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both we who speak, and you who hear, let us send up glory to Him, for His is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever. Amen.

HOMILY 17.

Brethren, my heart’s good pleasure, and my prayer to God,

is for them unto salvation. 1. He is about to attack them again more vehemently than before; wherefore again he removes all suspicion of hostility, and uses much preparatory correction. For do not attend to my words, he says, nor to the accusations, but to this, that I do not utter these things from a hostile mind. For it is not the part of the same man to desire that they should be saved, and not only to desire, but also to pray for it, and again to hate and turn away from them; for here by 'good pleasure' he means strong desire. And see also how he makes his prayer from his heart. For not that they might be freed from punishment only, but that they might also be saved, 60.564 he uses great earnestness and prayer. And not from this only, but also from what follows he shows the goodwill which he has toward them. For from the things that are possible, as he was able, he strives and contends, seeking to find at least some shadow of an apology for them; and he is not able, being overcome by the nature of the facts. For I bear them witness, he says, that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Therefore these things are worthy of pardon, not of accusation. For if they are not separated for man's sake, but for zeal's sake, it is right that they should be pitied rather than punished. But see how wisely he both graced the saying, and showed their untimely contentiousness. For being ignorant, he says, of God's right 60.565 eousness. Again the word is one of pardon; but what follows is of intense accusation, and removes all apology. For seeking, he says, to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God. And he said these things, showing that they erred from contention and love of rule rather than from ignorance, and that they did not even establish this very righteousness that is from the laws; for to say, Seeking to establish, indicates this. And he has not set it down clearly; for he did not say that they fell away from both kinds of righteousness; but he hinted at it very cleverly and with his fitting wisdom. For if they are still seeking to establish that one, it is clear that they have not established it. If they did not submit to this one, they fell away from this one too. And he calls it their own righteousness, either because the law is no longer in force, or because it is a matter of toils and sweat; but this righteousness of God from faith, because it is entirely from grace from above, and we are justified not by toils, but by the gift of God. But those who always resist the Holy Spirit, contending to be justified through the law, did not come to faith; and not coming to faith, nor receiving the righteousness from it, and not being able to be justified by the law, they fell away from everything. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes. See the intelligence of Paul. For since he spoke of righteousness and righteousness, lest those of the Jews who believed should seem to have the one, but be deprived of the other, and be judged of transgression; for it was necessary to fear for these no less, being still new converts; nor should the Jews again expect to achieve it, and say, "Even if we have not fulfilled it now, we will certainly fulfill it;" see what he establishes. He shows that there is one righteousness, and that one is summed up in this one, and that he who chose this righteousness through faith, fulfilled that one also; but he who dishonored this one, fell away from that one along with this one. For if Christ is the end of the law, he who does not have Christ, even if he seems to have that righteousness, does not have it; but he who has Christ, even if he has not accomplished the law, has received the whole. For the end of medicine is health. Just as, therefore, he who is able to make one healthy, even if he does not have the art of medicine, has the whole; but he who does not know

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τε οἱ λέγοντες, ὑμεῖς τε οἱ ἀκούοντες, ἀναπέμψωμεν αὐτῷ δόξαν, ὅτι αὐτοῦ ἡ βασιλεία καὶ ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν.

ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΙΖʹ.

