XXXIV. Verba Jeremiae ijropheiae.

XXXIV. Verba Jeremiae ijropheiae.

Who are the rulers of the earth, and those who dominate the beasts that are on the earth? Who play among the birds of heaven, who hoard silver and gold, in which men are caught, and there is no end to their possessions, who make silver and are anxious, and there is no invention of their works. His understanding is like this. Where are they and what kind of power do they have, those who oppress nations with their tyranny? Indeed, they are in the most dreadful and filthy places that their own actions have prepared for them; and they have received the rewards of punishment because they abandoned the law of God, and because in that dominion where they ruled over the peoples, they made themselves into gods, and because they consumed the possessions of those same people in greed. They exercise their dominion over the beasts that are wild by nature, knowing that on earth there is nothing but what is bestial; these they hold in their power as if they had created them, not considering that God has made them for their servitude. Thus, they abandon the heights and depths of heavenly rewards for the sake of the price of their own will, because they do what they want. They also engage in playful pleasures as they fly through the air, and by abandoning the harmony of the Holy Spirit, with which they should rejoice in God's commandments, they turn their joys into the ways of birds, playing with them in various inappropriate diversions; therefore, they will suffer great penalties because they do not serve God. Those who gather silver of mortality and gold of perdition through unjust acquisitions and profits, placing their hope in these, feeling earthly rather than heavenly things, do so without any limit or measure to their expansion or contraction; for they reject the silver of good knowledge, by which the most holy works are treasured in heavenly harmony, and they despise the gold of wisdom, by which faithful people are wisely governed with God's discretion. For the divine commandments are set down in books, like a privilege, so that they are not forgotten, but that they may be fulfilled by just and holy people; yet all these are rejected by them, and they choose mortal money for themselves, from which mortals have become dead. Those who pursue silver in various forms of their own confidence are preoccupied with earthly and fleeting things, fearing they might be taken away from them; therefore, in no way can the works of their perseverance endure, because they are made in vanity, and they will also dissolve in vanity. They reject faith and submission to God, doing whatever pleases them in this world, saying, "Everything that God wants, He does, and we will do what we want." And so, the holiness of the saints' works, which shine with good virtues and appear as elegant forms in the crafting of virtues, reject themselves and cast aside all their concern for the wealth of riches according to the desires of their hearts. — «) They are crafted A, W. They rejoice conveniently W. — «) Regarding Bul202 S. They have no care for the salvation of their souls; and so, there is no invention of evil works in their utility or salvation, because all that they do is like burning coals that are extinguished, and in the works of greed, they die in death.