CHAPTER III. And Anna prayed, and said: My heart hath rejoiced in the Lord.
1. We have already shown that the type of holy Church lies hidden in the person of Anna. She, indeed, once the child was born, declares that she exults in the Lord, because she did not swell with vain pride over having drawn the Gentile people to faith in the Redeemer, but kept the intention of her joy fixed on Him from whom she received the gifts of her fruitfulness. By these words she indicates the foundation of her joy in such a way that she also shows the cause of that same exultation. Barren indeed she wept, giving birth she exulted, to foreshadow the character of holy Church, which grieves that it has been cast down from the joys of paradise into this valley of tears, but patiently endures the hardships of its exile for the sake of winning souls. It has been accustomed to exult only in this: if in the tribulation of time by which it is pressed, through the glory of its fruitfulness, with the elect multiplied, the losses of the heavenly homeland may be repaired. Therefore she says: "My heart has exulted in the Lord," because she has obtained the fruit of her purpose. In this passage it should be noted that what she speaks in glorying she is said to have prayed. For it was stated beforehand: "And Anna prayed and said: My heart has exulted in the Lord." But why is she said to have prayed when she is known to ask nothing from God by entreaty? But because the holy woman knew through the spirit of prophecy that this would come to pass, and she vehemently desires it to happen, she speaks both exulting and praying. Indeed she exulted in the certainty of future things, vehemently desiring to happen what she knew by revelation of the mystery. Holy Church also recalls, proclaims, and prays the divine benefits from that source, loving and venerating them, because indeed it carries out outwardly by speaking what it inwardly desires to happen with wondrous longing, and venerates what has happened with great devotion. Therefore she says: "My heart has exulted in the Lord," because the gifts she receives for the fruit of eternal joy she does not convert to temporal gladness. There follows: (Verse 1) "And my horn has been exalted in my God."
2. What is the horn of Anna, except the power of the holy Church? This horn indeed was wonderfully lifted up when the Son of God, through His assumed humanity, made Himself a participant in our nature. Therefore in this the horn of the holy Church was exalted, in which human nature now shines, elevated above the angels. But in that the holy Church singularly declares Him her God and Savior, she covertly shows the rejection of the Synagogue. Therefore in God our Savior our horn has been exalted, because the sublimity of Ecclesiastical power has been raised up for us in the humanity of the Redeemer. Hence also concerning the same Redeemer it is said through Zechariah: He has raised up a horn of salvation for us, in the house of David His servant, as He spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets (Luke 1:69-70), because when she reports that her horn has been exalted, she covertly indicates that before she had a horn that was not exalted. For the holy Church before the coming of the Redeemer had a horn, because in the patriarchs and prophets she received from God both the order of right living and the power of correcting those who transgressed. But nevertheless she did not have an exalted horn, because even if she could live justly, still she could not return to the joys of Paradise without the presence of the Redeemer. But now the horn of the holy Church has been exalted, because we have already received the Redeemer of the world coming, through whose grace we are able not only to live rightly, but also to pass over to the joys of paradise, because He who died for us has already risen, in whose death death died, and paradise opened itself to His faithful ones. Therefore our horn has been exalted in our God, because, with the grace of the Holy Spirit now poured out, we see the image of the Redeemer impressed upon the multitude of the elect, while those who despise all earthly things, flee the pleasures of the flesh, and abandon their own possessions, shine with such higher power as the holy Church did not have these great marks of virtue in the multitude of the ancients. Our horn has been exalted in God our Savior, because to as many as received Him, He gave power to become children of God (John 1:12). Our Savior wished to exalt this horn when He said: Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). Hence again asserting He says: Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven (Matthew 16:19). Hence again He promises, saying: You shall sit upon thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28). Therefore let Anna say: My horn has been exalted in my God, so that evidently the glory of the holy Church may be designated, which obtains the singular summit of power from the presence of the Redeemer. And because she is now extended throughout the whole world, who once was afflicted by persecutions within Judea, there follows: (Verse 1) My mouth has been enlarged over my enemies.
3. For who else are to be understood as enemies of the Church than the Jews? Over whom indeed she has an enlarged mouth, because against their faithlessness she now moves the tongues of all faithful nations. Therefore the mouth of holy Church has been enlarged, because it is spread throughout the whole world, and while she instructs all nations by the preaching of truth, she reproves the foolishness of the Jews, as it were with enlarged mouth. And because she was able to do this for the reason that she joyfully received the Redeemer of the world coming in the flesh, she sets forth the cause of her enlarged mouth, saying: (Verse 1.) Because I have rejoiced in your salvation.
