John Cassian — Commentary on Scripture

Jeremiah 17:13

And again when all their efforts are exhausted and they have failed to deceive us, they must “be confounded and be ashamed” at the failure of their efforts, “who seek our souls to destroy them. Let them be covered with shame and confusion who desire evil against us.” Jeremiah also says, “Let them be confounded, and let not me be confounded; let them be afraid, and let not me be afraid; bring on them the fury of your wrath, and with a double destruction destroy them.”

CONFERENCE 1:7.21

Jeremiah 17:13

We must therefore not doubt that at the time when he was chosen by Christ and obtained a place in the apostolate, the name of Judas was written in the book of the living, and then he heard as well as the rest the words, “Rejoice not because the devils are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” But because he was corrupted by the plague of covetousness and had his name struck out from that heavenly list, it is appropriately said of him and of people like him by the prophet: “O Lord, let all those who forsake you be confounded. Let them who depart from you be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the vein of living waters.” And elsewhere, “They shall not be in the counsel of my people, nor shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel.”

CONFERENCE 2:17.25

Jeremiah 17:16

For it is but little for a monk to have once made his renunciation, that is, in the early days of his conversion to have disregarded the present world, unless he continues to renounce it daily. For to the very end of this life we must with the prophet say this: “And I have not desired the day of man, you know it well.” Wherefore also the Lord says in the Gospel: “If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

CONFERENCE 3:24.2

Jeremiah 19:3

Sometimes Holy Scripture may, by an improper use of terms, employ the term “evils” in place of “affliction”—not that these are properly and in their nature evils, but because they are imagined to be evils by those on whom they are brought for their good. For when divine judgment is reasoning with human beings, it must speak with human language and feelings. For when a doctor for the sake of health with good reason either cuts or cauterizes those who are suffering from the inflammation of ulcers, it is considered an evil by those who have to bear it. Nor are the spur and the whip pleasant to a restive horse. Moreover, all chastisement seems at the moment to be a bitter thing to those who are chastised, as the apostle says: “Now all chastisement for the present indeed seems not to bring with it joy but sorrow; but afterwards it will yield the most peaceful fruits of righteousness to those who are exercised by it,” and “whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives; for what son is there whom the father does not correct?” And so evils are sometimes used to sta…

Sometimes Holy Scripture may, by an improper use of terms, employ the term “evils” in place of “affliction”—not that these are properly and in their nature evils, but because they are imagined to be evils by those on whom they are brought for their good. For when divine judgment is reasoning with human beings, it must speak with human language and feelings. For when a doctor for the sake of health with good reason either cuts or cauterizes those who are suffering from the inflammation of ulcers, it is considered an evil by those who have to bear it. Nor are the spur and the whip pleasant to a restive horse. Moreover, all chastisement seems at the moment to be a bitter thing to those who are chastised, as the apostle says: “Now all chastisement for the present indeed seems not to bring with it joy but sorrow; but afterwards it will yield the most peaceful fruits of righteousness to those who are exercised by it,” and “whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives; for what son is there whom the father does not correct?” And so evils are sometimes used to stand for afflictions, as where we read, “And God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do to them and did it not.” And again: “For you, Lord, are gracious and merciful, patient and very merciful and ready to repent of the evil,” that is, of the sufferings and losses that you are forced to bring on us as the reward of our sins.And another prophet, knowing that these are profitable to some, and certainly not through any jealousy for their safety but with an eye to their good, prays thus: “Add evils to them, O Lord, add evils to the proud of the earth”; and the Lord says, “See, I will bring evils on them,” that is, sorrows and losses, with which they shall for the present be chastened for their soul’s health, and so they shall at length be driven to return and hurry back to me whom in their prosperity they scorned. And so we cannot in any way assert that these afflictions were originally evil, for they are good for many and ultimately offer occasions for eternal bliss. Therefore (to return to the question raised), all those things that are thought to be brought on us as evils by our enemies or by any other people should not be counted as evils but as things indifferent. For in the end they will not be what he thinks who brought them on us in his rage and fury, but what he makes them who endures them. And so when death has been brought on a saint, we ought not to think that an evil has happened to him but something indifferent. It is an evil to a wicked person, while to the good it is rest and freedom from evils. “For death is rest to one whose way is hidden.” And so a good person does not suffer any loss from these evils because he suffers nothing strange, but by the crime of an enemy he only receives (and not without the reward of eternal life) that which would have happened to him in the course of nature and pays the debt of human death, which must be paid by an inevitable law, with the interest of a most fruitful suffering and the recompense of a great reward.

