Therefore also now,
says the LORD,
turn you even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
All Commentaries on Joel 2:12 Go To Joel 2
Shepherd of Hermas
AD 150
“I, the angel of repentance, am telling you, Do not fear the devil. For I have been sent,” he said, “to be on the side of you who repent with your whole heart and to steady you in the faith. Put your faith in God, you who despair of your life because of your sins, you who add to your sins and make your life burdensome. Trust that if you turn to the Lord with your whole heart and do righteousness for the rest of your life, serving him uprightly in accordance with his will, he will provide a remedy for your previous failings, and you will obtain the power of mastering the devil’s snares. Do not be in the least afraid of the devil’s threats, for they are as powerless as a dead man’s sinews. Listen to me: Fear him who has power to save and to destroy. Keep all the mandates, and you will live to God.” I said to him, “Sir, I have now gained strength in all the justifications of the Lord, because you are on my side. I know that you will break down all the devil’s power and we shall have the mastery over him and overcome all his snares. Sir, I now hope, with the Lord’s help, to be able to keep these mandates you have given.” “You will keep them,” he said, “if your heart is made pure to the Lord. All those, also, who cleanse their hearts of the vain desires of this world will keep them and will live to God.”