4. Now we have learned who the Salvation of God is. Concerning whom Isaiah also prophesying says: All flesh shall see the Salvation of God; all the ends of the earth shall see the Salvation of God (Isa. 52:10; Ps. 97:3). But Jesus in our language is called Savior. Concerning whom Habakkuk also promises himself joy, saying: I will rejoice in God my Jesus (Hab. 3:18). Behold, by the voices of the ancient Jews the Lord Jesus is declared to be God. But now the Jews await a Savior whom they in no way believe to be God. But perhaps the Jews strive to reject this in their own mouth, and while they interpret Jesus as Savior, they understand God the Savior not as the person of the Only-begotten, but of the Father; nevertheless in the same place it is added, whereby the person of the Only-begotten is more openly demonstrated: O Lord God, he says, my strength, set my feet in completion, and place me upon the heights, that I may conquer in his glory (Ibid. 19). Behold, he speaks to God saying: Place me upon the heights. But because he says: I shall conquer in his glory, there is certainly another of whom he speaks. Who therefore is he of whom he speaks except the only-begotten Son of God, whom he believes to be not only true man, but also God? Therefore when he speaks to God, saying: I will rejoice in God my Jesus, and I shall conquer in his glory, he demonstrates not another God, but another person of God. These are the reasonings of holy Church, these are the invincible assertions spread throughout the whole world against the faithlessness of the Jews. Therefore holy Church has her mouth opened wide against her enemies, because now, with God as author, it is known everywhere, whereby the faithlessness of the Jews is also refuted. Therefore let those who deny the Salvation of God hear the reason for the opened mouth, and let them be struck by the argument of our Savior's joy for their own confusion. But they can be struck, yet they refuse to cease from their blasphemies. Already the world has received the Salvation of God, all flesh has seen, the Jew does not believe, because, as I said, he awaits a Savior who is not God. Therefore let them hear the curse of the prophet saying: Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and whose heart departs from the Lord (Jer. 17:5). The Jews trust in a man, who refuse to believe in the Redeemer, while they await the Antichrist at the end of the world. For their confusion the Psalmist proclaims, saying: All the ends of the earth have seen the Salvation of God (Ps. 97:3). As if he confounds the faithlessness of the Jews saying: Why do you defer visions to the future? He whom you await has already come, he whom you held as promised has already appeared to all the ends of the earth; when you closed your eyes, he passed by; indeed you have become so blind that such great light stood before you, and you did not see. Therefore, shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth, sing, and exult, and make melody; make melody to our God on the harp, and with the voice of psalm, with trumpets of beaten metal, and with the sound of the horn trumpet. Shout joyfully in the presence of the Lord the King; let the sea be moved and its fullness, the world, and all who dwell in it. The rivers shall clap their hands together, the mountains shall exult before the face of the Lord, because he comes, because he comes to judge the earth (Ibid. 4, seq.). As if to say: Because they are pressed by such immense blindness that they did not deserve to see, you who have seen, rejoice more abundantly. But how wonderfully and ineffably one ought to rejoice, heaping up signs of joy, he says: Shout joyfully, sing, and make melody. Also desiring to convey the celebration of gladness, enumerating its instruments, he says: Make melody to the Lord on the harp, and harp, and with the voice of psalm, with trumpets of beaten metal and with the sound of the horn trumpet, shout joyfully in the presence of the Lord the King. What does "in the presence of the King" mean, except in the knowledge of the Redeemer? But he explains by how many this solemnity of joys is to be performed, saying: Let the sea be moved, and its fullness, the world, and all who dwell in it. O unhappy Judea, the ends of the earth have seen the Salvation of God, all the earth moved shouts joyfully, the whole world rejoices, the rivers clap with their hands, the mountains exult; but the impious hearts of the Jews do not believe, and in the darkness of their blindness they are struck with the punishment of envy. But him whom they do not fear to blaspheme, holy Church more attentively commends, saying: (Verse 2.) There is none holy as the Lord is.
5. In the description of the Redeemer, all things are designated as incomparable. For the true Redeemer is shown from this: that in everything said concerning His glory, no one is compared to Him. For He redeemed all who excels all. This is rightly said against Judea, which despises the Redeemer all the more boldly because it recalls having had many men who shone with great praise of holiness. Hence it is that when reproaching the man whose sight was restored, they say: "You be His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man is from" (John 9:28-29). Hence likewise they boast and say: "We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never served anyone" (John 8:33). But Moses was a man, Abraham was a man, Christ was a man. However, they were assumed for speaking with God; He was assumed into divinity. They were assumed for ministry; He, as the Only-begotten, was assumed to the kingdom. Hence He also speaks, saying: "All things that the Father has are mine" (John 16:15). There is none holy as the Lord is. Sacred Scripture also testifies to this, saying: "In whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9). Hence John says: "From His fullness we have all received" (John 1:16). There is none holy as the Lord is. Because in that He is declared Lord, the excellence of His holiness is commended. But the Jews assert that the Christ whom they await is a mere man, and yet they believe He will be their Lord and uniquely holy. But the Psalmist, reproving them, exhorts us to the joy of faith, saying: "Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness. Enter into His presence with exultation; know that the Lord Himself is God" (Psalm 100:1-3). They call Him Lord who is not God. Therefore we must shout for joy, we must serve with gladness, who have such a Lord who is also truly believed to be God, who proved the majesty of divinity that He claimed for Himself by incomparable miracles. Let those who deny His invisible divinity believe in His manifest works. But how wondrous is that holiness which sanctifies sinners! Hence He says of the sinful woman: "Her many sins are forgiven, because she loved much" (Luke 7:47). The woman with the flow of blood, recognizing this excellence of holiness, said: "If I touch even the fringe of His garment, I shall be saved" (Matt. 9:21). But who would affirm her faith if the effect of faith were not evident? For when she touched His garment, the blood stopped. There is none holy, therefore, as the Lord is, because whoever was able to be holy received from His gift that he might be able to be holy. For the holy Church, suggesting this in the following words, turns to the same Redeemer out of exceeding love, saying: (Verse 2) For there is no other besides You.
