   How blessed and marvelous are the gifts of God, dearly beloved!!
Life in immortality, splendor in righteousness, truth in boldness,
faith in confidence, temperance in sanctification! And all these
things fall under our apprehension.
What then, think ye, are the things preparing for them that patiently
await Him? The Creator and Father of the ages, the All holy One
Himself knoweth their number and their beauty.
Let us therefore contend, that we may be found in the number of those
that patiently await Him, to the end that we may be partakers of His
promised gifts.
But how shall this be, dearly beloved? If our mind be fixed through
faith towards God; if we seek out those things which are well
pleasing and acceptable unto Him; if we accomplish such things as
beseem His faultless will, and follow the way of truth, casting off
from ourselves all unrighteousness and iniquity, covetousness,
strifes, malignities and deceits, whisperings and backbitings, hatred
of God, pride and arrogance, vainglory and inhospitality.
For they that do these things are hateful to God; and not only they
that do them, but they also that consent unto them.
For the scripture saith, But unto the sinner said God, Wherefore
dost thou declare Mine ordinances, and takest My covenant upon thy
lips?
Yet Thou didst hate instruction and didst cast away My words behind
thee. If thou sawest a thief thou didst keep company with him, and
with the adulterers thou didst set thy portion. Thy mouth
multiplied wickedness and thy tongue wove deceit. Thou sattest and
spakest against thy brother, and against the son of thy mother thou
didst lay a stumbling block.
These things Thou hast done, and I kept silence. Thou thoughtest,
unrighteous man, that I should be like unto thee.
I will convict thee and will set thee face to face with thyself.
Now understand ye these things, ye that forget God, lest at any
time He seize you as a lion, and there be none to deliver.
The sacrifice of praise shall glorify Me, and there is the way
wherein I will show him the salvation of God.
   This is the way, dearly beloved, wherein we found our salvation,
even Jesus Christ the High priest of our offerings, the Guardian and
Helper of our weakness.
Through Him let us look steadfastly unto the heights of the heavens;
through Him we behold as in a mirror His faultless and most excellent
visage; through Him the eyes of our hearts were opened; through Him
our foolish and darkened mind springeth up unto the light; through
Him the Master willed that we should taste of the immortal knowledge
Who being the brightness of His majesty is so much greater than
angels, as He hath inherited a more excellent name.
For so it is written Who maketh His angels spirits and His
ministers aflame of fire
but of His Son the Master said thus, Thou art My Son, I this day
have begotten thee. Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the Gentiles
for Thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Thy
possession.
And again He saith unto Him Sit Thou on My right hand, until I make
Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.
Who then are these enemies? They that are wicked and resist His
will.
   Let us therefore enlist ourselves, brethren, with all earnestness in
His faultless ordinances.
Let us mark the soldiers that are enlisted under our rulers, how
exactly, how readily, how submissively, they execute the orders given
them.
All are not prefects, nor rulers of thousands, nor rulers of
hundreds, nor rulers of fifties, and so forth; but each man in his
own rank executeth the orders given by the king and the governors.
The great without the small cannot exist, neither the small without
the great. There is a certain mixture in all things, and therein is
utility.
Let us take our body as an example. The head without the feet is
nothing; so likewise the feet without the head are nothing: even the
smallest limbs of our body are necessary and useful for the whole
body: but all the members conspire and unite in subjection, that the
whole body maybe saved.
   So in our case let the whole body be saved in Christ Jesus, and let
each man be subject unto his neighbor, according as also he was
appointed with his special grace.
Let not the strong neglect the weak; and let the weak respect the
strong. Let the rich minister aid to the poor; and let the poor give
thanks to God, because He hath given him one through whom his wants
may be supplied. Let the wise display his wisdom, not in words, but
in good works. He that is lowly in mind, let him not bear testimony
to himself, but leave testimony to be borne to him by his neighbor.
He that is pure in the flesh, let him be so, and not boast, knowing
that it is Another who bestoweth his continence upon him.
Let us consider, brethren, of what matter we were made; who and what
manner of beings we were, when we came into the world; from what a
sepulchre and what darkness He that molded and created us brought us
into His world, having prepared His benefits aforehand ere ever we
were born.
