Fathers

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What the Fathers say

Isaiah 43:26

Eastern Fathers

Clement of Alexandria

And it is ours to flee to God. And let us endeavor after this ceaselessly and energetically. For he says, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." And prayer and confession with humility are voluntary acts. Therefore it is enjoined, "First tell your sins, that you may be justified." What afterwards we shall obtain, and what we shall be, it is not for us to judge.

Fragments Found in Greek Only in the Oxford Edition ↗

Western Saints

Jerome

We are just when we acknowledge that we are sinners, and our justice depends not on our personal merit but rather on the mercy of God, as holy Scripture says: "The just is an accuser of himself in the beginning of his plea." And in another place, "State your sins, that you may be justified."

Against the Pelagians 1.13 ↗

Thomas Aquinas

Put me in remembrance. Here he gives a place for a response: put me in remembrance, as if to say: consider what I have done for you, tell if you have any thing, to excuse yourself, or to accuse me, to justify yourself, that is, that you should be judged to be just: if you have any thing to say, answer me, speak: for I would have you to appear just (Job 33:32). …

Commentary on Isaiah ↗