Prayer of Azariah 1

Regarding prayer, we have examples in Daniel, "And Azariah, standing up, prayed in this way, and opening his mouth in the middle of the fire he said.…" And in Tobit, "And I prayed with tears saying, 'You are just, O Lord, and all your works are just, and all your ways are mercy and truth. And your judgments that you offer are true and just forever.' " Since the passage cited in Daniel has been obelized because it is not found in the Hebrew and those of the circumcision reject the book of Tobit as not canonical, I will quote the words of Anna from the first book of Kings: "And she prayed to the Lord and cried with many tears and made a vow saying, 'Lord of hosts, if you will look down on the lowliness of your servants,' etc.…" Also, in Habakkuk, "A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, with song, 'Lord, I have heard your voice, and I was afraid. Lord, I considered your works, and I was astonished. In the middle of two animals you will be known; in the approaching of the years you will be known.' " This example illustrates very well the definition of the term proseuchē 4 in that it combines prayer with the attempt to give glory. But also in the book of Jonah, "Jonah prayed to the Lord his God out of the belly of the fish, saying, 'I cried in my tribulation to the Lord my God, and he listened to me; from the heart of the grave you heard the screams of my voice; you threw me into the depths, in the heart of the sea, and the waters encircled me.' "

Someone might ask, "If the soul of Elijah was not first in the Tishbite and then in John, what might that be in both which the Savior in both cases called Elijah?" I answer that Gabriel in his reply to Zachariah had already suggested that it was the same being that was in Elijah and John. He says, in fact, "He will lead back many sons of Israel to the Lord God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah." For, note well: he did not say "in the soul of Elijah," in which case, the doctrine of the transmigration of souls might have some ground, but "in the spirit and the power of Elijah." The Scriptures clearly know the difference between "spirit" and "soul," since the text, "May the God of peace sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," and the other passage, "Blessed the Lord, you spirits and souls of the righteous," as it is recorded in the book of Daniel (according to the version of the Seventy), which indicates the difference between soul and spirit. John therefore is called Elijah not because of the soul but because of the spirit and the power, and if these things existed before in Elijah and then in John, this is not at all in conflict with the teaching of the church. But "the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets," not the souls of the prophets, which are not subject to the prophets.

Recall what happened to Ananiah and his companions. From which sources did they make water flow or how many vessels of water did they use to extinguish the fire that rose up forty-nine cubits high? Even when the flame rose a little too high, faith was poured out there to extinguish the fire like a river when all confessed their sin, saying, "You are right, O Lord, in all this that you have made; yes, we have sinned in committing evil." And their confession dissipated the flames.

Do you want to have proof concerning the incomprehensibility of the divine nature? Try looking at the three children who praised the Lord in the fiery furnace, saying, "Blessed are you who behold the depths and sit over the cherubim." Tell me the nature of the cherubim, and then look on him or the nature of him who sits over them! And yet, Ezekiel within the limits of possibility offered a description of them, saying, "Every one has four faces, the first of a man, the second one of lion, the third of an eagle and the last one of a year-old calf; every one has six wings and has eyes on every side; under each there is a spinning wheel of four sides." But in spite of these descriptions that he made, we cannot succeed in constructing for ourselves an exact idea of what he was talking about. If we cannot understand what the throne is that the prophet has described, how will we succeed in comprehending the one who sits on the throne, when he is invisible and mysterious? It is impossible then to construct an idea of the divine nature; it is possible only to offer up praises for the works that it has made and that are before our eyes.

But let us return to the point. Let a firmament be made in the midst of the waters. Let it not move, as I have already said, because it says above 'heaven' here it says 'firmament', for David also says: 'The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands', that is, the work of the world, when it is seen, praises its creator. For through the things that are seen, his invisible majesty is recognized. And it seems to me that the common name for the heavens is 'heavens' because Scripture testifies to many heavens, but the specific name is 'firmament'. Indeed, here it is said: 'And God called the firmament Heaven', so that it seems to have spoken generally above, that the heaven was made in the beginning, so as to comprehend the entire structure of celestial creatures. But here, the specific solidity of this outer firmament, which is called the firmament of heaven, as we read in the prophetic hymn: 'Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven'.

