Psalms 72:6

Nor is it strange that they should suffer the drought of unbelief, whom the Lord deprived of the fertilizing shower of prophecy, saying, "I will command my clouds that they rain not on that vineyard." For there is a health-giving shower of salutary grace, as David also said: "He came down like rain on a fleece and like drops that fall on the earth." The divine Scriptures promised us this rain on the whole earth, to water the world with the dew of the divine Spirit at the coming of the Savior. The Lord, then, has now come, and the rain has come; the Lord has come bringing the heavenly drops with him, and so now we drink, who before were thirsty, and with an interior draft drink in that divine Spirit.

Therefore, today the Lord was born according to the flesh in such secret silence that his generation was thoroughly ignorant of his birth. For the world did not know that he was born outside the knowledge of his father and that he was conceived outside the order of nature. For Joseph took as his son him whom he did not beget, and Mary gave birth to him whom she did not create in the ordinary manner of sexual intercourse. Thus the Lord was born in such a way that nobody would suspect or believe or perceive what his origin would be. How would they believe that this would happen when they scarcely believe what happened afterwards? As to the fact that the Savior would descend hiddenly and secretly into the virgin, the prophet David had already previously attested to that when he said, "He came down like rain on the fleece." For what takes place so silently, without a sound, as when rain is poured onto a fleece of wool? It doesn't strike anybody's ears with its sound; it doesn't splash anyone's body with the wetness of the dew bouncing off the flece, but without disturbing anyone, the fleece draws into itself in its entire body all the rain being poured through its many parts because it does not know any division into one channel, but rather offers many channels owing to its dense softness. It seems to be closed owing to its density, but is in truth absorbent owing to its fineness.

"And He shall come down like rain into a fleece, and like drops distilling upon the earth" [Psalm 72:6]. He has called to our minds and admonished us, that what was done by Gedeon the Judge, in Christ has its end. For he asked a sign of the Lord, that a fleece laid on the floor should alone be rained upon, and the floor should be dry; and again, the fleece alone should be dry, and the floor should be rained upon; and so it came to pass. [Judges 6:36-38] Which thing signified, that, being as it were on a floor in the midst of the whole round world, the dry fleece was the former people Israel. The same Christ therefore Himself came down like rain upon a fleece, when yet the floor was dry: whence also He said, "I am not sent but to the sheep which were lost of the house of Israel." [Matthew 15:24] There He chose out a Mother by whom to receive the form of a servant, wherein He was to appear to men: there the disciples, to whom He gave this same injunction, saying, "Into the way of the nations go ye not away, and into the cities of the Samaritans enter ye not: go ye first to the sheep which are lost of the house of Israel." [Matthew 10:5-6] When He says, go ye first to them, He shows also that hereafter, when at length the floor was to be rained upon, they would go to other sheep also, which were not of the old people Israel, concerning whom He says, "I have other sheep which are not of this fold, it behooves Me to bring in them also, that there may be one flock and one Shepherd." [John 10:16] Hence also the Apostle: "for I say," he says, "that Christ was a minister of the Circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises of the fathers." [Romans 15:8] Thus rain came down upon the fleece, the floor being yet dry. But inasmuch as he continues, "but that the nations should glorify God for His mercy:" [Romans 15:9] that when the time came on, that should be fulfilled which by the Prophet He says, "a people whom I have not known has served Me, in the hearkening of the ear it has obeyed Me:" we now see, that of the grace of Christ the nation of the Jews has remained dry, and the whole round world through all nations is being rained upon by clouds full of Christian grace. For by another word he has indicated the same rain, saying, "drops distilling:" no longer upon the fleece, but "upon the earth." For what else is rain but drops distilling? But that the…