11…On this account therefore be merciful without fear, extend love even unto your enemies: punish those who chance to belong to your government, restrain them with affection, with charity, in regard to their eternal salvation; lest while you spare the flesh, the soul perish. Do this: and though thou have to endure many, over whom you can not exercise discipline, because you have no lawful authority over them; bear their injuries; be without apprehension. He will show mercy unto you if you shall have been merciful: you shall be merciful, without the injuries you suffer losing their punishment; To Me belongs vengeance, I will repay, says the Lord.

12. He made His ways known unto Moses…For the Law was given with this view, that the sick might be convinced of his infirmity, and pray for the physician. This is the hidden way of God. You had long ago heard, Who heals all your infirmities. Their infirmities were as yet hidden in the sick; the five books were given to Moses: the pool was surrounded by five porches; he brought forth the sick, that they might lie there, that they might be made known, not that they might be healed. The five porches discovered, but healed not, the sick; the pool healed when one descended, and this when it was disturbed: the disturbance of the pool was in our Lord’s Passion…Since therefore this is a mystery there, he teaches that the Law was given that sinners might be convinced of their sin, and call upon the Physician in order to receive grace…Therefore, as I had begun to say, because this is a great mystery in the Law, that it was given with this view, that by the increase of sin, the proud might be humbled, the humbled might confess, the confessing might be healed; these are the hidden ways, which He made known to Moses, through whom He gave the Law, by which sin should abound, that grace might more abound… He has made known His good pleasure unto the children of Israel. To all the children of Israel? To the true children of Israel; yea, to all the children of Israel. For the treacherous, the insidious, the hypocrites, are not children of Israel. And who are the children of Israel? Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.

13. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: long-suffering, and of great mercy. Why so long-suffering? Why so great in mercy? Men sin and live; sins are added on, life continues: men blaspheme daily, and He makes His sun to rise over the good and the wicked. On all sides He calls to amendment, on all sides He calls to repentance, He calls by the blessings of creation, He calls by giving time for life, He calls through the reader, He calls through the preacher, He calls through the innermost thought by the rod of correction, He calls by the mercy of consolation: He is long-suffering, and of great mercy. But take heed lest by ill using the length of God’s mercy, you store up for yourself, as the Apostle says, wrath in the day of wrath…For some there are who prepare to turn, and yet put it off, and in them cries out the raven’s voice, Cras! Cras! The raven which was sent from the ark, never returned. God seeks not procrastination in the raven’s voice, but confession in the wailing of the dove. The dove, when sent forth, returned. How long, Tomorrow! Tomorrow!? Look to your last morrow: since you know not what is your last morrow, let it suffice that you have lived up to this day a sinner. You have heard, often you are wont to hear, you have heard today also; daily you hear, and daily you amend not…

14. He will not always be chiding: neither keeps He His anger for ever. Since it is in consequence of His anger that we live in the scourges and corruption of mortality: we have this in punishment for the first sin…Is it not through His anger, my brethren, that in the sweat of your face and in toil you shall eat bread, and the earth shall bear thorns and thistles unto you? This was said to our forefathers. Or if our life is different from this; if you can, turn unto some pleasure, where you may not feel thorns. Choose what you have wished, whether you are covetous or luxurious; to name these two alone; add a third passion, that of ambition; how great thorns are there in the desire of honours? In the luxury of lusts how great thorns? In the ardour of covetousness how great thorns? What troubles are there in base loves? What terrible anxieties here in this life? I omit hell. Beware lest you even now become a hell unto yourself. The whole of this, my brethren, is the result of His anger: and when you have turned yourself unto works of righteousness, you can not but toil upon earth; and toil ends not before life ends. We must toil on the way, that we may rejoice in our country. He therefore consoles by His promises your toil, your labours, your troubles, saying to you, He will not always be chiding.

15. He has not dealt with us according to our sins. Thanks unto God, because He has vouchsafed this. We have not received what we were deserving of: He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our wickednesses. For as the height of heaven above the earth, so has the Lord confirmed His mercy toward them that fear Him. Observe the heaven: everywhere on every side it covers the earth, nor is there any part of the earth not covered by the heaven. Men sin beneath heaven: they do all evil deeds beneath the heaven; yet they are covered by the heaven. Thence is light for the eyes, thence air, thence breath, thence rain upon the earth for the sake of its fruits, thence all mercy from heaven. Take away the aid of heaven from the earth: it will fail at once. As then the protection of heaven abides upon the earth, so does the Lord’s protection abide upon them that fear Him. You fear God; His protection is above you. But perhaps you are scourged, and conceive that God has forsaken you. God has forsaken you, if the protection of heaven has forsaken the earth.

16. Look, how wide the east is from the west; so far has He set our sins from us. They who know the Sacraments know this; nevertheless, I only say what all may hear. When sin is remitted, your sins fall, your grace rises; your sins are as it were on the decline, your grace which frees you on the rise. Truth springs from the earth. What means this? Your grace is born, your sins fall, you are in a certain manner made new. You should look to the rising, and turn away from the setting. Turn away from your sins, turn unto the grace of God; when your sins fall, thou rises and profitest…One region of the heaven falls, another rises: but the region which is now rising will set after twelve hours. Not like this is the grace which rises unto us: both our sins fall for ever, and grace abides forever.

17. Yea, like as a father pities his own children, even so has the Lord had mercy on them that fear Him. Let Him be as angry as He shall will, He is our Father. But He has scourged us, and afflicted us, and bruised us: He is our Father. Son, if you bewail, wail beneath your Father; do not so with indignation, do not so with the puffing up of pride. What you suffer, whence you mourn, it is medicine, not punishment; it is your chastening, not your condemnation. Do not refuse the scourge, if you dost not wish to be refused your heritage: do not think of what punishment you suffer in the scourge, but what place you have in the Testament.

