THE
BOOKS OF THE MORALS
OF
ST. GREGORY THE POPE,
OR
AN EXPOSITION ON THE BOOK OF BLESSED JOB.
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VOLUME III - THE SIXTH PART.
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BOOK XXX.
Contains an exposition of the last eight verses of the thirty-eighth chapter,
and of the same number of the thirty-ninth: where the holy Doctor
discusses very many questions in a pious and learned manner,
especially concerning the preaching of the Gospel.
[i]
1. Blessed Job is asked by God, Who questions him, whether he has done such things as man is surely unable to do; in order that, when he discovers that he cannot do them, he may fly for refuge to Him, Whom he understands to be the only One Who is able to do them, and that he may appear more powerful before the eyes of his Judge, if he learns more truly his own infirmities. Of that then which is well known to be wonderfully wrought by God, Job is questioned by the Divine Voice; and it is said to him;
Ver. 34. Wilt thou lift up thy voice in the cloud, and shall the force of the waters cover thee?
2. For God in truth lifts up His voice in the cloud, when He frames His exhortation to the darkened hearts of unbelievers, by the tongues of His preachers. And the force of the waters covers Him, when the crowd of opposing people oppresses His members who are acting rightly. For hence is that which is written, The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Stand in the court of the Lord's house, speaking to all the cities of Judah, from which men come to worship in the Lords house, all the words that I have commanded thee. [Jer. 26, 1. 2.] And a little after, And the priests, and the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. And when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking, the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, took him, saying, Let him surely die, why hath he prophesied in the name of the Lord? [ib. 7-9] Behold, the Lord lifted up His voice in a cloud, because He reproved the darkened minds of the haughty by sending the Prophet against them. Behold, the face of the waters covered Him immediately; because He Himself, Who commanded the words of reproof, suffered all things in the person of Jeremiah from the people who rose against him, and were provoked by reason of their reproof. The Lord also raised up His voice in a cloud by Himself, when on exhibiting Himself before us in His assumed body, He preached many things to His persecutors, but veiled in enigmatical figures. He raised up His voice in a cloud, because He uttered His truth, as if in darkness, to unbelievers who would not follow Him. Whence also it is well written in the Books of Kings, The cloud filled the house of the Lord, and the priests were not able to minister because of the cloud. [1 Kings 8, 10. 11.] For while the proud high priests of the Jews hear the divine mysteries in parables, as their merits demand, the priests were unable, as it were, to minister in the house of the Lord on account of the cloud. For when they scorn to examine, amid the obscure darkness of allegories, the mystical meanings which are covered with the veil of the letter in the Old Testament, they lost on account of the cloud the ministry which they deserved by their faith. To whom the Lord even now uttered His voice in a cloud, when He spoke even plainly concerning Himself. For what is plainer than, I and My Father are One? [John 10, 30] What plainer to utter, than, Before Abraham was, 1 am? [John 8, 58] But because the darkness of unbelief had filled the minds of His hearers, an intervening cloud was concealing, as it were, the ray of the sun which had been shot forth.
3. For the face of the waters immediately covered Him, at this elevation of voice, because the raging crowd of the people at once rose up against Him. For it is written, Therefore the Jews sought to kill Him, because He not only brake the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. [John 5, 18] Of this force of waters He exclaims by the Prophet, They came round about Me all the day like water, they compassed Me about together. [Ps. 88, 17] And again, Saw Me, O God, for the waters have come in even unto My soul. [Ps. 69, 1] Which waters He surely endured in Himself before His death, but in His own people, even after His Ascension. For hence is that which He exclaims from above, Said, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? [Acts 9, 4] Behold, He had already ascended into heaven, and yet Saul, still pursuing Him with the force of unbelieving waters, was touching Him, even as a wave swelling above the rest. For it is He in truth Who speaks right things by the good, He Who is wounded in the sufferings of the godly. In order then to shew, by the wondrous unity of charity, that it is He Who preaches by the mouths of His Saints to unworthy hearers, the Lord says, Wilt thou lift up thy voice in the cloud? But to shew that it was He Who was enduring all kinds of adversity in His Saints, He subjoined, And shall the face of the waters cover thee? Thou understandest, As Myself, Whom all the wicked neither understand to be speaking by holy men when preaching, nor see to be suffering by them when dying. The Lord relates therefore what He suffers from men, that the pain of the afflicted man may be mitigated, as if He openly said to him, Weigh carefully My sufferings, and temper thine own with patience. For it is much less for thee to bear wounds, than for Me to bear the sufferings of men. ['humans']
4. But we can consider these words still more minutely, if we anxiously examine our hearts, in the midst of heavenly gifts. We are at this time indeed faithful, we now believe the heavenly truths which we hear, we now love the things which we believe. But when we are oppressed by some unnecessary cares, we are darkened by a confusion spread over us; and when God suggests to us, even when such, some wonderful notions respecting Himself, He lifts up, as it were, His voice in a cloud. While He speaks of Himself to our benighted minds, He, Who is not seen, is heard, as it were, in a cloud. For most exalted are the truths which we know of Him, but we do not yet behold Him by that secret inspiration, with which we are instructed. He therefore Who speaks indeed to our hearts, but conceals His shape, forms His voice, as it were, in a cloud. But, lo! we now hear the words of God speaking of Himself within, and we now know with what perseverance and with what zeal we ought to cling to His love; and yet we fall back from the height of inward consideration to our usual ways, from the very changeableness of this mortal condition, and are assaulted by the perverse importunity of impending sins. When, therefore, He insinuates subtle thoughts of Himself in our darkened minds, He raises up His voice in a cloud.
