A.D. 373 – 1832 7 witnesses 10 excerpts
“(in Orat. cont. Sabell.) This is not then the word of man, but the Word of God, manifesting His own birth from the Father, for He is the Lord Who is born of the Lord alone. But fear not the duality of Persons, for they are not separate in nature.”
“(in Princ. Prov.) But lay your foundations upon a rock, that is, lean upon the faith of Christ, so as to persevere immoveable in adversity, whether it come from man or God.”
“(de Con. Ev. ii. 19.) Now this long discourse of our Lord, Luke begins in the same way as Matthew; for each says, Blessed are the poor. Then many things which follow in the narration of each are like, and finally the conclusion of the discourse is found to be altogether the same, I mean with respect to the men who build upon the rock and the sand. It might then easily be supposed that Luke has inserted the same discourse of our Lord, and yet has left out some sentences which Matthew has kept, and likewise put in others which Matthew has not; were it not that Matthew says the discourse was spoken by our Lord on the mountain, but Luke on the plain by our Lord standing. It is not however thought likely from this that these two discourses are separated by a long course of time, because both before and after both have related some things like, or the same. It may however have happened that our Lord was at first on a higher part of the mountain with His disciples alone, and that then he descended with them from the mount, that is, from the summit of the mountain to the flat place, that is, to some level ground, which was on the side of the mountain, and was able to hold large multitudes, and that there He stood until the crowds were gathered together to Him, and afterwards when He sat down His disciples came nearer, and to them, and the rest of the multitude who were present, He held the same discourse.”
“But Lordship both in name and reality belongs only to the Highest Nature.”
“Lest any one should vainly flatter himself with the words, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, as if words only and not rather works were required of a Christian, our Lord adds the following, But why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? As if He said, Why do ye boast of sending forth the leaves of a right confession, and shew forth no fruit of good works.”
“The rock is Christ. He digs deep; by the precepts of humility He plucks out all earthly things from the hearts of the faithful, lest they should serve God from regard to their temporal good.”
“Or the foundation of the house is the resolution to live a good life, which the perfect hearer firmly lays in fulfilling the commandments of God.”
“A flood comes in three ways, either by unclean spirits, or wicked men, or the very restlessness of mind or body; and as far as men trust in their own strength they fall away, but as long as they cling to the immoveable rock they cannot even be shaken.”
“Whosoever cometh to me,.... To be a disciple and follower: and heareth my sayings, and doth them; See Gill on Mat 7:24. I will show you to whom he is like; or "to what thing he is like"; so the Syriac and Arabic versions; though what follows seems better to agree with person than thing.”
“Lord, Lord - God judges of the heart, not by words, but by works. A good servant never disputes, speaks little, and always follows his work. Such a servant a real Christian is: such is a faithful minister, always intent either on the work of his own salvation, or that of his neighbor; speaking more to God than to men; and to these as in the presence of God. The tongue is fitly compared by one to a pump, which empties the heart, but neither fills nor cleanses it. The love of God is a hidden spring, which supplies the heart continually, and never permits it to be dry or unfruitful. Quesnel.”
The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.