Seed, Praise, and Humbling

The Lord who is praised by angels, stars, sea-creatures, kings, and all peoples is not mocked by the proud. Pharaoh boasted as though the river were his own, but the Lord put hooks in his jaws and cast him down. David, by contrast, was restrained from taking his own path by force. Though a man of courage, he did not seize what God had not given. Thus one man is humbled in his arrogance, and another is preserved through patience. The same Lord rules both the rise and the stopping of men.

So also with our possessions. The apostle does not speak of giving as ornament or display, but as righteous seed. What we have is not our river, as though made by our own strength. It is entrusted bread, to be broken for the saints, the poor, the stranger, the widow, the sick. If all creation is summoned to praise, then man must praise not only with his lips but with open hands. As Cyprian says, "Moreover, the blessed Apostle Paul, full of the grace of the Lord's inspiration, says: He that ministers seed to the sower, shall both minister bread for your food, and shall multiply your seed sown, and shall increase the growth of the fruits of your righteousness, that in all things you may be enriched. 2 Corinthians 9:10"

And let our praise be lowly, not swollen. "Praise the Lord, you heavens of heavens, and the water that is above the heavens." If the heavens keep their appointed praise, let us keep ours: prayer without boasting, almsgiving without reluctance, endurance without revenge. God casts down the self-made, but He increases the fruits of righteousness in those who gladly serve.