6. "Holy" is understood. Someone would be holy outside of him, if without the gift of the Only-begotten one could have had the spirit of sanctification. But who would dare assert this about men, when it is by no means established about the Angels? For it is written: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and all their power by the spirit of his mouth" (Psalm 32:6). The Word of the Lord is the Only-begotten of God. The evangelist John, indeed pointing to him, says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). If therefore even the angels are believed to be sanctified in the Son, much more is it believed about men that they cannot find the grace of sanctification outside of him.
7. This can also be understood without any implied meaning. Therefore when she says: "Nor is there any other besides you," what else is designated in the Redeemer but the immutability of the divine essence? Hence he also says to the blaspheming Jews: "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). Intimating the same thing to Moses in Genesis, he says: "I am who I am" (Exodus 3:14). For the only-begotten God's being is never to be dissimilarly. This state is certainly as far removed from all mortals as it is more clearly known that they are changed through many things at every single moment. This can also pertain to the state of justice, because the being of the elect is to remain in God through justice. And because the only-begotten of God is God, there is no one outside him, because none of the elect exists except in him. But if this is referred to his divinity, so that it in no way empties the understanding of his humanity, because one who does not have faith in the divine Incarnation cannot be just; therefore the Jews are struck by these individual words, who, while they despise the Redeemer, await the Antichrist, who is clearly proven not to be God. Hence it is also said through blessed Job: "Let the companions of him who is not dwell in his tent" (Job 18:15). The tent of the Antichrist is the love of faithlessness, by which he contradicts the faith of the Redeemer. In this tent indeed the Jews now remain, because while they lovingly inhabit the position of their faithlessness, they fight against the Redeemer. They are also said to be companions of him who is not, because in their purpose they aid the devil, who, when he fell from the love of that supreme essence, immediately lost true being. For him, indeed, not to be is to be unable to return to that supreme blessed essence through participation in love. And because the people of the Jews had not only the arduous way of life of the ancient fathers, but also the display of miracles for the increase of their pride, it is added: (Verse 2) "And there is none mighty like our God."
8. As if to restrain Judea in her vain boasting, he says: Those whom you claim did great things were mere men; He whom I proclaim was not only a holy man, but also mighty God. Therefore, when strength is considered, excellence is indicated, because truly all strength of man is utterly weak in comparison to the divinity. Yet in this passage, the assertion of divinity does not prove the excellence of the work, but the incomparability of strength shows the truth of the divinity. As if to say: In this it is known that he spoke true things, because he proved the divinity which he claimed for himself by incomparable works. Hence through himself he says: "If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would have no sin" (John 15:24). Now indeed the works themselves must be examined. Moses divided the sea (Exodus 14:12), Elijah divided the river (2 Kings 2:8); our Lord Jesus walked upon the sea (Matthew 14:24). What then is more elegant—to provide a way for the people passing through in the dry bed of the deep, or to make the very surface of the sea a way? For they, because they were weighed down by the burden of humanity, sought a way on the solid floor of the deep by which they might proceed; but He who is known to have assumed the weakness of human nature into the height of divinity was carried upon the waters by his own power. Moses obtained the splendor of his countenance from communion with the word of the Lord (Exodus 34:29), Joshua fixed the sun by his prayers (Joshua 10:12-13); but because Jesus is God, he shone forth before his disciples with the power of the sun. The children of Israel could not gaze upon the face of the former; those who were worthy to behold the glory of the latter fell down, so that you might openly recognize that what transcended human capacity was divine. To Him, while those others stood by on the mountain, it was said by the eternal Father: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him" (Matthew 17:5-6). And therefore also Elijah, who shut heaven so that it would not rain, and opened it so that it would rain (1 Kings 17:1)—what is he in comparison to Him who, with the heavens opened, presented the Father as witness of his divine generation? Therefore there is none strong like the Lord, because whatever power Moses was able to show, the Lord, not Moses himself, performed. But Jesus displayed everything that he did wonderfully by his own power, because he was Lord even of Moses. For it was not Moses who rained manna on the people journeying through the desert, but the Lord (Exodus 16:13ff.). It was not Moses, but the Lord who went before the people in a pillar of fire by night and of cloud by day (Exodus 14:19). It was not Moses, but the Word that came to him who brought forth water from the rock (Exodus 17:6). It was not Moses, but the Lord who provided birds to those who desired them (Exodus 16:17). Hence the Lord also restrains the Jews glorying in the strength of their fathers, saying: "Not Moses, but my Father gave you bread from heaven" (John 6:32). 46 Hence the Psalmist, not vainly extolling Moses but laudably exalting the Lord, says: "He did wonders in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan; he divided the sea and led them through, and made the waters stand as in a heap. He led them with a cloud by day, and all the night with a light of fire. He brought water out of the rock, and caused waters to flow down like rivers. He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven, and rained down manna for them to eat, and rained flesh upon them like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the sea" (Psalm 78:12ff.). But the Lord Jesus, incomparably strong, appeared not in another's power but in his own. Hence, powerful of himself, commanding the paralytic, he says: "I say to you, arise" (Matthew 9:6). Hence also it is written: "As many as touched him were made well from whatever illness held them" (Mark 6:56). And again: "Power went out from him and healed all" (Luke 6:19). For this mark of strength neither Moses nor Elijah could have, so that while incomparable signs were made known, they might most clearly designate the coming of the Only-begotten. Rightly therefore the Synagogue is condemned to perpetual silence, when it is added: (Verse 3) "Do not multiply speaking lofty things. Let old things depart from your mouth."
