For that is his only covering, it is his clothing for his skin: in what shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he cries unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
Read Chapter 22
Basil the Great
AD 379
It appears also that one who does not give back his pledge to a poor man stands condemned with God, for the following threat is directed against such a one: “He who does not receive back his pledge will cry to me,” says the Lord, “and I will hear him because I am compassionate.”[Of old] it was wicked and unlawful to gather the sheaves left after the harvest, or to glean the vines after the vintage or to gather up the olives that remain after the trees were picked, because these things were to be left for the poor. Now if this was commanded of those who were under the law, what shall we say of those who are in Christ? To them the Lord says, “Unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” .
