Commentary on 1 Kings (Book Three – Book Four)

Commentary on 1 Kings

continued

Chapter 3.5

The men of Kiriath-jearim therefore came and brought back the ark of the Lord, and they carried it into the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to guard the ark of the Lord. 1. Aminadab is interpreted as "my people, willing"; Gibeah, "lofty. And indeed the ark of God must be entrusted to such persons. For a willing people is one whom good will alone draws to the exercise of virtuous works, whom necessity does not compel to fulfill the commandments of God. Blessed Paul indeed proclaims such persons under a single description, saying: "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7). What is the house of the willing people, if not the stronghold of holy love? For one could not be willing in the service of the virtues if one did not build for oneself a dwelling place of love. This house is certainly known to be situated in Gibeah, that is, on a height: because by the loftiness of charity we are raised up to heavenly things. Or indeed the house is on a height because charity is preferred above all virtues. For Paul, indicating the height of this sublimity, says: "I show you a still more excellent way. If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not charity, I have become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal" (1 Cor. 12:31; 13:1). But what does it mean that they sanctify Eleazar to guard the ark of God? But this indeed we know from the practice of Holy Church, that a chosen minister first receives the blessing of consecration from the chief men before he undertakes the ministry of offering.

But since Eleazar is said to mean "helper of God," it is clearly shown that the ministers of God must not only be sanctified, but also examined as to what sort of men they are who are to be promoted to the order of this consecration. For who are the helpers of God, if not those who accord with divine grace in ministering, and whom the favor of Almighty God visits inwardly, which they themselves confirm through outward ministry by living well and teaching? Whence also, glorying not in vain with Paul, they say: "For we are God's helpers" (1 Cor. 3:9). These indeed, most strong in their manner of life, learned in knowledge, fervent in love, robust in constancy, not only do not need the help of others, but wherever they go, they are able to assist others. Rightly therefore it is said: "They sanctified Eleazar, that he might guard the ark. Because those who still need the help of others are not to be promoted to assisting others. Rightly likewise this same Eleazar is said to be the son of Aminadab: because certainly he who is chosen for the ministry of preaching, being set in the imitation of the saints, ought to render all the help he provides out of love.

2. Because we said above that the cart is Sacred Scripture, the ark is its spiritual knowledge, and the chosen cows are elect souls, the fear of the Bethshemites, which we showed to be present in the elect at the offering of the sacrament, can also be referred to the burden of prelacy. For no lesser holiness is fit for instructing souls than for offering the sacred mysteries. And therefore the Bethshemites are said to have been struck down: because many who live well as subjects die as prelates. For the ark of God also has an outward beauty, which if a weak minister looks upon not for spiritual veneration but for worldly desire, he by no means lives. Rightly therefore the cause of their being struck is declared when it is said: "Because they looked upon the ark of God. For what does "they looked" mean, except that by looking they coveted its glory? But now, by God's doing, the glory of holy Church is abundant throughout the whole world. Because this glory is sought in a worldly manner by reprobate priests, the men of Beth-shemesh die by looking upon the ark of God from the outside. For they do not seek its spiritual honor for the sake of the inward glory of virtues, but so that they might seize the splendor of God's ark and bear the radiance of ecclesiastical prelacy in the flower of the world for their own display.

The ark of God is also looked upon wrongly from the outside, to one's destruction, when wicked leaders, overcome by the outward appearance of persons under their charge, are drawn into carnal desire. The men, beholding with fear the vast multitude laid low by the weapon of desire, say: "Who shall be able to stand in the sight of the Lord, this holy God? For he stands in the sight of God who is strong in the order of divine ministry. Indeed, to stand is a matter of fortitude; to minister is a matter of service. He is therefore said to stand in the sight of God who arranges the order of heavenly office at the height of a worthy way of life; who in the ministry he performs is deceived by no appetite for ecclesiastical honor, and is overcome by no carnal desire. But because such fit ministers are rarely found, they rightly say: "Who shall be able to stand in the sight of the Lord, this holy God? And because the little ones of Christ leave so great a burden to stronger men, they add: "And to whom shall it go up from us? Now, how they sent to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, how they brought the ark of God into the house of Abinadab, and how they sanctified Eleazar, we do not change from what was set forth above. (Verse 2. And it came to pass from the time the ark of God remained in Kiriath-jearim, the days were multiplied.

If we look to the historical sense, the days of the ark's sojourn were multiplied because it was there for a long time. Hence it is also added: (Verse 2. For it was the twentieth year. And to what purpose he introduced this multiplication of days, he adds, saying: (Verse 2. And all Israel rested after the Lord. This rest among that ancient people is to be understood not as one of good works, but of good devotion. For it follows: (Verse 3. And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, saying: If you return to God with your whole heart, put away the foreign gods from among you, Baalim and Ashtaroth; and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve him alone, and he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. 3. Those who had not removed the foreign gods from their midst, except by good will, how were they resting after the Lord? All of which things, if they are investigated spiritually, the days of the ark's sojourn are multiplied. But when it remains in Gibeah; when it remains in the custody of Eleazar; because when the care of faithful souls is entrusted to devout preachers, the perfection of religion, which is bestowed through lofty doctrine, is fulfilled by the pursuit of good works. Whence also the twentieth year was then reported to be at hand. For if the number ten designates the perfection of the old Law, what does twenty signify, if not the more splendid religion of the new life? For the number twenty is ten doubled. Which number is certainly perfected in the conduct of the elect, when through love they avoid what the Law forbids and fulfill the lofty commandments of the Gospel.

4. But because we have referred the journey of the ark to the perfection of the contemplative life, the ark of God remains in Kiriath-jearim when the learned minds of contemplatives perfect the gift of that same learning of theirs in the delight of the heavenly brightness revealed to them. For the ark of God remains there now for twenty years, because chosen souls, raised to the summit of intimate exaltation, have the number ten in the perfection of knowledge, and the number twenty in heavenly delight. The multiplication of days can also be referred to the increases of spiritual virtues. Therefore, when the reason why the days are multiplied is stated more expressly, it is said to be the twentieth year: because, namely, the chosen minds of contemplatives, the more abundantly they are nourished by heavenly contemplation, the more fully they are illuminated by the splendors of spiritual virtues.

5. But what does it mean that in the twentieth year all Israel is said to rest after the Lord, except that the sublimity of the perfection of the elect does not consist in the strength of good works, but in the power of contemplation? For to rest after the Lord is to hold fast to the imitation of our Redeemer with invincible love. And whoever has not learned to love strongly by contemplating those ineffable joys of the heavenly city, because he can more frequently be cast down to love of the world, by no means rests after the Lord. When therefore the ark remains in Kiriath-jearim and the days are multiplied, all Israel rests after the Lord: because indeed, while the knowledge of the elect mind is raised to the experience of heavenly delight, while by the light of the glory poured forth the splendors of spiritual virtues are gathered together within it, it can hold fast to the imitation of the Lord all the more perseveringly because, illuminated by immense splendors, it cannot perceive those darknesses by which it might be separated from the true light. Whence also it is well that he who is said to rest after the Lord is declared to be Israel, that is, "seeing God": because the higher the contemplator is caught up into divine things, the less he is overcome by the human things which he powerfully restrains.

