HOMILY XIX.] HOMILIES ON EPHESIANS. 137 HOMILY XIX. EPHESIANS v. 15, 16, 17. " Look then carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." HE is still cleansing away the root of bitter ness, still cutting off the very groundwork of anger. 1 For what is he saying ? " Look care fully how ye walk." "They are sheep in the midst of wolves," and he charges them to be also "as doves." For " ye shall be harmless," saith he, "as doves." (Matt. x. 16.) Forasmuch then as they were both amongst wolves, and were besides commanded not to defend them selves, but to suffer evil, they needed this ad monition. 2 Not indeed but that the former was sufficient to render them stronger ; 3 but now that there is besides the addition of the two, reflect how exceedingly it is heightened. Observe then here also, how carefully he secures them, by say ing, " Look how ye walk." Whole cities were at war with them ; yea, this war made its way also into houses. They were divided, father against son, and son against father, mother against daughter, and daughter against mother. What then? Whence these divisions? They heard Christ say, " He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me." (Matt. x. 37.) Lest therefore they should think that he was without reason introducing wars and fightings, (since there was likely to be much anger produced, if they on their part were to retaliate,) to prevent this, he says, " See care fully how ye walk." That is to say, " Except the Gospel message,4 give no other handle on any score whatever, for the hatred which you will incur." Let this be the only ground of hatred. Let no one have any other charge to make against you ; but show all deference and obedience, whenever it does no harm to the message, whenever it does not stand in the way of godliness. For it is said, " Render to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute, custom to whom custom." (Rom. xiii. 7.) For when amongst the rest of the world they shall see us forbearing, they will be put to shame. " Not as unwise, but as wise, 5 redeeming the time." 1 [The ovv rather resumes the general directions as to how they are to walk (comp. y. 9) alter the digression in ver. 11-14. G. A.]2 [The text of Field omits the clause, " they needed this admoni tion," leaving the sense obscure and difficult. This clause is attested by five codices, and we have inserted it with Savile. G. A.] 3 [And with four of these codices we prefer the reading eixrSevc- (TTipovs, " stronger," to Field s reading aaOeve&Tfpow; (which is " weaker "). G. A.] * Kripvyfj.a. B [" This is epexegetical of the preceding words, viewed nega- It is not from any wish that you should be artful, and versatile, that he gives this advice. But what he means is this. The time is not yours. At present ye are strangers, and sojourn- ers, and foreigners, and aliens ; seek not honors, seek not glory, seek not authority, nor revenge ; bear all things, and in this way, " redeem the time " ; 6 give up many things, anything they may require. Imagine now, I say, a man had a mag nificent house, and persons were to make their way in, on purpose to murder him, and he were to give a large sum, and thus to rescue himself. Then we should say, he has redeemed himself. So also hast thou a large house, and a true faith in thy keeping. They will come to take all away. Give whatever they may demand, only preserve the principal thing, I mean the faith. " Because the days," saith he, " are evil." What is the evil of the day? The evil of the day ought to belong to the day. What is the evil of a body? Disease. And what again the evil of the soul ? Wickedness. What is the evil of water? Bitterness. And the evil of each par ticular thing, is with reference to that nature of it which is affected by the evil. If then there is an evil in the day, it ought to belong to the day, to the hours, to the day-light. So also Christ saith, " Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matt. vi. 34.) And from this ex pressionwe shall understand the other. In what sense then does he call " the days evil " ? In what sense the "time" evil? It is not the es sence of the thing, not the things as so created, but it is the things transacted in them. In the same way as we are in the habit of saying, " I have passed a disagreeable and wretched day." r And yet how could it be disagreeable, except from the circumstances which took place in it? Now the events which take place in it are, good things from God, but evil things from bad men. So then of the evils which happen in the times, men are the creators, and hence it is that the times are said to be evil. And thus we also call the times evil. Ver. 17, 18. "Wherefore," 8 he adds, "be ye lively and positively: presenting yourselves in your walk, not as unwise, but as wise. " Meyer. G. A. ] [Or rather, "buying up for yourselves the opportunity : a participial clause, which gives a modal definition to the preceding *? <ro0oi, " as wise." " In this figurative conception the doing of tl for which the point of time is fitted is thought of as the purchase- price by which the /caipbs becomes ours. " Meyer. G. A.J [Compare on Gal. i. 4. " This clause, because the days a evil, supplies a motive for buying up the opportunity, Mraciy, because moral corruption is now in vogue." Meyer. G. A.J [" This wherefore refers to verses 15, 16. tor this cause, i.e. because ye ought to walk with such exactness, become not such do not use the mind aright." Ellicott. G. A.]