There is none, there is no remedy better able to destroy sins than to continually recall them and to continually accuse oneself. In this way the publican could cancel his innumerable sins by saying, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." And thus also the Pharisee remained unjustified because, taking no care to think of his own sins, he condemned everyone else, saying, "I am not like other people, greedy and avaricious, or even like this publican." Thus also Paul exhorted, "Let each one examine his own conduct, and then he will find reason to boast only in himself and not in others." Did you know that even in the Old Testament the righteous accused themselves? Listen to them speak as with one voice. David said, "My iniquities have gone over my head. They oppress me like a heavy burden." And Isaiah cried out, "Woe is me, wretched man, because I am a man of unclean lips!" The three young men, while they were in the furnace and offered their bodies to death for God, counted themselves among the greatest of sinners, saying, "We have sinned, we have done every kind of evil." And yet what was more brilliant, more pure than they? And even if they had committed some sins, the nature of the flames would have cancelled all of them. They did not look at their virtues, however, but thought of their sins.

"And I said, Woe is me, I am stunned, because though I am a man with unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, I have seen with my eyes the Lord of Sabaoth." The vision astonished the prophet, it caused him suddenly to start, it threw him into great fear, it moved him to a confession, it disposed him to know the faintheartedness of his own being more clearly. All the saints are like this: the more they are honored, precisely then do they humble themselves the more. Thus also Abraham, when he spoke with God, called himself dirt and dust. And Paul, when he was honored by receiving that vision, called himself an abnormal birth. Therefore this prophet also declares his own meanness, first because of his nature, saying, "Woe is me, I am stunned, because I am a man," and then because of the state of his soul, "And I have unclean lips." I believe he called his lips impure in comparison with the fervent mouths of those pure powers and with the service they rendered with the utmost exactness. He did not stop here but makes his confession for the whole people, adding the words, "I live among a people of impure lips." And why does he accuse his lips? To show his inability to speak freely. Given that the three young men said practically the same thing in the furnace—"We cannot open our mouths"—here also, which was a moment for hymns and praise (and indeed he saw the heavenly powers just doing this), it is right that he speaks of his lips, which above all else are called to that ministry.

When they were in Babylon and their enemies wanted to make them sing, they neither listened nor obeyed, because they were prisoners and the servants of masters who maltreated them. But having been deprived of their homeland and their freedom (and even their lives were in danger) and compelled by the hands of their enemies as in a trap, when they were commanded to sing that song with their harps, they said, "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept, because those who deported us asked us to sing. How can we sing the songs of the Lord in a foreign land?" We must not say that they acted thusly because they had no harps. They give the reason: "How can we sing the songs of the Lord in a foreign land?" And they had their harps with them: "On the poplars of that land we hung up our harps." But they were not allowed even to fast. This is what the prophet had said to them: " 'Have you fasted for these seventy years?' says the Lord." That the offering of sacrifices or libations was prohibited is what the three young men say: "We have neither prince, nor prophet, nor leader nor place to offer you the firstfruits and to find mercy." They do not say, "We have no priest," for in fact there were priests. But so that you would know that everything depended on the place and the entire law was linked to it, it says, "There is no place." And why speak of sacrifices and libations? It was not allowed even to read the Law (which another prophet reproves, "And they read out the Law and proclaimed the confession") or to celebrate the Passover, Pentecost, the Feast of Booths.

"May the Lord make you fruitful, you and your children." Have you seen another kind of blessing, the increase of the people? For this same reason it says elsewhere that the contrary is a punishment: "We have become smaller than any other nation; we are now humiliated throughout the earth." And in fact they enjoyed this blessing when they were in Egypt, despite the infinite number of things forbidden them, the forced labor, the tribulations, the cruelty of their persecutors. But nothing caused the Word of God to fail, and the blessing acted in such a way that in two hundred years, they had become six hundred thousand people.

