Those who forget the law are the ones who violate it; yet those who remember the law are the ones who live in accordance with the law. Likewise, those who observe the sayings of God are those who keep them, and those who destroy them are those who do not want to follow them. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be justified.^[1]

What of this fact, that God in so many passages commands that all his precepts be kept and carried out? How can he command if there is no free choice? And what of that blessed man about whom the psalmist says that his will has been according to the law of the Lord?^[1] Does he not make it perfectly clear that it is by the will that a man takes his stand on the side of God’s law? Finally, there are many commandments that in one way or another refer by name to the will. For example, Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.^[2] And there are similar passages, such as, Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding;^[3] and, Do not cast off the counsels of your mother;^[4] and, Be not wise in your own conceit;^[5] and, Do not fall away from the correction of the Lord;^[6] and, Neglect not the law; and, Do not refrain from helping the needy;^[7] and, Plan no evil against your friends;^[8] and, Mind not the deceit of a woman;^[9] and, He would not understand that he might do well;^[10] and, They were unwilling to take correction.^[11] What do such numerous passages from the books of the Old Testament show, except that a person’s will is possessed of free choice?

If you wish to fast according to the precept of the gospel, observe the evangelical laws on fasting in which the Savior commands this about fasting: But if you fast, anoint your head and wash your face.^[1] But if you ask how to wash your face, the apostle Paul teaches how with uncovered face, you will contemplate the glory of the Lord and be transformed to this same image from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord.^[2] Anoint even your head, but take care that it not be with the oil of sin. For the oil of the sinner will not anoint your head.^[3] But anoint your head with the oil of exultation, the oil of joy,^[4] the oil of mercy, so that, according to the command of wisdom, mercy and faith may not forsake you.

Ignorance is constantly, so to speak, accompanied by rashness and leads people on to attach great importance to their wretched fancies. Thus those who are the victims of this malady entertain a great idea of themselves and imagine themselves possessed of such knowledge as no one can gainsay. For they forget, it seems, Solomon, who says, Be not wise in your own eyes, that is, according to your own single judgment; and again, that wisdom not put to the proof goes astray. For we do not necessarily possess true opinions upon every individual doctrine that we hold, but often perhaps abandoning the right path, we err and fall into that which is not fitting. But I think it right that exercising an impartial and unprejudiced judgment, and not rendered rash by passion, we should love the truth, and eagerly pursue it.

If there are any who are even in the catholic church and live evil lives, before they finish this life, let them hasten to give up the evil life, and let them not think that the catholic name is enough for salvation, if they do not do the will of God. . . . In Proverbs each one of us is commanded both to fear the Lord and to depart from evil. There it is said, Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body.

God approves of that alms which is furnished by just labors, as is written: Honor the Lord with your labors and sacrifice to him with the fruits of your justice. For God abominates and refuses that alms which is furnished to him at the cost of another’s tears. What profit accrues to you if one person blesses you while many curse you; what good does an alms bring to you when it is furnished from the possessions of another? In truth, need we fear that God does not have the goods with which you may feed his poor without plundering your neighbor?

We are commanded to honor the Lord not only with the substance of money that we extend to the poor and with all the good works we do, with the substance or fruits of the universal heavenly grace we receive, which is to seek his praise in all things rather than our own. [Not only the aforesaid,] but one honors the Lord with his substance and first fruits who attributes every good work not to his own powers and merits, but to supernatural grace, mindful of the word: For without me, you can do nothing.^[1]

Honor the Lord from your righteous labors, and offer to him the fruits of your righteousness; that your barns may be full of an abundance of wheat, and your vats may overflow with wine. Know that as you are faithfully carrying out this service, you have fulfilled the righteousness of the old law, under which those who then lived if they transgressed it inevitably incurred guilt, while if they fulfilled it they could not attain to the height of perfection.

