6

the inner man. Such was Jeremiah, already having grace from God while still being at the age of a child according to the body; therefore the Lord says to him: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth’,” and a sign of his not being a youth, but “a perfect man,” is this: “to all to whom I shall send you, you shall go, and whatever I shall command you, you shall speak; do not be afraid of their face.” The word of God knows that those who proclaim the word are in danger among those who hear; for being reproved, they hate them; being rebuked, they persecute. The prophets suffer everything whatsoever; “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house,” <of which> we have also previously made mention. God therefore knows when he sends the prophet how many dangers he will undertake, and says to him: “Do not be afraid of their face, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” What things Jeremiah suffered has been recorded; he was thrown into a pit of mire, he remained there “eating one loaf of bread a day” and drinking only water, and his prophecy has made clear innumerable other things he suffered. “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?” was said to the Jews, and it is necessary “that those who want to live godly in Christ Jesus will certainly be persecuted by opposing powers through the instruments they find.” Therefore, let the persecuted, not being surprised, do all things, only praying that they may be persecuted unjustly and not justly, not for injustice, not for sin, not for greed; but if someone is ever persecuted for righteousness, let him also hear, “blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all evil against you falsely on my account; rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” 1.14 “For I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. And the Lord stretched out his hand to me, and he touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me.” Observe the differences between Jeremiah and Isaiah; Isaiah says: “having unclean lips I dwell in the midst of a people having unclean lips, and I saw the King, the Lord of Sabaoth, with my eyes,” and since he confessed not having unclean works, but only little words—for up to this point he was a sinner,—“the Lord did not stretch out his hand,” but “one of the Seraphim touched his lips with his hand, and said: behold, I have taken away your iniquities”; but since this one was sanctified “from the womb,” no “tongs” are sent to him nor “a coal from the altar,”—he had nothing worthy of the fire,—but the hand of the Lord itself touched him. Therefore he says: “The Lord stretched out his hand to me and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: behold, I have put my words into your mouth; behold, I have appointed you this day over nations and kingdoms, to root out.” Who is so blessed as to “root out” by the words given from God the many existing kingdoms, which the devil shows, being kingdoms of opposing powers, kingdoms according to sins? For it is written: “Behold, I have put my words into your mouth; behold, I have appointed you this day over nations and kingdoms, <to root out>.” And just as there are kingdoms, so also are there nations; for example, there is a kingdom of fornication, nations of fornication, each fornication; one kingdom is the general sin <of> greed and of robbery itself, and there are many kingdoms in those sins that have many forms, then for each of the sinners, understand for me the nations under the kingdom, so to speak, that so-and-so has many nations of the kingdom of fornication, so-and-so has many nations of the kingdom of robbery, of slander, of anger. It is the work of the words of God sent upon “nations and kingdoms” to “root out and to tear down,” to root out what? The Savior taught, saying: “Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.” There are some things within <in> souls which “the heavenly Father has not planted”; for all “evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, <fornications>,”

