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consuming. 1. That which he says elsewhere, For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal, and from this making his exhortation concerning the evils which we endure in the present life, this indeed he also does here, and says, Let us have grace; that is, let us give thanks to God, let us remain steadfast. For not only ought we not to be disheartened by present things, but also to have the greatest thankfulness to Him for the things to come. Whereby we may serve God acceptably; that is, For thus it is to serve God acceptably, giving thanks in all things. Do all things, he says, without murmurings and disputings, For whatever one does murmuring, he cuts short and has lost the reward, just as the Israelites; for you know how great a penalty they paid for their murmurings. Therefore he says, Neither murmur. It is not then possible to serve acceptably, without being thankful to Him for all things, both for the trials and for the reliefs. With reverence and godly fear; that is, let us utter nothing rash, nothing shameless, but let us restrain ourselves, that we may be reverent; for this is what he means by, With reverence and godly fear. Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. See how he commands them to preserve what they have, and does not add other things. For he did not say, Become brotherly, but, Let brotherly love continue. And again, he did not say, Become hospitable, as if they were not, but, Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for this is likely to happen from afflictions. Then he adds what was sufficient to exhort them more, saying, Some have entertained angels unawares. Do you see how great the honor, how great the gain? What is, unawares? Not knowing, he says, they entertained them. For this reason also a great reward was given to Abraham, because not knowing they were angels, he entertained them; for if he had known, it would have been nothing wonderful. Some say that here he also alludes to Lot himself, and said this on his account. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Let your conduct be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have. See how much he says about sobriety. He said, Follow peace and holiness; and again, Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person; now again he says, Fornicators and adulterers God will judge. And everywhere the prohibition is with a penalty. And how, consider from this: Having said, Follow peace with all men, and holiness, he added, Without which no man shall see the Lord; but here, But fornicators and adulterers God will judge, and having first put, Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, then having added the penalty, he shows that he justly added what followed. For if marriage is