Foretaste of rewards and punishments.
HOMIL. Confidence, and doing all with much boldness. He hath got the better of an evil desire; even before obtaining the Kingdom, he hath already received the fruit here, being
1 lit. ad praised and approved', before all others, by his own conscience. And every good work is of this nature; just as 2 or, 'all other conscience also punishes wicked deeds here, even before the things' pit. For if, after sinning, thou considerest the future, thou becomest afraid and tremblest, though no man punish thee; if the present, thou hast many enemies, and livest in suspicion, and canst not henceforth even look in the face those who have wronged thee, or rather, those who have not wronged thee. For we do not in the case of those evil deeds reap so much pleasure, as we do despondency, when conscience cries out against us, men, without, condemn us, God is angered, the pit travailing to receive us, our thoughts not at rest. A heavy, a heavy and a burthensome thing is sin, harder to bear than any lead. He at least who hath any sense of it will not be able to look up ever so little, 1 Kings though he be very dull. Thus, for instance, Ahab, though 27. very impious, when he felt this, walked bending downwards,
crushed and afflicted. On this account he clothed himself in sackcloth, and shed fountains of tears. If we do this, and Luke19, grieve as he did, we shall put off our faults as did Zacchaeus, and we too shall obtain some pardon. For as in the case of tumours3, and fistulous ulcers', if one stay not first the discharge which runs over and inflames the wound, how many 4 σugly so ever remedies he applies, while the source of the evil is not stopped, he doth all in vain; so too if we stay not our hand from covetousness, and check not that evil afflux of wealth, although we give alms, we do all to no purpose. si.e. by For that which was healed by it", covetousness coming after is wont to overwhelm and spoil, and to make harder to heal undo' than before. Let us then cease from rapine, and so do alms. But if we betake ourselves to precipices, how shall we be able to recover ourselves?? for if one party (that is, almsdoing) were to pull at a falling man from above, while another was forcibly dragging him from below, the only result of such a struggle would be, that the man would be
i. e. in wronging thee, have not wronged thee, because thou deservest punishment.
Almsdoing incompatible with covetousness.
torn asunder. That we may not suffer this, nor, while JoHN covetousness weighs us down from below, alms-doing depart and leave us, let us lighten ourselves, and spread our wings', 1 lit.' exthat having been perfected by the riddance of evil things, pand and the practice of good', we may obtain the goods everlast- selves' ing, through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father and the Holy Ghost be glory, dominion, and honour, now and ever and world without end. Amen.
Sav. and Ben.' everlasting goods.' But Mss. omit alwvíwv.
ABRAHAM, supposed by the Sama-
ritans to have offered Isaac on mount
Gerizim, 271. Christ talked with,278.
who the real seed of, 467. wrongly
compared with Christ, 474. how he
saw Christ's day, 476.
Adam, said to die from the moment
of the Fall, because under sentence,
231.
Adulterers, salvation of, impossible,
Adultery, the woman taken in, not
mentioned by St. Chrysostom, 449.
Advice, to be welcomed from any, by
Christ's example, 418.
Affliction, the best trial of faith, 299.
Affronts here, to be borne, from thought
of beaven, 694, 700. from thought
of our Christian membership, 700.
of imperious women often borne by
their lovers, 701.
Age, adds dignity to virtue, 792.
Agony, the, expressed the weakness of
nature, 759.
Agreement, not always good, 494.
Alms, win praise of God and Angels,
Almsgiving, wins forgiving, 67, 110.
a pure sacrifice, 109. must not come
from dishonest gain, 109. indispensa-
ble to our entering the kingdom, 198.
a seal to the charitable, 206. will
win treasure in heaven, 213. the
way to true honour, 282, 342. to
gain present delight, the future
Crown, 352. the meat that perisheth
not, 381. to be practised throughout
life, 527. the measure of God's
mercy to us, ib. necessary to life,
yet easy, and sobering, 528. brings
contentment, 582. cleanses from sin,
641. better none, than with covet-
ousness, 643. duty of, enjoined, 678.
neglect of, leads to hell, 679. due to
Christ, 680. blessing of here and
hereafter, 681. cleanses and heals
the soul, 720. the best winding sheet
for the dead, 767. profits both the
dying and the dead, 769. raised
Dorcas to life, 769.
Altar, awfulness of the Christian, 401.
danger of approaching it in sin, 402.
danger of profaning with gifts from
unjust gains, 642.
I Am, implies absolute being, 124.
Ancestry, nobility of, no protection to
the bad, 180, 258. availed not the
Jews, 258.
Andrew, St. praise of his zeal and
modesty in coming to Christ, 153-5.
of his zeal in his brother's conver-
sion, 160. his faith in the miracle of
the loaves, 365.
Angel of counsel, a title of Christ,
125, note.
