Chapter XXXVIII.
But responding, the Lord Job from the whirlwind said. With terrible and reproachful speech, Job is to be rebuked, he received a response from the Lord, for what is said about the whirlwind belongs to the terror of rebuke, which was, as I said, to be rebuked by the Lord. For Job had said that he, being just, was unjustly chastised by the Lord: therefore the Lord said from the whirlwind.
Who is this person entangling sentences with unskilled words? With these words, Elihu is removed, along with his confused and mixed-up disputes against Job, where the words of God seem to be understood. And if you, oh Job, by speaking such things against me, have committed any sins: who is this person who dares to rebuke you, especially when he is not fit to reprove you, who should rebuke you as a superior? Therefore, with Elihu and his unskilled words removed from the midst, the Lord turns to Job and says to him, to prepare to hear his rebuke, saying in this way:
Gird up your loins like a man: I will ask you, and you will answer me. Therefore, anyone who is about to speak with God is first commanded to gird up his loins with chastity. The people, too, about to hear the law and celebrate the Passover in the desert, are commanded to gird up the loins of their minds, so that the wandering currents of carnal thoughts do not impede the steps of holy conversation, or we do not wrap garments around our physical loins. Therefore, by saying this:
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding. God could not answer this; He speaks to him in this manner. So you, Job, who unjustly accuse me of working against a small creature: where were you when I governed the world, which I made out of nothing? And when I rule over every creature with justice and moderation, would I do something unjust to you? Here God veils these mystical and very obscure things under the names of animals and birds, and covers the sacraments of the Church. Therefore God, according to the mystical understanding, established the apostles as the main foundations of the holy Church in predestination, as the apostle said: Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Or, as others have said, 'Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?', that is, when I established the Church gathered from the human race on earth and strengthened it through the power of faith.
Who has set its measurements, if you know, or who has stretched a line upon it? God describes his power and might, and the condition of the world, over which line he has stretched the measure of his good and righteous work. Alternatively: The measurements of the Church go from sunrise to sunset: in which, the measures can still be understood as the equality and fullness of the Trinity, to which the Church is referred to by the prophet: 'Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left; and your offspring will possess the nations and will inhabit the desolate cities.' Therefore, by means of these measures, the whole world of the true faith stretches out, so that there may be one lip for all who believe in Christ: these are the mysteries that were established before the ages, for indeed Job, while he was not yet, could not know them. Whether we rightly understand the measures of the Church, the diversities of graces, which the Apostle called divisions of the Spirit, when he spoke of diverse graces, he said: But all these things one and the same Spirit works, dividing to each one as He desires. He says: But to each one of us, grace has been given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Through these, therefore, the intention of contemplation is grace, like a straight line of believers in God, as it is said in the Acts of the Apostles: They had one heart and soul turned toward God.
On what are the foundations of that solid? How could a rational and wise creature, before it existed, know the work of the Creator, when even now it can hardly sense any of His works? Otherwise, on what are the foundations of the Church on earth solidly established, if not on Christ the rock, who is the beginning of its foundations? But the foundations of the Church are the holy ones, who are powerful and strong, by whom it is sustained and governed. Others have said: Upon what are its circles fixed, so that we may understand the weight of the world's stability according to the sense in which the Psalmist speaks of it, saying: For he hath established the world, which shall not be moved. For the figure of a circle is more beautiful than other figures. For a circle is congruent and equal to itself on all sides; and the whole moves solidly through itself, and has an infinite appearance, appearing to the eye as endless, because it continually reverts to itself without any end, and is led in an inexplicable manner. Therefore, it seems to me that this signifies a person who opposes nothing and does not attack in any way, such as those who will be in the future blessed age: for then the flesh will not lust against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. Although some holy ones in this age have also sensed the blessedness of this peace in part: not indeed feeling no discord within themselves, both internally and externally, but overcoming the hostile army of vices with stronger virtues, like Elkanah, the father of the holy Samuel, who was called a man alone. Thus, therefore, the whole will be in itself, suitable for itself, and immovably in that glory and without end. Therefore, these circles, shaped by the bond of the love of God, are affixed to the wood of the cross, and each one of them says: For I trust, neither death, nor life, etc.
But who has laid its cornerstone? This cornerstone is Christ, who was placed by God the Father in the foundation of the earth of the Lord's: he is not only foundational, but also angular, in which two peoples, namely the Jews and the Gentiles, are contained. Of whom the Psalmist also says: The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner. And the Apostle says: By this highest angular stone, Christ Jesus, in whom every structure fitted together grows into a holy temple. Therefore, the Father sent him into the world, that he might be laid as a foundation.
When the morning stars praised me together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Therefore, a precious stone was laid as the foundation of Zion, which is the second man from heaven, and the morning stars praised me together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. The stars and the sons of God are understood to be the angels, who rejoiced at the birth of the Savior. As the angel said to the shepherds: Behold, I bring you good news of great joy, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Evangelist: And suddenly there was a multitude with the angel, and so on. Therefore, the angels are called morning stars because they were the first among rational creatures to be made on the day that is Christ, and they are the sons of God: they are not the sons of darkness, like those who have fallen from their number, who have become not only the sons of darkness but also the rulers of darkness, that is, the rulers of sinful men. Then with a loud voice, as mentioned above, all my angels praised me. Just as in the little sheep, we rejoice in the salvation of the human race, praising God. Likewise, we rightly understand the morning stars to be all the children of the Church who are reborn to Christ through baptism, as the Apostle says in his letter to the Church: You are all children through faith in Christ Jesus. Therefore, because of the morning vigil in which the Lord rose, they are called morning stars, or because of the new light of grace that begins for them, they are also called neophytes.
Who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth as coming out of the womb? When the waters covered the whole earth in the condition of the world, and darkness was upon the face of the abyss, then according to the faith of the book of Genesis, God commanded on the third day, that all the waters should be gathered together into one place. He also set a boundary and limit for them, so that they would not go beyond their borders to cover the earth again. The womb from which the sea came forth can figuratively be understood as the underlying earth, so that we may believe that water was created by God from it and in it. For God created the two great parts of the world, heaven and earth, out of nothing, and formed the lower parts of them from shapeless matter. He also established the other distinct or formed creatures, among which we believe the waters were made, although we do not read of their creation written at the beginning of Genesis. But the creation of almost all the others is recorded in the books of the Lord's Day. And even about the sea itself, holy David said, when speaking of the blessed man: His hope is in the Lord his God, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them. Therefore, this process of the sea, seems to me to be the outpouring of waters, which emanated from the hidden boundaries of the earth's veins, and covered the entire surface of the earth. We read that this was more clearly evident in the flood, where it is said: 'And all the fountains of the great deep burst forth.' Therefore, I believe the womb of the sea is called the bosom of the earth, so that we may know that the sea was born from it. But someone says: 'I say that the mass of waters is congenital with the sky and the earth, and created at the same time.' Finally, concerning the waters and the earth, God made them, or rather brought forth the other creatures. If therefore this confirms that opinion, that the waters were created out of nothing, because from them have arisen diverse animals at the command of God, then what shall we say about the sky, which is a more excellent part of the world, from which we do not read that anything has been brought forth as from formless matter? In this also, pertaining to its greater beauty, God made, arranged, and ordered the stars and the diverse spheres of the heavenly bodies. And according to this assertion, the elements of the sea and land will be better than the sky, whose most beautiful adornment we admire: because it surpasses all other creatures.
