Chapter XIV.—Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. In Manner and Contents It So Resembles the Creator’s Dispensational Words and Deeds. It Suggests Therefore the Conclusion that Jesus is the Creator’s Christ. The Beatitudes.

I now come to those ordinary precepts of His, by means of which He adapts the peculiarity1614    Proprietatem. of His doctrine to what I may call His official proclamation as the Christ.1615    The original runs thus: “Venio nunc ad ordinarias sententias ejus, per quas proprietatem doctrinæ suæ inducit ad edictum, ut ita dixerim, Christi.” There is here an allusion to the edict of the Roman prætor, that is, his public announcement, in which he states (when entering on his office) the rules by which he will be guided in the administration of the same (see White and Riddle, Latin Dict. s. v. Edictum). “Blessed are the needy” (for no less than this is required for interpreting the word in the Greek,1616    οί πτωχοι, not πένητες “because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”1617    Luke vi. 20. Now this very fact, that He begins with beatitudes, is characteristic of the Creator, who used no other voice than that of blessing either in the first fiat or the final dedication of the universe: for “my heart,” says He, “hath indited a very good word.”1618    Ps. xlv. 1. [And see Vol. I. p. 213, supra.] This will be that “very good word” of blessing which is admitted to be the initiating principle of the New Testament, after the example of the Old. What is there, then, to wonder at, if He entered on His ministry with the very attributes1619    Affectibus. of the Creator, who ever in language of the same sort loved, consoled, protected, and avenged the beggar, and the poor, and the humble, and the widow, and the orphan? So that you may believe this private bounty as it were of Christ to be a rivulet streaming from the springs of salvation. Indeed, I hardly know which way to turn amidst so vast a wealth of good words like these; as if I were in a forest, or a meadow, or an orchard of apples. I must therefore look out for such matter as chance may present to me.1620    Prout incidit.

In the psalm he exclaims: “Defend the fatherless and the needy; do justice to the humble and the poor; deliver the poor, and rid the needy out of the hand of the wicked.”1621    Ps. lxxxii. 3, 4.Similarly in the seventy-first Psalm: “In righteousness shall He judge the needy amongst the people, and shall save the children of the poor.”1622    Ps. lxxii. 4. And in the following words he says of Christ: “All nations shall serve Him.”1623    Ps. lxxii. 11. Now David only reigned over the Jewish nation, so that nobody can suppose that this was spoken of David; whereas He had taken upon Himself the condition of the poor, and such as were oppressed with want, “Because He should deliver the needy out of the hand of the mighty man; He shall spare the needy and the poor, and shall deliver the souls of the poor.  From usury and injustice shall He redeem their souls, and in His sight shall their name be honoured.”1624    Ps. lxxii. 12, 13, 14. Again:  “The wicked shall be turned into hell, even all the nations that forget God; because the needy shall not alway be forgotten; the endurance of the poor shall not perish for ever.”1625    Ps. ix. 17, 18. Again:  “Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, and yet looketh on the humble things that are in heaven and on earth!—who raiseth up the needy from off the ground, and out of the dunghill exalteth the poor; that He may set him with the princes of His people,”1626    Ps. cxiii. 5–8. that is, in His own kingdom. And likewise earlier, in the book of Kings,1627    The books of “Samuel” were also called the books of “Kings.” Hannah the mother of Samuel gives glory to God in these words: “He raiseth the poor man from the ground, and the beggar, that He may set him amongst the princes of His people (that is, in His own kingdom), and on thrones of glory” (even royal ones).1628    1 Sam. ii. 8. And by Isaiah how He inveighs against the oppressors of the needy! “What mean ye that ye set fire to my vineyard, and that the spoil of the poor is in your houses? Wherefore do ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the face of the needy?”1629    Isa. iii. 14, 15. And again:  “Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees; for in their decrees they decree wickedness, turning aside the needy from judgment, and taking away their rights from the poor of my people.”1630    Isa. x. 1, 2. These righteous judgments He requires for the fatherless also, and the widows, as well as for consolation1631    Solatii. to the very needy themselves. “Do justice to the fatherless, and deal justly with the widow; and come, let us be reconciled,1632    Tertullian seems to have read διαλλαχθῶμεν instead of διαλεχθῶμεν, let us reason together, in his LXX. saith the Lord.”1633    Isa. i. 17, 18. To him, for whom in every stage of lowliness there is provided so much of the Creator’s compassionate regard, shall be given that kingdom also which is promised by Christ, to whose merciful compassion belong, and for a great while have belonged,1634    Jamdudum pertinent. those to whom the promise is made. For even if you suppose that the promises of the Creator were earthly, but that Christ’s are heavenly, it is quite clear that heaven has been as yet the property of no other God whatever, than Him who owns the earth also; quite clear that the Creator has given even the lesser promises (of