Worship only in the holy court; the nature of the Lord's voice
Basil opens his homily on Psalm 28 by explaining that the command to worship in the Lord's holy court means worship must happen within the Church, not in schism or idolatry, and then begins to investigate what the 'voice of the Lord' is by gathering scriptural examples.
Worship the Lord in his holy court (Psalm 28:2 LXX; Psalm 29:2 in Hebrew numbering). One must not worship the Lord outside his holy court, but only after entering within it. That is, the person who owes true service to God must not step outside the body of the Church and start a rival assembly and schisms on his own. For that was not fitting. Just as a person makes himself a house of the Lord, so as to become a temple of God, so he can also surround himself with a court, walling himself around with his way of life, his reason, and divine thoughts, and worship God within himself. He has sufficient grounds for worship in what already exists in him, since the Creator is understood both from his bodily frame and from the ordering of his soul. The Lord also called the court of the Jews a court when he said, "I have other sheep that are not of this court" (John 10:16), showing clearly that there is also another court, the truly holy one, which was to gather Christ's sheep—those from the nations predestined for salvation. That is, this Church, in which true worshipers worship in spirit and truth. No one who makes a god of anything besides God can worship God in his holy court. Some make a god of their belly—their god is the belly (Philippians 3:19). Others make a god of silver—those devoted to greed, which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5). And each person, whatever he has honored above all else, to that he assigns the glory of God. Such a person is not in the holy court, nor does he worship God, even if he seems inseparable from the visible gatherings.
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. To understand what the voice of the Lord is, it is worth gathering for ourselves, as far as possible, what has been written about voice in the divine Scripture. We find, then, in Genesis that a word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abraham; I am your shield; your reward shall be very great" (Genesis 15:1). And Abraham answered, "Master, what will you give me? I am going away childless" (Genesis 15:2). And a little later: "And immediately a voice came to him" (Genesis 15:4). Again in Exodus it says, "Let them be ready for the third day" (Exodus 19:15). And, "When the voices and the trumpets and the cloud depart from the mountain, they shall go up on the mountain" (Exodus 19:13). And after the Decalogue: "And all the people saw the voice and the torches, and the voice of the trumpet" (Exodus 20:18). And in Isaiah it is written, "A voice of one saying: Cry out" (Isaiah 40:6). Voice, then, is a striking of air, or some kind of form produced in the air, toward which the speaker wishes to shape it. Those who converse with one another through the flesh strike the air and, as it were, impose on it a certain stamp and form, and by their breath they drive it forward so that it reaches the hearing of the person to whom it is addressed. But the voice of the Lord is of a different kind, since God produces an impression in those whom he wishes to hear his voice, so that this impression corresponds to what happens in dreams.
