What then would have become of this man if he had seen the Lord’s glory as it is, who seeing the likeness of that glory but unable to bear it fell on his face? In this matter we must think with deep sorrow and ponder with tears to what wretchedness and weakness we have fallen who cannot bear that very good that we were created to behold. But here is something else for us to consider within ourselves from the prophet’s act. For as soon as he saw the likeness of the glory of God, the prophet fell on his face. Since we cannot see this likeness through the spirit of prophecy, we must continually acknowledge it and punctiliously contemplate in holy Scripture, in divine counsels and in spiritual precepts. We, who when we perceive something of God, fall on our faces because we blush for the evil acts we remember committing.

[Ezekiel] is not carried away by the greatness of the visions, but he falls on his own face through knowing the fragility of the human being.

(Chapter 2, Verse 1) And I saw, and fell on my face, and heard the voice of the one speaking. The greatness of the visions did not lift me up, but the awareness of human frailty caused me to fall on my face. Therefore, even the Apostle Paul, after the ascent to heaven and paradise, and the hearing of ineffable words, says that a messenger of Satan was given to him, who would buffet him so that he would not be exalted (1 Corinthians 12). And Abraham fell on his face after hearing the words of God. And yet, because he had fallen not through sin, but through humility, he is lifted up by the Lord, and he is commanded to hear His words (Gen. 17). It must also be known that to fall on one's face is one thing, and to fall backwards is another. Abraham, after he heard of the birth of Isaac, fell on his face and laughed (1 Sam. 4). But Eli, who had sinned, fell backwards. And it is written about Dan in Genesis: Let Dan be a serpent in the way, biting the horse's heel, and let the horseman fall backwards, waiting for the salvation of God (Gen. 49:17-18). For because he had fallen from the horse by the snake's bite, therefore he awaits the coming of the Savior. And in the Gospel according to John, those who had come to apprehend the Lord, after he answered: I am, fell backward to the ground (John XVIII, 6); his words, who had said to Moses: Go, tell the children of Israel: The One who is, has sent me to you (Exodus III, 14), they could not bear. And he said to me: Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you ((Vulg. with you)). He could not hear the word of God while lying down, but he hears with Moses: But you stand here with me (Exodus XXXIV, 2). Which Daniel also recounts happening to him (Daniel X).

The divine voice commanded the prophet as he lay and bade him rise. But he could in no way have risen if the Spirit of the Almighty had not entered into him, because by the grace of almighty God we can indeed try to perform good works but cannot carry them through unless he who commands us helps us.

(Vers. 2.) And the Spirit entered into me after He spoke to me and set me on my feet. And I heard Him speaking to me, saying: Son of man. LXX: And the Spirit came upon me, and took me up, and raised me, and set me on my feet: and I heard Him speaking to me, and He said to me: Son of man. The divine word had commanded the prophet and had said: Stand on your feet (Psalm XXXIX, 3); but he could not stand without the help of God and the coming of the Holy Spirit: therefore, the Spirit enters into him, or assumes and raises him up, so that he may stand firmly and be able to say: He set my feet on a rock (Ephesians VI, 14). We do not read of any sinner standing, but it is said to the saints: Therefore, gird your loins. However, the sinner deserves to hear what is written in Deuteronomy: The sole of your foot shall have no steadiness (Deut. XXVIII, 56) . It is frequently said to Ezekiel: Son of man (Matth. VIII, 20) , and rarely to Daniel: both referring to the one who said: The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head, He consoles the captive people, and draws them towards repentance.

The authority of preaching must not be offered to us who still lie in the confusion of infirmity.

(Verse 3.) I send you to the children of Israel, to the apostate nations, who have turned away from me. They and their fathers have violated my covenant until this day. They are no longer called the people of God Israel, but rather the apostate nations, those who have turned away from the Lord, not only the fathers, but also the sons. It is not that the sons are guilty because of the sins of their fathers, but rather that the wickedness of both fathers and sons is equal. Furthermore, what the Septuagint translated as 'irritating me' or 'turning into bitterness' signifies that our kind and sweet God is changed into bitterness by our vices. For as it is said to the holy ones: Taste and see that the Lord is sweet (Psalm 33:9); so sinners perceive him as bitter. Therefore the Apostle refers to the goodness and severity of God towards the holy ones and sinners (Romans 21). And concerning the sinners who were lying down, it is written: The Lord raises up the fallen, the Lord loves the just, the Lord loosens the bound (Psalm 145:8). But to the holy ones who stand, he promises rewards.

