Seventh Sermon

SEVENTH SERMON

saiah, Chapter LIII

12. Therefore, will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall

I

divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

***

The Prophet declares here, in sum, that our Lord Jesus not only conquered death by dying, but also had the right to seize the substance of his enemies and to take their spoil, as when a victory has been won, this too follows. It is true that our Lord Jesus did not enrich himself with the goods of this world; but nevertheless, it was to this end, as we have said, that he did battle with death. We know that Satan, who is the prince of this world, had to be cast out of his empire, for without that our condition would have been more than miserable. It was also necessary that sin no longer hold sway. Behold how our Lord Jesus has despoiled his enemies — namely, in that we are no longer under the tyranny of Satan, nor under the servitude of sin, but are set at liberty. And indeed St. Paul, citing what is said in the Psalm, shows how this passage was fulfilled, when he says that God ascended on high, and led captivity captive, that he held his enemies bound and fettered, without any power to resist him, and that he received homage among men with tribute. It is true that David there speaks by way of similitude, for when he says that God ascended on high, it is because he had for some time seemed to dissemble, and seemed as it were asleep, when things were so confused that the faithful groaned without any help, while the wicked disported themselves in every license. When, then, there are such troubles in this world, and, though we invoke God, it does not seem we profit anything, he is as it were cast down and hidden.

For this cause, on the contrary, when God has maintained the cause of his Church, destroying its enemies, David says he has ascended. But St. Paul shows that this was accomplished in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, in that for a time his majesty had been obscured, and without any reputation among men. It was necessary, then, he says, that he descends to the depths of the earth, and be despised by men, so that in the end he might be so exalted that he should not only receive simple homage from men, but should also distribute spoils and tribute. For whereas it is said in the Psalm that he took the tributes that belonged to him as to one who had subjected his adversaries, St. Paul says that he has bestowed gifts among men. It seems at first sight that these are contrary things, but they agree very well, since our Lord Jesus was not enriched privately for himself, as he has need of nothing, but it was so as to distribute the spoils to us — as it is also said in the Psalm, that not only those who fought would have their portion of the spoil, but also the women who had not stirred from the house. For indeed we feel how God, by the death and passion of his only Son, has filled us with his goods — not that there was any virtue or industry in us, for we are less than women who spin at their distaffs while others are in combat. When, then, it is said in this passage that God will give to Jesus Christ the spoils of his enemies whom he has conquered, however strong and mighty they might be, this is not merely for his own person, but is so that we may know that the devil now has no right nor claim upon us, since we are made partakers of the death and passion of the Son of God — which we obtain by means of the Gospel. Let us, then, be subject to our Lord Jesus Christ, let us acknowledge him as our King, and let this be done without feint; there is no doubt that we shall obtain from him, firstly, liberty; and then the goods that are necessary to us, and of which we are needy, unless we receive them from his hand. Now let us consider whether, if Satan were not despoiled, how miserable we would be, for he possesses us, he enjoys us peaceably —as our Lord Jesus himself pronounces it; in short, we are as it were his own possession and domain.

Thus, we have need that the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ should produce its fruit in us, and that, our enemies being conquered, they should at the same time be cast out — that Jesus Christ should hold as it were his foot upon their throat, so that they can do nothing, however much they scheme to do us any harm. It is notably spoken here of the strong and mighty, so that we should not be dismayed by the strength, the munitions, and all the equipment of our enemies; for it is enough to frighten us when we look on the one hand at our own weakness, and know that the devil is like a roaring lion, that sin has all dominion over us. This, I say, would indeed be enough to dismay us, were it not that we have this testimony —that there is no power, no fortress, nothing at all that hinders our Lord Jesus from having the spoil of all his enemies, from driving them out and depriving them so fully of what they had that even what was to our loss is turned to our profit. And this is understood not only of Satan, the chief of the wicked, but also of all our adversaries — as we see that as many unbelievers as there are, so many are enemies to us, who are as it were enraged against us; in short, we see the whole world against us. What would it be, if Jesus Christ could not surmount all the mighty and the strong?