When I put a cloud as its garment, and wrapped it in darkness like the swaddling clothes of infancy. When, he said, the sea is so great in width, length, and depth: yet by the strength of my power I made it like a small element, weaving it as a garment with a cloud and darkness; indeed, I covered it with humble and insignificant things, which are likened to the swaddling clothes of infancy. And because we said that the sea, as it were, proceeds from the womb, preserving the translation of its name, he said that the sea was begotten as a small thing, wrapped in darkness like swaddling clothes, or as others have said, wrapped in a cloud.
I enclosed it with my boundaries, and I set a boundary marker and gates, and I said: 'You shall come this far and no further, and here shall your proud waves be stopped.' These boundaries are divine words, which, understood as fixed boundaries, are immovable in meaning, and this very thing is what follows, with God saying: 'I set a boundary marker and gates.' In another way, who has shut the sea behind doors? Scripture often refers to this world as the sea, as even the holy David says: 'This great sea, with its wide expanse.' Item: Those who go down to the sea in ships. And Habakkuk: You have sent your horses into the sea. And Isaiah: He has killed the sea monster that is in the sea. Therefore, this sea is enclosed by the divine commands, like certain boundaries of sacred discourse, so that from the womb of his heart, where he conceived cares and worldly allurements as if from a seed, he would no longer burst forth into action as if giving birth, and pour himself out into various deeds to be perpetrated; and thus, when the prophet saw the world believing in God, possessing this good in himself, he rejoiced and said to God: You have established the sea by your power. I declare the world faithful to the people of the holy Church: who is called the sea in particular, and dwells in this world. And this is the world of the faithful, of which the Lord says: For God so loved this world, that he gave his one and only Son for it. There is also the world of the unbelievers, of which likewise the Lord says to his disciples: If the world hates you: know that it hated me first, etc. Thus we say that two worlds of people dwell in this physical and animal world, which can also be called two seas, taking a metaphorical name from this sea of waters, because it is both a good or bad home, and an excellent or terrible city. The people who are tossed by the fluctuating sea are called true sailors, who in this life are tossed by restless and uncertain motion. When I would put on the cloud as its clothing, and would wrap it in darkness as if with the swaddling clothes of infancy. Let us receive the cloud that covers all things, the Holy Spirit infused and poured out upon all creatures, of whom it is said: The Spirit of the Lord was borne above the waters. But darkness is anything empty beyond the world: where there is lightness, that is, a retreat can be understood. But morally, according to the authority of Scripture, clouds are the announcers of truth. Therefore, with these consoling and instructive words, by dripping from above, the Lord said that He has protected the world of the faithful from the heat of temptations and has provided it with the shadow of the promise of eternal blessedness, that is, the garment of the ministers of the Gospel, to be spread over the sea of peoples so that the unbeliever may not be scorched by the blazing heat. Moreover, the sea of peoples situated within the perfect preaching of the Gospel is covered, due to the infantile behavior of certain individuals, with milk-like teaching, like cheaper clothing, because they are unable to behold the more sacred mysteries, which are shrouded in a darkness of understanding. I have encircled it with my boundaries, and I have set a barrier and doors. You will come here, and you will not proceed further, and here you will break your swelling waves. At the boundary, God said, I have gathered and closed off the predicted sea within the confession of one faith, and to confine it, I have placed the strongest barrier of charity against it, and I have blocked the mouths of unbelief, so that no matter the violence of storms and persecutions, it may be compelled to go beyond the fixed limits of obedience. It will never surpass the boundaries of my charity, to which I have said: Thus far you shall come, and you shall proceed no further, and here you shall break your swelling waves. That is, if by chance the waves of evil thoughts toss you within the sea of your heart, and a strong wind of pressures attempts to completely shake you, causing you to be driven into a dry and barren state, as if pushed into sterile sand. Do not pass by these defenses of my faith and love: and thus it will happen that the threatening winds, when they crash against the strongest rock, will be dissolved.
Did you command the dawn to know its place and show the early light its place? The Lord said this to Job, that He Himself arranges the returning cycles of His hidden and secret things to their appointed places each day; and for this reason, Job is accused, who claimed that God, as the maker and governor of all things, had operated without any sense of fairness; and as if saying this, He said to him: You, who consider yourself very wise, and as if you had fashioned yourself to be equal to My light, and believe that you can argue about My judgments: if the elements of the stars fulfill the command of their Creator, perhaps they continue their course by your disposing of their mystery, even though all these things were created before you existed in Adam through Me. Otherwise: This dawn is our Savior, who is also called the sun of justice. He illuminates the Church, namely the rational world, with the warmth of faith and the splendor of his grace. So, Job, what did you command this dawn to arise from heaven, shining on those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death? Just as, Job, after your beginning you could not command the eternal dawn, so that the world, established in the darkness of errors, would shine: likewise, after his death, you could not show the place of his resurrection and glory in the right hand of his Father, whom I called back to me after he willingly accepted death. As the Lord Jesus himself said in the Gospel: So if you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before.