Here you see not only the yoke of an animal but also the chariots of the infinitude of martyrs and God who is above these chariots and leads them to heaven. Regarding the souls of the saints being the chariots of God, listen to what the prophet says, "The chariots of God are thousands on thousands." What he gave to the heavenly powers, he has also given to our nature. He is seated on the cherubim, as the psalm says, "He rode on a cherub and flew," and, "He who sits on the cherubim and looks into the depths." And this is what he has also given to us. He sits on them; he dwells in us. "I will dwell in you and walk among you." They became a chariot; we become a temple. Have you noticed the relationship of honor? Have you noticed how he has mollified both what is higher and what is lower? For this reason, if we desire it, we differ from the angels in nothing.

These men then let us also imitate. Because now too there is set up a golden image, even the tyranny of Mammon. But let us not give heed to the timbrels, nor to the flutes, nor to the harps, nor to the rest of the pomp of riches; yea, though we must needs fall into a furnace of poverty, let us choose it, rather than worship that idol, and there will be "in the midst a moist whistling wind." Let us not then shudder at hearing of "a furnace of poverty." For so too at that time they that fell into the furnace were shewn the more glorious, but they that worshipped were destroyed. Only then all took place at once, but in this case some part will be accomplished here, some there, some both here and in the day that is to come. For they that have chosen poverty, in order that they might not worship mammon, will be more glorious both here and then, but they that have been rich unjustly here, shall then pay the utmost penalty. From this furnace Lazarus too went forth, not less glorious than those children; but the rich man who was in the place of them that worshipped the image, was condemned to hell. For indeed what we have now mentioned was a type of this. Wherefore as in this instance they who fell into the furnace suffered no hurt, but they who sat without were laid hold of with great fierceness, so likewise shall it be then. The saints walking through the river of fire shall suffer no pain, nay they will even appear joyous; but they that have worshipped the image, shall see the fire rest upon them fiercer than any wild beast, and draw them in.

Verse 16. "But in a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be accepted, like as in the burnt offerings of rams and bullocks..." On the basis of the passage before us and also on the basis of what follows: "Bless the Lord, ye spirits and souls of the righteous," and also in view of the passage in Psalms: "The sacrifice for God is an anguished spirit, a contrite and abased heart God does not despise," (Psalm 51:17) certain authorities would have it that there resides in man a spirit, distinct from the Holy Spirit and different from the soul itself. But they will have to work out the difficulty of how there can be said to be two substances and two inner selves in one and the same man, entirely apart from the body and from the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 6. "For we have sinned and acted wickedly in departing from Thee, and we have forsaken Thee in all things." Now of course the three youths had not sinned, nor were they old enough when brought to Babylon to warrant being punished for their own faults. Consequently they were speaking as representatives of their people, in the same manner as the Apostle had to state: "For what I wish to do, that I do not; but what I do not want, that I carry into effect" (Romans 7:19), and so on with the rest of that same passage.

Verse 65. "Bless Him, ye saints and humble of heart..." We are taught to have humbleness of heart both by this present verse and also by the statement in the Gospel: "Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29). But this humbleness of heart is the same thing as is elsewhere called poverty in spirit, so that we are not to be lifted up in pride or seek after glory by a pretended humility, but rather that we abase ourselves with our whole heart. Up to this point we have mentioned but briefly a few things from Theodotion's edition, since the confession and the praises of the three youths are passages not contained in the Hebrew. But from this point on we shall follow the authentic Hebrew itself.

