ON GOD'S PROFUNDITY JUDGEMENT

A second consideration which should greatly move our hearts to a fear of the Lord is the profundity of His judgments. So the Psalmist says: Thy justice is as the mountains of God and Thy judgments are a great deep(Ps. 35:7). This is a much more moving consideration than that of God's justice, which serves principally to make evil men fear, for the consideration of the profundity of God's judgments is profitable both for the good and the evil alike. As the wise man says: "Who knows if the spirit of the children of Adam ascend upward, and if the spirit of the beasts descend downward?"(Eccles. 3:21). That is to say, who knows whether all the just will be saved or all the sinners condemned, for many times the just man falls from his justice and the sinner is converted by penance.

Since the attributes and properties of God are known through His works, it will be well to consider some of His judgments, especially those which we read in Sacred Scripture, in order to show with what good reason every man, no matter how just he may be, should fear God. Consider how fearful was the judgment of the two brothers, Esau and Jacob. Although they were children of the same parents and were born in the same parturition, God preferred Jacob to Esau, even before either of them had done anything good or evil.

Saul and David were chosen by God to be kings of their people but both sinned, and David more grievously than Saul. Nevertheless, God rejected Saul, who died by his own hand, but He pardoned David and perpetuated his kingdom and made him an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

Solomon also, a holy and wise king who did so many great works and wrote such wonderful things, fell into a foul sin: and Manasses, one of the cruelest and most sacrilegious kings of the world, became repentant after his captivity and was restored to his former place. What is even more astounding, though he had been the author of the sins of the people, Manasses was pardoned and freed, but his people were destroyed because of their sin.

Pharaoh and Nabuchodonosor were both kings who had held the Jewish people in captivity and tyrannized over them, but after being warned and punished by God, the one did penance and was converted and the other perished with all his people.

Two thieves suffered with Christ, each one enduring the same torment for his sins, but one was taken to glory and the other was left to his punishment. Yet both had committed the same sin. Judas was an apostle of Christ and Paul was a persecutor; yet the persecutor became an apostle and the apostle became a persecutor. The one hanged himself with a noose: the other was taken up to the third heaven.

The Jews were the chosen people, greatly gifted by God; the Gentiles were cursed and rejected. Yet by the just judgment of God the friends were cast out and the enemies were chosen. The Apostle himself marveled at this when he said: What wonder is this that Israel, seeking justice, did not find what she sought and the Gentiles, who did not seek it, found it!"

But even more than all this, it is amazing to consider the fall of the first angel who, as some have said, was the most beautiful, the most wise, the most powerful, and the most celestial creature that God had created. Yet he fell headlong from the highest heaven into the deepest abyss and was changed from the greatest of the angels to the prince of the devils.

No less inscrutable is the mystery of predestination and reprobation. It is a surpassingly wondrous thing that God should choose some and not others and yet they are all His creatures. Another wonder is that, by reason of being born into a Christian or an infidel family, some receive the sacrament of Baptism and others do not, though neither the one nor the other is more deserving of it. Another strange thing is that while two souls may be in the state of sin, God may call one and not the other, so that one departs from his sin and the other remains in it, though both may be equally sinners and equally unworthy of this mercy. Another marvel is to consider the death of one in sin and his condemnation because of this, while to another, who could just as well have died in the same sinful state, God gives the grace of repentance and leads him to the state of grace.

In addition to this, it amazes one to see the countless nations beneath the heavens that live in darkness and ignorance even since the coming of Christ, to see how few are those who avail themselves of the grace of this mystery. One should not attempt to probe too deeply into these marvels; rather, they should arouse fear and astonishment in us and make us exclaim with the Apostle: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways!" (Rom. 11:33).

Since all this is so, who will not fear? Who will not tremble? Who will think himself secure? This is what made the saints tremble most, as did Job and David, St. Paul, and all the others. For on this earth there was nothing to give them perfect security and assurance-neither the mercy of God, nor our redemption by Christ, nor divine providence, nor even a good life and the testimony of a good conscience. All these things were available to many good souls who fell in spite of everything. Then nothing

He who stands on the top of a lofty tower, although it is secure, experiences a tremor of fear when he looks down at the earth below. So also the just man, although he feels certain that he is in grace, experiences a holy fear when he considers the profundity of the judgments of God, who frequently permitted situations in which great saints have fallen from grace. And since the truly just man does not consider himself better than these, nor more humble nor remained to them but to humble themselves, to pray, and to live in constant fear, realizing that he who is in grace today may be a sinner tomorrow.

He who stands on the top of a lofty tower, although it is secure, experiences a tremor of fear when he looks down at the earth below. So also the just man, although he feels certain that he is in grace, experiences a holy fear when he considers the profundity of the judgments of God, who frequently permitted situations in which great saints have fallen from grace. And since the truly just man does not consider himself better than these, nor more humble nor more prudent, he fears that he also could fall as they did and be debased as they were.

Just as adoration is owing to Thee alone, O Lord, as the true God, so also toward Thee alone should one have the greatest fear and reverence. Thou Thyself didst testify to this: "And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell."(Matt. 10:28). The Church teaches us the same thing when she says: "In the presence of nations have no fear, but adore and fear the Lord in thy heart because His angel walks with thee to free thee."

Ven. Louis of Granada