9. As if to say: While you perceive incomparably new things, you reproachfully bring forth the deeds of the ancients. For those things had preceded as a shadow, as it were. But now the faithful openly and reverently adore these works of our Redeemer, because what was shadowed there by the concealment of the sacrament became manifest at the coming of the Redeemer, having awaited the body of the truth to be revealed. Therefore, if they are referred to the new things, they are not old, because understood in the Holy Spirit, they receive no oldness. Concerning that Spirit indeed who renews all things, the Psalmist prays, saying: "Send forth your spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth" (Psalm 103:30). Therefore they are old, if they are compared with the works of the Redeemer; but when we bring forth those things spiritually to confirm these, they are renewed by the same Spirit by which we understand these. Therefore when holy Church reproves the Jews concerning the narration of old things, what else is indicated than that they understand carnally the spiritual deeds of the Fathers? For the Synagogue raises itself against holy Church all the more rashly, the more proudly it is exalted by knowledge of the law and the prophets, which it learned was divinely inspired to its fathers, but exhibited to itself only materially. Hence follows: "Do not multiply speaking lofty things, glorying." And that they might cease to be puffed up, she adds, saying: "Let old things depart from your mouth." For those things are now old to her which, as I said, are not understood through the renewing Spirit. Therefore it is as if to say: It is fitting that you be silent from the narration of those things whose new and splendid meanings you do not know. And even if you understand these things subtly, they ought not to furnish you the swelling of arrogance, because God is the Lord of knowledge. For the Redeemer of the human race, because He is the Word of the most high Father, is indeed the Lord of all knowledge. For Isaiah spoke lofty and great things, Jeremiah spoke great things; but surely they would have said nothing if this Word, the Lord of knowledge, had not indicated knowledge to them before they spoke. Hence also it is frequently read in the books of the same prophet Isaiah: "The word that was made to Isaiah the prophet." Frequently also it is written in the book of Jeremiah: "The word that was made to Jeremiah the prophet." John, beholding this Word, the Lord of knowledge, in the most high bosom of the supreme Father, says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Hence Paul, intimating that our Redeemer is the Lord of knowledge, says: "Because in him dwells all the fullness of the divinity bodily" (Colossians 2:9). Therefore when she says: "Let old things depart from your mouth, because God is the Lord of knowledge," what else is it to say, except to show to the Synagogue by clear reason that she ought to be silent all the more carefully, inasmuch as she does not know not only what those things are which she says, but also from whom they are? As if to say: That knowledge which you assert belonged to your fathers ought not to have given you arrogance, inasmuch as it was not theirs but of the only-begotten Son of God, and you do not understand that very same knowledge. Therefore she says: "Let old things depart from your mouth." So that the Jews may by no means corrupt what they are unable to understand rightly. "God," she says, "is the Lord of knowledge," so that what they prove to be truly of God, they may not falsely ascribe to men. But while Judea is reproved for words of boasting, because she is not stung by any fear, torments are also announced to her concerning the hidden movements of faithless hearts. For there follows: (Verse 3.) And their thoughts are prepared.
10. As if to say: Him whom you do not fear to blaspheme, you will have as judge not only of your tongue, but also of your heart. Hence also through Isaiah He threatens, saying: "I am coming to gather their works and thoughts" (Isaiah 66:18). Hence the Lord, threatening through Moses, says: "Are not these things stored up with me, and sealed in my treasures" (Deuteronomy 32:34)? And because by these words silence is commanded to the Synagogue, let us now see with what praises of her fruitfulness holy Church glories in the voice of Anna. For she adds and says: (Verse 4) The bow of the mighty has been overcome.
11. What is the bow of the strong, if not the fraudulent savagery of the Jews? For from concealment, as if from a bow, they had inflicted a wound upon the Redeemer, whom they were killing by the hands of the Gentiles. But the bow of the strong was overcome, because he who died by their wound rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sent the promised Holy Spirit to the disciples. Whence it is added: (Verse 5.) And the weak have been girded with strength.