Seeing therefore that we have all these things from Him, we ought in
all things to give thanks to Him, to whom be the glory for ever and
ever. Amen.
   Senseless and stupid and foolish and ignorant men jeer and mock at
us, desiring that they themselves should be exalted in their
imaginations.
For what power hath a mortal? or what strength hath a child of earth?
For it is written; There was no form before mine eyes; only I heard
a breath and a voice.
What then? Shall a mortal be clean in the sight of the Lord; or
shall a man be unblamable for his works? seeing that He is
distrustful against His servants and noteth some perversity against
His angels.
Nay, the heaven is not clean in His sight. Away then, ye that dwell
in houses of clay, whereof, even of the same clay, we ourselves are
made. He smote them like a moth, and from morn to even they are no
more. Because they could not succor themselves, they perished.
He breathed on them and they died, because they had no wisdom.
But call thou, if perchance one shall obey thee, or if thou shalt
see one of the holy angels. For wrath killeth the foolish man, and
envy slayeth him that has gone astray.
And I have seen fools throwing out roots, but forthwith their
habitation was eaten up.
Far be their sons from safety. May they be mocked at the gates of
inferiors, and there shall be none to deliver them. For the things
which are prepared for them, the righteous shall eat; but they
themselves shall not be delivered from evils.
   Forasmuch then as these things are manifest beforehand, and we have
searched into the depths of the Divine knowledge, we ought to do all
things in order, as many as the Master hath commanded us to perform
at their appointed seasons.
Now the offerings and ministrations He commanded to be performed with
care, and not to be done rashly or in disorder, but at fixed times
and seasons.
And where and by whom He would have them performed, He Himself fixed
by His supreme will: that all things being done with piety according
to His good pleasure might be acceptable to His will.
They therefore that make their offerings at the appointed seasons are
acceptable and blessed: for while they follow the institutions of
the Master they cannot go wrong.
For unto the high priest his proper services have been assigned, and
to the priests their proper office is appointed, and upon the levites
their proper ministrations are laid. The layman is bound by the
layman's ordinances.
   Let each of you, brethren, in his own order give thanks unto God,
maintaining a good conscience and not transgressing the appointed
rule of his service, but acting with all seemliness.
Not in every place, brethren, are the continual daily sacrifices
offered, or the freewill offerings, or the sin offerings and the
trespass offerings, but in Jerusalem alone. And even there the
offering is not made in every place, but before the sanctuary in the
court of the altar; and this too through the high priest and the afore
said ministers, after that the victim to be offered hath been
inspected for blemishes.
They therefore who do any thing contrary to the seemly ordinance of
His will receive death as the penalty.
Ye see, brethren, in proportion as greater knowledge hath been
vouchsafed unto us, so much the more are we exposed to danger.
   The Apostles received the Gospel for us from the Lord Jesus
Christ; Jesus Christ was sent forth from God.
So then Christ is from God, and the Apostles are from Christ. Both
therefore came of the will of God in the appointed order.
Having therefore received a charge, and having been fully assured
through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and confirmed in
the word of God with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they went
forth with the glad tidings that the kingdom of God should come.
So preaching everywhere in country and town, they appointed their
firstfruits, when they had proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops
and deacons unto them that should believe.
And this they did in no new fashion; for indeed it had been written
concerning bishops and deacons from very ancient times; for thus
saith the scripture in a certain place, I will appoint their
bishops in righteousness and their deacons in faith.
   And what marvel, if they which were entrusted in Christ with such a
work by God appointed the aforesaid persons? seeing that even the
blessed Moses who was a faithful servant in all His house recorded
for a sign in the sacred books all things that were enjoined upon
him. And him also the rest of the prophets followed, bearing witness
with him unto the laws that were ordained by him.
For he, when jealousy arose concerning the priesthood, and there was
dissension among the tribes which of them was adorned with the
glorious name, commanded the twelve chiefs of the tribes to bring to
him rods inscribed with the name of each tribe. And he took them and
tied them and sealed them with the signet rings of the chiefs of the
tribes, and put them away in the tabernacle of the testimony on the
table of God.
