Fifty Spiritual Homilies

Fifty Spiritual Homilies

continued

HOMILY XXVII

This Homily, like the foregoing, describes at length the dignity and status of a Christian man. Then it teaches many useful things concerning free will, intermixing some questions full of divine wisdom. 1. KNOW, O man, thy nobility and thy dignity, how honourable thou art, the brother of Christ, the friend of the King, the bride of the heavenly Bridegroom. He who has learned to know the dignity of his own soul, is in a position to know the power and the mysteries of the Godhead, and thereby to be the more humbled; since by the power of God a man beholds the greatness of his own fall. But as He passed through passion and cross before He was glorified and sat down on the Father’s right hand, so thou also must suffer with Him, be crucified with Him, and so ascend and sit with Him, and be joined with the body of Christ, and reign for ever with Him in that world—if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.

2. For those who prove able to overcome and pass the fences of evil, enter into the heavenly city, which is at peace, and is full of many good things, where the spirits of just men are at rest. Therefore we ought to take great pains and strive mightily for this; for it is not right for the Bridegroom, who came for thy sake, to suffer and be crucified, while the bride, for whose sake the Bridegroom came, idles along and wanders. A harlot gives herself away disorderly to anybody; so the soul has given herself away to every devil, and i corrupted by those spirits. There are some who have sin and evil because they choose to have it, others against their choice. What is the meaning of this? Those who have evil of their own choice are those who have given away their will to evil, and take pleasure in it, and make friends with it. These have peace with Satan, and make no war in their thoughts with the devil. But those with whom it is against their choice, have the sin that is in them warring in their members, as the apostle says; and the misty power and the veil is against their choice, and they do not consent to it in their thoughts, and take no pleasure in it, nor comply with it, but contend with it by word and deed, and throw their whole weight against it, and are angry with themselves. These are far nobler and more honourable in God’s eyes than the others, who of their own choice give away their wills to evil, and have pleasure in it.

3. Suppose a king were to find a poor maiden, clothed in rags, and were not ashamed, but took away her soiled clothes, and washed off her blackness, and adorned her with splendid clothes, and made her a partner of the king, and gave her a share of his table and the banquet; so did the Lord find the soul wounded and stricken, and gave her medicine, and took off her the black garments and the disgrace of sin, and clothed her with royal, heavenly garments, the garments of the Godhead, all shining and glorious, and put a crown upon her, and made her a partaker of the royal table for joy and gladness. And as when there is a pleasure garden, and it has there fruit trees, and all sweet-smelling ones, and there are there many charming spots, all lovely and filled with fragrance and refreshment, and whoever goes there is delighted and refreshed; so are the souls in the kingdom, all in joy, delight, and peace. Kings and lords they are, and gods; for it is written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.

4. Christianity, then, is no ordinary thing. This mystery is great. Recognise therefore thy nobility, that thou art called to kingly dignity, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation. The mystery of Christianity is foreign to this world. The visible glory of the emperor and his wealth are earthly, and perishable, and passing away; but that kingdom and wealth are divine things, heavenly and glorious, never to pass away or be dissolved. For they reign together with the heavenly King, in the heavenly church, and He is the firstborn from the dead, and they also are firstborn. And yet, though they are all this, chosen and approved before God, in their own eyes they are the least, and highly disapproved; and this is fixed in them like a part of nature, to esteem themselves nothing. 5. Question. Are they then unaware that they have received something additional, and have acquired what they had not before, that was foreign to their nature?

Answer. What I say is that they are not approved, and that they have made no progress, and they do not know how they acquired what they had not; but while they are all this, grace itself comes and teaches them not to count their soul dear, for all their progress, but to count themselves naturally the reverse of dear, and dear though they are to God, to themselves they are not so. With all their progress and knowledge of God, they are as if they knew nothing, and rich as they are before God, in their own eyes they are poverty stricken. But as Christ took the form of a servant, and conquered the devil by humility, so at the beginning it was by pride and self-esteem that the serpent overthrew Adam; and the same serpent, lurking in hearts, still casts down and destroys the race of Christians by self-esteem.

6. If a man is free and well born, according to the world, and possessed of much wealth, and continues to make money, and increases his income, he loses his senses, and becomes self-confident, and becomes unbearable, and kicks and cuffs everybody. That is the way with some people of no discretion, who, on finding some little enjoyment and power of prayer, began to be puffed up and to lose their senses, and to pass sentence; and so they fell to the lowest parts of the earth. The same serpent who threw Adam out by pride, saying, Ye shall be as gods, still suggests pride in men’s hearts, saying, “You are perfect; you have enough; you have got rich; you have no need; you are blessed.” There are others in the world, who have riches, and improve upon them with large incomes, and yet hold within the bounds of discretion, and neither boast nor are lifted up, but keep their level, because they know that after affluence comes dearth; and again when loss and dearth befall them, they are not dismayed, but still keep level, knowing that the turn of plenty will come back; and by long training in these matters, they are never surprised, and in times of increase and plenty are not elated, and if loss comes upon them, they are not surprised.

7. Christianity is in practice something like this—the tasting of the truth, the eating and drinking of the truth, to eat and drink on and on in reality and to good effect. Suppose there to be a spring, and some one that is thirsty begins to drink of it, and then before he has done some one carries him off, and will not allow him to be as much filled as he desires, that man is the more inflamed for having tasted of the water, and he makes the more earnest effort to get it. So in the spiritual order a man tastes and partakes of heavenly sustenance, and then, before he has done, it withdraws, and no one enables him to take his fill. 8. Question. Why is he not allowed to take his fill? Answer. The Lord knows the man’s weakness, that he is easily lifted up. Therefore He withdraws, and permits the man to be exercised and put to trouble. If you receive but a little, and no one can put up with you, you are so puffed up with it, how much more intolerable you would have been if some one had given you your fill at once! But God, knowing that weakness, providentially brings you into troubles, that you may be humble, and the more earnest in seeking God. A poor man according to the world found a purse of gold, and was so light with pleasure that he began to proclaim, “I have found a purse; I am a rich man”; then by the report the loser heard of it, and recovered it. Another man, who was rich, lost his senses, and began to kick, and to be insolent to everybody, and to exalt himself above certain persons, when the emperor heard of it, and confiscated his property. So it is in the spiritual realm. If some people taste but a little refreshment, they do not know how to manage it, but lose even what they had received, for sin tempts them, and darkens their mind.

9. Question. How do some fall after the visitation of grace? Is not Satan shown to be much the weaker? Where it is day, how can there be night? Answer. It is not that grace is quenched or feeble; but in order that your free-will and your liberty may be tested, which way it inclines, grace makes way for sin; and then you again draw nigh to the Lord with your will, and entreat that grace may visit you. How is it written, Quench not the Spirit? The Spirit cannot be quenched, but is always light; but you, if you are careless and do not with your own will correspond, are yourself quenched and lose the Spirit. In like manner it says, Grieve not the Holy Spirit, whereby ye were sealed unto the day of redemption. You see that it lies in your own will and freedom of determination to honour the Holy Spirit and not to grieve Him. I assure you that freedom of choice remains even in perfect Christians, who are subjugated to what is good and intoxicated with it, and the consequence is that, though put to the proof by ten thousand evils, they turn to that which is good.

10. As when persons of rank and wealth and high birth by their own will and choice forsake their wealth and birth and dignities, and go and put on poor sordid clothing, and dishonour instead of respect, and bear hardship, and are held of no account, this is all left to their own discretion. You may believe me, that even the apostles, perfected as they were in grace, were not hindered by that grace from doing as they desired, if they wished occasionally to do a thing that was not pleasing to grace. Our nature is susceptible of good and bad, and the adverse power acts by persuasion, not compulsion. You have free choice to incline which way you will. Do you not read that Peter was to be blamed, and that Paul went and reproved him. In spite of being what he was, he was still to be blamed. And Paul, for all his spirituality, of his own will, engaged in a dispute with Barnabas, and they grew so sharp that they withdrew from one another. And that same Paul says, Ye that are spiritual, restore such an one, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. There! the spiritual are tempted, because their freedom of will remains; and the enemies keep plying them as long as they are in this world.

