I am unable to respond to such a statement: but you, O Lord, respond; for you do not need to be excused, since you did not need to speak. Therefore, he will respond: Shall I condemn piety, I who hate iniquity? Shall I command parents not to be loved, I who advise enemies to be loved? But haven't you read: There is a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace (Eccl. 3:8)? What does Ecclesiastes say about this? Is it not because of the fact that it happens according to the course of time, that we are able to both love and hate some people: and that it is fitting to love those whom you have loved and hate those whom you have hated? Therefore, I have not infused the hatred of parents into the hearts of their children: nor have I urged the aversion of wives into the minds of their husbands. Ask nature what I have exacted, which certainly testifies to the will of the author with the natural affection of individual relationships. To love one's children is the law of nature for fathers: for husbands, it is the divine law which turns marital love into nature, so that they become one flesh and one spirit. To love brothers is a prerogative of nature, which, in the same dwelling, gradually accustoms them to the grace of charity.
18. So I did not send him to wage internal wars of necessity, but I considered it a suspicious temptation. Was it not rightly suspected, when that cunning and crafty serpent, in order to weaken the affection of Adam, founded on the untainted and naive gift of nature, entrusted it more to female allurements than to his own perfidious arts? Thus the woman, having been led astray by a certain softness and charm of wifely devotion, turned the man, whom the serpent did not dare to tempt, by the food of her mouth and the power of love. And yet Eve did not yet have children, of whom, for their sake, as sweet as love, as easy to fall away, she often prevented many from the achievement of martyrdom? Finally, we have often known that the one whom the terrifying parade of executioners did not frighten, nor did the cut in the divided side break, nor could the burning plates lead him away from the rigidity of triumphal bravery, him who was now established among sacred rewards, he deceived his tender wife and the offering of pitiable tears with the mercy of a single tear. Samson was captured by his wife, are you stronger? Solomon was captivated by his wife, are you wiser? Therefore, the one whose wisdom is celebrated throughout the ages became foolish because he loved his wife too much.
19. What shall I say about the brothers? She experienced that the kisses of children and the house of the Prophets are more detestable than fraternal hatred. Therefore, indeed, the father wept for the parricide, but he was more angered by the incest. Finally, although she called him a parricide, she nonetheless called him the perpetrator of incest.
So there is a time for love, a time for hate, that is, a time for martyrdom, when the things that are divine must be preferred to all bonds of affection. A time for war, when we even wage war against the perfidious enemies for the sake of Christ. A time for peace, for in peace is its place (Psalm 75:3). Finally, the Gospel itself clearly explains the reason why we should hate our own, saying: 'Anyone who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me' (Matthew 10:37). He did not say that those who love their relatives are unworthy, but he said they are unworthy who love their relatives more than Christ. For if we offer love to our parents because they are the authors of our generation, how much more should we love Christ who is the author of their parents? They have given what is not in their power, but of their ministry. Christ grants salvation, who preserves the benefits of parents.
But beautifully he said: I have hated the wicked, but I have loved your law; for if we love the law, we must hate the adversaries of the law, who oppose the precepts of the law with their deeds. The Greek more accurately and specifically called them 'lawbreakers'; 'lawbreaker' is called exlex, because they are outside the law. Therefore, he who is in the law of Christ hates them, because they do not keep the commandments of the law. For not only he who does not know the law, but also he who does not act according to the law, is a stranger to the law; because they are not hearers of the law. . . . but those who practice the law will be justified (Rom. II, 13). David himself rebukes me if I understand it differently. How could he hate unjust people, who praised a parricidal son to his warriors, so that no one would kill him? He even avenged the death of King Saul on the one who reported him dead.