12. Indeed, by the name of strength, the power of the Holy Spirit is shown. Hence the Lord, promising this same Spirit to the disciples, says: 'But remain in the city until you are clothed with power from on high' (Luke 24:49). And the grace of the Holy Spirit is rightly called strength, because when the elect receive it, they become strong against all adversities of this world. But who are the weak in this place to be understood as, if not the apostles? But they were certainly weak when the bow of the mighty was bent, not when they were clothed with power from on high. For in the hour of the Lord's arrest it is written of them that, 'leaving the Lord, they all fled' (Matthew 26:56). Was not Peter very weak then, when he feared the voice of a questioning servant girl and denied the Redeemer (Matthew 26:63, 74)? Already indeed the bow of the mighty had been overcome, the savagery of the Jews brought to nothing, because the Redeemer had risen after conquering death; and yet still the weak apostles feared the overcome mighty ones behind closed doors (John 20:19). But where strength clothed them, it is fitting to observe how strong it made them. For the Holy Spirit came upon them with a sudden sound, and changed their weakness into the power of wonderful love (Acts 2:2ff.). For they began to preach Christ, now clothed with strength, who had not been ashamed to flee and hide from the threats of persecutors; and those who had feared the words of women broke the authority of rulers with freedom. Strength conquered fear, overcame terrors, threats, and slaughter; and those whom it clothed by coming upon them, it adorned with the insignia of marvelous boldness in the heavenly warfare, so that amid scourges, slaughter, and reproaches they did not fear, but rejoiced. For it is written of them now clothed with this strength: 'The apostles went from the presence of the council rejoicing, because they were counted worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus' (Acts 5:41). Hence now preaching, they say: 'Count it all joy, brothers, when you fall into various trials' (James 1:2). Well therefore it is said: 'The bow of the mighty is overcome, and the weak are girded with strength.' Because first the Redeemer rose from the dead, and thus went to heaven, and sent the Holy Spirit to the disciples. For first the bow of the mighty had to be overcome, and afterward the weak were to be girded with strength. Hence it is also written: 'The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified' (John 7:39).
13. In this passage it must be noted that this is said against Judea, which despises the miracles of the Redeemer all the more proudly insofar as it recognizes that He died amid torments. She says therefore: "The bow of the mighty is overcome, and the weak are girded with strength." As if she were answering the Synagogue that slanders the death of the Redeemer, saying: Do not despise the fact that He was able to die, but rather marvel that, having died, He rose again, and by coming back to life overcame the savagery of your nation. And because she shows this concerning the past, she speaks to her not only by proclaiming but by reproaching. For as if she were rebuking one who taunts in vain, she says: What did it profit you to have killed Him whom the snare of death could not hold? You killed Him lest the whole world should go after Him; but for this very reason the whole world goes after Him, because He proved Himself to be the true Son of God — by redeeming the human race through dying, by showing Himself alive through rising again, by ascending to heaven, and by sending the promised Holy Spirit to His disciples. And because the Synagogue, on account of its deserved unbelief, was driven from participation in the promised grace, holy Church, reproaching her for this very thing, adds and says: (Verse 5.) "Those who were full before have hired themselves out for bread, and those who were hungry have been satisfied."
14. Who were previously filled, if not those who had the knowledge of God before the other peoples? Who then should be understood as previously filled other than the Jews, who were instructed in faith in the Creator almost from the very beginning of the world? They indeed hired themselves out for bread. For what do "breads" signify in this place, if not the mysteries of the divine Incarnation? And the place for finding the breads is Sacred Scripture. Hence also the Bread who descended from heaven says to those who do not know where to find him: "Search the Scriptures, for it is they that bear witness about me" (John 5:39). They therefore hired themselves out for bread, because they had received all the Scriptures so that in them they should have found the sacraments of the divine Incarnation. But when the Bread came, the Synagogue, which had hired itself out for bread, abandoned the place in which it should have found the bread it was seeking. It had the Scriptures, as I said, for recognizing the Redeemer, but it rejected him when he came according to the Scriptures. The hungry, therefore, were satisfied, because those from the Gentiles who believed, while they reverently receive the mysteries of the divine Incarnation, possess heavenly food for the enjoyment of interior delight. They are indeed called hungry because, before the coming of the Redeemer, cast out by the famine of unbelief, they had no food of spiritual refreshment. Or certainly they are called hungry because they receive the sweetness of spiritual food with great eagerness. But let the filled, who hired themselves out for bread, hear the one they were awaiting: "I am the living bread who came down from heaven" (John 6:33, 41 ff.). But because they did not deserve to recognize him, they answered: "Is this not the son of Joseph? How does he say that he came down from heaven?" (Luke 4:22; John 6:42). But he himself, who knew all things, was prophesying that the hungry would come to the banquet of his delight, saying: "Amen I say to you, that from the East and the West they will come, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness" (Matt. 8:11–12). The filled, therefore, hired themselves out for bread, but the hungry are satisfied, because the children of the Synagogue had in the Holy Scriptures the nourishment of faith concerning the future Incarnation of the Redeemer; but now, with them cast aside, while the Gentiles truly believe in him, they receive the sacraments of his divinity and humanity in the refreshment of innermost delight.