11. Question. Could not the apostles sin, if they chose? or was grace too mighty for their wills? Answer. They could not sin, because they could not choose to sin, being in light and in such grace. I do not say that grace in them was weak. What I say is that grace permits even perfect spiritual persons to have the use of their will, and power to do what they choose, and to turn in which direction they like. And human nature, which is weak, has power to turn, even when good is present with it. If there are people in full armour, with breastplate and other arms, they are then well protected inside, and the enemies do not attack them; or if they attack, it is within the power of their will either to make use of those arms, and to fight and struggle with the foe, and to carry off the victory, or to take a liking to that foe, and come to terms with him, and refrain from fighting, in spite of the armour. In the same way, Christians, arrayed with perfect power, and possessed of the armour of heaven, can, if they are so minded, take a liking to Satan, and come to terms with him, and desist from the war. Nature is liable to change, and a man can, if he pleases, become a son of God or a son of perdition. His freedom of will remains.

12. It is one thing to give a description of bread and table, and another to eat and take the relish of that bread, and to be strengthened in all your members. It is one thing to speak in words about a delicious drink, and another to go and draw from the very spring, and to take your fill of the delicious drink. It is one thing to discourse of war, and of noble combatants and warriors, and another to go yourself into the fighting-line, and to close with the enemy, and to go in and out, and to take and give, and to carry off the victory. In spiritual things the same holds good. It is one thing to give descriptive accounts with a certain head-knowledge and correct notions, and another in substance and reality, in full experience, and in the inward man, and in the mind, to possess the treasure and the grace and the taste and the effectual working of the Holy Ghost. Those who utter bare words, make a parade and are puffed up by their mind. Our speech, it says, and our preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power; and again elsewhere, The end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned. A man like that does not fall. To many who sought after God, the door has been opened, and they have seen a treasure, and have entered into it; and in the midst of their joy, while they were saying, “We have found a treasure,” He has shut the doors upon them. Then they began to cry aloud, and to mourn, and to seek the more. “We found a treasure and have lost it.” Grace withdraws of set purpose, that we may seek more earnestly. The treasure is shown, to encourage us to seek after it.

13. Question. Some say that after grace a man has passed from death unto life. Can then one who is in the light have impure thoughts? Answer. It is written, Having begun in the Spirit, do ye now finish in the flesh? It says again, Put on the whole armour of the Spirit, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Naturally enough, these are two different places—one where he was when he put on the armour, and one where he is when he fights with the principalities and powers—in the light, or in the darkness. Again, That ye may be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one, and again, Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, and again, It is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the gift of God, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and fell away, to renew them again. There! those who were enlightened and have tasted fall away. You see that a man has the power of will to agree with the Spirit, or to grieve Him. Certainly he takes up arms with a view to going to battle and contending against the foe; certainly he was enlightened, in order to campaign against the darkness.

14. Question. What does the apostle mean by saying, Though I have all knowledge and all prophecy, and speak with the tongues of angels, I am nothing? Answer. We ought not to understand it to mean that the apostle is nothing; but in comparison with that charity which is perfect, these things are little, and he who is in these measures may fall; but he who has charity is beyond falling. I can assure you, that I have seen men who had come by all the spiritual gifts and were partakers of the Spirit, who, not having attained perfect charity, fell. One, a nobleman by birth, renounced the world, sold his possessions, gave his slaves their liberty; being a man of prudence and understanding, he was renowned for his strict and holy life; and meanwhile, conceiving an opinion of himself and getting proud, at last he came down to debaucheries and a thousand bad things. 15. Another in time of persecution gave his own body, and was a confessor. When peace was restored, he was set free, and had a great name. His eyelids were injured by having been smoked. This man, being much glorified and called to prayers, took victuals, and gave to his servant, and his mind was as if he had never heard the word of God. Another gave his body under persecution, and was hung up, and scraped, and then flung into prison. There he was religiously served by one of the sisters-regular. He contracted a familiarity with her, while in prison, and fell into fornication. Observe the fall of the rich man who sold his possessions, and of him who gave his body to martyrdom. 16.

Another, a prudent ascetic, who lived with me in the same dwelling and prayed with me, was so rich in grace that in praying beside me he would be struck speechless, grace boiled so within him. There was given him also the gift of healings, and he not only drove away devils, but those who were bound hand and foot and had dreadful sufferings he would cure by the imposition of his hands. Then he relaxed his care, and being much glorified by the world, and taking pleasure in it, he became vain, and fell into the lowest depths of sin. Observe the fall of one who had the gift of healing. You see how men fall, before reaching the measures of charity. For one who arrives at charity is bound and intoxicated; he is drowned, and carried captive to another world, as if he had no consciousness of his own nature.

17. Question. What is the meaning of the things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man? Answer. At that time, the great and the righteous men, and kings and prophets, were aware indeed that the Redeemer was coming; but that He should suffer and be crucified, and His blood poured out upon the cross, they neither knew, nor had they heard it; neither had it entered into their heart that there should be a baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and that in the church bread and wine should be offered, the symbol of His flesh and blood, and that those who partake of the visible bread eat spiritually the flesh of the Lord, and that the apostles and Christians receive the Paraclete, and are endued with power from on high, and are filled with the Godhead, and their souls mingled with the Holy Ghost. This the prophets and kings knew not, neither did it enter into their heart. Now, Christians have a very different wealth, and their hearts are set upon the Godhead; but for all this joy and comfort, they are still under fear and trembling.

18. Question. What fear and trembling? Answer. That they may make no mistake, but correspond with grace. It is like a man possessed of treasures, who is journeying to places where there are robbers. He is glad of the riches and the treasure; but he is in fear lest the robbers should set upon him and spoil him of them; and as one who carries his blood in his hands, so is he. Look, so far as outward things go, we have all made our renuntiation, and are strangers, without possessions, and deprived of fleshly fellowship. Now, there lies the body in prayer; the brethren must say whether the mind is in correspondence with the body. Artisans and foremen in the world usually apply their whole body to their business and their mind too, both night and day. Now look well to yourself. Your body is strange to this world; is your mind alienated from the age? do you never wander into the world? Every man of the world, soldier, or merchant, wherever his body is, has his mind also there fixed, and there is his treasure. It is written, Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 19. What treasure is your mind after? Is it wholly and entirely Godwards, or not? If it is not, you must tell me what it is that hinders. Certainly they are evil spirits, Satan and the devils, who have hold of the mind, and put fetters on the soul.

The devil is very wily, and has many conjuring tricks, and loopholes, and all manner of shifts, and keeps hold of the ranges and thoughts of the soul, and will not allow it to pray properly and to draw nigh to God. For nature itself is capable of fellowship with the devils and spirits of wickedness, and likewise with angels and the Holy Ghost. It is the temple of Satan, or the temple of the Holy Ghost. Examine your mind, brethren; which are you in fellowship with? angels, or devils? Whose temple are you? a habitation of God, or of the devil? With what treasure is your heart filled? grace, or Satan? Like a house that has been filled with evil smells and filthiness, it must be thoroughly cleansed, and set in order, and filled with all fragrance and treasures, that the Holy Ghost may come instead of Satan, and may rest in the hearts of Christians.

20. Not the moment, however, that he hears the word of God, does a man come to be of the good side. If hearing made him of the good side at once, there would no longer be conflicts, or critical battles, or a race. Without further ado, if only he had heard, he would have come into peace and to perfect measures. But the facts are otherwise. You take away the man’s free will, if you say so, and deny the existence of the opposite power, wrestling with the mind. What we say is this, that the man who hears the word comes to compunction, and after that, grace purposely withdraws, for the man’s good, and he enters into training and the discipline of battle, and engages in a struggle and contest with Satan, and only after a long race and contest carries off the prizes of victory, and becomes a Christian. If merely hearing made a man to belong without more ado to the good, then all the theatre-people and the whoremongers will go into the kingdom and the life. No one will give them this without effort and striving, because it is a straight and narrow way. By this rough way we have to travel, and to endure, and bear affliction, and so to enter into life.

21. If it were possible to succeed without effort, Christianity would no longer be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence. There would be no faith and unbelief. You would make man a creature of necessity, incapable of turning to good or evil. It is only to one who can turn to either side that a law is given—one who is at liberty to do battle with the adverse power. No law is laid down for a nature that is under necessity. The sun, the heaven and the earth, call for no legislation; such creatures are of a nature governed by necessity, and for this reason they are not liable to reward or punishment. Reward and glory are prepared for him who turns to the good; hell and punishment are prepared for this convertible nature, capable of fleeing from the evil and throwing its weight upon the right-hand side, the side of good. If you say that he is not of an alterable nature, you make the good man undeserving of praise. For one who is good and kind by nature does not deserve praise for it, though he may be very desirable. What is not good by choice is not praiseworthy, however desirable it may be. Praise is only deserved by one who by his personal resolution with effort and struggle makes the good his own through free-will and choice.

22. As if when the Persians have a camp on one side and the Romans a camp on the other, two winged youths of equal powers should come forth from them and engage in a struggle, so the opposing force and the mind are in equipoise. Satan has power to influence and entice the soul to his own will, and the soul has equal power to resist and to refuse any compliance with him. Both powers, good and evil, act by suasion, not by compulsion. A choice like this may count upon divine assistance, and is able in its struggle to receive weapons from heaven, and by them to root out evil and conquer it. To resist sin is in the power of the soul, though without God it cannot conquer the evil or root it out. Those who say that sin is like a mighty giant and the soul like a little child are wrong. If things were so ill-matched, sin like a giant and the soul like a little child, the Law-giver would be unjust, in having given man a law to struggle against Satan.

23. This is the foundation of the way to God—in much patience, in hope, in humility, in poverty of spirit, in meekness to travel along the way of life; and it is by these things that a man can come to have righteousness in himself. By righteousness we mean the Lord Himself. These commandments, which so enjoin us, are like milestones and waymarks that stand by the king’s highway, which leads wayfarers up to the heavenly city. We read, Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the meek, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the peacemakers. That is what you may call Christianity. If any one does not travel by this way, he has wandered where there is no way; he uses a bad foundation. Glory to the compassions of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost for ever. Amen.

HOMILY XXVIII

This Homily describes and bewails the calamity of the soul, that by reason of sin the Lord does not dwell in it; and concerning John the Baptist, that none among those born of women is greater than he. 1. AS once God was wroth with the Jews, and gave Jerusalem openly over to its enemies, and they which hated them were lords over them, and there was no longer any feast there, or any offering; so, being wroth with the soul, He gave it over to its enemies, both to devils and to passions; and so, when these had seduced it, they ruined it utterly, and no longer was there any feast there, or any incense or offering sent up by it to God, its tokens being filled in the streets, dreadful beasts and serpent spirits of wickedness making their domicile within it; and as a house, if it has not the master resident in it, gets clothed with darkness and shame and abuse, and filled with dirt and filth, so the soul which has not its Master with His angels making merry in it, gets filled with the darkness of sin, and the shame of passions, and all manner of disgrace.

2. Alas for the street, if no one walks in it, nor hears in it the voice of man, because it becomes the habitation of wild beasts. Alas for the soul when the Lord takes not His way in it, and drives not out of it with His voice the spiritual wild beasts of wickedness. Alas for the house when the master does not live in it. Alas for the land when it has not the husbandman to till it. Alas for the ship when it has not the steersman, because it is carried along by the waves and surges of the sea and is lost. Alas for the soul when it has not Christ, the true steersman, in it, because finding itself in the sea of the bitterness of darkness, and tossed by the surge of passions, and storm-beaten by the winds of evil spirits, it ends by gaining perdition. Alas for the soul, when it has not Christ to till it carefully, that it may be able to bring forth good fruits of the Spirit; because left desolate, and filled with thorns and thistles, its fruit in the end is the burning of fire. Alas for the soul when it has not Christ, its Master, living in it; because, left desolate, and being filled with the noisome odour of passions, it finds itself the habitation of iniquity.

3. As the husbandman, when he goes to till the ground, must take the proper tools and clothing for tilling, so Christ, the King, the heavenly and true husbandman, in coming to humanity, which had been laid desolate by sin, put on the body, and carried the cross for His tool, and so tilled the desolate soul, and took out of it the thorns and thistles of evil spirits, and plucked up the tares of sin, and burned up with fire every weed of its sins; and thus tilling it with the wood of the cross He planted in it that fairest paradise of the Spirit, bearing every fruit that is sweet and desirable for God as its owner. 4. And as in Egypt, during the three days’ darkness, the son saw not his father, nor brother, brother, nor true friend his friend, because the darkness hid them, so when Adam transgressed the commandment and fell from his former glory, and came under the power of the spirit of the world, and the veil of darkness fell upon his soul, from his time and until the last Adam, the Lord, they saw not the true Father in heaven, or the good, kind mother, the grace of the Spirit, or the sweet and desired Brother, the Lord, or the friends and kindred, the holy angels, with whom He rejoiced, making merry and keeping festival. And it was not only until the last Adam, but even to this day those upon whom the Sun of righteousness, Christ, has not arisen, and in whom the eyes of the soul have not been opened and enlightened by the true light, are still under the same darkness of sin, wrought upon by the same influence of pleasures, subject to the same punishment, not yet having eyes to behold the Father.

5. This is a thing which every one ought to know, that there are eyes deeper within than these eyes, and a hearing deeper within than this hearing. As these eyes sensibly behold and recognise the face of a friend or beloved one, so the eyes of the worthy and faithful soul, being spiritually enlightened with the light of God, behold and recognise the true Friend, the sweetest and greatly longed for Bridegroom, the Lord, while the soul is shone upon by the adorable Spirit; and thus beholding with the mind the desirable and only inexpressible beauty, it is smitten with passionate love of God, and is directed into all virtues of the Spirit, and thus possesses an unbounded, unfailing love for the Lord it longs for. What therefore is more blessed than that everlasting voice of John, when he shows the Lord before our eyes, saying, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

6. Truly among them that are born of women there is none greater than John the Baptist. He is the fulfilment of all the prophets. All the prophets prophesied of the Lord, showing His coming afar off: John prophesied of the Saviour and showed Him before all eyes, crying aloud and saying, Behold the Lamb of God! What a sweet and beautiful voice of him who shews then and there Him whom he heralded! Greater than John is none of them that are born of women. But he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he—the apostles, born of God from above, who received the firstfruits of the Comforter Spirit—for they were allowed to be His fellow-judges and partners of His throne; they have been made redeemers of men. You find them dividing the sea of evil powers, leading believing souls through. You find them husbandmen, tilling the vine of the soul. You find them bridesmen, marrying souls to Christ: I have espoused you, it says, to one Husband. You find them giving life to men. In short, you find them in sundry parts and in divers manners serving the Spirit. This is the little one who is greater than John the Baptist.

