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he bears with us in order to see us
penitent,
and thus exempt from punishment. Thou hast; mercy upon all, because Thou canst
do all things, and
winkest at the sins of men for the sake of repentance. - Wisd. 11:24. Neither
does he threaten from hatred, in order to torment us with fear; God threatens
from love, in order
that we may be converted to him, and thereby escape chastisement: he threatens,
because he does
not wish to see us lost: he threatens, in fine, because he loves our souls.
But
Thou sparest all,
because they are thine, O Lord, who lovest souls. - Wisd. 11:27. He threatens;
but not with standing
bears with us and delays the infliction, because he wishes to see us converted,
not lost. He
dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that
all should return
to penance.
- 2 Pet. 3:9. Thus the threats of God are all
acts of tenderness, and amorous calls of his goodness, by which he means to save
us from the
punishment which we deserve.
Yet forty days, exclaimed Jonas, and Nineve shall be destroyed. - Jonas 3:4
Wretched Ninevites, he
cries, the day of your chastisement is come; I announce it to you on the part of
God: Know that
within forty days Nineve shall be destroyed, and cease to exist. But how comes
it that Nineve did
penance and was not destroyed? And God saw their works, that they were turned
from their evil way;
and God had mercy. - Jonas 3:10
Whereat Jonas was afflicted, and making lamentation before the Lord, said to
him: Therefore, I
went before Thee into Tarsis, for I knew that Thou art a gracious and merciful
God, patient and
of much compassion, and easy to forgive evil. -Jonas 4:2. He then left Nineve.
and was screened
from the rays of the burning sun by an ivy which God caused to overshadow his
head. But how did the
Lord next act? He withered the ivy, whereat Jonas was so much afflicted that he
wished for
death. God then said to him, Thou hast grieved
for the ivy for which Thou hast not
labored, nor made it to grow; . .. and shall not I spare Nineve?- Jonas 4:10.
Thou grievest for the
ivy which thou hast not created, and shall not I pardon the men who are the work
of my hands?
The destruction which the Lord caused to be held out against Nineve was,
according to the
explanation of St. Basil, not an actual prophecy, but a simple threat, by which
he meant to bring
about the conversion of that city. The saint says, that God often appears in
wrath because he
wishes to deal mercifully with us; and threatens, not with the intention of
chastising but of
delivering us from chastisement. St. Augustine adds, that when any one cries out
to you "take
care," it is a sign he does not mean to injure you. And thus exactly does God
act in our regard:
he threatens us with chastisement, says St. Jerome, not that he means to inflict
it, but to spare
us if we profit by the warning. Thou, O Lord, says St. Augustine, art severe,
but then most so when
Thou wishest to save us; Thou threatenst, but in so threatening Thou hast no
other object than
to bring us to repentance. In Ps. 55.The Lord could chastise sinners without
warning by a
sudden death, which should not leave them time for repentance; but no, he
displays his wrath,
he brandishes his scourge, in order that he may see them reformed, not punished.
The Lord said to Jeremias: thou shalt say to them
-If so be, they will hearken
and be converted
every one from his evil way: that I may repent Me of the evil which I think to
do unto them. - Jer.
26:2. Go, he says, and tell the sinners if they wish to hear you, that if they
cease from their
sins, I shall spare them the chastisements which I intended to have inflicted on
them. And now, my
brethren, mark me. The Lord addresses you in a similar way out of my mouth. If
you amend, he will
revoke the sentence of punishment. St
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