Let every man and woman among us, whether meeting together at church or remaining at home, call upon God with much earnestness, and he will doubtless accede to these petitions.

Whence does this appear evident? Because he is exceedingly desirous that we should always take refuge in him and in everything make our requests to him; [he desires that we] do nothing and speak nothing without him. For men, when we trouble them repeatedly concerning our affairs, become slothful and evasive and conduct themselves unpleasantly toward us; but with God it is quite the reverse. Not when we apply to him continually respecting our affairs, but when we fail to do so, then is he especially displeased. Hear at least what he reproves the Jews for, when he says, You have taken counsel, but not of me, and made treaties but not by my Spirit. For this is the custom of those who love; they desire that all the concerns of their beloved should be accomplished by means of themselves; and that they should neither do anything, nor say anything, without them. . . . Let us not then be slow to take refuge in him continually; and whatever be the evil, it will in any case find its appropriate solution.

Reprimand is disapproval expressed in correction or strongly worded blame. The Educator resorts to this method of training when he says through Isaiah, Woe to you, apostate children, says the Lord, that you would take counsel and not of me, and make treaties and not of my Spirit. He flavors each pronouncement in turn with the tart spice of fear to whet the appetite of his people for salvation and make them more aware of it, just as wool to be dyed is usually steeped first in an astringent to prepare it to preserve the dye.

Moreover, in the same [Gospel] he also says, All who have come before are thieves and robbers.^[1] Who are such but the deserters of the faith and the transgressors of God’s church, who strive against God’s ordinance—whom the Holy Spirit rightly rebukes by the prophet, saying, You have taken counsel, but not by me; and have made a confederacy, but not by my Spirit, to add sin to sin.

[Isaiah] set his prophecy down in writing in a new^[1] book so that, after his prophecy was fulfilled, what he had written might bear witness against the Jews of what the inspired prophet predicted to them a long time before. This is why he did not simply write it in a book, but in a new book, a book capable of staying sturdy for a long time without easily falling apart, a book which could last until the events described in it would come to pass.

What insults a person more: when he says something and receives no answer or when he is silent and receives no answer? Obviously a person is most insulted when he speaks and receives no answer. God is insulted when he speaks and you will not heed what he says. They said in ancient days to the prophets, Do not speak to us. But you do worse. You say, Speak to us, but we will not obey. They turned the prophets away in order to keep them from speaking, sensing that there was some sort of awe or obligation in the voice itself. But you, with excessive contempt, do not even do this. Believe me, if you stopped our mouths by putting your hand over them, it would not be as great of an insult as it is for you to hear but not obey.

The chief priests and the Pharisees, through the agency of Pilate, sealed the tomb; but the women saw him who was risen. . . . The chief priests lacked understanding, but the women beheld with their own eyes. When the soldiers came into the city and told the chief priests what had happened, they said to the soldiers, Say, his disciples came by night and stole him while we were sleeping.^[1] Well did Isaiah foretell this also, in their persons: But tell us, and relate another error. Christ has risen and come back from the dead, and by a bribe they persuade the soldiers.

Let us, then, devoutly think over these truths, dearest brothers, while it is still within our power to do so with the help of God. As we shudder at the wounds of our sins as at deadly poisons, let us apply ourselves to almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Above all, by a charity that loves not only friends but even enemies, let us have recourse to the mercy of that heavenly Physician to recover the health of our souls as if by spiritual remedies. For he himself said, I take no pleasure in the death of the sinner, but rather in the wicked man’s conversion, that he may live;^[1] and again: When you groan and are converted, you shall be saved. In his goodness may he lead us to this salvation, who together with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