7. As the husbandman governs a yoke of oxen and tills the ground, so the Lord Jesus, the fair true Husbandman, yoked the apostles two and two and sent them forth, tilling with them the ground of those who hear and truly believe. Only this is worth saying, that the kingdom of God and the preaching of the apostles is not in the word of hearing only, like one who knows a set of words and rehearses them to others, but the kingdom is in power and effectual working of the Spirit. This was the sad case of the children of the Israelites; always studying the scriptures, and in fact making the Lord the theme of their study, and yet not receiving the truth itself, they parted with that inheritance to others. So those who rehearse to others words of the Spirit, while they do not themselves possess the word in power, part with the inheritance to others. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost for ever. Amen.

HOMILY XXIX

God works the dispensations of grace upon mankind after a twofold manner, intending to require the fruits of it by a just judgment. 1. THE wisdom of God, being infinite and incomprehensible, works the dispensations of grace incomprehensibly and unsearchably upon the human race in various fashions for the testing of our free will, so that those who love Him with their whole heart, and will endure every danger and toil for God’s sake, may be made manifest. To some the gifts and endowments of the Holy Ghost come in advance, directly they draw near in faith and prayer, without labour, or sweat, or toil. Sometimes, while they are still in the world, God gives them grace, not idly, nor out of season, nor at random, but in an unspeakable and incomprehensible wisdom, in order to try the determination and free will of those who have so quickly received the grace of God, whether they were sensible of the benefit and of the kindness and sweetness of God that was shewn them, in proportion to the grace received without pains of their own, in return for which they ought to show diligence, and run well, and fight hard, and to bear the fruit of will and purpose and love, and to give back a requital for their spiritual gifts, by yielding themselves wholly up to the love of the Lord, and accomplishing His will alone, and perfectly withdrawing from all carnal affection.

2. To others, even when they have withdrawn from the world, and have renounced this age, according to the gospel, and pass their time in much perseverance in prayer and fasting and diligence and the other virtues, God does not immediately grant the grace and the refreshment and rejoicing of the Spirit, being patient with them and reserving the gift. And this He does, not idly, nor unreasonably, not at random, but with unspeakable wisdom, for the testing of their free will, to see whether they have counted God faithful and true who promised to give to them that ask and to open the door of life to them that knock, to see whether after believing His word in truth they continue to the end in full assurance of faith and diligence, asking and seeking, and will not prove faint-hearted, and draw back, and give up, and in unbelief and hopelessness despise the quest, not persevering to the end, because of the putting off of the time, and because of the testing of their will and purpose.

3. For he who does not receive at once, is the more kindled through God’s delay and patience, and the more desirous of the good things of heaven, and every day adds to his longing and diligence, his running and striving, and every disposition of virtue, his hunger and thirst after that which is good, not slacking for the sinful suggestions which are present in the soul, or turning aside to despise or forget or despair; nor again under pretence of patience will he give himself over to slackness, using this argument, that “Some day or other I shall receive the grace of God,” and from this enticed by sin into carelessness. On the contrary, so long as the Lord Himself in His delay is patient over him, testing the faith and love of his will, the man himself ought the more keenly, the more laboriously, without giving in, without turning faint, to seek the gift of God, having once for all believed and assured himself, that God is true and cannot lie, who has promised to give His grace to those who ask with faith to the end, in all perseverance.

4. For God is faithful and true in His leading of faithful souls, and they have set to their seal that He is true, according to the true word. Therefore in accordance with this intuition of faith they examine themselves to see in what respects they on their part are lacking—in labour, in striving, in diligence, in faith, in love, or in the rest of the dispositions of virtue; and thus examining with all minute exactness, they force and constrain themselves to the best of their power to please the Lord, having once for all believed that God, being true, will not cheat them of the gift of the Spirit, if they continue to the end with all diligence serving Him and waiting upon Him, but that they will have the heavenly grace vouchsafed to them, while they are still in the flesh, and will obtain eternal life. 5. And so they set in motion all their love towards the Lord, denying everything else, and looking only for Him with much desire and hunger and thirst, and always waiting for the refreshment and consolation of grace, and not willingly finding consolation or refreshment or binding attachment in anything of this world; but always resisting material attractions they look only for the help and succour of God, when the Lord Himself is secretly present already to souls that take upon them this kind of diligence, and purpose of heart and endurance, and helps them, and preserves them, and confirms them unto every fruit of virtue, even though they are in trouble and distress, even though they have not yet in certainty of the truth and in manifestation to the soul received the grace of the Spirit and the refreshment of the heavenly gift, and have not had experience of it in full consciousness, because of the unspeakable wisdom of God, and His inexpressible judgments, in which He tries believing souls in various ways, with a view to a love which is of the will and of purpose. For there are bounds and measures and degrees of choice and purpose, and of the will to love, and of disposition to obey all His holy commandments with might and main; and when souls thus fill up the measure of their love and duty, they are permitted to receive the kingdom and the eternal life.

6. For God is just and just are His judgments, and with Him there is no respect of persons; and He judges each in proportion to the varying benefits with which He has endowed mankind—benefits of body or of spirit, whether knowledge, or understanding, or discernment—and will require the fruits of virtue accordingly, and will render to each the due reward of his works in the day of judgment. He will come, we are told, and will render to every man according to his deeds, and mighty men shall be mightily tormented, for mercy will soon pardon the meanest; and the Lord says, The servant which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes; and unto whom much is given, of him shall much be required, and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. The knowledge and understanding I have mentioned may be variously thought of, either according to grace and the heavenly gift of the Spirit, or in conformity with the natural intelligence and discernment, and through the instruction of the divine scriptures. Of each man will be required the fruits of virtue in proportion to the benefits conferred upon him from God, whether natural, or given by God’s grace. Therefore every man is inexcusable before God in the day of judgment, for every man will be required to answer of his will and purpose according to what he knew of the fruits of faith and love and every other virtue towards God, whether he knew by hearing, or had never heard the word of God.

7. For the faithful, truth-loving soul, looking to the eternal blessings laid up for the righteous, and to the unspeakable benefit of the grace of God that is to visit it, esteems itself, and its diligence and pains and labour, all unworthy in comparison with the unspeakable promises of the Spirit. This is the poor in spirit, whom the Lord pronounced blessed; this is he who hungers and thirsts after righteousness; this is he who is contrite in heart. Those who take upon them this purpose and diligence and pains and longing after virtue, and continue therein to the end, will be enabled to obtain life and the eternal kingdom in truth. Therefore let no brother be exalted against his brother, or proceed to form an opinion of himself under the cheating influence of sin, to think, “Behold, I for my part possess a spiritual gift.” It is not fit that Christians should have these notions. You know not what the morrow may do for him; you are ignorant what his end will be, and what your own. Let each give heed to himself, and examine his own conscience at all times, and try the work of his heart, what diligence and striving towards God his mind has; and looking towards the perfect mark, of liberty, and of freedom from passions, and of the Spirit’s rest, let him run without stopping and without sloth, never satisfied with any spiritual gift or with any righteous attainment. Glory and adoration to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, for ever. Amen.

HOMILY XXX

The soul that is to enter into the kingdom of God must be born of the Holy Ghost; and how this is effected. 1. THOSE who hear the word ought to give proof of the work of the word in their own souls. The word of God is no idle word, but has its own work upon the soul. For this reason it is sometimes called a “work,” with a view to the “work” being found in the hearers. May the Lord, then, grant the work of the truth in the hearers, in order that the word may be found fruitful in us. For as the shadow precedes the body, but the shadow manifests the body, while the truth is the body itself, so the word is like a shadow of the truth of Christ. But the word precedes the truth. Fathers upon earth beget children of their own nature, from their own body and soul, and when they are begotten they educate them carefully with all diligence as their own children, until they become full-grown men and successors and heirs. For the aim and whole care of the fathers from the outset is to beget children and to have heirs, and if they had not begotten them, they would have had great sorrow and grief, and on the other hand they had corresponding joy when they had begotten them. Their kinsfolk and neighbours likewise rejoice.

