Cassiodorus
Late Patristic · AD 500–800 · 444 passages across 36 books
Commentary
Ezekiel 3:17
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
The office of bishop is the highest order in the church. Episcopos means overseer, because with the help of divine grace he guards the Lord’s flock from his high seat like a most careful shepherd. As the prophet Ezekiel says, “I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel.”
Ezekiel 18:21
But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Once the mind is lent brightness at the very beginning of good works and begins to recognize the truth, you are not to imagine that after sinning a delay ensues by reason of which it is enabled to be heard.
Ezekiel 18:23
Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
One person prays to the Lord almost all his life, another is converted in middle age, another is saved at his life’s end.… God with merciful patience awaits the hour of our conversion at any time, and so he bears with the guilty and awaits sinners with the words, “It is not my will that a sinner should die, but that he be converted and live.” The only requirement is that in this life we confess all our sinning, for here we fail through human frailty.
Ezekiel 18:28
Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
God’s justice promises scourges to those without hope but mercy to those who hope in him.
Ezekiel 18:32
For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
The prayer that frees us from faults wins the heart of the judge and wipes away sins; mercy cannot be withheld from the one who asks for it, as humility fires us to pray unceasingly for forgiveness. All this is achieved by the devoted Lord, for he does not wish to condemn those whom he forewarns.
Ezekiel 34:16
I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
In every good deed we are anticipated by the Lord’s grace. He deigns to inspire us to make us wish to entreat him.
Ezekiel 37:21
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
So they are truly said to assemble together who hasten with devoted mind to believe in the inseparable Trinity, which is the one God. There follows too the happy change, so that the kingdoms of earth and heaven serve the Lord, and they are then all the more free since they are bound to their Maker in faithful service.
Ezra 2:64-70
The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,
“A canticle of David, when the house was built after the captivity.” So far as the literal sense is concerned, the heading points to the time when the temple at Jerusalem is known to have been refurbished by Zerubbabel, son of Salathiel, after it had been leveled to the ground by a hostile band of Chaldeans. But since he says nothing of this kind in what follows, and since the headings of psalms are never at variance with their content, it remains for us to investigate it in the spiritual sense. A destroyed house is built up when a soul following the captivity of sin begins to return to an understanding of the truth through the generosity of the Lord. This house, which is the universal church in which Christ dwells, is always raised up on living stones, because every day it gains increase in building from its confessors and does not cease to be built up until the number of the predestined is attained at the end of the world. We must store this psalm in our minds as the second of those proclaiming the first and the second coming of the Lord.
Galatians 1:1
Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
When he calls himself an apostle not of human making but through Christ Jesus, he does away with those who had only human authority for styling themselves apostles. The churches at that time were being thrown into turmoil by false preachers. He greets these churches with all the brethren who are with him. In that greeting he also blesses them, so that their fitness to receive the word of the Lord may be established. SUMMARY OF GALATIANS 1.1.1.Paul Speaks with Passion. CHRYSOSTOM: [The first verse] is full of great passion and strong sentiment; and not the prologue only but, as it were, the whole letter. For always to speak mildly to those who are being taught, even when they need vehemence, is not the part of a teacher but of a corrupter and an enemy.
Galatians 2:14
But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
He says this so that Hebrews no less than Gentiles may be compelled to accept the grace of faith, not the impositions of the law, which no one could fulfill.
Habakkuk 3:2
O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
“For mildness will come upon us, and we shall be corrected. Who knows the power of your anger, or can number your wrath for fear?” He now elaborates on his earlier statement: “the greatest number of them are labor and sorrow.” He says that we must not go beyond the precepts of the law, for Jesus Christ, who is mildness perfected, comes upon us and corrects and improves us if we wantonly ignore his Testaments. Since he used the word corrected, he prefaced it with “mildness,” so that we may realize that all the changes wrought by God in the faithful result from the application of devoted love. Next comes “Who knows the power of your anger or can number your wrath for fear?” Moses, who had experienced the severity of the Lord’s response to his errant people when they roused him with incessant grumbling, rightly exclaims that no one’s reckoning can measure his vengeance and that the potentialities of angry action open to him cannot be numbered. Observe in both instances that his boundless power is proclaimed, for just as the Lord’s rewards cannot be understood in their fullness, likewise…
“For mildness will come upon us, and we shall be corrected. Who knows the power of your anger, or can number your wrath for fear?” He now elaborates on his earlier statement: “the greatest number of them are labor and sorrow.” He says that we must not go beyond the precepts of the law, for Jesus Christ, who is mildness perfected, comes upon us and corrects and improves us if we wantonly ignore his Testaments. Since he used the word corrected, he prefaced it with “mildness,” so that we may realize that all the changes wrought by God in the faithful result from the application of devoted love. Next comes “Who knows the power of your anger or can number your wrath for fear?” Moses, who had experienced the severity of the Lord’s response to his errant people when they roused him with incessant grumbling, rightly exclaims that no one’s reckoning can measure his vengeance and that the potentialities of angry action open to him cannot be numbered. Observe in both instances that his boundless power is proclaimed, for just as the Lord’s rewards cannot be understood in their fullness, likewise the measure of his vengeance cannot be grasped. He did well to add “for fear;” as another prophet remarks: “I have pondered your works and was afraid.”
