We should look to others' good deeds, and our own faults. 115 IX. thus too is it in the case of your Teachers. When He HOM. might have made them highly reverenced, He preferred that they should be subject to contempt for thy sake, that thou mightest be able to profit, that thou mightest be able to be rich. He is in want of the things of this life, that you may abound in things spiritual. He hath shewn in many ways that He might have made them above all want. But that for thy sake He suffers them to be in want, this too He shews in like sort. Knowing then these things, let us turn ourselves to well doing, not to accusations. Let us not be over curious about the failings of others, but take account of our own; let us bear in mind the excellencies of other men, while we reckon up our own faults, for thus shall we be wellpleasing to God. For he who looks at the faults of others, and at his own excellencies, is injured in two ways; by the latter he is carried up to arrogance, through the former he falls into listlessness. For when he perceives that such an one hath sinned, very easily will he sin himself; when he perceives that he hath in ought excelled, very easily becometh he arrogant. He who consigns to oblivion his own excellencies, and looks at his failings only, whilst he is a curious enquirer of the excellencies, not the sins, of others, is profited in many ways. And how? I will tell you. When he sees that such an one hath done excellently, he is raised to emulate the same; when he sees that he himself hath sinned, he is rendered humble and modest. If we act thus, if we thus regulate ourselves, we shall be able to obtain the good things which are promised, through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom, &c. HOMILY X. Gal. 4, 19. PHIL. iii. 1-3. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. DEJECTION and care, whenever they strain the soul beyond due measure, bereave it of its native force. And therefore Paul raises up the Philippians, who were in great despondency, and they were in despondency because they did not know how matters were with Paul; they were in despondency, because they thought that it was already over with him, because of the preaching, because of Epaphroditus. It is in giving them assurance on all these points that he introduces the words, Finally, my brethren, rejoice. You no longer have,' he says, 'cause for despondency. You have Epaphroditus, for whose sake you were grieved. You have Timothy; I am myself coming to you; the Gospel is gaining ground. What is henceforth wanting to you? Rejoice!" Now he calls the Galatians indeed children, but these brethren. For when he aims either to correct any thing or to shew his fondness, he calls them children;' but when he addresses them with greater honour, brethren' is the title. Finally, my brethren, he says, rejoice in the Lord. He said rightly in the Lord, not after the world,' for this is no rejoicing. These tribulations, he says, which are according Judaizing teachers why called dogs. 6 117 X. to Christ bring joy. To write the same things to you, to me Нoм. indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs. Dost thou mark how he forbears to bring in the exhortation at the beginning? But after he had given them much commendation, after he had shewn his admiration of them, then he does this, and again repeats his commendation. For this mode of speech seems to bear somewhat hard upon them. Wherefore he overshadows it on every side. But whom does he style dogs?' There were at this place some of those, whom he hints at in all his Epistles, base and contemptible Jews, greedy of vile lucre and fond of power, who, desiring to draw aside many of the faithful, preached both Christianity and Judaism at the same time, corrupting the Gospel. As then they were not easily discernible, therefore he says, beware of dogs: the Jews are no longer children; once the Gentiles were so called, but now those. Wherefore? because as the Gentiles were strangers both to God and to Christ, even so are these become this now. And he thereby shews forth their shamelessness and violence, and their infinite distance from the relation of children, for that the Gentiles were once called 'dogs,' hear what the Canaanitish woman says, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the Matt. 15, 27. crumbs which fall from their masters' table. But that they might not have this advantage, since even dogs are at the table, he adds that, whereby he makes them aliens also, saying, Beware of evil workers; and he admirably expressed himself, beware of evil workers, for they work, he means, but for a bad end, and a work that is much worse than idleness, plucking up what is laid in goodly order. Beware, he says, of the concision. The rite of circumcision was venerable in the Jews' account, forasmuch as the Law itself gave way thereto, and the Sabbath was less esteemed than it. For that circumcision might be performed the Sabbath was broken; but that the Sabbath might be kept, circumcision was never broken; and mark, I pray, the dispensation of God. This is found to be even more solemn than the Sabbath, as not being omitted at certain times". Sav. mar. might otherwise seem. sense. possibly he construed. Hence Downes 1 3, 1-3. κατα 118 Carnal circumcision why called concision. PHIL. When then it is done away, much more is the Sabbath. Wherefore Paul makes a concision of the name, and says, ri Beware of the concision, and he did not say that circumcision is evil, that it is superfluous,' lest he should strike the men with dismay, but he manages it more wisely, withdrawing them from the thing, but gratifying them with the word, nay, rather with the thing too, in a more serious way. But not so in the case of the Galatians, for since in that case the disease was great, he forthwith adopts the remedy of amputation with open front and with all boldness, but in this case, as they had done nothing of the sort, he vouchsafes them the gratification of the title, he banishes both those and these, and says, Beware of the concision; for we are the circumcision-how?-which worship God in the spirit, and have no confidence in the flesh. He said not that we try the one circumcision and the other, which is the better of the two;' but he would not even allow it a share in the name; but what does he say? That circumcision is concision. Why? Because they do nothing but cut the flesh about. For when what is done is not of the law, it is nothing else than a concision and cutting about of the flesh; it was then either for this reason that he called it so, or because they were trying to cut the Church about; and we too call the thing' cutting about' in those who do this at random, without aim and without skill. Now if you must seek circumcision, he says, you will find it among us, who worship God in spirit, i. e. who worship Him spiritually. (2) For answer me, which is superior, the soul or the body? Evidently the former. Therefore neither is that circumcision superior, but this is the only circumcision; for while the type stood, He rightly brought it forward in conjunction, Jerem. writing, Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away 4, 4. the foreskins of your hearts. In the same way in the Epistle Rom. 2, to the Romans he does away with it, saying, for he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew which is one 28. 29. 119 X. Name of the reality given for a while to types. inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, HOM. and not in the letter. And lastly, he takes from it the very name, neither is it circumcision,' he maintains, for the type, while the reality is yet to come, is called this, but when the truth has come, it no longer retains the title. As in delineation, a man has drawn a king in outline; so long as the colours are not put on we say, Lo, there is the king, but when they are added, the outline' is lost in the reality, and ceases to' rúwes. shew; and then too we say, 'Look at the king.' And he said not,' for the circumcision is in us,' but we are the circumcision, and justly; for this is the Man, the circumcision in virtue, this is really the Man. But in the case of those he? Comdid not speak so: but he said, beware of the concision, for Pare Gal. 6, they were henceforth in a condition of ruin and of wicked- 15. ness. Then shewing that circumcision is no longer performed in the body but in the heart, he says, And have no confidence v. 4. in the flesh; though I might also have confidence in the flesh. What does he call confidence here, and in the flesh? Boasting, boldness, a high tone. And he did well to add this; for if, being of the Gentiles, he had condemned the circumcision, and not only the circumcision, but all those that adopted it out of place, it would have seemed that he was denying it because he wanted the high ancestry of Judaism, as being a stranger to its solemn rites, and having no part therein. But as it is, he, who, though a sharer, yet blames them, does not therefore blame them as having no share in them, but as disowning them; not from ignorance, but most especially from acquaintance with them. Accordingly observe what he says in his Epistle to the Galatians also; having been brought into a necessity of saying great things about himself, how even in these circumstances does he manifest nought but humility. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past, he says, Gal. 1, in the Jews' religion; and again here; if any other man 13. thinketh that he hath ought whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. And he immediately added, an Hebrew of v. 4. |