Also in this place (which we have been quoting),^[1] the apostle to the Gentiles said that the wrath of God comes on the children of infidelity because of these evils.^[2] When, however, he says, And you yourselves once walked in them when they were your life,^[3] he shows well enough that they were not their life then. To them, indeed, they were dead, since their life was hidden with Christ in God. For the evils, in truth, were living in those who were not living in the evils, as I indicated a little while ago. Likewise, the vices, indeed, that were dwelling in the members of certain people were said to be their members, by a figure of speech in which the name of a place is given to the things contained within it, just as it is said that the whole forum speaks when what is meant is that the people who are in the forum are speaking. By this same figure of speech, there is sung in the psalm, Let all the earth adore you, that is, all people who are on the earth.

Then [Symmachus]^[1] outlines what was done of old. He turns the sea into dry land; they will cross the river on foot. The tense has been changed here: he spoke of the past as future, whereas the others retained the tense, Symmachus saying, He turned the sea into dry land, they crossed the river on foot. This is the God, he is saying, who will grant us salvation as well, who of old divided sea and river, and bade our forebears cross without risk and accords the nations the crossing that they make when through the washing of regeneration they are reformed. In other words, just as at that time through the hand of the mighty Moses he divided the Red Sea at this point, . . . so now as well through the hand of the priests he renews the people who believe in Christ, while submerging in figure Pharaoh with his chariots—that is, the devil with his desires (the initiated know what I mean).

And lead us not into temptation, O Lord. Is it this then what the Lord teaches us to pray, that we may not to be tempted at all? How, then, is it said elsewhere, an untempted person is a person unproved;^[1] and again, My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various temptations?^[2] But does perchance the entering into temptation mean being overwhelmed by the temptation? For temptation is like a winter torrent difficult to cross. Those, therefore, who are not overwhelmed in temptations, pass through, showing themselves excellent swimmers and not being swept away by them at all; while those who are not such, enter into them and are overwhelmed. As for example, Judas having entered into the temptation of the love of money, did not swim through it but was overwhelmed and was strangled both in body and spirit. Peter entered into the temptation of the denial; but having entered, he was not overwhelmed by it but courageously swam through it and was delivered from the temptation. Listen again, in another place, to a company of unscathed saints, giving thanks for deliverance from temptation: You, O God, have proved us; you have tried us by fire like silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid afflictions on our loins. You have caused people to ride over our heads; we went through fire and water; and you brought us out into a place of rest. You see them speaking boldly in regard to their having passed through and not been pierced. But you brought us out into a place of rest; now their coming into a place of rest is their being delivered from temptation.

And although the entrance is straight and narrow, once inside we see a vast and limitless space, greater than any other anywhere. We have been told of these things by eyewitnesses and heirs. They speak of their trials and distresses: You have placed afflictions before us, but then they add, You brought us out into a spacious place—and, You gave us space in our distress.^[1]

If you require evidence from the Old Testament also in order for me to convince you that the judgment of God occurs in this way [as I have presented it^[1]], Moses says, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength,^[2] and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.^[3] To this the Lord adds, On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets.^[4] The apostle also bears witness in the words: Love, therefore, is the fulfilling of the law.^[5] Moreover, they who do not observe these commands and do not perform the acts of justification that derive from them are liable to punishment, as Moses declares in the words Cursed is every one who does not abide in all that is written in this book.^[6] And David says, If I have contemplated iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. In another place, also, he says, There have they trembled for fear where there was no fear; for God has scattered the bones of those who attacked you.^[7] There is need, then, of great diligence and of ceaseless care, lest, perhaps, in carrying out the commandment improperly as regards any of the details we have discussed, we may not only lose a reward so great and so blessed but also become the objects of threats so terrible.

Therefore, because we have been speaking of the nature of marriage as the Lord has given it, consequently, this must be examined with the greatest care, namely, what you devoutly willed beforehand (if there could have been anything). Because the use of things conceded by God is not forbidden to human beings, one should not conclude that therefore one need not render to God what he has vowed. It is written: I will pay you my vows, those that my lips uttered. And lest anyone seek to use tribulation as a reason for excusing himself, in order to gain the freedom to evade a promise or to think of himself as free from what he has vowed, by saying that he was forced to vow something not by his own will but because of tribulation, the blessed David teaches that everything that was legitimately promised, even in tribulation, must be given back to God, when he says to God, I will pay you my vows, those that my lips uttered. And he added immediately, my mouth promised when I was in trouble.^[1] But in Deuteronomy, it is also written, If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not postpone fulfilling it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you would incur guilt. But if you refrain from vowing, you will not incur guilt. Whatever your lips utter, you must diligently perform, just as you have freely vowed to the Lord your God with your own mouth.^[2] And Solomon says, When you make a vow to God, do not delay fulfilling it; . . . Fulfill what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not fulfill it.^[3]