Greek
ΕΙΣ ΚΗʹ ΨΑΛΜΟΝ. Προσκυνήσατε τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν αὐλῇ ἁγίᾳ αὐτοῦ. Ἔξω τῆς ἁγίας αὐλῆς οὐ χρὴ προσκυνεῖν τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἀλλ' ἔνδον γενόμενον· τουτέστι, μὴ ἐκβαίνειν τοῦ συστήματος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὸν κατάρχειν παρασυναγωγῆς καὶ σχισμάτων, τὸν ὀφεί λοντα ἀληθινῶς τῷ Θεῷ λατρεύειν. Οὐ γὰρ προσ ῆκεν. Ὥσπερ δὲ οἶκόν τις ἑαυτὸν κατασκευάζει τοῦ Κυρίου, τοῦ γενέσθαι ναὸς Θεοῦ· οὕτω καὶ αὐλὴν περιβαλέσθαι δύναται, περιτειχίζων ἑαυτὸν τῷ βίῳ, καὶ τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ τοῖς θείοις νοήμασιν, ἐν ἑαυτῷ προσκυνῶν τὸν Θεὸν, ἀρκοῦσαν ἀφορμὴν εἰς προσκύνησιν τὴν ἐνυπάρχουσαν αὐτῷ, ἔκ τε τῆς σωματι κῆς κατασκευῆς, καὶ ἐκ τῆς περὶ ψυχὴν οἰκονομίας συνέντος τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτόν. Ἤδη δὲ καὶ ὁ Κύριος αὐλὴν εἶπεν τὴν Ἰουδαίων, εἰπών· Καὶ ἄλλα πρό βατα ἔχω ἃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τῆς αὐλῆς ταύτης, ἐν δεικνύμενος δηλονότι καὶ ἄλλην εἶναι αὐλὴν τὴν ὄν τως ἁγίαν, τὴν μέλλουσαν συνάγειν τὰ Χριστοῦ πρό βατα, τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν προωρισμένους εἰς σωτη ρίαν· τουτέστι, τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν ταύτην, ἐν ᾗ οἱ ἀληθινοὶ προσκυνηταὶ προσκυνοῦσιν ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ. Οὐδεὶς δὲ θεοποιῶν τι ἄλλο παρὰ τὸν Θεὸν δύναται προσκυνῆσαι τῷ Θεῷ ἐν αὐλῇ ἁγίᾳ αὐ τοῦ. Θεοποιοῦσι δὲ, οἱ μὲν, κοιλίαν· ὧν ὁ Θεὸς ἡ κοιλία· οἱ δὲ, ἀργύριον· οἱ τῇ πλεονεξίᾳ, ἥτις ἐστὶν εἰδωλολατρεία, προσκείμενοι, καὶ ἕκαστός γε ὃ πάντων μᾶλλον τετίμηκε, τούτῳ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ περιτίθησι δόξαν. Ὁ δὲ τοιοῦτος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ αὐλῇ, οὔτε προσκυνεῖ τῷ Θεῷ, κἂν ἀχώριστος τῶν αἰσθη τῶν συνάξεων εἶναι δοκῇ. Φωνὴ Κυρίου ἐπὶ τῶν ὑδάτων. Ἄξιον ὑπὲρ τοῦ νοῆσαι τί ἐστιν ἡ φωνὴ τοῦ Κυρίου, συναγαγεῖν ἡμᾶς κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἐκ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς τὰ γεγραμμένα περὶ φωνῆς. Εὕραμεν τοίνυν ἐν τῇ Γενέσει γεγραμμένον ῥῆμα Κυρίου πρὸς Ἀβραὰμ, ἐν ὁράματι λέγοντος· Μὴ φοβοῦ, Ἀβραάμ· ἐγὼ ὑπερασπίζω σου, ὁ μισθός σου πολύς· καὶ ἀπεκρίνατο Ἀβραάμ· Δέσποτα, τί μοι δώσεις; Ἐγὼ δὲ ἀπολύομαι ἄτεκνος. Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· Καὶ εὐθὺς φωνὴ ἐγένετο πρὸς αὐτόν. Καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῇ Ἐξ όδῳ φησίν· Ἔστωσαν ἕτοιμοι εἰς τὴν ἡμέραν τὴν τρίτην. Καὶ, Ὅταν αἱ φωναὶ καὶ αἱ σάλπιγγες καὶ ἡ νεφέλη ἀπέλθῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους, ἐκεῖνοι ἀναβήσονται ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος. Καὶ μετὰ τὴν Δεκάλο γον· Καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἑώρα τὴν φωνὴν καὶ τὰς λαμπάδας, καὶ τὴν φωνὴν τῆς σάλπιγγος. Καὶ ἐν τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ γέγραπται· Φωνὴ λέγοντος· Βόησον. Ἔστιν οὖν φωνὴ, πληγὴ ἀέρος, ἤ τι τὸ γινόμενον εἶ δος περὶ τὸν ἀέρα, πρὸς ὃ βούλεται τυποῦν τὸ φωνοῦν. Οἱ μὲν διὰ σαρκὸς ὁμιλοῦντες ἀλλήλοις, πλήττοντες τὸν ἀέρα, καὶ οἱονεὶ τύπον τινὰ καὶ εἶδος ἐπιβάλλοντες αὐτῷ, ὠθοῦσι διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος πρὸς τὸ φθάνειν μέχρι τῆς ἀκοῆς τοῦ πρὸς ὃν γίνεται· ἡ δὲ τοῦ Κυρίου φωνὴ, ἑτερογενής τίς ἐστι, φαντα σιοῦντος τοῦ Θεοῦ οἷς ἀκούειν βούλεται τῆς φωνῆς αὐ τοῦ, ὥστε ἀναλογίαν ἔχειν τὴν φαντασίαν ταύτην πρὸς τὴν ἐν τοῖς ὀνείροις γινομένην.