{"author":null,"canonical_references":[],"database_sha256":"8cfbe7284c6936871d57c02dc6aa63ebbdfd4722422d539dd9f716e46e91112e","date_end":null,"date_start":null,"edition_year":null,"id":"sermonindex-ecf-4090","native_reference":{"book_number":250,"chapter_from":12,"chapter_to":12,"system":"MyBible module coordinates (mapping unverified)","verse_from":13,"verse_to":13},"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>Augustine of Hippo</b>: What could be briefer, truer, better for the soul to know? For this is all a person is—a keeper of God's commandments. Not being such, he is, so to say, nothing at all, because instead of being constantly reshaped to the image of the truth, he remains bogged down in the likeness of shadow.<br/><i>— City of God 20.3</i></p><p><b>Bede</b>: Of those who are proud and at the same time treacherous it is said, \"The foxes have dens and the birds of the air have nests.\" And of all people in general it is said, \"And man, when he was held in esteem\" (that is, made in the image of God), \"did not understand; he was like foolish cattle.\" Solomon, however, shows humanity as it truly is, that is, uncorrupted, when he says, \"Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is all there is to man.\"<br/><i>— Commentary on Acts 10:12</i></p><p><b>Bede</b>: They have been appointed to this, that is, to this made human beings by nature, that they may believe God and obey his will, as Solomon attests when he says, \"Fear God and obey his commandments, for this is [the duty of] every human being.\" That is, every human being has been naturally made for this purpose, that he may fear God and obey his commandments.<br/><i>— Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, 1 Peter 2:8</i></p><p><b>Gregory the Dialogist</b>: Solomon's book in which these words appear is called Ecclesiastes. Translated, this name means \"Preacher.\" Now, in preaching one expresses sentiments that tend to quiet a noisy crowd. And when there are many people holding opinions of various kinds, they are brought into harmony by the reasoning of the speaker. This book, then, is called \"the Preacher\" because in it Solomon makes the feelings of the disorganized people his own in order to search into and give expression to the thoughts that come to their untutored minds perhaps by the way of temptation. For the sentiments he expresses in his search are as varied as the individuals he impersonates. But, like a true preacher, he stretches out his arms at the end of his address and calms the troubled sprits of the assembled people, calling them back to one way of thinking. This we see him do at the close of the book, where he says, \"Let us all hear together the conclusion of the discourse. Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.\"<br/><i>— Dialogues, Book 4, Chapter 4</i></p><p><b>Jerome</b>: \"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole<br/>matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of<br/>man. For God shall bring every work into<br/>judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be<br/>evil. \"The Hebrews say that although it used to be among other<br/>writings of Solomon in the past, they have not persisted in memory; and this<br/>book seems as if it ought to have been omitted, because it asserts that all<br/>God's creations are vain and that he thinks everything is done for nothing, and<br/>he prefers food and drink and transient pleasures to all things; thus he takes<br/>his authority from this one title, so it is now included in the number of<br/>divine books, because he argues well and lists many things like \"anakephaiosei, \"and he said that his<br/>speeches are the easiest to hear, and to understand; let us therefore fear God<br/>and carry out his commandments. For man<br/>is born for this purpose and, understanding his Creator, he reveres Him in fear<br/>and respect, and in the work of his commandments. And when the time of judgement comes whatever<br/>we have done will stand before the judge and for a long time we will await our<br/>judgement which could go one way or the other, and we will receive our just<br/>rewards, whether they be good or bad. <br/>But where we read, \"with every secret thing\", Symmachus and the<br/>Septuagint have interpreted, \"from all contempt\", or even \"from<br/>all unknown\", which even brought by reluctant words, not by will, but by<br/>ignorance, we will be returned to reason in the day of our judgement. Differently: since fear is more appropriate<br/>to slaves, and perfect love involves no fear, and fear in the divine Scripture<br/>is used to denote those embarking on and those completing education [Cfr. I. Ioh. 4, 18.]. Now I think he talks about the fear inherent<br/>in virtues, according to the passage, which says, \"nothing is lacking from<br/>those who fear Him\" [Ps. 33, 10.]. Or even, since until now he is a man and has<br/>not yet taken the name of God, he has this reason of his wealth, so that he<br/>fears God while he is still alive. Since<br/>every single deed is judged, that is, God leads all men into judgement about<br/>all things, either good or bad, which are done and said differently than by<br/>Him. For indeed, \"woe to those who<br/>say wicked is good, and good is wicked\" [Is. 5, 20.].<br/><i>— Commentary on Ecclesiastes</i></p><p><b>Jerome</b>: \"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.\" Let us therefore fear God and carry out his commandments. For man is born for this purpose and, understanding his Creator, he reveres Him in fear and respect, and in the work of his commandments. And when the time of judgement comes whatever we have done will stand before the judge and for a long time we will await our judgement which could go one way or the other, and we will receive our just rewards, whether they be good or bad. But where we read, \"with every secret thing\", Symmachus and the Septuagint have interpreted, \"from all contempt\", or even \"from all unknown\", which even brought by reluctant words, not by will, but by ignorance, we will be returned to reason in the day of our judgement. Differently: since fear is more appropriate to slaves, and perfect love involves no fear, and fear in the divine Scripture is used to denote those embarking on and those completing education. Now I think he talks about the fear inherent in virtues, according to the passage, which says, \"nothing is lacking from those who fear Him\". Or even, since until now he is a man and has not yet taken the name of God, he has this reason of his wealth, so that he fears God while he is still alive. Since every single deed is judged, that is, God leads all men into judgement about all things, either good or bad, which are done and said differently than by Him. For indeed, \"woe to those who say wicked is good, and good is wicked\".<br/><i>— Commentary on Ecclesiastes</i></p><p><b>John Chrysostom</b>: If fear of God comes from knowledge but knowledge is going to pass away, as Paul says, then we shall be completely destroyed when there is no knowledge. All that we are will be gone, and we shall be in a state no better but much worse than irrational beings. For in knowledge we have the advantage over them, whereas in all other things pertaining to the body they surpass us by far.<br/><i>— AGAINST THE ANOMOEANS, HOMILY 1:9</i></p><p><b>Shepherd of Hermas</b>: \"Fear,\" said he, \"the Lord, and keep His commandments. For if you keep the commandments of God, you will be powerful in every action, and every one of your actions will be incomparable. For, fearing the Lord, you will do all things well. This is the fear which you ought to have, that you may be saved. But fear not the devil; for, fearing the Lord, you will have dominion over the devil, for there is no power in him. ... For fears are of two kinds: for if you do not wish to do that which is evil, fear the Lord, and you will not do it; but, again, if you wish to do that which is good, fear the Lord, and you will do it. Wherefore the fear of the Lord is strong, and great, and glorious. Fear, then, the Lord, and you will live to Him, and as many as fear Him and keep His commandments will live to God.\" ... \"All creation fears the Lord, but all creation does not keep His commandments. They only who fear the Lord and keep His commandments have life with God; but as to those who keep not His commandments, there is no life in them.\"<br/><i>— Shepherd of Hermas, Commandment 7</i></p>","source_html_sha256":"8acbdc9ecd7f63b2073355c4007cf814a7ae358c891c7dd7a59827e2df554006","source_module":"ECF","source_row_id":4090,"source_url":"https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/ecf/","text_sha256":"cd095c0b55bf91c3a7d1e2b0fdd9efd3398758977ab5dd2498063b3372b7c2a6","translator":null,"work":null}