We see ruined cities, razed forts, ravaged fields, and nevertheless we still follow our ancestors in transgressions; we are not changed from this their pride that we saw. And they indeed at a time of pleasure. But we—which is more serious—sin at a time of being lashed. But almighty God, judging transgression, first snatched away our ancestors and then called them to judgment. He still awaits our penitence; he sustains us that we may return to him.

(Verse 5.) And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: If perhaps they will listen, and if perhaps they will be quiet, for the house is provoking, and they will know that there was a prophet among them. Something similar is written in Jeremiah: If perhaps they will listen and do penance. (Jer. XXVI, 3). And in the Gospel: Perhaps they will fear my son. (Matth. XXI, 37). However, God speaks these things with a doubtful emotion, to demonstrate the free will of man, so that the foreknowledge of future evil or good does not make immutable what God knows will happen. For not because he knows what is about to happen, it is necessary for us to do what he predicted: but because we are going to do it of our own free will, he knows the future like God.

He says “whether they hear or refuse,” not out of ignorance but in case any of the obstinate should say that the prediction was what made them disobedient in the first place. He therefore expresses himself in terms of “whether they will” and “it may be.” For though they had been obstinate towards his servants, they ought to have shown reverence to the dignity of the Son.

Perhaps you fear the looks of your relatives sitting around and are afraid to offend them as they press and crowd around your beds. The Lord says through the prophet, “Be not afraid of them, be not dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” You must also be unafraid and constant; do not fear their faces or be broken by their display.

Are there not revilings in Ezekiel directed against the people, when the Lord says, “you dwell among scorpions”?

There can be no bad without good, no good without bad in the church. My friends, before your time on earth is over, recall these examples. Strengthen yourselves to bear with the bad. If we are the offspring of God’s chosen ones, we must live according to their example. The good have never refused to bear with the bad.

Humble authority must be in the superior and free humility in the inferior.

Do not think yourselves to be deceived if you are sent to those who do not hear what you are saying. You must understand that I am preaching to you because they are of unsound mind and they gather together against you and they surround you, leaving no escape to you. For they do this because they are faithless and spurn the commands of God.

Verse 6: Therefore, son of man, do not fear them, nor be afraid of their words, because they are unbelievers and destroyers with you. LXX: And you, son of man, do not fear them, nor be afraid of their presence: because they are insane, and they will gather against you in a circle. Though they may have hard necks and stubborn hearts, my commandments are stronger. And do not think yourself deceived if you are sent to those who do not listen to you. Behold, I foretell to you that they will go mad, and gather together against you, and surround you, leaving you no escape. And they will do this because they are unbelievers and despise the commands of God. And you live with scorpions. Do not fear their words, and do not fear their faces, for their house is unsettling. They are capable of striking with a curved wound, and with a stinging sting, so that the same blow may open both skin and spread venom. Each one is called by their own behavior. And to the scribes, it is said: Generation of vipers (Matthew 23:33). And of Herod, who was a fox, it is said: Go and tell that fox (Luke 13:32). And false prophets are compared to foxes in this same Prophet. And now they are said to be scorpions with an untameable heart. Hence, we read in the Gospel: All who came before me were thieves and robbers, and the sheep did not hear them (John 10:8). And how did the lost sheep of the house of Israel hear their adversaries? From this it is shown that those who hear thieves and robbers have lost the name of sheep and have taken on other names, so that they have not perished like sheep, but like vipers, foxes, and scorpions.

The soul that enjoys the watering that comes from the words of God produces in abundance, flourishes and teems with the fruit of the Spirit. But when a soul has become dry, is left uncared for and needs such watering, it becomes desert, its vines grow wild, it produces an abundance of thorns. And these thorns have the natural characteristics of sin. For where there are thorns, there will you find snakes, serpents, scorpions and every power of the devil.

Every one who sins, what does he do but provoke the anger of his Creator against himself? We know that every time we sin in deed, in word, in thought, we make God angry with us. And yet he delays, he waits in mercy and first of all demands patience of himself, only then giving the word of exhortation to his preachers for us. Everyone who preaches rightly, if he is heard, appeases the anger of our Creator, who has been provoked by his sinful people.

