man, that thou art made known to him, or the son of man that thou makest account of him? Oh, how greatly hast thou toiled, O Lord, in serving me! Surely it is but just and right that in future thou shouldst rest, and thy servant at any rate serve thee in his turn. At how great a price, O my Lord, hast thou purchased for thyself my profitless service! thou who, if thou hadst need of service, mightst in a moment have had more than twelve legions of Angels to do all thy will! Oh, how sweet and gracious is the design by which thy love has recovered and subdued to thyself thy obstinate servant, with good overcoming his evil, with humility confounding his pride, with benefits overwhelming his ingratitude! Thus, indeed, it is that wisdom conquers wickedness. Thus hast thou heaped coals of fire upon the head of thy enemy, with them to inflame him to thy love and service.
Thou hast conquered, O Lord, thou hast conquered the rebel. Behold, I give my hands to thy chains, and bow my neck to thy yoke. Only vouchsafe to let me serve thee, suffer me to toil for thee. Take me to be thy servant for ever; behold, I am thy servant, though unprofitable, unless now too thy grace be with me, and labour with me, always both going before me and following after me. It goes before us, by first displaying to us examples of humility and patience; may it follow after us, by aiding us to imitate what has been shown to us! Oh, how happy are we if, on this point, we listen to the counsel of thy Apostle, when he exhorts us to have this mind in us, which we know, O Jesus, to have preceded us in thyself! Oh, who can give me to keep in earnest all these words, pondering them in my heart,[1] that in my meditation may be kindled the fire of thy love; and that henceforth I may run after thee, led by the odour of thy ointments! I have wandered as a sheep that is lost. Who will bring me back into the right way which leads to life, that I may find it and hold to it?
§ 2. Christ is proposed for our imitation.
God the Father. In the beginning I created man upright; that is, to my own image and likeness. But he understood not when he was in honour; and he who had been created to participate in the divine nature was compared to the senseless beasts, and became like them.
This is the first man, Adam, who, for transgressing my commandment, was cast out of Paradise, and became guilty
- ↑ Luke ii. 19.