6. But since, with God as our guide, we have followed the ark on its journey all the way to the place of its exaltation, let us see with what zeal the preacher keeps watch over the correction of those subject to him. For it continues: 'And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel: If you return to the Lord with your whole heart, remove the foreign gods from your midst.' Now what does Sacred Scripture customarily call foreign gods, if not demons, which dwell in handmade idols? We have said that in Samuel the new preachers of holy Church are signified. Rightly, therefore, he commanded the whole house of Israel to remove the foreign gods from their midst: because among the Gentiles coming to the faith, the order of preachers demanded not only the truth of right progress, but also the condemnation of ancient superstition. For it would profit them nothing to honor the truth by professing it, or by rendering obedience to it, unless they had first abandoned what is false as worthy of detestation. Whoever even now is placed within holy Church through faith, yet is rebellious against God through wicked conduct, must be admonished to remove the foreign gods from his midst. For even if he detests handmade idols, he is nevertheless subjected to the commands of demons through depraved action. But he casts the foreign gods away from his midst who is so converted to God that he never venerates unclean spirits through evil works.

7. A zeal for a more cautious life can also be indicated through these words of exhortation. For what is in our midst, if not our heart? Yet there are some who are defiled by the weakness of their heart and the habit of depraved thought, even while engaged in the works of the world. They indeed do good things unceasingly, yet they never cease to think wicked thoughts. Since as many demons rest in their hearts as there are impure desires, they are urgently admonished to remove the foreign gods from their midst: so that they may offer to almighty God not only the uprightness of their work, but also the glory of interior purity. Hence it is fittingly added: 'And prepare your hearts for the Lord.' For he prepares his heart for the Lord who not only separates his mind from impure thought, but also illuminates it with the splendors of holy thoughts and virtues: so that, as if the idols had been cast away and crushed, he may make himself a temple of God; since he raises up a seat for divine grace in the very place where he did not permit wicked spirits to remain through the depraved desires subject to them. Rightly, therefore, he first admonishes the Israelites to remove the foreign gods from their midst, and then to prepare their hearts for God, because the proper order of beginning one's religion is that each person should first reject what is wicked, and then draw near to almighty God with the zeal of good intention. Finally, it is necessary that he who has already offered to God the resolve of a good will and the cleanness of a pure heart should set forth in the uprightness of good work what he has inwardly determined by living well. Therefore it is also added: 'And serve God alone.'

8. For he alone serves the Lord who does not mix wicked things with good works. For he who so does good that he does not abandon evil by no means serves God alone, because he shows obedience to the evil spirit whose will he does not fear to carry out. Whence it comes about that even while doing good he does not serve God, because He who is believed to have created the whole man does not deign to share him in common with the adversary. For hence it is that Truth itself declares through itself, saying: 'No one can serve two masters' (Matt. 6:24). Hence Paul, inquiring, says: 'What participation has righteousness with iniquity, or what fellowship has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever, or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?' (2 Cor. 6:14–15). Therefore we are commanded to serve the Lord alone, so that we who have already begun, by God's inspiration, to do good works for the purpose of obtaining the remission of our sins, may mix no wicked things with those same good works. For we are then loosed from the bond of our sins when the good things which we expend for their absolution are not mixed with evil. For the preacher, speaking to devoted penitents, says: 'If you return to the Lord with your whole heart, put away the foreign gods from your midst, and serve God alone.' As if to say: Then you will be able to be loosed from sins when you do not defile the good things of heart and deed, which you expend before God for your absolution, by other sins coming upon them. Wherefore, also making a promise in return, he says: 'And He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.'

9. Who else are designated by the Philistines in this passage but malignant spirits? They indeed, while intoxicated in an instant by the cup of their own pride, fell from the state of glory by swelling up. What then is the hand of the Philistines, if not that power of demons by which they lead souls dead in sin to eternal torments? From that hand of the Philistines, He alone had been free who said: "The prince of this world comes, and has nothing in me" (John 14:30). Hence Paul says: "All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Hence he says again: "We also were children of wrath, even as the rest" (Eph. 2:3). O how great a gift is that promise by which it is said: "He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. For He alone stood free from this hand, who committed no sin. From it, assuredly, we are all delivered contrary to our own merit. Whence Paul also says: "Justified freely by His grace, through the redemption of His righteousness, on account of the redemption of preceding offenses, in the forbearance of God, for the demonstration of His justice in this time, that He Himself might be just, and the justifier of the one who is of the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 3:24–26). Hence he likewise says: "By grace you have been saved" (Eph. 2:8). It is as if he were saying:

He will deliver you from the power of malignant spirits, so that, as though cruel enemies have been put to flight from the road, when the death of the flesh intervenes, you may more securely reach those eternal joys which you desire. Great things, therefore, did He promise who, by commanding great things, taught, so that the greatness of the gift might incite to the strength of labor. For it is a great thing to serve the Lord alone, namely to do good unceasingly, and not to mix wicked deeds with good actions. But oh, how supremely great it is, in the passage of this life, not to encounter the power of bloodthirsty spirits, to see no terrors on the way, to find no opposing obstacles, to escape eternal punishments, to feel the protection of our Deliverer, to lose the momentary light of this world, but suddenly to find the ineffable brightness of eternity. Let them hear, therefore, let them hear, those who desire to be delivered from the hand of the Philistines: "Prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him alone"—so that here each one may strive to gather for himself that by which there they may not fall into the hands of such great enemies, and may pass securely to life, they who, among the treasures of their salvation which they accumulate here by living well, carry with them no works of death. Moreover, the conduct of the elect is indicated by what follows: (Verse 4.

"Therefore the children of Israel put away from their midst the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served the Lord alone." 10. For it is the custom of the elect that when they receive the exhortations of divine preaching, they are kindled to zeal for the good works they have heard. For the reprobate frequently hear the words of God, yet from those same words they undertake no good works. They remain sluggish in their actions, because, cast out from the divine light, they do not see by inward contemplation the glory of almighty God whose words they hear. Rightly, therefore, those who obey are called children of Israel, because the more openly they behold His majesty in its manifestation, the more devoutly they are known to obey His commandments. But since he is speaking to those who have been converted, let us hear what he perceives is still lacking in them. For there follows: (Verses 5, 6.) And Samuel said: Gather all Israel to Mizpah, that I may pray to the Lord for you. And they gathered together at Mizpah.

11. Mizpah is interpreted as "watching" or "contemplation." The blessed Paul explains this contemplation when he says: 'For now we see through a glass, darkly' (1 Cor. 13:12). For to watch is, for us, to contemplate eternal goods from the heights of the Scriptures. For we watch, as it were, what we already know by the truth of faith, yet do not yet see with unveiled face. For converted sinners to gather at Mizpah is to trust, through the attention of the mind, in the mercy of almighty God. But let them so presume upon the mercy of God that they nevertheless do not neglect to wipe away through penance what they recall having done wickedly. Whence it is also suddenly added there: (v. 6) 'And they drew water and poured it out before the Lord.' 12. For what is it to draw water, except to bring forth streams of tears from the deep confusion of a penitent soul? For we draw water, as it were, when, considering how deep the iniquity into which we have fallen, we lament. And indeed we pour out this water in the sight of the Lord, if when we are pierced with compunction through repentance, we do not seek from the weeping of that compunction the favor of the world, but only the fruit of divine appeasement. But also when the mind is pierced with compunction through weeping, it is necessary that the flesh too, which was subject to pleasures, be afflicted. Whence it is also added: (Verse 6.) And they fasted on that day.