Ἀδελφοὶ, ἡ μὲν εὐδοκία τῆς ἐμῆς καρδίας, καὶ ἡ δέησίς μου ἡ πρὸς Θεὸν,

ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν. αʹ. Μέλλει πάλιν αὐτῶν καθάπτεσθαι σφοδρότερον, ἢ πρότερον· διὸ πάλιν ἀναιρεῖ πάσης ἀπεχθείας ὑπόνοιαν, καὶ πολλῇ κέχρηται τῇ προδιορθώσει. Μὴ γὰρ προσέχετε τοῖς λόγοις, φησὶ, μηδὲ ταῖς κατηγορίαις, ἀλλ' ὅτι οὐκ ἀπὸ διανοίας ἐχθρᾶς ταῦτα φθέγγομαι. Οὐ γάρ ἐστι τοῦ αὐτοῦ σωθῆναί τε αὐτοὺς ἐπιθυμεῖν, καὶ μὴ μόνον ἐπιθυμεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εὔχεσθαι, καὶ πάλιν μισεῖν καὶ ἀποστρέφεσθαι· καὶ γὰρ εὐδοκίαν ἐνταῦθα τὴν σφοδρὰν ἐπιθυμίαν φησί. Καὶ ὅρα καὶ τὴν δέησιν πῶς ποιεῖται ἀπὸ διανοίας. Οὐ γὰρ ὥστε ἀπαλλαγῆναι κολάσεως μόνον, ἀλλ' ὥστε καὶ σωθῆ 60.564 ναι αὐτοὺς, πολλὴν καὶ τὴν σπουδὴν ποιεῖται καὶ τὴν εὐχήν. Καὶ οὐκ ἐντεῦθεν δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἑξῆς δείκνυσι τὴν εὔνοιαν, ἣν ἔχει πρὸς αὐτούς. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τῶν ἐγχωρούντων, ὡς οἷός τε ἦν, βιάζεται καὶ φιλονεικεῖ, ζητῶν σκιὰν γοῦν τινα ἀπολογίας αὐτοῖς εὑρεῖν· καὶ οὐκ ἰσχύει, ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων νικώμενος φύσεως. Μαρτυρῶ γὰρ αὐτοῖς, φησὶν, ὅτι ζῆλον Θεοῦ ἔχουσιν, ἀλλ' οὐ κατ' ἐπίγνωσιν. Οὐκοῦν συγγνώμης ταῦτα, οὐ κατηγορίας ἄξια. Εἰ μὴ γὰρ δι' ἄνθρωπόν εἰσιν ἀπεσχισμένοι, ἀλλὰ διὰ ζῆλον, ἐλεεῖσθαι μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς, ἢ κολάζεσθαι δίκαιον. Ἀλλ' ὅρα πῶς σοφῶς καὶ ἐχαρίσατο τῷ ῥήματι, καὶ ἔδειξεν αὐτῶν τὴν ἄκαιρον φιλονεικίαν. Ἀγνοοῦντες γὰρ, φησὶ, τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ δι 60.565 καιοσύνην. Πάλιν τὸ ῥῆμα συγγνώμης· ἀλλὰ τὸ ἑξῆς κατηγορίας ἐπιτεταμένης, καὶ πᾶσαν ἀναιρούσης ἀπολογίαν. Καὶ τὴν ἰδίαν γὰρ, φησὶ, δικαιοσύνην ζητοῦντες στῆσαι, τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐχ ὑπετάγησαν. Ταῦτα δὲ ἔλεγε, δεικνὺς ὅτι ἀπὸ φιλονεικίας καὶ φιλαρχίας μᾶλλον, ἢ ἐξ ἀγνοίας ἐπλανήθησαν, καὶ ὅτι οὐδ' αὐτὴν ταύτην τὴν δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν νομίμων ἔστησαν· τὸ γὰρ εἰπεῖν, Ζητοῦντες στῆσαι, τοῦτό ἐστιν ἐμφαίνοντος. Καὶ σαφῶς μὲν αὐτὸ οὐ τέθεικεν· οὐδὲ γὰρ εἶπεν, ὅτι ἑκατέρας τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἐξέπεσον· ᾐνίξατο δὲ αὐτὸ συνετῶς σφόδρα καὶ μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης αὐτῷ σοφίας. Εἰ γὰρ ἐκείνην ἔτι ζητοῦσι στῆσαι, εὔδηλον ὅτι οὐκ ἔστησαν. Εἰ ταύτῃ οὐχ ὑπετάγησαν, καὶ ταύτης ἐξέπεσον. Ἰδίαν δὲ δικαιοσύνην αὐτὴν καλεῖ, ἢ διὰ τὸ μηκέτι τὸν νόμον ἰσχύειν, ἢ διὰ τὸ πόνων εἶναι καὶ ἱδρώτων· ταύτην δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ πίστεως, διὰ τὸ ὁλόκληρον αὐτὴν ἐκ τῆς ἄνωθεν εἶναι χάριτος, καὶ οὐχὶ πόνοις, ἀλλὰ Θεοῦ δικαιοῦσθαι δωρεᾷ. Ἀλλ' οἱ ἀεὶ τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ ἀντιπίπτοντες, φιλονεικοῦντες διὰ τοῦ νόμου δικαιωθῆναι, οὐ προσῆλθον τῇ πίστει· μὴ προσελθόντες δὲ τῇ πίστει, μηδὲ λαβόντες τὴν ἐξ αὐτῆς δικαιοσύνην, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου μὴ δυνηθέντες δικαιωθῆναι, πάντοθεν ἐξέπεσον. Τέλος γὰρ νόμου Χριστὸς εἰς δικαιοσύνην παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι. Ὅρα Παύλου σύνεσιν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶπε δικαιοσύνην καὶ δικαιοσύνην, ἵνα μὴ δόξωσιν οἱ πιστεύσαντες ἐξ Ἰουδαίων τὴν μὲν ἔχειν, τῆς δὲ ἀπεστερῆσθαι, καὶ παρανομίας κρίνεσθαι· καὶ γὰρ καὶ τούτους οὐχ ἧττον δεδοικέναι ἐχρῆν ἔτι νεήλυδας ὄντας· μηδὲ Ἰουδαῖοι πάλιν προσδοκήσωσιν αὐτὴν κατορθοῦν, καὶ εἴπωσιν, ὅτι Εἰ καὶ μὴ νῦν ἐπληρώσαμεν, ἀλλὰ πάντως πληρώσομεν· ὅρα τί κατασκευάζει. ∆είκνυσιν, ὅτι μία ἐστὶν ἡ δικαιοσύνη, καὶ ἐκείνη εἰς ταύτην ἀνακεφαλαιοῦται, καὶ ὅτι ὁ μὲν ταύτην ἑλόμενος τὴν διὰ πίστεως, κἀκείνην ἐπλήρωσεν· ὁ δὲ ταύτην ἀτιμάσας, κἀκείνης μετὰ ταύτης ἐξέπεσεν. Εἰ γὰρ τοῦ νόμου τέλος ὁ Χριστὸς, ὁ τὸν Χριστὸν οὐκ ἔχων, κἂν ἐκείνην δοκῇ ἔχειν, οὐκ ἔχει· ὁ δὲ τὸν Χριστὸν ἔχων, κἂν μὴ ᾖ κατωρθωκὼς τὸν νόμον, τὸ πᾶν εἴληφε. Καὶ γὰρ τέλος ἰατρικῆς ὑγεία. Ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ δυνάμενος ὑγιῆ ποιεῖν, κἂν μὴ τὴν ἰατρικὴν ἔχῃ, τὸ πᾶν ἔχει· ὁ δὲ μὴ εἰδὼς