Thus, firstly, what we must retain from this passage is that Jesus Christ, having ascended, not only held our enemies bound as captives, but also took all their spoil; and we have received the gifts made to him in homage — indeed so that we might be enriched by his liberality, since there is in us nothing but poverty and neediness. Now it is notably said, “because he poured out his soul unto death.” In this again Isaiah expresses that our Lord Jesus offered himself of his own free will, for this word “pour out” signifies that he did not spare himself, that it was not done with reluctance. For he who gives of his strength, though he releases his hand in the end, this does not mean he always shows some stinginess in it; but he who pours out shows that he does so with a free heart. Thus, we are shown that our Lord Jesus was so inflamed with that love he bore us, that his life flowed away like water; that he made a voluntary sacrifice, to show that he asked nothing but to reconcile us to God his Father. And this is always to confirm us the better, so that, coming to him, we might not doubt that we shall be received with all humanity. For how would it be possible that he should reject us in such a way that we would be as it were cut off from him, seeing that he thus threw himself as it were headlong for us, and poured out his life? Hearing this, then, we have occasion to come more freely to him, and to be assured that today he will make this sacrifice, which he so freely offered to God his Father, prevail — because of the infinite love he bore us.

Furthermore, since the fruit of the death and passion of our Lord Jesus is perpetual, let us know that today we are enriched as much as is needed, as indeed we experience; for our Lord Jesus must indeed succour us in the many necessities that surround us. For what would we do otherwise, if he did not always have his hand to sustain us? It would surely be impossible to survive; but he gives us what is needed to remedy all our neediness. And indeed all the graces of the Holy Spirit are a part of the spoil of our Lord Jesus Christ, for God his Father has enriched him with them, since we were as it were deprived of them, and the devil hindered the power of the Holy Spirit from having its course among men; now we are enriched by it, since all hindrances are removed, and even (as I have already said) what is contrary in this world is turned to our profit and salvation, since our Lord Jesus has despoiled all our enemies.

Now it is notably said that this was because he was reckoned among sinners, and that he bore the iniquity of many and made intercession for the transgressors. We have already seen how our Lord Jesus bore the transgressions of many — that is, that he sustained the punishment that was altogether unbearable for us; and we were also too fragile to stand before God, if we had been charged with our sins, for no means of acquitting ourselves of it could be found in the whole world. It was necessary, then, that our Lord Jesus, to give us relief, should present himself in our place, and be charged with all our offences — indeed, that they should be imputed to him before God his Father, and that he should be held and bound to make the payment of them. When a man merely owes what he cannot pay, he is as it were bowed down; he does not know what to do, he has as it were a burden that breaks him and makes his shoulders bend — and what shall it be when we are debtors, not to a mortal creature, but to the living God? And when it is not a matter of gold or silver, but of our offences, which deserve his dreadful wrath, as Scripture shows? Behold, then, the judgment of eternal death prepared for us all, until our Lord Jesus has discharged us of it. And indeed, how shall we suffice for this, unless he who has a victorious power above all things should come and place himself in our stead and supply our deficiencies?