Verses 35, 37. "All ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord; laud Him and highly exalt Him forever. Praise Him, ye angels of the Lord; laud Him and highly exalt Him..." Having prefaced with general terms of praise, to the effect that every creature ought to praise the Lord, he addresses his exhortation in what follows to the various individual orders of creation: to the angels, the heavens, the waters and nature-forces, the sun and the moon, the rain-cloud and the dew, the wind, the fire and the billow, the cold and the heat, and all the rest too lengthy to include, so that he summons springs also and the seas, the sea-monsters and the birds, the beasts and flocks, to the praise of the Lord. He summons also the sons of men, and after the human race in general he specifies the race of Israel in particular, and of the Israelites themselves the priests and servants of the Lord, and the spirits and souls of the righteous, and those who are holy and of humble heart. And at the very last he specifies Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, who are summoned to praise the Lord for His present kindness. But all creation praises God not in word but in deed, inasmuch as the Creator is logically apprehended on the basis of His creatures, and in the various works and affections the grandeur of God is made manifest.

Verse 3. "Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of our fathers, and Thy name is to be praised and glorified forever, for Thou art just in all that Thou hast done to us" (the Vulgate adds: "in our case"). Whenever we are oppressed by various anxieties, let us lovingly speak forth this sentiment with our whole heart, and whatever may have befallen us, let us confess that it is only right for us to endure it, that the scripture may be fulfilled in us: "The daughters of Judah have exulted and rejoiced in all Thy judgments, O Lord" (Psalm 97:8).

Verse 14. "Forasmuch, O Lord, as we have been diminished more than all the other races and abased in all the world this day because of our sins, and have at the present time neither prince nor prophet nor leader..." These verses are to be used whenever the churches suffer want (because of the sins of the people) of holy men, and of magistrates who are most learned in the law of God, and also whenever in times of persecution no sacrifice or oblation is offered up. Some authorities relate this passage to the heavenly Jerusalem, on the ground that the souls have been plunged to the earthly plane and find themselves in a place of tears and utter distress, and bewail the sins of by-gone years and the other things included in the prophetic discourse. But the Church of God has not accepted this view.

Verse 23. "And the king's servants who had cast them in did not cease to make the furnace hot with naphtha and pitch." Sallust in his histories writes that naphtha is a kind of tinder in use among the Persians which furnishes the utmost encouragement to fires. Others are of the opinion that naphtha is the name applied to olive-pits which are thrown away when the dregs of the oil have dried up. In the same way, they assert, the Greek term pyrine is derived from its property of nourishing pyr, that is, "fire".

Verse 26. "But the angel of the Lord came down into the furnace with Azariah and his companions, and he smote the flame of the fire out of the furnace..." When the soul is oppressed with tribulation and taken up with various vexations, having lost hope of human aid and turned with its whole heart to God, an angel of the Lord descends to it. That is to say, the supernatural being descends to the aid of the servant and dashes aside the fierce heat of the violent flames, that the fiery shafts of the enemy utterly fail to pierce the inner citadel of our heart and we escape being shut up in his fiery furnace.

God commands the fire to consume the Chaldeans, so they would not believe that the fire's energy had been weakened by the miracle and deny its truth. For this reason those who were inside remained unhurt, while outside the fire attacked the Chaldeans, to firmly convince the onlookers that, in regard to the saints, the fire was not ignorant of its own nature but rather honored piety. Thus also the lions did with Daniel.

Then they also add the birds of the air and the animals. Not even these escaped divinization: in fact, they adored the eagle and the raven, and the Egyptians honored wild beasts and domestic animals as though they were gods. And the error had such power that cities were named after animals: among them one finds cities with the names of Dogs, of Sheep, of Wolves and of Lions.

Consider the godless person, how he stumbles over the same things by which the faithful are justified. He sees the moon and worships it. He sees the stars and venerates them. He sees the sea and calls it divine. Those who entered the furnace in Babylon after their salvific and laudable confession praised God through his works in a hymn, saying, "Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord." Having said this, they could have ended the hymn. God does not pay attention to the length of the hymn but to the intention of those who sing. By saying "all you works," everything was in fact included, and there was no need to add anything else. But since they were not proclaiming this to themselves but praising God, and with the hymn they also taught the Chaldeans who were present, the hymn necessarily runs through the entire creation. Thus the Chaldeans, who were lost in error, would learn who it was that was sung to and who it was that sang.