CONFERENCE 1:6.6

Jeremiah 26:2-3

But if one says that God revoked that severe sentence in consideration of their penitence, according to what he says by Ezekiel, “If I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die’ and he becomes penitent for his sin and does judgment and justice … he shall surely live; he shall not die,” we are similarly taught that we should not be obstinate in our resolve, but that we should with gentle pity soften down the threats that necessity called forth. That we may not conclude that the Lord granted this specially to the Ninevites, he continually affirms by Jeremiah that he will do the same in general toward all and promises that without delay he will change his sentence in accordance with what we deserve, saying, “I will suddenly speak against a nation and against a kingdom to root out and to pull down and to destroy it. If that nation repents of the evil which I have spoken against it, I also will repent of the evil which I thought to do to them. And I will suddenly speak of a nation and a kingdom, to build up and to plant it. If it shall do evil in My sight, that it obey not my voice: I will…

But if one says that God revoked that severe sentence in consideration of their penitence, according to what he says by Ezekiel, “If I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die’ and he becomes penitent for his sin and does judgment and justice … he shall surely live; he shall not die,” we are similarly taught that we should not be obstinate in our resolve, but that we should with gentle pity soften down the threats that necessity called forth. That we may not conclude that the Lord granted this specially to the Ninevites, he continually affirms by Jeremiah that he will do the same in general toward all and promises that without delay he will change his sentence in accordance with what we deserve, saying, “I will suddenly speak against a nation and against a kingdom to root out and to pull down and to destroy it. If that nation repents of the evil which I have spoken against it, I also will repent of the evil which I thought to do to them. And I will suddenly speak of a nation and a kingdom, to build up and to plant it. If it shall do evil in My sight, that it obey not my voice: I will repent of the good that I thought to do to it.” To Ezekiel also: “Leave out not a word, if so they will hearken and be converted every one from his evil way that I may repent of the evil that I thought to do to them for the wickedness of their doings.” And by these passages it is declared that we ought not obstinately to stick to our decisions but to modify them with reason and judgment, and that better courses should always be adopted and preferred and that we should turn without any delay to that course that is considered the more profitable. For this above all that invaluable sentence teaches us, because though each person’s end is known beforehand to God before his birth, yet somehow God so orders all things by a plan and method for all, and with regard to human disposition, that he decides on everything not by the mere exercise of his power or according to the indescribable knowledge that his foreknowledge possesses but according to the people’s present actions, and he rejects or draws to himself each one, and daily he either grants or withholds his grace.

CONFERENCE 2:17.25

Jeremiah 30:11

Although we say that trial is twofold, that is, in prosperity and in adversity, yet you must know that all people are tried in three different ways. Often they are tried for their probation, sometimes for their improvement, and in some cases because their sins deserve it. For their probation indeed! We read that the blessed Abraham and Job and many of the saints endured countless tribulations.… For improvement, because God chastens his righteous ones for some small and venial sins or to raise them to a higher state of purity, and he delivers them over to various trials that he may purge away all their unclean thoughts, and, to use the prophet’s word, the “dross,” which he sees to have collected in their secret parts. Thus may he transmit them like pure gold to the judgment to come, as he allows nothing to remain in them for the fire of judgment to discover when hereafter it searches them with penal torments according to this saying: “Many are the tribulations of the righteous.” … To whom under the figure of Jerusalem the following words are spoken by Jeremiah, in the person of God: “…

Although we say that trial is twofold, that is, in prosperity and in adversity, yet you must know that all people are tried in three different ways. Often they are tried for their probation, sometimes for their improvement, and in some cases because their sins deserve it. For their probation indeed! We read that the blessed Abraham and Job and many of the saints endured countless tribulations.… For improvement, because God chastens his righteous ones for some small and venial sins or to raise them to a higher state of purity, and he delivers them over to various trials that he may purge away all their unclean thoughts, and, to use the prophet’s word, the “dross,” which he sees to have collected in their secret parts. Thus may he transmit them like pure gold to the judgment to come, as he allows nothing to remain in them for the fire of judgment to discover when hereafter it searches them with penal torments according to this saying: “Many are the tribulations of the righteous.” … To whom under the figure of Jerusalem the following words are spoken by Jeremiah, in the person of God: “I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.” … But as a punishment for sins, the blows of trial are inflicted, as where the Lord threatens that he will send plagues on the people of Israel: “I will send the teeth of beasts on them, with the fury of creatures that trail on the ground,” and “In vain have I struck your children. They have not received correction.” … We find, it is true, a fourth way also in which we know on the authority of Scripture that some sufferings are brought on us simply for the manifestation of the glory of God and his works, according to these words of the Gospel: “Neither did this man sin nor his parents, but that the works of God might be manifested in him,” and again, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” … The perfect person will always remain steadfast in either kind of trial; now let us return to it once more.