And having shut the tabernacle he sealed the keys and likewise also
the doors.
And he said unto them, Brethren, the tribe whose rod shall bud, this
hath God chosen to be priests and ministers unto Him.
Now when morning came, he called together all Israel, even the six
hundred thousand men, and showed the seals to the chiefs of the
tribes and opened the tabernacle of the testimony and drew forth the
rods. And the rod of Aaron was found not only with buds, but also
bearing fruit.
What think ye, dearly beloved? Did not Moses know beforehand that
this would come to pass? Assuredly he knew it. But that disorder
might not arise in Israel, he did thus, to the end that the Name of
the true and only God might be glorified: to whom he the glory for
ever and ever. Amen...
   And our Apostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that there would
be strife over the name of the bishop's office.
For this cause therefore, having received complete foreknowledge,
they appointed the aforesaid persons, and afterwards they provided a
continuance, that if these should fall asleep, other approved men
should succeed to their ministration. Those therefore who were
appointed by them, or afterward by other men of repute with the
consent of the whole Church, and have ministered unblamably to the
flock of Christ in lowliness of mind, peacefully and with all
modesty, and for long time have borne a good report with all these
men we consider to be unjustly thrust out from their ministration.
For it will be no light sin for us, if we thrust out those who have
offered the gifts of the bishop's office unblamably and holily.
Blessed are those presbyters who have gone before, seeing that their
departure was fruitful and ripe: for they have no fear lest any one
should remove them from their appointed place.
For we see that ye have displaced certain persons, though they were
living honorably, from the ministration which had been respected by
them blamelessly.
   Be ye contentious, brethren, and jealous about the things that
pertain unto salvation.
Ye have searched the scriptures, which are true, which were given
through the Holy Ghost;
and ye know that nothing unrighteous or counterfeit is written in
them. Ye will not find that righteous persons have been thrust out
by holy men.
Righteous men were persecuted, but it was by the lawless; they were
imprisoned, but it was by the unholy. They were stoned by
transgressors: they were slain by those who had conceived a
detestable and unrighteous jealousy.
Suffering these things, they endured nobly.
For what must we say, brethren? Was Daniel cast into the lions' den
by them that feared God?
Or were Ananias and Azarias and Misael shut up in the furnace of fire
by them that professed the excellent and glorious worship of the Most
High? Far be this from our thoughts. Who then were they that did
these things? Abominable men and full of all wickedness were stirred
up to such a pitch of wrath, as to bring cruel suffering upon them
that served God in a holy and blameless purpose, not knowing that the
Most High is the champion and protector of them that in a pure
conscience serve His excellent Name: unto whom be the glory for ever
and ever. Amen.
But they that endured patiently in confidence
inherited glory and honor; they were exalted, and had their names
recorded by God in their memorial for ever and ever. Amen.
   To such examples as these therefore, brethren, we also ought to
cleave.
For it is written; Cleave unto the saints, for they that cleave
unto them shall be sanctified.
And again He saith in another place; With the guiltless man thou
shalt be guiltless, and with the elect thou shalt be elect, and
with the crooked thou shalt deal crookedly.
Let us therefore cleave to the guiltless and righteous: and these
are the elect of God.
Wherefore are there strifes and wraths and factions and divisions and
war among you?
Have we not one God and one Christ and one Spirit of grace that was
shed upon us? And is there not one calling in Christ?
Wherefore do we tear and rend asunder the members of Christ, and stir
up factions against our own body, and reach such a pitch of folly, as
to forget that we are members one of another?
Remember the words of Jesus our Lord: for He said, Woe unto that
man; it were good for him if he had not been born, rather than that
at he should offend one of Mine elect. It were better for him that
a millstone were hanged about him, and be cast into the sea, than
that he should pervert one of Mine elect.
Your division hath perverted many; it hath brought many to despair,
many to doubting, and all of us to sorrow. And your sedition still
continueth.
   Take up the epistle of the blessed Paul the Apostle.
What wrote he first unto you in the beginning of the Gospel?
Of a truth he charged you in the Spirit concerning himself and Cephas
and Apollos, because that even then ye had made parties.