Would you know the power of repentance? Would you understand this strong weapon of salvation and the might of confession? By confession Hezekiah routed 185,000 of the enemy.^[1] That was important, but it was little compared to what shall be told. The same king’s repentance won the repeal of the sentence God had passed on him. For when he was sick, Isaiah said to him, Give charge concerning your house, for you shall die, and not live.^[2] What expectation was left? What hope of recovery was there when the prophet said, For you shall die? But Hezekiah did not cease from penitence, for he remembered what was written: In the hour that you turn and lament, you shall be saved. He turned his face to the wall, and from his bed of pain his mind soared up to heaven—for no wall is so thick as to stifle reverent prayer—Lord, he said, remember me.^[3] For it is sufficient for my healing if you remember me. You are not subject to circumstances but are yourself the legislator of life. For not on birth and conjunction of stars, as some vainly say, does our life depend. No, you are the arbiter, according to your will, of life and the duration of life. He whom the prophet’s sentence had forbidden to hope was granted fifteen further years of life, the sun turning back its course in witness thereof. Now while the sun retraced its course for Hezekiah, for Christ it was eclipsed, the distinction marking the difference between the two, I mean Hezekiah and Jesus. Now if even Hezekiah could revoke God’s decree, shall not Jesus grant the remission of sins? Turn and lament, shut your door and beg for pardon, that God may remove from you the scorching flames. For confession has the power to quench even fire; it can tame even lions.

So useful are trials for Christians that through them, our spirit becomes a sacrifice to God. For it is written in the psalm: The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.^[1] Enlightened by this and innumerable other texts of this type, let us hasten as rapidly as possible to be converted to God absolutely. . . . Converted, let us never despair of the forgiveness of sins, holding on to the faithful promise of the Lord who says, In returning and rest, you will be saved. Let us put up with the pressures and trials of the present time with patient courage, and let us never depart from the fear of the Lord. For the apostle commands us to endure in affliction.^[2] He bears witness that the correction of the present time is of great avail to us for avoiding the punishment of the future judgment, saying, But since we are being judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.^[3]

It is never too late to repent. You may have gone down from Jerusalem and may have been wounded on the way; yet the Samaritan will set you upon his beast and will bring you to the inn and will take care of you.^[1] Even if you are lying in your grave, the Lord will raise you though your flesh may stink.^[2] At least imitate those blind men for whose sake the Savior left his home and heritage and came to Jericho. They were sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death when the light shone upon them.^[3] For when they learned that it was the Lord who was passing by, they began to cry out, saying, You son of David, have mercy on us.^[4] You too will have your sight restored, if you cry to him and cast away your filthy garments at his call.^[5] When you shall turn and repent then shall you be saved, and then shall you know where you have been.

The Apocalypse also threatens the seven churches unless they should repent. Nor would he, indeed, threaten the impenitent unless he pardoned the penitent. God himself also says, Remember then from where you have fallen, and repent.^[1] And again, When, having returned, you shall mourn, then shall you be saved and know where you have been. Let no one so despair of the vileness of a sinful soul that he believe that God has no need for him anymore. The Lord wishes that not one of us should perish. Even those of little worth and the humblest are sought after. If you do not believe it, consider this. Behold, in the Gospel the single piece of silver is sought after, and when [it is] found [it] is shown to the neighbors.^[2] The little sheep, although it has to be carried back on his supporting shoulders, is not burdensome to the shepherd.^[3] Over a single sinner who repents, the angels in heaven rejoice and the celestial choir exults. Come then, you sinner. Do not cease your entreaties. You see where there is rejoicing over your return!

When Moses fought against Amalek, it was not with the sword but with prayer that he prevailed.^[1] Therefore, if we wish to be lifted up, we must first prostrate ourselves. . . . We do not understand the prophet’s words: One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one. We do not cut away the causes of the disease, as we must do to remove the disease itself. Else we should soon see the enemies’ arrows give way to our javelins, their caps to our helmets, their saddle horses to our chargers.

For he calls and invites us, when he says, All the day long I stretched forth my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people;^[1] and he is invited by us when we say to him, All the day long I have stretched forth my hands unto you.^[2] He waits for us, when it is said by the prophet, Therefore the Lord waits to have compassion upon us; and he is waited for by us, when we say, I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined to me, and I have waited for your salvation, O Lord.^[3]

The divine protection, then, is always inseparably present to us, and so great is the love of the Creator for his creature that his providence not only stands by it but even goes constantly before it. The prophet, who has experienced this, confesses it very clearly when he says, My God will go before me with his mercy.^[1] When he notices good will making an appearance in us, at once he enlightens and encourages it and spurs it on to salvation, giving increase to what he himself planted and saw arise from our own efforts. For, he says, before they cry, I will hear them. I will hear them when they are still speaking.^[2] And again: As soon as he hears the voice of your cry, he will respond to you. Not only does he graciously inspire holy desires, but also he arranges favorable moments in one’s life and the possibility of good results, and he shows the way of salvation to those who are straying.