CONFERENCE 1:6.11

Jeremiah 32:39-41

The prophet Jeremiah, speaking in the person of God, clearly tells us that the fear of God by which we can hold on to him comes from the Lord: “I shall give them one heart and one way so that they may fear me during all their days, so that all will be well for them and for their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, and I shall not cease to do good things for them, and, as a gift, I shall put fear of me in their hearts so that they may never go away from me.”

CONFERENCE 1:3.18

Joel 1:4

For although the Lord has granted strong cattle, bodily health, a successful outcome to every activity and prosperous deeds, prayer must still be offered lest, as it is written, there be “a heaven of brass and an earth of iron” and lest “the swarming locust eat what the cutting locust has left, and the caterpillar devour what the swarming locust has left, and the blight consume what the caterpillar has left.” Not in this alone does the effort of the toiling farmer stand in need of divine assistance. [His effort] must also fend off unexpected accidents by which, even if a field is loaded with the desired fruitful yield, he will not only be frustrated by waiting in vain for what he has hoped for but will even be deprived of the abundant crop that has already been harvested and that is stored on the threshing floor or in the barn.

CONFERENCE 13:3.4

Joel 3:10-11

Whoever is protected by these weapons is always defended from the enemy’s spears and devastation and will not be led as a captive and a slave, bound in the chains of the ravagers, to the territory of hostile thoughts. Nor will he hear through the prophet, “Why have you grown old in a foreign land?” But he will live triumphant and victorious in that region of thoughts where he wanted to be.Do you also want to understand the strength and fortitude of this centurion, by which he bears these weapons that we have spoken about and that are not carnal but powerful to God? Listen to the king himself and how he recruits the strong men that he gathers for his spiritual army, marking them and proving them: “Let the weak say,” he says, “that I am strong.” And, “The one who suffers shall be a fighter.” You see, then, that the Lord’s battles can be fought only by the suffering and the weak. Indeed, certainly fixed in this weakness, our gospel centurion said with confidence, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” And again, “Strength is perfected in weakness.” One of the prophets says about this weakn…

Whoever is protected by these weapons is always defended from the enemy’s spears and devastation and will not be led as a captive and a slave, bound in the chains of the ravagers, to the territory of hostile thoughts. Nor will he hear through the prophet, “Why have you grown old in a foreign land?” But he will live triumphant and victorious in that region of thoughts where he wanted to be.Do you also want to understand the strength and fortitude of this centurion, by which he bears these weapons that we have spoken about and that are not carnal but powerful to God? Listen to the king himself and how he recruits the strong men that he gathers for his spiritual army, marking them and proving them: “Let the weak say,” he says, “that I am strong.” And, “The one who suffers shall be a fighter.” You see, then, that the Lord’s battles can be fought only by the suffering and the weak. Indeed, certainly fixed in this weakness, our gospel centurion said with confidence, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” And again, “Strength is perfected in weakness.” One of the prophets says about this weakness, “The one who is weak is among them shall be as the house of David.” The patient sufferer shall also fight these battles with that patience of which it is said, “Patience is necessary for you so that you may do the will of God and receive a reward.”

CONFERENCE 7:5.8–9

John 12:26

Everyone who lives in this body knows that he must be committed to that special task or ministry to which he has given himself in this life as a participant and a laborer, and he ought not to doubt that in that everlasting age he will also be the partner of him whose servant and companion he now wishes to be, according to what the Lord says, “If anyone serves me, let him follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.” For just as the kingdom of the devil is gained by deceiving people with vices, so the kingdom of God is possessed in purity of heart and spiritual knowledge by practicing the virtues. And where the kingdom of God is, there without a doubt is eternal life, and where the kingdom of the devil is, there—it is not to be doubted—are death and hell. Whoever is there cannot praise the Lord.

