XXIII.

Danger of death drives to the true safeguard of life. 49 when deceived by the false prophet, that it was not of his BOOK own strength that he had withstood the commands of the king. But he rightly received the sentence of death from the mouth of that very person, by whose seduction he had turned away from the precept of life, in order that he might receive the true announcement of his puuishment, from the same quarter by which he had through carelessness admitted a fault. Because then the grace of God more especially guards and instructs each of His Elect, at the very time when He seems to smite and forsake them, let it be rightly said, His soul shall approach to corruption, and his life to the destroyers; that so the more he is led by adversity to consider that he is in his own strength nigh unto death, he may, in all cases in which he has acted with resolution, have surer ground of life, by flying to the protection which comes from trust in God.

42. ats

9.

JOB 33,
23. 24.

i.

BOOK XXIV.

The last eleven verses of the thirty-third chapter and the eighteen first verses of the thirty-fourth chapter are expounded, and striking truths are taught concerning Christ the Mediator, contemplation, the course of conversion, and the pastoral office.

1. Ir was in speaking of the power of the Divine dispensation, that Eliu observed of the sufferings of each of the Elect, saying, His soul will draw nigh to corruption, and his life to the destroyers. And in speaking of the trials of a single person, he shews in what condition of trial the whole human race is placed; and in mentioning what specially befals individuals, he plainly intimates what takes place generally in all. For he so described the temptation of certain persons, taken in themselves one by one, that the temptation of all men in a body might be also understood thereby. For the whole body of the Elect suffers in this life under the pain of this labour. He therefore immediately introduced a general remedy to cure this general malady, saying,

Ver. 23, 24. If there shall be an Angel, speaking for him one of like things to shew the righteousness of man, he will pity him.

ii. 2. For who is this Angel, but He who is called by the Is. 9, 6. Prophet, The Angel of mighty counsel? For because to lxx. declare is called "evangelize" in Greek, the Lord in anas Is.63, nouncing Himself to us is called Angel.' And he well says, If there shall be a messenger [or Angel] speaking for Rom. 8, him; because, as the Apostle says, He even intercedes for But let us hear what he says for us; One of like things. It is the way with medicine to cure disease sometimes by similar, sometimes by contrary, remedies. For it has frequently been wont to cure the hot by warm, and the cold by

26.

us.

Our Lord, being sinless, suffered for us freely.

51

cold, applications; and on the contrary, the cold by warmth, Book
the hot by cold. Our Physician then, on coming to us from XXIV.
above, and finding us oppressed with such great diseases,
applied to our case something of a like, and something of a
contrary, nature. For He came to us as Man to men, but as
a Just One to those who were in sin. He agreed with us in
the truth of His nature, He differed from us in the power of His
righteousness. For sinful man could not be amended, except
by God. But it was necessary that He who was healing
him, should be an object of sight; in order that He might
amend our foriner sinful lives, by setting a pattern for us to
imitate. But it was not possible that God could be seen by
man; He therefore became man, that He might be seen.
The Holy and Invisible God appeared therefore as a visible
man, like ourselves; that while He seemed to be of like
nature, He might teach us by His holiness. And while
agreeing with our condition in verity of nature, He might
put a stop to our sickness by the might of His skill.

cata'

35.

3. Because then the Lord, when coming in the flesh, did not bear our guilt for His own fault, nor our punishment as a matter of necessity, (for untainted by spot of sin, He could not be involved in our condition of guilt, and therefore voluntarily underwent our death, when He so willed, every kind of necessity lying beneath His feet',) it is rightly said, ''calthat that messenger speaks, in behalf of man when tempted, 'one of like things,' because He was neither born as other men, nor was like them in His dying, or His rising again. For He was conceived, not by the cooperation of natural inter- Luke 1, course, but by the Holy Spirit coming on Ilis Mother. And when born He proved the fecundity of His Mother's womb, though preserving its virgin purity. But again, we all die. when we do not wish it; because we are constrained through the sinfulness of our nature to pay the debt of punishment. But He, from having no admixture of sin, did not submit to any punishment as a matter of necessity. But because He subdued our guilt by triumphing over2 it, He underwent our al.'conpunishment out of pity for us; as He Himself says, I have ing' power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it John10, again. Who had also said before, No one taketh it from Me; but I lay it down of Myself. But again, He was not

demn

18.

opposite of false idol

24.

