11. Let then the Saints hear
from holy Scripture the precepts of patience: “My son, when thou
comest to the service of God, stand thou in righteousness and fear,
and prepare thy soul for temptation: bring thine heart low, and
bear up; that in the last end thy life may increase. All that shall
come upon thee receive thou, and in pain bear up, and in thy
humility have patience. For in the fire gold and silver is proved,
but acceptable men in the furnace2647
of
humiliation.”
2648
And in
another place we read: “My son,
faint not thou in the
discipline
of the
Lord, neither be wearied when thou art chidden of Him. For
whom the
Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He
receiveth.”
2649
What is
here set down, “son whom He receiveth,” the same in the above
mentioned
testimony is, “acceptable men.” For this is just,
that we who from our first felicity of
Paradise for contumacious
appetence of things to
enjoy were
dismissed, through
humble
patience of things that annoy may be received back: driven away for
doing
evil, brought back by suffering
evil: there against
righteousness doing ill, here for righteousness’ sake patient of
ills.
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