earthly blessing), in order that I may more readily believe Him concerning His greater promises (of heavenly blessings) also, than (Marcion’s god), who has never given proof of his liberality by any preceding bestowal of minor blessings. “Blessed are they that hunger, for they shall be filled.”1635    Luke vi. 21. I might connect this clause with the former one, because none but the poor and needy suffer hunger, if the Creator had not specially designed that the promise of a similar blessing should serve as a preparation for the gospel, that so men might know it to be His.1636    In evangelii scilicet sui præstructionem. For thus does He say, by Isaiah, concerning those whom He was about to call from the ends of the earth—that is, the Gentiles: “Behold, they shall come swiftly with speed:”1637    Isa. v. 26.swiftly, because hastening towards the fulness of the times; with speed, because unclogged by the weights of the ancient law. They shall neither hunger nor thirst. Therefore they shall be filled,—a promise which is made to none but those who hunger and thirst. And again He says: “Behold, my servants shall be filled, but ye shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty.”1638    Isa. lxv. 13. As for these oppositions, we shall see whether they are not premonitors of Christ.1639    An Christo præministrentur. Meanwhile the promise of fulness to the hungry is a provision of God the Creator.  “Blessed are they that weep, for they shall laugh.”1640    Luke vi. 21. Turn again to the passage of Isaiah: “Behold, my servants shall exult with joy, but ye shall be ashamed; behold, my servants shall be glad, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart.”1641    Isa. lxv. 13, 14. And recognise these oppositions also in the dispensation of Christ. Surely gladness and joyous exultation is promised to those who are in an opposite condition—to the sorrowful, and sad, and anxious.  Just as it is said in the 125th Psalm:  “They who sow in tears shall reap in joy.”1642    Ps. cxxvi. 5. Moreover, laughter is as much an accessory to the exulting and glad, as weeping is to the sorrowful and grieving. Therefore the Creator, in foretelling matters for laughter and tears, was the first who said that those who mourned should laugh. Accordingly, He who began (His course) with consolation for the poor, and the humble, and the hungry, and the weeping, was at once eager1643    Gestivit. to represent Himself as Him whom He had pointed out by the mouth of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the poor.”1644    Isa. lxi. 1. “Blessed are the needy, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”1645    Luke vi. 20. “He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted.”1646    Isa. lxi. 1. “Blessed are they that hunger, for they shall be filled.”1647    Luke vi. 21. “To comfort all that mourn.”1648    Isa. lxi. 2. “Blessed are they that weep, for they shall laugh.”1649    Luke vi. 21. “To give unto them that mourn in Sion, beauty (or glory) for ashes, and the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”1650    Isa. lxi. 3. Now since Christ, as soon as He entered on His course,1651    Statim admissus. fulfilled such a ministration as this, He is either, Himself, He who predicted His own coming to do all this; or else if he is not yet come who predicted this, the charge to Marcion’s Christ must be a ridiculous one (although I should perhaps add a necessary1652    Said in irony, as if Marcion’s Christ deserved the rejection. one), which bade him say, “Blessed shall ye be, when men shall hate you, and shall reproach you, and shall cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.”1653    Luke vi. 22. In this declaration there is, no doubt, an exhortation to patience. Well, what did the Creator say otherwise by Isaiah?  “Fear ye not the reproach of men, nor be diminished by their contempt.”1654    His reading of Isa. li. 7. What reproach? what contempt? That which was to be incurred for the sake of the Son of man. What Son of man? He who (is come) according to the Creator’s will. Whence shall we get our proof? From the very cutting off, which was predicted against Him; as when He says by Isaiah to the Jews, who were the instigators of hatred against Him:  “Because of you, my name is blasphemed amongst the Gentiles;”1655    Isa. lii. 5. and in another passage: “Lay the penalty on1656    Sancite. Him who surrenders1657    Circumscribit. His own life, who is held in contempt by the Gentiles, whether servants or magistrates.”1658    Famulis et magistratibus. It is uncertain what passage this quotation represents. It sounds like some of the clauses of Isa. liii. Now, since hatred was predicted against that Son of man who has His mission from the Creator, whilst the Gospel testifies that the name of Christians, as derived from Christ, was to be hated for the Son of man’s sake, because He is Christ, it determines the point that that was the Son of man in the matter of hatred who came according to the Creator’s purpose, and against whom the hatred was predicted. And even if He had not yet come, the hatred of His name which exists at the present day could not in any case have possibly preceded Him who was to bear the name.1659    Personam nominis. But He has both suffered the penalty1660    Sancitur. in our presence, and surrendered His life, laying it down for our sakes, and is held in contempt by the Gentiles. And He who was born (into the world) will be that very Son of man on whose account our name also is rejected.

