文集與書信 第 14 章 第 2/8 段

The sons of thy father shall adore thee, Judah a lion's whelp. From the shoot, my son, thou hast gone up; couching, thou hast slept like a lion, and like a lion's whelp; who shall rouse him? The prince shall not fail from Judah, nor the leader from his loins, until there come the things laid up for him, and he himself is the hope of the nations. Binding his colt to the vine and the foal of his ass to the choice vine, he shall wash his robe in wine and his garment in the blood of the grape. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.' Hence in Numbers it is said of our people: 'Behold, a people shall rise up like a lion's people.' Likewise in Deuteronomy: 'You shall be the nations at the head, but the unbelieving people at the tail.' Likewise in Ezekiel: 'Hear the sound of the trumpet. And they said:

We will not hear. Therefore the nations shall hear, and those who feed their flocks among them.' Likewise in Psalm 17: 'Thou shalt set me at the head of the nations. A people whom I knew not has served me; at the hearing of the ear it obeyed me.' Likewise in Jeremiah the prophet the Lord says: 'Before I formed thee in the womb I knew thee, and before thou camest forth from the womb I sanctified thee and set thee a prophet among the nations.' Likewise in Isaiah the prophet: 'Behold, I have made him a witness to the nations, a prince and one commanding the nations.' Likewise there: 'Nations that knew thee not shall call upon thee, and peoples that were ignorant of thee shall flee to thee.' Likewise there: 'And it shall come to pass in that day, the root of Jesse, who shall rise to command the nations: in him the nations shall hope, and his rest shall be honor.'

Likewise there: 'The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea and the rest who dwell by the sea, and beyond the Jordan, the people of the nations walking in darkness, see a great light: you who dwell in the region of the shadow of death, a light shall shine upon you.' Likewise there: 'Thus says the Lord God to my Christ, my Lord, whose right hand I have held, that the nations may hear him: I will break the strength of kings, I will open the gates before him, and the cities shall not be shut.' Likewise there: 'I come to gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come and shall see my glory; and I will set a sign upon them and will send some of them preserved into the nations that are far off, which have not heard my name nor seen my glory, and they shall declare my glory among the nations.'

Likewise there: 'And in all these things they were not converted. Therefore he shall lift up a sign to the nations that are far off and shall draw them from the ends of the earth.' Likewise there: 'They to whom it was not announced concerning him shall see, and those who have not heard shall understand.' Likewise there: 'I became manifest to those who sought me not; I was found by those who did not inquire after me. I said: Behold, I am, to a nation that did not call upon my name.' Likewise in the Acts of the Apostles Paul: 'To you first it was necessary that the word of the Lord be declared; but because you have rejected it and have judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn ourselves to the nations. For thus has the Lord said through the scripture: Behold, I have set thee as a light among the nations, that thou mayest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.'

THAT THE JEWS WOULD LOSE THE BREAD AND THE CUP OF CHRIST AND ALL HIS GRACE, BUT THAT WE WOULD RECEIVE THEM, AND THAT THE NEW NAME OF THE CHRISTIANS WOULD BE BLESSED ON THE EARTH. In Isaiah the Lord thus says: 'Behold, those who serve me shall eat, but you shall hunger. Behold, those who serve me shall drink, but you shall thirst. Behold, those who serve me shall rejoice, but you shall be confounded: the Lord shall slay you. But to those who serve me a new name shall be named, which shall be blessed on the earth.' Likewise there: 'Therefore he shall lift up a sign among the nations that are far off and shall draw them from the ends of the earth. And behold, swiftly and lightly they shall come; they shall not hunger nor thirst.' Likewise there:

'Behold therefore the Lord, the Ruler, the Lord of hosts, shall take away from Judaea and from Jerusalem the mighty and the strong, the might of bread and the might of water.' Likewise in Psalm 33: 'Taste and see that the Lord is sweet; blessed is the man who hopes in him. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for there is no want to those who fear him. The rich have been in need and have hungered, but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.' Likewise in the Gospel according to John the Lord says: 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.' Likewise there: 'If anyone thirsts, let him come and drink, he who believes in me, as the scripture says: rivers of living water shall flow from his belly.' Likewise there:

'Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.' THAT THE NATIONS SHOULD ATTAIN TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN RATHER THAN THE JEWS. In the Gospel the Lord says: 'Many shall come from the east and the west and shall recline with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom shall go out into the outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' THAT THE JEWS CAN RECEIVE PARDON FOR THEIR SINS ONLY BY THIS, IF THEY WASH AWAY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST WHOM THEY SLEW IN HIS BAPTISM, AND, PASSING OVER INTO THE CHURCH, OBEY HIS PRECEPTS. In Isaiah the prophet the Lord says: 'I will no longer relax your sins. When you stretch out your hands, I will turn my face from you:

and though you multiply prayers, I will not hear you. For your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, be clean, take away your wickednesses from your souls before my eyes, cease from your wickednesses. Learn to do good, seek judgment, preserve him who suffers injury, do justice to the orphan and justify the widow. And come, let us reason together, says the Lord. And though your sins be as scarlet, I will whiten them as snow; and though they be as crimson, I will make them white as wool. And if you are willing and hear me, you shall eat the good things of the earth; but if you are unwilling and do not hear me, the sword shall devour you. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things.' THE SECOND BOOK. THE CHAPTERS.

That Christ is the firstborn and is himself the Wisdom of God, through whom all things were made. II. That Christ is the Wisdom of God, and concerning the sacrament of his incarnation and his passion and the cup and the altar and the apostles who were sent and preached. III. That Christ is also the same Word of God. IV. That Christ is the same the hand and arm of God. V. That he is the same the angel and God. VI. That Christ is God. VII. That Christ, God, was to come as the enlightener and savior of the human race. VIII. That, although he had been the Son of God from the beginning, he was to be born again according to the flesh. IX. That this should be the sign of his nativity, that of a virgin should be born a man and God, the son of man and of God. X.

That Christ is both man and God, compounded of both natures, that he might be able to be a mediator between us and the Father. XI. That according to the flesh he was to be born of the seed of David. XII. That he should be born in Bethlehem. XIII. That he should come lowly in his first advent. XIV. That he himself is the just one whom the Jews would slay. XV. That he himself was called a sheep and a lamb, who was to be slain, and concerning the sacrament of the passion. XVI. That he too was called a stone. XVII. That then the same stone should become a mountain and fill the whole earth. XVIII. That in the last times the same mountain should be made manifest, upon which the nations would come and upon which all the just would ascend. XIX.

That he himself is the bridegroom having the Church as bride, from whom sons should be born spiritually. XX. That the Jews would fix him to the cross. XXI. That in the passion of the cross and in its sign is all virtue and power. XXII. That in this sign of the cross is salvation for all who are marked on their foreheads. XXIII. That at midday in his passion there should be darkness. XXIV. That he should not be overcome by death nor remain among the dead. XXV. That he should rise from the dead on the third day. XXVI. That when he had risen he should receive from the Father all power, and that his power is eternal. XXVII. That one cannot come to God the Father except through his Son Jesus Christ. XXVIII. That he himself is to come as judge. XXIX.

That he himself is the king who shall reign forever. XXX. That he himself is both judge and king. THAT CHRIST IS THE FIRSTBORN AND IS HIMSELF THE WISDOM OF GOD, THROUGH WHOM ALL THINGS WERE MADE. In Solomon, in Proverbs: 'The Lord founded me, the beginning of his ways unto his works; before the age he established me; in the beginning, before he made the earth and before he set the depths, before the fountains of waters came forth, before the mountains were settled, before all the hills the Lord begot me. He made the regions, both the inhabitable lands and the uninhabitable bounds under heaven. When he prepared heaven, I was present with him, and when he set apart his own seat:'

'when above the winds he made strong the clouds above, and when he made firm the fountains under heaven, when he made strong the foundations of the earth, I was beside him, arranging all things. I was the one in whom he delighted. And daily I rejoiced before his face in every season, when he was glad in the perfected world.' Likewise in the same author, in Ecclesiasticus: 'I came forth from the mouth of the Most High before every creature. I made in the heavens that an unfailing light should arise, and with a cloud I covered the whole earth. I dwelt in the heights, and my throne is in a pillar of cloud. I encircled the round of heaven and penetrated into the depth of the abyss, and'