Yet that making of parties brought less sin upon you; for ye were
partisans of Apostles that were highly reputed, and of a man approved
in their sight.
But now mark ye, who they are that have perverted you and diminished
the glory of your renowned love for the brotherhood.
It is shameful, dearly beloved, yes, utterly shameful and unworthy of
your conduct in Christ, that it should be reported that the very
steadfast and ancient Church of the Corinthians, for the sake of one
or two persons, maketh sedition against its presbyters.
And this report hath reached not only us, but them also which differ
from us, so that ye even heap blasphemies on the Name of the Lord by
reason of your folly, and moreover create peril for yourselves.
   Let us therefore root this out quickly, and let us fall down before
the Master and entreat Him with tears, that He may show Himself
propitious and be reconciled unto us, and may restore us to the
seemly and pure conduct which belongeth to our love of the brethren.
For this is a gate of righteousness opened unto life, as it is
written; Open me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter in
thereby and preach the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter in
thereby.
Seeing then that many gates are opened, this is that gate which is in
righteousness, even that which is in Christ, whereby all are blessed
that have entered in and direct their path in holiness and
righteousness, performing all things without confusion.
Let a man be faithful, let him be able to expound a deep saying, let
him be wise in the discernment of words, let him be strenuous in
deeds, let him be pure;
for so much the more ought he to be lowly in mind, in proportion as
he seemeth to be the greater; and he ought to seek the common
advantage of all, and not his own.
   Let him that hath love in Christ fulfill the commandments of Christ.
Who can declare the bond of the love of God?
Who is sufficient to tell the majesty of its beauty?
The height, where unto love exalteth, is unspeakable.
Love joineth us unto God; love covereth a multitude of sins; love
endureth all things, is long-suffering in all things. There is
nothing coarse, nothing arrogant in love. Love hath no divisions,
love maketh no seditions, love doeth all things in concord. In love
were all the elect of God made perfect; without love nothing is well
pleasing to God:
in love the Master took us unto Himself; for the
love which He had toward us, Jesus Christ our Lord hath given His
blood for us by the will of God, and His flesh for our flesh and His
life for our lives.
   Ye see, dearly beloved, how great and marvelous a thing is love, and
there is no declaring its perfection.
Who is sufficient to be found therein, save those to whom God shall
vouchsafe it? Let us therefore entreat and ask of His mercy, that we
may be found blameless in love, standing apart from the factiousness
of men. All the generations from Adam unto this day have passed
away: but they that by God's grace were perfected in love dwell in
the abode of the pious; and they shall be made manifest in the
visitation of the Kingdom of God.
For it is written; Enter into the closet for a very little while
until Mine anger and Mine wrath shall pass away, and I will
remember a good day and will raise you from your tombs.
Blessed were we, dearly beloved, if we should be doing the
commandments of God in concord of love, to the end that our sins may
through love be forgiven us.
For it is written; Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord
shall impute no sin, neither is guile in his mouth.
This declaration of blessedness was pronounced upon them that have
been elected by God through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be the
glory for ever and ever. Amen.
   For all our transgressions which we have committed through any of
the wiles of the adversary, let us entreat that we may obtain
forgiveness. Yea and they also, who set themselves up as leaders of
faction and division, ought to look to the common ground of hope.
For such as walk in fear and love desire that they themselves should
fall into suffering rather than their neighbors; and they pronounce
condemnation against themselves rather than against the harmony which
hath been handed down to us nobly and righteously.
For it is good for a man to make confession of his trespasses rather
than to harden his heart, as the heart of those was hardened who made
sedition against Moses the servant of God; whose condemnation was
clearly manifest,
for they went down to hades alive, and Death shall be their
shepherd.
Pharaoh and his host and all the rulers of Egypt, their chariots
and their horsemen, were overwhelmed in the depths of the Red Sea,
and perished for none other reason but because their foolish hearts
were hardened after that the signs and the wonders had been wrought
in the land of Egypt by the hand of Moses the servant of God.
   The Master, brethren, hath need of nothing at all. He desireth not
anything of any man, save to confess unto Him.
For the elect David saith; I will confess unto the Lord, and it
shall please Him more than a young calf that groweth horns and
hoofs. Let the poor see it, and rejoice.
