Moralia in Job 1431 part 2/2

And we who were believed to fly with however small a measure of knowledge, weighing the nature invisible above us and His impenetrable judgments, stand humbly with wings let down. There follows: 'And over the firmament that was imminent over their head was as it were the appearance of a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne; and above the likeness of the throne, a likeness as it were of the appearance of a man from above.' What is designated by the throne, save those angelic virtues which excel even the angels themselves in the dignity of a higher place? For whereas the angels are called messengers, and angels often come to men to announce certain things, thrones are nowhere read of as being sent for the ministry of announcing, because the Creator of all presides over them far more sublimely.

Whence the apostle Paul, describing the orders of the heavenly hosts which he had seen when caught up to the third heaven, says: 'Whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers, all things were created by Him and in Him' (Col. 1:16). He named thrones, therefore, before those orders of angels over which he knew them to be set. And rightly is the throne compared to a sapphire stone, since the sapphire stone has an airy colour. The virtues of the heavenly ones, therefore, are designated by the sapphire stone, because these spirits, over whom Almighty God more highly presides, hold the dignity of a higher place among the heavenly beings.

But above the throne is the likeness of a man, because even above those virtues which precede the angels themselves is the glory of our Redeemer. It must be noted therefore what order is kept. For above the living creatures is the firmament, above the firmament the throne, above the throne is described to be a man, because above holy men still living in this corruption of the body are the angels, and above the angels are the higher angelic powers nearest to God, and above the powers nearest to God is exalted the Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

But if, as we said before, by the name of firmament the Mediator of God and men is to be understood on account of the assumed humanity—since under the appellation of a single name many things are wont to be signified through the spirit of prophecy—the voice made above the firmament is that which sounded from heaven over the baptized Lord, saying: 'Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased' (Luke 3:22); or, as through another evangelist it is said: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased' (Matt. 3:17). Let us therefore inquire how the living creatures hear this voice, and let down their wings. Let the prophet Habakkuk, being questioned, say: 'Lord, I have heard Thy hearing, and was afraid; I considered Thy works, and trembled' (Hab. 3:1).

But what is it that the Father says concerning the Son: 'In whom I am well pleased'? For everyone who by repenting corrects certain things which he has done, in that very fact of repenting, judges that he had displeased himself, because he amends what he did. And because Almighty God, as it could be understood by men, spoke of sinners after a human manner, saying: 'It repents Me that I made man upon the earth' (Gen. 6:6)—as though He were displeased with Himself in the sinners whom He created—but in His only-begotten alone, our Lord Jesus Christ, He was well pleased, because it did not repent Him to have created this One as man among men, in whom He found no sin at all, as is said of Him through the Psalmist:

'The Lord has sworn, and He will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedech' (Ps. 109:4). In our Redeemer alone, therefore, was the Father well pleased, because in Him alone He found no fault for which He might reprove Himself as though by repentance. Let the holy living creatures then hear the voice above the firmament, and be afraid, because if He alone is without sin, in His innocence they behold in how many things they themselves daily offend, which they must needs unceasingly bewail. Let them consider also that even the very Author of life did not depart from this life without the pain of suffering. And this too, therefore, is a voice made above the firmament, because the sentence of the Almighty Father proceeded even concerning the death and resurrection of the Only-begotten.

But when a voice comes from above the firmament, the living creatures stand and let down their wings, because all the saints, when they behold even the Only-begotten Himself scourged in this world, lay aside whatever they presume of their own merits. For if He Himself did not depart hence without the scourge, who came without sin, how shall they not be worthy of scourges, who came hither with sin? That very firmament, then, which is above the head of the living creatures—that is, which transcends the minds of the saints—has above itself a voice, because our Redeemer bore in the flesh that sentence which He had disposed with the Father out of His divinity; and the just, hearing this, are terrified, and lay aside all presumption of their own strength.

For with whatever virtues one may be strong, of what worth is the life of a sinner, if even His life, which was subject to no sin, was subjected to the scourge for us? But behold, a grave question arises for us, when it is said that above the firmament which was imminent over their head was as it were the appearance of a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne. For if by the firmament the Lord is figured, and by the sapphire stone, and the likeness of the throne, those highest angelic powers, how are they to be believed to be above the firmament—that is, above the Lord—when it is at once added: 'And above the likeness of the throne, a likeness as it were of the appearance of a man from above'?