Behold, then, how our Lord Jesus bore the sins and iniquities of many. It is true that this word “many” often carries the same weight as “all.” And indeed, our Lord Jesus was presented to the whole world, for it is not spoken of three or four when it is said, “God so loved the world that he spared not his only Son.” But meanwhile we must note what the Gospel adds in that passage: “so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Behold, then, how our Lord Jesus suffered for us all, and there is neither great nor small who is not today inexcusable, since we may obtain salvation in him. Unbelievers who turn away and deprive themselves of it by their malice are today doubly guilty. For what pretext will they have to excuse their ingratitude for not receiving the good of which they might have been partakers by faith? Let us learn, then, that if we come in a great crowd to our Lord Jesus Christ, the one shall not hinder the other, but he will suffice for each of us. If it were a matter of finding relief in a mortal man — if one asked, “I pray you to carry such a burden,” and if a second came, or if a hundred were to gather together, however great his desire to relieve one and the other, he would nevertheless have to bend his shoulders, for he does not have the power to bear all that might be laid upon him. Likewise, if it were a matter of borrowing, when we are hungry and thirsty, if we come and ask someone to give us food and drink, perhaps he can well do so for a dozen; but if so great a crowd comes that all the provisions run out, behold how he will be found wanting. Thus among men we need to receive help and relief from many, when we come thus in a great multitude; but when we come to Jesus Christ, we need not fear that his power will fail, and that when each has had his portion, anything will be diminished in him, so that others will not always find enough there. For the more people there are who come to him, the richer we shall find him to succour our neediness. Thus, we must note that it is not without cause the Prophet says he bore the sins of many — namely, so that we should not envy our neighbours, as if we were deprived because we were not succoured, on account of there being too many others there. Behold, in sum, what we must retain from this passage.

Furthermore, it is said that this is because Jesus Christ was reckoned among the transgressors. Here we must note first that he had to be hanged between two thieves, to suffer all the condemnation we had deserved, and so that we might have a still more certain and infallible pledge that today we are absolved before God the Father of all our sins and offences. And this is why St. Mark cites this testimony of the Prophet, when he says that two thieves were hanged with our Lord Jesus Christ — to show that he had to be held as detestable, and so that one might see, as it were with the eye, how he was placed in that rank with every ignominy, so that today we might be exempted from the wrath of God, and from the punishment of the misdeeds we had deserved; and so that, whereas we were plunged even to the depths of hell, we might now be joined with the Angels of paradise, who are wholly devoted to the service of God and accomplish all righteousness. We have, then, all this good, since our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to take our place, and came to place himself among the malefactors, so as to have every reputation of ignominy among men.

Behold, then, how the reproach of our Lord Jesus Christ lifts us on high, so that we might be exempted from all condemnation, and that sin might no longer be imputed to us. In what does our salvation lie, save that our sins be covered and abolished? Now we cannot obtain this by any other means, save in that the Son of God is our redemption, as St. Paul speaks of it —that is, that he was the price and the payment of what we owed, so that now we might be quit and absolved. Thus, it is not without cause that the Prophet joins these two things together, and always shows us, as before, that we have reason to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ, in that he exposed himself to all reproach, seeing the fruit we receive from it. For if our Lord Jesus Christ had done this merely to show a sign of humility, this would be too thin a thing; but it is so that we might find in him what we lack, and that it might be the remedy for what might burden us. When, then, we are thus reconciled to God, and obtain righteousness, and the remission of our sins is fully assured to us, behold how we no longer have any horror of coming to our Lord Jesus Christ, however much his having been crucified carries with it, at first sight, some shame according to the world; but we see that he did not fail to make his triumphs over Satan and over sin — indeed, so fully, that he has acquired righteousness for us, and has effaced the bond that stood against us, in such a way that now we may come to God with sure testimony that we are righteous; we may with full mouth glory in this, whereas before we had to submit to condemnation with all horror. Behold, in sum, what the Prophet has again meant to say to us.

After all these things he adds that he made intercession for the transgressors. This is notably added to show that Jesus Christ, in his death and passion, held the office of Priest — and without this, too, we would not have all that is required for the assurance of our salvation. It is true that, since the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ is the sacrifice by which our sins are effaced, that his blood is our washing, that his obedience serves to abolish all our rebellions and to acquire righteousness for us — in this we have occasion to rejoice. But this is not the whole; for it is said that in calling upon the name of God we shall be saved. But how could we have access to God? What boldness would it be for us to come and pray to him, indeed to cry out to him with full mouth as our Father? Would it not be too great a presumption on our part thus to come intimately to God, and to boast of being his children, unless we had someone to carry the word for us? And where shall we find an advocate or attorney who can do so much for us, until we come to Jesus Christ? Behold, then, what the Prophet meant to add as the conclusion of what he treats — namely, that Jesus Christ made intercession for the transgressors.