Our Lord wants nothing done for his honor and glory without it being tempered by judgment, for the honor of a king loves judgment.^[1] Therefore Solomon, the wisest of men, urges us not to let our judgment tilt to either side, saying: Honor God with your righteous labors and offer to him of the fruits of your righteousness. For we have in our conscience an uncorrupt and true judge who, when all others are wrong, is the only person not deceived as to the state of our purity.

It is written, Honor the Lord from your just labors. It is no honor to the Lord to take evilly in order to give well. Hence also it is said through Solomon, Whoever offers a sacrifice of the substance of the poor is as though he slew a son in his father’s sight.^[1]

We receive only the use of those possessions which we hold. We make use of the wealth loaned to us by God. We are, as it were, tenants by the revocable will of the grantor. When departing from this world, whether we like it or not, we leave everything behind on earth. Since we are tenants only of this sort, why do we attempt to take away and alienate from God’s ownership what we cannot take with us? Why do we not use in good faith the little things given us by God? We hold property so long as he has allowed, we hold so long as he has permitted, he who has given us all.

What is more right, what is more proper, than when a thing is separated from him who had its use, that its possession revert to him who granted it for usage? Even the very words of God through the tongue of sacred Scripture order this, saying to one and all of us, Honor the Lord from out of your substance. And elsewhere he says, Repay your debt.^[1] How tender and condescending is our Lord God, who invites us to expend the wealth of our earthly substance! He says, Honor the Lord from out of your substance. Though all we have received from God is his own property, he calls it ours so that we may be the ones who give it to others. Thus, he calls the proprietorship of possession ours so that there may be a greater reward for work, because, wherever effort spent seems to be on what is one’s own, the worker necessarily has a greater return.

What clearer evidence is there for pointing to God’s grace than in the case where we receive what we ask for in prayer? For if our Lord had said, Watch that you enter not into temptation,^[1] he would appear to have merely given an admonition to man’s will, whereas when he added the words and pray, he made it clear that it is God who helps us so that we do not fall into temptation. It is to human free will that these words have been directed: Son, do not fall away from the correction of the Lord.^[2]

What here and now is the punishment of those who go astray? Some affliction perhaps, and some scourging that is for the purpose of either correcting or testing. Either, you see, people are corrected for their sins to avoid their incurring, uncorrected, severer punishments, or else their faith is being tested, to see with what endurance or what patience it remains intact under the Father’s chastisement. [In either case,] not grumbling angrily at the Father when he chastises and rejoicing at his caresses; but so rejoicing at his caresses that one also thanks him for chastising; because he chastises every son whom he receives.^[1]

Whom the Lord loves, he chastises; and he scourges every son whom he accepts.^[1] . . . For, it is just that we who were dismissed from the pristine happiness of paradise because of our bold appetite for pleasures should be taken back through the humble endurance of difficulties, fugitives through our own evildoing, returning through suffering evils, there acting contrary to justice, here suffering for justice sake.

If we believe some blow of misfortune is struck by God, to whom would it be better that we manifest patience than to our Lord? In fact, more than this, it befits us to rejoice at being deemed worthy of divine chastisement: As for me, he says, those whom I love I chastise.^[1] Blessed is that servant upon whose amendment the Lord insists, at whom he deigns to be angry, whom he does not deceive by omitting his admonition!

We must accept correction, dear friends. No one should resent it. Warnings we give each other are good and thoroughly beneficial. For they bind us to God’s will. This is what the holy Word says about it: The Lord has disciplined me severely and has not given me up to death. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and punishes every son he accepts.^[1]. . . Do not refuse the Almighty’s warning. For he inflicts pain and then makes us all well again. He smites, but his hands heal. 1

It is written, after all, The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and scourges every son whom he receives.^[1] Let us not fall away, then, under the lash, so that we may rejoice in the resurrection. So true is it, after all, that he scourges every son whom he receives, that he did not spare his only Son but handed him over for us all. So fixing our gaze on him, who was scourged without any sin to deserve it, and who died for our offenses and rose again for our justification,^[2] let us not be afraid of being cast aside when we are scourged, but rather [let us] be confident that we will be received when we are justified.

