Chapter XI.
Second, a remedy is given against the vanity of security arising from the failure of the retribution of justice.
Cast your bread etc. He set forth above a remedy against the fact that the governance of providence seemed to fail due to the disorder of prelacy: here secondly he sets forth a remedy against the fact that the retribution of justice seemed to fail, on account of which man became secure in evil and grew sluggish toward good. This remedy consists in the consideration of future retribution: and since God bestows good things upon those who do well and repays evil things upon those who do evil: therefore first, from the consideration of reward, he invites to good: second, from the consideration of punishment, he recalls from evil, at the passage: If a man shall have lived many years.
First, he invites to good by the consideration of reward.
The good to which he invites is the good of piety, which "is profitable for all things," and on account of which the just are especially saved, as is evident in Matthew twenty-five, where only works of mercy are enumerated. Therefore he exhorts here to works of mercy and the giving of alms on account of retribution.
And first he exhorts that they be done willingly: second, that they be done abundantly, at the passage: Give portions to seven: third, that they be done unceasingly, at the passage: He who observes the wind shall never etc.
When therefore he exhorts that they be done voluntarily and willingly, he sets forth the exhortation and adds the reason.
(Verse 1.). He exhorts therefore to giving alms willingly: therefore he says: Cast your bread, that is, give willingly and liberally, not by extortion and as if compelled: Second Corinthians nine: "Let each one give as he has determined in his heart, not from sadness or from necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver." Your bread, not another's; Ecclesiasticus thirty-four: "He who offers a sacrifice from the substance of the poor is as one who slays a son in the sight of his father." Upon the passing waters. Many waters are many peoples, Apocalypse seventeen: passing waters are those who pass from nation to nation and from kingdom to another people: such are pilgrims and strangers: to these alms are to be given; Isaiah fifty-eight: "Break your bread for the hungry, and bring the needy and wandering into your house." Or: waters are present tribulations, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The waters have come in even unto my soul": passing waters are the poor and afflicted, because through tribulations they pass to rest: to such alms are to be given: Luke fourteen: (When you give alms, call the poor and the feeble, the blind, etc. And the reason is given: Because after many days you shall find it, that is, the retribution for it: therefore retribution does not fail, but is deferred: Ecclesiasticus twelve: "Do good to the just, and you shall find great recompense: and if not from him, certainly from the Lord": likewise Luke sixteen: "Make for yourselves friends from the mammon of iniquity" etc.
(Vers. 2. 8.). Give portions to seven etc. Here secondly he exhorts to giving abundantly: and he sets forth the exhortation and subjoins the reason. He exhorts therefore to abundance, saying: Give portions to seven and also to eight, that is, according to the capacity of your powers give alms, so that, whether you be poor or rich, you give a seventh and an eighth of your goods, that is, you make the portion of the poor generous: Second Corinthians 8: " That your abundance may supply their want "; and Luke 11: " Give alms of that which remains over ". Therefore he says: Give portions to seven: for by the number seven we understand what suffices to supply one's own necessity; whatever is beyond that is called seven and eight: and this is to be distributed to the poor, not to be stored up in earthly treasures, but in heavenly ones: whence Matthew 6: " Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroys "; and Tobit 4: " If you have much, give abundantly: if you have little, strive willingly to impart even that little ". And the reason for this generosity is given, when it is added: Because you know not what evil etc. And a manifold reason is given, namely on account of caution against evil; whence he says: You know not what evil shall come upon the earth. Because therefore you are not certain, you must provide for yourself, lest you fall into peril: and the best remedy is abundant almsgiving: Ecclesiasticus 29: "Shut up alms in the bosom of the poor, and it shall pray for you and deliver you from all evil ".
