i6o WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY XXII. I mean something like this. The Devil never proposes to us sins in their proper colors ; he does not speak of idolatry, but he sets it off in another dress, using " wiles," 1 that is, making his discourse plausible, employing disguises. Now therefore the Apostle is by this means both rous ing the soldiers,and making them vigilant,by per suading and instructing them, that our conflict is with one skilled in the arts of war, and with one who wars not simply, nor directly, but with much wiliness. And first then he arouses the dis ciples from the consideration of the Devil s skill ; but in the second place, from his nature, and the number of his forces. It is not from any desire to dispirit the soldiers that stand under him, but to arouse, and to awaken them, that he mentions these stratagems, and prepares them to be vigi lant ; for had he merely detailed their power, and there stopped his discourse, he must have dispirited them. But now, whereas both before and after this, he shows that it is possible to overcome such an enemy, he rather raises their courage ; for the more clearly the strength of our adversaries is stated on our part to our own people, so much the more earnest will it render our soldiers. Ver. 12. " For our wrestling is not," saith he, " against flesh and blood,2 but against the prin cipalities, against the powers, against the world- rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness, in the heavenly places." Having stimulated them by the character of the conflict, he next goes on to arouse them also by the prizes set before them. For what is his argument? Having said that the enemies are fierce, he adds further, that they despoil us of vast blessings. What are these? The conflict lies "in the heavenlies"; 3 the struggle is not about riches, not about glory, but about our being enslaved. And thus is the enmity irrecon cilable. The strife and the conflict are fiercer when for vast interests at stake ; for the expres sion " in the heavenlies " 3 is equivalent to, " for the heavenly things." It is not that they may gain anything by the conquest, but that they may despoil us. As if one were to say, " In what does the contract lie?" In gold. The word "in," means, "in behalf of"; the word "in," also means, "on account 4 of." 5 Observe how the power of the enemy startles us ; how it makes us all circumspection, to know that the hazard is on behalf of vast interests, and the ficoeviav. 2 [" Flesh and blood, i.e. feeble men, just as in Gal. i. 16, and Matt. xvi. 17. The word iraAr), which means nothing else than a wrestling, is specially chosen by the Apostle (who elsewhere uses ayuiv or jtiax7)) in order to bring out the more strongly in connec tion with jrpbs alfia icai <rapica the contrast between this less perilous form of contest and that which follows." Meyer. G. A.]3 ev rots eTrovpavioK;. * [" The word tv does not mean for or on account of> and the phrase is here local (i. 3)." Meyer. G. A.]5 TO tv UTrep e<rri, icai TO ev, 6id eariy. victory for the sake of great rewards. For he is doing his best to cast us out of Heaven. He speaks of certain " principalities, and powers, and world-rulers of this darkness." What darkness? Is it that of night? No, but of wickedness. " For ye were," saith he, " once darkness " (Eph. v. 8) ; so naming that wicked ness which is in this present life ; for beyond it, it will have no place, not in Heaven, nor iri the world to come. " World-rulers " 6 he calls them, not as having the mastery over the world, but the Scripture is wont to call wicked practices " the world," as, for example, where Christ saith, " They are not of this world, even as I am not of the world." (John xvii. 16.) What then, were they not of the world ? Were they not clothed with flesh ? Were they not of those who are in the world ? And again ; "The world hateth Me, but you it cannot hate." (John vii. 7.) Where again He calls wicked practices by this name. Thus the Apostle here by the world means wicked men, and the evil spirits have more especial power over them. " Against the spiritual hosts of wickedness," saith he, " in the heavenly places." "Principalities, and powers," he speaks of; just as in the heavenly places there are " thrones and dominions, principalities and powers." (Col. i. 16.) Ver. 13. "Wherefore," saith he, "take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand." By " evil day" he means the present life,7 and calls it too " this present evil world " (Gal. i. 4), from the evils which are done in it. It is as much as to say, Always be armed. And again, " having done all," saith he ; that is, both pas sions, and vile lusts, and all things else that trouble us. He speaks not merely of doing the deed, but of completing it, 8 so as not only to slay, but to stand also after we have slain. For many who have gained this victory, have fallen again. " Having done," saith he, " all " ; not having done one, but not the other. For even after the victory, we must stand. An enemy may be struck, but things that are struck revive again if we do not stand. But if after having fallen they rise up again, so long as we stand, they are fallen. So long as we waver not, the adversary rises not again. " Let us put on the whole armor of God." Seest thou how he banishes all fear? For if it be possible " to do all, and to stand," his de- 6 KoimoicpaTopa?. 7 ["The use of rji^epa, rather than alavi (Gal. i. 4) is opposed to the interpretation of Chrysostom. Still more untenable is the view of Meyer, that Paul is here specifying the day when the last great Satanic outbreak was to take place. Paul has at heart what he knew was much more present and more constantly impending, namely, the day of violent temptation." Ellicott. G. A.] * Not epya<7ajueoi, but (taTcpyacra/iei oi.