{"author":null,"canonical_references":[],"database_sha256":"8cfbe7284c6936871d57c02dc6aa63ebbdfd4722422d539dd9f716e46e91112e","date_end":null,"date_start":null,"edition_year":null,"id":"sermonindex-ecf-7695","native_reference":{"book_number":290,"chapter_from":56,"chapter_to":56,"system":"MyBible module coordinates (mapping unverified)","verse_from":10,"verse_to":10},"public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"verse-keyed-module-record","review_required":["English edition and exact text","author/work attribution","dating","verse mapping and citation kind","reuse and attribution","split author quotations and deduplicate"],"review_status":"unreviewed","source_html":"<p><b>Basil of Caesarea</b>: In souls, pure and cleansed from all defilement, the prophetic gift shines clear. In a foul mirror you cannot see what the reflection is, neither can a soul preoccupied with cares of this life and darkened with the passions of the lust of the flesh receive the rays of the Holy Spirit. Every dream is not a prophecy, as Zechariah says, \"The Lord shall make bright clouds and give them showers of rain … for the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have spoken false dreams.\" Those who, as Isaiah says, \"dream and love to sleep in their bed\" forget that an instigation of error is sent to \"the children of disobedience.\"<br/><i>— LETTER 210:6</i></p><p><b>Gregory the Dialogist</b>: Sometimes in sacred speech preachers are understood by dogs. For the tongue of a dog, when it licks a wound, heals it, because holy teachers too, when they instruct us in the confession of our sin, touch as it were the wound of the mind through their tongue; and because by speaking they rescue us from sins, by touching wounds as it were they restore us to health. For that by the name of dogs the tongue of preachers is signified, the Lord says through the Psalmist: \"The tongue of your dogs from enemies, from him.\" For from the unbelieving Jews the holy preachers were chosen, who, coming against thieves and robbers in defense of the truth, gave great barkings, so to speak, for the Lord. Against this it is said of certain reprobates: \"Dumb dogs, not able to bark.\" Because therefore holy preachers condemn sins, but approve the confession of sins, saying: \"Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be saved,\" dogs lick the sores of Lazarus.<br/><i>— Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 40</i></p><p><b>Ishodad of Merv</b>: \"They are all stammering dogs\" who stutter the praise of God and \"cannot bark\" against the idols, as against strangers. \"They dream, lay down and love to slumber,\" that is, they love to sleep in the graves and in the places where sacrifices are offered to demons, and there they expect from them visions, dreams and ghosts.<br/><i>— COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 56:10</i></p><p><b>Jerome</b>: His spies, blind all, knew nothing: mute dogs unable to bark, seeing vain things, sleeping, and loving dreams. LXX: See that all are blind: they all do not know, mute dogs cannot bark: dreaming of a bed, loving sleep. That all, he says, beasts should come forth from the forest, and devour those gathered together, whether they succeed into the place of the Jews, the crowd of the Gentiles, their spies are in fact the Scribes and Pharisees: because all the blind have not known the Lord Savior, nor did they want to see the present light. To whom the Lord spoke: Foolish and blind, what is more, gold or the altar that sanctifies the gold (Matthew 23:17)? And again: Blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel (ibid., 24); and: Blind leading the blind, both fall into a pit (Matthew 15:14). But as for why they are called watchmen and we have read above. In that place where according to the LXX it says: The voice of your watchmen has been lifted up (Isaiah 52:8), it is written in Hebrew: The voice of your watchmen. Of whom was Ezekiel, to whom God speaks: Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel (Ezekiel 3:17). But those watchmen were not blind. In fact, they were called seers. But these of whom the Prophet is now speaking, are not only blind watchmen, but they are also called dumb dogs, unable to bark. For those who were supposed to protect the flock of the Lord, and drive away the wolves, and bark for the Lord, they love dreams and take pleasure in demonic visions. And it is understood: They cannot speak the truth, but only lies.<br/><i>— Commentary on Isaiah</i></p><p><b>John Chrysostom</b>: Hence even sacred Scripture, with these sorts of disturbing passions in mind, in many places applies the names of brutes and of wild beasts to those gifted with reason; sometimes it calls them \"dogs\" on account of their shameful and headstrong behavior—\"dumb dogs,\" since they are \"unable even to bark.\"<br/><i>— HOMILIES ON Genesis 12:10</i></p>","source_html_sha256":"1d98248bbbff4e855131d341dc94aa57ab09c9d296b894385d281acc56b91a2c","source_module":"ECF","source_row_id":7695,"source_url":"https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/ecf/","text_sha256":"6b433512eb6eb4c847cc0034cc70026290e1f9d0f5de18aa130fb3e6772e790d","translator":null,"work":null}