We must be on our guard, then…

We must be on our guard, then, against evil desires, for death lies close by the gate of delight; whence Scripture gives this command: Go not after thy concupiscences.1 So if the eyes of the Lord behold the good and the evil,2 and the Lord is ever looking down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God;3 and if our deeds are daily, day and night, reported to the Lord by the angels assigned to us: then, brethren, must we constantly beware, as the prophet says in the psalm, lest God some day behold us falling into evil ways, and turned unprofitable, and spare us for this present time, because he is merciful and awaits our amendment, but should say to us in the future: These things didst thou do, and I was silent.4

1Ecclus xviii, 30
2Prov xv, 5
3Ps xiii 2, 3
4Ps xlix, 21