Thou hast a spiritual mouth. Think what words thou didst utter immediately upon being born,349—what words are worthy of thy mouth. Thou callest God, “Father,” and dost thou straightway revile thy brother? Think, whence is it thou callest God, “Father”? Is it from nature? No, thou couldest never say so. Is it from thy goodness? No, nor is it thus. But whence then is it? It is from pure lovingkindness, from tenderness, from His great mercy. Whenever then thou callest God, “Father,” consider not only this, that by reviling thou art committing things unworthy of that, thy high birth, but also that it is of lovingkindness that thou hast that high birth. Disgrace it not then, after receiving it from pure lovingkindness, by showing cruelty towards thy brethren. Dost thou call God “Father,” and yet revile? No, these are not the works of the Son of God. These are very far from Him. The work of the Son of God was to forgive His enemies, to pray for them that crucified Him, to shed His blood for them that hated Him. These are works worthy of the Son of God, to make His enemies,—the ungrateful, the dishonest, the reckless, the treacherous,—to make these brethren and heirs: not to treat them that are become brethren with ignominy like slaves. 350Think what words thy mouth uttered,—of what table these words are worthy. Think what thy mouth touches, what it tastes, of what manner of food it partakes! Dost thou deem thyself to be doing nothing grievous in railing at thy brother? How then dost thou call him brother? And yet if he be not a brother, how sayest thou, “Our Father”? For the word “Our” is indicative of many persons. Think with whom thou standest at the time of the mysteries! With the Cherubim, with the Seraphim! The Seraphim revile not: no, their mouth fulfills this one only duty, to sing the Hymn of praise, to glorify351 God. And how then shalt thou be able to say with them, “Holy, Holy, Holy,”352 if thou use thy mouth for reviling? Tell me, I pray. Suppose there were a royal vessel, and that always full of royal dainties, and set apart 349 [ἐννόησον τίνα εὐθέως ἐφθέγξω ῥ& 208·ματα τέχθείς, κ.τ.λ. This evidently refers to baptism and the services and words used in connection therewith. Bingham says, “The catechumens did not learn the creed and the Lord’s prayer till immediately before baptism.” And Chrysostom says, “An unbaptized person cannot yet call God his Father.” St. Augustine also says in one of his homilies, “Now learn the Lord’s prayer, which ye must repeat eight days hence, when ye are to be baptized.” So they received it (that is, the Lord’s prayer) only on Sat- urday before Palm Sunday, in order to repeat it on Saturday before Easter, which was the day of their baptism. Antiquities, Bk. x. ch. v. sec. 9.—G.A.] 350 [This paragraph has reference to the celebration of the Eucharist, concerning which, see Chrysostom’s Hom. xviii. on 2 Cor. (viii. 24).—G.A.] 351 ἁγιάζειν. 352 ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος. 225 Ephesians 4:25-27