to shew that he spoke of the crown that was to be derived from him, and not of his tribe, it is written, the sceptre shall not depart, i. e. the king; nor the interpreter, i. e. the prophet who interprets things to come. Until he come, not David, [to whom he had said the prophecy in its first sense applied,] who

enlarged his kingdom, but Jesus, David's Son, who is the Lord of the Kingdom. King then and prophet shall not depart from the house of Judah until He come, to whom the Kingdom belongs. If this is not so, let them shew us kings before David, who were descended from Judah and kept up the crown for him till David. And if before David king there was none, it is plain that it was to descend in the line of David and his sons." The word 'Kingdom' is added from the Chaldee, and is not in the present Syriac text. The word Shiloh has been divided by several versions, in order to make it 'to whom it belongs,' and 'Kingdom' is is then supplied from the context. 'Shepherd' is St. E.'s own addition. Prophet saith, I saw the Lord standing against a wall of adamant, and in His hand a stone of adamant, and the Lord said unto the Prophet, in a revelation evidently, Lo! I will set an adamant among this people Israel! David also had foretold how He would fulfil all types [saying], The Stone which the builders rejected hath become the head of the building.

20. Learn, therefore, O Hebrew, that the Lord hath built Jerusalem, and raised up her walls firm, and blessed her children with peace. The Lord hath remembered His mercy, and in His compassion hath gained many; and as a man whom his mother comforteth that he may forget his sorrows, thus doth the Lord comfort Jerusalem, saying unto her, In great fury have I smitten thee, and with everlasting mercies will I gain thee; instead of the disgrace of thy rejection and the ignominy of thy destruction, I will lift up thy head among the nations, and will increase thy glory and thine honour: because they have called thee unfaithful, and a city full of stains, I will sprinkle upon thee My precious Blood, and will make thine iniquities and thy sins to pass away. And as thou art bereaved of Israel, because I have removed him from My side, I will open thy gates with joy, and the hosts of the Gentiles shall enter into thee, and shall become in thee an elect people, and the Lord shall reign over Zion, and many peoples shall come and shall worship Me in Jerusalem. And as a land that giveth its fruit, and as a garden that yieldeth its seed, thus shall the Lord cause righteousness to sprout forth among the Gentiles. And they shall say in that day, lo! our God is the Redeemer! lo! the Lord cometh with power, and shall redeem us from our trouble, and with a new name shall they name thee, which the mouth of the The glories given to the Church, the new Jerusalem,

Lord shall set on thee. Then Zion spake weeping distractedly, The Lord hath left me because I have provoked Him, and God hath forgotten me, yea, He hath rejected me. Can a mother forget to shew mercy upon her beloved, or not lull and love the pleasant fruit whom she brought forth? Yea, she may forget, yet I will never forget. Lo! upon the palms of My hands have I graven thy high walls, O Jerusalem! Thine ini- Is. 40, 2. quity is forgiven thee then, O thou humbled one, who hast been exalted suddenly. For, lo! I will make all thy stones beryls, and thy choice foundations will I make stones of sapphire, and thy battlements, I will make them as excellent jaspers, and thy doors will I make of crystal stone, and thy high wall will I make of choice stones, and I will fill thee within, O Jerusalem, with abundance, and treasures, and stores, with chalcedony, and pearls, and glass, and beryls, and thy chambers will I fill with sardonyx, and thy palaces with choice gold! And all thy sons and thy daughters shall be taught of God, and peace shall abound in thy towers, and righteousness in thy streets, and before many nations will I hallow thee, and I will dwell in the midst of thee. Lo! the

Is. 60, 3. nations shall come to thy light, and the Gentiles to meet thy rising! I have made thee to be an honour unto Me amongst the nations, and to be My boast among the Gentiles. I will pitch My tabernacle in thee, and fix My nails in the midst of thee, I will spread out and enlarge thy corners, and will also stretch forth in thee My curtains, I will dwell in thee, and be hallowed in thee, I will be thy God for ever; here will I dwell, for I have pleasure herein. And I will bless her victuals, and will cause the horn of David to flourish, and My redemption shall never fail her. Because Jerusalem was vexed at the cry of the children's voices, the Church shall gather in children, and they shall praise Me with their Hosannahs, and as she invited the children to glorify Me in the streets, I will gather unto her the multitude of the nations, and they shall chant to Me with Hosannahs. And Jerusalem and her children shall cry out, Blessed is He that hath come and is to come! Hosannah in the height and in the depth, to the Son of the Father Most High. Blessed He that in His love lowered Himself that He might redeem the human race! Blessed the King that made Himself poor that He might enrich the needy! Blessed He that came to p. 75. fulfil the emblems and types of the Prophets! Blessed He that gladdened the creation with the wealth and treasure S. the of His Father! Blessed He Whose glory those dumb by creatures nature sung in Hosannahs! Blessed He to Whom the little below, children sung a new glory in hymns! Blessed be the new p. n. c. King Who came that new[born] babes might glorify Him! Blessed He unto Whom the children stammered songs, and lauded Him amongst the disciples!

