Homilies on Hebrews 3

But when again He brings the Firstborn into the world, He says:

'And let all the angels of God worship Him.'

And to the angels He says:

'Who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.'

'Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.'

Now our Lord Jesus Christ calls His coming in the flesh a 'going forth':

'The sower went forth to sow';

and again, 'I came forth from My Father, and am come';

and one may see this in many places.

But Paul calls the very same thing an 'entering in,' saying:

'But when again He brings the Firstborn into the world';

calling by this 'introduction' the assumption of the flesh.

But why have they used different terms concerning Him, and on what account is it thus expressed? It is plain even from the very things signified.

For Christ fittingly calls His own coming a 'going forth';

and just as in a royal palace, prisoners and those who have offended the king stand outside;

and he who wishes to reconcile them does not bring them inside, but himself going out speaks with them outside, until, having made them worthy of the sight of the king, he brings them in;

so also did Christ do.

For having come forth to us, that is, having taken on flesh and declared to us the things from the King, He thus brought us in, having cleansed us from our sins and reconciled us.

For this reason he calls it a going-out.

But Paul names it an entering-in, drawing the metaphor from those who receive an inheritance, and take possession, and acquire some property.

For to say, 'And when again He brings the Firstborn into the inhabited world,' this is to declare, when He entrusts to Him the inhabited world;

for then He acquired the whole of it, when He also became known.

But he says these things not concerning God the Word, but concerning Christ according to the flesh;

For if He was in the world, according to John, and the world was made through Him, how could He have been brought in otherwise than in the flesh? 'And let all the angels of God worship Him,' he says.

Whenever he is about to say something great and lofty, he prepares it beforehand and makes it easy to receive by having the Father be the one who brings in the Son.

He said above that He spoke to us not through the prophets, but through the Son;

he showed that the Son is greater than the angels, having established this both from the name, and from the Father's being the one who brings in the Son.

But here he goes on to establish it from yet another consideration as well.

From what, then, is this? From the worship;

and this also shows how much greater He is;

Wherefore, just as if someone, having brought a man into the house of a king, straightway commands those who are in charge of it to worship him;

so he too does the same, speaking of the flesh's introduction into the world, and 'Let all the angels of God worship Him,' adding it for this reason.

Is it then only angels, and not also the other powers? Away with the thought!

And to His angels indeed He says, 'Who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire;'

but to the Son, 'Thy throne, O God, is unto the age of the age.'

For the former are created, but He is uncreated.

And why does he say to His angels, 'Who makes';

but concerning the Son, why did he not say, 'who makes'? And yet it was possible to state the difference in this way;

to His angels indeed he says, 'Who makes His angels spirits;'

but to the Son, 'The Lord created me;'

and again, 'God has made Him both Lord and Christ.'

But neither is that said concerning Christ the Lord the Son, nor is this said concerning God the Word, but concerning Him according to the flesh.

For where he wished to declare the true difference, he no longer included the angels only, but also every ministering power on high.

Do you see how he distinguishes, and with how much clarity, creatures and the Creator, ministers and the Master, both the heir and the genuine Son and servants? But to the Son he says:

Thy throne, O God, is unto the age of the age.

A rod of uprightness is the rod of Thy kingdom.

Behold again yet another symbol of kingship.

Then again to that which is according to the flesh:

Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated lawlessness;

therefore God, Thy God, has anointed Thee.

What is 'Thy God'? Since he uttered something great, he again softens it.

Here he struck at once the Jews, and the followers of Paul of Samosata, and the Arians, and Marcellus and Sabellius, and Marcion.

How? The Jews, by showing that the same One is two;

and the others, I mean the followers of Paul of Samosata, by discoursing these things concerning the eternal existence and the uncreated substance;

for in contrast to the word 'He made,' he has set down, 'Thy throne, O God, is unto the age of the age.'

And against the Arians this very same point again, and that He is not a servant;

and against Marcellus and the others, that these are two persons distinguished according to hypostasis;

and against the Marcionites, that it is not the Godhead that is anointed, but the humanity.

Then, 'Above Thy fellows,' he says.