(Vers. 7, 8.) And you shall speak my words to them: if perhaps they will hear, and be afraid, or be quiet, since they are provokers. But you, son of man, hear what I speak to you. Therefore, you must not cease, although they are wicked to whom we speak; indeed, according to the Apostle (II Tim. IV), we must preach the word of God opportune and importune, because it is possible that even a stubborn person may be corrected to gentleness, and someone who is obedient, with a change of will, may not hear. Do not be exasperating, as the house is exasperating. Once we said to put exasperation, or irritation, seventy bitterness. Therefore, what he says is this: You should not imitate those whom you are sent to correct, lest you deserve a similar sin and punishment. Open your mouth and eat what I give you. Be worthy, he says, to my words, and receive spiritual food, so that as it is said in the Gospel: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke 8:8); and here it is said: He who has an open mouth to eat, let him eat. Hence the Lord speaks to the Psalmist: Open your mouth, and I will fill it (Psalm 81:10). And he responded: I opened my mouth and drew in the spirit (Psalm 119:131). And the Apostle Paul, who had in himself the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and in whom the Lord Christ spoke, writes to the Corinthians: My mouth is open to you, O Corinthians (2 Cor. VI, 11). And Matthew reports about the Savior: Opening his mouth, he taught the disciples (Matt. V, 2). And I saw, and behold a hand was sent to me. For the hand that is sent, they translated it as extended in the Septuagint. It is sent and extended to those who receive blessings. But it is contracted by those to whom the prophet speaks: 'Has the hand of the Lord been shortened and contracted?' (Isaiah 50:2). And in the Psalm: 'Why do you withdraw your hand and your right hand from your bosom to the end?' (Psalm 73:11). Finally, he stretched out his wings in suffering, he received the disciples, and he carried them on his shoulders, and he spoke: 'All day long I have spread out my hands to a disobedient and opposing people' (Isaiah 65:2), to gather the children of Israel, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. And by the stretching out of Moses' hands, Israel overcame Amalek (Exodus 17).

The scroll symbolizes the prophets and the apostles. In it the Old Testament was written on the reverse and the New on the obverse. Moreover, the scroll symbolizes the secret, the spiritual teaching—and in such a dignified manner that it may be read on both sides. In reality it is of such a kind that there is a connection between reading the outside and understanding the inside.

As the order of preachers is signified by the prophet, so the pages of holy Scripture are meant by the book that he received. For the rolled book is the obscure speech of holy Scripture, which is enveloped in a profundity of sayings so that it is not easily penetrated by the understanding of all. But the book is spread out before the prophet because the obscurity of holy Scripture is opened for the preachers.

If God were to stand up as the avenger of sin, the church would lose many of its saints and certainly would be deprived of the apostle Paul.

(Verse 9.) In which was a wrapped book, and he unfolded it before me, and it was written inside and outside: and there were written in it lamentations, and a song, and woe. And he said to me: Son of man, whatever you find, eat. Concerning the wrapped book, the seventy chapters of the book were translated. In the hand of the Lord sitting on the throne, which was sent and extended. Concerning which it is also said in the Psalms: In the chapter of the book it is written about me (Psalm 39:8). Chapter, let us understand the beginning. This book was wrapped and sealed, written inside and outside, or before and after, of such difficulty that no one was able to open and read it, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor underneath the earth, except the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David and Jesse, whom John in the Apocalypse said devoured it (Rev. 5), not whole, but in a chapter, that is, in the beginning. For it is impossible for human nature to devour the entire treasure of this book. And He unfolded it before the prophet, and He made it available to be read and understood, who is said to be marked in Isaiah as belonging to the people who do not believe (Isa. XXIX). For even to this day the veil is placed upon the Jews in the old Testament. And it was written before and after; concerning things to come and concerning things past. Truly, outwardly in historical writing, but inwardly in spiritual understanding, of which the Psalmist says: The glory of the king's daughter is from within (Psal. XLIV, 14). And there were written in it both inward and outward lamentations, and song, and woe. Lamentations, concerning those who are called to penance, just as Samuel and the Apostle Paul mourned and lamented for Saul and the Corinthians, whom they desired to save (2 Chronicles 16; 2 Corinthians 12). Song about those who are worthy of God's testimony, and whom the Psalmist commands: Sing to the Lord a new song (Psalm 95 and 97, verse 1). Furthermore, woe to those who have completely despaired and, when they come into the depths of sin, they scorn (Prov. XVIII).