Haggai 1:1
In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,
“The rejoicings of the Lord are in their throats, and two-edged swords in their hands to execute vengeance upon the nations, chastisements among the people.” We must observe how beautiful, how useful these differing expressions are. Earlier he said that the saints rejoice in their beds; now he says that the Lord’s rejoicings are set in their throats, the sense being that they never cease to praise, whether in thought or in tongue, him from whom they obtain eternal gifts. He also moves on to explain the power that they wield, with the words “and two-edged swords in their hands.” The two-edged sword is the word of the Lord Savior, of which Christ himself says in the Gospel: “I have come not to send peace to the earth but a sword.” It is a two-edged sword because it contains two Testaments. First it separated Jews from Gentiles; subsequently it segregated and cut off Christians from the enticements of the whole world. There is one sword but two ways of cutting that he grants to the chosen peoples at various selected moments of time. So the prophet says that these swords are in their han…
“The rejoicings of the Lord are in their throats, and two-edged swords in their hands to execute vengeance upon the nations, chastisements among the people.” We must observe how beautiful, how useful these differing expressions are. Earlier he said that the saints rejoice in their beds; now he says that the Lord’s rejoicings are set in their throats, the sense being that they never cease to praise, whether in thought or in tongue, him from whom they obtain eternal gifts. He also moves on to explain the power that they wield, with the words “and two-edged swords in their hands.” The two-edged sword is the word of the Lord Savior, of which Christ himself says in the Gospel: “I have come not to send peace to the earth but a sword.” It is a two-edged sword because it contains two Testaments. First it separated Jews from Gentiles; subsequently it segregated and cut off Christians from the enticements of the whole world. There is one sword but two ways of cutting that he grants to the chosen peoples at various selected moments of time. So the prophet says that these swords are in their hands, in other words, in the power of the saints, as Scripture has it: “The word of the Lord came to the hand of Haggai the prophet.” So the blessed ones will assume this power and pass judgment in company with the Lord. As Scripture says, “You shall sit on twelve seats, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” For note what follows: “To execute vengeance upon the nations, chastisements among the people.” This truly takes place when they shall judge in company with the Lord.
Hebrews 1:3
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
The Spirit in the essence of divinity is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and is properly called one God. But according to the distinction of the persons, the Father’s unique characteristic is that he is by nature without a beginning, and he begot the Son before the ages. It is the unique characteristic of the Son that he is, as an essential part of his nature, begotten by the Father. It is the unique characteristic of the Spirit that he proceeds from the Father and the Son. Their eternity and power, equally part of the essence of each person, performs everything that the Godhead desires in heaven and earth by inexpressible love and cooperation. Although these things are presently understood as incomprehensible and unexplainable to us in their essential nature, still many of the Fathers propose a certain comparison with physical and existent objects. We find these three properties in the sun: first, there is a bodily substance, which is the sun. Then there is the brightness of the sun that remains in it. Third, is the heat that comes forth even to us from its brightness. If there is even…
The Spirit in the essence of divinity is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and is properly called one God. But according to the distinction of the persons, the Father’s unique characteristic is that he is by nature without a beginning, and he begot the Son before the ages. It is the unique characteristic of the Son that he is, as an essential part of his nature, begotten by the Father. It is the unique characteristic of the Spirit that he proceeds from the Father and the Son. Their eternity and power, equally part of the essence of each person, performs everything that the Godhead desires in heaven and earth by inexpressible love and cooperation. Although these things are presently understood as incomprehensible and unexplainable to us in their essential nature, still many of the Fathers propose a certain comparison with physical and existent objects. We find these three properties in the sun: first, there is a bodily substance, which is the sun. Then there is the brightness of the sun that remains in it. Third, is the heat that comes forth even to us from its brightness. If there is even any comparison for such a great matter that can be devised, I think that this comparison should be construed in this way: the bodily substance in the sun could be understood as the person of the Father. The brightness that is in the sun could stand for the person of the Son in the Trinity, as the Apostle says: “the brightness of his glory.” The heat in the sun could be understood as the person of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity, as one reads in Scripture: “Who is able to hide himself from its heat?”
