1 Samuel 2:1-10

Hannah's Prayer (Cp Lk 1:46-55)

The following comments are based on those of December 22, 2009 (Tuesday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year Two), on those of December 20, 2009 (two days earlier, for the Presbyterian reading), those of May 2, 2008 (Friday in the Sixth Week of Easter, Year Two), and earlier as indicated there.

At the beginning of 1 Samuel we read about Elkanah, his wives, Hannah and Peninnah, and their rivalry because Hannah was barren. After her prayer, she does become the mother of Samuel, and “When she had weaned him, she took him [with various gifts] to the house of the LORD at Shiloh” (1 Sam. 1:24, cf. vv. 2-28). When she brought Samuel to Shiloh she said to Eli the priest, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the LORD. For this child I prayed; and the LORD has granted me the petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he is given to the LORD” (1:26-28a). And the chapter closes with the report that “she left him there for the LORD” (v. 28b).

As the current reading begins, we come to Hannah’s prayer, a prayer that has been compared to Mary’s song of praise known as the Magnificat. These are compared in the following table:

Given its place within the narrative of 1 Samuel, one is surprised to find the Song of Hannah classified as a “community song of thanksgiving” (Bernard W. Anderson, Out of the Depths; The Psalms Speak for Us Today, 2^nd ed., 1983, p. 236). In chapter 1 she is distressed about her barren condition (1 Sam. 1:5-8, 10-11), but Eli the priest comforts her, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him” (v. 17). So in the course of time a child is born whom she names Samuel, “for she said, ‘I have asked him of the LORD’” (v. 20). So one might expect her song to be an “Individual Song of Thanksgiving” such as Psalms 57, 85, 28 and others (cited by Anderson in chapter 4). Her personal situation of childlessness has been overcome. But the child she has born will be an important leader in Israel, the last judge, and the “king-maker” who anoints two kings, first Saul (1 Sam. 10:1; cf. 11:15), and then David (16:13 ). So perhaps it should not be surprising that Hannah’s song has the ring of a Community Song of Thanksgiving. “My heart exults (ClafA, ‘ālats, ‘rejoices’; LXX =Esterewvqh, Estereōthē, ‘is made strong/confirmed’; in the LORD,” she prays; “my strength is exalted (hmArA, rāmāh; LXX uJywvqh, hypsōthē) in my God” (2:1b, c). The thought and tone as Mary begins her Magnificat are similar, but the vocabulary is different. “My soul magnifies (Megaluvnei, Megalynei [Lat., Magnificat]) the Lord, / and my spirit rejoices (hjgallivasen, ēgalliasen) in God my Savior (swth:ri mou, sōtēri mou)” (Lk. 1:46b, 47a). “My mouth derides my enemies,” sings Hannah, “because I rejoice (yT9H4maWA, śāmachtî; LXX eujfravnqhn, euphranthēn, a synonym of hjgallivasen, ēgalliasen, Lk. 1:47) in my victory (j~t,fAUwyB9, bîšû‘ātekā; LXX ejn swthriva/ sou, en sōtēria(i) sou)” (1 Sam. 2;1c, d). There is rejoicing in salvation/victory in both texts.

“There is no Holy One (wOdqA, qādôš; LXX a”gioV, hagios) like the LORD,” sings Hannah, “no one besides you; / there is no Rock (rUc, tsûr) like our God” (1 Sam. 2:2); compare Mary’s lines, “for the Mighty One (oJ duvnatoV, ho dynatos) has done great things for me, / and holy (a”gioV, hagios) is his name” (Lk. 1:49). William L. Holladay says that rUc (tsûr) means “rock = God 1 Sam. 2:2 and often” (A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. rUc, tsûr). “Talk no more so very proudly (hhAbog4 hhAbog4 UrBdat4 UBr4Ta-lxa, ’al-tarbû t ^edabb ^erû g ^evōhāh g ^evōhāh [sic, repeated word, not so in some mss.]; LXX mh; kauca:sqe kai; mh; lalei:te uJyhlav, mē kauchasthe kai mē laleite hypsēla),” sings Hannah, “let not arrogance (qtAfA, ‘ātāq; LXX megalorrhmovsunh, megalorrēmosynē [= megalorrhmoniva, megalorrēmonia, ‘big talking, LSJ, s.v. both]) come from your mouth; / for the LORD is a God of knowledge, / and by him actions are weighed. / The bows of the mighty are broken, / but the feeble gird on strength (ly9HA, chāyil; LXX duvnamiV, dynamis)” (2 Sam. 2:3-4); compare Mary’s lines, “He has shown strength (kravtoV, kratos) with his arm; / he has scattered the proud (uJperhvfanoi, hyperēphanoi) in the thoughts of their hearts” (Lk. 1:51). Similar thoughts continue with different vocabulary.

“Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,” sings Hannah, “but those who were hungry (Myb9fer4, r ^e‘ēvîm; LXX oiJ peinw:nteV, hoi peinōntes [cf. Mt. 5:6; Lk. 6:21]) are fat with spoil” (1 Sam. 2:5); cf. Mary’s lines, “he has filled the hungry (peinw:nteV, peinōntes) with good things, / and sent the rich away empty” (Lk. 1:53). Note the same word here in the Septuagint and in Luke for “the hungry.” In Mary’s song any reference to the anticipated childbirth is at most, very indirect, “for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant (hJ douvlh aujtou:, hē doulē autou). / Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; / for the Mighty One has done great things for me” (Lk. 1:48, 49a); in Hannah’s, however, she says, “the barren has borne seven, / but she who has many children [Peninnah?] is forlorn” (1 Sam. 2:5c, d).

Hannah’s song continues: “The LORD kills and brings to life; / he brings down to Sheol and raises up. / The LORD makes poor and makes rich; / he brings low, he also exalts” (1 Sam. 2:6-7); cf Mary’s lines, “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, / and lifted up the lowly” (Lk. 1:52). “He raises up the poor from the dust,” sings Hannah; “he lifts the needy from the ash heap, / to make them sit with princes / and inherit a seat of honor. / For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s / and on them he has set the world” (1 Sam. 2:8). Steven L. McKenzie says, “God’s concern for the poor and oppressed is a common theme in the Bible” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on 1 Sam. 2:8).

Hannah’s song contrasts the “faithful” and “the wicked”: “He [i.e., God] will guard the feet of his faithful ones, / but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness; / for not by might does one prevail” (1 Sam. 2:9). She even looks beyond the time of Samuel’s service as judge: “The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; / he will give strength to his king, / and exalt the power of his anointed” (v. 10). Mary too perhaps looked beyond the promised childbirth to what her son would do and be for the world at large. “Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed” (Lk. 1:48b).

Ephesians 2:1-10

From Death to Life

2:1 You were dead through the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. 3 All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved– 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God– 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (Ephesians 2:1-10, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from May 24, 2009 (the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year One), when comments were repeated from January 14, 2009 (Wednesday in the week of the First Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), when comments were repeated from May 2, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from May 20, 2007 (the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year One), when comments were repeated with revision from May 26, 2006 (Friday of the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), and supplement from January 12, 2005 (Wednesday of the week of the First Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), with reference also to comments of May 8, 2005 (the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year One).

In this passage Paul briefly sums up his views on the need for salvation from sin, and God’s mercy and love which have provided for salvation through Christ, “by grace,” “through faith,” “not of works” but rather as “the gift of God (Eph. 2:8), which leads to a Christian “way of life” characterized by “good works.” (v. 10). He describes the background in paganism and sin from which the readers have been delivered. “You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived (periepathvsate, periepatēsate, lit. ‘walked, used to walk’), following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient” (vv. 1-2). Walking as a metaphor for living one’s life reflects Paul’s rabbinical training in the halakah (hkAlAh3, from j`lahA, hālak, ‘walk’), instruction in understanding how to live according to biblical law. The metaphor can refer to good living or bad living. Frederick William Danker defines the Greek verb as “ ‘engage in a course of behavior,’ whether morally acceptable or reprehensible, walk” (The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2009, s.v. peripatevw, peripateō , meaning no. 2). In the present context, Paul addresses mainly Gentile converts to Christianity, but he includes himself, and likely, other Jews. “All of us once lived (ajnestravfhmen, anestraphēmen) among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else” (v. 3). Paul uses another word for living one’s life, which Danker defines as “ ‘conduct/behave oneself,’ either in an appropriate or inappropriate manner . . . conduct oneself, live” (ibid., s.v. ajnastrevfw, anastrephō, meaning no. 4). In 2 Peter 2:18 the word is used “in imagery of teachers who ‘wander about’ in ‘deceptive error” (ibid.).