Frequently there are droughts and violent and unexpected winds. Those who listen to lies and entertain vain thoughts are in the habit of ascribing everything out of the ordinary to matter and to something perverse, without knowing that nothing escapes the Lord or happens to no purpose but that God arranges all of this for the people's instruction and to drive away godlessness. The proper functioning of creatures would seem to proclaim the Creator, whereas disorder contradicts the worship of creatures. If the rain or the winds were something divine or sacred, they would not violate order, given that what is divine is not susceptible to disorder. This is why they say, "All rain and dew and all spirits, bless the Lord." In fact, even the rain and the wind were worshiped, the one as the giver of food and the other as the cultivator of the fruits of earth. They also worshiped the earth, and its fruits were assigned to various demons, saying that vines were the gift of Dionysius, the olive of Athena, and so on.

But perhaps the mountains and hills were excluded? Not at all. But since the wicked rites of demons were performed on the hills and idols were worshiped there, it says, "Mountains and hills, bless the Lord." Mentioning the hills, they also recall springs and rivers, because these also were divinized. In fact, springs were called nymphs and the sea Poseidon, together with the sirens and the nereids. Of the fact that the rivers were worshiped we have proof in our own day in Egypt, where they sacrificed at the swelling of the Nile, not marveling at God through nature but worshiping the water itself as God. This is why rivers, springs and the sea are included in the hymn.

"If therefore," he adds, "I, your Lord and master, have washed your feet, you also must wash one another's feet. I have, in fact, given you an example, so that you may do as I have done." This, blessed Peter, is what you did not ascertain when you did not want the Lord to wash your feet. This is what he promised to you that you would come to know afterwards, when your Lord and master terrified you into submission so that you let him wash your feet. We have learned humility from the Highest; let us do offer to one another, and with humility, what he the highest did in his humility. This is a great example of humility. And do this to one another, even in the outward gesture, when they treat one another with hospitality; for this exercise of humility is generally prevalent and finds effective expression in the very deed that makes it discernible. It is for this that the apostle, when he commends to us the ideal of the widow, emphasizes this quality: "She practices hospitality by washing the feet of the saints." And wherever the custom of physically washing the feet does not exist among the faithful, what they do not do with their hands they do spiritually, if they are in the number of those people to whom the song of the three young people is addressed, "Bless the Lord, you holy and humble of heart." But it is better, and more in compliance with the truth, if the example of the Lord is followed in a material way as well. The Christian should not think it beneath him or her to do what was done by Christ. For when the body is bent at the feet of a brother or sister, the feeling of humility is ignited in the heart, or, if it was already there, such humility is fed.

But there are many also who while still living in this body are dead and incapable of praising God while lying in the grave. However, there are others of us who, although dead in the body, bless and praise God in the spirit, according to the words of the text, "Bless the Lord, spirits and souls of the righteous," and "Let every living spirit praise the Lord." And in the Apocalypse it is said that the spirits of those who have been killed not only praise God but also speak directly with him.

I speak of our God. You could burn for him with a fire as great as it is holy: it is enough, however, that in place of your former passions, you would yield to desires having value. If you were impressed with a lofty person's prestige, nothing is higher than God. If you were awed by things apt and tending to glory, there is nothing more glorious than God. If you could not help but admire the splendor of shiny things, is there perhaps something more brilliant than God? If the sight of beautiful things attracted you, nothing is more beautiful than God. If you thought you perceived truth in someone, there is nothing truer than God is. If you felt yourself obliged to admire someone for his generosity, nothing is more generous than God. Do you admire what is pure and simple? Nothing is more limpid than that goodness. Do great riches tempt you? Nothing is more abundant than that prosperity. Are you fond of someone because he is faithful? What could be more secure than God's fidelity? Do you like something because it suits you? But nothing could be more suitable than God's love. Is there something that attracts you by its unaffected air or its pleasantness? There is nothing more terrible or more benign than that greatness, than that indulgence.