CONFERENCE 1.14.1-2

John 17:16

The Lord speaks to his Father in the Gospel as follows: “They are not of the world, as I am not of the world.” … No one can understand the truth and force of this except one who has gone through the trials of what [Jesus] was talking about—one who has been under the teacher of experience. This is someone the eyes of whose soul the Lord has turned away from all things present, so that he no longer considers them as things that will soon pass away but as things that are already over and done with, and he sees them vanish into nothing, like misty smoke.… And so, if we are anxious to attain true perfection, we ought to ensure that we have outwardly with the body made light of parents, home, the riches and pleasures of the world, so that we may also inwardly with the heart forsake all these things and never be drawn back by any desires to what we have forsaken.

CONFERENCE 1.7.2, 4-5

John 20:28

Thomas, when he touched the flesh, believed that he had touched God, saying, “My Lord and my God.” For they all confessed but one Christ, so as not to make him two. Do you therefore believe him? And do you believe in such a way that Jesus Christ the Lord of all, both Only Begotten and firstborn, is both creator of all things and preserver of humanity and that the same person is first the framer of the whole world and afterward redeemer of humankind?

ON THE INCARNATION OF THE LORD AGAINST NESTORIUS 6.19

Jonah 3:8

They had a covering of sackcloth at a time when, since all were mourning over the approaching destruction of the city and were clothed with the same garments, none could be accused of excessive display. (Institutes Bk 1.2)

Joshua 2:3-5

This was the case with Rahab. Scripture not only recalls nothing virtuous about her but even speaks of her immorality. Yet for her lie alone, whereby she chose to conceal the spies rather than betray them, she deserved to share an eternal blessing with the people of God. If she had chosen to speak the truth or to be concerned for the safety of her people, there is no doubt that she and her whole household would not have escaped the approaching destruction and that she would not have deserved to be included among those responsible for the Lord’s birth, to be numbered on the roll of the patriarchs, and, through her offspring, to beget the Savior of all.

CONFERENCE 17.17.1-2

Judges 2:20-23

Divine grace ever stirs up the will of human beings, not so as to protect and defend it in all things in such a way as to cause it not to fight by its own efforts against its spiritual adversaries, the victor over whom may set it down to God’s grace, and the vanquished to his own weakness, and thus learn that his hope is always not in his own courage but in the divine assistance and that he must ever fly to his Protector. And to prove this not by our own conjecture but by still clearer passages of holy Scripture let us consider what we read in Joshua the son of Nun: “The Lord,” it says, “left these nations and would not destroy them, that by them he might test Israel, whether they would keep the commandments of the Lord their God, and that they might learn to fight with their enemies.” And if we may illustrate the incomparable mercy of our Creator from something earthly, not as being equal in kindness but as an illustration of mercy: if a tender and anxious nurse carries an infant in her bosom for a long time in order sometime to teach it to walk, and first allows it to crawl, then s…

Divine grace ever stirs up the will of human beings, not so as to protect and defend it in all things in such a way as to cause it not to fight by its own efforts against its spiritual adversaries, the victor over whom may set it down to God’s grace, and the vanquished to his own weakness, and thus learn that his hope is always not in his own courage but in the divine assistance and that he must ever fly to his Protector. And to prove this not by our own conjecture but by still clearer passages of holy Scripture let us consider what we read in Joshua the son of Nun: “The Lord,” it says, “left these nations and would not destroy them, that by them he might test Israel, whether they would keep the commandments of the Lord their God, and that they might learn to fight with their enemies.” And if we may illustrate the incomparable mercy of our Creator from something earthly, not as being equal in kindness but as an illustration of mercy: if a tender and anxious nurse carries an infant in her bosom for a long time in order sometime to teach it to walk, and first allows it to crawl, then supports it that by the aid of her right hand it may lean on its alternate steps, presently leaves it for a little and if she sees it tottering at all, catches hold of it and grabs at it when falling, when down picks it up, and either shields it from a fall or allows it to fall lightly, and sets it up again after a tumble, but when she has brought it up to boyhood or the strength of youth or early manhood, lays upon it some burdens or labors by which it may be not overwhelmed but exercised, and allows it to vie with those of its own age; how much more does the heavenly Father of all know whom to carry in the bosom of his grace, whom to train to virtue in his sight by the exercise of free will, and yet he helps him in his efforts, hears him when he calls, leaves him not when he seeks him, and sometimes snatches him from peril even without his knowing it.