permitted, justly is the fornicator punished, justly is the adulterer chastised. Here he prepares to contend against the heretics. He did not say again, Let no one be a fornicator; but 63.226 having said it once, he then added it as a general exhortation, and not as addressed to them: Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as ye have. He did not say, You shall possess nothing, but, Let your conduct be without covetousness; that is, let your mind be free, let your disposition show its philosophy. And it will show it, if we do not seek superfluous things, if we are for need alone. For above he said, And ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods. He exhorts these things so that they might not be lovers of money. Being content, he says, with such things as ye have. Then here also is the consolation, so as not to give up: For He Himself, he says, hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Behold again the consolation in temptations. Remember them which have the rule over you. This he was in travail to say from the beginning; for this reason he said, Follow peace with all men. This he also exhorted the Thessalonians, so that they might hold them in very high honor. Remember, he says, them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. What sequence

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καταναλίσκον. αʹ. Ὅπερ ἀλλαχοῦ φησι, Τὰ γὰρ βλεπόμενα πρόσκαιρα, τὰ δὲ μὴ βλεπόμενα αἰώνια, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου ποιούμενος τὴν παράκλησιν τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς κακοῖς οἷς κατὰ τὸν παρόντα βίον ὑπομένομεν, τοῦτο δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ποιεῖ, καί φησιν, Ἔχωμεν χάριν· τουτέστιν, εὐχαριστῶμεν τῷ Θεῷ, βέβαιοι μένωμεν. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον οὐκ ὀφείλομεν ἀποδυσπετεῖν ἐπὶ τοῖς παροῦσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ χάριν αὐτῷ μεγίστην εἰδέναι ἐπὶ τοῖς μέλλουσι. ∆ι' ἧς λατρεύωμεν εὐαρέστως τῷ Θεῷ· τουτέστιν, Οὕτω γὰρ ἔστιν εὐαρέστως λατρεύειν τῷ Θεῷ, εὐχαριστοῦντα ἐν ἅπασι. Πάντα ποιεῖτε, φησὶ, χωρὶς γογγυσμῶν καὶ διαλογισμῶν, Ὃ γὰρ ἂν ἐργάσηταί τις γογγύζων, ὑποτέμνεται καὶ ἀπώλεσε τὸν μισθὸν, καθάπερ οἱ Ἰσραηλῖται· ἴστε γὰρ ἡλίκην ἐκεῖνοι δίκην ἔτισαν ὑπὲρ γογγυσμῶν. ∆ιό φησι, Μηδὲ γογγύζετε. Οὐκ ἄρα ἔστιν εὐαρέστως λατρεῦσαι, μὴ χάριν εἰδότα πάντων αὐτῷ καὶ τῶν πειρασμῶν καὶ τῶν ἀνέσεων. Μετὰ αἰδοῦς καὶ εὐλαβείας· τουτέστι, μηδὲν ἰταμὸν φθεγγώμεθα, μηδὲν ἀναίσχυντον, ἀλλὰ συστέλλωμεν ἑαυτοὺς, ἵνα αἰδέσιμοι ὦμεν· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ὃ λέγει, Μετ' αἰδοῦς καὶ εὐλαβείας. Ἡ φιλαδελφία μενέτω. Τῆς φιλοξενίας μὴ ἐπιλανθάνεσθε· διὰ ταύτης γὰρ ἔλαθόν τινες ξενίσαντες ἀγγέλους. Ὅρα πῶς τὰ παρόντα προστάττει φυλάττειν αὐτούς· καὶ οὐχὶ προστίθησιν ἕτερα· οὐ γὰρ εἶπε, Γίνεσθε