188 WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY II. feed the fire of hell. He, eating of what is thine, sanctifies also what remains. (Luke xi. 41.) Think how the widow maintained Elias ; and she did not more feed than she was fed : she did not more give than receive. This now also takes place in a much greater thing. For it is not a " barrel of meal," nor " a cruse of oil" (i Kings xvii. 14), but what? "An hun dred fold, and eternal life " (Matt. xix. 21, 29), is the recompense for such the mercy of God thou becomest ; the spiritual food ; a pure leaven. She was a widow, famine was pressing, and none of these things hindered her. Chil dren too she had, and not even so was she with held. ( i Kings xvii. 12.) This woman is become equal to her that cast in the two mites. She said not to herself, " What shall I receive from this man? He stands in need of me. If he had any power he had not hungered, he had broken the drought, he had not been subject to like suffer ings. Perchance he too offends God." None of these things did she think of. Seest thou how great a good it is to do well with simplicity, and not to be over curious about the person bene fited ? If she had chosen to be curious she would have doubted ; she would not have believed. So, too, Abraham, if he had chosen to be curious, would not have received angels. For it cannot, indeed it cannot be, that one who is exceeding nice in these matters, should ever meet with them. No, such an one usually lights on im postors ; and how that is, I will tell you. The pious man is not desirous to appear pious, and does not clothe himself in show, and is likely to be rejected. But the impostor, as he makes a business of it, puts on a deal of piety that is hard to see through. So that while he who does good, even to those who seem not pious, will fall in with those who are so, he who seeks out those who are thought to be pious, will often fall in with those who are not so. Wherefore, I beseech you, let us do all things in simplicity. For let us even suppose that he is an impostor that comes ; you are not bidden to be curious about this. For, " Give," saith he, " to every one that asketh thee " (Luke vi. 30) ; and, "For bear not to redeem him that is to be slain." (Prov. xxiv. u.) Yet most of those that are slain suffer this for some evil they are convicted of; still he saith, " Forbear not." For in this shall we be like God, thus shall we be admired, and shall obtain those immortal blessings, which may we all be thought worthy of, through the grace and lovingkindness of Jesus Christ our Lord, with whom, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and forever, and world without end. Amen. HOMILY II PHILIPPIANS i. 8-n. " For God is my witness, how I long after you all in the tender mercies of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; that ye may ap prove the things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and void of offense unto the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." HE calls not God to witness as though he should be doubted, but does this from his great affection, and his exceeding persuasion and con fidence ; for after saying that they had fellow ship with him, he adds this also, " in the tender mercies of Christ," lest they should think that his longing for them was for this cause, and not simply for their own sake. And what mean these words, " in the tender mercies of Christ " ? They stand for " according to Christ." Because ye are believers, because ye love Christ, because of the love that is according to Christ. He does not say " love," but uses a still warmer expres sion, " the tender mercies of Christ," as though he had said, " having become as a father to you through the relationship which is in Christ." For this imparts to us bowels J warm and glow ing. For He gives such bowels to His true servants. " In these bowels," saith He, as though one should say, " I love you with no natural bowels, but with warmer ones, namely, those of Christ." " How I long after you all." I long after all, since ye are all of this nature ; I am unable in words to represent to you my longing ; it is therefore impossible to tell. For this cause I leave it to God, whose range is in the heart, to know this. Now had he been flat tering them, he would not have called God to witness, for this cannot be done without peril. Ver. 9. "And this," saith he, "I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more." For this is a good of which there is no satiety ; 1 [Above translated " tender mercies." J. A. B.]