And who are the fellows, but men? That is, Christ did not receive the Spirit by measure.

Do you see how he always joins the discourse concerning the dispensation to that concerning the uncreated nature? What is clearer than this? Did you see how it is not the same thing, a creature and an offspring? For otherwise he would not have made the distinction, and in contrast to the word 'He made,' added, 'But to the Son He said:'

Thy throne, O God, is unto the age of the age;

nor would he have called the name 'Son' a more distinctive name, if it were a token of the same thing.

For what would be the difference? For if the creature and the offspring are the same, and those were made, what would be the more distinctive thing? Behold again the word 'God' with the article.

In the beginning Thou, Lord, hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Thy hands.

They shall perish, but Thou remainest;

and they all shall grow old as a garment, and as a mantle Thou shalt roll them up, and they shall be changed;

but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail.

But when He brings the Firstborn into the inhabited world, lest you should suppose it to be a gift bestowed on Him later, this he both corrected beforehand above, and again corrects, saying:

Behold, again he strikes Paul of Samosata a mortal blow, and Arius too, by fitting to the Son those things which pertain to the Father.

And along with this he hinted at yet another thing besides, and one greater than this;

for he also indicated the transformation of the world, saying:

They shall grow old as a garment, and as a mantle Thou shalt roll them up, and they shall be changed.

Which he says also in the Epistle to the Romans, that He will transform the world.

And to declare the ease of it, he added:

For just as if someone should roll up a mantle, so He Himself will both roll up the world and change it.

But if He works the transformation and creation into something better and superior so easily, did He, in the lesser creation, have need of another? How long will you not be ashamed? And at the same time this too is a very great consolation, to know that things will not remain thus, but all things will undergo change, and all things will be altered, while He Himself abides ever living, and living without end;

And Thy years, he says, shall not fail.

But to which of the angels has He ever said:

Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet? Behold again he encourages them, seeing that their enemies are destined to be conquered, and their enemies are the very same who are also Christ's.

This again is a mark of kingship, this of equal honour, this of honour, not of weakness, that the Father is angry on behalf of the things done against the Son;

this is a proof of great love and of genuineness, such as that from a father toward a son.

For he who is angry on His behalf, how is he a stranger to Him? Until I make Thine enemies.

Which also in the second Psalm he says:

He that dwells in the heavens shall laugh them to scorn, and the Lord shall mock them.

Then shall He speak to them in His wrath, and in His fury shall He trouble them.

Those who did not wish me to reign over them, bring here before me, and slay them.

For that these words are His own, hear what He says also in another place:

'How often would I have gathered thy children together, and ye would not? Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.'

And again: 'The kingdom shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.'

And again: 'Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken;'

'but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.'

And in another sense too: He who is to judge them there has all the more here exacted from them the penalty for their insolence against Himself.

So that it belongs solely to the honour paid to the Son, this word: 'Till I

make thine enemies thy footstool.'

'Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?' What wonder is it, he says, if they minister to the Son, when they minister even unto our salvation? See how he exalts their minds, and shows the great honour of God toward us, seeing that He has appointed the angels—who are above us—to hold this ministry, the ministry on our behalf.

As one might say: For this end He uses them, he says; this is the ministry of angels, to serve God for our salvation.

So that this is an angelic work: to do all things for the salvation of the brethren;

or rather, it is the work of Christ Himself;

for He indeed saves as Master, but these as servants.

And we too, though we are servants, are yet fellow-servants of the angels.

Why do you gape in wonder at the angels? he says. They are servants of the Son of God, and in many places are sent for our sakes, and minister unto our salvation;

so that they are our fellow-servants.

Consider how he assigns no great difference to the created beings;

and yet the distance between angels and men is great;

but nevertheless he brings them down close to us, all but saying:

They toil for us, they run about for our sakes, they serve us—as one might say—as attendants.

This is their ministry: to be sent everywhere for our sakes.

And of such examples the Old Testament is full, and full also is the New.