And did you shake the furthest ends of the earth, and cast out the wicked from it? This earth can be understood as the Church: of which the Lord said above, from which in the furthest ends of the earth, that is, in the last age, sinners will be cast out; so the Lord Himself says: Behold, I will command, and will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, as grain is shaken in a sieve. Therefore, God, who according to the prophet measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and weighed the heavens with a span, and with three fingers weighed the earth, He Himself, holding the edges of the earth with both hands, shakes it here and there like a sieve, or casts it out as a garment, that He may cast out the wicked like chaff and tares from the wheat of the righteous. Therefore, all these things demonstrate not only the strength, but also the justice of the one who works, and from this it is that the Lord speaks to the holy Job with a rebuke: why he said that an extremely severe punishment was inflicted on the innocent. According to the moral sense of the understanding of this passage, as I understand it, it is easier to interpret the outcome as the nature of the earth, because man is called from the earth, and the lives of the saints are extreme, because they live without carnal pleasures, even though they are in the flesh. And therefore at the ends of the earth they are said to be going to earthly actions, not living in the midst as in the whole body. Therefore, these extreme points or boundaries of the earth are in the hand of the Lord, as the prophet says: 'For all the ends of the earth are in His hands.' This is what the Lord claims to hold and shake, so that they may tremble before His presence, as the prophet says of Him: 'He looks upon the earth and makes it tremble.' And thus He shakes off the wicked from their land, whom we certainly understand to have detestable customs of vices. Therefore, the Lord executes the impious ones of this world from his holy ones, when he establishes them as innocent who have been cleansed by him. Concerning such impious and sinful people, the prophet said: In the morning, that is, in the knowledge of the science of God, with faith in me as the rising light, I would destroy all the sinners of the earth, to scatter them from the city of the Lord: every holy soul, certainly all those who work iniquity. Whether God will hold the world at the end, like a guilty one for his judgment, at the time when the extremities of the earth also tremble with the fear of conscience, where we can understand even the smallest things in the outermost parts of the earth, who also must be driven out from the gentle ones by the just judgment of God, as the proud and impious ones from the earth. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
It will be restored as a clay seal, and it will stand like a garment. This seal is understood as the soul of man, which was made in the image of God. In it is expressed the likeness of the goodness of God and the glory of all virtues. Therefore, this seal of the image of God and likeness, which was worn away and blurred by the sin of Adam, will be restored again through Christ by a repeated impression. This seal is now renewed by faith and the grace of baptism, and will be engraved on the mind with a better life. But in the resurrection, everything will be completely restored, when just as the clay of the human body will be repaired in incorruption, so also the soul, together with it, will be clothed with the garment of immortality, as if with a robe of glory. So that just as glory itself and the incorruption of immortality, that is, Christ, remains forever, so also the one who has put on that clothing may remain gloriously without end. Speaking of this garment in relation to the clay of his flesh, the Apostle says: This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. However, this should be examined more carefully, because in the Scriptures, clothing is sometimes said to have a different meaning. Therefore, clothing is sometimes said to be our very own body, in which the soul is like clothed: as the prophet says to the sinful soul: Your iniquity shall cover your clothing. Likewise, the virtues of the soul are also seen as clothing, by which the same soul is composed and adorned. Of these, the prophet says to the righteous one who performs acts of mercy: Then your morning light shall break forth, and your clothing shall quickly arise: And since these clothing are living and rational, they will not be made for you, but will arise in you. And sometimes sins are called clothing, as the prophet Zacharias says: And Jesus was clothed with dirty clothes. The angel said to those standing in front of him, saying: Take away the dirty clothes from him: he said to him: Behold, I have taken away your wickedness. Above, we have said that clothing is the glory of immortality, with the light of which man is to be clothed eternally, never fading. Other interpreters have said this: And you, taking clay from the earth, formed man, and you placed him famous on the earth: that is, preeminent over all creatures. While the Lord speaks these things to Job, he is strongly rebuked. However, according to mystical understanding, shaded by the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, a man, is figuratively portrayed from the earth of the virgin Mary. Therefore, this man is assumed from the clay of human flesh. We should understand that the term 'clay' here is not used to denote worthlessness, but rather the very material from which Christ was taken: just as Adam in the beginning, who was formed from the slime of the earth. And just as he came into being through one from the bosom of the earth, so also he, being formed in the womb of his mother, came into being through one who created him. And thus he is famous over all the earth: so that from the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord may be praised.
Their light shall be taken away by the wicked, and the exalted arm shall be broken. The light of the wicked is the glory and happiness of this world, which will pass away with the passing world, as Solomon also says: The light of the wicked shall be extinguished, and their strength and power, which are called by the name of the arm, shall be immediately crushed.
Have you entered into the depths of the sea, and walked in the farthest depths of the abyss? God, who governs and directs all things by his providence, signifies in these places with abundant and elaborate speech. Hence he says to Job: 'If you can be everywhere and know all that has been created, and if you were able to penetrate into the hidden depths of the earth and also the deeps of the sea, and if you have wandered through its farthest and outermost depths.' Therefore, these words are spoken to reprimand Job. Whereas others have said: 'Have you entered the source of the sea? The beginning and origin, from which the sea itself, as if from a womb, flows forth from the Ocean sea,' it seems to be saying that we know that this happens through the constant course and ebb of the Ocean, and they report and affirm this, that the immense outpouring of the Ocean sea happens in one moment of time through the rivers of all regions and provinces. However, we ourselves know that it comes in the alternating successions of all days and nights, coming for twenty-four hours, and with the passing of a quarter of an equinoctial hour, coming back more slowly without interruption, whether by day or night, for five equinoctial hours in ebb tide, with great heat and violent force, either only in hidden places or also returning in the reversed courses of great rivers to higher areas, and flowing out with a slightly gentler current for seven hours of the same measure, and emptying into only that which had been filled for five hours. Thus, it can be seen as incredible that in the same sea, like a certain fountain, so many waters bubble up, from the depth and sufficient abyss of which, at a certain time, those waters sink down to the surface, and again, returning, fall into the same deepest gulfs: they rush away headlong, and, by a perpetual law established by God, bubble up from the very depths and again flow down to the lowest depths, and perhaps God said to the holy Job: Have you entered the fountain of the sea? Since only God knows what He has created. Furthermore, I believe that according to mystical understanding, God said this because at the end of the world He would descend to the underworld for the redemption of mankind, where He said He walked in the power of the descender: Because it was impossible for Him to be held in the bonds of hell as if guilty of sin. For He alone was made as a man. At present, indeed, without assistance, but still free among the dead. But Jonas the prophet, who in a special way prefigured the Savior, clearly demonstrates in his prayer, which he poured forth in the belly of the fish, what the underworld in the depths of the earth is. He speaks of being encompassed by the abyss of water and in many other places in Scripture, it speaks of the nature of the underworld. We can also understand this passage morally, in that, since we know that the sea is figuratively referred to as the world, its depths are above all the wicked and sinners, who, as much as they love it, are nevertheless immersed in its darkest depths so as not to see at all the light of the Gospel and the glory of Christ. But the very depths of the abyss are the dwelling place of all the impious and sacrilegious, who, descending into deeper darkness of sin, are engulfed by the excessive flood of lasciviousness, like a multitude of waters. To these, our Lord, not despising anyone and desiring to save all, deigned to come so that he might enlighten their hearts blinded by unfaithfulness through his grace, and they, having become light in the Lord, might become his temple, so that he might walk and dwell in them, and be their God.