Therefore, he did not hate unjust people, but unjust words. Finally, he said: I have hated the unjust, he did not add, men. Then, when Jesus says in the Gospel: Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44), and the Apostle says: Bless those who persecute you, and do not curse them (Romans 12:14), how could this man living under the discipline of the Gospel justify himself if he hated unjust people? Unless you understand that he hated injustice, not those who, although they committed injustice, could still be converted by the preaching of the Gospel. But surely unless we understand it in this way: because just as he who does not honor the father is unjust, nevertheless he is also considered hateful according to the same thing that is written: He who does not hate the father, or the mother... or brothers, or sisters, or his own soul, cannot be my disciple (Luke XIV, 26), even though he is praiseworthy: so this person also hated the unjust ones in the same way he hated the father who transgressed, or his own soul: preferring, evidently, the grace of Christ's sweetness to the pleasure of this life.
23. (Verse 114) It follows: You are my helper and my protector, and I hope in your word. Helper through the Law, protector through the Gospel. Those whom he helped through the Law, he received in the flesh; for it is written: He carries our sins; and therefore, I hope in his word (Isaiah 53:4). However, the Greek ἐπήλπισα has, which means I have hoped upon; which is said of one who always adds to hope; and when he hopes for something, he hopes again, and advances in hope, always stretching towards higher things, and forgetting those things which are past.
But beautifully he says: In your word I have hoped, that is, I have not hoped in prophets, not in the Law, but in your word I have hoped, that is, in your coming; that you come and receive sinners, forgive sins, place the weary sheep on your shoulders on the cross, O good shepherd. If anyone hopes in Christ, he ought to separate himself from the company of the treacherous.
25. (Verse 115.) And therefore he says: Depart from me, you evil ones, and I will search the commandments of my God. By the testimony of this verse, it is indicated that where there is malignity, there cannot be the keeping of heavenly commandments; for wisdom does not enter into a malicious soul (Wisdom 1:4). And elsewhere: The wicked will seek me, and will not find me (Proverbs 1:28). Christ loves a simple mind, a pure and purified soul, and there can be no companionship with sinful deeds for immaculate virtue. He hates, avoids, and spurns contagious diseases, he who says: Learn from me because I am gentle (Matt. XI, 29). He repels the wicked, he calls those who labor. Jesus says to them: Depart from me, all of you who work iniquity (Matt. VII, 23); to them he says: Come to me, all of you who labor and are burdened (Matt. XI, 28), not with wickedness of mind, but burdened with the weakness of the flesh: burdened, I say, by the inheritance of sin. I assist those who are working: I must not help the fraudulent, lest they harm more people. Let punishment restrain them: let grace correct them. For malice is the source of sin: fault is the result of weakness. I must help those who labor: I must also hate the one who deceives. Therefore, it repels evil actions. For unless you understand it this way, he seems to say: Depart from me; for I am holy, for I am pure. This is what the Pharisee said, but he was rebuked by Christ. Therefore, the Prophet does not say: I am the world, but, Create in me a clean heart, O God (Psalm 51:10).
26. (V. 116.) And therefore, having been separated from the company of the wicked, as if someone who had been mixed with them before could not be received by the Lord, he says: Receive me according to Your word, and I will live; and do not disappoint my hope. If Lazarus the poor man lives, who is in the bosom of the patriarch Abraham, how much more does he who is received by Christ live? For how can he not live forever, whom eternal life has received, whom Christ has taken entirely to Himself, who is the whole Word, whose life is hidden in Christ Jesus? But even he who sits in the bosom of Abraham, was received by Christ. But saying to God, Accept me, would seem to be an intolerable presumption, unless He had added His promise, that is, Unless You had made it possible for us, we have agreed with Your signature, who have removed our signature. We have made the signature of death, You have written the signature of life.
27. Therefore, do not disappoint your servant from his expectation, for I hope in you; for hope does not disappoint. And if we are troubled, you provide patience, so that we may endure; so that because I await you, I may not be overwhelmed by weaknesses, I may not yield to temptations, I may not be afflicted by storms, in which patience is to be tested, so that testing may result in confirmation of hope and strength, which does not disappoint; that is: We are often broken by hardships, we are weary: if hope is lacking, we are disappointed, and disturbed in our whole mind. But be this as it is, let there be some who are harsh to endure labours, firm to endure injuries: if you take away hope, patience cannot be everlasting. Patience itself is not proved, if faith is lacking, of which hope is the root. For what proof can there be, unless for the sake of Christ's name you bear either discomforts or all dangers? Therefore, hope is the only thing that does not confuse our emotion. Where there is hope, that apostolic saying applies: The battles without, the fears within (II Cor. VII, 5), cannot harm.
