7. Mark what I say: God, man, beasts: to wit, above thee, God; beneath thee, the beasts. Acknowledge Him that is above thee, that those that are beneath thee may acknowledge thee.424    Dan. vi. 22. Thus, because Daniel acknowledged God above him, the lions acknowledged him above them. But if thou acknowledge not Him that is above thee, thou despisest thy superior, thou becomest subject to thine inferior. Accordingly, how was the pride of the Egyptians quelled? By the means of frogs and flies.425    Ex. viii. God might have sent lions: but a great man may be scared by a lion. The prouder they were, the more by the means of things contemptible and feeble was their wicked neck broken. But Daniel, lions acknowledge, because he was subject to God. What the martyrs who were cast to the wild beasts to fight with them, and were torn by the teeth of savage creatures, were they not under God? or were those three men servants of God, and the Maccabees not servants of God? The fire acknowledged as God’s servants the three men, whom it burned not, neither hurt their garments;426    Dan. iii. 50. and did it not acknowledge the Maccabees?427    2 Macc. vii. It acknowledged the Maccabees; it did, my brethren, acknowledge them also. But there was need of a scourge, by the Lord’s permission: He hath said in Scripture, “He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.”428    Heb. xii. 6. For think ye, my brethren, the iron would have pierced into the vitals429    Viscera. of the Lord unless He had permitted it, or that He would have hung fastened to the tree, unless it had been His will? Did not His own creature acknowledge Him? Or did He set an ensample of patience to His faithful ones? Ye see then, God delivered some visibly, some He delivered not visibly: yet all He spiritually delivered, spiritually deserted none. Visibly He seemed to have deserted some, some He seemed to have rescued. Therefore rescued He some, that thou mayest not think that He had not power to rescue. He has given proof that He has the power, to the end that where he doth it not, thou mayest understand a more secret will, not surmise difficulty of doing. But what, brethren? When we shall have come out of all these snares of mortality, when the times of temptation shall have passed away, when the river of this world shall have fleeted by, and we shall have received again that “first robe,”430    Luke xv. 22, stolam primam. S. Aug. de Gen. ad litt. vi. 38. “That ‘first robe’ is either the righteousness from which man fell, or, if it signify the clothing of bodily immortality, this also he lost, when by reason of sin he could not attain thereto:” and sec. 31. “Why is ‘the first robe’ brought forth to him, but as he receives again the immortality which Adam lost?” Tertullian: vestem prestinam, priorem: “the former robe, which he had of old…the clothing of the Holy Spirit.” Theophylact. τὴν στολὴν τὴν ἀρχαίαν…τὸ žνδυμα τῆς ἀφθαρσιας, “the original robe, the clothing of incorruption.” that immortality which by sinning we have lost, “when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption,” that is, this flesh shall have put on incorruption, “and this mortal shall have put on immortality;”431    1 Cor. xv. 44–49. the now perfected sons of God, in whom is no more need to be tempted, neither to be scourged, shall all creatures acknowledge: subjected to us shall all things be, if we here be subjected to God.

7. Intendite quid dicam: Deus, homo, pecora: verbi gratia, supra te Deus; infra te pecora. Agnosce eum qui supra te est, ut agnoscant te quae infra te sunt. Ideoque cum Daniel agnovisset supra se Deum, agnoverunt illum supra se leones (Dan. VI, 22). Si autem non agnoscis illum qui supra te est, superiorem contemnis, subderis inferiori. Propterea superbia Aegyptiorum unde domita est? De ranis et muscis (Exod. VIII). Poterat Deus et leones mittere, sed aliquis magnus leone terrendus est. Quanto illi erant superbiores, tanto de rebus contemptibilibus et abjectis fracta est eorum cervix mala. Sed Danielem agnoverunt leones, quia ille subditus Deo erat. Quid? martyres qui ad bestias pugnaverunt, et ferarum morsibus lacerati sunt, non erant sub Deo? Aut erant servi Dei tres viri, 2040 et non erant servi Dei Machabaei? Agnovit ignis servos Dei tres viros, quos non ussit, quorum nec vestimenta corrupit (Dan. III, 50); et non agnovit Machabaeos? Agnovit Machabaeos; agnovit, fratres et istos (II Machab. VII). Sed opus erat quodam flagello, permittente Domino, qui dixit in Scriptura, Flagellat omnem filium quem recipit (Hebr. XII, 6). Putatis enim, fratres, quia ferrum transverberaret viscera Domini, nisi ipse permitteret; aut haereret in ligno, nisi ipse voluisset? Non eum agnovit creatura sua? An exemplum patientiae proposuit fidelibus suis? Ideo Deus quosdam liberavit visibiliter, quosdam non liberavit visibiliter: omnes tamen spiritualiter liberavit, spiritualiter neminem deseruit. Visibiliter quosdam visus est deseruisse, quosdam visus est eripuisse. Ideo quosdam eripuit, ne putes illum non potuisse eripere. Testimonium dedit quia potest, ut ubi non facit, secretiorem intelligas voluntatem, non suspiceris difficultatem. Sed quid, fratres? Cum evaserimus omnes istos mortalitatis laqueos, cum transierint tempora tentationis, cum saeculi hujus fluvius decucurrerit et receperimus illam stolam primam, immortalitatem illam quam peccando perdidimus, cum corruptibile hoc induerit incorruptionem, id est, caro ista induerit incorruptionem, et mortale hoc induerit immortalitatem (I Cor. XV, 53, 54); jam perfectos filios Dei, ubi non opus est tentari, nec flagellari, agnoscet omnis creatura: subdita nobis erunt omnia, si nos hic subditi sumus Deo.