Angels, learn from revelations given
to the Church, 3. worshipped Christ
in His human nature, 92. have ap-
peared in brightness, 95. act under
command, 96. have a well-ordered
polity, 98. how men become like
them, ib. are holy, 114. have not
seen God in His Essence, but only
in Christ, 122. their ministry to
Christ a proof of His Deity, 174.
behold but understand not the mystery
of Regeneration, 211. their troubling
the water of Bethesda a type of the
work of the Spirit, 301. work without
weariness, 305. their happiness in
wanting nothing, 711.
Anger, not to be retained, 44. absurdity
of, 46. brings remorse, ib. deformity
of, 220. with servants, reproved, 221.
its mischief and pitiableness, 420.
a madness and foretaste of Hell,
421. appeased by penitent sorrow,
Antichrist, his characteristic, to glo-
rify himself, 355. why more clearly
predicted by St. Paul than by Christ,
356.
Antioch, its covetousness and luxury,
Apostles, the, mission of, 99. did not
all witness all, 144. preached Christ
absent, 151. why greater than
Christ's kinsmen and countrymen,
180. did not believe at first, because
not confirmed by the Spirit, 197.
taught high doctrines gradually, 253.
travelled without provision, 259. mo-
deration of, 260. their reverence for
Christ, 280. zeal of, seen in the
Samaritan woman, 283. their love
for Christ in urging him to eat, 284.
slowness to understand his meaning,
ib. often wished, but forbore to ask,
285. reaped where the Prophets had
sown, 287. their task the easier,
288. their inspiration immediate and
complete, 324. their humble fare,
365. their distance from their master
in respect of grace, 366. their love
for their Master shewn on the sea,
372. witnessed some miracles alone,
373. disclaimed acting of themselves,
570. retired with Christ during the
feasts, 577. spoke like Judas at
Bethany, but with different intent,
580. understood not the mystery of
the ass's colt, 585. their mutual
love, 634. struck dumb hearing of
persecution, 682. yet started not
back, and comforted by Christ's
Omniscience, 683, 4. [see Disciples.]
Applause, in Church, 22.
Arius, heresy of, refuted by Christ's
indwelling in His disciples, 723,
Article, the, why added in the phrase,
"The Word," 16, 17. omission of
sometimes unimportant, 43, 39. dis-
tinguishes Christ from all, 152.
"As," expressing agreement not com-
parison, 95. said of the Father and
the Son implies their equality, of
men not so, 722-25.
Asa, his gout a punishment for sin, 315.
Babel, an example of mischievous
agreement, 494.
Baptism, promise at, 7. gift of the
Spirit in, 85. regeneration in, 86.
superior to natural birth, 210. not
needful to Christ, 141. but Christ to
it, 142. benefits of, 211-301. an ob-
ligation to holiness, 212. danger of
delaying, 213. in what sense an
earthly thing, 223, 257. how con-
nected with the Cross, 224. sin after,
not unpardonable, 230. buries sin,
289. gifts of, typified in the miracle
of Bethesda, 301. way prepared for
the use of water under the law,
301. the only cure of sin, 456.
cleanses from sin, 641. the work of
all Three Persons of the Trinity, 688.
Baskets, the twelve, of fragments in
number proved its truth, 367.
Basilides, 71, note.
"Because," refers to the event not the
cause, 600.
Beasts, spare their own kind, 312.
Bethabara, why mentioned by John, 138.
Bethlehem, the Messiah expected from,
Bethesda, the miracle of, was to pre-
pare the Jews for the regeneration
of holy Baptism, 201.
Bibles, splendid copies of, written
in gold letters, on fine parchment,
a charm against the Devil, 272. un-
folds the spectacle of the spiritual
combat, 273.
Birds, teach their young to fly by de-
grees, 105.
Blind man, the, his courage and truth-
fulness, 491, 501-2. becomes a dis-
ciple, 502. bore reproach and suffer-
ing for the truth, 504.
Blindness, never cured until Christ,
480. a judgment on the Jews, 511.
sensible and spiritual compared, ib.
Blood, the, of Christ, the soul's nou-
rishment, 400. the terror of Demons,
ib.
Body, the, chastised for the soul's
health, 314. of Christ includes all,
399. how worketh on the soul, 400.
Boldness, its virtue and reward, 138.
comes by hearing, 505.
Books, scarcity of, 89. generally neg-
lected at Antioch, or only kept for
show and ornament, 272. written in
letters of gold, on fine parchments,
272.
Bosom, of the Father, implies Unity
of Essence, 123. and Coeternity, 125.
Branches, signify our need of Grace,
and of union with Christ, 665. the
fruitless perish, 666. the disciples the
true, ib.
Bread of life, said only of Christ's
Godhead, 388. of His doctrines, and
of His Body, 396.
Brethren, of Christ, did not profit by
their relation to Him, 179. believed
not, from envy, 417.
Brightness of the Father's glory, why
said of Christ, 40, 66. of Moses's
face, 95. of Angels, ib.
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