Not all sicknesses for whose treatment we observe medicine to be occasionally beneficial arise from natural causes, whether from faulty diet or from any other physical origin. Illness is often a punishment for sin imposed for our conversion. . . . Consequently, when we who belong to this class [of sinners] have recognized our transgressions, we should bear in silence and without recourse to medicine all the afflictions which come to us, in accordance with the words, I will bear the wrath of the Lord because I have sinned against him.^[1]

[The Lord] visits with a rod when he imposes stern punishment. In the same spirit Paul when writing to the Corinthians said, What will you? Shall I come to you with a rod? Or in charity and in the spirit of meekness?^[1] He also visits us with stripes when he takes lighter vengeance on us; for a rod strikes us in one way, but whips flick us in another. Clearly each of these befalls Christian people according to the nature of their sin, enabling them to make progress toward salvation. As Solomon puts it: For whom the Lord loves, he chastises; he whips every son whom he accepts.^[2]

If God chastises whom he loves, and chastises that he may correct, brethren also, and priests particularly, do not hate but love those whom they chastise that they may correct, since God also prophesied before through Jeremiah and pointed to our own time saying, I will give you pastors according to my own heart, and they shall nourish you, feeding you with discipline.^[1]

The father schools only him whom he loves. The master rebukes only the pupil who he sees has a more zealous talent. Once the doctor stops trying to cure, he gives up hope. Your response may well be, As Lazarus endured evils in his life, so I shall gladly endure torments now, so that glory may be stored up for me in the future; for the Lord will not punish the same sin twice.^[1] The reason why Job, a holy and spotless man, a man just in his own day, suffered so grievously, is described in his book.

Many persons opposed to sound doctrine find fault with justice. They regard disciplinary control as haughtiness and attribute a just punishment to an overbearing nature. However, there is no haughtiness unless something unjust is ordered; and there is no overbearance except in the one who spurns discipline. Discipline, therefore, is a teacher of religion and of true piety; she does not threaten in order to inflict pain or chastise in order to work injury.

In fact, when discipline is angered she corrects the habits of people, and when she is aroused she keeps them under control, as Solomon tells us. . . . Indeed, there is nothing which correction fails to remedy or save. If anyone is wise enough to accept correction, he neither loses the pleasantness of friendship [with his corrector] nor runs the risk of condemnation.

The souls of those who are about to speak with wisdom should first be cleansed through divine fear. For to distribute the mysteries of salvation to the general public and to receive all persons equally, including those whose life is not adorned with purity and those who have not been examined and prepared to make reasonable use of the mysteries, is like pouring one’s most precious ointment into a filthy vessel.

As Proverbs has it, Length of days and years of life are in his^[1] right hand, and this means eternal blessedness, whereas In his^[2] left hand are riches and glory, denoting the good things of this world, though there is no doubt that these can be bestowed by him. Moreover, it is his right side to which the saints are allotted when separated from the rest to obtain their rewards, whereas the left side is that mentioned when sinners are to be condemned to eternal punishment; for the saints have longed for things heavenly, whereas sinners have sought worldly goods. We also read that sinners have given the left hand’s role to their right hand; our prophet is to say of them in Psalm 143: Their mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity.^[3] But the true use of the right hand is where the bestowal of the Lord’s grace is demonstrated.

