And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Read Chapter 16
Aphrahat the Persian Sage
AD 345
Let us draw near, then, my beloved, to faith, since its powers are so many. For faith raised up [Enoch] to the heavens, and overcame the deluge. It caused the barren to bring forth. It delivered from the sword. Faith raised up from the pit. It enriched the poor. It released the captives. It delivered the persecuted. It brought down the fire. It divided the sea. Faith cleft the rock and gave to the thirsty water to drink. It satisfied the hungry. It raised the dead and brought them up from Sheol. It stilled the billows. It healed the sick.
Let us here take notice, that, as the apostles confirmed their words by the signs that followed, so also in us must our words be confirmed by works. "Grant, O Jesus! that the discourse we deliver, concerning virtue, may be confirmed by works and actions; that thus, by thy co-operation, we may become perfect in word and work; for to Thee is due the glory of our discourses and actions. "(Theophylactus) _ Ep. ad Hebidiam, q. 3, tom. 4, part 1, p. 172: omnibus Græcis Libris penè hoc capitulum non habentibus.