15. For since it is said by the distinguished Doctor: 'They all ate the same food, and all drank the same spiritual drink (for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ)' (1 Cor. 10:3–4), it can reasonably be gathered that those ate and were not satisfied, while these ate and were satisfied. Which is indeed rightly said by holy Church against the Synagogue, so that those who are under grace may be shown to surpass with wondrous exaltation those placed under the law. For what was it for them to hire themselves out for bread, except to search out in sacred Scripture the mysteries of the coming Redeemer? Of whom indeed each one ate and was not satisfied, because he believed in the future Incarnation of the supreme Only-begotten but did not see it present. For him, to eat was to sweetly hold the divine Incarnation in the desire of his mind, and not to be satisfied was not to see His longed-for presence. But the weak, who were to be girded with strength, heard the proclamations of their satisfaction from the bread by which they were satisfied: 'Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. Amen I say to you, that many kings and prophets wished to see what you see and did not see, and to hear what you hear and did not hear' (Matt. 13:16–17). For those who wished to see were already eating the bread of inmost delight through desire; but because they could not see, they had the joy of desire but did not have the enjoyment of satisfaction. For even if Scripture says: 'That bread having every pleasantness and all sweetness, God gave to them' (Wis. 16:20), it is said to be received by them in the way it was known—in the way that, known by them through faith, it could be longed for through the desire of charity. Therefore, against the Synagogue glorying in the early fathers, those girded with strength are set above, so that while the new and lofty summit of the elect is beheld, it may no longer glory in vain. And because the food of life is never taken away from the table of holy Church, intimating things future as well as past, she says: (Ver. 6) 'Until the barren woman has borne many, and she who had many children has grown feeble.'
16. Who is the barren one, if not holy Church, as we have already said more fully above in the type of Anna? What then does it mean that the hungry are satisfied until the barren woman gives birth, if not to possess the bread of life until the end of the world? Which He Himself also promises, saying: "Behold, I am with you even until the consummation of the age" (Matt. 28:20). For those whom holy Church brings forth are none other than the hungry. Therefore, as long as she gives birth, the hungry are satisfied, because until the end of the world she begets children for God, who, while they believe that the Redeemer has come in the flesh, eat the bread of life which they desire and are filled with fullness. But while the barren woman gives birth to very many, she who had many sons is weakened. For the Synagogue to be weakened is to be unable to bring forth by the institution of the old law. For she who lost the faith of her former husband now gives birth to the devil and no longer to God. And rightly it is said, "She who had many sons," because while in the truth of the Scriptures she anciently taught the people subject to her to desire the coming of the future Redeemer, she was bringing forth sons from the embrace of the heavenly Bridegroom. But now she who had sons is weakened and has no sons. She indeed presents the Scriptures to her hearers, but because she denies the Redeemer, she never begets children for God. Therefore she is said to be weakened, to whom spiritual fruitfulness is denied. And because both the rejection of the Synagogue and the election of the Gentiles were accomplished by the incomprehensible judgment of God, there follows: (Verses 6–8.) "The Lord kills and gives life, He brings down to the grave and raises up; the Lord makes poor and makes rich; He humbles and He exalts. He raises the needy from the dust and lifts the poor from the dunghill, that he may sit with princes and hold a throne of glory."
17. As if responding to someone astounded at the rejection of so chosen a people, he says: Why do you seek reason in these things which the supreme Reason does incomprehensibly? Reproving this very manner of inquiry, the outstanding teacher also says: 'O man, who are you to answer back to God? Does the thing formed say to its maker: Why have you made me thus? Does not the potter have power over the same lump of clay to make one vessel indeed for honor, and another for dishonor' (Rom. 9:20-21)? It is therefore as if he were saying: Since the Lord of all is rightly acknowledged, let us recognize that His work, both in the rejection of Judea and in the election of the Gentiles, is to be revered and not scrutinized. The Lord indeed kills, because by incomprehensible judgment He separates the once-chosen Jewish people from the knowledge of truth and condemns them forever. He gives life, because He receives the Gentile people in time through faith unto the knowledge of His Only-Begotten, and leads them eternally to the contemplation of His glory. He leads down to the underworld, because by His strict judgment avenging Gehenna receives for everlasting punishment those who through the fault of unbelief separate themselves from the worship of the Redeemer. He brings back from the underworld, because He takes up the Gentile people devoutly approaching faith in His Son, for whom the immense darkness of error had been like a deep prison of the abyss. He makes poor and enriches, because He strips rejected Judea of spiritual virtues, and adorns the chosen Gentile people with both the treasure of faith and the splendors of good works. He is also said to humble and to exalt. For the Synagogue, by withdrawing from the Redeemer, cast down the heights of its own sublimity, and holy Church, by worshiping the Redeemer, rose from the depths of unbelief where it had lain cast down, to the height of right faith and the eminence of Christian authority. Therefore, because Judea despised the Son of God and the Gentile people merited Him, rightly the former is believed to have been humbled and the latter exalted. There follows: 'Raising up the needy from the dust, and lifting the poor from the dunghill, that he may sit with princes and hold a throne of glory.'