For if, as has been said, by the firmament the Lord is expressed, and again by the man the Lord is taken, by what reasoning can He be understood both above the throne and beneath the throne? But the tightly bound knots of this question He Himself unlooses, of whom we speak, who by the breath of the Holy Spirit opens the things that are closed. For the incarnate Only-begotten of the Father, in that He was made man, was beneath the angels, as is written of Him: 'Thou hast lessened Him a little beneath the angels' (Ps. 8:6). But rising again and ascending into heaven, He presides over all angelic powers, as is again written of Him there: 'Thou hast subjected all things beneath His feet' (Ps. 8:7). And as He Himself says: 'All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth' (Matt.

28:18). The firmament, therefore, is beneath the throne, and the man is above the throne, because through the assumption of human nature He is both born beneath the angels, and exalted above the angels. He who, even before He was exalted through the glory of the resurrection, was in His divinity above the angels; yet nonetheless, as has been said, was lessened by His humanity beneath the angels, by which He was subjected to death. But after He trod down death by rising, He set His humanity too even above the majesties of the archangels. First, therefore, the throne is described to be seen above the firmament, and afterward the man above the throne, because the Redeemer of the human race exalted, by ascending above the angels, that humanity which by descending beneath the angels He had assumed.

But we say that He was made beneath the angels just as we have heard, from the Apostle's preaching, that He was made under the law (Phil. 2, cf. Gal. 4:4). We take the assumed humanity, then, as beneath the angels in respect of that lessening in which He deigned to appear. For as soon as the Word was made flesh, at once God-made-man was in power above the angels. For of Him it is written before His passion: 'Behold, the angels came and ministered to Him' (Matt. 4:11). But yet, that the infirmity of His humanity might be shown, it is again written of Him: 'There appeared to Him an angel from heaven, comforting Him' (Luke 22:43). For a testimony of both natures, therefore, both angels are described as ministering to Him, and an angel as comforting Him.

For He is one in both natures, since He who existed as God before the ages was made man in the end of the ages. To whom nevertheless, before His passion, both the angels minister and an angel comforts Him. But after His passion and resurrection, the angels can minister to Him, but can no longer comfort Him, because, as was foretold, although the firmament first appeared beneath the throne, yet now the man is above the throne. In whose person, that the holy prophet might show that he had seen the union of both natures, he at once added: 'And I saw as it were the appearance of amber.' What is it that the appearance of the man is seen on the throne as it were the appearance of amber, save that in amber, as we said far above,

gold and silver are mingled, so that one thing is made out of two metals? In which both the brightness of the gold is tempered by the silver, and the appearance of the silver is brightened by the brightness of the gold. But in our Redeemer both natures—that is, of divinity and of humanity—are unconfusedly and inseparably united, joined and conjoined to each other, so that both the brightness of His divinity might be tempered to our eyes through the humanity, and the human nature in Him might be brightened through the divinity, and, being exalted, might have a splendour beyond that in which it had been created. But describing what the very appearance of the man above the throne, and the appearance of amber which he saw, was like as it appeared to him, he subjoins:

'As it were the appearance of fire within round about, from His loins and upward; and from His loins and downward I saw as it were the appearance of shining fire round about.' What is it that the Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, is described as having from His loins and upward the appearance of fire within round about, and from His loins and downward the appearance of shining fire round about? For it must be investigated why from His loins and upward He is narrated to have fire within, yet not shining fire; but from His loins and downward He is said to have the appearance of fire, yet not to have this within, because He is described to have it both shining and round about.

For what is expressed by the name of loins, save the propagation of mortality? For which cause it is also said of Levi that he was still in his father's loins when Melchizedech met Abraham (Heb. 7:10). But from the loins of Abraham came the Virgin Mary, in whose womb the Only-begotten of the Father deigned to be incarnate through the Holy Spirit. From which incarnation God became known to the whole world, as is said through the Psalmist: 'Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O most mighty' (Ps. 44:4). For the most mighty took the sword upon His thigh, because the word of His preaching grew strong out of the incarnation. But what does this fire designate, save the ardour of the Holy Spirit, who kindles the hearts which He fills? Of which the Truth Himself says:

'I came to send fire upon the earth' (Luke 12:49). What is it, therefore, that in this appearance of the man which appeared to the prophet, from the loins upward fire burns within round about, but from the loins downward it is not fire within but shines round about, save that before the incarnation of our only-begotten Redeemer, Judea alone within itself had the ardour of His love; but after His incarnation the fire shone round about Him, because throughout the whole world He poured forth the brightness of the Holy Spirit upon the nations? First, therefore, the fire was within, but there was no splendour, because the Holy Spirit indeed filled Judea in many fathers, but His light had not yet flashed out to the knowledge of the nations.

