An Exhortation to Repentance

THE GREAT VALUE OF REPENTANCE ILLUSTRATED BY THE CASES OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS AND THE WISE AND FOOLISH

VIRGINS. THE REPENTANT ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY TO CHRIST BY THE NUMEROUS EXAMPLES OF THOSE WHO SINNED, AND YET WERE SAVED BY FAITH. CHRIST COMPARED TO A PHYSICIAN, AND THE PENITENT TO A SICK MAN.

O Lord/ I am a suppliant to Thee ; Thou Good ! I am knocking at Thy door ; Break not, O Lord, Thy promise, " Knock, and I will open to you."5

Thy door is not closely fastened 5 Whenc the sinner comes and knocks at it ; Thy door is always opened To the righteous and the wicked.

Thou shewest Thy door to the sinner, That he may call, and knock, and enter. 10 Thy love encourages the enquirer, That he may be eager for Thy treasures.

Behold, I ask as Thou hast taught me, Lord, give me according to Thy promise ; Behold, I knock as Thou hast advised me, 15 Lord, open to me according to Thy word.

O Lord, I ask not for gold, For it is the mammon of unrighteousness ;d Neither for treasures and possessions, For they procure not salvation. 20

Forgiveness is better than gold, And the remission of sins than much silver ;e And poverty without sins, The rich man there^ is conscious 25

That he would exchange all his gold For the crown of poverty7* Of Lazarus the beggar. For man can take nothing with him

When he dies, as it is written.* 30 And since he would sell all he hath For one dropi of water, Which of these two should a man take

From the door of the tomb and onwards/ — The labour of righteousness, 35 Or the servitude of sins ?

Thou hast instructed me, O Lord, By the foolish and the wise virgins, What merchandize* I should take with me, That Thou mayest open Thy door to me ; 40 And since those who yet were virgins771

JESUS IS THE PHYSICIAN.

Were not received for want of oil, Who will there give to me, a sinner, An alms" of his oil ?

The foolish virgins are an example for us, And the rich man is a mirror, That we should resolve now0 to pray For grace rather2' than for justice. While there is a healing balsam For the hidden ulcers of our sins, And a physician who brings remedies For the wounds of sinners, The practitioner? is unjust who withholds The medicines* from the distempers ; For on a sudden justice may close The wide door of grace.

I hope that repentance will cleanse The great sore which has befallen me, And that goodness will cover up The hateful and foul stain ; Because Jesus the physician cries, " O man, thy sins are forgiven thee,"* And abundantly bestows health To the soul and body of the sickly ; — And because the crucified* King carries The key of the gate of Paradise, And opens^ it without stint To robbers and murderers ; — And because the Father of Mercies says, " Behold, my son was dead and yet lives

He was lost but hath come again* From the snares^ of sinners — Because also the fatted calf was slain, By its blood to cleanse from blemishes ;

And a glorious robe was brought forth, 75 That the wounds might be covered by it Because I may come as the thief, Confessing and inheriting Paradise,

And as the harlot in her sins, Who annulled^ the charge against her with her

tears ; — 80 Because there is hope for sinners, That they may be healed by repentance ; And for publicans and covetous persons, That they may be justified by faith; — I will enter into intimacy with Zaccheus, 85 That I may confess Thee and be justified, And with the polluted harlot, Who wept before Thee and obtained mercy.

By those who were foreigners/ But became of Thy family2 by faith, 90 I have been taught, O Lord, The loving-kindness of Thy dispositions By the domestics of a judge Each man may learn his character ; And from the ordinances of a prince 95 His tenderness may be known ; By the disciple, his instructer Is believed to be true and faithful,

EXAMPLES OF GREAT PENITENTS. If he loves strangers And desires the intercourse of the holy. 100

Thy habitation is full of sinners. And extends a hand to the penitent ; It casts forth the net of its teaching Upon those at home and those abroad.*3 Paul cries out from within, 105 " I am the chief of sinners, That through me J esus may shew to all men The long suffering of His grace."? Peter, weeping, was made whole After he had denied, and become a stranger. 110 Aaron, though a sinner, was justified After he fashioned the calf,3 and became polluted. David, that wise physician/ After he sinned, fell sick ;

He confessed that he believed ^ and was healed. 115 Princes and mighty men of war77 Were overcome in battle and were restored. Who can cover his eyes

From the mirror of the Scriptures, And not find medicine for his malady 120 In these troops of penitents ?

Pains, and trespasses, and sins Surround me, Lord, on all sides ; And there is no physician like Thee To whom I can recount my diseases. 125 Lord, not on account of the righteous

152 AN EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE. Was Thy advent to the world, But for the sake of sinners, That they might be reconciled by repentance.

It is not on behalf of the healthy 130 That the physician compounds his medicines ; But for the sake of the sick, That they may be made sound by his care.

