Chapter VI.
The Spirit rebukes just as do the Father and the Son;
and indeed judges could not judge without Him, as is shown by the
judgments of Solomon and Daniel, which are explained in a few words, by
the way; and no other than the Holy Spirit inspired Daniel.
35. Why do we
reject like words when we assert the oneness of power, since the
oneness of power extends so far that the Spirit rebukes, as the Father
rebukes, and as the Son rebukes. For so it is written:
“O Lord, rebuke me not in Thine anger, neither chasten me in Thy
displeasure.”1274
Then in
the forty-ninth [fiftieth] Psalm, the Lord speaks thus: “I
will rebuke thee, and will set thy sins before thy
face.”1275
And in
like manner the Son said of the Holy Spirit: “When I go
away, I will send the Paraclete to you. And He, when He is come,
will rebuke the world, concerning sin, and concerning righteousness,
and concerning judgment.”1276
36. But whither is the madness of faithless
men leading us, so that we appear to be proving, as if it were a matter
of doubt, that the Holy Spirit rebukes, whereas judges themselves are
unable to judge, except through the Spirit. Lastly, that famous
judgment of Solomon, when, amongst the difficulties arising from those
who were contending, as one, having overlain the child which she had
borne, wished to claim the child of another, and the other was
protecting her own son, he both discovered deceit in the very hidden
thoughts, and affection in the mother’s heart, was certainly so
admirable only by the gift of the Holy Spirit. For no other sword
would have penetrated the hidden feeling of those women, except the
sword of the Spirit, of which the Lord says: “I am not come
to send peace but a sword.”1277
For
the inmost mind cannot be penetrated by steel, but by the Spirit:
“For the Spirit of understanding is holy, one only, manifold,
subtle, lively,” and, farther on, “overseeing all
things.”1278
37. Consider what the prophet says, that He
oversees all things. And so Solomon also oversaw, so that he
ordered that sword to be brought, because while pretending that he
intended to divide the infant, he reflected that the true mother would
have more regard for her son than for her comfort, and would set
kindness before right, not right before kindness. But that she
who feigned the feelings of a mother, blinded by the desire of gaining
her end, would think little of the destruction of him in regard to whom
she felt no outgoing of tenderness. And so that spiritual man,
that he might judge all things (for he that is spiritual judgeth all
things),1279
sought in the
feelings the natural disposition which was concealed in the language,
and questioned tenderness that he might set forth the truth. So
the mother overcame by the affection of love, which is a fruit of the
Spirit.
38. He judges in a prophet, for the word of
wisdom is given by the Spirit;1280
how, then, do
men deny that the Spirit can rebuke the world concerning judgment, Who
removes doubt from judgment, and grants the successful
issue?
39. Daniel also, unless he had received the
Spirit of God, would never have been able to discover that lustful
adultery, that fraudulent lie. For when Susanna, assailed by the
conspiracy of the elders, saw that the mind of the people was moved by
consideration for the old men, and destitute of all help, alone amongst
men, conscious of her chastity she prayed God to judge; it is
written: “The Lord heard her voice, when she was being led
to be put to death, and the Lord raised up the Holy Spirit of a young
youth, whose name was Daniel.”1281
And
so according to the grace of the Holy Spirit received by him, he
discovered the varying evidence of the treacherous, for it was none
other than the operation of divine power, that his voice should make
them whose inward feelings were concealed to be known.
41. Understand, then, the sacred and heavenly
miracle of the Holy Spirit. She who preferred to be chaste in
herself, rather than in the opinion of the people, she who preferred to
hazard [the reputation of] her innocence, rather than her modesty, who
when she was accused was silent,
when she was condemned held her peace, content with the judgment of her
own conscience, who preserved regard for her modesty even in peril,
that they who were not able to force her chastity might not seem to
have forced her to petulance; when she called upon the Lord, she
obtained the Spirit, Who made known the hidden consciousness of the
elders.
42. Let the chaste learn not to dread
calumny. For she who preferred chastity to life did not suffer
the loss of life, and retained the glory of chastity. So, too,
Abraham, once bidden to go to foreign lands, and not being held back
either by the danger to his wife’s modesty, nor by the fear of
death before him, preserved both his own life and his wife’s
chastity.1282
So no
one has ever repented of trusting God, and chastity increased devotion
in Sarah, and devotion chastity.
43. And lest any one should perhaps think
that, as the Scripture says, “God raised up the Holy Spirit of a
young youth,” the Spirit in him was that of a man, not the Holy
Spirit, let him read farther on, and he will find that Daniel received
the Holy Spirit, and therefore prophesied. Lastly, too, the king
advanced him because he had the grace of the Spirit. For he
speaks thus: “Thou, O Daniel, art able, forasmuch as the
Holy Spirit of God is in thee.”1283
And farther on it is
written: “And Daniel was set over them, because an
excellent Spirit was in him.”1284
And
the Spirit of Moses also was distributed to those who were to be
judges.1285
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
