Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
All Commentaries on Proverbs 1:28 Go To Proverbs 1
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
The mind fluctuates between hope and despair. It must be feared lest hope slays you; and when you hope for too much from mercy, you fall into judgment. Again, it must be feared lest despair slays you; and when you think that you cannot now be forgiven for grave sins you have committed, you do no penance and you encounter the judge, wisdom, which says, “And I will laugh at your doom.” What, then, has the Lord to do with those endangered by these diseases? To those who are endangered by hope, he says this: “Delay not to be converted to the Lord; and put it not off from day to day; for suddenly his wrath will come, and in the time of vengeance he will destroy you.” To those who are endangered by despair, what does he say? “On whatever day the wicked man is converted, I shall forget all his iniquities.” Therefore, because of those who are endangered by despair, he has proposed the harbor of forgiveness; because of those who are endangered by hope and deluded by delays, he has made the day of death uncertain. You do not know when the last day may come. Are you ungrateful because you have today, in which you may be corrected? Tractates on the Gospel of John–.