2. In the same way our Lord Jesus Christ, taking thought for the salvation of man, employed from the outset all His providential care through the fathers and the patriarchs, through the law and the prophets, and in the end came Himself, and despising the shame of the cross, endured death; and all this toil and care of His was in order that He might beget children from Himself, from His own nature, being pleased that they should be begotten of the Spirit from above, of His own Godhead. And as those fathers, if they have no children, are grieved, so the Lord, who loved mankind as His own image, willed to beget them of the seed of His own Godhead; so, if any of them will not come to such a birth, to be born of the womb of the Spirit of the Godhead, Christ is submitted to great grief, after suffering for them and enduring so much to save them.

3. For the Lord wills all men to have the privilege of this birth. He died for all, and called all to life. But life is the birth from above of God. Without it the soul cannot live. The Lord says, Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And so, on the other hand, as many as believe the Lord, and come and receive the privilege of this birth, cause joy and great gladness in heaven to the parents that begat them; and all angels and holy powers rejoice over the soul that is born of the Spirit and has become spirit itself. For this body is a similitude of the soul, and the soul is the image of the Spirit; and as the body without the soul is dead, and unable to do anything at all, so without the heavenly soul, that is, without the Divine Spirit, the soul is dead from the kingdom, being unable to do any of the things of God without the Spirit.

4. As the portrait painter keeps an eye upon the king’s face and draws, and when the king’s face is towards him, attending to him at his painting, he draws the portrait easily and well, but when he turns his face away, he cannot draw, because the face is not gazing at the painter; in like manner Christ, the good artist, for those who believe Him and gaze continually at Him, straightway portrays after His own image a heavenly man. Out of His own Spirit, out of the substance of light itself, the ineffable light, He paints a heavenly image, and bestows upon it its good and gracious Spouse. If a man does not gaze constantly at Him, overlooking everything else, the Lord will not paint His image with His own light. We must therefore gaze upon Him, believing and loving Him, throwing away all else, and attending to Him, in order that He may paint His own heavenly image and send it into our souls, and thus, wearing Christ, we may receive eternal life, and even here may have full assurance and be at rest.

5. As the golden coin, if it does not receive the imprint of the king’s image, does not come upon the market, and is not stored in the king’s treasuries, but is discarded, so the soul, if it has not the image of the heavenly Spirit in light unspeakable, even Christ imprinted on it, is not fit for the treasuries above, and is discarded by the good merchants of the kingdom, the apostles. He who was invited, and did not wear the wedding garment, was cast out as an alien into the alien darkness, for not wearing the heavenly image. This is the mark and sign of the Lord imprinted upon souls, being the Spirit of light unspeakable. And as a dead man is useless, and of no use to those of the place, and so they carry him outside the city and bury him, so the soul which does not bear the heavenly image of the divine light, the life of the soul, is cast away and discarded; for a dead soul is of no use to that city of the saints, not bearing the luminous and Divine Spirit. For as in the world the soul is the life of the body, so in the eternal heavenly world the life of the soul is the Spirit of the Godhead. Without the life of the Spirit, this soul is dead to those above, and of no use.

6. He therefore that seeks to believe and come to the Lord, should entreat that he may receive here on earth the Divine Spirit; for that Spirit is the life of the soul, and for this cause the Lord came, that He might give life to the soul here on earth, even His Spirit. For He says, While ye have the light, believe in the light; the night cometh, when ye can no longer work. Therefore if any man has not sought, while here, and received life for his soul, even the divine light of the Spirit, when he departs out of the body, he is separated forthwith in the regions of darkness on the left hand, not entering into the kingdom of heaven, having his end in hell with the devil and his angels. As gold or silver, when cast into the fire, becomes purer and better attested, and nothing can impair it, such as wood or hay—for it devours everything that comes near it, for they also become fire—so the soul going up and down in the fire of the Spirit and in the divine light will suffer no harm by any of the evil spirits. Even if anything shall draw nigh it, it is consumed by the heavenly fire of the Spirit: Or as a bird, when aloft on the wing, is in no anxiety, fearing not the bird-catchers nor evil beasts, for up so high it derides them, so the soul, receiving the wings of the Spirit, and flying into the heights of heaven, is above everything, and derides them all.

7. And Israel after the flesh, when Moses that day divided the sea, went through it below; but these, being God’s children, walk on the top over the sea of bitterness of the evil powers. Their body and their soul have become the house of God. In that day when Adam fell, God came walking in the garden. He wept, as it were, beholding Adam, and said, “After what good things, what evils hast thou chosen! After what glory, what shame dost thou wear! How dark art thou now! how ill-looking! how corrupt! After what light, what darkness hath covered thee!” And when Adam fell and died from God, his Maker bewailed him; angels, and all the powers, the heavens, the earth, and all the creatures mourned over his death and fall, for they saw him that had been given them for their king become the servant of a hostile and evil power. Therefore he clothed himself with darkness in his own soul, a bitter and an evil darkness, for he was made a subject of the prince of darkness. This was he who was wounded by the robbers, and became half dead, as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.

8. Lazarus also, whom the Lord raised, who stank so that no one could go near the sepulchre, was a symbol of Adam whose soul had come to stink and was filled with blackness and darkness. But thou, when thou hearest of Adam, and the wounded man, and Lazarus, let not thy mind go off as it were to the hills, but be thou within in thy soul, for thou thyself bearest the same wounds, the same stench, the same darkness. We all are his sons, of that dark race, and all partake of the same stench. The malady from which he suffered, we all, who are of Adam’s seed, suffer from the same. Such a malady has befallen us, as Esaias says, It is not a wound, nor a bruise, nor an inflamed sore; it is not possible to apply a mollifying ointment, nor oil, nor to make bandages. Thus were we wounded with an incurable wound; the Lord alone could heal it. For this reason He came in His own person; because none of the ancients, nor the law itself, nor the prophets, were able to heal this wound. He alone by His coming healed that sore of the soul, that incurable sore.

9. Let us then welcome our God and Lord, the true healer, who alone is able to come and cure our souls, after He has laboured so much for our sake. He is always knocking at the doors of our hearts, that we may open to Him, that He may enter in and rest in our souls, and we may wash and anoint His feet, and He may make His abode with us. The Lord in that passage reproached the man who did not wash His feet; and again He says elsewhere, Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man will open unto Me, and I shall come in unto him. To this end He endured to suffer many things, giving His own body unto death, and purchasing us out of bondage, in order that He might come to our soul and make His abode with it. For this cause the Lord says to those on the left hand in the day of judgment, that are sent by Him to hell with the devil, I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in; I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink. His food and His drink, His clothing and shelter and rest is in our souls. Therefore He is always knocking, desiring to enter into us. Let us then receive Him, and bring Him within into ourselves; because He is our food and our drink and our eternal life, and every soul that has not now received Him within and given Him rest, or rather found rest in Him, has no inheritance in the kingdom of heaven with the saints, and cannot enter into the heavenly city. But Thou, Lord Jesus Christ, bring us thereunto, glorifying Thy name, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, for ever. Amen.

