Exodus 23

"You shall not favor a poor man in his lawsuit," Scripture says. What therefore is the meaning of these words? "Do not be overcome by pity or unduly influenced if the wrongdoer happens to be a poor man," it means. And if we must not show favor to the poor man, much more must we not do so for the rich. Moreover, I address these words not only to judges but also to all men, so that justice may nowhere be corrupted but everywhere kept inviolate.

A reputation for nobility follows the refusal to remember ills and leads to the cessation of hostility. From this we become disposed to concord, and concord leads to happiness. If you catch anyone you regard as a traditional enemy acting stupidly and irrationally out of desire or temper, turn him toward good behavior.

You are commanded to pull out the ass or the ox which is lying in the mud. Do you then see a Christian like yourself, who was redeemed by the blood of Christ, lying in the sewer of drunkenness and wallowing in the mud of dissipation and remain silent? Do you pass by and not stretch forth the hand of mercy by shouting to him or rebuking him or instilling fright in him? If he neglects to listen to you, mention it to the priest somewhat secretly, in order that he may accomplish by his authority what you were unable to obtain by your humble admonition. Know for a most certain fact that unless you first in secret and with great love admonish sinners and later publicly do so if you have been rejected, that sentence must be directed at you: "If you do not warn the wicked man about his wicked conduct," it exclaims to careless bishops, "I will hold you responsible for his death."

The Lord tells us to relieve and lighten the burden of beasts of burden, even when they belong to our enemies. He is teaching us at a distance not to take pleasure in the misfortunes of others and not to laugh at our enemies. He wants to teach those who have exercised themselves in these disciplines to pray for their enemies.

"You shall not appear before the Lord empty," that is, enter not into the temple without sacrifices. Now if it is not right to go into the house of God without sacrifices, much more ought we to enter the assembly accompanied by our brethren. For this sacrifice and offering is better than that, when you bring a soul with you into the church.

Our physical nature rebels against the thought of making the nourishment of the living a garnish for the dead or the cause of life an accessory to the death of the body.

Consider these words. Let the Jew, not to speak of the Manichaean, say what other angel he can find in Scripture to whom these words apply, but this leader who was to bring the people into the land of promise. Then let him inquire who it was that succeeded Moses and brought in the people. He will find that it was Jesus and that this was not his name at first but after his name was changed. It follows that he who said, "My name is in him" is the true Jesus, the leader who brings his people into the inheritance of eternal life, according to the New Testament, of which the Old was a figure. No event or action could have a more distinctly prophetical character than this, where the very name is itself a prediction.

He called him an angel indeed, because of the greatness of the powers which he was to exercise and because of his prophetic office, while announcing the will of God. He is called Joshua (also Jesus), because it was a type of his own future name.

For Joshua was to introduce the people into the land of promise, not Moses. Now he called him an angel on account of the magnitude of the mighty deeds which he was to achieve (which mighty deeds Joshua the son of Nun did, as you can yourselves read) and on account of his office of prophet announcing the divine will. Similarly the Spirit, speaking in the person of the Father, calls the forerunner of Christ, John, a future angel, through the prophet: "Behold, I send my angel before your"—that is, Christ's—"face, who shall prepare your way before you."

And we notice that the saying, "The barren has borne seven, and she that has many children is weakened," is in accord with this; as also is that which is said in the blessings: "There shall not be one among you that is childless or barren." This being so, it follows that just as there is one love, known as carnal and also known as Cupid by the poets, according to which the lover sows in the flesh. So also is there another, a spiritual love, by which the inner man who loves sows in the spirit. And, to speak more plainly, if anyone still bears the image of the earthly according to the outer man, then he is moved by earthly desire and love; but the desire and love of him who bears the image of the heavenly according to the inner man are heavenly.