When you glorify the Lord, exalt him as much as you can; for even yet will he far exceed: and when you exalt him, put forth all your strength, and be not weary; for you can never go far enough.
All Commentaries on Wisdom of Sirach 43:30 Go To Wisdom of Sirach 43
Basil the Great
AD 379
You expect to be glorified with Christ ("If we suffer with him, we will also be glorified with him"). You would not, however, glorify the Spirit of holiness along with Christ, as though he were not worthy to have the same honors that you have. You hope to reign with Christ, but you insult the Spirit of grace, relegating him to the rank of a slave and a servant. And I say these things not to show all that is due to the Spirit in glorification but to confound the bad faith of those who do not concede it to him, fleeing as impious the communion of the glory of the Spirit with the Son and with the Father. Who could allow these things to happen without weeping? Is it not obvious, to the point where even a child could understand it, that the present state presages the abandonment of the faith that threatens us? Incontestable things become doubtful. We believe in the Spirit and oppose him precisely in our professions of faith. We are baptized and still fight. We invoke him as the author of life, yet we despise him as a companion in slavery. We received him with the Father and the Son, and we dishonor him as if he were part of the creation. Those who do not know what to ask for in prayer, if they are moved to express something sacred regarding the Spirit, limit the flow of their words to maintain measure, as though they had already given him enough honor. One should mourn their weakness; we, however, do not have words to express thanks for all the gifts of which we experience the effects. The Spirit in fact surpasses all knowledge and thwarts the possibility of any speech that fails to conform to at least a minimum of his dignity, according to the words of the book called Wisdom: "Exalt him as you can, because he is higher still. In exalting him, you will increase your strength. Do not grow weary; otherwise you will not reach him."