'and I walked in the waves of the sea and stood in all the earth, and among every people and every nation I had the primacy, and by my power I trod down the hearts of all the lofty and the lowly. All hope of life and of strength is in me. Pass over to me, all you who desire me.' Likewise in Psalm 88: 'And I will set him as the firstborn, high above the kings of the earth. Forever I will keep my mercy for him, and my testament faithful to him; and I will set his seed for ever and ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his sons forsake my law and walk not in my judgments, if they profane my justifications and keep not my commandments, I will visit their iniquities with the rod and their sins with scourges:'

'But my mercy I will not turn away from them.' Likewise, according to John, the Lord says: 'And this is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, do thou glorify me with thyself, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made.' Likewise Paul the apostle to the Colossians: 'Who is the image of the invisible God, and the firstborn of every creature.' Likewise there: 'The firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might hold the primacy.' Likewise in the Apocalypse: 'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. To him that thirsts I will give of the fountain of living water freely.' That the same one is both the wisdom and the power of God.

Paul the apostle in his first to the Corinthians: 'For the Jews require signs, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews indeed a stumbling-block, and to the Gentiles foolishness; but to them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.' THAT CHRIST IS THE WISDOM OF GOD, AND CONCERNING THE MYSTERY OF HIS INCARNATION AND PASSION, AND OF THE CUP AND THE ALTAR, AND OF THE APOSTLES WHO, BEING SENT, PREACHED. In Solomon, in the Proverbs: 'Wisdom hath built herself a house, and hath set up seven pillars. She hath slain her victims, mingled her wine in the bowl, and prepared her table, and hath sent her servants, calling together with lofty proclamation to the bowl, saying:'

'Whoso is simple, let him turn in to me.' And to them that lack understanding she said: 'Come, eat of my bread, and drink the wine which I have mingled for you. Forsake foolishness, and seek prudence, and amend understanding by knowledge.' THAT CHRIST IS THE SAME WORD OF GOD. In Psalm 44: 'My heart hath uttered a good word; I tell my works to the king.' Likewise in Psalm 32: 'By the word of the Lord were the heavens established, and all their power by the breath of his mouth.' Likewise in the prophet Isaiah: 'Completing and shortening the word in righteousness; for God will make a shortened word in all the world.' Likewise in Psalm 106: 'He sent his word, and healed them.' Likewise in the Gospel according to John:

'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was made nothing that was made. In him is life, and the life was the light of men; and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.' Likewise in the Apocalypse: 'And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and he judgeth justly and rightly and maketh war; and he was clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood; and his name is called the Word of God.' THAT CHRIST IS THE SAME HAND AND ARM OF GOD. In Isaiah: 'Is not the hand of the Lord strong to save, or hath he made his ear heavy, that he should not hear?'

'But your sins separate between you and God, and because of your sins he hath turned his face from you, that he should not have mercy. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquities; your lips have spoken wickedness, and your tongue meditateth iniquity. None speaketh truths, neither is there true judgment. They trust in vanities and speak empty things; they conceive sorrow and bring forth wickedness.' Likewise there: 'Lord, who hath believed our report, and the arm of God, to whom hath it been revealed?' Likewise there: 'Thus saith the Lord: Heaven is my throne, and the earth the footstool of my feet. What house will ye build me, or what is the place of my rest? For all these things my hand hath made.' Likewise there:

'O Lord God, exalted is thy arm, and they knew it not; but when they shall have known it, they shall be confounded.' Likewise there: 'God shall reveal his holy arm in the sight of all the nations; and all the nations, even the utmost parts of the earth, shall see the salvation that is from God.' Likewise there: 'Behold, I have made thee as the wheels of a threshing-wain, new, turned like a saw; and thou shalt thresh the mountains and grind small the hills, and thou shalt set them as dust and winnow them, and the wind shall seize them and the storm scatter them. But thou shalt rejoice in the holy ones of Israel, and the poor and needy shall exult. They shall seek water, and there shall be none, for their tongue shall be parched with thirst.'