" The whole need not a physician/'6* As Thou hast said, O Lord ; 135 Nor do righteous and perfect men Require the balsam of repentance.

For all physicians, Lord, Heal diseases by medicines ; But without drugs and balsams 140 Thy love is prompt1 with all men.

For sinners such as I am Need, Lord, remission of sins ; And he whose distemper is like mine, Earnestly begs for health. 145

A physician is made friendly with a fee/ And then is careful of his patients ; But the sick, who comes for refuge unto Thee, Is healed and bears away the reward/

And even the paralytic, who was unable 150 To come and shew Thee his malady, Thy kindness led Thee near his couch, And quickly dispersed his complaint. O Lord, Thy goodness goes forth After the foolish and the erring, 155

Christ's invitation to the penitent. 153 And doubles its speech^ to the scorners, Saying, " Scoff not at your sins I" Thy love subdues the rebellious,

And thy teaching the ferocious ; And for those who have long been lost, 160 Thy mercy labours that they may be found. " Come unto me/5 Thy love exclaims,

" O ye who labour for vanity, And with heavy burdens ; And ye who are wearied with evil desires, ] 65

From me learn tranquillity, And receive from me meekness ; My yoke is pleasant if ye are willing, And my burden is very light \"v

This beautiful piece is printed in the sixth volume of the Roman edition of Ephraem's works, and is the second of a series of homilies, entitled, Parozneses, seu Adhortationes ad Pcenitentiam, (Exhortations to Repentance.) They are seventy-four in number, and on a great variety of subjects. They are referred to in the Introduction to the Hymns and Homilies, p. lxxiii., and some of them are inserted in that volume. This piece is in heptasyllabics ; it is divided very carefully into strophes of four verses, and also into portions of various lengths, according to the subject and connection. We have only retained the latter arrangement. The division into Parts, like those of the Repentance of Nineveh, is our own. For observations on the style and spirit of this homily, we refer our readers to the Introduction.

a " O Lord." — There are two forms of this address, ^Ld our Lord, and * my Lord, which are here used indifferH 3

ently. It is stated as a rule, that the first is more frequently applied to kings and to Christ : the latter to private persons as a token of respect. See Michaelis's long note in Castell.

5 "Knock, and I will open to you." — A quotation, in a somewhat varied form, from Matt. vii. 7.

c " When." — The Syriac is ? and the sense of quum is given and established by examples in Bernstein.

d " The mammon of unrighteousness." — The expression is taken from the Peschito of Luke xvt. 9. The Syriac here reads unrighteousness twice, which we presume is an intensitive form. Benedict renders, Mammona iniquitatis est, et ipsa iniquitas.

e " Much silver." — Sy., silvers, an emphatic plural.

Ephraem, and in a manner requiring that the reader should supply information on the subjects treated of. In this case the there refers to the account of the rich man and Lazarus, and their destinations, in Luke xvi.

* " The crown of poverty." — The happiness which, in a very important sense, is said by our Saviour to have resulted from the low estate of Lazarus. Benedict translates the words, inopia simul et corona.

i " As it is written." — The quotation is literally exact from the Peschito of Psalm xlix. 17. The similar sentiment in 1 Tim. vi. 7, is verbally different.

3 " For one drop of water." — The word rendered drop is 1^*-^

which is rendered by Castell, digitus auricidaris vel minimus, the little finger. It is found several times in the Peschito, but not in Luke xvi. The literal translation of this passage is, therefore, a little finger of icater ; i.e., as much as it could take up.

£ " Onwards." — Sy., yonder, beyond. See note ir, but it is rendered commeatus by Castell, which conveys the idea.

™> " Who yet were virgins." — We have supplied the word yet to convey clearly the contrast Ephraem makes between the virgins, and the sinner who is speaking. He evidently attaches an

/ " The rich man there." — The adverb * " Merchandize." — This sense of we can nowhere find,

yet Benedict gives quite a different sense : " Hex regum crucem in clacem Paradisi mutavit."

u "Opens it without stint." — The word is used here,

which is rather to unloose, solvere, but like the Latin word it has an extensive figurative application. Here it refers more to unloosing the lock by the key.

v " He was lost, and hath come again." — This is a reference to Luke xv., rather than a quotation from it, although the principal words are the same as those used in the Peschito. Hath come again is in Syriac Hath turned and come,

v> " Snares." is more frequently stumbling -blocks, but Castell gives the meaning laqueus.

* " Annulled the charge with her tears." — Bernstein gives the meaning abrogavit to 1 here rendered annulled ; the charge is in Syriac the bill, or hand-ioriting, as in verse 22, Part I.

y " Foreigners." — Sy., those without.