HOMILY XXXI

The believer ought to be changed in mind, and gather up all his thoughts in God; for in these all service of God consists. 1. THE believer ought to ask of God to be changed in his purposes, by an alteration of heart from bitterness to sweet, and remember how the blind man was healed, the woman with an issue of blood likewise obtained healing by the touch of His hem, the nature of lions was tamed, the nature of fire was deadened. Because God is the highest good; and unto Him thou oughtest to gather up thy mind and thoughts, and to think of nothing else, but to watch expectantly for Him. 2. Let the soul, therefore, be as one that gathers in straying children and admonishes the thoughts which sin has scattered, and bring them home into her body, always watching for the Lord in fasting and charity, when He shall come and gather her in truth. The future being uncertain, let her set her hope yet more upon her Pilot, with a good hope, and remember how Rahab, when living among aliens, believed the Israelites, and was admitted to share their privilege, while the Israelites in their affections turned back into Egypt. As therefore Rahab received no harm by dwelling among the aliens, but her faith made her at home in the portion of the Israelites, so sin shall not harm those who in hope and faith wait for the Redeemer, who at His coming changes the thoughts of the soul, and makes them godlike, heavenly, good, and teaches the soul prayer—prayer true, undistracted, unwandering. Fear not, He says, I go before thee, and will level the mountains; I will break in pieces the gates of brass and cut in sunder the bars of iron. And again, Beware, He says, that there be not a secret thought of wickedness in thy heart; say not in thy heart, This nation is strong and powerful.

3. If we do not become slothful and give over the field to the unruly thoughts of evil, but compel our minds to obey our will, forcing our thoughts to the Lord, assuredly the Lord will come to us with His will and take us in unto Himself in truth. All well-pleasing and all service are in the thoughts. Therefore endeavour to please the Lord, always looking for Him within, seeking Him in thy thoughts, and forcing and constraining thine own will and purpose to stretch upwards continually towards Him. Then see how He comes unto thee and makes His abode with thee. In proportion as thou gatherest up thy mind to seek Him, He is far more constrained by His own tender compassion and kindness to come to thee and give thee rest. He stands contemplating thy mind, thy thoughts, thy intentions, observing how thou seekest Him, whether with thy whole soul, not indolently, not carelessly.

4. And when He sees thy diligence to seek Him, then He manifests Himself and appears to thee, and imparts to thee of His own succour, and makes the victory thine, delivering thee from thine enemies. Having first contemplated thy seeking unto Him, and how thy whole expectation is without ceasing fixed on Him, He then teaches and gives thee true prayer, true charity, which is Himself in thee made all things—paradise, tree of life, pearl, crown, builder, husbandman, sufferer, incapable of suffering, man, God, wine and living water, lamb, bridegroom, warrior, armour, Christ all in all. And as the babe knows not how to take care of itself, or do for itself, but looks only to its mother, waiting until she has pity on it and takes it up, so faithful souls always hope only in the Lord, ascribing all righteousness to Him. As without the vine the branch is dried up, so is he who desires to be justified without Christ. As is the robber and the thief, who does not enter through the entrance, but climbeth up some other way, so is he who is justified to himself without the Justifier.

5. Let us therefore take this body of ours, and make an altar of it, and lay upon it every intention of ours, and beseech the Lord that He would send from heaven the great invisible fire, and consume the altar and everything upon it, and that all the priests of Baal, which are the opposing activities, may fall; and then we shall see the spiritual rain coming in the soul like a man’s footprint, so that it becomes the promise of God in us, as it is said in the prophet, I will raise up and build again the tabernacle of David which is fallen, and will build again the ruins thereof, in order that the Lord with His own loving kindness may shine upon the soul which is dwelling in night and darkness, in the drunkenness of ignorance, so that it may wake to soberness and walk without stumbling, performing the works of day and of life. For where the soul feeds, thence is it nourished, either from the world, or from the Spirit of God; and God is there nourished, and lives, and rests, and goes up and down.

6. To conclude, every one, if he will, shall prove himself, whence he is nourished, and where he lives, and what condition he is in, so that having thus perceived, and gained an accurate estimate, he may give himself perfectly to the movement towards that which is good. Well, in praying, take heed to yourself at prayer, observing your thoughts and your motions, where they come from, whether from God or from the adversary, and who it is that supplies your heart with nourishment, the Lord, or the world-rulers of this age. And when, O soul, thou hast proved and known, ask the Lord with labour and longing for heavenly nourishment and growth and the motions of Christ, according to the saying, Our conversation is in heaven, and not, as some imagine, in a shape or fashion. Behold, the mind and disposition of those who have only a form of godliness is like the world. Behold their agitation, and the fluctuation of their purposes, their unstable judgment, their timidity and fear, according to that which is said, Groaning and trembling shalt thou be upon the earth. According to their unbelief and the confusion of their unstable thoughts, they are tossed about every hour, like all the rest of men. Such men only differ from the world in fashion, not in mind, and only in bodily observances of the outer man; while in heart and mind they are pulled this way and that way in the world, and are involved in earthly ties and those of unprofitable cares, not having gained the peace from heaven in their hearts, as the apostle says, Let the peace of God rule in your hearts—the peace which reigns and renews the minds of believers in the love of God and of all the brotherhood. Glory and worship to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, for ever. Amen.

HOMILY XXXII

The glory of Christians abides even now in their souls, and will be manifested at the time of resurrection, and will glorify their bodies in correspondence with their piety. 1. THE languages of this world differ. Every nation has a language of its own. But Christians learn one new language, and are all instructed under one wisdom of God, not a wisdom of this world, nor of this passing age. And as Christians walk in this creation, they come upon new and heavenly sights, and upon glories and mysteries, taking occasion by what meets their senses. There are various kinds of tame animals, as horse and ox. Each of them has its own body and its own voice. So also among wild beasts; the lion has its own body and its own voice, and the stag likewise. And among creeping things there is great variety, and among winged creatures there are, many forms of body. The body and voice of the eagle is one, the body and voice of the hawk is another. There are the same varieties in the sea—many bodies unlike each other; and in the earth there are many seeds, but each seed has its own fruit. There are many trees; but some trees are bigger and some smaller, and the crops that they bear are very different; for each kind of tree has a flavour of its own. And there are herbs, and great differences between them—some profitable for health, others only for fragrance. But each tree produces from within the clothing which meets the eye, leaves, and blossoms, and fruits. The seeds likewise bring forth from within the clothing that we see. The lilies themselves produce their raiment from within, and adorn the sward.

2. Even so those Christians, to whom it has been granted to gain in this life the heavenly raiment, have that raiment dwelling in their souls; and when it is foreordained of God that this creation should be dissolved, and that heaven and earth should pass away, then the heavenly raiment, which here and now had clothed and glorified their souls, and which they had possessed in their hearts, that same shall assuredly enrobe with glory their naked bodies also, which rise from the tombs, the bodies which awake in that day, even with the invisible heavenly gift and raiment which Christians receive even now. But as the sheep or the camels, when they find grass, greedily and hastily get to the food and store up provender within themselves, and in time of hunger bring up the same from their maw, and chew the cud, and have for their food what they had before laid in; so in like manner those who have now seized the kingdom of heaven, and living in spirit have tasted of the heavenly food, at the time of resurrection have that same to cover and to warm all their members.

3. As then we spoke of the variety of seeds, that many are sown in the same ground and yield a diversity of fruits, all unlike each other; and likewise of trees, that some are bigger and some less, but one ground holds the roots of them all; even so the heavenly church, being but one, is without number, and each is adorned by the glory of the Spirit in a manner peculiar to himself. For as the birds produce out of their own bodies the raiment of their feathers, and great is the variety among them—for some flit along near the ground, while others soar in the air—or as the heaven is one, and contains in itself many stars, some brighter, some greater, some smaller, but all are fixed in the heaven; so the saints are in divers manners rooted in the one heaven of the Godhead and in the earth invisible. So also the thoughts which come to Adam are different when they come, but the Spirit coming into the heart makes one thought and one heart, for both those above and those below are governed by the same Spirit.