And again He saith; Sacrifice to God a sacrifice of praise, and pay
thy vows to the Most High: and call upon Me in the day of thine
affliction, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.
For a sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit.
   For ye know, and know well, the sacred scriptures, dearly beloved,
and ye have searched into the oracles of God. We write these things
therefore to put you in remembrance.
When Moses went up into the mountain and had spent forty days and
forty nights in fasting and humiliation, God said unto him; Moses,
Moses, come down , quickly hence, for My people whom thou leadest
forth from the land of Egypt have wrought iniquity: they have
transgressed quickly out of the way which thou didst command unto
them: they have made for themselves molten images.
And the Lord said unto him; I have spoken unto thee once and twice,
saying, I have seen this people, and behold it is stiff-necked. Let
Me destroy them utterly, and I will blot out their name from under
heaven, and I will make of thee a nation great and wonderful and
numerous more than this.
And Moses said; Nay, not so, Lord Forgive this people their sin, or
blot me also out of the book of the living.
O mighty love! O unsurpassable perfection! The servant is bold with
his Master; he asketh forgiveness for the multitude, or he demandeth
that himself also be blotted out with them.
   Who therefore is noble among you? Who is compassionate? Who is
fulfilled with love?
Let him say; If by reason of me there be faction and strife and
divisions, I retire, I depart, whither ye will, and I do that which
is ordered by the people: only let the flock of Christ be at peace
with its duly appointed presbyters.
He that shall have done this, shall win for himself great renown in
Christ, and every place will receive him: for the earth is the
Lord's and the fullness thereof.
Thus have they done and will do, that live as citizens of that
kingdom of God which bringeth no regrets.
   But, to bring forward examples of Gentiles also; many kings and
rulers, when some season of pestilence pressed upon them, being
taught by oracles have delivered themselves over to death, that they
might rescue their fellow citizens through their own blood. Many
have retired from their own cities, that they might have no more
seditions.
We know that many among ourselves have delivered themselves to
bondage, that they might ransom others. Many have sold themselves to
slavery, and receiving the price paid for themselves have fed others.
Many women being strengthened through the grace of God have
performed many manly deeds.
The blessed Judith, when the city was beleaguered, asked of the
elders that she might be suffered to go forth into the camp of the
aliens.
So she exposed herself to peril and went forth for love of her
country and of her people which were beleaguered; and the Lord
delivered Holophernes into the hand of a woman.
To no less peril did Esther also, who was perfect in faith, expose
herself, that she might deliver the twelve tribes of Israel, when
they were on the point to perish. For through her fasting and her
humiliation she entreated the all seeing Master, the God of the
ages; and He, seeing the humility of her soul, delivered the people
for whose sake she encountered the peril.
   Therefore let us also make intercession for them that are in any
transgression, that forbearance and humility may be given them, to
the end that they may yield not unto us, but unto the will of God.
For so shall the compassionate remembrance of them with God and the
saints be fruitful unto them, and perfect.
Let us accept chastisement, whereat no man ought to be vexed, dearly
beloved. The admonition which we give one to another is good and
exceeding useful; for it joineth us unto the will of God.
For thus saith the holy word; The Lord hath indeed chastened me,
and hath not delivered me over unto death.
For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son
whom He receiveth.
For the righteous, it is said, shall chasten me in mercy and
shall reprove me, but let not the mercy of sinners anoint my head.
And again He saith; Blessed is the man whom the Lord hath reproved,
and refuse not thou the admonition of the Almighty. For He causeth
pain, and he restoreth again:
He hath smitten, and His hands have healed.
Six times shall He rescue thee from afflictions and at the seventh
no evil shall touch thee.
In famine he shall deliver thee from death, and in war He shall
release thee from the arm of the sword.
And from the scourge of the tongue He shall hide thee and thou
shalt not be afraid when evils approach.
Thou shalt laugh at the unrighteous and wicked, and of the wild
beasts thou shalt not be afraid.
For wild beasts shall be at peace with thee.
Then shalt thou know that thy house shall be at peace: and the
abode of thy tabernacle shall not go wrong,
and thou shalt know that thy seed is many, and thy children as the
plenteous herbage of the field.
