35. And that which follows
concerning birds of the air and lilies of the field, He saith to
this end, that no man may think that God careth not for the needs
of His servants; when His most wise Providence reacheth unto these
in creating and governing those. For it must not be deemed that it
is not He that feeds and clothes them also which work with their
hands. But lest they turn aside the Christian service of warfare
unto their purpose of getting these things, the Lord in this
premonisheth His servants that in this ministry which is due to His
Sacrament, we should take thought, not for these, but for His
kingdom and righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto
us, whether working by our hands, or whether by infirmity of body
hindered from working, or whether bound by such occupation of our
very warfare that we are able to do nothing else. For neither does
it follow that because the Lord hath said, “Call upon Me in the
day of tribulation and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify
Me,”2587
therefore
the
Apostle ought not to have fled, and to be let down by the wall
in a
basket that he might
escape the
hands of a pursuer,
2588
but should
rather have waited to be taken, that, like the three
children from
the midst of the
fires, the
Lord might
deliver him. Or for this
reason ought not the
Lord either to have said this, “If they
shall
persecute you in one city,
flee ye to another,”
2589
namely,
because He hath said, “If ye shall ask of the
Father any thing in
My name, He will give it you.”
2590
As then whoever to
Christ’s
disciples when fleeing from persecution should cast up this sort of
question, why they did not rather stand, and by calling upon
God
obtain through His marvellous works in such
wise deliverance, as
Daniel from the
lions, as Peter from his
chains, they would answer
that they ought not to tempt
God, but He would then and then only
do the like for them, if it should please Him, when they had
nothing that they could do; but when He put flight in their
power,
although they were thereby
delivered, yet were they not
delivered
but by Him: so likewise to
servants of
God having time and
strength
after the example and
precept of the
Apostle to get their living by
their own
hands, if any from the
Gospel shall raise a
question
concerning the
birds of the
air, which sow not nor
reap nor
gather
into stores, and concerning
lilies of the
field that they toil not
neither do they spin; they will easily answer, “If we also, by
reason of any either
infirmity or
occupation cannot
work, He will
so
feed and clothe us, as He doth the
birds and the
lilies, which
do no
work of this
kind: but when we are able, we ought
not to tempt our
God; because this very ability of ours, we have it
by His
gift, and in living by it, we
live by His
bounty Who hath
bounteously bestowed upon us that we should have this ability. And
therefore concerning these necessary things we are not solicitous;
because when we are able to do these things, He by Whom
mankind are
fed and
clothed doth
feed and clothe us: but when we are not able
to do these things, He
feeds and
clothes us by Whom the
birds are
fed and the
lilies clothed, because we are more worth than they.
Wherefore in this our
warfare, neither for the morrow take we
thought: because not for the sake of these temporal things,
whereunto pertaineth To-morrow, but for the sake of those
eternal
things, where it is evermore To-day, have we proved ourselves unto
Him, that, entangled in no secular business, we may please Him.
2591
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