18. The needy and poor one is understood as the gentile people, who is said to be raised from the dust and lifted from the dung, because when he is received into the faith of the Redeemer, both his lesser and graver sins are forgiven. For since dust is easily shaken off, while filth that defiles with dung fouls horribly, dust signifies lighter sins and dung graver sins. Rightly also the needy one is said to be raised from the dust, and the poor one lifted from the dung. For he was sleeping among those things from which he could be roused by a light touch of grace. But he was lying among those things because, having fallen into graver sins, he needed the hand of great help. But now let us hear to what height of honor the needy one who is raised from the dust, and the poor one who is lifted from the dung, is advanced.
19. That he may sit with princes, and hold the throne of glory. Now who are designated as princes in this place if not the holy apostles? Concerning these princes, indeed, it is said to God through the Psalmist: You shall make them princes over all the earth; they shall remember your name, O Lord (Ps. 44:17, 18). What does it mean that the poor man sits with princes, except that the order of preachers, chosen from among the nations, obtains in the holy Church the height of apostolic authority? He sits with princes, indeed, because from the throne of heavenly teaching he sets forth the doctrine of salvation. And he holds the throne of glory, because he spreads the fragrance of good reputation among those over whom he stands preeminent in dignity. Or certainly he holds the throne of glory and sits with princes, because he both shines with the honor of sublimity and gleams with miracles. But He who is raised up to such sublime dignity indicates how one ought to use it, when He adds: (Verse 8.) For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He has set the world upon them.
20. The hinges of the earth are the extremities of the earth. By the name of hinges, he wished to designate those chosen preachers from among the nations. They are called the extremities of the earth because they are brought forth from the lowly and, in a certain sense, despised condition of the Gentiles. They are indeed called the hinges of the Lord on account of the mortification of their own will. They are truly the Lord's, because they do not seek their own interests, but those of Jesus Christ. But when they are called the Lord's, a certain singular holiness is indicated in them. Let those who are the Lord's consider that the world is placed upon them, not beneath them. For what is designated by the name of the world but the fullness of the faithful subject to the holy Church? God placed the world upon the hinges of the earth, because preachers are set over the holy Church for this purpose: that they may relieve the weakness of others and carry the feeble toward the heavenly homeland, as though bearing a weight placed upon them. Therefore, they should not always look upon themselves as superiors, but sometimes as subjects, so that by discipline they may preside over the restraining of vices, yet by the esteem and obedience of their ministry they may often be subordinate to those over whom they hold the charge of governance. And because the burdens that preachers bear are great, he adds and says: (Verse 9.) He will guard the feet of his holy ones,
21. As if to say: Under such immense burdens they would collapse, if the Lord did not preserve their feet. The feet of His saints are indeed the affections of their minds. These are truly preserved by the Lord, because through Him the grace of wondrous devotion is poured in, by which they bear so great a burden willingly. The Lord is said to preserve the feet of His saints because they would flee the mass of so great a weight, if charity infused from above did not lighten what would otherwise be intolerably heavy for them. The standing of fortitude can also be signified by the term "feet." The Lord preserves the feet of His saints when He strengthens them with wondrous fortitude, so that under such immense burdens they by no means fall. And because He is said to preserve not one foot but feet, what do we understand by each foot of the saints, if not fortitude and humility? For lest we fall, we stand on both feet. For whoever presides over faithful flocks, on the way by which they journey toward the heavenly homeland, encounters now prosperity, now adversity. For prosperity itself, because it stirs up elation in the mind, assails it greatly toward a fall; yet lest the chosen mind fall, it strives to stand firm on the foot of fortitude on one side, and stands on the foot of humility on the other. It would indeed retain a firm standing between each temptation, if it stood with such solid humility that no prosperity would lift it up and no adversity would cast it down. 52. What then does it mean when it says, "He will keep the feet of His saints," except that all human virtue is weak without the help of the Creator? For our weak humility, while it is soothed by the favor of prosperity, is overthrown by the impulse of foolish joy. Our weak fortitude, while it is struck by adversity, is easily overcome. But we are crushed by sorrows and enfeebled by joys when Almighty God abandons us to ourselves, not when He bestows the help of His protection. Therefore He says, "He will keep the feet of His saints," because Almighty God aids our weakness in bearing the burdens of those subject to us, so that neither adversities wear us down nor joys seduce us. Our feet are indeed preserved by the Lord when, strengthened by divine help, we despise the joys of the world that confront us, fear no adversities, when with steadfast patience we willingly bear evils, and with unshaken humility we restrain our lofty spirit from vain delight.