But he emphasizes God’s mercy and love: “But God, who is rich in mercy ( e[leoV, eleos), out of the great love (ajgavph, agapē ) with which he loved (hjgavphsen, ēgapēsen) us (v. 4), and the continuation is described as a resurrection, for “even when we were dead through our trespasses, [he] made us alive together (sunezwopoivhsen, synezōopoiēsen) with Christ–by grace (cavriV, charis) you have been saved” (v. 5). According to J. Paul Sampley, “Grace (Greek charis) echoes the salutation [1:2] and is a technical term of benefaction that establishes reciprocity; God’s unconditional and previous election, described in [1:3-7], places all believers in God’s debt” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Eph. 1:6). Paul’s word for “mercy” ( e[leoV, eleos) usually and frequently translates ds,h, (chesed ) (cf. Edwin Hatch and Henry A. Redpath, A Concordance to The Septuagint and the other Greek Versions of the Old Testament (including the Apocryphal Books), I, 1897, reprint 1954, pp. 451-452). According to William L. Holladay, the word ds,h, (chesed ) means “in relation of God to people or individuals, faithfulness, kindness, grace” (A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. ds,h,, chesed, meaning no. 2). Our being “made . . . alive together with Christ,” leads to “and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (v. 6). Compare, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his [i.e., Christ’s], we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Rom. 6:5). Of “and raised us up with him,” says Sampley, “(see also Col. 2:12; 3:1). In the authentic Letters, Paul is careful to speak of believers’ resurrection as occurring in the future (see Rom. 6:5; 1 Cor. 15:21-23; Phil. 3:10-11)” (op. cit., on v. 6). But F. F. Bruce, who favors the view that Paul himself wrote Ephesians, explains:

In Paul’s exposition of believers’ dying and rising with Christ in Rom. 6:3-11, their rising with Christ is a future experience which (by the Spirit’s power) is effectively anticipated in the present. ‘If we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his’ (Rom. 6:5), but the purpose and effect of our being united by faith to a risen Christ is that here and now ‘we too might walk in newness of life’ (Rom. 6:3). In Colossians and Ephesians, however, the emphasis is placed on the ‘realized’ aspect of believers’ being raised with Christ: ‘you were raised with Christ,’ the Colossians are reminded (C0ol. 3:1); God ‘raised us up with him,’ the readers of Ephesians are told. Indeed, not only has God raised believers up with Christ in the sense of raising them from death to life; he has raised them to his throne and seated them there with Christ ‘in the heavenly realm.’. . . [This] is balanced, however, by the thoroughly Pauline doctrine of the Spirit found elsewhere in this epistle: the Spirit is the present guarantee of the future inheritance, sealing the people of God against the coming day of redemption (Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30). (The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, NICNT, 1984, pp. 286-7 on Eph. 2:6)

Paul’s sentence continues: “so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace (cavriV, charis) in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7). This leads to what may be considered a decisive definition. “For by grace (cavriV, charis, that is, th:/ ga;r cavriti, tē(i) gar chariti, dative case with definite article) you have been saved through faith (pivstiV, pistis), and this is not your own doing; it is the gift (dw:ron, dōron) of God–not the result of works ( e[rga, erga), so that no one may boast” (vv. 8-9). “By grace . . . not . . . works,” says Sampley, is “a concise summary of Paul’s thought. See also Rom. 3:21-31; 4:2-4, 16; 9:16; 11:6; Gal. 2:16). According to Bruce, “It is by this surpassingly rich grace of God, then, that salvation is secured for men and women” (ibid., p. 289, on v. 8). In a footnote, he adds, “The article in th:/ ga;r cavriti/ ejste sesw/smevnoi [tē(i) gar chariti este sesō (i)smenoi] points back to the cavriV [charis, ‘grace’] already mentioned in vv. 5, 7” (ibid., n. 63). “As in v. 5,” he adds, “ ‘you have been saved’ is equivalent to ‘you have been justified.’ What Paul says here about salvation he says elsewhere about justification, which is freely bestowed by God’s grace (Rom. 3:24) and received ‘not on the ground of legal works but through faith in Jesus Christ’ (Gal. 2:16). ‘Through faith’ here implies Jesus Christ as the object of that faith, as he is explicitly its object in Gal. 2:;16 and Rom. 3:22, 26” (ibid.).

