Oecumenius, on Jas 1:12

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been proved, he shall receive a crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love him.”

“Blessed is the man who endures temptation: for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. It seems that this blessed one has made use of the discourse about temptations more securely, in which he says, "Rejoice, my brethren, when you fall into divers temptations." (James 1:2) Then, remembering the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:12), which commands what is best, namely that we pray that we may not fall into temptation, he repeats the discourse: according to what is proposed here, showing what temptation is sent by God, namely, which is also a source for joy, and which is from our will. Yet it can rightly be said that the Lord and God Jesus Christ, looking to the weakness of human nature, admonishes the disciples to flee temptations, since they were still more badly affected: which he also did to others in many places, meanwhile abstaining from those who perfected them. But after our weak nature was strengthened by the thought of His resurrection and ascension into heaven: His [Jesus] brother [James] according to the flesh teaches us, so that we may not fear temptations, since we can, after being strengthened by the Lord's afflictions, overcome every ensuing affliction and temptation. Since there are twofold temptations, as we have said, patience is useful in both: in those that come from God, because afterwards we attain praise from victory, like Abraham; in those that are from ourselves, because by enduring with gratitude, we refer this as a kind of compensation for the sins we have committed. He who was conscious of his own sins, lays the beginning of his salvation and conforms himself to the form of a righteous man, as the first accuser of himself.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.