CONFERENCE 13.14

Judges 3:1-4

As useful as it is to me that you [the Lord] should leave me for a little while in order to test the steadfastness of my desire, so it is harmful if you let me be abandoned for too long because of my deserts and my sins. For no human strength will be able to endure by its own steadfastness if it is too long abandoned by your help in time of trial. Nor will it be able to give way instantly before the power and wherewithal of the adversary if you yourself, who are aware of human strengths and are the arbiter of our struggles, “do not permit us to be tried beyond our capacity, but with the trial also provide a way out, so that we may be able to endure.”We read something like this as it appears in mystical fashion in the book of Judges with respect to the extermination of the spiritual nations that are opposed to Israel: “These are the nations that the Lord forsook, so that by them he might instruct Israel, so that they might grow accustomed to fighting with their enemies.” And again, a little further on: “The Lord left them so that he might test Israel with them, whether or not they wou…

As useful as it is to me that you [the Lord] should leave me for a little while in order to test the steadfastness of my desire, so it is harmful if you let me be abandoned for too long because of my deserts and my sins. For no human strength will be able to endure by its own steadfastness if it is too long abandoned by your help in time of trial. Nor will it be able to give way instantly before the power and wherewithal of the adversary if you yourself, who are aware of human strengths and are the arbiter of our struggles, “do not permit us to be tried beyond our capacity, but with the trial also provide a way out, so that we may be able to endure.”We read something like this as it appears in mystical fashion in the book of Judges with respect to the extermination of the spiritual nations that are opposed to Israel: “These are the nations that the Lord forsook, so that by them he might instruct Israel, so that they might grow accustomed to fighting with their enemies.” And again, a little further on: “The Lord left them so that he might test Israel with them, whether or not they would hear the commandments of the Lord that he had laid down for their forefathers by the hand of Moses.” God did not begrudge Israel their peace or look with malice upon them, but he planned this conflict in the knowledge that it would be beneficial. Thus, constantly oppressed by the onslaught of the nations, they would never feel that they did not need the Lord’s help. Hence they would always meditate on him and cry out to him, and they would neither lapse into sluggish inactivity nor lose their ability to fight and their training in virtue. For frequently security and prosperity have brought low those whom adversities cannot overcome.

CONFERENCE 4.6.3-4

Judges 3:9

We frequently find this calling from need in Scripture as well, when we read that on account of their sins, the children of Israel were delivered over by the Lord to their enemies and that, having changed their course because of their domination and savage cruelty, they cried out to the Lord. “And the Lord sent them,” it says, “a deliverer named Ehud, the son of Gera, the son of Jemini, who used either hand as if it were his right hand.” And again it says, “They cried out to the Lord, who raised up a deliverer for them, Othniel, the son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, and he freed them.” And it said of them in a psalm: “When he killed them, then they sought him, and they turned and at dawn they came to God, and they remembered that God was their helper.” And again: “They cried out to the Lord when they were troubled, and he freed them from their distress.”Of these three kinds [of calling from need], then, although the first two seem to be supported by better beginnings, nonetheless we find that even on the third level [recorded by the psalmist], which seems inferior and lukew…

We frequently find this calling from need in Scripture as well, when we read that on account of their sins, the children of Israel were delivered over by the Lord to their enemies and that, having changed their course because of their domination and savage cruelty, they cried out to the Lord. “And the Lord sent them,” it says, “a deliverer named Ehud, the son of Gera, the son of Jemini, who used either hand as if it were his right hand.” And again it says, “They cried out to the Lord, who raised up a deliverer for them, Othniel, the son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, and he freed them.” And it said of them in a psalm: “When he killed them, then they sought him, and they turned and at dawn they came to God, and they remembered that God was their helper.” And again: “They cried out to the Lord when they were troubled, and he freed them from their distress.”Of these three kinds [of calling from need], then, although the first two seem to be supported by better beginnings, nonetheless we find that even on the third level [recorded by the psalmist], which seems inferior and lukewarm, there have been people who are perfect and very fervent in spirit, similar to those who have made an excellent beginning in the Lord’s service and have passed the rest of their lives in praiseworthy intensity of spirit. Likewise there are many who have become tepid and have fallen from a higher level and very frequently ended up in tragedy. [Thus], just as it was no drawback to the former that they seem to have been converted not by their own will but by force of necessity, inasmuch as the Lord’s kindness furnished the occasion whereby they might feel compunction, likewise their having been converted in some sublime fashion profited the latter nothing whatsoever, because they did not strive to live out the rest of their days accordingly.