13. The day of the sinful soul is the hope of obtaining pardon in the promise of the divine word. Whence the Lord also promises through the prophet, saying: 'I do not desire the death of the sinner, but rather that he be converted and live' (Ezek. 18:32, 33, 11). On that day, therefore, they fast who for this reason wear down the flesh by repenting: because in the light of hope they undoubtingly believe that they will attain pardon. Yet that affliction of penance is only then suitable for destroying sins when it has been commanded by the judgment of a priest, when by him, after the deeds of those confessing have been examined, the burden of affliction is determined for them according to the measure of the offense. Rightly therefore it follows: (Verse 6) 'And they said: We have sinned against you, O Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.'

14. For the priest judges in Masphath when he follows not human judgment but divine; when in everything that must be decided he raises himself up in lofty contemplation, and in judging his subjects he decides what he recognizes to be just in the heavenly vision. For this is why Moses consults the Lord in the tabernacle of the covenant in nearly every matter (Exod. XXXIII, 8): because indeed the preacher of holy Church ought to look into the innermost contemplation of truth, so that he may be able to order the life of his subjects outwardly in a blameless manner. For he can more truly both retain sins and remit them when, in the secret place of contemplation, he hears what the Lord speaks. Hence also the Lord, rising from the dead, first breathed upon the face of the disciples, and afterward granted them the authority of remitting and retaining sins (John XX, 21, 23): so that He might clearly show that whoever does not have that contemplation of mind ought not to be a judge of souls. For the Lord's breathing upon the face of the chosen preachers is to reveal to them through the Holy Spirit the inmost and secret ways of spiritual examination. Hence Paul says: "The spiritual man judges all things" (I Cor. II, 15). Hence likewise, commending the bounty of divine grace, he says:

"We have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been given to us by God" (Ibid., 12). But whoever has the spirit of this world cannot judge his subjects in Masphath, that is, in contemplation: because while he does not penetrate interior things through the Spirit, in the cases of judgment that he investigates, he errs outwardly by a worldly spirit. Rightly therefore is Samuel said to have judged the children of Israel in Masphath: because indeed holy preachers, in the judgments of their subjects, define nothing outwardly except what is revealed to them inwardly by divine inspiration. But while good subjects submit themselves to the judgment of their superiors, they kindle more fiercely against themselves the wrath of spiritual enemies. Hence it is added: (Verse 7. "And the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel."

15. For when the foreign gods have been removed, the fast completed, and the scrutiny of examination carried out by the preacher, the princes of the Philistines ascend against Israel: because when we advance to a higher life, the malign spirits, who always envy those who act well, are more hostile to us. And because they seek to cast us down from the height of an innocent life, they are said to ascend. For to ascend, for malign spirits, is to raise themselves up to assault the hearts elevated through heavenly desire. Because also against the more perfect soldiers of Christ, battles are stirred up not by any random evil spirits, but by stronger demons, it is not the Philistines who are reported to ascend against Israel, but the satraps of the Philistines. Princes also preside over many. Therefore by this, that the satraps are said to ascend against Israel, it can reasonably be gathered that to test the patience of the elect, not one evil spirit is assigned to each of the elect, but innumerable ones; so that from their achieved victory, the glory of the faithful may be the more abundant, the heavier the battles that have been inflicted upon them. Yet amid these same battles, the recently converted are accustomed to tremble greatly: for suddenly they find themselves on a field of struggle, beyond the experience of their custom. On one side they behold desires armed against them, which had long served them peaceably; on the other side, heavenly love invites them not to abandon the good things they have begun. On one side the spirit elevates the mind, on the other the flesh weighs it down; and since they cannot know the measure of their end, they are greatly terrified by the uncertainty of their election. Whence it is also fittingly added here: (Verse 7.) When the children of Israel heard this, they were afraid before the face of the Philistines.

16. For they fear the face of the Philistines, so that they do not fear what follows after them. For what is the face of evil spirits, if not worldly desire? For in this appearance, whoever is composed is conformed to their image. But because Israel is said to have feared not the face of the Philistines, but "from the face" of the Philistines, this both reveals the minds of the elect and also, by a hidden reason, reproves the foolishness of the reprobate. For they feared not "the face," but "from the face": because, namely, for holy men, what they behold outwardly is one thing, and what they dread inwardly is another. For even if they sometimes consider the flourishing world with human reason, they suddenly lift the eyes of the mind, drawing them back to those evils that follow the joys of the world, and they tremble, as it were, "from the face," who avoid present delights lest they encounter the punishments that follow. But on the contrary, the reprobate, who by no means fear this face of the Philistines, do not escape the onslaughts of their pursuing ferocity. For while they embrace the vain joys of the world with all their strength, they are seized by perpetual afflictions through the power of demons. Against whom, indeed, the Truth threatens, saying: "Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation in your life" (Luke 6:24). Hence also, denouncing them, He says: "Woe to you who laugh, for you shall weep" (ibid., 25).

As if He were saying otherwise: Because you by no means tremble at the face of the Philistines, when their pursuing forces rush upon you, you cannot find the refuge of salvation. Then indeed fear is present, but He who might help is not present. The punishment of wickedness is given without hope of deliverance; and those who desired the blandishments of the Philistines' face in the love of the world feel how horrible are the Philistines' consequences. Rightly, therefore, it is said of the Israelites, in the type of the elect: "They feared from the face of the Philistines": because, namely, while they skillfully order for themselves a manner of living, they do not resolve to fear eternal evils when they come, but they tremble at temporal desire, on account of which those evils are inflicted. And because they believe they can obtain this not so much by their own merits as by the intercession of their elders, there follows: (Verse 8. "And they said to Samuel: Do not cease to cry out for us to the Lord our God, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines."

17. But good pastors also confer upon their afflicted subjects not only the aids of prayers, but also of sacrifices. Whence it is added: (Verse 9.) 'And Samuel took a suckling lamb, and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord, and Samuel cried out.' What is the cry of Samuel, if not the great power of desire in the supplication of the priest? Whence to Moses, silent on his lips, yet desiring the salvation of his subject people with fervent devotion, it is said by the Lord: 'Why do you cry out to me' (Exod. XIV, 15)? But who is the suckling lamb, if not the one whom his forerunner pointed out, saying: 'Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world' (John I, 29)? And he is called suckling, because in his innocence true humanity is proclaimed. But one lamb is offered, because apart from him, no one is found who might take away the sins of the world. And indeed he offered the lamb whole. For the wholeness of the lamb pertains to the soundness of the catholic profession. For it is as though one divides the lamb, who is separated from the rule of faith by the sword of error. The lamb, therefore, is so called on account of innocence; suckling, on account of the assumption of our nature; one, on account of the singularity of his power; whole, on account of the most firm soundness of our faith.

18. But if anyone wishes to refer these things not to him, but to his imitator, he may do so. For we offer a lamb when, through the good of chastity and innocence, we are conformed to our Redeemer; and when we are fed by the teaching of our innocent Fathers, we suck as it were at the breasts by which we are nourished unto eternal life. We also offer one lamb if, after the beginnings of religious conversion, we are polluted by no stain of wickedness. For he offers one lamb who does not flow away from the purpose of innocence to the stains of a polluted life, from which he would have to return through the repetition of good works. To offer a whole lamb is also to prepare for eternal life not only continence of the flesh but integrity of the mind. He by no means offers a whole lamb to the Lord who consecrates his flesh to God through continence but does not restrain the secrets of his mind from the wantonness of impure thoughts. For he steals away, as it were, a part of the lamb from the sacrifice, who does not join purity of heart to continence of body. Whence the Lamb himself, teaching his disciples to offer a whole one, says: "You have heard that it was said to the ancients: You shall not commit adultery; but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery in his heart" (Matt. 5:27–28).