Now it is true that on the cross he indeed asked pardon and grace of God his Father even for those who had persecuted him. “Father, forgive them” (he says), “for they know not what they do.” Behold a prayer that our Lord Jesus made for the transgressors, and for those who were his enemies, who had treated him so cruelly, and by whose hand he was crucified; but the Prophet did not speak here only of this particular prayer — rather he wished to declare the Priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Meanwhile let us note well that it is not without cause that he speaks here of the transgressors. Above it was said that he bore the sin of the people of God and suffered for the iniquities of many; but now the Prophet attributes another title to those for whom Jesus Christ prayed, and names them transgressors. When he spoke of the people of God, it was to show that those thought the most righteous and most excellent have need of the remission of their sins, and cannot find it except in that Jesus Christ poured out his blood to cleanse and wash them. Behold, then, for one point: if we wish to be of the Church, and to be acknowledged of the flock of God, we must know that this is because Jesus Christ is our Redeemer; and let us not fear to come in great number, but rather let each draw his neighbours to it, since he is sufficient to save us all.

Furthermore, it is said here that we are transgressors, so that we may well think on our sins; for we know the audacity and rashness that is in men, so that very often we shall show more shame and modesty when we ask something of a mortal man than we shall show before God. Now the Prophet here brings down all this pride and haughtiness, when he names us transgressors — as if he said: Wretched people, who are you to presume to invoke God, and to call him your Father? Whence comes this dignity to you? Who will dare undertake to come into the presence of the majesty of God, to say, “I am one of thy children”? Go (he says), hide yourselves, for you are all malefactors, and, coming before God, you come as before your Judge, and you must tremble and be utterly confounded. But there is one remedy that can put you in safety — that in calling upon the name of God you should have an invincible fortress in the power and intercession of the Mediator. And without this there is no hope of salvation; you are all lost in your sins. Know, then, the necessity you have that the Son of God be in the midst, that he intercede for you, and perform the office of Priest. This is notably why the Prophet has called us all here transgressors and sinners —namely, so that we might know that the door is shut to us, and that we are not worthy to approach God, but that we are all overwhelmed and confounded unless we have our whole refuge there; for without this remedy we must perish and rot in our poverties and miseries. Now when we are thus humbled, then we can come to our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that it is he who carries the word in our name, and that it is by him also that we can freely call ourselves children of God. When, then, we come to pray and say, “Our Father who art in heaven,” we must recognise that we have polluted mouths, as concerns ourselves, and that we are not worthy even to call God our Creator, still less should we have this presumption of holding ourselves to be his children. But it is so that our Lord Jesus Christ carries the word for us, and that our prayers and orisons are sanctified by him — as it is said in the Epistle to the Hebrews, in the last chapter, that it is by him that we render to God the sacrifices of praise and all prayers, and that he is our Mediator, and that today in his Name we invoke God our Father. Therefore, we can freely glory that he will hold us as his children. Behold how we must practice this passage.