Are the gates of death open to you, and have you seen the doors of darkness? There is no creature, however powerful and strong, that can resist the majesty of God. And because they naturally perceive the Creator, they yield to His divine power, against which they cannot oppose. Hence, the ancient interpreters said: Are the gates of death open to you? They understood that such gates, which are surely feared, are not insensible and inanimate, but rather they are those unclean spirits, our enemies, the opposing powers, through which the human race found entrance to death. They themselves are dark gates, the minds of which are full of maliciousness and envy's darkness, God alone can see. Therefore, since these we speak of have become darkness by departing from the true light, they are called the powers of darkness, that is, the leaders of sinful people, and for this reason they are also called dark gates, because through their deception, a man has entered into death by the darkness of sin. Therefore, when it was said, ‘You saw dark gates,’ other interpreters have translated the place itself more clearly, saying: Either the gatekeepers of hell feared you: this place does not need explanation, but rather what was previously said obscurely, it now declares most openly. Certainly, in the passion and death of the Lord, these things that are said are clearer than light, who opened the gates of hell and freed the souls of the saints from there, unraveled the laws of Tartarus, going out from the underworld, made the sentence of death meaningless by rising, led confidently the trembling principalities and powers, who were the gatekeepers and the gates, openly triumphing in himself. According to the true understanding of tropes, the gates of death are our senses, which are then closed by virtues, because they are obtained by vices, and through them the death of sin enters the citadel of the mind. These dark gates are called so because they open the way to the darkness of sins or even punishments. Therefore, these gates, or these doors, are opened to men for salvation, when they have conquered vices as their enemies and turned them into flight, and have opened them with the virtues of holiness, so that they may hear with exhortation the words of the prophet saying: Open to me the gates of righteousness, I will enter into them and praise the Lord. For a holy person enters into possession of the testimony of sanctity and the jewels of virtues, preserving them with affection and rejoicing, because through the sharing of the common treasure, their hearts become one and their souls become one with God. And thus they are placed together in this world as if in the examination of a furnace: as though from one mouth they bless God at all times, and his praise is always on their lips.
Have you considered the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know, all things. Who among men can know the extent of its greatness, except He alone who created all things? Concerning whom the prophet says: He measured the waters with his hand, and the heaven with his palm, and enclosed the whole earth with his fist. Likewise elsewhere: Have you, Job, foreseen the breadth of the earth, that is, the future Church, which I have enlarged throughout the whole world, as the Gospel grows everywhere. Therefore, tell me if you were able to understand this, or if you were ever able to comprehend it. Whether the breadth of my wisdom, which I attribute to the earth, my home, that is, the Church: could you, with the eye of your mind ablaze, look into the future by yourself? This wisdom expanded the heart of Solomon, like the sand on the shore of the sea, and gave him great prudence, which is sung upon his departure, and confidently acts within its own breadth. This same wisdom commands that the various senses and the rich debates be written down threefold in the heart of man. Therefore, these words can be understood as spoken from the perspective of the Father, who is the Son, with divine wisdom.
In which way light dwells, and what place darkness is, so that you may lead each to their boundaries, and understand the paths of its house. In the way of a holy person's conversation, light of virtues dwells: but darkness, that is, the place of vices, is the sinful person, or that place of which it is said: Go, you cursed, into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Therefore, Job, you know how to discern the merit of each, and according to justice, to lead each of these to the predetermined boundaries of retribution, you were able to understand the thoughts of their hearts, as if you were understanding the paths of their homes. There is a way, or rather a path, by which light of faith and knowledge dwells: the light of faith and knowledge dwells in the heart of the believer, or rather the light on earth, Christ in the Church. But the place of darkness, that is, ignorance and unbelief, is the heart of the foolish and unbelieving. And therefore, good and evil people, according to their merit, travel through various paths and, led by the just and good Lord, arrive at the home of eternal communion.
Did you know then that you were going to be born, and did you know the number of your days? Who among men knows before he exists, that he is going to be, and knows the years of his life? Likewise, when Adam sinned and became a son of death, when were you able to know or understand that you were going to be born from the womb of Mother Church through the spirit and grace of baptism, and that you would be restored in the final resurrection for eternity, and how could you know the number of your days, which are without end, except through yourself?
Have you entered the storehouses of snow or seen the storehouses of hail, which I have reserved for times of trouble, for the day of battle and war? By these words, God wanted to demonstrate His power, which He also has in the hidden and invisible things of His creation. He said to Job: Have you entered the storehouses of snow or seen the storehouses of hail? For there are not certain places in some vast and spacious part of the world where a mass and heap of countless snows are stored within, so that they may rightly be called storehouses from which these gathered species may be produced when God desires. Rather, it is so, as the Lord Himself says in another place: And the appearance of the field is with Me. For whatever He desires to do, His will immediately proceeds to action. And therefore these treasures named, are not placed in any immense and spacious location, but in his will and disposition: as it says in another place: And the beauty of the field is with me: in whom there is nothing imperfect, because there is no difference between his thinking and his doing, but immediately it is done, as he desires. In this hidden disposition of his divine heart, where these treasures of things were when they did not yet exist physically, Job is asked if he can enter. For no one can approach or know that secret of divine majesty, except the Son who is in the bosom of the Father, of one nature and substance. Therefore, these things are prepared by God for the time of the enemy, battle, and war. In many ways and through various other countless judgments, God punishes and corrects the human race, just as He devastated the Egyptians with thunderbolts and hail. And generally, He visits the punishment of mankind with other things. He humiliates the enemy with fierce attacks, devastates with earthquakes and chasms, destroys with whirlwinds, overwhelms with ruins, and drowns with shipwrecks. He also afflicts them with countless other plagues, whether with slow infirmities or with acute illnesses and corrupted air. We read in Deuteronomy that he prepares the proper punishments of tribulations for his enemies who resist and rebel, so that he may inflict on them the just penalties according to his righteousness. Likewise, we sometimes experience snow to our advantage, and other times to our disadvantage, and therefore under the name of snow we may understand in this place a collection of opposing powers, which have departed far from the love of God, that is, they have forsaken God dwelling in heaven, so that they may be cast down to the earth by the just judgment of God. However, this snow and hail, as if forgotten by their own nature, hardened into a certain firmness, as if certain secret machinations of thoughts, God desired to name treasures, as the prophet Ezekiel says about their leader: In the multitude of your merchandise, your innards are filled with iniquity. Therefore, the Lord alone is the knower and searcher of all these thoughts. He says that He has prepared these treasures, which are named snow and hail by riddles, for the time of the enemy, the day of battle and war. And since they would never turn to God with a foolish heart, by divine arrangement they became teachers of punishments, so that they may correct others by the judgment of God with the scourges of correction, and punish others according to the just sentence of God, and establish others who are afflicted by harsh tribulations as more illustrious. Just as it clearly appeared in the case of the holy Job, it was also demonstrated in the Egyptians likewise, to whom dreadful plagues were inflicted by evil angels, against their will fighting against God. Item, did you enter the treasures of snow, and so on. Could the Lord have spoken about his coming in the flesh in these words, by which he, the eternal fire and fire of heaven, and the divine fire through which all rational creatures are kindled, deigned to descend to the earth, which is like a snowy region and the cold of this world, hardened by the excessive cold of unbelief, he exclaimed and said: I have come to send fire upon the earth. Therefore, it declares that it has entered the treasures of such human hearts, namely the coldest in forgetting their God, so that, the coldness of infidelity being expelled, they would burn with love for Him and say: My heart is on fire within me, and in my meditation a fire is kindled. So that, coming to the fire of understanding through the progress of faith from the coldness of foolishness, they would say: Was not our heart burning within us when Jesus opened the Scriptures to us, with our hearts enlightened and the fountain of charity ignited? And so, entering the world and visiting it, he looks at the hearts of mortals, which are also called treasures by the Lord himself in the Gospel, as it says: 'A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things.' Therefore, God prepared these things we have mentioned, the enemy of strife and warfare, dying for us in due time: he triumphed over the grave and most troublesome enemy, the devil, in hell, and rising from the dead, he conquered his adversaries of faith in Judea.
