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| He Explains the Fruits of the Earth (Ver. 29) of Works of Mercy.
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Chapter XXV.—He Explains the
Fruits of the Earth (Ver. 29) of Works of Mercy.
38. I would also say, O Lord my God, what the
following Scripture reminds me of; yea, I will say it without fear.
For I will speak the truth, Thou inspiring me as to what Thou
willest that I should say out of these words. For by none other
than Thy inspiration do I believe that I can speak the truth, since
Thou art the Truth, but every man a liar.1394
And therefore he that “speaketh
a lie, he speaketh of his own;”1395
therefore that I may speak the
truth, I will speak of Thine. Behold, Thou hast given unto us for
food “every herb bearing seed,” which is upon the face of all
the earth, “and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree
yielding seed.”1396
Nor to us only, but to all the
fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the earth, and to all
creeping things;1397
but unto the fishes, and great
whales, Thou hast not given these things. Now we were saying, that
by these fruits of the earth works of mercy were signified and
figured in an allegory, the which are provided for the necessities
of this life out of the fruitful earth. Such an earth was the godly
Onesiphorus, unto whose house Thou didst give mercy, because he
frequently refreshed Thy Paul, and was not ashamed of his chain.1398
This did
also the brethren, and such fruit did they bear, who out of
Macedonia supplied what was wanting unto him.1399
But how doth he grieve for certain
trees, which did not afford him the fruit due unto him, when he
saith, “At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men
forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their
charge.”1400
For these
fruits are due to those who minister spiritual1401
| 1401 “Rationalem. An old epithet to most of
the holy things. So, reasonable service,
Rom. xii. 1,
λογικὸν γάλα; 1 Pet. ii. 2, sincere milk. Clem.
Alex. calls Baptism so, Pedag. i. 6. And in
Constitut. Apost. vi. 23, the Eucharist is styled, a
reasonable Sacrifice. The word was used to distinguish Christian
mysteries from Jewish. Rationale est spirituale.”—W.
W. | doctrine, through their
understanding of the divine mysteries; and they are due to them as
men. They are due to them, too, as to the living soul, supplying
itself as an example in all continency; and due unto them likewise
as flying creatures, for their blessings which are multiplied upon
the earth, since their sound went out into all lands.1402
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