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From: Wisdom 11:22-12:2

God, almighty and merciful

[22] Because the whole world before thee is like a speck that tips the scales,
and like a drop of morning dew that falls upon the ground.
[23] But thou are merciful to all, for thou canst do all things,
and thou dost overlook men’s sins, that they may repent.
[24] For thou lovest all things that exist,
and hast loathing for none of the things which thou has made,
for though wouldst not have made anything if thou hadst hated it.
[25] How would anything have endured if thou hadst not willed it?
Or how would anything not called forth by thee have been preserved?
[26] Thou sparest all things, for they are thine,
O Lord who lovest the living.

[1] For thy immortal spirit is in all things,
[2] Therefore thou dost correct little by little those who trespass,
and dost remind and warn them of the things wherein they sin,
that they may be freed from wickedness and put their trust in thee, O Lord.

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Commentary:

11:21-12:2. The lessons given here about God’s steadfast love and mercy towards
all created things are not anything new, of course (cf. Hos 6:4-6; Jn 3:1-4:11), but
maybe there were never quite as forcefully put as here (especially vv. 23-26), and
the style of sapiential argument spells out very well the universal range of God’s
mercy towards sinful man and the love that is at work in creation and in its conser-
vation. St. Thomas deals with this subject with his typical clarity: God would never
have created something which he would then not love, for it derives from him and
participates in his supreme goodness, even if only to a tiny degree: “God loves
all living things. He does not love in the same way as we do, for our will does not
make things good; human love is a movement of the will toward its object [â€¦];
the love of God creates and fills all things with goodness” (”Summa theologiae”,
1, 20, 2).

Therefore, when God punishes man, as he sometimes does, his intention is al-
ways one of love and mercy. It is this divine purpose that 11:23-26 takes pleasure
in showing to be all-encompassing: God is all-powerful; nothing, no one, can re-
sist him; his mercy does not stem from any weakness on his part; it is the effect
of love: he loves the living.

Origen used this passage to draw lessons about God’s all-embracing love: “Be-
cause we are his children, the Lord encourages us to develop the same attitude,
and teaches us to do good works for all mankind. For that is why He is called the
‘saviour of all people, especially of those who believe in him’ (1 Tim 4:10), and this
Christ the ‘expiation of ours sins, and the sins of the whole world’ (1 Jn 2:2)” (Con-
tra Celsum, 4, 28).

St Gregory the Great, in his homilies to the people of Rome, exhorted them to
appreciate God’s unlimited love for sinners: “Here we read that he appeals to all
those who are stained with sin, and cries out to all those who have abandoned
him. Let us not spurn the hand of mercy that he holds out to us; let us not fail to
see the great value of the love the Lord has for us. In his kindness he calls out to
those who have lost their way, and he prepares a place for us, for when we return
to his heart of mercy. Let each person consider the debt that weighs him down â€“
and all the while God waits and never loses his patience with us. Let those who
chose not to stay with him return to him; let those who failed to appreciate his
love stand close by his side, so that they may be raised up” (”Homiliae in Evan-
gelia”, 33).

The passage also underlines God’s loving providence towards all created beings.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 301 puts it as follows: “With creation, God
does not abandon his creatures to themselves. He not only gives them being and
existence, but also, and at every moment, upholds and sustains them in being,
enables them to act and bring them to their final end. Recognizing this utter de-
pendence with respect to the Creator is a source of wisdom and freedom, of joy
and confidence.”

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.