By what path is light scattered, and heat divided on the earth? Who can truly know the way of the sun, how it moves in an ordained course in the right hemisphere of the sky, spreading light over the lands, or how heat is divided in turn by the seasons or by the regions of the world, so that it may burn more intensely elsewhere at the same time, while being felt with moderate warmth in another place. Also, by what path is light scattered, and heat divided on the earth. The preaching of the Gospel is the way by which the light of faith is spread upon the hearts of believers. And it is spread beautifully, because by the dryness of the minds of unbelievers, they are sprinkled with the abundance of divine grace, and thus the heat of the Holy Spirit is divided upon the earth of the faithful. Thus, I say, it is divided, when grace is given to each person according to the measure of the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ. Or it is divided in this way, when the announcement of Christ is the scent of life unto life for some, but the scent of death unto death for others. Thus, therefore, the very goodness of the Gospel is divided, in that it bestows life on some, death on others, and operates through the crime of unbelief. Likewise, the way of holy conduct and the light of the fear of God are spread over all the earthly members of a man's body, so that the darkness of sins and the heat of temptations may flee from him and be tempered by the help of God's grace, lest, with the rising heat of the sun, it may boil over on himself. And thus, therefore, the heat is divided when not the whole weight of tribulations is imposed simultaneously on them, as the Apostle says: For God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted, etc. And Solomon said: A wise son escapes the heat, but a wicked son is ruined by the wind in the harvest.
Who sent the most violent rain, and the path of resounding thunder, so that it rained upon the earth without man in the desert, where no mortal dwells, to fill the impassable and desolate place, and bring forth green herbs? This most violent rain is the Gospel of the Savior, which sent forth its message to the earth, so that His word would swiftly run: this, I say, is the rain in the mountains of Jerusalem, rising from the depths of the earth to the heights. Since the law will come forth from Zion, says the Prophet, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem; and being lifted up from the holy apostolic clouds, like flowing water, it runs abundantly with the breath of the Holy Spirit blowing upon it, making a path for itself in various signs and virtues of faith among the nations, with the terror of the name of God and the thunder of miracles going before it. Others have said that it has prepared a river for all peoples. And, I say, it has prepared a river for the Church, so that it may be inundated with copious and powerful rain of the Holy Spirit, as it was shown in the very beginning of the nascent Church upon the holy apostles and others. But what is said in praise of the evangelical rain, that it rained upon an uninhabitable earth, which did not have man: it will not be surprising if, as it sounds, it is understood to mean so much; but in the desert, that is, among the nations, it poured out the abundant teaching of the Lord's preaching. In the desert, I say, where no one had dwelt, that is, because no prophets had been sent by God to the nations, in order to fill the impassable and desolate places, and to produce the green herbs of the Gospel. The rain of God's charity filled the land of the Church, which had been deserted by God, and it nourished it with the fatness of abundance so that it produced and brought forth green herbs from the seeds of the sown, according to their kind, as it says in the psalm: 'And it shall flourish out of the city like the grass of the earth, and it shall multiply its fruits according to the parable of the Lord, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, some a hundredfold, and it shall hear with consolation the one encouraging it: Rejoice, O barren one, who does not bear; break forth and cry out, O one who is not in labor, for the children of the desolate one are more than those of the one who has a husband.'
Who is the father of rain, or who gave birth to the drops of dew? Who is the author and creator of this rain, and of this Sunday shower, if not God? He has separated this voluntary rain for his inheritance, as the Father says to the Son: Son, ask of me and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession. God himself has given birth to the drops of dew: hence the prophet says to God: For the dew that comes from you is their health. Therefore, in the river, He demonstrated the most abundant flow and generosity of divine grace. But in the dew, He showed the same grace gradually infiltrating the depths and penetrating the depths of the soul. Others have said, who produced the clumps of dew. Therefore, it will not be absurd for each of the saints to understand these clumps, which are in the field of the Church: of whom the Apostle says, You are God's field. Therefore, these clumps are born through baptism in Christ, as the Apostle says, Created in Christ Jesus for good works. From this heavenly dew, they were saturated, and became rich fruits in the holy ones, and fruitful.