Now we see how our Lord Jesus verified this, praying for his own, as is recounted in the seventeenth chapter of St. John: “Holy Father, behold those thou hast given me: now I depart from the world. I have kept them, and none of them is lost except the son of perdition; but those whom thou hast committed to my charge, I have preserved. Now I pray for them, and not for them only, but for all those who shall believe in me through their word. I pray not for the world, but for those thou hast given me, that thou wouldst bless them and sanctify them, so that they may be one with us.” When we see the Son of God pray — indeed that he, who is the eternal God, should abase himself to the point of being as it were a suppliant, and of presenting a request before God his Father in our name — must we not here recognise an infinite goodness? And firstly we must always retain what has been said — namely, that we would only be profaning the name of God by invoking it, unless it be in the name of Jesus Christ. And why? Our mouths are polluted and infected — indeed, we are full of corruption; there is nothing but vermin in us; but since our Lord Jesus has abased himself to this condition of supplicating, and of being there in our person to entreat God his Father, we must be founded and grounded upon this when it is a question of founding our prayers today. It is true that just as Isaiah says that Jesus Christ prayed for the transgressors, so too he himself protests that he does not pray for the whole world, for those who take pleasure in their iniquities and remain there in obstinacy — for these are cut off from this benefit and privilege, which is reserved only for the children of God. If, then, we remain in the world, and are separated from our Lord Jesus Christ, it is certain that what he prayed to God his Father does not belong to us, and can profit us nothing; but let us hear what he says: “Behold, I have declared unto them thy Word, and they have believed. I pray for them, and not for them only” (that is, for the disciples), “but for those who shall believe on their doctrine.”

Thus, today let us know that we are associated with the disciples and Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that this prayer he made once will today serve us, and will give us entry to all our prayers, provided that we receive the doctrine of the Gospel in obedience of faith. Thus, we need no longer be in doubt as to how we should frame our petitions; for since we know that Jesus Christ has prayed, we need no longer say, “And how shall we be assured that the power of that prayer reaches us?” Let us believe the Gospel, and we shall follow the Apostles and disciples, and be joined with them. Do we wish to give the lie to the Son of God, who is the eternal and unchangeable truth? Now he has pronounced with his own mouth that all those who receive the doctrine of the Gospel are joined to this prayer, and that he has included them in it. Since this is so, then, though on the one hand we are poor malefactors, and thus unworthy to approach God, nevertheless by means of the Gospel, when we embrace in faith the promises contained in it, then we shall be presented to God, so that not only will we be pleasing to him, since his only Son has interceded for us, but also so that today we may invoke him as well, and be companions of Jesus Christ in this — as he says, “Behold me, and the servants thou hast given me.” He presents himself there first (as was declared in the eighth chapter), and then brings all his company: “And those thou hast given me,” he says. Now he says he is there ready for the service of God his Father with all those given to him. Thus, there is no doubt that we are joined in this prayer, and in all the praises of God, and that Jesus intones, so to speak, and is like the first singer, who leads us when we pray, so that by his means there is one voice so joined together that the melody is well in accord. Were we to be in accord with the Angels of paradise in praying to God, this would already be too excellent a privilege; but when the Son of God deigns to have such intimacy with us, saying, “Come, I will lead you, I will carry the word for you” — should we not be utterly ravished by this?

Furthermore, this was prefigured under the Law, when the High Priest not only offered sacrifices to God, but also joined prayers to them. Under the ancient shadows, then, there was the Priest, who could not intercede before God nor be received as agreeable without the shedding of blood; but with the blood he also joined prayers, so that the sins of the people might be forgiven, and so that God might receive in mercy those who deserved to be rejected. Behold Jesus Christ, who has put an end to all the figures of the Law, who willed to fulfil this in his own person. It is that he presented the blood for the washing of our sins — not the blood of calves or of lambs as under the Law, but his sacred blood, indeed, which was consecrated by the Holy Spirit, so that we might have full holiness in it. But with the shedding of blood, he also joined prayers. And this is why today he is called our Mediator, and it is said that he intercedes for us. And when St. Paul speaks of prayers, he adds that there is one God, and one Mediator, who is man, namely the Lord Jesus. He could well have said, “There is one God; there is Jesus Christ who is the eternal Word of God, of one and the same essence, of one and the same glory and majesty.” But he does not use this language; rather he says, “There is one God”; and then, “There is one Mediator between God and men, Jesus Christ, man” — as if he said: Behold the Son of God, who, after having clothed himself with our nature, after having made himself man like us, sin excepted, now intercedes for us.

