Shepherd of Hermas — Mandate 10, Chapter 3
Put On Gladness; the Spirit Is Not Grieved
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Mandate 10.3.1“Put on cheerfulness, then, which always has favor with God and is acceptable to Him, and delight in it. For every cheerful person does good, thinks good things, and despises sorrow.
Mandate 10.3.2“But a sorrowful person always acts wickedly. First, he acts wickedly because he grieves the cheerful holy spirit given to the person. Second, by grieving the holy spirit he commits lawlessness, neither petitioning nor making confession to the Lord. For the prayer of a sorrowful person never has the power to ascend to God’s altar.”
Mandate 10.3.3“Why,” I say, “does the prayer of the sorrowful person not ascend to the altar?” “Because,” he says, “sorrow sits within his heart. So sorrow mixed with prayer does not allow the prayer to ascend pure to the altar. For just as vinegar and wine mixed together do not have the same pleasantness, so sorrow mixed with the holy spirit does not have the same prayer.
Mandate 10.3.4“Cleanse yourself, then, from this evil sorrow, and you will live to God. And all who cast sorrow away from themselves and put on all cheerfulness will live to God.”
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.