Bible -- Apocrypha - Epistle of Barnabas (chap. 6) lyrics

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/barnabas-lightfoot.html Barnabas 6:1 When then He gave the commandment, what saith He? Who is he that disputeth with Me? Let him oppose Me. Or who is he that goeth to law with Me? Let him draw nigh unto the servant of the Lord, Barnabas 6:2 Woe unto you, for ye all shall wax old as a garment, and the moth shall consume you. And again the prophet saith, seeing that as a hard stone He was ordained for crushing; Behold I will put into the fountains of Zion a stone very precious, elect, a chief corner-stone, honorable. Barnabas 6:3 Then again what saith He; And whosoever shall set his hope on Him, shall live forever. Is our hope then set upon a stone? Far be it. But it is because the Lord hath set His flesh in strength. For He saith; And He set Me as a hard rock. Barnabas 6:4 And the prophet saith again; The stone which the builders rejected, this became the head and the corner. And again He saith; This is the great and wonderful day, which the Lord made. Barnabas 6:5 I write to you the more simply, that ye may understand, I who am the offscouring of your love. Barnabas 6:6 What then saith the prophet again? The a**embly of evildoers gathered around Me, they surrounded Me as bees surround a comb; and; For My garment they cast a lot. Barnabas 6:7 Forasmuch then as He was about to be manifested in the flesh and to suffer, His suffering was manifested beforehand. For the prophet saith concerning Israel; Woe unto their soul, for they have counseled evil counsel against themselves saying, Let us bind the righteous one, for he is unprofitable for us. Barnabas 6:8 What sayeth the other prophet Moses unto them? Behold, these things saith the Lord God; enter into the good land which the Lord swear unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and inherit it, a land flowing with milk and honey. Barnabas 6:9 But what saith knowledge? Understand ye. Set your hope on Him who is about to be manifested to you in the flesh, even Jesus. For man is earth suffering; for from the face of the earth came the creation of Adam. Barnabas 6:10 What then saith He? Into the good land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Blessed is our Lord, brethren, who established among us wisdom and understanding of His secret things. For the prophet speaketh a parable concerning the Lord. Who shall comprehend, save he that is wise and prudent and that loveth his Lord? Barnabas 6:11 Forasmuch then as He renewed us in the remission of sins, He made us to be a new type, so that we should have the soul of children, as if He were recreating us. Barnabas 6:12 For the scripture saith concerning us, how He saith to the Son; Let us make man after our image and after our likeness, and let them rule over the beasts of the earth and the fowls of the heaven and the fishes of the sea. And the Lord said when He saw the fair creation of us men; Increase and multiply and fill the earth. These words refer to the Son. Barnabas 6:13 Again I will shew thee how the Lord speaketh concerning us. He made a second creation at the last; and the Lord saith; Behold I make the last things as the first. In reference to this then the prophet preached; Enter into a land flowing with milk and honey, and be lords over it. Barnabas 6:14 Behold then we have been created anew, as He saith again in another prophet; Behold, saith the Lord, I will take out from these, that is to say, from those whom the Spirit of the Lord foresaw, their stony hearts, and will put into them hearts of flesh; for He Himself was to be manifested in the flesh and to dwell in us. Barnabas 6:15 For a holy temple unto the Lord, my brethren, is the abode of our heart. Barnabas 6:16 For the Lord saith again; For wherein shall I appear unto the Lord my God and be glorified? I will make confession unto Thee in the a**embly of my brethren, and I will sing unto Thee in the midst of the a**embly of the saints. We therefore are they whom He brought into the good land. Barnabas 6:17 What then is the milk and the honey Because the child is first kept alive by honey, and then by milk. So in like manner we also, being kept alive by our faith in the promise and by the word, shall live and be lords of the earth. Barnabas 6:18 Now we have already said above; And let them increase and multiply and rule over the fishes. But who is he that is able [now] to rule over beasts and fishes and fowls of the heaven; for we ought to perceive that to rule implieth power, so that one should give orders and have dominion. Barnabas 6:19 If then this cometh not to pa** now, a**uredly He spake to us for the hereafter, when we ourselves shall be made perfect so that we may become heirs of the covenant of the Lord.