On account of the amplification of merit he says: If the clouds be full, supply: by God, they will pour out rain upon the earth, on account of which rain the earth bears fruit: Hosea 6: " He will come to us like the rain, the early and the latter rain to the earth "; and this for bearing fruit and multiplying the goods of the earth through the merit of almsgiving. For just as full clouds inebriate the earth with rain, so multiplied alms inebriate the soul with grace: Second Corinthians 9: " Now he who supplies seed to the sower will both provide bread for eating and will multiply your seed and increase the growth of the fruits of your righteousness ". On account of the stability of the reward, which cannot be changed nor lost: on account of which he says: If a tree fall to the south: this tree is man: concerning which Job 14: (A tree has hope; if it be cut down, it will sprout again ". And the south gives to understand the warmth of charity and the state of glory: Song of Songs 4:
(Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind: blow through my garden" etc. Therefore for the tree to fall toward the south is for a man to be brought into glory at death; and then there it shall be, that is, it can never be displaced; Revelation 3: "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more." If it falls to the north, there it shall be, that is, if unto infernal punishment; Jeremiah 1: "From the north shall all evil be spread forth"; he who falls into hell, there he shall be, because from thence he shall never be freed. For rightly it is said in the last chapter of Isaiah: "Their fire shall not be extinguished, and their worm shall not die." In whatever place it falls, there it shall be, whether for good or for ill; Galatians 6: "What a man sows, that also shall he reap."
He who observes the wind etc. Here he exhorts to giving unceasingly: and first he teaches that times are not to be watched; second, that divine works are not to be scrutinized; third, that works of mercy are to be continued.
(Vers. 4.). As to the first, he says: He who observes the wind does not sow, because frequently a wind comes that he does not want, and the wind that would please him does not come. And he who considers the clouds shall never reap: and therefore it is necessary that when it is time for reaping, he should reap, and for sowing, he should sow, and not wait. So also in the matter at hand, while he has time, let him do good; Ecclesiasticus 4: "Do not afflict the heart of the needy, and do not delay a gift to one in distress"; and Proverbs 3: "Do not say to your friend: Go and come back, tomorrow I will give to you, when you can give at once"; and thus he ought not to delay.
(Vers. 5.). As you know not what is the way etc. Above he said that times are not to be observed; here, second, he teaches that divine works are not to be considered or scrutinized, because we cannot; therefore he says: As you know not what is the way of the spirit. The Spirit, who is God, because this we do not know; whence John 3: "The Spirit breathes where He wills, and you hear His voice, but you know not," etc.; and Job 9: "If He comes to me, I shall not see Him; if He departs, I shall not perceive it." The spirit, which is the soul or spiritual creature, whose way, that is, origin, is not known, nor indeed its end; above, in chapter 3: "Who knows whether the spirit of the sons of Adam ascends upward?" The spirit, which is the wind, whose way is not known, that is, its origin; whence in the Psalm: "Who brings forth the winds from His treasuries"; Exodus 15: "Your spirit blew, and the sea covered them." He says therefore: As you know not what is the way of the spirit, and
by what reason the bones are joined together in the womb of a pregnant woman, that is, how they are fitted together and differentiated: because even Avicenna himself says that the formative power of the members is a divine power: 2 Maccabees 7: "I know not how you appeared in my womb; for I neither gave you spirit and soul, nor did I fashion the members of each of you": but He fashioned them, to whom it is said in Job 10: "You have knit me together with bones and sinews." Just as you are ignorant of these things, which are carnal, so you are ignorant of the works of the Lord, who is the maker of all things: works, that is, hidden judgments, concerning which it is said in the Psalm: "Great are the works of the Lord, sought out according to all His purposes." These works we do not know: Romans 11: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways!"
In the morning sow etc. Here thirdly he exhorts to doing good unceasingly: and first the exhortation is set forth; second, the reason for the exhortation is added; and third, the recompense.
(Verse 6). He exhorts therefore to performing works of mercy unceasingly, for he says: In the morning sow your seed, that is, in the time of youth, because Lamentations 3: "It is good for a man when he has borne the yoke from his youth." And in the evening let not your hand cease, that is, in old age, as if to say that at every time and age good works are to be done without ceasing: Galatians 6: "And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we shall reap, if we do not lose heart." Therefore one must sow continually, because, as it is said in 2 Corinthians 9, "he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he who sows in blessings shall also reap from blessings."
