Section XLV

Of all these things neither another origin nor another cause can be assigned than the inexhaustible mercy of God¹, which, after the manner of an immense river, is poured forth upon all and at all times; and it is therefore poured forth so abundantly because it is God’s proper will to succor sinners, and because it is native to him to have mercy upon all.

And to the inexhaustible mercy of God, according to the teaching² of Cassiodorus, belong the words³ of David: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy; and according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity.” For by these words:

He was asking for a mercy which he could not define; yet he perceived in every way that it was greater than his sins. For who could suffice to narrate how great it is, as the most holy Fathers⁴ have said: that it brought the Creator of the world down from heaven and clothed the Founder with an earthly body; that it made him who remains equal to the Father in eternity equal to mortality, and for our sake imposed the form of a servant upon the Lord of the world; so that bread itself should hunger, the fountain of life should thirst, strength should be weakened, almighty life

should die? This was that great mercy of the Lord which the holy man could not explain; but he readily believed that he could be absolved through that mercy through which he knew even then that the human race could be liberated.

For the mercy of the Lord is well compared to a most full river, as the same author⁵ writes on the occasion of the words⁶, “The river of God is filled with waters”:

For it cannot be diminished by any drought, since it knows not how to be expended by frequent drinkings. The water of the world either receives an increase from rains or a decrease from drought; but the river of God is always full, always equal. Of it⁷ it was said: “The stream of the river maketh the city of God joyful”; and the Lord himself says in the Gospel⁸: “He who shall drink of the water which I give him shall never thirst; but it shall become in him a fountain of water springing up unto everlasting life.”

From this fountain salutary waters have never ceased to burst forth, as Cassiodorus⁹ declares when, after relating the words, “But the mercy of the Lord is from the age,” he adds:

Now he intimates the hope which ought to console the faithful; because, although through ourselves we are fragile and perishable, through the mercy of the Lord we are rendered absolutely everlasting; so that we ought both to consider how fragile we are and to be able to hear what we obtain through the grace of the Lord. And note that he said, “from the age,” that is, when the world began to be administered and the diverse creatures came forth by the gift of their Author. Whence it seems to me fitting to observe here that Adam also, as many of the Fathers have said, was recalled by the grace of the Lord, since he himself was the first in the age, just as were also Abel, Noah, Abraham, and the other Fathers, who nevertheless were in the age, but were not from the age.

For the proper will of God is directed to this: that he succor sinners; because¹⁰, “according to the height of heaven above the earth, the Lord hath strengthened his mercy toward them that fear him.”

That is, according to the interpretation¹¹ of Cassiodorus:

He says that the mercy of the Lord which he renders to his faithful is as much greater than their merits as the summit of heaven can be raised above the earth. By this comparison is also signified that, just as heaven covers the lands and gives fitting benefits to man in their seasons—now by pouring forth rains, now by tempering the very air with most healthful winds—so also the mercy of the Lord is known to furnish diverse things to our fragility: for he sustains that he may correct; he scourges that he may instruct; and through diverse works of benefits there is one will to succor sinners.

This salutary will is implanted in God and native to him; whence of him¹² we read: “The Lord is merciful and compassionate, patient and plenteous in mercy.”

“He is merciful,” says¹³ Cassiodorus, “who is shown by his nature to be most clement. He is compassionate when he bestows the gifts of his mercy. But none except the Lord can be found naturally merciful and compassionate. Here, however, merciful was put first so that thou mightest recognize the Lord as compassionate not for a time but continually… There follows, ‘and plenteous in mercy.’ Truly plenteous in mercy is he who, hearing utterly blasphemous voices,¹⁴ makes his sun rise upon the good and the evil and rains upon the just and the impious; who with great loving-kindness bestows the vital spirit; who awaits those who err, that they may condemn the things which they have perversely committed.”

And¹⁵ again:

We have the Lord both loving by nature and most liberal through the gifts of his mercies. Who doubts to ask of him who is offended if he is not asked?

But elsewhere¹⁶, treating of the same words, “The Lord is merciful and compassionate,” he adds:

That he is called merciful is a virtue of his very nature; that he is compassionate is a cause of salvation for our fragility. For he is merciful when he creates, because he is provoked by no benefits to bestow, but by the disposition of his clemency he causes all things to come into existence. He is also compassionate when by his loving-kindness he reconstructs things that are falling,

so that those who fall through fault may be raised up through grace. For who by his own acts merits the gifts of the Lord Savior, since it is read absolutely¹⁷: “All have sinned and need the glory of God”?