Hebrews 1:11-13
· 2 passages
They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
“In a pillar of cloud he used to speak to them, because they were keeping his testimonies and the commandments which he gave them.” The words “in a pillar of cloud” are not empty words, for a pillar is always placed in a house to strengthen and beautify it. So the Lord was communicating to them by this image, announcing the imminent building that is the church. Though at that time he imparted these words to them through the cloud, he has deigned to speak to us and to appear to us more visibly through the sacred footstool, that is, through the incarnation. O footstool more exalted than every temple and more excellent than all spiritual creatures! As the Apostle says: “To which of the angels did he say, ‘Sit at my right hand’?” But why is it surprising if he is called a footstool since he also compares himself to a worm, to a beetle, to the fullers’ herb, and to a cornerstone, not with respect to his ordinariness, but because of his humble disposition.
We have heard a psalm which is amazing in its heavenly arrangement. In this text, it is clear that the humility in his humanity is as great as the power in his divinity. The holy Word took upon himself the nature of our weakness, as the heading of the psalm says, “for those who will be changed,” so that through his undeserving death he might free us from a death that was well deserved. He entered the gates of hell so that the regions of hell might be thrown open. Destruction was conquered by the arrival of the Savior, and it rightly gave up perpetual darkness after it received eternal light. He vanquished the devil through the very human nature that Satan held subject, and the strong man was overcome through the weakness of the flesh when God exalted above all rational creatures what was even weaker than all spiritual creatures. As the Apostle says: “For to which of the angels did he say, ‘Sit at my right hand’?” For no other nature was united with Christ, but only the nature of our flesh, which was taken up and glorified. He is truly omnipotent and merciful who blessed what was damn…
We have heard a psalm which is amazing in its heavenly arrangement. In this text, it is clear that the humility in his humanity is as great as the power in his divinity. The holy Word took upon himself the nature of our weakness, as the heading of the psalm says, “for those who will be changed,” so that through his undeserving death he might free us from a death that was well deserved. He entered the gates of hell so that the regions of hell might be thrown open. Destruction was conquered by the arrival of the Savior, and it rightly gave up perpetual darkness after it received eternal light. He vanquished the devil through the very human nature that Satan held subject, and the strong man was overcome through the weakness of the flesh when God exalted above all rational creatures what was even weaker than all spiritual creatures. As the Apostle says: “For to which of the angels did he say, ‘Sit at my right hand’?” For no other nature was united with Christ, but only the nature of our flesh, which was taken up and glorified. He is truly omnipotent and merciful who blessed what was damned, restored what was lost, freed what was subject, rendered our miseries strangers to us, and through his death made it possible for humanity to live, an immortal creature, which the devil had caused to die. Grant, almighty God, that, since you deigned to suffer in the flesh for us, you may grant us the crown which for which you considered us worthy.
Hebrews 3:13
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
“Today” means always, for the one who gives us advice pertaining to salvation must always have our attention. The Apostle expressed the meaning of this word powerfully: “But encourage one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today.’ ”
Hebrews 4:12-13
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
“The word of God is … sharper than any two-edged sword.” Now the holy depth of divine Scripture is expressed in such common language that everyone immediately takes it in. But buried within it are hidden senses of truth, so that the vital meaning must be most carefully sought out. What contributes most of all to our understanding that it is really divine is the fact that ignorant persons are known to have been able to explain most subtle things, and mortal humans eternal things, but only when filled with the divine Spirit.
Hebrews 12:5-6
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
The anger of the Lord is spoken of in two senses. First, when the Lord punishes in order to save, as in the following verse: “For he scourges every son whom he accepts.” Second, when he sends to eternal fire about which another psalm speaks: “O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor reproach me in your wrath.” An improper meaning is surely drawn from the realm of human experiences. For when we punish some guilt, we go astray by getting upset at the deeds. But God executes judgment while in a state of tranquility, for he is unacquainted with the confusing experiences of emotion.
Isaiah 1:19
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
There is also the Pelagians’ second wickedness, for they so attribute free will to their human powers that they believe that they can devise or enact some good of their own accord without God’s grace.… You interpret these and similar passages most perversely, believing that people take the first step of their good intentions of their own accord and subsequently obtain the help of the Godhead, so that (to express the matter sacrilegiously) we are the cause of his kindness and he is not the cause of his own.
Isaiah 2:7-8
Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:
Vanity is the general term for vices, but vain in the particular sense means that which is found alien to God. Just as trusting in the Godhead is fruitful constancy, so deviating from him is the vanity that perishes.… So those who burned with the most base love of idols are convicted, and the phrase is to be pronounced as a rebuke, as if the words were, “Why do you love the vanity by which you perish?” We ought to love things that are beneficial, not harmful, for it is better to curse the things that cause the punishment of lasting damnation to afflict us.