Hence also the foolish virgins are noted in the Gospel, who prepared their lamps but did not prepare oil (Matt. 25:3). For they have lamps prepared who preserve the good of modesty in the body; and they also have oil who maintain the brightness of purity in the watchfulness of their mind. Let it therefore be said of Samuel: "He offered a whole lamb to the Lord," because for the good of modesty to suffice for divine appeasement, it must be preserved not only in the brightness of the body but in the splendor of interior purity. Rightly therefore it is added: (Verse 9.) — "And the Lord heard him." 19. For he who prays for others can be heard by the Lord, who is not in any respect hateful to the Lord to whom he makes supplication. For if he is still weighed down by his own weakness, he is by no means heard for obtaining the strength of his neighbors; and he does not raise his desire to the heights of divine majesty, because he himself does not at all strive to ascend from the depths where he lies through his fall by the effort of more fervent zeal. But the manner of being heard is also set forth, when it is added: (Verses 10-11.) It came to pass, while Samuel was offering the burnt offering, the Philistines began battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a great crash on that day upon the Philistines, and terrified them, and they were struck down by the children of Israel. And the children of Israel went forth from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down even to the place that was below Beth-car.

20. When Samuel was offering a holocaust, the Philistines enter battle against Israel: because evil spirits then stir up graver temptations against the faithful subjects when they see Pastors standing more firmly against them. But the Lord thunders upon the Philistines: because when doctors pray and the faithful subjects pray, divine grace supplies strength. For thunder usually occurs through clouds. And by sublime clouds are understood souls raised up through heavenly desire. Whence also the prophet, marveling at the minds of the elect elevated in the love of heavenly things, said: "Who are these who fly as clouds? (Isa. 60:8). And what are the thunders of the clouds, if not those fervent and heavenly desires of the elect: by which, when their mind is set ablaze through divine grace, they utterly expel from it everything that evil spirits suggest by deception? Rightly therefore it is said: "The Lord thundered upon the Philistines and terrified them. For when through His grace He pours heavenly desires into the minds of the elect, because He also makes them despise all earthly things, He turns to flight even the wicked spirits who suggest that they desire those things. For they flee as if terrified by thunder, when in the minds of the elect, which they had assailed by tempting, they tremble at the immense sound of divine power. Since indeed the Lord is said to have thundered with a great crash, what else does this mean except that the imperfect desires of Christians are not terrible to demons?

For the great crash of thunder is the perfect desire of each one of the elect. When therefore the Lord thunders upon the Philistines with a great crash, then they are slain by the children of Israel: because when perfect devotion raises the mind of the elect to heavenly joys, it utterly cuts off from itself everything that serves the opposing side. Well also are the Philistines recorded as first being terrified and then slain by the children of Israel: for they are terrified by the devotion of the elect, they are slain by their works. And because devotion precedes works, they are rightly said to be first terrified and afterward slain. For we first receive from the Lord the gift of good will, so that we may afterward be able to confute the counsels of evil spirits. Well also is the Lord said to thunder upon the Philistines and terrify them, while the children of Israel are said to slay them: because good desires are supplied to us through divine grace, but we advance the gifts of grace through the effort of free will to the victories of the virtues. The order of heavenly warfare, therefore, is that God be first heard thundering with a great crash, and afterward the soldier advance to cut down the ranks of the enemy:

so that he may first see in himself the gifts of grace, then burst forth more powerfully to the field of battle, and confidently hope for the outcome of victory, he who has been sustained by the powers with which he will be crowned before the time of the engagement. 21. Well indeed, those who slay the Philistines are said to have gone forth from Mizpah. For in Mizpah, which is called "watching," those dwell who persist in the contemplation of divine things. But they go out to slay the Philistines when, coming forth instructed from the secret of inner meditation, they suppress the forces of hostile domination. For inwardly they secretly arrange how outwardly, in open action, they may break through the battle formations of the enemy. Indeed they wage all the heavier battles against them when they go forth, the more quietly they have lain hidden within themselves while pondering internal things. And because evil spirits must always be suppressed by God's elect, the Philistines are recorded to have been struck down as far as the place below Beth-car. Beth-car indeed is interpreted as "house of the lamb. Isaiah, pointing out this lamb to us, says: "As a lamb he shall be led to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearer, without a sound" (Isaiah 53:7). What then was the house of the lamb, if not that sublime and uniquely fortified life of the Redeemer, which, since it was free from fault, stood inaccessible to all wicked spirits? No one can reach Beth-car, that is, the house of the lamb, because whoever advances greatly is still inferior to the holiness of the Redeemer. Hence also the outstanding preacher, pressing upon the praises of the same Redeemer, says: "It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:

holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, who has no need, as priests do, first to offer sacrifices for his own sins" (Hebrews 7:26–27). What then is the place below Beth-car, to which we must slay and pursue the Philistines? But if Beth-car signifies the perfection of the Lord's life, the place below Beth-car expresses the common highest sanctity of the Saints, who both humble themselves by obeying the same Redeemer, and draw near to his glory through the pursuit of an innocent life. For the place which is shown to be situated below Beth-car is recognized as both inferior to and near the place beneath which it lies: because holy men, the nearer they are to God through the height of their life, the more they are subject to him in humbler thought. Therefore, while the triumph of new believers is shown under the deeds of the Israelites, the foreigners are said to have been slain as far as the place below the house of the lamb: because indeed through unceasing effort of struggle, we must strive toward the citadel of perfection, where we may be all the more terrible to our enemies, the nearer we are to our Redeemer. For there is already a certain security there which cannot be disturbed by fear of enemies. For the Lord, pointing out the gifts of granted power to such as these, says: "Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy" (Luke 10:19).

Hence also he who had reached the place near to the house of the lamb says: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or hunger" (Romans 8:35), or other such things? The house of the lamb can also designate the heavenly homeland. Hence John also says: "I saw upon Mount Zion a lamb standing, and with him one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads" (Revelation 14:1). What then is the place that is below the house of the lamb, if not the boundary of temporal life, from which the elect are taken up to the joys of the heavenly homeland? For we who are led to the boundary appointed for us, which we cannot pass beyond by living, come as it were to a place from which we may be transferred elsewhere. But the boundary of the elect man's life is shown to be situated below the house of the lamb: because from where he is plunged down through the straits of mortality, from there he is raised up to the joys of unfailing life. For even the Lamb himself, who joyfully inhabits his own house amid harpists playing and singing, before he was led to the joy of this house, was below the house. For hence it is that at the time of his sacrifice he says: "My soul is sorrowful even unto death" (Matthew 26:38; Mark 14:34).

