XXXIV. 484 What Riches and Poverty are of God. HOMIL. "Doth then the Scripture speak falsely?" God forbid! but they do foolishly, who neglect to examine all things written with due exactness. For if this on the one hand be acknowledged, that the Scripture cannot lie; and this on the other hand proved, that not all wealth is from God; the weakness of inconsiderate readers is the cause of the difficulty. [10.] Now it were right for us to dismiss you, having herein exculpated the Scripture, that ye may suffer this punishment at our hands for your negligence concerning the Scriptures: but because I greatly spare you, and cannot any longer bear to look on you confused and disturbed, let us also add the solution, having first mentioned the speaker, and when it was spoken, and to whom. For not alike to all doth God speak, as neither do we deal alike with children and men. When then was it spoken, and by whom, and to whom? By Solomon in the Old Testament, to the Jews, who knew no other than things of sense, and by these proved the power of God. For these are they who say, Can he give bread also? and, What sign shewest thou unto us? our fathers did eat manna in the desert:—whose God is 1 Ps. 77. their belly'. Since then they were proving Him by these things, he saith to them," this also is possible with God, to make both rich and poor;" not that it is of course He Himself who maketh them, but that He can, when He will. Just as when Phil. 3. he saith, Who threateneth the sea, and maketh it dry, and 2 1s. 44. maketh all the rivers a desert, and yet this was never done. How then doth the prophet say so? Not as though it were a-doing always, but as a thing that was possible for Him to do. 24. Mat. 12. 38. John 6. 31. 19. 27. What kind of poverty then doth He give, and what kind of wealth? Remember the patriarch, and thou shalt know the kind of wealth that is given by God. For He made both Abrahamn rich, and after him Job, even as Job himself saith; If we have received good from the Lord, shall we not 3 Job. also endure evil? And the wealth of Jacob thence had its beginning. There is also a poverty which cometh from Him, that which is commended, such as He once would have introduced to the knowledge of that well-known rich man, saying, If thou be perfect, sell thy goods, Mat. and give to the poor, and come, follow me. And to the disciples again, making a law and saying, Provide neither 10. 19. 21. Examples of holy and unholy Riches. 485 13. 13. 1 Mat. gold, nor silver, nor two coats1. Say not then that all wealth 1 COR. is His gift: seeing that cases have been pointed out of its being collected both by murders, and by rapine, and by ten 10. 9. thousand other devices. But again the discourse reverts to our former question: viz. "if the rich are no way useful to us, wherefore are they made rich?" What then must we say? That these are not useful, who so make themselves rich; whereas those surely who are made so by God, are in the highest degree useful. And do thou learn this from the very things done by those whom we just now mentioned. Thus Abraham possessed wealth for all strangers, and for all in need. For he, who on the approach of three men, as he supposed, sacrificed a calf, and kneaded three measures of fine flour, and that while sitting in his door in the heat of the day; consider with what liberality and readiness he used to spend his substance on all, together with his goods giving also the service of his body, and this at such an advanced age; being a harbour to strangers, to all who had come to any kind of want, and possessing nothing as his own, not even his son: since at God's command, he actually delivered up even him; and along with his son he gave up also himself, and all his house, when he hastened to snatch his brother's son out of danger; and this he did not for lucre's sake, but of mere humanity. When, for instance, they who were saved by him would put the spoils at his disposal, he rejected all, even to a thread and a shoe-latchet. 2 Gen. 14. 23. Such also was the blessed Job. For my door, saith he, was open to every one who came3: I was eyes to the blind,3 Job31. and feet to the lame; I was a father of the helpless: the 32. stranger lodged not without, and the helpless, whatever need they had, failed not of it,neither suffered I one helpless man to go out of my door with an empty bosom. And much more too than these, that we may not now recount all, he continued to do, spending all his wealth on the needy. Wilt thou also look upon those who have become rich but not of God, that thou mayest learn how they employed their wealth? Behold him in the parable of Lazarus, how he imparted not so much as a share of his crumbs. Behold Ahab, how not even the vineyard is free from his extortion: behold Gehazi: behold all such. Thus they on the one hand who 2 486 God's Long-suffering with wicked Rich Men. HOMIL. make just acquisitions, as having received from God, spend XXXIV. on the commands of God: but they who in the act of 17. 