For when angels bring good tidings to shepherds, when they come to Mary, when to Joseph, when they sit upon the tomb, when they are sent to tell the disciples:

'Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?'—when they release Peter from the prison, when they converse with Philip—how do they not minister unto us? Consider then the honour, how great it is, when God sends the angels as attendants to men as unto friends, when an angel appears to Cornelius, when an angel brings all the apostles out of the prison and says:

'Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.'

Why do I mention the rest? To Paul himself also an angel appears.

Do you see them ministering unto us for God's sake, and ministering in the greatest matters? Therefore Paul says:

'All things are yours, whether life or death, whether the world, whether things present, whether things to come.'

The Son too, indeed, was sent, but not as a servant, nor as a minister, but as a Son and Only-begotten, willing the same things as the Father;

for He did not pass from place to place, but took upon Himself flesh;

but these change their places, and leaving the former places in which they are, thus come to others in which they were not.

And this again, encouraging them, he says:

Why are you afraid? Angels minister unto us.

And having spoken concerning the Son—both the things pertaining to the dispensation, and those pertaining to the creation, and those pertaining to the kingdom—and having shown His equality of honour, and that He rules as Master, not over men only, but also over the powers above, thereafter he exhorts them, having so framed his argument that we should give heed to what has been heard; and he says:

'Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard.'

Here, wishing to say that we ought to give more heed than to the law, he passed it over in silence; yet nevertheless he makes this clear in the framing of his argument, not in counsel nor in exhortation;

'For if the word spoken by angels,' he says, 'was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;'

'how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him.'

Why ought we to give the more heed to the things which we have heard? Are not both those things of God, and these? Either then he means 'more than the law,' or that 'greatly';

not by way of comparison—God forbid.

For since, by reason of the long lapse of time, they held a high opinion of the Old Testament, while these things, being still new, were despised, he shows abundantly that we ought rather to give heed to these.

How? All but saying that both these and those are of God, but not in like manner.

And this he shows us afterwards;

for the present he does so more superficially,

framing it, but afterwards more plainly, saying:

'For if that first covenant had been faultless;'

and again, 'For that which decayeth and waxeth old is nigh unto vanishing away.'

But he does not yet dare to say any such thing in the opening portions, until he has first laid hold of and secured the hearer by his many preliminary preparations.

Why then ought we to give the more heed? Tell me. 'Lest at any time,' he says, 'we should let them slip.'

That is, lest we perish, lest we fall away.

And here he shows the grievousness of the falling away, that it is hard for what has slipped away to return again, inasmuch as this came to pass through slothfulness.

And he took the expression from the Proverbs;

'For, my son,' it says, 'do not let them slip;'

thereby showing both the easiness of the slip, and the grievousness of the destruction;

that is, disobedience is not without peril to us.

And by the things with which he frames his argument he shows that the punishment is greater.

But he again leaves it in the form of a question, and not in a conclusion.

For this too is a way of making one's discourse inoffensive: not everywhere pronouncing the judgement of oneself as a decree, but leaving the hearer to be master, that he himself may bring in the verdict;

which also made them become more candid.

This the prophet Nathan does in the Old Testament, and in Matthew Christ does it, saying:

'What will he do unto the husbandmen of that vineyard?'—compelling them too to bring forth the verdict;

for this is the greatest victory.

For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, he did not add, 'much more that which was spoken by Christ;'

but this indeed he left aside, and stated the lesser point, 'How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation?' And see how he makes the comparison.

'For if the word spoken by angels,' he says.

There, 'by angels,' but here, 'by the Lord;'

and there indeed a 'word,' but here 'salvation.'

Then, lest anyone should say, 'What of it? These things which thou sayest, O Paul, are they Christ's?'—he anticipates it, and demonstrates that they carry trustworthiness.

For by his having heard them from Him he shows their trustworthiness, and by their being now spoken by God—not simply by a voice being borne along, as in the case of Moses, but by signs coming to pass and deeds bearing witness.

But what is the meaning of, 'For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast'? And in the Epistle to the Galatians he speaks somewhat in this manner:

'Ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator';

and again, 'You received the law by the ordinance of angels, and did not keep it';

and everywhere he declares that it was given through angels.