From whose womb did the ice come forth? By the name of the womb, it seems to me that it signifies the secret of the heart. For we should not understand that the ice came forth from the mouth of God in a literal sense, but rather from that secret and inscrutable judgment of his mind, a just and strict sentence was passed. Therefore, he said that the ice came forth, meaning that the judgment went forth, by which certain people are struck with the punishment of hardness, and their hearts are bound with a very hard and unbreakable ice, and are restrained by a very cold freeze, so that they do not feel the warmth of divine love. Of the apostate angels, it can truly be said, and especially it must be understood of the Jews, to whom the waters of heavenly eloquence are frozen, so that they may flow forth in abundance with the grace of the fruits of the nations: of whose calling it was said in the earlier verse, and of whom: He turned the wilderness into pools of water, and dry land into flowing springs. And he caused the hungry to live there, that is, those hungry for righteousness: And they sowed fields, and planted vineyards, and they yielded a harvest of birth, and he blessed them, and they multiplied greatly. Therefore, whoever with a spiritual mind now contemplates the Church, which is everywhere present, sees its land, which was once deserted by God, now abounding with all these spiritual riches. Thus, the Church has received these predicted drops of dew flowing from heaven, and according to the Book of Judges, which we read about in the time of the leader Gideon, the dew of one lamb and a small nation has been poured out on the entire land that believes in Christ, who is the dew, by the grace of blessing. And that mystery, which the Psalmist foretold, has been fulfilled, saying: As the dew of Hermon. Hermoneutics, which means anathema, signifies by its height the people of the Jews. Therefore, its dew, namely grace and blessing, descends upon Mount Zion. For Zion is a lofty mountain, rich in virtues and sublime Church. In it is established the lookout of future contemplation of the believers. Hence, the very appearance of virtues is interpreted as Zion. And so that we may know the proper name of this dew, the Psalmist says: For indeed there, namely on Mount Zion, the Lord commanded blessing and life forever. And it follows with the Lord saying:
And who brought forth the frost from heaven? Therefore, in this manner, the sentence of hardening strikes the sacrilegious, because it is rightly said that evil is begotten by them from God, as we read about Pharaoh and the Jews, whom we see hardened due to their unbelief and excessive obstinacy of heart. It follows from this, with the Lord saying:
In similitudinem lapidis aquae durantur. Nomine aquarum, secundum Scripturarum auctoritatem, populi intelliguntur: sicut Joannes apostolus ait: Aquae autem populi sunt; et David ad Dominum: Libera me, inquit, de aquis multis, de manu filiorum alienorum. De his ergo mihi dicere videtur, qui nimio oblivionis Dei frigore obriguerunt, et instar lapidum, solidi et nimium duri effecti sunt. Deinde ait:
And the surface of the abyss is bound up. In the abyss, I understand the deepest obscurity of the mind, which is so covered by the dullness of excessive unbelief and is bound up with a certain frozen impiety, so that it becomes like a rock, in such a way that with such a mind, there is no access to breathe towards God, according to what the Apostle, taking up a prophetic testimony about the Jews, spoke, saying: God has given them a spirit of compunction, eyes that do not see, and ears that do not hear until this present day. In Psalm 147, which speaks of frost, ice, and crystal, according to this interpretation, which we read the Lord to have declared, the prophet speaks mystically. We can understand these passages simply: who has given birth to frost from heaven? Referring to the icy places of the mountains and the heights of the lofty ones, and through the immense air, places closer to the heavens, or rather more proximate. Therefore, according to this custom of the Scriptures, the Lord himself says in the Gospel, the birds of the sky. Now, setting aside the literal meaning, we ought to understand and believe those things which are preached sacredly by God.
Will you be able to join the sparkling Pleiades, or can you disperse the orbit of Arcturus? Now he speaks to Job about the order of the heavens and the movement of the stars. He calls the Pleiades the stars that are joined together, as if they are shown to be seven. And so the Greeks, because there were many of them together, gave them the name from the very multitude: πληθὺς or πλῆθος, for multitude is said, and from that it is derived that they are called Pleiades. Therefore, the Lord says to Job: Can you, by your power, make these stars joined together and be together? Moreover, I have made the circuit of the North, also known as the circuit of Arcturus, which constantly returns upon itself, revolving in a continuous loop to encompass the entire world. Can you perhaps dissipate it? We read about the stars of the sky, the constellations, and other places in Scripture, such as in the book of Joshua and Judges: 'The boundary of the Amorites was from the ascent of the scorpion stone and the higher places.' Therefore, let us interpret the words of the Lord according to mystical understanding: let us interpret the sky as the Church, which the Lord above referred to as the earth, but there it is named 'earth' because of its origin. But now, elevated through Christ into glory, heaven is rightly understood. In this heaven, the star clusters of the Pleiades and the North, contain within themselves one sacred interpretation. For the number seven itself, the sevenfold Spirit, demonstrates thanks and virtues in itself, which shine forth in this firmament of heaven. Therefore, these stars are called by the prophet the seven eyes of the Lord, whose thanks and virtues the prophet Isaiah enumerates, when he prophesies about the birth of the Savior, saying: And the spirit of God shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and understanding: the spirit of counsel, and fortitude: the spirit of knowledge, and piety: he has been filled with the spirit of the fear of God. Just as no one can connect the spiritual stars of inseparable light, so it is entirely possible for these stars of grace, as they circle around my Church, to be separated from an unbreakable connection. And as for what others have said, or what you have understood about the bond of the Pleiades: it raises the mind of the beholder to a spiritual understanding, so that they may strive to inquire about something allegorical.
Do you bring forth the Morning Star in its time, and make the Evening Star rise above the sons of the Earth? The star that we call the Morning Star, which is brighter than the other stars, as even the doctors of the Church have declared, is said to be one of those five stars that they call planets, because it has a different course from the other stars, and a much swifter one, and thus the planets, that is, the wandering or errant ones, are called so because they have not a fixed, but a changeable course. Therefore, it is believed that Lucifer will appear on earth after two years in the East. And another star, which is called Vesper, because it appears in the evening of the day at its own time: God said to Job, 'Do you make this star rise over the sons of the earth?' So, if you understand the power of the one who governs everything, and recognize justice working in you. Many think that this star is called Hesper. That is why Italy is named Hesperia, because it first appears there at its own time. Spiritually, the words are of the Father speaking about His Son, our Savior, saying: 'Will you bring forth Lucifer in his appointed time, and make the Evening Star rise over the sons of the Earth? Where the coming of the Lord in the flesh is signified, and his resurrection from the dead is foreshadowed, with the fullness of time approaching.' And He said: 'God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.' In this appointed time, He was brought forth by God the Father to visit the Earth, who is therefore called Lucifer, because coming from the higher realms, as if after two years, after the law and the prophets, He was born, and He showed us the light of faith and timely knowledge, being placed over us in darkness and the shadow of death. But indeed, the same Son of Man is called Vesper, who perished on the cross during the time of his passion. About whom the prophet said to the believing people: The Lord, whose name is, will make a journey for him who ascends above the West. Certainly, at the time of the setting, when he said to the Father: Into your hands I commend my spirit, he placed darkness, and it became in the hearts of the unbelieving Jews. Therefore, God the Father raised up this great shepherd of the sheep. I say, this Vesper, because he offered the evening sacrifice in the evening of the ages, he made the Son of Man rise above the sons of the earth: I wish they were not flesh and earth the food of the serpent, nor the sons of the night and darkness, but the sons of Lucifer, the sons of God.