CONFERENCE 3.4.5-3.5.1

Judges 3:15-21

These are the persons, then, who are referred to in holy Scripture as amphoterodexioi—that is, as ambidextrous. Ehud, “who used either hand as if it were his right hand,” is described as such in the book of Judges. We shall also be able to possess this quality in a spiritual way if by a good and correct use we put the things which are considered fortunate and right-handed and the things which are called unfortunate and left-handed on the right side, that whatever befalls may become for us, in the words of the apostle, “the arms of righteousness.” For we see that our inner man consists in two parts or, as I might say, two hands. No holy person can be without what we call the left hand, but perfect virtue is discerned in the fact that by proper use he turns both into a right hand.

CONFERENCE 6.10.1

Lamentations 2:18

Not every kind of shedding of tears is produced by one feeling or one virtue. For in one way does that weeping originate that is caused by the pricks of our sins striking our heart, of which we read, “I have labored in my groaning, every night I will wash my bed; I will water my couch with my tears.” And again, “Let tears run down like a torrent day and night; give yourself no rest, and do not let the apple of your eye cease.” In another, that which arises from the contemplation of eternal good things and the desire of that future glory, owing to which even richer well-springs of tears burst forth from uncontrollable delights and boundless exultation, while our soul is thirsty for the mighty living God, saying, “When shall I come and appear before the presence of God? My tears have been my meat day and night,” declaring with daily crying and lamentation, “Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged,” and, “Too long has my soul been a sojourner.”In another way do the tears flow forth, which without any conscience of deadly sin yet still proceed from the fear of hell and the recollection…

Not every kind of shedding of tears is produced by one feeling or one virtue. For in one way does that weeping originate that is caused by the pricks of our sins striking our heart, of which we read, “I have labored in my groaning, every night I will wash my bed; I will water my couch with my tears.” And again, “Let tears run down like a torrent day and night; give yourself no rest, and do not let the apple of your eye cease.” In another, that which arises from the contemplation of eternal good things and the desire of that future glory, owing to which even richer well-springs of tears burst forth from uncontrollable delights and boundless exultation, while our soul is thirsty for the mighty living God, saying, “When shall I come and appear before the presence of God? My tears have been my meat day and night,” declaring with daily crying and lamentation, “Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged,” and, “Too long has my soul been a sojourner.”In another way do the tears flow forth, which without any conscience of deadly sin yet still proceed from the fear of hell and the recollection of that terrible judgment, with the terror of which the prophet was smitten and prayed to God, saying, “Enter not into judgment with your servant, for in your sight shall no one living be justified.” There is too another kind of tears, which are caused not by knowledge of one’s self but by the hardness and sins of others; whereby Samuel is described as having wept for Saul. Both the Lord in the Gospel and Jeremiah in former days wept for the city of Jerusalem, the latter thus saying, “O, that my head were water and my eyes a fountain of tears! And I will weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.” Or also such as were those tears of which we hear in Psalm 101: “For I have eaten ashes for my bread and mingled my cup with weeping.” And these were certainly not caused by the same feeling as those that arise in Psalm 6 from the person of the penitent but were due to the anxieties of this life and its distresses and losses, by which the righteous who are living in this world are oppressed. And this is clearly shown not only by the words of the psalm itself but also by its title, which runs as follows in the character of that poor person of whom it is said in the Gospel that “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” “A prayer of the poor when he was in distress and poured forth his prayer to God.”

CONFERENCE 1:9.29

Lamentations 2:18

From these tears those are vastly different that are squeezed out from dry eyes while the heart is hard, and although we cannot believe that these are altogether fruitless (for the attempt to shed them is made with a good intention, especially by those who have not yet been able to attain to perfect knowledge or to be thoroughly cleansed from the stains of past or present sins), yet certainly the flow of tears ought not to be thus forced out by those who have already advanced to the love of virtue, nor should the weeping of the outward person be with great labor attempted, as even if it is produced it will never attain the rich copiousness of spontaneous tears. For it will rather cast down the soul of the suppliant by his endeavors, and humiliate him, and plunge him in human affairs and draw him away from the celestial heights, wherein the awed mind of one who prays should be steadfastly fixed, and will force it to relax its hold on its prayers and grow sick from barren and forced tears.

CONFERENCE 1:9.30