CAPUT XIV.

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Venio nunc ad ordinarias sententias ejus, per quas proprietatem doctrinae suae inducit ad edictum (ut ita dixerim) Christi: Beati mendici (sic enim exigit interpretatio vocabuli quod in graeco est), quoniam illorum est regnum coelorum . Jam hoc ipsum quod a benedictionibus coepit, Creatoris est, qui universa prout edidit, nulla alia voce quam benedictionis dedicavit. Eructavit enim, inquit (Ps., XLIV, 1), cor meum sermonem optimum. Hic erit sermo optimus, benedictionis scilicet, qui et novi quoque Testamenti initiator agnoscitur de veteri exemplo. Quid ergo mirum est , si et ab affectibus Creatoris ingressus est per hujusmodi dictionem, semper mendicos, et pauperes, et humiles ac viduas, 0388C et pupillos usque diligentis, consolantis, asserentis, vindicantis? ut hanc Christi quasi privatam benignitatem, rivulum credas de fontibus Salvatoris. Revera quo dirigam nescio, in tanta frequentia ejusmodi vocum, tanquam in sylva, vel in prato, vel in nemore pomorum, passim prout incidit, res petenda est. Inclamat Psalmus (Ps. LXXXI, 3): Judicate pupillo et mendico, et humilem et pauperem juste tractate. Liberate pauperem, et mendicum de manu peccatoris eruite. Item Psalmus septuagesimus primus: Justitia judicabit mendicos populi, et faciet salvos filios pauperum. Et in sequentibus de Christo: Omnes nationes servient ei. David autem uni genti judaicae praefuit, ne quis in David putet dictum, quia et ille susceperat humiles et necessitatibus laborantes. Quod 0388D liberaverit , inquit, a dynasta mendicum, parcet 0389A mendico et pauperi, et animas pauperum salvas faciet. Ex usura et injustitia redimet eorum animas, et honoratum nomen eorum in conspectu ipsius . Item (Ps. IX, 18): Avertantur peccatores in inferos, omnes nationes quae Dei obliviscuntur, quoniam non in finem oblivioni habebitur mendicus: tolerantia pauperum non peribit in finem. Item (Ps. CXII, 5): Quis sicut Deus noster, qui habitat in excelsis, et humilia prospectat in coelo et in terra? Qui suscitat mendicum de terra, et de stercore exaltat pauperem, uti sedere eum faciat cum principibus populi; utique in regno suo. Sic et retro in Basiliis , Anna mater Samuelis, spiritu gloriam Deo reddens: Qui, inquit (I Reg., II, 8), excitat pauperem de terra, et mendicum, uti sedere eum faciat cum dynastis populi; 0389B utique in regno suo : et in thronis gloriae; utique regalibus. Per Esaiam vero (Is., III, 13), quomodo invehitur in vexatores egenorum? Vos autem ad quid incenditis vineam meam, et rapina mendici in domibus vestris? Cur vos laeditis populum meum, et faciem mendicorum confunditis? et rursus (Is., X, 1): Vae qui scribunt nequitiam; scribentes enim scribunt nequam, vitantes judicia mendicorum, et diripientes judicata pauperum populi mei. Quae judicia pupillis quoque et viduis exigit, ut et ipsis egenis solatia . Judicate pupillo, et juste tractate viduam (Is., I, 17), et venite conciliemur, dicit Dominus. Cui tantus affectus in omnem conditionem humilitatis Creatoris est, ejus erit et regnum quod a Christo repromittitur; ad cujus affectum jam dudum pertinent ii, 0389C quibus repromittitur. Nam etsi putas Creatoris quidem terrenas promissiones fuisse, Christi vero coelestes; bene quod coelum nullius alterius usque adhuc Dei apparet, nisi cujus et terra: bene quod Creator vel minora promisit, ut facilius illi et de majoribus credam, quam qui nunquam de minoribus prius fidem liberalitatis suae struxit. Beati esurientes, quoniam ipsi saturabuntur. Possem hunc titulum in superiorem transmisisse, quod non alii sunt esurientes, quam