* " Thy family." — Sy., the children of thy house. The same phrase is rendered domestics in verse 93.

a " Thy disposition." — Sy., ] 1 i *~)^ is more commonly voluntas, the will, but has here a wider sense. In verse 94 we have rendered it by character, as used by us to indicate the general disposition of a man. Benedict renders the former by pectus, the latter by ingenium.

P " Those at home and abroad." — Sy., those within and without.

y "The long-suffering of his grace." — See 1 Tim. i. 15, 16, from the Peschito translation of which all the principal words are taken. The Syriac for long-suffering is ]-kj05 Z^^D the protracting

of the breath, as is done when forbearance is exercised in a state of angry excitement.

5 "After he fashioned the calf." — See Exodus xxxii. 4.

e " David, that wise physician." — That is, morally, since he had been a teacher and guide of others by his inspired writings.

£ "He confessed that he believed." — Sy., he spake and believed. The reference is to Psalm cxvi. (cxv. in Syriac) 10, "I believed, therefore have I spoken." Ephraem goes on the supposition that

According to the greatness of Thy mercy turn to us, And blot out the handwriting of our sins. In the mirror of repentance May we see the magnitude of our blemishes ;

w Wash me throughly from my iniquity, 160 And purge me from my sins/'' Let our body praise Thee that it is cleansed From the filth of its origin ;T

And our conscience that it is purified Let our soul rejoice that it hath been purged With Thy hyssop, Lord, from its stains ; And then let it return thanks

With the Psalmist, the son of Jesse. v

a " The hunter." — That is, Satan, a term often applied to him by Ephraem.

* " Nor let iniquity as a lioness." — Notwithstanding the comparative fewness of words which marks the Syriac and kindred languages, the synonymous terms are often very numerous. Thus, the words rendered sin and iniquity in this and the former verse are both from the same root, the one

masculine and the other feminine. c " My possessions." — Or, my gains, Benedict. " Opes qiias hactenus collegia

d "The bear." — The Syriac 1^")? is lupus, or wolf, in Matt, vii. 15, and other places ; and Benedict renders it lupus in this passage. But the connection shews that it should be bear, like the Hebrew, ata. The confusion arises from the similarity besay, Who dost not ; but this is a very frequent enallage in Syriac, on which some remarks are made in Hymns and Homilies, note b, p. 57.

q " Thy love speaks tenderly." — The words speaks tenderly, we have given for * ^ " ^° wn^cn *s> uses blandishments, as in Nineveh, Part IV., note e.

r " Seventy times seven." — An allusion to Matt, xviii. 22.

s " Like the harlot's I will tear it up." — In Luke vii. 41, it is not said that the woman which was a sinner owed five hundred pence, but our Lord merely uses that sum as an illustration of the amount of sin forgiven her, as fifty pence designate the sense Simon entertained of the amount of Ms forgiveness from God. This is a good illustration of the literal use of Scripture figures, so common with the early fathers.

t Ten thousand talents of sins." — The Syriac is Q_o5 a myriad, as in the Peschito of Matt, xviii. 24. This shews the familiar use made of that version by Ephraem.

« " Yet I will pay thee the penny." — See Matt. xx. 2. The Peschito and Ephraem both use We have introduced the

definite article, because the reference here is so special to the text of Scripture.

v " Those who were first." — The terms here used are the same as in Matt. xx. 16.

w " All the sores." — An apparent allusion to the way in which Satan was allowed to afflict Job with bodily maladies.

* " I will bind up." — See the parable of the good Samaritan, Luke x.

y " Altogether dead." — Sy., all thy body with all. * " Where loving-kindness makes its home." — We can find no meaning for but to iceave, spin. Benedict renders it obtinet.

In the absence of any further authority, we have imagined the idea of sitting at home may arise out of the homely and sedentary operation of spinning.

a " Healthfulness by repentance." — The Syriac of this verse has presented to us considerable difficulty. We have rendered

With our humble state, through his envy, God has given thee a saving balsam 100 Against the wounds of his arrows/ Even the repentance our Lord preached to thee

By the mouth of the prophet. That is quite an efficient cure5 If thou repentest in truth; 105 Not like the penitents of that people,

Who, with the stolen things in their hands, And with denied bodies/ Cried out with their mouth, " Deliver us V*

Hear the voice which accuses 110 Those of old time for their defilements ; Do thou also accuse thyself for thy trespasses, And refrain from the power of thy corruptions. Approach not with a double heartv To Him who searches all imaginations ; 115 Nor come by two pathways To Him who understands hidden things. Thou hast repented ; turn not to the mire From which loving -kindness hath washed thee ; Thou art converted; incur not again the debts 120 Whose bills have been destroyed. The man who has escaped from captivity, By no means desires to revisit it ; Or if he has left the affliction of banishment/He prays that he may not again incur it. 125 Do thou, who art delivered from the yoke Of the murderer/ the enemy of men,