man’s;” and we say, “Happy man!” We “speak vanity.” Happy he whose is that house, happy
he whose that estate, happy he whose that flock, happy he whose that servant, happy he
whose is that household. Take away vanity if Thou wouldest hear the truth. “Happy he
whose is the Lord” his “God.” For not he who has that estate is happy: but he whose is that
“God.” But in order to declare most plainly the happiness of possessions, thou sayest that
thy estate has made thee happy. And why? Because thou livest by it. For when thou dost
highly praise thine estate, thou sayest thus, “It finds me food, I live by it.” Consider whereby
thou dost really live. He by whom thou livest, is He to whom thou sayest, “With Thee is the
fountain of life.”3512 “Happy is the people whose God is the Lord.” O Lord my God, O Lord
our God, make us happy by Thee, that we may come unto Thee. We wish not to be happy
from gold, or silver, or land, from these earthly, and most vain, and transitory goods of this
perishable life. Let not “our mouth speak vanity.” Make us happy by Thee, seeing that we
shall never lose Thee. When we shall once have gotten Thee, we shall neither lose Thee, nor
be lost ourselves. Make us happy by Thee, because “Happy is the people whose is the Lord
their God.” Nor will God be angry if we shall say of Him, He is our estate. For we read that
“the Lord is the portion of my inheritance.”3513 Grand thing, Brethren, we are both His in-
heritance, and He is ours, seeing that we both cultivate His service3514 and He cultivateth
us.3515 It is no derogation3516 to His honour that He cultivateth us. Because if we cultivate
Him as our God, He cultivateth us as His field. And, (that ye may know that He doth cultivate
us) hear Him whom He hath sent to us: “I,” saith He, “am the vine, ye are the branches, My
Father is the Husbandman.”3517 Therefore He doth cultivate us. But if we yield fruit, He
prepares for us His garner. But if under the attention of so great a hand we will be barren,
and for good fruit3518 bring forth thorns, I am loth to say what follows.3519 Let us make an
end with a theme of joy. “Let us turn then to the Lord,” etc.
3512 Ps. xxxvi. 9.
3513 Ps. xvi. 5.
3514 Colimus.
3515 Colit. Quia et colimus eum, et colit nos. Vide Serm. xlvii., xxix., xxvii., ii.; Conf. B. xiii. 1.
3516 Injuria.
3517 John xv. 1.
3518 Frumento.
3519 See John xv. 2 and 6.
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On the words of the Gospel, Luke xvi. 9, ‘Make to yourselves friends by…