390 WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY IV. ness." For he came to the destruction of men, and to injure them. For what will he not then work? He will change and confound all things, both by his commandments, and by the fear of him. He will be terrible in every way, from his power, from his cruelty, from his unlawful com mandments. But fear not. " In those that perish " he will have his strength. 1 For Elijah too will then come to give confidence to the faithful, and this Christ says ; " Elijah cometh, and shall restore all things." (Matt. xvii. n.) There fore it is said, " In the spirit and power of Elijah." (Luke i. 17.) For he neither wrought signs nor wonders, as Elijah did. For "John," it is said, " did no miracle, but all things which John spake of this Man were true." How then was it "in the spirit and power of Elijah " ? That is, he will take upon him the same minis try. As the one was the forerunner of His first Coming, so will the other be of His second and glorious Coming, and for this he is reserved. Let us not therefore fear. He has calmed the minds of the hearers. He causes them no longer to think present things dreadful, but worthy of thankfulness. Wherefore he has added, Ver. 13. "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, for that God chose you from the begin ning unto salvation, in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." How unto salvation? By sanctifying you through the Spirit. For these are the things that are the efficient causes 2 of our salvation. It is nowhere of works, nowhere of righteous deeds, but through belief of the truth. Here again, "in" is used for "through." "And through sanctification of the Spirit," he says, Ver. 14. " Whereunto He called you through our Gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." This too is no little thing, if Christ considers our salvation His glory. For it is the glory of the Friend of man that they that are saved should be many. Great then is our Lord, if the Holy Spirit so desires our salvation. Why did he not say faith first ? Because even after sancti fication we have yet need ofmuch faith, that we may not be shaken. Seest thou how He shows that nothing is of themselves, but all ofGod ? Ver. 15. "So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by Epistle of ours." Hence it is manifest, that they did not deliver all things by Epistle, but many things also un written, and in like manner both the one and the 1 He seems only to refer to the words of ver. 10, with the general sense of the context. 2 TCI (rvveKTiKa; lit. " the things that keep together." other are worthy of credit. Therefore let us think the tradition of the Church also worthy of credit. It is a tradition, seek no farther. Here he shows that there were manywho were shaken. Ver. 16, 17. "Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, which loved us, and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish them in every good work and word." Again a prayer after an admonition. For this is truly to benefit. " Which loved us," he says, " and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace." Where now are thosewho lessen the Son, because He is named in the grace of the Laver after the Father? For, lo, here it is the contrary. "Which loved us," he says, " and gave us eternal comfort." Of what sort then is this? Even the hope of things future. Seest thou how by the method of prayer he stirs up their mind, giving them the unspeakable care of God for pledges and signs. " Comfort your heart," he says, " in every good work and word," that is, through every good work and word. For this is the comfort of Christians, to do some thing good and pleasing to God. See how he brings down their spirit. " Which gave us com fort," he says, " and good hope through grace." At the same time he makes them also full of good hopes with respect to future things. For if He has given so many things by grace, much more things future. I indeed, he says, have spoken, but the whole is of God. " Stablish " ; confirm you, that you be not shaken, nor turned aside. For this is both His work and ours, so that it is in the way both of doctrines, and of actions. For this is comfort, to be stablished. For when any one is not turned aside, he bears all things, whatever may happen to him, with much longsuffering ; whereas if his mind be shaken, he will no longer perform any good or noble action, but like one whose hands are para lyzed, so also his soul is shaken, when it is not fully persuaded that it is advancing to some good end. Chap. iii. i. "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run and be glori fied, even as also it is with you." He indeed had prayed for them, that they might be stablished ; and now he asks of them, entreating them to pray for him, not that he may not incur danger, for to this he was appointed, but that " the word of the Lord may run and be glorified, even as also it is with you." And the request is accompanied with commendation. " Even as also it is with you." Ver. 2. "And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and evil men ; for all have not faith." This is the manner of one showing also his dangers ; as to which especially he besought