Since, it says, your law does not allow the customary sacrifices to be offered in every place, we offer a contrite and humble heart in place of the rams, the bulls, the countless sheep, and we ask that this sacrifice be more pleasing to you than any other, since you are accustomed to freeing from all dishonor those who trust in you. This holy man does not pronounce these words about himself but was schooled by David the prophet, who in the psalm asserts, "If you had wanted sacrifice, we would have given it to you; you will not be pleased with burnt offerings: a contrite spirit is the appropriate sacrifice to the Lord. God will not refuse a contrite and humble heart." And again, from the mouth of God, "Surely I do not eat the meat of bulls, nor do I drink the blood of goats. Sacrifice to God an offering with praises, and pay your vows to the most High, and call to me in the day of your trouble, and I will have mercy on you, and you will praise me." And a little later, "You will honor me with a sacrifice of praise, and here is the path in which I will show him my salvation." This divine man, following the instruction of such words, begged God to accept the contrite heart in place of every other offering.

We dare to speak thus, since we have many testimonies of your goodness. In the first instance, the same name, that one for which we call you "Lord"; then, your immeasurable mercy that you employ in guiding all things; besides this, the agreement you made with our ancestors: in fact, you promised them that you would make the Hebrew people illustrious and worthy of praise. The prophet remembers therefore the names of his ancestors, recalling the good Lord to compassion by mentioning those righteous ones.

The divine Scriptures teach us with clarity that, with the exception of the holy Trinity, the angels and the archangels and every other incorporeal being has a created nature. In fact, David the prophet orders them to offer praise: "Praise him, all you angels, praise him all of you his hosts," and adds explaining the reason, "Since he spoke and it was created; he commanded and it was made." Moreover, in another psalm, "He who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a burning flame." And the three young people rejoiced in the furnace when they composed the divine hymn, when, after having begun with that excellent and most fitting premise, "Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord," they immediately added, "Bless the Lord, you angels of the Lord," "Bless the Lord, all you powers of the Lord."

"They walked about in the middle of the flames singing praises to God and praising the Lord." These words provide an indication of the essence of their faith. For, instead of asking to be freed from the evil that had befallen them, they celebrated it, singing the praises of the one who was in control of their situation and who had allowed them to make this most honorable confession. There is a similarity here that can be observed between the old and the new. When the blessed apostles Peter and John were condemned to a similar fate by the Pharisees, they left rejoicing since they had been considered worthy to be punished for the name of Jesus. The blessed Paul with Silas, also being inflicted with the tortures of the magistrates of Philippi, remained in jail, bound in shackles. However, at midnight, the text says, "they prayed and sang to the Lord." Thus also these blessed young people insisted on going back and forth inside the furnace offering praises to God.

Who would not admire the dignity of the tone of the wisdom of the introduction? It is not in prosperity and good fortune and not even in a favorable circumstance of life that it celebrates God the creator of the universe, but inside this furnace. The prolog calls him God of the ancestors, demonstrating his prudent judgment and announcing the virtue of the ancestors. It says, "We praise you, O Lord, that we have those ancestors whose God you intended to be called. You in fact have said to your servant Moses, 'I am the Lord of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.' " This your name is worthy of praise and glory, not on just one occasion and a specified time but for all ages.

You have not been giving false promises, O Lord. Rather, it was we who violated the agreements. Although we had become many due to the promise you made, because of our sins we were reduced to only a few. He implies this, in fact, when he asserts, "We have become fewer once more." He does not, in fact, say, "We are few in comparison with all the other peoples," but, "We have become fewer," that is: We were beyond number due to your promise, but once we violated that agreement with you, from many we became only a few. Then he provides God with the details of the misfortune that had hit them. He does not, however, inform him as if he thought that the Lord was ignorant of what had happened but summons him to mercy through the enumeration of the misfortunes.

Since you are everywhere, they are saying, you fill the universe, embracing every creature. Having sung such praises, they call every created nature—not only those creatures endowed with reason but also those that are irrational and inanimate—to offer this common praise.

