約伯倫理 第 575 章

Verse 15: 'Behold, among His saints none is unchangeable, and the heavens are not clean in His sight.' 38. God alone is exempt from changeableness. — Under the name of 'heavens' he repeated what he had first signified by the appellation of 'saints.' For concerning these same saints it is written: 'The heavens declare the glory of God' (Ps. 19:1). These, by nature, all have in themselves their own changeableness; but while they earnestly desire always to cleave to the unchangeable Truth, by cleaving they bring it about that they become unchangeable. And when they hold to this with their whole affection, they at length receive that, led above themselves, they overcome that wherein they stood forth changeable in themselves. For what is changeableness but a kind of death?

For while it changes any thing into another, it as it were slays what had been, that there may begin to be what was not. And of the Author of all it is written: 'Who alone has immutability' (1 Tim. 6:16), because, namely, in Himself alone He is unchangeable. Of whom it is said through James: 'With whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration' (James 1:17). For changeableness itself is a shadow, which would as it were darken the light, if it were to alter it by any alterations. But because in God there comes no changeableness, no shadow of alteration cuts off His light. Well moreover is it said:

'The heavens are not clean in His sight,' because through themselves, before the strict judgment of God, not even they can be perfectly clean who become the preachers of cleanness — John testifying, who says: 'If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves' (1 John 1:8). If therefore among His saints none is unchangeable, and the heavens in His sight are not clean, who shall presume in himself concerning the work of righteousness? Whence it is also subjoined: Verse 16: 'How much more is man abominable and unprofitable, who drinks iniquity like water?' 39. Our evil works are utterly worthless, but our good ones imperfect and unprofitable.

— He who had first denied that man could be spotless and righteous of himself, now calls him abominable and unprofitable: abominable, namely, on account of the uncleanness of stain; but unprofitable on account of the unrighteousness of an imperfect life. Yet he can also be understood as abominable and unprofitable in another way. For sometimes a perverse man seems to do certain things rightly, but through the things which are wicked even those which are right in him are destroyed. And because evils greatly displease God, neither do those things please which seem good. He therefore who in his evils is abominable to God, is in his good things unprofitable, because while by depraved works he shows himself execrable to God, not even that which seems right in him is pleasing. Well moreover is it said:

'Who drinks iniquity like water.' For that which is eaten is swallowed with delay, because it is chewed in order to be swallowed. But that which is drunk, has no delay for swallowing, inasmuch as it has no necessity for chewing. Sin therefore, because it is committed by the foolish man without any retraction, is drunk like water as iniquity. For because he does unlawful things without fear, he as it were swallows the draught of injustice without hindrance. There follows: