1 Clement

J. B. Lightfoot · Translated text

1 Clem. 20

The heavens are moved by His direction and obey Him in peace.

Day and night accomplish the course assigned to them by Him, without hindrance one to another.

The sun and the moon and the dancing stars according to His appointment circle in harmony within the bounds assigned to them, without any swerving aside.

The earth, bearing fruit in fulfillment of His will at her proper seasons, putteth forth the food that supplieth abundantly both men and beasts and all living things which are thereupon, making no dissension, neither altering anything which He hath decreed.

Moreover, the inscrutable depths of the abysses and the unutterable statutes of the nether regions are constrained by the same ordinances.

The basin of the boundless sea, gathered together by His workmanship into it's reservoirs, passeth not the barriers wherewith it is surrounded; but even as He ordered it, so it doeth.

For He said, So far shalt thou come, and thy waves shall be broken within thee.

The ocean which is impassable for men, and the worlds beyond it, are directed by the same ordinances of the Master.

The seasons of spring and summer and autumn and winter give way in succession one to another in peace.

The winds in their several quarters at their proper season fulfill their ministry without disturbance; and the ever flowing fountains, created for enjoyment and health, without fail give their breasts which sustain the life for men. Yea, the smallest of living things come together in concord and peace.

All these things the great Creator and Master of the universe ordered to be in peace and concord, doing good unto all things, but far beyond the rest unto us who have taken refuge in His compassionate mercies through our Lord Jesus Christ,

to whom be the glory and the majesty for ever and ever. Amen.

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