20. That the foundation and strength of hope and faith is fear.

In the cxth Psalm: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”509 Ps. cxi. 10. [Tertull., vol. iii. 264.] Of the same thing in the Wisdom of Solomon: “The beginning of wisdom is to fear God.”510 Ecclus. i. 14. Also in the Proverbs of the same: “Blessed is the man who reverences all things with fear.”511 Prov. xxviii. 14. Of the same thing in Isaiah: “And upon whom else will I look, except upon him that is lowly and peaceful, and that trembleth at my words?”512 Isa. lxvi. 2. Of this same thing in Genesis: “And the angel of the Lord called him from heaven, and said unto him, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest thy God, and hast not spared thy beloved son for my sake.”513 Gen. xxii. 11, 12. Also in the second Psalm: “Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice unto Him in trembling.”514 Ps. ii. 11. The whole of the remainder of this section, except the two concluding quotations from the Psalms, is wanting in many editions. Also in Deuteronomy, the word of God to Moses: “Call the people together to me, and let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they themselves shall live upon the earth.”515 Deut. iv. 10. Also in Jeremiah: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perfect upon the house of Israel, and in the house of Judah, a new covenant: not according to the covenant that I had ordered with their fathers in the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; because they have not abode in my covenant, and I have been unmindful of them, saith the Lord; because this is the covenant which I will ordain for the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will give my law, and will write it in their mind and I will be to them for a God, and they shall be to me for a people. And they shall not teach every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: because all shall know me, from the least even to the greatest of them: because I will be favourable to their iniquities, and their sins I will not remember any more. If the heaven should be lifted up on high, saith the Lord, and if the earth should be made low from beneath, yet I will not cast away the people of Israel, saith the Lord, for all the things which they have done. Behold, I will gather them together from every land in which I have scattered them in anger, and in my fury, and in great indignation; and I will grind them down into that place, and I will leave them in fear; and they shall be to me for a people, and I will be to them for a God: and I will give them another way, and another heart, that they may fear me all their days in prosperity with their children: and I will perfect for them an everlasting covenant, which I will not turn away after them; and I will put my fear into their heart, that they may not depart from me: and I will visit upon them to do them good, and to plant them in their land in faith, and with all the heart, and with all the mind.”516 Jer. xxxi. 31–41. Also in the Apocalypse: “And the four and twenty elders which sit on their thrones in the sight (of God), fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God omnipotent, which art and which wast; because Thou hast taken Thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time in which it should be judged concerning the dead, and the reward should be given to Thy servants the prophets, and the saints that fear Thy name, small and great; and to disperse those who have corrupted the earth.”517 Rev. xi. 16, 17. Also in the same place: “And I saw another angel flying through the midst of the heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to those who dwell upon the earth, and to all the nations, and tribes, and tongues, and peoples, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give Him honour, because the hour of His judgment is come; and adore Him who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”518 Rev. xiv. 16, 17. Also in the same place: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and the beasts were feeding with His lambs;519 There is considerable departure here from the Apocalyptic text, for which it is not easy to account. [But this is an interesting fact as bearing upon the question of an original African version made from a family of mss. now extinct.] and the number of His name a hundred and forty and four, standing upon the sea of glass, having the harps of God; and they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Thy works, O Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations. Who would not fear Thee, and give honour to Thy name? for Thou only art holy: and because all nations shall come and worship in Thy