Satan found nothing in Him lo claim. 413
was unknown to us. For by His dying He practised that Book
life which we possess, by rising again He disclosed tliat Ufe
*
for wliich we are to seek, instructing us by His example, that
this life which we pass before our death, is not to be loved
on its own account, but to be tolerated on account of the
other. Because then, by practising a new conversation
amongst men, He followed not the customs of Babylon, it
is well written of Him, He scorneth the multitude of the
city,
70. Or certainly, because He forsook the many who were
wandering along the broad way, and chose the few who
were walking through narrow paths. For to ' scorn the
multitude of tho city,' is to reject from a share in His King-
dom that portion of mankind which enters the broad way,
which also through the abundance of iniquity is many.
It follows
;
He heareth not the cry of the exacloj'.
71. As was said before, wliat exactor can be understood xxv.
in this place, but the devil } who by his wicked persuasion
held out the hope of immortality, but by deceiving exacted
the tribute of death ; who by his persuasion introduced sin,
by his cruelty exacts punishment. The word of this exactor
is his crafty persuasion of man before death, but his * cry'
is his violent seizure of him after death. For those whom
he secretly intercepts before death, he violently hurries to
share with him his punishment after death. But because
the Lord when drawing near to death feared not the violent
assaults of this exactor, (as He Himself says, Fo7' the prince John 14,
of this world conieth and hath nothing in Me,) it is well said,
*
He heareth not the cry of the exactor. For the exactor of
mankind came to Him, because he saw Him to be a man.
But Him Whom He believed to be a man despised for His
weakness, he felt, by his power, to be above man.
72. Laban d(jubtless represented this exactor, when
coming with wrath, he demanded his idols which were Gen. 3i,
with Jacob. For Laban is interpreted * whitening.' But"'
the devil is a])pr()priately understood by whitening, who
though dark through his deserts, transforms himself into 2 Cor.
an angel of light. Him did Jacob serve, that is, the Jewish ^^' ^^'
peo})lc, on the part of the reprobate, from whose llesh th(3