These two then, namely, the grace of God and free will, seem opposed to each other but really are in harmony. And we gather from the system of goodness that we ought to have both alike, lest if we withdraw one of them from man, we may seem to have broken the rule of the church’s faith. For when God sees us inclined to will what is good, he meets, guides. and strengthens us. For at the voice of your cry, as soon as he shall hear, he will answer you; and Call upon me, he said, in the day of tribulation, and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.^[1] And again, if he finds that we are unwilling or have grown cold, he stirs our hearts with salutary exhortations, by which a good will is either renewed or formed in us.

Let waters from your own fountain flow in abundance for you, but let your waters pass through into your streets.^[1] And according to the prophet Isaiah, You shall be like a watered garden and like a fountain of water whose waters shall not fail. And the places that have been desolate for ages shall be built in you; you shall raise up the foundations of generation and generation; and you shall be called the repairer of the fences, turning the paths into rest.^[2] And that blessedness shall come upon you which the same prophet promises: And the Lord will not cause your teacher to flee away from you any more, and your eyes shall see your teacher. And your ears shall hear the word of one admonishing you behind your back. This is the way, walk in it, and go not aside either to the right hand or to the left. And so it will come to pass that not only every purpose and thought of our heart but also all the wanderings and rovings of your imagination will become to you a holy and unceasing pondering of the divine law.

He has seen us sinning and has borne with it. He who forbade us to sin before we did it does not stop waiting to pardon us even after we have sinned. The one we have rejected is calling us. We have turned away from him, but he has not turned away. Hence Isaiah said, Your eyes shall see your teacher, and your ears shall hear the voice of a counselor behind you. A person is counseled to his face, so to speak, when he is created for righteousness and receives the precepts of rectitude. When he despises these precepts, it is as if he is turning his back to his Creator’s face. But he still follows behind us and counsels us that we have despised him, but he still does not cease to call us. We turn our backs on his face, so to speak, when we reject his words, when we trample his commandments under foot; but he who sees that we reject him still calls out to us by his commandments and waits for us by his patience, stands behind us, and calls us back when we have turned away.

If, then, such matters are carefully received, if they are hidden and consigned within the quiet places of the mind, if they are marked in silence, they will later be like a wine of sweet aroma bringing gladness to the human heart. Matured by long reflection and by patience, they will be poured out as a great fragrance from the vessel of your heart. Like some everlasting spring they will flow out from the channels of experience and from the flowing waters of virtue. They will come bounding forth, running, unceasing, from, as it were, the abyss of your heart. . . . And, as the prophet Isaiah de-clares, You will be like a well-watered garden, like a flowing spring whose waters will never fail. And places emptied for ages will be built up in you. You will lift up the foundations laid by generation after generation. You will be called the builder of fences, the one who turns the pathways toward peace.^[1] That blessing promised by the prophet will come to you: And the Lord will not cause your teacher to fly far away from you, and your eyes will look upon your guide. And your ears shall hear the word of warning from behind, ‘This is the path. Walk along it and turn neither to the right nor to the left.’

God opens the bosom of his loving kindness to us if we return to him after sinning, for he says by the prophet, If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him and marries another man, shall he return to her any more? Shall not that woman be polluted and defiled? But you have prostituted yourself to many lovers; nevertheless return to me, says the Lord.^[1] Note how the plea of justice is proposed in regard to the wife who commits fornication and is deserted, and yet, for us who return after our fall, it is not justice but loving kindness that is shown. The inference is obvious, namely, that if our sins are spared with such great love, how great would be our wickedness if we sinned but failed to return after our sin, and what pardon can the wicked expect from him who does not cease to call them after they have sinned! This mercy of God in calling us after our sin is well expressed by the prophet, when it is said to him who turns away from him: And your eyes shall see your teacher, and you ears shall hear the word of one admonishing you behind your back.