sight, because Thy righteousnesses have been made manifest.”520 Rev. xv. 2–4. Also in Daniel: “There was a man dwelling in Babylon whose name was Joachim; and he took a wife by name Susanna, the daughter of Helchias, a very beautiful woman, and one that feared the Lord. And her parents were righteous, and taught their daughter according to the law of Moses.”521 Hist. of Susannah 1–3. Moreover, in Daniel: “And we are lowly this day in all the earth because of our sins, and there is not at this time any prince, or prophet, or leader, or burnt-offering, or oblation, or sacrifice, or incense, or place to sacrifice before Thee, and to find mercy from Thee. And yet in the soul and spirit of lowliness let us be accepted as the burnt-offerings of rams and bulls, and as it were many thousands of lambs which are fattest. If our offering may be made in Thy presence this day, their power shall be consumed, for they shall not be ashamed who put their trust in Thee. And now we follow with our whole heart, and we fear and seek Thy face. Give us not over unto reproach, but do with us according to Thy tranquillity, and according to the multitude of Thy mercy deliver us.”522 Song of the Three Children 14–19. Also in the same place: “And the king exceedingly rejoiced, and commanded Daniel to be taken up out of the den of lions; and the lions had done him no hurt, because he trusted and had believed in his God. And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel; and they cast them in the den of lions, and their wives and their children. And before they had reached the pavement of the den they were seized by the lions, and they brake all their bones in pieces. Then Darius the king wrote, To all peoples, tribes, and languages which are in my kingdom, peace be unto you from my face. I decree and ordain that all those who are in my kingdom shall fear and tremble before the most high God whom Daniel serves, because He is the God who liveth and abideth for ever, and His kingdom shall not pass away, and His dominion goeth on for ever; and He alone doeth signs, and prodigies, and marvellous things in the heaven and the earth, who snatched Daniel from the den of lions.”523 Dan. vi. 24–28. Also in Micah: “Wherewith shall I approach the Lord, and lay hold upon Him? in sacrifices, in burnt-offerings, in calves of a year old? Does the Lord favour and receive me with thousands of fat goats? or shall I give my first-fruits of unrighteousness, the fruit of my belly, the sin of my soul? It is told thee, O man, what is good; or what else the Lord doth require, save that thou shouldst do judgment and justice, and love mercy, and be ready to go with the Lord thy God. The voice of the Lord shall be invoked in the city, and He will save those who fear His name.”524 Mic. vi. 6–9. Also in Micah: “Feed Thy people with Thy rod, the sheep of Thine inheritance; and pluck up those who dwell separately in the midst of Carmel. They shall prepare Bashan and Gilead according to the days of the age; and according to the days of their going forth from the land of Egypt I will show them wonderful things. The nations shall see, and be confounded at all their might; and they shall place their hand upon their mouth. Their ears shall be deafened, and they shall lick the dust as do serpents. Dragging the earth, they shall be disturbed, and they shall lick the dust: in their end they shall be afraid towards the Lord their God, and they shall fear because of Thee. Who is a God as Thou art, raising up unrighteousness, and passing over impiety?”525 Mic. vii. 14–18. And in Nahum: “The mountains were moved at Him, and the hills trembled; and the earth was laid bare before His face, and all who dwell therein. From the face of His anger who shall bear it, and who withstandeth in the fury of His soul? His rage causes the beginnings to flow, and the rocks were melted by Him. The Lord is good to those who sustain Him in the day of affliction, and knoweth those who fear Him.”526 Nah. i. 5–7. Also in Haggai: “And Zerubbabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Judah, and Jesus the son of Josedech, the high priest, and all who remained of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, because the Lord sent him to them, and the people feared from the face of God.”527 Hag. i. 12. Also in Malachi: “The covenant was with life and peace; and I gave to them the fear to fear me from the face of my name.”528 Mal. ii. 5. Also in the thirty-third Psalm: “Fear the Lord, all ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him.”529 Ps. xxxiv. 9. Also in the eighteenth Psalm: “The fear of the Lord is chaste, abiding for ever.”530 Ps. xix. 9.

CAP. XX.---FUNDAMENTUM ET FIRMAMENTUM SPEI ET FIDEI ESSE TIMOREM.