6

τὸν ἔσω ἄνδρα. Τοιοῦτος ἦν ὁ Ἱερε μίας, ἤδη ἔχων τὴν χάριν ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἔτι ὢν ἐν τῇ τοῦ παι δίου ἡλικίᾳ κατὰ τὸ σῶμα· διό φησιν αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος· «Μὴ λέγε ὅτι νεώτερος ἐγώ εἰμι», σημεῖον δὲ τοῦ μὴ εἶναι αὐτὸν νεώτερον, ἀλλ' «ἄνδρα τέλειον», τὸ «πρὸς πάντας οὓς ἐὰν ἐξαποστείλω σε πορεύσῃ, καὶ κατὰ πάντα ὅσα ἐὰν ἐντείλωμαί σοι λαλήσεις· μὴ φοβηθῇς ἀπὸ προσώ που αὐτῶν». Οἶδεν ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος ὅτι οἱ πρεσβεύοντες τὸν λόγον κινδυνεύουσιν ἐν τοῖς ἀκούουσιν· ἐλεγχόμενοι γὰρ μισοῦσιν αὐτούς, ἐπιπλησσόμενοι διώκουσι. Πᾶν ὁτιοῦν πάσχουσιν οἱ προφῆται· «Οὐκ ἔστι προφήτης ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ πατρίδι καὶ τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ», <οὗ> καὶ πρώην ἐμνημονεύομεν. Οἶδεν οὖν ὁ θεὸς πέμπων τὸν προφήτην, ὅσους κινδύνους ἀναδέξεται, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· «Μὴ φοβηθῇς ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν, ὅτι μετὰ σοῦ εἰμι τοῦ ἐξαιρεῖσθαί σε, λέγει κύριος.» Ἃ πέπονθεν Ἱερεμίας, ἀναγέγραπται· εἰς λάκκον βορβόρου βέβληται, ἔμεινεν ἐκεῖ «ἕνα ἄρτον ἐσθίων τῆς ἡμέρας» καὶ ὕδωρ μόνον πίνων, καὶ ἄλλα δὲ μυρία ἃ πέπονθεν ἡ προφητεία αὐτοῦ δεδήλωκεν. «Τίνα τῶν προφητῶν οὐκ ἐδίωξαν οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν;» εἴρηται πρὸς τοὺς Ἰουδαίους, καὶ ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστι «τοὺς θέλοντας ζῆν εὐσεβῶς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ πάντως ὑπὸ δυνάμεων ἀντι κειμένων δι' ὧν εὑρίσκουσι σκευῶν διώκεσθαι». ∆ιὰ τοῦτο μὴ ξενιζόμενοι οἱ διωκόμενοι πάντα πραττέτωσαν, μόνον εὐχόμενοι, ἵνα ἀδίκως διώκωνται καὶ μὴ δικαίως, μὴ δι' ἀδικίαν, μὴ δι' ἁμαρτίαν, μὴ διὰ πλεονεξίαν· ἐὰν δὲ διώκηται ποτέ τις διὰ δικαιοσύνην, καὶ ἀκουέτω τοῦ «μακάριοί ἐστε ὅταν ὀνειδίζωσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ διώκωσι καὶ εἴπωσι πᾶν πονηρὸν ῥῆμα καθ' ὑμῶν ψευδόμενοι ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ· χαίρετε καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὅτι ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολὺς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· οὕτως γὰρ ἐδίωξαν τοὺς προφήτας τοὺς πρὸ ὑμῶν». 1.14 «Ὅτι μετὰ σοῦ εἰμι τοῦ ἐξαιρεῖσθαί σε, λέγει κύριος. Καὶ ἐξέτεινε κύριος τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ πρός με, καὶ ἥψατο τοῦ στόματός μου, καὶ εἶπε κύριος πρός με.» Τήρει διαφορὰς Ἱερεμίου καὶ Ἡσαΐου· ὁ Ἡσαΐας φησίν· «Ἀκάθαρτχείλη ἔχων ἐν μέσῳ λαοῦ ἀκάθαρτα χείλη ἔχοντος ἐγὼ οἰκῶ, καὶ τὸν βασιλέα κύριον σαβαὼθ εἶδον τοῖς ὀφθαλ μοῖς μου», καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐξωμολογήσατο οὐκ ἔχων ἔργα ἀκάθαρτα, ἀλλὰ μόνον ῥημάτια-μέχρι γὰρ τούτου ἁμαρ τωλὸς ἦν, -οὐκ «ἐξέτεινε κύριος τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ», τὸ δὲ «ἓν τῶν Σεραφὶμ ἥψατο τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ τῶν χειλέων αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἶπεν· ἰδοὺ ἀφῄρηκα τὰς ἀνομίας σου»· ἐπεὶ δὲ οὗτος ἡγιάσθη «ἐκ μήτρας», οὐ «λαβὶς» αὐτῷ πέμπεται οὐδὲ «ἀπὸ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἄνθραξ», -οὐκ εἶχεν οὐδὲν ἄξιον τοῦ πυρός, -ἀλλ' αὐτὴ ἡ χεὶρ τοῦ κυρίου ἥψατο αὐτοῦ. ∆ιὸ λέγει· «Ἐξέτεινε κύριος τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ πρός με καὶ ἥψατο τοῦ στόματός μου, καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρός με· ἰδοὺ δέδωκα τοὺς λόγους μου εἰς τὸ στόμα σου· ἰδοὺ καθέστακά σε σήμερον ἐπὶ ἔθνη καὶ βασιλείας, ἐκριζοῦν.» Τίς οὕτως μακάριός ἐστιν ὡς τὰς βασιλείας πολλὰς οὔσας, ἃς δείκνυ σιν ὁ διάβολος, βασιλείας οὔσας δυνάμεων ἀντικειμένων, βασιλείας κατὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας, «ἐκριζοῦν» τοῖς διδομένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγοις; γέγραπται γάρ· «Ἰδοὺ δέδωκα τοὺς λόγους μου εἰς τὸ στόμα σου· ἰδοὺ καθέστακά σε σήμερον ἐπὶ ἔθνη καὶ βασιλείας, <ἐκριζοῦν>.» Ὥσπερ δὲ βασιλεῖαί εἰσιν, οὕτως καὶ ἔθνη· οἷον βασιλεία ἐστὶ τῆς πορνείας, ἔθνη τῆς πορνείας ἑκάστη πορνεία· μία βασιλεία ἐστὶν αὐτὸ <τὸ> γενικὸν ἁμάρτημα τῆς πλεονεξίας καὶ τῆς ἀποστερήσεως, καὶ εἰσὶ πολλαὶ βασιλεῖαι ἐν τοῖς πολλὰ εἴδη ἔχουσιν ἁμαρτημάτων, εἶτα καθ' ἕκαστον τῶν ἁμαρτω λῶν νόει μοι τὰ ἔθνη τὰ ὑπὸ τὴν βασιλείαν, ὡς εἰπεῖν, ὅτι ὁ δεῖνα ἔχει ἔθνη πολλὰ τῆς βασιλείας τῆς κατὰ τὴν πορνείαν, ὁ δεῖνα ἔχει ἔθνη πολλὰ τῆς βασιλείας τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀπο στέρησιν, τῆς κατὰ τὴν καταλαλιάν, τῆς κατὰ τὴν ὀργήν. Ἔργον ἐστὶ τῶν λόγων τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ «ἔθνη καὶ βασιλείας» ἐξαποσταλέντων «ἐκριζοῦν καὶ κατασκάπτειν», ἐκριζοῦν τίνα; Ἐδίδαξεν ὁ σωτὴρ λέγων· «Πᾶσα φυτεία ἣν οὐκ ἐφύτευσεν ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ οὐράνιος ἐκριζωθήσεται.» Ἔστι τινὰ ἔνδον <ἐν> ταῖς ψυχαῖς, ἃ «οὐκ ἐφύτευσεν ὁ πατὴρ ὁ οὐράνιος»· πάντες γὰρ οἱ «διαλογισμοὶ οἱ πονηροί, φόνοι, μοιχεῖαι, <πορνεῖαι>,