ment.

St. Paul actually conformed to His death.

XI.

133 likeness of His death, thus here, we are made conformable to Hoм. His death. There did he rightly say, In the likeness of His Rom. 6, death, for there we died not entirely, we died not in the flesh, 4. 5. to the body, but to sin. Since then a death is spoken of, and a death; but He indeed died in the body, whilst we died to sin, and there the Man died which He assumed, Who was in our flesh, but here the man of sin; for this cause he saith there, in the likeness of His death, but here, no longer in the likeness of His death, but to His very death. For Paul, in his perse- (3) cutions, no longer died to sin, but in' his very body. Where- or to. fore, he endured the same death. If by any means, saith he, I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. What sayest thou? All men will have a share in that. For wel Cor. 15, 51. shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, and shall all share not only in the Resurrection, but in incorruption. Some indeed to honour, but others as a means of punish-2¡pódiov. If therefore all have a share in the Resurrection, and not in the Resurrection only, but also in incorruption, how saidest thou, If by any means I may attain, as if about to share in some especial thing? For this cause, saith he, I endure these things, if by any means I might atlain unto the resurrection of the dead. For if thou hadst not died, thou wouldest not arise. What is it then? Some great thing seems here to be hinted at. So great was it, that he dared not openly assert it, but simply saith, If by any means. have believed in Him and His resurrection, nay, moreover, I suffer for Him, yet I am unable to be confident concerning the Resurrection. What resurrection doth he here mention? That which leads to Christ Himself. I said, that I believed in Him, and in the power of His resurrection, and that I have fellowship with His sufferings, and that I am made conformable to His death. Yet after all these things I am by no means confident; as he saith elsewhere, Let him that think- 1 Cor. 10, 12. eth he standeth, take heed lest he fall. And again, I fear lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself 1 Cor. 9, should be a castaway.

I

Ver. 12. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Not that I have already apprehended. What means already

27.

3, 12.

10.

134

Striving after the glorious Resurrection.

PHIL. apprehended? He speaks of the prize, but if he who had endured such sufferings, he who had persecuted, he who had in him the dying of the Lord Jesus, was not yet confident about that resurrection, what can we say? What meaneth, 2 Cor. 4, if I may apprehend? What I before said. If I may attain to the resurrection of the dead. If I may apprehend, he saith, His resurrection; i. e. If I may be able to endure so great things, if I may be able to imitate Him, if I may be able to become conformed to Him. For example, Christ suffered many things, He was spit upon, He was stricken, was scourged, at last He died. This is the entire course. Through all these things it is needful that men should endure the whole contest, and so come to His resurrection. He meaneth either this, or that if I am thought worthy to share the accepted resurrection, which is in confidence, I hasten to His resurrection. For if I am able to endure all the contests, I shall be able also to attain to His resurrection, and to rise with glory. For not as yet, saith he, am I worthy, but I follow after, if that I may apprehend. My life is still one of contest, I am still far from the end, I am still distant from the prize, still I run, still I pursue. And He said not, I run, but I pursue, and rightly so. For we know with what eagerness a man pursues. He sees no one, he thrusts aside with great violence all who would interrupt his pursuit. He collects together his mind, and sight, and strength, and soul, and body, looking to nothing else than the prize. But if Paul, who so pursued, who had suffered so many things, yet saith, if I may attain, what must we say, who have relaxed our efforts? Then to shew that the thing is of debt, he saith, For which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. was, he saith, of the number of the lost, I gasped for breath, I was nigh dead, God apprehended me. For He pursued us, when we fled from Him, with all speed. By this he points out all those things; for the words, I am apprehended, shew the earnestness of Him who wishes to apprehend us, our great aversion to Him, our wandering, our flight from Him.

(4)

MORAL.

I

Wherefore, too, we inust weep, that when all have returned to their former state, and we are liable for a vast debt, yet no one grieves, no one weeps, no one groans. And suppose

The gift of grace binds us to abide with God. 135

7.

27.

XI.

not that I use irony here, for as before the appearance of HOM. Christ we fled from God, thus we flee from Him now too. For we can flee from God, not in place, for He is every where, but by our deeds; and that we cannot fly from Him, hear the Prophet, when he says, Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, Ps. 139, or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? How then can we fly from God? Even as we can become distant from God, even as we can be removed afar off. They that are far from Ps. 73, Thee, it says, shall perish. And again, Have not your ini-1.59,2. quities separated between Me and you? How then comes this removal, how comes this separation? In purpose and soul: for it cannot be in place. For how could one fly from Him who is every where present? The sinner then flies. This is what the Scripture saith, The wicked fleeth when Prov. no man pursueth him. We eagerly fly from God, although He 28, 1. alway pursueth us. The Apostle hasted, that he might be near Him. We haste, that we may be far off.