28. Another interpretation is this: Do not make me ashamed. He who hopes in Christ will not be ashamed. Therefore, the one who hopes well says: In you I trust, I will not be ashamed (Psalm 24:2). And rightly so, for I trust; the strength of our hope is and the confidence of the one who hopes. Therefore, always hope, and no one will disappoint you in your expectation. Our expectation is eternal life. Our expectation is the kingdom of God, the fellowship of angels, and spiritual blessings. Hope every day. This matter has no end, it knows no truce. Hope even in adversity. If someone says to you, struck by the loss of some strong bond: What good is your justice; yet you hope, let not your faith fail. If someone says to you, What good are your daily fasts; what good is bodily chastity, purity of mind? Behold, you are wounded like the unjust and impious. Let not your faith fail. For even if you are weak, Christ, who is faithful, is concerned for you. He says to his disciples: Give them to eat, lest they faint in the way. You have the food of the apostles, eat it and you will not be lacking. Eat it beforehand so that you may afterwards come to the food of Christ, to the food of the Lord's body, to the banquet of the Sacrament, to that cup by which the affections of the faithful are inebriated; so that he may clothe himself with the joy of the remission of sins, cast off the cares of this world, the fear of death, and the anxieties of life. Therefore, with this drunkenness, the body does not sway, but rises up; the mind is not confused, but consecrated.
29. (Verse 117.) It follows: Help me, he says, and I will be saved: and I will always meditate on your justifications. He who hopes presumes to be helped: but where there is the assistance of God, there is certainly the certain aid of salvation. Above he said: You are my helper and protector (Sup. v. 112): here he asks to be helped again, as if to say: Help me without ceasing. It is not enough for me what I have asked, I ask again to be saved. Here the salvation is not great, not true: I will be saved then, when I am in paradise, when I start to live among your chosen angels, when I have escaped the snares of this earth.
But let us not, by chance, neglect the help we have received in times of need, when we have been placed in prosperity. It teaches us that we should never be unmindful of the heavenly benefits, but rather meditate on the justifications of the Lord. So even when we have done something good, let us always confess our sins to Him; for this is the justification of the Lord. Finally, the Pharisees did not justify God, for they refused to be baptized with the baptism of repentance (Luke 7:30). Therefore, he justifies the one who repents of their sins. For the one who repents confesses, as it is written: 'I have sinned against you alone, and I have done evil in your sight; so that you may be justified in your words' (Psalm 51:4). And so, the tax collector went out of the temple more justified (Luke 18:14); because the Pharisee justified himself by proclaiming his own righteousness, but the tax collector justified God by confessing his own iniquities. Therefore, the one who meditates on the justifications of the Lord is always humbled. Today is not a day for humiliation, tomorrow for exaltation: but always be humble in heart and gentle in feeling. It is always more than a day and night or a whole day; for it surpasses time. Therefore, if you are counted among the angels, you should always affirm the justifications of God, and ascribe the glory you have attained not to your own merits, but always to divine mercy; lest it be said to you: What do you have that you did not receive? But if you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? For every creature, whatever good it has, has received it from Christ, who is the author of all creation. (2 Corinthians 4:7)
31. (Verse 118.) You have rejected all who stray from your statutes; for their thinking is unjust. Every proud person is unclean in the sight of the Lord; for they cannot cleanse their sins through their pride, as they heap up error with an arrogant spirit. Therefore, they are despised and scorned, because they hold divine commandments in contempt. However, the heavenly prerogative of mercy is preserved; for it rejects no one, but those who refuse to confess their own sins depart from our Lord God. Finally, he departed, who had set out on a journey, and squandered everything he had received from his father, the inheritance of faith and grace. And because he regretted his departure, he later returned to his father, whom he had left when he did not want to confess his own sin. Therefore, God is not abandoned by a distance of places, but by the wickedness of morals and the ugliness of actions. He departs from the Lord, who distances himself from Him, just as Adam desired to hide from the presence of God after hearing Him. But departing from the Lord, he could not have salvation; for it is written: Behold those who distance themselves from you, will perish (Ps. 27:72). Therefore, each person either joins or separates according to their own pursuits. In fact, it is clear that many are not separated by geographical distances, but rather connect neighboring areas, indicating that many are thirsty for the body and wander from the body, and are present to God; like the one who says to God: Whom shall I send? He answered, 'Here I am, send me.' (Isaiah 6:8) Paul also dared to approach God, because he saw nothing in himself other than material flesh. And Cain went out from the presence of God, believing that he did not need to repent for his sins after committing fratricide.
