The writings of Clement of Alexandria, Vol. 1 (of 2)Clement, of Alexandria, Saint
Religion
The writings of Clement of Alexandria, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Clement, of Alexandria, Saint
Theology -- Early works to 1800; Theology -- History -- Early Church, ca. 30-600
And again by Isaiah, “Who shall measure heaven with a span, and the
whole earth with his hand?”[74] Behold God’s greatness, and be filled
with amazement. Let us worship Him of whom the prophet says, “Before
Thy face the hills shall melt, as wax melteth before the fire!”[75]
This, says he, is the God “whose throne is heaven, and His footstool
the earth; and if He open heaven, quaking will seize thee.”[76] Will
you hear, too, what this prophet says of idols? “And they shall be
made a spectacle of in the face of the sun, and their carcases shall
be meat for the fowls of heaven and the wild beasts of the earth; and
they shall putrefy before the sun and the moon, which they have loved
and served; and their city shall be burned down.”[77] He says, too,
that the elements and the world shall be destroyed. “The earth,” he
says, “shall grow old, and the heaven shall pass away; but the word
of the Lord endureth for ever.” What, then, when again God wishes to
show Himself by Moses: “Behold ye, behold ye, that I AM, and there is
no other God beside me. I will kill, and I will make to live; I will
strike, and I will heal; and there is none who shall deliver out of my
hands.”[78] But do you wish to hear another seer? You have the whole
prophetic choir, the associates of Moses. What the Holy Spirit says by
Hosea, I will not shrink from quoting: “Lo, I am He that appointeth
the thunder, and createth spirit; and His hands have established the
host of heaven.”[79] And once more by Isaiah. And this utterance I will
repeat: “I am,” he says, “I am the Lord; I who speak righteousness,
announce truth. Gather yourselves together, and come. Take counsel
together, ye that are saved from the nations. They have not known,
they who set up the block of wood, their carved work, and pray to gods
who will not save them.”[80] Then proceeding: “I am God, and there is
not beside me a just God, and a Saviour: there is none except me. Turn
to me, and ye will be saved, ye that are from the end of the earth.
I am God, and there is no other; by myself I swear.”[81] But against
the worshippers of idols he is exasperated, saying, “To whom will ye
liken the Lord, or to what likeness will ye compare Him? Has not the
artificer made the image, or the goldsmith melted the gold and plated
it with gold?”[82]--and so on. Be not therefore idolaters, but even
now beware of the threatenings; “for the graven images and the works
of men’s hands shall wail, or rather they that trust in them,”[83] for
matter is devoid of sensation. Once more he says, “The Lord will shake
the cities that are inhabited, and grasp the world in His hand like a
nest.”[84] Why repeat to you the mysteries of wisdom, and sayings from
the writings of the son of the Hebrews, the master of wisdom? “The
Lord created me the beginning of His ways, in order to His works.”[85]
And, “The Lord giveth wisdom, and from His face proceed knowledge and
understanding.”[86] “How long wilt thou lie in bed, O sluggard; and
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