In Psalmo CX.: Initium sapientiae timor Domini. De hoc ipso in Sapientia Salomonis: Initium sapientiae metuere Deum (Eccli. I, 16). Item in Proverbiis ejusdem: Beatus homo est qui veretur omnia per metum 0747B (Prov. XXVIII, 14). De hoc ipso apud Esaiam: Et super quem alium respiciam, nisi super humilem et quietum et trementem sermones meos (Isa. LXVI, 2)? De hoc ipso in Genesi: Et vocavit eum Angelus Domini de coelo, et dixit illi: Abraham, Abraham. Ille autem dixit: Ecce ego. Et dixit: Noli imponere manum tuam super puerum, neque feceris illi quicquam. Nunc enim cognovi quoniam times Deum tuum et non pepercisti filio tuo dilectissimo propter me (Gen. XXII, 11). Item in Psalmo II. Servite Domino in timore et exultate ei in tremore. Item in Deuteronomio Dei vox ad Moysen: Convoca ad me populum, et audiant verba mea, ut discant timere me omnibus diebus quos ipsi vivent super terram (Deut. IV. 10). Item apud Hieremiam: Ecce dies veniunt, dicit Dominus, et consummabo 0747C super domum Israel et in domo Juda testamentum novum, non secundum testamentum quod disposueram patribus eorum in die cum apprehendi manum illorum, educere eos de terra Aegypti, quia non permanserunt in testamento meo et ego neglexi eorum, dicit Dominus, quia hoc testamentum quod disponam domui Israel. Post dies illos, dicit Dominus, dans legem meam in sensu eorum scribam illam, et ero illis in Deum, et ipsi erunt mihi in plebem, et non docebunt unusquisque fratrem suum dicentes: Cognosce Dominum, quia omnes scient me a minore usque ad maximum eorum, quia propitius ero iniquitatibus eorum, et peccatorum eorum non ero memor amplius. Si exaltatum fuerit coelum in sublime, dicit Dominus, et si humiliata fuerit terra deorsum, at ego non reprobabo 0747D genus Israel, dicit Dominus, pro omnibus quae fecerunt. Ecce ego congregabo eos ex omni terra qua dispersi illos in ira et in furore meo et in exacerbatione magna, et conteram illos in locum istum, et relinquam illos in pavore, et erunt mihi in plebem, et ero illis in Deum et dabo illis viam alteram et cor aliud, ut timeant me omnibus diebus in bono cum filiis suis, et consummabo eis testamentum aeternum quod non avertam post illos, et 0748A timorem dabo in cor eorum, ut non discedant a me, et visitabo super illos benefacere illis et plantare illos in terra sua in fide et in omni corde et in omni animo. (Hier, XXXI, 31-41). Item in Apocalypsi: Et viginti quatuor seniores in conspectu sedentes in thronis suis ceciderunt supra facies suas et adoraverunt Deum dicentes: Gratias agimus tibi, Domine Deus omnipotens, qui es et qui fuisti, quod accepisti potestatem tuam magnam et regnasti, et gentes iratae sunt, et venit ira tua et tempus quo de mortuis fudicetur et detur merces servis tuis Prophetis et sanctis timentibus nomen tuum pusillis et magnis, et disperdere eos qui corruperunt terram (Apoc. XI, 16-18). Item illic: Et vidi alium Angelum volantem per medium coelum habentem Evangelium perenne, evangelizare sedentibus super terram et 0748B in omnes nationes et tribus et linguas et populos, dicentem voce magna: Timete Deum, et date ei honorem, quoniam venit hora judicii ejus, et adorate eum qui fecit coelum et terram et mare et fontes aquarum (Apoc. XIV, 6, 7). Item illic: Et vidi quasi mare vitreum mixtum igni, et pascentes bestiae cum agnis ejus, et numerus nominis ejus CXLIV stantes supra mare vitreum habentes citharas Dei, et cantant canticum Moysi servi Dei et canticum Agni dicentes: Magna et mirabilia opera tua, Domine Deus omnipotens, justae et verae viae tuae sunt, Rex gentium. Quis non timeat et det honorem nomini tuo? quia solus pius, et quoniam omnes nationes venient et adorabunt in conspectu tuo, quoniam justitiae tuae manifestatae sunt (Apoc. XV, 2-4). Item in Daniele: Fuit vir habitans in Babylonia, cui nomen erat Joachim, 0748C et accepit uxorem nomine Susannam, filiam