52 Our Lord likened to us only in true Humanity.

JOB 33, raised again like other men; because our resurrection is deferred to the end of the world, while His was celebrated on the third day. And we indeed rise by Him, for He rises by Himself. For He Who was God needed not, as we, to be raised up by any one else. In this then does His resurrection differ from ours, that we do not rise again of ourselves, as He did. For since we are simply men, we need some superior assistance to enable us to rise. But He as God Oxf. displayed the same power of raising' again with the Father and Mss.'re- the Holy Spirit, though He alone in His human nature had tionis.' experience of it. Because then the Lord, though truly born, rising.' truly dead, and truly raised again, differs from us, in all these points, in the greatness of His power, but agrees only in the verity of His nature, it is well said that that Messenger speaks for us one of like things. For since He surpasses us in all His doings with His immeasurable power, yet in one point, the verity of His nature, He does not differ from us.

suscita

edd.

3.

4. He speaks in our behalf to the Father, through that in which He shews Himself to be like us. For His speaking or intercession is His proving Himself to be very Man for man's sake. And well, when he had said, He says one of like things, he immediately added, that he might declare the righteousness of man. Because, if He had not become like unto men, man' would not appear just before Heb. 2, God. For He announces our righteousness, by the very fact 16. 17. that He deigned to take on Himself our infirmity. For that Gen. 3, fatal persuasion had polluted us all with the infection of sin from our very origin; and there was no one who, in speaking to God in behalf of sinners, could appear free from sin; because an equal guilt had involved all alike who were created from Rom. 5, the same lump. Therefore the Only-begotten of the Father came to us, and assumed our nature without committing sin. For it was requisite that one who could intercede for sinners should be free from sin, because doubtless IIe could not wipe away the infection of others' guilt, if He had to bear His own. It is well said then, that in appearing in our likeness He announced righteousness to men. For He proved Himself, in interceding for sinners, to be so righteous a Man as to merit forgiveness for others. It follows,

12.

Ver. 24. He will pity him, and will say, Deliver him

Man saved from ruin when brought to feel near it. 53

XXIV.

from going down to corruption; I have found a way to pro- Book pitiate for him.

dition.'

tate.

5. The Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ iii. Jesus, shews mercy on man, by having assumed the form of a man. Through this compassion He says to His Father on behalf of redeemed man, Deliver him from going down to corruption. For as we before said, His saying, Deliver him, is His shewing forth man's nature free by taking it upon Him. For by that flesh which IIe assumed, He proved the freedom of this also which He redeemed. This ransomed flesh is, in truth, ourselves, who are fettered by the consciousness' of our guilt. But by the righteousness of so 'al.'conmighty a Redeemer are we set free, as He says Himself, If æquithe Son hath set you free, ye shall be free indeed. And in John 8, behalf of this ransomed man it is well said, That he go not 36. down to corruption. For it had been said above, His soul shall draw near to corruption. It is declared afterwards, That he go not down to corruption. As if He were to say, Because he is aware, from a sense of his infirmity, that he is not far from corruption, therefore let him not descend to the death of corruption. For he would rightly go down to corruption, if he were to consider that by his own strength he was far removed from it. But because he has approached thereto with humility, he ought to be mercifully delivered therefrom; that the more he confesses he is weak by nature, he may be the more strengthened against the sins which assail him. For whoever extols himself above his proper Luke 14, condition, is weighed down by the very burden of his pride, and plunges himself the lower, the more he has rushed into the sin of pride, and has separated himself far from Him Who is truly exalted; and he sinks the more to the bottom, from the very fact, that he considered himself in union with the highest; as is said by the Prophet to the soul which exalts itself, The more beautiful Ez. 32, thou art, go down, and sleep with the uncircumcised. For every one who neglects to consider the hideousness of his infirmity, but looks through haughtiness of pride to the credit of his virtue, sinks the lower, from hisbeing more beautiful. Since from priding himself on his merits, he falls into the lowest depths of destruction, on account of the very qualities, for which he considered him

11.

19.