4. But what are the animals that divide the hoof? Since with their cloven hoof they make straight way, they are set for a figure of those who walk uprightly in the law. But as the body’s shadow is from the body itself, but cannot fulfil any fleshly function—for a shadow cannot bind up wounds, or give food, or speak—and yet it is from the body itself, and shows in advance the coming of the body, so the ancient law is a shadow of the new covenant. The shadow reveals the truth beforehand, but it had no ministration of the Spirit. Moses, clothed in flesh, could not enter into the heart, and take away the filthy garments of darkness. Only spirit of spirit and fire of fire dissolves the power of the evil darkness. Circumcision, in the shadow of the law, foreshows the true circumcision of the heart approaching. The baptism of the law is a shadow of the true realities. That baptism washed the body; but here a baptism of fire and Spirit cleanses and washes the polluted mind. 5. There a priest compassed with infirmity entered into the holy place offering sacrifice for himself and for the people; here the true High Priest, even Christ, entered once for all into the tabernacle not made with hands and the altar above, ready to cleanse those who ask Him, and the conscience that has been defiled. For He says, I will be with you until the end of the world.

The high priest had on his breast two precious stones, and they bore the names of the twelve patriarchs. What was done there was a type. For in such a manner the Lord put on the apostles and sent them as evangelists and heralds of the whole world. You see how the shadow shows the approach of the reality. Yet just as the shadow has no function to perform, and heals no troubles, so neither could the ancient law heal the wounds or troubles of the soul; for indeed it had no life. 6. The conjunction of two particular things makes a perfect whole—for example, two covenants. Man was made after the image and similitude of God: he has two eyes, two eyebrows, two hands, two feet, and if he should chance to have but one eye, or one hand, or one foot, it is something to find fault with. If a bird has but one wing, it cannot possibly fly with it. So the nature of mankind, if it remains naked and by itself, and does not receive the mixture and communion of the heavenly nature, has failed to be put right. It remains naked and deserving of blame in its own nature, in great defilement. For the soul itself was surnamed the temple and habitation of God, and the King’s bride; for it says, I will dwell in them, and walk in them. So it pleased God; because He came down from holy heavens and embraced thy reasonable nature, the flesh, which is of the earth, and mingled it with His divine Spirit, in order that thou, the earthy, mightest receive the heavenly soul. And when thy soul has communion with the Spirit, and the heavenly soul enters into thy soul, then art thou a perfect man in God, and an heir, and a son.

7. But as neither the ages above nor those below can take in the greatness and incomprehensibleness of God, so neither the worlds above nor those on earth are able to comprehend His minuteness, and how He makes Himself small to those who are minute and small. As His greatness is incomprehensible, so also is His minuteness; and it comes to pass that He arranges for thee to be in afflictions, and sufferings, and humiliations; and the things which thou deemest to be contrary to thee, these prove to be for thy soul’s good. If thou desirest to be in the world, and to become rich, misfortune meets thee. Thou beginnest to think with thyself, “Because I have failed in the world, what if I were to go away and renounce it and serve God? When thou art come to this point, thou hearest the commandment saying, “Sell what thou hast; hate fleshly society; serve God. Then thou beginnest to thank thy misfortune in the world, that “on that account I am found obedient to the commandment of Christ. Well then, in part, so far as outward things go, thou hast changed thy mind, and withdrawn from the world and from fleshly society: it behoves thee therefore to be changed in mind likewise from the fleshly temper to the heavenly temper. Well, at the very sound thereof, thou beginnest to discriminate, and thou no longer hast rest, but only care and trouble to gain what thou hast heard of. 8.

And when thou deemest thyself to have done all by renouncing, the Lord taketh account with thee. “Why dost thou boast? Did not I create thy body and thy soul? Did not I make the gold and silver? What hast thou done? The soul begins to make confession and to beseech the Lord, and say, “All things are Thine. The house I am in is Thine. My clothes are Thine. From Thee is my food, and of Thee am I supplied for every need. Then the Lord begins to reply: “I thank thee. The goods are thine own. The good will is thine own; and because of thy love towards Me, since thou hast made Me thy refuge, come, I will now give thee what hitherto neither thou hast gained, nor do men have it upon earth. Take Me, thy Lord, with thine own soul, that thou mayest ever be with Me in joy and gladness.”

9. A woman espoused to a husband brings all that she has and her whole dowry, and out of her great affection casts it into the hands of her husband, and says this: “I have nothing of my own. All that I have is yours; and my dowry is yours, and my soul and my body are yours. So also the wise soul is virgin to the Lord, having communion with His Holy Spirit. But as He, when He came upon earth, suffered and was crucified, so it behoves thee also to suffer with Him. When thou withdrawest from the world, and beginnest to seek God, and to discriminate, then thou findest thyself at war with thine own nature in its old habits and the custom that thou hast grown up with; and in warring against custom, thou discoverest thoughts that oppose thee, and war against thy mind, and these thoughts drag thee and make thee stray into the material world from which thou camest out. So thou beginnest to wage conflict and battle, setting in motion thoughts against thoughts, mind against mind, soul against soul, spirit against spirit; and there the soul is in agony of fear. 10. For there is revealed a certain hidden, subtle power of darkness seated in the heart; and the Lord is nigh thy soul and body, seeing thy battle, and puts in thee secret heavenly thoughts, and begins to give thee rest in secret.

But He suffers thee to be chastened for a while, and grace provides that thou shouldest come into these very afflictions; and when thou comest into rest, grace makes herself known to thee, and shows thee that it was for thy benefit that she permitted thee to be exercised. It is as when a rich man has a child, and the child a tutor. For a while he makes him smart with straps; and the chastisement, and the stripes, and the weals appear grievous, until the child becomes a man, and then he begins to thank the tutor. So does grace chastise thee by design, until thou comest unto a perfect man. 11. The husbandman flings the seed in every direction; and he who plants a vine wishes that all of it should bear fruit. So he applies the pruning-hook, and if he finds no fruit, he is grieved. So the Lord wishes His word to be sown in the hearts of men. But as the husbandman is grieved at the unrepaying ground, so the Lord is grieved at the unrepaying heart which bears no fruit. As the winds blow everywhere, over all creation, and as the sun lightens upon all the world, so the Godhead is everywhere, and is everywhere found. If thou seekest Him in heaven, He is found there in the thoughts of the angels. If thou seekest Him upon earth, He is found here also in the hearts of men. But few out of many are found the Christians who are well pleasing to Him. Glory and majesty to the Father, and to the Son, and the Holy Ghost for ever. Amen.

HOMILY XXXIII

We ought to pray to God continually and with attention. 1. IT behoves us to pray, not by bodily habit, nor with a habit of crying, nor by a custom of silence, or of bending the knees, but soberly, taking heed to our minds, to wait upon God, until He shall come to us and visit the soul through all its modes of egress and its paths and senses, and so to be silent when we ought, and to cry out when we ought, and to pray with loud crying, so long as the mind is strong towards God. As the body, when at work, is entirely occupied with the work on which it is engaged, and all the members of it help one another, so let the soul be entirely given up to asking and love towards the Lord, not wandering and carried about with thoughts, but with all its might endeavouring and gathering itself up with all its thoughts, and bent upon waiting for Christ.

2. And thus will He lighten upon it, teaching it the true asking, giving it the pure spiritual prayer, which is worthy of God, and the worship which is in spirit and in truth. But as one who has taken up the profession of merchandise is not content with a single device for getting gain, but presses forward to increase and multiply his gain in every direction, after one device pursuing another, and then running on to another expedient, and always shying off from what is unprofitable, runs to that which is more lucrative; so let us also fit our souls out with versatility and skill, to obtain the great true gain, even God, who teaches us truly to pray. In this way the Lord rests upon the soul’s good intention, making it a throne of glory, and sitting and resting upon it. That was what we heard from the prophet Ezekiel, concerning the spiritual creatures harnessed to the chariot of the Lord. He represents them to us as eyes all over, as the soul is that carries God, or rather is carried by God; it becomes all eye.