These words indicate a fervent and unending love: although stricken with it, they search for definitions capable of celebrating the dignity of the one who is to be praised, and, since they cannot find any, they punctuate their phrases with superlatives, speaking of God in terms of him being "highly praised and praised more than any other." And they not only say this but also add that his name is worthy of praise. And they do well to constantly assert that he is "Lord and God of our ancestors," agreeing in this way that they are not worthy of being called by this name.

The observance of the laws and the prescriptions, he says, add nothing to the lawgiver, but to us they provide an abundance of resources. It is for this reason that God has established these laws, so that through their observance he might supply us with an occasion for salvation.

Thus they thought themselves the least of creation and the worst among all people. The blessed Paul also thought this way when he said, "To me, the most insignificant among all the saints, this grace was granted." And elsewhere, "Christ descended from the heavens in order to save sinners, of which I am the foremost." He names himself the first among sinners and calls himself the least among the saints. In the same way, these blessed souls exhort themselves last to sing the praises of the Lord and exalt him forever.

I declare that this sacrifice (I am referring to humility) has always been superior to the Jewish sacrifice, not only now but also in the past. In fact, those three young men who in the furnace of Babylon changed the flames into mud; who were mere lads but elders; small but stronger than the many; prisoners but more powerful than the king; they who lost their homeland but not their faith; naked but clothed; poor but well-off; servants but above the free; they who changed the furnace into dew, transforming the elements; who extinguished the strength of the flames; who were bound by the tyrant and loosed by the fire—they sang a hymn, saying, "We have sinned, we have done every kind of evil, departing from you, we have fallen short in every way. We have neither prince, nor leader, nor prophet, nor holocaust, nor sacrifice, nor oblation, nor incense nor place to offer you the firstfruits and to find mercy. May we be received with a contrite heart and a humble spirit."

We are not ignorant of the fact that through the grace of God it can happen that many people can be designated with a singular term such as in the passage … "the multitude of the believers had one heart and one soul," where nevertheless it is spoken of a single soul in order to speak of the souls generally; of the faithful, of course, and not of the impious. The Lord spoke, in fact, to his faithful disciples, of whom he says, "By your perseverance you will save your souls." Also the blessed Peter says to the faithful, "Believing, you rejoice with ineffable joy and a pervasiveness of glory, in attaining the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." And in the book of Wisdom it is said, "The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God." We also know that the blessed apostle said to the Thessalonians that he recognized their election was from God: "May the God of peace perfectly sanctify you in all things; and may all your being: spirit, soul and body be guarded blameless for the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." Also in the hymn of the three children, one also reads, "Bless the Lord, spirits and souls of the righteous." We know through the grace of God that the holy church is designated as a single virgin, since the apostle says, "I have in fact betrothed you to Christ, your only spouse, in order to present you as a pure virgin," but in that one virgin, a plural number of virgins are also designated. We read, in fact, "Virgins will be introduced to the king, after her."

It is customary in the divine Scripture to speak of the air also as heavens, because we see it above us. "Bless him," it says, "all you birds of the heaven," meaning of the air. For it is the air and not the heaven that is the region in which birds fly.

Transgressors of the commandments plunge into abominable crimes. This was well signified in the third chapter of Daniel, where it is said that the three youths standing in the furnace of fire said: "We have sinned and acted wickedly and transgressed; and we have been delivered into the hands of our enemies, wicked and most vile transgressors, and to a king unjust and most wicked beyond all the earth." For the Lord delivers such transgressors into the hands of demons.

Transgressors of the commandments plunge into abominable crimes. This was well signified in the third chapter of Daniel, where it is said that the three youths standing in the furnace of fire said: "We have sinned and acted wickedly and transgressed; and we have been delivered into the hands of our enemies, wicked and most vile transgressors, and to a king unjust and most wicked beyond all the earth." For the Lord delivers such transgressors into the hands of demons.