But rightly he says: You have brought the transgressors to nothing. He did not say sinners, but transgressors. For what hope would there be for us when we are all under sin? Also beautifully said: You have brought all the transgressors to nothing. Whether he is rich, his riches are of no benefit to him; whether he is honored, his dignity is of no value; whether he is powerful, his power is of no use. But it is one thing to be a transgressor departing from the justifications of God: another thing to be a transgressor of the earth. That is heavier, this is lighter.
33. (Verse 119.) Therefore, to avoid being disturbed by what is subject to you, see; for he subjected these to you: I have esteemed all the sinners of the earth to be betrayers: therefore, I have always loved your testimonies. The betrayer is rightly called one who departs from the Lord. Finally, in Greek, an apostate is named from departure. Hence also that saying: Wine and women cause one to apostatize, he says (Eccli. XIX, 2). Therefore, beware of the incentives and allurements of sins, lest they lead to wickedness. But the one who prevaricates in Latin and is called a transgressor; because he passes from the law of the Lord to error, and transgresses the heavenly commands, to whom it is said to adhere to the Lord his God (Deut. X, 20). Therefore, adhere to him with undivided affection; so that no force can pull you away from him. If the adversary sees anything rare or interrupted, he immediately launches himself into your chest and heart; so that he can hold you in the snare of his deceit, and, bound by the hostile bond of authority, you are drawn away from devotion. But not only is he a transgressor who, disregarding the Church, crosses over to the worship of idols; but also anyone who does not observe the commandments of the Law. Therefore, every sinner is a transgressor. Hence that saying: Every transgression receives just retribution (Hebrews II, 2). A common name, but different merits of offenses; and therefore different prices of faults.
34. What does it mean when it says: Sinners of the earth. Therefore, there are also sinners in heaven, like the one who said: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you (Luke 15:21). There are those who say that one who does not keep the heavenly oracles is a transgressor of heaven. But whether this is true, or because he diminishes the grace he received from heaven, which the Holy Spirit poured out: or because as a bird of heaven, you should not return to the earth from heaven. Therefore, you sin against heaven if you, as a citizen of heaven, leave heaven. Therefore, there is diversity among them. Some are sinners of the heavens, others are sinners of the earth.
35. In the morning, he said, I was killing all the sinners of the earth (Psalm 100:8). How could one person kill all the sinners of the earth? But if you consider the just one, to whom the night has passed and the day has approached; you can see how, with the rising of the sun of justice upon you, you can vigilantly destroy all the incentives of wrongdoing. I wish this grace would inspire me, so that with the spiritual sword, which is the word of God, I could abolish all the incentives of vices from the Church of the Lord, and take away earthly sins, by which we are being precipitated into a certain slippery pitfall of error, so that the worker of iniquity may be expelled from the city of God. The City of God is the Church: the Church is the body of Christ. He sins against heaven, who contaminates the rights of the heavenly city, and violates the sanctity of the immaculate body with the pollution of their vices.
36. And see, lest perchance they be who are sinners of heaven and earth. For indeed Adam, when he was in paradise, was of heaven: but after the fall, he became earthly, and was expelled and cast out from paradise. Hence, the Apostle says: The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven, heavenly (I Cor. XV, 47). Let the image of the earthly be rejected by us, let the image of the heavenly be received, not expressed by paint, not drawn by wax, not shadowed by colors, but by virtue, in which Christ may recognize Himself.
