1 Clement 16-19

(16.1) For Christ is with the humble-minded, not with those who exalt themselves over His flock.

(16.2) The scepter of the majesty of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, did not come in the boasting of pretension or arrogance, though able, being instead humble-minded, as the Holy Spirit said about Him. For He says,

(16.3) “Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? We have proclaimed before Him: like a child, like a root in thirsty ground. He has no form or glory; and we saw Him and He had no form or beauty, rather His form was despised, inferior to the form of other men, a man of wounds and affliction, and knowing how to bear suffering, for He turned His face away. He was despised and not taken into account.

(16.4) “He bears our sins and suffers for us, and we accounted Him to be (deserving) in affliction and in wounds and in mistreatment.

(16.5) “But He was wounded for our sins, and bruised for our lawlessness. The discipline of our peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.

(16.6) “All we, like sheep, have wandered; each man has wandered his way.

(16.7) “And the Lord has handed him over because of our sins, and He, through His mistreatment, does not open His mouth. Like a sheep led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before the shearer is silent, thus He does not open His mouth. In His humility, His judgment was taken away.

(16.8) “Who will relate His generation? For His life was taken away from the earth.

(16.9) “By the lawlessness of my people He came to death.

(16.10) “And I will give the wicked against His grave, and the wealthy against His death, because He did no lawlessness, nor was deceit found in His mouth. And the Lord wills to cleanse Him by wounds.

(16.11) “If you give (offerings) for sins, your soul will see long-lived seed.

(16.12) “And the Lord wills to remove the affliction of His soul, to show Him light, and to form the understanding, to declare righteous the righteous one who slaves for many, and He will take up their sins.

(16.13) “Because of this He will inherit many, and share the spoils of the strong ones. Because His soul was handed over to death, and He was counted among the lawless.

(16.14) “And He took up the sins of many, and because of their sins He was handed over.”

(16.15) And again He says, “I am a worm, and not a man; a disgrace to men, and despised by the people.

(16.16) “All who see me ridicule me. They have spoken with lips, shaken the head, ‘He hoped in the Lord; let Him rescue him. Let Him save him, since He delights in him.’”

(16.17) See, men, beloved, what the example given us is? For if the Lord was thus humble-minded, what shall we, who through Him have come under the yoke of His grace, do?

(17.1) Let us be imitators of those who in the skins of goats and sheep went about proclaiming the coming of Christ. For we speak of the prophets Elijah and Elishah, and also of Ezekiel, and along with these, those who have borne witness.

(17.2) Abraham bore great witness, and was called Friend of God. And he said, looking intently to the glory of God, being humble-minded, “I am but earth and ashes.”

(17.3) Further, it is written thus of Job, “For Job was righteous and blameless, true, God-worshipping, keeping away from all evil”

(17.4) but bringing accusation against himself, saying, “No one is clean of dirt, not even if his life is a single day.”

(17.5) Moses was called “faithful in all his house” and through his service, God judged Egypt through the plagues and their torments. Yet even he, greatly honored, did not boast, but when the oracle was given to him from out of the thornbush, he said, “Who am I that you send me? I am but weak-voiced and slow-tongued.”

(17.6) And again he said, “I am but steam from a pot.”

(18.1) And what might we say about the witness borne by David, about whom God said, “I have found a man after my heart, David son of Jesse; in eternal mercy I have anointed him”?

(18.2) And he said to God, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the abundance of your compassion, wipe away my lawless deed.

(18.3) “Wash me much more of my lawlessness, and cleanse me of my sins. For I know my lawlessness; and my sin is always before me.

(18.4) “Against You only have I sinned, and done evil before you, so that You might be justified in your sayings and prevail in Your judgment.

(18.5) “For behold, I was conceived in lawless deeds, and in sins was my mother pregnant with me.

(18.6) “For behold, You have loved truth. The unseen and hidden (parts) of wisdom have you revealed to me.

(18.7) “You will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed. You will wash me, and I will be made whiter than snow.

(18.8) “You will make me hear joy and gladness. My humbled bones will rejoice.

(18.9) “Turn Your face away from my sins, and wipe away all my lawless deeds.

(18.10) “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew inside me an upright spirit.

(18.11) “Do not drive me away from your face, and do not take away your Holy Spirit from me

(18.12) “Give back to me the rejoicing of Your salvation, and strengthen me by Your ruling Spirit

(18.13) “I will teach the lawless Your ways, and the impious will return to You

(18.14) “Rescue me from bloody deeds, O God, O God of my salvation

(18.15) “My tongue will rejoice in your righteousness, O Lord. You will open Your mouth, and my lips will proclaim Your praise.

(18.16) “For if You desired sacrifice, I would have given it; You will not delight in whole burnt offerings.

(18.17) “The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit; a broken and humbled heart God will not disdain”

(19.1) Accordingly, the humble-mindedness and subordination of such great ones, and such having borne witness through obedience, have made not only us better, but the generations before us who have received His sayings in fear and in truth.

(19.2) So, having a share in such great and glorious deeds, let us hurry toward what was from the beginning handed down to us, the goal of peace, and let us look intently to the Father and Creator of the entire world. Let us stick close to His magnificent and surpassing gifts and benefactions of peace.

(19.3) Let us see Him with understanding, and look with the eyes of the soul to His patient will. Let us consider how without wrath He is toward all His creation.