18. For He knows our forming: that is, our infirmity. He knows what He has created, how it has fallen, how it may be repaired, how it may be adopted, how it may be enriched. Behold, we are made of clay: The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. He sent even His own Son, Him who was made the second man, Him who was God before all things. For He was second in His coming, first in His returning: He died after many, He arose before all. He knows our forming. What forming? Ourselves. Why do you say that He knows? Because He has pitied. Remember that we are but dust. Addressing God Himself, he says, Remember, as if God could forget: He perceives, He knows in such a manner that He cannot forget. But what means, Remember? Let your mercy continue towards us. You know our forming; forget not our forming, lest we forget your grace.

19. Man, his days are but as grass. Let man consider what he is; let not man be proud. His days are but as grass. Why is the grass proud, that is now flourishing, and in a very short space dried up? Why is the grass proud that flourishes only for a brief season, until the sun be hot? It is then good for us that His mercy be upon us, and from grass make gold. For he flourishes as a flower of the field. The whole splendour of the human race; honour, powers, riches, pride, threats, is the flower of the grass. That house flourishes, and that family is great, that family flourishes; and how many flourish, and how many years do they live! Many years to you, are but a short season unto God. God does not count, as you do. Compared with the length and long life of ages, all the flower of any house is as the flower of the field. All the beauty of the year hardly lasts for the year. Whatever there flourishes, whatever there is warmed with heat, whatever there is beautiful, lasts not; nay, it cannot exist for one whole year. In how brief a season do flowers pass away, and these are the beauty of the herbs! This which is so very beautiful, this quickly falls. Inasmuch then as He knows as a father our forming, that we are but grass, and can only flourish for a time; He sent unto us His Word, and His Word, which abides for evermore, He has made a brother unto the grass which abides not. Wonder not that you shall be a sharer of His Eternity; He became Himself first a sharer of your grass. Will He who assumed from you what was lowly, deny unto you what is exalted in respect of you?

20. The wind shall go over on it, it shall not be; and the place thereof shall know it no more. For he is not speaking of grass, but of that for whose sake even the Word became grass. For you are man, and on your account the Word became man. All flesh is grass: and the Word was made flesh. How great then is the hope of the grass, since the Word has been made flesh? That which abides for evermore, has not disdained to assume grass, that the grass might not despair of itself.

21. In your reflections therefore on yourself, think of your low estate, think of your dust: be not lifted up: if you are anything better, you will be so by His Grace, you will be so by His mercy. For hear what follows: but the mercy of the Lord endures for ever and ever upon them that fear Him. You who fear not Him, will be grass, and in grass, and in torment with the grass: for the flesh shall arise unto the torment. Let those who fear Him rejoice, because His mercy is upon them.

22. And His righteousness upon children’s children. He speaks of reward, upon children’s children. How many servants of God are there who have not children, how much less children’s children? But He calls our works our children; the reward of works, our children’s children. Even upon such as keep His covenant. Let men beware that all may not conceive what is here said to belong to themselves: let them choose, while they have the choice. And keep in memory His commandments to do them. You were already disposed to flatter yourself, and perhaps to recite to me the Psalter, which I have not by heart, or from memory to say over the whole Law. Clearly you are better in point of memory than I, better than any righteous man who does not know the Law word for word: but see that thou keep the commandments. But how should you keep them? Not by memory, but by life. Such as keep in memory His commandments: not, to recite them; but, to do them. And now perhaps each man’s soul is disturbed. Who remembers all the commandments of God? Who remembers all the writings of God? Lo, I wish not only to hold them in my memory, but also to do them in my works: but who remembers them all? Fear not: He burdens you not: on two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets…

23. The Lord has prepared His throne in heaven. Who but Christ has prepared His throne in heaven? He who descended and ascended, He who died, and rose from the dead, He who lifted up to heaven the manhood He had assumed, has Himself prepared His throne in heaven. The throne is the seat of the Judge: observe therefore ye who hear, that He has prepared His throne in heaven…The kingdom is the Lord’s, and He shall be the Governor among the people. And His kingdom shall rule over all.

24. Bless ye the Lord, you Angels of His, you that are mighty in strength: ye that fulfil His word. By the word of God, then, you are not righteous, nor faithful, unless when thou dost it. You that are mighty in strength, you that fulfil His commandment, and hearken unto the voice of His words.

25. Bless ye the Lord, all you His hosts: ye servants of His that do His pleasure. All you angels, all you that are mighty in strength: ye that do His word: all you His hosts, you servants of His that do His pleasure, do ye, you bless the Lord. For all they who live wickedly, though their tongues be silent, by their lips do curse the Lord. What does it profit if your tongue sings a hymn, while your life breathes sacrilege? By living ill you have set many tongues to blasphemy. Your tongue is given to the hymn, the tongues of those who behold you, to blasphemy. If then thou dost wish to bless the Lord, do His word, do His will…

26. Bless ye the Lord, all you works of His, in all places of His dominion. Therefore in every place. Let Him not be blessed where He rules not: in all places of His dominion. Let no man perchance say: I cannot praise the Lord in the East, because He has departed unto the West; or, I cannot praise Him in the West, because He is in the East. For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor yet from the desert hills. And why? God is the Judge. He is everywhere, in such wise that everywhere He may be praised: He is in such wise on every side, that we may be joyful in Him on every side: He is in such wise blessed on every side, that on every side we may live well… In every place of His dominion: bless thou the Lord, O my soul! The last verse is the same as the first: blessing is at the head of the Psalm, blessing at the end; from blessing we set out, to blessing let us return, in blessing let us reign.