'I the Lord God, I, the God of Israel, will hear and not forsake them; but I will open rivers among the mountains and fountains in the midst of the plains; I will make the deserts into watered groves, and the thirsty land into water-courses. I will set in the waterless land the cedar and the box and the myrtle and the cypress and the elm and the poplar, that they may see and know and understand and believe together, that the hand of the Lord hath done these things, and the Holy One of Israel hath shown them.' THAT THE SAME IS BOTH ANGEL AND GOD. In Genesis, to Abraham: 'And the angel of the Lord called him out of heaven, and said unto him, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou anything unto him.'

'For now I know that thou fearest thy God, and hast not spared thy most beloved son for my sake.' Likewise there, to Jacob: 'And the angel of the Lord said unto me in a dream, I am the God whom thou sawest in the place of God, where thou anointedst for me a pillar of stone, and vowedst a vow unto me.' Likewise in Exodus: 'But God went before them, by day indeed in a pillar of cloud, to show them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire.' Likewise there: 'And the angel of God removed, who went before the army of the children of Israel.' Likewise there: 'Behold, I send my angel before thy face, to keep thee in the way, that he may bring thee into the land which I have prepared for thee. Observe him, and hearken to him; be not disobedient to him, for he will not fail thee; for my name is in him.'

Whence he himself says in the Gospel: 'I am come in my Father's name, and ye received me not; when another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.' And again in Psalm 117: 'Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.' Likewise in the prophet Malachi: 'My covenant was with him of life and peace, and I gave him fear to fear me, to set out from before the presence of my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips; in peace, setting right, he walked with us, and turned many away from iniquity. For the lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law from his mouth, for he is the angel of the Lord Almighty.' THAT CHRIST IS GOD. In Genesis: 'And God said unto Jacob:'

'Arise and go up to the place Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar to that God who appeared to thee when thou fleddest from before the face of Esau thy brother.' Likewise in the prophet Isaiah: 'Thus saith the Lord God of Sabaoth: Egypt is wearied, and the merchandise of the Ethiopians; and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee and shall be thine; and they shall walk after thee bound in fetters, and shall worship thee and make supplication unto thee: for God is in thee, and there is no other God besides thee. For thou art God, and we knew it not, the God of Israel the Saviour. They shall be confounded and ashamed, all that oppose thee, and shall fall in confusion.' Likewise there: 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God.'

'Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places into smooth ways; and the glory of the Lord shall be seen, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God, for the Lord hath spoken.' Likewise in the prophet Jeremiah: 'This is our God, and no other shall be reckoned beside him, who found out every way of prudence, and gave it to Jacob his servant and to Israel his beloved. Afterward he was seen on earth, and conversed with men.' Likewise in the prophet Zechariah God saith:

'And they shall pass through the narrow sea, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the rivers shall be dried up; and all the pride of the Assyrians shall be confounded, and the sceptre of Egypt shall be taken away; and I will strengthen them in the Lord their God, and in his name they shall glory, saith the Lord.' Likewise in the prophet Hosea God saith: 'I will not act according to the wrath of my indignation; I will not suffer Ephraim to be destroyed, for I am God and not man; the Holy One is in thee, and I will not enter into the city; I will go after the Lord.' Likewise in Psalm 44: 'Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a right sceptre is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.' Likewise in Psalm 45:

'Be still, and see that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth.' Likewise in Psalm 81: 'They knew not, neither did they understand; they walk in darkness.' Likewise in Psalm 67: 'Sing unto God, sing praises to his name; make a way for him who ascendeth toward the west; the Lord is his name.' Likewise in the Gospel according to John: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' Likewise there, the Lord to Thomas: 'Put thy finger hither, and see my hands, and be not unbelieving but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Because thou hast seen, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen and yet believe.' Likewise Paul to the Romans:

'I myself was wishing to be accursed from Christ for my brethren, who are my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites; to whom belong the adoption and the glory and the covenant and the giving of the law and the service and the promises; whose are the fathers, and from whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed for ever.' Likewise in the Apocalypse: 'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. To him that thirsteth I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall possess these things and their inheritance; and I will be his God, and he shall be to me a son.' Likewise in Psalm 81: 'God hath stood in the assembly of gods, and in the midst he judgeth gods.' Likewise there: 'I have said, ye are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High; but ye shall die like men.'

