約伯倫理 第 1327 章

God is tranquilly angry. Understand: as I, who both in the time of tranquility bear with them, united against me, and coming at length with severity, scatter them in my fury. But amid these things it must be shrewdly observed that a grave error of faithlessness is admitted, if perchance anyone should think that in that substance of the divinity fury and tranquility vary. For the Creator of all things is supremely immortal by that whereby he is not mutable after the manner of a creature. Hence it is said of him through James: 'With whom there is no change nor shadow of vicissitude' (James 1:17). Hence again it is written: 'But thou, O Lord, judgest with tranquility' (Wis. 12:18). Hence the prophet says:

'The land is made desolate before the face of the dove's anger, before the face of the Lord's fury' (Jer. 25:38). For what he had foretold as the anger of the dove, this he subjoined as the fury of the Lord. For the dove is a very simple animal; and because no inequality of fury creeps into God, he named the fury of the Lord the anger of the dove. For that he might demonstrate the imperturbable force of the divine severity, he said both 'anger' and 'of the dove,' as if he said more openly: He exercises a strict judgment unshaken, who, remaining meek, punishes the unjust.

Whence also in the last judgment, remaining in himself unchangeable, he is varied by no vicissitude or mutability, yet nevertheless to the elect and to the reprobate he is by no means shown under the appearance of the same immutability, because he will appear both tranquil to the just and angry to the unjust. For with conscience as witness they carry within themselves that whereby their minds regard him equally as one, yet are not equally affected, because to these his foregone justice shows him kindly, and to those their fault shows him terrible. Whose dread who could unfold, when it shall befall the wretched both to discern their faults within themselves, and to see before them the just judge? This indeed is daily wrought in the practice of the present life, that the hearts of mortals may be taught concerning the quality of the judge to come.

For when two go to judgment, one conscious to himself of innocence, the other of fault, before the sentence is pronounced both behold the judge still silent, and yet the debtor of fault suspects a grave anger against himself from this very silence of the judge. Which anger no perturbation of the judge announces to him, but the recollection of his own wickedness; because although as yet the sentence does not cry him guilty outwardly, yet within his conscience grievously accuses. But on the contrary the friend of justice beholds the countenance of the one about to decree, but within is made glad from the testimony of a good remembrance; and because he has nothing with himself that he should fear, he sees as pleasant everything that concerns himself.

In this place therefore the fury of the Lord is called, not a perturbation of the divine substance, but the examination of just vengeance upon sinners evilly conscious to themselves. For although they see him tranquil in judgment, yet because they doubt not that they will be smitten by him, they think him perturbed in his own motions. There follows: