Collations on the Hexaemeron · Collation 122

117. But the third help is that of sacramental Scripture. For the whole of Scripture is the heart of God, the mouth of God, the tongue of God, the pen of God, a scroll written within and without. Hence, in the Psalm: My heart overflows with a goodly theme; as I sing my ode to the King, my tongue is nimble as the pen of a skillful scribe. The heart is of God, the mouth of the Father, the tongue of the Son, the pen of the Holy Spirit. For the Father speaks through the Son or Tongue, but that which fulfills and commits to memory is the Pen of the Scribe. Hence Isaiah: Woe to you... who walk to go down into Egypt, that is, to secular sciences, and have not asked at My mouth, that is, Sacred Scripture. We need not go down to other sciences in order to gain certainty before having had the witness on the mountain, that is, of Christ, Elias and Moses, meaning of the New Testament, of the Prophets and of the Law. Again, Sacred Scripture is a tongue, hence: Sweetmeats and milk are under your tongue — How sweet to my palate are your promises, sweeter than honey to my mouth! This tongue enjoys the taste of food, wherefore these same Scriptures are compared to loaves of bread that nourish and are pleasant to the taste. Also, it is God's Pen, that is, the Holy Spirit, for as the writer may write in the present events past, present and future: so in Scriptures are contained the past, the present and the future. Wherefore it is a scroll written... without, because it contains beautiful stories and teaches the properties of things, and also written within, because it contains mysteries and different possible interpretations. 17. Sed tertium adiutorium est Scripturae sacramentalis. Est autem omnis Scriptura cor Dei, os Dei, lingua Dei, calamus Dei, liber scriptus foris et intus. -- In Psalmo: Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum, dico ego opera mea regi. Lingua mea calamus scribae velociter scribentis : cor Dei, os Patris, lingua Filii, calamus Spiritus sancti. Pater enim loquitur per Verbum seu linguam; sed qui complet et memoriae commendat est calamus scribae. -- Scriptura ergo est os Dei. Unde Isaias: Vae! qui descenditis in Aegyptum , scilicet ad saeculares scientias, et os Domini non interrogastis , scilicet sacram Scripturam. Non enim debet ad scientias alias descendere, ut sciat certitudinem, nisi habeat testimonium in monte, scilicet Christi, Eliae, Moysi, hoc est novi testamenti, Prophetarum et Legis. -- Item, est lingua, unde mel et lac sub lingua eius . Quam dulcia faucibus meis eloquia tua, super mel ori meo! *. Haec lingua cibos saporat; unde haec Scriptura comparatur panibus qui habent saporem et reficiunt. -- Item, est calamus Dei, et hoc est Spiritus sanctus; quia, sicut scribens potest praesentialiter scribere praeterita, praesentia et futura; sic continentur in Scriptura praeterita, praesentia et futura. -- Unde est liber scriptus foris, quia habet pulcras historias et docet rerum proprietates; scriptus est etiam intus, quia habet mysteria et intelligentias diversas.