The careful reader will easily perceive how great a difference there is between the right and the left side of wisdom when he has taken note of what she is reported to hold in her right hand and in her left, for Scripture says, Long life is in her right hand, in her left are riches and honor. You see eternity and everlasting life in wisdom’s right hand. But the perishable and fleeting things of time, creatures that are gone the very instant we think we have them in our grasp—riches and honor—are in her left. This is consistent with the fact that on the day of judgment, some will stand on the right and others on the left: sheep, naturally, and saints on his right, but goats and sinners on his left.^[1]

The church says by the voice of the elect, His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.^[1] The left hand of God—that is, prosperity in the present life— the church has put under her head, in that she presses it down in the intentness of her highest love. But the right hand of God embraces her, because in her entire devotion she is encompassed with his eternal happiness. Therefore, it is said again through Solomon, Length of days is in her right hand, but in her left hand riches and glory. In speaking, then, of riches and glory being placed in her left hand, he showed the manner in which they are to be esteemed. Thus the psalmist says, Save me with your right hand.^[2] He does not say, with your hand, but with your right hand to indicate that it was eternal salvation that he sought. Again it is written, Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed in pieces the enemies.^[3] For the enemies of God, though they prosper in his left hand, are dashed to pieces with his right; since for the most part the present life elevates the bad, but the coming of eternal bliss condemns them.

When the left hand of Christ is interpreted as referring to something good, the present life of holy church is understood. Hence it is written, Length of days is in her right hand, in her left riches and glory. Length of days in her right hand [refers to] our Redeemer’s wisdom because in the fatherland of the dwelling on high unfailing light is granted to the elect of both angels and human beings. Riches and glory are in her left hand, because we are restored during [our time of] exile in our journey [on this earth] by both the riches of the virtues and the glory of our faith, until we come to our eternal [resting place]. Of his glory the apostle says, And we glory in our hope of the glory of the children of God, and not only this, but we also glory in our tribulations;^[1] and of these riches he says, Because in everything you have become rich in him, with all speech and knowledge.^[2]

I turn to the most wise Solomon as a witness when he said about wisdom, The tree of life is for all who embrace it. Therefore, if wisdom is the tree of life, without a doubt, there is another tree of prudence, another of knowledge and another of justice. For logically it is not said that only wisdom, of all the virtues, was worthy to be called the tree of life but that the other virtues by no means received names of a similar sort. Therefore, the trees of the field will give their fruit.^[1]

These things must be understood to be said figuratively; for Christ himself is called the tree of life. Just as by other things Christ is disclosed to be priest and victim and altar, and one understanding is not prevented by the other, and in their own passages each thing is perceived figuratively concerning him, so also now in the figures of mysteries a diversity of roles taken from one and the same thing will not get in our way.^[1]

What is that tree which the Lord pointed out? Solomon shows us when he says of wisdom, She is a tree of life to all who embrace her. If the tree of Christ’s wisdom is put into the law, showing us how circumcision should be spiritually understood and how the sabbath and the law are to be observed, then the bitter water becomes sweet. When the bitterness of the law is changed into the sweetness of spiritual understanding, then the people of God can drink. . . . For this reason it is certain that if one wants to drink of the letter of the law without the tree of life, that is, without the mystery of the cross, the faith of Christ or spiritual understanding, he will die because of the excessive bitterness. Paul the apostle knew this when he said, The letter kills.^[1] In other words, the bitter water plainly kills if it is not changed into sweetness by the Spirit. For this reason the tree is cast into the water, so that it may be turned into sweetness. It is true, brethren, the bitterness is removed from the water when the tree of the cross is joined to the sacrament of baptism.

Risen is the light of the kingdom, in Ephrata the city of the king. The blessing wherewith Jacob blessed, to its fulfillment came today! That tree likewise, [the tree] of life, brings hope to mortal men! Solomon’s hidden proverb had today its explanation! Today was born the child, and his name was called Wonder!^[1] For a wonder it is that God as a babe should show himself.

It is just this needful bread that seems to me to be otherwise termed in Scripture a tree of life. If a person stretches his hand to it and takes of it, he will live forever.^[1] And under a third name this tree is termed wisdom of God. In Solomon's words: She is a tree of life to all that take hold of her, and to those that lean on her as on the Lord she is safe.

