De eisdem; et de Ezechia, qui thesauros
The Peril of Displaying Virtue
The author warns against the vanity of seeking worldly praise, which ultimately leads to the loss of eternal reward.
Whatever he showed, he lost; wise men assert that it's difficult or impossible to enjoy the world in the present and yet rejoice with Christ in eternity, and it's clearly most miserable to be tormented with the world and then to be scourged with the devil for all eternity. If, therefore, hypocrites are sad because they hope only in this life—those who disfigure their faces to appear righteous to others and who proclaim their works as if with the trumpets of their own justice—they wait in vain for a reward from the Lord, since they’ve already received their reward in the present. For it is clear from the Lord's own judgment regarding those who honor Him only in word and appearance that He is distant from them, because their hearts are distant from Him; indeed, their very works bring about the loss of their salvation and serve the prince of the Babylonians, Satan, for everything done for the sake of show leads to death.
Hezekiah and the Babylonian Messengers
Using the biblical account of King Hezekiah, the author illustrates how prideful display of one's spiritual treasures invites spiritual ruin.
The history of the Kings tells us that when King Hezekiah of Jerusalem received a sign of safety and salvation from the Lord through the hand of Isaiah the son of Amoz—with the shadow on the sundial receding ten degrees (which seems contrary to nature, since the shadow is accustomed to move forward, not backward)—Merodach-Baladan, son of Baladan, king of the Babylonians, sent letters and gifts to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been ill. Hezekiah was happy at their arrival and showed them his house of spices, the gold and silver, the various pigments, the ointments, the house of his vessels, and everything he could have in his treasuries; there was nothing that Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his power. Then the prophet Isaiah came to the king and asked, 'What did these men say, and where did they come from to you?' The king replied, 'They came from a distant land, from Babylon.' But he asked, 'What did they see in your house?' Hezekiah said, "They've seen everything in my house; there's nothing in my treasuries that I haven't shown them." So Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Listen to the word of the Lord." "The days are coming when everything in your house, and everything your ancestors have stored up to this day, will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left, says the Lord." "But as for your own sons who will be born to you, they will be taken away and will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." On the surface of the history, according to the Hebrews and the authority of Jerome, the truth is clear: when Ananias, Azarias, Misael, and Daniel were taken captive to Babylon, they were castrated there to serve in the king's palace according to the custom of the nations—unless, perhaps, it contradicts this that the boys were ordered by the king to be brought in without blemish to learn the language of the Chaldeans, and it is established that not only were the treasures of the king of Judah moved to Babylon, but a great part of the vessels of the Lord's temple in Jerusalem is read to have been carried off and profaned. Yet it is elegant that, when the Lord had granted a miracle to the king, the messengers of the Babylonians are said to have arrived with gifts. For a person is especially troubled by messengers of confusion when the power of God is made known more clearly through His admirable mercy. But it's the mark of an imprudent person to rejoice then, because such people should be held not only as suspects but as the most dangerous enemies, to be avoided with great care, because they're to be feared even when they bring gifts. Therefore, whoever displays the spices of good works, the gold of virtue, the silver of eloquence, the pigments of thoughts, the ointments of mercy, and the aptitude and beauty of their own tools—and whatever is stored more cautiously and usefully in the treasuries of a good conscience—let them hear the word of the Lord and know for certain that everything that seemed to serve for glory is destined to receive the wages of confusion and death.
The Deception of Hypocrisy
The author concludes that works performed for empty glory are stripped of their merit, as God judges the heart rather than the outward appearance.
Even the succession of the Babylonians is cut off from the prince, because those things which otherwise possess the merit and fruit of virtue become useless to the one who performs them when they are done for the sake of empty glory. For the just Rewarder despises hypocrites and accepts only the worship that is rooted in truth; His eyes can’t be blinded by any pretense or malice, because He sees into the hidden places and searches the depths of the heart. Appearance is distinct from reality, so that nothing false may ring out beneath a gilded surface. This is where hypocrisy gets its name, which is truly an unmistakable characteristic of the Epicureans.
