Hear how he reproves the unfaithful, when he says, You have taken counsel, but not of me, and made treaties, but not by my Spirit.^[1] For this is the habit of those who love: they desire that all concerns of their beloved should be accomplished by means of themselves and that no one should do anything, or say anything, without them. On this account did God not only on that occasion, but again elsewhere, utter a reproof in the same terms: They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but they did not make it known to me.

How is it said in this place that the Lord makes the hypocrite to reign^[1] when through the prophet he complains especially about that, saying, They have reigned but not of me: they have become princes, and I know them not? For who that thinks rightly can say that the Lord does that of which he knows nothing? But because God’s knowledge is approval, his ignorance is disapproval. . . . In a marvelous manner then does God make hypocrites to reign and knows them not. He makes them by forbearance; by rejecting them he knows them not. Thus it is necessary, with reference to everything which is desired in this life, that the inner will should be first inquired into. And when the ear of the heart is anxious to catch its sound, let it know that it speaks not in words but in deeds. When then a post of authority is offered, it is necessary for a man first to question with himself whether his conduct is suited to the place, whether his doings are at variance with the distinction it confers, lest perhaps the just Ruler of all should afterward not regard his prayers in tribulation, because God knows not his very entering on that high office which is the source of all his tribulation.

When Peter is speaking to the people concerning the bishop to be ordained in the place of Judas, it says, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, for the multitude was together.^[1] But we notice that the apostles observed this, not only in the ordination of bishops and of priests but also in the ordinations of deacons. Concerning this very thing, in their Acts, it is also written, The Twelve called together the multitude of the disciples, it says, and spoke to them.^[2]

This matter was carried on diligently and cautiously, with the whole people assembled so that no unworthy man should attain to the ministry of the altar or to the priestly rank. For the fact is that sometimes unworthy men are ordained, not according to the will of God but according to human presumption. These things that do not come from a legitimate and just ordination are displeasing to God. God himself makes this known through the prophet Hosea, saying, They made themselves a king, but not by me.

We acknowledge, therefore, and know that he is God, the Creator of all things. He is our Lord, because of his power; our author, because of his creation. He spoke, and all things were made. He commanded, and all things came forth.^[1] Of him it is written, You have made all things in wisdom.^[2] Moses says of him, God is in heaven above and on earth below,^[3] and according to Isaiah, He has measured the heavens with a span, the earth with the width of the fist;^[4] he looks upon the earth and makes it tremble.^[5] He holds the orb of the earth and those who live on it as if they were locusts;^[6] he weighed the mountains on scales and the groves on a balance,^[7] by the exact precision of the divine plan. He laid out this weight of the earth’s mass with precise equipoise, lest the huge ill-balanced mass should easily fall into ruin, if they were not balanced by providential weights.^[8] It is he who says through the prophet, I am God, and there is none beside me.^[9] He says by means of the same prophet, I will not give my majesty to another,^[10] so that he might exclude all heathens and heretics with their images, proving that he is God who is not made by the hand of an artificer.^[11] Nor is he some God whom heretical ingenuity has devised.

For you pluck no fruit from the idol’s service, but their bundles are like ears of wheat destroyed by the wind, which show full stalks from the outside but which internally have no grain. Such is the nature of idolatry, for on the one hand it can take the image of a man or a woman, or a lion or a different animal from art, but on the other hand it is deprived of any strength or energy.

The one who looks for the applause of fellow creatures in return for the good that he practices is carrying an article of great worth to be sold at a mean price. From that by which he might have earned the kingdom of heaven he seeks the coin of passing talk. His practice goes for little in that he spends a great deal and gets back but very little. Such are the hypocrites who may be compared to luxuriant and untended vines, which put forth fruit from their fertility but are never lifted from the earth by tending. All that the rich branches bud forth, stray beasts tread under foot. The more fruitful they see it is, the more greedily they devour it. . . . Hence it is well said by the prophet, The standing stalk, there is no bud in them, and they shall yield no meal; if it happens to yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. For the stalk yields no meal when the one who thrives in this world understands nothing refined and yields no fruit of good practice.

O appalling hardness! O strange cruelty! You did not fear God, nor did you reverence others or feel shame before your friends. So you have suffered shipwreck of all things at once. You have stripped yourselves of every good thing at the same time. Therefore again I grieve for you, wretched man! You who were announcing your ardor for the kingdom have fallen from the kingdom. You who were inspiring all with a reverence for the doctrine did not have the fear of God before your eyes. You who were preaching holiness are now found to be polluted. You who glory in poverty are caught stealing money. You who through your guidance point out the punishment of God have drawn down chastisement upon yourselves. How shall I bewail you? How shall I grieve for you? The morning star, which rose early, has fallen and shattered upon the earth. The two ears of everyone who hears it will ring. How did the Nazirite^[1] who shone brighter than gold become darker than soot? And how did the worthy son of Zion instantly become like a polluted vessel?