Now the ancient priests needed to pray for themselves (and they did so), and then for the sins of the whole people, and they were included in that number. But our Lord Jesus is exempt from that necessity, as far as concerns himself; he need not ask pardon on his own account for offences he has committed, but he intercedes for us. And therefore, in the eighth chapter of Romans, when St. Paul wishes to give us boldness to come to God, he says notably, “And who shall be against us?” However many enemies we may have, we need not be dismayed; for to whom must we render account of our life? Who is our judge? Jesus Christ — and that very one is our advocate, who intercedes for us, and who is there to make peace between God and us. It is he who will make us find grace. Thus, we may boldly lift up our heads, and present ourselves before God — indeed come with all boldness before his judgment-seat, since we have Jesus Christ there in the midst. Behold, then, in sum what we must retain when intercession is spoken of here. In short, every time we are preached the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us at the same time join the prayer he made — and he made it once, so that it might remain forever, and produce its power; for today our Lord Jesus need not kneel again before God his Father to supplicate — it is said he will always be our Intercessor. But how? By virtue of his death and passion, by virtue of the prayer he made — that prayer he makes today. Thus, by virtue of that, we are heard as if he were still speaking today on our behalf; and also (as I have said) all our prayers are dedicated in him, for without this they would be profane.

And indeed also, whenever the faithful prepare themselves to pray to God, they ought (whereas the Papists take a sprinkler of holy water, and perform their charms and sorceries, or their trifles) to feel that their prayers are sprinkled with the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, so as to be pure and clean, and to be received by God as a sacrifice of sweet savour. And upon this let us recognise that our Lord Jesus Christ was not Priest only for a day, but that he still retains this office today, and shall have it forever, and that we shall always feel its fruit. Now if this had been well known, men would not have gone astray (as has happened) into so many superstitions and vile practices. As we see, the Papists today are like poor wandering beasts, who do not know what road or path they ought to keep in praying to God. They have an infinite number of patrons and advocates, and each forges his own. It is true they will have many in common, but even after all their litanies (as they call them) each will have his devotion to some saint of his own invention. Behold how Jesus Christ is stripped of his honour. And there is no doubt that when they were not content with Jesus Christ, it was the devil who possessed them, and put them into such a rage that, as if out of spite against God, and against what God had pronounced concerning Jesus Christ in giving him office, they gave to this one and that one the right that belonged to him. As today the Virgin Mary is named advocate by the Papists. To the devil with all their prayers! For it is as if they renounced God and our Lord Jesus Christ. And it will even happen that the Virgin Mary herself must cry out for vengeance against them, because they have made a detestable idol, and have snatched from Jesus Christ the dignity of this priesthood — which has been ratified by the solemn oath of God —and have wished to falsify all holy Scripture. The Papists think the Virgin Mary will help them, but she will have to demand (as I have said) vengeance against them for the injury they have done her; for if they spat in her face and spoke every insult against her, they could not do her a greater reproach than when they call her Advocate. And why? Because it is said that Jesus Christ is established Priest by God his Father. And how? With a solemn oath: “I have sworn” (he says), “and will not repent of it.”

Behold, then, upon what we must be founded — namely, upon the intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ, since (as St. Paul says in the third chapter of Ephesians) we can approach God, and present ourselves to him, when we are led there by our Lord Jesus Christ, who is (as we have said) there to make us find grace. Now what do the Papists wish to do? They wish to annihilate the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ; they wish it to be null. And when they come with such diabolical audacity to overturn the immutable decree of God, how can they hope to be heard? Thus, let us conclude that in the Papacy this whole doctrine has been buried. And why? I know well they will allege that we are not worthy to come before God. It is true; and who doubts it? But meanwhile let us consider where we must seek our worthiness. Is it not in Jesus Christ alone? And they will have their recourse to the Virgin Mary, and to St. Michael, to the Apostles; and then they will have their saints, whom they have forged, who either never existed in the world, or who have been canonised at the whim of the Pope —indeed, though they be in the depths of hell — behold their patrons and advocates. But even granting the Papists this — that their Saints, who never existed, or who were but half-devils and phantoms, were Apostles and Martyrs, and lived as holily as it is possible to live — did they not, nevertheless, also have as much need of an advocate as others? It is certain that the Virgin Mary could not find grace before God without the Head; she needed Jesus Christ to be her Redeemer, just as he was ours. The Apostles and Martyrs, the Patriarchs and Prophets, also had the same necessity of having recourse to this Redeemer, common to all. And what will it be, then, when we come to seek them out?