In the book of Genesis,^[1] where the lawgiver depicts the paradise planted by God, we are shown that every tree is fair to look upon and good for food. It is also stated that there stands in the midst of the garden a tree of life and a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Next, [we are told] that the garden is watered by a stream that divides into four heads. The prophet Solomon teaches us what this tree of life is in his exhortation concerning wisdom: She is a tree of life to all them that lay hold upon her and lean upon her. This tree then is living; and not only living, but, furthermore, guided by reason. Guided by reason, that is, in so far as to yield fruit, and not casually nor unseasonably, but in its own season. And this tree is planted beside the rills of water in the domain of the kingdom of God, that is, of course, in paradise and in the place where the stream as it issues forth is divided into four heads.

This tree of life was planted in the Garden of Eden, and in Eden there rose a river that separated into four branches.^[1] . . . Likewise, we read in Solomon, . . . She is a tree of life to those who grasp her, [and here] he is speaking of wisdom. Now, if wisdom is the tree of life, wisdom itself, indeed, is Christ. You understand now that the man who is blessed and holy is compared to this tree, that is, he is compared to wisdom. Consequently, you see, too, that the just man, that blessed man who has not followed in the counsel of the wicked—who has not done that but has done this—is like the tree that is planted near running water.^[2] He is, in other words, like Christ, inasmuch as he raised us up together, and seated us together in heaven.^[3] You see, then, that we shall reign together with Christ in heaven; you see, too, that because this tree has been planted in the Garden of Eden, we have all been planted there together with him.

You will find it said in Proverbs, God by wisdom founded the earth, and by prudence he prepared the heaven. Thus there is a certain prudence of God which one does not seek [except] in Christ Jesus. For all such [virtues], insofar as they are of God, are Christ: he is the wisdom of God, he is the power of God, he is the righteousness of God, he is sanctification, he is redemption.^[1] In this way he is the prudence of God. But though there is one substance, for differences in the aspects the names are many. You do not understand the same thing about Christ when you understand him as wisdom and when you understand him as righteousness. For when he is wisdom, you mean the knowledge of things divine and human, but when he is righteousness, he is that power which allots to every person according to worth. And when he is sanctification, he is what enables those faithful and dedicated to God to become holy. In this way also then you will understand him as prudence, when he is the knowledge of what is good and evil, and what is neither.

Paul declares that it was said of the Son: You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.^[1] Whether therefore the Son made the heavens, as also the apostle would have it understood, while he himself certainly did not alone spread out the heavens without the Father; or as it stands in the book of Proverbs, the Lord in wisdom has founded the earth, in understanding he has prepared the heavens, it is proved that neither the Father made the heavens alone without the Son, nor yet the Son without the Father.

Solomon says, The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens. And this wisdom is the Word, and by him, as John says, all things were made^[1] [and without him not one thing was made]. This Word is Christ, for there is one God the Father, from whom are all things. We are for him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we are through him.^[2] If all things are through him, he himself should not be reckoned with the all things. Whoever dares to say that he, through whom are all things, is one of all the things surely will have the same speculation about God, from whom are all things. If anyone flees from this as absurd and excludes God from the all things, it would follow that even the only-begotten Son, since he is proper to the Father’s substance, must be excluded from the all things. And if he is not one of the all things, then it is not right to say about him There was once when he was not and He was not before he was begotten. Such terms are fittingly used of creatures, but the Son himself is such a one as is the Father, of whose substance the Son is a proper offspring, Word and wisdom. This is peculiar to the Son in relation to the Father, and this shows that the Father is peculiar to the Son; so that we may neither say that God was ever wordless or that the Son was ever nonexistent. For how else could he be a Son, unless from God? Or how could he be Word and wisdom unless he is always peculiar to [God]?

God the Father created all things through the Son. But he founded the earth by wisdom figuratively^[1] when he established his holy church in firmness of faith through the Son.