HOMILY VIII.] HOMILIES ON THESSALONIANS. 355 habitest, on which thou walkest, without which thou canst not even breathe ; and art thou curi ous about things so far removed ? Truly " man is vanity." (Ps. xxxix. 5, and cxliv. 5.) And if any one should bid thee descend into the deep, and trace out things at the bottom of the sea, thou wouldest not tolerate the command. But, when no one compels thee, thou art willing of thyself to fathom the unsearchable abyss? Do not so, I beseech you. But let us sail up wards, not floating, for we shall soon be weary, and sink ; but using the divine Scriptures, as some vessel, let us unfurl the sails of faith. If we sail in them, then the Word of God will be present with us as our Pilot. But if we float upon human reasonings, it will not be so. For to whom of those who float, is a Pilot present? So that the danger is twofold, in that there is no vessel, and that the Pilot is absent. For if even the boat without a pilot is unsafe, when both are wanting, what hope is there of safety? Let us not then throw ourselves into manifest danger, but let us go upon a safe vessel, having fastened ourselves by the sacred anchor. For thus we shall sail into the tranquil haven, with much merchandise, 2 and at the same time with great safety, and we shall obtain the blessings laid up for them that love Him, in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and always and world without end. Amen. HOMILY VIII. i THESSALONIANS iv. 15-17. " For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that ! we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of \ the Lord, shall in nowise precede them that are fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first : then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." THE Prophets indeed, wishing to show the credibility of the things said by them, before all other things say this, " The vision which Isaiah saw" (Isa. i. i) ; and again, "The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah " (Jer. i. i, Sept.) ; and again, " Thus saith the Lord " ; with many such expressions. And many of them even saw God sitting, as far as it was possible for them to see Him. But Paul not having seen Him sitting, but having Christ speaking in himself, instead of Thus saith the Lord, said, " Do ye seek a | proof ofChrist speaking in me ? " ( 2 Cor. xiii. 3.) \ And again, " Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ." For the "Apostle" speaks the things of Him who sent him ; showing that nothing is of him self. And again, " I think that I also have the Spirit of God." (i Cor. vii. 40.) All those things therefore he spake by the Spirit, but this, | which he now says, he heard even expressly from God. As also that which he had said dis coursing to the Elders of Ephesus, " It is more blessed to give than to receive," he heard among things not recorded. 1 (Acts xx. 35.) 1 [The saying was probably in circulation among the Christians, for Paul bids the elders " remember the words." J. A. B.] Let us then see what he now also says. " For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in nowise precede them that are fallen asleep. For the Lord Him self shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the last trump." For then, he saith, "The powers of the heavens shall be shaken." (Matt. xxiv. 29.) But wherefore with the trumpet? For we see this on Mount Sinai too, and Angels there also. But what means the voice of the Arch angel? As he said in the parable of the Vir gins, Arise ! " The Bridegroom cometh." (From Matt. xxv. 6.) Either it means this, or that as in the case of a king, so also shall it then be, Angels ministering at the Resurrection. For He says, let the dead rise, and the work is done, the Angels not having power to do this, but His word. As if upon a king s commanding and saying it, those who were shut up should go forth, and the servants should lead them out, yet they do this not from their own power, but from that Voice. This also Christ says in another place : " He shall send forth his Angels with a great trumpet, and they shall gather to gether his Elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (Matt. xxiv. 31.) And everywhere you see the Angels running to and fro. The Archangel therefore I think is he, who is set over those who are sent forth, and who shouts thus : " Make all men ready, for the Judge , al. ?, facility.