But from His loins and downward the fire shines round about, because after He took flesh from the Virgin, He spread the gifts of the Holy Spirit far and wide in the human race. And it must be noted that this fire is described to be from the loins upward round about, not without but within, because the flame of love, as has been said, filled Judea within its own borders in the elect and spiritual men everywhere. Nor yet did it go forth without, because it did not spread itself into the multitude of the nations. Which flame of ardour was seen afterward to shine round about, because through the corners of the world the love of Almighty God began to grow among all the nations. There was, therefore, first fire within, when Jacob said:

'I will await Thy salvation, O Lord' (Gen. 49:18). For what we call in Latin 'salvation' (salutare), this in the Hebrew word is called 'Jesus.' In which word the mind of blessed Jacob is shown, how he burned with desire for Jesus, whom, as he was dying, he professed to await. The fire burned when Moses said: 'If I have found grace in Thy sight, show me Thyself, that I may see Thee' (Exod. 33:13). The fire burned in his mind when David said: 'My soul has thirsted after the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of my God?' (Ps. 41:3). Who, desiring the incarnation of the Word, said: 'Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy, and grant us Thy salvation' (Ps. 84:8).

The fire burned when Simeon, desiring to depart from the corruption of the present life, heard that he would not see death before he saw the Christ of the Lord (Luke 2:26). But behold, now this fire, as it were beneath the loins, shines outwardly, because all the Gentile world is set aflame with the love of the incarnate Lord. Yet this can also be understood otherwise, that our Redeemer, God the Lord Jesus Christ, became known to men through His humanity, who through His divinity was known to the angels even before the incarnation. To us, therefore, He shines below the loins, round about, whose fire within burns above the loins in heaven, because those heavenly spirits behold Him in His divinity, and are kindled with the fires of His love.

But we, who love Him in His assumed humanity, still placed in this corruptible life, have the splendour of that fire outside. There is therefore one above the throne, who both has the fire within above the loins among the angels, and has the fire round about beneath the loins among men; who, in all that is loved by the angels, through all that is desired by men, is one who burns in the hearts of those who love. Hence it is that those great angelic powers are named Seraphim, that is, 'burning.' Hence of Him, the Creator of all, it is written: 'Our God is a consuming fire' (Heb. 12:29; Deut. 4:24). For God is called fire, because with the flames of His love He sets afire the minds which He fills.

And therefore the Seraphim are called 'burning,' because the powers nearest to Him in heaven are set aflame with the inestimable fire of His love. From this fire, being kindled, the hearts of the just burn on earth. By this fire warmed, the hearts of sinners return to penitence, which, vehemently inflamed, turn fear into love. For those which had first begun to melt with dread, afterward blaze with the fire of love. And because the elect angels in heaven are His members, and the converted men on earth are His members, He is one man who both burns within above the loins, and beneath the loins sends forth below the splendour of His fire round about, because He both held the angels to His love through His divinity, and recalled men to the desire of His holy ardour through His humanity.

There follows: 'As it were the appearance of a bow, when it shall be in a cloud on a rainy day.' Almighty God set a bow between Himself and men as a sign, that He would no more destroy the world by a flood, saying: 'I will set My bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. And when I shall cover the heaven with clouds, My bow shall appear in the clouds, and I will remember My covenant with you' (Gen. 9:13).

Whence also in that same bow the colour of water and of fire is shown together, because it is in part azure and in part red, so that it may be a witness of a twofold judgment—namely, of one to be enacted and of another already enacted; but because the world will indeed be consumed by the fire of judgment, yet no longer by that flood-water to be enacted again (2 Pet. 3:7). But what is it that the prophet beheld the shining fire from the loins of the man presiding over the throne, as it were the appearance of a bow when it shall be in a cloud on a rainy day? For since by fire, as has been said, the ardour of the Holy Spirit is designated, what likeness is there between a bow and the Spirit, that He who appeared should be said to have appeared as it were the appearance of a bow?