22. Moreover, the feet of the saints can be understood as faith in and love of the Redeemer. By these feet indeed they walk, when they follow with love Him whom the faithful believe through faith. He who prayed was indeed asking that these feet be preserved for him by the Lord, saying: 'Set me upon the heights, that I may conquer in His glory' (Hab. 3:19). He is set upon the heights to whom the divinity of the Redeemer is revealed. And he conquers in His glory, because while he is illuminated by the rays of His glory, all the temptations of the evil spirit are destroyed. He keeps his feet set firm upon the mountain who is lofty in the contemplation of truth and kindled with love for Him whom he believes to be the Only-begotten of the most high Father. Peter indeed was set upon the heights, who, when he confessed the Lord, saying: 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God', immediately heard: 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven' (Matt. 16:16–17). For founded in faith, kindled with charity, he also preached Him whom he loved. Well therefore is it added concerning the reprobate: (Verse 9) 'And the wicked shall be silenced in darkness.'
23. For who are understood as the ungodly in this place, if not the Jews, who are strangers to the devotion of the true faith, and stained with the blood of the Redeemer's death? Of whom it is rightly said: "In darkness they shall be silent," because the saints, established upon the heights, confess with eternal praises the Redeemer of the world, whom they behold in the brightness of the divine majesty. Therefore the ungodly are silent in darkness, because the Jews do not proclaim the Redeemer, since that ineffable brightness of divinity does not illuminate them. For it is written: "Let the ungodly be taken away, that he may not see the glory of the Lord" (Isa. 26:10). Indeed, beholding them condemned in these darknesses, John says: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (John 1:5). Hence David, not wishing but prophesying, says: "Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back always" (Ps. 68:24). Therefore the ungodly are silent in darkness, because even though the Jews utter the words of divine Scripture in the praises of God, while they deny the Son, they consecrate no service of their voices to God the Father. For he is silent before God who, while praising the Father, is silent about the praise of the Only-begotten. But Him whom they despise as crucified, when He comes as Judge they shall tremble before. Whence it is also added: (Verses 9, 10.) "For not by his own strength shall a man be strengthened; the adversaries of the Lord shall fear Him."
24. But now he is hardened in unbelief, strong in error, and he who scorns to believe God does not fear to blaspheme boldly. As a mighty man indeed he cannot now be conquered, but then he shall by no means be strengthened as a mighty man, when He who was crucified by their treachery shall be seen in His majesty. Then His adversaries shall tremble, when they see all things shaken by the power of the Crucified One, when all things are subjected to His judgment, when through the high heavens they hear the thundering judgments of their eternal damnation. Whence it is also added: (Ver. 10.) And He shall thunder upon them in the heavens.
25. For who are designated by the name of "heavens" in this place, if not the holy apostles? To these heavens indeed the Lord, promising the glory of His sublimity, says: "You will sit upon thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matt. 19:28). The Lord, intimating to the Jews the thunders of these heavens, says: "They themselves will be your judges" (Luke 11:19). Therefore He will then thunder in the heavens upon the impious Jews, because they will then hear from the holy apostles the terrible judgments of their damnation, so that they may receive the sentence of eternal death at their examination—they who afflicted with persecutions those who were humbly preaching the goods of eternal life. And that these things should be understood concerning the last judgment, there follows: (Verse 10) "The Lord will judge the ends of the earth."
26. What are the ends of the earth, if not the furthest parts of this world? Indeed the Lord judges the ends of the earth, so that the sentence of His equity may leave nothing unpunished or unrewarded, because while He concludes the final things in judgment, He does not abandon anything that must be examined. (Verse 10.) Then He will exalt the horn of His Christ.
27. When He will receive all the elect into the eternal contemplation of His Only-Begotten, so that He may preside over them with that eternal and ineffable Majesty — those who, while they were living in the pilgrimage of the present life, were not with Him. Then He will exalt the horn of His Christ, when in His loftiness the sublimity of the Redeemer will be beheld. Concerning this sublimity, it is said through John: "We shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). For the power or kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ is always equal; but it is said to be exalted then, when we shall be such as to be able to gaze upon His sublimity; for whatever the human mind can now imagine to itself concerning that sublimity is altogether nothing in comparison with that glory. For it is written concerning it: "What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love Him" (Isaiah 64:4; 1 Corinthians 2:9). Therefore, first dominion is given to Christ, then His horn will be exalted, because then the height of His sublimity is beheld, when our nature too is raised up from the depths of its corruption, when by rising again it receives the wholeness of its renewal, by which it may be able to contemplate the surpassing light of the Redeemer.
28. But if someone wishes to understand a kingdom by the horn, the holy Church is designated by the kingdom of Christ. This horn will indeed be exalted, because our lowly state will be brought to equality with the angels. Hence the Lord also says of the elect in the Gospel: "They were like the angels of God in heaven" (Matt. 22:30). Concerning this exaltation of His horn, He says again: "The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matt. 13:43). The horn of Christ will therefore be exalted, because the holy Church will be raised up in the eternal contemplation of her Redeemer; and she who is now pressed down in this valley of misery by the punishment of her fallen state will then, with death swallowed up, be lifted up, renewed at the summit of eternal joy. But we have now set forth these things by typological exposition; it remains for us to express them morally in the following volume.