Therefore the end of each elect person, while it is indicated by a place, is recorded as being below Beth-car, that is, the house of the lamb; because holy men, when they leave temporal things through the penalty of death, ascend from nearby to the heavenly homeland that stands above them. For Paul, asserting confidently, says: "We know that if our earthly house is dissolved, we have a dwelling from God, not made with hands, in heaven" (2 Corinthians 5:1). Therefore we slay the Philistines as far as the place that is below the house of the lamb, if as long as we are in this life, we triumph over evil spirits. There follows: (Verse 12) "Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen; and he called its name the Stone of Help, and said: 'Thus far the Lord has helped us.'" 22. In sacred Scripture, a stone signifies our Lord and Redeemer. A single stone is taken up by Samuel when the strength of the Redeemer is uniquely proclaimed by the preacher of Holy Church. This stone is indeed set up between Mizpah and Sen, because at the departure of life it protects the elect and crushes the reprobate. For Sen means "shaking off. The reprobate have been shaken off, that is, separated from the fellowship of the faithful. Therefore, while the Philistines are said to have been struck down all the way to the place below Beth-car, the stone is declared to have been set up between Sen and Mizpah: because when God's elect receive the trophy of their victory at the end, they are separated from the company of the wicked by the judgment of the Redeemer. But now, like wheat and chaff together on the threshing floor, we are mixed together; yet when we are brought to the end of life, the elect are divided from the reprobate by the Lord's power, and they have, as it were, a stone placed between them, since the reprobate bear the weight of the Redeemer in the judgment of their condemnation, while the elect hold the palms of eternal glory in his strength. By Sen, evil spirits can also be designated. For they have been shaken off, because they were cast out from the heavenly sanctuary through pride.

And because they now wage war against us in this life, fittingly when the time of our victory is declared, the stone is said to be placed between us and them: because when we receive the rewards of our warfare, their battles are never again renewed against us. Moreover, Samuel places this stone in their midst, because the teacher of Holy Church shows us the goodness of our Redeemer. And because everything that is accomplished prosperously by us in all our life is ascribed to divine grace, the stone that is set in the midst is fittingly called by him the Stone of Help. For he himself is the Stone of Help; if he were unwilling to come to our aid, we could be conquered but could never conquer. Of this stone, now placed in their midst, it is said: "Thus far the Lord has helped us," because his protection follows his elect even to the time of eternal recompense. And because, as we have said, once we have been received into eternal rest, no battles are stirred up by our vanquished enemies, there follows: (Verse 13). "And the Philistines were humbled, nor did they come anymore into the territory of Israel."

23. These things indeed so express the deeds of each of the elect, that they indicate both the battle array and the joys of recompense of the holy catholic Church. For blessed Paul showed this victory of the universal Church as yet to come after the glory of our resurrection; who, as though present at the future incorruption, taunted death, saying: "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (1 Cor. 15:54-55). He also saw the Philistines humbled, because, making mention of the apostate angels, he kindled the elect to love of their future dignity, saying: "Do you not know that we shall judge angels?" (1 Cor. 6:3). For then indeed the Philistines are humbled, when the demons are cast into the fires of eternal flame prepared for them from the foundation of the world. And they no longer attempt to come into the borders of Israel, because they do not go out to tempt the hearts of the elect. But what are the borders of Israel, if not the heavens? And how shall the evil spirits come into the borders of Israel, who are so condemned in the depths of hell that they never rise up from the submersion of their punishments? Because, therefore, they are cast down by eternal oppression, it is fittingly added: (Verse 13). "And the hand of the Lord was upon the Philistines all the days of Samuel."

24. For what are the days of the good teacher, if not those springlike rays of shining eternity? These are fittingly said to belong to Samuel: because even though they are common to all the elect, by a certain special grace they shine for the joys of preachers. Or certainly they belong to preachers, because they shine more especially in the minds of those by whose preaching they are now made known to the holy Church. Moreover, the hand of the Lord is said to have been upon the Philistines all the days of Samuel, because the divine power always oppresses evil spirits, which in the glory of eternal brightness never ceases to gladden the elect as well. Then indeed the losses of the angels are repaired, when whatever had been taken away from blessedness out of the order of created spirits by their pride is made up from elect men. Wherefore there follows: (Verse 14.) And the cities which the Philistines had taken were restored to Israel.

25. Those ruined multitudes of angels are the cities that were taken away. But then they are restored, when from the elect human nature is assumed that which may supply what was lost from among the angels. This can also fittingly be understood of the conversion of wicked men. For the cities of the Philistines are taken away when the unity of the faithful is deceived by temptation, and they are subjected to themselves by being plunged into sins. But the cities that were taken away are restored to Israel: because penitents in this life make such satisfaction that in everlasting glory they are presented resplendent for the joy of the elect. And because not only those who neglect to do good, but even those who abundantly commit iniquity, are saved through repentance, it is added: (Verse 14.) From Ekron even unto Gath. 26. Accaron means "barren," Geth means "winepress." Barren indeed are those who do not perform good works. In the winepress, moreover, the grape is pressed, and wine is brought forth. But what is worldly desire, if not the grape of a reprobate mind? And what is the fervor of sinning, if not the liquor of wine, which makes the sinner's mind forgetful of eternal goods? For when sin is generated from the desire of the heart, it is as though wine is produced from the grape in a winepress. From Accaron therefore all the way to Geth, the cities that had been taken away are restored to Israel: because the minds of those who neglect to do good and who boldly perpetrate evil, which now return to the Lord through repentance, are then shown to be resplendent in the common glory of the elect. For their evils by no means come into God's memory, since they themselves have not forgotten to blot them out through the affliction of repentance. There follows: (Verse 14.) And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

27. What is this peace, except that which the prophet Micah declares, saying: 'And he shall be peace in the land, when he shall come' (Mic. 5:5)? Hence Paul says: 'He himself is our peace, who makes both one' (Eph. 2:14). But what does it mean that peace is shown between Israel and the Amorite? What is designated by the Amorite, except the reprobate portion of mankind? And who are figured by Israel, except the elect? And because the elect will be at the right hand of God, but the reprobate at the left (Matt. 25:33), while peace is declared to exist between both, the glorious blessedness of the saints is demonstrated—who agree with the justice of the Creator with such great equanimity that they are moved by no compassion at the sight of the punishment of the reprobate. Therefore, when peace is shown to exist between Israel and the Amorite, what is demonstrated is not a good that the reprobate have in common with the saints, but one by which the elect are fortified. Whence also, under the figure of Israel, it is promised to the holy Church through the prophet: 'He who has made your borders peace, and fills you with the fat of wheat' (Ps. 147:14). He makes peace the borders of the Church: because while the power of the Redeemer raises her to the height of inmost equity, the misery of the lost does not afflict her through the pain of compassion. But he sets forth by what zeal of pastors good subjects are advanced to such great blessedness, saying: (Verse 15.) 'And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.'

28. What are the days of each teacher's life, if not the splendors of spiritual virtues? For he judges Israel all the days of his life who represents the light of justice—which he proclaims by speaking—through the perfection of good conduct, as an example to his faithful subjects. But he who does not have the light of spiritual virtues, because he takes up teaching from the good conduct of others, surely judges by the days of another's life. Concerning these the Lord says through the prophet: 'Behold, I am against the prophets who steal my words, each one from his neighbor' (Jer. 23:30). For they steal words who do not follow by their deeds the good that they proclaim by teaching, because they take, as it were, secretly from another's property what they by no means make their own by paying the price of their own labor. Therefore, after the future blessedness has been announced, it is shown what kind of man the pastor of the faithful ought to be in the meantime, since Samuel is reported to have judged Israel all the days of his life. For he poorly commends the way of perfection if one, wishing to open the path of light by his voice, grows dark in his actions. For he who had devoted all the days of his life to judging Israel says: 'I do not dare to speak of anything that Christ has not accomplished through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed' (Rom. 15:18).