31. go μίαν. acquiring offend God, in the expending also do the same: consuming it on harlots and parasites, or burying and shutting it up, but laying out nothing upon the poor. "And wherefore," saith one, "doth God suffer such men to be rich?" Because He is long-suffering; because He would bring us to repentance; because He hath prepared hell; because He hath appointed a day, in which He is to judge the 1 Acts world. Whereas, did He use at once to punish them that are rich and not virtuously, Zaccheus would not have had an appointed time' for repentance, so as even to restore fourfold whatever he had unjustly taken, and to add half of his goods; nor Matthew, to be converted and become an Apostle, taken off as he would have been before the due season; nor yet many other such. Therefore doth He bear with them, calling all to repentance. But if they will not, but continue in the same, they shall hear Paul saying, that after their hardness and impenitent heart they treasure up unto themselves wrath against the day 3 Rom. of wrath, and revelation, and righteous judgment of God3: which wrath that we may escape, let us become rich with the riches of heaven, and follow after the laudable sort of poverty. For thus shall we obtain also the good things to come: the which may we all obtain, through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Ghost, be glory, power, and honour, now, and for ever, and world without end. Amen. 2. 5. HOMILY XXXV. 1 COR. xiv. 1. Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts; but rather that ye may prophesy. THUS, inasmuch as he had with exactness rehearsed unto them all the excellence of charity, he exhorts them in what follows, with alacrity to lay hold of it. Wherefore also he said, Follow after: for he that is in chace, beholds that only which is chased, and towards that he strains himself, and leaves not off until he lay hold of it. He that is in chace, when by himself he cannot, by those that are before him he doth overtake the fugitive, beseeching those who are near with much eagerness to seize and keep it so seized for him, until he shall come up. This then let us also do. When of ourselves we do not reach unto charity, let us bid them that are near to her hold her, till we come up with her, and when we have apprehended, no more let her go, that she may not again escape us. For continually she springs away from us, because we use her not as we ought, but prefer all things unto her. Therefore we ought to make every effort, so as perfectly to retain her. For if this be done, we require not henceforth much labour, nay rather scarce any; but taking our ease, and keeping holiday1, we shall march on in1arnγυρίζον the narrow path of virtue. Wherefore he saith, Follow after her. Then that they might not suppose, that for no other end he brought in the discourse of charity, except that he might extinguish the gifts, he subjoins as follows; 1 τές. HOMIL. 488 Comparison of Gifts: why Tongues were preferred: Ver. 1. And desire spiritual gifts; but rather that ye may prophesy. Ver. 2. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue, speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries. Ver. 3. But he that prophesieth, speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. At this point he proceeds to make a comparison between the gifts, and lowers that of the tongues, neither signifying it to be altogether useless, nor very profitable by itself. For in fact they were greatly puffed up on account of this, because the gift was considered to be a great one. And it was thought great, because the Apostles received it first, and with so great display; it was not however therefore to be esteemed above all the others. Wherefore then did the Apostles receive it before the rest? Because they were to go abroad every where. And as in the time of building the tower the one tongue was divided into many; so then the many tongues frequently met in one man, and the same person used to discourse both in the Persian, and Roman, and Indian, and many other tongues, the Spirit sounding within him: and the gift was called the gift of tongues, because he could all at once speak divers languages. See accordingly how he both depresses and elevates it. Thus by saying, He that speaketh with tongues, speaketh not unto men, but unto God, for no man understandeth him, he depressed it, implying that the profit of it was not great; but by adding, howbeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries, he again elevated it, that it might not seem to be superfluous, and useless, and given in vain. But he that prophesieth, speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. Seest thou by what he signifies the choice nature of this gift? i. e. by the common benefit? and how every where he gives the higher honour to that which tends to the profit of the many? For do not the former speak unto men also? tell me. But not so much to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. So that the being possessed by the Spirit, is common to both, as well to him that prophesieth, as to him that speaketh with tongues; but in this, the one, (he, I mean, who prophesieth,) hath the advantage, in that he is also pro |