Do you know the order of the heavens, and can you set its plan on the earth? If anyone can know the number of all the stars, he can also investigate the order of their arrangement. Therefore, no one truly knows these things except the one who created them. However, in a spiritual sense, it can be understood as follows: Job, do you, as one who knows the future, already know in what order the Church shines in the heavens, how diverse and manifold the graces of my spirit shine like stars, whether in glory or in the order of merits, so that the saints will shine like radiant stars in the resurrection? Others translate this passage as follows: That all things which are under heaven are made in the same way. When they say this, they mean that by the movement of time or the stars, things constantly repeat and cycle. However, it should be understood spiritually that the dispensation of reconciliation through Christ, the human race will continually grow until the end of the age, reaching the knowledge of all nations. This is because the saints daily progress in virtue and strive to reach the summit of moral excellence, and thus they are placed under the rule of the Church's authority.
Will you lift up your voice in the clouds, and will the rush of waters cover you? At first hearing, this is to be understood thus: Do you have such power that at your command and nod, rains immediately pour down from the sky and cover the earth? But with a higher understanding, when he says, 'I lift up my voice,' the Lord declares that when I call out to human beings, 'Come to me, all who labor and are burdened,' and with a feeling of compassion, I touch the secret thoughts of their minds, where there is, as it were, the cloudiness of sin and a greatly obscured forgetfulness of my name, so that, surrounded by countless peoples who obey my voice, I may cover them as with rushing waters, and may clothe myself in them as with a garment, in order to dwell in them, as the prophet says, 'I have put on a wedding garment like a bride.' Others have said: You will call the cloud with your voice, and it will obey you in the trembling of the mighty waters. The trembling of the mighty waters is a fearful command of the divine will, which God commands every holy person to observe by obeying, so that they may be saved through obedience. Job, could you do something similar?
Will you send forth lightnings, and they will go, and say to you, Here we are? In these sermons of God, it must be believed that his power is present, whatever he may desire, to whom even all things insensible are as if sensible; as the prophet says: The earth quaked before the face of the Lord, before the face of the God of Jacob. And the lightnings are called to return because they are sent by God to illuminate the world through the preaching of the Gospel, to whom the Lord says: You are the light of the world. And again: I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you may be for salvation to the end of the earth. And when the ends of the world return with the fruits of their labors, they will come with joy and say: You have entrusted me with five talents, behold I have gained another five. Whether they are divine inspirations, like lightning, by which the hearts of the saints are illuminated, so that, being inflamed with love for the charity of Christ, they may burn. But these lightning bolts of divine illumination shall return to God, who had sent them forth to incite our desire for Him, when, through that same divine visitation, we, with a burning and fervent soul, produce the work of His illumination.
Who has placed wisdom in the depths of man, or who has given understanding to the rooster? It is clear that when man was made in the image and likeness of God, he received the wisdom of reason, so that he could excel over other animals, which lack reason and prudence. As for the good things that God has given to man, I refer the reader to those who have written extensively about the goodness of nature and its virtues. God has also given such senses to the rooster, that after measuring the time of night, as if mindful of the approaching light, it announces the returning dawn to the world by crowing. But according to spiritual understanding, it must be understood in this way: that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. The Father has placed Him in the innermost being of man. For this is what the wisdom of God, who is His Son, says when Peter confessed Him as the Son of the living God, saying: 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And the Apostle says: 'But when it pleased Him, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me.' But I believe that each of the saints, who receive faith, understanding, and the steadfastness of virtue in the night and darkness of this world, cry out to God, so that He may inspire the enduring day and remove the shadows of present life, saying with urgency and frequent clamor of their prayers: Send forth your light and your truth. This we can also understand about the prophets, who eagerly announced the coming of the day and the sun. In this place, the interpretation is much different from others, who have said this: Who gave women the knowledge of weaving, and the understanding of different patterns? If women alone have received the knowledge of different patterns and the wisdom of weaving from God, about whom it is said: But the learned women gave, whom they knew in the work of the tabernacle: of whom the Lord in this place, as if specifically, says: Who gave women the knowledge of weaving, and the understanding of different patterns? In the book of Exodus, Bezalel and Oholiab, the priests, wove the garments of the tabernacle with various and intricate work. We know, therefore, that there are holy souls who have received the understanding of the spirit even now in history for the purpose of accomplishing this work: to whom, as it is written, God has given wisdom and understanding, and whatever skill can be invented, he has given in their hearts. Thus they were filled with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and knowledge and every kind of teaching for devising and creating every work, because that tabernacle of the law represented the image of the holy Church. Let us speak about this variety of characters or merits, like the true garment of those who serve Solomon, which the Queen of Sheba praised when admiring his wisdom, his house, his food, his dwellings, the order of his servants, their clothes, and ministers, and the continual holocausts offered in the house of the Lord. She said that this variety of offices is woven throughout the different Churches in the whole world, where some are married, others continent, and others virgins. Some adorn themselves with almsgiving, others by giving away all their possessions. Some through the cross and the mortification of worldly desires, others through knowledge of the Scriptures and the manifold graces of the Holy Spirit, they adorn the body of Christ with diverse colors, and make for themselves garments of eternal glory and immortality. They also weave together with perfect understanding the faith of the Trinity, like a threefold cord that is not easily broken. These spiritual women, that is, either holy souls or the Church established in different regions, accomplish such works.
Who will explain the order of the heavens, and who will lull the heavens to sleep? It is certain, because no one will be able to explain the order of the heavens or the course of the stars either by speech or by thought. But what does he mean by 'Who will lull the heavens to sleep?' In many places in the Scriptures, the elements are praised as declaring the glory of God, because in their arrangement and beauty, God is proclaimed by either humans or angels. That is, who, while engaged in the praises of Him, will cause them to live, that is, to rest? Therefore, in this honor, which is paid by the congregation of the Church, who else will give rest and refreshment but He Himself for eternity? Indeed, sleep is sometimes understood as rest in the Scriptures, as the prophet Isaiah says, Righteousness has slept in it: that is, in Jerusalem the equity of justice has rested, but now there are murderers. And a certain holy person, upon whom the light of the Lord's face had shone, said in the psalm, 'In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.' Also, in another place, he says, 'If you sleep among the midst of the clergy, that is, if you rest among the portions of the two Testaments.' And who will make the harmony of heaven sleep? Let us understand the holy angels, who are called heaven for the sake of its dwelling by the prophet in this manner, 'The heaven of heavens belongs to the Lord.' Therefore, who will make the harmony of this heaven to sleep, says the Lord, that is, who will be the one who can stop them from ceaselessly singing praises to me, saying holy, holy, holy Lord, so that they can rest and be as if asleep? Who will explain the order of the heavens? And the saints of heaven are frequently called by the name of heaven, concerning whom the prophet prophesies according to mystical understanding, saying: The heavens declare the glory of God. Therefore, who will be able to explain the reason for their faith, the donations they have according to the grace of God, which are different?