Let the teacher judge, then, but one who has illustrious days of his life—so that he may first nourish in himself the rays of spiritual virtues by living well, which he dispenses by speaking for the guidance of his subjects' paths. For a lamp is then usefully displayed to those who are in the house if it is first well filled with the light that it is about to spread. There follows: (v. 46) 'And he went around each year to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in the aforesaid places.' 29. Bethel is called the house of God; Gilgal, a wheel; Mizpah, as has already been repeated above, is interpreted as a watchtower. What then does Bethel signify, if not men appointed to the office of the sacred altar, who, while they devote themselves to spiritual pursuits, are as it were intimates and members of the household of almighty God? And what does Gilgal, which is called a wheel, designate, if not the order of married persons? For they go around as if on a wheel, since they cannot be entirely free from the cares of this changing world. And what is expressed by Mizpah, which is interpreted as a watchtower, if not those who, devoting themselves to divine contemplation, burn with desire for heavenly joys alone? What then does it mean that Samuel is said to travel around to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and to judge Israel in those same places, if not that the chosen preacher follows the examples of all the orders of the elect, so that he may be a learned judge of the faithful who are subject to him? For he will not be able to render fair judgment if he disdains to take from the examples of the elect who came before him what he decides. But let him also travel through these places each year, so that as a prudent teacher he may examine one by one the perfection of each order: so that the more carefully he has observed the virtues of his predecessors, the more fittingly he may arrange present affairs.

There, therefore, there let him judge Israel, so that the faithful subjects whom he instructs toward the vision of God, he may correct by the righteousness of those whom he undoubtedly believes to have been pleasing to God. Bethel, which is called the house of God, can also designate the entire Church of the elect; and Gilgal, which is interpreted as a wheel, can designate Sacred Scripture. Whatever indeed a teacher brings forth for the advancement of his subjects, he receives either from the example of the elect, or from the teaching of sacred eloquence, or from the revelation of inner and secret contemplation. 30. Samuel therefore goes around Bethel, since the preacher of the Church seeks the authority for arranging his works from the examples of the elders. He goes around Gilgal, that is, the wheel, when he derives the authority of his teaching from the instruction of Holy Scripture. He also goes around Mizpah, when through the meditation of secret contemplation he merits to receive the revelation of truth. For there he judges Israel: because whatever he sets before his subjects as a rule of righteousness, he receives either from the examples of the elect, or from the teaching of sacred eloquence, or from the revelation of interior contemplation. By these words indeed it is shown not only what the perfect teacher does, but also that he is not perfect if he cannot do these things. For if someone knows only the examples of good men, or if someone is even learned in Holy Scripture yet lacks the revelation of contemplation, he will not be a perfect man in the order of preaching. For contemplation is a virtue through which not only is Scripture itself, once composed, recognized, but through which what has not yet been composed would be composed: and through which what has been composed is daily ordered according to the will of God. Rightly therefore it is said: And he judged Israel in the above-mentioned places. For not only in Bethel and Gilgal, but also in Mizpah:

so that he who strives toward the perfection of preaching, while through humility he follows the examples of the elders, while through the study of sacred eloquence he is supported by learning, must take care above all that through purity of mind he may know by contemplation the things that are to be ordered. For he who, having undertaken the office of preaching, desires to teach men, must be teachable by God. Yet let him so trust in that which is imparted through the instruction of secret contemplation, that he neither disdains the Scriptures produced through the Holy Spirit, nor scorns to follow the examples of the elect. For Samuel is described as going around Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah; so that the one is never separated from the other through discord: so that, namely, he both receives the examples that Holy Scripture approves, and recognizes those Holy Scriptures that the elect wrote, and perceives those revelations of contemplation shown to him by God which are at variance neither with the works of the elect nor with the authority of Holy Scripture. But let him also bring back everything he does to the rectitude of heavenly intention. Whence it is also added: (Verse 17. He returned to Ramah: for there he judged Israel, and there was his house.

31. As we have already said far above, Ramah is interpreted as "consummated vision" and signifies that blessed and perfect society of the citizens above, to which Samuel returns lest he be weighed down by the burden of his labor. For Samuel returns to Ramah when the mind of the preacher is refreshed through love of heavenly things. For amid the immense burdens of his office he would collapse, if he did not return to love of heavenly things through the desire of his hope. For to return, for preachers, is to lead the intention of their mind back to the joys of the heavenly fatherland. And there they judge Israel, because they strive by preaching to make their faithful subjects conformable to the beauty of the heavenly fatherland which they retain in their mind. There they judge Israel, because from that already perfect city they draw the pattern they see, which they impress upon the minds of their children by speaking; and whatever they perceive to be unworthy of that beauty, they endeavor to cut away from their minds. And because they rest with complete love in the glory of that blessed fatherland, his house is said to be there. For his house is recognized to be that in which he dwells by loving. Whence also that outstanding preacher boasts, saying: "Our citizenship is in heaven. For he goes around Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and in none of these does he have a house, but in Ramah he has a house:

because the holy doctors of the Church, whatever they now receive from the examples of the elect, whatever from the instruction of the sacred books, whatever from the height of heavenly revelation—they examine these things in passing, having them as an aid for the journey, not as the object of love for their reward. But what they love in the heavenly city they have not for the advancement of the journey, but for the sufficient—indeed, for the abundant—generosity of their reward. And because all good things are gathered there, it follows: (Verse 17). "He also built an altar there to the Lord." 32. For what is the altar of the Lord, if not the heart of the just man? Moreover, by the judgment of Truth it is said: "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt. 6:21). But he who does good works out of love for the heavenly homeland, while he ardently desires to arrive at those things which he stores up above, assuredly builds an altar upon which he may kindle the sacrifices of daily desire. And it is well said: "He built there an altar to the Lord," because from the increase of heavenly zeal, just as the flame of good desire grows in the heart, so also, as if by the addition of stones, an altar is built upward where holocausts of love may be offered to God. This can also be fittingly applied to the gaining of souls. For the teacher builds an altar to the Lord in Ramah when he places the merits of his subjects in heaven, and while through his daily zeal chosen souls ascend to the heavenly kingdoms, they are sent, as it were, as stones for the construction of the heavenly altar. Let it therefore be said of Samuel, let it be said: "He built there an altar to the Lord," because surely the zeal of the teacher is altogether idle if through what is done by him on earth the heavenly edifice is not increased.

Book Four

Chapter 4.1

1. The deeds of holy men who came before are often the consolations of the elect who follow. For by a wonderful dispensation of divine counsel, they were raised to the citadel of the highest way of life in such a way that they might do mighty things for themselves and provide right governance for their subjects; yet sometimes so left to themselves that those things which they arranged with right intention would not turn out rightly according to God's providence — so that their weakness might become the strength of the elect who follow: because even though as men they can err in managing the affairs of the holy Church, those ecclesiastical arrangements themselves are not to be abandoned. For behold it is said: (1 Kings 8:1–3) And it came to pass when Samuel had grown old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. And the name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of the second was Abiah, judges in Beersheba. And his sons did not walk in his ways.

2. Behold, he who had been full of the spirit of prophecy did not know that those whom he was appointing as judges of Israel would afterward turn aside after greed, and accept bribes, and pervert judgment. What wonder, then, if those who do not receive the grace of prophecy can be deceived in arranging appointments—if those who have the spirit of prophecy do not have that same spirit for disposing all things? Who would doubt concerning so great a man that, if he had foreknown the future perversity of his sons, he certainly would not have advanced them to public honors? Those, therefore, who knowingly promote the reprobate can in no way flatter themselves with this example of the prophet, because it is done innocently only when no signs of subsequent iniquity were apparent in them at the time they were promoted. For this reason also, those who were appointed by Samuel as judges of Israel were fittingly called his sons when they were appointed, so that from this they might be believed not only to have been begotten from him according to the flesh, but also adorned with the splendors of his manner of life. For this reason also their names are carefully recorded, so that from the title of the name that form of virtue which was then in them might be recognized. The name of one, he says, was Joel, and of the other Abiah; they were judges in Beersheba.