Now some say that he is hinting at Moses;

for here, they claim, he speaks of many angels.

And he says that these angels here are those in heaven.

What then are we to say? Either he means the Decalogue alone;

for there Moses spoke, and God answered.

Or he means that angels were present while God gave His ordinances;

or that, concerning all the things spoken and done in the Old Testament, he says these things as though angels had a share in them.

But how does he say elsewhere that 'the law was given through Moses,' while here he says it was given through angels? For he says, 'And God came down in thick darkness.'

'For if the word spoken through angels became steadfast'—

What is 'steadfast'? True, as one might say, and trustworthy;

because at the fitting time all that was foretold came to pass.

So either he means this, or that it prevailed, and the threats came into effect;

or by 'word' he means the commandments.

For angels sent from God gave many commands apart from the law;

as at Bochim, in the time of the Judges, in the case of Samson.

And it seems to me that he perhaps says this, indicating rather by it the things administered through the angels.

What then shall we say? That the angels who were entrusted with the nation were present then, and they themselves made the trumpets, and the rest—the fire, the thick darkness.

'And every transgression and disobedience,' he says, 'received a just recompense of reward.'

Not this one and not that one, but every one.

'Nothing,' he says, 'remained unpunished, but it received a just recompense of reward.'

And why ever did he speak thus? It is Paul's custom not to make much account of the words, but indifferently to apply even ill-sounding terms to good things;

'Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.'

Elsewhere he has put 'recompense' in place of 'punishment,' and here he calls punishment a 'reward.'

'For it is a righteous thing with God,' he says, 'to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you, and to you who are troubled, rest.'

That is to say, justice was not corrupted, but God pursued it, and turned the penalty upon those who had sinned;

and yet not all sins come to light, unless the ordinances be transgressed.

'How then shall we,' he says, 'escape, if we neglect so great a salvation?' By this he showed that that salvation was not any great thing.

And well did he add the phrase, 'so great.'

'For He will not now,' he says, 'save us from wars, nor bestow the land and the good things in the land, but there will be an abolishing of death, a destruction of the devil, a kingdom of the heavens, life eternal.'

For all these things he intimated concisely by saying, 'neglecting so great a salvation.'

Then he adds also its trustworthiness;

'Which having at the first begun to be spoken through the Lord';

that is, it had its beginning from the very fountain;

no man conveyed it across to the earth, no created power, but the Only-begotten Himself.

'It was confirmed to us by those who heard.'

What is 'was confirmed'? It was believed, or it came to pass;

for we have, he says, the pledge;

that is, it was not extinguished, it did not cease, but it holds sway and prevails.

And the cause of this is that the divine power is at work.

What is 'by those who heard'? That is, those who heard from the Lord themselves confirmed it to us.

This is a great thing and worthy of trust.

Which Luke also says at the beginning of his Gospel;

'Even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word.'

How then was it confirmed? What then, he says, if those who heard invented it? So then, to do away with this, and to show that the grace is not of man, he added, 'God also bearing them witness.'

For God would not have borne witness to them, had they invented it.

They indeed bear witness, but God also bears witness.

How does He bear witness? Not by word, nor by voice;

for this too would have been worthy of belief;

but how? By signs and wonders and manifold powers.

Well did he put 'manifold powers,' indicating the abundance of the gifts;

which did not happen in the case of former times, neither so many signs, nor so diverse.

That is, we did not simply believe those men, but through signs and wonders.

So that it is not those men whom we believe, but God Himself.

'And by distributions of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will.'

What then of the fact that sorcerers also work signs, and that the Jews said He cast out the demons by Beelzebul? But they do not work such signs as these;

for this reason he said, 'manifold powers.'

For those are not power, but weakness and illusion and empty things.

For this reason he said, 'by distributions of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.'

Here he seems to me to be hinting at something else also;

for it is likely that there were not many there possessing gifts, and that these had failed, since the people had become more sluggish.

In order therefore that he might comfort them in this also, and not let them fall, he referred the whole matter to the counsel of God;

He Himself knows, he says, to whom what is profitable, and thus He apportions the grace;

which he does also in the Epistle to the Corinthians, saying,

'God has set each one of us, even as He willed';

and again, 'But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for profit, according to His own will.'