When dust was being formed on the earth, and clumps of soil were being formed? The dust that the Lord speaks of signifies the unfaithfulness of the nations: surely dry and loose, it is mixed into the apostolic Church foundation, so that through faith and the bonds, or the connections of charity, the union in Christ's covenant of unity and peace may grow and progress like solid ground into an increase of God. Hence the fields of the Lord, transformed into fruitful ones, are bound together in one body, the bond of charity in the Church. Moreover, the Scriptures are rightly called the heavens, because they are attributed to men from above, either because they contain heavenly mysteries in themselves. Therefore, who will be able to investigate with the mind or express with speech the meaning of these heavens, that is, the Scriptures, that have been veiled and profound with the obscurities of mysteries? Or who will order their prophecies to cease? The ancient interpreters have said this: Who has inclined the organs of heaven to the earth? That is, who is it that the singing of the heavenly host inclines to knowledge of the God worthy of praise, so that, by imitating his praise, human beings may deserve to be companions of the angels.
Will you capture the prey of the lioness and fill the souls of her cubs? Of the things that it enumerates throughout the entire text of this discourse, there are six quadrupeds and four birds. And in this complete number of the decalogue, it can be seen that God wanted to understand every creature, which is governed by him as its author, through it. However, the tenth number is perfect because by iterating through it, every number is multiplied to infinity. Therefore, according to the surface of the letter, it says this: I, who arrange everything with just dispensation, seem unjust in regard to you alone, O Job. According to the spiritual understanding, the lion or even the lioness is to be understood as the devil, who is also named such in many places in the Scriptures because of his savagery and strength. Therefore, the Lord says about him that he can harm no one unless he receives power from God. Therefore, by his just judgment, they are handed over to him, because he does not have the power to rule at all unless God himself allows it. Will you take the prey of the lioness, that is, as I will allow it to be taken. But I think that in this place they are called cubs, because she had named the lioness, whom she had nourished with the milk of her malice or wickedness to be destroyed by humans. The souls of these most wicked spirits are refreshed by the deaths of these, and concerning them it is said in the psalm; The lion cubs roar, that they may seize and seek food from God. Therefore, it is said that God gives food to these lions and dragons: when they receive those whom they desire into their power.
When do they lie in wait in their dens (in the woods, others say) and in caves? The dens or caves are the hearts of wicked people: in these hiding places they sit, or lie in wait, to kill the innocent.
Who provides food for the raven, when its young cry out to God as they wander about, searching for food? I believe that this raven represents the adversary, just as its young do, so that, just as we understood the lioness and her cubs to symbolize the devil and his army of the damned, we should understand this raven and its young in the same way. Therefore, when it is said that they wander about, it is indicated by this word that they suffer from a kind of hunger that drives them to seek the destruction of mankind as their food, and so they seem to strive with all their might until they achieve the fulfillment of their desires, just as we heard the Holy Spirit say through Solomon: 'Let the ravens peck out the eyes of a mocking father and the scornful mouth of an aging mother, and let the young eagles devour him.' We can feel this way, like a crow, that is, the devil, and all his associates have had us as fathers at one time, when we were assimilated to their errors and vices, and from this we were even called by the name of chicks. But leaving them, as the bride is taught to do, let her do: we are the bride, to whom it is said: Listen, daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people, and your father's house, and now calling upon the Lord, it can happen that we are called by our former name: as the prophet says, when he speaks of God: He gives food to their animals, and to the chicks of the crows calling upon Him. And I think that for this reason we are considered by our former name, so that we may know what we were, and what we now are through the grace of Christ. And from this very understanding of the great good, let us give even more thanks to God, saying with the Apostle: Thanks be to God the Father, who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has transferred us to the kingdom of his Son's glory. However, it is the custom of holy Scripture to frequently mention the names of past sins in the saints, as the blessed prophet Isaiah says of God: The beasts of the field shall bless me; and the Apostle Matthew is said to be a tax collector. Let us examine this passage, if we can interpret it in a positive way, so that we understand that raven and Christ. For just as according to the custom of the Scriptures, we call the mountain our Lord, and likewise we also call the devil: we also call a rock and a stone, and even a tree and a sword: so perhaps we can also call a raven. For even the Church, the bride, among other praises of Christ, says in the Song of Songs: His hair is like the cedars, black like a raven: but when we apply the name raven to the devil, we say that he is black with crimes and gloomy, and dwells in the darkness of wickedness. When we say that the Savior is truly signified by the name, we feel that he is most obscure in the mysteries of the Scriptures. And when we know that the devil is named in the Scriptures as a serpent, who would dare to believe of the Lord in this way, unless he himself had expressed in his own words a resemblance to the serpent, saying: Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; and he admonished his disciples to be such, saying: Be wise as serpents. And the serpent, that is, the accursed devil, is from God, because he deceived Eve by his craftiness; and Christ is called accursed, because cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. For by assuming the curse of man, that is, death which had come by the decree of God, he hung on a tree and that is why Christ was made accursed for us. These examples have been presented to strengthen the sense previously stated; let us now look at the following. Now, therefore, the Father prepares food for Christ, who is figuratively called a raven, when he gathers believers from the nations to him, just as the prophet said about the same Father, 'He who raised up the righteous one from the East, called him to follow. He will give nations before him, and he will obtain kings. Therefore, with these called to faith, the Lord Christ is refreshed like food with the joy of exultation. This people, that is, the disciples, and all believers cry out to God in prayer, asking for substantial bread daily, and they do this while wandering, because they are strangers and guests on the earth, where they have not established a firm and stable dwelling, but they say with the Apostle, 'We are unstable.' Therefore they certainly have the food of the Scriptures: by the consolation of which they are nourished, but the food of hope and faith is not sustenance for something that properly endures. And for this reason they are said to wander in this world: until they reach a certain immobility of the future age. For it also pertains to this spiritual understanding that these ravens are said to be nourished by dew, as the philologists have reported to have investigated.