Read the original Latin
quo8 ostentauit, amisit, DifficiUimum aut impossibile asserunt sapientes in praesenti gaudere cum mundo et in etemum exultare cum Christo; et plane miserrimum est torqueri cum mundo et in etemum cum diabolo flagellari. Si ergo et in hac uita tantum sperantes sunt ypocritae tristes, qui exterminant facies suas ut probi hominibus appareant, et quasi praecinentibus tubis iustitiae suae opera praeconantur, a Domino frustra retributionem expectant, quoniam in praesenti receperunt mercedem suam. De his enim qui uerbo et habitu tenus honorant Dominum ex sententia eius constat quoniam ipse elongatur ab eis eo quod cor eorum ab eo elongatum est, sed et ipsa opera eorum dispendium salutis afferunt et Babiloniorum principi Sathanae famulantur; omnia enim quae ostentationis gratia fiunt proficiscuntur a in mortem. Regum narrat historia quod, cum Ezechias rex lerusalem per manum Ysaiae filii Amos signum incolumitatis et salutis a Domino accepisset, umbra orologii retrorsum cedente decem gradibus (quod naturae uidetur aduersum, cum umbra procedere soleat, non redire), misit BarodachBaladam, filius Baladam, rex Babiloniorum, litteras et munera ad Ezechiam; audierat enini quod egrotasset Ezechias. Letatus est autem in aduentu eorum Ezechias et ostendit eis domum aromatum et aurum et argentum et pigmenta uaria, unguenta quoque et domum uasorum suorum et omnia quae habere poterat in thesauris suis, Non fuit quicquam quod non monstraret eis Ezechias in domo sua et in omni potestate sua. Venit autem Ysaias propheta ad regem et dixit ei: Quid dixerunt uiri isti aut unde uenerunt ad te? Cui ait rex: De terra longinqua uenerunt, de Babilone. At ille respondit: Quid uiderunt in domo tua?
Ait Ezechias: Omnia quae sunt in domo mea uiderunt; nichil est quod non monstrauerim eis in thesauris meis. Dixit itaque Ysaias Ezechiae: Audi sermonem Domini. Ecce dies uenient et auferentur omnia quae sunt in domo tua, et quae condiderunt patres tui usque in diem hanc, in Babilonem; non remanebit quicquam, ait Dominus. Sed de filiis tuis qui egredientur ex te, quos generabis, toUentur et erunt eunuchi in palatio regis Babilonis. In superficie quidem historiae secundum Hebreos auctore leronimo ueritas liquet, cum Ananias Azarias Misael cum Daniele captiuati sunt in Babilonem ibique castrati ut in regis palatio secundum morem gentium ministrarent; nisi forte repugnet quod pueri sine macula a rege iubentur introduci ut linguam discerent Caldeorum, et constet quod non modo thesauri regis ludae in Babiloniam translati sunt sed magna pars uasorum templi Domini in lerusalem asportata legatur et prophanata. Eleganter tamen, cum Dominus regi miraculum indulsisset, Babiloniorum dicuntur nuntii cum muneribus accessisse. Quia tunc praecipue quis sollicitatur a nuntiis confusionis, quando per admirabilem clementiam Dei uirtus eius clarius innotescit. Sed tunc imprudentis est exultare, quia hi non modo suspecti habendi sunt sed quasi hostes perniciosissimi studiosius deuitandi, quia timendi sunt etiam cum dona ferunt, Qui ergo aromata bonorum operum, uirtutis aurum, argentum eloquentiae, cogitationum pigmenta, unguenta misericordiae et utensilium suorum aptitudinem ostentat et decorem, et si qua in thesauris bonae conscientiae cautius et utilius reponuntur, audiat uerbum Domini sciatque pro certo quia omnia, quae militare uidebantur ad gloriam, confusionis stipendium et mortis acceptura sunt.
Ipsaque etiam filiorum successio Babiloniorum castratur principi, quia ea quae alias meritum uirtutis habent et fructum, dum inanis gloriae causa fiunt, inutilia sunt actori. lustus enim remunerator ypocritas spemit et solius ueritatis in bono cultum acceptat; cuius oculi nullo fuco nulla malitia a praestringi possunt, quia uidet in abditis et cordium profunda scrutatur. Species discemit a rebus ne qua sub erato mendosum tinniat auro. Vnde et ypocrisis nomen accepit, quae quidem Epicureorum indubitata species est.
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