He shows that the gift is according to the will of the Father.

And often, because of an unclean and sluggish life, many did not receive a gift;

Yet sometimes men who led a good and pure life did not receive it;

and why so? That they might not be thrown headlong, that they might not be puffed up, that they might not become more slothful, that they might not be the more lifted up.

For if even apart from any spiritual gift the mere consciousness of a pure life is enough to lift a man up, how much more so when grace is present besides.

And so it was rather to the humble and the guileless that it was given;

and most of all to the guileless;

for 'in singleness,' it says, 'and in gladness of heart.'

For by this too He rather spurred them on;

and if they were somewhat slothful, He pricked them to compunction.

For the humble man, who does not imagine great things of himself, becomes more earnest when he receives a gift, seeing that he has received it beyond his desert and not as one deserving.

But he who thinks he has accomplished something, regarding the matter as a debt owed to him, is also puffed up.

So then God dispenses this matter in a way that is profitable.

And one may see this same thing happening in the Church too;

for one man has the gift of teaching speech, while another cannot so much as open his mouth.

Let no one, then, be grieved on this account;

for 'to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable.'

For if a man who is master of a household knows to whom he will entrust what, how much more does God, who understands the mind of men, who knows all things before they come to be.

There is one thing only worthy of grief—to sin—and nothing else.

Do not say, 'Why have I no money?' or, 'Had I any, I would have given to the poor.'

You do not know whether, had you had it, you might not rather have become the more grasping;

for now you say these things, but once put to the test you would be another man.

For even when we are full, we think that we are able to fast;

but when we have gone a little while without food, another reasoning comes over us.

Again, when we are free from drunkenness, we think we can master the passion;

but when we have been caught by it, we no longer can.

Do not say, 'Why have I not received the gift of teaching?' or, 'Had I it, I would have edified thousands.'

You do not know whether, had you had it, it might not have turned to your condemnation, whether envy or sloth might not have made you hide the talent.

As it is, then, you are freed from all these things, and if you do not distribute the measure of grain, you are not called to account;

but then you would have been liable to ten thousand charges.

And besides, not even now are you without a gift.

Show in the little what sort of man you would have been, had you had that greater gift;

'for if you are not faithful in the little,' it says, 'who will give you the great?' Show yourself like the widow;

for she had two mites, and put in all that she possessed.

Do you seek money? Show that you despise the little, that I may trust you concerning the much as well;

but if you do not even despise these small things, much less would you despise those great ones.

Again, in the matter of speech, show that you have made fitting use of exhortation and counsel.

You have no outward eloquence? You have no abundance of ideas? Yet nevertheless you know these common things.

You have a child, you have a neighbor, you have a friend, you have a brother, you have kinsfolk;

and though in public in the church you cannot deliver a long discourse, you can exhort these in private;

here there is no need of rhetoric, nor of a long, drawn-out address;

show in these cases that, even had you had the gift of speech, you would not have been negligent.

But if you are not diligent in the little, how shall I trust you concerning the great? That each one is able to do this, hear how Paul entrusted this even to laymen;

'Each of you,' he says, 'build up one another, even as also you do;'

and, 'Comfort one another with these words.'

God knows how to distribute to each.

Are you better than Moses? Hear how he cries out in his distress.

'Am I able,' he says, 'to bear them, that You have said to me, Carry them, as a nurse carries the suckling child?' What then did God do? He took of Moses' spirit and gave it to the others, showing that not even when he was bearing them was this gift his own, but the Spirit's.

If you had the gift, often would you have been lifted up, often would you have been turned aside;

you do not know yourself as God knows you.

'To what end this, and why this?'—when God orders things, let us not demand an accounting of Him;

for this belongs to the utmost impiety and madness.

We are servants, and servants far removed from the Master, who do not understand so much as the things at our very feet.

Let us not, then, curiously scrutinize the counsel of God, but let us keep what He has given—though it be small, though it be least—and we shall by all means be approved;

or rather, none of God's gifts is small.