“Thus,” say Paul J. Achtemeier, Joel B. Green, and Marianne Meye Thompson, “we already share in the reality Christ ‘represents’ by his resurrection and exaltation.” They add that “there is to be no doubt, however, that Christians’ deliverance from the realm of wickedness and evil is pure grace; it is a gift of God and in no way earned or deserved by human beings” (Introducing the New Testament; Its Literature and Theology, 2001, p. 383). Although these authors think it probable that Ephesians was written by one of Paul’s followers, rather than by Paul himself, they add that “the phrase the author uses–‘because it is by grace that you have been saved through faith, and that does not come from you but is the free gift of God’ (2:8)–penetrates to the very heart of Paul’s theology and demonstrates the extent to which the author of Ephesians knew and understood what the apostle had written” (ibid., pp. 383-384; the translation is apparently their own, since it differs from the RSV, NIV and NRSV indicated on p. iv). The point is well taken, even for those who hold that Paul himself probably did write or dictate the letter. Being saved–transformed in the manner described here– is “not the result of works” (v. 9), “For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life” (v. 10).

Klyne Snodgrass finds “the implications” of this passage “enormous for what Christian’s should do and think.” “A proper application,” he says, “starts with speechlessness, then moves to wonder and worship, and finally to obedience and service” (Ephesians, The NIV Application Commentary, 1996, p. 115 on Eph. 2:1-10). While noting the repetition of “dead in transgressions” (vv. 1, 5 NIV; ‘dead through transgressions’ NRSV), and “the expansive language describing God’s grace,” he emphasizes its meaning for how we should live:

This passage contrasts two ways of living, the former life in sins and the present life in Christ. By implication the text asks, ‘Where will you live?’ What are the defining markers of the path along which we walk and who laid out the path? This passage provides a description of reality, as if to say, ‘This is what life in the world is really like and this is what life with God is really like.’. . . This passage thus reveals the identity of people without God, the identity of people in Christ, and the identity of God. (ibid.).

Matthew 7:22-27

22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?' 23 Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.' (Matthew 7:22-23, NRSV)

24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell--and great was its fall!" (Matthew 7:24-27, NRSV)

The following comments are based on relevant comments from those of October 1, 2009 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 28, Year One), when the reading was Matthew 7:22-29, and on earlier comments, from May 3, 2009 (the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year One), when the reading was Matthew 7:15-29, when comments were base on those of April 29, 2007 (the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year One), comments on Matthew 7:13-21 of October 3, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 28, Year One), comments on Matthew 7:22-29 of October 4, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 28, Year One), comments on Matthew 7:13-21 of April 26, 2008 (Saturday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), comments on Matthew 7:22-28 of May 2, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), and other comments as noted for these.

On the Saying about Self-deception (continued)

After Jesus’ warning about false prophets who can be known by their bad fruit (Mt. 7:15-20), he further warns the listeners themselves: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (v. 21). Luke’s version of this saying is a rhetorical question: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?” (Lk. 6:46). Either way, it’s a stern warning to “be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves” (Jas. 1:22), and comparable to the prophetic warning given by Samuel to Saul, “Surely, to obey is better than sacrifices, / and to heed than the fat of rams” (1 Sam. 15:22).The assigned reading for today begins with verse 22, but these warnings (vv. 15-20, 21) set the context.

