298

Light exposes darkness, and shews the right path.

EPHES. themselves should be extinguished. Let us be then disV. 14. posed to benefit one another, that one and all we may offer

up praise and glory to the God of loving-kindness, by the grace and loving-kindness of Christ.

HOMILY XIX.

XIX.

CHAP. V. 15, 16, 17. Look then circumspectly how ye walk, HOMIL. not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Be ye therefore not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

16.

He is still cleansing away the root of bitterness, still cutting off the very groundwork of anger. For what is he saying? Look circumspectly how ye walk. He knew that his Master, when He sent His disciples as sheep in the midst of wolves, Mat. 10, further charged them to be also as doves. For ye shall be harmless, saith he, as doves. Forasmuch then as they were both amongst wolves, and were besides commanded not to defend themselves, but to suffer evil, they needed this admonition. Not indeed but that the former was sufficient to render them well secured; but now that there is besides the double addition, reflect how exceedingly it is heightened. Observe then here also, how carefully he secures them, by saying, Look how ye walk. Whole cities were at war with them; yea, this war made its way also into houses. They were divided, father against son, and son against father, mother against daughter, and daughter against mother. What then? Whence these divisions? They heard Christ say, He that loveth father or mother more than Mat. 10, me, is not worthy of me. Lest therefore they should think that he was introducing nothing but wars and fightings, (since there was likely to be considerable anger produced, if they on their part were to retaliate,) to prevent this, he says, See that ye walk circumspectly. That is to say, 'Except the Gospel message, give no other handle on any score xńgvyμa whatever, for the hatred which you will incur.' Let this be the only ground of hatred. Let no one have any other

a Baimiri ovv ängißus mus. Chrys. but below as the rec. text.

300 Evil is not the essence but an accident of things.

EPHES. charge to make against you; but shew all deference and V. 16. obedience, whenever it does no harm to the message, when

7.

ever it does not stand in the way of godliness. For it is Rom.13, said, Render to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute, custom to whom custom. For when amongst the rest of the world they shall see us forbearing, they will be put to shame.

Not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time.

It is not from any wish that you should be artful, and versatile, that he gives this advice. But what he means is this. The time is not yours. At present ye are strangers, and sojourners, and foreigners, and aliens; seek not honours, seek not glory, seek not authority, nor revenge; bear all things, and in this way, redeem the time; give up many things, any thing they may require. The expression is obscure. Come then, I will throw light upon it by an example. Imagine now, I say, a man had a magnificent house, and persons were to make their way in, on purpose to murder him, and he were to give a large sum, and thus to rescue himself. Then we should say, he has redeemed himself. So also hast thou a large house, and a true faith in thy keeping. They will come to take all away. Give whatever they may demand, only preserve the principal, the faith, I mean.

Because the days, saith he, are evil.

What is the evil of the day? The evil of the day ought to belong to the day. If thou understandest what evil is incident to each of the several things among us, thou wilt also know what is the evil of a day. What is the evil of a body? Disease. And what again the evil of the soul? Wickedness. What is the evil of water? Bitterness. And the evil of each particular thing, is its badness with reference to that peculiar quality of which it is the evil. If then there is an evil in the day, it ought to belong to the day, to the Matt. 6, hours, to the day-light. So also Christ saith, Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. And from this expression we shall understand the other. In what sense then does he call the days evil? In what sense the time evil? It is not the essence of the thing, not the things as so created, but it is because of the things transacted in them. In the same way as we are in the habit of saying, " I have passed a disagree

34.

XIX.

Drunkenness not the result of wine but of intemperance. 301 able and wretched day." And yet how could it be disagree- HOMIL. able, except from the circumstances which took place in it? Now the events which take place in it are, good things from God; but evil things from bad men. So then of the evils which happen in the times, men are the creators, and hence it is that the times are said to be evil. And thus we also call the times evil.

Ver. 17, 18. Wherefore, he adds, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is; and be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess.

For indeed intemperance in this renders men passionate and violent, and hot-headed, and hasty, and peevish. Wine has been given us for cheerfulness, not for drunkenness. Whereas now it appears to be an unmanly and contemptible thing for a man not to get drunk. And what sort of hope then is there of salvation? What? contemptible, tell me, not to get drunk, where to get drunk ought of all things in the world to be most contemptible? For it is of all things right for even a private individual to avoid drunkenness; but how much more so for a soldier, a man who lives amongst swords, and bloodshed, and slaughter: much more, I say, for the soldier, when his temper is sharpened by other causes also, by power, by authority, by being constantly in the midst of stratagems and battles. Wouldest thou know where wine is good? Hear what the Scripture saith, Give wine to them that are in grief, and Prov. 31, 6. strong drink to those that be of heavy hearts. And justly; Sept. because it can mitigate asperity and gloominess, and drive away clouds from the brow. Wine maketh glad the heart of Ps. 104, man, says the Psalmist. How then does wine produce drunkenness? For it cannot be that one and the same thing should work contradictions. Drunkenness then surely does not arise from wine, but from intemperance. Wine is bestowed upon us for no other purpose than for bodily health; but this purpose also is thwarted by immoderate use. But hear moreover what our blessed Apostle writes and says to Timothy, Use a little wine for thy stomach's 1 Tim. sake, and thine often infirmities.

This is the reason why God has formed our bodies in moderate proportions, and so as to be satisfied with a little, from

15.

5, 23.

V. 21.

302 Our bodies small, heaven postponed, to make us temperate.

EPHES. thence at once instructing us that He has formed us, as adapted to another life. And that life He would fain have bestowed upon us even from the very beginning; but since we rendered ourselves unworthy of it, He deferred it; and in the time during which He deferred it, not even in that does He allow us immoderate indulgence; for a little cup of wine and a single loaf is enough to satisfy a man's hunger. And the Lord of all the brute creation has He formed so as to require less food in proportion than they, and his body small; thereby declaring to us nothing else than this, that we are hastening onward to another life. Be not drunk, says he, with owría wine, wherein is excess; for not only does it not preserve, but σώζει it destroys; and that, not the body only, but the soul also.

Ver. 18, 19, 20, 21. But be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting "God." yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.

E. V. and

below.

Dost thou wish, he says, to be cheerful, dost thou wish to Chrys. employ the day? I give thee spiritual drink; for drunkenness even cuts off the articulate sound of our tongue; it makes us lisp and stammer, and distorts the eyes, and the whole frame together. Learn to sing psalms, and thou shalt see the delightfulness of the employment. For they who sing psalms are filled with the Holy Spirit, as they who sing satanic songs are filled with an unclean spirit.

Phil. 4,

6.

What is meant by, in your hearts to the Lord? It means, with close attention and understanding. For they who do not attend closely, merely sing, uttering the words, whilst their heart is roaming elsewhere.

Always, he says, giving thanks for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.

That is, let your requests be made known unto God, with thanksgiving; for there is nothing so pleasing to God, as for a man to be thankful. But we shall be best able to give thanks unto God, by withdrawing our souls from the things before mentioned, and by thoroughly cleansing it by the means he has told us.