Jerome
Patristic
c. A.D. 347–420
“(Verse 12) And he said to me: Surely you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel do in darkness, each one in the secrecy of his room. For they say: The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land. From this, he says, it is shown what each one does in his own room when they gather together in the temple. But according to the anagogy, it can be better understood that some leaders of the Churches do in darkness things that are even shameful to speak of. This is a hidden person of the heart, of whom it is said: Enter into your inner chamber (Mich. VI, 4). And again: He who sees in secret will repay you. Let each one examine his own conscience, and let him remember the works of darkness in the darkness, and let him know the scripture: Everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest he be accused by the light (John III, 20; I Thess. V). And in themselves they will understand it to be fulfilled: He who is drunk, is drunk at night (Prov. II, 25). For what cannot stand according to the letter. For how many are intoxicated with feasts and banquets of days? But because the drunkenness of the heart offends God, it belongs to darkness, and not to light, therefore whoever is intoxicated, is intoxicated at night. But when the elders of the house of Israel have done evil in the darkness and in the hiddenness of their chambers, and have thought that they can hide from God, then consequently they will say: The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the earth. There are many sinners who walk according to their own thoughts, who do not believe that God cares about mortal things or that our vices concern Him. Certainly, if we were to think that God sees and is present when we sin, we would never do what displeases Him. Furthermore, it follows that the Lord has abandoned the earth, as is the opinion of some philosophers who, from the movement and constancy of the stars, suspect that there is providence in the heavens and that earthly things are despised, since nothing good or in accordance with order takes place on earth.”