Do you grieve that you have not the gift of teaching? Tell me now, which seems to you the greater—the gift of teaching, or the gift of healings? Assuredly the latter.

And what? Does not the giving of sight to the blind seem to you greater than the driving away of diseases? Does not the raising of the dead seem to you greater? And what, tell me? Does not the doing of this by word seem to you less than doing it by shadows and handkerchiefs? Which then, tell me, would you choose—to raise the dead by shadows and handkerchiefs, or to have the gift of teaching? Assuredly the former, you will say—to raise the dead by shadows and handkerchiefs.

If then I show you that there is another gift far greater than this,

and it is in your power to receive it, yet you do not receive it, so that you are justly deprived of these too—what will you say? Yet this gift it is possible not for one, nor for a second only, but for all to have.

I know that you have gaped in wonder and are astonished, if indeed you are about to hear that it is possible for you to have a gift greater than raising the dead and giving sight to the blind, and doing those very things that were done in the days of the apostles;

and perhaps it even seems incredible to you.

What then is this gift? Love.

for this word is not mine, but Christ's, speaking through Paul.

For what does he say? 'Earnestly desire the greater gifts. And yet I show you a still more excellent way.'

What is 'a still more excellent way'? What he means is this:

the Corinthians at that time thought highly of themselves over their gifts, and those who had tongues—the least of gifts—were puffed up against the rest.

Do you desire gifts at all? I show you a way of gifts, not merely surpassing, but surpassing beyond measure.

Then he says, 'If I speak with the tongues of angels, but have not love, I am nothing;'

and, 'if I have faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.'

Do you see the gift? Then earnestly desire this gift.

This is greater than raising the dead;

this is far better than all the others.

And that this is indeed so, hear what Christ says when conversing with His disciples:

'By this shall all know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.'

Then, showing by what mark, He did not say 'the miracles,' but what? 'If you have love among one another.'

And again He says to the Father:

'By this shall they know that You sent Me, if they be one.'

And He Himself said to the disciples:

'A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.'

Such a man, therefore, is more venerable and more illustrious than those who raise the dead;

for the latter is wholly of God's grace, but this is also of your own diligence.

This it is that shows the disciple of Christ, the crucified one, the man who has nothing in common with the earth;

without this, not even martyrdom can profit anything.

And that you may learn this, behold it clearly:

the blessed Paul took two summits of the virtues—rather, three—those in signs, those in knowledge, those in life;

and he declared that without this love these things are nothing.

But how these things are nothing, I will tell you:

'If I bestow all my goods to feed the poor,' he says, 'but have not love, I am nothing.'

For it is possible even for one who feeds the poor not to be loving, and for one who lavishes his money.

These things have been sufficiently spoken of by us in the passage concerning love, and thither we refer our readers;

meanwhile, as I said, let us be zealous for the gift, let us love one another, and we shall need nothing else for the perfecting of virtue, but all things shall be easy for us without toil, and we shall accomplish everything with great diligence.

'But behold,' one says, 'even now we do love one another;

for one man has two or three friends, and another has four.'

But this is not to love for God's sake, but for the sake of being loved in return;

whereas to love for God's sake does not have this as the beginning of love, but such a man will be disposed toward all men as toward brethren—loving those of the same faith as genuine brethren, and pitying the heretics and Greeks and Jews as brethren indeed according to nature, but who happen to be depraved and worthless, and wasting away over them and weeping for them.

In this we shall be like God, if we love all men, even our enemies—not if we work signs.

Since indeed we marvel at God both when He works wonders, but much more when He acts with loving-kindness, when He is long-suffering.

If then even in God's case that is worthy of great wonder, much more in the case of men is it plain that this is what makes us admirable.

And we shall have nothing less than Paul and Peter and those who raised ten thousand dead, even though we cannot drive away a fever;

but without that love, though we should work greater signs than the apostles themselves, though we should expose ourselves to ten thousand perils for the faith, it will be no advantage to us.

And these things I do not say of myself, but the very nursling of love knows them well;

we shall be able to attain the good things that have been promised;

of which may it be granted that we all partake, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.