4.

"Say ye to God, How to be feared are Thy works!" (ver. 3). Wherefore to be feared and not to be loved? Hear thou another voice of a Psalm: "Serve ye the Lord in fear, and exult unto Him with trembling." ¹ What meaneth this? Hear the voice of the Apostle: "With fear," he saith, "and trembling, your own salvation work ye out." ² Wherefore with fear and trembling? He hath subjoined the reason: "for God it is that worketh in you both to will and to work according to good will." ³ If therefore God worketh in thee, by the Grace of God thou workest well, not by thy strength. Therefore if thou rejoicest, fear also: lest perchance that which was given to a humble man be taken away from a proud one....Brethren, if against the Jews of old, cut off from the root of the Patriarchs, we ought not to exalt ourselves, but rather to fear and say to God, "How to be feared are Thy works:" how much less ought we not to exalt ourselves against the fresh wounds of the cutting off! Before there had been cut off Jews, graffed in Gentiles; from the very graft there have been cut off heretics; but neither against them ought we to exalt ourselves; lest perchance he deserve to be cut off, that delighteth to revile them that are cut off. My brethren, a bishop's voice, however unworthy, hath sounded to you: ⁴ we pray you to beware, whosoever ye are in the Church, do not revile them that are not within; but pray ye rather, that they too may be within. For God is able again to graft them in. ⁵ Of the very Jews the Apostle said this, and it was done in their case. The Lord rose again, and many believed: they perceived not when they crucified, nevertheless afterwards they believed in Him, and there was forgiven them so great a transgression. The shedding of the Lord's blood was forgiven the manslayers, not to say, God-slayers: "for if they had known, the Lord of glory they never would have crucified." ⁶ Now to the manslayers hath been forgiven the shedding of the blood of Him innocent: and that same blood which through madness they shed, through grace they have drunk....O fulness of Gentiles, say thou to God, "How to be feared are Thy works!" and so rejoice thou as that thou mayest fear, be not exalted above the branches cut off.