pauperes et mendici, si non et hanc promissionem Creator specialiter in Evangelii scilicet sui praestructionem destinasset. Siquidem per Esaiam, de eis quos vocaturus esset a summo terrae, utique nationes; Ecce, inquit (Is., V, 26), velociter, et leviter advenient, Velociter, qua properantes 0389D sub finibus temporum; leviter, qua sine oneribus 0390A pristinae legis. Non esurient., neque sitient: ergo saturabuntur; quod utique nisi esurientibus et sitientibus non promittitur. Et rursus (Is., LXV, 15): Ecce, inquit, qui serviunt mihi, saturabuntur; vos autem esurietis; ecce qui serviunt mihi, bibent; vos autem sitietis. Videbimus et contraria ista, an Christo praeministrentur: interim quod esurientibus saturitatem repromittit, Dei creatoris est. Beati plorantes, quia ridebunt. Decurre sententiam Esaiae (Is., LXV, 13): Ecce qui serviunt mihi, exultabunt in jucunditate ; vos autem confundemini. Ecce qui serviunt mihi oblectabuntur ; vos autem clamabitis prae dolore cordis. Et haec contraria apud Christum recognosce. Certe oblectatio et exultatio in jucunditate illis promittitur, qui in diversa conditione sunt, 0390B moestis, et tristibus, et anxiis, scilicet etiam Psal. CXXV: Qui seminant, inquit, in lacrymis, in exultatione metent. Porro tam exultantibus et jucunditatem capientibus risus accedit, quam moerentibus et dolentibus fletus. Ita Creator, materias risus et fletus praedicans, risuros plorantes prior dixit. Igitur qui a consolatione pauperum, et humilium, et esurientium, et flentium exorsus est, statim se illum repraesentare gestivit, quem demonstraverat per Esaiam (Is., LXI, 1): Spiritus Domini super me, propter quod unxit me ad evangelizandum pauperibus. Beati (Luc., VI) mendici, quoniam illorum est regnum coelorum. Misit (Is., LXI) me curare obtritos corde. Beati (Luc.) qui esuriunt, quoniam ipsi saturabuntur. Advocare (Is.) languentes. Beati 0390C (Luc.) qui plorant, quoniam ridebunt. Dare (Is.) lugentibus Sionis gloriam, et pro cinere unguenti jucunditatem, et gloriae habitum pro spiritu taedii. Haec si statim admissus Christus administravit, aut ipse est, qui se ad haec venturum praedicavit; aut si nondum venit qui praedicavit, ridicule, sed necessarie dixerim, fortasse mandaverit Christo Marcionis; Beati eritis, cum vos odio habebunt homines, et exprobrabunt, et ejicient nomen vestrum, velut nequam , propter filium hominis. Hac pronuntiatione sine dubio ad tolerantiam exhortatur. Quid minus Creator per Esaiam (Is., LI, 7): Ne metueritis ignominiam ab hominibus, et nullificatione eorum ne minuamini. Quae ignominia? quae nullificatio? Quae futura erat propter filium hominis. Quem istum? Qui est secundum 0390D Creatorem. Unde probabimus? Excidio in ipsum quoque 0391A praedicato; sicut per Esaiam (Is., LII, 7) ad auctores odii Judaeos: Propter vos blasphematur nomen meum in nationibus. Et alibi: Sancite eum qui circumscribit animam suam, qui aspernamento habetur a nationibus, famulis, et magistratibus. Si enim odium in illum filium hominis praedicabatur qui secundum Creatorem est, Evangelium autem nomen Christianorum, utique a Christo deductum, odio futurum contestatur propter filium hominis, quod est Christus, eum filium hominis in caussa odii constituit, qui erat secundum Creatorem, in quem odium praedicabatur. Et utique, si nondum venissent, non potuisset nominis odium, quod agitur hodie, personam nominis antecessisse. Nam et sancitur penes nos, et animam suam circumscribit, propter 0391B nos eam ponens; et aspernamento habetur a Nationibus. Et qui natus est, ipse erit filius hominis, propter quem et nomen nostrum recusatur.