21. Who, Lord, would not be astonied at Thy love, how greatly it humbled itself! When the chariot of Cherubim beareth up Thy glory in fear, a poor colt was bearing Thy p. 80. Might and holy Power, which in its mercies came unto us, adv. that by His peace we might be lifted up on high. Let my Scrut. mouth proclaim Thy righteousness on this day of joy. And let my tongue speak Thy glory upon this feast-day of blessings. Let my soul exult in this feast whereby all creatures are gladdened, and let my mind carry boughs of praise instead of Hosannah-[boughs]p which the infants bore before the foal upon which Thy Majesty sat. Let us cry unto Thee with the children, 'Hosannah to the Son of David.' The infant whose tongue faltered, did in the channel for maturer speech gender, with their Hosannahs, such a praise as Prophets had never praised Him withal. The children, who sung to the Son, made aghast the old men, that saw the Son, yet praised Him notq.

22. Let my thoughts, Lord, bear Thee about, not as babes which were without discernment, and let me laud Thee like ° Method. v. 'They blessed the Lord God sitting upon the colt as upon the Cherubim.' The lowliness of Christ's Triumph. that multitude of disciples who saw Thy power: and let me rejoice in Thee as the children who uttered a voice in joy of heart! On this day our Lord entered Jerusalem the city of kings, and humbled Himself and rode a colt, that He might exalt the low estate of man. He left the Seraphim in a high place, who sing 'holy' unto Him with His Father, and received glory from the babes and the children of Jerusalem. To-day our Lord entered into Zion, and rode upon a foal, and Zachary preached this aforetime—Lo! thy King cometh unto thee righteous and meek, and riding upon an unharnessed colt, and the children cried before Him, Hosannah to the Son of David. Blessed He that came and is to come, to Him be glory and to His Father that sent Him. The Cherubim cried unto His Majesty, Blessed be the Lord from out of His place, and the children with boughs of olive gave praise before Him in Hosannahs. To-day the Creator of the worlds humbled Himself, and left the height of the Cherubim, and sat upon a lowly foal! Blessed be the Lord of the Prophets Who came and fulfilled their words; and the children with the disciples yield praise to see His lowliness. Children that as yet knew not the speech of man sung praises from the arms, because they saw that He rode upon a foal.

23. He rode the foal and came to that Jerusalem that thirsted for blood. She saw Him and was filled with foolish envying, because she saw that He was chaste and pure. Blessed be the King that made Himself lowly and sat upon a lowly colt: and Zion, when she saw His lowliness, despised Him and would not receive Him. Seraphim are abashed at His brightness, adv. ser.ut.iv. de. p. 45. neither are they able to look upon it; yet the children with disciples sung before Him with Hosannahs. Cherubs at His brightness tremble, and beneath His chariot serve, yet did the disciples make ready a lowly colt for Him, and He sat thereon. O marvel how the King's Son humbled Himself among the earthy, for instead of fiery chariot He upon a foal was borne! Empyreals haste away from Him in His high place with His Father, and babes in love shout to Him, 'Hosannah to the Son of David.'

24. To David the king did the daughters of Israel sing with the timbrels, and to the Son of David did the children give glory with their Hosannahs, and strawed their garments before the colt of the King of kings, Who rejected horses and chariots, and chose Him a lowly beast, that the word of Zachary might be fulfilled, which he prophesied to the daughter of Zion; Lo! thy King cometh riding upon a colt the foal of an ass. Before the Ark of God David the king sported, and before the colt of David's Son youths with the branches yielded praise. Michal despised David, and so did the foolish old men the children. They began to cring out in churlish mood, let the voices of praise be put to silence, the shout also of the multitudes of disciples who were lauding the coming of the King of kings, Who humbled Himself and sat upon the lowly colt.

25. The King of kings went into the city with the shout of glory which was fitting, and the contemptuous synagogue asked, Who is this, and what the report of Him? It saw the multitudes that were praising Him, with new-cut branches of palm, and envy pricked the contemptuous one to put the Mat. 27, 18. Christ's lowly triumph gladdens the Church, children to silence. He went into Zion in lowliness, though Lord of the whole creation, and she started not up from her sleep, that asp that loveth adulterers. Blessed be He that made to be trodden down the haughty one that received Him not, and chose Him an holy Church, and lo! she praiseth Him with Hosannahs. Bridegroom, if she will, or, if not, send children to praise Him in their Hosannahs. 27. Exult and rejoice, thou daughter of Jerusalem, for lo! thy King cometh riding, and shout with praise, thou daughter of Zion, for thy King rideth on an ass's foal! destroying horses Zech. 9, from Ephraim and the chariot from Israel, and proclaiming glad tidings of peace and quiet unto all the nations that believe in Him. Aged Jacob, rise, give praise, for He hath sealed up the mysteries of thy blessings; for He hath bound the colt to Gen. 49, the vine, and to the vine-branch the ass's foal. Rise, give praise, thou holy Church, and receive the Bridegroom with Hosannahs, and with babes and children hymn praises amongst the nations upon the feast-day of our Redeemer, that hath come and delivered thee from error!