HOMILY XII.] HOMILIES ON EPHESIANS. 109 HOMILY XII. EPHESIANS iv. 17. "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk, in the van ity of their mind, being darkened in their under standing." IT is the duty of the teacher to build up and restore the souls of his disciples, not only by counseling and instructing them, but also by alarming them, and delivering them up to God. For when the words spoken by men as coming from fellow-servants are not sufficient to kindle the soul, it then becomes necessary to make over the case to God. This accordingly Paul does also ; for having discoursed l concerning lowli ness, and concerning unity, and concerning our duty not to rise up one against another, hear what he says. " This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye no longer walk as the Gen tiles also walk." He does not say, "That ye henceforth walk not as ye are now walking," for that expression would have struck too hard. But he plainly indicates the same thing, only he brings his example from others. And so in writ ing to the Thessalonians, he does this very same thing, where he says, " Not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles which know not God." (i Thess. iv. 5.) Ye differ from them, he means to say, in doctrine, but that is wholly God s work : what I require on your part, is the life and the course of behavior that is after God. This is your own. And I call the Lord to wit ness what I have said, that I have not shrunk, but have told you how ye ought to walk. " In the vanity," saith he, " of their mind." What is vanity of mind ? It is the being busied about vain things. Andwhat are those vain things, but all things in the present life ? Of which the Preacher saith, " Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." (Eccles. i. 2.) But a man will say, If they be vain and vanity, wherefore were they made ? If they are God s works, how are they vain? And great is the dispute concerning these things. But hearken, beloved : it is not the works of God which he calls vain ; God forbid ! The Heaven is not vain, the earth is not vain, God forbid ! nor the sun, nor the moon and stars, nor our own body. No, all these are " very good." (Gen. i. 31.) But what is vain? Let us hear the 1 Modern exegesis has made more logical analysis, and indicated more carefully and correctly the transitions from one thought or branch of the subject to another, than the ancient. Comp. Meyer, Lightfoot, Schaff, and especially the paragraphing of the Rev. Ver. On this passage Meyer says: The exhortation begun at vv. 1^3, and interrupted by the digression vv. 4-16, is here resumed by the ovv, and the " walking vorthily " of v. i is now followed up in the form, " that ye no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk," &c. G. A.] Preacher himself, what he saith ; " I planted me vineyards, I gat me men singers and women singers, I made me pools of water, I had great possession of herds and flocks, I gathered me also silver and gold, and I saw that these are vanity." (Eccles. ii. 4-8.) And again, " Van ity of vanities, all things are vanity." (Eccles. xii. 8.) Hear also what the Prophet saith, " He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them." (Ps. xxxix. 6.) Such is "vanity of vanities," your splendid buildings, your vast and overflowing riches, the herds of slaves that bustle along the public square, your pomp and vainglory, your high thoughts, and your ostentation.- For all these are vain ; they came not from the hand of God, but are of our own creating. But why then are they vain? Because they have no useful end. Riches are vain when they are spent upon luxury ; but they cease to be vain when they are " dispersed and given to the needy." (Ps. cxii. 9.) But when thou hast spent them upon luxury, let us look at the end of them, what it is ; grossness of body, flatulence, pantings, fullness of belly, heaviness of head, softness of flesh, feverishness, enerva tion ; for as a man who shall draw into a leaking vessel labors in vain, so also does the one who lives in luxury and self-indulgence draw into a leaking vessel. But again, that is called " vain," which is expected indeed to contain something, but contains it not ; that which men call empty, as when they speak of " empty hopes." And generally that is called " vain," which is bare and purposeless, which is of no use. Let us see then whether all human things are not of this sort. " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." (i Cor. xv. 32.) What then, tell me, is the end ? Corruption. Let us put on cloth ing and raiment. And what is the result? Nothing. Such are the lives of the Greeks. They philosophized, but in vain. They made a show of a life of hardship, but of mere hard ship, not looking to any beneficial end, but to vainglory, and to honor from the many. But what is the honor of the many? It is nothing, for if they themselves which render the honor perish, much more does the honor. He that renders honor to another, ought first to render it to himself; for if he gain not honor for him- - [" Vanity here is rather the subjective sphere in which the walk of the other Gentiles takes place, namely, in nothingness of their thinking and willing (rot>?)> and is to be understood of the whole intellectual and moral character of heathenism." Meyer. G. A.]