Helchiae, formosam valde et timentem Deum; et erant parentes ejus justi, et docuerunt filiam suam secundum legem Moysi (Dan. XIII, 1-3). Item in Daniele: Et sumus humiles in omni terra hodie propter peccata nostra, et non est hoc tempore princeps neque prophetes neque dux, neque holocausta neque oblatio neque hostia, neque thus, neque locus sacrificare coram te et invenire misericordiam a te: et in anima et spiritu humilitatis acceptos nos habe ut holocausti victimas arietum et taurorum et quasi multa millia agnorum qui sunt pinguissimi. Sic fiat hostia nostra coram te hodie, et consumetur potestas illorum, quoniam non erubescent qui confidunt in te. Et nunc sequimur toto corde nostro, et timemus et quaerimus faciem tuam. Ne nos in opprobrium 0748D tradas, sed fac nobiscum secundum tranquillitatem tuam, et secundum multitudinem misericordiae tuae libera nos (Dan. III, 37, 42). Item illic: Et rex vehementer gavisus est, et jussit Danielem de lacu leonum ejici; et nihil ei nocuerunt leones, quia confidebat et crediderat in Deo suo. Et jussit rex; et perduxerunt illos homines qui accusaverant Danielem, et miserunt illos in lacu leonum et uxores eorum et natos eorum. Et antequam pervenirent 0749A in pavimentum lacus, apprehensi sunt a leonibus et omnia ossa eorum comminuerunt. Tunc Darius rex scripsit: Omnibus gentibus, tribubus et linguis quae sunt in regno meo: pax sit vobiscum a facie mea. Censeo et ago ut hi omnes qui sunt in regno meo sint timentes et trementes summum Deum cui servit Daniel, quia ipse est Dominus vivus et permanens in saecula, et regnum ejus non transibit, et dominatio ejus in perpetuum ambulat, et solus facit signa et prodigia et mirabilia in coelo et in terra, qui eripuit Danielem de lacu leonum (Dan. VI, 24-28). Item in Michaea: In quo assequar Dominum et apprehendam illum in sacrificiis, in holocaustomatis, in vitulis anniculis, si accepto favet Dominus in millibus caprarum pinguium, aut dabo primitiva mea impietatis fructum ventris mei, peccatum animae meae. Renuntiatum tibi est, 0749B homo, quod bonum aut quod Dominus exquirit aliud, nisi ut facias judicium et justitiam et diligas misericordiam, et paratus sis ut eas cum Domino Deo tuo. Vox Domini in civitate invocabitur, et timentes nomen ejus salvabit (Mich. VI, 6-9). Item in Michaea: Pasce populum tuum in virga tua, oves hereditatis tuae, et habitantes separatim convelle in medio Carmelo. Parabunt Basanim et Galadim secundum dies saeculi, et secundum dies profectionis eorum a terra Aegypti ostendam illis mirabilia. Videbunt gentes et confundentur ex omni fortitudine sua, et superponent manus in os suum. Aures illorum exsurdabuntur, et lingent pulverem quomodo serpentes. Trahentes terram conturbabuntur, et lingent pulverem. In conclusione sua ad Dominum Deum suum expavescent, et timebunt abs te. Quis Deus quomodo 0749C tu elevans injustitiam et transgrediens impietates (Mich. VII, 14-18)? Et in Nahum: Montes commoti sunt ab eo, et colles contremuerunt, et denudata est terra ante faciem ejus et omnes qui inhabitant illam. A facie irae ejus quis sustinebit, et quis resistit in ira animi ipsius? Animatio ipsius fluere facit principatus, et petrae dissolutae sunt ab illo. Bonus Dominus illis qui eum sustinent in die pressurae, et cognoscens illos qui eum timent (Nah. I, 5-7). Item in Aggaeo: Et audivit Zorobabet filius Salathiel de tribu Juda et Jesus filius Josedech sacerdos magnus, et omnes qui super fuerunt de populo voces Domini Dei sui, quoniam misit illum Dominus ad illos, et timuit plebs a facie Dei (Agg. I, 12). Item in Malachia: Testamentum fuit cum vita et pace, et dedi illis timorem timere me a facie nominis mei (Malach. 0749D II, 5). Item in Psalmo XXXIII: Timete Dominum, omnes sancti ejus, quoniam non est inopia eis qui eum metuunt. Item in Psalmo XVIII: Timor Domini castus perseverans in saecula saeculorum .