Thus, since the Apostles have referred us to Jesus Christ, and have declared to us that it is there we must direct ourselves — since he also invites us so sweetly, saying, “Come unto me” — let us not draw back, let us not go wandering off, but let us approach freely. For it is not only for the Prophets that he speaks thus, or for the Apostles and Martyrs, or for the Virgin Mary, but he wishes to retain us all to himself, as is also very necessary for us. Let us learn, I say, not to wander here and there when we pray to God, and let us recognise the good he has done us in having been pleased to draw us out of that abyss and confusion of the Papacy, and to show us how the door is opened to us to come to him — namely, since Jesus Christ is our Intercessor. Let us remain there without wandering to one side or the other. For it is certain that if our prayers are not regulated according to the word of God, they are frivolous, and God rejects them; and they can also not be made in faith unless the certainty proceeds from that source — namely, from the truth of God. Now if we wish our prayers to be founded in faith, they must be conformed to the will of God, and we must follow what he commands us — namely, that we hold Jesus Christ for our Intercessor, Advocate, and Mediator.

Behold, then, the direction he gives us, and the foundation on which we must be established, so that we do not waver like reeds in every wind. And this is also why he says so often, “Whatsoever you shall ask my Father in my name, it shall be given you.” And we see also how the faithful under the Law, although they did not have such clarity as we have today in the Gospel, nevertheless did not fail to put Jesus Christ forward — indeed under the figure that was given them. “Lord,” they said, “look upon the face of thy Christ, and for the love of thine Anointed, hear us.” “O our eternal God, hear us for the sake of the Lord,” says Daniel; and this is repeated so often in the Psalms. It is true that this is spoken of David, but it is because he was a figure of our Lord Jesus Christ. And when Daniel speaks thus, “For the sake of the Lord,” he shows well that it is the Redeemer who had been promised, and whose coming was then at hand. But Jesus Christ speaks more openly, and says, “Until now you have asked nothing of my Father in my name; ask now, and it shall be given you.” As if he said: Until now you have not known that my office is to be Mediator toward God my Father for you; and indeed, he had not yet ascended into heaven, he had not even yet torn the veil of the Temple, to give us entry there. But now we have private access there, since the veil of the Temple is torn, and Jesus Christ has entered, not into a material sanctuary (as the priests of the time of the Law), but even into heaven, into the majesty of God his Father, so as to make us find grace there — so that the throne of God is no longer a throne of majesty to terrify us, but invites us gently and with fatherly goodness, since we come there in the name and by means of this Priest whom he has ordained for us.

Behold, then, how the intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ is always profitable to us, and is for us an invincible fortress — so much so that when we come to him we shall be so heard that we shall feel by experience that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And although this statement of the Prophet Joel was spoken before Jesus Christ had appeared, nevertheless the faithful of the time of the Law practiced it so well that we, too, ought to be confirmed and assured by their example — we, I say, who have the perfection and fulfilment of all that was figured under the Law —that when we come to pray and to invoke our God in the name of him whom he has established for us as Advocate, we shall feel in truth that he always intercedes for us, so that we may be heard in all our petitions.

Now let us prostrate ourselves before the majesty of our good God, in acknowledgment of our faults, praying to him, etc.