Are not these things then worthy of lamentation? Are not these things worthy of tears? Whither fliest thou? Wretched and miserable man, whither fliest thou from thy Life and thy Salvation? If thou fly from God, with whom wilt thou take refuge? If thou fly from the Light, whither wilt thou cast thine eyes? If thou fly from thy Life, whence wilt thou henceforth live? Let us fly from the enemy of our Salvation! Whensoever we sin, we fly from God, we are as runaways, we depart to a foreign land. As he who consumed his paternal goods and departed into a foreign land, who wasted all his father's substance, and lived in want. We too have substance from our Father; and what is this? He hath freed us from our sins; He hath freely given to us readiness, patience; He hath freely given to us the Holy Ghost in our Baptism; if we waste these things, we shall henceforth be in want. For as the sick, as long as they are troubled with fevers, and badness of their juices, are unable to arise or work, or do any thing, but if any one sets them free, and brings them to health, if they then work not, this comes from their own sloth. Thus too is it with us; a heavy disease and grievous fever lay upon us. We lay not upon a bed, but upon wickedness itself, cast away in crime, as on a dunghill, full of sores, and evil odours, squalid, wasting away,

3, 12.

1 εἴδωλα.

136 Diseases of sin. Christ has once given their cure.

PHIL. more like ghosts1 than men. Evil spirits encompassed us about, the Prince of this world laughing, deriding, and assaulting us, the Only-Begotten Son of God came, sent forth the rays of His Presence, and straightway dispelled the darkness. The King, who is on His Father's throne, came to us, having left His Father's throne. And when I say having left, think not of any removal, for He filleth the heavens and the earth, but this I say by reason of the economy; He came to His enemy, who hated Him, who turned himself away, who could not endure to behold Him, who blasphemed Him every day. He saw him lying on a dunghill, eaten with worms, afflicted with fever and hunger, having every sort of disease; for both fever vexed him, which is evil desire; and inflammation lay heavy on him, this is pride; and gnawing hunger had hold of him, which is covetousness; and putrifying sores on every side, for this is fornication; and blindness of eyes, which is idolatry; and dumbness, and madness, which is to worship stocks and stones, and address them; and great deformity, for wickedness is this, foul to behold, and a most heavy disease. He saw us speaking more foolishly than the mad, and calling stocks our God, and stones likewise; He saw us in such great guilt, and did not reject us; was not wroth, turned not away, hated us not, for He was a Master, and could not hate His own creation. What does he do? As a most excellent physician, He prepareth medicines of great price, and Himself tastes them first. For He Himself first followed after virtue, and thus gave it to us. And He first gave us the Washing, like some antidote, and thus we vomited up all our guilt, and all things took their flight at once, and our inflammation ceased, and our fever was quenched, and our sores were dried up. For all the evils which are from covetousness, and anger, and all the rest, were dissipated by the Spirit. Our eyes were opened, our ears were opened, our tongue spake holy words: our soul received strength, our body received such beauty and bloom, as it is like that he who is born a son of God should have from the grace of the Spirit. Such glory as it is like that the new-born son of a king should have, nurtured in purple. Alas! How great nobility did He confer on us! Yet we remain thankless to Him who so loved us.

Return of the Prodigal son our example.

137

XI.

We were born, we were nurtured, we were benefited, why Hoм. do we fly from our Benefactor? He then, Who hath done all. these things, giveth us strength too, for it was not possible, that they who are bowed down by the disease should endure it, did not He Himself give us the strength. He gave us remission of our sins, we set the gift at nought. He gave us wealth, we scattered it, we devoured it all. He gave us strength, we wasted it. He gave us grace, we quenched it; and how? we consumed it upon nought that was fitting, we used it for no useful end. These things have destroyed us, and what is more dreadful than all, when we are in a foreign country, and feeding on husks, we say not, Let us return to our Father, and say, We have sinned against Luke Heaven, and against Thee. And that too, when we have so 15, 18. loving a Father, who so eagerly desires our return, that if we will only leave our sins, if we will only return to Him, He will no longer bear to call in question our former deeds, only let us quit them. It is sufficient apology with Him, that we have returned. What say I, He will not call in question? Not only He Himself calls not in question, but if another does so, He stops his mouth, though the accuser be one of good repute. Wherefore, let us return! How long do we stand afar off? Let us perceive our dishonour, let us be sensible of our vileness. Sin makes us swine, sin brings famine to the soul; let us regain ourselves, and be sober again, and return to our former high birth, that we may obtain the good things which are to come, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom, &c.