And thou shalt come to the grave as ripe corn reaped in due season,
or as the heap of the threshing floor gathered together at the
right time.
Ye see, dearly beloved, how great protection there is for them that
are chastened by the Master: for being a kind father He chasteneth
us to the end that we may obtain mercy through His holy chastisement.
   Ye therefore that laid the foundation of the sedition, submit
yourselves unto the presbyters and receive chastisement unto
repentance, bending the knees of your heart.
Learn to submit yourselves, laying aside the arrogant and proud
stubbornness of your tongue. For it is better for you to be found
little in the flock of Christ and to have your name on God's roll,
than to be had in exceeding honor and yet be cast out from the hope
of Him.
For thus saith the All virtuous Wisdom; Behold I will pour out for
you a saying of My breath, and I will teach you My word.
Because I called and ye obeyed not, and I held out words and ye
heeded not, but made My councils of none effect, and were
disobedient unto My reproofs; therefore I also will laugh at your
destruction, and will rejoice over you when ruin cometh upon you,
and when confusion overtaketh you suddenly, and your overthrow is
at hand like a whirlwind,
or when ye call upon Me, yet will I not here you. Evil men shall
seek me and not find me: for they hated wisdom, and chose not the
fear of the Lord, neither would they give head unto My councils,
but mocked at My reproofs.
Therefore they shall eat the fruits of their own way, and shall be
filled with their own ungodliness.
For because they wronged babes, they shall be slain, and
inquisition shall destroy the ungodly. But he that heareth Me shall
dwell safely trusting in hope, and shall be quiet from all fear of
all evil.
   Let us therefore be obedient unto His most holy and glorious Name,
thereby escaping the threatenings which were spoken of old by the
mouth of Wisdom against them which disobey, that we may dwell safely,
trusting in the most holy Name of His majesty.
Receive our counsel, and ye shall have no occasion of regret. For as
God liveth, and the Lord Jesus Christ liveth, and the Holy Spirit,
who are the faith and the hope of the elect, so surely shall he, who
with lowliness of mind and instant in gentleness hath without
regretfulness performed the ordinances and commandments that are
given by God, be enrolled and have a name among the number of them
that are saved through Jesus Christ, through whom is the glory unto
Him for ever and ever. Amen.
   But if certain persons should be disobedient unto the words spoken
by Him through us, let them understand that they will entangle
themselves in no slight transgression and danger;
but we shall be guiltless of this sin. And we will ask, with
instancy of prayer and supplication, that the Creator of the universe
may guard intact unto the end the number that hath been numbered of
His elect throughout the whole world, through His beloved Son Jesus
Christ, through whom He called us from darkness to light, from
ignorance to the full knowledge of the glory of His Name.
   [Grant unto us, Lord,] that we may set our hope on Thy Name which is
the primal source of all creation, and open the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know Thee, who alone abidest Highest in the lofty, Holy
in the holy; who layest low in the insolence of the proud, who
settest the lowly on high, and bringest the lofty low; who
makest rich and makest poor; who killest and makest alive; who
alone art the Benefactor of spirits and the God of all flesh; who
lookest into the abysses, who scanest the works of man; the Succor
of them that are in peril, the Savior of them that are in 
despair; The Creator and Overseer of every spirit; who multipliest
the nations upon earth, and hast chosen out from all men those that
love Thee through Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, through whom Thou
didst instruct us, didst sanctify us, didst honor us.
We beseech Thee, Lord and Master, to be our help and succor. Save
those among us who are in tribulation; have mercy on the lowly; lift
up the fallen; show Thyself unto the needy; heal the ungodly; convert
the wanderers of Thy people; feed the hungry; release our prisoners;
raise up the weak; comfort the fainthearted. Let all the Gentiles
know that Thou art the God alone, and Jesus Christ is Thy Son, and
we are Thy people and the sheep of Thy pasture.
   Thou through Thine operations didst make manifest the everlasting
fabric of the world. Thou, Lord, didst create the earth. Thou that
art faithful throughout all generations, righteous in Thy judgments,
marvelous in strength and excellence, Thou that art wise in creating
and prudent in establishing that which Thou hast made, that art good
in the things which are seen and faithful with them that trust on
Thee, pitiful and compassionate, forgive us our iniquities and our
unrighteousnesses and our transgressions and shortcomings.