But also concerning those who are said to have turned aside to greed after receiving their office, it is clearly shown that before they attained the height of that same office, no signs of future depravity were seen in them. But behold, while we attend to the consolations of pastors, we perceive no small dangers for the Lord's flock. For the prophet's sons stood firm as subjects, but fell when placed at the height of authority—so that if, while we are placed under the care of superiors, an unceasing zeal for holy life or the confidence of a great manner of living smiles upon us, we should nevertheless hold the governing of others not in the appetite of desire but in the greatness of fear. But carnal people, while they attend only to visible things, do not deserve to know the spiritual manner of life of the saints. They look upon the eminence of the pastors of holy Church, but they do not know how to consider how unwillingly those pastors bear inwardly the distinction which they hold outwardly in the splendor of eminence, that they endure the loftiness of honor as the oppression of a great burden, that they flee with great desire what they pursue in outward ministry. For with the outstanding teacher as witness we have learned that the natural man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:14).

Whence also, pursuing carnal things, he errs all the more madly to the degree that through the power of discernment he no longer penetrates any spiritual things. And some such people advance to so great an evil of madness that they do not fear to disturb even the very state of ecclesiastical eminence. Whence it also follows: (Verses 4, 5. Therefore all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Ramah, and said to him: Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Appoint a king over us, to judge us as all the nations have. 3. But for those who were living under spiritual governance, to ask for a king—what else is it than to eagerly desire to transform that same spiritual leadership into secular domination? Yet when holy men see that they are despised by their subjects, what displeases them is not so much that they are despised, but that those who despise them do not please God. For by the contempt shown to them, they see that increases are given to their own interior glory; but they groan that their merits are increased by the failings of their subjects, whom they would rather have advance in merits, so that in the eternal reward of merits they might have been able to have with them those over whom they preside. Therefore it is also added: (Verse 6) The word was displeasing in the eyes of Samuel, because they had said: Give us a king, to judge us.

4. For what displeased him was that through which he judged those who were speaking to be displeasing to God. But because it is not simply said, "the matter displeased Samuel," but "in the eyes of Samuel," and immediately it is added: (Verse 6. "And Samuel prayed to the Lord for the people," we ought to consider these things somewhat more carefully. Holy men, who greatly fear displeasing Almighty God, are not hasty in their judgments, but first arrange all things rationally within themselves, so that they may dispose of them outwardly in action without reproach. For they accept no choice of judgment unless it is approved by the contemplation of reason. The Lord indeed wished to open these eyes of the prophet when He said: "See with your eyes, and hear with your ears" (Ezek. 40:4). Hence in the Gospel He said to the disciples: "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see" (Luke 10:23). For the eyes of the saints are the understanding of reason, opened by the grace of the Holy Spirit. And therefore they are said to be Samuel's, because all carnal people, even if they seem rational through human wisdom, are all the more blind to this light of reason, inasmuch as they see only with those eyes which the serpent opened. For if they could behold the splendor of spiritual virtues, they would surely desire to possess it as the adornment of their mind.

So great indeed is the beauty of these virtues that their sight can never fail to be desired with longing by the one who sees them. Therefore the wise of this world, when they suppose themselves to possess the eyes of reason, can recognize from this how madly they rage: because not to be attracted by the beauty of holy virtues is surely not only not to perceive their glory, but not even to dream of it. Therefore holy men, who are already bound by the love of interior things through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, have the eyes of their mind all the clearer for seeing the glory of inward brightness, the more they have no desire for anything from the darkness of the world; and they can discern carnal things all the more rightly, the further they have been raised up from carnal things and have advanced more deeply into the grace of the Holy Spirit. Hence the Apostle Paul also, from the experience of so great a vision, pronounced the sentence, saying: "The spiritual man judges all things" (1 Cor. 2:15). Rightly therefore it is said: "The matter displeased in the eyes of Samuel. Because by spiritual men nothing is despised before it is judged to be worthy of contempt through the spiritual insight of the mind. And because the more abundantly they are filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, the less they presume upon the loftiness of their own virtue, there follows: "And Samuel prayed to the Lord.

For what did he pray to the Lord, if not that He would deign to show him whether he ought to give assent to the petition of the tumultuous people? (Verses 7, 8. "And the Lord said to Samuel: Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For they have not rejected you, but me, that I should not reign over them, according to all their works which they have done from the day when I brought them out of Egypt even to this day." 5. Because it is said to the prophet as he prays, "Set a king over them," it is clearly shown that he asked for it to be revealed to him whether this should be done. And because He adds, saying, "They have not rejected you, but me, that I should not reign over them," it is fittingly shown how displeasing to Him was the request which is reported to have been displeasing in the eyes of Samuel. This harmony of judgment arises in the saints from the power of charity: because while they love the Creator with their whole mind and devoutly strive to obey His will, they receive as a reward of heavenly recompense that they do not diverge in their thinking from that same will of almighty God, which they always hold fast in good works. For it is written: "He who clings to God is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17). For he clings to the Lord who always strives to carry out the commands of His will. But he becomes one spirit with Him: because through long devotion of pious work he is raised to such a degree of grace of divine knowledge that he can no longer dissent from the fairness of His inner judgment through the error of a worldly spirit. But it is very difficult to answer if it is asked why almighty God both complains that He was rejected in the request for a king, and yet decrees that what was requested should come to pass;

and again, if royal dignity was to be established, why it was permitted as though by an offended divine majesty; and when a foreseen king is decreed to be chosen, why one who would be rejected is chosen. What else can we answer to these things except what the apostle Paul would answer to those daring to search the ineffable abyss of God's judgments: "O man," he says, "who are you to answer back to God? (Rom. 9:20). But if we cannot resolve this effectively, we can touch upon it by inquiring. Perhaps He complains that He was rejected in the request for a king? On account of the reprobate will of the people asking wrongly, the requested king is granted as a punishment. If this is said reasonably, since He put forward both things, He showed both the fault and the retribution together. For he who is shown to have rejected the Creator by his asking is convicted of having made an unjust demand out of a reprobate will. Therefore the penalty of strict justice followed upon the fault of the wicked request. For great indeed is the punishment that proceeds from the severity of the inner examination, when a reprobate mind is so cast away that it is permitted to carry out what it wrongly decides.

Those, therefore, who were convicted of having rejected the Lord in asking for a king—since they were permitted to do that by which they would cast the Lord away from themselves—there was no heavier punishment with which they ought to have been struck here. 6. In this place it should be noted that the Lord makes the rejection of the prophet His own. For He does not simply say, "They have rejected me, that I should not reign over them," but rather, "They have not rejected you, but me, that I should not reign over them. So as to clearly show that in the person of the chosen bishop, He Himself presides over His subjects; and when a carnal ruler is raised to the spiritual summit of the elect, He Himself is seen to be rejected whose precepts are cast aside. Therefore, how worthy of reverence the best pastors of the holy Church are is plain. For behold, while they faithfully serve God, they are joined to Him by so great a bond of love that whatever is inflicted upon them is ascribed as an injury to God. Whence also in the Gospel He says to the first pastors of the Church: "He who despises you despises me" (Luke 10:16). Where something even graver is perceived: because when He complains that the pastor has been rejected, all the sins of those who reject him are recalled, and even the evils of their forefathers are mentioned. "According to all their works," He says, "which they have done from the day when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. For the supreme crime is recognized, for whose examination all past sins are brought back into the memory of God.