But if we attend to that bow which we spoke of before as seen, we have seen how the bow signifies the Spirit. For in the bow, as I said before, water and fire appear. And after the coming of the Mediator, the power of the Holy Spirit shone forth in the human race, whereby He both washed God's elect with the water of baptism, and set them afire with the fire of divine love. For as it were with the colour of water and of fire mingled together, a certain bow is set in the cloud for propitiation, when the Truth says: 'Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God' (John 3:5).

The bow that is in the cloud is given at the time of rain, because it is shown forth in the Lord's Incarnation and in the outpouring of preaching, so that the hearts of believers may be recalled to pardon, the Lord sparing them. For not unfittingly do we take the cloud to be the flesh of the Redeemer, of which it is said through the Psalmist: 'Who maketh a cloud his ascent' (Ps. 103:3). He set the cloud as his ascent indeed, because he who is everywhere in his divinity ascended to the heavenly places in the flesh. Then, all the mystical vision being set forth, he adds: (same passage, and chapter 2, verse 1): 'This was the appearance of the brightness round about, and this the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.' 30. For, beholding what the grace of the Holy Spirit works in the whole world, he says: 'This was the appearance of brightness round about.'

But desiring to consider what remains within of that same glory of the Holy Spirit, yet not able to consider it as it truly is, he adds: 'And this was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.' For he does not say, 'the vision of the glory,' but 'of the likeness of the glory,' so that it may be shown that, with however great and intense a striving the human mind may reach out, even if it now restrains from its thought the phantasms of bodily images, even if it now removes all circumscribed spirits from the eyes of the heart, yet still, placed in mortal flesh, it is not able to see the glory of God as it is. But whatever there is of it that shines forth in the mind is a likeness, and not the very thing itself. Whence also that preacher who had been caught up even to the third heaven used to say:

'We see now through a glass in a dark manner' (1 Cor. 13:12). 31. In this matter a question not to be despised arises for us: how is it that John the Evangelist, when he had also described from the words of the prophets the perfidy of the Jews concerning the miracles of our Redeemer, adds, saying: 'These things said Isaiah when he saw his glory, and spoke of him' (John 12:41)? And if Ezekiel saw not the glory, but the likeness of the glory, how is it that this one is described as having seen the likeness of the glory, and that one his glory?

But since John the Evangelist first related the miracles of our Redeemer, and afterward added the unbelief of the Jews, he makes plain that Isaiah saw this glory of our same Redeemer which appeared in the world. For everything that is done marvelously and divinely on earth is the glory of Almighty God, and his glory is seen in all his works. Isaiah therefore saw his glory on earth; but Ezekiel could not see his glory in heaven as it is, because his glory is one thing in the things he has made, and another in himself. This glory of his, then, which is in his works, can be seen; but that which is in himself cannot now be seen except through a likeness.

But let us acknowledge that the prophet, even when raised up, could not bear this same likeness of the glory. There follows: (same passage): 'And I saw, and I fell upon my face.' 32. What then would become of this man, if he had seen his glory as it is, who, seeing the likeness of that glory yet not able to bear it, fell down? In this matter we ought with great grief to weigh and consider with tears into how great misery and infirmity we have fallen, we who cannot even bear that very good for the seeing of which we were created. There is yet another thing also which we may consider in ourselves from the prophet's deed. For the prophet, as soon as he saw the likeness of the glory of the Lord, fell upon his face.

This likeness of glory, which we cannot see through the spirit of prophecy, we ought diligently to come to know and carefully to contemplate in the sacred word, in the heavenly ornaments, in the spiritual precepts. When we behold something of God, we fall upon our face, because we blush for the evils which we remember to have committed. For there a man falls, where he is confounded. Whence also Paul used to say, as it were to certain men lying upon their face: 'What fruit therefore had you then in those things whereof you are now ashamed?' (Rom. 6:21). 33.

Behold, by the bounty of the gift of heavenly grace, we have discussed the beginning of the book in the prophet Ezekiel, wrapped up in mysteries, and, expounding in a mortal manner things spoken mystically, we have drawn down to earth the flying eagle of prophecy, so that what before flew above the minds of little ones and such as I, but did not lift them up, may now at last be read and understood by them, and may both fly and lift them up. Let us therefore give thanks to our Redeemer, who ever refreshes us with spiritual nourishment, who is the living bread that came down from heaven and gives life to the world (John 6:51). Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.