Because you do not know etc. Here the second point is noted, namely the reason for the exhortation: because man does not know when and which works God accepts, just as he who sows does not know which seed bears fruit. Therefore he says: Because you do not know which may rather spring up: this one, that is, the evening sowing, or that one, that is, the morning sowing: above in chapter 9: "Man does not know whether he is worthy of love or of hatred." And if both together, it will be better, because "more goods are to be preferred over fewer"; Isaiah 32: "Blessed are you who sow beside all waters."
(Verse 7). Sweet is the light etc. Here the third point is noted, namely the recompense: and this is the beholding of the eternal light and sun, in which there is the highest sweetness, and so great is the recompense. And therefore he says: Sweet is the light, to behold. Concerning this sweetness, in the Psalm: "How great is the multitude of Your sweetness, O Lord," etc. And it is delightful for the eyes to see the sun, that sun, of which Malachi 4 says: "The sun of justice shall rise upon you who fear God." This sun it is delightful to see: therefore 1 Peter 1: "Into whom the Angels desire to look." And because only those who shall be at the right hand will see that light, therefore in the Psalm: "Delights at Your right hand forevermore."
These things can also be briefly explained concerning spiritual almsgiving, which consists in the instruction of one's neighbor: to which he similarly exhorts, to give willingly or liberally, abundantly and unceasingly:
willingly or liberally, when he says: Cast your bread etc., that is, give freely; Matthew 10: "Freely you have received, freely give"; bread, namely of doctrine, of which is said in Lamentations 4: "The little ones asked for bread, and there was no one to break it for them." Upon the passing waters, that is, those who despise temporal goods, to whom alone it should be given: Matthew 7: "Do not give what is holy to dogs." Or: upon those of whom it is said in the Psalm: "We passed through fire and water, and you led us out" etc.
Abundantly it is also to be dispensed: therefore he says: Give
. seven portions: seven portions we understand as the doctrine of Christ of the Old Testament, because there the seventh day was commanded to be observed. By eight we understand the doctrine of the New Testament, because the eighth day is commanded to be observed. And because a man cannot abundantly communicate doctrine unless he is filled from above, he says: If the clouds are filled, they will pour out rain upon the earth. The clouds are good preachers, who fly to the heights through contemplation: Isaiah 60: "Who are these who fly like clouds and like doves to their windows"? These are filled by the Lord with knowledge: Isaiah 11: "The earth is filled with your knowledge, as the waters covering the sea": and this through the Holy Spirit: Wisdom 1: "The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world." These clouds, once filled, will pour out rain, that is, the doctrine of the divine word; Ecclesiasticus 39: "He himself like.
rain will send forth the words of his wisdom"; Isaiah 55: "As the rain and snow descend from heaven and water the earth and soak it: so shall my word be," upon the earth of the heart for bearing fruit; Hebrews 6: "The earth, drinking in the rain that comes upon it, and bringing forth fitting vegetation" etc.
Unceasingly also must it be dispensed: therefore he says: He who observes the wind does not sow. To sow is to preach the word of God: Matthew thirteen: "The sower went out to sow his seed": and afterwards he explains: "The seed is the word of God." This wind is the wind of detraction, concerning which Job one says: "A wind came from the region of the desert and struck the four corners of the house." He who observes this wind of detraction never sows, because he who fears the words of detracting men does not preach unto fruit, but rather is tossed about like a reed: Matthew eleven: "What did you go out to see? A reed shaken by the wind"? And he who observes the clouds will never reap. The clouds, as the Gloss says, are the blandishment of flattery, which he who desires to have never reaps eternal life, because "he has received his reward," Matthew six: and he sows in the flesh, and therefore will reap corruption, Galatians last chapter: "He who sows in the flesh" etc. And therefore these things are to be despised, but one must preach morning and evening; Second Timothy four: "Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season"; Acts twenty: "For three years I did not cease day and night, admonishing each one of you with tears."