5. But when our very notion of God is overpowered by the temptation of sins, God is covered, as it were, in His voice, by the force of waters. For we cast as many waters over Him, as many forbidden thoughts as we dwell on in our heart, after the inspiration of His grace. But yet He 1 'op- forsakes us not even when overwhelmed ['oppressos,' al. 'oppressus.']; for He returns immediately to our mind, He disperses the mists of temptations, He pours on us the shower of compunction, and brings back the sun of subtle understanding. And He thus shews how much He loves us, Who forsakes us not, even when He is rejected; in order that the human mind may, at least when thus instructed, blush to admit temptation within, since its Redeemer ceases not to love it even when wandering. This He endures in us by Himself, this does He daily hear from unbelievers through His preachers. For His gift is cast out by the rising of temptation within us, and yet He is not kept back by our infirmity from pouring into us His gifts. His words are publicly rejected, and yet He is not restrained, by any wickedness of unbelievers, from bestowing the abundance of His grace. For when wicked men despise preaching, He adds miracles also, for them to reverence. Whence after the voice has been uttered, and the force of the overwhelming waters, it is fitly subjoined;
Ver. 35. Wilt thou send lightnings, and will they go, and will they return and say to thee, Here we are?
[ii]
6. For lightnings come forth from the clouds, just as wonderful works are displayed by holy preachers. Who, as we have often said, are therefore wont to be called 'clouds,' because they flash forth with miracles, and rain with words. And that the hearts of men, after being unmoved by preaching, are confounded by these flashes of miracles, we have learned by the witness of the Prophet, who says, Thou with multiply Thy lightnings, and with discomfit them. [Ps. 18, 14] As if he were saying, Whilst they hear not the words of Thy preaching, they are confounded by the miracles of the preachers. Whence it is written elsewhere, Thine arrows will go in the light, in the splendour of the glittering of Thine arms. [Hab. 3, 11] For the arrows of God to go forth in light, is for His words to resound with manifest truth. But because men frequently despise the words of life, even when understood, miracles are likewise added. Whence he there subjoined, For the splendour of the glittering of Thine arms. For the glittering of arms is the brightness of miracles. For we protect ourselves with arms, we destroy our opponents with arrows. Arms then, with arrows, are miracles together with preaching. For holy preachers strike their adversaries with their words, as if with darts, but they protect themselves with arms, that is, with miracles; in order that as far as they are to be heard, they may sound forth by the force of their darts, and as far as they are to be reverenced, glitter with the arms of miracles. It is said therefore to blessed Job, Wilt thou send lightnings, and will they go, and will they return and say to thee, Here we are? Thou understandest, 'As to Me.' For the lightnings go forth when preachers glitter with miracles, and transfix the hearts of their hearers with heavenly awe. But they return and say, Here we are, when they attribute not to themselves, but to the strength of God, whatever they know they have done powerfully. What is then their saying to God, 'Here we are?' For a kind of obedience is declared in this word. For holy preachers then to return and say, 'Here we are,' is for them to ascribe the glory of grace to Him, from Whom they feel that they have received victory in the contest; lest they attribute to themselves that which they do. And lightnings can go forth in doing their work, but they cannot return in pride.
7. Let us see then the lightning going forth. Peter says to a certain lame man; Silver and gold have I none, but what I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and raised him up: and immediately his feet and soles received strength, and he leaping up stood, and walked. [Acts 3, 6-8] But when the multitude of the Jews had been disturbed by this which had been done, let us now see the returning lightning, which says; Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this, or why look ye on us, as though by our own strength or power we have made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers hath glorified His Son Jesus. [ibid. 12] And a little after; Whereof we are witnesses; and His name, through faith in His name, hath made this man strong, Whom ye have seen and known; and the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. [Acts 3, 15. 16.] The lightning therefore went forth, when Peter worked a miracle, it returned when he attributed what he had done, not to himself but to its Author. The lightnings go forth when holy preachers display wonderful deeds, but they say on their return, 'Here we are,' when, in that which they do, they refer to the power of its Author.