37. (Verse 120.) Fix the key of your fear in my flesh; for I have feared your judgments. He who loves the testimonies of the Lord, fixes the key in his flesh, knowing that his old man, conjoined with Christ on the cross, may destroy the lust of the flesh; lest his desires become lascivious with uncontrolled fervor, lest the root of avarice establish itself with serpentine roots. Therefore, fix the key, and destroy the nourishment of sin: let all the allurements of transgressions die in your flesh; let the desire for pleasure, affixed to the cross, not have the freedom to wander. There is a certain spiritual nail that affixes these flesh to the wood of the Lord's cross. And perhaps these flesh are the flesh of the soul, just as the body is the soul. The flesh of the soul are carnal thoughts. Let the fear of the Lord and His judgments affix these flesh, and reduce them to servitude. But if these flesh reject the nails of divine fear, it is undoubtedly said: My spirit will not remain in these men; for they are flesh (Gen. VI, 3). Therefore, unless these meats are fastened to the cross and pierced with nails out of fear of our God, the spirit of God will not remain in them.
38. Just as there are thorns of fear by which we are punctured, so there are nails of fear by which we are nailed. He who is punctured is aroused: he who is nailed is mortified; so that he may cease from sin and live for God. But in order that we may know that the nails are spiritual, the stimuli are also spiritual, of which it is written: 'It is hard for you to kick against the goad' (Acts 9:5). With this goad, Paul, having been pricked, rose up from the earth and lifted himself up, so that he might dwell in heaven. The Apostle Thomas was fixed with keys, so that he could say: Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails (John 20:25). The nails were of good desire: the nails were, though not of perfect faith, yet of faith seeking increase.
39. The key is configured for those who die with Christ, so that they may rise with Christ. The key is configured for those who bear the mortification of the Lord Jesus in their body. The key is configured for those who deserve to hear Jesus saying: 'Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, jealousy is hard as the nether world' (Song of Solomon 8:6). Therefore, fasten this seal of the crucified one to your chest and your heart, fasten it also to your arm, so that your works may be dead to sin. Let nothing in these crimes revive, let no error arise again. Perhaps they attach this image not only of fear, but also of charity, because charity is as strong as death, and zeal as harsh as hell. Therefore, let not the harshness of the nails offend you, for it is the harshness of charity; nor let the strength of the nails be strong, for charity is also strong like death. For charity mortifies sin and all sins: charity, like a blow of death, destroys. Finally, we die through vices and sin, while we love the commandments of the Lord. Charity is God, the word of God is charity, which is strong and sharper than any sharpest sword, even to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, penetrating into the innermost parts. It is a hard zealousness of charity, which does not yield to the infernal; since, for the zeal of God, everyone spares not even themselves. With these keys of charity, may our soul and our flesh be pierced, so that they themselves may say: 'Because of love I am wounded' (Song of Songs 5:8). Love has its own key; it has its own sword, by which the soul is wounded. Blessed is he who deserves to be wounded by this sword. These are the wounds that are preferred to kisses: the wounds of a friend are more useful than the voluntary kisses of an enemy.
40. But we offer ourselves to wounds, by which whoever has died cannot taste death. For such is the death of those who followed the Lord, of whom it is said: There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom (Matthew XVI, 28). Peter rightly did not fear this death; for he did not fear who said, even if it were necessary for him to die for Christ, he would not abandon or deny him (Matthew XXVI, 35). Therefore let us take up the cross of the Lord, which crucifies our flesh and destroys sin. There is fear that crucifies the flesh: Unless someone takes up their own cross and becomes my disciple, they are not worthy of me (Matt. X, 38). For it is only the one who has the fear of Christ who is worthy, in order to crucify the carnal sin. This fear is followed by charity, which, buried with Christ, is not torn away from Christ, dies in Christ, is buried with Christ, and rises with Christ.
Sermon 16. Ain.