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| (For 348.) Coss. Philippus, Salia; Præfect the same Nestorius; Indict. vi; Easter-day iii Non. Apr., viii Pharmuthi; Æra Dioclet. 64; Moon 18.
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Letter XX.—(For
348.) Coss. Philippus, Salia; Præfect the same Nestorius; Indict.
vi; Easter-day iii Non. Apr., viii Pharmuthi; Æra Dioclet. 64;
Moon 18.
Let us now keep the
feast, my brethren, for as our Lord then gave notice to His disciples,
so He now tells us beforehand, that ‘after some days is the
Passover4504
,’ in which the Jews indeed
betrayed the Lord, but we celebrate His death as a feast, rejoicing
because we then obtained rest from our afflictions. We are diligent in
assembling ourselves together, for we were scattered in time past and
were lost, and are found. We were far off, and are brought nigh, we
were strangers, and have become His, Who suffered for us, and was
nailed on the cross, Who bore our sins, as the prophet4505
saith, and was afflicted for us, that He
might put away from all of us grief, and sorrow, and sighing. When we
thirst, He satisfies us on the feast-day itself; standing and crying,
‘If any man thirst, let him come to Me, and drink4506
.’ For such is the love of the saints
at all times, that they never once leave off, but offer the
uninterrupted, constant sacrifice to the Lord, and continually thirst,
and ask of Him to drink4507
| 4507 Cf.
Letter vii. 5–7. The striking similarity between the
seventh and the twentieth Letters has been already noticed. | ; as David sang,
‘My God, my God, early will I seek Thee, my soul thirsteth for Thee; many times my
heart and flesh longeth for Thee in a barren land, without a path, and
without water. Thus was I seen by Thee in the sanctuary4508
.’ And Isaiah the prophet says,
‘From the night my spirit seeketh Thee early, O God, because Thy
commandments are light4509
.’ And another
says, ‘My soul fainteth for the longing it hath for Thy judgments
at all times.’ And again he says, ‘For Thy judgments I have
hoped, and Thy law will I keep at all times4510
| 4510 Ps. cxix. 20, 43,
44. | .’ Another boldly cries out, saying,
‘Mine eye is ever towards the Lord.’ And with him one says,
‘The meditation of my heart is before Thee at all times.’
And Paul further advises, ‘At all times give thanks; pray without
ceasing4511
.’ Those who are thus continually
engaged, are waiting entirely on the Lord, and say, ‘Let us
follow on to know the Lord: we shall find Him ready as the morning, and
He will come to us as the early and the latter rain for the earth4512
.’ For not only does He satisfy them in
the morning; neither does He give them only as much to drink as they
ask; but He gives them abundantly according to the multitude of His
lovingkindness, vouchsafing to them at all times the grace of the
Spirit. And what it is they thirst for He immediately adds, saying,
‘He that believeth on Me.’ For, ‘as cold waters are
pleasant to those who are thirsty4513
,’
according to the proverb, so to those who believe in the Lord, the
coming of the Spirit is better than all refreshment and delight.
2. It becomes us then in these days of the
Passover, to rise early with the saints, and approach the Lord with all
our soul, with purity of body, with confession and godly faith in Him;
so that when we have here first drunk, and are filled with these divine
waters which [flow] from Him, we may be able to sit at table with the
saints in heaven, and may share in the one voice of gladness which is
there. From this sinners, because it wearied them, are rightly cast
out, and hear the words, ‘Friend, how camest thou in hither, not
having a wedding garment4514
?’ Sinners
indeed thirst, but not for the grace of the Spirit; but being inflamed
with wickedness, they are wholly set on fire by pleasures, as saith the
Proverb, ‘All day long he desires evil desires.’ But the
Prophet cries against them, saying, ‘Wo unto those who rise up
early, and follow strong drink; who continue until the evening, for
wine inflameth them4515
.’ And since
they run wild in wantonness, they dare to thirst for the destruction of
others. Having first drunk of lying and unfaithful waters, those things
have come upon them, which are stated by the Prophet; ‘My
wound,’ saith he, ‘is grievous, whence shall I be healed;
it hath surely been to me like deceitful waters, in which there is no
trust4516
.’ Secondly, while they drink with
their companions, they lead astray and disturb the right mind, and turn
away the simple from it. And what does he cry? ‘Wo unto him who
causeth his neighbour to drink turbid destruction, and maketh him
drunk, that he may look upon his caverns4517
.’ But those who dissemble, and steal
away the truth, quench their hearts. Having first drunk of these
things, they go on to say those things which the whore saith in the
Proverbs, ‘Lay hold with delight on hidden bread, and sweet
stolen waters4518
.’ They lay
snares secretly, because they have not the freedom of virtue, nor the
boldness of Wisdom4519
, who praises
herself in the gates, and employs freedom of speech in the broad ways,
preaching on high walls. For this reason, they are bidden to ‘lay
hold with delight4520
,’ because,
having the choice between faith and pleasures, they steal the sweetness
of truth, and disguise their own bitter waters [to escape] from the
blame of their wickedness, which would have been speedy and public. On
this account, the wolf puts on the skin of the sheep, sepulchres
deceive by their whitened exteriors4521
. Satan, that
is4522
| 4522 The
Syriac ms. (which is imperfect) ends here. The
fragments that follow are derived from different sources, mention
whereof is made in the notes. | …E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