And so the Lord complains that He has been rejected, and yet grants that one to be ordained in whom He is rejected: because when He executes the power of His strict justice, the desires of carnal men are by no means prevented from being fulfilled through His mercy. But also that dignity which could have been granted as a punishment ought not to have been granted with the tranquil majesty of divinity, but as if with indignation. However, we do not assert that the indignant majesty of God is indignant in itself, which is not subject to passion: but because when He examines faults, He speaks words of indignation through the Scriptures. Likewise, because a king is taken up as a type of carnal prelates, a king destined for rejection is chosen, not an elect one. Or perhaps a reprobate king is chosen for this reason, that his elect successor, King David, might learn from him what he ought to have guarded against. Thus indeed we also read concerning that court of angels, because of the first apostate angel it is written: "He is the beginning of the ways of God" (Job 40:14); but he who was created before all things fell through pride, and in his ruin the holy angels learned by what virtue they could have stood firm. Which indeed, whoever can behold with the open eyes of right faith equally observes: that Almighty God bestows the gifts of great mercy even when He inflicts punishment;

because while He punishes the reprobate, He instructs the saints, so that from where those fall, these may be aided in their progress. 7. By strict judgment indeed He permits evils to be done, but mercifully He provides from those evils which He inflicts through judgment, things which He arranges to make into good. For what greater fault is there than that by which we all die? And what greater goodness than that by which we are freed from death? And indeed, if Adam had not sinned, it would not have been necessary for our Redeemer to take on our flesh. For He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Mark 2:17). If therefore He came for sinners, if sins were lacking, it would not have been necessary for Him to come. If the sins, which He is believed to have come to destroy, are understood to have been permitted by the justice of God: since God was to be born as man for sinners, almighty God had foreseen that from that evil by which they were to die, He would bring about a good that would overcome that evil. The greatness of this good—what faithful person does not see how wonderfully it excels? Great indeed are the evils we suffer through the desert of the first sin, but what elect person would not prefer to endure worse things rather than not have so great a Redeemer? Let a king therefore be chosen—but one to be rejected; let him be chosen as if by the indignation, not the will, of God.

Let there then follow a king after God's own heart, so that from the severity of His judgment the evil of vengeance may proceed against the reprobate, and the good which He was to bring about from evil may, through the bounty of divine grace, overflow upon the pious, while those others are permitted to fall into the evil they desire. But from what those men cast themselves down, it is brought about that others may not fall at all. But since by these words the judgment of divine severity is affirmed, let us now see how great a dispensation He employs, lest those deliberating wrongly do that for which they would be punished. For there follows: (Verse 9) Now therefore hear their voice; yet solemnly warn them, and declare to them the right of the king who shall reign over them. 8. As if by an open display of clemency He says: So hear their voices, yet let them first hear concerning the right of the king whom they seek, something that will make them tremble; and let them then abandon what was badly begun, when the thing they were seeking is recognized to be how burdensome it is. There follows: (Verses 10-17.) So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who had asked him for a king, and said: This will be the right of the king who is to rule over you. He will take your sons and place them in his chariots, and will make them his horsemen and runners before his chariots; and he will appoint for himself tribunes and centurions, and plowmen of his fields, and reapers of his harvests, and makers of his weapons and chariots. Your daughters also he will make his perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He will also take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his servants. Moreover, he will take a tenth of your grain crops and the produce of your vineyards, to give to his eunuchs and servants. He will also take your male servants and female servants, your best young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will also take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will be his slaves.

9. When subjection is sought by carnal men, assuredly whatever is commanded them is burdensome, even if it is not difficult: because since they have it from the swelling of pride that they follow the judgment of their own will, whatever opposes their deliberation they consider most grievous. But indeed when harsh and contrary things are commanded, what a weight of burden is that! What swelling of heart! When they could scarcely bear even pleasant and light things unwillingly—things which, if they had been willing, they would have borne most easily. Let us therefore see how the pious dispensation of the Creator worthily answers the foolish audacity of man. The laws of men are set before those who despise the laws of God; and upon those who had spurned the mild and salutary counsels of the Divinity, the harsh and unbearable burdens of human servitude are proclaimed: so that from these things they might reckon with themselves how intolerable the commands of man would be for those who had refused to obey the counsels of God—who was not so much commanding as advising them not to seek this. But the hearts of carnal men possess recklessness from the increase of audacity, and hardness from the nature of pretense. From recklessness indeed they deliberate upon things easy to do; but because they do not understand what they wrongly propose, they cannot be helped by the counsels of those who are wiser. Wherefore here too it is added: (Verse 19.) The people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel. And they said: By no means: for a king shall be over us, and we also shall be like all the nations, and our king shall judge us, and shall go out before us, and shall fight our battles for us.

10. It was indeed a matter of great rashness to ask for a king against God's will; of great hardness, to be unable to be overcome by the counsels of the prophet. It was of great rashness to put forth arguments to him whom they knew, by the Lord's revelation, to know beforehand all that he was about to do. Of great hardness, not to yield to him whom they knew to command only those things which he had learned by the Lord's revelation. For what is it that they say in response: "By no means, but a king shall be over us"? But those who say "By no means" surely deny what they hear. It is therefore openly shown by this word that the prophet set forth the heavy right of the king for this purpose: that he should by no means be requested. But they hear the right of the king, and they detest the very purpose for which it is set forth—so that the progress of reprobate hearts is expressed, in which there is the consummation of an evil purpose and the unconvertibility of the will. But we blame ancient times, we who do not care to see our own. Which times, indeed, the more aged they are as the world grows old, the more lax they become in many things through the fault of time and negligence.

For so much the more boldly do we now propose evil things, inasmuch as already, with the vigorous youth of the age, the strength of the human condition has withered; so much the more difficultly do we recall what has been badly proposed, inasmuch as from the loosened vigor of the spirit, our mind becomes carnal. For such are human failings, that what is lacking in spiritual virtue is strengthened in carnal life. All these things indeed, according to the voice of the excellent teacher: "These things happened to them in figure, but they were written for our sake" (1 Cor. 10:11). Already indeed we openly recognize the audacity of these Israelites, which the judgments of divine indignation followed; and yet we do not fear to propose courses of action against the will of God, against the counsel of the prelates of Holy Church. When rebuked in an evil purpose, we also resist, and we attempt to overcome the salutary counsels of our superiors by the unconquerable evil of obstinacy. We see how great an increase of evil it is to behold those who perish, and not to fear to follow their footsteps to perdition; to see those running into the penal snares of death, and by no means to dread being entangled in the same snares. And they indeed asked for a king against the Lord's will; but from the royal dignity it afterward came about that the people, who had cast God aside, worshipped idols and adored images.

We therefore see how worthy of reverence the counsels of our elders are, if we carefully consider this: that those who dared to despise them did not foresee that they were doing that by which they could be plunged into so deep a sea of error. Rightly therefore does the Lord complain that He was rejected in the petition for a king; rightly does He grant the royal dignity in anger. So great indeed was the iniquity of those asking, that when they sought that through which they would depart from God, it could be permitted by God's judgment but could not be prohibited. But since we have said these things according to the letter, let us also see what those things which are contained in the right of the king signify spiritually.