3. As a house that has its master at home is full of all orderliness and beauty and seemliness, so the soul which has its Lord with it, and abiding in it, is full of all beauty. It has the Lord with His spiritual treasures for its inhabitant and its charioteer. But woe to the house whose master is away, and whose lord is not present. It is desolate, and broken down, full of all uncleanness and disorder. There, as the prophet says, sirens and demons dwell. In the deserted house are cats and dogs, and all uncleanness. Woe to the soul that does not arise from its grievous fall, nor receive the fair Master of the house, even Christ, for its inhabitant, but remains in its uncleanness, and has within it those who persuade and compel it to have enmity with its own Bridegroom, and desire to corrupt its thoughts from Christ.

4. But when the Lord sees that to the best of its ability the soul recollects itself, always seeking and waiting for the Lord night and day, and crying to Him, even as He commanded to pray without ceasing in everything, He will avenge it, as He promised, cleansing it from the evil within it, and will present it unto Himself a bride without blemish and without spot. Now if you believe that these things are true, as indeed they are, take heed to yourself, whether your soul has found the light to guide it, and the true meat and drink, which is the Lord. If you have not, seek night and day, that you may receive. When you see the sun, seek the true Sun, for you are blind. When you behold the light, look into your soul, whether you have found the true Light, the good Light. All the things which meet the senses are a shadow of the true realities of the soul. There is another man within, besides the man who is seen; and eyes, which Satan has blinded, and ears, which he has deafened; and Jesus came to make this inward man whole. To whom be the glory and the might, with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever. Amen.

HOMILY XXXIV

Concerning the glory of Christians which shall be vouchsafed to their bodies at the resurrection, and they shall be enlightened together with the soul. 1. AS the bodily eyes see everything clearly, so to the souls of the saints the beauties of the Godhead are manifest and visible, and Christians are mingled with them and think upon them. To the bodily eyes that glory is hidden, but to the believing soul it is clearly revealed—the soul which was dead, which the Lord raises out of sin, even as He wakens the dead bodies also, and prepares for it a new heaven and a new earth, and a sun of righteousness, giving it all things out of His own Godhead. There is a true world, and a living earth, and a fruitful vine, and a bread of life, and living water; as it is written, I believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, and again, Unto them that fear the Lord shall the sun of righteousness arise, with healing in his wings; and the Lord said, I am the true vine, and again, I am the bread of life, and again, He that drinketh of the water that I shall give him, there shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

2. For the whole coming of the Lord was for man’s sake—man who lay dead in the grave of the darkness of sin, of the unclean spirit and of evil powers—that now in this world He might raise man up and quicken him, and cleanse him from all blackness, and enlighten him with His own light, and array him in His own garments, the heavenly garments of His own Godhead. But at the resurrection of the bodies, whose souls were raised before and glorified before, then the bodies also are glorified with them, and are enlightened by the soul which had been enlightened and glorified in this life. For the Lord is their home, their tabernacle and their city. They are clothed with the habitation from heaven, not made with hands, the glory of the divine light, as being made children of light. They will gaze upon each other with no evil eye; for evil has been taken away. There is there no male nor female, bond nor free, for all alike are changed into a divine nature, being good, and Gods, and children of God. There brother will then speak peace to sister without confusion, for all are one thing in Christ, at rest in one light. One will gaze upon another, and in the gazing will forthwith shine back in truth, at the true contemplation of light inexpressible.

3. Thus in many shapes and many varying divine glories they look upon each other, and each is astonished and rejoices with joy unspeakable, gazing upon the other’s glory. You see how the glories of God are beyond all utterance, and are incomprehensible, of light inexpressible, and of mysteries eternal, and of good things without number. As, in the world of sense, it is impossible for any one to comprehend in number the plants, or seeds, or various blossoms of the earth, and it is out of the question for any one to measure or understand the entire wealth of the earth; or as in the sea it is impossible for a man to comprehend the living creatures in it, or their number, or their kinds, or their differences, or the measure of its water or the measure of its place; or as in the air it is impossible to know the number of the birds, or their kinds or variety; or as it is impossible to comprehend the greatness of the sky, or the positions of the stars, or their courses; so is it impossible to speak or to recount the wealth of Christians, which is infinite and incomprehensible. For if these creatures are so infinite and incomprehensible to men, how much more He that created and prepared them!

A man ought therefore rather to rejoice and be glad because such wealth and such an inheritance is prepared for Christians, that no one can utter it or reckon it up. With all diligence and humility therefore we ought to set ourselves to the Christian’s contest and to receive that wealth. For the inheritance and portion of Christians is God Himself. The Lord Himself, it says, is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup. Glory to Him who gives Himself, and mingles His own holy nature with the souls of Christians, for ever. Amen.

HOMILY XXXV

1 Concerning the old Sabbath and the new. 1. IN the shadow of the law given by Moses God commanded that every man should rest on the sabbath and do nothing. This was a type and shadow of the true sabbath given to the soul from the Lord. For the soul to which it has been granted to be set free from base and foul thoughts both keeps true sabbath and enjoys true rest, being idle and at leisure so far as the works of darkness are concerned. There, in the typical sabbath, although they rested in bodily fashion, their souls were in bondage to wickednesses and sins. This, the true sabbath, is true rest, the soul being idle and cleansed from the suggestions of Satan, and resting in the eternal rest and joy of the Lord. 2. As then He enjoined that even the unreasoning animals should rest on the sabbath day, that the ox should not be forced under the yoke of necessity, and that they should not lade the ass—for the animals also were to rest from their heavy works—so when the Lord came and gave the true eternal sabbath, He gave rest to the soul which was burdened and heavy laden with the burdens of the iniquity of unclean imaginations, and labouring perforce at the works of unrighteousness, as being in bondage to bitter masters; and He lightened it of the burdens, hard to be borne, of vain and impure imaginations; and He took away the yoke, the bitter yoke, of the works of unrighteousness, and refreshed the soul when it was wearied with the imaginations of uncleanness.

2 3. The Lord calls man to rest, saying, Come, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; and as many souls as are obedient and draw near, He makes them rest from all these heavy, burdensome, unclean thoughts, and they are idle from all iniquity, keeping a true, delicious, holy sabbath, and celebrate a festival of the Spirit, a festival of joy and gladness unspeakable; and they perform a pure service, well pleasing to God, out of a pure heart. This is the true and the holy sabbath. Let us therefore beseech God that we also may enter into this rest, that we may be idle from base and evil and vain imaginations, that thus we may be able to serve God out of a pure heart, and celebrate the feast of the Holy Ghost. Blessed is he who enters into that rest. Glory to Him whose good pleasure it is, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for ever. Amen.

HOMILY XXXVI

Concerning the twofold resurrection of souls and bodies, and of the divers glory of the risen. 1. THE resurrection of dead souls is even now. The resurrection of bodies is in that day. But as the stars, though fixed in heaven, are not all equal, but one differs from another in brightness and magnitude, so in spiritual things there are advances, according to the measure of faith, in the Spirit Himself, one man richer than another. The scripture says, He that speaketh in a tongue speaketh by the Spirit of God, He is a spiritual man, speaking to God. But he that prophesieth, edifieth the church. The latter had the greater abundance of grace. The one edifies himself only; the other his neighbour also. This is like a grain of corn sown in the earth; the same grain out of the same heart produces many grains differing from each other. And again the ears, some are larger, some smaller, but all are gathered into one threshing-floor, one barn; though they differ, one bread is made of them. 2. Or as in a city there are multitudes of people, and some are infant children, some men, or young men; but all drink water of one well, and all eat of one bread, and have one air to breathe; or as lamps are, one with two wicks and one with seven, but where the greater abundance of light is, the illumination is greater. So as many as are in fire and light cannot be in darkness; but there is much difference. If a father has two sons, one a child, the Other a young man, he sends the one abroad to foreign cities and countries, but the little one he keeps continually under guard, because he can do nothing. Glory be to God. Amen.