At the judgment, “on that day,” says Jesus, “many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’” (Mt. 7:22). Jesus adds that he will say, “I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers” (v. 23). Similar teaching occurs in Luke in a context which includes various teachings about the kingdom of God. After admonition to “strive to enter through the narrow door” (Lk. 13:24a; cf. Mt. 7:13-14), Jesus expands the image of the door in a kind of mini-parable. “Many,” he says,

will try to enter and will not be able. When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then in reply he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!’ (Lk. 13:24b-27, NRSV)

In what is called the Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians (though the date and authorship are uncertain), the Corinthians are told, “Let us, then, not merely call him Lord, for this will not save us. For he says, ‘Not everyone that saith to me Lord, Lord, shall be saved, but he that doeth righteousness’ [citing Mt. 7:21]. . . . For this reason, if you do these things , the Lord said, ‘If ye be gathered together with me in my bosom, and do not my commandments, I will cast you out, and will say to you, Depart from me, I know not whence ye are, ye workers of iniquity’ ” (II Clement iv, 1-2, 5, trans., Kirsopp Lake, The Apostolic Fathers, II, Loeb Classical Library). Also, compare this quotation from the Lord presented by Justin Martyr: “Not every one who saith to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. For whosoever heareth Me, and doeth My sayings, heareth Him that sent Me. And many will say unto Me, Lord, Lord, have we not eaten and drunk in Thy name, and done wonders? And then will I say unto them, Depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity” (Apology, I, 16, 9-11, trans. Roberts-Donaldson, on the Internet web site Early Christian Writings at http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-firstapology.html, accessed again, May 13, 2010).

John Wesley took the warnings here to heart. On Matthew 7:22 he says, “We have prophesied–We have declared the mysteries of thy kingdom; wrote books; preached excellent sermons. In thy name done many wonderful works–So that even the working of miracles is no proof that a man has saving faith” (John Wesley, Explanatory Notes on the New Testament, reprint, 1981, vol. I, no page no., on Mt. 7:22). On the following verse (23), he says, “I never knew you–There never was a time that I approved of you; so that as many souls as they had saved, they were themselves never saved from their sins. Lord, is it my case?” (ibid. These notes are found online at the web site, the Wesley Center Online at http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/notes/matthew.htm#Chapter+VII, accessed again May 13, 2010).

On the Two Houses

The comparison of well-built houses to poorly built houses to illustrate the consequences for those who obey Jesus’ teaching and those who don’t concludes Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7), and a similar comparison ends the sermon known as the Sermon on the Plain in Luke (Lk. 6:20-49). (Both sermons open with beatitudes, and much of the teaching is parallel, though many of Luke’s sayings parallel to the Sermon on the Mount are found later in Luke, in different contexts.) The two versions of this comparison are set side by side in the following table:

Matthew says that “everyone who hears these words of mine,” where Luke refers to “someone . . . who comes to me, hears my words,” both adding “and acts on them” (Mt. 7:24a; Lk. 6:47). The first comparison is that such a man “will be like” (Mt.) “is like” (Lk.) “a (wise, Mt.) man “who built his house” (Mt.) / “building a house” (Lk.) “on a rock” (Mt.) / “who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock” (Lk.) (Mt. 7:24b; Lk. 6:48a). With his reference to digging and laying the foundation (qemevlioV, themelios, Lk. 6:48, 49, compare “founded,” qemeliovw, themelioō, Mt. 7:25). The “foolish man,” “who hears these words of mine and does not act on them,” but builds his house “on sand” (Mt. 7:26), or “who hears and does not act . . . [but] built a house on the ground without a foundation” (Lk. 6:49a), has opened the floodgates, so to speak, for disaster. In Luke’s version, the second house is destroyed by a flood, “when the river burst against it [and] immediately it fell” (Lk. 6:49b), whereas, in Matthew’s version, the second house is destroyed by the winds that, accompanying the rains and flood, “beat against that house” (Mt. 7:27). Matthew concludes with the words, “and great was its fall (ptw:siV, ptōsis, cf. e[pesen, epesen, Mt. 7:27; sunevpesen, synepesen [‘fall together, collapse’], Lk. 6:49)!” but Luke says, “and great was the ruin ( rJh:gma, hrēgma) of that house.” Luke’s language may seem a little more technical with reference to the process of construction, but both houses are founded on rock. And Luke’s language is perhaps a little more technical in referring to the “collapse,” or “ruin” of the second house. But the point remains the same: one should hear and obey Jesus’ teaching.

Ignatius of Antioch alludes to this illustration in his Epistle to Polycarp: “Welcoming your godly mind which is fixed as if on immovable rock, I glory exceedingly that it was granted me to see your blameless face wherein I would fain have pleasure in God” (i, 1, trans., Kirsopp Lake, The Apostolic Fathers, vol. I, Loeb Classical Library).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net