φιλάδελφοι, ἀλλὰ, Μενέτω ἡ φιλαδελφία. Καὶ πάλιν οὐκ εἶπε, Φιλόξενοι γένεσθε, ὡς οὐκ οὖσιν, ἀλλὰ, Τῆς φιλοξενίας μὴ ἐπιλανθάνεσθε· τοῦτο γὰρ εἰκὸς ἀπὸ τῶν θλίψεων γίνεσθαι. Εἶτα καὶ ἐπάγει ὅπερ ἱκανὸν ἦν μᾶλλον προτρέψαι, λέγων· Ἔλαθόν τινες ξενίσαντες ἀγγέλους. Ὁρᾷς ὅση ἡ τιμὴ, ὅσον τὸ κέρδος; Τί ἐστιν, Ἔλαθον; Οὐκ εἰδότες, φησὶν, ἐξένισαν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ μέγας ὁ μισθὸς τῷ Ἀβραὰμ δέδοται, ὅτι μὴ εἰδὼς ἀγγέλους αὐτοὺς ὄντας, ἐξένισεν· ἐπεὶ, εἰ ᾔδει, οὐδὲν θαυμαστόν. Τινὲς ἐνταῦθα καὶ τὸν Λὼτ αὐτὸν αἰνίττεσθαί φασι, καὶ δι' αὐτὸν εἰρηκέναι αὐτό. Μιμνήσκεσθε τῶν δεσμίων ὡς συνδεδεμένοι, τῶν κακουχουμένων, ὡς καὶ αὐτοὶ ὄντες ἐν σώματι. Τίμιος ὁ γάμος ἐν πᾶσι, καὶ ἡ κοίτη ἀμίαντος· πόρνους δὲ καὶ μοιχοὺς κρινεῖ ὁ Θεός. Ἀφιλάργυρος ὁ τρόπος· ἀρκούμενοι τοῖς παροῦσιν. Ὅρα πόσος περὶ σωφροσύνης ὁ λόγος αὐτῷ. Εἶπεν, Εἰρήνην διώκετε καὶ τὸν ἁγιασμόν· καὶ πάλιν, Μή τις ἢ πόρνος, ἢ βέβηλος· νῦν πάλιν φησὶ, Πόρνους καὶ μοιχοὺς κρινεῖ ὁ Θεός. Πανταχοῦ δὲ μετὰ ἐπιτιμίου ἡ ἀπαγόρευσις. Καὶ πῶς, σκόπει ἐντεῦθεν· Εἰρήνην, εἰπὼν, διώκετε μετὰ πάντων καὶ τὸν ἁγιασμὸν, ἐπήγαγεν, Οὗ χωρὶς οὐδεὶς ὄψεται τὸν Κύριον· ἐνταῦθα δὲ, Πόρνους δὲ καὶ μοιχοὺς κρινεῖ ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ πρότερον θεὶς τὸ, Τίμιος ὁ γάμος ἐν πᾶσι καὶ ἡ κοίτη ἀμίαντος, εἶτα ἐπιτίμιον ἐπαγαγὼν, δείκνυσιν ὅτι δικαίως τὰ ἑξῆς ἐπήγαγεν. Εἰ γὰρ γάμος συνεχωρήθη, δικαίως ὁ πόρνος κολάζεται, δικαίως ὁ μοιχὸς τιμωρεῖται. Ἐνταῦθα πρὸς τοὺς αἱρετικοὺς ἀποδύεται. Οὐκ εἶπε πάλιν, Μηδεὶς ἔστω πόρνος· ἀλλ' 63.226 ἅπαξ εἰπὼν, τότε ἐπήγαγεν ὡς κοινὴν παραίνεσιν, καὶ οὐχ ὡς πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀποτεινόμενος· Ἀφιλάργυρος ὁ τρόπος· ἀρκούμενοι τοῖς παροῦσιν. Οὐκ εἶπεν, ὅτι Μηδὲν κτήσησθε, ἀλλ', Ἀφιλάργυρος ὁ τρόπος ἔστω· τουτέστιν, ἐλεύθερος ὁ νοῦς ἔστω, δεικνύτω τὸ φιλόσοφον ἡ γνώμη· δείξει δὲ, ἐὰν μὴ ζητῶμεν τὰ περιττὰ, ἐὰν τῆς χρείας μόνον γενώμεθα. Καὶ γὰρ ἀνωτέρω ἔλεγε, Καὶ τὴν ἁρπαγὴν τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ὑμῶν μετὰ χαρᾶς προσεδέξασθε. Ταῦτα ὥστε μὴ εἶναι φιλαργύρους παραινεῖ. Ἀρκούμενοι, φησὶ, τοῖς παροῦσιν. Εἶτα καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἡ παραμυθία, ὥστε μὴ ἀπαγορεύειν· Αὐτὸς γὰρ, φησὶν, εἴρηκεν, Οὐ μή σε ἀνῶ, οὐδ' οὐ μή σε ἐγκαταλίπω. Ὥστε θαῤῥοῦντας ἡμᾶς λέγειν, Κύριος ἐμοὶ βοηθὸς, καὶ οὐ φοβηθήσομαι τί ποιήσει μοι ἄνθρωπος. Ἰδοὺ πάλιν ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς ἡ παραμυθία. Μνημονεύετε τῶν ἡγουμένων ὑμῶν. Τοῦτο ἄνωθεν ὤδινεν εἰπεῖν· διὰ τοῦτο ἔλεγεν, Εἰρήνην διώκετε μετὰ πάντων. Τοῦτο καὶ Θεσσαλονικεῦσι παρῄνει, ὥστε ἔχειν αὐτοὺς ἐν τιμῇ ὑπὲρ ἐκπερισσοῦ. Μνημονεύετε, φησὶ, τῶν ἡγουμένων ὑμῶν, οἵτινες ἐλάλησαν ὑμῖν τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ· ὧν ἀναθεωροῦντες τὴν ἔκβασιν τῆς ἀναστροφῆς, μιμεῖσθε τὴν πίστιν. Ποία ἀκολουθία