Lay not to our account every sin of Thy servants and Thine handmaids,
but cleanse us with the cleansing of Thy truth, and guide our steps
to walk in holiness and righteousness and singleness of heart
and to do such things as are good and well pleasing in Thy sight
and in the sight of our rulers.
Yea, Lord, make Thy face to shine upon us in peace for our good,
that we may be sheltered by Thy mighty hand and delivered from
every sin by Thine uplifted arm. And deliver us from them that
hate us wrongfully.
Give concord and peace to us and to all that dwell on the earth, as
Thou gavest to our fathers, when they called on Thee in faith
and truth with holiness, [that we may be saved,] while we render
obedience to Thine almighty and most excellent Name, and to our
rulers and governors upon the earth.
   Thou, Lord and Master, hast given them the power of sovereignty
through Thine excellent and unspeakable might, that we knowing the
glory and honor which Thou hast given them may submit ourselves unto
them, in nothing resisting Thy will. Grant unto them therefore, O
Lord, health peace, concord, stability, that they may administer the
government which Thou hast given them without failure.
For Thou, O heavenly Master, King of the ages, givest to the sons of
men glory and honor and power over all things that are upon the
earth. Do Thou, Lord, direct their counsel according to that which
is good and well pleasing in Thy sight, that, administering in peace
and gentleness with Godliness the power which Thou hast given them,
they may obtain Thy favor.
O Thou, who alone art able to do these things and things far more
exceeding good than these for us, we praise Thee through the High
priest and Guardian of our souls, Jesus Christ, through whom be the
glory and the majesty unto Thee both now and for all generations and
for ever and ever. Amen.
   As touching those things which befit our religion and are most
useful for a virtuous life to such as would guide [their steps] in
holiness and righteousness, we have written fully unto you, brethren.
For concerning faith and repentance and genuine love and temperance
and sobriety and patience we have handled every argument, putting you
in remembrance, that ye ought to please Almighty God in righteousness
and truth and long suffering with holiness, laying aside malice and
pursuing concord in love and peace, being instant in gentleness; even
as our fathers, of whom we spake before, pleased Him, being lowly
minded toward their Father and God and Creator and towards all men.
And we have put you in mind of these things the more gladly, since we
knew well that we were writing to men who are faithful and highly
accounted and have diligently searched into the oracles of the
teaching of God.
   Therefore it is right for us to give heed to so great and so many
examples and to submit the neck and occupying the place of obedience
to take our side with them that are the leaders of our souls, that
ceasing from this foolish dissension we may attain unto the goal
which lieth before us in truthfulness, keeping aloof from every
fault.
For ye will give us great joy and gladness, if ye render obedience
unto the things written by us through the Holy Spirit, and root out
the unrighteous anger of your jealousy, according to the entreaty
which we have made for peace and concord in this letter.
And we have also sent faithful and prudent men that have walked among
us from youth unto old age unblamably, who shall also be witnesses
between you and us.
And this we have done that ye might know that we have had, and still
have, every solicitude that ye should be speedily at peace.
   Finally may the All seeing God and Master of spirits and Lord of all
flesh, who chose the Lord Jesus Christ, and us through Him for a
peculiar people, grant unto every soul that is called after His
excellent and holy Name faith, fear, peace, patience, long-suffering,
temperance, chastity and soberness, that they may be well pleasing
unto His Name through our High priest and Guardian Jesus Christ,
through whom unto Him be glory and majesty, might and honor, both now
and for ever and ever. Amen.
   Now send ye back speedily unto us our messengers Claudius Ephebus
and Valerius Bito, together with Fortunatus also, in peace and with
joy, to the end that they may the more quickly report the peace and
concord which is prayed for and earnestly desired by us, that we also
may the more speedily rejoice over your good order.
   The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you and with all men in
all places who have been called by God and through Him, through whom
be glory and honor, power and greatness and eternal dominion, unto
Him, from the ages past and forever and ever. Amen.