We are truly repentant if we weep bitterly over the actions we have committed. Let us consider the riches of our Creator’s attitude toward us. He has seen us sinning, and has borne with it. He who forbade us to sin before we did it, does not stop waiting to pardon us even after we have sinned. The one we have rejected is calling us. We have turned away from him, but he has not turned away. Hence Isaiah said, Your eyes shall see your Teacher, and your ears shall hear the voice of a Counselor behind you. A person is counseled to his face, so to speak, when he is created for righteousness and receives the precepts of rectitude. When he despises these precepts, it is as if he is turning his back to his Creator’s face. But he still follows behind us, and counsels us that we have despised him but that he still does not cease to call us. We turn our backs on his face, so to speak, when we reject his words, when we trample his commandments under foot; but he who sees that we reject him, and still calls out to us by his commandments, and waits for us by his patience, stands behind us, and calls us back when we have turned away.

For in a good heart wisdom will rest, and he that fears the Lord shall find knowledge with righteousness.^[1] But that we must attain to spiritual knowledge in the order of which we have already spoken, we are taught also by the blessed apostle. For when he wanted not merely to draw up a list of all his own virtues but rather to describe their order, that he might explain which follows what, and which gives birth to what, after some others he proceeds as follows: In watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in long suffering, in gentleness, in the Holy Spirit, in love unfeigned.^[2] And by this enumeration of virtues he evidently meant to teach us that we must come from watchings and fastings to chastity, from chastity to knowledge, from knowledge to long suffering, from long suffering to gentleness, from gentleness to the Holy Spirit, from the Holy Spirit to the rewards of love unfeigned. When then by this system and in this order you too have come to spiritual knowledge, you will certainly have, as we said, not barren or idle learning but what is vigorous and fruitful. And the seed of the word of salvation that has been committed by you to the hearts of your hearers will be watered by the plentiful showers of the Holy Spirit that will follow. And according to this the prophet promised, The rain will be given to your seed, wherever you shall sow in the land, and the bread of the corn of the land shall be most plentiful and fat.

Does not Scripture say universally of all the things that were created by God, Behold, everything that God made was very good?^[1] . . . The things that belong to the present, then, are not declared good in a merely minimal sense but are emphatically very good. For, in fact, they are useful for us while we are living in this world, whether to sustain life or as medicine for the body or on account of some benefit unknown to us. Or else they are very good in that they let us see the invisible things of God, his eternal power and his divinity, from the creation of the world, through things that have been made graspable^[2]—that is, from the great and well-ordered construction and arrangement of the world—and let us contemplate them from the existence of everything that is in it. Yet all of these will be unable to maintain their title to goodness if they are compared with the future age, where no mutability in good things and no corruption of true blessedness is to be feared. The blessedness of this world is described as follows: The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days. The things that are great, then, and splendid and marvelous to behold will immediately seem empty if they are compared with the future promises in faith.

Moreover, when the day of judgment has been completed and the glory of the future life has become evident with the new heaven and the new earth, then will come to pass what the same prophet announced elsewhere: The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be increased sevenfold, like the light of seven days.

Why should the lunar reckoning be calculated from the noontide hours, seeing that the moon had not yet been placed in the heavens or gone forth over the earth? On the contrary, none of the feast days of the law began and ended at noon or in the afternoon, but all did so in the evening. Or else perchance it is because sinful Adam was reproached by the Lord in the cool of the afternoon^[1] and thrust out from the joys of Paradise. In remembrance of that heavenly life which we changed for the tribulation of this world, the change of the moon, which imitates our toil by its everlasting waxing and waning, ought specifically to be observed at the hour in which we began our exile. In this way every day we may be reminded by the hour of the moon’s changing of that verse, a fool changes as the moon^[2] while the wise man shall live as long as the sun,^[3] and that we may sigh more ardently for that life, supremely blessed in eternal peace, when the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days. Indeed, because (as it is written) from the moon is the sign of the feast day,^[4] and just as the first light of the moon was shed upon the world at eventide, so in the law it is compulsory that every feast day begin in the evening and end in the evening.^[5]

But when there will be a new heaven and a new earth after the judgment—which is not one heaven and earth replacing another but these very same ones which will shine forth, having been renewed by fire and glorified by the power of the resurrection—then, as Isaiah predicts, The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days.