Micheas 7:18

The sick of the palsy is healed, and that in public, in the sight of the people. For, says Isaiah, “they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.” What glory, and what excellency? “Be strong, ye weak hands, and ye feeble knees:” this refers to the palsy. “Be strong; fear not.” Be strong is not vainly repeated, nor is fear not vainly added; because with the renewal of the limbs there was to be, according to the promise, a restoration also of bodily energies: “Arise, and take up thy couch;” and likewise moral courage not to be afraid of those who should say, “Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” So that you have here not only the fulfilment of the prophecy which promised a particular kind of healing, but also of the symptoms which followed the cure. In like manner, you should also recognise Christ in the same prophet as the forgiver of sins. …

In the cxth Psalm: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Of the same thing in the Wisdom of Solomon: “The beginning of wisdom is to fear God.” Also in the Proverbs of the same: “Blessed is the man who reverences all things with fear.” Of the same thing in Isaiah: “And upon whom else will I look, except upon him that is lowly and peaceful, and that trembleth at my words?” Of this same thing in Genesis: “And the angel of the Lord called him from heaven, and said unto him, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. …

5. Hear what is even more wonderful, that the hidden and veiled mysteries of the ancient books are in some degree revealed by the ancient books. For Micah the prophet speaketh thus. “According to the days of thy coming out of Egypt will I show unto him marvellous things, etc.…In this Psalm, therefore, although the wonderful spirit of prophecy doth look into the future, yet it seemeth, as it were, to be merely detailing to the past. “Judah,” he saith, “was His sanctuary: the sea saw that and fled:” “was,” “saw,” and “fled,” are words of the past tense; and “Jordan was driven back, and the mountains skipped, and the earth trembled,” in like manner have a past expression, without, however, any difficulty in understanding by them the future.…For though it was so long after the departure of that people from Egypt, and so long before these seasons of the Church, that he sang what I have quoted …

6. Paul also demonstrated this: for when he was reproaching the Corinthians with a certain sin he said, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you.” Therefore also Christ first removes the cause of the evil, and having said “Son! be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee,” He uplifts the spirit and rouses the downcast soul: for the speech became an efficient cause and having entered into the conscience it laid hold of the soul itself and cast out of it all distress. For nothing creates pleasure and affords confidence so much as freedom from self-reproach. For where remission of sins is there is sonship. Even so at least we are not able to call God Father until we have washed away our sins in the pool of the sacred water. …

67. When then received He the works to perfect, O God’s enemies? for from this also ‘He created’ will be understood. If ye say, ‘At the beginning when He brought them into being out of what was not,’ it is an untruth; for they were not yet made; whereas He appears to speak as taking what was already in being. Nor is it pious to refer to the time which preceded the Word’s becoming flesh, lest His coming should thereupon seem superfluous, since for the sake of these works that coming took place. Therefore it remains for us to say that when He has become man, then He took the works. For then He perfected them, by healing our wounds and vouchsafing to us the resurrection from the dead. But if, when the Word became flesh, then were given to Him the works, plainly when He became man, then also is He created for the works. …

49. This is why He has equality with the Father by titles expressive of unity, and what is said of the Father, is said in Scripture of the Son also, all but His being called Father. For the Son Himself said, ‘All things that the Father hath are Mine’ ( John xvi. 15 ); and He says to the Father, ‘All Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine’ ( John xvii. 10 ), as for instance, the name God; for ‘the Word was God;’, Almighty, ‘Thus saith He that is, and that was, and that is to come, the Almighty’ ( John i. 1; Apoc. i. 8 ): the being Light, ‘I am,’ He says, ‘the Light’ ( John viii. 12 ): the Operative Cause, ‘All things were made by Him,’ and, ‘whatsoever I see the Father do, I do also’ ( John i. 3; v. …