But if those who have been righteous and have obeyed the divine precepts can be called gods, how much more Christ, God the Son of God! As he himself says in the Gospel according to John: 'Is it not written in your law, I said, ye are gods? If he called them gods—and the scripture cannot be broken—say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not; but if I do, and ye will not believe me, believe the works, and know that the Father is in me, and I in him.' Likewise in the Gospel according to Matthew: 'And ye shall call his name Emmanuel, which is interpreted, God with us.'

THAT CHRIST GOD WAS TO COME AS THE ENLIGHTENER AND SAVIOUR OF THE HUMAN RACE. In the prophet Isaiah: 'Be strengthened, ye slack hands, and ye feeble knees, take courage. Ye that are faint-hearted, fear not. Our God will render judgment; he himself will come and save us. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. Then shall the lame leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall be made plain; for water hath broken forth in the desert, and a stream in the thirsty land.' Likewise there: 'No elder nor angel, but the Lord himself shall deliver them, because he loveth them and will spare them; he himself shall redeem them.' Likewise there: 'I the Lord God have called thee in righteousness, that I may hold thy hand, and I will strengthen thee:'

'and I have given thee for a covenant of my people, for a light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out the prisoners from their bonds, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house. I am the Lord God; this is my name; my glory I will not give to another, neither my virtues to graven images.' Likewise in Psalm 24: 'Show me thy ways, O Lord, and teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me, for thou art God my Saviour.' Whence in the Gospel according to John the Lord says: 'I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.' Likewise according to Matthew, the angel Gabriel to Joseph: 'Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife.'

'For that which is born in her is of the Holy Spirit. She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save the people from their sins.' Likewise according to Luke: 'And Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying: Blessed be the God of Israel, who hath wrought redemption for his people and hath raised up for us a horn of salvation in the house of David his servant.' Likewise there, the angel to the shepherds: 'Fear not; for behold, I bring you tidings, that there is born to you this day a Saviour, who is Christ Jesus, in the city of David.' THAT THOUGH HE HAD BEEN THE SON OF GOD FROM THE BEGINNING, HE WAS TO BE BEGOTTEN ANEW ACCORDING TO THE FLESH. In the second Psalm: 'The Lord said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.'

'Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for thy possession.' Likewise in the Gospel: 'And it came to pass, as Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and she was filled with the Holy Spirit, and cried with a loud voice and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?' Likewise Paul, second to the Thessalonians: 'But when the fulfillment of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman.' Likewise in the epistle of John: 'Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; but he that denieth that he is come in the flesh is not of God, but is of the spirit of antichrist.'

THAT THIS WAS TO BE THE SIGN OF HIS NATIVITY, THAT FROM A VIRGIN SHOULD BE BORN MAN AND GOD, THE SON OF MAN AND OF GOD. In the prophet Isaiah: 'And the Lord spoke again unto Ahaz, saying: Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God, in the height above or in the depth below. And Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord my God. And he said: Hear ye therefore, O house of David. It is not a small struggle for you with men, since God offereth a contest. Therefore God himself shall give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat; before he knoweth or brings forth evil, he chooseth the good.'

This seed God had foretold would come forth from a woman, which should crush the head of the devil. In Genesis: 'Then God said unto the serpent: Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle and above every kind of beast of the earth. Upon thy breast and belly shalt thou creep, and earth shall be thy food all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall crush thy head, and thou shalt watch his heel.' THAT CHRIST IS BOTH MAN AND GOD, COMPOUNDED OF BOTH NATURES, THAT HE MIGHT BE A MEDIATOR BETWEEN US AND THE FATHER. In the prophet Jeremiah: 'And he is man, and who shall know him?' Likewise in Numbers: 'There shall arise a star out of Jacob, and a man shall rise up out of Israel.' Likewise there:

'A man shall come forth of his seed, and shall have dominion over many nations; and his kingdom shall be exalted higher than Gog, and his kingdom shall be increased. And God brought him out of Egypt: his glory is as that of the unicorn; and he shall devour the nations of his enemies, and shall consume the marrow of their fatness, and with his arrows shall transfix the enemy. Reclining, he rested like a lion, and like a lion's whelp; who shall rouse him up? They that bless thee are blessed, and they that curse thee are cursed.' Likewise in Isaiah: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because of which he hath anointed me to bring good tidings to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach release to the captives and sight to the blind, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of recompense.'