Sermon of St. Gregory the Great: Against Job, God defends the mysterious justice of his decrees: Moral 1.32. c IV

My awards thou wouldst fain reverse; wouldst prove me unjust, to prove thyself innocent. Whoever strives to defend himself against the scourges of God, endeavors to set aside the judgement of him who inflicts them. For when he says that he is not smitten for his own fault, what else does he but accuse the injustice of the Smiter? The scourges of heaven therefore smote not blessed Job to extinguish in him his faults, but rather to increase his merits, in order that he who in the season of tranquillity had shone forth in so great sanctity, might also manifest from the blow what virtue of patience lay concealed within him. But he, not detecting the fault during the scourge, and yet not discovering that these very scourges were the cause of increasing his merit, believed that he was unjustly smitten, when he found nothing in himself which required to be corrected. But, lest his very innocence should be puffed up into the swelling of pride, he is reproved by the divine voice; and his mind, free from iniquity, but weighed down by scourges, is recalled to the secret judgements; in order that the sentence of heaven, though not understood, may not be considered unjust: but that he may at least believe that everything which he suffers is just, as it is doubtless plain that he is suffering at the hands of God.

For the righteous will of our Maker is a great satisfaction for the blow. For since it is wont to do nothing unjust it is acknowledged to be just even though hid. For when we are smitten for the sin of injustice, if we are conjoined to the divine will in our smiting, we are soon released from our injustice by this very compunction. For whoever now endures the blow, if he welcomes this very sentence against him, believing it to be just, he is at once released from his unrighteousness, just as he rejoices that he has been justly smitten. For by associating himself with God in his own punishment, he sets up himself against himself; and great already is his righteousness, because he accords with the will of God in his punishment, from which he differed in sin.

The holy man, therefore, because he had not disagreed with God through any sin, with difficulty, as it were, agreed with him when in the midst of his punishments. For he believed not that the scourges which commonly extinguish vices, were in him only increasing his merits. Whence he is now justly reproved, in order that even unwittingly he might be brought under the divine judgements: and it is said to him: My awards thou wouldst fain reverse: wouldst prove me unjust, to prove thyself innocent. As if it were plainly said: Thou considerest indeed thine own good deeds, but thou knowest not my secret judgements. If therefore thou disputest against my scourges, on account of thy merits, what else dost thou, but hasten to convict me of injustice, by justifying thyself?